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You have been working your way through quests for the Thieves Guild in Skyrim, getting one step closer to finishing the questline. The second to last quest, titled Blindsighted, will take you far from Riften where most of the previous quests have occurred, all the way to Irkngthand.

Related: Skyrim: A Chance Arrangement Quest Walkthrough

In this guide, we are going to go over a step-by-step guide on how to complete the Blindsighted quest; this will include rewards that you receive upon completion. First, let's take a look at previous quests you will need to complete before you can take on Blindsighted.

Prerequisites To Complete

player, karliah, and brynjolf participating in the nightingale oath ceremony

Below, you can find the quests that you will need to complete before starting Blindsighted. All of these quests are part of the Thieves Guild questline.

Quest Name

NPC To Speak With

A Chance Arrangement

Brynjolf

  • Located in Riften
    • in the town square

Taking Care of Business

Brynjolf

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Ragged Flagon

Loud and Clear

Brynjolf

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Ragged Flagon

Dampening Spirits

Maven Black-Briar

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Bee and Barb or Black-Briar Meadery

Scoundrel's Folly

Mercer Frey

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Ratway

Speaking With Silence

Mercer Frey

  • Snow Viel Sanctum
    • southeast of Winterhold

Hard Answers

Karliah

  • Snow Viel Sanctum
    • southeast of Winterhold

The Pursuit

Karliah

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Ragged Flagon

Trinity Restored

Karliah

  • Located in Riften
    • in The Ragged Flagon

This may seem like a lot of quests to keep track of, but thankfully, each of the quests will lead into the following quest. For example, after finishing The Pursuit, you will automatically receive Trinity Restored. You will not have to go too far out of your way to accept any of these quests.

Accepting Blindsighted

irkngthand exterior

After completing Trinity Restored, you will automatically receive Blindsighted from Brynjolf. At this point, you will be inside Nightingale Hall, which is just south of Riften.

Upon speaking with Brynjolf, he will instruct you to travel to Irkngthand, where Mercer Frey is supposedly stealing the Eyes of Falmer.

Traveling To Irkngthand

skyrim map with whiterun and irkngthand highlighted
via mapgenie.io

Irkngthand is a large Dwemer Ruin filled with bandits and Dwarven automatons, located to the west of Windhelm. To get here quickly, start from Windhelm and head west. Additionally, you can get to Irkngthand by starting in Whiterun and traveling northeast. Once you make it to Irkngthand, you will need to either deal with the bandits or sneak by them.

With the bandits taken care of, it's time to get inside. You will notice a gate with an unreachable lever. Head to the right and sneak through a small passage while killing any bandits that stand in your way. Make your way to the top of Irkngthand and enter the door inside.

Now that you are inside Irkngthand, it's time to find Karliah and Brynjolf. The path inside is pretty straightforward; be cautious of any Dwarven automatons since they can be quite the formidable foe. Continue following the path until you come to a lift that will take you to the Grand Cavern, where Brynjolf and Karliah will be waiting for you.

Finding Mercer Frey

player shooting a falmer shadowmaster

After regrouping with your friends, you will need to find and kill Mercer Frey. Unfortunately, the area will be full of traps that Mercer has created. Below, you can find a detailed walkthrough to get to Mercer.

  1. From the Grand Cavern, head into the next area and defeat the Falmer Shadowmasters. Right as you enter this area, a spiked ball will fall from the ceiling. Quickly dodge this to avoid damage. In this room, you will encounter a gate and two gears, which both need to be rolling for the gate to open. Activate one gear and then quickly run to the second. Doing so will cause the door to open.
  2. Proceed to the next area, but be sure to search all available rooms that you pass. One room will contain Detect Life Scrolls, which is important for your upcoming fight against Mercer since he uses invisibility spells.
  3. In the next area, kill falmers and a dwarven automaton. After they are defeated, head to the path above and enter into the Slave Pens.
  4. The Slave Pens is a tight area filled with enemies that you will need to kill. This area is pretty straightforward; just pull any levers to open doors, while killing any falmers that appear.
  5. After making your way through the Slave Pens, you will enter into the Sanctuary, where Mercer Frey will be.

While you make your way to Mercer, Brynjolf and Karliah will be fighting alongside you. They are great warriors, so the enemies should be taken down in no time. Overall, the traps that Mercer set along with the enemies present shouldn't be too much for you to handle.

Killing Mercer Frey

player speaking with mercer frey

Now that you have made it to Mercer, it's time to kill him. During this fight, Mercer will go invisible, but he will still be able to take damage. You can follow the shimmering of his movement, or use a Detect Life Scroll to see him.

Note: Be sure to save before heading into the Sanctuary. This will help if you are struggling to defeat enemies, but there are also several quest-breaking bugs present during this fight.

Although Brynjolf and Karliah will be with you, Mercer casts a spell that causes Brynjolf to attack Karliah. Because of this, they will not aid you during this fight.

Mercer will also use two swords during this fight, with one of them having the ability to drain life. Overall, be sure to always keep an eye on his location, without letting him get too close. Since he can go invisible, he can sneak up from behind and quickly kill you.

Escaping Irkngthand

player after escaping irkngthand

After you have killed Mercer, take the Skeleton Key and Eyes of Falmer. The chamber that you are in will begin to fill with water. Although it may be scary, stay in the room until the water until a rock near the statue in the room falls, revealing an entrance to the Bronze Water Cave.

Note: Another bug happens in this part of the quest, causing Brynjolf and Karliah to get stuck in the water. Be sure to save after killing Mercer as well.

Completing Blindsighted

item selection screen with nightingale bow highlighted

Once in the cave, speak with Karliah, where she will tell you that the Skeleton Key needs to be returned. This will begin the final quest in the Thieves Guild questline, titled Darkness Returns.

Rewards For Completion

As a reward for completing Blindsighted, you will receive the Nightingale Bow, along with the Skeleton Key and Eyes of Falmer that you took from Mercer.

The Nightingale bow is a strong weapon that has the following stats, depending on your current level.

Personal Current Level

Stats

1-18

Freeze target for 10 points, while shocking them for 5 points

19-26

Freeze target for 15 points, while shocking them for 7 points

27-35

Freeze target for 20 points, while shocking them for 10 points

36-45

Freeze target for 25 points, while shocking them for 12 points

46+

Freeze target for 30 points, while shocking them for 15 points

With that, you have finished Blindsighted. Only one final quest stands in your way, so don't forget to head back and return the Skeleton Key.

Next: Skyrim: Best Companions Quests, Ranked