Kematu or Saadia: Which to Side With?

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Ali Mustafa

Ali is a devoted gamer and a certified tech geek, always checking out new games on the horizon and looking for the next piece of kit to make his PC sing. However, there's one game he can't seem to peel himself away from, Skyrim. Ali loves the whole TES series, but there is something about this dragon-filled adventure that has kept him captivated for more than a decade. Which, in turn, makes him a real asset to the Scrolls Guided team

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• Kematu or Saadia: Which to Side With? - January 7, 2023

You encounter Kematu and Saadia in the ‘In My Time Of Need’ quest, where they both convincingly present their sides of the story. Here are your choices and what you get picking either side:

Option 1 – Choose Saadia’s Side: Kill Kematu, and Saadia will reward you with 500 gold.

Option 2 – Choose Kematu’s Side: Lure Saadia to Whiterun Stables, where Kematu will capture her and reward you with 500 gold.

Picking either of them gives you the same amount of Gold, so there’s no right or wrong choice in this quest. However, you can manipulate the circumstances to get yourself the maximum reward with a glitch in the quest. In this post, I’ll highlight the quest, who between Kematu or Saadia is telling the truth, and how you can maximize the payout by utilizing a secret glitch.

Read on to find out.

Background

The ‘In My Time Of Need’ quest is a side quest that you encounter early on in the game; as you are making your way to Jarl Ulfrich, you find two Alik’r warriors who came from Hammerfell in search of a Redguard woman and if you find her, they’ll reward you for the troubles.

The Redguard woman in question is Saadia, who is working in The Bannered Mare as a waitress; she will reveal her true identity as Iman, a member of the Hammerfell nobility belonging to the House Suda. Her side of the story states that she opposed the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Redguards that are looking for her are hired killers out to get her.

On the other hand, Kematu, the leader of the Alik’r Warriors, claims Saadia is a traitor to her people and caused the loss of the city Taneth to the Aldmeri Dominion, but Kematu is not out to kill her; he’s only there in Skyrim to escort her back to Hammerfell and face justice.

You have two options after hearing both of their stories: Believe Saadia and escort her safely, or side with Kematu and bring Saadia to him.

Walkthrough

The ‘In My Time Of Need’ quest poses you with two options, either side with Saadia, or Kematu. Either way you get the same reward, which is 500 gold. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of the quest:

• After slaying your first dragon, completing the ‘Dragon Rising’ main quest, make your way to Whiterun.
• You will see two Alik’r warriors quarrelling with Whiterun guards.
• Talking to them will initiate the ‘In My Time Of Need’ quest where they will ask you to find the Redguard woman hiding somewhere in Whiterun.
• Make your way to ‘The Bannered Mare’ in Whiterun, and talk to Saadia.
• Saadia will tell you the whereabouts of Kematu.
• Reach Kematu in the dungeon of Dragonsreach.

After hearing both sides of the story, you have to make choice between siding with Saadia, or siding with Kematu.

Choice 1: Siding With Saadia

If you believe Saadia’s side of the story, then you’ll simply need to locate Kematu, kill him and inform Saadia at The Bannered Mare; she’ll thank you and pay you with 500 gold. The quest will be marked complete.

Choice 2: Siding With Kematu

If you wish to side with the Alik’r and Kematu, you’ll need to lure Saadia to Whiterun stables as the Alik’r warriors are not allowed to entire the city. You will have a chat with Saadia and tell her that her life is in danger, informing her that you have a horse ready at Whiterun stables.

She will follow you, and that’s when you lure her to Kematu, who will then proceed to cast a paralysis spell on her and pay you 500 gold. The quest will be marked complete.

Bonus Choice

Siding with Kematu or Saadia doesn’t affect the reward you will be getting, so either choice is equal in terms of rewards. However, you can make use of a glitch and double your rewards. Here’s how:

1. You side with Kematu and lure Saadia to Whiterun stables.
2. As soon as Kematu casts the paralysis spell on Saadia, you will get your reward.
3. After getting 500 gold from Kematu, you can kill him before the quest is marked complete.
4. As Kematu dies, Saadia will recover from the paralysis spell.
5. Cast the ‘Calm’ spell on her as she attempts to flee in panic, and she’ll go back to normal.
6. Chat with her and inform her that you killed Kematu.
7. She will then reward you with 500 more gold, and the quest will be marked complete.

In this way, you have successfully doubled your reward from the quest. You can further increase your reward by looting Kematu’s corpse after he dies and Saadia when she is paralyzed.

FAQs

Conclusion

Skyrim is no short on confusing quests in which the player is perplexed about which side to pick. It’s a great idea to look up the best possible outcomes for any quest you might be confused about in Skyrim. Where the ‘In My Time Of Need’ is concerned, picking either side will yield the same reward of 500 gold, but if you play it smartly, you can use a glitch to get double the rewards and still complete the quest.