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|---|---|---|---|
| # of Zones | 1 | ||
| Clearable | Yes | ||
| Dungeon | Yes | ||
| Respawn Time | 10 days or 30 days | ||
| Level | Min: 6 | ||
| Occupants | |||
| Orc Bandits | |||
| Important Treasure | |||
| The Armorer's Challenge | |||
| Console Location Code(s) | |||
| BilegulchMine, BilegulchMineExterior01, BilegulchMineExterior02, BilegulchMineExterior03, BilegulchMineExterior04 | |||
| Region | |||
| Falkreath Hold | |||
| Location | |||
| Southwest of Fort Sungard West of Sunderstone Gorge |
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| Special Features | |||
| # of Smelters | 1 | ||
| # of Forges/Anvils | 1 | ||
| # of Workbenches | 1 | ||
| # of Stone QuarriesHF | 1 | ||
| Ore Veins | |||
| # of Orichalcum | 9 | ||
Bilegulch Mine is a small orichalcum mine southwest of Fort Sungard and west of Sunderstone Gorge with a smelter near the entrance. It is in the area where the Reach, Whiterun Hold and Falkreath Hold all meet, and is officially part of Falkreath Hold.
Related QuestsEdit
- Amulet of the Moon: Find the Moon Amulet for Kharjo. (radiant)
- Bandit AttackHF: Rescue your beloved from kidnappers. (radiant)
- Kill the Bandit Leader: Slay a bandit leader for Siddgeir, the Jarl of Falkreath. (radiant)
- This location is one of many potential targets for one or more of the Radiant quests.
WalkthroughEdit
ExteriorEdit
The mining camp is barricaded and guarded by only a few Orc bandits. A lookout platform, with an Orc bandit on watch, is inside and to the right of the entrance. The camp is dotted with a few Orc-styled outbuildings. Immediately to the left of the entrance is one such structure holding a random leveled potion of attribute healing, a potion of true shot, and two leather strips.
On the other side of the structure is a basket with six iron arrows, and a low table with three long bows, two sheaves of iron arrows, and a sheaf of Orcish arrows. The entrance to the mine is up the wooden stairs directly across from the camp gate. At the foot of the stairs is a basic structure covering a bed roll. There is a level-locked chest next to the structure, as well as a pair of hide boots. Follow the scaffold up three flights to the mine entrance and the rest of the mining camp.
At the top of the stairs there is another bandit, as well as three barrels, one of which can be looted. Past the entrance to the mine, which is to the north, there are two more structures, and one more bandit. The structure against the rock face holds a forge, with a smelter just to the west; the last bandit is usually working the forge if they haven't detected you. A cart to the west of the smelter holds six orichalcum ores. To the east of the forge is a wood-floored area with a workbench and a table. On the table is an Orcish greatsword, three pairs of iron gauntlets, two steel swords, and the level-dependent appearance of an Orcish helmet. A steel warhammer leans against the far end of the table.
The structure to the south of the blacksmithing area holds a bed roll and a novice-locked chest that may contain some interesting items. To the west of it is a table and chair on a small wooden overhang. On the table is a leg of goat roast, a wooden bowl with two green apples, and a bottle of nord mead.
InteriorEdit
Bone chimes hang just inside the entrance, so move carefully to avoid them, and stealthily if you want to surprise the Orc bandit chief. Directly ahead, just behind a wooden cart, is the first of the nine orichalcum ore veins, as well as a pickaxe on the ground to the left. On a round table close by is an open crate with three bottles of Nord mead. The mine turns left before the cart, and you will likely see the bandit chief straight ahead now. Before advancing, look to the crates on the left-hand side for another open crate holding a leek, a draught of the knight, and a draught of resist magic. There is a barrel just after them that can be looted for minor gains, and a second ore vein is on the wall to the right.
The mine now splits into two paths; to the left the mine drops down to another level, while the path straight ahead soon turns left to the chief's camp. The chief's camp contains an expert-locked chest that can be opened with the Bilegulch Mine key (held by the bandit chief), another barrel, a table with some food, and a bed roll. On the table is a leg of goat roast, some raw beef, a bottle of wine, and a woodcutter's axe.
The path that drops down to the next level contains some more bone chimes, which you may want to avoid if the chief has wandered down there and you wish to catch them off-guard. At the bottom of the ramp is a broken cart and a table with a copy of the Smithing skill book The Armorer's Challenge, two shovels, and three pickaxes. The last room contains the seven remaining ore veins (four on the left, three on the right), another lootable barrel, and a cart.
NotesEdit
- Bilegulch Mine was once meant to be attached to an Orc stronghold known as Makbur. There are three markers still present at the outside of the mine that still refer to Makbur:
MakburSmelterMarker,MakburCenterMarkerREF, andMakburBlacksmithMarker.- The game's DialogueViews files also contain a mention of Makbur. The files show that the gate guards for all strongholds were once meant to give you a small bit of info about their respective home. In the final game, however, these lines were replaced by a singular line mentioning all strongholds at once. Makbur's line would've been: "We call our stronghold Makbur, ruled by chief Shammak, descended of the great founders."
- Bilegulch still contains many Orcish themes. It contains the highest overall concentrated quantity of orichalcum (both in the number of available veins, as well as the overall number of ore), the key component in Orcish weapons and armor, in the game; all bandits in and around the mine are set to spawn as Orcs; and the surrounding architecture resembles that which you would expect to find in an Orc stronghold, albeit without a longhouse. It's unknown if this layout was repurposed from the original vision of the stronghold, or if the designers added Orcish elements to the mine in reference to its former appearance.
- A stone quarryHF can be found directly to the left (south) of the door to the mine.
MapsEdit
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Bilegulch Mine
