How does Astrid find you, or even know what you look like?

[Deleted5960587User]

I recently went back to Skyrim after improving it with new mods etc, when in Riften I ended Grelod and then obviously got kidnapped by Astrid. My questions are, how does she know what the dragonborn looks like? How does she know his location? How does she know the details of the kill(she says something along the lines of it being a good kill)? Obviously in Oblivion it's similar with Lucien Lachance, but in that I like to think he got it all from the Night Mother, but where does Astrid get it all from?

Edited October 19, 2013 by Guest

[McclaudEagle]

Well, in Oblivion the Night Mother was the one handing out the targets, which would imply that she knew of the player and sent Lucien after you. However, in Skyrim the Night Mother isn't "awake" until she reaches the Sanctuary, which is why the Dark Brotherhood have been failing to find contracts. I would wager that she found out about the Dragonborn, his/her location and such through more conventional means, such as a spy network or something. Maybe they secretly have some of the Town Guard in their pocket, or innkeepers.

 

To reinforce the point about the Night Mother not receiving any black sacrament deals, you can find a note from Maven Black Briar that's aimed at Astrid, making it known that she is annoyed about the fact that she has performed the ritual over and over again and no one has come.

[TheVampireDante]

Same way they get their contract information - beggars, rumours, paid off informants and a little detective/tracker work...

 

Say you enter Riften in the regular way, the guards see you enter. So does Maul, who, with his past and connections is a likely target to talk to Astrid for a little coin. There's comments from people about how you (the Dragonborn) were seen leaving the orphanage just before the discovery of the killing, so the guards from Mistveil might have seen you, plus anyone with line of sight from the marketplace - including Brynjolf (another likely coin for talk person).

 

That's just the ones in Riften, if you leave directly, then the gate guards might let someone know what direction you went in, all Astrid has to do is think about where you might be going and what might be in your travel path. Settlements, ruins, etc...

 

Plenty of people roaming Skyrim that will point someone in the right direction when they are asking questions about a stranger.

 

Then of course there's the courier - whom I believe she uses to make a solid identification of her "target". She writes up a letter, gets it given to the messenger who is told to hand it to you (using the description gained from the Riften sources) and then she follows him as he goes looking for you. Once you take the letter, she's got her mark and just follows you until you sleep somewhere she can get to you.

 

That's if she wasn't there herself when you committed the act. For all you know, she heard the Aretino rumour and was there in Riften at the time to scope out the job before deciding to take it or not. If that was the case, she might have watched you do it and just waited afterwards, thinking over if she should recruit you or not.

[riverbanks]

Depending on what else you've done in game before you tackle this quest, people know of you. They recognize you, talk about you. There goes That Guy. By the time you get to Windhelm, you're at the very least thane of somewhere, if not leader of a whole faction or three and dragonborn annointed.

 

So you get to Windhelm, and Aretino is the talk of the town, even the guards know it has something to do with the Brotherhood. And you're seen entering and leaving his house at least twice. Even more suspicious if you're seen sneaking around, trying not to get caught breaking into some kid's house.

 

Then when you kill Grellod, unless you have your stealth maxed out or use a lot of invisibility potions, Constance and at least four children witness your kill and flip out about it. They're loud, they make such a scene of the whole deal that when you leave the orphanage, anyone would've seen some kind of ruckus was going on. From then on, gossip runs wild in Riften, a city run by its shady whispers.

 

Identifying you and knowing the details of the kill is really very easy. You weren't half as discreet about it as you think. Now how they manage to kidnap you when you're out there armed to the teeth, possibly surrounded by followers equally as armed and dangerous, that's a fun question. But they're Brotherhood for a reason, pulling stunts like this is their deal.

[kradus]

Simply put, they are observing Aventus's house to see who will claim the reward. That's why you only receive the note right after talking to him.

[RazorXE]

Depending on what else you've done in game before you tackle this quest, people know of you. They recognize you, talk about you. There goes That Guy. By the time you get to Windhelm, you're at the very least thane of somewhere, if not leader of a whole faction or three and dragonborn annointed.

 

So you get to Windhelm, and Aretino is the talk of the town, even the guards know it has something to do with the Brotherhood. And you're seen entering and leaving his house at least twice. Even more suspicious if you're seen sneaking around, trying not to get caught breaking into some kid's house.

 

Then when you kill Grellod, unless you have your stealth maxed out or use a lot of invisibility potions, Constance and at least four children witness your kill and flip out about it. They're loud, they make such a scene of the whole deal that when you leave the orphanage, anyone would've seen some kind of ruckus was going on. From then on, gossip runs wild in Riften, a city run by its shady whispers.

 

Identifying you and knowing the details of the kill is really very easy. You weren't half as discreet about it as you think. Now how they manage to kidnap you when you're out there armed to the teeth, possibly surrounded by followers equally as armed and dangerous, that's a fun question. But they're Brotherhood for a reason, pulling stunts like this is their deal.

 

Actually for one of my Play throughs I did not even enter whiterun, I took a carriage to windhelm and found artenio and joined the Dark Brotherhood in Level 2.

 

But I agree it should probably be the loud kids that make a fuss about it.

Edited October 22, 2013 by RazorXE

[Morrovvind]

Have you ever been walking through town, minding your own business and you hear a whisper right behind you "Psst, I know who you are. Hail Sithis!" It was probably that random guy who ratted you out to Astrid, haha.

[Deleted5960587User]

Awesome points! And lol Morrovind, now i'm going to be twice as suspicious around guards.

[Arimikami]

I'm with Kradus on this. Little kid being visited by hardened killers is not going to keep quiet about who performed the assassination or what they looked like.

[Lachdonin]

Also bear in mind that there are two rather skilled Mages in the Falkreath sanctuary. Divining who 'stole' their contract wouldn't be a stretch for them.