Dragonborn:Nchardak

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Dwarven Ruin: Nchardak
# of Zones	4
Clearable	Yes
Dungeon	Yes
Respawn Time	Never (storage is safe)
Level	Min: 25
Occupants
Dwarven Automatons, Reavers
Console Location Code(s)
DLC2Nchardak00, DLC2Nchardak01, DLC2Nchardak02, DLC2Nchardak03, DLC2NchardakExterior01, DLC2NchardakExterior02, DLC2NchardakExterior03, DLC2NchardakExterior04, DLC2NchardakExterior05
Region
Solstheim
Location
North-northeast of Tel Mithryn East of Ashfallow Citadel
Special Features
# of Tanning Racks	1
Ore Veins
# of Malachite	4

Nchardak

Nchardak is a largely sunken Dwarven ruin located north-northeast of Tel Mithryn. The inside of the ruin cannot be entered until after starting the quest The Path of Knowledge.

Looking down the stairs toward the Dwemer ruins

Nchardak was known as the "City of a Hundred Towers". It was also the largest, and perhaps the most advanced, of the great Dwemer Archives. Old stories tell of the time when Nords invaded the city and, in response, the Dwemer submerged the entire city beneath the sea until the Nords gave up. At its height, the great workshops of Nchardak were said to be able to produce one complete automaton every day. Much of the army that fought at the Battle of Red Mountain came from Nchardak. Though most of the city is now flooded, the pumps still work when activated with a control cube.

Related Quests

• The Kagrumez Gauntlet: Survive the Kagrumez trials to claim a unique prize.
• The Path of Knowledge: Discover the locations of the Black Books in order to stop Miraak.

Nchardak

Exterior

Before entering the ruins, you will have to fight a fairly large group of reavers. Neloth, who joins you during The Path of Knowledge, will unlock the door with a control cube he found the last time he was inside Nchardak once the entrance is clear.

Nchardak Reading Room

The small room contains the Black Book you're looking for, however Neloth goes on to explain that the only way to unlock the mechanism is to restore the steam supply. He will open another gate with his cube and continue on down toward the boiler. Follow him.

Nchardak Great Chamber

Walk down the length of the chamber as Neloth explains a bit of the city's history. At the end of the path, he will activate the pumps with the control cube. With four more cubes, he claims that you can reactivate the steam supply to the room upstairs. Neloth was able to examine a map that shows the cube locations in that section of the city. Take Neloth's cube off of the pedestal and use it to activate another control switch off to the left, where Neloth leads you. You can now enter the Workshop.

Lower the water levels with two of the control cubes using the same pedestals that Neloth used near the beginning of the quest. There will be more enemies as you continue to follow Neloth towards the next destination below, locked by a control switch.

Before going through this northern door, head to the southern end of the chamber. A control pedestal in the alcove here lowers the water further, allowing access to a gated area at the bottom of the nearby ramp. Use a control cube to open the gate here and loot the chest within. A further chest can be found at the northern end of the bottom level, in the water underneath the ramp. Return to the southern alcove to reclaim your control cube and raise the water level before continuing through the northern door.

Take only one of the previously placed cubes from their control switches and use the four cubes on the marked switches below in order to activate the steam pumps. Defeat the Dwarven Centurion and head back to the Reading Room. Talk to Neloth to receive the cube he carries. Without it, you cannot complete the quest.

Nchardak Workshop

Take the cube on a pedestal to your left, which stops the flame traps blocking your path. Be careful of Dwarven spiders as you enter the "Great Workshops of Nchardak".

Place a cube on one of the pedestals at the end of the next chamber to lower the water level. You will encounter a Dwarven centurion as well as Dwarven spiders and spheres as the water levels are altered. Head down to the lowest level, which is now available to you, and place the second cube on the center pedestal in order to open up a staircase. You can access these stairs by dropping down onto the lower right level from the upper floor near the first cube you placed. Go through the door in front of you and take a right (the left leads to a small chest) and grab the third cube.

The water level will alter again and more enemies will make an appearance. There is a door right across from the third cube - head on in and fight your way through the now-flooded halls. The last cube, which will raise the room's water level once grabbed, is directly in front of a Dwarven centurion you encounter. In the same room, there is a staircase that takes you to another pedestal that allows passage over a gap. You should recognize the next room as the first portion of the Workshop. Head back into the Great Chamber with the collection of four cubes.

Nchardak Aqueduct

The last cube is located in this room, along with the pump activator that needs to be access by lowering bridges. Just above the entrance are three control switches. The control switches need to be activated in a specific order: start with the left switch, then activate the right one. With all three bridges down, defeat the enemies and cross over. Go up the stairs at the end and activate the pedestal on the left to lower the water level. Drop down and activate another pedestal directly across from where you were (to the left of the room's entrance). Inside, evade the spinning blades and activate the control switch to open the door to the last cube. Take it and hurry back to the main room before the raising water drowns you. After taking the cube you placed earlier by crossing the three bridges once more, exit the room with a total of three cubes. Before leaving, grab the Kagrumez resonance gem located in the northeast chamber of the Aqueduct behind a Dwarven Ballista.

Notes

• The Dwarven text on the ring around the book's repository in the Reading Room reads "ENKAGR BCHARN" (or possibly "BCHARN ENKAGR", depending on where you start), repeated 4 times. It is not known what this means, though the word "Bcharn" has been seen before, as "Karstangz-Bcharn", a device seen in Tribunal, which could control the weather.

Notable Loot

• There is a chest hidden under the platform midway on the ramp between Nchardak's Reading Room and Great Chamber.
• There is a accessible apprentice locked chest at the bottom of the Nchardak Great Chamber. When drained, you can mine three Malachite Ore Veins. When drained with an available Control Cube, you can access a chest behind locked doors. Both chests include leveled enchanted weapons.

Bugs

• You may be unable to place any cubes in the control switches, even though you have them. ^?
• Once the exterior resets, the door which requires the cube to open relocks, resulting in the dungeon becoming inaccessible.
  • Fast travel to Raven Rock, then fast travel back to Nchardak. The doors will now be accessible.

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