Quick Links
With your stealthy (or very much less than stealthy) infiltration of the Thalmor Embassy complete, you return to Delphine with a crucial piece of information, the Thalmor are searching 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Skyrim for a man named Esbern. 𒐪That name alone is enough to get her to figure out where to start looking: Riften.
A Cornered Rat will need you to find out wh⛄ere exactly Esbern is hiding and to safely bring the old archivist back to💖 Delphine in Riverwood. This quest is not nearly as linear as it seems and if you want to navigate the many ways to finish it, this guide has mapped it out.
Starting A Cornered Rat
The quest begins at the conclusion of Diplomatic Immunity after Delphine learn that the Thalmor are looking for Esbern. Figuring out that the most likely place for a man to go into hiding is the Ratway in Riften, she asks you to look for Brynjolf.
If you are already a member of the Thieves Guild, this section becomes much easier.
Finding Where Esbern Is Hiding
Being a Hold Capital, you can easily reach Riften by taking a carriage directly to it. There, look for the city's inn, The Bee And The Barb to find Brynjolf. When you arrive, there are 🌟a few ways to find out where Esbern is.
|
Talk to Brynjolf |
Assist him: He will demand that you help him with a scheme before he gives you any information. This will start the quest A Chance Arrangement, the first quest in the Thieves Guild questline. Persuade him: You can tell him that you are looking for Esbern for the good of Skyrim. If you have a sufficiently silver tongue, he will accept that it makes sense and tell you where Esbern is. |
|---|---|
|
Talk to Keerava |
Asking the Argonian barmaid Keerava for suggestions will have her point the way to the Ratway, though she can't offer any further suggestions. When you arrive, you will need to learn where Esbern is from Vekel the Man. |
|
Ask as a member of the Theives Guild |
If you've already become a member of the Ratway, you can simply ask Brynjolf for Esbern's location. |
Reaching Esbern
Getting to the old hermit will need you to get through the Ratway, a collection of tunnels underneath Riften where many of its worst denizens live. On your first visit, you will need to clear it of its violent inhabitants.
We covered how to get through the Ratway in our guide for the quest 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Taking Care Of Business.
When you reach The Ragged Flagon, take the doorway to Ratway Tunnels, located by Vekel's bar. From here, you will be fighting Thalmor agents mixed with more Ratway residents. You will need to descend through the tunnels, taking a right on the middle floor to find the way to the Ratway Wa🔯🎃rrens where you will find Esbern.
Esbern will be easy to find at the entrance. Simply reach the open area in the center and take the stairs up to the bolted-up door. Interact❀ with it to speak to Esbern, though how it proc🏅eeds from here depends on you.
- Persuade: Dragonborn with a sufficiently high speech skill will be able to convince him to let out in
- Use the passphrase: Asking him what happened on the 30th of Frostfall will automatically convince him.
- Tell him you are the Dragonborn: He will be convinced enough to let you in
On entering and after a brief conversation, the quest ends and the next one, Alduin's Wall begins.
Alduin's Wall will start immediately. There won't be any downtime for a while.