Online:Bthar-Zel

Explorable
Discoverable	Yes
Completion	None
Dungeon	(?)
# of Zones	2
Occupants
	Chaurus, Chaurus Hatchling, Dwarven Centurion, Dwarven Spider, Dwarven Sphere; Dwarven Architon Judicator, Dwarven Architon Scorcher, Dwarven Architon Steamknight, Dwarven Architon Subjugator; Vaults-specific:; Dwarven Dynastor; Dwarven Architon Archer, Dwarven Architon Slicer; The End of Eternity-specific:; Nighthollow Archer, Nighthollow Guardian, Nighthollow Sentinel, Nighthollow Shadowcaster, Shade Brute, Shade Voidhurler, Voidmother
Zone
	Blackreach: Arkthzand Cavern
Location
	The Reach: Just north of Deep Folk Crossing; Blackreach: Northeast of the Arkthzand Wayshrine
Loading Screen
	"The lost city of Bthar-Zel? Of course I know it. You think we Reachfolk don't have legends, same as you? A silver city it was, home of the richest Dwarflords. And their metal beasts." —Baldach
	Bthar-Zel Vaults: "Is it any wonder the Deep Folk coveted this land? To reveal the oldest mysteries of the world, it's best to start at the beginning." —Callacha, Witch of the Reach

Bthar-Zel

Bthar-Zel is a Dwarven ruin found in Blackreach: Arkthzand Cavern, located northeast of the Arkthzand Wayshrine. It also has an entrance on the surface, located just north of Deep Folk Crossing, which is sealed off until revealing it during the quest Blood of the Reach.

The vaults contain a vast quantity of silver, which is of interest to the Reachfolk rebellion fighting the Gray Host. Dwemer piston traps, as well as Catapult Cabbage and Lantern Mantis plants serve as hazards in the ruins.

You can acquire several Dwarven Scarab pet part leads by killing Dwarven Architons inside the ruins. A large quantity of passive Dwarven Scarabs can be found inside.

Related QuestsEdit

Blood of the Reach: Search for the Arkthzand Keystone.
To Burn Away Evil: Recover silver to use against the Gray Host.
The End of Eternity: Discover how to travel through the Void.

ExteriorEdit

Bthar-ZelEdit

The northwestern chamber is closest to the entrance you come through during Blood of the Reach. The chamber through the hallway the south is a forge-like room being maintained by several Architons. If you instead head east from the northwestern chamber, you'll enter a grand hall with a long table and several soul gems. The large chamber where the southwestern and central-western chambers converge is in the center of the ruins, and resembles a plaza in a city. The Bthar-Zel Vaults lie through the hallway to the south in this chamber. If you head east, you'll end up in the streets of Bthar-Zel. You can access Arkthzand Cavern from here. (Another exit, from the far side of the Bthar-Zel Vaults, also leads to Arkthzand Cavern, in approximately the same place: both the southern and eastern routes from Bthar-Zel end up at lifts that lead to corridors that lead to the same chamber.)

The northeastern side of the river, in the eastern chamber, is not accessible until The End of Eternity, when some Void Portals appear and give access via a series of platform jump-teleports. It is populated largely by shades, voidmothers and members of the Nighthollow Clan, and leads to the Bthar-Zel Repository. Returning is simpler than getting there, since you can simply jump into the water and climb up the steps to the south side again.

Bthar-Zel VaultsEdit

Bthar-Zel Vaults

The vaults are accessed during the related quest by heading through the southern tunnel in the central chamber of Bthar-Zel. You'll take a lift down to the vault. There are many Dwarven Scarabs scuttling across the floor in this portion of the ruin. The vaults themselves are chock-full of raw silver and Dwarven containers, the latter of which you can loot. You'll face off against a Dwarven Dynastor in the Arkthzand Keystone Chamber during the quest.

NotesEdit

Although the location icon is placed in the Blackreach: Arkthzand Cavern map, the "Location Discovered" pop-up can be triggered by completing the puzzle on the surface in the Reach. As the location doesn't have a replicating icon on the Reach zone map, this can be confusing, as Bthar-Zel gives the appearance of an unnmarked location initially.