Skyrim Unarmed Build - Part 7: Sinister Places, Sinister People

JOURNAL ENTRY 7

I am not going to rush off after this Ysolda just yet. There is a mystery in this town I want solved. I overhear Jouane (Rorik's friend) telling one of the twin girls in town: "What we do, the things I teach you. The others wouldn't understand." Suspicious. I also can't help but notice how most of the town is male - 9 people, only 3 of which are woman: Reldith and the twin girls, Sissel and Britte. I do some snooping and find a soul gem beside a book on deadra in Rorik/Jouane's home, hidden behind their home bar. I also find a common soul gem in Reldith's house but no one elses. She's a farmer, not an enchanter. What use would she have for such a thing? Could Rorik and Jouane be trading fertile woman for fertile land in some dark demonic bargain?

I try speaking with Jouane about the town's crops but he insists there is no secret to their success, just good fortune. I shadow him for a bit; he strolls around town, checking on the farms. At sundown I catch Sissel entering Rorik/Jouane's manor alone and follow her inside. She says both her father and twin sister abuse her, so Jouane has been teaching her useful magic. Oh... maybe there was nothing to this after-all and I've just been stalking these farmers like a creep. Then again, I overhear Rorik mention how he "can't help wondering if some other force is at work here."

I do some exploring in the surrounding tundra and find a rat infested hut a little ways up a hill. I think the owner kept them as pets but died in his sleep. That, or the poison bottle on the dinner table played some role in his demise. There isn't much left to see, so I plan to hit the holds I haven't visited yet starting with Morthal, then Solitude, Dawnstar, and finally Falkreath.

Halfway to Morthal I take out a bandit camp that was hustling travelers for "toll money" and discover the bandit chief's hidden stash of cash - a whopping 80 Septims.

A little further down the road I discover an overturned wagon with two dead caraveneers that chose to travel the dangerous roads against their better judgment. Not that I'm any better, because seconds later I'm assaulted by a Dark Brotherhood assassin. The organization is simultaneously dumb enough to carry around incriminating evidence signed by their leader and smart enough not to list the name of the person that ordered the hit.

I get very turned around and stumble across a stray pooch named Meeko who then runs off into the woods. Meeko's original owner, a hermit, died of Rockjoint, so I take the pup to my home in Markarth where he'll be safe and then continue on to Morthal. I find a crowd gathered around the Jarl's home, complaining about a wizard that just moved into town. There are also rumors swirling about a house that mysteriously caught fire, killing the woman and child inside. The husband/father of the family survived, marrying a woman named Alva the very next day. Alva doesn't seem too bothered by the gossip, saying she is "lucky to have a man so devoted" to her.

I fight Brenor at the tavern, then spend a while listing to the establishments merry orc bard.

Checklist:

~~Mikael (Whiterun)~~
~~Uthgerd the Unbroken (Whiterun)~~
~~Rolff Stone-Fist (Windhelm)~~
~~Cosnach (Markarth)~~
~~Chief Burguk (Dushnikh Yal Stronghold)~~
~~Chief Larak (Mor Khazgur Stronghold)~~
Chief Mauhulakh (Narzulbur Stronghold)
Chief Yamarz (Largashbur Stronghold)
~~Benor (Morthal)~~
~~Borkul the Beast (Markarth)~~
~~Dryston (Markarth)~~
Hofgrir Horse-Crusher (Riften)

The innkeep says she would throw the bard out for fear of loosing patrons, if she had any. I don't know, I kinda like this guy and so does Alva. She even creepily watches over him as he sleeps.

I don't know about the wizard but there is definitely something more to this house fire. Sifting through the charred remains I discover a ghost child that leads me to Laelette, the vampire that set the fire. Laelette's husband (not a vampire) tells me she was close to Alva (a vampire). Fortunately for me, Alva (like everyone in Tamriel) is great about taking notes. She lays out the full details of her master plan to turn the entire town into human cattle in her journal, along with the location of Movarth, her master. Alva's journal is all the proof I need to convince the town to rally a ragtag group of fighters for an assault on the vampire lair. A small army of ill-equipped alchemists, bards, and mill workers race to the lair's entrance, only to chicken out and return home. I clear the vampire cave alone and with ease. The human thralls, probably because they were melee fighters, actually took more hits to bring down than the vampires. And once again Raan has contracted Sanguinare Vampiris.