Harmugstahl is a small fort northeast of Markarth, lying in the general direction of Solitude. It is compact and easy to navigate by Skyrim standards, but it has a nasty twist: the resident mage has been turning frostbite spiders into enchanted weapons. If spiders already make you uneasy, magic spiders are not going to help.
What you’ll find
- An adventurer finishing off a spider right at the entrance. He has had enough of this place and is leaving – take the hint, or don’t.
- Spiders imbued with fire, frost or shock. They glow with their element and use matching special attacks. Spider corpses lie on tables all over, and looting them may set them alight.
- A lever puzzle controlling a passage of spiked metal bars.
- An adept-locked door, plus two more locked doors you can open with Kornalus’ key.
- Kornalus Frey, the mage behind the experiments. His room has a Shrine of Julianos and a few alchemy ingredients.
Solving the lever puzzle
Number the four levers 1 to 4 from left to right as you face the corridor. With all levers up, pull lever 1, wait until the two left spikes have fully retracted, then pull lever 4. The key is patience: a lever pulled while spikes are still moving does nothing. If you have already fiddled with them, remember that lever 1 flips spikes 1 and 2, lever 2 flips 1–3, lever 3 flips 2–4 and lever 4 flips 3 and 4.
Quests
Harmugstahl is a popular spot for radiant quests. It can be the target of the Companions jobs Family Heirloom and Aela‘s Totems of Hircine, Enthir‘s staff request in Arniel’s Endeavor, the Dawnguard rune hammer in Lost Relic (Dawnguard), Neloth‘s Wind and Sand (Dragonborn), a Fetch Me That Book! request for Urag gro-Shub, The Forgemaster’s Fingers, and a Trouble in Skyrim bounty to kill its leader.
Notable items
- Alchemy skill book A Game at Dinner, behind the locked door.
- A journal on the alchemy lab.
- Possible location for Meridia’s Beacon, Shalidor’s Insights or the Staff of Tandil.
Tips
Check which element a spider glows with before charging in, and swap to the right resistance potion if you have one. If the spike corridor refuses to cooperate, leaving the fort and coming back in often resets it.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Dragontooth Crater, Bruca’s Leap Redoubt, Druadach Redoubt, Karthwasten, Shrine to Peryite.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.