Skyrim:Balagog gro-Nolob

Balagog gro-Nolob (RefID: 00038C6F) (lore page)
Location	Nightgate Inn
Race	Orc	Gender	Male
Level	6	Class	Rogue
RefID	00038C6F	BaseID	00038C6E
Other Information
Health	1	Magicka	50
Stamina	75
Primary Skills	One-handed, Block, Heavy Armor, Sneak
Morality	No Crime	Aggression	Unaggressive
Essential	Yes, until Recipe for Disaster
Voice Type	MaleOrc
Faction(s)	CrimeFactionReach; FavorExcludedFaction; NightgateInnFaction

Balagog gro-Nolob enjoying a refreshing drink

Balagog on the pier near the inn

Balagog gro-Nolob is an Orc rogue who keeps a hidden identity as the famous chef called the Gourmet. Balagog was trained in Breton cuisine during his time in High Rock, where he befriended Anton Virane, a fellow student. Balagog went on to publish a cookbook called Uncommon Taste under the pseudonym "The Gourmet", which became wildly successful throughout Tamriel and led to his being hired as the Emperor's private chef for his visits to Skyrim. Due to this association with the Emperor, Balagog is eventually marked for death by the Dark Brotherhood.

He wears fine clothes and fine boots. Balagog defends himself with an iron dagger and also carries forty gold, a belted tunic, and boots.

Balagog lives in the cellar of the Nightgate Inn, only leaving once a day around noon to fish by the nearby pond. He prefers to interact with other people as little as possible to maintain his secret identity, and is known to most of the Nightgate Inn's regular patrons only as "The Orc". The other patrons pay him little mind, while the innkeeper says that he doesn't care, since Balagog always pays his rent on time. You cannot interact with him until the related Dark Brotherhood quest, in which the only conversation options are to announce to him that his true identity is known or tell him it is time for him to die.

Related Quests

• Recipe for Disaster: Assume the identity of the famous Gourmet in an effort to assassinate the Emperor.

Quest-Related Events

Recipe for Disaster

Should you speak to him:

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I can't be of help. I'm just here on... holiday."

You have three dialogue options:

Topic	Dialogue	Response
You've served your last meal... Gourmet.	"Gourmet? Why I... Um... Oh dear. You're going to kill me now, aren't you?"	Cowers behind the barrels of wine
Soon, the Emperor will die. Murdered, by the Gourmet.	"What? The Emperor? But I... Oh. Oh, by the gods, no. No, you can't do this. You can't!"	Cowers behind the barrels of wine
(Remain Silent)	"Yes, well. Perhaps the proprietor of this establishment can assist you. Please, you're starting to... frighten me."	Walks away

If you've chosen the last option, talking to him again will have him tell you:

"Please, just let me be..."

Upon killing him, you can now retrieve the Gourmet's writ of passage from Balagog's corpse.

Dialogue

If Balagog is approached before starting the related quest, he will say:

"I can't help you, friend. Talk to Hadring, the innkeeper."

"I value my privacy. So if you don't mind?"

All further attempts at conversation will be politely dismissed:

"I really don't mean to be rude, friend, but I'm not feeling particularly sociable..."

Notes

• He cannot be reanimated, no matter what the spell magnitude.
• You may encounter Balbus on your travels. He is looking for the Gourmet so he can impress him with his skills.
• One of Balagog's comments when remaining silent has him referring to the location as a village. This seems to be a leftover from when the Nightgate Inn was part of a village known as Heljarchen.

Bugs

• His crime faction is set to The Reach even though he only ever appears in The Pale.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch, version 3.0.11, fixes this bug.