If anything could kill Ulfric's desire as quickly as having a bucket of cold water dumped upon him, it was hearing that another woman had been murdered in Windhelm.

The murders had stopped for a while, thank Talos, as Stormcloak involvement in the war had gained traction. However, it seemed as though the killer had grown restless and was acting up again, leaving Ulfric and the city guard exactly where they had been before: clueless. There were no leads, no witnesses, nothing to give any indication to who was performing such despicable actions. It drove Ulfric mad- if he could not protect those within his own city walls, how could he ever expect to protect all of Skyrim?

"I want to know everything," he said stonily to Jorlief, striding to the great hall. "Who was it this time?"

"Susanna the Wicked," Jorlief replied sadly. "I had just seen her in Candlehearth a fortnight ago. Now it's hard to tell that it's even her."

Ulfric's stomach turned. Susanna had offered her...services to him rather recently, upon hearing the Jarl's newfound interest in whores. He had denied her, of course, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't tempted. Perhaps he had been too rash giving Svala permission to exit the palace. Perhaps he should rescind the courtesy immediately and have her stay put, if not for her own safety than anything else... "Witnesses? Evidence?"

"No, my Jarl. Just the body dumped in the cemetery as always."

He growled, pacing in front of his throne. Something had to be done, and done fast. No more women would die on his watch. "Give the guard whatever resources necessary they need to find the culprit. I will not see this senseless butchering continue of Windhelm's own. And when the vagrant is caught, he is to be brought before me, alive. Is that clear?"

Jorlief nodded vigorously. "Of course, my Jarl. It will be done."

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Unbeknownst to Ulfric or his steward, Svala had been listening to everything. Her training in the Guild had taught her how to effectively avoid detection, so it was rather easy to follow the pair a few paces behind, sticking to the shadows.

A murderer? She was already halfway back to her rooms, thinking about what set of armor to wear. That sounded like something to do. Since Ulfric had all but locked her in Windhelm for the time being she was in need of something to keep her occupied. Solving a murder seemed like a good use of her time, maybe it would even allow Ulfric to let her back in the field sooner. Svala ended up deciding on the carved Nordic armor Ulfric had gifted her with, packing her dagger and a couple of swords just in case, before heading out to the cemetery to investigate.

It truly was a gruesome sight.

Had she not heard Jorlief say it was Susanna, she never would have been able to tell. Large strips of flesh had been torn away from her body savagely, and her face was so bloodied and bashed that it bore no resemblance at all. In fact, if she had been walking by briskly, she would have just assumed it was a pile of bloody meat left out to rot in the early morning sunshine. The breakfast she had enjoyed with Ulfric crept back up into her throat.

"Hold it there. Keep your distance."

Her head shot up to see one of the city guard holding her away from approaching any closer. "What happened here?" Svala asked, feigning ignorance.

"Another girl killed," the guard reported sadly. "This is Susanna, from Candlehearth Hall. Served me a drink just a few nights ago...but I can't say I knew her. Susanna's the third. It's always the same: young girl, killed at night, body torn up."

Svala frowned. Ulfric had allowed this to happen three separate times? Maybe he should have spent less time worrying about her whereabouts and more about the safety of his own people. "Are the murders being investigated?"

"We're stretched thin as it is with the war. Nobody has the time to spend on this. Not pleasant, but it's the truth." The guard shrugged. Her nonchalance made Svala bristle with sudden anger. "Sounds like the guards aren't doing their jobs."

"Look, there's a war going on, if you haven't heard." The female guard narrowed her eyes at her through the slits in her iron helmet, now defensive. "We barely have enough soldiers to walk the streets, much less patrol every corner."

"Maybe you could use some help," she shrugged, playing coy. "I'd be happy to offer my services."

The guard scoffed, already turning to walk away. "If you want to help, ask some of these gawkers if they saw anything useful. I'm going to examine the body before the rats can get to it."

There was a small crowd gathering around the body, now that Svala had the mind to notice it. An Imperial man, a beggar woman, and a priestess. She didn't care for her odds on hearing anything useful. She approached the Imperial first, who offered her a small, sorrowful smile as he saw her approach. "Always sad when someone dies."

The comment struck her was odd and her skin prickled with sudden suspicion. "Did you see what happened here?"

He shook his head. "Sorry. I thought I saw a fellow running away, but didn't get a good look at him." With that, he departed, without sparing her a second glance. The other two witnesses were as equally unhelpful, however neither mentioned seeing anyone running from the scene. Svala reported this to the guard.

"Just like always," she sighed. "Nobody saw anything useful. The bastard's escaped again."

"There might be more to this if you'll let me help," Svala answered through gritted teeth. Clearly someone had seen something useful, even if it was meant to be a red herring to throw her off the scent. Brynjolf had always taught her to be mindful of those who paid too much attention to an investigation of any kind, as they likely had a personal stake in its outcome or were the perpetrator themselves. "Always best to stay clear when the guards come running, Lala. Nothing shows a guilty conscience like wanting to play the hero."

"Look, friend, if you think you can do better than the legion of guards, be my guest. You'll need to talk to Jorlief, though. We can't just let anyone go around claiming to be on official business. If he's willing, then we'll talk."

"And a member of Jarl Ulfric's personal guard?" Shock made the guard's face go slack. At least she had the dignity not to continue arguing. "Yes, that's what I thought. Don't worry. I'll have this sorted soon."

While Svala had always prided herself on being observant, since she had begun to scratch the surface of her Dragonborn abilities she found that she was able to sense more than what was possible for other mortals. Something, for instance, like dried blood upon the ground. The metallic scent remained faint underneath the tracks of snow and mud, and like a bloodhound, she began to follow the trail it made. It led her weaving throughout the market place and the Grey Quarter, before disappearing near Candlehearth Hall. While she hadn't been able to find anything useful, it did tell her that the murder was smart and methodical as he had gone to the trouble of taking different routes each time he poached a victim. He planned his kills- he did not make rash moves.

Which meant that he would most likely wait until suspicion died down before striking again.

Still, Svala was curious about the Imperial who had been hovering over Susanna's body. Asking the guard for his name (she was suddenly much more cooperative than before) she decided to pay this Calixto Corrium a visit at his "House

of Curiosities".

House of Junk, perhaps. She had seen greater artifacts in the Guild vaults- hell, she had probably stolen a few too. However, actively insulting the man wouldn't do her any favors: she had to play things smart.

"Welcome to the House of Curiosities! I offer a brief tour for a few coin, or you can explore at your own leisure." Calixto greeted cheerfully without really looking at her. Once he did, however, his face tensed slightly. "Oh, it's you. I'm afraid I can't give you any more information than I already have."

"I'm just here to see your lovely collection," Svala said with a smile, keeping her guard up. There was something about the man that set her teeth on edge. She stopped before a bookcase noticing a weathered tome with no title. "What's this?"

"Ah, yes. That is the Book of Fate." She thumbed through the pages finding nothing but blank parchment within. "It is said to reveal the destiny of the reader, so each person who reads the book finds something different written within."

"And if it's blank?"

Calixto smiled tightly at her. "Well I suppose it could be either one of two things: you may have no present destiny or..." Svala raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to finish. Calixto's grin turned rather predatory as he concluded his hypothesis. "Or you are about to die."