The Codex Caper Walkthrough in Elder Scrolls Online (Thieves Guild Questline)

The Codex Caper kicks off the Season One Thieves Guild storyline in Elder Scrolls Online, a follow-up to the original 2016 questline that drops you into Daggerfall alongside the thief Quen. Your job is simple in theory and messy in practice. Break into a noble’s estate, lift an ancient book called the Codex Voernet, and slip out before a rival gang catches you. The whole run takes about an hour and asks you to pick exactly one lock.

Quick answer: Talk to Skeever Nivo south of Daggerfall’s north Wayshrine, misdirect Captain Sansonne, then meet Quen in the Rosy Lion. Grab the estate map upstairs, break into Yvierry Estate, steal the Strongroom Key from Lord Yvierry’s bedchamber, open the strongroom with Quen, take the Codex Voernet and Prowler’s Talisman, then escape through the side passage to the Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge and report to Quen.

How to start The Codex Caper

There is no level requirement. You claim the Thieves Guild storyline for free from the Crown Store while it is available, and then the quest points you toward Quen. The whole zone is Glenumbra, and the action centers on the town of Daggerfall.

Quen used to hang around most major cities in the old DLC, but this time she is tucked into one spot. Head to Daggerfall, which you can reach through any Wayshrine or by talking to a Navigator at a major dock or caravan.

Travel to Daggerfall and go just south of the town’s northern Wayshrine. You will find Skeever Nivo waiting there instead of Quen. Agree to help.

Speak with Captain Sansonne, standing right nearby. He is a Lion Guard officer looking for Quen, and you get three dialogue choices for where to send him. One is silly, one is ridiculous, and one is serious. Any of them works, so pick whatever fits your character and lead the guard away from town.

Enter the Rosy Lion inn and follow the marker to the corner of the room to find Quen. Talk to her to formally join the caper.

A thief sneaking past estate guards in Elder Scrolls Online — Stealth past the guards or fight through them, either approach clears the objective.

Get the map and break into Yvierry Estate

Head upstairs in the Rosy Lion and grab the Yvierry Estate Map. It sits in a jewelry box on a table and takes no effort to collect, and you will not draw any heat for it.

Go back down to the main room. You will see a quest icon on Basil Menant. Talking to him is optional, but it is worth doing before you move on.

Travel to the Yvierry Estate on the north side of Daggerfall and meet Quen outside the gate. Hand her the map and talk through the plan.

Pick the lock on the courtyard gate. It is only a Trivial Lock, so even weak lockpicking skill will get through, and you can brute force it with spare lockpicks if you miss. Once inside, avoid the sentries by hiding in the yellow glowing pot and moving when a guard turns away, or just cut through the little hedge maze. Every other door except the strongroom is unlocked, so head for the larder at the south corner of the house.

Note: Detection barely matters here. As long as guards do not escape to raise the alarm or kill you, being spotted does not seem to fail the objective, and killing staff did not raise a bounty during the run.

Steal the Strongroom Key from Lord Yvierry’s bedchamber

Enter the larder with Quen and follow her deeper into the manor. You will overhear a group of Koldane Cartel thugs discussing the strongroom keys. Talk to Quen once the conversation ends.

Make your way up to Lord Yvierry’s bedchamber, following the quest marker through the upper floors. The house is large, so expect a few minutes of ducking behind curtains and pots to avoid the patrols. Fighting the guards is optional and did not break the stealth objective as long as they did not call for help.

Following the quest marker upstairs inside the Yvierry manor — Follow the quest icon upstairs and around corners to reach the master bedchamber.

Inside the bedchamber there are two Ornate Jewelry Boxes. The one on the desk holds the Strongroom Key along with a Letter. Loot both boxes since there is no penalty for grabbing everything.

Open the strongroom and take the Codex Voernet

Meet Quen near the manor’s banquet hall and follow her to the strongroom door. The lock needs two keys turned at the same moment, so wait for the prompt and open it together with her.

The correct treasure container inside the Yvierry strongroom — Both quest treasures inside the strongroom carry a quest icon.

Enter the strongroom and pick up the two items marked with a quest icon. These are the Codex Voernet and an amulet called the Prowler’s Talisman. Talk to Quen about what you found.

Going back the way you came is too risky, so leave through the side passage. A cutscene plays where the Koldane Cartel murders Lord Yvierry and starts looting the manor. Quen slips away with the codex, and now you have to get out on your own.

Survive the timed escape to the Gallery

Once the conversation ends, a timed stealth sequence begins. You have roughly two minutes to reach the Gallery before the cartel finds and captures you. The cartel does not know you are inside yet, so quiet movement buys time.

There is an optional objective to grab up to three extra rarities from the hallways on the way out. Be careful with it. Both fighting and sneaking eat into the timer, and getting greedy is the easiest way to run out of time and get caught. If you clear the estate before the clock hits zero, jump straight to Skeever Nivo outside.

Racing through the estate hallways during the timed escape — The escape is on a timer, so weigh extra loot against the clock.

If the timer runs out: Enforcer Urfan

Failing the timer is not a game over, it just changes the ending slightly and costs you any extra treasure you were carrying for the run. A rescuer frees you after a minute or two, then you leave through the side door.

Head into the nearby Gallery and defeat Enforcer Urfan. She can summon wolves and has a charge attack, but she is not a serious threat otherwise. Take her down and exit the estate immediately.

Finish at the Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge

Outside the estate, talk to Skeever Nivo, who is standing close by. This is optional but quick.

Mount up and leave town. The Thieves Den has an entrance outside Daggerfall through the Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge. If you picked up a bounty, dodge the guards and get there fast.

Inside the Thieves Den, talk to Basil Menant, your rescuer, then speak to Quen. Tell her whether you grabbed the extra loot or got caught. Either outcome wraps the caper.

You know the quest is done when Quen thanks you for staying discreet and the reward screen appears. The next quest, Three Thieves in Daggerfall, starts right away.

The Codex Caper rewards

Reward	Details
Prowler’s Talisman	Amulet found in the strongroom
Curated Bahraha’s Curse Coffer	Gear coffer handed over by Quen
Gold	Very High Leveled Gold
Experience	Very High Experience XP

One thing worth flagging if you are running this in a group: at launch, only one player at a time could pick the lock on the gate into the estate grounds, so expect a short wait if a teammate is on the same step. From here, Quen has more work lined up, and the hunt for the Nowhere Repository carries straight into Three Thieves in Daggerfall.