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| “ | Our access to those bits of luck are what separates us from common bandits. | „ |
| ~ Gallus Desidenius. |
The Thieves Guild are major characters in the Elder Scrolls franchise.
In Skyrim (the franchise's fifth mainline game), they're located within the Ratway under the hold capital of The Rift, Riften, the guild includes a bar by the name of The Ragged Flagon, with the secret entrance to their headquarters in the cistern located just off to the side of the door to the Ratway Warrens.
History[]
Skyrim[]
By the start of the game, the Thieves Guild is on its last legs. Some time prior, unknown to the guild at the time, the current Guildmaster, Mercer Frey, had betrayed the Daedric Prince Nocturnal, patron god of the Thieves Guild, stolen her Daedric Artifact, the Skeleton Key, and murdered his fellow Nightingale Gallus, the leader of the Thieves Guild previously, and framed fellow Nightingale Karliah for it, alienating her from the Thieves Guild. Karliah swore to avenge Gallus and kill Mercer for his treason to the Thieves Guild and Nocturnal.
When the Dragonborn enters Riften for the first time, Brynjolf approaches them to encourage them to complete what was actually an initiation to have the Dragonborn join the Thieves Guild. Once successful, Brynjolf introduces the Dragonborn to Mercer. In the meantime, to try and expose Mercer for his lies and deceit, Karliah had been aiding threats to Maven Black-Briar and the Thieves Guild's operations, such as Goldenglow Estate and Honningbrew Meadery, leaving behind notes with her seal on them for Maven and Mercer to find. As Mercer learns of these developments, Karliah sends him a message, challenging him to battle at Snow Veil Sanctum in Winterhold, where Mercer betrayed Gallus. However, bringing the Dragonborn along, this forces Karliah to waste her arrow tipped with a potent paralysis poison on the Dragonborn, which inevitably saves their life when Mercer attempts to kill them to remove any witnesses to having heard the truth when he and Karliah confronted each other before Karliah, knowing she's outmatched, flees under cover of invisibility to escape him. Karliah later rescues the Dragonborn and nurses them back to health, but with the Dragonborn her only means of showing the Thieves Guild the truth of Mercer's betrayal, she asks for their help, giving them Gallus' journal to decipher as it was written in the Falmer language.
Heading to Markarth to infiltrate Calcelmo's private lab to decipher the Falmer writings, when the Dragonborn returns the translation to Karliah, she and the Dragonborn head back to Riften to show Brynjolf and the rest of the Thieves Guild. Though they are hostile to Karliah's presence, still thinking her a traitor, once she shows the truth with Gallus' journal to them, and they find the vault containing all their gathered loot empty, that's all it takes to convince them that Mercer betrayed them and must be punished. Brynjolf joins Karliah and the Dragonborn to be initiated as Nightingales by Nocturnal, before heading to the Dwemer ruins of Irkngthand to confront Mercer as he attempts to collect the Eyes of the Falmer and then make good his escape from Skyrim to avoid facing justice. Though he manages to keep Karliah and Brynjolf at bay by forcing Brynjolf to fight Karliah due to a Fury spell, he faces the Dragonborn. Despite all his skills and abilities as Guildmaster and a Nightingale, Mercer is finally slain by the Dragonborn, avenging Gallus and delivering justice to Mercer for his treason against the Thieves Guild.
After the Dragonborn returns the Skeleton Key to Nocturnal at the Twilight Sepulcher, and Karliah has one last goodbye with Gallus' spirit, the Dragonborn is made the new Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild with Maven, Karliah, Brynjolf, and the other members' support and blessing. From there, the Dragonborn can help the Thieves Guild get back on their feet by doing odd jobs for Vex and Delvin Mallory to restore the Thieves Guild's influence in Markarth, Solitude, Windhelm, and Whiterun. After doing a special job in each hold capital, the Ragged Flagon will get new merchants and businesses, while the cistern is renovated to help show the Thieves Guild is once more a threat to all of Skyrim.
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  Villains
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Daedric Princes Daedra Dragons Vampires Frostbite Spiders Aldmeri Dominion Imperial Legion Morag Tong Thieves Guild Mythic Dawn Dark Brotherhood Blackwood Company Glenmoril Witches Penitus Oculatus Legion Zero Tribunal Sixth House Dragon Priests Dwemer Snow Elves Creatures Others | ||