People of The Rift
The Rift is in the southeastern corner of the province, and features a massive plateau with a perpetually autumnal aspen forest. Steep cliffs and mountains seperate it from the rest of the world and the rich soil and temperate climate allow good farming and fishing which sustains the hold's strong economy. Its capital is the crime-ridden Riften, home of the provincial chapter of the Thieves' Guild; notable features of the city include the central market square, the Black-Briar Meadery, and a labyrinth of sewers used as a refuge by the impoverished and outlawed known as the Ratway. Its banner is a pair of crossed swords on a purple background. Its Jarl is the Stormcloak-aligned Laila Law-Giver... supposedly, as in truth the amount of influence she actually has over the goings-on of her hold is debatable.
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Brand-Shei (Brandyl Telvanni)
Voiced by: Keith Szarabajka (English)note
One of the merchants in Riften marketplace. Seemingly the first target of the Thieves' Guild (though you can fail it on purpose).
- Aerith and Bob: You can comment on him having weird name for a Dark Elf, though there is a very good reason for it.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- A walking example if the Dragonborn DLC has been installed. He's one of the last surviving members of House Telvanni. If the Dragonborn completes Master Neloth's quests, they are made an honorary member of the same house. Unfortunately, there's no option at any point to tell Brand-Shei about this, or make any sort of offer to introduce him to Neloth. Even without the Dragonborn DLC, Brelyna Maryon of the College of Winterhold is also a member of House Telvanni, and given that she's a potential spouse, it's possible for the Dragonborn themselves to be a member of House Telvanni by marriage. Though this discrepancy could be explained if he means that he's one of the last members of the Telvanni family, rather than the Great House as a whole, the former being a bloodline and the latter more like a political party.
- In the first quest for the Thieves' Guild questline, you are told that framing him would only put him in jail for a few days - but Bethesda never programmed a time frame for him to be released so he'll stay in prison indefinitely. However, you can subvert sending him to jail in the first place by simply dropping the ring you are asked to plant on him. You can then tell your guild contact that you "lost it;" naturally, he assumes you were pickpocketed like a chump.
- Good Parents: He was raised by a kindly Argonian couple. Just so we're clear, this is the Dunmer and Argonians we're talking about — two races known for their animosity toward each other.Context This makes Brand-Shei's adoptive parents one of the best examples of this trope ever.
- Happily Adopted: His backstory.
- Nice Guy: Snarks aside, he easily is one of the nicest merchants in Riften, especially compared to Grelka. He politely salutes you whenever you pass close to his shop, gladly explains his origins to you, and is very grateful when you help him recover a clue about said origins.Brand-Shei: I really appreciate what you've done for me. I'll never forget it.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: The journal you can find for him.
- Raised by Natives: Raised by Argonians.
- Secret Legacy: He's actually one of last surviving members of House Telvanni.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: With Brynjolf in the starting Thieves' Guild quest.
- Video Game Caring Potential: The first Thieves' Guild mission has you frame him for stealing, which leaves him in jail for the rest of the game. But if you prefer, you can drop the ring that you were supposed to place on him; he never gets arrested, and you still get into the guild.
Chief Yamarz
Voiced by: Noah Nelson (English)note
Chieftain of the Orcs at Largashbur. His tribe has recently been besieged by giants sensing weakness in them, and they worry that Malacath has turned his sight from them.
- Asshole Victim: He either dies when he foolishly tries to fight the giant leader himself or does so when he tries to kill the Dragonborn to cover up the truth. Either way, he certainly had it coming.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: As per usual with orcs, the chieftain proves he's worthy of his position by being a great warrior. The problem for this particular tribe is that Yamarz very, very much isn't.
- Boisterous Weakling: He talks a big game and if you make him fight the giant leader himself, he claims that it'll only take a second. He's not wrong about that last part.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: If you talk him into fighting the leader of the giants himself, he's summarily crushed.
- Dirty Coward: In very sharp contrast to most Orcs. When challenged to defeat the leader of the giants by Malacath, he immediately demands your help in the task; since he was only told to kill the leader, he wants you to kill the rest. On the trip through the cave to said leader, he pointedly flees from the giants, and once you actually get to the leader, he tries to bribe you to kill it and let him take the credit.
- Jerkass: Even before you learn he is a Dirty Coward and an Ungrateful Bastard, you will most likely already find him unsympathetic due to him being rude and xenophobic toward you.
- Never Speak Ill of the Dead: The player has the option of telling his tribe that he faced his death with honor and courage. However, even if they do this, Malacath will speak up and tell them the truth: that Yamarz was "a coward and a weakling."
- No True Scotsman: He will express this opinion toward an Orc Dragonborn, whom he will call a "filthy city Orc". Ironically enough, this trope is what Malacath thinks of him.Malacath: You don't deserve to call yourself an Orc! You're weak, you're small, and you're an embarrassment!
- Too Dumb to Live: Besides the fact that he tries to off you after you just killed the giant he was too cowardly to face himself, does he really think he can put one over on a Daedric Prince who cursed his tribe in the first place because he knew Yamarz was a wimp?
- Ungrateful Bastard: Even though you make efforts to help him and his tribe to get rid of their curse, not only does he keep acting rude toward you all along, but he also tries to pull a You Have Outlived Your Usefulness on you.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: If you agree to kill the Giant for him, he will try to kill you immediately after you are done to ensure you won't tell the truth.
Froki Whetted-Blade
Voiced by: Jim Cummings (English)note
An elderly hunter who worships the old Nordic goddess Kyne. Notable for being the grandfather of Haming, the child Hadvar rescues during Alduin's attack on Helgen, who lives with him now.
- Great White Hunter: For religious reasons, out of respect for Kyne's animals.
- Grumpy Old Man: Stemming from how city Nords now worship the Nine Divines, which he believes are "stolen idols" and watered down versions of the Nordic pantheon.
- The Missionary: Judging by his reaction when he first sees you, he really does not like these.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son, Haming's father, is killed during the dragon attack in the prologue.
- Screw Politeness, I'm A Senior!: Upon seeing you, he insults you, believing you have come to tell him about the Nine Divines. He warms up if you tell him you don't believe in the Divines.
Grelka
Voiced by: April Stewart (English)note
A rather unlikable Nord armor merchant working in the Riften marketplace.
- Fantastic Racism: If you visit Haelga's Bunkhouse while she is there, you can hear a conversation in which she insults Madesi and clearly expresses her dislike of Argonians.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Nothing is stopping you from marrying her as an Argonian in the Special Edition, though.
- Jerkass: Basically tells you to just buy something or leave whenever you try to engage conversation with her. Also, see Fantastic Racism above.
- Missing Secret: Looking in the game's code reveals that Grelka was intended to be a potential spouse; but because she doesn't offer any quests, it's impossible to raise her disposition towards you and she never becomes available for marriage, barring mods or using console commands to make her like you.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: This is her motivation; she wants to get as much money as possible so she can leave Skyrim. Considering the country is in the middle of a Civil War, dragons are coming, and she lives in a Wretched Hive to boot, you can hardly blame her. However, no matter how much gold you personally spend at her stall, she never actually leaves, nor does fixing any of those things lessen her desire to go.
Grelod the Kind
Voiced by: Diane Michelle (English)note
Manager of Honorhall Orphanage and the target of Aventus Arentino's Black Sacrament.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: The reaction to her death.
- With one notable exception: Constance Michel, who never endorsed Grelod's cruelty but defended Grelod, saying she's old and has no other life. Constance's reaction to Grelod's death is to panic at the thought of someone being murdered in cold blood, but everyone else engages in much rejoicing.
- Played with via the Hold Guards. Those outside of Riften, who didn't know Grelod personally, consider the news to be that of the tragic murder of an elderly woman. Hold Guards inside Riften, however, consider her such an Asshole Victim that they don't bother to arrest you, even if they see you leave the orphanage on the day she was killed.
- Asshole Victim: When she's killed, the children cheer, and her more kind-hearted assistant is more shocked by how blatant and abrupt the murder was than by the fact that it happened at all. You don't even get a bounty for killing her and everybody in town just rolls with it, because everyone agrees that she was a horrible person. Considering what Riften is like, this says a lot about her.
- This even extends into Astrid's opinion of her, since she outright says that the "old crone had it coming".
- Child Hater: To put it mildly. When you visit the orphanage for the first time, she's in the middle of telling the children that she'll never let them be adopted and if they don't work hard enough, they'll get an extra beating. Then she demands that they tell her they love her. She even has a cell in the orphanage with shackles on the wall.
- Defiant to the End: To give her credit, she can face her death apathetically and fearlessly if the Dragonborn tells her that they are part of the Dark Brotherhood or saying they are here on Arentino's behest.
- Evil Old Folks: Her treatment of the children at her orphanage should be proof enough. Even the Riften guards think so, and will let you off the hook for killing her simply because they agree that she had it coming.
- Evil Orphanage Lady: To an extreme: starving and beating children, locking them in shackles, constantly telling them how worthless they are, refusing to let anyone adopt them, complaining that nobody's adopting them...
- Expy: Shows similarities to Miss Hannigan from Annie.
- Hate Sink: The first thing you hear when you enter the orphanage is her warning the kids that if they shirk their chores, they'll get an extra beating. She is obviously designed to be a cruel, hateful, awful creature, so you can kill her without feeling a shred of remorse.
- I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: Some of the guards in Riften are happy to tell you that they saw you walk out of the orphanage on the day she was murdered, but won't arrest you for it. Yes, even if you walk up to her in full view of the children and breath fire in her face using a Shout! (One of the guards will even call you a Greybeard for it.)
- Ironic Nickname: She's called "the Kind", but is anything but. Even adults know that it's a complete lie.
- Jerkass: If spending your days verbally and physically abusing children doesn't make you this, then what does?
- Karmic Death: One of the ways to kill her is to use a fear spell to chase her out of the orphanage. There, Edda the beggar will, suddenly, kill her instead. The only explanation for this is the possibility that Edda grew up in Grelod's "care" before being thrown out into the streets of Riften.
- Although this is likely just a coincidence caused by the game mechanics: befriended NPCs tend to assist the Dragonborn in combat and beggars such as Edda were the easiest to befriend (you just need to give them a septim once).
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Since she's an old lady, she's not exactly tough. Grelod is so weak that the first word of the Unrelenting Force shout, which doesn't do any damage and just pushes your enemy back a bit, kills her outright.
- Paper Tiger: She's shamelessly abrasive to anyone who has the misfortune of speaking to her, and she physically abuses the children in her care. She also has the lowest amount of health and will die in one strike.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: She carries a book titled The Pig Children, which is all about how horrible Orcs are. Notably, she's the only character who carries that book.
- Very Punchable Man: A rare instance of this being applied to an old lady. The only reason she exists is to be so horrible that the player will have zero qualms about killing her however they see fit, kickstarting the Dark Brotherhood questline if you did it for Aventus (or if you kill her for unrelated reasons and then speak to him afterward). The guards won't even bother accosting you for it!
Haelga
Voiced by: Susan Eisenburg (English)note
The owner of the bunkhouse in Riften, which houses many of the city's residents.
- Expy: Of Mirabelle Monet, a rude innkeeper from Anvil in Oblivion who also really got around.
- Jerkass: Even if you haven't done anything to make her dislike you, she will frequently tell you that you are not welcome in her Bunkhouse, since she only allows workers and not travelers or adventurers to be there. She is also mentioned to be abrasive toward her niece, Svana.
- Jerkass Has a Point: If you stick long enough in the Bunkhouse, you might hear a dialogue between her and Svana revealing that Svana is in a flirting relationship with Sibbi Black-Briar. Haelga tells her niece rather cynically that Sibbi just wants to sleep with her. While it's mean to say such a thing, considering what we know of Sibbi, she is almost certainly right.
- Kick The Son Of A Bitch: One of the missions required to join the Thieves' Guild includes collecting money for protection from various persons in Riften, her included. You will most likely not feel sorry when coming for her.
- Noodle Implements: Poking around her bed shows that she has shackles attached to the wall, which is kinky but not this trope. However, under the bed you'll find some leather straps and a horker tusk. A letter from one of her lovers also mentions her prowess in bed while wearing Daedric boots, which begs the question not only of what their purpose is but also where she acquired them in the first place.
- Pet the Dog: If you give her one of the brochures from the Temple of Mara while doing that small sidequest for the priestess, Haelga acknowledges that she's more into the teachings of Dibella (and boy is she ever); but she'll accept the brochure nonetheless and even promises to read it with some slight interest. It's pretty much the closest thing to a pleasant conversation you can have with her.
- Really Gets Around: Much to her niece's disgust. A sidequest even involves collecting "Marks of Dibella" from the various men she slept with recently. Mentions from said men include her doing it in the stables and an implication that she might have drugged one of them so she could sleep with him (though it's left ambiguous if he is telling the truth or not). According to overworld conversations, she's even interested in Madesi.
Hofgrir Horse-Crusher
Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang (English)note
Owner of the Riften Stables.
- Defeat Means Friendship: You can brawl him, and after you defeat him, he becomes much friendlier and you can ride any of his horses for free.
- Embarrassing Nickname: It comes from a time when he was drunk and tried to ride a colt instead of a full-grown horse; he accidentally broke the colt's back. He has decided to no longer ride horses thanks to that.
Ingun Black-Briar
Voiced by: Corri English (English)note
Daughter to Maven Black-Briar and part of the infamous family. She's easily the most personable of the bunch, but she still has her... issues.
- Affably Evil: Aside from being a Black-Briar and an aspiring Master Poisoner, Ingun is one of the most genuinely friendly people in Riften.
- The Apprentice: To Elgrim.
- Death by Irony: The entire reason she likes alchemy - that the same ingredients that can be used to create, save or restore life can be used to kill or maim.
- Defector from Decadence: Double-subverted. While she bemoans her family's greed and decadence, it's because she feels that it's pointless, not because it's wrong. She feels that she was meant for more than they can offer. Considering her particular focus in alchemy, she could potentially be the most dangerous of them all.
- Fetch Quest: She has one of the most long-spanning and exhausting fetch quests in the game, asking you to find 20 of each of three relatively rare alchemy ingredients - Nightshade, Deathbell, and Nirnroot. It's not so bad if you know where to look (Nightshade and Deathbell are plentiful in Morthal, and you can even raise them in your own gardens if you have Hearthfire installed), but still a lot harder than finding 20 Salt Piles would be. It's also worth noting that all three ingredients are used in deadly poisons...
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Ingun may share her appearance with Maven, but while Ingun is rather up-front about her more questionable quirks but is a decent person otherwise, Maven is just an asshole through and through.
- Mad Scientist: In the making.
- Nice Girl: Her creepier predilections aside, she is always very polite to you, pays well for your hard work, and even provides a renewable source of alchemy goods if you complete the quest, simply because of a sense of noblesse oblige.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Her reasons for being interested in alchemy are... disturbing to say the least. She seems to have a thing for the morbid and macabre.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She looks exactly like a young Maven. They even wear the same outfit, for Mara's sake.
- To Be a Master: Of alchemy.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Her other motivation. She wants to make her mother proud.
Lu'ah Al-Skaven
A Redguard necromancer who has taken refuge in Ansilvund, the tomb of the legendary warriors Holgier and Fjori. She now plans to revive them and raise an army of Draugr to destroy both sides of the civil war.
- Flunky Boss: She fights with Holgier and Fjori helping her. To win, you must defeat all three of them.
- Freudian Excuse: She's sworn vengeance against the Empire because her husband Saeel, an Imperial Legionaire, was killed during the Battle of the Red Ring.
- I Love the Dead: Her biggest grief with the Empire is that they cremated her husband's remains instead of turning them over to her, so she couldn't reanimate him like she wanted. She's settled for channeling his spirit into Holgeir's decayed corpse instead.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Misses her dead husband and wants him back... and, being a necromancer, is entirely capable of doing just that, and then some.
- Villain Has a Point: The reason why Lu'ah wants to cause this much death? Her husband died during the Thalmor siege on the Imperial City, and the Legion had his body cremated without her permission. She also sneers at the Stormcloaks since, while they talk big about overhrowing the Empire and its injustices, they did nothing to help Hammerfell in its own push for independence because it wasn't Skyrim's problem then. It is ultimately downplayed- while it is correct that the Civil War will lead to more death, it would be even worse if Lu'ah achieved her goal and caused both sides to be killed.
Madesi
Voiced by: Tim Blaney (English)note
An Argonian merchant who sells jewelry in Riften. The first quest to join the Thieves' Guild involves stealing one of his rings and framing Brand-Shei for it. He can also give the Dragonborn a quest to collect materials for his jewelry.
- Nice Guy: He's always polite and rewards you well for his quest. Really, he rivals Brand-Shei as one of the nicest people in Riften.
- Unwitting Pawn: The very first Thieves Guild quest has you steal one of his rings and plant it on Brand-Shei in order to frame the latter and "teach him a lesson."
Maramal
Voiced by: Jon Curry (English)note
A Redguard Priest in charge of the Temple of Mara in Riften. He is the one selling Amulets of Mara and arranging weddings, including, potentially, the Dragonborn's.
- Babies Ever After: According to dialogue you can overhear, his wife is pregnant with their first child.
- Happily Married: To Dinya Balu, one of the priestesses in the Temple.
- Interspecies Romance: His wife is a Dark Elf.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: This usually is how most people in Riften react to his preaching. Obviously, it's not easy being the priest for a Divinity of Love in a Wretched Hive.
Maul
Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang (English)note
Right-hand man of Maven Black-Briar and her primary enforcer on the street. His brother, Dirge, is the bouncer for the Ragged Flagon. Should Maven be named Jarl, Maul becomes her housecarl.
- Arms and Armor Theme Naming: "Maul" is more likely a nickname, or maybe a self-selected appellation, but he's still named after a weapon.
- The Dragon: To Maven Black-Briar.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: To maul is to wound by scratching and tearing. A maul is basically a big ass hammer. Either way, it gets the message across that he'd seriously mess you up if you cross him or his employer.
Romlyn Dreth
Voiced by: Keith Szarabajka (English)note
A Dark Elf working at the Black-Briar Meadery, who secretly steals mead to sell illegally in his own business.
- Blatant Lies: "The Dreth family doesn't steal, Indaryn." Not only was his ancestor most likely a criminal, but he himself is smuggling Black-Briar mead to sell it cheaper and make profit for himself.
- Continuity Nod: He is a descendant of Valen Dreth, the Jerkass Dark Elf from the beginning of Oblivion. One of his conversations with innkeeper Keerava involves him narrating an exaggerated tale of his ancestor during the Oblivion Crisis.
- Denying the Dead Parent's Sins: Possibly; Oblivion clearly shows his ancestor Valen was a jerk and most likely a criminal, but Romlyn still insists that "The Dreth family doesn't steal" and delivers ridiculous stories portraying Valen as a hero. Either he really is oblivious to his ancestor’s real past, or he is in denial about it.
- Lovable Rogue: Especially compared to his ancestor. He is stealing mead and selling it on the black market, yes, but the people he is stealing it from are far from sympathetic, and if you help him in his business without denouncing him, he will prove pretty grateful, to the point he becomes available for marriage.
Shadr
Voiced by: Jason Marsden (English)note
A stable worker in Riften and an apprentice of Hofgrir Horse-Crusher. He gets scammed by Sapphire and fears for his life because of it.
- Entertainingly Wrong: He assumes his life is in danger because he owes money to the Thieves' Guild and has no way to make that payment. This would be logical, except he doesn't know that the guild has strict rules against its members killing people except as a last resort.
- Interspecies Romance: Listening in on his marketplace interactions reveals that he has an attraction to Marise Aravel the Dunmer food merchant, as he will invite her for a drink at the Bee and Barb and is saving up for a trinket from Madesi. Whether or not she's aware is unknown, although another dialogue implies she reciprocates it and she's certainly not opposed to the idea of getting that drink. She has a conversation with Dinya Balu about whether Mara would approve of her marrying someone who isn't a Dunmer. Dinya replies that Mara approves of any love.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Given that he's a young Redguard, probably in his 20s, and Marise is a white-haired Dunmer, she's likely at least a couple hundred years his senior.
Sibbi Black-Briar
Voiced by: Stephen Russell (English)note
One of Maven Black-Briar's sons. Considered by Mjoll the Lioness to be the worst member of the family. Currently incarcerated in Riften Jail because even his mother got sick of his out-of-control nature.
- The Casanova: Makes it clear to the Dragonborn, when the latter visits, that he's out to get all the women he can get his hands on - this is effectively what landed him in jail. He even flirts with a female Dragonborn.
- Con Man: Sold Louis Letrush a horse that actually belongs to the whole Black-Briar family.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Maven had him jailed for eight months just so she wouldn't have to deal with this for a while. Apparently, murdering a guy in public was the final straw for her.
- It's All About Me: His dialogue consists entirely of him whining about his predicament. He honestly believes his fiancee was wrong to be offended by his infidelity. He also blames her for his current incarceration (she confided in her brother about Sibbi's infidelity, angry brother confronted Sibbi, Sibbi stabbed her brother to death and got jail time for it, and he blames her) and wants her dead for it.
- Jerkass: Mjoll will tell you that he's the worst Black-Briar. Considering what the Black-Briar family is like, that is saying something.
- Karma Houdini: Averted; where the rest of his family is tagged essential, you only need to wait until you're through with the quest to steal Frost before you can kill him.
- Luxury Prison Suite: Sibbi gets all of the comforts of home in his cell during his eight month incarceration for murder. And the only reason he was imprisoned at all was because Maven thought he needed to cool off. Sibbi still complains.
- The Sociopath: Sibbi has a hugely inflated opinion of himself and no regard for the thoughts and feelings of anyone else. He's not as superficially affable as most examples, but otherwise fits the description like a glove.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Thinks his mother's being too harsh with him by giving him a long overdue time-out when he ought to be grateful he's not getting a worse punishment for murdering someone.
Clan Snow-Shod
Voiced by: Jim Cummings (Vulwulf); Martina Lotun (Nura); Paul Ganus (Unmid); Christian Svensson (Asgeir) (English)note
A Nord upper-class family living in Riften, notable for being outspoken Stormcloak supporters. The family consists of Patriarch Vulwulf, his wife Nura, a priestess of Talos, and their sons Unmid and Asgeir, the former of which serves as Jarl Laila's housecarl. They also had a daughter named Lilja, who joined the Stormcloak forces and was killed in action.
- The Dutiful Son: Asgeir wants to be one; unfortunately, Vulwulf disapproves immensely of his Imperial contacts, what with the ongoing civil war.
- Fantastic Racism: Vulwulf and Nura are prejudiced against Imperials, both as a race and an institution. Neither of them are very enthusiastic about their son marrying an Imperial woman and if the player is an Imperial, Vulwulf will insult them by calling them an Imperial bastard.
- Father, I Don't Want to Fight: Asgeir aspires to become a businessman, has made some influential Imperial contacts, and is due to marry the Emperor's first cousin. Vulwulf is immensely disappointed in him.
- Grumpy Old Man: Vulwulf is constantly grouchy, especially in affairs related to the Empire.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Both Vulwulf and Asgeir, who apparently have no idea about their partner Maven Black-Briar's business practices.
- I Want Grandkids: Nura, as seen at her son's wedding:Nura Snow-Shod: Vittoria may be pretty, but does she have the right hips for the job? I want grandchildren, and lots of them.
- Interspecies Romance: Unmid, who is apparently sleeping with Jarl Laila's Bosmeri steward Anuriel. You can occasionally overhear them talking about their "special weapon training."
- Let Her Grow Up, Dear: Nura occasionally tries to mediate this way between her husband and her son Asgeir.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Vulwulf, whom you can find bickering about politics even at his son's wedding with his daughter-in-law's (equally obnoxious) mother. Nura, by contrast, tries her best to invert this.
- Outliving One's Offspring: And they're bitter about it.
- Rainbow Pimp Gear: Unmid may be a powerful warrior, but his fashion sense is certainly rather odd. That elven armor would look garish even without the red mohawk or the purple face paint.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Right after assassinating Vittoria Vici for the Dark Brotherhood, Vulwulf will cry foul that the whole thing has to be an Imperial plot to discredit the Stormcloaks. Obviously he's only saying this because he reflexively blames the "damned Imperials" for everything and wants to exonerate his own side, but he's not far off the mark: The assassination was schemed up by an Imperial Elder Council member (well, technically a Breton, but one with deep roots in Cyrodiil) as the first step of a larger, more sinister plan, and part of it hinges on Vittoria's death being blamed on the Stormcloaks.
- Shoot the Medic First: What apparently happened to Lilja. She wasn't a combatant, but a healer, seeing as she was trained as a priestess of Talos by her mother.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: During the Dark Brotherhood questline, most of the family will show up for Asgeir's wedding to Vittoria Vici - the same one where you're supposed to assassinate the bride. Assassinating the groom as well is, of course, completely up to the player, and will likely result in a brawl that gets all of them killed.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Asgeir again.
Wylandriah
Voiced by: Colleen Delaney (English)note
Court mage for The Rift, and perennially scatter-brained.
- Absent-Minded Professor: If her rambling at you for two minutes in Magi Babble wasn't indication enough, she'll send you out to find some experiment materials she misplaced. In three different cities. When you return them, of course, she's completely forgotten she sent you out to find them or that she lost them in the first place, but she's grateful and rewards you all the same.
- Cloudcuckoolander: The College of Winterhold treasures her correspondence letters, which are apparently complete and utter nonsense; she once requested a sample of the Heart of Lorkhan. She blithely asked them to give her the heart of the dead creator-god which may or may not be responsible for the vanishing of the Dwemer, and who definitely disappeared himself centuries ago. However, in the letter that mentions the Heart of Lorkhan sample, another mention is made of her requesting "greenmote," a mind-altering and potentially lethal drug found only in the Shivering Isles, but which the senders take to refer to "greenspore", a dementia-inducing disease found only in fish.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Turns out that there actually is a working model of the Heart of Lorkhan in the College - namely, Arniel's warped soul gem. However, since no one else in the College is aware of this fact, it's presumably some sort of lucky guess on her part.
- Court Mage: For Riften.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Implied. The guide says she acts this way so people will leave her alone. In-game, she's awfully clear and concise when telling Hemming Black-Briar to stop harassing her.
Wyndelius Gatharian
A Dunmer who came to Ivarstead with the intention to find the treasure in Shroud Hearth Barrow, and disappeared soon before the place was found out to be haunted. Or so it seems; in truth, he is himself posing as a ghost to scare away the villagers so he can keep searching in peace.
- Accidental Truth: While Shroud Hearth Barrow doesn't have ghosts (or at least doesn't appear to), it does have restless dead guarding it in the form of the usual Draugr; they just happen to be in areas Wyndelius couldn't reach.
- Becoming the Mask: Thanks to his Sanity Slippage, he ended up believing he really was a ghost guarding the Barrow.
- Grave Robbing: Originally came to steal treasures inside the Barrow. By the time you meet him, he's switched to keeping other potential grave-robbers out.
- Irony: The Sapphire Claw, the search for which apparently drove him mad because he couldn't find it, actually was owned by the very innkeeper he was trying to scare away. To add insult to injury, when you do get to the Barrow's treasure room, you find out it has a secret entrance which opens... the back wall of Wyndelius' lab. There was no way for him to access it, but he was practically sleeping right next to the treasure all along without realizing it.
- Mythology Gag: Wyndelius' name is only one letter away from Syndelius Gatharian, a Dunmer mage and part of a hapless adventuring party that ventured into The Shivering Isles in Oblivion's eponymous expansion. Like his apparent descendant, Syndelius can (depending on the players' choice) be driven into a maniacal, obsessive search for a key that will unlock untold riches. Likewise, Syndelius' partner Grommok can (again depending on your choices) be made to believe that he has become a living ghost, also not unlike Wyndelius.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It isn't clear if his Sanity Slippage was caused by a side effect of his potion, a combination of despair from failing and isolation, or actual ghosts tormenting him. Or maybe two or all three.
- Sanity Slippage: As revealed by his journal, he started out merely as a Con Man posing as a ghost to scare away villagers. As he kept searching in vain for the Sapphire Claw needed to access the lower chambers of the Barrow, however, he gradually lost his sanity, until he started really believing he was a ghost guarding the place. This arguably makes fighting him to the death a Mercy Kill.
- "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: He is using an alchemical potion of his invention to make himself glow like a ghost, allowing him to scare away villagers so he can keep searching for a treasure.
