Chief Burguk is the Orc warrior in charge of Dushnikh Yal. He didn’t get the job by election: he challenged his aging father to single combat and killed him, exactly as Orc custom expects. Burguk is fully aware that the same fate waits for him one day, when a son of his decides the old chief has grown too weak. That cycle is the whole point – it keeps the stronghold led by its strongest.
Where to find them
Burguk holds court in his longhouse inside Dushnikh Yal. His favorite wife Shel usually hangs around outside, near his throne.
Quests
- The Forgemaster’s Fingers – if you are not an Orc, bringing this artifact back to the stronghold earns you the title of blood-kin of the Orcs from Burguk, and opens up his training.
- Fight! Fight! – ask him for work and he challenges you to a brawl with 100 gold on the line. Win and you walk away with 200.
- Lurbuk – if you kill Lurbuk before the Dark Brotherhood contract on him, Burguk may either send thugs after you or mail you a thank-you letter.
Services
Burguk is a master-level One-Handed trainer. He’ll warn you up front that you’ll never be as good as him, then teach you anyway.
Personality & relationships
As chief, Burguk is the only man in the stronghold allowed to marry and father children, and he has three wives: Shel (his favorite), Arob the Hunts-Wife and Gharol the Forge-Wife. His children are Nagrub, Arob’s son and hunting apprentice; Umurn, Gharol’s son and smithing apprentice; and Lash gra-Dushnikh, Gharol’s daughter, who ran off to Karthwasten. Shel hasn’t given him a child yet. His mother is the wise woman Murbul, and his brothers are Ghorbash the Iron Hand and Oglub.
Family life is not exactly calm. Gharol fishes for compliments and asks to take Shel’s seat at the feast, and Burguk shuts that down fast. Shel, in turn, runs to him when Gharol threatens to send her into the mine, and he promises to sort it out. He also checks in with Murbul about whether Malacath is pleased with the tribe, and is told that the stronghold is the strongest around.
Ask him how Orcs govern themselves and he explains the Code of Malacath: an unwritten law every stronghold follows. For outsiders it boils down to don’t steal and don’t attack anyone, or pay the Blood Price in gold or blood. He also names the strongholds he considers worth mentioning: Dushnikh Yal, Mor Khazgur, Narzulbur and Largashbur.
Good to know
- During the brawl he sometimes runs off to another part of the camp; if he does, the fistfight can turn into a real fight, and he can end up dead.
- The option to train One-Handed with him can occasionally vanish from his dialogue.
Quick facts
- Race: Orc
- Gender: Male
- Level: 15
- Class: Warrior
- Status: Killable
- Found in: Dushnikh Yal
- Services: Trains One-Handed (Master); brawl challenge for gold
- Trains: OneHanded – Master (up to 90)
- Base ID: 00013B79
Also in Dushnikh Yal
Dulug, Ghak, Gharol, Mahk, Murbul, Nagrub, Oglub, Shel, Umurn, Arob.
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.