Skyrim Sidelines- Mzinchaleft, Mjoll, and Grimsever: Sunken Treasure

The water swamping the lower part of this chamber initially appears to be mere set dressing, but it actually conceals some considerable value.  Beneath the tower that the first Falmer Gloomlurker was near you can find a small stone chest that is prone to containing valuable gems.  More interestingly, a closed gate waits beneath the chamber the chaurus was living in.  If you are willing to go to the risk of holding your breath for a very long time, or alternately either are an Argonian or have a water-breathing potion or spell, you can swin through the gate into a set of living chambers.  One large stone chest and another small stone chest are in here, and both are often full of high-value items, including both gear and potions.

With the water ransacked (and isn’t that an odd thought in and of itself), return up the stairway you used to get into the water, then carefully cross the ledge past the large Dwemer metal gates that will admit you to the next part of Mzinchaleft.  Both of the Falmer wall-perches on the ledge with the chitin fence will disgorge occupants- the nearer an ordinary Falmer, and the farther another Gloomlurker.  Slay them and you can take valuables not only from them, but also from the stone table nearby- a pair of chaurus eggs, and if you haven’t got a decent bow you can take a Falmer bow from the table.  Although, all of the Falmer you’ve found here also have the bows, so you shouldn’t need it.  Be forewarned that if you take a Falmer bow, you should still not bother with Falmer arrows- these arrows are superior only to practice arrows and basic iron arrows, unlike the Falmer bows, which are among the better options you have for most of the game.

Go through the heavy metal doors and you can wind your way down a hallway- it turns right, heads down a long stair, and then makes a left.  Beyond the left turn is a large lecture chamber full of stone benches with a table on a dais, behind which three chairs and an archer Falmer sit.  Take care entering the room, as another Falmer with a sword is amongst the benches, though hidden behind the high back of the foremost set to the stage.  Slay the dangerous snow elves and snag some more Dwemer metal before proceeding onward from this room, into a slightly less carven area of Mzinchaleft.

This area of strangely mixed architecture- natural and Dwemercraft- quickly turns to the left, becoming a crampedly low hallway inhabited by a lone Falmer.  The tunnel continues for a ways before taking another sharp left turn, leading to a small cave with a Dwemercraft stone platform in it.  Approaching carefully will let you see three points of interest- a Falmer waiting on the platform to the left of the doorway, a chaurus patrolling the rough stone floor, and a talon-trap with a tripwire in the ‘doorway’ to the cave.  Using a bow or spell, it’s easy enough to trip the trap- but it is much more effective to take a shot at the Falmer.  This will prompt it and the chaurus to race through the doorway (or just the chaurus if the Falmer is dead) and trigger the trap themselves, taking a lot of the threat out of this fight.