Baldor Iron-Shaper is a Nord of the Skaal and the resident blacksmith of Skaal Village on Solstheim (Dragonborn). He takes his job seriously: as long as he is at the anvil, the Skaal’s blades stay sharp. He is also the man who holds the secret of working stalhrim, the enchanted ice that is as tough as iron and cold enough to bite.
Where to find them
When you first reach the village, Baldor is not at his forge at all. Like his neighbours, he is caught in Miraak’s spell and spends his time building a structure around the Wind Stone. Once the stone has been freed with Bend Will, he goes back to normal life: working the forge outdoors during the day and staying inside his house at night.
Quests
Baldor is the heart of A New Source of Stalhrim. Thalmor agents snatch him from the village, hoping to squeeze the secret of stalhrim smithing out of him. You find him at the Abandoned Lodge, and he points you to their ship on the northern coast, where their leader Ancarion holds a map to a hidden stalhrim source. Whether you kill Ancarion or spare him, bring the map back and Baldor names you a friend of the Skaal and teaches you to forge stalhrim weapons and armor. He never checks your story about Ancarion, so his reaction is the same either way.
If this quest overlaps with At the Summit of Apocrypha, you can’t hand it in to him until the main story is finished.
Services
Baldor trades like any blacksmith, offering weapons, armor and smithing materials. His stock has a few Solstheim extras: ancient Nordic pickaxes, raw stalhrim and finished stalhrim armor and weapons. After the quest you can use his forge to craft your own stalhrim gear. His advice is simple: dig it up in Raven Rock Mine or the new source with an ancient Nord pickaxe, and if you can already work ebony, you can work stalhrim.
Personality & relationships
Baldor is warm, grateful and devout. He calls on the All-Maker in nearly every blessing, and he remembers you as the outsider who lifted the dark spell from his people. He is a man of few words in a crisis, though: when shaman Storn Crag-Strider falls to the Black Book, his farewell is an awkward, mumbled goodbye to the old man.
Good to know
He doesn’t even know the word Thalmor; to him his kidnappers are simply elves.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim/DLC game files, written in our own words.
