A/N: Alert! This chapter contains spoilers for the quest "Blood on Ice"! If you have not done it yet, do it now and read this chapter afterward! (or you can also ignore this lol) Thanks for the nice reviews, I really appreciate them!

Chapter 7: Blood on Ice

The street leading to the house was a shocking contrast to the impoverished neighborhoods. Large steel fences protected the luxurious mansions of wood and stone built with the typical Nordiques architecture. Everything in this street was built with the utmost care, even the pavement seemed new despite the age of the city. Walking silently, the elf felt a bit like an intruder, even the few guards that crossed his path stared at him before continuing their patrol.

Arriving at Hjerim, the elf approached one of the windows and tried to peer inside, but the accumulation of dust on the glass blurred his view. There was no way to tell if someone was hiding in there at the moment, but he had to ensure that the place was deserted before breaking in. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him: he stooped to pick up a bit of snow and rolled it into a ball. When there was no guard in sight, he threw the snowball at one of the windows upstairs and waited a few minutes for any reaction. No lights, no noise, nothing: the house was indeed abandoned. However, a major obstacle remained in his path: the lock of the front door. Of course, in such wealthy street, the complexity of the locks would discourage even an experienced thief. He cursed his memory loss and his inability to remember the spell that was perfectly designed for such an occasion. Too bad, he will have to use the good old method. From his pocket, he took out two toothpicks and began to play with the mechanism, but his inexperience caused the breaking of the two metal pieces. It took him several tries before opening the damn door, which creaked loudly when the man entered the dark mansion.

Inside, an almost surreal darkness engulfed the rooms. Dust particles rose from the ground at the slightest breeze and shone when passing through a light beam coming from one of the windows. Immediately, the Dunmer noticed the multitude of papers shuffled on the floor and below them, blood spots directed his gaze toward a strange chest placed against the wall. When opening it, he was surprised to find a pile of posters similar to those distributed by Viola. On them, one could read, 'Beware the Butcher!' Obviously, the murderer was fully aware of the woman's involvement and was trying to sabotage her effort. After digging deeper, he found a rather interesting book in the stack: a reddish cover journal whose pages were stained with spots of dried blood. As he started to read its content, he learned that the killer was particularly interested in Susanna and more specifically, to her joints. 'Disgusting' thought the abroad out loud, 'But why would he dismember his victims? "Wondered curiously the man.

At the back of the room, two large closets and a small shelf were isolated in a dark corner and again, pamphlets similar to those found earlier were overflowing from the cabinet. However, when tossing them, Vedreth discovered a strange medallion decorated with a green skull. He had already met individuals using this type of artifact for wicked deeds. This aroused suspicions about the nature of the murders, but he needed more evidence to make such conclusion. Suddenly, a foul odor caught his attention: something huge was rotting not far away. It was so prominent that he felt his stomach clench. Yet he had checked all the rooms from the house without finding any corpses. Where could it come from? Sniffing the air, he was directed to one of the closet near him. Hesitating for a moment, he stood still in front of the cabinet's door: who knows what he would find behind it? After taking a deep breath, he opened the door suddenly and to his surprise, he found no body, nor any clue: the closet was empty. Strangely, the smell was growing stronger and was indeed coming from of this place. When carefully observing the closet, the elf noticed a strange glow from a small hole and by pushing it; the wooden plank suddenly fell forward, revealing a horrific scene. Lit by a few candles, the secret room was a place used for necromantic rituals. The missing members belonging to the young women were scattered everywhere, their flesh pierced by infestations of hungry flies feasting on them. Even if tried to ignore it, the smell penetrated his nose and invaded his throat, making him cough uncontrollably. To keep himself from regurgitating, the Dunmer concealed his nose with his sleeve to block this stench, which was beginning to make him dizzy. He had no desire to venture into this cursed room: a part of him only wished to dashed out of this place and forget this sight. However, he had had a task to do to make sure such horrible fate would not repeat itself. In front of him, a rotting corpse was lying on an altar with another red notebook was placed against it. Even if he did not wish to go further into the room, the Dark elf needed that piece of evidence at all costs. So, taking his courage in both hands, he slowly walked in, carefully avoiding the bones and shredded members lying on the ground to stretch and grab the journal. Its content did not announce anything good: it was a list of ingredients followed by a strange formula translated from an Aldmer text. Necromancy was clearly involved in this story, but Vedreth still did not understand the point of this massacre. Bringing the dead back to life was considered a serious crime for good reason: this was a desecration of the body of the deceased and a violation of its soul. Being imprison in an emaciated and rotting body had to be one of the worst punishments that could be afflicted to someone. This sorcerer had to be stopped and brought to justice at all cost.


Shortly after his discovery, Vedreth ran back to the cemetery with the medallion and a stack of pamphlets in hand. Breathless, he approached the guard and quickly noticed that this one was already occupied with Viola, who was waving one of her posters and yelling at the poor man.

"You see what happens when you are not doing your job! How many dead would it need before you decide to act? "Asked the old woman with a sternly voice.

The frail woman was standing on the toes of her feet while confronting the soldier, who was more than a head higher than her. Even though the man was exasperated by her endless speech, the soldier kept his cool and tried his best to reassure the imperial woman.

"Listen ma'am, we are doing all we can to catch the killer. So would you please calm down and stop pestering the citizens. '

"No, I will not calm down! I've done so much more than any of you soldiers. I have made countless posters and questioned more than a few citizen. Can you dare say the same? "Groused the imperial while stomping the ground.

Shaking his head slightly, the guard wondered why the killer had not plugged this old shrew already. He felt relieved at the sight of the elf approaching: at least he would not have to deal with that damned woman for a short period. However, the Dunmer's pale face quickly caught his attention.

"What happened to you? You look paler than usual. Did Helgird gave you a tour of the catacombs?' Jested the Nord with a laugh.

"I have seen enough corpses for one day…" said Vedreth, rolling his eyes. He took a deep breath and handed the documents to the guard. At the sight of her posters, Viola jumped in surprise and quickly snatched them from the man's hand.

"Varmint! Why did you tear out my pamphlets? '

"I'm not responsible for this, madam. I found your pamphlets and those journals in Friga's house. Sadly, I do not have the murderer's identity, but I do know where are hidden the victims' joints." He felt his stomach turn when rethinking of the room.

The soldier quickly flipped the journal's pages, his eyes widened at its content.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"I fear that our killer is a necromancer."

"By Talos, you cannot be serious! I refuse to believe that anyone would dare to practice such abomination in our city."

"Oh, now you are interested in this case! When it comes to magic, you are more frightened then a rabbit circled by a pack of wolves. "Viola replied sarcastically with her arms crossed. The man only grunted at her in respond.

"I also found this." Added the Dunmer with the mysterious medallion in hand.

"Listen, I'm not an expert of that kind of artifacts. You should talk to Calixto to learn more about this gem."

Viola tapped the shoulder of the soldier to get his attention and added:

"Calixto? How is that lunatic going to help?"

"The man has a whole museum filled with strange objects and old books: I think he can tell us more about the kind of rituals that are linked to this medallion. "Replied the soldier, glancing quickly at the old woman.

"Where can I find him?"

"He lives not far from the Grey quarter. When you are done, you can report to Jorleif at the jarl's keep. I will inform the other guards of your involvement in this investigation. '


Calixto's house had absolutely nothing out of the ordinary ... At least that's the thought the elf outside. Knocking at the door, he was greeted by a strange individual. The man remained hidden behind the ajar door and peered at his visitor from head to toe, probably wondering what a Dunmer would want from him. Vedreth tried to appear friendly by forcing a smile and asked softly:

"Are you Mr. Calixto? I need your help for- "

"My museum is not open. Come back another time. "Interrupted the odd character before slamming the door at his face.

"Well someone got out of the wrong side of bed..." thought the Dunmer sarcastically. More ardently, he knocked on the door again and again until he heard the voice of the owner ordering him to leave.

"Go, or I will call the guards on you!"

"They would not be much help to you as I was sent by one of them. I will ask you one more time to cooperate and help me identifying this medallion." Said the Dunmer taking the jewel out of his pocket.

Slowly, the door opened, hiding half of the man's face. Those blue eyes lit up when they saw the locket dangling from the hand of his visitor. After admiring the object for what seemed like an eternity, he came out of his trance and asked:

"What do you want from me?"

A smile of satisfaction was displayed on the elf's face as he saw that he had firmly captured the man's attention. "Can you tell me the purpose of this object?"

"Come closer, please..."

The medallion was stretched to the specialist, who recognized the jewel almost instantly.

"A medallion of necromancer... The color, the ornament, it matches the description perfectly..."

"Do you know someone with the sufficient knowledge of magic to practice such ritual?"

"The only mage in the city is Wuunferth, the mage of the court."

Logically, a wizard of such status would certainly have the knowledge to indulge in this kind of magic, but why would he risk his reputation? On the other hand, he was in a good position to do shady experiments: who would dare suspect someone under the protection of the Jarl? After pondering on this information, the elf bowed to the imperial and said:

"Very well, thank you for your help, sir."

"Wait! Would you sell it to me? The medallion?"

This request greatly surprised Dunmer, who raised an eyebrow while looking at the strange character.

"Why would you want such object? It has no use to you."

"For my collection, of course! Such a treasure would attract curious mages in my establishment." Brightly replied the man with a huge grin.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot sell you a proof."

"I offer you 500 gold!"

'Persistent fellow', though Vedreth. He shook his head and replied:

" Sorry, but I must decline your offer ..."

Finally, the man accepted his loss and lowered his head with a sad sigh as he closed his door slowly.

Once the Dunmer started to walk away, the man starred at his visitor though his window, his eyes drastically changed to an almost devilish glare. Placed on a table next to him, a few embalming instruments were dipped in a bucket filled with reddish colored water. He delicately took one of the sharp objects and started to carefully dry it with a towel while humming a song to himself. As he started to think about this unusual visit, his movement became more jerky and rough. How dare this elf interfere in his plans? He was a busy man and did not have the time to deal with more distraction! He was so close to finish this spell, but that scum could ruin everything. No, something had to be done; a lesson must be taught to him. Yes, that elf will see what happen when someone puts his nose into other people's business.