The sun slowly made way for the moon, lowering beneath the mountains to the West and imparting one last burst of orange light before retiring for the night.
Now, with daylight's rest, it was time for the ghouls to emerge this horrible night.
Cura sat on the front steps of the Inn, her hands locked in prayer as she gazed at the dark mud under her feet. In this time of darkness, she and her friends would have to act as light in this cursed town.
A fell wind began to blow across the land, and it felt as though eyes bored into Cura from all around. How could anybody believe Morthal wasn't under a curse?
"Brr-! It's awfully cold, isn't it, Candle?" Lucien asked as he came outside. He began to rub his arms to generate heat.
Carcette and Serana also exited the Inn, with Stendarr's Little Helper in tow.
A raven-haired woman in a seductive, green tavern garb walked towards the Inn, but was blocked by Cura, who was still seated on the steps.
Lucien whistled as he admired the woman's voluptuous form. "Wow... a bit cold to be dressed like that, I think..." he came back down to earth and right to her three-quarters exposed bosom.
"Do you mind?" the woman asked Cura to get up, ignoring Lucien entirely.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought." Cura apologized as she stood up.
As the woman got closer to her, she remarked on Cura's half-Elven beauty rather enviously. "Well, aren't you the pretty one. I bet all the men chase after you."
"Well... not all, but I've had... a few chase me..." Cura bashfully stated, poking her index fingers together.
"You live here?" Serana asked, quickly surmising what she was.
"I do." the tavern woman stated, before going on about the residents. "The people here work so hard, and they never allow themselves a moment of fun. It's such a pity. It won't last forever though."
"What does that mean?" Carcette moved forward, facing the woman directly, and quickly realizing who and what she was.
The woman rolled her eyes. "These people are like cattle. All they do is work, sleep and eat. Gathering plants, picking mushrooms, brewing potions. It all gets so dreary after a while. This town needs something exciting to happen."
"A house fire wasn't exciting enough?" Serana snarked.
The woman dropped her pretense and addressed both Carcette and Serana directly. "I know you for what you are. This town's blood is ours. Leave it!"
She and Carcette glared at one another, and the Breton smirked. "Yours and who else?"
Serana posted herself in a position to attack should the need arise and squinted her eyes.
"Nobody." the Taverness lied. "Now we must return to our roles lest the sheep suspect the wolves." She walked around Carcette and past Serana and headed inside the Inn.
"That's Alva." Serana stated. "I just know it."
"Oh, boy!" Lucien exclaimed hesitantly. "Does this mean we're going to do some... detective work?"
Serana nodded. "Her house would be a good start." She faced Cura. "That's what we'll do, if you don't mind playing hide and seek alone with the ghost."
"I don't mind." Cura confirmed. "We'll meet at Highmoon Hall after. Keep Lucien safe, all right?"
Serana nodded and grabbed Lucien by the wrist, pulling him along. "It shouldn't be hard to find her house."
Carcette stood before Cura. "I'm staying with you."
Cura clicked her tongue. "I don't need you constantly hovering over me."
"I owe it to that poor little girl." Carcette shook her head sadly. "And the people of Morthal. My own hasty decision led to this, so I'm going to do what I can to make things right."
Cura had no rebuttal. "All right. Just don't do anything sudden. Got it?"
It took a moment for the meaning to register, but Carcette understood what she meant. "Cura, that was a one-time thing. I assure you that I'll never turn my weapon on you again."
Cura was unmoved. "I've got my eyes open... and my neck covered." She walked ahead, clutching her mace in hand.
Like Isran, she still had difficulty fully trusting Carcette. Perhaps it would come again with time, but now was not it.
Even as they walked up the hills towards the graveyard, Cura took the time to glance over her shoulder at Carcette.
The Vampiric Breton only followed with her Husky in tow. It was hard to discern her thoughts, and now that it was only the two of them alone, with nobody awake or in the immediate vicinity as far as she could tell, Cura felt unsettled.
Her horrible glowing eye was fixed on her back, it seemed. Was she scheming to bite her? Would she attack at the first chance? Were they far enough away from the houses?
A terrible shiver ran up Cura's back when Carcette's feet shuffled in the dirt and she turned around in a hurry, mace ready.
"What's wrong?" Carcette asked, confused by her sudden reaction.
"..." Cura fell silent and stared blankly for a minute. "...Nothing. Nothing is wrong." She slowly turned around and continued walking.
Eventually, the pair of them, plus the husky arrived in a small craggy area above the town, where there were stones lain in place, marking the graves of few.
Cura quickly noticed a small coffin sticking up out of the ground, dug up recently. "Helgi?" she called out to the specter as she opened the lid, revealing the charred remains of a child.
Clasping her hand over her mouth, Cura fell backwards.
"You found me! Laelette was trying to find me, too, but I'm glad you found me first." Helgi's voice seemed to come from within the air around them.
"Laelette?" Cura asked, recalling the name with great surprise. "Wait..."
"Laelette was told to burn mommy and me, but she didn't want to. She wanted to play with me forever and ever." Helgi's disembodied voice continued to explain, holding up her end of the bargain. "She kissed me on the neck, and I got so cold that the fire didn't even hurt. Laelette thought she could take me and keep me, but she can't. I'm all burned up."
Carcette's eye widened. "'Kissed you on the neck?'"
"I'm tired... I'm going to sleep for a while now." Helgi droned before her voice silenced.
Cura nodded softly. "Rest easy, Helgi. We'll get to the bottom of this." She slowly closed the lid of the coffin.
"Cura..." Carcette knelt down beside her and laid a hand on the coffin door. "I think... she was 'kissed on the neck' and everything went cold... That was what it felt like..."
"What what felt like?" Cura asked.
"When I lost my humanity... when I was infected by Harkon." Carcette explained. "Lips to the neck, the world growing colder and darker..."
"Then that means that Laelette..." Cura feared that she was right in putting two and two together. Laelette went missing, presumed dead. Turns up when the house is ablaze. Tries to keep her son's friend alive, by 'kissing her neck'.
Stendarr's Little Helper arched his back and began to growl into the darkness, prompting Cura and Carcette to turn around and notice a gaunt figure looming in the shadows.
Serana and Lucien found the right house, the vampiress surmised when she picked up Vampiric odours from the other side of the wooden house. "This is it. Once we get the door open, I'll make sure it's safe. I promised Cura that I would keep you alive, so..." Serana said as Lucien approached the door.
"Inigo showed me a trick last night when we went to peek in the vault." Lucien spoke secretively as he undisclosed a lockpick and inserted it into the lock. Quickly, he elaborated further. "Just for training purposes. Don't worry."
After a twist, the pick broke. "Eh?" He attempted again with another lockpick, turning it a little over to the right, and it snapped as soon as he turned the doorknob. "Hang on, I'll get it eventually."
Serana leaned against the wall exasperatedly, and after a few more attempts on Lucien's part, she heard a sudden click.
"Ah! Smashing!" Lucien exclaimed with joy as the door opened. "Ladies first." He moved to the side to allow Serana first entry.
The house was empty, and stairs led down to the basement rather simply.
Lucien tiptoed down the steps silent as he could be and opened the cellar door.
Immediately, they saw a coffin in the center of a small room, surrounded by bloodstains, skeletal remains in the west corner, and lit sconces on the wall.
The coffin lid was slid off, and a red book was visible. Lucien put away his wooden stake and placed a wreath made of garlic around his neck. He lifted the red book out of the coffin.
"It's her journal..." he whispered to Serana.
"I could figure that out." Serana whispered back.
Lucien began to read Alva's Journal aloud.
"My life is dreary. Where is my prince come to rescue me? Where is my bold Nord warrior to sweep me off my feet?
I met a man today when picking nightflowers. He is exciting and exotic. We kissed in the moonlight. It was so romantic. I'm going to see him again tonight.
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. Movarth said I should find a protector first, someone to watch over my coffin during the day. Hroggar is perfect.
Laelette came to visit me tonight. She slaked my thirst. I've hidden her away to let her rise as my handmaiden. I've spread the rumor in town that she left to join the war. Fools.
Movarth has confided his grand plan to me. I am to seduce the guardsman one at a time and make them my slaves. Then he and the others from the coven can descend upon Morthal and take the entire town. We won't kill them. They will become cattle for our thirst. An endless supply of blood and an entire town to protect us from the cursed sun.
Hroggar's family is becoming inconvenient. I've told Laelette to kill them all, but make it look like an accident. Hroggar must be seen as innocent if he is going to be my protector.
That little fool! Laelette burned Hroggar's family alive. I asked for an accident, and she gave me a scandal. To make matters worse, she tried to turn his little girl, Helgi. Except Laelette couldn't even get that right. She killed the child and left the body to burn.
Something is wrong with Laelette. She keeps talking about Helgi. I think her mind has snapped. She seems to think that the child can still be brought back to be her companion.
There are strangers in town, looking into the fire. I'll have to be careful."
Serana shook her head in disgust. This woman gives vampires a bad name. Not that they had much of a good name to begin with.
"Well, the prose could certainly use some work..." Lucien remarked snobbishly, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"We've got to get this to Cura." Serana stated plainly. "She'll find the contents quite interesting, I'm sure."
"HRAAAAAAH!" a sudden roar overtook the pair as Hroggar lunged for Serana with a woodcutter's axe.
"Serana!" Lucien cried out in terror as the madman threw himself through the air.
Serana was quick to act, smacking Hroggar in the chest with the ball of her hand, causing the brutish man to gasp loudly and fall backwards due to the sheer force of impact.
He touched his chest and realized that his sternum was broken. Slowly, he lifted himself off the wall, and swept the tankard and coin purse off Alva's small corner table, as it stood between him and his quarry. His head was beginning to spin, and he took a few more swings of his axe at Serana, which she dodged effortlessly due to her supernatural reflexes.
Hroggar raised the axe above his head and cried out in blind fury. "HRAAAARG!"
And then, Lucien rushed up from behind him and brought down a shovel over his head, knocking him unconscious for the time being.
The man hit the floor, out of consciousness,
Serana looked at Lucien. "Where did you get that shovel?"
"Oh, er, it was lain against the fireplace." Lucien stated nonchalantly. "I thought it'd be smart to use."
"Well... good shot." Serana raised her eyebrows.
"Shall we continue our search?" Lucien asked to which Serana agreed.
Carcette stood between Cura and the shadowed figure defensively.
When the figure stepped into the torchlight, she appeared to be a Breton woman with short, dark brown hair in black, hooded robes, with glowing, monstrous red eyes and pale skin. She had a basket with various alchemical ingredients within, and she seemed to look through Cura and Carcette. She only seemed to mutter unintelligible musings as she walked past them and headed towards Helgi's coffin.
"I will give you... life again..." the creepy woman shuddered as she spoke, laying the ingredients around the coffin. "For us... for Virkmund..."
"Are you Laelette?" Cura asked, walking up behind her.
"Helgi... Helgi... her name... slips from me..." the woman ignored Cura. "Life... I... cannot let her be dead... she has to visit us again..."
"It's her." Carcette deduced as she held Stendarr's Little Helper back from attacking by his collar. "That's Thonnir's wife."
"Oh, no..." Cura's tone fell morose. "then the worst is true."
"She was turned." Carcette confirmed. "But she's clearly not of sound mind and reasoning. She's fed."
Cura was horrified by the twist of fate, though she really should have seen it coming by now. Molag Bal loves nothing more than to cause dissent, pain, and chaos. Of course this would happen.
Laelette opened the coffin and stared at the burnt remains of Helgi. "You... we're not supposed to die... you... live... you will live."
She brandished a dagger and extended her wrist over the corpse, to which Cura reacted swiftly.
"No!" The Dragonborn rushed forward, tackling the deranged woman into the dirt before she could initiate whatever ritual she was about to perform.
Laelette hissed angrily and tossed Cura off her and into a crag nearby. "You!" she screamed with fury. "You will not take her! She is mine!"
When Laelette rushed forward with readied claws, she was intercepted by Carcette, who delivered a severe backhanded slap across her face, stunning the inferior vampire. It seemed that for a moment, time lay still when the sound resonated through the area.
Stendarr's Little Helper barked and leapt onto Laelette's leg, clamping his teeth down and pulling her back.
Cura scrambled to her feet and quickly began to collect the alchemical ingredients to clear out the ceremony as Carcette and Stendarr's Little Helper held Laelette at bay.
"NO! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Laelette shouted as she tried to push forward at Cura but was pinned back by Carcette. She struggled against the former Keeper, but Carcette gripped her arms tightly, binding her in place.
"NO! NO! NOOO!" Laelette continued to wail in protest. "HELGI!"
Cura closed the coffin lid, returning dignity to the perished child, and slowly moved it back down into the hole.
Laelette broke down in tears and nearly fell to the floor, though only hung in the air with buckled knees due to Carcette maintaining her grip on her. "Helgi... I'm so... sorry!" She sobbed loudly.
"What's done is done." Carcette told her. "There is no undoing it, you fool!"
Cura gently tread over to them, and moved her hair back behind her ear, and pulled her hood back up. "You set the fire to their house and framed Hroggar. Why?"
"I... couldn't stop myself..." Laelette sobbed. "I... I must... obey... no. I... Alva... mistress... I can't... no, couldn't... I must do as she asks."
"You're her slave?" Cura asked.
"The vampire's curse." Carcette shuddered forebodingly. "The infected have much difficulty regaining their will against their master once they've fully turned." She stared off into the night sky. "If I succumb and drink the blood of man, I too will become like that. An immortal slave, driven by instinct to serve my master." She gestured towards Laelette and her behaviour.
Laelette was inconsolable, and Cura pitied her. "There has to be something we can do..." Her thoughts returned to Virkmund and Thonnir. No, Molag Bal. You are not going to win this time!
"Cura, I don't know..." Carcette began to speak, when Thonnir came running up the hillside with a torch in his hand.
"Laelette?!" Thonnir exclaimed in surprise before swiftly turning to rage. "You let go of her now!"
"I wouldn't let her go for your own safety." Carcette stated. "Have a closer look at your wife!"
She twisted Laelette around and showed her red eyes and pale flesh under his torchlight. "Ye Gods! She's a Vampire! Laelette! I thought she left to join the Stormcloaks. Ah! My poor Laelette!" He held his head in his hands and looked away in morose terror.
"Thonnir, my love..." Laelette reached out to him as far as she could with both hands bound. "I'm sorry..."
"Did you notice anything strange before she left?" Cura asked him curiously.
"She began to spend a lot of time with Alva. Yet just a week before, she despised her. In fact, the night she disappeared, she was supposed to meet Alva. Alva told me later that she never showed up. I never got to tell her good-bye." Thonnir mourned his wife in her undeath.
Cura felt that she would have to ease him in on the information for this one. "I think they may have met after all." She dropped a hint.
"You think Alva...but that means... Ye gods! You think Alva is a vampire?" Thonnir exclaimed in horror.
"It's a possibility we can't ignore." Cura asserted, already knowing the answer.
"No! You're wrong. You must be wrong. Laelette may have met her fate out in the marsh. I refuse to believe Alva had anything to do with this. There is no way you can prove it to the Jarl." Thonnir immediately left to Alva's defense. Perhaps she had more power than Cura realized.
"Alva is a vampire!" Serana exclaimed as she and Lucien came running up the muddy slope. "Her lackey tried to kill us when we investigated her house. She's got her own coffin, and her own Thrall. If you need more evidence, Lucien can hand over her Journal."
Lucien was huffing and puffing as he trudged through the moist dirt on the way up. "I've... huff, huff, got it right here!" He waved the red book up in the air, and then quickly proceeded to pass it to Cura, who read the contents within aloud, horrifying Thonnir and disgusting Cura.
"So, you were right. Go tell the Jarl. Hurry!" Thonnir instructed. He returned his saddened gaze to his tormented wife. "My boy's to grow up without a mother? What life is that? It's not right, I tell you." His voice broke as he spoke.
Laelette struggled in Carcette's superior grasp. "I have... to fix it! Thonnir... Virkmund... Helgi... Alva..." She sputtered as a madwoman.
"What do you mean?" Lucien asked Thonnir.
"We have to put her out of her misery... that's no way to exist." Thonnir wept lightly. "Gods, I wish you'd never shown this to me!" He held his torch closer to Laelette and gazed into her deep red, thirsty eyes. She was dangerous and was no longer the woman he loved. "Perhaps it would be best for Virkmund to know that his Mother died in the war... not... this."
He stepped even closer, examining her dark features. "She was here all along, and we never even knew." Thonnir could feel his heart wrench as he studied her macabre appearance. "Her beautiful face... filled with horror. Contorted like this... I can't bear to look at it." He pulled back and turned around. "I don't want to remember her like this. Can you cast an Illusion spell on me? I... want to remember her for who she was before; the vibrant woman from Koegria..."
"I'm going to take her to Falion." Carcette stated. "It may be unorthodox, but.. perhaps he may have a solution."
"Falion? To that freak?" Thonnir snapped. "No, he's dangerous! There's no telling what he'd do!"
"Could it truly be worse than this?" Cura gestured towards Laelette in her current state.
Thonnir turned around and began to walk away. "Fine. He's probably out by that creepy monument out in the southwestern swamp area. I'm... going to go home. I don't want to see what he does..."
"Thonnir!" Laelette shrieked out for her husband. "Thonnir, no! Don't leave me! Thonnir!" Her cries touched his heart, but it was already broken. He continued to disappear off down the hill.
"Keep...Carcette. are you sure about this?" Cura asked her former mentor. "He might practice Daedra Worship."
"Well, I suppose we could look at it one of two ways, Cura: if he does, perhaps it... perhaps it could be used for a good purpose. You've shown me that not all Daedra are malevolent. The second way we could see it is that I can't be offending Stendarr any more than I already have, becoming a creature of the night in the first place." Carcette laid out the facts. "You bring your findings to the Jarl, and I'll bring Laelette to Falion."
"All right. Good luck, Carcette." Cura wished her as she headed down the hill with Lucien and Serana.
Highmoon Hall was closed, technically, but the Guards were notified by Idgrod to allow Cura and her friends entry, due to their investigation. "You're really brave, you know, investigating that cursed house." one of the Guards remarked. "I hope all goes well for you."
"Thank you." Cura smiled courteously as she entered.
After some light treading through the Hall, Cura found the Jarl's bedchambers. She was aware that it was a strange location for an emergency meeting, but it had to do.
"My Jarl, I apologize for waking you up so late, but I've discovered a crucial piece of information; it was Alva who was responsible for the fire and murder." Cura stood at the doorway of the Jarl's bedchambers, observed by the guards.
Jarl Idgrod rubbed her elderly eyes and slowly pushed herself out of bed, unbothered by the disturbance. "Alva? Didn't think she had it in her."
"She wants to herd the town like cattle for a Master Vampire in the swamps." Cura stated.
"Yeah, and she manipulated Laelette and Hroggar using her dark powers into carrying out her will against theirs, so it couldn't be traced back to her." Lucien also informed.
"I suppose you have evidence to back this up?" Jarl Idgrod stated. "Can't go throwing around serious accusations like that without proof."
Cura handed the Journal to her solemnly. "Lucien and Serana found this hidden inside a coffin in her cellar. I suppose you'd recognize Alva's handwriting."
Jarl Idgrod began to read the journal, and her jaw dropped. "So, it's true. That traitorous bitch!"
Cura and her companions were taken aback by the Jarl's sudden slur.
The elder Jarl reacged into her endtable and handed Cura and her friends and handed each of them 300 coins in bags."Morthal owes you a debt. Here. You were promised a reward for solving the crime, but I need one more favor from you. Morthal is still in danger. The journal mentions Movarth, a master vampire I thought was destroyed a century ago. I'll gather together some able-bodied warriors to clean out Movarth's lair. They'll be waiting outside for you to lead them." She gestured with the nudge of her head towards the guard posted outside, and he quickly hurried outside.
Cura nodded. She was ready. "He's not going to get away with this. On my honour as a Vigilant of Stendarr, I promise you that."
Jarl Idgrod slowly sat down on her mattress. "I just hope your word is worth more than those other Vigilants who up and left us. But I ramble. I know it is. You have proven this much to me. Tread carefully, and may the Gods watch over your battles."
Cura looked to her friends for confidence. "All right. Let's go. We can do this!"
"You're awfully certain about that, Candle." Lucien stated as they walked through the Hall.
"Together we can do it." Serana told Lucien. "Movarth might be a powerful Vampire, but you've got a Daughter of Coldharbour on your team. And the Dragonborn."
"Maybe I should stay behind..." Lucien mused nervously. "I think I'll just slow you down."
"All right." Cura accepted his hesitance. "Just stay in the public eye, and don't. under any circumstances fall asleep until this business is concluded. Alva is still at large, and I don't want you to become a potential hostage... or worse still, a vampire."
When Lucien considered that potential fate, he changed his mind quickly. "Actually, I think I'll go with you. I'll just stay out of your way."
When the group made it outside, they were greeted by an arranged mob, invited by the Jarl's Guards. The mob was comprised of Lami, the white-haired alchemist, Jorgen, the exasperated woodsman, Benor the local mercenary, Lurbuk the orc Bard, and Thonnir, who appeared to be leading them, torch raised and an axe in his other hand.
"You want to help me kill the vampire?" Cura asked, surprised that he was so daring. It was quite a change from the mild man she had met earlier in the day.
"I want vengeance for my wife! Vengeance for Laelette! We're marching on Movarth's Lair whether you come with us or not." He snapped as he rushed ahead, prompting Cura and the others to follow the mob over the old stone bridge next to the lumber mill and out into the southwestern swamp.
Meanwhile, Carcette dragged Laelette out into the swamps with haste, and Stendarr's Little Helper followed suit. All the way, Laelette emitted cries of protest, going unheard. It took much willpower on Carcette's part to not snap her neck in frustration, but she managed to remain calm and calculating.
If there was even a window of hope. Carcette would take it. Perhaps she saw a little of herself in the woman. It was not hard to feel sorry for Virkmund, most of all. As Thonnir said, it was unjust for a child to grow up without a mother.
Mercy and Justice. The tenets of Stendarr. Opposition to the darkness.
Did the matter truly apply here, though? The woman was clearly far and out of her mind and thirsted for blood. Carcette herself was uncertain, but she did know that Stendarr showed her mercy, so perhaps she was in the right of this.
Eventually, after some searching, she came upon the recognizable form of Falion out in the swamp, placing incense on an odd monument of closer she got to it, the quicker she realized that these were Summoning Stones.
Falion immediately picked up on her presence. "You have no right to judge me." He stated defensively. "I've done more for Morthal than the Vigil ever has, and I intend to keep doing so." He continued to spread powders on the seal in front of him.
"I'm not here to judge you. I'm here on important matters." Carcette stated as she presented Laelette before him.
"Thonnir's wife, isn't she?" Falion asked, recalling the woman's disappearance. "Well, I guess you found her. I'm certain this isn't your handiwork... is it?" He was, of course, gesturing towards her vampiric appearance.
"It's...a long story, and no, I am not involved." Carcette informed him. "Is there anything that can be done for her?"
"Nothing you'd approve of, but the only way I know of requires the usage of a filled Black Soul Gem." Falion stated. "Fortunately for you, I happen to have a filled Black Soul Gem on hand... but don't worry, it came from a Necromancer in Fort Snowhawk, to the west. The fool managed to Soul Trap himself when his spell backfired during a sacrifice to Boethiah. But I won't bore you with that story."
Carcette was filled with great disgust, though she could not complain; after all, they lived by the sword, so they died by it. It was no great loss to Tamriel. She looked at Laelette, who continued to try and wrench free of her grasp and attempted to headbutt her.
Carcette moved her head out of the way and spun Laelette around, smacking her face into one of the stones. "I can't believe I'm actually agreeing to this..." Carcette sighed. "But can we do it?"
"I only have one Soul Gem." Falion restated. "I can only perform one cleansing ritual. Are you sure you don't want to do it instead? Might be your only chance, unless you're willing to Soul Trap someone yourself, of course."
Carcette stopped for a moment and thought about it. She had the opportunity to be cured, right here, right now, without directly compromising her values. If she were to kill Laelette here and now, ending her menace another way, she could take her place, and be freed of this curse once and for all. The constant hunger pangs would be no more... Cura would no longer fear her... she could perhaps rejoin the Vigil properly. Her life could fall back into place. She could feel the cold, the warmth, life again as intended, not in this abominable limbo.
But then a victim of another vampire would be condemned to Coldharbour, and her Husband would have to live with that horrific knowledge. Molag Bal was most likely watching, hoping that she would be selfish and place herself over an innocent child's mother. These days, he really seemed to relish in the fall of the Vigil. He was not going to have the last laugh. Not after what he put Cura through.
Carcette declined. "No. I'll find another way. I'll overlook your Daedric activities this time, because you're using them for a worthy cause, but never let the Vigil catch you with Black Soul Gems."
Falion nodded. "Well, it's your choice. Now, let's begin. Bring Laelette into the center of the Summoning Stones and try to keep her still, all right?"
Author's Note: For this segment, I highly recommend playing the "Pellar's Ritual theme" from the Witcher 3. Thanks again for reading my story! You're all awesome! ^^ And, just in time for October 31st! Happy Halloween!
When she did as he instructed, the Conjurer applied strange white ashes to his face, creating a sort of meandering pattern along his forehead and cheeks, reminiscent of the Reachmen's rituals.
Carcette began to feel uncomfortable, but she kept a firm grasp on Laelette, who thrashed about. "Let.. me go!" The vampiress hissed in protest. "I have to return... to Alva..."
Suddenly, a vicious wind engulfed the area, causing trees to bend in positions around them, almost creating a perfect circle in their reaching angles.
Small whispers could be heard around them as the veil between the living and the dead was torn. Spectral figures loomed around in the swamp, offering a cold chill to the damp air.
Blue whirling light spun around Carcette and Laelette, forming a column high into the sky above. The air was static around them, and neither dared move into the whirlwind. Carcette had never witnessed such a thing before, and evoked Stendarr in her heart while the Daedric influenced passed around her.
Falion's eyes went white, and black veins began to swell at the corners of his eyes as he held up the Black Soul Gem and began to cantate. "I call upon the Oblivion Realms, the home of those who are not our ancestors. Answer my plea! As in death there is new life, in Oblivion there is a beginning for that which has ended. I call forth that power! Accept the soul that we offer! As the sun ends the night, end the darkness of this soul, return life to the creature you see before you!"
Laelette began to tremble and shake in Carcette's grasp, and with a strike of pure energy, she felt her heartbeat return. It began to pulsate, and her fangs slowly receded into natural canines, and colour began to return to her face. She slowly began to slump to the floor, overwhelmed by the return of life.
Carcette looked at the woman before her in surprise, seeing the transformation occur before her eyes.
Laelette was on all fours against the stone as she gasped for air. "Huff.. hoof... what... what's happened...? What have you done to me?!" She slowly stood back up and gazed at her flush hands again in shock, realizing that her fingernails were back to their natural length, as well. "I... can breathe again... My... my thoughts are clearer... I'm... I'm free! Alva! That... evil bitch!" She clenched her fists. "She deceived me and brought me to her cellar... offered to let me try some of her new wine... then she bit me! And then... everything else that occurred..."
Carcette attempted to calm her. "You're alive now, that's all that matters."
Laelette glared at her and backed away slowly. "You're a vampire, as well! But you're dressed like a Vigilant of Stendarr! What in Oblivion is going on in this town?"
"A lot more than you realize." Falion told her. "Now, return home to your son. He will be overjoyed to see you again."
"Virkmund, my boy!" Laelette exclaimed. "How long have I been... gone?"
"Four Months." Falion informed her.
"So much lost time..." Laelette stated sadly. "And my dear Thonnir... where has he gone?"
"Perhaps to your house." Carcette stated. "Steer clear of Alva if you're returning to town."
"Alva... why is she still alive?" Laelette snarled. "She should die for all she's wrought! For what she had me do to Hroggar's Family... for everything she's put this town through!"
"Alva is also being manipulated." Carcette told her.
"Movarth, yes." Laelette narrowed her eyes. "His lair is not too far from here, just in a grotto eastward. Alva is no mere puppet to Movarh... she is a willing accomplice. Unless you destroy her Morthal will never be safe!"
Falion heard enough. "All right. I'll investigate Alva. You can run along, now. I need time to pack up."
Carcette whistled and Stendarr's Little Helper came running over to her. "Bring Laelette to the town safely. I have business to attend to."
The husky yapped happily and left her side, instead walking towards Laelette.
"Finally, someone who knows how to treat people properly." Laelette remarked as she followed the friendly canine through the bog.
Carcette headed eastward, in the hopes of finding Movarth's Lair, which turned out to be quite easy, since the pungent odours of blood and rot stung the air all around it. As she approached, she saw figures wielding torches in the shadows approach, and bid herself to hide for the moment.
Cura and her allies approached the Lair, and Lucien retched when the smells hit him. "Ohhh, wah! That's... that's vile. That's just disgusting!" The pretty boy complained as he buried his nose and mouth inside of his shirt collar.
Cura noted the skeletal remains outside the cave, coated in blood, as well as the drying blackened blood smeared on the stone and in the mud, coagulating into a thick sludge.
It did not take long for the supposedly angry mob to begin to have second thoughts.
Lami, the town alchemist, lowered her torch as she gazed upon the skeletal remains. "Um...this place looks dangerous."
Jorgen, the lumberjack added in. "And it looks creepy, too."
Benor, the mercenary, shuddered. "And its full of vampires?"
Thonnir snapped at the lot of them. "Cowards! We must kill the vampires! We have to make them pay!"
Lurbuk, the orc bard pointed at Cura. "Of course. But why not let her go in first?"
"Wow, how very gentlemanly of you." Serana mocked the orc. "Just throw her to the wolves, right?"
"W-we have to go into the vampire's lair alone?" Lucien shuddered, clenching tightly his garlic wreath that he wore around his neck.
"They may be cowards, but I'm not. I'll go with you." Thonnir expressed with scorn against the townsfolk. "This cowardice is why these vampires were able to get this far."
Carcette came around from behind the tree nearby, startling the frightened mob further, and Cura included.
"Carcette!" Cura exclaimed. "Did it work? Could Falion help her?"
Carcette nodded. "Thonnir, you'd best return to your home. Your wife will be waiting for you. Falion was able to return the life she lost."
"What...? Truly?" Thonnir's eyes widened. "Is she... all right?"
"Bitter, yes, but alive." Carcette stated.
Thonnir looked to Cura and her allies. "You know... the lot of you are the best thing to happen to Morthal in ages. I just want you to know that!" He quickly turned around and ran back into the bog, past the fleeing mob and towards the town.
Cura, Lucien, Serana, and Carcette were left there, in front of the Vampire's Lair.
"I... don't know if I'm cut out for this after all, Candle." Lucien began to have doubts again.
"Ugh." Serana snorted. "Would you rather have to walk alone through the bog to reach town, or wait outside the lair?"
Lucien looked about anxiously, feeling a chill in the air. He quickly shook his head. "No, no. I... I guess I'm better off with you all. You will guard me, won't you, Candle?"
Cura rolled her eyes. "Yes. With my life, Lucien. Nobody is going to die on my watch; I'm going to make sure of it!"
"Except for the enemies, right?" Lucien confirmed.
"They're going to die in droves." Cura unsheathed Dawnbreaker as she narrowed her eyes at the darkness before her. "Let's go!"
Leading the charge into the darkness, Cura rushed ahead, followed by Lucien, Serana, and Carcette.
The cleanse has only just begun.