The world ofThe Elder Scrollsis vast and has many cities, towns, and villages in the many provinces of Tamriel. Some cities, kingdoms, and other populated places have stood strong through the test of time and war while others have fallen. Either way, there’s still a place for Tamriel residents to call home.
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However, there are somelocations inThe Elder Scrollsseries that players might want to avoid or make the visit short. On the surface, most of them look relatively secure, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. No place is truly safe in Tamriel, but these areas have some pretty dark secrets under the surface.
10Castle Leyawiin In Oblivion
On the outside, Castle Leyawiin seems like any other castle throughoutOblivion, but thislocation is hidinga pretty dark and grim secret. Depending on the player character’s race, Countess Alessia Caro will either be friendly or be disgusted with them. She has a great dislike for Argonians, Khajiit, and Dark Elves. Players will find out that she and her husband have a torture room in the basement of the castle.
From the looks of it, the count and countess use this room quite often. Alessia’s advisor, Hlidara Mothril, admits that she can hear the screams of their victims at night from her bedchamber. If players are playing as a Khajiit or Argonian, it’s best to keep the conversations with the count and countess short.
9Dragonsreach In Skyrim
Considering that it was built to capture and house a dragon, Dragonsreach has its fair share of problems. Poor Jarl Balgruuf has his hands full dealing with the Civil War between the Empire and the Stormcloaks. However, it’s the people in his own home that he should worry about, specifically his youngest son Nelkir. The Daedric Prince of Murder and Deception, Mephala, has been talking to Nelkir, and it seems like she has some plans for the boy once he’s old enough.
Holdinga Daedric Artifact, especially an evil one like Mephala, is never a good idea. Jarl Balgruuf and the court wizard Farengar should’ve sealed the weapon elsewhere instead of in the palace. Knowing all the secrets he knows and being influenced by Mephala, Nelkir’s path is doomed to take a dark turn.
8Markarth In Skyrim
Unless the player stops him in time, the first sight that is seen when entering Markarth is Weylin, a Breton man, killing Margaret, an Imperial woman. After this event, the player is hired by Eltrys to investigate why. A huge conspiracy is uncovered, and it turns out that the whole city isn’t exactly safe. The Silver-Blood family, the richest family in the province, has anuneasy alliance with the Forsworn, a group of hostile witchmen who wish to rule over The Reach.
If that didn’t make Markarth sound unsafe to live in, there’s the Abandoned House which has a shrine to Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination. Plus, some citizens living in the city have a hidden life in which they worship the Daedric Prince Namira by having cannibalistic feasts.
7Shimmerene In The Elder Scrolls Online
The High Elves of the Summerset Isles aren’t exactly happy that Queen Ayrenn hasopened the borders of the provinceto outside races. Newcomers in Shimmerene have gone missing and players will have to investigate to find out what happened to them. After some sneaking around and asking questions, it learned that most of the newcomers were taken to the Monastery.
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The quest will take players to the Undercroft of the Monastery and a dark truth is revealed. Newcomers are sacrificed for rituals for the Daedric Prince of Bargains, Clavicus Vile. Shimmerene might look beautiful, but knowing what’s happened under it kind of makes a disturbing area to be at.
6Benirus Manor In Oblivion
Buying a large house for 5000 gold is a pretty sweet deal. The Benirus Manor is being sold by Velwyn Benirus and players can buy it from him. However, once players enter the manor, there are ghosts haunting it.Investigating the housewill show that there’s a strange seal on a wall in the basement. Players will have to ask Velwyn about it, and he reveals that he knew about the ghost problem which is why he sold the house for a cheap price.
Velwyn breaks the seal for the player then runs away. In the room that was behind the seal is a necromancer’s lair that belonged to Lorgren Benrius, Velwyn’s grandfather. If players want the ghost attacks to stop, they will have to defeat Lorgren in order to lift the curse.
The name should be a giveaway that this place is not safe, but the people in it seem very nice. After entering the dungeon, it seems like a group of people are celebrating and welcoming new folks to join them. Curator Nicholas greets the player and asks them to make a small offering of apples and grain to the Bad Man, the mysterious being that they’re having the celebration for.
It turns out that the “offering” is actually the player themselves and the “Bad Man”is actually a Daedra. Players will have quite the journey ahead of them to get out of the dungeon and find out there are some other poor souls that were sacrificed too.
4Battlehorn Castle In Oblivion
When players first come to the castle, it’s being attacked by marauders. They also find out that Lord Kelvyn is dead. In accordance with his will,the player will inherit the castle. The downside is that they’ll have to pay for improvements to make it livable, but there’s more to the castle than meets the eye. In the secret room in the private quarters, players will find Lord Jaren’s Journal.
Lord Jaren learned that a battlemage named Arielle Jurard was controlling Lord Kain’s (the former master of the castle) corpse with her necromantic magic. To stop her, Lord Jaren sealed her in the grotto below the castle. To make the castle feel a little safer, players will have to defeat Arielle Jurard, who’s become a lich since then, along with the skeleton of Lord Kain.
3Fort Frostmoth In Morrowind
There are plenty of quests to do at Fort Frostmoth, but there is one that makes the fort feel unsafe. If players talk to Severia Gratius, she will tell them that someone has been poisoning the people in the fort with moon sugar, a narcotic. Sadly, some victims have died from this so Severia is investigating who’s behind it.
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The search will take players toa man named Uncle Sweetshare,a Nord male alchemist. He doesn’t see that he’s committing a crime and believes that he is spreading joy to the people he’s given moon sugar to. The player will have to decide to either kill him or convince him to stop.
2Hackdirt In Oblivion
The whole village of Hackdirt doesn’t exactly look welcoming because of its burnt buildings. Overall, the village looks dreary, but players shouldn’t feel sorry for the people who still live there. These few villagers are extremely rude to anyone they view as an “outsider”. They make it very clear that they don’t want any strangers in their village. Players who visit this village inOblivionare usually doing the quest to find Dar-Ma,a young Argonian femalewho is missing.
Luckily one of the Hackdirt residents, Jiv Hiriel, will tell the player that she’s hidden underground. He reveals that she was going to be sacrificed to the Deep Ones, a mysterious race that the people of Hackdirt revere. It’s best to rescue her as quickly as possible and avoid the village.
1Tel Vos In Morrowind
The Telvanni are one of the most powerful Great Houses of Morrowind. Considering that they havefamous mages like Divayth Fyr and Master Neloth, House Telvanni is pretty elite. When going to Tel Vos, there are several buildings there. While some of them are safe to enter and explore, there are some that have leveled Daedra and monsters wandering in the halls.
It won’t be much of a problem for players that are prepared, but it’s still unexpected. If that doesn’t deter players from visiting, there are plenty of Daedra roaming around the Grazelands near Tel Vos.
