Narfi; did he kill Reyda?

[Raven 54]

Narfi; did he kill Reyda?

Narfi, seems to me, he most likely killed Reyda, his sister, I can't find any in depth information on my hunch, what do you think?

Did he kill Reyda, was it a fit of rage, sexual, jealousy? 

Why would the Dark Brotherhood take a contract to kill him?

I would like to hear what you think.           

 

Detailed Walkthrough of The Straw that Broke.   https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Straw_that_Broke

Grief

When you visit Narfi in Ivarstead, you will quickly find that all is not well with him. Narfi lives in his parents' broken-down house across the river from the lumber mill. When speaking to him, you will notice that he has a mental disability and is very distraught over the disappearance of his sister, Reyda. He will mention that Wilhelm, the innkeeper at Vilemyr Inn, told him Reyda would come back, and that he needs to say goodbye to his sister like he did his mother and father.

Pity

When speaking to Wilhelm, he will tell you that Narfi is harmless, but in a state since his sister disappeared. Wilhelm, meaning well, told Narfi his sister would return one day, but actually fears Reyda was killed while searching for ingredients from the river. He will point you in the direction of the small island to the east of Ivarstead, where you can then go look for Narfi's sister. There is a small barrow dungeon on that island, Geirmund's Hall, and it seems like the obvious place to start.

Truth

Though Wilhelm's supposition about Reyda's fate turns out to be correct his directions are inaccurate. Reyda's remains are not at the island, but can be found underwater just east of the southern bridge into town. Due to the current they may be difficult to access. Next to her remains are her necklace and a satchel; the satchel contains some gold and several random alchemical ingredients. Return the necklace to Narfi. You can tell him the truth about what happened to Reyda, or assure him she will come back. In either case, you will receive three random, rare ingredients, and Narfi will, for the most part, remain the same.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited January 13 by Caveman 74

[Cream_sicle]

My theory is that Reyda most likely fell into the river while she was out looking for food/herbs and drowned. This would explain the random ingredients in the satchel. Certain flowers are known to grow near bodies of water.

 

The only unknown was who put out the contract for Narfi’s assassination? The game never gives a concrete answer, but I believe the reason of who did it doesn’t actually matter, it’s why they did it.

 

Throughout history and even today, some parts of our society still uphold negative views towards the disabled/homeless. They are seen as a burden on society, undesirable, and thus, unworthy of life.

 

I believe someone in Ivarstead knew Narfi wouldn’t be able to take care of himself after the death of his sister. So they made the contract as either a mercy killing to spare Narfi future suffering, or as a way to rid the town of its “undesirable”. Could also have been both these reasons as well.

 

No matter whether the player takes the contract or not, Narfi’s story will always be tragic.

Edited January 13 by Cream_sicle

[Demonella]

I had a story written a few years ago that Reyda had been kidnapped by vampires for certain reasons and they left a random corpse behind to hide their tracks, knowing that nobody would really go looking for the girl after all. Narfi had always been like that, with his sister watching after him. The player then would find her satchel and a diary, mentioning a man she met a few times, but whom she refused in the end and the last entry mentions that. From there the player would either try to find that man and maybe Reyda too, or just give the necklace to Narfi the vanilla way.

 

As the vampires later learned that the necklace has be found, they ultimately decided to silence Narfi after all, giving that DB-contract ironically to the person who was responsible for finding the necklace in the first place.

 

Bethesda thought "slipping and drowning" would be enough, but you could make so much more out of that little story. 

[FauxFurry]

On 1/13/2026 at 4:05 AM, Cream_sicle said:

My theory is that Reyda most likely fell into the river while she was out looking for food/herbs and drowned. This would explain the random ingredients in the satchel. Certain flowers are known to grow near bodies of water.

 

The only unknown was who put out the contract for Narfi’s assassination? The game never gives a concrete answer, but I believe the reason of who did it doesn’t actually matter, it’s why they did it.

 

Throughout history and even today, some parts of our society still uphold negative views towards the disabled/homeless. They are seen as a burden on society, undesirable, and thus, unworthy of life.

 

I believe someone in Ivarstead knew Narfi wouldn’t be able to take care of himself after the death of his sister. So they made the contract as either a mercy killing to spare Narfi future suffering, or as a way to rid the town of its “undesirable”. Could also have been both these reasons as well.

 

No matter whether the player takes the contract or not, Narfi’s story will always be tragic.

The assassination contract was probably a mercy killing.

[thesteve812]

I think Wilhelm did it. The way he replies about trying to look for her sounds like he's hiding something.

[gugenheim365]

I don't think Narfi killed her, I feel his sorrow at her having gone missing and his want for her to return. Although it's suggested his insanity only started since she went missing, so maybe a cover to hide his guilt? Or just insane from the guilt?! I don't think so personally.

Maybe Wilhelm knows more than he's letting on, but even that seems unnecessarily suspicious. I have a mod that adds dreughs and that river is crawling with them so, in character, I just assume a dreugh killed her. Really, she probably got attacked by a monster or just fell in or something. Most people probably wouldn't have thrown her valuables in the water with her if they were hiding her body, although in TES, a necklace is damning evidence so maybe they wanted to hide that too rather than have a player character inevitably find it in their house and turn them in? I'm sure she had some gold with her too though. It's interesting that the necklace is in the satchel rather than on her, but I'm not sure what that suggests in terms of evidence. More likely, it was just easier than making the skeleton itself searchable for the devs, and isn't significant at all.

I role play hard, and nothing in Skyrim has affected me emotionally quite the same as Narfi's tragic story. I lied to him and told him she'd come back, but I still visit his "house" once a week to help "comfort" him.

As for who wants him dead, probably the guy having to live next door to his ramshackle mess and worry about what Narfi gets up to while apparently being awake all night, other than crying. I don't know why the townspeople don't just get together and help him fix it up a bit, it's sad. There's probably not much demand but I'd love a mod to expand his story slightly and give him some kind of purpose in life, I'm sure there's some occupation he can do to better himself and the town, even with his problems.

[castro8]

The innkeeper admired Rayda from afar, he went "hunting" one day when he knew she would be out gathering alchemy supplies.

She rejected his advances, and in his rage he shot her and dumped her body in the river.

Narfi went mad. He was a constant personification of the innkeeper's guilt, always hanging around saying her name.

To make things worse a stranger has been asking questions. The stranger found the body. It's only a matter of time before he was found out...

So he put out a hit on Narfi. Out of "mercy" he told himself. But mercy for himself.

But murder seems to fix all his problems. The innkeeper will kill again.

[Cream_sicle]

5 hours ago, castro8 said:

The innkeeper admired Rayda from afar, he went "hunting" one day when he knew she would be out gathering alchemy supplies.

She rejected his advances, and in his rage he shot her and dumped her body in the river.

Narfi went mad. He was a constant personification of the innkeeper's guilt, always hanging around saying her name.

To make things worse a stranger has been asking questions. The stranger found the body. It's only a matter of time before he was found out...

So he put out a hit on Narfi. Out of "mercy" he told himself. But mercy for himself.

But murder seems to fix all his problems. The innkeeper will kill again.

This was my secondary theory as well. That Wilhelm had killed Reyda because of her rejection to him and that he was the one who had issued the contract on Narfi. These are the reasons that support this theory:

• Wilhem is the only NPC in game who talks to the player character about Narfi's predicament and Reyda's disappearance.

Most victims of crime know their perpetrator. 

• Wilhem admits to player character that he lied to Narfi, telling him that Reyda will be back.

Wilhelm's lie can be interpreted as him taking pity on Narfi's situation or something more insidious, such as guilt if he did in fact kill Reyda.

• Wilhem may or may not have lied about the location of where Reyda was last seen. He points the player character in the direction of a small island to the east of Ivarstead, but her body is instead found underwater just east of the southern bridge into town.

Wilhelm could be telling the truth about where she'd usually gather ingredients and it could be that the day she went missing she'd found another spot to pick ingredients instead. This would explain why she wasn't found in her usual spot. Or Wilhelm could've been lying the whole time to throw the player character off his trail.

 

If in fact Wilhelm did kill Reyda, it would then also make sense if Wilhelm was the one who had put the contract on Narfi. By killing Narfi It would absolve Wilhelm the guilt of leaving Narfi without his guardian sister and spare Narfi from even more suffering. By having The Brotherhood do his dirty work for him, Wilhelm could diffuse his responsibility of getting Narfi killed, and spare himself from the guilt of it all. It would also tie up any loose ends.

In conclusion, whether or not Wilhelm is guilty is just speculation. The game just doesn't leave enough bread crumbs to be conclusive either way.

Edited February 11 by Cream_sicle

[Raven 54]

On 1/18/2026 at 10:17 AM, Demonella said:

you could make so much more out of that little story. 

 

On 1/18/2026 at 12:26 PM, FauxFurry said:

mercy killing.

 

On 1/18/2026 at 12:48 PM, thesteve812 said:

he's hiding something.

 

On 1/30/2026 at 10:29 AM, gugenheim365 said:

I don't think Narfi killed her,

I guess I owe you all an apology! I thought this thread was dead...but none of you tagged me so I would know there were responses here, still, sorry I missed your replies.  

 

Thanks @Cream_sicle for the tag and the like!          

 

18 hours ago, castro8 said:

in his rage he shot her

Since this is your first post I am assuming you are a bot as there are no firearms in Skyrim, not knowing this makes me suspicious of you and your post as well as your join date of 18 hours ago, which was when you posted this.

Go away bot.

In the slimmest chance you are not a bot PM me for an apology.  

Edited February 11 by Caveman 74

[CaptainJ03]

On 2/11/2026 at 3:45 PM, Caveman 74 said:

I am assuming you are a bot as there are no firearms in Skyrim,

Yeah, and neither bows nor crossbows. Not everyone plays as a tank.

 

Viva la Dirt League - Stealth Archer

[woodsman30]

On 1/13/2026 at 3:53 AM, Raven 54 said:

Narfi; did he kill Reyda?

No nor is there evidence to say she is in fact dead outside of a necklace found in the river with arrows floating above... Put your thinking caps on if Reyda was in fact dead where you find the skeleton that means she was the for a while long enough to turn into a skeleton so the chances that arrows above her floating would be zero to much time would have passed. Reyda by what little can be gathered was smart woman gathering ingredients from the local flora and it can be assumed she sold them or was an alchemist and had a lot of knowledge about the area. No she was smart I think she left the area planted the necklace faked here death to start a new life where she did not have to care for Narfi and deal with the creeper Wilhelm.  Think not? it has all ready happened read about Fjola https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Bandit_Leader

when looked at this makes the most sense.... if you want my detailed reasons read my club post about it... it goes in great detail to explain the above statement I made.

 

[Just Don't]

Cool theory but I think you're giving Bethesda (and Reyda) too much credit. Bethesda is usually very on the nose with clues, and arrows lying around are a common clue that you can actually track (i.e. falmer arrows near that attacked wagon near Dragonbridge). Why is it a skeleton when so little time has passed? The game doesn't has several stages of corpses (well, for some instances yes like Windhelm murders or Astrid unique body, but most dead people you find around are either "fresh" bodies or skeletons). I don't see Bethesda going out of their way to assign her special assets for a side quest that the player can miss entirely. Why do the arrows appear there just in time for you to see? Let's go with the more obvious, game limitation, the arrows are in water so unlike other instances these will move (they could've placed a static version of them near the skeleton, but again that's something you don't see in other instances), they simply appear as the player approaches the area (unless we consider the idea someone is waiting for the Dragonborn to appear so they plant the clues just in time so you think to check the water/bridge? no in universe explanation seems reasonable really). So disregarding the direct information the game is showing you because the technical constrains don't add up isn't the best move IMO.

 

She was smart, very likely. But Skyrim has plenty of dead alchemists who found their end while looking for ingredients. The rarity here is the location and the obvious presence of arrows. I think she was killed, probably by someone outside of Ivarstead (I say this again using what we find in game, there's no Ivarstead resident with an obvious inclination for archery, nor there's a bow present in the whole town, unless I'm forgetting something, and no I didn't forget about guards, but they use steel arrows even at the lowest level so not the same), it could be related to her work as an alchemist, could be related to why the DB ends up killing Narfi. Like I said the locations is just weird, there's usually 1-2 guards patrolling that bridge so if anyone attacked her or if she had an accident there would have been witnesses. Perhaps she was killed because she saw something (smuggled mead, direct link to Wilhelm who is a shady subject for sure).

 

Also that account with 1 post is definitely a bot. That message is just a repost word for word from a 4 years old reddit post about this same topic.

Edited April 2 by Just Don't

[Raven 54]

13 hours ago, woodsman30 said:

No nor is there evidence to say she is in fact dead outside of a necklace found in the river with arrows floating above... Put your thinking caps on if Reyda was in fact dead where you find the skeleton that means she was the for a while long enough to turn into a skeleton so the chances that arrows above her floating would be zero to much time would have passed. Reyda by what little can be gathered was smart woman gathering ingredients from the local flora and it can be assumed she sold them or was an alchemist and had a lot of knowledge about the area. No she was smart I think she left the area planted the necklace faked here death to start a new life where she did not have to care for Narfi and deal with the creeper Wilhelm.  Think not? it has all ready happened read about Fjola https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Bandit_Leader

when looked at this makes the most sense.... if you want my detailed reasons read my club post about it... it goes in great detail to explain the above statement I made.

 

 

7 hours ago, Just Don't said:

Cool theory but I think you're giving Bethesda (and Reyda) too much credit. Bethesda is usually very on the nose with clues, and arrows lying around are a common clue that you can actually track (i.e. falmer arrows near that attacked wagon near Dragonbridge). Why is it a skeleton when so little time has passed? The game doesn't has several stages of corpses (well, for some instances yes like Windhelm murders or Astrid unique body, but most dead people you find around are either "fresh" bodies or skeletons). I don't see Bethesda going out of their way to assign her special assets for a side quest that the player can miss entirely. Why do the arrows appear there just in time for you to see? Let's go with the more obvious, game limitation, the arrows are in water so unlike other instances these will move (they could've placed a static version of them near the skeleton, but again that's something you don't see in other instances), they simply appear as the player approaches the area (unless we consider the idea someone is waiting for the Dragonborn to appear so they plant the clues just in time so you think to check the water/bridge? no in universe explanation seems reasonable really). So disregarding the direct information the game is showing you because the technical constrains don't add up isn't the best move IMO.

 

She was smart, very likely. But Skyrim has plenty of dead alchemists who found their end while looking for ingredients. The rarity here is the location and the obvious presence of arrows. I think she was killed, probably by someone outside of Ivarstead (I say this again using what we find in game, there's no Ivarstead resident with an obvious inclination for archery, nor there's a bow present in the whole town, unless I'm forgetting something, and no I didn't forget about guards, but they use steel arrows even at the lowest level so not the same), it could be related to her work as an alchemist, could be related to why the DB ends up killing Narfi. Like I said the locations is just weird, there's usually 1-2 guards patrolling that bridge so if anyone attacked her or if she had an accident there would have been witnesses. Perhaps she was killed because she saw something (smuggled mead, direct link to Wilhelm who is a shady subject for sure).

 

Also that account with 1 post is definitely a bot. That message is just a repost word for word from a 4 years old reddit post about this same topic.

Ok, I buy that, but you both are forgetting... Slaughterfish, that could strip the carcass to bones in a short minute. 

My whole point on this is 

1. Narfi is challenged mentally.

2. He goes on and on about Reyda indicating a deeper attachment than just brotherly love, if you catch my meaning. 

3. The sudden and mysterious way she disappeared could indicate Narfi's feelings were rejected where he flew into a rage and killed poor Reyda.

 

Just was and am interested in point's of view, none of which are wrong or unacceptable.  

Edited April 2 by Raven 54

[Miauzi]

Vor 39 Minuten schrieb Raven 54:

 

Okay, das verstehe ich, aber ihr vergesst beide... den Schlachterfisch, der den Kadaver in kürzester Zeit bis auf die Gräten abnagen könnte. 

Mein Hauptargument dabei ist 

1. Narfi ist geistig beeinträchtigt.

2. Er redet immer wieder über Reyda und deutet damit eine tiefere Verbundenheit als nur brüderliche Liebe an, wenn Sie verstehen, was ich meine. 

3. Die plötzliche und mysteriöse Art ihres Verschwindens könnte darauf hindeuten, dass Narfis Gefühle zurückgewiesen wurden, woraufhin er in Wut geriet und die arme Reyda tötete.

 

Ich war und bin einfach an verschiedenen Standpunkten interessiert, von denen keiner falsch oder inakzeptabel ist.

 

I love the discussions among the game's fans... but one should remember -> all versions (and considerations) are TRUE (truly real - because they all exist!)

 

The game developer has cobbled together a very incomplete and extremely contradictory lore... and, for marketing reasons (aka increasing sales), he doesn't even adhere to it himself.

 

And so we have these "makeshift solutions" like:

- Time breaks (aka "dragon breaks") to handle the multiple endings of Game A in its sequel, Game B, WITHOUT logical inconsistencies

- Multiple universe construction -> through the use of "many paths"

( https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Many_Paths )

 

This means that all previously discussed versions of the fate of this insignificant side character are ultimately true!

 

What I find significantly more concerning, however, is that the main objective of a game (killing the "World-Eater" Alduin) means the absolute destruction of that very world, according to the world-building lore ("calpa" construction).

 

The dragon—who leads the Greybeards—even speaks of the end of the world, which will usher in the NEW cycle ("calpa").

Okay... let's do a thought experiment... what if the current "calpa" doesn't end... will it continue indefinitely?

 

Yes, of course, 99% of all Skyrim players would proclaim with absolute conviction... all those who proudly laid Alduin to rest in Sovngarde.

 

But is that really true? Will Mundus remain permanently isolated from the Oblivion planes?

 

Before attempting to answer this question with "Yes," "No," or "I don't know," one should consider the existence (and thus the reason) of Alduin... he is a tool created by the "God of Time" (Akatosh)... essentially his "son," or one could say "an aspect of himself."

 

Now, one must delve into the lore present in previous Elder Scrolls games, such as the book about the "Anuad" (so look it up and read it! ... it can also be found in "Skyrim" itself).

 

Brief summary (my interpretation): Alduin is the "RESET function" of the TES universe... in the truest sense of the word:

It cleanses everything "that is not Aetherius itself"... so not only Mundus but also the Oblivion planes... this also includes the fate of the Daedric Princes (like Molag Bal).

 

If it can't do its job... what is the fate of "Mundus"?

Everlasting peace??

 

Or will the barriers between Mundus and Oblivion collapse... leading to MIXING?

Or

instead of a "horrific end" (through Alduin)... a "horror without end"—because Mundus is "hell"?

 

I know this is a long way from your point... but if almost all players don't care about the true end of Nirn's world (because they'd rather be celebrated as the ULTIMATE dragon slayer) - how interested are they in the fate of an NPC unknown to most players?