So I'm doing the quest where you can either help Kematu arrest Saadia or kill Kematu. I'm roleplaying a Paladin Khajiit, sort of like Aslan in armor.

I want to side with Saadia b/c I kept my word that I would help her, but Kematu and the others explained to me why she must be arrested, and through reason, I thought that the right thing to do is have her arrested. :\

What do you guys think I should do? Think about it in the shoes of my roleplay, and not in your utter hatred for Saadia/Kematu

He is a man of his word right? Sometimes keeping it leads to questions. guess he better ask himself... which liar does he believe? Both are lying... Kematu is just a lot better at it.

I've played both sides to quest. It doesn't actually give a conclusive side to take but after a lot of consideration I think

Also,

I have also played both sides, but choosing the right one for this roleplay is difficult.

Did she ever even mention she is working for the Thalmor? I don't recall such a thing :\

I chose Kematu the only time I did this quest, but might go with Saadia, since both stories seem fishy, and a rumble with Kematu and his boys sounds like fun

I will probably do that, then reload if I don't feel right with the outcome.

Sadia claims to have spoken out against the Dominion, and Kematu was hired to hunt her down.

It really doesn't sound like they are paid assassins.

I look at it this way.

-Do you swear fealty to Whiterun as a paladin? If so, then it's possible that you wouldn't even consider the Alik'r request, as it's an end run around the Whiterun guards' judgement against them. In that case, siding with Saadia is answer-before-question. The same applies if you think of "paladin = knight of the Round Table" as opposed to simply "paladin = holy knight as seen in D&D." In the former case, "can't hit a lady" is very much in force; so you'd have a very hard time justifying siding with Kematu at best.

-As a Khajiit, do you trust or oppose the Thalmor? If you trust them, then side with the one you think *is* working for the Dominion. (For the past 100-ish years, most certainly, the Khajiit have generally supported the Thalmor - having been duped into believing that the Thalmor ended the moonless years.)

-In the absence of hard evidence, are you bound by your oaths, or can you be swayed by the other side of the argument?

I agree with PKMN12 & Talaran.

It make sense that they had to hide out with bandits as they were acting under instruction from Hammerfell which at the present time is hostile to Imperial rule and also the Aldmeri Dominion (Thalmor). There is a chance of Imperial or Thalmor agents trying to stop their expedition. Sardia would have put out SOS calls to the Thalmor if she is operating on their behalf. Plus she is presently a habitant of Skyrim so could call for the aid of the Jarl's guards to protect her.

I think it's when you complete the quests that confirmed it to me. By the two dialogues on completion. Even the dialogue when you first confront Saadia and she leads you upstairs and pulls a knife when playing it back is a though she only changes her tone when she realises you are not after her but could be of some use.

I've always sided with Saadia. Although, logically it does seem like Kematu's version is the closest one to the truth. If Saadia had really spoken out against the Thalmor, the Thalmor would be the one hunting her down. They're everywhere in Skyrim, there would be no need for them to try and hide their presence by using Kematu. Plus, if she were running from the Aldmeri she would have went and hid in Windhelm, a city with no Imperial or Altmeri presence.

If Saadia really was a spy then why didn't she hide in more thalmor friendly areas... like say Solitude? hell its got the embassy.

I believe both sides are lying and playing to your feelings in regards to the thalmor in Skyrim. Saadia says the thalmor are after her and Kematu says she is a thalmor spy. NEITHER have solid evidence. How old is Saadia if she betrayed a city when how long ago was the thalmor/hammerfell war?

People are so quick to say "I sided with Kematu because Saadia pulled a dagger." That's crap... a big load of it. Kematu and his men pulled CURVED SWORDS! Not to mention his men harass women on the road and then have the nerve to tell her to piss off when they realize they have the wrong woman. WTF? Kematu and his men lack honor... plain and simple. One is even in jail, left to rot... His only crime being he got caught. Why didn't his men spring the 100 coin for his release? Were they instead spending it on payment for bandit protection? No one, not even the empire loving nords have any love for the thalmor. If Kematu had said he was looking for a spy... seriously who would have stopped him?

I've always sided with Kematu, she irks me every time when she says "I don't know for sure" and dances around your question despite her wanting you to kill a group of trained Alik'r mercenaries. Sorry Sadia, but if you want me to trust you AND help you, I need more than a 'I don't know'.

They are both lying so I turned Saadia in and before the two left (after quest completed), I killed both of them.

I highly believe both were wrong so I made sure both sides lost. (Funny thing is, Kematu's soldiers are still looking for Saadia).

~Edit~

I did a similar thing in the main DLC questline of "Point Lookout" for FO3. I made sure both sides lost.

There are too many plot holes in Saadia's story, its painfully obvious that shes lying. Kematu's story sounds way more convincing.

Here is what she says against what thew Alik'r say:

Alik'r:

They came from Hammerfell looking for a Thalmor spy, and she is wanted for treason, for selling Hammerfell out to the Aldmeri Dominion. the noble houses discovered her betrayal and so she fled and they've hired the Alik'r to find her.

Her story:

The Alik'r are working for the Thalmor, and when the Aldmeri Dominion spread to her province, she spoke out against the Dominion and was forced to leave the land. she made her way to Skyrim. and so now Hammerfell's nobility want her for... speaking against the Thalmor? doesnt make sense.

The simple idea that the Alik'r are Thalmor spies alone is ridicules.

I'm pretty sure she is an escaped noble woman who's jealous husband has sent Kematu after her. Again both use the thalmor as reasons to convince you to help them. Like I said before.

If Saadia REALLY was a thalmor spy, why would she hide in Whiterun? Why wouldn't she go to Solitude and be sheltered BY the thalmor?

That's like 007 James Bond being sought after by the Russians so he goes and hides in Canada instead of going to England.

It just makes NO sense!

I'd actually go the other way - why wouldn't she be spying somewhere useful, like Windhelm?

I think both sides are being economical with the truth, but I'm inclined to protect the citizen of Whiterun over a bunch of hired thugs who harass any Redguard woman they see on the road, and pay bandits for use of their cave (rather than just taking it over, which, let's face it, they could easily do). I don't think that "Saadia is lying" automatically equals "Saadia is a Thalmor spy," just "Saadia is not telling me the real reason she's here." Of course, if I were actually there, and could make up my own dialogue options, so to speak, I would probably hint to Saadia that if I ever found out she was lying to me, it would not end well for her, and that I would be keeping an eye on her...

Well is she still a spy or an ex spy in hiding? But yes Windhelm would be a location of choice to spy.

And yeah... if we had control of the dialog questions... I'm sure we could have gotten her to tell the truth. I'd butter her up with some flowers and a lot of wine... start with a massage and yeah... bet she'd tell me everything

Ugh, I thought I posted here... did it go into another thread? Sorry if that happened.

Basically, it is a "he said, she said". Due to our lack of knowledge of this game's state of Hammerfell, it is probably best to ignore it, even the ultimate hero in shining-armor perspective.

However, trends tend to go like this (CW here, though not boiling it up [hopefully]):

- Stormcloak - a rebel with a legit cause is doing the right thing

- Empire - justice is being served, with a legit cause

- neutral - honestly, go what your gut is saying, not them. What make sense to YOU and YOU alone.

For me, it is Keematu, but because like someone said, he is upset if you kill Saadia. It could be lack of reward because she is dead OR perhaps let's see what the judicial system says, not you. Nevertheless, to me, Keematu makes sense to the situation, though the Thalmor/AD is a ploy because of what is going on in Skyrim.

For most of my PCs, this is Skyrim/Empire, not just Hammerfell, hope the next person can sort it out (good luck with that individual), but that is how I gameplay, perhaps not the TC. Just something to think about (ultimately, you cannot be right or wrong in this case, thus, FOLLOW YOUR FEELINGS).

*with my luck, the next game and/or novel will answer it and I will have to eat paper for the rest of my life... I'm used to that, at least I get fiber *

Here's how J'derras sees it.

Why would Kematu be hiding with a bunch of bandits when there were Alik'r in Rorikstead? It would have been far easier just to set up camp in a town with a tavern (better for morale) than to take shelter with outlaws. The Alik'r are mercenaries, not spies, so they are likely paid off by the Thalmor. Given their choice of company, we can assume they are anything but benevolent.

Second, if Saadia was a Thalmor spy, she would've fled to Summerset via an Altmer ship, not Skyrim. If she's fleeing from the Thalmor, like J'derras had to from his home in Dragonstar, Skyrim is a more logical choice than Cyrodiil, since those living in Hammerfell don't care much for the Empire, and Skyrim is currently disputed territory while High Rock is still part of the Empire.

Third, the Thalmor love to torture people, which is why Kematu probably wanted Saadia alive. More gold for a live capture, the Thalmor believing she might know the location of Talos worshipers. Were Saadia a spy for the Thalmor, the Thalmor would have already destroyed the shrine to Talos in Whiterun.

The timing of events is most likely an oversight by the developers, since the Great War started 30 years prior and the Second Treaty of Stros M'Kai was signed 21 years prior, yet Saadia doesn't look a day over 30.

Think Kematu is telling the truth. When you lead Saadia to him outside Whiterun, he doesn't outright kill or assassinate her. Instead, he paralyzes her. If his mission were to just kill her, he could've done it then and there and have been done with it; but he didn't, which leads you to conclude that that wasn't his mission.

LDB invades the Thalmor Embassy, kills a lot of guards nad a justiciar, releases a prisioner and leaves to rescue Esbern. The thalmor send one khajiit woman.

A woman speaks out against the thalmor. They send an entire band of mercenaries from another provice.

doesnt make much sense

Exactly, they have no use for spies in Solitude, they need information about the places they're not present.

IIRC the thalmor don't really let other races into Summerset isles,even as an ally she'd have a hell of a time getting in.

Agreed... which is why I bet its a jealous husband or lover she is being dragged back to...

Yeah... how old is Saadia. And how could she, one lone person cause a city to fall to the thalmor? She pull a Rogvir? Open the gate? She doesn't look past 30 right now... so if she was involved in the events that took place 20-30 years ago, she was either a baby. didn't betray anyone to the thalmor. or is much older then she looks.