Skyrim:Bilegulch Mine

Mine: Bilegulch Mine (view on map)
# 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)
BilegulchMineExterior01, BilegulchMineExterior02, BilegulchMineExterior03, BilegulchMineExterior04, BilegulchMine
Region
Falkreath Hold
Location
Northwest of Falkreath South-southwest of Fort Sungard
Special Features
# of Smelters	1
# of Forges/Anvils	1
# of Workbenches	1
# of Stone QuarriesHF	1
Ore Veins
# of Orichalcum	9

Bilegulch Mine

Bilegulch Mine is a small orichalcum mine northwest of Falkreath containing Orc bandits. It contains only one zone, Bilegulch Mine.

Related Quests

• Amulet of the Moon: Find the Moon Amulet for Kharjo. (radiant)
• Bandit Attack^HF: 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.

Walkthrough

Exterior

Mining camp

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 camp 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. To the east is another basic structure covering a bedroll, with a level-locked chest and a pair of hide boots next to the structure.

Several sets of stairs supported by scaffolding opposite the camp gate lead up to an area with another bandit and three barrels, one of which can be looted. The entrance to the mine is to the north; with Hearthfire installed, a stone quarry is just south of the entrance. Two more structures and a final bandit are past the entrance to the east. The structure against the rock face holds a forge, with a smelter just to the west; the final bandit is usually working the forge if they haven't detected you. A cart west of the smelter holds six pieces of orichalcum ore. 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 south of the blacksmithing area holds a bedroll and a novice-locked chest that may contain some interesting items. To the west 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.

Bilegulch Mine

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.

Bandit chief's area

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 bedroll. 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.

Notes

• 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, and MakburBlacksmithMarker.
  • 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.

Maps

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  Bilegulch Mine