In My Time of Need

Overview

 * Prerequisites: Complete Main Quest: Dragon Rising.
 * Quest Giver: Kematu
 * Reward: 500

A Wanted Woman
Randomly, when entering Whiterun via the main gate, there is a commotion. Cloaked Redguard warriors (who you find out are of the Alik'r Coterie) are in a heated discussion with the city guard. The Alik’r have already been banned from most of the city after an incident and jailing, but the men are determined to try and find a Redguard woman somewhere inside the walls. speak to one of the Alik’r if you wish, or they stop and talk to you.


 * Objective: Find the Redguard woman.
 * Location: The Bannered Mare.

The woman in question is Saadia, who is a barmaid in The Bannered Mare. Enter this drinking establishment and let her know about the Alik’r warriors looking for a Redguard women. Saadia appears agitated at this news and asks to speak to you privately.


 * Objective: Speak with Saadia

Or
 * Target: The Bannered Mare, in Whiterun


 * Objective: Inform the Alik’r of Saadia’s location


 * Target: Redguard, on the road to or in Rorikstead

Siding with Saadia
Whether you intend to side with Saadia or not, it is worth finding out more about this woman’s predicament. Away from the main heart of the place, Saadia pulls a knife and demands answers, but this is more in an act of desperation than violence. After answering her, she pleads with you to help her. Agree, or request a reward and Saadia reveals she is a noble from Hammerfell who fled to Skyrim and has been forced into hiding after an attempt on her life. She says that her attackers are hired by the Second Aldmeri Dominion to turn her blood into gold and drag her back to be executed.

She wishes you to drive the assassins out. Most of the Alik’r forces are mercenaries led by a man named Kematu. Remove him and the remaining forces are likely to scatter. You need to find the Alik’r hideout.


 * Objective: Talk to the Alik’r Prisoner

Bug: Apparently none of the guards inside of the Whiterun dungeon have the key to the Alik'r Prisoner's cell in their inventories so when offered the 100 gold to pay his fine to one of the guards, nothing happens and the quest cannot be progressed unless choosing to side with the Alik'r. (This seems to be fixed, in the first Update, or was never the case. You just need to talk to the Prisoner again. After telling him, that you paid the guards, he will give you the location. He then shouts at the guards, to release him.)
 * Target: Dragonsreach Dungeon, in Whiterun


 * This bug was reproduced on 11/19/11 on the PC. Repeated attempts to talk to the prisoner after paying the fine only have one option, "Let's talk about how we can help each other", which does not result in the guards opening the cell. It is possible to get past the bug by rapidly clicking the mouse (once) almost immediately after pressing E to talk to the prisoner again. The dialog options blink quickly, then change to add the option to inform the prisoner his fine is paid, allowing the quest to continue. You may also need to make sure a guard is right there at the cell when engaging them to pay the fine. After that, the rapid click option described above, followed by selecting "Let's talk about how we can help each other" provided the "your fine has been paid" option.
 * Hilariously, after getting the information from the Prisoner, and a guard has been called over, the guard may say "Oh look at that, I seem to have lost my key", referencing the bug.


 * The Dragonborn may pickpocket the Whiterun Jail Key from one of the guards to open all the other prison cells, but it won't open the cell containing the Alik'r prisoner.
 * You must speak to the guard sitting at the table near the barracks entrance to pay the fine and have the prisoner released.

Not Just a Pretty Face
Due west of Whiterun, among the great granite protrusions, is a den hewn into the dense rocky Tundra. Enter the Swindler's Den and bring your offensive combat to bear on the bandits lurking within. You must defeat (or sneak past) these thugs whether you intend to side with the assassins or not. Pass through the rocky crags into a waterlogged corridor, deep into the tunnel system. Kematu and his troops are waiting above you.

No matter who you’ve sided with previously, Kematu allows you to speak and question him. You can find out why Saadia is being hunted. According to Kematu, she betrayed her people and a Redguard city fell during the war, and the Redguard houses wish to bring her back alive to face justice. At this point, you have a pivotal choice to make: Kill Kematu or talk to him.


 * Objective: Kill Kematu or talk to him


 * Target: Swindler's Den

Siding with Saadia: Assassination!
If you are determined to save Saadia from the clutches of the Alik’r, you may attack them as soon as you can, or after another rather fruitless conversation with Kematu. Bring your best offensive weaponry to this slaughter! Gather any valuables you wish from the corpses, and then return to the Bannered Mare in Whiterun and inform Saadia of your success.

If you have a high pickpocket score and the Misdirection Perk, you can steal all of the warriors weapons before engaging them and therefore having a much easier fight against the group.

A second tactic to use if you are having trouble is to do things the 300 way. Get them to follow you into one of the tunnels and tear 'em apart one or two at a time. Be certain to bring health restoring items!

Alternatively, if you're a werewolf, you can use your roar to spread the enemies out, and then pick them off one by one. They'll be too busy running to attack you, thus saving you a hard battle.

Siding with the Alik’r: A Wanted Woman
Speak again to Kematu, who informs you that his troops aren’t assassins, but agents acting on behalf of Redguard Houses and ready to bring back a fugitive. Ask what they want you to do, and Kematu asks you to return to Saadia and convince her to meet you at the stables, where she’ll be caught and brought to justice.


 * Objective: Lead Saadia to the Whiterun Stables


 * Target: Saadia, The Bannered Mare, in Whiterun

Head back to the Bannered Mare and quickly speak with Saadia. (Lie) Tell her you weren’t able to defeat all the Alik’r forces, they are coming for her, and you have a horse ready for her. Now exit whiterun with Saadia following you. Move along the main cobbled road to Whiterun Stables and around to the side of the stable house where Kematu is waiting for you both. He expertly immobilizes Saadia and you may speak with him one final time to collect your re

ward.

Alternate Plans
At any point after speaking to Saadia, you can speak to the original Alik’r warriors you met at Whiterun’s gate. They have moved to Rorikstead. Informing them that you’ve found Saadia completes the quest to the point where you’re instructed to escort Saadia to the Whiterun Stables.

If you want to help Saadia but don’t want to battle all of the Alik’r in Swindler’s Den, there’s always a cunning double cross you can pull (although the timing is difficult): Agree to help Kematu and he’ll appear in the stables alone, only after you’ve lied to Saadia and told her it is time to go. You may then do either of the following.

You can kill Kematu before/after he restrains Saadia. If you wait until he restrains her, she'll simply break her restraints and get up after you kill him. You may then loot him, and claim your reward from Saadia.

Or if you want to go the triple-crossing route:

Let Kematu restrain Saadia, then accept your reward from him. Once you accept your reward, kill him. Saadia will break her restraints, get up, and attack you for betraying her. You may then "defend yourself" with no worries about bounty. This results in a 500 gold reward from Kematu, 250 gold on Kematu's corpse, and around 300 gold in jewelry from Saadia, resulting in a nice reward of around 1000 gold.

Or if you have a calm spell, follow the steps written above. After you've killed Kematu, cast voice of the emperor to calm Saadia. When you speak to her, she will give you another 500 gold for killing Kematu. You can kill her while she is still under the spell's effects, or you can leave the crime scene. However, when you go back to Whiterun, Saadia will become hostile towards you again. Killing her will not put a bounty on the player.