Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this work, the Elder Scrolls series belongs to Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks
This leg of the journey to Solitude took about a week. The snowstorms grew in intensity and lasted for longer periods of time. There was a lack of bandits luckily, but the amount of hungry predators did increase. Nadiya had to resort to summoning a couple of flame thralls all the way to Morthal in order to stave off roaming wolf-packs and the occasional bears and saber-toothed cats. She was running low on supplies by the time she and Windbreaker trudged into the swampy town of Morthal late in the morning, though thankfully her gear was not as damaged compared to her trip from Winterhold to Dawnstar. She dismounted and led Windbreaker across town to what appeared to be the inn, passing by some fairly loud protesters arguing with some guards and officials. This sight was to Nadiya's interest, but she needed to purchase new supplies first, not to mention finding some more blood. She managed stock up well on the latter in the Temple when Erandur wasn't looking, but she lost one canteen to a saber-toothed cat that got too close, and as a result she was shorter on blood than she liked to be. She had to find a way to draw blood discreetly, and without much fuss. After handing her horse to the care of a stable keeper stationed next to the inn and paying him off, she took her pack, tugged her cloak and hood a little more closely to herself, and tweaked her masking spell to modify her looks slightly. And so, Nadiya's day began. Unknown to her at the moment, it was to be quite the adventure.
After purchasing some potions and selling some various artifacts she had found on her journey at a local store, she headed to the inn and went inside to get food and her bearings. As she approached the innkeeper, the woman regarded Nadiya with some surprise and said, "It's not often that travelers come to Morthal. It's a welcome sight when one does though."
"Not often? Why is that?"
"Well, business was slow even before the war started. And now? Let's just say the front door doesn't get used much."
"I see. I'd like to order some food please."
After getting some food and drink, the inn stood quietly for a time other than the odd orc in his own corner, humming a soft tune to himself. A few minutes after having started her meal, Nadiya turned and asked the innkeeper, "When I came into town today, I noticed that there was quite the commotion outside the jarl's longhouse. Do you know what's that about?"
"Oh, that. Yes, very recently a fire burned down one of the houses in town which killed two people, the wife and daughter of Hroggar who is the only survivor of the family. What's really interesting about this is that Hroggar immediately went to go live with Alva, one of the other townsfolk here, after all was said and done, and because of this many are guessing that Hroggar had something to do with the deaths of his wife and daughter. No one has come out with any hard proof that he did it, but I believe that he had a role in this whole affair."
"Interesting. What else do you know about what happened?"
"Other than that, nobody really knows where to start looking since the fire destroyed any hard proof as far as we know. Why, did you want to join the investigation?"
"Possibly. I have this penchant for helping people out."
"Huh. I imagine for some coin at the end?"
"Well, rewards are always welcome."
"Figures. You seem to be quite the adventurer, seeing the way you're dressed and armed. If you want to help, I suggest that you go see the Jarl. She'll want to know who's helping to solve this mystery. And if you want to poke around in the ashes, feel free. The Jarl's guards would appreciate extra help."
"Alright. Perhaps I'll see your Jarl first then."
After this exchange, Nadiya finished her meal and paid the innkeeper some gold. She then gathered her things together and walked outside, light snow starting to fall across town. The Breton made her way to the nearby Hall, and after getting cleared by the guards stationed in front, she walked inside, careful to stamp her feet on a nearby rug to get rid of the dirt that had gathered on her shoes. Nadiya looked up and across the Hall to see an elderly woman sitting on a rather plain throne, talking to a nearby man. Besides the two were several servants maintaining the Hall and several guards standing around different doorways. She started to walk to the woman on the throne, presumably the Jarl, and once she was a respectable distance away from the two she stopped and patiently waited for them to finish their talk.
The Jarl continued to talk with the man for some time about the issues that faced her city, as well as the ongoing rebellion that was taking its toll on the province. After a few minutes they concluded their discussion and they turned towards their visitor, the man stepping forward to address Nadiya. "Good day traveler. How can we help you?"
"Hello. My name is Maria and I was passing by when I noticed a bit of commotion outside your Hall earlier, as well as a burned-down house when I was heading to the inn. The innkeeper told me that you all were looking for help into solving this mystery? Something about a fire?"
The Jarl raised an eyebrow, intrigued at this traveler and her curiosity. Before the man could respond she started, "Hroggar's house fire? He lost his wife and daughter in the blaze. My people believe it to be cursed now. Who am I to gainsay them?"
"Interesting. What did Hroggar say about the fire?"
"Hroggar blames his wife for spilling bear fat in the fire. Many folks think he set the fire himself. For what reasons, I don't know. Any evidence that could have been found at the house burned up with the fire. I will tell you with certainty though that lust can make a man do the unthinkable. The ashes were still warm when he pledged himself to Alva." The Jarl paused, and added, "I'm sure you can connect the dots, given these very peculiar circumstances."
"Yeah, I see what you're getting at. But if this is all so clear then why not just arrest Hroggar and be done with the matter? Or at least take him in for questioning?"
"Arrest him on rumor and gossip? No. And even if I command the guards to take him in for questioning, I'm not sure the other townsfolk will take kindly to my orders, owing to their distrust of me. But you, a stranger, might find the truth for us. Sift through the ashes that others are too fearful to touch. See what they tell you. Should you prove him guilty or innocent, I will reward you."
"So quick to look for outside help, huh? Alright then, sounds good to me. Anything else you can tell me about this whole matter?"
"I will warn you, things aren't always what they appear to be. Advice you should keep in general, but I suspect this holds strongly in this case. Be careful with whatever you find and do."
Nadiya bowed her head towards the Jarl in acknowledgement, and she was turning around about to head outside when she noticed something very familiar to her. Through an open doorway just off to the side of the Hall was a weapons rack, and mounted upon it were swords and spears that were unmistakably forged by the Imperial Legion. Nadiya walked towards the doorway in curiosity, and when she passed by the guard standing by the doorway, nodding as she went in assuming she had business to attend to, she found herself looking at several Imperial Legionnaires standing around a table, with a Legate standing at the head giving his soldiers updates on Stormcloak activities. On the other end of the room was a large banner that bore the icon of the Imperial Legion, a blood-red dragon with its wings spanning up and down the length of the banner.
Nadiya's time in the Legion was something she cherished since she believed she was doing the right thing, but it was a darker time in her grim life. She had seen the worst of the Great War and had to make many difficult choices. Not to mention the killing. If Tolfdir knew how much havoc she had wrought upon the Dominion's soldiers, then he likely would have regarded her very differently. Thankfully she knows how to keep secrets, most of the time.
"Miss? Miss?" Nadiya snapped out of her reverie and realized that the Legionnaires were all looking at her with confusion, with the Legate addressing her directly. "I'm sorry, what?" she said quickly in response.
"Miss, we are in a restricted meeting. May I ask what business you have with us?"
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize, I'm in the wrong room anyways. I'll just be going now," she responded quickly with embarrassment. As she turned around to head back out, she felt the Legate giving her an annoyed look and heard him grumble about the brazenness of adventurers and the lack of decent manners and security in Skyrim before going back to the meeting.
After walking outside, she headed straight to the ruins of the house which wasn't far from the Hall itself. Although the snowfall had ceased since she had entered the Hall, there was a fair bit of snow that formed a layer of snow over the ruins. With little enthusiasm, she took a nearby shovel and started to clear as much snow as she could in order to make her search for evidence easier. By the time the early afternoon came about, she had cleared out much of the interior and Nadiya began to look around for clues.
As time went on, she became frustrated about the lack of anything noteworthy since whatever wasn't charred and burnt to ash was simply not relevant to her investigation, as what impeded the guards and their own investigation. As the day turned into the late afternoon, Nadiya groaned at her lack of progress and decided to resume her investigation the next day, and see what's going on around the town. She turned around to head towards the inn, and she found herself looking at the ghost of a small girl that was standing right behind her, with a curious look on her face.
Nadiya stared dumbfounded for a long moment, unable to process that a ghost was literally a couple of meters away from her. Sure, she had seen many odd and unexplained things in her lifetime. After all, she lives in a world where magic was the rule and the norm, and where many very interesting creatures and divine beasts reside. However, ghosts were not something that she had encountered before, and being confronted by one wasn't something she was expecting in this investigation.
After the ghost girl introduced herself as Helgi and the two made their acquaintances, the girl revealed that she knew who the perpetrator of the fire was and that she could help Nadiya find the suspect on the condition that she plays a game of hide and seek with her once the night arrived. Although this setback Nadiya's investigation due to her wanting to proceed with matters as quickly as possible, she had little choice since Helgi can lead her to the perpetrator, and because she also had sympathy for the little ghost girl wanting a friend to play a game with. Begrudgingly, she had halted her investigation and wait until nightfall. However, she did get some useful information out of Helgi before the girl disappeared to wait until dark, most notably that the suspect is female and might be a vampire as according to Helgi's description of events. If this were true, then she'll have to confront members of her own kind presumably with hostility, and Nadiya couldn't imagine things going well in this situation.
Vampires. The only other such undead Nadiya had known other than the twins were noble in image as is custom with Cyrodilic vampires, but nonetheless participated in malevolent activities dedicated to very particular daedra as with all vampires. In terms of worship Nadiya assumed that these vampires had similar rituals and traditions to those from Cyrodiil, but otherwise she could not imagine this other vampire being familiar in looks and lifestyle, owing to various factors that could be derived when examining the differences between this province and Cyrodiil. In this small, unremarkable capital of one of the lesser holds in Skyrim, Nadiya could expect any vampires that she'll encounter to be disheveled in looks and bestial in manners and actions, if what she's read about the vampires of Skyrim to be true in that book she got from the College. Hopefully she'll be able to put an end to this rogue before things get out of hand.
After departing the ruins, she looked up to the sky to see the sun fading off into the horizon, with the early evening about to settle in. Nadiya decided to stroll around town for a bit to sightsee and to take a little break before getting dinner, and then off to play Helgi's game. For Nadiya, it had been a long time since she had taken a leisurely stroll.
As Nadiya walked along, she passed by the occasional townsfolk and guard who either regarded her with mild wariness or ignored her. At this point the Breton had gotten used to such behavior, although she missed the openness that was innate to Cyrodiil. After some minutes she wound up at the edge of town, where beyond the lights and walls of Morthal stood imposing trees with their branches spreading over the swampy environment, and beyond those trees she could see a fog forming quite a distance away. She supposed that the swamp was interesting in a niche sort of way, but what surprised her was the lack of any Argonians in this town, whether it be visitors or residents. Then again, why anyone would want to come to this town for reasons other than business and passing by was beyond her, what with its lack of importance compared to the other capitals of Skyrim as according to a different book she had read in the College.
By this time nightfall was fast approaching and Nadiya decided to head back to the inn for dinner. Accordingly, the locals were starting to head back into their homes and the town guards began to patrol in pairs for safety. Although the night was an issue for mortals, Nadiya faced no such problem thanks to her ability to see through the dark as granted to her by the gift of vampirism. Despite this, she decided to cast a candlelight spell in order to blend in and not invite suspicion, a mistake that she had made before. As she came close to the entrance of the inn, she noticed a scantily-clad woman heading to the inn with a warmly-dressed man, the woman apparently having no trouble with the increasing lack of light and leading the man onwards. Nadiya regarded her without much thought until she realized that everyone else in town was either carrying a torch or lantern, and that this woman didn't seem to mind the increasing cold that was affecting her companion and the other townsfolk.
Nadiya instantly became suspicious. She decided to trail behind the pair for a moment, and as two walked up and the man opened the door to the inn for his partner, Nadiya very subtly cast a life detection spell. As she suspected, the woman failed to show up on Nadiya's senses while the man did so. This was without a doubt a vampire, possibly even the one behind the fire. Before entering the inn, she decided to wait outside for a moment to ponder her next step.
If this vampire was the one behind the fire, then taking care of her would be a relatively simple matter. All she would need to do is find evidence that she was the perpetrator and bring her to the jarl either dead or alive. On the other hand, if she was part of a vampire coven as Nadiya knows how vampires are wont to be, then the situation would become much more serious. She has no idea of their numbers, how powerful they would be, nor of their location. If there exists a coven, then Nadiya would need to recruit the local guards or even Legionnaires to assist in their destruction since she would be outnumbered first and foremost. She could only imagine the coven being up to nefarious deeds, and because they would be competition for her. In this case, there would certainly be casualties since she had a feeling that people in Morthal, even the guards and Legionnaires, don't have much if any experience fighting against undead such as vampires. To engage a Stormcloak or a bandit would be a relatively straightforward matter while a vampire would present a tricky challenge for anyone thanks to their abilities and powers. Many have underestimated vampires, and this cost them dearly.
Before anything else could occur, she had to figure out who this woman is and what she might be up to. She could be completely innocent and her presence among mortals could be attributed to sheer coincidence, unlikely considering the circumstances of the fire, but she had to investigate further in order to make a definitive judgement. Priming herself for whatever was to come next, she walked up to go inside the inn.
Upon entering she found that the inn was fairly populated and there was some activity going on all around. Here and there were some townsfolk and off-duty guards lounging around, the odd orc still present and singing a ballad objectively terribly, and the woman sitting with a man at a table by themselves, the man facing away from Nadiya and eating a meal with little fanfare while the woman sat facing towards the entrance, sipping on some kind of juice while observing the other patrons. As Nadiya glanced at her, the woman looked up and caught her eye. Nadiya immediately looked away and headed towards the bar to the innkeeper, hoping that the woman thought nothing of her. She sat on a stool next to a guard that had a little too much to drink and decided to take an impromptu nap on the bar, much to the innkeeper's annoyance. Once Nadiya had gotten the innkeeper's attention, she ordered dinner and then made some small talk with the innkeeper about the surprising amount of activity in the building until the innkeeper had to go over and handle a couple of flustered townsfolk arguing over how much wood they had cut over the past several days. As the innkeeper dealt with them, Nadiya decided to venture a look at the woman and the man at their table. When she looked, she saw that they were watching the antics of the orc in silence, the man looking amused while the woman had condescension on her face. After a moment, Nadiya turned around to wait for her meal, and soon enough the innkeeper returned with her order, having resolved the previous argument without much issue.
As she ate, Nadiya kept her head down for a while. After sneaking another glance backwards to see to check and see if the woman was still preoccupied, Nadiya beckoned the innkeeper over and began to ask her questions about the identity of the pair. The innkeeper revealed that the woman happened to be Alva and the man identified as Hroggar, both key figures in the case. After being informed of Alva's odd behavior since coming to Morthal and Hroggar's infatuation with her in the week leading up to the fire, as well as Alva and Hroggar's reclusiveness since the incident, Nadiya thanked the innkeeper, Jonna, for the leads, and Jonna went to go attend to other business around the inn.
With this information that she gotten from Jonna, Nadiya was convinced that Alva was up to no good, and likely the killer that Helgi was referring to. She still wasn't sure if Alva was acting alone or with other vampires, but in any case Nadiya knew that Alva had drawn too much attention to herself. As a fellow vampire that understood the fine line that such undead had to walk in order to assimilate into society, she had to put the rogue undead down before the town becomes too paranoid, and possibly even seeks out the services of vampire hunters. Such people would spell great trouble for her, and even though she could handle most foes individually, vampire hunters not a notable exception for someone of her strength, she knew better than to face such odds and to risk greater, troublesome exposure to mortals. She had to act before this Alva makes her next move.
Nadiya scooped the last of her food into her mouth and downed it all with a cup of water. After wiping her mouth, she put some coin on the bar and walked over to Jonna, informing her that she will be taking a short stroll before returning and renting a room for the night. The innkeeper nodded and Nadiya walked outside, intent on first playing Helgi's game and then breaking into Alva's house to find some hard evidence. As she exited the inn, she decided to go over and check up on Windbreaker. After spending a couple of minutes petting her horse and making sure that everything she had left was in place, she left the stable and started towards the ruined house, hoping that Helgi's game wouldn't take too long, and wondering how she will find her. As Nadiya continued onwards, she suddenly began to sense an uncomfortable presence trailing right behind her. Putting her hand on the hilt of her waraxe reflexively and hoping for the best, she paused and turned around to see a visibly-angry Alva glaring daggers at her.
Before Nadiya could say anything, the woman quickly closed the distance between them and drew very close to her. Once both were standing an arms-length from the other, Alva drew herself to her full Nordic height to her advantage to try and intimidate the shorter Breton opposite her. She then began to speak to Nadiya in a low voice with an undertone of thinly-veiled hostility.
"I know you for what you are. Kin are not difficult to smell amongst all of the cattle here. I just don't know why you decided to part in the investigation that's taking up everyone's free time in Morthal."
Nadiya put up her hands and responded, "Easy, easy. Like you said, we're kin. I was just looking to make some gold before I continued on my journey."
Alva scrutinized the Breton closely before continuing, "There are things going on here that are in a delicate balance. You being here is not only upsetting it, but also presents competition for us. I will let you know that this town's blood is ours. Leave it!"
In response, Nadiya said with a false air of confusion, "Oh, I wasn't aware! Sorry for the confusion." She paused, and then taking a risk, she continued, "I don't suppose you're looking for new members anytime soon?" To this, Alva furrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring at Nadiya in silence. After a few seconds, Nadiya let out an awkward chuckle and said, "Hah, uh, just kidding. I'll leave soon."
Alva let her arms down and finished, "See that you do so quickly. By the morning, I expect to hear that you decided to leave the investigation open. Now, we must return to our roles lest the sheep suspect the wolves." With all said, the Nord turned around sharply and walked towards the inn to retrieve a waiting Hroggar.
After watching them for a moment, Nadiya decided to head back to Windbreaker to give Alva a false impression. As she sat next to her horse fiddling with her pack, she observed the pair slowly make their way across town until they walked out of sight. In the meantime, Nadiya thought about what just happened.
So Alva is part of a coven. Not surprising. Of course she didn't say it explicitly in their exchange, but the way she presented herself made Nadiya believe so. And in talking with her, Nadiya can only conclude that she might ultimately be responsible for the fire. Either she was the one Helgi was talking about, or she'll need to break into Alva's house, which is a necessity at this point anyways. After another moment of fidgeting and petting her sleeping horse, she stood up and continued onwards to the ruined house.
Upon reaching the house, she looked around to see if she could spot the ghost girl. After a moment of searching and seeing nothing, she starting to call out Helgi's name in hopes of finding her in this way. The second time she called for the girl, she heard her voice floating along in the wind.
"Maria, there you are! Remember we're playing hide and seek, you gotta find me!" Nadiya groaned and started looking around the ruins again for the ghost girl. A few minutes after fruitless searching, she ventured away from the ruins and began to look around the area. Finding nothing once again, she decided to follow a path that was leading away from the house and from town. As she followed the path, she started to sense some distance away a presence not unlike that of kin. As she got closer, she realized that that the aura the presence wasn't Alva, but someone else. Cautious, Nadiya cast a muffling spell to mask her approach, triggered her vampiric night vision, and began to stride her way forward as sneakily as she could while using the roaming fog to her advantage. A few steps later, she came upon a hooded figure huddled over a freshly-dug hole in the ground, thumbing its fingers over a book of some sort. Nadiya quickly hid behind an elevated mound of dirt and observed the person trying to see if she could recognize it. As she looked on, Helgi's voice suddenly penetrated the night and cried out, "You found me! Make Laelette go away!" Startled by the girl's voice and now aware of an intruder, the person put its book away, and drew a dagger, preparing for the worse. The figure turned to search for whoever stumbled into the area, exposing a feminine face with glowing-red eyes to a still-hidden Nadiya.
To her confusion, the vampire wasn't Alva. It was someone that Nadiya hadn't seen before, and judging by her behavior Nadiya guessed that this undead was a mere fledging. Eager to figure out who this was and hopefully to get answers, Nadiya stood up fully and asked aloud, "Hey! What's going on?" Instantly the other vampire snapped her head towards Nadiya, and unwilling to let any witnesses get away she immediately prepared some destruction spell in her free hand and began to cautiously walk towards her target.
The vampire sniffed the air as she advanced, and upon detecting Nadiya's scent she sneered, "You're not kin I recognize. No matter, you've seen too much. You'll make for a quick snack before I finish this." Humph, thought Nadiya. I wonder how well this fledging will hold against me.
As Nadiya drew her waraxe and prepped her own destruction spell, the two combatants began to circle around, waiting for the other to make the first move. "You know, we could just talk things out instead of having to fight a fellow undead," offered Nadiya as she lowered her weapon slightly after both studied the other for a short time. The other vampire considered her opponent's words for a brief moment, and then shook her head while saying, "No. My sire doesn't trust anyone outside of the clan, and neither do I." Sensing an opening, the vampire quickly made a couple of long strides to strike at Nadiya with her dagger, while bringing her other hand forth and casting a vampiric drain upon her target. "May your blood serve us well!" she exclaimed as she charged.
Nadiya had fought other vampires several times as practice, and only twice in actual combat. Of those times in combat, one ended in a draw and the other left the surrounding area devastated and her spent of energy. Her opponents in those fights were highly skilled in combat and had centuries of experience, and thus they were able to go toe to toe with the then Imperial Battlemage. This vampire that Nadiya now faced was nowhere near the capabilities of those masters of the night, and she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Sure she was kin, but that meant nothing in this situation.
She allowed the other vampire to continue with her drain and instead opted to block the strike from the dagger. Drain spells varied wildly in strength according to the power of the corresponding vampire, and Nadiya felt only a slight pain as the drain began its work upon her body, further indicating the novice abilities of the fledging. She shook off the spell's effects, and after blocking the strike she lifted her waraxe as high as she could in an attempt to bring her weapon down on her opponent's head. Pausing her attack, the other vampire was able to dodge the blow in time, surprised at how quickly her opponent was able to recover and attack in short order. Such a blow would have been instantly fatal had it found home, but with the miss came an opportunity for the other vampire to make another strike at Nadiya. She took the bait, immediately thrusting her dagger forward with the intent to stab Nadiya in the chest, which she was to find out very shortly was the wrong move. As the dagger was about to hit, Nadiya turned and grabbed her opponent's dagger arm out of the air, the other vampire yelping in response with surprise. Nadiya quickly lifted her waraxe to slash at the other vampire, and sensing the immediate danger her opponent tried to pull back helplessly. With a powerful swing, Nadiya managed to bury her axe in her opponent's chest, gravely injuring her enemy who collapsed backwards from the power of the blow. Nadiya smirked at how trivial this engagement was, and said with scorn, "If you were open to talk, you wouldn't have my axe in your chest. Do you want to tell me anything, or would you rather die a true death right now?"
The other vampire spat at Nadiya and seethed, "I will see you in Oblivion kinslayer. May Molag Bal curse you for your betrayal." With a shrug, Nadiya reached down, placed a foot on the other vampire, and with a grunt drew out her waraxe noisily. She then lifted up her weapon, paused to wish her defeated opponent luck in the next life, and with a swing beheaded the vampire who let out one last scream of fury, the glow from the disembodied head's eyes ceasing shortly thereafter. With this said and done, Nadiya wiped her weapon down and walked over to see what this vampire was up to.
She came upon the hole, containing a child-sized coffin. Wondering if she should open the coffin, the ghost girl spoke up from within the casket before she could step down. Helgi voiced her joy at being found to Nadiya before the other vampire, Laelette, was able to complete her work, whom was trying to resurrect Helgi to keep as a companion. Helgi then elaborated on the events of the fire, and explained that Laelette was the culprit behind starting the fire. As for why this all happened, Helgi was unsure. Judging by Helgi's testimony however, it was clear to Nadiya Alva's hand behind Laelette's actions. After getting enough information, Nadiya then promised to the ghost girl that she would bring justice as appropriately as she could to the girl and her family. To this promise, Helgi thanked Nadiya for her help and then went off to "sleep," however ghosts do so.
After this exchange, Nadiya decided to leave the hole untouched and instead head back into town to sneak into Alva's house. As she started to head out, the sounds of someone hastily coming towards her direction came to her ears, and she decided to wait and see who was about to arrive. A few seconds later a light came through the fog, and after another few seconds a man holding a torch in his left hand and a simple iron sword in his right came into full view, stumbling upon the corpse of Laelette. He bent down to examine the body, and after a moment he recoiled in horror and began yelling for help. On cue, Nadiya stepped forward to reveal herself just as her muffling spell dissipated and revealed herself.
In his unnerved state the man was poised to attack Nadiya, but luckily she managed to calm him down to reason. The man had been alerted to the scream that Laelette let out before dying, and as a result he was very much on edge, with the ominous fog only increasing his terror. As they talked about the corpse that he stumbled upon the man identified himself as Thonnir, the husband of the now-late Laelette. He discussed his wife's odd behavior in the days leading up to her disappearance, and once she vanished Alva had told him of Laelette's supposed intent to join the Stormcloaks. After telling Nadiya all of this, she told him of her certainty of Alva's vampirism and hand in the fire, to which Thonnir expressed disbelief and cited Nadiya's lack of hard proof as his reason. She then informed him of her intent to find this proof, and she parted from him as he remained to examine Laelette, some guards showing up shortly after she left.
Once she went across town, Nadiya attempted to sneak into Alva's house only to walk into both her and Hroggar, both very much displeased at her interference in their affair. Nadiya knocked them both out after a short struggle, and tied them as securely as she could to some nearby furniture. After searching the house thoroughly, she finally found Alva's journal hidden inside the rogue vampire's coffin. She started to read, and it became revealed to her that a master vampire by the name of Movarth Piquine and his coven were intent on enslaving Morthal for their own ends, with Alva's mission to seduce the men and guards in town to turn them as thralls, the rest to be used as cattle. Alva was on good progress and had influenced Hroggar to her own ends successfully until she turned Laelette, who botched her plan to eliminate Hroggar's family as a way to tie loose ends by way of the fire. Along with these records was a map revealing the hideout of the coven, as well as other miscellaneous locations. With the journal safely tucked in her pocket, Nadiya went upstairs only to find Alva missing with Hroggar slowly stirring, groaning from the force of the blow he had taken from the chair Nadiya used to knock him out. At this point is was just past midnight, and the fog outside had grown even more ominous.
Judging that the Jarl would find both the journal and whatever Hroggar might have to say as critical to the case, Nadiya grabbed a rowdy Hroggar by the collar of his shirt and took him along as she went outside. Such a sight did not go unnoticed by the guards, and a pair of patrolling guards pulled Nadiya aside to ask her why she was in Alva's house and why she was dragging Hroggar along. After informing them of her findings, the guards escorted the two to the Hall, and once inside Nadiya and Hroggar waited as the guards went to summon the Jarl. Once the Jarl arrived, she went to sit on her throne and listened as Nadiya presented her findings, as well as Hroggar's testimonies to which Nadiya had to pressure him to release. Nadiya knew that individuals enthralled by vampires, depending on the extent of their master's influence on the person, are often uncooperative at best and outright aggressive and hostile at worst. However, Alva seemed to have allowed Hroggar a greater degree of independence than she expected based on his limited reluctance to share his side of the story. After some deliberation, the Jarl resolved to have a detachment of guards and Legionnaires sent to eliminate the threat in the morning, and thanked Nadiya for her work in proving Hroggar innocent, relatively speaking. However, it turned out that there was more to expect.
An anxious crowd had gathered outside of the Hall, roused by one of the locals who had observed Nadiya exiting Alva's place with Hroggar and assumed that the poor man was responsible for the fire. Once the Jarl, her servants, and guards came outside to figure out what was happening with Nadiya hanging behind everyone else, one of the townsfolk pressed the Jarl for answers The Jarl addressed the crowd of Hroggar's victimhood and of her intentions to send forces to deal with the vampire threat responsible, and finally asked the townsfolk to return home and let her deal with the matter. Once the Jarl finished with her words, the crowd did not disperse as she had wanted; on the contrary the crowd called upon her to take action, wanting to strike against the vampires as soon as possible before any other tragic occurrences happen. Unable to calm the rabble down, the Jarl adhered to the crowd's wishes and told the Legate to prepare some Legionnaires and guards. She then turned to Nadiya and asked her if she had experience in fighting vampires. When Nadiya nodded affirmatively, the Jarl then asked her to not only assist with the attack but also lead the troops in destroying the scheming undead completely with what assistance the Legion and the town guards can offer at this hour along with a portion of the crowd armed and ready to fight. In return, the Jarl would increase the reward for Nadiya substantially and even allow her the right of citizenship in Morthal.
Such a request took Nadiya off-guard. The Jarl had only asked her to figure if Hroggar was innocent or guilty, and this turn of events was not something she particularly wanted to participate in for several reasons. For one, she was quite fatigued from just arriving from Dawnstar in the morning, with no chance for a rest since then. Another was that this engagement seemed like something that outsiders shouldn't delve into, especially if she wants to keep a low profile. But the most important reason to her was the risk that the coven posed to mortals at this time, a little further along than midnight by now.
It was common knowledge that vampires were active chiefly during the day, unless one wished to brave the sun as Nadiya and the twins had done. What was lesser-known though was that a vampire's strength can increase exponentially at night according to their traits and raw power. Assuming that this Movarth Piquine was the same vampire referenced in the book Immortal Blood, then she would be hard-pressed to defeat him even with assistance since he's bound to have centuries of experience and fighting. And with the assumption that his coven will be at full strength, Nadiya was skeptical of any attack upon them at this time, and she would prefer to wait until daybreak at the earliest so that the coven should be asleep or at least not to full fighting condition. The payoff was very enticing, but the risks would be too great at this time.
Upon informing the Jarl of her thoughts, the Jarl responded that Alva likely escaped back to the coven, and if they wait until daybreak the coven would likely have left for elsewhere in Skyrim, and the threat of roving vampires was not something the Jarl liked to see. The Jarl acknowledge the immense risk an attack on a vampire coven would be at night, but there was only so much time they had to eliminate the undead. Nadiya could not counter these points, and eventually she agreed to the Jarl's request. The Jarl took a moment to pay Nadiya gold that had been set aside for Nadiya's original tasks, and then asked her to work with the Legate.
For half an hour, members of the crowd brave enough to march to the lair of the coven waited outside the Hall as the Legate, a detachment of his Legionnaires, and a group of the town guards prepared for battle. Nadiya quickly and discreetly changed into her battlemage gear and covered it all up with her mage robes from the College, not wanting to expose her former status. After all of this preparation was done, everyone went outside to meet the remaining crowd and Nadiya gave everyone vital information on fighting vampires while the Legate discussed tactics. After another thirty minutes, Nadiya quaffed a stamina potion to sate her fatigue temporarily, and then all began to march to the lair as indicated on the map from the journal, Nadiya leading the way and the Legate next to her, with everyone else trailing close behind, anxious for whatever lay ahead for them.