Saadia is a Redguard woman who works at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun, sending customers to Hulda whenever they want work, food or drink. “Saadia” is not her real name, though. She is Iman, formerly of House Suda in Hammerfell, and someone has hired the Alik’r to track her down.
Where to find them
She can be found at the Bannered Mare, where she lives and works under her assumed name.
Quests
Saadia is at the centre of In My Time of Need. Alik’r warriors approach you looking for a Redguard woman hiding in Whiterun under a false name. When you mention them, Saadia panics and pulls you into a private room. First she threatens to cut you in half, then she tells her story. She says she is a noble who spoke out publicly against the Aldmeri Dominion, and that the Alik’r are assassins on the Dominion’s payroll. She asks you to deal with their leader, Kematu, and suggests questioning an Alik’r who was just thrown in the city jail.
Kematu tells a very different tale: Saadia betrayed her family and the city of Taneth to the Dominion, and he wants to bring her home to stand trial for treason. You have to decide who to believe:
- Side with Saadia: deal with Kematu and she pays you from the wealth she smuggled out of Hammerfell, then carries on with her disguise at the inn.
- Side with Kematu: lie to her about Alik’r in the city and lead her to the Whiterun Stables, where Kematu is waiting. She is not amused.
Either side pays 500 gold. Kematu carries another 200 that can be looted if he dies or lifted from his pockets.
Services
She is listed as a food vendor, though she mostly redirects business to Hulda.
Personality & relationships
Under the polite staff manner, Saadia is frightened, suspicious and quick to grab a blade. She claims she can’t trust the guards or even the Jarl, because the Alik’r will buy off anyone they can. The game never confirms which version of her past is true, and that’s the fun of it.
Good to know
If she dies, or you hand her over to the Alik’r, a burial urn with her belongings may appear in the Whiterun Catacombs. Taking items from it counts as theft.
Quick facts
- Race: Redguard
- Gender: Female
- Level: 4
- Class: Food Vendor
- Status: Killable
- Found in: Whiterun
- Services: Food vendor at the Bannered Mare
- Base ID: 00013BA2
Also in Whiterun
Saffir, Sam Guevenne, Severio Pelagia, Sigurd, Sinmir, Skulvar Sable-Hilt, Tilma the Haggard, Ulfberth War-Bear, Wilmuth, Acolyte Jenssen, Ahlam, Alfhild Battle-Born.
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.