Toying With The Dead

Background
After becoming a member of the Thieves Guild, the player can ask Vekel the Man, the bartender at the Ragged Flagon in Riften, if he has any work that needs doing. He reveals that he has a client with particular tastes in literature that can only be sated with the writings of a madman.

Objectives
Find all four volumes of Arondil's journals scattered throughout the ice caves of Yngvild east of Dawnstar.

Walkthrough
The trek through Yngvild's caves and tunnels is straightforward, but the enemies are tough.

Yngvild
The player follows a straightforward path through the ice cave tunnels, dispatching leveled draugr and Yngvild Ghosts in order to find the first three volumes of Arondil's journals

Yngvild Throne Room
Inside a large cavernous area sits Arondil with his Yngvild Ghost bodyguard nearby. The final volume of his journal is on a table in the bedroom behind him. With a high sneak skill or invisibility, the player can steal the soul gem on the pedestal behind Arondil, which triggers Arondil's bodyguard to go berserk and attack Arondil. The ghostly bodyguard usually kills Arondil unless he happens to have a Staff of Fireball or a similarly powerful weapon in his possession. In the bedroom, the player will find a Stone of Barenziah sitting on the table by the journal and a Grand Staff of Calming leaning against the treasure chest.

To exit the level, the player heads down a tunnel to the east, where there is a gate that can be opened by activating a lever on the wall to the right. On the other side of the gate are the bodies of a Nord, a Breton, and a Redgaurd holding nothing of note to steal. Open the iron door with Arondil's Key and head up the spiral staircase to a door back to Yngvild.

There the player finds an apprentice-level locked chest, and a secret door through the stone that opens by means of a lever right next to it; the door opens up on the area in Yngvild near where you found the second journal volume.

Return to Vekel in the Ragged Flagon for your reward: Nothing (see Bugs below).

Notable items

 * Arondil's Journal (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4)
 * Stone of Barenziah in the Yngvild Throne Room next to the last journal volume on the table.
 * Skill book (Alteration): Reality and Other Falsehoods
 * A Grand Staff of Charming in the Yngvild Throne Room leaning against an unlocked chest.

Trivia

 * This quest can be started without being a member of the Thieves Guild, simply by recovering all four volumes from Yngvild without talking to Vekel first. Upon picking up the fourth volume, the miscellaneous objective "Return to Vekel" will be added.

Bugs

 * Upon returning all of Arondil's Journals, Vekel will say, "As promised, here's your payment for bringing them to me. Got it as part of a fair trade from a client." However, there will actually be no reward given at all.
 * This has been fixed in patch 1.9.
 * The journal volumes may stay in the inventory, and they can remain in your inventory indefinitely, although in some cases it's possible to sell them after quest completion.

Игры с мертвецами (Квест)