Amren is a Redguard man living in Whiterun, whom you encounter in an argument with his wife Jasmine about his family sword. It’s been lost for some time and has somehow ended up in the hands of a group of bandits- bandits who are also occupying Valtheim Towers, on the road from Whiterun to Ivarstead. This makes it fairly easy to handle when you’re on your way to Ivarstead for the main quest, but it does take time and patience- or a lot of potions- to come out with your head still attached to your shoulders.
The South tower of Valtheim sits just above the road, and is connected by a long bridge over the river to the North tower. Additionally, it has a large wooden platform constructed at the top. Both of these are regularly patrolled by bandit archers, who have pretty keen eyes. The ‘front door’ is guarded by a melee-equipped bandit as well, so running in to try and ambush the fur-armored archers isn’t really a safe option either, particularly if you use light armor.
Fortunately, both archers frequently stop still in spots where they’re easily visible from the approaching road, and their distance is such that they can’t actually pinpoint anyone at night. Use this to your advantage with a bow by sniping them off of their posts and then dealing with the front guard, who will come charging at you.
Alternately, approach just close enough to get the front guard curious and cut him down so that the archers have no reference points- they’ll keep blindly shooting into the dark while you use their starry background to pick them out. Be aware of the distance and arrow-drop, though, or you’ll be at it quite a while.
If archery just isn’t your thing, then barge up to the front guard at night- the archers won’t see you approach if you’re quick, and neither of them can attack you through the tower. The guard has a fire and hanging stewpot going by the front gate (convenient if you want to cook up some things you’ve been gathering at the farms outside of Whiterun), and the door is closed by default. Make your way inside and you can pick up a few random items both from the shelf at the window and the barrels beside the stairs.
Climbing the stairs will put you on an external wooden ramp that leads up to the bridge, so this is where you’ll encounter the bridge archer if you haven’t already and s/he hasn’t rushed to the aid of the front gate guard. Don’t cross the bridge yet, or you’ll get shot repeatedly in the back by the towertop archer- who hasn’t got nearly the same problems shooting someone on the bridge as shooting someone on the road. Instead head up another layer of stairs in the familiar tower design, bypass a few miscellaneous loot items, and go up another couple flights. If you’re sneaky, you can ambush- but if not, just go ahead and blitz. This bandit is pretty much only skilled at archery, and so isn’t too much of a hazard at close range.
