Can i skip talking to him and go straight to the sewers to talk to Esbern? I aim not to join the theives guild and i don't want " listen to brynooilf's scheme " in my Misc. quest log.

I to was hoping for the option but my log forced me to do his quest first. Only after could i talk to him about the old man in the sewer. I hate the thieves guild and wish i could get a quest to wipe them out like i did with the dark brotherhood. I want to clean up Riften so bad with that warrior woman there.

You don't have to speak to him. I found Esbern by speaking to the bar maid in Riften's Inn. You can probably just go straight into the ratruns, too, although I didn't try this.

Wish i knew that.

thank you so much glorious, i don't like the theives guild there to much about money.. i liked oblivion where it was also about helping the poor but i wish there was an option to slaughter them

You can just enter the ratways and speak to the people in The Ragged Flagon without needing to go anywhere near Brynjolf. Heck, if you've done the quest before and know the vaults you should just be able to go straight through to him without talking to anyone.

If Brynjolf grabs you, just tell him "no thanks." Others in Riften will point you to the Ratway.

I'm not sure how people miss this in his dialogue.

I do but i still get the misc. quest to listen to brynjolf's scheme, and that irritates me. thanks for all the replys tho!

@ Mira , yea thats what i originally asked lol, i said " Can i skip talking to him and go straight to the sewers to talk to Esbern? "

I did this, and I still got that stupid Brynjolf's sceme thing in my quest log because I dared to enter Riften with some money. Tabbed out the moment he tried to talk to me and I still got it.

I had already explored the ratway, so I just skipped talking to anyone and talked to him.

"Listen to Brynjolf's scheme" can sit in your log forever without affecting anything.... Just pretend it's not there.

its hard not to because it irritates me .. its like bethesda is PUSHING you to join the theives guild lol

You really don't have to do every quest in your journal just because it's there.
I ended the 2 main questlines (Dragonborn & Civil War) with about half a dozen quests sitting in my log - and at least that many more inside the "Miscellaneous" heading - that I have no intention of pursuing whatsoever. They just don't suit my character. That's the beauty of freedom of choice, and that's what subsequent playthroughs are for.

Every day in your own life you have the option to do or not do many things. Every journal entry you get is the same; it carries the choice to toally ignore it if you want. Just think of the journal in terms of reflecting your own day-to-day choices...except that in Skyrim, the Dragonborn keeps better notes.

ROFl!! VERY well put! *salute*

And you still have an Aventus Aretino note in your journal, too, whether you join the DB or not. So?

Well.... unless you choose to wipe out the DB of course. But yes - I have various things in all my girls' logs which will never be completed.... and that's just fine.

all i said was that it just irritates me that its stuck in there because i like to leave it clean, with nothing in there it makes me feel like i've " completed " it so to speak.... same thing goes for the blades wanting me to kill big P

TG is about loyalty, betrayal, passion and ambition. Ofcourse fortunes can't avoid the famous. But it's a must do faction questline in Skyrim. No other factions come close to the epicness of TG questlines in Skyrim. Don't let your morals set the boundaries and plunge in to the world of exploration. What are you scared of? It's only a computer game for christ sake.

I started it on one toon. It not only didn't feel "epic" in any way, the quests really left a bad taste in my mouth - game or not.

you can go straight to the ratway and if you ask in the bar the bartender can point you towards Esbern without a quest or dealing with the thieve's guild quest chain

Well, I can choose to not murder my boss, and if I don't it doesn't prevent me from getting my car washed. Since so many quests bug others out Bethesda just needs to let us abandon quests whether it be for 'cleanliness' or functionality.

I got a quest to retrieve a prized bow down in the ratway from a farmer near riften... I didnt speak to anyone and just went in and got his bow. End of story. F those theives and their theivin ways... I say.

You can go straight to Esbern without asking about him.