@@Princess_Celestia_ Who's to say the hit was even real? I wouldn't put it past Astrid, someone who is intently evil without a doubt to kill a random beggar for literally no reason other than to test a new assassin. Afterall, if a assassin takes pity on a crazy depressed beggar and either backs out or loses, are they worth being called an assassin?
I know that it's almost certainly just a mistake, but Wilhelm saying the exact same dialogue as Narfi if you show him Reyda's necklace gave me such an unsettling feeling when I first saw it. Like something out of some sort of surreal horror film.
Personally I don’t think it’s a mistake. Someone had to voice Wilhelm, it’s not like the dialogue is AI generated. Maybe the actor was reading someone else’s lines as warm up and some programmer put that in by mistake?
@@comfycat9 my bet's still on Bethesda being Bethesda. There are a few other lines that were specifically meant for just one character to say, but for some reason they also had a bunch of the other voice actors record those lines. "Saadia, wake up dear." comes to mind. I think the reason that happened is when they were recording general dialogue that most npcs would say at some point ("Hmm?", "Need something?") they accidentally put a few more specific lines in their scripts, or whatever they used. Still no clue how the Wilhelm one actually ended up being recorded and used in the game, other than just Bethesda being Bethesda.
@@emeraldkoala2 Yeah I think it's just Bethesda being Bethesda. Addvar in Solitude was supposed to have a lot more dialogue at his marketplace stall, but it was recorded in Jala's voice.
I know I'm a little late, but the reason Klemmet just 'stares' at Narfi's house is actually because he's got a code that wasn't removed; fishing. He's one of the few that were supposed to be fishing and, instead of removing the code from him, he just goes down to the river and ...stares. Fishing was later added in through the paid CC, but the cutting room floor has found the code way back when the game came out and data miners were finding stuff. It's also found in the Creation Kit, under his AI.
I kind of figure Narfie (based on how bad his condition is) already had mental health struggles before Reyda died. She probably was his caretaker to some extent and helped him keep his condition manageable. This opens up the avenue of Reyda (who wanders on out of the village to collect ingredients regularly enough for it to be known by the innkeeper) being killed in order to hope it would 1) destabilize Narfie 2) cause his end by removing his caretaker from the picture. When this plan failed due to Narfie being more resilient than originally assumed, the Dark Brotherhood was contacted. Whoever ordered the hit in this scenario thus would have had to have some foreknowledge of what is going on.
I always assumed the contract was a mercy killing. No one had taken him in after his sister died and there was no place to send him. He'd just stay and rot in that old shack if nothing was done.
hence the name "the straw that broke" i actually wonder if there was a cut ending to the quest that involved him going berserk after you give him the amulet as it is its implied that "the straw that broke" narfi has already happened but that doesnt line up with whats in the game narfis mental state doesnt sound like he just snapped at somepoint he sounds like he has always had a mental problem and that reyda just not coming back wouldnt cause him to just snap just missing someone who didnt come home one day doesnt do that learning that someone who didnt come home one day will NEVER come home would though
There is a missed clue. On the counter of the Pawned Prawn in Riften is a note from Wilhelm ordering iron arrows. Those arrows in the river were iron arrows (I had caught them). The rationale for Wilhelm to commit to killing the entire family might be related to something valuable about the property. It’s still a mystery as there might be a dropped portion of the quest.
Kind of makes sense. Wilhelm kills Reyda by accident and hurriedly dumps her body in a panic. And Natfi's constant wailing and current state are a daily reminder of his crime. So he wants him dead. @@oscaranderson5719
Where are you getting that from? The note is "An Apology" It's Wilhelm saying he won't go into Shroud Hearth Barrow to loot things for Bersi to sell. --- Bersi, I got your last request, but there's no way I'm going near Shroud Hearth Barrow. I know that the trinkets from the Nordic Barrows sell quite well, but it isn't worth getting killed. You probably think I'm crazy, but I'm certain that the place is haunted and I refuse to become another victim of... whatever lives there. Sorry, old friend. Wilhelm Vilemyr Inn, Ivarstead
@@Trisepta777 I think it was from “Nate” or another TH-camr that does videos on Skyrim stuff. that did a deep dive on this issue as next to the note are iron arrows. Who knows if Wyndelius and Wilhelm were Allies are competitors to retrieve artifacts from that barrow
there is also the theory that the master vampire from the redwater den as if you go through there (the volkihar vamps give you a quest to go in there), once you get to the room where he is in you can come across his journal that says about a woman he dined on in ivastead whilst passing through the town
Personally, I always thought Reyda made medication for Narfi to keep his mental health in check. If it wasn't for the arrows, I would have said the likely scenario is Reyda, being in a good mood while going out, decides to walk on the wall of the bridge, slips, hit her head, and drowns, weighed down by her clothes and supplies until the sediment from the river's current covers her enough to fully embed her into the muck. The arrows throw a biiiig wrench into that.
Yeah, the arrows is the big problem in trying to decipher her fate, because while it seems most logically to be an accident, the arrows are bizarre. The only logical conclusion I can come up with is that maybe someone was trying to hunt and they were just the worst shot to literally ever exist, accidentally hitting her or maybe even just surprising her enough to cause her to slip and fall. Then again, Reyda may not have died in that particular spot, she could've died somewhere else and her body just settled in that spot, so maybe the arrows are unrelated and are just a weird bug.
I always thought Narfi accidently cause Reyda's death, regressed mentally because of it, and Wilhelm had him killed because he had been in love with Reyda.
She was definitely murdered, she was shot by 2 arrows. They load on her body when you come into the area but the current pulls them away before you get to the body. You actually have to use console commands to get into the area to see them before they’re swept off.
Why not just assume it was a hunting accident and the reason Narfi has a hit out on him is because a traveling nobleman got pissed a local beggar annoyed him and kept talking about himself in the third person? People in Skyrim have been targeted with more malicious means for far less.
I think this is a case where you have to apply Death of the Author, because it seems pretty clear that what Bethesda actually intended was that Reyda just accidented herself to death and there’s nothing really more to say. But every single theory put forth by the community over the past decade+ is infinitely more interesting and deep than this was actually intending this to be, so you gotta pick one of them cos this really is a situation where any answer is better than none. 😂
Oh nvm, I always forget about the arrows. 😂 That means they’re 100% stating she was murdered… but that doesn’t change the fact that they give us basically nothing to go on, again leading to the wildest speculations possible.
@@Longshanks1690 Well if you listen to Brotherhood members, one of the advices sounds EXACTLY how Reyda was executed. I think Gabrielle says that if you need to get rid of body - find any water (check - Reyda is in river) and to make sure it stays in place pin it down to waterbed with arrow (check - Reyda is pinned to riverbed with arrows). Pretty sure Gabrielle was sent to take out Reyda.
Wilhelm sending us to the cave also has an alternate purpose. He didn't expect you to survive going in. Since the dragonborn was possibly looking into the murder, it would be bad if they uncover the truth. Lay the bait and let the duergar kill the stranger no one will miss.
Loki's son Narfi wasn't a werewolf. It was his brother Vali who was turned into a wolf and who killed Narfi while in wolf form. Also, Wilhelm doesn't send the Dragonborn to deal with Shroud Hearth Barrow. He tells us - twice - that it's haunted and that we should stay away from it.
lost opportunity to say 2+2=fish, cause river. still convinced someone flat out has a vendetta against his family. drove them into destitution, offed the parents somehow, destroyed the house, then some time later murdered Rayda directly, looses nerve and takes a contract on Narfi.
I always felt that Reyda was harvesting herbs to sell to make money, she probably couldn't make money any other way while taking care of her brother. Also, the fact that the house is so run down and the body is rotted to the bone, it must have happened *years* before the start of Skyrim
Doesn't necessarily have to be rotten. Plenty of carnivorous life in Skyrim that's happy to nibble on human remains (or indeed before they become remains).
Great video pal but you missed a few important details mostly regarding Wilhelm and pure technicalities. There is a miceleanous quest in Riften regarding smuggling a cag of mead for Wilhelm, also there can be found a note in a shop in Riften about Wilhelm ordering iron arrows. About Reyda's remains - it is more than plausible that they aren't even hers. Her necklace is found specifically in her satchel not on her neck and from what we are told, dissapeared 1-2 years ago, there's no way there would be only bones remainning after such time
Always wondered if it was maybe Wyndelius. The guy in the other barrow in the middle of Ivarstead, using alchemy to masquerade as a ghost. He has enough motive to keep people away from the barrows, even though he seems more interested in Shroud Hearth, his frustrations might have taken him to look into Geirmund's Hall too, if she happened to be over there and she saw his ghost shennaigans were a ruse he could have cause to put her down to keep it quiet. Edit: And then I finish watching the rest o' the video and see him brought up. In my current playthrough Narfi is alive and well, Still mad as a box of frogs, but repurposed with gainful employment as a farmhand at Goldenhills.
In regards to Reyda's death, I think you missed a huge possibility. Someone could be responsible even without a murder. The only accidents you mentioned were things like her slipping and hitting her head, then drowning. But what if it was a different accident. As mentioned, arrows can be found near her body, though they tend to wash away. Well, who uses arrows? Hunters. What if it was an accidental killing? Stray arrows from a hunter, or maybe someone in the dark mistaking her for some sort of threat, seeing only a vague outline? Upon her death, they realize their mistake and flee to avoid trouble. This could even have been misfortune regarding a bear attack. A bear attacked while she was gathering herbs and the hunter that tried to save her ended up hitting her with stray arrows. Or, if you like the lycanthropy line of things, what if Reyda was a werewolf or werebear and was killed in that form, but reverted as she died, leading them to think they killed an innocent woman instead? That seems like a potential stretch, but it's not impossible. Overall, there are more potential options than just "she fell and drowned" or "she was murdered." And these options could even link back to Narfi. Perhaps he's the one that accidentally killed her, thus how he seems to know she's dead before we tell him and why he went crazy? As for Wilhelm, on the topic of him knowing she's dead... I don't agree with that. He doesn't know she's dead. He suspects she's dead, which makes sense. She's been gone for a year. Even if she was gone for a month or two, it would be reasonable to suspect she died. Sure, her body had not been found yet, but in that kind of era? Not being able to find her for even just a month would mean she either abandoned Narfi or she died, whether right away or just because she wasn't found in time to save her As for Wyndellius, while it's possible he murdered her to scare people off, he's a treasure hunter. It's also possible he knew the truth about Geirmund's Hall and tried exploring it, but gave up and went to Shroudhearth Barrow. And if that happened, it's possible he saw Reyda close to Geirmund's Hall and killed her for that reason. That could also relate to him giving up and going to Shroudhearth Barrow, to distance himself should her body be found while still hunting for treasure.
I really like the idea that it was an accident that she was killed with arrows. There's the possibility there that Narfi was the hunter, realized what happened, and went mad. Granted, I prefer to think that Narfi always had some issue regarding his mental capability, the problem only worsened/became so noticeable once she was gone. Perhaps she would sometimes take Narfi with her, and he happened to be along when the accident occurred. The hunter ran and Narfi didn't have the capability to save her. Thus, he returned home, blocked out the event, and his condition worsened. I feel like Narfi always having some level of difficulty mentally would also explain Wilhelm being sure she was dead, rather than just missing. Reyda leaving her brother behind would be perfectly plausible if he was fully capable of caring for himself. Reyda running off, abandoning a disabled brother for whom she is the sole caretaker isn't so plausible, given that those that tell us about her, say she's a very loving person. It would make sense, then, that Wilhelm would be so sure she's dead, because the alternative would be arguably worse. As far as Wyndellius is concerned, I really don't think he's even a possibility. Like you said, he was a treasure hunter, not some crazed madman (well, at least not at first). He kept a journal about the entire time he was in Ivarstead up until he went mad. If he killed a girl to frame the ghosts, I'd think he'd mention that since he was writing about all the other plots he'd schemed. And then once he had gone mad, he didn't leave the barrow. Unless she walked into the barrow, got hit fatally and then wandered out to the river on her own passing by several places or people she could have gotten help from, I don't' think he's the culprit.
If she was shot like that then her body would be taken by current of river. However Reyda's body stayed in same place. When we first get to game, two arrows are spawned on top of her, but due to game not being programmed to do it, arrows are moved by current away from her. She was always meant to be pinned down to riverbed. If I recall the river is short enough from one side where current is going from, so it's impossible for body in a year - unless it was pinned down by arrows - to stay where we find her. We know one person who advices you exactly that for 'perfect murder' and it's Gabrielle. So that means Reyda was murdered by DB. As for who hired her .. I say Wilhelm. They lived in backwater town and Reyda's interests in alchemy and going out in night could someone as paranoid as Wilhelm convince that she is a witch probably going to join a coven that is .. fairly nearby to my memory. Plus he does have book about how to kill witches and hagravens. Narfi was probably mercy killing order by him, as well Narfi would drive him insane with guilt by constant cries for Reyda.
Well this video would cover everything I know about this if it was Basic Skyrim but unfortunitly, Dawnguard puts in the one responsible for her fate. Somewhere east of the little village is a vampire you get send to as part of a side mission for the Volkihars. That Vampire has a journel somewhere where he detailed his travels and one of the entrys says that he came through Ivarstad roughly a year ago and had a snack there while he stayed in the tavern. With this it is pretty much explained what happened and why her body is at the location we find it. The Vampire traveled throught there, had Reyda as a little snack and dumped her body right outside the village into the River before he went on in his journey to the location we find him.
That doesn't explain her body being pinned to riverbed like it was with arrows. It does match however advises Gabrielle in Brotherhood gives you. That's her modus operandi here.
I'm kinda surprised that you haven't mentioned the vampire master, Venaris Vulpin, of Redwater Den, who has a journal where he talks about going hunting in Ivarstead. Another possible theory that I have and haven't heard anywhere is Maven Blackbriar is the culprit. Sibi is in jail for murder and the victim's sister is Sibi's ex, who is living in Ivarstead. Maven had the guards kill Rayda, thinking it was Sibi's ex. Turns out it washed his ex afterall. Maven controls the Rift guard and Ivarstead is part of the Rift. Maven also performed the Black Sacrament, but we don't know on who. Maybe the Black Sacrament she performed was on Narfi, because of loose ends and all.
As far as I remember, in norse myth, it wasn't Narfi, who got turned into a wolf, but his Brother Vali. The Aesir gods turned Vali into a wolf, that then turned on and killed his Brother, Narfi. The the Aesir proceeded to bind Loki to a rock with the intestines of Narfi, his son, and placed a giant snake in the cave ceiling above him, drooling (acidic?) venom onto Lokis face, which his loyal Aesir wife, Sigyn, catched in her magic bowl before it hit Loki. And whenever she had to empty the bowl, the venom from the snake would hit the face of Loki, causing him to scream in pain, which causes earthquakes.
Also, another thing about Wilhelm worth analyzing, not only is he involved in the “illegal” purchasing of Black-Briar goods, he’s also actively working against the interests of one of the clan’s members, the jailed Sibbi Black-Briar. This could be a whole video on its own if you haven’t made it already, but the bard Lynly Star-Sung is under Wilhelm’s protection as Sibbi is trying to have her killed. I doubt this is connected to the Narfi case, but you could draw some red lines and it does help flesh out Wilhelm’s character a bit more as a man willing to not only operate in the criminal underworld but also one with good intentions at heart.
I wish I could play skyrim again for the first time. I remember walking everywhere and being super immersed in the story and side quests, it was alot of fun.
Several accounts of serial killers indicate they seemed like normal, even rather pleasant people a lot of the time... but that means the inn keeper probably would do both himself. Honestly, I kinda feel like nobody finding Reyda and the contract on Narfi DOES indicate the Dark Brotherhood doing both, and their motivation is likely the simplest, most obvious answer. They were contracted to. I mean, who else could kill Reyda so close to the village, without getting caught? However, that still leaves two questions. Who contracted them? And why? Which I think points to the owner of the lumber mill. The expansion of the business seems like the most plausible explanation. That, or, if Narfi's house was already like that even before Reyda died... (Maybe she tried alchemy to earn money to fix it after a storm or something) and maybe the inn keeper wanted to get rid of both and demolish the building because it's too unsightly. Or, the most likely explanation since it's Bethesda... they intended to do more with this and never did, and basically nothing they intended to give more depth to this made it into the game, leaving it rather unsatisfying in the end.
One issue about the argument against accidental drowning, remember, people drown in their own pools, their own bathtubs, its not that wild. Also , drowning is not like the movies, a search I would not recommend will show videos of people drowning in a pool full of people, one at a work party for lifeguards. Its no slam dunk, but can't be ruled out completely
Yup drowning is silent, people who are drowning can't scream or call for help because their brain becomes totally focused on keeping their face above water. I once rescued a little girl from drowning who was less than an arms length from the side of the pool she was in. I was walking by and saw her expression (totally blank, unlike her brothers who were playing nearby) and something made me reach over and drag her out of the pool. If I hadn't noticed her blank expression she might have drowned less than three feet from safety with her brothers next to her. Drowning is really scary
does it not strike you odd that Naarfi being targeted for elimination is the last loose end to tie up a string of events? His entire family has been eliminated. By the time we come along, we find the entire farm burned down with someone asking us to finish the last target...
It was common back in the day for men to abandon their families to go start a new one w/ someone else. It was almost as common for them or their new kids (once grown) to want their first kids from their previous family dead b/c of inheritance. The more money on the table, the more likely they were to kill their first batch of kids. Then there's Narfi... Men don't go crazy from their sisters going missing, but they can go crazy w/ guilt after murdering them.
I think I get it now. So here is my theory. His sister Reyda knows about Narfi's lycanthropy about being a werewolf/bear and often would search for a cure to aid her brother. She loved her brother dearly and had tried her best to help him. But she worked tirelessly to the point of exhaustion, so during her trip to find a cure she encountered the vampire known as Vanarus Vulpin who drained her dry then dumped her body in the river nearby. The arrows are the indicate she tried to put up a fight with a bow and arrows, despite her own exhausted condition or that they were used by said vampire to cover up his tracks. The reason for Narfi's contract is likely Vanarus Vulpin also trying to cover up his tracks once again.
Here's a theory- Rayda's killer was: Rayda. It's possible that Narfi's mental state was already in severe decline after their parents death, which might've forced Rayda to take responsibility for her mentally ill brother. She eventually became bitter and performed the sacrament to have him killed to free herself of the burden, but grew impatient and eventually took her own life via a poison of her own creation. She falls into the water and her corpse goes unfound for a year. The Dark Brotherhood eventually receives her request and payment through the grapevine, then gives it to us.
How would the dark brotherhood get her contract with no listener or night mother? Only if she would be talking about it with the townsfolk or had been heard, but that would also imply that the townsfolk would not be oblivious to the ritual or Reyda's intentions, which they are.
@@Chakallbitu The Dark brotherhood is getting by on listening for rumors. Any passerby on their way to climb the 7000 steps could be the one spreading said rumor. And even if the townsfolk did hear about it; they might've dismissed and forgotten about it over the course of a year.
I personally think Narfi accidentally killed Reyda while out hunting while she was harvesting ingredients and the guilt was so much that he lost his mind and went home to keep trying to reassure himself that she was still alive somehow and just taking a long time returning or something.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the treasure hunters near the island were the ones that killed Reyda. Those guys shoot first, ask questions later.
But we assume she was killed with arrows, right? If Narfi was a werewolf and killed his sister in a moon frenzy, why would he use a bow instead of his claws? It's possible, that his ramblings about the moon is connected, or maybe a nod, to the believe, that the moon could drive one mad, which is where you get the term "lunatic" from (at least to my knowledge). Also, he doesn't have to have killed her himself to know she is dead. Narfi could know on a subconscious level, that his sister is dead, and that's why she hasn't returned. Or alternativelly, he may have witnessed her death, but it was so traumatic to him, that he represses the memory.
i assumed that narfi was like that from the very beginning, but he just managed to survive bcos his parents and sister took care of him. and perhaps for someone who wanted to get rid of the family (for whatever reason) i think they might just assumed that if they killed reyda then narfi would just die on his own without anyone taking care of him, but he ended up being more resilient so the person grew impatient after a year.
Your fellow TH-camr Camelworks did a video on this mystery some years ago, and they postulated that, given the potion ingredients she was harvesting and Wilhelm's book on hagravens, that Reyda was possibly trying to join a hagraven cult, and that either Narfi might have been "addled" through being Reyda's test subject for her work..or he was born with brain damage that Reyda was trying to use alchemy to undo, so he could lead a normal life. There's an overgrown potion-making lab set up in another building in the area outside the village, itself. Wilhelm, in this case, figured out enough to eliminate Reyda as a threat, and the weird currents of the rivers running around the village kept her body nearby.
I ascribe to the theory that Reyda died accidentally, driving Narfi mad, and Wilhelm, taking pity on Narfi, contracted the Dark Brotherhood to mercy kill him to end his emotional and psychological suffering.
Perhaps the name of the objective in the CK refers to Narfi's mind. Another possibility that would explain the arrows is someone was shooting at animal and Reyda happened to walk in the way at just the wrong moment. This person then hired the Dark Brotherhood to prevent their accident from becoming found out
The main reason I don’t think the innkeeper did it is if you bring the necklace to him instead of the beggar he asks if you got it from her and if she knew the beggar was upset. I took that to mean he had been in denial about her death too on some level but kept it together better until you offered him false hope
I can't remember if I've seen it in a Video here on TH-cam, or if I came up with it myself, but according to this theory, Reyda was killed by the Dark Brotherhood, and the one calling the hit was Sibbi Black-Briar. Sibbi is in jail for killing the Brother of his then fiance, and if I remember correctly, you can get a misc quest to find the girl for him, and wants her dead. I think he even tells you to look for her, or start your search, in the region around Ivarstead. In Ivarstead, you can discover the bard girl in the Inn, Lynly, to be the girl Sibbi looks for. After Sibbi killed her Brother, she pointed the guards to him, which is why he sits in prison, and fled Rifton out of fear, now living in Ivarstead under the false name Lynly. Sibbi describes her as having long, black hair, but when encountered, Lynly has short, blonde hair, so either by magic or alchemical (i.e. dyeing) means, she changed her hair colour. So she puts quite a bit of effort into this new identity. What has this to do with Reyda? Well, if this theory is right, Sibbi knew that Lynly would be in or come through Ivarstead, and describes her as having long, black hair. Reyda lives in Ivarstead, and since Narfi has black hair, we can assume that the same would go for his sister. And since she was an alchemist, it's even possible, that Lynly bought the ingredients to turn her hair blonde from Reyda. So it is possible, that Sibbi called a hit on Lynly, but going from his description, the Assassin mistook Reyda for the target, which ended with her at the bottom of the stream, pierced by two arrows. That he then tasks the Player to find her probably means, that somehow he discovered, that the Assassin killed the wrong person.
What about the treasure hunters on that small island in the lake? Sure they weren't there a year ago, but when was that chest being buried and could Reyda have blundered by hunting herbs, dragonflys, mushrooms and little fish, while the chest's orginal owner was protecting the location?
Im willing to go with the contract being a mercy killing but as to who killed his sister one thing you didn't mention is if you have the Dawnguard DLC there is a vampire nest masquerading as a skooma den nearby and i can see one of them draining her of blood and dumping the body in the river. Still has holes given how did nobody notice her body later.
Here's a possible theory maybe his sister was the werewolf / werebear and because he knew her secrets he killed her then went crazy with grief and she was collecting chemical ingredients to try to cure herself.
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Or, hear me out: Reyda went to the island to gather herbs, investigated the cave, found the draugr, fled the draugr, escaped the draugr, slipped, hit her head on a rock, fell into the river, drowned, and was washed downstream, ending up right next to the inn.
thats why its a great dark brotherhood quest. it reinforces an attitude of ruthlessness and joy in unfair and unjustified kills. It lets you know what your character is signing up for.
Couldn't of been the vampire as the dates don't match up. Personally I suspect that Wilhelm thought Rayda was a witch and considering his utmost distaste for magic and mages, made evident by his reaction when you ask him where you can learn magic, he got the dark brotherhood to kill her, then after a year of crazed rambling from Narfi reminding him of what he'd done, he made a contract to get rid of him too. If you listen to Gabrielle during the dark brotherhood quest line, she prefers to use bodies of water to conceal her victims, she also uses iron arrows and is an exceptional archer. This is one of my favourite mysteries of Skyrim thank you for your video about it I am really enjoying your Elder Scrolls content and looking forward to more!
I remember hearing a theory about Venarus Vulpin potentially having something to do with; or even being fully responsible for Reyda’s death. Apparently this was alluded to somewhere in his journal, but I’ve never read Vulpin’s journal so all of this could simply be hearsay. If you’re unaware who Venarus Vulpin is; he’s an Imperial vampire drug lord, residing in Redwater Den. He’s responsible for Redwater Skooma. Drug lords (and especially ones who are vampires) don’t typically have morals, so I wouldn’t put it past him murdering someone such as Reyda, but why? From what I’m aware, Reyda only ever wondered just outside of Ivarstead, so unless Venarus was wondering around the town (a year prior to the events of Skyrim) and just so happened to encounter Reyda, I don’t see a reason why he’d kill her. Granted: Rayda’s skeleton seems to be intact and vampires do typically drain their prey of life, leaving their remains *mostly* intact. So I guess Venarus ain’t outta the woods yet… no pun intended.
I think I saw another theory video about this and they ruled Vulpine out because of a timeline conflict. Reyda supposedly vanished a year ago & Vulpin only wrote about killing somebody in that region half a year ago. Could be developer mess up of course.
Klimek stands near the river watching Narfi is actually because originally NPCs were supposed to be able to fish but it didn't make it to the final game. That's why we can ask him about fishing
i don’t think wilheim did it as a mercy killing, but to gain something. like you say he is connected to crime elsewhere. is it ever said that they lost the farm or the land they own after the parents died? maybe someone put out a contract on both the reyda and her brother so they could claim their home and rid the city of the “unsightly”. the land would be up for grabs after all kin is deceased and the town would definitely want to utilize it for something like crop or livestock.
I mean two murders and a fire just to get rid of house ? The town isn't that big, having one family complete living there isn't against town needs - they need more people. If the unsightly was the issue, Wilhelm would more likely try to contribute and help them rebuild instead of killing any of them.
My idea on what happened was she went into the cave to maybe get some mushrooms encounter. Drago got hit by a couple arrows, manage to escape the cave and was trying to make her way back to the town when she succumbed to her wounds
My theory is that Reyda ran away with the help of Wilhelm to get away from the responsibility of dealing with Narfi. They body found at the bottom of the river was a drauger body from the cave mentioned. They shot 2 arrows into it, dumped it up river. The rotting body could be taken as Reyda's, but when it settled, the subject was dropped. Who performs the Sacrament? Reyda, guilty that she abandoned her brother wanting an end to his misery and her guilty conscience.
There's a note in the Pawned Prawn in Riften saying Wilhelm is friends with Bersi and tried to get his help dealing with the barrow, and the note is close to some arrows. Gabriella in the Dark Brotherhood is familiar with archery and likes to dispose of bodies in the water. I'm not sure if either of those things is connected to the situation but they have relevance. It's at least possible that Gabriella killed Reyda for whatever reason she may have been hired. There's also a very creepy interaction if you show Reyda's necklace to Wilhelm. He'll say dialogue exactly the same as Narfi, in the exact same way, which means somewhere in the process of this mystery being made, both characters' voice actors were told to say the same thing and in that exact way they say it. It's like some kind of psychological horror stuff, and makes it really unsettling as a quest. I have no idea what kind of creepy thing the developers intended with Ivarstead but I doubt the story was in a finished state by 2011.
I think Wilhelm did it out of fury, he was probably in love with her and when she denied her advances he killed her and didn't know what to do with her body then hired the Dark Brotherhood to dispatch Narfi because he felt bad but couldnt kill again. Wilhelm isn't married and he is older so you'd think he would be. This is just my thinking I'm definitely not certain
One theory I've liked is that, for whatever reason, Reyda decided to leave Ivarstead. Maybe to become a hagraven, let's say. She knew it would upset Narfi, he'd likely want to go with her, but she didn't want him to tag a long- I have the feeling that Narfi didn't suddenly go insane when Reyda disappeared, he likely had some issues prior to that that were exacerbated by her disappearance. Plus, if she became a hagraven, she couldn't have Narfi there, hagravens don't keep men around and it could be dangerous for Narfi too. Not wanting to have him come with her, not wanting to take care of him anymore, Reyda knew she had to take a drastic measure. And so, she did one of her regular chores, collecting items for her alchemy. Except, she went to the cave, found a corpse, and planted her satchel and necklace on it before dragging it to the river, letting the water carry it. Then, she left, going off to wherever it was she wanted to go. It would explain why her death was so sudden and suspicious and confusing. What of Narfi's contract on his head? It's a bit dark, but Reyda, if now a hagraven, might not have her mind right anymore herself. Maybe she's heard of Narfi's insanity. Maybe she wanted to put her poor brother out of his misery, or maybe she feared he'd eventually figure out where she was and go find her. Hagraven's have magic, it wouldn't be a surprise that she found a way to get a request to the Dark Brotherhood to kill her brother, doing it anonymously, which would explain why there's no information about the contract other than who to kill.
Narfi can actually gift you a human heart as a random alchemy ingredient reward for his quest, if that would be a canon reward maybe it was him who killed Reyda but he regretted it so much that he made the black sacrament with her body to get the Dark Brotherhood to kill himself before he went totally insane.
It was Vanarus Vulpin. That Vampire you find in Red Water Den. His journal entries mention stopping by Ivarstead of a " Snack" at one point.
Ooh, could have been, that's a good catch!
I was literally looking to see if anybody had made a comment on the vampire being the one that killed her
But who put the hit on Narfi?
@@farceFacade What proof is there that the hit on Narfi is even related to the death of his sister? It could just be an unrelated issue
@@Princess_Celestia_ Who's to say the hit was even real? I wouldn't put it past Astrid, someone who is intently evil without a doubt to kill a random beggar for literally no reason other than to test a new assassin. Afterall, if a assassin takes pity on a crazy depressed beggar and either backs out or loses, are they worth being called an assassin?
" Hey boss I'm going to be about 40 mins late this morning. I've gotta take care of something "
The gaffer will understand
tbf, its 20 mins if you watch at 2x speed
@@zephyreaglesounds like Ben Shapiro
@@FizhyThey’re also watching this
At first glance I thought this was implying that you wanted to kill Reyda, not watch the video xD
I know that it's almost certainly just a mistake, but Wilhelm saying the exact same dialogue as Narfi if you show him Reyda's necklace gave me such an unsettling feeling when I first saw it. Like something out of some sort of surreal horror film.
Personally I don’t think it’s a mistake. Someone had to voice Wilhelm, it’s not like the dialogue is AI generated. Maybe the actor was reading someone else’s lines as warm up and some programmer put that in by mistake?
@@comfycat9 This is most likely. I mean, we all know about Bethesda's quality control. "Oh! Let me try that again"
@@cherry9787ok, go ahead
@@comfycat9 my bet's still on Bethesda being Bethesda. There are a few other lines that were specifically meant for just one character to say, but for some reason they also had a bunch of the other voice actors record those lines.
"Saadia, wake up dear." comes to mind.
I think the reason that happened is when they were recording general dialogue that most npcs would say at some point ("Hmm?", "Need something?") they accidentally put a few more specific lines in their scripts, or whatever they used.
Still no clue how the Wilhelm one actually ended up being recorded and used in the game, other than just Bethesda being Bethesda.
@@emeraldkoala2 Yeah I think it's just Bethesda being Bethesda. Addvar in Solitude was supposed to have a lot more dialogue at his marketplace stall, but it was recorded in Jala's voice.
I know I'm a little late, but the reason Klemmet just 'stares' at Narfi's house is actually because he's got a code that wasn't removed; fishing. He's one of the few that were supposed to be fishing and, instead of removing the code from him, he just goes down to the river and ...stares. Fishing was later added in through the paid CC, but the cutting room floor has found the code way back when the game came out and data miners were finding stuff. It's also found in the Creation Kit, under his AI.
That's wonderful information to have
I kind of figure Narfie (based on how bad his condition is) already had mental health struggles before Reyda died. She probably was his caretaker to some extent and helped him keep his condition manageable. This opens up the avenue of Reyda (who wanders on out of the village to collect ingredients regularly enough for it to be known by the innkeeper) being killed in order to hope it would 1) destabilize Narfie 2) cause his end by removing his caretaker from the picture. When this plan failed due to Narfie being more resilient than originally assumed, the Dark Brotherhood was contacted. Whoever ordered the hit in this scenario thus would have had to have some foreknowledge of what is going on.
I always assumed the contract was a mercy killing.
No one had taken him in after his sister died and there was no place to send him.
He'd just stay and rot in that old shack if nothing was done.
hence the name "the straw that broke"
i actually wonder if there was a cut ending to the quest that involved him going berserk after you give him the amulet
as it is
its implied that "the straw that broke" narfi has already happened
but that doesnt line up with whats in the game
narfis mental state doesnt sound like he just snapped at somepoint
he sounds like he has always had a mental problem and that reyda just not coming back wouldnt cause him to just snap
just missing someone who didnt come home one day doesnt do that
learning that someone who didnt come home one day will NEVER come home would though
There is a missed clue. On the counter of the Pawned Prawn in Riften is a note from Wilhelm ordering iron arrows. Those arrows in the river were iron arrows (I had caught them). The rationale for Wilhelm to commit to killing the entire family might be related to something valuable about the property. It’s still a mystery as there might be a dropped portion of the quest.
the creation kit name implies a crime of passion, perhaps Wilhelm was fed up with either Reyda, Narfi, or both?
Kind of makes sense. Wilhelm kills Reyda by accident and hurriedly dumps her body in a panic. And Natfi's constant wailing and current state are a daily reminder of his crime. So he wants him dead. @@oscaranderson5719
Where are you getting that from? The note is "An Apology"
It's Wilhelm saying he won't go into Shroud Hearth Barrow to loot things for Bersi to sell.
---
Bersi,
I got your last request, but there's no way I'm going near Shroud Hearth Barrow. I know that the trinkets from the Nordic Barrows sell quite well, but it isn't worth getting killed. You probably think I'm crazy, but I'm certain that the place is haunted and I refuse to become another victim of... whatever lives there. Sorry, old friend.
Wilhelm
Vilemyr Inn, Ivarstead
@@Trisepta777 I think it was from “Nate” or another TH-camr that does videos on Skyrim stuff. that did a deep dive on this issue as next to the note are iron arrows.
Who knows if Wyndelius and Wilhelm were Allies are competitors to retrieve artifacts from that barrow
if i remember correctly the arrows are leveled.
Fizhy's return to Skyrim has been the gift that keeps on giving. Keep up the amazing work
Agreed!
I have returned once again to explore an thing.
Welcome back
An thing
Im sorry
Keep the awesome work up, loving the Skyrim vids
Yeah, Good! 😂 better creator than many on this sight and about my fav games of all time let’s go brother!
there is also the theory that the master vampire from the redwater den as if you go through there (the volkihar vamps give you a quest to go in there), once you get to the room where he is in you can come across his journal that says about a woman he dined on in ivastead whilst passing through the town
Personally, I always thought Reyda made medication for Narfi to keep his mental health in check. If it wasn't for the arrows, I would have said the likely scenario is Reyda, being in a good mood while going out, decides to walk on the wall of the bridge, slips, hit her head, and drowns, weighed down by her clothes and supplies until the sediment from the river's current covers her enough to fully embed her into the muck.
The arrows throw a biiiig wrench into that.
Yeah, the arrows is the big problem in trying to decipher her fate, because while it seems most logically to be an accident, the arrows are bizarre. The only logical conclusion I can come up with is that maybe someone was trying to hunt and they were just the worst shot to literally ever exist, accidentally hitting her or maybe even just surprising her enough to cause her to slip and fall. Then again, Reyda may not have died in that particular spot, she could've died somewhere else and her body just settled in that spot, so maybe the arrows are unrelated and are just a weird bug.
"Babe, wake up! Another Fizhy Skyrim documentary has just dropped!"
We've done it again
I always thought Narfi accidently cause Reyda's death, regressed mentally because of it, and Wilhelm had him killed because he had been in love with Reyda.
She was definitely murdered, she was shot by 2 arrows. They load on her body when you come into the area but the current pulls them away before you get to the body. You actually have to use console commands to get into the area to see them before they’re swept off.
Why not just assume it was a hunting accident and the reason Narfi has a hit out on him is because a traveling nobleman got pissed a local beggar annoyed him and kept talking about himself in the third person?
People in Skyrim have been targeted with more malicious means for far less.
@@StephenMckeighena hunting accident 5 feet from the center of town?
@@StephenMckeighen Two arrows in the same body doesn't sound like an accident to me
I’m honestly disappointed I didn’t discover you later because you don’t have a large catalogue of these videos. Love the stuff!
I'll take the compliment and work to enlarge the catalogue.
@@FizhyYeah you better or else
I think this is a case where you have to apply Death of the Author, because it seems pretty clear that what Bethesda actually intended was that Reyda just accidented herself to death and there’s nothing really more to say.
But every single theory put forth by the community over the past decade+ is infinitely more interesting and deep than this was actually intending this to be, so you gotta pick one of them cos this really is a situation where any answer is better than none. 😂
Oh nvm, I always forget about the arrows. 😂
That means they’re 100% stating she was murdered… but that doesn’t change the fact that they give us basically nothing to go on, again leading to the wildest speculations possible.
@@Longshanks1690 Well if you listen to Brotherhood members, one of the advices sounds EXACTLY how Reyda was executed. I think Gabrielle says that if you need to get rid of body - find any water (check - Reyda is in river) and to make sure it stays in place pin it down to waterbed with arrow (check - Reyda is pinned to riverbed with arrows). Pretty sure Gabrielle was sent to take out Reyda.
Wilhelm sending us to the cave also has an alternate purpose. He didn't expect you to survive going in. Since the dragonborn was possibly looking into the murder, it would be bad if they uncover the truth. Lay the bait and let the duergar kill the stranger no one will miss.
People that make these kind of immersive questline content, really tickle me pink. I love you. 😅
Can I just say how well the Skyrim OST works for a video like this? It has so many mysterious, haunting, eiree tracks to use.
Loki's son Narfi wasn't a werewolf. It was his brother Vali who was turned into a wolf and who killed Narfi while in wolf form.
Also, Wilhelm doesn't send the Dragonborn to deal with Shroud Hearth Barrow. He tells us - twice - that it's haunted and that we should stay away from it.
lost opportunity to say 2+2=fish, cause river.
still convinced someone flat out has a vendetta against his family. drove them into destitution, offed the parents somehow, destroyed the house, then some time later murdered Rayda directly, looses nerve and takes a contract on Narfi.
I always felt that Reyda was harvesting herbs to sell to make money, she probably couldn't make money any other way while taking care of her brother. Also, the fact that the house is so run down and the body is rotted to the bone, it must have happened *years* before the start of Skyrim
In the game they say she disappeared a year ago
Doesn't necessarily have to be rotten. Plenty of carnivorous life in Skyrim that's happy to nibble on human remains (or indeed before they become remains).
@@jpc347lots of carnivorous fish specifically as well
Great video pal but you missed a few important details mostly regarding Wilhelm and pure technicalities. There is a miceleanous quest in Riften regarding smuggling a cag of mead for Wilhelm, also there can be found a note in a shop in Riften about Wilhelm ordering iron arrows.
About Reyda's remains - it is more than plausible that they aren't even hers. Her necklace is found specifically in her satchel not on her neck and from what we are told, dissapeared 1-2 years ago, there's no way there would be only bones remainning after such time
slaughterfish though. They do exist in waters. Or perhaps fast rotting concotion. Not sure if Gabrielle didn't had such inventions.
Always wondered if it was maybe Wyndelius. The guy in the other barrow in the middle of Ivarstead, using alchemy to masquerade as a ghost. He has enough motive to keep people away from the barrows, even though he seems more interested in Shroud Hearth, his frustrations might have taken him to look into Geirmund's Hall too, if she happened to be over there and she saw his ghost shennaigans were a ruse he could have cause to put her down to keep it quiet.
Edit: And then I finish watching the rest o' the video and see him brought up. In my current playthrough Narfi is alive and well, Still mad as a box of frogs, but repurposed with gainful employment as a farmhand at Goldenhills.
Private investigator Dragonborn is gonna crack this shell of a coldcase
Inspector Dave the Dragonborn
Fizhy of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, seconded to the Septim Empire.
In regards to Reyda's death, I think you missed a huge possibility. Someone could be responsible even without a murder. The only accidents you mentioned were things like her slipping and hitting her head, then drowning.
But what if it was a different accident. As mentioned, arrows can be found near her body, though they tend to wash away. Well, who uses arrows? Hunters.
What if it was an accidental killing? Stray arrows from a hunter, or maybe someone in the dark mistaking her for some sort of threat, seeing only a vague outline? Upon her death, they realize their mistake and flee to avoid trouble.
This could even have been misfortune regarding a bear attack. A bear attacked while she was gathering herbs and the hunter that tried to save her ended up hitting her with stray arrows. Or, if you like the lycanthropy line of things, what if Reyda was a werewolf or werebear and was killed in that form, but reverted as she died, leading them to think they killed an innocent woman instead? That seems like a potential stretch, but it's not impossible.
Overall, there are more potential options than just "she fell and drowned" or "she was murdered." And these options could even link back to Narfi. Perhaps he's the one that accidentally killed her, thus how he seems to know she's dead before we tell him and why he went crazy?
As for Wilhelm, on the topic of him knowing she's dead... I don't agree with that. He doesn't know she's dead. He suspects she's dead, which makes sense. She's been gone for a year. Even if she was gone for a month or two, it would be reasonable to suspect she died. Sure, her body had not been found yet, but in that kind of era? Not being able to find her for even just a month would mean she either abandoned Narfi or she died, whether right away or just because she wasn't found in time to save her
As for Wyndellius, while it's possible he murdered her to scare people off, he's a treasure hunter. It's also possible he knew the truth about Geirmund's Hall and tried exploring it, but gave up and went to Shroudhearth Barrow. And if that happened, it's possible he saw Reyda close to Geirmund's Hall and killed her for that reason. That could also relate to him giving up and going to Shroudhearth Barrow, to distance himself should her body be found while still hunting for treasure.
I really like the idea that it was an accident that she was killed with arrows. There's the possibility there that Narfi was the hunter, realized what happened, and went mad. Granted, I prefer to think that Narfi always had some issue regarding his mental capability, the problem only worsened/became so noticeable once she was gone. Perhaps she would sometimes take Narfi with her, and he happened to be along when the accident occurred. The hunter ran and Narfi didn't have the capability to save her. Thus, he returned home, blocked out the event, and his condition worsened.
I feel like Narfi always having some level of difficulty mentally would also explain Wilhelm being sure she was dead, rather than just missing. Reyda leaving her brother behind would be perfectly plausible if he was fully capable of caring for himself. Reyda running off, abandoning a disabled brother for whom she is the sole caretaker isn't so plausible, given that those that tell us about her, say she's a very loving person. It would make sense, then, that Wilhelm would be so sure she's dead, because the alternative would be arguably worse.
As far as Wyndellius is concerned, I really don't think he's even a possibility. Like you said, he was a treasure hunter, not some crazed madman (well, at least not at first). He kept a journal about the entire time he was in Ivarstead up until he went mad. If he killed a girl to frame the ghosts, I'd think he'd mention that since he was writing about all the other plots he'd schemed. And then once he had gone mad, he didn't leave the barrow. Unless she walked into the barrow, got hit fatally and then wandered out to the river on her own passing by several places or people she could have gotten help from, I don't' think he's the culprit.
Another possible suspect is Venaris Vulpin, the master vampire of Redwater Den, who in his journal talks about going hunting in Ivarstead.
If she was shot like that then her body would be taken by current of river. However Reyda's body stayed in same place. When we first get to game, two arrows are spawned on top of her, but due to game not being programmed to do it, arrows are moved by current away from her. She was always meant to be pinned down to riverbed. If I recall the river is short enough from one side where current is going from, so it's impossible for body in a year - unless it was pinned down by arrows - to stay where we find her. We know one person who advices you exactly that for 'perfect murder' and it's Gabrielle.
So that means Reyda was murdered by DB. As for who hired her .. I say Wilhelm. They lived in backwater town and Reyda's interests in alchemy and going out in night could someone as paranoid as Wilhelm convince that she is a witch probably going to join a coven that is .. fairly nearby to my memory. Plus he does have book about how to kill witches and hagravens. Narfi was probably mercy killing order by him, as well Narfi would drive him insane with guilt by constant cries for Reyda.
Well this video would cover everything I know about this if it was Basic Skyrim but unfortunitly, Dawnguard puts in the one responsible for her fate. Somewhere east of the little village is a vampire you get send to as part of a side mission for the Volkihars. That Vampire has a journel somewhere where he detailed his travels and one of the entrys says that he came through Ivarstad roughly a year ago and had a snack there while he stayed in the tavern.
With this it is pretty much explained what happened and why her body is at the location we find it. The Vampire traveled throught there, had Reyda as a little snack and dumped her body right outside the village into the River before he went on in his journey to the location we find him.
That doesn't explain her body being pinned to riverbed like it was with arrows. It does match however advises Gabrielle in Brotherhood gives you. That's her modus operandi here.
I'm kinda surprised that you haven't mentioned the vampire master, Venaris Vulpin, of Redwater Den, who has a journal where he talks about going hunting in Ivarstead. Another possible theory that I have and haven't heard anywhere is Maven Blackbriar is the culprit. Sibi is in jail for murder and the victim's sister is Sibi's ex, who is living in Ivarstead. Maven had the guards kill Rayda, thinking it was Sibi's ex. Turns out it washed his ex afterall. Maven controls the Rift guard and Ivarstead is part of the Rift. Maven also performed the Black Sacrament, but we don't know on who. Maybe the Black Sacrament she performed was on Narfi, because of loose ends and all.
Now it makes sense I don’t remember this mystery. Damn brotherhood keeps sending me to kill the poor guy
Yeah the moment you pick up that contract, the Reyda misc quest cannot be started.
As far as I remember, in norse myth, it wasn't Narfi, who got turned into a wolf, but his Brother Vali. The Aesir gods turned Vali into a wolf, that then turned on and killed his Brother, Narfi. The the Aesir proceeded to bind Loki to a rock with the intestines of Narfi, his son, and placed a giant snake in the cave ceiling above him, drooling (acidic?) venom onto Lokis face, which his loyal Aesir wife, Sigyn, catched in her magic bowl before it hit Loki. And whenever she had to empty the bowl, the venom from the snake would hit the face of Loki, causing him to scream in pain, which causes earthquakes.
Also, another thing about Wilhelm worth analyzing, not only is he involved in the “illegal” purchasing of Black-Briar goods, he’s also actively working against the interests of one of the clan’s members, the jailed Sibbi Black-Briar. This could be a whole video on its own if you haven’t made it already, but the bard Lynly Star-Sung is under Wilhelm’s protection as Sibbi is trying to have her killed. I doubt this is connected to the Narfi case, but you could draw some red lines and it does help flesh out Wilhelm’s character a bit more as a man willing to not only operate in the criminal underworld but also one with good intentions at heart.
I wish I could play skyrim again for the first time. I remember walking everywhere and being super immersed in the story and side quests, it was alot of fun.
Several accounts of serial killers indicate they seemed like normal, even rather pleasant people a lot of the time... but that means the inn keeper probably would do both himself. Honestly, I kinda feel like nobody finding Reyda and the contract on Narfi DOES indicate the Dark Brotherhood doing both, and their motivation is likely the simplest, most obvious answer. They were contracted to. I mean, who else could kill Reyda so close to the village, without getting caught?
However, that still leaves two questions. Who contracted them? And why? Which I think points to the owner of the lumber mill. The expansion of the business seems like the most plausible explanation. That, or, if Narfi's house was already like that even before Reyda died... (Maybe she tried alchemy to earn money to fix it after a storm or something) and maybe the inn keeper wanted to get rid of both and demolish the building because it's too unsightly.
Or, the most likely explanation since it's Bethesda... they intended to do more with this and never did, and basically nothing they intended to give more depth to this made it into the game, leaving it rather unsatisfying in the end.
One issue about the argument against accidental drowning, remember, people drown in their own pools, their own bathtubs, its not that wild. Also , drowning is not like the movies, a search I would not recommend will show videos of people drowning in a pool full of people, one at a work party for lifeguards. Its no slam dunk, but can't be ruled out completely
Yup drowning is silent, people who are drowning can't scream or call for help because their brain becomes totally focused on keeping their face above water. I once rescued a little girl from drowning who was less than an arms length from the side of the pool she was in. I was walking by and saw her expression (totally blank, unlike her brothers who were playing nearby) and something made me reach over and drag her out of the pool. If I hadn't noticed her blank expression she might have drowned less than three feet from safety with her brothers next to her. Drowning is really scary
Quick little correction here: in the Lokasenna it was Narfi’s brother Vali who became a wolf, not Narfi. Vali then killed Narfi.
There's also a vampire bar hidden in a burned out ruin near Ivarstead
Imagine if you could use necromancy to resurrect Reyda's skeleton and somehow communicate with her soul somehow for an alternate ending
Would be a cool
If you could
you can in a way. THe mod VIGILANT turns her into a Hagraven that sold her soul to Molag Bal.
does it not strike you odd that Naarfi being targeted for elimination is the last loose end to tie up a string of events? His entire family has been eliminated. By the time we come along, we find the entire farm burned down with someone asking us to finish the last target...
3:49
This song in the inn is an absolute banger. Been number one in the Skyrim charts for several eras now.
It was common back in the day for men to abandon their families to go start a new one w/ someone else. It was almost as common for them or their new kids (once grown) to want their first kids from their previous family dead b/c of inheritance. The more money on the table, the more likely they were to kill their first batch of kids.
Then there's Narfi... Men don't go crazy from their sisters going missing, but they can go crazy w/ guilt after murdering them.
I think I get it now. So here is my theory. His sister Reyda knows about Narfi's lycanthropy about being a werewolf/bear and often would search for a cure to aid her brother. She loved her brother dearly and had tried her best to help him. But she worked tirelessly to the point of exhaustion, so during her trip to find a cure she encountered the vampire known as Vanarus Vulpin who drained her dry then dumped her body in the river nearby. The arrows are the indicate she tried to put up a fight with a bow and arrows, despite her own exhausted condition or that they were used by said vampire to cover up his tracks. The reason for Narfi's contract is likely Vanarus Vulpin also trying to cover up his tracks once again.
Here's a theory- Rayda's killer was: Rayda.
It's possible that Narfi's mental state was already in severe decline after their parents death, which might've forced Rayda to take responsibility for her mentally ill brother. She eventually became bitter and performed the sacrament to have him killed to free herself of the burden, but grew impatient and eventually took her own life via a poison of her own creation. She falls into the water and her corpse goes unfound for a year. The Dark Brotherhood eventually receives her request and payment through the grapevine, then gives it to us.
How would the dark brotherhood get her contract with no listener or night mother? Only if she would be talking about it with the townsfolk or had been heard, but that would also imply that the townsfolk would not be oblivious to the ritual or Reyda's intentions, which they are.
@@Chakallbitu The Dark brotherhood is getting by on listening for rumors. Any passerby on their way to climb the 7000 steps could be the one spreading said rumor. And even if the townsfolk did hear about it; they might've dismissed and forgotten about it over the course of a year.
If she did that, then the guilt could have motivated her to suicide as well.
I personally think Narfi accidentally killed Reyda while out hunting while she was harvesting ingredients and the guilt was so much that he lost his mind and went home to keep trying to reassure himself that she was still alive somehow and just taking a long time returning or something.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the treasure hunters near the island were the ones that killed Reyda. Those guys shoot first, ask questions later.
But we assume she was killed with arrows, right? If Narfi was a werewolf and killed his sister in a moon frenzy, why would he use a bow instead of his claws?
It's possible, that his ramblings about the moon is connected, or maybe a nod, to the believe, that the moon could drive one mad, which is where you get the term "lunatic" from (at least to my knowledge).
Also, he doesn't have to have killed her himself to know she is dead. Narfi could know on a subconscious level, that his sister is dead, and that's why she hasn't returned. Or alternativelly, he may have witnessed her death, but it was so traumatic to him, that he represses the memory.
i assumed that narfi was like that from the very beginning, but he just managed to survive bcos his parents and sister took care of him. and perhaps for someone who wanted to get rid of the family (for whatever reason) i think they might just assumed that if they killed reyda then narfi would just die on his own without anyone taking care of him, but he ended up being more resilient so the person grew impatient after a year.
Must’ve been the wind
Your fellow TH-camr Camelworks did a video on this mystery some years ago, and they postulated that, given the potion ingredients she was harvesting and Wilhelm's book on hagravens, that Reyda was possibly trying to join a hagraven cult, and that either Narfi might have been "addled" through being Reyda's test subject for her work..or he was born with brain damage that Reyda was trying to use alchemy to undo, so he could lead a normal life. There's an overgrown potion-making lab set up in another building in the area outside the village, itself.
Wilhelm, in this case, figured out enough to eliminate Reyda as a threat, and the weird currents of the rivers running around the village kept her body nearby.
Played thousands of skyrim play through and have never really stopped to talked to narfi. Only time I really noticed him was the dark brohood quests 😅
I ascribe to the theory that Reyda died accidentally, driving Narfi mad, and Wilhelm, taking pity on Narfi, contracted the Dark Brotherhood to mercy kill him to end his emotional and psychological suffering.
Perhaps the name of the objective in the CK refers to Narfi's mind.
Another possibility that would explain the arrows is someone was shooting at animal and Reyda happened to walk in the way at just the wrong moment. This person then hired the Dark Brotherhood to prevent their accident from becoming found out
The main reason I don’t think the innkeeper did it is if you bring the necklace to him instead of the beggar he asks if you got it from her and if she knew the beggar was upset. I took that to mean he had been in denial about her death too on some level but kept it together better until you offered him false hope
Camelworks has a 4 hour video discussing this, it’s super interesting.
All in all, it is clear that something very fizhy is going on in Ivarstead
I can't remember if I've seen it in a Video here on TH-cam, or if I came up with it myself, but according to this theory, Reyda was killed by the Dark Brotherhood, and the one calling the hit was Sibbi Black-Briar.
Sibbi is in jail for killing the Brother of his then fiance, and if I remember correctly, you can get a misc quest to find the girl for him, and wants her dead. I think he even tells you to look for her, or start your search, in the region around Ivarstead. In Ivarstead, you can discover the bard girl in the Inn, Lynly, to be the girl Sibbi looks for. After Sibbi killed her Brother, she pointed the guards to him, which is why he sits in prison, and fled Rifton out of fear, now living in Ivarstead under the false name Lynly. Sibbi describes her as having long, black hair, but when encountered, Lynly has short, blonde hair, so either by magic or alchemical (i.e. dyeing) means, she changed her hair colour. So she puts quite a bit of effort into this new identity.
What has this to do with Reyda? Well, if this theory is right, Sibbi knew that Lynly would be in or come through Ivarstead, and describes her as having long, black hair. Reyda lives in Ivarstead, and since Narfi has black hair, we can assume that the same would go for his sister. And since she was an alchemist, it's even possible, that Lynly bought the ingredients to turn her hair blonde from Reyda. So it is possible, that Sibbi called a hit on Lynly, but going from his description, the Assassin mistook Reyda for the target, which ended with her at the bottom of the stream, pierced by two arrows. That he then tasks the Player to find her probably means, that somehow he discovered, that the Assassin killed the wrong person.
This might be a little out there, but Narfi’s “Soon like the moon” line always made me think it was a reference to Stephen King’s The Stand.
What about the treasure hunters on that small island in the lake?
Sure they weren't there a year ago, but when was that chest being buried and could Reyda have blundered by hunting herbs, dragonflys, mushrooms and little fish, while the chest's orginal owner was protecting the location?
Good video, so many of these videogame lore/mystery videos spend more time with the woo woo than just actually trying to figure out the facts
the quality of these videos is insane, love watching them!
I stumbled across Reyda's remains while searching for ingredients for my potion-making. Talk about an unwanted surprise and an odd coincidence.
Omg. The fact that this sounded just like a real life documentary was amazing. Great job on the tone.
Please never stop this legendary content
Whenever I hear Narfi speak, I can't help but picture Zathras from Babylon 5...
Same
I'm loving all of these videos. They help me get through work playing in the background
Wilhelm is just sketchy all over to me. The weirdest things in in Iverstead all lead back to Wilhelm.
I never knew you could use a torch to burn skeevers
Had a rough day, but finding a Fizhy Skyrim video waiting for me when I got home, best remedy! Keep em coming 😊❤
Hoping one day we'll see a video on miraak and the black books and that area in general
Good work on the imporved quality. It's apparent the time you put into these videos
After all this time and characters in the double digits, I can’t believe I never came across this quest before…
It was only a matter of time before we got to this one
Indeed
I've learned from Skyrim that if there's blood on the ice you can only remove it with console command.
In my Skyrim Reyda had a human heart in her satchel and Narfi gave me either a human flesh or a daedra heart but it seems random what you get.
My random thoughts I don't know if based on much is someone mistook her for something like an animal while hunting, thus the arrows.
your workrate is insane and every video is so well edited.
Always loved Skyrim and love seeing people's viewpoint on certain quest. Keep up the great content dude
Im willing to go with the contract being a mercy killing but as to who killed his sister one thing you didn't mention is if you have the Dawnguard DLC there is a vampire nest masquerading as a skooma den nearby and i can see one of them draining her of blood and dumping the body in the river. Still has holes given how did nobody notice her body later.
Here's a possible theory maybe his sister was the werewolf / werebear and because he knew her secrets he killed her then went crazy with grief and she was collecting chemical ingredients to try to cure herself.
I love that you are doing Skyrim videos. I've been playing it again
I always figured it was him on accident and he couldn't process what happened
Love the Skyrim videos, keep em' coming :)
For as long as there are topics, I reckon they'll be a part of my content rotation for a good while
Hey man, I've recently found your channel while delving back into my favorite comfort game during a particularly crappy time in my life and your videos have really helped me relax in the evenings when my PTSD is preventing me from sleeping. Thank you, and Keep up the awesome videos ❤
Or, hear me out: Reyda went to the island to gather herbs, investigated the cave, found the draugr, fled the draugr, escaped the draugr, slipped, hit her head on a rock, fell into the river, drowned, and was washed downstream, ending up right next to the inn.
I can’t wait to binge this whole Chanel
At least we know who killed Narfi. It was us.
I always hate doing his dark brotherhood quest. I just feel bad for him.
thats why its a great dark brotherhood quest. it reinforces an attitude of ruthlessness and joy in unfair and unjustified kills. It lets you know what your character is signing up for.
Couldn't of been the vampire as the dates don't match up. Personally I suspect that Wilhelm thought Rayda was a witch and considering his utmost distaste for magic and mages, made evident by his reaction when you ask him where you can learn magic, he got the dark brotherhood to kill her, then after a year of crazed rambling from Narfi reminding him of what he'd done, he made a contract to get rid of him too. If you listen to Gabrielle during the dark brotherhood quest line, she prefers to use bodies of water to conceal her victims, she also uses iron arrows and is an exceptional archer.
This is one of my favourite mysteries of Skyrim thank you for your video about it I am really enjoying your Elder Scrolls content and looking forward to more!
this is scary how youtube reomm this right after i did this quest .....
I remember hearing a theory about Venarus Vulpin potentially having something to do with; or even being fully responsible for Reyda’s death. Apparently this was alluded to somewhere in his journal, but I’ve never read Vulpin’s journal so all of this could simply be hearsay.
If you’re unaware who Venarus Vulpin is; he’s an Imperial vampire drug lord, residing in Redwater Den. He’s responsible for Redwater Skooma. Drug lords (and especially ones who are vampires) don’t typically have morals, so I wouldn’t put it past him murdering someone such as Reyda, but why? From what I’m aware, Reyda only ever wondered just outside of Ivarstead, so unless Venarus was wondering around the town (a year prior to the events of Skyrim) and just so happened to encounter Reyda, I don’t see a reason why he’d kill her.
Granted: Rayda’s skeleton seems to be intact and vampires do typically drain their prey of life, leaving their remains *mostly* intact. So I guess Venarus ain’t outta the woods yet… no pun intended.
I think I saw another theory video about this and they ruled Vulpine out because of a timeline conflict. Reyda supposedly vanished a year ago & Vulpin only wrote about killing somebody in that region half a year ago. Could be developer mess up of course.
@@beartraptree Indeed, Bethesda are no strangers when it comes to developer mess ups, however, I feel in this case they didn’t.
The biggest mystery is who keeps going round shooting adventurers in the knee. The phantom knee knobbler? 😂
I have a knack for catching draugr in the knee (or in the balls, but that's beside the point)
The term, “took an arrow to the knee” means getting married.
@@Me_o_Mel I heard that, but then I also heard fairly soon thereafter that it was fake
Klimek stands near the river watching Narfi is actually because originally NPCs were supposed to be able to fish but it didn't make it to the final game. That's why we can ask him about fishing
i don’t think wilheim did it as a mercy killing, but to gain something.
like you say he is connected to crime elsewhere. is it ever said that they lost the farm or the land they own after the parents died? maybe someone put out a contract on both the reyda and her brother so they could claim their home and rid the city of the “unsightly”. the land would be up for grabs after all kin is deceased and the town would definitely want to utilize it for something like crop or livestock.
I mean two murders and a fire just to get rid of house ? The town isn't that big, having one family complete living there isn't against town needs - they need more people. If the unsightly was the issue, Wilhelm would more likely try to contribute and help them rebuild instead of killing any of them.
My idea on what happened was she went into the cave to maybe get some mushrooms encounter. Drago got hit by a couple arrows, manage to escape the cave and was trying to make her way back to the town when she succumbed to her wounds
My theory is that Reyda ran away with the help of Wilhelm to get away from the responsibility of dealing with Narfi. They body found at the bottom of the river was a drauger body from the cave mentioned. They shot 2 arrows into it, dumped it up river. The rotting body could be taken as Reyda's, but when it settled, the subject was dropped. Who performs the Sacrament? Reyda, guilty that she abandoned her brother wanting an end to his misery and her guilty conscience.
There's a note in the Pawned Prawn in Riften saying Wilhelm is friends with Bersi and tried to get his help dealing with the barrow, and the note is close to some arrows.
Gabriella in the Dark Brotherhood is familiar with archery and likes to dispose of bodies in the water.
I'm not sure if either of those things is connected to the situation but they have relevance. It's at least possible that Gabriella killed Reyda for whatever reason she may have been hired.
There's also a very creepy interaction if you show Reyda's necklace to Wilhelm. He'll say dialogue exactly the same as Narfi, in the exact same way, which means somewhere in the process of this mystery being made, both characters' voice actors were told to say the same thing and in that exact way they say it. It's like some kind of psychological horror stuff, and makes it really unsettling as a quest. I have no idea what kind of creepy thing the developers intended with Ivarstead but I doubt the story was in a finished state by 2011.
I think Wilhelm did it out of fury, he was probably in love with her and when she denied her advances he killed her and didn't know what to do with her body then hired the Dark Brotherhood to dispatch Narfi because he felt bad but couldnt kill again. Wilhelm isn't married and he is older so you'd think he would be. This is just my thinking I'm definitely not certain
Great video! Love the hagraven theory. It makes a lot of sense.
I'm just wondering how come suicide was never considered as a possibility for her death?
One theory I've liked is that, for whatever reason, Reyda decided to leave Ivarstead. Maybe to become a hagraven, let's say. She knew it would upset Narfi, he'd likely want to go with her, but she didn't want him to tag a long- I have the feeling that Narfi didn't suddenly go insane when Reyda disappeared, he likely had some issues prior to that that were exacerbated by her disappearance. Plus, if she became a hagraven, she couldn't have Narfi there, hagravens don't keep men around and it could be dangerous for Narfi too. Not wanting to have him come with her, not wanting to take care of him anymore, Reyda knew she had to take a drastic measure. And so, she did one of her regular chores, collecting items for her alchemy. Except, she went to the cave, found a corpse, and planted her satchel and necklace on it before dragging it to the river, letting the water carry it. Then, she left, going off to wherever it was she wanted to go. It would explain why her death was so sudden and suspicious and confusing.
What of Narfi's contract on his head? It's a bit dark, but Reyda, if now a hagraven, might not have her mind right anymore herself. Maybe she's heard of Narfi's insanity. Maybe she wanted to put her poor brother out of his misery, or maybe she feared he'd eventually figure out where she was and go find her. Hagraven's have magic, it wouldn't be a surprise that she found a way to get a request to the Dark Brotherhood to kill her brother, doing it anonymously, which would explain why there's no information about the contract other than who to kill.
Skyrim series is awesome, keep up the great stuff!
Narfi can actually gift you a human heart as a random alchemy ingredient reward for his quest, if that would be a canon reward maybe it was him who killed Reyda but he regretted it so much that he made the black sacrament with her body to get the Dark Brotherhood to kill himself before he went totally insane.