Harsh Master

Harsh Master
Kjar on his ship moored at the Windhelm docks.
Quest Giver	Kjar
Location	Windhelm
Reward	Leveled
Type	Miscellaneous quest
Quest ID	FreeformShipsWindhelm

Harsh Master is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must clear out a group of bandits for Kjar, the captain of a ship docked in Windhelm.

Objectives

1. Kill the bandit leader
2. Return to Kjar

Walkthrough

This quest is given by Kjar, the captain of the "North Wind", a ship docked below Windhelm. To reach the docks, go through the Gray Quarter until you see the city gate doors and follow the steps down to the docks. Kjar wishes you to track down and kill the leader of some bandits. The Radiant story-generator chooses one of several bandit hideouts for this quest to use as its target.

You're the ship captain? "The North Wind is my mistress, and I'm her master. I don't tolerate any disloyalty. You looking for work? Got a sailor who thought running a gang of thieves would be more money than hauling my cargo. You make an example of that gang, I'll give you a year's worth of pay."

They're as good as dead. "That's the spirit."

Not interested. "Coward."

Once the quest has been accepted, the Dragonborn should proceed to the marked location, one of three caves or a fort. It is not necessary to kill all of the bandits, only their leader, whose location is marked on the map. Once the task has been complete, the Dragonborn should return to Kjar for a reward.

Your old crew member has been taken care of. "Fine work. Here's your pay. Don't spend it all on mead."

Possible bandit locations

• Lost Knife Hideout
• Uttering Hills Cave
• Stony Creek Cave
• Gallows Rock

Rewards

Level
1–9	500
10–19	750
20–29	1000
30–39	1250
40+	1500

Journal

Harsh Master – FreeformShipsWindhelm
ID	Journal Entry
10	Objective 10: Kill the leader of <Alias=BanditCamp>
15	Objective 15: Return to Kjar
20	Quest complete

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Harsh Master. 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   PS4   If the special job in Windhelm for the Thieves Guild has been completed, wiping out the Summerset Shadows, they will again appear in Uttering Hills Cave. The problem with this is there is no leader where the map marker points making it incompletable as it is assumed it is Linwe.
  •  PC (Fix)   Type into the console setstage FreeformShipsWindhelm 15.
  •  PS4 (Fix)   (Special Edition) Alternately, killing the Bandit Leader at either Uttering Hills Cave, Lost Knife Hideout, Stony Creek Cave, or Gallows Rock, completes the "Harsh Master" objective.
• If Krev the Skinner has been killed during the quest of the Companions, it is possible that they will reappear at Gallows rock due to both Companion quest bug and this quest's bug.
• This quest might be repeated after installing DLC; it can potentially be available an infinite number of times, provided that the Dragonborn waits 30 days for quest locations to respawn.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim