Blood On The Ice
After returning home to Dawnstar yesterday I went straight to bed, though I slept like a rock I was now wishing I had stayed in bed. Zany was trying to kill Cicero again, Donovan had been working up a storm in the forge all morning- the noise could be heard loudly throughout the entire Sanctuary, while Kestrel was currently arguing with Luna about Sithis knows what. I could feel a migraine forming as the noise just seemed to pile up.
"Something wrong Listener? Oh Cicero knows what would help! A song!" said the ever present madman as he noticed my foul mood, though was oblivious of the fact that I was rubbing my temples. Cicero began to dance and then freely broke into song, I slammed my hands on the dining table and walked off in a huff for the silence of the shore outside the Sanctuary. Lately there had been far too many people than I was willing to deal with, or have ever dealt with in my whole life! With the addition of Luna and Yuki, we now had a total of ten members under one roof… a bit of a clamorous situation. As I stepped out into the cold midday air and walked up to the near frigid waterside I began to realize something… I needed a damned vacation! Anywhere would be better than cooped up with everyone in the Sanctuary, though I tended to stay away from Whiterun unless it was on business. As I continued to think about where I could slink off to for some quiet time, the Black Door began to open and I sighed thinking it was Cicero coming to bother me yet again. I turned however to see it was Luna and Yuki, both with looks of determination and anger on their faces.
"Dare I ask what you're up to Sisters?" I asked them, a little worried since Yuki rarely showed any form of emotion at all. Yuki stayed silent as ever, while Luna scoffed
"It doesn't concern you." she said through gritted teeth, though I was not dissuaded from pursuing the issue. They obviously did not want to talk about it, but whatever it was it was obviously something that was going to take them far from the Sanctuary. As they mounted their horses swiftly and took off down the shore in the direction of the road. I grinned with a mischievous idea, I was in need of a vacation yet I could not let this issue lie- so I saddled Shadowmere and followed the pair to wherever their destination might be.
The task of following them was less than easy as I soon found out, their destination was obviously Windhelm- due to the increase in snowfall around us and the sparse foliage surrounding the road. I had come through here just yesterday and there was no snowfall, but the weather today was far more expected for this region and although the snow falling around was beautiful… it seemed to hold a foreboding weight to it. Wherever Yuki and Luna were going- be it the city itself or somewhere within the region- ill winds seemed to be around us as I followed them. The ancient city of Windhelm soon came into view and the pair left their horses at the stable before taking the long stone bridge across the river to the city proper. I did the same but kept my distance from them, at least long enough to enter the city as if it was of my own accord and by pure coincidence. Walking into Windhelm I began to realize why I never come to this city- the racially intolerant ice-brains who live here. The Nords of Windhelm are quite often asinine and racist, the worst example of humanity I have ever seen in my life… and that's coming from someone who kills people for a living. That aside I decided to hurry up and find out what Luna and Yuki were up to so I could get out of this hell-hole as fast as possible. I found them in a rather unexpected location: the graveyard. I watched them talking with the guard and the witnesses of what appeared to be the grisly murder of a young woman. Soon they began to walk up the steps from the graveyard back to the main street and I decided now was as good a time as any to reveal myself.
"Fancy seeing you two here. Shame about that girl, was she someone you knew?" I said to them innocently, though sadly it seemed that Luna wasn't buying my "coincidental and innocent" act.
"Shut it Alyce, we know you followed us here- what the hell do you want?" Luna asked, while Yuki beside her simply glared at me silently. I smiled and told them the Night Mother's orders for me to get to know the members of the Sanctuary before moving on to the next location. They whispered to each other before turning back to me, "The Night Mother's wishes matter little to us, but we also don't want to piss her off either. If you're gonna help us catch the bastard they call 'The Butcher' then let's get going already- just don't get in the way." Luna said with a bit of a growl in her voice. These two never seemed the vigilante type, but murder was our business, not this creep's- might as well eliminate the competition I suppose.
Apparently the guards would not allow us to assist in the investigation without the permission of the Steward, so here we were in the presence of Jarl Ulfric and his Steward inside the Palace of Kings. The Jarl's voice echoed through the stone castle as he left his throne to speak more privately with his General about the war with the Imperials. Truthfully I had thought about joining the Stormcloaks before I joined the Dark Brotherhood, but the very day I began to pack for the trip to Windhelm I found what appeared to be a journal page tucked into one of my mother's old books. The handwriting was neither her's nor my good-for-nothing Father's and the paper was yellowed and fairly old. The page mentioned a tight-knit group similar to a proper family- my first glimpse of my family's legacy, the Dark Brotherhood- and it was what made me seek out the elusive group in the first place. I mused about my own past while Luna spoke with the Steward, he took a moment to write out a Writ of Assistance- a document with his signature that we could show to anyone who questioned our permission to investigate the murders. With the proper papers in hand we returned to the guard, who was a little surprised to see a third investigator but happy that someone was finally dealing with the murders either way. While Yuki and Luna tracked the blood trail the guard had found, I would question the priestess of Arkay in the nearby Hall of The Dead. I entered the hall and was greeted by the musty smell of embalming fluids and decay, I had to hold back the bile that seemed to well up in the back of my throat as the smell became stronger the further into the hall I delved. I found the priestess examining the body and it's numerous wounds, and upon seeing it closer I could tell they looked more like planned incisions that haphazard injuries. The Priestess explained as much, though that the cuts were made by ancient Nord tools- that much I had not been able to guess. She also informed me that all the victims had been Nord women, never a Dunmer or an Argonian. I began to wonder if the murderer was a disgruntled Dunmer of the Gray Quarter or perhaps a mistreated Argonian of the Windhelm Docks. I would have to speak to Luna and Yuki about the possibility of this. I stepped out of the hall into the clean air of night with a deep breath of relief, Yuki and Luna coming around the corner with evidence in hand.
Apparently the Butcher was actually the court magician and has been working out of the first victims house, Hjerim. Yuki had picked the lock on the door and granted themselves entry to investigate the building. They had found the fliers some woman had posted around town to catch him as well as a mysterious amulet inside the killer's lair. With this damning evidence, we made our way back to the castle to inform the Steward- though we were stopped by a curious old man.
"Is that a Wheelstone Amulet? Might I have a look at it?" He asked as he pointed at the amulet in Yuki's hand. She held it out by the string for the man to examine, "Marvelous, would you be interested in letting me buy it off you? My name is Calixto and I run a museum of oddities here in Windhelm, that amulet would make a lovely addition to my collection." the man asked us, offering 500 gold for the trinket- we didn't need it to convict the mage so agreed to sell it to simply get it off our hands. We bid Calixto goodbye and entered the Palace of Kings, the Steward was less than happy to hear that a member of the Jarl's court was the murderer but thanked us for our assistance in the matter as he ordered the guards to apprehend the mage. We left the Palace and made our way to Candlehearth Hall, the tavern at the heart of Windhelm, it was fairly late so we would stay in town for the night before heading back to Dawnstar in the morning. As we paid for our rooms I began to wonder why the sisters Yuki and Luna- who cared little for anyone but themselves- would come all the way here to end the killing spree of a murderer who was killing people they had probably never met. As we reached our rooms I had to ask them about this,
"Why was catching this murderer so important to you two? What haven't you been telling me?" I questioned them, they looked to each other then back to me.
"That's none of your business, it's over and done with so there's no reason to tell you anything." Luna said before she and Yuki retreated into their room for the night. I sighed in defeat and did the same, falling asleep fairly quickly. I awoke several hours later to screaming and a clamor outside my rented room, jumping to my feet I rushed to open the door- finding that Yuki and Luna's room was now crowded with people. I left my room to stand in the doorway of theirs to find that one of the beds was stained with blood, both beds were empty of their occupants.
"We thought the Butcher had been caught! Now he's taken two girls in one night!" Said one of the patrons of the tavern as he left the crime scene. Outside the room, the barmaid who had come to wake us up was sitting on a nearby bench fanning herself- it had been her scream that alerted the other patrons and awoken me. I left the room after gathering their things, I brought the gear to the tavern owner to hold on to- save for Luna's daggers in the event that my plan worked. No one messes with my family, be they of blood or Brotherhood- I knew where the Butcher was hiding while he did his vile work… he may be safe from the guards but he sure as hell wasn't safe from me.
I walked with purpose towards Hjerim, what few people were in my way rushed to step aside as if I was the Jarl himself. The lock on the door was picked by Yuki before, but the Butcher was not quite the idiot I had thought he was and had locked it tight behind him. I wasn't exactly the best at lock picking but I had no time to find the key, so I backed myself up against the door of the Cruel-Sea house and charged at the heavy wooden door; hoping to at least break the lock in the process if I didn't break my shoulder as well. I impacted on the door with a loud thud and I felt the lock give a little, I grimaced at the pain and backed up once again though not as far- I raised my foot to bash it the rest of the way with one powerful kick. The lock broke after two good kicks and the smell of blood rushed to meet me at the threshold. If the house had truly been lived in once before it would have been a sight to behold, though now it was practically empty save for a few sparse bits of furniture. I could hear a voice from upstairs and made my way there, stopping to quickly listen to what the voice was saying.
"You thought you could escape me? Perhaps you did, but coming back to Windhelm was a terrible mistake." Said the voice of a man that sounded somewhat familiar, then the sound of struggling that seemed to come closer to the stairs. I rushed downstairs and ducked into the archway on my left, what could have been a kitchen at one time though the fireplace was full of long dead embers. I peered around the archway as I heard the struggling pass by me to see Luna being dragged by a man towards what had looked like a dead end section of the house with a set of wardrobes for storage. I swiftly made my way up the stairs and found Yuki unconscious on the floor. She was safe up here so I quietly rushed back downstairs to the spot I had seen the man drag Luna to- and it appeared as if they had both vanished! As I looked around the dead end my eyes soon fell on one of the wardrobes, it looked oddly close to the wall- as if it was nailed to it for some reason. I then began to wonder why the house was shaped to have a big gap under it like it appeared to be built… and I realized it must be a hidden room. I quietly opened the door to see the man who had dragged Luna into this room holding a knife- making careful incisions into Luna's arm. I snuck up behind the man and tapped my hand on his shoulder, he spun around quickly and as he looked to me I thrust my dagger deep into his heart.
"Targeting civilians, not a good idea. Abducting and attempting to kill members of the Dark Brotherhood… a very bad idea. Give my regards to Sithis." I said with venom in my voice, watching as the man- who I then realized was the old man Calixto from yesterday- died with fear in his eyes for whatever eternal torture our Dread Father had in store for him.
I dropped Calixto's body to the floor with disgust and wiped my dagger on his shirt to rid it of his blood. That done I turned my attention to Luna and at first I thought I was too late to save her- then I noticed the rise and fall of her chest- she was alive; though if she was unconscious she should have at least woken up from the pain of that man cutting into her. I carried her out to the main room and laid her down to examine her injuries in a better light, the hidden room being lit by only a candle or two rather than the daylight that now poured in through the busted door. The cut was not her only injury, but they looked as if Calixto was attempting to… surgically remove her muscles and tendons. I repaired the damage to her legs and arms, glad I had arrived before he could begin removing them, though I was certain she would need some time to work the muscle back to what it had once been. As I finished sealing up Luna's wounds, Yuki stumbled down the stairs; seeing Luna on the floor she rushed to her sister's side.
"Now will you tell me why this was so important? Calixto said you two had escaped from him before?" I asked Yuki, not expecting her to answer me in the slightest. She gazed at me with eyes empty of emotions, but slowly I began to see the pain behind them that she and Luna had obviously shared.
"Luna and I are not actually sisters; that sorry excuse for a man held us captive during his preliminary experiments before he began killing to bring someone back from the dead. When we heard him talking to the corpse about how he was going to start killing people to start restoring her… I managed to pick the lock on our cage and we escaped. That was a few years ago, after that we fled to Cyrodiil- but we returned to find the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, just in time to meet you and Cicero on the border." She explained slowly, and their closed personalities began to make sense; they had been tortured and used by someone who cared nothing for their well-being. Yuki continued to explain that she had been lucky enough to have had Luna there to protect her, putting herself in harm's way whenever she could- though at the price of her own sense of feeling, now Luna could feel no bodily pain and was constantly checking herself after a fight for any wounds. This selfless care for someone she only knew from their time as Calixto's captives was apparently where there sisterly bond was born. Yuki didn't mention anything about the effect the captivity had on her, I could tell she had lost all faith in anyone but Luna; hence her disdain and distance from anyone else.
"That's why he took Luna first while you were unconscious; she was awake and put herself between you and harm's way." I said as I realized the truth of what I had seen, though she struggled against him I knew Luna could have shrugged Calixto off like a fly and run away… but she was unarmed- unable to kill him- and that would have left Yuki to a horrible end. Yuki simply looked at Luna with her emotionless eyes, and frankly my heart broke for them; though I doubted they would ever like to hear how much I cared for my Sisters. Together Yuki and I carried Luna out of Hjerim and back to Candlehearth Hall, much to the surprise of the Innkeeper. I left them safely together in their rented room and asked the innkeeper to let us stay a little while longer- at least until our friend woke up; she agreed realizing to be alive we must have finally caught The Butcher. I left the tavern and made my way to the Palace of Kings.
I entered the palace to find the Steward sitting at the central table eating his breakfast.
"The mage was not The Butcher, he is innocent. The real Butcher abducted my friends and has been dealt with, this nightmare is finally over." I told him simply before turning to leave, but was stopped by a far deeper voice behind me.
"Leaving so soon Miss? Surely you want to be rewarded for your efforts?" Said Jarl Ulfric as he walked briskly out of his war room, obviously he had been in the middle of a conversation as he General was standing flabbergasted in the doorway behind him.
"All I did was kill a murderer, though it's good to see the Jarl of Windhelm cares so much for his people's safety." I said kindly, showing respect for the Jarl by curbing my sarcasm. Ulfric smiled slightly, though he waited to hear what I wanted as a reward. "Perhaps we can just say the Jarl of Windhelm owes me a favor? My name is Alyce Lachance… remember it well." I said as I walked out of the palace leaving the Jarl as well as his Steward and General in an air of mystery and bewilderment. I returned to Candlehearth Hall to find Luna had awakened. A they gathered their gear I handed Luna her daggers before she started a scene to find them, she smiled and took them back kindly.
"Thank you for everything… Listener." Luna said quietly as we stepped out of the City gates, I looked at them with an astonished look that grew even more as I saw both of them smile before walking away towards the stable.
"Divines and Daedra…" I whispered to myself as I too walked to the stables, thanking any being that would take credit for this turn of events. Luna and Yuki had finally confided in me there past and the reasons for their close sisterly relationship; and now I had a feeling that Yuki would finally begin to open up while Luna would start to calm down as they could slowly begin to put their painful past behind them. We left Windhelm behind and made our way back to Dawnstar and the Sanctuary; though even after a day and a half it was still noisy as all hell.