Nchuand-Zel is a Dwemer ruin buried beneath Markarth, entered through Understone Keep and the Nchuand-Zel Excavation Site. An expedition went in to study the ruins after the automatons shut down – then the Falmer moved in and the expedition stopped writing home. Head in for the quest, the loot and a truly ridiculous amount of Dwemer scrap.
What you’ll find
- A huge entrance cavern with bridges and platforms over water, connecting to the Quarters, Armory and Control sections.
- Lots of Falmer, often with pet skeevers, plus Dwarven Spiders and Dwarven Spheres.
- A Dwarven Centurion that wakes up after you reactivate the defences.
- Fire traps, spike traps in doorways and an arrow pressure plate in Control.
- Adept- and Expert-locked gates hiding chests and gear.
- The bodies and journals of expedition members Erj, Krag, Stromm and Staubin.
- A harmless torture contraption in the Quarters that you can play with via a lever.
Quests
The Lost Expedition – Calcelmo asks you to kill Nimhe, the giant frostbite spider blocking the dig, then find out what happened to his team. Pull the lever in Control to reactivate the automatons, grab Staubin’s diary and report back for leveled gold. You can also skip the chat and pick the adept lock, or pickpocket the key from Aicantar.
Notable items
- A full set of Dwarven Armor behind an Expert-locked gate next to the Centurion statue in the Armory.
- Alteration skill book Sithis, on the bench beside Krag’s body.
- A Moonstone ore vein by the door to Control.
- Enough Dwemer salvage for over 300 Dwarven metal ingots.
Tips
The fastest route skips the Armory and Quarters: take the dirt path to the right of the entrance straight to the Control door. Open with sneak shots on the bridge – an alerted Falmer may even tumble into the water and die on the spot. After pulling the lever, retreat up the dark dirt path by the entrance; the Centurion can’t climb it, so you can plink it to death from safety. Bring a big bag, or a pack mule follower, for all that scrap.
Good to know
Once the defences are back online, you can watch the automatons and Falmer have a little brawl of their own – front-row seats, no charge.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.
