Quests 435

Note: The events of this quest are closely related to those in the quest Bleak Falls Barrow, at times taking over important objectives. It can be triggered right after entering Riverwood, but it is recommended to follow the intended path and initiate the Bleak Falls Barrow quest in Whiterun. Otherwise, you may miss a few story-related events and details. See this section for details.

The temple located in Markarth is dedicated to Dibella, the goddess of love, beauty, and artistry. It is maintained by several priestesses and Hamal. Upon entering the temple, you will find the priestess Senna, who will inform you that: "The sisters are communing with Dibella. They can't be disturbed. You'll have to come back another time." In order to access the Inner Sanctum, you can either try to pick the expert-lock, or steal the key from Senna. Note that if you choose to pick the lock and do not accept the deal from the Priestess, you'll have to do it twice—once to get into the Sanctum, and once to get out.

Proceed inside Nchuand-Zel until you encounter Nimhe. After killing Nimhe, head up the steps to find the dead body of Alethius. Pick up the notes next to his body to begin this quest.

In Solitude, the innkeeper and residing bard at the Winking Skeever will all tell you about a scared Dragon Bridge resident who recently arrived to ask Jarl Elisif for help. They will not reveal anything else, so head to the Blue Palace, where you will witness Varnius Junius trying to convince Elisif that the inexplicable disappearances and strange occurrences near Wolfskull Cave should be taken seriously. While Elisif tries her best to calm the near hysterical Varnius, her court wizard and steward will both disregard the claims:

For the creature, see The Pale Lady (creature).

The only Alchemy shop in Windhelm is called The White Phial and is located in the market district, right next to Aval Atheron's stall. When you enter you will witness a very sick and elderly proprietor, Nurelion, trying to convince his assistant that he is able to make some kind of journey. The assistant, Quintus Navale, is quite skeptical and with good reasons, as his master coughs constantly in between words:

After you complete The Man Who Cried Wolf, you soon discover that your battle with Potema is not over. Once you have leveled up after interrupting the binding ritual, a courier will approach you outside of Solitude with a letter from Falk Firebeard. The letter warns you of an impending threat and requests that you return to Solitude. When you get there, Falk will inform you that Potema has indeed escaped. He asks you to speak with Styrr, a priest of Arkay, as he can provide you with more guidance on how to secure the threat.

Once you reach level 14, a female Argonian named From-Deepest-Fathoms will appear near Riften Fishery, walking around in circles, manically talking to herself. When you approach her, she will tell you about a place called Avanchnzel and an item she refers to as "the Lexicon": "You. You must take the Lexicon. Free me of my burden." When you respond, she merely continues: "The memories. I cannot stand them. You must take them away, return them to Avanchnzel. You must take the Lexicon from me. Please... take it now." She will not provide any explanations and will continue rambling until you accept. She then hands you a strange, ornately-decorated cube, and will walk away with the words: "You must bring it to Avanchnzel, in the west. Return it to them. It must go back."

When you come across a merchant named Brynjolf at the Riften bazaar during the day or in The Bee and Barb at night, he will propose that you frame a vendor by planting a stolen ring on his person. The intended victim, Brand-Shei, has apparently become aware that someone is doing something wrong, and that someone wants him in jail where he can't interfere.

As you will be battling Ataxia-bearing skeevers, resist disease or cure disease potions or enchantments are useful. Furthermore, given the vermin's speed, a fast, light melee weapon is advised. Given Hamelyn's magical ability, resist magic, shock, fire, and frost spells or enchantments are useful.

First go speak with Enthir at The Frozen Hearth in Winterhold. After speaking with Enthir, you'll be directed to the wizard Calcelmo at Understone Keep in Markarth.

Once you have completed five Thieves Guild extra jobs in the city of Whiterun, Delvin at the Ragged Flagon will have a "special job" for you. Delvin explains that he has received word from Olfrid Battle-Born, a wealthy Nord living in Whiterun, with a unique request. Travel to Whiterun and speak to Olfrid, who explains that "Arn", one of his old war buddies wanted for murder in Solitude, has been arrested for drunkenness in Whiterun. In order to save his friend from the executioner's block, he wants to set Arn up with a new identity. To accomplish this he asks you to steal a letter warning of Arn's true crime and then change Arn's name on the Whiterun prison registry. With these done the guards will be permanently off the trail and Arn will be given a prompt release. Olfrid warns you the job will not be easy; both items are located in Dragonsreach: the letter is in the jarl's chambers and the registry is on the steward's desk.

Once Mercer has allowed you into the Guild, he'll challenge you with a new job. Goldenglow Estate was once the Guild's sweetest deal. The Guild made sure that the honey flowed constantly to Maven Black-Briar's meadery by keeping the workforce in line and scaring off potential competitors. In return it was allowed to extort huge sums of money from Aringoth, the owner. However, the shipments have suddenly ceased and when Vex was sent to investigate she found an army of mercenaries. Maven isn't pleased and it's your job to teach Aringoth a lesson by burning down three bee hives and clearing out his safe.

Soon after Mercer has agreed to let you into the Guild, Brynjolf will instruct you to talk to Delvin Mallory and Vex to learn more about the Guild and to Tonilia to get yourself equipped.

In your travels about Skyrim, you will come upon an ornate jewel (one of twenty-four spread across Skyrim) called an Unusual Gem. Subsequent actions after you acquire one of these gems depends on your membership status with the Thieves Guild.

You get this quest for offending the Thieves Guild, usually by assaulting/murdering one of their members, attempting to steal from them and getting caught or murdering someone during a guild quest. This will result in an expulsion, meaning no more training sessions or fencing services and limited conversations with guild members. To rejoin the guild, speak to Vex in The Ragged Flagon, who will reprimand you and demand 1,000 gold as reparations. Return when you have the money and you will be let back into the guild.

When you next speak to Mercer, he will remark that the symbol found on the Goldenglow Bill of Sale from Goldenglow Estate is the same as the one on the Promissory Note found at the Honningbrew Meadery, leading him to the conclusion that the Thieves Guild is not, in fact, cursed (as Delvin believes) but is in fact being deliberately acted against by an unknown competitor. Mercer will also reveal that a name mentioned on the Bill is the alias of a former contact of the Guild: an Argonian dockworker for the East Empire Company named Gulum-Ei.

Once you've completed five additional jobs in the city of Markarth, speak to Delvin at the Ragged Flagon to receive a 'special job'. Delvin explains that he has received word from Endon in Markarth of a special request. Travel to Markarth and speak to Endon, who will be in the Silver-Blood Inn for this quest. He will explain that he wants you to recover a silver mold he ordered, which was stolen by bandits in transit. "The only thing I can tell you is that the mold was taken to the bandit's hideout... a small cottage called Pinewatch."

Journey to Snow Veil Sanctum, which is northeast of Windhelm. When you arrive you will find an abandoned camp near the entrance along with a dead horse. Continuing onward, you will see Mercer Frey waiting outside the ruin's entrance. As you approach, Mercer will initiate a conversation with you: "Good, you're finally here. I've scouted the ruins and I'm certain Karliah is still inside." Asking if he saw Karliah, he will tell you: "No, I found her horse. Don't worry, I've taken care of it... she won't be using it to escape. Let's get moving, I want to catch her inside while she's distracted. Take the lead." If you choose to question his methods, he will sarcastically reply: "I'm sorry, I was under the impression I was in charge. You're leading and I'm following. Does that seem clear to you?" Once you finally agree with his plan, he will continue: "Just make certain you keep your eyes open. Karliah is as sharp as a blade. The last thing I need is you blundering into a trap and warning her that we're here." At this point, he will act as a temporary follower.

Once you've completed five additional jobs in the city of Windhelm, speak to Delvin at the Ragged Flagon to receive a 'special job'. Delvin explains that he has received word from a friend in Windhelm of a rival faction of thieves setting up shop. Travel to Windhelm and speak to Torsten Cruel-Sea. He can be found wandering both inside and outside the city walls. Talk to Torsten, and he'll tell you that the faction killed his daughter and stole her silver locket. He has already tracked down her killer and dealt swift justice, but not before learning about the formation of a new, rival Guild. Torsten wants the locket back and revenge on the people behind the murder. He'll give you a name, Niranye, that he prised from the murderer before killing him. She is somewhere in Windhelm.

Brynjolf tells you to meet him in the Ragged Flagon underneath Riften if you're interested in more lucrative operations like the one he arranged earlier. The only way to reach the Thieves Guild headquarters at this point is through the Ratway. The entrance is through an inconspicuous gate on the lower level of Riften. You'll have to fight or avoid several enemies; more detail on what you'll encounter is below.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Delvin Mallory will tell you that he handles all the fishing, numbers, and bedlam jobs. The purpose of these small side jobs is to help the Guild rebuild and retake their influence around Skyrim. Ask him for a bedlam job and he will explain: "Sometimes we like to remind a city that we mean business, so we hit it hard. Just steal whatever we can until we've made an impression. Simple right? Almost. The catch is it doesn't count if anyone sees you take it. The message needs to be clear; we work in the shadows. Steal from anywhere in the hold, and you even get to keep everythin' you stole. So, you in?"

Vex is a life-long thief longing for the glory days of the Guild. When speaking with her she will tell you that she handles all the burglary, shill, sweep and heist jobs. Through these extra thievery jobs, Vex hopes to increase the cash flow into the Guild; with dreams of restoring the Ragged Flagon to what it used to be.

This article is about the quest. For the ship, see Dainty Sload.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Delvin Mallory will tell you that he handles all the fishing, numbers and bedlam jobs, with "fishing" being a euphemism for picking someone's pockets. Ask him for a "fishing" job and he will give you a target and tell you to steal a particular item from them.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Vex will tell you that she handles all the burglary, shill, sweep and heist jobs. Ask her for a heist job and she will ask you to retrieve a single item from a store.

During the course of the Thieves Guild questline, you may run into one of several unique items in locations relevant to the quests. Picking them up will add a miscellaneous task to take it to Delvin Mallory, who will pay a leveled amount of money for the item.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Delvin Mallory will tell you that he handles all the fishing, numbers, and bedlam jobs. Ask him for a numbers job and he will tell you to find the ledger in a specified store and fix it so that the guild's activities can go unnoticed.

Head to the Ragged Flagon through The Ratway. Meet Karliah after entering through the door to the Ragged Flagon and follow her as she leads you to the Cistern, where Brynjolf, Delvin and Vex are waiting with knives drawn. Karliah pleads clemency and hands over the journal you translated in the previous quest as proof of her innocence. Brynjolf is shocked at the revelations contained within and determines that they must open the vault to see the truth. Follow them as they head to the vault and watch as Delvin and Brynjolf use their respective keys to open it. As soon as the doors open, Brynjolf will let out a cry of horror at seeing the place completely empty; not a single gold coin is left. While Delvin is distraught at seeing their fortune gone, Vex's reaction is more violent; she pulls her dagger out and vows to kill their treacherous Guildmaster immediately. Brynjolf manages to calm the situation and asks to talk to you after assigning the other two to keep an eye out for Mercer. Tell him everything and he'll instruct you to break into Mercer's home to look for clues. However, the place is guarded by a Nord lout named Vald who is quite insistent on keeping people out. Brynjolf suggests you speak to Vex about him, since she was at one point intimately acquainted with Vald. Vex suggests the best course of action would be to erase Vald's debt with Maven Black-Briar or run him through and take what you need off his body. You must pass a hard-level Speech check to persuade him to give you the key.

After you are a full member of the Thieves Guild, you will want to start thieving for fun and profit. By now, you will have met Vex. She handles all the burglary, shill, sweep and heist jobs. In order to earn some gold and help Vex with her goal of restoring the Guild to its former glory, ask her for a shill job. She will inform you that a client has requested someone be taken out. Unlike the Dark Brotherhood, the guild does this by planting evidence in their home and tipping off the guard.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Vex will tell you that she handles all the burglary, shill, sweep, and heist jobs. Ask her for a sweep job and she will inform you that one of Skyrim's citizens has three items that the guild covets.

Once you have completed three reputation quests for the Thieves Guild, speak with Tonilia in the Ragged Flagon. Before you get a chance to say anything, she will ask you to do a favor for her. The Guild needs a reliable way to transport goods across Skyrim, and Tonilia believes the Khajiit caravans can be an asset in this regard - if they are willing, that is. She requests that you speak to the leader of the caravans, a Khajiit peddler named Ri'saad about securing an alliance between the caravans and the Guild. In addition, you are to deliver a satchel of moon sugar to Ri'saad as a gift.

If you approach Vekel in The Ragged Flagon and ask him for work, he will tell you about some journals that he's been after: "I have a buyer with a very odd taste in literature, looking for some particular books. I'm told they're the ravings of a madman, a wizard named Arondil and his peculiar cravings. It's said to be in four volumes and very hard to come by. My client is offering quite a reward for them, which I'd split with you." If you ask for him to elaborate further on the journals, he will go on to say, "Recently, a woman was found... naked and shivering along the road to Dawnstar. The only information the guard could get from her were tales of strange experiments and Arondil scribbling in his journals."

Note: This section only describes prerequisites for this quest. The quest will not begin until you complete all prerequisites.

This article is about the quest. For the note, see Vald's Debt (note).