Skyrim:A Chance Arrangement

Help teach a merchant to mind his own business. Quest Giver: Brynjolf Location(s): Riften Next Quest: Taking Care of Business Reward: 100 Gold ID: TG00

Brynjolf trying to sell his elixir

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Brynjolf.
2. Steal Madesi's Silver Ring.
3. Plant Madesi's Silver Ring or drop Madesi's Ring and speak to Brynjolf.
4. Speak to Brynjolf.

Detailed Walkthrough

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.

If you accept, Brynjolf will tell you that he will create a distraction in the bazaar. While this draws people's attention, you are to steal a ring from Madesi. Madesi keeps the ring in a strongbox inside the cabinet under the counter of his stall, both of which are locked. You can unlock the cabinet and strongbox at night for an easier theft, or simply pickpocket Madesi's key off of him. Then, wait until after 4pm to actually steal the ring. Note that the ring you must steal will specifically say "Madesi's Silver Ring," rather than just any silver ring.

After stealing the ring, sneak up to Brand-Shei and position yourself behind the crates he is sitting on. Pickpocket him and place the ring in his inventory. If you wish to spare Brand-Shei, you can drop the ring instead and tell Brynjolf you lost it. He won't be very happy, but you will be able to proceed to the next quest nonetheless.

This quest can also be completed without stealing and pickpocketing by simply waiting while Brynjolf distracts the crowd. If you do attempt the theft and are caught by a wandering guard, you will be arrested. In either case, you will still be able to progress to the next quest.

Speak to Brynjolf to receive a reward of 100 septims and a chance to join the Thieves Guild.

Notes

• After this quest is completed successfully, you may find Brand-Shei in the castle dungeon. You can talk to him and receive his identity quest from there if you did not receive it before.
• As soon as Brynjolf informs you of his plan you will receive a hidden perk increasing your pickpocketing chances by 30%, which makes planting the ring significantly easier. The perk will be removed once the quest is complete.
• If you are caught, Madesi's Silver Ring can be found afterwards in the evidence chest in Riften Jail.
• No matter what you do, Brynjolf will still approach you, meaning that if you do not intend to do the Thieves Guild, the quest will always be in your journal.
  • Using the forge next to the market before Brynjolf approaches you will cause him to ask you his opening question a few times while you are in the smithing animation and then walk away, after which he will not approach you again, which will prevent the quest from being added to your journal.

Bugs

• Leaving Riften during this quest could prevent the quest from progressing.
  • The Official Skyrim Patch, version 1.4, fixes this bug.
• Brand-Shei becomes imprisoned in Riften Jail forever, instead of just for a week.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.0, fixes this bug.
  • Fixed by entering the following in the console: set TG00BrandSheiJail to 0. The next time Brand-Shei's schedule is updated, he will leave jail and resume his original schedule. Force him to update his schedule right away by selecting him in the console (or entering prid 19DDC) and then entering evp.
• If you speak to Maul after speaking to Brynjolf and pick the conversational option "Know anything about the Thieves Guild?", the miscellaneous quest "Talk to Brynjolf about joining the Thieves Guild" may become stuck in your quest list.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.3.2, fixes this bug.
  • In the console, enter setstage TG00MaulHandler 200 to remove the entry.

Quest Stages

TG00 Maul Handler (TG00MaulHandler)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		Objective 10: Talk to Brynjolf about joining the Thieves Guild
A Chance Arrangement (TG00)
8		Brynjolf in Riften seems to be involved in some nefarious activities and has convinced me to take part in one of his schemes. Objective 8: Meet Brynjolf during daytime
10		Objective 10: Steal Madesi's Ring
20		Objective 20: Plant Madesi's Ring
30		(reverse pickpocket succeeded) Objective 30: Speak to Brynjolf
35		(reverse pickpocket failed) Objective 30: Speak to Brynjolf
40		(player took too long/left area) Objective 30: Speak to Brynjolf
200	Finishes quest	Brynjolf's scheme in Riften has ended and the promise of more coin has been made. This appears to be the beginning of profitable friendship.

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table:
  • TG00MaulHandler: 200.
  • TG00: 0, 5.

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage TG00 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest TG00.

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Next: Taking Care of Business