“Misko's Cave of Chests” is one of many side quests the player can discover in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This quest revolves around acquiring one of the valuable treasures belonging to the notorious bandit Misko: the Ember Trousers.
The Ember Trousers are part of the Ember Armor set, which grants Link a significant attack boost when he is in hot weather conditions. Here's how to solve the puzzle of "Misko’s Cave of Chests" and obtain the Ember Trousers in Tears of the Kingdom.
How To Start "Misko's Cave of Chests"
To obtain “Misko's Cave of Chests,” begin by traveling to the western coastland of Cephla Lake in Eldin Canyon. The nearest shrine the player can fast travel to is Kisinona Shrine, which is just a few yards south of the destination. Alternatively, the player can fast travel to Eldin Canyon Skyview Tower or Upland Zorana Skyview Tower and glide east or north, respectively, to reach the coast of the lake.
Upon reaching the beach, the player will discover Cephla Lake Caveat coordinates (2595, 1327, 0152). Outside the cave, the player will encounter two treasure-hunting brothers, Prissen and Domidak. They are lamenting over how to find a treasure among the sea of chests inside the cave. Link is free to enter the cave and see for himself, and can loot any of the chests. However, there's not much need to do so as the majority contain just 1 rupee each.
If Link speaks with the brothers, they are very defensive of staking their claim to the treasure. Prissen does a fair bit of oversharing, much to his brother’s frustration, and mentions needing to have a dog's nose to find the treasure. This provides Link with an extremely on-the-nose (pun intended) hint at the solution to this puzzle.
Nearby, there is a tent with a campfire and a dog. Approach the dog and open Link’s inventory to grab five apples (or any other fruit or meat, though apples are likely the easiest). Drop all five apples at once, and wait for the dog to finish eating them.
It is important that Link does not walk away from the dog until the apples are eaten and the dog's affinity for Link has grown, indicated by pink sparkles over its head. Stay next to the dog until he decides that he has had his fill and is happy enough to assist Link with his search.
Finding The Treasure
Once the dog has finished eating, it will trot into the cave. The player should follow closely behind. Inside the cave, the dog will lead Link into the room filled with chests. Eventually, the dog will lead Link directly to the chest that contains the treasure the brothers were seeking. The dog will lie down with its nose pointing to the chest, which is stuck in the ground directly in front of him.
To retrieve the treasure, use Ultrahand to pull the stuck treasure chest out of the ground. Open the chest and loot it to obtain the Ember Trousers. At this point, the two brothers who were outside will walk in, astonished that Link has discovered the treasure. One of them will search the chest for any remaining treasure and find what they believe to be an uninteresting old bottle.
After the treasure hunters have left, interact with the bottle. It contains a letter from Misko, who congratulates the treasure hunter and provides a hint to locating another of his treasures, the Fierce Deity Sword. This starts the associated quest, “Misko’s Treasure: The Fierce Deity.”
Upon leaving the cave, Link will find that the brothers are now standing at the campfire and talking among themselves. Link can speak with the brothers again, and one of them will offer to sell a manuscript containing a hint for finding the next treasure at a cost of 100 rupees.
Purchasing any of Misko's manuscripts from Domidak will trigger one of three "Misko's Treasure" side quests. The player can locate and obtain each of the treasures without purchasing the manuscripts from Domidak, but the only way to start and complete all three associated side quests is by buying them for 100 rupees each. It's worth noting that finishing these quests does not offer any additional rewards or bonuses. Therefore, the player would be purchasing the manuscripts solely for the sake of quest completion.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is currently available on the Nintendo Switch.