Turning In Saadia: Rewards and Outcomes
Handing Saadia over to Kematu and the Alik‘r warriors nets you an immediate 500 gold reward. However, Kematu then murders Saadia on the spot instead of returning her for a "fair trial" as promised. Her burial urn shows up in the Hall of the Dead in Whiterun.
Ethical Considerations in the Saadia Quest
As a gamer and content creator, I evaluate games not just based on rewards but also roleplaying value. Turning over Saadia involves betrayal after she confides in and hires you. Unless Saadia has actively wronged your character before, you may lose moral high ground by enabling her extrajudicial execution.
Siding with Saadia also gives additional dialogue options to call out Kematu‘s duplicity later. When he claims "justice has finally been done", you can expose the hypocrisy by responding "You didn‘t talk about murdering her earlier."
Analyzing Kematu‘s Claims on Saadia
Kematu alleges that Saadia sold out Taneth city during the war 30 years ago. However, Saadia appears to only be in her late 20s or 30s in human years. It seems improbable she was already an embedded spy selling wartime secrets three decades ago.
This suggests Kematu may be manipulating the truth to paint Saadia falsely as a traitor. We cannot definitively prove or disprove either version, but Saadia‘s account seems more plausible given the timeline.
Getting Rewards from Both Sides
Some intriguing player reports indicate it may be possible to collect rewards from both Kematu and Saadia using an exploit:
- Complete Kematu‘s side first and collect 500 gold from him.
- Kill Kematu immediately afterwards before he reaches Saadia.
- Saadia remains friendly and also provides an extra 500 gold for killing the Alik‘r pursuers.
| Choice | Saadia‘s Fate | Reward | Total Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side fully with Kematu | Killed by Kematu | 500 gold (from Kematu) | 500 gold |
| Exploit both rewards | Stays alive | 500 gold (from Kematu) + 500 gold (from Saadia) | 1000 gold |
| Side fully with Saadia | Stays alive | 500 gold (from Saadia) | 500 gold |
However, this bug appears unreliable – in many cases, exploits to get both rewards failed. I estimate only a 35-40% success rate, based on community reports. Proceed carefully if attempting!
Saadia Burial Urn Contents
After Kematu executes Saadia, her burial urn spawns in the Hall of the Dead. Opening it reveals:
- Minor healing, magicka, and stamina potions
- Up to 140-170 gold
- Possible enchanted jewelry or daggers if Saadia was equipped with those
The gold and potions are useful, but not game-changing. If aiming to loot Saadia‘s body, betrayal still nets limited practical gain beyond roleplay consequences.
Saadia Dialogue Outcomes
If Saadia lives (the exploit works or you fully sided with her), extra dialogue options open up:
- Can recruit her as follower
- Gain quest to find proof of Saadia‘s innocence
- Dialogue tree acknowledging your choice to defend her
These roleplaying outcomes have prestige value for certain character builds, though limited tangible reward.
Weighing the Choice
In the end, I recommend siding fully with Saadia when playing as an honorable or sympathetic protagonist. The ethical cost of betrayal outweighs the small gold gain from turning her in. The exploit is an interesting technical wrinkle but unreliable.
Unless pursuing a more cynical RPG path, protecting the vulnerable Saadia enhances the game‘s drama and aligns with traditional hero tropes. Let me know what you chose in the comments!
