SSE 7: Saadia

I still remember the Redguards who were seeking a woman in Whiterun were refused entrance. Some background about this: the Redguard homeland of Hammerfell was ceded to the Thalmor since the White-Gold Concordat several years ago. The Redguards had been fighting a war of freedom against the elves ever since. They finally won independence from the elves with the Treaty of Stros M'kai - but the rebellion had left much of Hammerfell in a sorry state. Regardless of the cost, the Redguards found themselves indepedent for the first time in millenia, and the Nords seem to have refused these men entry base merely on that principle.

I had agreed to help the Redguards look around though. And since the only Redguard woman I know in Whiterun is Saadia the cook in the Bannered Mare inn, I started my queries there - Saadia immediately confronted me: she's the one they were after (what coincidence). Saadia claimed ignorance about why these men were after her (suspicious) - but now that they're so close on her tail, she's desperate to be rid of them. She pleaded with me to kill the leader of this mercenary band - a man named Kematu (how would she know his name?). 

Conveniently, one of the Redguard mercenaries had tried to sneak into Whiterun and was apprehended by the guards. Questioning the man in gaol might reveal the location of Kematu's base. I agreed to help Saadia - if only to find this Kematu and find out why they were after her in the first place...

The Redguard prisoner was most helpful, and so I make my way to the Swindler's Den where Kenatu is holed up. Along the way I found a partially-submerged hand holding up an orcish sword. Curious.

Kematu isn't as unreasonable as Saadia described - he's prepared to talk. He explained that Saadia is wanted for treason, for she had betrayed the city of Taneth to the Thalmor, and several great houses in Hammerfell had placed a hefty price on her capture.

I decided that I believe Kematu more than Saadia - Saadia must have done something grievous enough to cause this group to dedicate themselves to her capture (not her death). Had Kematu's aims been more nefarious, he would have no reason to talk to me but assume I was already bought by Saadia to fight. So I agreed to lay a trap for Saadia - I convinced her to leave Whiterun, and Kematu waited at the stables to place a petrification spell on her. 

With that done, I also helped Amren retrieve his family sword, which he tracked to a band of bandits in White River Watch, a hideout just outside the farmlands of Whiterun. The hideout was poorly defended (one being that the leader thought it a good idea to make his blind brother the Lookout) so I retrieved the sword with ease. One wonders why the Hajvaar Iron-Hand would bother setting up a den so close to the Hold. Perhaps it was the view.

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