Ok I just became Thane of Riften.....and I got a Mace of Sparks.....not the Blade of Riften. I have my house and my housecarl....just no unique weapon. Any idea what happened?
The reward, the Blade of the Rift, is a random, leveled weapon. It can be nearly any weapon. There is a 50% chance that it will be one-handed and a 50% chance that it will be two-handed. [Confirmed on the xbox 360 twice that if you become thane before Maven is possibly made Jarl, then you will get the Iron Warhammer of Sparks.]
Yep, it's just a random leveled weapon or armor. I remember the Jarl of Whiterun said, Here I present you with this axe and instead I got alchemy bracers