No One Escapes Cidhna Mine

No One Escapes Cidhna Mine is a quest available in . After completing "The Forsworn Conspiracy," the Markarth city guards frame the Dragonborn, starting this quest.
==Background==
I'm imprisoned inside Cidhna Mine, framed for Eltrys' murder. I have to find Madanach, the King in Rags, and clear my name.
==Objectives==
#Ask a prisoner about Madanach
#Get past Borkul the Beast
#Talk to Madanach
#Hear Braig's story (Forsworn option)
##Return to Madanach
##Kill Grisvar the Unlucky
##Return to Madanach
##Follow Madanach
#Kill Madanach (Silver-Blood option)
##Search Madanach's body
##Read Madanach's note
##Escape Cidhna Mine
==Walkthrough==
Talk to Uraccen to learn that Madanach is in a private cell which is being guarded by the Orc inmate Borkul the Beast. Borkul will demand a shiv as toll. A shiv can be obtained from Grisvar the Unlucky, who is located in the south tunnel. He will demand a bottle of Skooma. This can be acquired from Duach or Braig, through pickpocketing, persuasion, or a brawl. Trade the Skooma to Grisvar in exchange for a shiv, and give the shiv to Borkul to get the key to Madanach's cell.
Alternatively, Borkul can be persuaded, given the Skooma directly, pickpocketed, or defeated in a brawl.
Attacking Borkul outside of the brawl will cause all the prisoners to attack. Unless one is a strong mage character, a Werewolf, or a Vampire Lord, this is not recommended. If a prisoner is attacked, Madanach will attack on sight as well. Quest weapons such as Alessandra's Dagger will be removed from the Dragonborn's inventory upon arrival in the mine, however spells such as Bound Sword or Bound Bow are still available. There is a ledge above Borkul that can be reached from jumping from the raised wooden platform to allow one to shoot downwards from with ranged attacks. Conjured allies such as Flame, Frost and Storm Atronachs can assist in fighting.
===The Forsworn option===
Madanach will try to convince the Dragonborn that he and his Forsworn are justified in their actions and sends the Dragonborn to seek out the prisoner Braig and hear his story. After listening to Braig, return to Madanach and he will offer freedom, but he requires proof of loyalty. He requests the assassination of Grisvar the Unlucky, who has outlived his usefulness to the Forsworn Rebellion. After killing Grisvar, the Dragonborn must return to Madanach.
Upon hearing news of Grisvar's death, Madanach gathers the remaining prisoners and leads them to an escape tunnel that runs through the Markarth Ruins. At the end of the tunnel, the Dragonborn's belongings are returned to them by Kaie, one of Madanach's Forsworn agents that managed to slip into Markarth without being seen, and Madanach adds the Armor of the Old Gods as a reward. Once outside, there is a confrontation between Thonar and Madanach, with Thonar having several of the corrupt Markarth city guards backing him up. The Forsworn and Madanach charge the city, killing Thonar and all guards (and citizens) in sight. After they leave the city, they will continue running to Druadach Redoubt which will have several friendly Forsworn inside.
To lower the chances of the ensuing battle killing bystander citizens (such as Ghorza gra-Bagol, the blacksmith), the Dragonborn can opt to wait in the prison for late night or early morning before breaking out. This will ensure that the streets of Markarth only has guards.
===The Silver-Blood option===
Kill Madanach in his cell. Sneak so as not to be detected by the other prisoners and guards. It is unlikely that Madanach will be killed with a pickaxe in one sneak hit, however. If the Dragonborn has the Assassin's Blade perk in the Sneak skill tree, listen to Braig's story and return to Madanach. Madanach will instruct the Dragonborn to kill Grisvar the Unlucky. There is a dialogue option on Uraccen to obtain a shiv from Grisvar. While alive, Grisvar does not have any items to pickpocket. However, after dying, two shivs can be looted from his body. Once obtained, kill Madanach with a sneak attack with the shiv. The shiv counts as a dagger and thus the Assassin's Blade perk applies, doing 15 times normal damage. Madanach may survive the initial blow, but it will deliver a substantial hit.
Once Madanach is dead, read the note on his body and use his escape route. It is possible to run or sneak past the Frostbite Spiders and Dwarven Spheres in the Markarth Ruins, especially with the help of the Become Ethereal Shout. If the Dragonborn opts to sneak through the ruins, the Throw Voice Shout is indispensably useful. Alternatively, being a Werewolf, Vampire Lord, or Mage, makes fighting your way out significantly easier. Another option would be to use the Secret Servant power from the expansion to smuggle your equipment into the jail cell for you. Upon exiting, Thonar Silver-Blood will reward the Dragonborn with the Silver-Blood Family Ring and the Dragonborn's belongings. The ring is enchanted so that weapons and armor can be improved 15% better.
===Playing both sides===
Side with Madanach up until the Dragonborn is given the Armor of the Old Gods, which is at the end of the Markarth Ruins right before exiting to the city. After the dialogue and receiving the armor, attack Madanach, turning him hostile. Doing this while close to the door to Markarth will cause his followers to re-enter and attack the Dragonborn. After Madanach and his followers are dead, loot his body and read his note. Then exit out to Markarth and speak to Thonar. It is best to attack Madanach close to the door to Markarth because if not, his followers may not re-enter and it can be difficult to get the Silver-Blood Family Ring from Thonar as Madanach's followers will be waiting outside to attack.
If done correctly, after killing Madanach and the rest of his Forsworn followers inside the Markarth Ruins, the Dragonborn will exit out to a peaceful Markarth with Thonar waiting with his guards to speak with them and reward them with the Silver-Blood Family Ring, as well as a pardon from the Jarl. If Jarl Igmund is spoken to afterwards, he will apologize for the wrongful imprisonment. If upon exiting the tunnel there are Forsworn left, it helps to reenter the tunnel so that Thonar is not accidentally hit. This causes all characters to react as though Madanach escaped with the help of the Dragonborn.
If a skilled assassin, it is possible to break out with the other Forsworn, and stall Madanach before he exits to Markarth. Once alone with him, kill him and search his body. Madanach will be dead, but the Dragonborn will not be blamed for the kill. When exiting to the city, both the Guards and Forsworn will be peaceful towards the Dragonborn, although they will still fight each other—either side can be assisted as both are friendly and will treat any attacks as accidental. Thonar will almost certainly be killed in the fighting before he can give the Dragonborn the ring, but this route still leaves the Dragonborn with the Armor of the Old Gods, an official pardon from the Jarl and a friendly Druadach Redoubt. Although if they are lucky, a conversation may be started up with Thonar when leaving the ruins, and, by quickly skipping through the lines, the Dragonborn may receive the ring. It may take several attempts to pull off properly and by reloading the autosave just outside the ruins, can yield different results. If playing as an imperial, using the Voice of the Emperor power will keep everyone calm long enough for the Dragonborn to obtain the ring.
Another way is to stall Madanach and pickpocket him. He turns aggressive and can be killed. A guard will run in but will not attack.
==Rewards==
*Silver-Blood Family Ring, if the Dragonborn did not side with the Forsworn
*Armor of the Old Gods, if the Dragonborn sided with the Forsworn
==Journal==
No One Escapes Cidhna Mine – MS02	No One Escapes Cidhna Mine – MS02
ID 	Journal Entry
5 	
I'm imprisoned inside Cidhna Mine, framed for Eltrys' murder. I have to find Madanach, the King in Rags, and clear my name.
*Objective 10: Ask a prisoner about Madanach
10 	
*Objective 20: Get past Borkul the Beast
25 	
*Objective 25: Talk to Madanach
30 	
*Objective 30: Hear Braig's story
40 	
*Objective 40: Return to Madanach
50 	
*Objective 50: Kill Grisvar the Unlucky
60 	
*Objective 60: Return to Madanach
70 	
*Objective 70: Follow Madanach
100 	
I have helped Madanach escape Cidhna Mine, and he and his Forsworn have taken credit for all my past crime, clearing my name in the Reach.
*Quest complete
200 	
*Objective 150: Kill Madanach
210 	
*Objective 200: Search Madanach's body
220 	
*Objective 210: Read Madanach's note
230 	
*Objective 220: Escape Cidhna Mine
250 	Thonar Silver-Blood has granted me a pardon for killing Madanach. My name has now been cleared in the Reach.
*Quest complete
==Trivia==
*Ironically, Cidhna Mine is escaped through a large, extremely visible hole in the wall that leads straight to Markarth. The Markarth guard, however, seem to be fairly aware of it, since the path exits out right into the hands of the owner of the mine himself, accompanied by guards, who were waiting.
*If the Dragonborn decides to kill Madanach at the beginning and successfully sneaks out through Markarth Ruins without alerting any other prisoners, the mission will be completed. If the Dragonborn decides to revisit Cidhna Mine through the ruins, however, one will find that all the prisoners are dead.
*If Madanach is killed and the Dragonborn is going through Markarth Ruins solo, a good way to beat the spiders and Dwarven machines is to run past the spiders until reaching the last room, where the Dwarven Spheres attack, then lead them back to the spiders to have them fight each other.
*With a high Pickpocket skill, one can reverse-pickpocket Urzoga gra-Shugurz beforehand and smuggle equipment into the mine, though the Dragonborn must be in reach to pickpocket her through the bars as the door instantly shuts as she begins walking.
*If the Dragonborn wishes to complete the quest but avoid directly killing Grisvar, it is possible to choose the "Madanach says hello." dialogue option and wait. Grisvar will panic and start attacking, and the other prisoners attack and kill him.
*Choosing not to side with any prisoner, it might be difficult to kill them all with just a pickaxe. Walking up on the hanging bridge and waiting for them to stand directly in front of them, the Dragonborn can use the Unrelenting Force shout. The prisoners will then fall off into the pit directly behind the bridge. They cannot get out but the Dragonborn can, making it easy to pick them off one at a time. It is also possible to transform into a werewolf if sufficient progress is made in The Companions' questline, or use a Conjuration spell to summon a familiar or bound weapon.
*Despite Cidhna Mine being considered a prison at the start of the mission, completion of the quest will not reward the "Wanted" achievement. However, it still counts to the times jailed in the crime tab.
*If the Dragonborn has a follower before going back into the Shrine of Talos to get caught, it is possible to give the follower their equipment and ask for it in the mine and then kill everyone. The Dremora Butler can also smuggle in items.
*If the Dragonborn has a high enough Sneak, and decides not to side with Madanach, killing/pickpocketing him is not necessary to open the escape route. If he is hit with a ranged spell/ability and the Dragonborn sneaks back down the hallway, he may open the locked jail cell door to the escape route while searching for the Dragonborn. The Dragonborn can then attack him and his followers again and lead them through the ruins so the Dwarven Spheres and Frostbite Spiders can help make short work of them.
*To avoid many casualties among characters (if the Forsworn option was taken), one can save the game after getting the equipment and wait until midnight before going through the door into Markarth.
*Despite being members of the Forsworn, Borkul the Beast, Braig, Duach, Grisvar the Unlucky, Kaie, Madanach, Odvan, and Uraccen do not belong to the Forsworn Faction in the game's files. This is because the Forsworn Faction is flagged to be immediately hostile to the player. Instead, they belong to the Cidhna Mine Prisoner Faction and the surviving members are later assigned to the Druadach Redoubt Faction.
* If the Dragonborn joined the Forsworn but wishes to avoid the Ash Pile issue upon entering Markarth, simply use killall command to kill everyone within Markarth, and resurrect Madanach and his allies with resurrect command, and subsequently the citizens after the Forsworn left the city.
* If Madanach's Note is pickpocketed from him before the Dragonborn betrays him, the quest may be stuck on "Search Madanach's body." To fix this, simply plant the note on his body, and pick it back up.
*Stolen items removed from the Dragonborn's inventory after being detained will be returned with the rest of their items, unlike when they are detained any other time.
==Bugs==
Click to show
*If you do The Forsworn Conspiracy without killing Nepos or any of his Forsworn (this is done by sneaking away with invisibilty potions or the spell), everyone in the mine, even Madanach will still think you committed murder.
*Choosing to kill Madanach but then hiding may result in him still opening the escape cell door. Once the Dragonborn get to the end of the Dwarven ruins, Madanach will give him his items as if the Dragonborn chose to escape with him. However, they will still be hostile.
* Killing all prisoners before entering the shrine may cause the guards to attack, making the quest unfinishable.
**Fixed when respective Civil War faction takes over Markarth.
** Enter the console outside of Markarth and enter TCAI (Toggle Combat Artificial Intelligence). After doing this, the AI will not attack. Enter Markarth and head to the Shrine of Talos where the three guards were confronted, and then turn TCAI off by entering it in the console again. Here, the guards will speak to the Dragonborn. Select come quietly, and then when the guards start the next conversation there should be three dots above the normal response. Select this, the guards will continue their conversation, and afterwards the guards will return to normal and no longer try to make an arrest.
**Alternatively on , when confronted by a guard, click on them and type "paycrimegold" into the console. The Dragonborn should be teleported somewhere in Markarth with no bounty.
** If the guards were killed inside the shrine, but the quest is not toggled as completed: type setstage MS02 100 (sets quest to complete helping Madanach escape and he clears the Dragonborn's name for their crimes - but not for killing the guards in the shrine), then type prid 00036F3B, select the guard then resurrect. Then continue as above with the surrender, go to jail. Select chat option "..." with the guard and repeat the go to jail dialogue. In jail get a pick and start to mine, a dialogue asking if the Dragonborn wishes to do their time comes up, select yes.
**The solution above works. But the guard might still attack after they say "No one escapes Cidhna Mine, no one." To resolve, escape outside the city, be arrested by a non-pursuing guard, and serve the sentence.
** It is possible resurrect all the prisoners through the console. If the bodies have despawned, use the prid command followed by each prisoner ref ID to select them (ref IDs for prisoners are and ). Once a prisoner is selected, input the command resurrect. Once all prisoners are resurrected, the guards will act as if they never died, and the quest continues as normal.
** Sneak into the shrine of Talos where two or three guards will be waiting as if "The Forsworn Conspiracy" quest is being finished again. Kill the two guards and wait for the third to respawn. During dialogue with the third guard, choose "You're Corrupt, Thonar is paying you" and "Fine, I'll come Quietly." The guard will attack; kill him. Exit the shrine of Talos. It is bugged if they respond to the "pay off bounty" option with: "We have multiple witnesses, you're not getting away with this." But should be able to pay off the bounty like normal.
*** If the jail option is chosen, it is possible to be trapped in the mine for good since no one else is there and the gate next to the Orc requires a key, which is not possible to pick.
*** Fixed after 1.04/2.03 Patch 11/02/2012: went to the shrine of Talos and the Markarth guards weapons and shields where still there (killed them during The Forsworn Conspiracy) Took the weapons and shields and removed them from the Shrine of Talos and got rid of them, completed the quest and had a 1,050 Bounty that was paid off.
** make sure the Dragonborn's level is high enough and enter Markarth. Upon entering the city, do not get spotted by the guards, and enter the Shrine of Talos. The three guards from the previous quest "The Forsworn Conspiracy," will still be there, and the middle guard will engage in the same conversation as at the end of that quest. The other two guards will attack, and because of being in conversation, there is no way to fight back, so be prepared. Answer the guard with "You're corrupt, Thonar is paying you," and then again with "Fine, I'll come quietly." The guard will then do nothing, so heal as needed. After a few seconds, the same guard will attempt to make an arrest, and give the option to pay off the bounty.
* Quest items in the inventory (which cannot be removed otherwise) may be permanently removed following the break out from the mine. On the PC version all items from completed quests will sometimes stay, however items like the Elder Scroll may disappear forever.
*A Patch resolved this issue for Xbox 360 users.
** Items may return after leaving the mine. If they do not, go through the nearest door to trigger another loading screen. Items may return after that.
* May not receive all quest items that they had prior to this quest's beginning. However, receive them when the Forsworn start fighting the guards outside the ruins. Or kill the Forsworn in the ruins, then Thonar gives them back after the conversation.
*If the Dragonborn is jailed with Auriel's Bow, it may be not be given back. Storing the bow in a home before being jailed will prevent this.
* It is possible upon arriving in Cidhna Mine, Urzoga gra-Shugurz (the guard) has no dialogue options but instead fights to the death.
* After completing this quest, a glitch occurs that will prevent the PC from being able to Fast Travel or Wait, stating that guards are pursuing. Fix: Commit a crime and get caught. Paying the fine or going to jail will fix the bug. Fix: Enter a building and then leaving will also fix it.
* It is possible that Madanach will not have the key in his inventory when he is pickpocketed.
*If the note is pickpocketed from Madanach, it may not be able to be read, therefore not allowing the quest to complete. Thonar will attack the Dragonborn when they exit the ruins.
* The quest is started in the cell, but both doors are locked with no way to open them.
**Solution: Open the console and enter setstage ms02 0.
*If Madanach does not complete his dialogue before leaving the mine, after leaving the mine, Madanach and his men, as well as Thonar and his guard, will just stand outside and do nothing. Killing Thonar completes the quest and initiates the fight but incurs the 1,000 bounty in Markarth. The bounty can be avoided by killing the last witness (the guard) or making other people kill Thonar by casting a strong enough fury or frenzy effect on them.
*After completing the quest, first helping Madanach to get the armor and then later turning on him by helping the guards kill him to also get the ring from Thonar, Uraccens dead body may be laying along the path just before the entrance to Druadach Redoubt.
* Sometimes, when the quest is completed by killing the prisoners, there will be three guards standing outside and no one to give the Silver-Blood Family Ring. (Update: to fix this reload to a point before talking to Talnor in the Treasury house and make sure that Talnor is not attacked by the Dragonborn during the battle).
* When starting the quest, it may be noticed that an item equipped in the inventory is still in the favorites, and is there and can be used throughout the quest. However, when the gear back is returned, the item, while still appearing in the favorites, will not appear in the inventory even under the favorites section in the inventory. The only way to equip or remove this item is by pressing up on the d-pad. No fix.
* All pick-up sounds for items may not sound.
*Upon exiting the prison, Thonar may be hostile. He is marked essential and cannot be killed, therefore the battle will never end. Casting Calm on him will work in the short term, long enough to complete the quest and get the ring. If Calm cannot be cast on him, just run out of the town, exit combat, fast travel to some place far away then travel back to Markarth. Head to the exit of the Cidhna Mine (door left to the Understone Keep's door) and Thonar will be waiting there, not hostile anymore. He will start conversation and the quest can be finished.
* Skipping the dialogue where the guard says "no one" with enter, the guards will draw, the Dragonborn will be transported to the prison, and the Orc lady will attack.
**Possible fix: Make sure there is no bounty when sent to the prison.
*If in Cidha Mines as a prisoner before, do not kill Grisvar. If so, when Madanach says to kill him, he will not be there and there is no dialogue to tell Madanach he is already dead.
* If Madanach and the Forsworn are killed after receiving the reward armor and then the ring is received from Thonar, the quest registers as the Forsworn wreaking havoc in Markarth and killing the townspeople, causing passing citizens to scold the Dragonborn for helping the Forsworn break out.
* After getting taken to jail, resting for one hour, the current follower may appear. All of the Dragonborn's items can be given to a follower before getting arrested to have gear while in the prison.
* If the Dragonborn has been sent to the mine before and killed all of the prisoners, they will still be sent to the jail, but the quest will not start. Borkul the Beast can be looted, but he will not have the key to the door. This will make it impossible to do the quest.
* After escaping the mine and completing the quest (aiding the Forsworn escape) any followers active before being arrested may still be at the Shrine of Talos. Even after killing the guards the follower will stay in position by the shrine. They can still trade items, but even after parting ways they may still remain there indefinitely.
* Sprinting past the Dwemer spheres may cause them to follow outside into Markarth. This can be a big problem if choosing to kill Madanach, as Thonar will force a dialog tree on exiting the ruins. The Spheres can kill the Dragonborn while they are stuck in dialogue. If this happens, load the autosave and skip through the dialog as fast as possible and get as far away from the spheres as possible. Thonar will probably be killed before the spheres are subdued by the guards, and his corpse will be able to be looted with no consequences.
* Sometimes after killing the guards and being sent to Cidhna Mine, it will automatically kill the Dragonborn, regardless of armor rating, health, or stamina.
*If the quest "The Forsworn Conspiracy" is nearly completed except for the final objective to return to the shrine, completing "Season Unending" will finish the Forsworn quest and prevent "No One Escapes Chidna Mine" from starting. The guards will be gone if the Dragonborn returns to the Shrine to Talos. This may have something to do with Markarth changing sides during the "Season Unending" negotiations. However, completing the Civil War questline in favor of the Imperials should fix this and allow the quest to begin normally.
* After killing Grisvar the Unlucky, the Dragonborn will talk to Madanach. After talking to him, they will go out to hear his plan. However, he does not announce it and the quest will not continue.
* It is possible that after exiting the Dwemer Ruins during the escape that there will be no dialogue between Madanach and Thonar.
**Solution: Killing Thonar will skip the dialogue and progress the escape of the Forsworn. This will however count as siding with the Forsworn and may receive a 40 gold bounty. The bounty should disappear within a few seconds as Thonar is the only witness to his own murder.
* After killing Madanach and escaping the mine, Thonar may become hostile for no reason, giving no dialogue options and therefore no end to the quest. Reloading will not work.
** Using the console, click on Thonar and type disable then enable. He should become friendly and will continue his dialogue as normal. Should he still become hostile after respawning, type tcl in the console to fly above him, then repeat the same steps. The automatic conversation (and thus quest completion) should occur before he spots the Dragonborn. Since said conversation will alert him to the Dragonborn's presence anyhow, he will still become hostile, so once dialogue is complete, fly to a safe place, type tcl again, then either wait an hour or fast travel to the stable (and, optionally, back into Markarth if you do not want to walk back to the gate), which should reset him and make him friendly again.
** Escaping back in to the mine, attacking Thonar until he is disabled and then running to a hiding spot will give you the chance to wait. Waiting for three days should allow you to then exit the ruins and continue the quest as normal. 
* After killing Madanach and all the Forsworn, Thonar will say to get out of his sight, without giving the ring or the pardon. Pick the lock and go back into the mine, then walk back outside, and he will give the items.
* When the items are returned, either by Kaie or Thonar, the console may become incredibly laggy. A previous save from before the quest starts may be reloaded, but the Dragonborn may be forced to never get arrested when in The Reach.
*If the two guards that initially approach in the Shrine die, speech with other guards might not send the Dragonborn to prison to continue the quest, instead when it is opted to be sent to prison, it loops the speech, "You'll never see the day of light again," followed by the only reply, "What's the problem?" which loops it back to multiple speech options which all lead to the same loop.
* If every one in the jail is killed to get the key to Madanach and used and area effect spells sometimes a bounty may be incurred while in jail, meaning that when leaving, instead of Thonar talking, he will only attack.
*Sometimes upon finishing "The Forsworn Conspiracy" and choosing to pay the fine very early, or slaying all the guards before they complete their dialogue not leaving any witness (bounty removed doing so) the Dragonborn may not go to the mine, preventing initiation of the quest.
**Possible solution: getting arrested later in the game for something else rarely triggers the quest.
*If the Dragonbon sides with Madanach and then betrays them, the Forsworn can be found littered throughout the city. Borkul the Beast's body may also be found near Druadach Redoubt. The Forsworn at this location will also be friendly.
*If chosen to aid Madanach, on rare occasion, one of the Markarth Guards will be invincible and all attacks will move pass him. Reloading does not seem to fix this. The only way to continue the game is to kill all Forsworns that you aided to prevent them from accidentally killing the townspeople.
* If the Dragonborn pickpockets Madanach's letter and reads it, the quest update to escape Cidhna Mine. If they then continue to do as Madanach asks to escape with him, they will not be able to leave the mine, as the last door will ask for the key to open it.
*When talking to Madanach for the first time, choosing the dialogue option "Let's start with revenge!" sometimes only causes him to attack. After killing him, the other prisoners will act normally.
*Occasionally, if you have followed through with the strategy of killing Madanach after being given the Old Gods armor set, Thonar will not confront you when you exit the mine, and the quest will remain incomplete. This can then lead to a game breaking bug where quest items no longer appear in containers.
**To fix this, type into the console SetObjectiveCompleted MS02 220 1 followed by SetStage MS02 250. The quest should then complete, and the bug will no longer be present, once again allowing you to pick up quest items in containers.
==Appearances==
*
de:Keiner entkommt der Cidhna-Mine
es:Nadie escapa de la mina de Cidhna
ru:Никому не сбежать из Сидны
Category:Skyrim: Markarth Quests
Category:Skyrim: Side Quests