The Elven Maiden

Overview
Faction: Thieves Guild Prerequisites: 100 fenced Quest Giver: Armand Christophe Reward: 100, advance to Bandit rank, 2 infamy

Background
Armand wants you to steal a bust from the chapel undercroft in Cheydinhal. However, what seems like a straight smash-and-grab job turns into something much more complicated.

Walkthrough
This quest requires you to steal the bust of Llathasa Indarys from Cheydinhal. Travel to Cheydinhal and speak with the beggars marked on your map(make sure your disposition is good). He/She will tell you to look in the chapel.

Head to the Cheydinhal chapel and enter the chapel Undercroft. Be cautious; there is a guard posted so you'll have to be sneaky. Steal the "bust" (follow the map indicators). The best way to do this would be to let the guard make two runs in her route, then when she walks away, grab the bust and run out. If you are noticed by the guard, she will attack you. If you run out and leave, the guards will attack the chapel guard, so it's best to grab the bust and run. The undercroft guard is wearing some decent armor, so you can come back later and kill her if you wish.

Avoid looting the chest of Llathasa Indarys, as her ghost will come out and attack you.

Travel back to the Imperial City Waterfront where it is discovered that guards including Hieronymus Lex have overrun the place, and have issued an arrest warrant for Armand, who has gone on the lam.

If you hurry to speak with other Thieves' Guild members, they will tell you that Methredhel is looking for you. She is actively seeking you to update you on the situation, and can come inside the Shack for Sale or other houses to find you, but can be found inside her own house if necessary. As you question her, it becomes clear that your job was an elaborate charade designed to expose and in turn, frame a traitor in the Thieves' Guild, a Dunmer named Myvryna Arano (the same woman who delivers the invitation to the Thieves' Guild). The same stolen item that revealed her treachery is now to be used to turn Lex against her; Methredhel wants you to frame her for the crime by placing the bust in a cupboard at her house. The swarm of guards continues to bolt to and fro throughout the Waterfront area, and Lex remains in constant line of sight, so a very high sneak skill would be required to enter Myvryna Arano's house unseen. The guards thin out but do not disperse entirely, even after several days. Be careful that the guards do not see you break into her house; Invisibility and/or Chameleon effects may be preferable to Stealth alone. Once inside, place the statuette in "Myvryna's Cupboard", which is the cupboard nearest the door and next to her bed. Should Hieronymus Lex's disposition not be high enough, he will not believe your story, but once it is at least 71, you can convince him that Myvryna Arano stole the bust, and to search Myvryna's house. A short cutscene takes place, and then the quest is complete.

The waterfront tax records stolen in the quest Untaxing the Poor show that Myvryna Arano was "exempted" which gives a clue for this quest.


 * Note that there are two cupboards, the one to the right of her bed is the correct one!

Journal Entries
Upon receiving this quest:
 * Armand of the Thieves Guild has asked me to steal the bust of Llathasa Indarys from Cheydinhal. They will pay 100 gold coins.

After talking to a Cheydinhal beggar about the bust:
 * I learned that the bust of Llathasa Indarys is in her tomb. She is buried in the chapel undercroft of the Temple of Arkay in Cheydinhal.

After grabbing the bust:
 * I have the bust. Now to get back to Armand.

When you return to the Waterfront:
 * The Waterfront is crawling with Imperial Watch. They are all looking for Armand Christophe. I'm sure he won't show at midnight. Dareloth's Garden is too hot. I'll need to find out where he is hiding. Maybe one of the other Thieves Guild members knows. I'll have to start asking around for them.

After Methredhel approaches you:
 * Methredhel contacted me. She says that this whole job was just a setup to flush out the informant, a Dark Elf named Myvryna Arano. They didn't see fit to let me in on the plan though. She has specific instructions from Armand to plant the bust in Myvryna's cupboard. Then I have to find Hieronymus Lex and snitch on her.

After placing the bust in Myvyrna's cupboard:
 * The bust is in Myvryna's cupboard. Now to tell that windbag Lex where to find it.

After successfully framing Myvryna:
 * Hieronymus Lex found the bust I planted. Now all I have to do is report to Armand. Unfortunately I'll have to wait until the next midnight for him to return to the Garden of Dareloth.

After meeting with Armand:
 * Armand thanked me for my help in exposing Myvryna Arano as the informant. He promoted me to Bandit in the Thieves Guild.

Bugs
At the point where Lex confronts Myvryna Arano, there is a bug where he goes in, check the cupboard, starts talking, and then walks out. You are stuck because it's meant to be a cutscene but it doesn't have an ending, so you have no choice but to reload. Always save before doing this part. On the PC version of the game, you can open the console (~ or `) and type in "enableplayercontrols" (without quotation marks) to re-enable your movement. Armond might not show sometimes. If this happens you can try looking for him in either the basement of the westernmost warehouse on the waterfront or in his house, north of where he's supposed to show. PC users can also use the console command "player.moveto 352A0" to move to wherever Armand is.

Another bug is after you have told Lex about Myvryna and goes in the house he randomly disappears and ends up somewhere near Bravil.