Skyrim:In My Time Of Need

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Find a Redguard woman who is on the run from Hammerfell. Quest Giver: Alik'r Warriors Location(s): Swindler's Den, Dragonsreach, Whiterun Prerequisite Quest: Dragon Rising Reward: 500 Gold Disposition: 0→1 (Kematu) if helping him ID: MS08 Suggested Level: 6

The Alik'r Warriors are interrogating Redguard women all over Skyrim.

Quick Walkthrough

1. Get the quest from the Alik'r Warriors in Whiterun.
2. Find Saadia at The Bannered Mare.
3. Speak with her or report her to the Alik'r in Rorikstead.
4. Kill Kematu or lure Saadia to the stables.
5. Collect your reward from Kematu or Saadia.

Detailed Walkthrough

A Wanted Woman

Outside the Holds, you may come across Alik'r Warriors interrogating a Redguard woman in the Skyrim wilderness. After Irileth informs the jarl about the dragon attacking the Western Watchtower during Dragon Rising and the defeat of Mirmulnir, you may return to Whiterun and observe an argument between Whiterun guards and Alik'r Warriors regarding their presence in the hold. Speak with the Alik'r to start the quest.

Finding the Missing Woman

Go to The Bannered Mare. The Redguard is a woman named Saadia. There will be a new dialogue option to tell her that some Alik'r warriors are looking for a Redguard woman. She will ask to speak to you privately. Follow her upstairs to her room, where she will draw her dagger on you, being suspicious of you - however, she quickly calms down. She explains that her real name is Iman, and that she is a noble of House Suda in Hammerfell. According to her, the Alik'r are assassins sent by the Aldmeri Dominion to deport her back to Hammerfell for an execution, as she spoke out against the Aldmeri Dominion. She asks you to help her get rid of the threat, and points you to the Dragonsreach Dungeon where one of the Alik'r warriors were captured.

There is no hard evidence provided in game by Saadia or the Alik'r that definitively supports one side. Thus, it is up to you to pass judgment and choose who to help during the quest. At this point, you can make a choice:

• Speak to the Alik'r warriors in Rorikstead and tell them of Saadia's location.
• Follow Saadia's instructions in order to help her.

There are other alternative routes (see below) that allow you to reap even greater rewards.

Defend a Helpless Dissident...

If you decide to help Saadia, go into the dungeon of Dragonsreach and speak with an Alik'r Warrior that was captured. Talking to him reveals that he was caught sneaking into Whiterun and was captured. As a result, the other Alik'r have abandoned him, and he agrees to tell you where Kematu and the other Alik'r are hiding on the condition that you pay his fine.

Talking to him again before paying his fine will allow you to say the following - however this may cause a bug (see bugs):

Let's talk about how we can help each other.

"You buy my way out of here, and I'll tell you what you want to know."

The same dialogue will occur after you pay his fine, but there will be an option to tell him you have paid his fine. However, talking to him a second time before paying his fine may cause a bug (see bugs).

You will have to bribe the guard to set him free. Picking a guard's pocket (or murdering a guard in the jail) for the key to Whiterun's jail cells will unlock his cell - however, he will fail to register this, and insist that you bribe a guard. After paying 100 gold to a guard, the prisoner will tell you that the leader of the Alik'r is in a cave west of Whiterun called Swindler's Den.

If you have already cleared out Swindler's Den, a new dialogue option will appear when speaking with Saadia, revealing to her that you already know where the Alik'r are and allowing you to skip this part of the quest.

Swindler's Den

Kematu, the Alik'r leader

Upon reaching Swindler's Den, you will find that it's full of bandits. Make your way through the network of tunnels until you reach a passage flooded with water with a waterfall at the end. When you approach the waterfall, the Alik'r leader Kematu will say:

"Alik'r, hold! You've proven your strength, warrior. Let's avoid any more bloodshed. I think you and I have some things to talk about."

As soon as you walk through the waterfall, Kematu should initiate conversation. He explains that unlike what Saadia suggested, the Alik'r are not assassins. He claims that Saadia is wanted by the noble houses of Hammerfell for treason, for selling the city of Taneth out to the Aldmeri Dominion during the Great War. He asks you to help him bring her to justice, by leading her to the Whiterun Stables under the pretense that the Alik'r are coming for her, where he will be waiting to take her into custody.

If you still wish to help Saadia, telling Kematu at any point during the dialogue that you still intend to kill him will cause him to become hostile after telling you that he had hoped you would see reason.

Fighting the host of Alik'r warriors can be made easier by using the bear traps at the mouth of the winding path that leads into the cave where Kematu awaits. The warriors get hung up in the path, allowing the traps to be reset. Success is facilitated by focusing on your high-offense attack while retreating. Once your stamina or magic is depleted, turn and run for the traps, being careful to jump over them as you pass. It is also possible to simply exit the conversation with Kematu (or tell him that you will help lure Saadia away), sneak into the room just ahead, and snipe all the warriors with your bow.

Once the Alik'r are dead, loot Kematu's corpse for bonus gold, then return to Saadia in the Bannered Mare for your reward.

...Or Bring a Traitor to Justice

Saadia and Kematu at Whiterun Stables

If you decide to help the Alik'r capture Saadia, Kematu or the Redguards with whom you spoke in Rorikstead will ask you to lure her to the stables outside of Whiterun. Go back and talk to Saadia in The Bannered Mare, where you can lie to her, telling her that the Alik'r are coming for her, and that a horse is waiting for her at the Whiterun Stables. Once Saadia gets to the stables, she and Kematu will have a brief exchange before Kematu will use a paralysis spell on her. Talk to him for your reward.

Alternative Routes

While Kematu and Saadia are talking at the stables, you can still kill Kematu before he casts the spell on Saadia. This will get you the reward from Saadia and the 100 gold that Kematu is carrying, without having to fight the rest of the Alik'r. Saadia will be annoyed that you didn't warn her of what you were going to do, but she will thank you nonetheless.

Alternatively, allow Kematu to cast the spell on Saadia and collect the 500 gold reward, thus ending the quest, then kill Kematu to undo the spell on Saadia. At this point, Saadia will be hostile right away, so use a Calm spell on her, then talk to her, and she will give you the 500 gold reward for killing Kematu. You can then loot Kematu's body to get 100 gold, Hammerfell Garb and Redguard Boots, and two scimitars. Once the Calm spell ends, Saadia will become hostile again - this is a permanent state, so even if you leave the area, she will attack the next time you meet her. This is not a problem, as Saadia is not essential, and killing her will not give you a bounty. Looting her will give you gold and jewels. Both characters will be dead, but you will have gained 600 gold, including random jewels, scimitars, and their clothing.

Notes

• The Alik'r prisoner will never actually be set free, even if you pay his fine. If you retrieve the key, either by stealing it from a guard or killing one for it, unlocking the prisoner's cell does not result in anything noteworthy. He will just act as if jailed normally.
• According to the game scripts, Saadia was meant to follow until you reach Whiterun Stables but for some reason the AI package was put as escort.
• It is entirely possible to kill Saadia, as she is not essential. If you do so, her urn will show up in Whiterun's Hall of the Dead. However, if you merely turn her over to Kematu, there will be no urn in the Hall of the Dead, as the quest's script 'disables' her rather than killing her.

Bugs

• If you do not directly kill Kematu (i.e., Frenzy or Fury on him or the Alik'r), the quest will be stuck on "Kill or talk to Kematu". See Quest Stages and skip to step 160 to progress the quest.
  • The Official Skyrim Patch fixes this bug.
• If you kill the Alik'r warriors in the Swindler's Den, two Alik'r warriors will sometimes end up constantly appearing in Whiterun by the entrance.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.1, fixes this bug.
• If you kill the Alik'r warriors in the Swindler's Den, encounters where Alik'r warriors harass a Redguard woman may still occur.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch, version 1.1, fixes this bug.
• After you hand Saadia to Kematu, sometimes Kematu and the Alik'r keep staying in Swindler's Den. No more conversation options are possible and the dungeon cannot be cleared.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Patch fixes this bug.
  • Entering SetLocationCleared 00018EE2 1 into the console also resets the dungeon.
• Entering Swindler's Den without talking to the Alik'r Prisoner may result in the objective to talk to the prisoner never being removed from your journal.
  • The Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch, version 3.0.10, fixes this bug.
  • Entering setpqv MS08 DungeonFound_var 0 into the console before talking to Saadia also clears the objective correctly.
• If you choose to betray Kematu after escorting Saadia to the stables, the quest log may fail to register "Speak with Saadia" as complete no matter if you talk to her soon after defeating Kematu or once she is back to The Bannered Mare, although the game will consider the quest as finished.
• Using the alternative route mentioned above, sometimes killing Kematu after he casts the paralyze spell on Saadia will not cause her to turn hostile but will still allow you to report that the Alik'r have been taken care of, hence getting both rewards. ^?
• Sometimes if you enter conversation with the jailed Alik'r warrior a second time before speaking to the guards to pay his fine, his next dialogue option will come up early. Despite entering the new line of conversation, he will not give you the required information and your quest will not update. Paying his fine will not progress the dialogue further at this point.
  • You can reload a save to fix this, or bypass this step and go to Swindler's Den directly.

Quest Stages

In My Time Of Need (MS08)
Stage	Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
10		A group of men calling themselves the Alik'r are looking for a Redguard woman in Whiterun. Objective 10: Find the Redguard woman
20		Objective 20 or 21: Speak with Saadia or Inform the Alik'r of Saadia's location
25		The barmaid at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun is apparently a fugitive noble from Hammerfell. She claims that she is on the run from assassins sent by rival houses in her homeland and needs someone to stop them before they find her. Objective 25 or 26: Talk to the Alik'r Prisoner or Inform the Alik'r of Saadia's location
50		Objective 50: Find a way to enter the Alik'r hideout
75		Objective 75: Enter the Alik'r hideout
100		Objective 100: Kill Kematu
101		Objective 101: Kill Kematu or talk to him
125		Objective 125: Kill Kematu OR Convince Saadia to meet Kematu
130		Objective 100: Kill Kematu
150		Objective 100: Kill Kematu
160		Objective 160: Return to Saadia
175		The leader of the so-called "assassins" I've been asked to eliminate claims that Saadia betrayed her people to the Dominion and they are here to bring her to justice. I've agreed to lead her into an ambush at the Whiterun stables. Objective 175: Lead Saadia to the Whiterun Stables
190		setstage MS08
199		Objective 199: Speak with Saadia
200	Finishes quest	I've helped Saadia escape the clutches of the Alik'r sent after her. With their leader defeated, she believes the rest of them will scatter, affording her some much-needed safety for now.
201	Finishes quest	After making arrangements with Kematu, I've delivered Saadia to him. He assures me that she will be taken back to Hammerfell alive, though after that her fate is no longer in his hands.
300	Fails quest
Unknown		Objective 130: Kill Kematu

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 255.

Notes

• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MS08 stage, where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest MS08.