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The Thieves Guild in Skyrim is full of interesting adventures that are exclusive to the faction, usually in the form of a quest. "Loud And Clear" is the first mission the faction assigns you after joining the Thieves Guild, and it prepares you for all of the thieving you'll have to do for the rest of the questline.
There are a few parts to the "Loud And Clear" quest, and while sometimes you're simply talking to characters, there's also a lot of stealing. Here's a step-by-step guide for how to complete "Loud And Clear" and all the rewards you can earn from it.
Updated October 28, 2022 by Nicolas Ng: This article has been updated with additional tips, clearer instructions, and extra information about everything you can do in this quest.
How To Start Loud And Clear
"Loud And Clear" is the first task you receive from the Thieves Guild, so there are multiple steps you'll have to complete to finish it.
After the Thieves Guild officially welcomes you as their newest member, you speak to Mercer Frey, the leader of the Thieves Guild, and he'll tell you about your first job. You'll share a brief conversation with Mercer before you need to leave the Ragged Flagon and travel to Goldenglow Estate.
If you want to enter Goldenglow Estate in the easiest way possible, then you can speak to Vex in the Ragged Flagon before leaving, and she'll tell you about a secret entrance to the property that will allow you to enter without attracting attention. However, this entrance is optional.
How To Complete Loud And Clear
Travel to Goldenglow Estate and enter the outside portion of the property. Goldenglow Estate is on the island in the middle of the lake near Riften, and you can find it on the map above. Once you reach the outside section of the property, you'll come upon a group of beehives.
Burning The Beehives
While you are outside, you should burn the beehives. You may run into enemies near the beehives. Don't attack the guards; instead, hide behind objects or use the nearby lake to escape the situation.
You need to destroy three beehives, but no more. If you destroy more than three beehives, then you won't earn a reward for the job.
You can destroy the beehives with fire, so equip the Flames spell and fire it at the beehives. The Flames spell is available as soon as you create your character, so you'll definitely have access to it. Most other fire-themed spells will work as well.
Enter The Goldenglow Estate House
After burning three beehives, you need to travel inside Goldenglow Estate's building to get the property's Bill Of Sale. You can swim around the island to reach the quest marker near the door, which will have an expert-level lock.
Alternatively, you can use the sewer entrance to get into the house, but you'll need to have spoken with Vex in the Ragged Flagon to learn about it.
After speaking with Vex, a quest marker pointing towards the sewers will appear, and you can follow it into the property.
Once you enter Goldenglow Estate's interior, you'll see a quest marker that points upstairs. However, you need to sneak past multiple guards. Don't kill the guards; instead, sneak past them whenever they aren't looking in your direction.
Stealing The Key To The Safe
There's a character named Aringoth you'll encounter once you reach Goldenglow Estate Second Floor. Aringoth carries a key to the safe. Since the safe has an expert-level lock, it's worth trying to pickpocket the key from Aringoth if you want to open it more easily.
Aringoth is on a chair in one of the upstairs rooms, and you'll encounter him while traveling through the second floor. You can use the speech skill to either intimidate or persuade him to give up the key. Aringoth will attack you if both dialogue attempts fail, so you may have to kill him.
Luckily, the quest is still completable even if you kill Aringoth. Other guards in Goldenglow Estate may become hostile after you speak to Aringoth; if this happens, hide and wait for them to reset to their usual positions.
There's a Bee statue next to Aringoth's bed, which is one of the Larceny items. You can give the statue to Delvin Mallory in the Ragged Flagon to receive gold. You may also find other valuable items inside Goldenglow Estate, so keep an eye out for anything with a high-value rating.
Retrieve The Bill Of Sale For Goldenglow Estate
After you get the key and statue, leave the second floor through the exit with the quest marker. Travel to the basement through a nearby gate with a quest marker, then sneak past the guards and make your way to the safe.
The final guard in the basement is hard to avoid, but you can fire an arrow near him to draw his attention away for long enough to sneak past.
If you can't sneak past the guards for any reason, then you can run past them and attempt to grab everything from the safe. The guards will try to attack you, but you can empty the safe and exit Goldenglow Estate without having to attack them if you have enough health. Open the safe with the key or use lockpicks. The safe's lock is expert-level.
Talk To Brynjolf Again
Once you burn the three beehives and have the Bill Of Sale in your possession, you need to travel back to the Ragged Flagon and speak to Brynjolf. After a short conversation, Brynjolf will reward you, and you can start the next mission in the Thieves Guild storyline.
What Rewards Do You Earn For Completing Loud And Clear
Since "Loud And Clear" is one of the first quests in the Thieves Guild storyline, you don't earn any particularly notable rewards upon its completion. The first reward you earn is 50-800 gold, depending on your level. You won't earn any gold if you burn more than three beehives during "Loud And Clear," so make sure you're careful while destroying them.
There are also lots of items you can steal throughout Goldenglow Estate that you can sell for gold, which means that the gold you earn could be much higher depending on how thorough you are while exploring Goldenglow Estate.
One of the items in Goldenglow Estate is the Queen Bee Statue, which you can sell to Delvin Mallory for 100-800 gold.