Gallus's Journal

Main article: Books (Skyrim)

This is the translated version of Gallus's Encoded Journal, which was originally written in the Falmer Language to prevent anyone from reading it.

Locations

Given by Enthir at the end of the quest "Hard Answers."

Mercer Frey continues to elude my every step. I think he's aware I'm following him, and appears to be taking no unnecessary chances. I'm bringing all of my skills to the forefront in order to deceive him. It still pains me that the deception is necessary. When I became a Nightingale, using my newfound talents against my own was the furthest thought from my mind.

There was a close call today. I was settling down for a night's rest in the Cistern when Mercer Frey entered unexpectedly. He was creeping along the wall, but I spotted him immediately. He edged closer to the vault door, making his way carefully around the perimeter of the room, but suddenly stopped and turned towards my hiding place. I froze instantly, even holding my breath for a moment, but my position was already compromised. He abruptly turned and walked back towards the Flagon. What was he doing? At last I have a piece of evidence that might explain Mercer Frey's actions. Instead of trying to follow him or break into his Manor, I used every loose-tongued source at my disposal to scour the Ratway looking for answers.

It took several weeks but Maul was able to provide an interesting bit of information. Mercer had been spending inordinately large sums of coin on all manner of things unrelated to the Guild. How he was able to afford this was a mystery to me. The vault was impregnable, so what was the source of his coin?

It's been confirmed by my sources Mercer's been living an unduly lavish lifestyle replete with spending vast amounts of gold on personal pleasures. I have more than my share of evidence to confront him now. He must be stealing from the Guild, but, without proof, all I have is baseless accusation. Mercer came from wealthy stock, but the amount of coin he's been spending is immense.

I've been giving it some serious thought. There's only a single way that Mercer could have access to vast amounts of coin. I hesitate to even believe it's possible. How could he possibly desecrate the Twilight Sepulcher? The goes far beyond mere greed, and transcends common theft. His actions could represent the failure of the Nightingales! Something that hasn't occurred in hundreds of years. Why? Why would he readily throw away everything he believes in? All I need is proof.

Mercer Frey has requested I meet him at Snow Veil Sanctum today. He sent a note by courier, so I can only assume he's already there. All my senses tell me it's a trap, but I have no choice. His message indicated the meeting was of the utmost urgency, and involved Guild business, so I'm obligated to go. I can't risk bringing anyone else with me, but I'm almost certain Karliah will disobey and follow.

Trivia

Gallus's Journal (and likewise its Encoded version) is the only unique journal to feature the symbol of the Nightingales on its cover.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Gallus's Journal. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template 360 / XB1 , PS3 / PS4 , PC / MAC , NX / PS5 , XS , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.
Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

PC 360 PS3 Gallus's Encoded Journal may be stuck in the inventory as a Quest Item, and may not be translated to Gallus's Journal even after the questline has been completed.
- PC (Fix) Enter the console command player.drop 000CEDA6 1 or player.removeitem 000CEDA6 1 to be rid of the journal.
- This bug is fixed with Patch 1.9, it is possible that, if the Thieves Guild quest line has been completed before downloading the patch, the book will still be bugged.
- One can also place the journal in a bookshelf to resolve this problem.

Appearances

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This book was taken from The Elder Scrolls series of video games or from websites created and owned by Bethesda Softworks, the copyright of which is held by Bethesda Softworks. All trademarks and registered trademarks present in the image are proprietary to Bethesda Softworks, the inclusion of which implies no affiliation with The Elder Scrolls Wiki. The use of such images is believed to fall under the fair use doctrine of copyright law.