Gloombound Mine is one of two ebony ore mines in Skyrim. The mine is located southeast of Windhelm, near the Orcish settlement of Narzulbur. The other is Redbelly Mine, north of Riften.
Description
Gloombound Mine can be freely entered by Orcs or Blood-Kin to the Orcs by going through Narzulbur. Otherwise, if one does not want to have to retrieve the The Forgemaster's Fingers to gain access, sneak along the ledges on the right side of the entrance to Narzulbur. Alternatively, clear Kolskeggr Mine and talk to the Orc in the Miner's Barracks after turning in the quest in to Pavo. He will give access to the strongholds and will mark two strongholds in The Reach on the player's map. There is a copy of Heavy Armor Forging in a small hut to the right of the entrance.
Several Orc miners work in the mine throughout the day and won't stop anyone else from mining the ore veins. If one is not an orc or blood-kin, they will make comments about how the Dragonborn needs to leave. The mine itself has sixteen ebony Ore veins, six iron ore veins, three pieces of ebony ore laying on the ground, one ebony ore on a dark barrel, and two pieces of ore in the bucket at the far end of the mine. Taking the pieces of ore from the ground counts as theft and will incur a bounty. There is a bucket with a piece of ebony ore in the cart going across the bridge to the mine. There is an orichalcum ore vein, four pieces of ebony ore, an ebony ingot, a Smithing skill book and an apprentice level chest (under the bed), outside the mine in a small hut. There is also a full set of smithing facilities outside.
This results in a total of fifty-five lumps of ore and an ingot, or twenty-eight ingots when all the ore has been smelted. This is more than enough for a full set of Ebony/Daedric armor including a melee weapon and a bow/shield, or two one-handed weapons for dual-wielding, assuming the other materials needed are on hand.
There are pockets of gas throughout the mine, as little as equipping a fire spell or a torch is enough to cause an explosion. If an explosion injures any of the orcs it will be considered assault and they will attack the player as a result. Somehow, the lanterns in the mine do not cause an explosion, even though lanterns are not airtight.
There is a spot in the mine where the ground can fall through and kill or injure miners on the level below and this may make the miners hostile. In addition, should any of the loose pieces of ebony ore be stolen - even if the theft is undetected - a group of Hired Thugs may be sent after the Dragonborn by Dushnamub. A signed contract will be in their possession as evidence of this. This will occur whether or not the Dragonborn is Blood-Kin to the orcs as the ebony ore is flagged as stolen regardless.
After you have mined all the ores, hover it on your map and if it says "cleared" then you will have to wait 30 days in-game time so the ores can regenerate, if it does not say "cleared" then you will have to wait 10 days in-game until the ore veins regenerate.
Characters
Blacksmith
Miners
Mining
There are sixteen ebony ore veins, six iron ore veins and also five ebony ore that can be found in the mine; in order relative to the entrance:
- Continue down the passageway; take the first right; there is an ebony vein at the end.
- Turn around and walk straight; there is an ebony vein on the right wall past the table.
- Directly across from #2, there is an ebony vein on the ground.
- Continue down the passageway; there is an iron vein on the left.
- At the end of the passageway, there is an ebony vein on the wall.
- Backtrack a bit; make a left after the table; there is an iron vein on floor just past the shelf; continue upward; there is an iron vein to the left of the first railing.
- At the top of the stairs, there is an ebony vein directly to the left.
- At the top of the stairs, there is an ebony vein on the wall to the right of #7.
- Continuing down the passageway, there is an ebony vein on the ground on the right.
- About 4 paces further, there is an iron vein on the ground on the left.
- After 2 more paces, there is an ebony vein on the right.
- Directly opposite to #11 is another ebony vein.
- Backtrack a bit and make a left down the lit corridor; on the right, on the ground and on the wall, is a pair of iron veins.
- Continue onwards; there is an ebony vein on the left, beneath the lantern (as well as 3 Ebony Ore in the cart next to it)
- Keep going; there is an ebony vein on the right side wall.
- Continue, but watch your step! There is a small ebony vein on the ground on the left, near the end of the passage.
- Above #16, on the wall, is another ebony vein.
- Immediately to the right of #16 is another ebony vein.
- Above #17, on the wall, is yet another ebony vein.
- To the right of #17 is still another ebony vein.
- Above #19 is another ebony vein.
The loose ebony ores' locations are:
- On the second floor of the mine, to the right, there are 3 ebony ores that can be found in a cart near an ebony vein at the end of the path to the right (mentioned in #14 above.)
- Continuing forwards, there are 2 ebony ores in a bucket in front of a bunch of ebony veins.
Trivia
- On occasion, the miners present in Gloombound Mine may stop the Dragonborn from reaching particular ores, ("Someone else is using this"). Unless one is an Orc, or is Blood-Kin, the miner will not move away from the vein, but simply say that the player is not welcome here. Because of this, the player may choose to kill the miners, and have permanent access to all the veins. If the wait function is used for an hour, they usually will have moved off.
- Alternatively, equip a pickaxe as a weapon and swing it at the rock. This will allow the mining of ore at the same spot as an Orc.
- After one month in Skyrim time all ore inside the mine will be restored, there is also currently a glitch with the mine to where once all the ore have been collected, the player can wait three days inside the mine, (a total of seventy-two hours of Skyrim time), exit the mine then re-enter. All of the ore will have respawned. The player will still have any ore mined before.
- Dushnamub will buy any ebony ore mined by the Dragonborn.
Bugs
|
This section contains bugs related to Gloombound Mine. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:
|
- PC 360 Sometimes it is impossible to interact with the doors, so they can be walked through as if open.
- PS3 360 All of the veins may glitch, at the same time. They look as normal ore veins, but there will be no option to mine them.
- This can be resolved by exiting and re-entering the mine.