The Cistern is the secret heart of the Thieves Guild, tucked under Riften. You get in through a rigged cupboard in The Ragged Flagon, just before the path into the Ratway Vaults deep in The Ratway. Once you’re a full member, a hidden entrance under a small tomb next to the chapel also opens up, and after you use it the city map marks it as Thieves Guild. Come here for jobs, fences, a bed and a crowd of people who definitely did not take your coin purse.
What you’ll find
- Brynjolf and other guild members, who hang around here for much of the questline.
- A side room – left as you enter from the Flagon – holding novice, apprentice, adept, expert and master practice chests you can pick again and again.
- The guild vault behind iron doors.
- Guild chests whose contents depend on your level when you join.
- After the questline wraps up, a Shrine of Nocturnal appears.
Quests
Much of the Thieves Guild storyline starts or ends here. Every special job you complete for Delvin Mallory spruces the place up with banners, food-laden tables, better beds and new recruits – a hideout makeover, paid for by other people’s valuables.
Tips
- Use the practice chests to grind Lockpicking. If someone’s watching and you fail, they may scold you – the right perk lets you pick unnoticed.
- The guild chests don’t respawn, and higher level means better loot, so joining later pays off: early on it’s coins and iron arrows, at level 40 and up you might see Daedric arrows, gems and strong potions.
- With a big bounty, fast-traveling to the Thieves Guild lets you dodge the guards. If any slip in before the coffin entrance closes, the thieves will deal with them.
- Archers use whatever arrows they carry, so pickpocket their steel arrows and slip in better ones.
Good to know
Once you’ve joined, the Cistern doubles as a home. It’s even possible to stumble in before joining: start a brawl in the Flagon and a fleeing member may run straight through the secret door. Sneaky. Also a note under Mercer Frey‘s table mentions Cidhna Mine, so the guild’s interests reach well beyond Riften.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.