The Thieves Guild of Skyrim is a rag-tag group of loveable misfits and outcasts desperately sniffing out the next big score. Located in Riften, the guild's charismatic second in command, Brynjolf, will approach you in the market and task you with framing Brand-Shei, an innocent market stall owner. He's only supposed to stay in jail for a few days, but Bethesda's RPG is buggy, so he ends up staying in jail forever and you lose access to a great general merchant as well as his interesting quest.

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Fail The Quest

However, did you know you can join the Thieves Guild without putting Brand-Shei in jail? Well, you can. There are several different methods that are all incredibly simple, which we'll detail below. One final thing to remember: if you're playing Skyrim with the unofficial patch mod installed, Brand-Shei will be released after a week or so, so no need to worry.

A gameplay screenshot of Skyrim's Riften, featuring Brynjolf speaking to a crowd.

You don't need to perform any game-breaking glitches to avoid putting Brand-Shei in prison, you just need to fail Brynjolf's quest. It's tempting to just quickload a save if you fail a pickpocket, but if you want to keep Brand-Shei out of jail, you'll have to resist that temptation.

Brynjolf will task you with stealing a ring from Madesi's lockbox and placing it in Brand-Shei's pocket using reverse pickpocketing. To avoid sending the useful Dark Elf down for life for a crime he didn't commit (something a bit too dark for the mischievous Thieves Guild) just fail the objective.

There are several ways to fail the quest. The easiest is to go into a building while Brynjolf is creating a distraction. This will unload the market and he'll chastise you for wasting the opportunity he created. Brand-Shei will avoid prison time but Brynjolf will still tell you to go into the Ratway to find the Ragged Flagon.

Alternative Methods Of Failing The Quest

brynjolf, vex, and kharliah stand in the cistern in the ragged flagon, skyrim

Another way to fail the objective is to get spotted breaking into Madesi's market stall, stealing his ring from his lockbox, or placing the ring into Brand-Shei's pocket. You could ensure you get spotted by standing up while doing any of the breaking in, stealing, or pickpocketing, or you could crouch and wait for the eye to be open, indicating someone is watching you. If anyone sees you doing these illegal activities, you'll fail because thieves are meant to be sneaky.

Something else you can do is just drop Madesi's ring and then tell Brynjolf you lost it. Will he be mad? Sure. Will he still let you join the Thieves Guild? Also yes. Turns out it really isn't hard to get into the Thieves Guild, they're so short-staffed they just want people who are willing to try.

A lizard-like argonian stands at his stall, with jewelry locked inside a glass case.

Finally, you could attack Brand-Shei and get yourself arrested. He's marked as an essential NPC before the quest is complete, so you won't kill him. Brynjolf will be surprised you got caught but will mutter something about a spark and welcome you into the Guild anyway.

It may seem weird to fail this objective, but it really is in your best interest to keep Brand-Shei out of jail. He's an interesting character, keeps the market looking more lively, and he's a general merchant who buys anything and sells a variety of interesting wears. It's just good business to keep him out of lockup, not to mention the fact that he's tied to an interesting and fun questline. It's also fun to roleplay as an inept or unlucky thief — the Guild is supposed to be cursed at the moment after all.

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