So I've done the Cidhna Mine/Forsworn quest like what...eight or nine times and its getting freaking boring doing this quest over and over, so I was thinking, are there other ways to escape Cidhna Mine? Could I just kill Madanach and his sidekicks and escape jail? And what if get arrested by Markarth guards and they put you in jail. Can you sleep it off or is there another way to escape?

I've always done the massacre in there.

You can't sleep it off, but you can mine to serve your sentence. You can also activate combat with Madonach by telling him you want revenge, enabling you to kill him and his followers, looting a key from his body to escape. I personally just kill as many guards as I see fit before taking my leave, seeing as I'm usually at least level 35 when my chars enter Markarth.

Meaning?

He means he chose to kill Madonach and his follower rather than help them escape.

Then how does he escapes?

You loot the key from Madanach's body and escape through the same tunnel you use when you let Madanach live.

The key. And this should be moved to spoilers.

Ohh.

He doesn't.

I find it much more satisfying to let the Forsworn loose and have them kill Thonar Silver-blood in the process. Mopping up the mess and help the corrupt have their way? No thanks.

Just do like me. I kill Madanach and his little crew, then after Thonar gives me my items and the ring, I simply kill him. Usually fus ro dah him and let gravity do the rest.

I don't know why everyone is so blinded to the fact that Madanach was the victim here...

I follow him,leave at night so only guards get killed. You get the added dialogue about yhe massacre, tons of guard loot, friendly forsworn location. The silverbloods add nothing else to game.

You mean your Dragonborn doesn't get an awful itch in his nose and let off a hellacious sneeze just as Thonar turns his back after saying "Good job"?

Does he at least get an awful itch in his nose when Ondolemar passes between him and the stairs in Understone Keep? Markarth is a dusty place...

I normally side with the Silver-Bloods on this... Technically speaking, both groups are in the wrong in my eyes so I take the side that will allow me to bring the downfall of both...

So yes, kill them all and leave via same tunnel. Heck, for chuckles... I once let the dwarven spheres and spiders all chase me out of the cave into Markarth. If you are quick enough, you can finish the quest with Thonar right before the spheres and spiders come out (And guess who will be the first NPC target for them to kill?)

That actually sounds like a good idea. By that time, you'll have your armor and all your goodies back, and it'll be a whole lot easier to kill them before they kill anyone else.

That plus the guards will help you out too... Just remember to kill the normal spiders in the cave parts (As they'll fight the dwarven machines).

Maybe because he's not exactly a saint either.

(I know you feel different about the Forsworn after doing a Forsworn playthrough, but you can hardly be blind for the fact that the Forsworn kill indiscriminately, their "old ways" seems to involve some rather dubious practise, like covering Dibella statues in blood and create Briarheart zombies - and the one source describing their brief rule over Markarth as peaceful is a bit, well, biased, and should be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, they were treated badly, but there are at least two sides of the coin in this case. Remember you dare me to do a Forsworn playthrough? I might - sort of. But not right now. )

I double dog dare you to play a forsworn RP. Its an eye opener.

I have an idea for a take on Cidhna Mine, so maybe... But that will have to be in the future. You know my playing speed, a few months per character. And Dragonborn and Dark Bortherhood are higher on my list.

I'll never help the Forsworn. I'd sooner bend my knee to the Thalmor, and THAT says a lot. They are an uncontrolled bunch of serial-murderers, rapists, abductors, etc, and worst of all: They worship something that looks to be a horrid mix of a hag and raven who is not only ugly but would make dead people come back to life to die again in shock, and lets not mention the excruciatingly annoying breathing sound. Blergh.

I enjoyed brutally slaughtering that madman and will continue doing so on all characters I create, once they can be bothered doing that quest line. I did kill Thonar as well because [censored] the silver-bloods.

3 Ways:

1. Serve your Time

2. Escape with Madanach

a. Side with Silverbloods

b. Side with Madanach

3. Kill Madanach and escape

I like to side with Madanach, so I can use thier place as a hideout when I'm in the area...

I'm in the middle of one now. In fact, he's getting ready to head off to the mines in the very near future. He's already been warned once to back off, but I told them to stuff it.

You can't. You're supposed to be in for life, so there's no "serve your time". You have to either escape with Madanach or slaughter him.

This is exactly why I think Bethesda put this quest in the game. The concept of the quest is to highlight an aspect of Stormcloak hypocrisy---for all their high and mighty talk about self-rule as their motivation for rising up against the Empire, they are also an occupying force in the Reach. Aren't the original people of the Reach also entitled to self-rule?