Gloombound Mine

Gloombound Mine
Map
Hold	Eastmarch
Location	Next to Narzulbur, southeast of Windhelm
Type	Mine
Characters	See below
Location ID	GloomboundMine01 GloomboundMineExterior

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, one can also clear Kolskeggr Mine and talk to the Orc in the Miner's Barracks after turning in the quest to Pavo. He will give access to the strongholds and will mark two strongholds in The Reach on the 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 will not stop anyone else from mining the ore veins. If one is not an Orc or Blood-Kin, they will tell the Dragonborn 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 ebony 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 or Daedric armor, including a melee weapon and a bow or 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. 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 consequently turn hostile and attack.

There is a spot in the mine where the ground can fall through and kill or injure miners on the level below, causing them to turn 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 mining all the ores, it will be marked as "cleared" on the map; afterwards, ten days of in-game time must pass so the ores can regenerate.

Characters

Blacksmith

• Dushnamub

Miners

• Mogdurz
• Bor
• Gadba gro-Largash
• Mul gro-Largash

Mining

There are sixteen ebony ore veins, six iron ore veins and five loose ebony ore that can be found in the mine; in order relative to the entrance:

1. Continue down the passageway; take the first right; there is an ebony vein at the end.
2. Turn around and walk straight; there is an ebony vein on the right wall past the table.
3. Directly across from #2, there is an ebony vein on the floor.
4. Continue down the passageway; there is an iron vein on the left.
5. At the end of the passageway, there is an ebony vein on the wall.
6. 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.
7. At the top of the stairs, there is an ebony vein directly to the left.
8. At the top of the stairs, there is an ebony vein on the wall to the right of #7.
9. Continuing down the passageway, there is an ebony vein on the ground on the right.
10. About four paces further, there is an iron vein on the ground on the left.
11. After two more paces, there is an ebony vein on the right.
12. Directly opposite to #11 is another ebony vein.
13. 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.
14. Continue ahead; there is an ebony vein on the left, beneath the lantern (as well as three ebony ore in the cart next to it)
15. Keep going; there is an ebony vein on the right side wall.
16. There is a small ebony vein on the ground on the left, near the end of the passage.
17. Above #16, on the wall, is another ebony vein.
18. Immediately to the right of #16 is another ebony vein.
19. Above #17, on the wall, is another ebony vein.
20. To the right of #17 is another ebony vein.
21. Above #19 is another ebony vein.

The loose ebony ores' locations are:

1. On the second floor of the mine, to the right, are three 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.)
2. Continuing forwards, there are two ebony ores in a bucket in front of a bunch of ebony veins.

Gallery

A miner working

Hallway with a miner at the end

An intersection in the mine

Trivia

• On occasion, the miners present in Gloombound Mine may stop the Dragonborn from reaching particular ores, saying "Someone else is using this." Unless one is an Orc or Blood-Kin, the miner will not move away from the vein, but simply say that the Dragonborn is not welcome there. Because of this, the Dragonborn 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 away.
  • 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.
• All of the ore within the mine will be restored after ten days of in-game time.
• 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: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

•  PC   360   Sometimes, it is impossible to interact with the doors, and they can be walked through as if open.
•  360   PS3   All of the veins may be unable to be mined. This can be resolved by exiting and re-entering the mine.
• Waiting three in-game days inside of the mine, then exiting and re-entering the mine will cause all of the ore to respawn.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim