Markarth, the capital city of The Reach, is fairly unique. For starters, it’s built on top and nearby an old dwemer city, and even utilizes a section of it, which means chunks of the city, such as the palace section where Jarl Igmund rules from, are burrowed into the mountainside. The city is notable for its layout as well as a Dwemer museum and the temple to Dibella. The surrounding countryside is very mountainous but is very valuable as well given the amount of mines in the area.

Major City? Yes (Hold Capital of The Reach, loading required)

House? Yes - Vlindrel Hall (MUST complete the Misc. quest “Find Hrolfdir’s Shield for Igmund” and have 8000 Gold)

UPGRADES:

o Bedroom Furnishings - 800 Gold

o Living Room Furnishings - 900 Gold

o Alchemy Laboratory - 1000 Gold

o Enchanting Laboratory - 1000 Gold

o Entrance Hall - 500 Gold

Major Shops

o Arnleif and Sons Trading Company (General Goods)

o Ghorza’s Smithery (Blacksmith)

o Silver-Blood Inn (Inn)

o The Hag’s Cure (Alchemy Shop)

Major Quests

o A Night to Remember (Started after drinking with “Sam” in | a tavern and waking up in Markarth. Check the Daedra Quests for more info).

o The Forsworn Conspiracy (Witness the murder in the market and then read Eltrys note afterward and speak to him at the Temple of Talos to start this quest).

o The Heart of Dibella (Head to the Temple of Dibella and sneak into the inner sanctum. Get caught and agree to help out the temple to start this quest).

o The House of Horrors (Talk to Tyranus near an empty house and agree to go inside with him…).

o The Lost Expedition (Do the Misc. quest “Kill Nimhe inside Nchuand-Zel” and search nearby for a dead imperial. Loot him to start this quest).

o The Taste of Death (Talk to the Priest of Arkay, Verulus, and persuade him to let you help with Markarth’s cannabilism problem).

CRAFTING STATIONS

o Alchemy Lab

(Located by Calcelmo in Understone Keep)

(Located in Vlindrel Hall once you guy the upgrade)

(Inside The Hag’s Cure)

o Arcane Enchanter (Located by Calcelmo in Understone Keep)

(Located in Vlindrel Hall once you guy the upgrade)

o Blacksmith Forge (Forge inside Understone Keep)

(Near Ghorza’s Smithery)

o Grindstone (Forge inside Understone Keep)

(Near Ghorza’s Smithery)

o Tanning Rack (Forge inside Understone Keep)

(Near Ghorza’s Smithery)

o Smelter (Outside Cidhna Mine)

o Workbench (Forge inside Understone Keep)

Near Ghorza’s Smithery)

FOLLOWERS/TRAINERS

FOLLOWERS:

o Cosnach (Male Nord, you must beat him in a brawl first).

o Vigilance (War Dog - Purchase from the stables for 500 Gold).

o Vorstag (Male Nord - Mercenary at the Silver-Blood inn. Costs 500 Gold).

TRAINERS:

o Garvey: EXPERT SNEAK TRAINER (Found in The Warrens).

o Ghorza gra-Bagol: COMMON SMITHING TRAINER (Located at the town’s smithery).

o Hamal: MASTER ENCHANTING TRAINER (Must complete “The Heart of Dibella” side quest first). o Ogmund: EXPERT SPEECH TRAINER (Often found in the Silver-Blood Inn).

INTERESTING ITEMS

o A Dance in Fire, v7 (SPEECH SKILLBOOK inside Arnleif and Sons Trading Company, on a box behind the merchant).

o Herbalist’s Guide to Skyrim (ALCHEMY SKILLBOOK inside The Hag’s Cure, behind the counter).

o Mystery of Talara, v4 (ILLUSION SKILLBOOK inside Nepos’s House).

o Proper Lock Design (LOCKPICKING SKILLBOOK located inside Cidhna Mine, behind a locked door next to the evidence chest).

o Stone of Barenziah (Located in the Dwemer Museum in the Understone Keep, in a room off to the left).

o Stone of Barenziah (Located in ‘The Treasury House’, by Thonar’s bed).

o The Importance of Where (ONE HANDED SKILLBOOK located in the guard’s tower, by the beds on a table).

o The Warrior’s Charge (CONJURATION SKILLBOOK located in the Jarls quarters).

MARRIAGE PARTNERS

o Argis the Bulwark (Male Nord, becomes your housecarl once you are Thane).

o Cosnach (Male Nord, you must beat him in a brawl first).

o Moth gro-Bagol (Male Orc, located in the Understone Keep. You must bring him a Daedra heart first).

o Muiri (Female Breton, in the Hag’s Cure only after you complete the Dark Brotherhood quest “Mourning Never Comes”).

o Omluag (Male Breton, you must complete the Misc. quest “Talk to Mulush about Omluag” first).

o Vorstag (Male Nord - Mercenary at the Silver-Blood inn. You must hire him first).

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTS

Assist the people of the Reach (0/5)

The quest you must do before becoming Thane of the Reach. Simply keep doing these miscellaneous quests. Note that doing quests in Karthwasten helps as well. Do five in total and return to the Jarl to become his Thane, with all the perks that come with it. This is how you gain your Housecarl, Argis, by the way, as well as ‘The Blade of the Reach’.

Bring a Daedra’s Heart to Moth

You can get this quest by talking to the Jarl’s Blacksmith, Moth gro-Bagol, in the smithery inside Understone Keep. The Jarl wants a blade soaked in the blood apparently. I know certain quests have you killing daedra, especially Pieces of the Past and The Black Star, so save a heart from those for Moth. He’ll give you an elven helmet in return and you can now marry him if you wish.

Bring The Last Scabbard of Akrash to Ghorza

The smith in town, Ghorza, wants you to find a copy of “The Last Scabbard of Akrash” so she can let her apprentice read it.

Location 1. Gallows Rock. After the quest “The Silver Hand” in the Companions, once waking up with Aela, go north a bit. Go south from the entrance until the path curves around towards north again. Go up to the middle area on the map until you hit the north end, where there’s a locked door, and a hallway to the west. The book is on a table right outside the door.

Location 2. Fort Sungard, in the Fort Sungard Muster, on a table in the room with all the weapons.

Location 3. Black-Briar Lodge (330 ft SSE). From the lodge, head East up a small path between the rocks, to the right at the top of the slope, under a shield.

Deliver Spiced Beef to Voada

You get this quest by talking to Banning, out by the stables. Simply deliver the beef to Voada, who can be found in the kitchen in the Keep. You’ll be rewarded a whopping 500 Gold for this task. Easy money!

Deliver the ring to Calcelmo

You get this quest by talking to the jewelry stand vendor, Kerah, and asking her if she’s been here long. She’ll want you to deliver a ring to Calcelmo. Do so and you’ll be rewarded 500 gold. Easy money!

Deliver the Stallion’s Potion to Raerek

You can get this quest from visiting the Hag’s Cure and talking to the owner, Bothela. Ask her about the name of her shop and in the end she’ll ask you to take a potion to the steward, Raerek. Agree to do so and then do it for a nice 500 Gold prize. Sweet!

Find evidence of Ogmund’s Talos worship

You get this quest by talking to Ondolemar, the Thalmor embassy guy, inside the Understone Keep. He wants you to break into Ogmunds home for proof of Talos worship. Doing so is child’s play as it is only a Novice locked door, and a chest inside will have the proof. Return it to the High Elf for a 800 Gold reward.

Find Hrolfdir’s Shield for Igmund

You can get this quest after killing the leader of Red Eagle Redoubt and then asking the Jarl for more work. This shield was his father’s, and he wants it back. The shield is being guarded by Hagraven’s at Hag’s end, just east of Mor Khazgur. I fast traveled there and went east to Deep Wood Redoubt (following the marker), killing Forsworn. From there you’ll go through a cave (watch for traps) and out to Deep Wood Vale. If any of this sounds familiar its because the Dark Brotherhood quest “Locate the Assassin of Old” is in this place too (go there for a very detailed guide if you need to). Hag’s end lies beyond the vale, so continue and fight a dozen Forsworn or so and enter. The most important thing in this place is a DRAGON WALL near the end, but until then you’ll be fighting witches and a hagraven that keeps teleporting off. Chase her back outside where you will fight two ice trolls and you can finally kill her. Nearby in a BIG treasure chest is the shield! Return it to Jarl Igmund and trade it for an elven shield. You will now be able to buy property as well as work towards becoming a Thane. Congrats!

Kill Nimhe inside Nchuand-Zel

You can get this quest by asking Calcelmo (the court wizard) to see the excavated ruins. He’ll note there’s a spider in there named Nimhe that he wants slain. Agree to do so. Head into the nearby ruins where you will find a linear path with frostbite spiders and, at the end, the giant spider Nimhe! Take it out! Once its killed return to Calcelmo and let him know. He’ll give you the key to the Dwemer Museum (making it easy to go in there and steal - but be sure to get the STONE OF BARENZIAH from a room on the left in there). Oddly enough, this quest does NOT count towards helping the people of the Reach.

Kill the bandit leader located at Four Skull Lookout

This is another bounty you can pursue by talking to the steward of the Jarl, Raerek. Four Skull Lookout is located west of Red Eagle Redoubt. Head there and head west, manually, over the mountains (don’t follow the stupid marker). Three bandits will await you. Slaughter them all and return to Raerek for your 100 Gold reward.

Kill the leader of Dragon Bridge Overlook

You can get this quest by talking to the steward of the Jarl, Raerek. More killing! Dragon Bridge Overlook is located nest to Dragon Bridge, of course, on a hill overlooking it. Not too hard to walk to. I only found two forsworn here, so this should be easy. Return to Raerek for your 100 Gold reward.

Kill the leader of Red Eagle Redoubt

You can get this quest by talking to Jarl Igmund and asking for work. He’ll state his dislike of sellswords, but needs you. Red Eagle Redoubt is located west of Rorikstead (the easy way to walk over there) and is also heavily involved in the quest “Legend of Red Eagle” (Read that quest if you want to knock out two birds with one stone). There are a TON of forsworn here, especially if you go through the “ascent” cave to reach Red Eagle Redoubt proper. Once you’ve killed them all, return to the Jarl and he’ll be impressed and give you 1000 Gold.

Retrieve Lisbet’s shipment from Broken Tower Redoubt

Head into Arnleif and Sons Trading Company and talk to Lisbet, the owner. Ask her if the shops seen better days and she’ll tell you she’d be ok if it wasn’t for the Forsworn attacking her shipments. She’ll than give you this quest to locate one of those shipments. Broken Tower Redoubt is located to the east, near Sundered Towers. Head over there and enter the very top tower (which you can do without fighting through the fort if you came from Sundered Towers) and kill the Briarheart in here. Search the chest for the statue and then return it to Lisbet for a nice fat 1000 Gold reward.

Steal the statue in the Temple of Dibella

You can get this quest by talking to Degaine, the local beggar, and asking him about money. Apparently the temple is locked up, so he wants you to steal the statue of Dibella from it. Getting caught starts the main quest “The Heart of Dibella”. Stealing the statue requires not getting caught though, so pick the expert door leading to the inner sanctum and head down. Remove all armor and cast MUFFLE, then sneak around the left side of the room while the three women in the middle do their ceremony. Head further in and steal the statue now. Now there’s a chance the women will finish and two of them will come into the room where you are at. Hide by the door and let them pass, them sneak past them and return the way you came. Now return to Degaine for a 150 Gold reward.

Talk to Mulush about Omluag

You can get this quest from Omluag (who I found at the Silver-Blood Inn) and volunteering to help. Mulush is usually by the smelter near Cidhna Mine (during the daytime). Persuade / Bribe / Intimidate him into easing up on Omluag (I did it with speech at 44). Go back and tell Omluag once you are successful for a 500 Gold coin reward. You can now marry Omluag as well if you wish.

Visit Vlindrel Hall, your new house

A petty quest you get when buying your house. Useful for helping you figure out where it is. Simply visit your home to get rid of this quest.