The Dainty Sload

The Dainty Sload
Erikur, the client and thane to Elisif the Fair, in Solitude.
Quest Giver	Delvin Mallory
Location	The Dainty Sload Solitude
Prerequisite	Five small jobs for Delvin or Vex in Solitude
Next Quest	Under New Management
Faction	Thieves Guild
Reward	Leveled item A fence for the Thieves Guild Thieves Guild influence in Haafingar
Type	Thieves Guild side quest
Quest ID	TGTQ02

For the location, see Dainty Sload.

"It's about time you got here. I'm not accustomed to dealing with people who are unreliable. That's why I asked Delvin to send me his best."

―Erikur

The Dainty Sload is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in which the Dragonborn must frame the captain of a trade ship for possessing banned items because he cheated Erikur, Jarl Elisif the Fair's thane and the Thieves Guild's client.

Background

Erikur has been cheated by Volf, captain of a trading vessel named the Dainty Sload. In order to frame Volf for a crime he didn't commit, Erikur is requesting that a substance called Balmora Blue be stashed on board in the captain's footlocker.

Objectives

1. Speak to Erikur.
2. Speak to Sabine Nytte at the East Empire Company docks.
3. Acquire Balmora Blue.
4. Plant the Balmora Blue on the Dainty Sload.
5. Speak to Erikur.

Walkthrough

After completing at least five small jobs for the Thieves Guild in Solitude, speak to Delvin Mallory in The Ragged Flagon. There, he will inform the Dragonborn of a "special job" in Solitude. The Dragonborn is directed to speak with Erikur, a wealthy thane and businessman who lives in the city.

Erikur

Travel to the Blue Palace in Solitude and speak with Erikur. He may be at his home if it is late at night. It is not advisable to break into his house, which may lower the relationship rank. It is better to wait until morning, where he can be found in the Blue Palace with Jarl Elisif and her other thane, Bryling.

He is not particularly polite, and seems to doubt the Dragonborn's skills, saying that he demanded Delvin's best man for this job. By speaking further with him, Erikur will eventually tell the Dragonborn that a ship captain called Volf cheated him over a business transaction. Volf is in charge of a ship called the Dainty Sload, and Erikur asks the Dragonborn to frame him for a crime.

He then directs the Dragonborn to plant an illegal drug known as Balmora Blue in the captain's footlocker inside the ship. The duo conspire to frame Volf for possession of an illicit substance, so Volf will be promptly sent off to, and rot in, the Castle Dour dungeons as punishment.

Sabine Nytte

Sabine's Footlocker, hidden beneath the dock by the Red Wave.

The next stop is the Red Wave, docked in Solitude's harbor outside the East Empire Company Warehouse. On the deck or somewhere inside the ship is Sabine Nytte, who claims to be the only one who can obtain Balmora Blue, who is easily identified by her Steel Plate Armor and battleaxe. She will sell its location and the key for 1500 . The location and key can be purchased or stolen. By choosing the purchase option, skip the rest of this section and see the Acquire Balmora Blue section below.

If the Balmora Blue is to be stolen, Sabine Nytte has two keys that can be used in the quest. Pickpocket her for either or both the keys, or pick the locks instead.

A safe containing a note about the Balmora Blue is in the bottom-most deck of the Red Wave. Pick the Master lock or use Sabine's key to open it. The note reads, "I stashed the Balmora Blue in a chest under the Wave. I put the best lock on it that money can buy."

Acquiring the Balmora Blue

The chest is in the water directly beneath the dock running parallel to the Red Wave. It can be lockpicked (Expert) or opened with another key pickpocketed from Sabine, unless she gives it willingly by payment. Once the Balmora Blue is acquired, the next stop is the Dainty Sload. Erikur may try to speak to the Dragonborn after leaving the docks. It is not necessary to speak to him if he does not.

Planting the Balmora Blue

The location of Dainty Sload

Head for the Dainty Sload, anchored out towards open water near the Solitude Lighthouse. There are two corsairs guarding the entrance to the interior of the ship. Either defeat them or sneak past them. To remain undetected, wait until the patrolling corsair disappears behind the cabin and slip through the unlocked door. Inside, there are more corsairs to deal with. With a high enough Sneak, it is fairly easy to sneak past the guards, and the first two can be avoided by removing the nearby torch from its scone to darken the area. Go down the stairs into the bottom of the ship, then back up the other side.

The ship's First Mate stands near the objective, the Captain's Footlocker. Pick the Adept lock on the footlocker, or defeat or pickpocket the First Mate for the key. Plant the Balmora Blue and go back to the entrance. Note that there is a Stone of Barenziah on the table near the First Mate, and an Adept-level chest opposite the top of the stairs. There is also an unlocked chest by the door to the outside.

Conclusion

Travel back to Erikur at the Blue Palace. He will reward the Dragonborn with a random leveled Spell Tome, and the assurance that he will "re-open any doors the Guild needs for its return". Return to the Ragged Flagon, where Delvin is waiting for the news. Speak to him to end the quest.

When the quest is completed, Delvin will mention that the Thieves Guild is making progress. As a result, there will be a new merchant or service in one of the alcoves of the Flagon. Part of the Cistern will also be renovated.

Journal

The Dainty Sload – TGTQ02
ID	Journal Entry
10	Erikur, a wealthy merchant residing in Solitude, has requested assistance from the Thieves Guild. Objective 10: Speak to Erikur
20	Erikur has been cheated by Volf, captain of a trading vessel named the Dainty Sload. In order to frame Volf for a crime he didn't commit, Erikur is requesting that a substance called Balmora Blue be stashed on board in the captain's footlocker. Objective 20: Acquire Balmora Blue
30	Objective 30: Plant the Balmora Blue Objective 40: Return to Erikur
200	The Balmora Blue has been stashed aboard the Dainty Sload, and the Thieves Guild can now count on Erikur as an influential ally in Solitude. Quest complete

Trivia

• The Balmora Blue will still be in the Dainty Sload if it is revisited after completing the quest. It will be in the chest the Dragonborn planted it in, and will not be considered stolen upon retrieval.
• If the Dainty Sload has previously been visited and cleared of enemies, there will be no opposition during the quest and no need to sneak or fight. However, all occupants will respawn after a few days.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to The Dainty Sload. 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.

Click to show

PS3   When the Dragonborn leaves Erikur's house after speaking to him, if it is not through the marked door, the quest objective marker will point the Dragonborn to return to his house through the door in which they exited.  PS3 (Fix)  To fix this, enter the house through the same door and leave through the marked one. The quest object marker should now update properly.  PC   360   PS3   Sometimes there will be a bug in which Erikur can be found either in his home or the Blue Palace, however when speaking to him, he only offers two dialogue options, neither of which are relevant to this quest. Currently no fix exists on PS3 and Xbox. PC users may bypass speaking to Erikur by opening the console and entering setstage TGTQ02 20.  PC   360   PS3   It is possible to consume the Balmora Blue while viewing it in the chest. The quest will update and tell the player to put the Balmora Blue in the chest, making the quest impossible to complete.  PC   360   PS3   Erikur may appear east of Solitude inside the Karth River, under the map and inaccessible. This makes the quest impossible to complete, which in turn prevents the Thieves Guild questline from being completed.  PC (Fix)   Move to an open part of Solitude, and then type the following commands consecutively into the console: prid 000198A9, moveto player  PC (Fix)   Using console and typing player.moveto 000198A9, he can be located. He will not talk while he is under water, but he can be herded out of the water by bumping into him repeatedly; the quest can then be continued.  PC (Fix)   Another method is typing player.placeatme 00013272 into the console to place him in the Dragonborn's area, however this may make a clone.  360 (Fix)   One way to get around the "sunken Erikur" bug is to climb the rooftops of Solitude to reach a glitched roof that lets the Dragonborn drop under the city, then search for Eikur. After speaking to him, fast-travel away from Solitude to get out.  360 (Fix)   If the Dragonborn sides with the Stormcloaks and conquers Solitude, Erikur will be relocated to the Blue Palace where the Dragonborn will be able to speak with him and continue on with the quest.  PC   360   PS3   If the Dragonborn has killed Erikur before doing the quest, Delvin tells the Dragonborn about this quest but never activates it. One can still accept other Thieves Guild quests, but the questline will ultimately be impossible to complete.  PC (Fix)   This can be fixed by typing the following commands consecutively into the console: prid 000198a96, moveto player , resurrect, and after closing the console and allowing Erikur to reload, finally setstage tgtq02 0. This will select Erikur within the console, resurrect Erikur at the Dragonborn's current location, and begin the quest.  PC   360   PS3   Erikur's voice actor changes for his final line about "getting it done."  PC   360   PS3   When inside the Dainty Sload, the deck may lose its collision physics and allow the Dragonborn to fall through it. It is possible to climb across the barrels and other items that remain floating in midair, then jump at the door and activate the chest and plant the Balmora Blue in midair.  PC   360   PS3  It is possible that after the quest has been completed, the new stall will never appear in the Ragged Flagon. This also prevents the achievement "One With the Shadows" from unlocking.  360   Sometimes you might not even receive the quest itself after speaking to Delvin for some unknown reason. All he will do is repeat himself when talked to, making this quest impossible to finish/start.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim