[8.20] Cracked Tusk Keep

[8.20] Cracked Tusk Keep

Related Quests

• Daedric Quest: Pieces of the Past

Recommended Level: 6

Dungeon: Bandit Camp

• Ghunzul
• Orc

Crafting

• Alchemy Lab
• Blacksmith Forge
• Grindstone
• Workbench

Dangers

• Dart Trap (pedestal pressure plate)
• Swinging Wall Trap (tripwire)

Quest Items

• Shards of Mehrune’s Razor

Collectibles

• Skill Book [Light Armor]: Rislav the Righteous [C2/10]
• Skill Book [Smithing]: Light Armor Forging
• Chests
• Potions aplenty
• Loose gear

This old, abandoned Imperial Fort on Falkreath’s western border has been taken over by Orcish bandits. Unlike a true Orcish stronghold, the Orcs here are implacably hostile and will attack you on sight. The leader of these brigands, the warlord Ghunzul, is a follower of Mehrunes Dagon and possesses the shattered blade fragments of Mehrunes’ Razor—a quest item for Daedric Quest: Pieces of the Past.

Exterior

Try to pick off the exterior guards from range, or sneak into the fort via one of the two crumbling northern towers. After dispatching the guards, search the forge area for loose gear, then claim the two chests: one in the northwest tower and one high atop the roof of the keep. A Skill Book sits on a table near the Workbench.

• Crafting: Blacksmith Forge, Grindstone, Workbench
• Skill Book [Smithing]: Light Armor Forging
• Chest (Locked: Master)
• Chest (Locked: Apprentice)
• Loose gear

Cracked Tusk Keep (Interior)

The keep features three access points: a front door, a basement door to the north, and a rooftop trapdoor atop the southeast tower (cross the lookout platforms along the stronghold’s exterior walls to reach it).

If you have solid lockpicking skills, pick the locked basement door (Locked: Novice) and the wall cage just inside and to the right (Locked: Expert), and you can enter the vaults without having to fight any of the enemies in the Keep.

Otherwise, enter the front door and dispatch the two Orcs there, then take the southeast door to the tower. There, you’ll find a brute named Ghunzul—slay or pickpocket him to obtain a useful key (the same key can be found on a nearby nightstand). Loot the large chest in Ghunzul’s room before heading down into the keep’s basement, where you can use the key you found on Ghunzul to open the wall cage. Then press the button to lower the gate that blocks the stairwell. Continue down to the lower vaults.

• Crafting: Alchemy Lab
• Cracked Tusk Vault Key
• Cracked Tusk Vault Key (Ghunzul)
• Chest
• Potions
• Loose gear

Cracked Tusk Keep Vaults

Loot the two side rooms as you enter the Vaults, finding a Skill Book on a bench in one of the rooms. Then raid a chest that lies near a pair of levers that open a gate. Slowly walk forward to safely trigger the Vault’s central trip wires without suffering harm. The trip wire to the left triggers a lethal swinging spike trap and is best avoided. Loot a chest among the room’s side rubble and stand to one side of the far pedestal before removing the Shards of Mehrunes’ Razor—darts shoot down from the ceiling in front of the pedestal when you remove them.

• Area Is Locked (Expert/Key)
• Danger! Dart Trap (trip wire, pressure pedestal), Swinging Wall Trap (trip wire)
• Shards of Mehrune’s Razor
• Skill Book [Light Armor]: Rislav the Righteous [C2/10]
• Chest
• Chest (Locked: Novice)
• Potions aplenty
• Loose gear