In Stabilized, a stable hand from Riften named Shadr is being squeezed by Sapphire, a member of the Thieves Guild. He owes her money, his shipment of goods never arrived, and he has a strong suspicion about who arranged that. It is a short miscellaneous quest in the Rift with several ways to resolve it – some kinder than others.
How to start
- On your first visit to Riften you can overhear Shadr and Sapphire arguing on a bridge. Sapphire demands payment; Shadr says his caravan was attacked, and she pointedly neither admits nor denies having done it herself. She then walks off into The Bee and Barb.
- Shadr sits down on a bench by the bridge. Talk to him, offer to help, and the quest is added to your miscellaneous objectives.
- If you missed the argument, look for Shadr at the Riften Stables, where he works and lives, or on Riften’s lower dock level near the Ratways entrance. The overheard conversation only happens on the first visit, but the quest can still be started afterwards.
Walkthrough
Speak to Sapphire
Sapphire usually leans against the wall right inside the entrance of The Bee and Barb. Raise the subject of Shadr’s debt. You have these options, depending on your skills and your standing with the Guild:
- Persuade or Intimidate (Speech 50 required). She admits her people hit the caravan and decides she has already made enough out of Shadr. If your Speech is in the 40s, the shrine of Dibella in Haelga’s bedroom in her bunkhouse gives a temporary 10-point boost.
- Pay the debt with a leveled amount of gold if you cannot pass the check.
- Thieves Guild member: Sapphire offers to split the money made off Shadr fifty-fifty with you.
- Guild Master: She recognises her boss, apologises, and says she meant to cut Delvin in on it. You can either order her to forget the debt or take a share of the profit.
Return to Shadr
Whatever you chose, head back to Shadr. If Sapphire agreed to leave him alone (or you paid), he thanks you warmly. If you agreed to split the take, you tell him there was nothing you could do, then go back to Sapphire to collect your cut.
Choices and consequences
- Help Shadr (persuade, intimidate, pay, or order her off as Guild Master): Shadr becomes your friend, gives you a leveled Invisibility potion and lets you borrow horses from the Riften Stables for free.
- Split the profit: Shadr gets nothing and you collect gold from Sapphire.
Rewards
- Helping Shadr: a leveled potion of Invisibility and free use of the Riften Stables’ horses.
- Splitting with Sapphire: leveled gold – 250 (levels 1–9), 400 (10–19), 500 (20–29), 600 (30–39) or 750 (level 40+).
Tips and notes
- To borrow a horse, walk up to the horses outside the stables. If the prompt says “Steal” in red, try another one until it reads “Ride”. A borrowed horse is not yours and returns to the stables when you dismount.
- Killing Sapphire on the bridge before the quest is resolved fails it, so keep your weapons sheathed.
- Sapphire’s dialogue sometimes refuses to open (“I have no business with you”). Declining Shadr the first time and accepting later seems to be a trigger; loading an earlier save and accepting straight away is the safest fix.
- The quest fits naturally with the early Thieves Guild quests in Riften, since much of the Guild hangs around The Bee and Barb and the Ratways.
