Skyrim:Fort Sungard

Military Fort: Fort Sungard (view on map) (lore page)
# of Zones	5
Clearable	No
Respawn Time	10 days
Level	Min: 6
Occupants
Forsworn; either Imperials or Stormcloaks
Important Treasure
Guide to Better Thieving Last Scabbard of Akrash
Console Location Code(s)
FortSungard01, FortSungard02, FortSungard03, FortSungard04, FortSungard05
Region
The Reach
Location
East-southeast of Markarth South-southeast of Rorikstead
Special Features
# of Alchemy Labs	1
# of Forges/Anvils	2
# of Grindstones	1
# of Workbenches	1
# of Cooking Pots/Spits	1

Fort Sungard

Fort Sungard is a large fort east-southeast of Markarth initially occupied by Forsworn. It contains five zones: Fort Sungard Muster, Fort Sungard Shrine, Fort Sungard Annex, Fort Sungard Tower, and Fort Sungard Oubliette.

The fort will be taken over by whoever wins the Civil War, or by the faction currently holding Markarth if you first clear it of Forsworn.

Related Quests

• The Battle for Fort Sungard (Imperial): Retake Fort Sungard for the Imperials. (radiant)
• The Battle for Fort Sungard (Stormcloaks): Take this fort in the name of the Stormcloaks. (radiant)
• Skilled Apprenticeship: Retrieve a skill book for Ghorza gra-Bagol.

Walkthrough

Exterior

The fort is strategically located atop a small mountain at the crossroads between the Reach, Whiterun Hold, and Falkreath Hold, with the plains to the north offering the easiest approach. Initially the fort will be occupied by Forsworn, but the building interiors are entirely free of them, making exploration easy. Although there are several stealthy and covert methods to enter the interior of this fortress, the most likely route of entrance is the exterior gate. By default, the exterior of the fortress will be teeming with Forsworn, although this will be the only location in the fort inhabited by them. The Forsworn will be replaced by soldiers of the faction currently controlling Markarth if the Forsworn are killed, or if The Reach changes hands during the civil war, it will be automatically retaken by the new regime. The route leading up to the main gate is scattered with wooden towers and defenses, and a melee warrior can easily get overwhelmed by the Forsworn here. The next tier (middle tier) of the battlements only has two defenders, who guard Fort Sungard Muster. The highest tier is guarded by three Forsworn. Up here there are a couple doors to Fort Sungard Tower and a door to Fort Sungard Annex. There is little loot in this area of Fort Sungard, aside from a chest to the right of the fort's main gate.

Occupants

• 5 leveled archer Forsworn (two are guarding the front gate, one is on the middle tier, two are on the highest tier)
• 3 leveled melee Forsworn (one is guarding the front gate, one is on the middle tier, one is on the highest tier)

Fort Sungard Muster

The Muster is largely the living and eating quarters for the fort. The top level makes up the sleeping area, leading down into the kitchen and dining area, before ending on the lowest level in the pantry. There are three entrances into this area. The pantry exit is a small grate that allows for access between the exterior and interior of the fort's walls. The living area contains exits to the roofs and courtyard of the Fort. There is a copy of the Smithing skill book Last Scabbard of Akrash on the highest level at the end of hall on a table with a few ingots. This is the copy Ghorza will point you to in the related quest. Weapon racks on either side hold assorted bows and greatswords. Leveled armor boots will appear behind the weapons, including Creation Club content depending on what has been installed. Other than that, there are only loose foodstuffs, a stray charred skeever hide in the pantry, and a taproot in the kitchen on the bottom shelf of a wooden bench in the center of the room.

Treasure

• The Smithing skill book Last Scabbard of Akrash on the highest level at the end of the hall on a table.
• Several chests in the sleeping area on the highest level.

Other

• A cooking pot in the kitchen down the stairs from the sleeping area.

Fort Sungard Shrine

The Shrine is a small area of the fort with only two rooms. The bottom room is an alchemy lab with a few stray alchemy ingredients. The top room has a shrine. If the fort is controlled by the Forsworn, the shrine is a Shrine of Kynareth; if Imperials control the fort, it is a Shrine of Akatosh; if Stormcloaks control the fort, it is a Shrine of Talos. Aside from that, there is only an adept-locked strong box sitting on the hay bales near the alchemy lab.

Treasure

• A strong box on the haystack next to the alchemy table.

Other

• A shrine on the upper floor, which will be dedicated to Kynareth if Forsworn occupy the castle, Akatosh if the Imperials control the fort, or Talos if the Stormcloaks are the occupiers.
• An alchemy lab on the lower floor.

Fort Sungard Annex

The Annex is the armory of the fort and contains a few floors with stray armor and weapons. At the top is the entrance to the fort, while going deeper leads past a jail cell and ultimately to an officer's office and bedroom. The exit at the bottom will lead to a small smithing area on a porch that overlooks Whiterun Hold.

Treasure

• On top of the chimney in the first room stands a bucket with a random war axe lying on it and a random potion hidden inside the bucket.
• Two chests in the officer's office and bedroom.
• A key to Fort Sungard Jail on the officer's table.
• A Scroll of Call to Arms under the officer's table.

Other

• A forge, grindstone, and workbench on the balcony that overlooks Whiterun.

Fort Sungard Tower

The Tower is a four-story building with several exits to various levels of the fort. The bottom level leads to Fort Sungard Oubliette, the second level leads to the courtyard, the third level leads to the fort rooftops, and the top level leads to the tower's roof itself. A cart on the second level has two moonstone ores lying on it.

Treasure

• Two moonstone ores in a cart on the second level.
• Two leveled potions of any variety on a table, in the room with no door on the second level.
• A chest next to the shelf between the two spiral staircases on the second level.

Fort Sungard Oubliette

The Oubliette is the jail tower of the fort. A ladder leads to the top of the tower, and a secret exit can be found on the bottom. The cells on the main floor are empty, but on the bottom floor there is a large drop down that can potentially kill very low level players. A bandit prisoner discovered this fact when he was cast into the oubliette and was crushed by the fall.

Treasure

• In the chamber after the large fall, next to the bandit corpse, are the Pickpocket skill book Guide to Better Thieving and a Fort Sungard Jail Key. A few lockpicks are scattered around the corpse and the locked door out of the area.

Notes

• A note urging the Forsworn to hasten the taking of the fort is found in the tent with the boss chest at Serpent's Bluff Redoubt.
• If you open the local map at the crossroads east of the fort, the area will be called "Granite Hill". Granite Hill was to be a village in Falkreath Hold that was omitted from the final game, similar to Heljarchen in the Pale. It is referenced in the game files, one of Jarl Siddgeir's conversations with his steward Nenya, and in the book Holdings of Jarl Gjalund.
• The fort is very near Hendraheim^CC, which is to the southwest on the other side of the road.

Bugs

• When exiting to the smithing balcony of the Annex, your follower may become trapped there.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.1, fixes this bug.
  • You can fast travel with Fort Sungard as the destination to solve this.
  • If fast travel is not an option and you have a horse with you, you can use your horse to "push" your follower off the broken part of the smithing balcony. You can then have them follow you down the mountain and push them again onto the ground.
• The grindstone in the Annex may not be interactable.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.2.1, fixes this bug.
• A Forsworn may spawn inside the Shrine, making it impossible to reach or kill them.
  • This can be remedied by standing to the left of the door and casting rune spells onto the lip part of the shrine.
• As you exit the Oubliette, you may encounter a group of three Forsworn who are not hostile, even if you haven't completed No One Escapes Cidhna Mine in favor of the Forsworn. If you interact with them, they will simply say greetings and other random replies.
• Interacting with the cooking pot in the Muster will leave you standing on a foot of thin air as you enter the cooking menu and the animation begins, due to the pot being set up too high in the fireplace. ^?
• Once the Forsworn are slain, the fort may not be occupied by the Imperial Legion like it should - the Forsworn will simply respawn. ^?