Beyond Skyrim:Cyrodiil/Fort Pale Pass

Military Fort: Fort Pale Pass (view on map)
# of Zones	4
Clearable	No
Respawn Time	10 days
Console Location Code(s)
CYRPalePassExterior01 CYRFortPalePass CYRFortPalePassCaptainsQuarters CYRFortPalePassPrison CYRFortPalePassSubstructure
Region
County Bruma
Location
South of the Skyrim Border Gate
Special Features
# of Tanning Racks	1
# of Forges/Anvils	1
# of Grindstones	1
# of Workbenches	1
# of Wood Chopping Blocks	2

Fort Pale Pass

Fort Pale Pass is a large fort occupied by Imperial soldiers, located south of the Skyrim Border Gate.

The fort mostly watches for illegal border crossings and is garrisoned by fifteen soldiers of the Imperial Legion, led by Legate Precilius Varro. The current fort is built directly above an ancient Akaviri military fortress, which the Tsaesci used as a staging post for their invasion of Tamriel in the First Era.

The fort has an exterior courtyard and four interior zones: Fort Pale Pass, Fort Pale Pass Captain's Quarters, Fort Pale Pass Prison and Fort Pale Pass Substructure.

Related Quests

• A Stormcloak in Chains: Help or hinder a captured Stormcloak.
• Fallen Stormcloak: Track down three fallen Stormcloaks and the keys to their locked supplies.
• The Courier: Help a son of Skyrim rescue his friend and his important documents.
• Upon My Honor: Find out what happened to a missing Imperial soldier
• Within the Ruins: Clear Fort Pale Pass of a spider infestation.

Notes

• The third zone is locked until you start the quest A Stormcloak in Chains, while the fourth can only be accessed during Within the Ruins.
• Fort Pale Pass also appeared in Oblivion.
• In the Substructure you will find 9 fly amanita plants, 11 egg sacs, 11 white cap plants, 15 clouded funnel plants, 19 namira's rot plants, 21 cairn bolete plants and 21 imp stool plants.

Walkthrough

Exterior

The fort's courtyard is guarded by three soldiers and hosts a stable with a bay horse as well as an archery target practice. Walkways ring the fort and you can access all zones but the Substructure from here. There are also two towers on the northern side of the road - you can reach the top of each by jumping from the rocks behind them, although they only host a few skeletons.

There are also a number of outlying ruined towers which follow the road as it winds south. The first tower to the east is collapsed but you can jump inside and find a dead Stormcloak soldier and a chest with a key-requiring lock. On the soldier's body you will find an embossed Nordic key and a scrawled missive ordering him to spy on the fort. You can climb up the first tower to the west: on top are three rats guarding a chest, a skeleton and a leveled sword. During and after The Courier quest, you will find Ungveir here. The second tower to the east is also collapsed and very difficult to reach - your best bet is to climb up the rocks behind Snowstone Rest and then make your way across the mountain face until you can jump in. You'll find a dead bandit and an adept lock chest.

Fort Pale Pass

The forge area

Ten soldiers take turns patrolling and resting in the main area of the fort. The first room upon entering is the dining room, with plenty of food and drink spread across a few tables; a small pantry nearby contains further provisions. The corridor to the left takes you past a weapons rack and a chopping block to a winding staircase, leading up to a storage area where you'll find the Block skill book A Dance in Fire, v2, some Imperial armor, two health potions and some gold. The ladder takes you to the top of a tower, where an archer stands guard alongside an imperial bow and steel arrows. The southern corridors both take you to the forge, with the eastern one leading you past the dormitory, where you will find seventeen beds and chests, various items of Imperial armor, a few health potions and a cooking pot.

The forge is home to the Imperial Quartermaster and boasts a full set of smithing apparatus and a chopping block. Nearby are the Smithing skill book Light Armor Forging as well as a pair of Hide Bracers of Minor Wielding, a Blacksmith's Potion, two steel ingots, five iron ingots, two pieces of leather and three leather strips. The balcony above the forge hosts two shelves with a topaz, a garnet, some armor, potions and gold. There are also three locked display cases containing steel and iron weapons. Following the corridors towards the west brings you to the armory, where numerous items of Imperial heavy and light armor, shields and weapons are on display. Continuing along the corridor eventually leads to the prison and further on to the captain's quarters.

Fort Pale Pass Captain's Quarters

The fort's chapel

The Captain's Quarters can be accessed both from the exterior and from Fort Pale Pass. The main area is a tower, with stairs winding up and down, patrolled by two soldiers. At the bottom are Legate Varro's chambers, where you will find a bed, a chest and a writing table with a map of Cyrodiil, a Scroll of Courage and a letter from his sister. The Alchemy skill book A Game at Dinner is on a nearby bookshelf while a copy of the Remanada is on a bookshelf just outside. Next to the bed is a weapons rack with an Imperial Sword of Embers and an ancestral Varro blade. The expert-locked display case holds an Iron Battleaxe of Fatigue. Up the stairs is the Fort's chapel, with rows of pews and two scrolls: a Scroll of Calm underneath the pulpit and a Scroll of Magelight on the nearby writing table.

Fort Pale Pass Prison

You can enter the prison both from Fort Pale Pass and the exterior - both doors require a key you acquire during A Stormcloak in Chains, and the exterior door is guarded night and day. Inside you will find a soldier and the jailer, as well as a rather well stocked torture chamber. There are seven locked cells; three house common prisoners and a master-locked one holds an irascible Stormcloak prisoner. The key to the cells is on the table in the torture chamber. Under some hay in a corner of the prison is a trapdoor to the Substructure.

Fort Pale Pass Substructure

The source of the Substructure's infestation

You will only be able to enter the Substructure during Within the Ruins, when Legate Varro gives you the key to unlock the trapdoor in the prison leading to it. Most of this zone is rather dark, so torches or a light spell are recommended.

After a lengthy trudge through torch-lit corridors, you arrive at the Akaviri fort: a series of ruined towers and chambers. Follow the winding stairs down the tower and head southeast into a large room with two spiders. Cross the rickety plank bridge to the southern side of the chamber, where the old sleeping quarters are choked with spider webs and inhabited by two spiders. Here you will find a coin purse, an Alessian sword and some iron and steel weapons.

Head up the nearby stairs and you will arrive at the bottom of a collapsed tower. On the lower level are two more spiders, while on the upper are another three critters as well as the source of the infestation: the Broodmother, a giant spider. Also lying scattered nearby are an assortment of iron and steel weapons. On the southern side is a mysterious Akaviri fire burning white; inspecting it will prompt a message that the flames "hunger to touch an item forged of ancient metal". If you are in possession of the blade Hvitbrand, you will be able to temper it in the flames, improving its enchantment and value.

The quickest way out is to head back down the stairs, take the northern corridor and jump down to the room with the rickety bridge. Instead, just before the ledge is a narrow passage east, blocked by a spider web. Take it and loot the boss chest in the next room before carefully jump down a couple of rocky ledges until you reach the old, mushroom-overgrown jails. Ignore the cell to the north and instead head southwest, battling past six spiders as you make your way through the jail. Behind the expert-locked door of one of the cells is an armory with an urn, a chest, a honed Alessian sword, two Alessian swords, a number of iron and steel weapons, an imperial armor, two imperial helmets and the unique boots of Mishaxhi.

Move on to the north into a chamber with some abandoned beer vats guarded by a spider - above you is the rickety bridge you previously crossed. After battling past another spider, head up some stairs and you will arrive back at the very first tower, near the tunnel leading back to the fort.

An alternative route from the Broodmother is to circle clockwise round the tower and take the winding stairs on the northern side. These lead to a large room with four spiders, which you can dispatch via the nearby hanging oil lanterns. Pressing on north and cutting through two spider webs takes you back to the start.