Mistveil Keep is the seat of power in Riften, a sturdy stone keep where Jarl Laila Law-Giver holds court. Besides the throne room it also houses the city’s barracks and jail, so most of Riften’s guards call it home. You’ll come here for jarl business, thaneship errands and – let’s be honest – a building full of display cases.
What you’ll find
- Banquet Hall and Throne Room – the Jarl and her entourage sit here most of the day.
- Wylandriah’s Enchantments – a two-room chamber off the banquet hall where court wizard Wylandriah keeps her shop, her bed, an Alchemy Lab and an Arcane Enchanter.
- War Room and Armory – a former pantry where Gonnar Oath-Giver plans his moves at the start of the Civil War. One door leads to the barracks, the other to a bedroom armory stuffed with weapons.
- Anuriel’s Room – at the far end of the ground-floor corridor. Steward Anuriel keeps gems, necklaces and a letter about the imprisonment of Sibbi Black-Briar here.
- Jarl’s Chambers – three bedrooms at the top of the stairs, with a covered balcony off the Jarl’s room overlooking Riften.
- Barracks – left of the main entrance (the jail is to the right). You can also reach them from the hallway behind the throne.
- Residents – Laila, Anuriel, housecarl Unmid Snow-Shod, Wylandriah, Harrald and Saerlund Law-Giver. If the Imperials take Riften, Maven Black-Briar, Hemming Black-Briar and Maul move in instead.
Quests
- The Only Cure
- Compelling Tribute (Imperials)
- The Raid
- Supply and Demand
- I Done Got Thaned!
- No Stone Unturned – one Stone of Barenziah waits in the Jarl’s Quarters.
Notable items
- Stone of Barenziah and Fine Clothes in the Jarl’s Quarters.
- Skill book Surfeit of Thieves (Lockpicking) in the Jarl’s Quarters.
- Skill book Words and Philosophy (Two-Handed) on the upper floor of the barracks.
- A Dance in Fire, Book V in the Steward’s quarters, and a Map of Skyrim just outside the barracks.
Tips
With several display cases lying around, the keep is a handy spot to grind Lockpicking – just make sure nobody is watching you ‘admire’ the jewellery. A Thief Cache sits on the walkway above the training grounds, reachable through a door on the barracks’ upper floor. And if you sit on the throne and fiddle with the camera between first and third person, you may end up wearing the throne rather than sitting on it.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.