Skyrim Sidelines- Mzinchaleft, Mjoll, and Grimsever: Falmer Over Water

At the bottom of the lift you will find a defunct Dwarven Spider alongside a bloody, dead Falmer- an unpleasant sign of what you are to face from here on.  Open the door at the end of the short hall and you will be able to look into a huge and somewhat waterlogged underground chamber, where a stone bridge reaches in many directions through small stone way-towers.  Eyeless Falmer and their chaurus pets patrol these towers and platforms, so be wary as you go.

You will immediately be able to see at least one of the Falmer waiting on the bridge from a distance- if it does not ‘see’ you now, it never will, and you can thus slay it more or less with impunity, provided you can output the neccessary damage.  The issue with this is that the Falmer you can see from your entrance is a Gloomlurker, a snow elf specialized in stealth, archery, and poison and who is considerably more durable than an ordinary Falmer.  Once you have its attention, you will also attract the notice of an ordinary Falmer waiting in the other direction on the bridge.  Don’t charge them, rather let them come to you- moving out into the chamber will get you into all manner of trouble, both in terms of maneuvering space and because of the number of additional enemies you will attract by doing so.

Once the two Falmer are dead, move out onto the bridge, keeping your attention off to the right.  You will see as you move into the chamber that the stone bridges return to the wall you entered from, though instead of going through a door, they enter a small chamber built on the wall.  This chamber holds one of the chaurus, the large insectile creatures that the Falmer breed and depend on for both equipment material and combat aid.  Slay it from afar if you can, as the poison the chaurus has will make a melee fight difficult, or send a Follower to draw its attention so you don’t have to deal with gummy controls due to the debilitating chaurus spit.

Once the arthropod is no more, check its lair to turn up a fair number of chaurus eggs and glowing mushrooms (both alchemically useful) and the contents of a small stone chest that sits atop the bench nearer to the pintle-mounted crossbow.  With the small chamber scavenged, you’ll want to slowly cross the stone bridge towards its end, where another Gloomlurker will drop out of one of the wall lairs to come and find you.  Slay it quickly to prevent more attention than you want, and you can head down the stairs to your right into the water.