Fredas, 1st of Frostfall, 4E 201

  We're camped out in Curalmil's tomb for the night. I hope we can get back to Nurelion quickly tomorrow.

  This

  morning was like a lot of the others. Got up, resupplied, then hit the

  road for the Forsaken Cave. The way here was freezing cold, but mostly

  quiet, aside from a few ice wraiths…

  And an assassin!

  This one wasn't any harder than the last, and had the same note on her. Someone wants me dead, no idea who or why.

  Maybe I can talk to the next one, and see if I can pay them to take care of whoever took out the hit and just… Be on my way.

  The

  cave wasn't that far past the mill, and right off the road, so it was

  easy to find. It started out as an icy cavern with more ice wraiths, but

  not far in we found the start of some ruins. There was a door, and a

  spot in the stone of the mountainside that looks suspiciously like a

  secret door. I hit it with my pommel and it rang hollow, just like the

  one in Wyndelius's room.

  I tried to bet 10 septims on that being the exit, but no one would take me up on it. It was pretty obvious.

  At least I know where we'll come out.

  We

  went into the crypt, and found that it was a lot like the others we've

  been in. Narrow tunnels, wall niches with "sleeping" draugr in them, and

  restless wanderers who charged at us as soon as we made a sound. I saw

  some new traps I hadn't seen before, including a battering ram and

  large, square tiles on the floor that shot jets of flame up when you

  stepped on them.

  There were a lot of ingots and potions around,

  though. Iron, silver and even gold. I'd heard legends of alchemists

  being able to change base metals into silver and gold. Maybe Curalmil

  figured it out?

  I was still freezing, but luckily we found a lit

  brazier partway through so we could finally sit and warm up. It was in

  the big room with the fire traps and there had been a lot of draugr in

  there. Erandur took a little walk around once he'd warmed up to say some

  prayers for them.

  Lydia pointed out that she hadn't seen any

  carvings of the Divines, yet, and I realized she was right. Valdimar

  said the only warmth down here was coming from the fire, and Erandur.

  We

  followed Valdimar's gaze, and watched as Erandur knelt down and gently

  put the hands of a fallen draugr on its chest. His Elven armor shone in

  the firelight, and with his white fur cloak he stood out like a beacon

  in the dark of the tomb. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was

  actually glowing. I assume it was a prayer he whispered before he got

  up. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was starting to get

  sad.

  Valdimar asked him, jokingly, if Arkay would be mad at him

  for stepping on his priest's toes, and Erandur laughed. He said he'd let

  His Lady handle any disputes. Personally, given the number of draugr

  down here, I think Arkay can use all the help he can get.

  A short

  way past that area was a room with some more draugr in it, and one of

  the nastiest traps I've ever seen! When you step into the center of the

  room, most of the floor lifts up, like a giant pillar, and pushes you

  into a bunch of spikes coming out of the ceiling! I found it the hard

  way, but luckily I only put one foot on it and fell back into Lydia when

  the floor went up. I couldn't find a way to disarm it, so we just had

  to be careful and keep to the edge of the room. I'm glad Septim listens

  and stayed off it. I just put a foot on it, so I'm sure he would've set

  it off if he walked on it.

  The room had two doors, one to the rest of the crypt, and the other with a very complicated lock on it.

  Valdimar

  bowed and made a grand gesture towards it. "My liege, if you would be

  so kind?" I laughed and made a show of cracking my knuckles before I

  went to work. I broke two lockpicks on it, but got it open on the third

  try.

  Lydia asked Erandur and Valdimar to pay up, and they each handed over three coins.

  Some

  real gamblers, those three. I said that at least Lydia has faith in my

  lockpicking skills, and Valdimar quipped that he bet I'd get it in two.

  Erandur held up one finger.

  I threw the broken lockpicks at her and she caught them, the sassy wench.

  Behind the door was a chest with some nice potions and more ingots, along with some armor. Not bad!

  Not

  too far past that room was a narrow hallway with my favorite trap, the

  swinging blades. I got through them unharmed this time, and good thing,

  too. This was Curalmil's tomb, and he burst out of his coffin, and there

  were three others waiting to defend him.

  The room is hard to describe, so here it is:

  I was expecting a draugr in mages robes, but the old alchemist

  appeared to be something like a wight! We defeated him, but it was hard

  and we all needed a bit of healing once it was over. There's a Dragon

  Wall high on a walkway against the back wall, and it was hard to ignore

  the chanting in my head as we fought.

  Valdimar went up with me,

  and said my eyes were glowing purple and trailing a dark mist. The

  walkway was hardly more than a ledge, and he kept me from stepping off

  as my vision blurred when I got near. When the word filled my mind, I

  staggered, like I usually do, and he caught me before I fell backwards.

  HE said that he had a strange feeling in his chest when he touched me, a

  sort of dread that made his blood run cold.

  What did I just learn?

  At the end of the tunnel under the

  Dragon Wall is a small room. Inside there's a pedestal with a dished

  top, like the ones we've seen before that usually have fire in them.

  There's an archway in the wall beyond it, and a very suspicious crack

  that looked like it could be a "secret" door.

  I don't know why the

  ancient Nords didn't just put in regular doors. Secret doors aren't

  very secret if they all look the same! Now I see them and just go, "Ah, a

  door," like I would any regular wooden door I'd see on a house.

  Anyway,

  I figured this is probably where I should use Nurelion's mixture, so I

  poured it in the dish. It glowed a creepy-looking bright green and let

  off a green vapor that smelled like old books and licorice. I covered my

  nose and mouth in case it was dangerous (it wasn't?) and the"secret"

  door beyond opened.

  I couldn't talk for a few seconds. It's amazing! We found Curalmil's LABORATORY!

  There

  were so many alchemy ingredients! Even some I've never tried before, so

  of course I did immediately. Erandur scolded me, but mostly because

  they'd probably been sitting there for centuries. Oh, well. I've felt

  worse. The White Phial sat on a pedestal on a stone platform in back of

  the room. I went up and grabbed it, but there's a huge crack in the

  side!

  Dammit. It probably can't work, but we know it's real, and we can show it to Nurelion.

  At least he'll know he was right all along.

  I

  looted the rest of the alchemy materials, and took a minute to use

  Curalmil's alchemy table. Erandur couldn't believe we were in his lab,

  and actually put his hood back so he could get a good look at

  everything. He pointed out that this might be the oldest functional

  alchemy lab in all of Skyrim; maybe even Tamriel! I handed him my

  alchemy satchel and invited him to mix up a few things himself. Who else

  alive can say they've used Curalmil's lab? He eagerly took me up on the

  offer and set to work, humming to himself.

  Valdimar had taken off

  his helmet now that he fight was over, and was looking around the lab,

  too. Lydia wasn't much interested, though. She just rolled her eyes.

  "Mages."

  It was getting late, and I didn't want to risk freezing

  to death walking back to Windhelm in the dark, so I asked Lydia to help

  me set up the bedrolls and get a fire going back here in the tomb. We

  took a moment to put the man back in his coffin. It felt like the least

  we could do.

  As I arranged the bedrolls and Lydia got the fire

  going, I noticed she kept peeking back down the little hall towards the

  lab. I could hear Valdimar and Erandur talking, but I couldn't

  understand them.

  We traded looks and kept on with our work.

  Now,

  I don't like to put gossip on paper, but last night, before we went to

  sleep, Lydia and I stayed up for a bit talking about that little joke

  Valdimar had made to Erandur. It's not the first time he's said

  something like that, but it was the most… Suggestive.

  It sounds ridiculous, but we think he might have been… Flirting. With Erandur!

  Lydia and I aren't sure. All three of us make our fair share of dirty jokes and innuendos, but they're never directed at

  anyone. Erandur just rolls his eyes at us and pretends he's not

  smiling, or he'll cough to try to cover up a laugh. I don't know why he

  bothers. I know he's a priest, but it's not like priests aren't allowed

  to have a sense of humor!

  Well, that's not entirely true. He acts

  like that around the others. He relaxes when it's just the two of us. He

  drops the fancy accent, talks more casually, curses, jokes, smiles and

  laughs more - That sort of thing. The selfish little skeever in my brain

  wants to keep that for myself, but seeing him cover it up every time

  the other two come around kills me.

  I wonder how much of his

  "Priest of Mara" stuff is real. I mean, it IS real - I've been around

  enough conn artist "priests" and false prophets to know what faking it

  looks like - but sometimes it feels like he's trying too hard. Like he

  can "win" at being a priest. Then again, so does the Erandur who'll do

  shots of Orcish Forgewater with me.

  I think the real Erandur's a

  mix of the two. I mean, if I can be a nobody bastard thief from the

  gutters of the Capitol, a Thane, and the Dragonborn all at the same time, why can't he be a priest and… Himself?

  I

  can't wait for him to tell the others about Nightcaller Temple. I know

  he had more happen after he left there. He's mentioned that he wandered

  around for years, but I have no idea for how long.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  Anyway, we

  heard Erandur say something (he sounded annoyed), then Valdimar

  laughing. I think he was teasing Erandur again, and Lydia agreed.

  But

  maybe it's nothing. Valdimar still calls him "Hot Stuff" sometimes, but

  Erandur's never told him to stop. He just huffs and tries to hide in

  his hood.

  He is fun to tease, though. Lydia hardly reacts,

  and I usually come back with something even more outrageous, so it could

  just be that simple.

  Maybe that'll all stop once Erandur tells them the truth.

  Or it'll get worse! Guess I'll find out, hopefully sooner rather than later.

  Loredas, 2nd of Frostfall, 4E 201

  We're having a drink in the New Gnisis Cornerclub, in the Gray Quarter of Windhelm, and there's a murderer on the loose.

  But first, the White Phial!

  We

  left Curalmil's tomb bright and early, and came out right where I

  thought we would. The walk back to Windhelm was quiet, and soon we were

  back at the alchemist's shop. Quintus was behind the counter, and told

  us that belief in the Phial was probably all that was keeping Nurelion

  alive at this point. We found Nurelion upstairs in his quarters, resting

  by the fire. Obviously, he wasn't happy to see that the White Phial was

  cracked, but there's nothing we can do about it.

  He gave us five coins for our trouble, and asked us to leave.

  Yeah - Five.

  Luckily,

  Quintus had seen and heard everything, and he gave us 500 gold pieces

  before we went back down to the shop. He thanked us for getting the

  White Phial for his master, and said that he would do what he could to

  make the old mer's remaining days comfortable.

  I did a bit of trading with him, then we left for Oengul's to sell off the weapons and armor from the tomb.

  That's when I heard about the murders.

  I

  was looking over the goods at Aval Atheron's meat stall to stock up for

  our trip to Sarthaal when a lady came up to him. She said that she had

  some used goods to sell, and said something about her daughter.

  He

  said that he would take them, and as the lady turned to leave, she

  bumped into me and I could tell that she'd been crying. I asked if she

  was all right, and she said that she'd lost her daughter, Friga. The

  lady's name is Tova Shatter-Shield, and her husband, Torbjorn, and

  Nilsine, their other daughter, were in the marketplace as well, so I

  spoke with them.

  Friga was brutally murdered not long ago.

  I

  also spoke with a man called Captain Lonely-Gale. He said he'd heard me

  asking about the murders, and explained that several young women, all

  "lovely girls like yourself," had been killed recently. He remarked that

  he'd tell me to be careful, but it looks like I would be all right! He

  nodded politely at the others, then left.

  We walked back to

  Candlehearth Hall, but before we went in I called for a little meeting

  around the fire they keep burning out front.

  I thought the others

  would try to talk me out of it as soon as I mentioned looking into the

  murders, but they all had to agree with me on this. Sarthaal is a

  dangerous ruin. Everything in there's probably been dead for centuries,

  and they're not getting any deader. Living people here are in danger,

  right now.

  We went into the Hall to see what else we could learn. Elda didn't have any information for me, so I decided to try upstairs.

  There

  was hardly anyone there at this hour, and all I got was a request from

  Adonato Leotelli, a writer, to deliver his latest book to Giraud Gemane

  at the Bard's College for him.

  I know we'll be headed back that way soon enough, so why not?

  Of course, as soon as I turned around with the book in my hands I saw that Erandur was giving me A Look.

  I'd completely forgotten that he can't go to the Bard's College!

  Oh, well. They can all wait at the bar while I walk it over.

  We decided to try asking around in the Gray Quarter, and it sounds strange, but this place feels like home.

  The

  Gray Quarter is run-down and narrow, basically a glorified alleyway.

  There are brightly-colored banners hanging everywhere, and while they're

  tattered, it looks and feels more alive than the rest of Windhelm. It's

  a slum, honestly, and while that's a terrible thing, this is exactly

  the sort of place I used to hang out in back at the Capital. Lydia looks

  wary, but I feel like I can breathe, here.

  We went to Sadri's

  Used Wares, and as soon as I walked in, Revyn, the owner, loudly assured

  me that none of his goods were stolen.

  Divines, I almost laughed! I haven't heard anything like that since I left Cyrodiil, so I settled in for a bit of trading.

  Once

  I was finished, we came here to the New Gnisis Cornerclub. As soon as

  we walked in Ambarys, the barkeep, invited us to sit by the fire to get

  off the chill. He'd just stoked it, he said, and he asked us if we

  needed anything.

  I'll take his welcome over Elda's constant warnings to not break anything any day.

  He

  said he didn't know anything about the murders, and that frankly, he

  didn't care. Not their problem. I can't blame him for that - No need to

  stick his nose in Nord business. His worker, Malthyr, didn't have

  anything to say about the murders, either.

  Still, I'm glad we

  stopped here to have a drink and a bit of food. It's quieter here than

  at Candlehearth Hall. I can hear myself think.

  Since I'm done

  checking the taverns, Valdimar wants to see where the murders took place

  if we're allowed. Lydia suggested that we ask the guards about it. I

  have my doubts, but I know guards can be "persuaded" in a lot of ways,

  so we'll see. Erandur says he saw a priestess of Arkay walk through the

  market earlier. She probably helped with the bodies, so we can ask her

  if she noticed anything strange about how the women were killed.

  That's the plan, anyway. We'll finish our drinks and head to the marketplace again to see what we can learn.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  We're all taking baths tonight, and by the Nine, I needed it after what we saw today.

  Lydia's braiding my hair for me while I write.

  We

  left the Cornerclub and as we walked towards the marketplace an old

  woman walking by whispered at us to be on the lookout for "The Butcher."

  He could be anywhere!

  Yes, the killer already has a name. Good gods.

  Anyway, we were walking to the market and heard a guard shouting. We followed the noise to Windhelm's Cemetery.

  Several

  graves were splattered with blood, and there was the mangled, almost

  nude body of a woman laying face-down in the snow by a headstone. I

  could see she had blonde hair (I think she was a Nord) and her body was

  covered in blood and deep wounds. A guard was trying to quiet down the

  small crowd that had gathered.

  Erandur nudged me and gestured to

  one of the people there, an old woman in yellow robes, wearing an amulet

  of Arkay. I went to go talk to her, but was stopped by the guard. He

  told me to keep back, and that he'd handle things. I asked if he wanted

  help and he was fine with the idea. He wanted me to talk with the three

  people gathered there and see if they saw anything.

  One of the

  people there, a man, looked like he was about to leave so I stopped him

  and asked what he saw. He said he didn't see anything, but did see a man

  running away from the area. Didn't get a good look at him, though.

  Priestess Helgird of Arkay didn't see anything either, but she did say

  that the woman's coin purse was still intact, so she wasn't killed for

  money. The other person there was Silda, the beggar woman I usually see

  outside of Candlehearth Hall. I toss her a coin whenever I see her, and

  she was glad to talk to me. Unfortunately, she didn't see anything,

  either. She heard a scream and came running, but by the time she got

  here Susanna was already dead.

  We all recognized the name, and I

  spoke with the guard once I was finished. He turned the body over and

  was saddened to see that he recognized her, too. She was a barmaid at

  Candlehearth Hall. She'd served us the night before last.

  I asked

  if we could keep looking for clues, and the guard said that I'd need

  permission from Ulfric's steward if I wanted to be of any official help.

  He didn't want to deal with a busybody.

  I wasn't eager to go back

  into the Palace, but since I didn't have to talk with Ulfric directly, I

  figured I'd be all right. It wasn't far, so we went inside and luckily

  Ulfric was too preoccupied talking with some huge man dressed in a bear

  skin to notice us. His steward, Jorlief, was glad to have our help. The

  guard is spread thin with the war effort, and they simply don't have the

  people to investigate even something as bad as this!

  We went back

  to the cemetery, and let the guard know that we were on the job. He

  pointed out what looked like a blood trail, and also suggested we go

  talk with Helgird. She'd taken the body to prepare it for burial, and

  even though "she's insane" she would know if there was anything strange

  about it.

  We went to follow the blood trail, but it was getting

  dark, so we didn't have a lot of luck. Septim was snuffling around and

  wanted to keep on going, but I called him back. We'll come back tomorrow

  when it's light out and see if he can track it, still.

  So, we

  went into the Temple of Arkay. Down some steps is small living area to

  the left, and the crypts with a shrine and a preparation area are to the

  right. Strangely, Lydia hung back and didn't leave sight of the door.

  Helgird

  had Susanna's body laid out on a table and she'd cleaned it up a bit.

  She said the cuts were strange. They looked like they were made with an

  Old Nord embalming tool. As far as she knew, the only person in Windhelm

  that had anything like that was her, and she had enough work to do what

  with the war on, thank you very much!

  We've all seen those tools

  before in the ruins. Nasty things. I can't imagine anyone using them as

  weapons. "Brutal" might not be strong enough a word.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  Lydia

  just finished my hair, so I'm in the dining area to have some wine and

  give her a chance to wash up. It's not that we're shy or anything, the

  room is just too cramped for both of us to be in there while the other

  bathes, and I don't want to risk getting this thing wet.

  I did ask

  Lydia why she hung back at the temple. She said the place gives her the

  creeps. She hates the smell, too. Everything in there is too "fresh"

  for her tastes. Ancient tombs full of draugr and skeletons are fine,

  though.

  Makes sense.

  Well, after all that grim work, we decided to go back to the Cornerclub for dinner, where something funny happened!

  I wish I was a better artist. Erandur's face was priceless!

  I mean, it's not much, but after today we needed the laugh!

  It

  was late so the place was pretty crowded, but we managed to squeeze

  around a table. It was warm, too, and lively with music and lots of

  chatter. I counted at least three languages. We all took off our helmets

  or put our hoods back, and I saw Suvaris sitting at the bar. We

  exchanged a wave, and she smiled back at me. I think she heard about the

  brawl I had with Rolff.

  Soon Malthyr shouted over the crowd at

  Erandur, in Dunmeri. He wanted to know our drink order. Erandur answered

  back in Dunmeri, and ordered some wine for the two of us, and mead for

  Lydia and Valdimar.

  I know just enough Dunmeri to get by, but not enough to have a real conversation.

  Then again, I know just enough of a lot of things to get by!

  Later,

  after we'd had a a bit of time to unwind, Malthyr came by to see if we

  wanted more drinks or some food. Erandur asked what they had available

  for dinner. The mer listed things, first in Dunmeri and then in

  Cyrodilic, but I caught most of the Dunmeri. When he was done, Erandur

  ordered (in Dunmeri) some soup for himself, along with a bit of bread.

  Both he and Malthyr were surprised to hear me order, clumsily, in bad Dunmeri, but praised my efforts.

  Lydia

  ordered in Dunmeri, too! She's better at it than me, but she can't do

  the accent to save her life. She learned it while training under

  Irileth.

  The two elves were clearly impressed, and turned to

  Valdimar. Erandur asked, in regular Cyrodilic, what Valdimar would like

  to have.

  Valdimar said that he'd like the venison, please, with some bread.

  In flawless Dunmeri.

  Now, Valdimar's a big guy, and he has a voice to match. It's got that drum-like quality you hear in barrel-chested men, and it carries. I'm sure you know the type.

  I swear, the whole bar went quiet, and every head in there turned to stare at us.

  He

  looked around at the gawkers, then let out one of those booming laughs

  of his that always gets everyone else to join in. Soon the whole place

  was full of it, and a few people there said they'd pay for our second

  round of drinks! The atmosphere there had been fine before, but after

  that I felt it really relax.

  Erandur was the only one who didn't

  laugh. He just stared at Valdimar like he had to shift a bunch of things

  around in his brain to try and make this bit of knowledge fit. I think

  he got sick of Valdimar grinning at him like a wolf, and asked how he

  knew the language.

  Valdimar said that he studied at the College of Winterhold for a time, and learned it there.

  Speaking of, here he comes.

  -/-/-/-/-/-

  A

  note before bed. Valdimar came up to the dining area because Erandur

  kicked him out of the room like he always does when it's his turn to

  wash up. We laughed over Erandur's reaction to him speaking Dunmeri

  earlier, and I asked him about his time at the college.

  Valdimar

  was… Cagey. It's not like him to be secretive. He said that a lot

  happened while he was there. Too much to tell in one sitting! But he did

  say he specialized in Destruction magic.

  He got quiet after that.

  Again, not like him. I let the silence get awkward until I almost

  couldn't stand it, but my tactic worked. He commented on the Alto wine I

  was drinking, and said it was one of his classmate's favorites. I made a

  crack about how they sounded like a cheap date, and while we both

  laughed, his was a lot quieter than usual.

  He sighed and looked

  around the room after that, and I swear by all the Divines he was

  blinking back tears and trying to hide it from me. He stood up real fast

  and excused himself, saying that he was still too warm after his bath,

  and the mead wasn't helping. He was going to go outside to cool off.

  Maybe keep an eye out for the murderer, eh?

  I said that sounded

  good, and wished him goodnight. He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze and

  nodded before he left, with one of those tight little smiles people do

  when they can't talk.

  What happened at the College of Winterhold?

  I

  mentioned it to Lydia while I braided her hair, and she said she had no

  idea what would upset him like that. Like us, she didn't know he'd gone

  to school there until earlier today.

  Much as I'd like to dig into it, we've got a killer to catch.

  In-Game Things:

  Valdimar is almost always -right behind

  me- in the game when I go up to learn a Shout. No idea why it happens

  like that. So, I've sort of turned him into the one that makes sure

  Bronwen doesn't fall over, especially since it's usually after a hard

  fight and she's probably exhausted.

  Lydia hanging back in the temple - For some reason, she really did that, so I made up a reason why.

  I

  have my mod settings so that companions will eat or drink on their own

  when they're hungry. I don't know if it's a programming thing or what,

  but if Erandur has wine in his inventory he'll drink that before mead or

  ale. Lydia drinks wine last, Valdimar drinks ale last. They don't seem

  to have a preference for what they drink first. I'm giving Erandur a

  preference for wine, Valdimar one for mead, and wine is a "mood" drink

  for Lydia.

  Story Things:

  The idea of two alchemy nerds geeking out about being in a famous alchemist's lab is adorable to me.

  You just KNOW Lydia and Bronwen are up gossiping half the night sometimes.

  Valdimar

  had to learn magic somewhere, so I figure he did the logical thing and

  went to the College of Winterhold, where Things Happened.

  According

  to Canon Lore, the Common language is Tamrielic, but currently called

  Cyrodilic. Since The Empire/Cyrodiil is based on Rome and Bronwen is an

  Imperial, I think of her as having an accent that sounds vaguely

  Italian/Mediterranian. I'm a dead languages nerd in real life, in

  particular Latin, so I LOVE this!

  Dunmeri is based on ancient

  Akkadian, Sumerian, and Babylonian. Those languages, when spoken with

  the accent you hear in the game, sound -really- interesting, and I can

  see how someone with a Nord accent might have trouble, hence Lydia being

  terrible at it. Valdimar must have had a lot of practice!

  My wife wants me to draw some fanart, especially of the scene with Erandur in the tomb. I'm tempted. Should I?