Azzarian’s Gold is a miscellaneous quest that can be started by speaking to Azzarian, a dark elf located in Windhelm. The first time the player meets him, he will be at the New Gnisis Cornerclub, although he will be evicted from the premises shortly thereafter. Speaking to him, one discovers that he is an ex-bandit, as well as a turncoat.

The dunmer reveals that he is in Windhelm looking for something, but he hasn’t gotten very far because of all the attention he has been attracting. He then offers to hire the player to find what he needs. Accepting, the Dragonborn learns that Azzarian is looking for books. There’s a catch, though- he doesn’t know which books he’s looking for, only who has them.

The first book is owned by a fence and, Azzarian says, is likely in a safe. The second book is owned by the dark elf Sadrin Reloro in Riften.

The fence, it turns out, is actually in Windhelm. The Altmer, Niranye, has a hidden panel in her house, which can be opened to enable passage to her secret basement. But it isn’t over yet; the basement door possesses a master lock level, and the safe itself has an expert level lock. The Dovahkiin can either pickpocket Niranye for the key, or pick the locks on their own. In either case, the unlocked safe will yield some loot, as well as a copy of the Yellow Book of Riddles.

Heading to Riften and talking to Sadrin will reveal that he received not one, but three books, all of which can be obtained merely by asking for them. They are: Brief History of The Empire, v2; Songs of the Return Vol 7; and Ygnol and the Sea-Ghosts.

Azzarian will have relocated to the docks in Riften, so go there and talk to him. The mer tells the player that the books are keys to a cipher. The cipher, in turn, opens a safe, which is supposedly filled with gold and jewels.

The problem is not only which one of Sadrin’s three books is the correct one, but also which order to use the books in. The bandit chief that Azzarian worked under apparently unearthed a hint, “the clue is in the second book.”

The ex-bandit then offers to sell the player the cipher for 500 to 5000 gold, depending on the player’s current wealth. One can either choose to decline his offer, in which case he gives the player 50 gold, thus completing the quest.

Another choice is to accept his offer and pay him the gold. The Dovahkiin can also steal the cipher from him for free. Either way, the player obtains ‘Bandit Chief’s Journal’. Note that if one steals the cipher, in order to advance the quest they must speak to Azzarian and decline his offer- as long as the cipher is in the player’s inventory, the quest should not complete when his offer is declined.

Before cracking the code, however, the player must find the safe, which is in the fireplace of a destroyed house east of Fort Greymoor.

Cracking the Code (SPOILERS!)