Skyrim:Silent City Catacombs

The direct entrance to the catacombs is on the river in the center of the cavern, just east of Blackreach's city. The catacombs also connect to the Pumping Station through a door at the west end.

 
Walkthrough
Exterior
East-southeast of the entrance on the other side of the river are two leveled chaurus beside a stone wall, with several chaurus egg sacs, a geode vein, and a corundum ore vein nearby. A second geode vein can be found to the northeast. The entrance looks like a sewer outlet, with a crimson nirnroot growing beside the unlocked gate.

Silent City Catacombs
Upon entering, you emerge in a partially flooded cave, with stone steps leading out of the water on your right. There are two glowing mushrooms on the cave wall on your left, and beyond the mushrooms is a geode vein. A doorway to the west leads into a corridor, with an unlocked chest ahead. Moving around the corner to the north, you will encounter a Falmer. It is standing by a T-junction, with a closed gate ahead to the north and another corridor to the west. Take care at the junction to avoid a pair of well-disguised pressure plates that trigger a slicer trap. The trap can be used to deal with a second Falmer that is lurking partway down the western corridor. Behind the unlocked gate to the north is a lever which will toggle part of the slicer trap, presumably so you can lure your enemies here and kill them. The second Falmer is standing by a caved-in corridor on the left with a single chaurus egg sac, while beyond the cave-in is a second pair of disguised pressure plates triggering a second slicer trap.

thumb|right|Inside the catacombsThe corridor then continues into the lower level of a two-level room. The upper level is not reachable from the lower level. There are two Falmer on the upper level that can snipe down on you if you are detected, one an archer and the other a magic user. The first Falmer lurks on a stone bridge that connects two sections of the room overhead, and the second is near the back of the room. This part of the corridor is full of shallow water, making sneaking even harder. The path turns to the north, and continues through a circular opening.

Beyond the opening is a room that doglegs to the left, then continues through another doorway into a room with metal grating for a floor and water beneath. A Falmer lurks just around the corner to the west. It is standing by a square hole in the grating where a sheet has fallen loose and dropped to the bottom of the water. To the south of the opening is a single chaurus egg sac. Jump into the water to find three unlocked chests hidden below. To find the first chest, swim east as far as you can go, then turn south. The other two are next to each other at the west end of the underwater area, on the left. Exiting the water is simple due to the grating to the north of the hole having dropped slightly, forming a ramp out. The path continues to the west on the far side of the gap before turning to the south.

After turning south, the corridor exits the grated area and climbs a ramp to another room containing a Falmer. A hole knocked through the eastern wall in the southeast corner leads to the upper level of the two-level room you passed through earlier, where the two Falmer were. The magic-using Falmer carries a shaman's key. On your left is a flight of stairs leading to a bridge over the lower corridor, with stairs back down on the other side. The far side has a geode vein on the ground beside the stairs, and another bridge leading to a closed door to the south. On your right is a culvert emerging from a caved-in tunnel in the west wall before dropping onto the lower path. Instead of crossing the two bridges, you can simply turn right from the previous room and cross the culvert to reach the southern door more directly.

Through the door is a large open room, with a raised section on your right. There can be up to three Falmer here: one on the raised section, who is a magic user and carries a shaman key, and two in the southwestern corner by some stairs leading up to the raised section. A door in the northwestern corner leads to the Pumping Station.

Maps
thumb|left|Map of the Silent City Catacombs