Saadia or the Alik'r?

[Drachenwulf]

so I am just curious for the quest "In My Time of Need" who do you guys help?

[adzerh525555]

kill the two alik'r in whiterun so that saadia serves me when i sit down

[CAP]

Saadia. Roaming around Skyrim I see Alik'r accosting every Redguard woman they see. Trying to find Saadia is one thing but these guys are rude bullies. Also, I like Saadia better than the Alik'r leader, what ever his name is.

[adzerh525555]

i like the red alik'r outfit

[Zaric Zhakaron]

Betray her to them, then when they cast paralyze on her quickly talk to the leader of the Alik'r for your reward, 500 gold. Then, very quickly, turn on the Alik'r and kill them before they can spirit her away. After she wakes up she will become enraged and attack the you, cast calm on her, or use voice of the emperor if you are an imperial. A successful calm will make her permanently friendly with you and you then are free to talk to her and claim your reward of 500 gold from her. Be sure to loot the Alik'r bodies, their stuff looks cool.

[Shin Dan]

The alik'r are set up to look like villains, but they're definitely the good guys, i guess it depends on whether or not you want sadia serving you drinks at the bannered mare.

[Fear2288]

This quest is in that sort of grey area.

According to Saadia she's on the run from the Alik'r for speaking out against the Aldmeri Dominion. The Alik'r are supposedly hired by the Thalmor to track her down and undoubtedly kill her.

Yet, if you speak with Kematu he tells you a very different story about how Saadia actually betrayed her people to the Thalmor and caused the city of Taneth to fall to the Dominion. The Alik'r are then dispatched to find her and bring her back to Hammerfell to stand trial for treason.

Unfortunately we never get to find out what the truth is so I guess it's entirely up to the player to decide which of the two stories they believe. However personally I'm inclined to actually believe Kematu since Hammerfell and the Redguard are no friends of the Thalmor having refused to surrender to them and then push them out of the province.

[Oberon]

Originally posted by Fear2288:

However personally I'm inclined to actually believe Kematu since Hammerfell and the Redguard are no friends of the Thalmor having refused to surrender to them and then push them out of the province.

Fun thing about mercenaries is that they aren't particularly loyal to anyone, and don't have to live up to or serve their nations ideals.

Personally, the last two times I did it (Two separate characters, obviously) I sided with the Alik'r. After the second time through, though, I got curious and looked up the quest details. I realized the Alik'r never back up what they say, and despite their claims that Saadia is a cunning liar and manipulator, they could very well be doing the same the same to you, and ultimately no side can really be proven right with any of the evidence that can be found in-game.

So then I decided that every subsequent character I roll would side with the hot chick.

[CAP]

Originally posted by Melvin, the Lord of Darkness:

Originally posted by Fear2288:

However personally I'm inclined to actually believe Kematu since Hammerfell and the Redguard are no friends of the Thalmor having refused to surrender to them and then push them out of the province.

Fun thing about mercenaries is that they aren't particularly loyal to anyone, and don't have to live up to or serve their nations ideals.

Personally, the last two times I did it (Two separate characters, obviously) I sided with the Alik'r. After the second time through, though, I got curious and looked up the quest details. I realized the Alik'r never back up what they say, and despite their claims that Saadia is a cunning liar and manipulator, they could very well be doing the same the same to you, and ultimately no side can really be proven right with any of the evidence that can be found in-game.

So then I decided that every subsequent character I roll would side with the hot chick.

Amen, brother

[Fear2288]

@Melvin

Mercenaries and their questionable loyaly aside it doesn't make much sense for the Thalmor to hire a group of guys from a hostile province to track down a single woman that spoke ill of them.

[Big Boom Boom]

Originally posted by Melvin, the Lord of Darkness:

Originally posted by Fear2288:

However personally I'm inclined to actually believe Kematu since Hammerfell and the Redguard are no friends of the Thalmor having refused to surrender to them and then push them out of the province.

Fun thing about mercenaries is that they aren't particularly loyal to anyone, and don't have to live up to or serve their nations ideals.

Personally, the last two times I did it (Two separate characters, obviously) I sided with the Alik'r. After the second time through, though, I got curious and looked up the quest details. I realized the Alik'r never back up what they say, and despite their claims that Saadia is a cunning liar and manipulator, they could very well be doing the same the same to you, and ultimately no side can really be proven right with any of the evidence that can be found in-game.

So then I decided that every subsequent character I roll would side with the hot chick.

However, if Hammerfell is still independent and being a Noble Saadia should not have anything to fear from the Mercenaries. Mercenaries working for the enemies can't just walk up to a Noble house and bring them away you know, Hammerfell is not like Skyrim they are truly independent from both the Empire and the Dominion. Though they are not as pious toward the Nine, they have their own pantheon of gods. Unless of course, she is a noble in exile.

[fenlander]

I pick the Akiir side as I think Saadia is a criminal to her race who is trying to escape justice. I like how the quest is grey so your not sure if your doing the right thing.

[CandyR27]

Saadia is a traitor and should suffer the worst fate. From reading the lore, Hammerfell resisted the Thalmore and the Empire distanced themselves from Hammerfell. That's what prompts me to believe that Saadia is in fact lying. If Mercs from Hammerfell are rolling up into Skyrim, you know it's serious.

[Grinch]

Alik'r, I don't care much for their gear, and Saadia always comes off as more than a little suss, and after really thinking about it, I still don't regret choosing the Alik'r side.

[Charlemagne]

If you prefer the good guy approach, side with the Alik'r. Although the story doesn't seem to give you a clear choice, it is easy to deduce. When you speak to Saadia, her story has many inconsistencies. Also, although the Alik'r accost Redguard women on the roads, they back off when they notice that the woman is not their target. And, at the end of the mission if you sided with them their conversation continues to indicate sincerity.

[Oberon]

I find it funny all these people saying she's guilty based on evidence that isn't there. And failing to take into account there's just as many holes in Kematu's story as well, like when he talks about the resistance movement in Hammerfell in the present-tense. (If Hammerfell successfully drove out the Dominion, what exactly would they be resisting?)