From now on, there are probably going to be less perspectives per chapter, since everyone is going to be sort of starting their own storyline.

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Brelyna

"Agh! Bother and befuddle!" yelped their driver as he pushed against the cart.

"You have to be kidding," J'zargo groaned as their driver futily attempted to unstick the cart once again. Even with Onmund's help, the cart was stuck fast.

"Stuck! Stuck here! Poor mother! At rest, but too still!"

"What's going on over here?" A duo of guards had approached the group. They were wearing dark green armor and carrying shields with a triple-swirl crest on them. One of them eyed the group suspiciously. "Mages? What're you doing so far from Winterhold?"

Onmund sat up and looked to the guards. "We were just heading back there, actually. it's just...well..." he gestured to the cart, which the driver was still pushing.

They hadn't been able to get an official carriage driver, but had managed to come to an arrangement with a strange man who had been passing through. The driver, Cicero was his name, was extremely strange. He was transporting a coffin, his mother he'd said, and was dressed like a jester. But he was heading north to Dawnstar, so they'd hitched a ride.

The friendlier looking guard took a look at the wheel. It had practically come off. "Yeah, that's really stuck, alright."

The suspicious guard frowned and took a look in the back of the cart. "What's this?" he asked, tapping on the large crate in the back.

The jester stopped pushing the cart and suddenly stood straight up. "Don't! Don't!"

The guard ignored him. "You'd better not be smuggling skooma!" He took his sword off his belt and used it to pry the top off the crate.

The jester put his hands to his head. "No, no! Mother must not be disturbed!"

Once again, the jester was ignored. The guard pried the crate open and snorted. He gave a loud grunt, and the crate came tumbling out. Out of the crate came a strange, spiked container, which opened as it hit the ground. Brelyna gasped.

This was not a recent death. The corpse looked mummified, shrunken. It reminded Brelyna of the Draugr the group had fought. "How long has the jester's mother been dead again?" questioned J'zargo.

The driver shook his head. "Oh, much time, much time! Cicero is simply taking mother to her new home. Where she will be protected. Where she will be honored!" He glowered at the guard. "You shall pay for disturbing Mother like this! Oh yes...yes..."

The guard he spoke to held up his sword. "Is that a threat, fool?"

The jester giggled, but there was no humor in it. Actually, Brelyna felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the sound. Everyone else looked uncomfortable, too. Finally, Onmund spoke up. "...maybe we should just walk.

They'd decided to stay in Morthal for the night. Despite being the capital of a hold, it was quite small, almost as small as Winterhold. Even though the group had put at least an hour of walking between them and the disturbing jester, Brelyna couldn't sleep. It didn't help that she had a room to herself, since the boys had decided to share one. The bed was lumpy, too, and Brelyna tossed and turned for a good two hours before giving up on sleep. She sat up and sighed. Maybe a drink would help.

She creaked open the door to her room and stepped out into the inn. It was around midnight, so there were even fewer people up then before. Luckily, the innkeeper tending the bar was one of them. The Redguard nodded at Brelyna as she sat down. There was one other person at the bar: an Orc, dressed in light armor with a strange contraption strapped to his back. He gave Brelyna a sideways look as she sat down. Brelyna sighed. "Just pretend I'm not here. Milk, please."

The Orc shrugged and turned back to the innkeeper. "So, what were you saying? About the house?"

The innkeeper sighed as she handed Brelyna a mug of milk. "I don't know why you're so interested. It's just a bunch of rumors."

"Even so, you can't deny it's suspicious."

Brelyna drank some of her milk, raising an eyebrow at the innkeeper. "What happened?"

The innkeeper sighed. "There was a house fire a few weeks ago, at the house of Hroggar. You probably saw it coming into town."

Brelyna nodded. She did vaguely remember seeing that, but her mind had still been on the jester so she didn't think about it too much. "It's a shame about his wife and kid."

Brelyna nearly spit out her milk. "A child was killed?"

A sad nod. "The screams woke half the town. Hroggar says it was a hearth fire, but..." She looked down. "The day after, he started living with Alva. It ain't right, doing that so soon. So...people are saying that he might have started the fire himself. They think the place is cursed now, to boot."

Brelyna looked away. The milk didn't seem very appetizing anymore. "But...why kill his child? His wife I would get, but..."

The innkeeper shrugged. "Maybe he wanted a clean start? No one knows for sure."

"That's why I'm here," the orc put in gruffly. "I was passing through town, and the Jarl hired me to investigate."

The innkeeper shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much more then anyone else. The only people who really know what happened that day are Hroggar and maybe Alva."

The Orc stood up. "Then I know where to go next." He nodded to the two women. "Good day." And then he was gone.

Great. Brelyna definitely wasn't getting any sleep now.

There was a sharp chill that settled into Brelyna's bones as she stepped outside. There was only one way she would get any sleep: investigating the house herself and settling the matter in her mind. It didn't take long for her to find it. The house was at the end of the same road the inn was on.

There wasn't much left of the house, aside from a few supports. As she reached it, Brelyna stepped gingerly over the threshold, kicking up ashes as she did. She sneezed. She could hear Onmund in her head now: "You shouldn't disturb their resting place! It's disrespectful!"

But surely the bodies weren't here anymore, right? And how else would anyone find out what had happened?

But by Azura, it was dark out here. What was she doing? Brelyna sighed and summoned flames in her hand to light up the place. Using fire to solve a fire. Brelyna allowed herself a small smile at the irony.

The hearth was covered in ash, and blackened around the center. It sure looked like the fire had come from there. But how could such a small fire grow big enough to devour an entire house? Magic? But were there any spellcasters around here?

As Brelyna pondered this, she suddenly heard humming from behind her. Startled, Brelyna wheeled around, ready to throw fire. "Who's-"

She cut herself off when she saw who was humming. A small, ethereal figure had appeared in a corner of the house. When Brelyna squinted, she could make out the faint features of a small Nord girl. "Who...are you...are you the girl who lived here?" The shock of the ghost appearing had left Brelyna tongue-tied. She cursed herself for being so easily startled.

The little ghost girl looked at Brelyna. "Uh huh! I'm Helgi! But father says I shouldn't talk to strangers. Are you a stranger?"

Gods, this girl was so small. Brelyna gulped, her stomach twisting. "I...I'm a friend. Can you tell me what happened to you?"

The girl nodded. "The smoke woke me up. It was hot and I was scared, so I hid. Then it got cold and dark." She smiled at Brelyna innocently. "I'm not scared anymore."

Brelyna took a deep breath. "I...I see. Do you...do you know how the fire started?"

Helgi hummed wistfully. "Hm...I'm lonely. I'll tell you if you play with me." She giggled. "But you'd better be quick! The other one is looking too, and she can only come out at night. So find me before sunrise!"

"The other one?" questioned Brelyna. But Helgi had already faded away.

"Holy shit," came a gruff voice from outside the house.

Brelyna looked over the burned wall to see the Orc from before staring at her. "You saw her too, right?" asked Brelyna. "Helgi?"

The Orc nodded. "You mean the ghost girl, right? I saw you talking to her." He frowned. "What are you doing over here?"

Brelyna sighed. "I couldn't sleep, especially not after I heard the story about this house. I thought if I came over here and looked for myself, I'd feel better, but..." She shook her head. She realized her eyes were watering.

"Are you okay?"

Brelyna turned away to wipe her face. "I...I just got some ash in my eyes." The Orc gave her a deadpan look. "Ugh...it's so unfair! Why did she have to die? She seems so sweet..." She shook her head and looked at the Orc, tears welling up again. "I...what kind of person would kill a child like that?"

The Orc sighed. "I don't think it was a person at all."

Brelyna wiped her eyes again. "Huh?"

"I think it was a vampire."

Brelyna jumped, surprised that he'd come to a conclusion so quickly. "A vampire? What makes you think that?"

"Remember how the innkeeper said the father moved in with a lady named Alva?" Brelyna nodded. "Well, I've been talking to people about her. Apparently, she only leaves her house at night. But it's not just that." He rubbed his face. "I actually went to talk to her about the fire. I asked her 'You know people think Hroggar set the fire, right?'" He stared at Brelyna. "Do you know how she replied?" Brelyna shook her head. The orc put his hands to his cheeks and put on a high-pitched voice. "'Well, I don't know if that's true, but I'm lucky to have a man that's so devoted to me!'" The Orc resumed his normal posture. "That is not. Normal. At all. Also she flirted with me as soon as I walked up to her." He shivered.

Brelyna shivered as well. "Okay, that's definitely weird."

The Orc shook his head. "Anyways, what did the girl have to say?"

Brelyna looked back to where Helgi had vanished. "She said...that she wanted to play hide and seek. And if I could find her before someone else, she'd tell me what happened."

The Orc frowned. "Someone else?"

"She didn't say. She told me I'd have to find her first." Brelyna thought. Where would a ghost hang out? "My guess is she went to the graveyard...wherever that is."

The Orc shook his head. "Morthal doesn't have a dedicated graveyard. Not enough people." He pointed behind the house, where a hill rose. "The Jarl said that Helgi and the wife were buried behind the house. I checked there when I was first hired." He turned back to Brelyna. "I saw the dirt on top of Helgi's grave had been distrubed, so I was worried she'd been...turned." He sighed. "Thankfully, it seems that's not the case." He turned away and started to trudge up the hill. "Let's see what she has to say."

Being a ghost didn't seem much better, but Brelyna decided not to argue as she followed the Orc.

" 'Distrubed' seems to be too gentle for this," noted Brelyna as both she and the Orc stared in shock. The little coffin in Helgi's grave was halfway out of the ground. And leaning over that coffin was a woman in dark armor. She suddenly stood up as Brelyna spoke.

The Orc drew the contraption off his back. "Vampire! I knew it!"

The woman turned to them, her fangs bared. She drew her sword and rushed the two. Brelyna summoned fire and shot it at the vampire.

The Orc loaded what looked like a metal cylinder into his contraption and shot it at the charging vampire. It stuck in her chest and she gasped. Brelyna followed up with a fireball, which hit the woman in the shoulder. She shrieked and dropped her sword, stumbling and falling. Then she laid still.

"Laelette!" There was a cry from behind the two. Brelyna cursed under her breath as a Nord with a torch ran up the hill. "Oh, gods! She's dead!" He wheeled on the two. "You-"

The Orc lowered his contraption. "Hold on! Before you say anything, check her teeth!"

The Nord's brow furrowed. "Her...teeth? What are you trying to pull?" Despite his apparent hostility, he did as the Orc said. Once he did, he reeled back. "Ysmir's beard! She's...she's...!"

"A vampire," the Orc finished.

Brelyna walked past the two to examine the small coffin. As she drew close, she heard the voice of the little girl from before. Helgi. "You found me! Laelette was trying to find me too. I'm glad you found me first, though!"

The Nord stood up. "What on Nirn? That voice...little Helgi? Is that you?"

"Laelette was told to burn Mommy and me, but she didn't want to," Helgi continued. "She wanted me to stay with her, so we could play forever and ever. She kissed my neck, and I got so cold that the fire didn't hurt any more. But I couldn't stay. I'm all burned up now."

Brelyna swallowed. "...who told her to burn the house?"

"Alva," growled the Nord. "It has to be."

"How do you know?" asked Brelyna.

The Nord crossed his arms. "Right before Laelette disappeared, she was going to meet with Alva. Thinking back on it, she used to hate Alva with a passion. Then, suddenly they were best friends!" He looked down. "Alva told me she never showed up to their meeting, and everyone figured she'd run off to join the rebellion. I...I never got to say goodbye."

The Orc crossed his arms. "We need to inform the Jarl, but I'm not sure if your testimonies will do any good."

Brelyna looked at the Orc. "You mean we need solid proof? Can't we just bring her to see..." she gestured to Laelette's body.

The Orc shook his head. "That proves she's a vampire, but it doesn't prove anything about Alva. We need proof that she's the one behind this."

The Nord frowned. "Then what are we supposed to do? Break into her house?"

"This is not what I thought I'd be doing tonight," sighed Brelyna as she tiptoed past a sleeping man, who she assumed was Hroggar. As the smallest of the group, and the only one who was even remotely stealthy, she'd been volunteered to check out Alva's house. Luckily, the door to the cellar wasn't exactly hidden.

Brelyna winced each time she stepped down a stair. Creak, creak, creak, went the wood, several times until she reached the door at the bottom. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. Brelyna held her breath and slowly pushed it open.

The first thing she saw was a coffin. Well, that sure confirmed it. Slowly, Brelyna snuck over to check inside. Luckily, it was open, with no one inside. Alva was probably still out.

What was inside was a book, the kind with a clasp on the cover. Brelyna gently took it out. "Please no fire runes, please no fire runes..."

Luckily, there were no fire runes. Brelyna breathed a sigh of relief as she extracted the book. She undid the clasp and began to read.

My life is so dreary. Where is my prince to come rescue me? Where is my bold Nord warrior to sweep me off my feet?

Wow, this really was like her cousin's diary.

I met a man tonight when picking nightflowers. He was so exciting and exotic. We kissed in the moonlight. It was so romantic! I'm going to see him again tonight.

Brelyna turned the page, then gulped.

Now I understand the true colors of the night. Movarth has shown me the true black of night and the true red of blood. He has promised me a feast of blood if I do his bidding in Morthal...

"Hroggar was easy to seduce," Brelyna read out loud. She'd exited the house quickly after reading most of the diary and met the Orc at the jarl's longhouse. Highmoon Hall, it was called. She also finally had a name for the Orc: Durak. The jarl, Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone, had been talking to him when Brelyna entered. Once Brelyna explained what she had, the jarl had invited her to read it, even though she wasn't too happy about Brelyna breaking and entering.

"Movarth said I should find a protector first, someone to watch over my coffin during the day. Hroggar is perfect." Brelyna turned the page. "Laelette came to visit me tonight. She," Brelyna wrinkled her nose as she read the sentence. "She slaked my thirst. I've hidden her away to rise as my handmaiden, and spread a rumor in town that she left to join the Stormcloaks."

Brelyna closed the journal, sighed, and held it out towards the jarl. "There's a bit more if you want to read it. The basic gist of it is that this Movarth guy is planning to use Alva to seduce the town guard one at a time and turn them into vampires. Then they're planning to take over the town and use the rest of the people to feed on. Also, Alva ordered Laelette to kill Hroggar's family in an 'accident'. The fire wasn't part of the plan though."

Jarl Ravencrone's housecarl crossed his arms. "It wasn't? What was the plan then?"

Durak shook his head. "We're not sure. It doesn't say. But apparently the fire caused too much of a scandal for Alva's liking. She thinks that Laelette was trying to keep the little girl, and tried to bring her back after she died."

Jarl Ravencrone nodded. "That fits with what Helgi said then." She groaned and put her head in her hands. "That traitorous...this is so much worse than we first thought. Not just one vampire, but a whole group of them." She looked up at the two standing in front of them. "Morthal is in serious danger. We need to gather all the able-bodied warriors we can from town."

"Way ahead of you," came a voice from behind them. Brelyna turned around to see the Nord from before at the head of a large group of people. They were wielding axes and pitchforks, determined looks on all their faces.

The jarl smiled at the man leading them. "Well done, Thonnir. Head out as soon as you can. With this many people, you'll surely win."

"Get back here you cowards!" Thonnir yelled. They were standing outside the vampire's lair, but apparently their trek through the swamp had given most of the townspeople time to reconsider.

Reconsider in this case meaning immediately turn tail and head back to town because they figured out they might actually die if they fought a vampire.

Durak groaned. "I shouldn't be surprised. Everyone wants to be a hero until they might actually die."

"What kind of Nords are you?" Thonnir yelled after the retreating group.

"I'm pretty sure half of them aren't even Nords," muttered Brelyna.

Thonnir scowled and turned back to the two. "Well, I'm staying. If you'll let me, I want to avenge my wife."

Durak looked him up and down, then nodded. "Don't die."

The cave wasn't very big compared to the system under Helgen. They only had to go through two small chambers before Durak motioned for the other two to stay quiet as he peeked around a corner. He nodded to the others, and they crept slowly along. The area they were in was narrow, almost like a hallway. There was scaffolding clinging to the cave wall above them, but nobody seemed to be using it, luckily.

Eventually, Durak stopped. Brelyna peeked around him and stifled a gasp. Sitting in the room in front of them was what looked like a dining room. There were several people sitting around the table, some of whom looked to be regular people, but others who looked emaciated, wrinkled, and pale. Brelyna assumed those were the vampires. She saw Alva among their number, and her stomach did a flip.

But the man at the head of the table, sitting on what looked like a stone throne, was what really caught her attention. He was bald and his face had so many wrinkles it looked like a crumpled piece of parchment. He had a line, maybe a scar or war paint, that ran down his lips and divided them in half.

He looked contemplative at first, but then he looked up and grinned. "Well, well, well. We have some guests it seems." His voice was hoarse and crackly. He turned his head to look directly at the corner the group was hiding around. "Don't be shy. It's rude to stare, you know?"

Durak swore under his breath and pulled his contraption off his back. "Go! Now!"

Everyone else at the table stood up, pulling out magic and weapons.

Brelyna summoned an atronach and summoned fire as fast as she could. Thonnir ran around, hacking at vampires with his axe and screaming bloody murder. Durak shot ammunition from his contraption until he apparently ran out, at which point he pulled out two one-handed axes and charged into the fray.

Everything after that was a blur of blood, screams, and teeth. Brelyna just threw fire at whatever moved, feeling her energy being drained by the vampires casting some sort of red energy. She constantly had to stop and heal herself. It didn't take long for her to get exhausted, and soon enough, she saw the bald leader in front of her.

"M...movarth!" she spat. The leader grinned too widely, his long, bloody fangs exposed.

Brelyna went to create another fireball, but she was low on energy. So Movarth was easily able to grab her arm and twist it behind her back. "Meddlesome little mer," he hissed. "I'm going to enjoy feeding on you."

She couldn't move, not with her arm pinned as it was.

No magic came to her.

She was on the edge of collapsing.

She felt the vampire's cold breath on her neck.

"Stop!"

Then it was gone. There was a gurgling sound and her arm was released. Brelyna fell to her knees and gasped several times. She slowly turned around to see Movarth, eyes unfocused, with a waraxe buried in his chest.

Holding that axe was Durak. He pulled the axe out with a loud crunching sound, and the vampire fell to the floor.

Brelyna's vision blurred and she felt herself falling to the side. "Hey, none of that now," said Durak. He slipped her a potion in a green bottle. It wasn't a magicka potion, but it couldn't hurt. Brelyna drank it down greedily.

Through the green glass of the bottle, Brelyna saw something, someone, shimmer into view. She nearly choked on the liquid.

It was Helgi. She was smiling. "You made Mother really happy. Thank you. She says it's time to go now."

Brelyna nodded, tears filling her eyes again. "Okay...okay. Go with your mom."

Durak nodded. "We'll clean things up around here. Thank you for your help."

Helgi smiled. "Thank you..." Then she faded away and was gone.

Brelyna broke down in exhausted sobs.

As the sun rose, the two re-entered the inn. Thonnir had broken off to go back to his house and son. As they entered, Brelyna noticed there was a new face at the bar: a brunette man who was shaking head to toe. As Brelyna approached, she could hear him sobbing quietly. The innkeeper looked up from her sweeping. "Glad to see you two back. Thought that vampire might've killed you after you killed him." She nodded towards the man at the bar. "Hroggar snapped out of it once you killed the leader, I guess."

"Poor guy..." whispered Brelyna. No wonder he was sobbing.

Durak didn't say anything, but pulled out a stool to sit beside the man. It took a while for Hroggar to notice him. "Are you the one who...who killed it? The vampire? And..." he hesitated. "And her?"

Durak nodded. "But not alone. I had help." He nodded to Brelyna, who decided to stay back.

The man nodded. "I...I should thank you...but..." He buried his face in his hands. "Helgi...my wife...they...I..."

"It wasn't your fault," Brelyna spoke up. She almost felt like crying herself, seeing the man in such distress. "You didn't set the fire, we know that now."

Hroggar shook his head. "I...I might as well have! I didn't even bother thinking...I was...What was wrong with me?"

Durak sighed. "A vampire's thrall is a powerful thing. I've never seen anyone resist it for long." The orc looked down. "I...lost two wives to vampires myself." He turned back to Hroggar. "I'm part of a group called the Dawnguard, dedicated to fighting vampires. Stopping what happened to me and you from...from happening to anyone else. I'm travelling around looking for new recruits."

Hroggar looked at Durak. "Are you..." He looked back down. "I...I don't know. I just...I was so...so useless! I let them die, I...I'd like to come but..."

Durak nodded and pat Hroggar's shoulder. "I understand. Take your time. You've been through a lot." He stood and turned to Brelyna. "That goes for you, too. I know you're probably busy with your mage stuff, but if you have some time...we could definitely use a few more hands."

He nodded to the innkeep, then walked over to a room and shut the door behind him. One of the other room doors opened, and out stepped a gray Khajit in mage robes. He looked at Brelyna and stretched. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

Well, about that J'zargo...

I didn't mention these events last chapter because I wasn't quite sure where this chapter would go in the story at first. In the end, I decided this was the best place.

Next Chapter: More Winterhold stuff, and a brief check in with our Dragonborn.

Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!