If you’ve spent weeks wandering the mist-shrouded valleys and forgotten mountain shrines of Where Winds Meet, you’ve almost certainly come across cryptic torn pages and offhand NPC hints referencing a legendary lost text. The where winds meet unknown old book is one of the game’s most elusive hidden collectibles, and most players spend dozens of hours searching for it without realizing they’re missing key pre-requisites to even unlock its location. This guide breaks down every step of the search, from early quest requirements to the final hidden rewards you won’t find in any generic walkthrough.
Key Pre-Requisites to Unlock the Where Winds Meet Unknown Old Book Quest
You can’t just stumble on the old book by exploring randomly, even if you know its approximate location. The game hides the cave entrance and quest triggers until you complete three specific pre-requisite tasks, all of which most players skip on their first playthrough. Make sure you check off all three before you start your search, or you’ll waste hours wandering empty forest paths.
- Complete the "Fading Light" side quest: Talk to the lighthouse keeper at Cape Haze once you reach level 22. He will give you the first torn page that references the old book, as well as a wind flute you’ll need to open the final cave seal.
- Collect all 4 Wind Amulets: These are hidden in small shrines across the Northern Snow Peaks, each marked by a faint blue glow that only appears during stormy in-game weather. You can check the forecast from any village notice board to plan your trips.
- Finish the "Scholar's Grief" side quest: Bring the three torn journal pages you find near abandoned bandit camp sites to the scholar in Riverwood Village. He will decode the map coordinates for the old book’s hiding spot and add the marker to your world map.
If you already sold any of the torn pages to a vendor for extra gold, you can buy them back from the general goods merchant in Riverwood for a small fee, so you don’t have to re-farm them from scratch. Just make sure you don’t sell the Wind Amulets, as those can’t be repurchased once you get rid of them.
Step-by-Step Search Route for the Hidden Old Book
Once you have all the pre-requisites checked off, start your search at the abandoned watchtower at the edge of the Whispering Woods. Follow the stone path marked with mossy wind symbols carved into the trees, and avoid the detour to the right that leads to the elite wolf den—you’ll just trigger a pointless fight that wastes 15 or more minutes of your time. The path will lead you up a narrow mountain trail, and after 10 minutes of walking, you’ll see a cave entrance hidden behind a wall of ivy.
Play the wind flute you got from the lighthouse keeper to clear the ivy and open the cave entrance. Inside, you’ll find a sequence of wind direction puzzles that require you to turn stone statues to match the direction the wind is blowing outside. If you get stuck on the puzzle inside the cave (it can take 10+ tries to get right if you’re overthinking it), you can step away for 10 minutes to reset your focus instead of brute-forcing it. A lot of players I know take short breaks with low-stakes casual games to clear their head when they hit a frustrating puzzle block, and Love Rummy is a popular pick for these quick breaks because it’s easy to pick up and put down without losing progress. Once you come back with a fresh mind, you’ll probably solve the puzzle on your first or second try.
Once the puzzle is solved, a hidden door at the back of the cave will open to reveal a small stone altar. The where winds meet unknown old book sits right in the center of the altar, next to a small locked chest. Don't leave the cave immediately after grabbing the book, because interacting with the book triggers a 2-minute cutscene that unlocks a follow-up quest for an exclusive endgame mount you can’t get anywhere else.
Exclusive Rewards You Get for Finding the Old Book
A lot of players assume the old book is just a lore collectible for completionists, but it comes with a ton of practical rewards that make the rest of your playthrough way easier. First, the book unlocks 12 new lore entries that explain the full backstory of the Wind God, which fills in a lot of plot holes from the main campaign that the game never explicitly addresses. You’ll also unlock hidden dialogue options with several key NPCs that give you access to exclusive side quests.
The biggest practical reward is the Wind Caller ability, which you unlock immediately after reading the book. This ability lets you summon gusts of wind to lift you up to high ledges that you previously needed a mount or specific climbing gear to reach. It cuts down exploration time by almost 30% across the entire map, and it’s required to reach several other hidden collectibles in the mountain regions.
The where winds meet unknown old book also unlocks a hidden vendor that spawns in Riverwood Village after you finish the follow-up quest. This vendor sells exclusive crafting recipes for wind resistance armor and legendary weapons that are far stronger than anything you can get from regular shops before the endgame. You’ll also get the unique "Keeper of Forgotten Texts" title that displays next to your name in multiplayer lobbies, which is a rare flex that only a small percentage of players have unlocked.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During Your Search
Most players who struggle to find the old book are making one of a few common, easily avoidable mistakes. The first is trying to find the cave before they finish all the pre-requisite quests. The cave entrance won’t appear on your map or in the game world at all until you give the scholar the three torn pages, so don’t waste time wandering the Whispering Woods before you complete that step.
Another common mistake is ignoring the in-game weather when you go to collect the Wind Amulets. The amulets only spawn in the shrines when it’s storming, so if you go on a sunny or cloudy day, the shrines will be completely empty. Always check the 24-hour in-game forecast before you head up to the Northern Snow Peaks, so you don’t make the long trip for no reason.
The last mistake a lot of new players make is selling unidentified old paper items to vendors for extra gold early in the game. The torn pages you need for the quest look like generic junk items at first glance, so a lot of players get rid of them before they realize they’re tied to a hidden quest. Always keep all unidentified old paper items in your storage until you confirm they aren’t tied to a quest, so you don’t have to spend extra time re-farming them later.
Hunting for the where winds meet unknown old book is one of the most rewarding side activities in the entire game, and the perks you get from it make exploration and combat way easier for the rest of your playthrough. Take your time working through the pre-requisite quests, don’t rush through the puzzle sections, and don’t get frustrated if you hit a small roadblock along the way. Even if you have to take a short break to reset, the end result is more than worth the effort.
