User:Biffa/sandbox/11

Military Fort: 11 (view on map)
# of Zones	2
Clearable	No
Respawn Time	10 days
Level	Min: 6
Occupants
Warlocks and Skeletons, or Imperial Legion or Stormcloaks
Important Treasure
Warrior
Console Location Code(s)
FortKastav01, FortKastav02
Region
Winterhold
Location
Next to the road to Winterhold spanning a pass through the mountains
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Grindstones	1

Fort Kastav

11 is a fort northwest of Windhelm on the main Whiterun-Winterhold road, initially occupied by warlocks and skeletons. This is the only fort not originally held by bandits.

Either once you have cleared the fort or during the related civil war quests, the fort becomes occupied by either Stormcloaks or Imperial Legion. The interior comprises two areas: the Fort Kastav Prison and the Fort Kastav Captain's Quarters.

Related Quests

• Rescue from Fort Kastav: Take Fort Kastav for the Imperials and rescue the prisoners within. (radiant)
• The Battle for Fort Kastav: Reclaim this fort for the Stormcloaks. (radiant)

Walkthrough

Exterior

When Held by Warlocks

The fort is situated in a mountain pass which it spans almost completely, leaving only enough room for the road. It has two skeletons patrolling the walls, and one on a lookout post. The compound houses two leveled necromancers who will emerge and attack once the skeletons raise the alarm. The exterior of Fort Kastav is quite impressive, although like other forts in Skyrim it has suffered damage. It makes use of the natural features of the mountain and boasts many lookout platforms and an extensive ramp system. Where the outer wall has crumbled wooden palisades have been installed. When approaching from the road, to enter the courtyard, use the main entrance onto the grounds, or the platform ramps in the eastern corner can provide a more stealthy approach. In the courtyard is a small open-fronted shed that contains an alchemy lab with a table behind, holding a random potion. To the left of the shed is a grindstone with a random battleaxe lying on the ground beside it.

The main building has two entrance doors, the ground floor entrance leads into the prison section, while on the first floor there is an entrance to the captain's quarters. To the left of this entrance is a campfire with a lean-to containing a bed roll beside it. Above the captain's quarters is a solid tower that can only be accessed via a ladder in the captain's quarters. There is an additional entrance to the prison via a trapdoor found by following the snowy ledge along the exterior of the bulwark on the south side of the fort. There are two beams sticking out the south side of the fort, one has a small empty cage hanging from it, the other cage has fallen below.

When Held by Stormcloaks

The walls and road that passes the fort are guarded by approx ten Stormcloaks. To the west there are two lean-tos with bed rolls under them beside an extinguished campfire, which has three whole salmon hanging above it. There are sharpened barricades in front of these. Inside the courtyard there are two horses and the alchemy lab and random potion in the shack have been replaced with a workbench, a pair of iron gauntlets, an iron shield and an iron sword.

Fort Kastav Prison

When Held by Warlocks

The main entrance leads directly into a large split-level chamber with stairs patrolled by a skeleton, descending in front of you. The stairs lead down from a balcony that extends along the length of the north and west walls and half way along the east wall. There are several hanging moss growing down from the ceiling. On your right is a narrow table with a food sack underneath and in the southwestern corner is a large, empty fireplace with numerous empty wine bottles around and on top of it. To the right of the fireplace are several unusable barrels and to the left a pile of firewood. There is nothing else on the balcony. At the bottom of the stairs there is a door in the east wall and a doorway at the end of the west wall. In the southeast corner is a raised section with a couple of steps up to it. On this is a long wooden table holding a piece of cooked beef, an open crate containing cheap plates, a human skull and a copy of the Fort Kastav Prison key. Behind the table is an unlocked chest and a set of shelves holding a random potion of healing, two common books and a small coin purse. To the right of this is a stack of open crates filled with more empty wine bottles. By the edge of the raised section against the south wall are two baskets, one contains potatoes and the other red apples. To the left of the door on the east wall is a set of shelves holding two iron maces, an iron sword and an iron greatsword. To the right are three weapon racks holding another iron sword and an iron war axe.

The doorway to the west leads under the balcony and forms a path past two pens of food and unusable barrels. On the right is a small unit, but it holds nothing of interest and high on the north wall is a weapon plaque holding an iron war axe. At the end facing west is a wooden door. Through the door is a small room containing more barrels on either side, an archery target and a ladder leading down from the trapdoor entrance located just outside the south wall. There is no access to the captain's quarters from the prison.

Through the door to the east is a wide passage, with crates on either side. In front the passage turns south and descends a long flight of stairs. At the top is a long wooden table against the east wall with two woodcutter's axes on top. At the bottom of the stairs is a short passage leading to a doorway into another room. There is a skeleton just out of sight, to the right of the doorway and opposite on the far side of the room, sitting at a table facing away from you is a leveled necromancer. The room is made up of a horseshoe-shaped balcony around a flight of stairs descending to two prison cells on either side and a fifth at the western end. The cells along the sides have part of their roofs caged so you can look down into the cells.

There is a small table on this side of the balcony with a bottle of alto wine on top and a lit brazier in the northeastern corner. To the right of this is a set of shelves holding a random potion of stamina, a sprig of frost mirriam, a garlic bulb, two bowls of bone meal, a sample of bleeding crown fungus, a potato, a tomato and two food sacks. Further to the right is a second set of shelves holding several pieces of quality crockery. In the southeastern corner are several barrels on a pile of straw and beside this is an empty chest. In the middle of the south wall is the table the necromancer was sitting at, holding another copy of Fort Kastav Prison key. Above the cells are numerous empty wine bottles. In narrow alcoves on either side of the stairs are stacks of barrels and many food sacks. The first cell on the left is master locked, the other four are all novice locked and all five can be opened using either of the prison keys found. The four cells on the sides contain a rack of dog meat each, apart from these the cells are empty.

When Held by Stormcloaks

The large split-level chamber seems devoid of soldiers. To the left of the entrance are two cupboards and a set of shelves holding mostly clutter along with a knapsack. There is also a small table and chairs with some bread and cheese on top. To the right of the stairs leading down are fur unowned single beds, along with a dresser containing a random selection of common and fine clothes and an end table. There are two bottles of Nord mead and a steel dagger on these. Beside most of the beds are pairs of boots and near the far end a set of shelves holding two woodcutter's axes. At the far end in the southwest corner is a large lit fireplace with several unusable barrels to the right with three bottles of Nord mead on top. Take care when descending the stairs as a Stormcloak soldier occasionally patrols through opens doors to the east.

At the bottom of the stairs, in he southeast corner on the raised section the table now holds two bottles of Nord mead instead of the cooked beef. Behind the table is still an unlocked chest and set of shelves, however they now hold an iron helmet with an iron shield leaning against the shelves. Through the doorway to the west everything remains as it was when the warlocks held the fort.

Through the door to the east, the table no longer holds two woodcutter's axes. In the room at the bottom of the stairs are two Stormcloaks,; one sat at the table facing away from you, opposite the doorway and the other patrolling near the cells and over the top of them. The table on this side of the balcony is now empty. The two sets of shelves along the east wall only hold clutter. The table the Stormcloak was sitting at holds an iron dagger and salmon steak.

Fort Kastav Captain's Quarters

When Held by Warlocks

These quarters are devoid of enemies and consist of a single multi-leveled chamber. On your left is a raised section with stairs leading up with barrels and food sacks on either side of the stairs. Against the east wall are a row of four weapon racks. To the right of these is a table holding an apothecary's satchel and a scroll of Conjure Frost Atronach. Further to the right are two barrels of ingredients and in the southeast corner is a ladder leading up to a trapdoor to the tower above. Coming out from the south wall is an unowned king sized bed with an unlocked chest at the foot of it and to the right of the bed on the edge of the raised section is a dresser containing random clothes and an end table with a copy of the Block skill book Warrior and a bottle of wine on top. Opposite the entrance is a long wooden table holding a bottle of each, alto wine and wine. Further to the right, against the south wall are a tall wardrobe containing more random clothes and a set of shelves holding several pieces of cheese, two copies of The Firmament, two copies of Mixed Unit Tactics and a copy of The Old Ways. In the northwest corner there are stairs descending to a low-ceilinged storage area filled with more food barrel and sacks, an unlocked chest and a small empty table.

The ladder leads outside at the rear of the quarters, with a flight of stairs leading up to the top of the building, where you'll find an altar covered in blood holding gory human remains, a steel dagger, a scroll of Conjure Familiar, a bowl of fire salts, a bowl of void salts and a large bowl also covered with blood containing a pine thrush egg, a nightshade flower, and two loose septims.

When Held by Stormcloaks

These quarters are still devoid of enemies. On the raised section the weapon racks hold a selection of iron and steel weapons, with another weapon on the table that previously held an apothecary's satchel and scroll. The barrels of ingredients have also been removed along with the bottle of wine on the end table. There are now two bottles of Nord mead and one of Honningbrew mead next to the skill book, while on the dresser is a Stormcloaks helmet and a pair of fur gauntlets. On the table opposite the entrance both bottles of wine have been removed and replaced with another bottle of Honningbrew mead. On the shelves along with the cheese are the two copies of Mixed Unit Tactics, a flute and two drums, everything else has been removed. Down the stairs underneath is still filled with many sacks and barrels of food, a table which now has a bottle of Honningbrew mead on top, with four further bottles and four bottles of Nord mead on the floor near the unlocked chest.

Notes

• The Enchanting skill book Enchanter's Primer can be found near three dead refugees between two iron ore veins. To access, take the road east from the fort's entrance, then head up the mountain path to the left just before you reach Whistling Mine. (map)

Bugs

• The trapdoor that leads outside the captain's quarters appears to be levitating.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 2.0.5, fixes this bug.