We’re in Morthal, at the Moorside Inn, and I’m writing this while I wait for it to get dark so I can go to the cemetery to play Hide & Seek with Helgi, the ghost of a little girl who I’m positive was murdered by her father.

  It’s been a busy day.

  It started quietly enough. As we were packing up to leave Labyrinthian, I could hear fighting outside. We broke camp and rushed out to see three dead travelers, along with the frost troll they’d fallen to. We bested the troll (it was very wounded) and left. Luckily, the road wasn’t far down the hill.

  The worst part is that we were absolutely FREEZING. The snow up there was wet and dripping, and sort of crunchy like an ice treat you get from the street vendors in the summer. It melted as soon as it hit us, and soaked into my boots like rain. I quickly cut more firewood, and we started a small fire. A passing traveler even stopped to join us in the heat.

  Once we’d warmed up and dried off some, we went on our way. We stopped to investigate a small tomb beside the road where I found a book for a shelter spell (I can’t wait to try it!). Aside from that, the walk was uneventful and we were soon in Morthal.

  As we walked down an embankment, which wasn’t an actual road but clearly used as one, a courier ran up to me. He handed me a letter from the Jarl of Falkreath. She’d heard of me, and wants my help. She’s offering a reward, along with the right to purchase a plot of land in her hold to build on.

  I have no idea what I would do with two houses, but building my own home might be nice. I wonder how much it costs. Would I have to do the building myself, or is there a crew to hire?

  At any rate, I was pondering the idea as I walked into the town, and saw a group of people arguing with another man on the steps of the Jarl’s home. I was too far away to hear much, but they were going on about a dangerous wizard and misfortune in the town. I asked one of the men what was going on, and he complained about needing a leader instead of some mystic.

  The guards didn’t have anything useful to add, so we went to explore a bit. Morthal borders a swamp, and half of the buildings are along walkways that ring the edge of the water. There’s an apothecary, a mill, and an inn, along with a guard house. Sadly no trader or smith to take the armor we picked up this morning. That’ll have to wait. There’s a handful of homes, with a burned-out house a bit back of the Jarl’s – It happened recently.

  I’ll explain the fire in a bit. Before I learned about it, and while I was exploring (Morthal is small, so there’s not much to see) a small boy running past stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me. It was creepy – It felt like he was looking right through me! He didn’t greet me or anything. He just said that I wasn’t like the others, like anyone in Morthal or even in Skyrim.

  Then, he ran off.

  A slim young woman was following him, and stopped to apologize to me for her little brother Joric’s strangeness. She said her family’s gifts were strong in him. I was curious, and she explained that he has visions, like the Jarl. I looked to Lydia to see her reaction, but she seemed unconcerned. Did the other Jarls know? Maybe this was common knowledge. It certainly was in town.

  She then asked if I could deliver a letter to Danica of the Temple of Kynareth in Whiterun for her. The Priestess had helped with Joric’s… Situation (I’m not sure what to call it. Clearly he’s not mad. He knew right away when he saw me. I’m not wearing a sign that says “Dragonborn” and I don’t tell people. The boy Knew.) and she wanted to write her to let her know how he’s doing.

  I’ll have to go back when I done talking with the Thalmor – If we live - So of course I agreed to help.

  After that, I went into the alchemist’s shop. Lami is a nice lady, and has a similar view to potion-making as I do! And by that I mean – Try everything and see what works. She asked if I ever find a copy of “Song of the Alchemists“ to bring it to her – She’d lost her old one. I agreed. It sounds like a good read for me, too!

  Lami had a lot of ingredients that I hadn’t tried yet, and I spent more than I’d intended just buying ingredients to study. Lydia scolded me a little for that, but I did get some recipes, too.

  We were both getting hungry, so we went to the inn for some food. The innkeeper, Jonna, explained that business was dead lately, and was happy to see new faces. I also met Lurbuk, an Orc bard who’s pretty good with the instruments. I asked around about what happened with the burned house, and was told to go talk to the Jarl. So, we got ourselves some food and drink, then headed across the way.

  Jarl Idgrold is very old, but looks strong and bright for her age. She fixed me with that same stare as the boy, and greeted me in verse. We spoke a bit, and she explained that the house had burned down recently, tragically killing a mother and her child. The husband, Hroggar, blamed his wife, and said that she’d spilled bear fat into the fire. The ashes were still warm when he married Alva, and went to live with her.

  She caught my knowing nod at this. I’d heard this story dozens of times before back in the Capitol. A few of my friends growing up had mothers (and one father) who met the same sort of fate, except they’d simply been abandoned instead of killed. Jarl Idgrold smiled at us, and I caught the creak of Lydia’s armor as she crossed her arms tightly.

  She asked us to investigate the ruins and talk to the husband about it. Everyone else in town is too scared to look for clues. They say the house is bad luck or cursed.

  Bad luck is the last thing I need, but I usually make my own, so I don’t care. We agreed, and set out for the house.

  It’s at the end of the walkway that goes past the inn. It looked as normal as a ruin could, and I went to look at the fireplace, where the bear fat was spilled to start the fire. I was looking for burn marks on the hearth when I felt a chill wind, colder than usual, blow through, and heard Lydia take a quick step back. I turned around, and saw Helgi’s ghost.

  I asked Helgi about the fire, and she said that she was asleep when it got hot and smoky. She was scared, so she hid, and then everything got cold. I asked who set the fire, but she demanded to play Hide and Seek. She promised to tell me everything once I found her, but can’t play during the day because of “The Other One.”

  I think she’d afraid of the Other One. I think I should be, too.

  I told the Jarl about her, and she suggested that I check the cemetery. Yaaaaay… Wandering a cemetery at night when there’s a murderer, something called “The Other One” and possibly an evil wizard wandering around? That sounds like a GREAT time.

  Seriously, there HAS to be something wrong with me.

  We talked to the other townsfolk after we left the hall, and most of them were angry that the Jarl would let Falion, a wizard, move in. I wasn’t able to find him, and the door of his house was locked. Maybe he’s out gathering ingredients for potions? I WAS able to find Hroggar, though, and asked him about the fire.

  He said it was “a shame.”

  I hope he drowns in Daedra piss. It took every shred of self-control I had in me to not set his face on fire. Even Lydia, stone-faced as she usually is, sneered. He said it like he was talking about bad weather, or a broken shoe. He assured me that he was fine, because he had Alva to take care of him, now. Then he asked if I had any firewood to sell him. I said I didn’t, and left.

  After that, we ran into another man, Thonnir, who kept asking if we’d seen his wife, Laelette. She’s missing, and he’s desperate to find her.

  Now there’s mysterious disappearances to add to the list of strange goings-on in Morthal. Lovely.

  So, we’re waiting for nightfall to play Hide and Seek with Helgi, and trying not to drink too much while we grumble about her poor excuse for a father.

  ----------

  Well, I’m exhausted, so I’ll make this quick. We went to the cemetery to find Helgi, and were immediately set upon by a vampire! We killed her, and Helgi’s dug-up coffin was nearby. It was still closed, thankfully.

  Helgi explained that the Other One (the vampire lady we’d just killed) wanted to have her as her own, and tried to take her right before the fire. To make her like she was, but it didn’t work, and that she was still trying to do it, even after the fire.

  Helgi was telling me how tired she was when Thonnir ran up to see what the commotion was. He promptly fell to pieces when he saw the vampire. It was his missing wife, Laelette. Once he calmed down somewhat, I asked him about her, and he said Alva told him that Laelette joined the Stormcloaks. I asked him if she and Alva had been close, and he said it was very strange; for the longest time they hadn’t been. Laelette couldn’t stand her, but suddenly they started being the best of friends. Then Laelette vanished, and Alva said she had left for the war.

  Hmm. That’s not suspicious at all.

  We went to Alva’s to investigate, and, well… Maybe I should have waited until morning and spoken with the Jarl, first, but I was tired and didn’t want to wait. I picked the lock, but Hroggar was still awake and right on the other side. He came at us with an axe, and I ran off. He gave chase, and Lydia cut him down.

  Oh no. How tragic.

  The guards didn’t seem to really notice or even care that he was dead, and he had a house key on him. Of course I took everything he had and left his naked body in the ditch. It’s better than he deserves.

  We went down to the basement and found Alva’s coffin, along with some very fresh blood stains and human bones. She had left her journal in her coffin, so I read it.

  She wrote about coming here to Morthal with the mission of helping her master, Movarth, take over the town. The townsfolk would be an infinite supply of blood for the vampire clan, like cattle, and the people would also protect them during the day when they were vulnerable. Alva had almost gotten all the guards under her control! She chose Hroggar to be her personal protector, and took Laelette to be her servant. Laelette wasn’t supposed to burn the house down – That was an accident – but was starting to lose her mind. She was convinced that Helgi could be turned, regardless of her body’s state.

  I’ve heard that sometimes the stress of becoming a vampire can drive people insane. Considering that Laelette was trying to turn a charred corpse, I’d say that’s what was happening to her.

  I feel bad for Thonnir, but it’s probably for the best that she’s dead. I know that people can be cured of vampirism, but if she’d already gone mad, turning her back probably wouldn’t fix the insanity.

  Either way, Laelette is dead, Hroggar is dead, and I feel dead, so I’m going to sleep. I’ll show the Jarl Alva’s journal tomorrow.

  I didn’t think I’d end the day a vampire hunter, but here we are.

  This sort of thing seems to be happening to me a lot lately.

  We woke up a bit later than usual, had breakfast, then went to tell the Jarl what happened. I showed her the journal, and she was furious! Movarth is an ancient vampire that threatened Morthal in the past, and he’s supposed to be dead. He’s probably come back here to finish the job. She asked if I’d be willing to hunt him down. She knows where his lair is, and said she’d send people with me if I agreed.

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  Lydia and I exchanged glances. Fighting Laelette wasn’t easy, but if we had help, why not?

  I agreed, and we left to fight him.

  I was expecting a small group of guards, but instead there were townsfolk outside, armed with axes and daggers?! Lydia reminded me that Alva had control over many of the guards. They couldn’t be trusted.

  Ah.

  But they knew where Movarth’s old lair was. He used to hole up in a cave shockingly close to the town. I’m sure if I climbed on top of the stony outcrop that covers the mouth of the cave, I could see the whole place – It was only a few minutes walk!

  It’s not hard to miss, though. There’s a faint but still obvious path, with stone piles covered in blood and bones here and there along it. Might as well have added “Vampire Den” to the signpost.

  Lydia and I went into the cave alone. We told everyone else to keep watch and slay anything that came out that wasn’t us.

  The cave spiraled down almost right away, and there were two of those horrible giant spiders guarding the way down. They were easy, and as we went deeper, we found a number of humans, the vampires’ thralls, milling about. One man was burying bodies in the floor of the cave – Clearly victims the vampires had fed on.

  As we went, I decided to use more magic. I’m not that fast at healing magic just yet, so I tried to stay back as well as I could. The quarters were pretty tight, and I couldn’t just throw fire around like I’m used to. Lydia’s a bit mad that I keep burning her, anyway. So, I tried raising the thralls we killed, and it worked! They weren’t that great in a fight, by they got a few hits in and were mostly good as a distraction so that Lydia could come in with her sword!

  She hates fighting beside the zombies, but she admitted that she preferred that to getting her armor scorched all the time.

  We found Movarth in a large central room with a dining table and a tall, throne-like chair at the head of it. He was sitting there, with three or four vampires around him. It was hard to tell, because all Oblivion broke loose when I blasted two columns of fire at them.

  They came at us, and I pulled back into the tunnel, then up a narrow wooden catwalk that let me blast them from above while Lydia and the zombie thrall hacked at them from below. The vampires did have weapons, but mostly relied on magic to fight us.

  They weren’t prepared for Sparks! I learned that Sparks can damage your magicka reserves, and I guess they either didn’t know that, or never imagined that a mage would be stupid enough to come after them.

  Good thing I have Lydia around. I’m allowed to be stupid!

  It was a hard fight – I had to kick back more than a few healing and magicka potions as we went along – But we did it! I took as much as we could carry and made sure Lydia was healed before we went to explore the rest of the cave.

  She wasn’t sure why we had to. We’d killed Movarth and had more loot than we could carry, but we hadn’t found Alva. Alva still had control of the guards. Leaving her alive would leave the town vulnerable. With her master dead, she was the one in charge, and there would be no stopping her.

  We found Alva in a small cavern in the back that was set up with beds and dressers. She fought like a wildcat, but the wolf familiar I summoned took her attention while Lydia and I set on her. My magic was mostly spent, so I used the Axe of Whiterun.

  Should I be using a symbol of office? Maybe not, but it’s enchanted with Sparks, and it works great against vampires trying to drain away our life force.

  At any rate, we got rid of her, and the few remaining thralls infesting the place.

  As we left, Helgi’s ghost reappeared at the exit of the cave. She thanked us for helping her, and that she could hear her mother calling to her. Then, she disappeared.

  Outside, I was glad to see that no one was hurt, so we all went back to town to report to the Jarl. She was pleased with me, and said that if I managed to help her citizens out, she would make me a Thane. I had already helped quite a few, and she needed me to fulfill one more task for someone, whatever it may be.

  I don’t want to stick around for that – We have a prisoner to rescue – But I went to talk to Falion and see what’s up with him. He was home this time! He’s a bit of a grouch, but I can’t blame him. He said that everyone else in town thinks he eats babies, sacrifices children, blah blah… Typical stuff from people who don’t trust magic. He doesn’t seem to like the College of Winterhold – I wonder why?

  But you’d think people in town would calm down about him. He has a… Daughter? Apprentice? Anyway, a young orphan girl named Agni lives with him, and she’s very excited to learn magic. I bought a bunch of spells from him, and even though we couldn’t unload the armor we’d picked up, I was able to sell the magic robes and such that we grabbed in the vampire den. I even got to try his enchanting table!

  I couldn’t enchant anything, but I did sacrifice a weapon we picked up that neither of us are going to use so I could learn the enchantment.

  It was getting late, so we left for the inn. On the way there, we ran into a member of the Dawnguard, and he invited me to join their vampire hunting crew.

  I mean, it sounds profitable, hunting vampires. There were a fair number of very valuable magic items, and they tend to have a lot of gold from looting their victims. I said I’d think about it, and he marked the location of their headquarters on my map.

  But a strange thing happened just now – Grom, Jarl Idgrod’s housecarl (I think) was drinking at a table, and I sat down to talk with him because he looked worried. I wondered if he felt bad about the guards falling under Alva’s command, or maybe a bit guilty about how everything went down.

  He said he was worried about the Jarl. Her visions were getting more frequent, he said – stronger, too - and that he was afraid the people might do something or that she would finally be lost to them, and thus unfit to rule. Maybe she was already unfit? Maybe it was time for her to step down?

  I didn’t know what to say, but then he handed me a letter and asked me to deliver it to a man he knew in Solitude, Captain Aldis. For his eyes only. I didn’t want to get involved, but the only reason anything got done about the vampires and the murders was because people who weren’t superstitious (me and Lydia) came in and listened to her. She may be old, and she might get visions, but she’s not mad, any more than that boy is.

  So I agreed, and of course I read the letter as soon as he left the building. It’s short, and says that it’s getting worse, and that it’s time to act.

  I thought so. This letter’s not going anywhere. Morthal’s had enough upheaval and tragedy. The last thing it needs is a coup.

  We are headed to Solitude, though. It’s the next hold on the road to Northwatch Keep, and Lydia says that we’ll be able to sell our goods there, no problem! She said it’s bigger than Whiterun, and home to the High King or Queen of Skyrim.

  I’m excited to get on our way, so I’m going to turn in, and we’ll be on our way tomorrow.

  Solitude sure knows how to make a gal feel welcome.

  First thing we see when we come through the gate is a beheading!

  Getting here wasn’t too exciting, although we did have to lay low under some rocks to hide from a dragon, and we found a shack in the woods with a dead man in it. His journal said that Rockjoint finally got him, and that he hoped Meeko would be all right. No idea who Meeko is, but the place only looked big enough for one person, so who knows?

  We also passed through a town called Dragon Bridge, named after the large bridge that leads to the town with a dragon head carved on it. Creative.

  So, we come into the city, and see a man named Roggvir being beheaded. Turns out that Ulfric Stormcloak challenged Torygg, the High King of Skyrim, to a battle for the throne. Ulfric won, and killed Torygg. Roggvir was beheaded for opening the gates and allowing Ulfric to escape.

  Hmm. If the match was well and truly a fair one, why would Ulfric run?

  Anyway, I learned all this by talking to some of the people gathered to watch. Opinions were mixed, but one man, Sorex Vinius, was louder than the rest. He said that Roggvir was a bully, and used to taunt him all the time, especially when it came to girls.

  He then asked me if I would make a little delivery for him. Jarl Elisif’s steward, Falk Firebeard, ordered a bottle of imported Stros M'Kai rum, and he didn’t have time to rum it over to the Blue Palace. It wasn’t very far – He gave me directions – so I agreed.

  The steward has good taste. If he wasn’t expecting it, I’d take it for myself!

  On the way, we could hear a blacksmith, so I followed the sound up a curved walkway and found the forge, run by a man named Beirand. I was finally able to trade all the armor and weapons we’d been carrying, and there was a fletcher nearby, so I got us some more steel arrows. The fletcher scoffed at me when I asked for arrows fit for taking down a dragon.

  Given his attitude, part of me hopes he gets an order for those from the army, but part of me hopes he never has to think about it.

  We could see the Blue Palace from where we were, so we went back down to the main town level and started on our way. We walked by the Bard’s College and could hear discordant music through the windows, which were thankfully shut. Outside we saw students and teachers going on about practicing and whatnot.

  The Blue Palace is… Blue enough, I suppose, for the name. It’s pretty – but still easily defensible, Lydia pointed out - and looks the most palace-like of any building I’ve seen so far in Skyrim. It’s very elegant on the inside, with two curving stairs leading up to the court area.

  We walked in on a man asking Jarl Elisif for help regarding trouble at Dragon Bridge. Travelers were disappearing, and dark forces were feared to be at work in Wolfskull Cave. She was going to send some troops, but her steward, the man I was there for, cautioned against it – Imperial sensitivity, again. She listened to him, and he offered to handle it.

  She then went to speaking about taxes with some other members of her court, and I got the attention of Firebeard. I delivered the rum, complimenting his good taste, and got some gold for my trouble. I asked about the cave – smelling more gold – and he confessed that he was going to just ignore it! Probably bandits, and he was probably right, but Lydia and I had just taken out a vampire den a half day’s walk from here.

  Last thing we need are vampires this close to a major city. If they got in, who knows what would happen?

  I offered to take care of it, and Lydia shot me a look. I knew I’d get an earful later – and I was right, we were on a rescue mission, after all - But oh, well. I didn’t promise to take care of it right away! The cave isn’t going anywhere.

  He did say that there’s a connection to Potema, the Wolf Queen. I had heard tales of her when I was little. I remember that she was said to be a fearsome necromancer, with an incredible thirst for power. She’s been dead for hundreds of years, but the cave was said to be one of her old hideouts

  Well, she wasn’t a vampire like Movarth, so she’s not coming back to reclaim her old haunt. I’m siding with Falk on this. I think it’s bandits using superstition to keep people away.

  It was getting late, so I left the court, and we walked back to the main part of town. We passed a trader, Bits and Pieces, and hopped in to sell off the rest of what we’d picked up. The shopkeeper, Sayma, is a nice lady, who mentioned that Beirand is her husband. She complained about never seeing him because of all the orders from the army stationed in Castle Dour.

  Ah – So that’s what that big castle is for.

  As we headed for the inn – The Winking Skeever, no points on guessing why it’s named that – I literally ran into a Bosmer lady who insulted my clothes.

  I mean, she’s not wrong. I’m wearing my magician’s robes, traveling gear, weapons and armor. I’m clearly not out for a social call. What else does she expect?

  She said that I’d need to dress better if I planned on going to the Blue Palace (oops) but I decided to humor her and asked what I should wear, then? When she realized I was serious, she said that she ran Radiant Raiment, a clothing store here in the city.

  By the Eight, I could have wept with joy! I haven’t seen a clothing store anywhere in Skyrim. I’ve been wearing what I take off dead bodies. Yes, they’re clean, but still – Clothes without scorch marks or hastily-patched holes from arrows or greatsword slashes would be nice.

  She said that if I wore one of her dresses to court and told Jarl Elisif where I got it, that she’d pay me to wear it, and let me keep the outfit. I agreed in an instant. Pay me to wear new clothes? I’m in!

  Admittedly, these clothes aren’t my favorite, but they’re new and they don’t have the musty smell or weirdly smooth spots where the previous owner rubbed at them that never quite match up with where your elbows or knees are. I’ll take them over what I’ve looted any day.

  I do want to set out as soon as possible, so once I collect for wearing fancy clothes in front of the Jarl, we’ll stock up and be on our way. It looks like we have a long, cold walk ahead of us.

  Well, we’re still in Solitude.

  Woke up this morning to a terrible storm, and I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not hike up and over a mountain, cold and wet from a thunderstorm.

  Decided to stay one more day, so I checked out the apothecary, Angeline’s Aromatics. Angeline is an elderly woman, and very sweet. She reminds me of Miss Agrippina. She asked me to see if I can find word of her daughter, Fura, who joined the Imperial army. She was stationed in Whiterun. I hadn’t met her, sadly. She asked me to go to Captain Aldis and ask him if he knew where she was or how she was doing.

  I went to Castle Dour and saw him drilling his men in the courtyard, ignoring the pouring rain.

  I asked him about Fura, and he was reluctant, but I managed to persuade him. He admitted that she had died fighting a group of Stormcloaks a little while ago. He’d just been trying to find a good time or way to tell Angeline, but now that I knew, he was leaving that task to me.

  Typical. He’s plenty brave with a sword in his hand, but he can’t face a mother’s grief.

  No way in Oblivion I’m handing over Grom’s letter to that coward.

  So, I went back to the shop, and delivered the terrible news to her. She said she couldn't thank me for it, which I understood. She turned away, and we left. Her niece, Vivienne, was outside. She thanked me for helping her aunt, but I could only nod.

  Divines, I need another drink. I hardly did anything today, but I think that was the hardest thing I've done since I got to this icy wasteland.

  On the way back to the Winking Skeever, I ran into a beggar on the street, Noster Eagle-Eye. He said he was one of the best scouts in the legion, back in the day. He’d lost his helmet somewhere while on one of his scouting missions. He marked on my map where he’d lost it, and I gave him a coin and said that if I ever came across it, I’d return it to him.

  Now to spend the rest of the dreary day nice and warm here at the inn. We’ll start out tomorrow.

  -------

  I just heard the bard lady here sing a song about ME! They have a song about the Dragonborn! It’s called “The Dragonborn Comes” and I said to Lydia “Yeah but it’s been a while,” and she snorted ale out her nose!

  I’d have a lot of wine. I’m sleeping now.