A nice touch with the icy, slippery stones. (That's something the game never gives you.) If it were colder, the pressure of her feet wouldn't melt the surface and make it slippery, which reinforces what Stenvar says about it not being winter yet.

Ha! Nice jest about mages in a burial crypt at Saarthal. Poor Lili!

Lili’s knowledge of the healing side of Alchemy shines in this episode, as does her quiet way of sharing it with Quintus. From this update alone I would think highly of her.

Slippery, icy, and snow in the air! I know to brew some tea and grab a sweater before reading!

I confess to a shiver of apprehension when Lili was willing to go out at night in Windhelm with neither Sten nor Star. Thankfully the lads would have none of it. There are too many strange smells about!

@SubRosa: I loved your remark about hot baths and warm soup, followed by "Hopefully no one will be murdered. . . " Like you I've been watching way too many mysteries (Monsieur Spade, Poirot, and a few take offs of Sherlock Holmes). I always thought Nurelion was too ill to really lay it on the player when he got the cracked vial, which is what I tried to convey here. But yes, Quintus is a good man, and yes, Lili has been doing alchemical healing for longer than the kid has been alive.

@Acadian: I spent quite a bit of time picturing the ground floor/cellar of Candlehearth, and thinking there's got to be more to it than just the check in counter, a couple of sleeping rooms and a kitchen. So I decided there was a cellar with space for bedrolls (including Sten's), a large boiler that provided not only heating but also hot water, and plumbing to the kitchen as well as a communal toilet at the back. I've always wondered how people moved those big copper/zinc/tin tubs in the old days, then filled them up. So a tub on rollers was my solution to this quandary. I hope you had furs and tea ready when you read this!

@ghastley: Thanks, I always thought those paving stones looked pretty damn slippery. And you're right, we're still in Last Seed (August in our RL calendar).

@Grits: I'm glad both you and SubRosa picked up on the game comment about mages in a burial crypt. I had been waiting for the perfect place to use it! And yes, Lili is very kind - as long as you treat her with respect. And of course, both Sten and Star are perfect gentlemen and would not let Lili out alone in order to seek their own comfort!

And we have returned to Windhelm with sad news for Nurelion. Now we move on to the next quest - for Oengul the blacksmith has mentioned a certain blade in a certain cave.

***************************

Turdas 21 Last Seed - A Walk South

Ma,

That trip to Forsaken Cave turned out to be a mixed bag. That relic we were supposed to get was already badly damaged when we found it, so the client didn’t pay much for our efforts. Fortunately we also found what Boss said are high value alchemical ingredients, so we collected those and sold them to the alchemist’s apprentice for a good price. Also the apprentice had more appreciation for what we went through and gave us five hundred drakes for our efforts. Altogether we got six hundred and thirty drakes, so I’ll be sending along half of my share with this letter - one hundred and sixty drakes. That should go a long way toward stocking up on supplies for the winter before the snow flies.

We have another job to do today, to recover an ancient sword for the blacksmith. He’s already done so much for us, it’s fair we help him out this way. It’s to the south, so hopefully it will be warm enough for Boss!

As they passed the stablemaster’s house at the end of the bridge from Windhelm, Lilisfina paused, her gaze on the stables below. “Stennvar, why were you looking at that horse the other day?”

“Was I?” Sten stopped beside her, his gaze moving to the dark bay mare in her stall. She raised her head from the pile of hay at her feet and pricked her ears at them. Sten smiled at the curiosity in her brown gaze. “I quite like her,” he said. “Reminds me of Da’s old gelding. Curious, and had what Da called ‘the look of eagles’.”

Lilisfina made her way into the stable area and walked fearlessly up to the mare. Despite the fact the horse towered over the Wood Elf, she did not hesitate or flinch when the mare dropped her nose to Lilisfina’s face and blew softly against her cheek, ruffling the fur trim on her cowl in the process. Lilisfina reached up and scratched the horse beneath her jaw, where a halter would lie and potentially rub. No question she knows her way around horses.

“I see you’re getting acquainted with the mare,” a voice sounded from within the stable. The Altmer stablemaster stepped out from another stall and approached them. “Ulundil at your service! She’s for sale, you know.” He looked Lilisfina up and down dubiously. “Though she’s a bit big for you, lass,”

Lilisfina chuckled. “And sturdy and surefooted, I take it?” She glanced back at Star, who remained at the top of the steps. “How is she with dogs?”

“She’s fine!” Ulundil pointed at his own canine, a scruffy wolfhound lounging on a nearby haystack. “Doesn’t mind my Aesigr at all.”

“How much do horses cost in Skyrim?” Lilisfina turned to Sten. “Any idea?”

“A lot,” Sten remarked, with a deferential nod to Ulundil. “Thought you said they are expensive to keep?”

“So they are,” Lilisfina reached up and ran her hand down the mare’s arched neck. “But as a pack horse, they can carry more gear than you and I combined.”

“It’s a thought,” Sten admitted. If we were to camp out in the wilds, having the horse carry our camping gear might be worthwhile. “But for the adventures we’ve had, where we’re not bringing back more than we can carry, she may not be worth the cost of her upkeep.”

Ulundil’s gaze moved from Lilisfina to Sten and back again as they debated the value of adding a horse to their team. Sten noted his growing interest in the potential of a sale. “If I may add something, ma’am,” Ulundil broke into their conversation. “It’s a thousand drakes to purchase this mare, good price at that too. It might be of interest to know I also provide boarding services to Windhelm residents at a discount.”

“You mean folks who own property in Windhelm?” Lilisfina countered. Ulundil nodded. “Well, I’m staying at Candlehearth, and own no property in Skyrim. So . . .” she turned back to the horse and gave her a final pat on her long nose. “No purchase. At least not today.” She smiled up at Ulundil and stepped away.

Ulundil exclaimed as the mare stepped out of her stall to follow after Lilisfina. Sten laughed as Lilisfina turned and nudged the horse back into the stall. “Stay here, horse,” she whispered. The mare tossed her head, but remained put. She did not take her eyes off Lilisfina as they walked away from the stable.

The sun stood just above the Velothi mountain range to the east as they turned onto the road that ran south along the western bank of the White River. Lilisfina lifted her face to the sunlight as they strode along. Once past the Tiber Septim shrine on its high bluff, the snow faded away to reveal plants that were new to Lilisfina.

She’s like a child with Saturalia cookies, Sten thought as she skipped from creep cluster to jazbay grapes to the brilliant showy dragon’s tongue blooms. She sampled them, slowing them down as she waited for the effects to wear off. “I’ve seen them in the shops, but the dragon’s tongue is the only one I’ve ever seen in the wild before now.” Lilisfina’s face shone with excitement as she examined her samples.

“Have you forgotten why we are out walking today?” Sten reminded her with mock sternness. She laughed and caught up to him, heading south on the road once again with Star. So childlike at times. But she is also surprisingly mature at times. “Just how old are you, boss?” he blurted, then clenched his teeth. Bite your tongue, man! Never ask a woman her age!

Lilisfina slid a sidelong glance at him. “Do you really want to know?”

“Am I in trouble?” Sten made his tone meek as a child’s.

Lilisfina laughed again, that hearty laugh that made him smile. “Of course not! But you might be surprised - I’ll be one hundred and forty eight next Morning Star.”

Sten came to an abrupt halt. One hundred forty eight! And here we are talking about the Collapse like it happened a generation ago! She was what - Sten mumbled to himself - sixty eight years old?? That’s older than Grandda! Suddenly the irony of others calling her “lass” and “child” hit him like a war hammer. He guffawed until he gasped for breath, hands on knees.

“Funny, yes?” Lilisfina was still watching him. He looked up at her.

“Just thinking of everyone treating you like a young child, when you’re older than all of us!”

Lilisfina just smiled wider, her grin higher on the right side of her face than on the left. “Many’s the time I had to refrain from laughing out loud myself. People take their seniority so seriously!” Her face sobered. “But what I’ve found is it’s not the number of years that matter, it’s the experiences you’ve had through your life that counts. So that means I have a great deal of respect for elders of all races, because they’ve lived through so much.”

“And learned along the way, I hope,” Sten remarked as they resumed their walk.

It wasn’t much longer before they reached Mixwater Mill. Sten found the ford between the mill and the far side, broken by an elongated island in mid stream. They made their way across, then Sten worked his way up the slope with Lilisfina and Star close on his heels.

Shor’s bones! His heart plummeted into his bowels at the first glimpse of huge, white orbs scattered around the hillside. Off to one side a mammoth corpse lay on one side, one of those orbs snugged against its side.

“What’s wrong, Stennvar?” Lilisfina asked as she looked around at the egg sacs, each of them taller than Sten. Her gaze moved from side to side as she searched for gigantic arachnids.

“I. Do. Not. Like. Spiders.” Sten managed to keep his voice from cracking. Even so, Star sidled beside him to lick his fingers, and Lilisfina turned around to peer at his face.

“Arachnophobia?” she asked softly. “A paralyzing fear of spiders?”

“The big ones shatter my courage,” Sten admitted. “I’m not sure if I can be of any help in there - that cave is likely full of giant spiders if these egg sacs are any indication.”

“Let me take the lead, and you can handle anything else but spiders. Leave those to me.” Lilisfina held his gaze steadily. “I’m used to them, and they are especially vulnerable to flames. As long as you and Star stay behind me, my terrible aim won’t hurt you, and will likely distract the spiders.” She bared her teeth in a feral grin. “Spiders are one thing I’m good at fighting.”

Sten hung his head. “I’m sorry, boss, I know you’ve been counting on me for muscle, but . . .”

“Arachnophobia is nothing to be ashamed of,” Lilisfina said firmly. “And you did all the work in Forsaken Cave, when I was sick more than anything else. We will be fine as long as we stay together.”

Stenvaar’s letters home are a very elegant way to not only summarize recent events but to impart more of his observations.

One horse, not two? Ah, I see, the intent is a pack animal. But not today it looks like. Where to stage a horse while inside a dungeon is a concern Buffy has wrestled with. The ability to summon/unsummon the mount is optimal but before Buffy could do that, she tried several alternatives. Staging the horse in a secluded area before casting a long lasting chameleon or even invisibility spell on it Traveling with a second, protective animal such as Star or a wolf to stay with and guard the horse. Buffy even tried taking her mare into dungeons with her but many dungeons can be both tight and dangerous. In the meantime, a bag of holding is a blessing.

Again, the gulf between human and elf aging rears its head.

Uh-oh, Sten’s not happy around spiders. Fortunately, Lili seems to be comfortable fighting them. I suspect we may see some new and creative tactics ahead.

After a little horsing around, they are on their way to recover a sword.

I see the realization of Elvish age has hit Sten like a giant's hammer. It is sort of like Blood Raven, and how she refers to Cray as "young man". She is two hundred years older than him after all... Just imagine if they were in Korea, where the eldest drinks first, and enjoys other privileges in society.

I feel for Sten. I have suffered from arachnophobia for most of my life. I made a concerted effort to change that a few years ago, starting with the djieien I wrote for Book 4: Pride of the Crowverse. I had to immerse myself in a lot of research on both djieien and just spiders in general for that. So I ended up looking at a lot of pictures. Afterward I made an effort to continue doing so, in order to desensitize myself to them.

I am happy to say that a year ago I was sitting on the couch and saw a tiny jumping spider sitting on my leg. They are the colorful little ones that dance to attract a mate (I always imagine that the Bee Gees is playing in the background when they do so). At one time I would have jumped out of my skin. Instead I was careful not to move, because I was afraid it might fall off and get squished by me. I went back to watching my movie, and when I looked back later it was gone. Hopefully everything worked out for Leggy.

I like the added touch of Sten revealing his kryptonite, well, arachtonite. Lil pukes around undead. Sten freaks out over spiders. They each have their strengths and weaknesses, as all real people do. The whole reason humans have been a successful species IRL is because we form communities and act together. That takes advantages of our strengths, and neutralizes our vulnerabilities.

In the context they are about to experience, a reaction of KILL IT!!! KILL IT!!! will probably be appropriate. Arachnophobia would be a problem if they were allies.

Yikes, I understand how that moment of sensory loss (Word Wall) could be daunting. I lost most of my hearing in my 20s, both ears, thought I was going deaf too.

Those snowstorms can be really intense. Anyway, that moment when the sun peeks under the clouds just as the day's ending, when that happens it's so magnificent.

Sten reverts from "boss" to "ma'am". Keeping up appearances, and all that. Yes, soup trumps mead in such a situation, when you're trying to warm up.

I wonder if Lili knows Winterhold could be even more harsh with the cold than Windhelm!

Wow, the phial is cracked, really? Haven't done that quest you see, although my elf just took it up last season. Well, that sucks. But I love how Stenvar & Lili are struggling to boost their economy. They're doing what they can to keep their endeavors afloat.

I like the part when Lili approaches the horse. You and mALX have much experiences with horses, which allows you to write up their behavior more accurately in stories. 🐎

Whoa, 148! ....“But what I’ve found is it’s not the number of years that matter, it’s the experiences you’ve had through your life that counts. ... so true, so true.

Mixwater Mill; Lili should be pleased. Not quite as cold as they head south. I love that abandoned cabin too. Perfect place to spend a night.

Ooo, a potential new team member. The mare seemed about to give Lili a 100% discount on her asking price.

I can imagine that walk to Mixwater Mill with all the flowers and grapes along the road. It was fun to see Lili’s delight through Sten’s eyes.

Uh oh, arachnophobia. Well, at least big spiders will be big targets for Lili to see. I like her calm reassurance to Stenvar. They are still a good team, just with Lili in front this time.

@Acadian: Thank you for validating my decision to let Stenvar share his missives home. I really enjoy putting his pen to paper, so to speak, and letting him write parts of his own tale. I too have struggled with what to do with the horses while dungeon delving, and it adds an additional layer to my own role-playing, as you have seen with OHDH. Arachnophobia, as SubRosa will tell you, is not fun, and as we will see, it has a major impact on Stenvar's physical abilities as well as his mental state. Fortunately, in her travels Lili has seen her share of phobias (and she has her own, which we haven't seen yet), so she is more than empathetic to his travails.

@SubRosa: I'm glad you were able to manage your own arachnophobia so well. Some spiders are very scary (I'm glad I don't live in Australia), but I was taught from a very young age to treat daddy long legs with kindness and care - I still take them outside when I find these leggy spindly critters in my house. Lili is all too aware of her own frailties in the face of undead, especially draugr as she has learned, so being judgmental of Sten's own weakness does not even occur to her.

@ghastley: Alliances with spiders would be difficult . . . especially since we don't understand how they think . . .

@Renee: Keeping up appearances, indeed! In such an elf phobic place like Windhelm he is well aware of how people would react if he called his Elven employer "boss" in their presence. This is his way of keeping a sort of peace. The area along the road to Mixwater Mill is lovely, and Lili really enjoyed that walk. Of course once she gets into the Rift/Falkreath, I think she would be transported to Bosmer heaven, or at least the Skyrim version of it.

@Grits: I'm sure the mare wanted to give Lili that 100% discount, too! And yes, that little random thought of Sten's as he watched Lili pick flowers and grapes along the road was sweet. And yes, Lili is comfortable with spiders, and her advice to stay behind her effectively neutralizes the issue with her terrible aim.

After Sten admits his arachnophobia to Lili and they settle on their tactics for Cronvangr Cave, it's into the depths to find that ancient sword! Hopefully it won't be damaged after all the spiders . . .

*******************

Turdas 21 Last Seed - I. Do. Not. Like. Spiders.

Lili led the way, her flame spell ready in her left hand. Star followed behind, and Stenvar brought up the rear. Almost immediately several large spiders, pale grey in color, chittered at their entry. Lili began flinging her flames almost blindly in their general direction, using their clacking to judge their location. Egg sacs around them caught fire, and lit up the entry chamber. When she paused to let her magicka refresh, Lili used her instincts to search for any remaining live spiders. Two remained near the far wall. Lili crept nearer, using the scattered boulders as cover. Behind her Star whined, but Lili shushed him with her right hand, gesturing him to stay put.

Scorched eight legged corpses caught at her tunic as she eased past them, but she managed to slip by without noise. Lili could still hear the ticking of the two remaining spiders as they shuffled back and forth, as if in search of their comrades. Once she could see their pale forms, Lili blasted their general area with fire again. This time Star could not hold back, and charged in when Lili ran out of magicka. Snarling and barking echoed around the cavern as the last of the arachnids died from the double assault of flame and fang.

Star returned to Lili’s side, tail waving over his back. Lili checked with her instincts once more, and found no further spiders. She turned to search for Stenvar. She found him near the entrance, crouched with his zwei-hander shivering in his grasp.

“All clear here,” she whispered. “You can sheathe your weapon.” She shook away the flame spell and tossed up a mage light. The green glow spread over shattered bodies and half burned egg sacs. Lili found one that had escaped the fire, already opened to release the little ones within. She scooped out remaining spider eggs that failed to hatch and stuffed them into her backpack.

“What are you doing with those?” Stenvar’s hoarse whisper reached her. “Won’t they hatch in your bag?”

“The viable eggs hatched a long time ago,” Lili pointed out the frayed edges of the sac. “See how the edges are black? The remaining eggs are inert. And useful for certain alchemical uses.” She cast her gaze around the cave. “The sword can’t be here - there has to be more to this place than just this little area. We’ll have to go further in.”

“How? I don’t see a passage heading deeper.” Are you relieved this is all there is to this cave? Not so fast, big boy. Stenvar moved to stand beside Lili, his hands still clenching his zwei-hander.

Something small, brown, and round caught Lili’s gaze. “What is that on the wall there?” She refreshed the mage light closer to the rear of the cave and worked her way toward it.

“Looks like a button,” Stenvar followed her, while Star danced his way around the spider corpses. “Maybe that’s your passageway. Maybe there are no more spiders past this point?” Lili pressed her lips against the smile triggered by the hope in his voice.

“Want to do the honors?” Lili waved Stenvar to press the button. “Let’s find out what this does.”

In response to Stenvar’s press, a section of rock wall grated down into the floor to reveal a narrow passage beyond. Lili used her instincts to scan the corridor, which twisted to the left out of sight a short distance in. It gave her a sense of a great space to the left, but no sign of others nearby. She sent a mage light down the hallway, and it picked out the telltale spouts of a flame trap set in the floor.

“Step where I step,” she whispered to Stenvar. Briefly she glanced at Star, who met her gaze with lolling tongue and waving tail. How to tell Star the same? She slid forward, flame spell ready in her left hand again.

The corridor widened just enough to allow Lili and Stenvar to step to one side of the trap plate. Lili glanced back in time to see Star carefully step in their path. Well, that’s one thing he understands to do. They reached the bend in the corridor and Lili peered into an immense cavern.

Nearest them she could make out lit candles arranged in a circle, with something within it. Towards the rear a bluff jutted out from the back, large enough to hold a sizable wooden structure, like a rough framed house or barn. Another check of the area revealed a few bodies above, their forms shimmering red. Lili bit her lip. Damn.

“No spiders here,” she murmured to Stenvar. “But up there are vampires. Be careful not to get bit by one of them.”

“That I can handle,” Stenvar’s whisper sounded stronger. “And aren’t they susceptible to fire, too?”

“As long as you don’t get between me and them,” Lili countered. “Shall we use the same tactics we used with the draugr? These vampires seem to be resting, but it will be difficult to sneak up on them.”

“Sounds like a plan, ma’am,” Stenvar responded. “I see a ramp over there,” he pointed to the left of the bluff. “Should allow us to get on the level with them before we’re too close.”

“I’ll cast light once they’re aroused, so you can see them better,” Lili added. “Ready?”

“Of course,” Stenvar nodded emphatically. Lili moved forward toward the light of the candles. With a sinking feeling she recognized the form of a dead body within the magick circle. They passed it by and she found the foot of the ramp Stenvar had mentioned. They crept up to the top of the ramp, and again Lili paused to check the area. Three. Two close to us, the third on the opposite side of the structure. She searched for an entry into the building, but found no ingress on this side. May have to go around to find a path in.

Lili made her way along the building toward the edge of the bluff, then moved down the side of it. They passed the two vampires without disturbing them, but as they neared an open doorway facing the edge of the bluff, the third one stirred. Lili darted forward and into the building, her fire already aimed for the waking vampire. The immortal male screamed as her flames engulfed his being. Behind her she heard the others, another male and a female by their voices, call out in surprise.

Lili shot up a brilliant blue-white mage light to hover over the two as Stenvar moved past her to engage them. She turned back to the first vampire and poured more fire into him until he collapsed to the floor. Behind her Star’s snarling and growling indicated that he had joined Stenvar in the fight. Once she was certain her target had been effectively neutralized, Lili turned and moved to the vampire nearest her. Star had already begun shaking the female’s arm, ducking any effort by the enraged immortal to shake him off. Lili reached out and touched the vampire’s back, sending flames crackling through the other’s flesh. Star released his hold and leaped back as fire spread down the injured limb. The other vampire already dispatched, Stenvar leaped over to swing his blade through the dying vampire’s torso.

The immortals no longer immortal, Lili and Stenvar gazed at each other until they caught their breaths. “Are you hurt?” Both asked the same question at the same time. Lili chuckled as Stenvar laughed.

“I take it you’re feeling better about things, Stennvar,” Lili remarked.

“At the moment,” Stenvar returned. He cast his gaze around. “But you think we’ll find that sword here?”

“Let’s check,” Lili cast her instincts one more time to ensure they were alone. Stenvar moved to one side of the building to search furniture and chests, so Lili moved to the opposite end. Star nosed happily around them in the way of dogs when their jobs are done.

After a fruitless search, they gathered in the center of the ramshackle building again. “Where to next?” Stenvar asked.

“There’s got to be another passageway somewhere. Did we check the first cave thoroughly?” Lili mused aloud. She sensed Stenvar’s shudder. “Let’s try it again.”

“Very well,” Stenvar hissed through gritted teeth. “You lead.”

“Of course,” Lili smiled at him and retraced their steps back to the entry cave. This time, a more thorough exploration of the rear revealed a tunnel where the floor sloped sharply down to the back wall. Easy to miss. This time cobwebs coated the walls of the passageway, and Lili could sense Stenvar’s growing tension at her back. She made him wait in the cave while she sent a wave of fire down the tunnel to clear away the cobwebs.

Instincts showed no activity ahead of them, so Lili led Star and Stenvar into the passage. She paused at intervals to clear the cobwebs from the walls, ceiling and floor of the tunnel. Before long, they reached an open area like a well dropping down into the depths of the earth. A rough path led around the space, spiraling downward. Star growled softly, his gaze riveted on something below them. Lili sensed three more giant spiders below them, and held up three fingers to Stenvar, then motioned for him to wait at the mouth of the tunnel. She and Star eased downward, working together to clear the path of spiders and webs. They reached a pool at the bottom, and Lili sent a green mage light up to give Stenvar the all-clear.

As he reached them, she could see sweat dripping from his face, and the clenched muscles in his jaw. “Do you want to stay back for now?” she whispered, concerned about the severity of his panic. “Star and I can take care of any remaining spiders.”

Stenvar shook his head. “It’s helping that you’re clearing all the spider webs away, it helps me see them better,” he managed to grit out. “I’m sorry I can’t get a hit in, but I can stay with you and watch for things other than spiders.”

“Stop if it gets too much,” Lili whispered back. “I don’t want you hurting yourself with this.”

“As long as you tell me where they are,” Stenvar muttered. Lili nodded her understanding. She assessed him again, then touched his arm.

“You’ll be fine,” she murmured as she sent her best rally spell into him. It’s not much, but if it helps settle his nerves a bit . . .

Lili turned away and moved on down the corridor, which twisted and turned through masses of spiderwebs and small arachnids. She cleared the walls and floor of webs and the tiny spiders, then moved forward. She still paused often to cast her instincts, searching for more giant spiders.

The passageway led into another large space, filled with more egg sacs and webs. Along the floor skittered smaller spiders, each as large as Star. Is that all? But with all the egg sacs here, where’s the brood queen? Lili cast instincts one more time, and counted six of the spiders. Something made her look up at the ceiling. Her skin crawled at the size of the beast hidden within the webbing above. There she is. By Y’ffre, she’s big! She eased back to where Stenvar waited.

“There’s a big space ahead,” she whispered. “Six of the smaller spiders, not quite as big as the ones we’ve encountered, so they’re not as old. But above - “ she paused. Should I tell him? Better he knows what lies in wait for us. “The brood queen is above, and she’s fetching huge.”

Again that zwei-hander quivered, as Stenvar visibly swallowed against something in his throat. “I’ll do my best, boss.”

“Let me deal with that brood queen. Something that large, being small like me is an advantage.” She ruffled Star’s ears. “I’m confident Star can handle the youngsters.” Then she returned to the lair. Again, from the shadows, she cast as much fire as she could in the direction of the spiders on the floor, setting both webbing and sacs on fire. With a growl Star leaped down into the room as Lili turned her attention to the ceiling above. She sent a weak firebolt to entice the queen down. As the immense beast slid down on silken strands, Lili ran toward her landing point and threw herself on one hip to slide under the spider’s massive belly, casting her flame spell above. Fire laced across the beast’s abdomen as Lili avoided the stinger and scrambled to her feet behind the queen. Have to be careful and conserve my magicka. Don’t spend it faster than I can regenerate!

Star danced out of the way of the queen, still intent on attacking the smaller spiders scattered to the periphery of the space. Lili danced forward and touched each of the four legs nearest her with flame, sending the queen into a rage. As the massive spider struggled to turn toward Lili, Lili slipped under her thorax again to touch fire to the opposite legs. She trailed a short burst of shock from her other hand into the queen’s body.

The queen stabbed her legs in a vain attempt to impale Lili or Star, but both were too quick. The Skyrim Husky flowed like water between the scattered rocks on the floor to seize the smaller spiders’ bellies in his jaws. Quick snaps shattered the younglings in short order, and Star turned to join Lili in the fight with the queen. He weaved between the massive beast’s legs, and caught each with quick bites and jerks of his head.

Lili found herself facing the queen’s multiple eyes and terrifying fangs. She flung a fireball at the glowing orbs and ducked to the side. Suddenly the queen ran partway up the wall over Lili, her stinger raised to stab the Bosmer.

That stinger never came down. A roar sounded from beyond, then an abrupt shudder passed through the spider’s body, then she collapsed on top of Lili. Her still burning abdomen would have crushed Lili, if the Bosmer had not found a space between two tall boulders. She peered out to see a broad steel blade sunken nearly to the hilt in the queen’s abdomen, just below that deadly stinger. Stenvar stood just behind her, his shaking hand still on the zwei-hander, gasping for air.

Lili scrambled out and placed her hand on his sword arm. “It’s over, thank you very much Stennvar.” She helped him retrieve his blade and guided him to a nearby boulder, where he collapsed onto his rump, still shaking and breathing fast. “Let me clear this out quick, just sit quietly. We’re done.” She waited until he met her gaze, and when he nodded, the hilt of the zwei-hander clutched to his chest, she turned to look for Star. Amazingly, the Husky danced over to them, apparently unharmed by fang or stinger. He licked Stenvar’s face, then set off to one side of the cavern. Lili and Stenvar watched as he started digging at webbing piled up in one corner.

Lili shooed him off the webbing and burned it away to reveal a chest. Is this it? She glanced back to see something spark in Stenvar’s gaze. As she lifted the lid, she heard Stenvar’s blade slide home into its sheath for the first time since they entered the cave. He must feel the same way. Within, a cloth wrapped bundle lay atop a small pile of ancient silver coins and gems. Lili lifted the weapon out and handed it carefully to Stenvar. “Can you tell if that’s Queen Freydis’s sword?”

He unwrapped it with hands growing steadier with each slowing breath. “It’s fine quality, and straight as can be,” he sighted along the blade. “Still very keen after all these years.” He met Lili’s gaze. “I’d say yes, you’ve found it.”

“We’ve found it,” Lili corrected him. “Let’s get out of here.”

It wasn’t long before they were out in the early afternoon sun. Stenvar made his way down hill to a fallen log near the river and slumped on it. Lili and Star followed him, and the Bosmer noted his breaths were slowing and deepening. He also seemed less shaky. She lowered her pack, full of gems and old silver, and flung her arms impulsively around his broad shoulders. “I’m glad you are here,” she whispered.

His arms came up around her as Stenvar returned the hug and buried his face in the fur trim of her cowl. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”

Fang and flame! Lili’s skill with fire and Star’s tactical acumen and ability to follow the Bosmer’s lead/guidance really shine here. Different having Stenvaar behind her this time but prudent and, despite his fear, he kept going.

Lili’s ‘instinct’ ability sounds really handy for dark dungeon delving!

Vampires too but at least Sten knows how to deal with them.

And the fetching huge brood queen! Nice tactics and teamwork taking her down. Imminent danger to his boss is enough for Sten to momentarily control his fear enough to impale the queen.

With the quest sword in their possession and still pumped up on the euphoria of victory, Lili impetuously takes another step in the delicate dance between her and Sten. Happily, her hug is warmly returned.

I am actually thinking of rolling a new toon in Skyrim that will be spider-based, partly inspired by Viuda from the Stormcrow-verse. I might create a spell for her to summon frostbite spiders.

I could appreciate Stenvar's fear that the eggs might hatch in Lil's backpack. If I was writing the horror movie, that is what I would have happen!

Thankfully no more spiders in the secret room. But vampires instead! This Sten can handle. Looks like it's chopping time!

Indeed it was. Immortals were mortaled.

Wow, Lil is getting in some fancy moves as she takes on Momma Eight Legs. And Stennvar coming in out of nowhere with a steel chair! his sword, and chopping spidey down to size. It is heartening to see him facing the thing that terrifies him, and going on in spite of it.

With both victory and sword obtained, our heroes can finally relax. And use this occasion to bond a little more, as they slowly develop more trust in one another, while facing their worst fears.

Flame and fang! It was fun to see Lili doing the heavy lifting against the spiders. Backed by Star of course. Nice to see some alchemical ingredients in those egg sacs.

“What are you doing with those?” Stenvar’s hoarse whisper reached her. “Won’t they hatch in your bag?”

New fear unlocked. Thanks, Stenvar!

“As long as you tell me where they are,” Stenvar muttered.

Wow, did this ring true. It’s how I got my ophidiophobic roommate back to the car after we saw a sweet but admittedly large snake while hiking (in Mexico).

Ooo, Lili has moves! That was an exciting fight against the brood queen! Good job Sten, one stab preventing another.

Yay, a hug! One more step in the slow dance between these two.

Well, it looks like the title of the previous installment should have been Fang and Flame, or Flame and Fang!

@Acadian: I think Sten is very intelligent and smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut and sword sheathed, and when to step into action. This chapter really shows his willingness to admit his vulnerability to Lili, and to let her take the lead. I suspect Sten was able to make that death stab because he was not the one looking into that queen's deadly gaze! Well, that and the desire to be useful . . .

@SubRosa: Horror of horrors! Baby spiders and kwama hatchings actually crawling out of the bag one put their eggs into . . . (the kwama egg incident is an actual - albeit small - event in ESO) . . . yes the very stuff of nightmares! The vampire chamber was a welcome break for Sten, and a place where he can actually be useful.

@Grits: New fear unlocked, indeed! I had a mental image of the lock pick screen from Oblivion with the last tumbler clicking out of the way . . . And yes, warning Sten of upcoming spiders and where they are located helped him deal with his panic a little bit better.

@all: there is this mod for Skyrim that I found - "I'm Glad You're Here" - it's a dialog-based prompt that lets you thank your companions for their help by hugging them - there's the neutral hug for friends and children, and a more intimate animation for lovers/spouses. I loved using it because so many times I felt like giving my folks hugs after a stressful situation, or when coming home and having my adopted kids call "Mama!" The end of this episode felt like a good place for Lili to start getting a bit more physical with her sellsword partner.

Now we start thinking about heading home. But first, the title of this next installment says it all:

****************************
Turdas 21 Last Seed - I Need a Drink

That was the worst job I had ever been on in a long time. Remember how I hate spiders, Ma? Well, this cave was full of them. FROSTBITE SPIDERS. I was no good in there, really. But Boss understood and dealt with the spiders herself. She’s handy with fire, and spiders don’t deal with fire well. And Star the Husky helped. He was awesome to watch.

We did find a nest of vampires in there, so I wasn’t completely useless. In any case, we found the sword and made it through before I fell completely to pieces. Hopefully we won’t have too many more jobs like this one. Will write more when I have time. Give my love to Halla and Old Fang.

Sten

Lilisfina held on to Sten until he finally let her go with a deep sigh of release. Her green eyes met his with deep concern. “Feel better?”

“More like myself, thanks,” he said. “And we did find the sword Oengul hired us to get, so that’s the job done.” But am I ready to head back to Windhelm, as shaken as I still feel?

Lilisfina glanced up at the sun, still hovering above the tall bluffs west of the river. “It’s still early in the day,” she said finally. “I’ve heard of Kynesgrove, is it far from here?”

“It’s about halfway between here and Windhelm,” Sten responded. “We can cut north across the countryside here until we hit the eastern springs road, then follow that to Kynesgrove.”

“I need a drink,” Lilisfina declared. “Let’s stop in Kynesgrove for a bit.”

Sten held out his hand as she rose to her feet and picked up her backpack. “Wait a moment, please,” he began. How to explain? “What happened in there . . .”

Lilisfina reached out and gripped his shoulder firmly. “Everyone has a phobia. Not everyone can face up to theirs the way you did in there. Sticking with me all the way through, and even coming in at the end and poking that queen in the arse, that took a lot of courage. I’m very grateful to you for that.”

“Th - thanks, I think,” Sten stammered. Courage? Me? In there? More like desperation to avoid being alone in that place. He rose to his feet and picked up the cloth-wrapped sword in his left hand. Another deep breath brought him more calm. “Let’s go get that drink then.”

“Lead on, then.” Lilisfina waved him ahead. They worked their way north across the rocky slope until they reached a faint path - deer trail, really - that led up a gentler slope toward a copse of stunted trees. Sten recalled stories of a witch-hag living there, and steered north again to avoid it. The road came into view shortly after, and Lilisfina skipped ahead a few strides to pause and study the land before them.

Sten stopped beside her to view the rolling ground that rose toward the mountains in the east. “That’s the Velothi Mountains,” he pointed out the jagged range. “And there, between the trees you can just make out Kynesgrove. It’s just a village, really, but there’s a mine above it in the bluffs, and subsistence farmers feed the folks there. Mostly leeks, cabbage and goats.”

“Better than mutton, huh?” Lilisfina teased him. “At least goats also produce wool and cheese and milk, just like sheep, and do so on less feed, too.”

“Goats are very popular in the mountains,” Sten agreed. “We always had goats on the farm, though we didn’t always have a milk cow.”

“And leeks and cabbage?” Lilisfina asked. Sten shot her a glance and chuckled at her serious face.

“That, too,” he answered. “Though Ma was really proud of her tomatoes.”

“Tomatoes!” Lilisfina exclaimed. “So far north?”

“Ma knew how to use the sun for heat and light through the winter months to start them early, and get them growing before the frost was gone from the ground.” Sten paused for a few moments of thought. “She always made sure the soil was enriched from compost she made herself, and apparently that generates heat as well.”

“That’s really interesting,” Lilisfina mused. “I don’t know much about farming, let alone in conditions such as what we find here, but your Ma sounds like someone I could learn much from.”

Sten rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. Lilisfina’s gaze followed his gesture, and she did not say anything further. “Let’s head to that inn in Kynesgrove. They do brew a decent ale there.”

“Sounds good,” Lilisfina agreed and stepped down to the worn cobblestones of the road. Here it ran east and west before curving north downslope. At her glance back, Sten indicated her to head left and downhill to follow the road. He noticed that Star stayed back with him, and ruffled his ears. Wonder if the dog knows I’m still trying to recover from that cave.

By the time the wooden structures of Kynesgrove reappeared out of the forest, the sun was just touching the mountains that separated Eastmarch from Whiterun to the west. Sten led Lilisfina to the large structure in the center of the village, past the chicken coops and the empty goat pen. A couple of Hold guards patrolled the single road, each eyeing the trio. Star checked out the chickens, and ran around the pen, his nose to the ground. He found a particularly juicy spot and rolled blissfully in it.

“Oh Star,” Lilisfina groaned, while Sten chuckled.

“Trust a dog to find the stinkiest spot in the whole village,” a voice remarked behind them. They turned around to face one of the guards. His grey eyes regarded the two of them warily from beneath his helm. “As long as he doesn’t chase the chickens or bring that stench inside the inn, I wouldn’t worry about him.” His gaze skimmed over Lilisfina and settled on Sten, lingering a moment on the sheathed zwei-hander. “Don’t go starting any trouble, now, not in front of the child.”

Child? Sten blinked a couple times, then inhaled sharply. “She’s not a child, sir,” he kept his voice even. “She’s my boss.”

The guard frowned and peered closer at Lilisfina, seeking to see her face beneath her cowl. In turn, the Wood Elf pushed the hood back just enough to show her angular face. “Oh, I’m sorry, lass,” he stepped back. “My apologies.” He frowned again. “But my warning applies to you as well.”

“Of course,” Lilisfina’s tone was light. “I wouldn’t dream of causing any trouble here. All I want is a drink - we’ve just returned from fighting giant spiders.”

“Frostbite spiders,” Sten volunteered, blocking the vision and sound of them from his mind.

“If that’s what you call them,” Lilisfina added. “Whatever they’re named, they were bigger than me!”

“Well, don’t let me stand between you and that drink, then!” The guard stepped aside to let them pass. Lilisfina called Star to her side, and the trio moved to the porch of the inn. Once the guard returned to his patrol, Lilisfina passed her hand over Star. Blue magic flickered over his coat, and any remnants of webbing fizzled into nothing. The scent that had so drawn him to his ecstatic rolling also disappeared.

“There, now Star won’t offend anyone!” Lilisfina smiled up at Sten and winked. Imps. The both of them. He opened the door for the others and let them through first.

“Hello!” A cheerful voice greeted them upon entry. “I hope you’ll stay for a bit, we could certainly use the business!” It belonged to a careworn Nord woman who stepped out from behind the bar. “Have a seat, and tell me what you’d like to eat or drink, or both!” Her gaze settled on Sten, as if expecting him to speak for the trio. He glanced briefly at Lilisfina, who shrugged.

“I’ll have some of that ale,” he said finally. He indicated Lilisfina. “She prefers mead, if you’ve got it.”

“Let’s see if Roggi’s left some for us!” The innkeeper moved back behind the bar and filled a pewter mug from the keg. “Name’s Iddra, by the way. My husband Kjeld manages the mine up the hill, if you’re looking for work he’s the one to talk to.” She grabbed a bottle and mug and brought everything over to a table near the open hearth. “Sit down and enjoy!” Her gaze fell on the Husky. “Oh, but what will the dog have?”

“A mutton bone, if you have any,” Sten said dryly.

“Would a goat bone do?” Iddra moved to the kitchen behind the bar and rummaged in her storage. “I’ve got a nice one with fresh marrow he might like!” She returned with the bone and offered it to Star. With a sniff, he accepted it and flopped down at Lili’s feet, his teeth happily scraping the hard material.

“Thank you very much, Iddra,” Lilisfina said as she accepted the mead the innkeeper poured for her. The woman set the bottle on the table in front of her and turned to Sten.

“If you want a refill, just let me know!”

Lilisfina leaned to Sten. “Is she trying to get us drunk?”

Sten spluttered into his pewter mug. “No,” he wiped his chin, “just trying to get us to spend coin.” He heard her chuckle as he took another swig of the ale. “Ah, that hits the spot.”

“I’m glad,” she murmured. “That wasn’t an easy journey for you.”

“No it wasn’t,” Sten mumbled into his drink. “Say, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What is it?” Lilisfina took another sip of her mead and topped it off from the bottle.

“A few times now I’ve seen you stop before entering an area, then tell me how many and where the baddies are located before we even see them. How?”

“Ah,” Lilisfina leaned back in her chair and cast her green gaze ceiling-ward. “Instincts,” she said after a slow breath. “Something a few Bosmer possess. It’s been a lifesaver on more than one occasion.”

“Magick?” Sten’s curiosity got the better of his discretion.

“Maybe,” Lilisfina shrugged. “I’ve never encountered the skill in anyone other than a few other Bosmer, and it’s not something that’s taught.” She considered the fire a few breaths. “Maybe Khajiit or Argonian might have something similar, but I’ve yet to hear of it in them.”

“Maybe it’s to make up for your inability to use a bow,” Sten remarked before ducking behind his mug. After a healthy swig, he lowered it slowly to see her staring at him. Then she tossed her head back and laughed heartily.

“Perhaps, and it would explain why so few Bosmer have it,” she chuckled. “The others I’ve met are mages like myself.”

Once Sten shakes most of the spider webs from his mind, the trio heads to Kynegrove for a well-earned drink!

Hmm, sounds like Sten is not overly keen on bringing his Bosmer boss home to meet the family? I wonder if we’ll hear more about that.

They get to the tavern before dark – good thing, I figure. To be called ‘child’ again in Skyrim – poor little Lili. Sten doesn’t hesitate to correct that guard though.

Buffy’s getting quite jealous of Lili’s Bosmer instincts ability. Ahah, maybe Sten’s onto something. Only Bosmer who aren’t good with a bow get it perhaps. Oh well, we all have our limitations and Buffy’s is any effective ability to use a melee weapon.

More bonding on the road to Kynesgrove as Sten continues to struggle with the stress of having so recently faced his worse fear. I am glad you spent the time to dwell on that, because it humanizes him. Big strong ox of a guy he is, he is still not invulnerable or unfeeling, and you show it.

Imp chips! That is a handy cleaning up spell that Lil has. It gets the stank out of Nords and dogs alike, a tall order!

That is an interesting observation on Lil's astral sensing/life detection/aura reading ability. I had just assumed that she had a detect life spell of sort. But it looks more like it is an inborn trait that only certain Bosmer possess. That is a neat wrinkle.

Going from the grim, drab town of Windhelm into the orange warmth of Candlehearth, even though it's in a game it's like we can feel that amber air welcoming us in. Whoa, whoops! Chorrol keeps landing me into back chapters! Ah, here we go. No spiders! 🕷️

The sound effects of spiders clicking along stone floors, even though spiders aren't that tough to deal with it's that sound, right? Gives me shivers even if I'm expecting some arachnids up ahead.

"double assault of flame and fang." Nice alliteration.

Oh yes, spider eggs. Any alchemist is going to grab fresh ones. Wonder what'll happen if Lili & Sten ever down a dremora though, if Lil would grab that "ingredient". | Even my top alchemists won't go there! -- Sten seems afraid of spiders.

Uh oh, vampires. I like how you're writing up the entire dungeon, it's freaking creepy, Rider!

Nice. She rallies Sten to helps his nerves!

"I'm glad you are here" sounds like it'll be a great addition to my noble/archer's game.

I like how Sten is honest as he writes his ma, about the spiders that is. He's not embellishing like some brute swordsmen might, talking like a Big Hero. Then again, he IS writing his ma. Maybe he wouldn't reveal those insecurities around the hearth with other brave warriors.

The guard thinks Lilisfina is Sten's kid!

@Acadian: I'm so glad you caught that brief unease when Lili mentioned meeting Sten's Ma. She did too, which is why she won't pursue that matter. She and you know there's something there! And again Sten shows us his insight when he makes the comment that Lili's instincts more than make up for her lack of ability with the bow!

@SubRosa: I'm glad you approve of my taking the time to show Sten's vulnerability on the road to Kynesgrove. I figure he would show that to his Ma, if no one else. Lili feels protective about Sten's vulnerability - she knows reputation is important to a man, especially one who makes a living by it like Sten does. The mod Frostfall/Campfire (which I never play without) adds spells that let one detect living, undead and dead, which does come in useful for my stealth characters. Since all my Skyrim characters are stealth, this means I use these spells all the time. But spending a little time thinking about how these work, I decided the best way to present them would be as Bosmer instincts - they would be just as useful in a Valenwood jungle as they would in a dark Nordic crypt.

@Renee: Cronvangr Cave is actually a pretty small cave, with a lot going on. So it made sense to give Sten a little bit of courage by letting him fight the vampires one finds in that side chamber. As for showing off his vulnerabilities with other big beefy guys, we'll see how that comes up in conversation!

Having cleared Cronvangr Cave despite Sten's arachnophobia, and having stopped off at Kynesgrove for a fortifying drink or two, our intrepid trio now returns to Windhelm to hand off the Sword of Queen Freydis. And while my little slice of the Midwest is experiencing the first snowfall of the year, I'm beginning to feel Windhelm in my writing!

**********************************

Turdas 21 Last Seed - An Unexpected End

Oengul greeted the trio as they stumbled into the smithy, out of the cold evening. “Good timing,” he exclaimed. “I was about to close up shop for the night. Will you sup with us?”

“Thank you,” Lili accepted the offer after a quick glance at Stenvar. “We do have something for you, smith.”

Hermir added two places to their evening meal as Stenvar carefully laid the cloth-wrapped bundle on the table. “I believe this might be of help to you, Oengul,” he said softly. “In return for all you’ve done for us.”

Oengul shifted his gaze from Lili to Stenvar and back again. “Really?” He reached for the laces binding the ancient cloth around the weapon. His breath caught as he unwrapped it and the light from the hearth brought out its straight blade and fine scrollwork on the hilt. “Queen Freydis’s sword!” he breathed in awe. “Look at that edge, Hermir! Still sharp after all these years.” He handed the blade reverentially to his apprentice, then met Lili’s gaze. “I’ll present it to the Jarl tomorrow. You should stop by around noon and I’ll let you know how he likes it.”

As they seated themselves around the small table, and dug into the simple meal of mutton and roasted root vegetables, Oengul regarded the trio thoughtfully. “I hope Cronvangr Cave wasn’t as difficult as your visit to Forsaken Cave yesterday?”

“Worse, in a way,” Lili responded around a mouthful of savory goodness. “Frostbite spiders, and a small enclave of vampires.”

“Vampires!” Oengul exclaimed. “Nothing but a curse upon the land, I tell you!”

Lili shook her head. “Not all of them, but yes, definitely these.” She nodded at Stenvar, who shoveled food into his mouth faster than Lili. “He was particularly useful with those.”

“And the spiders?” Oengul rose a brow craftily as his gaze drifted between the two. Lili could sense Stenvar’s unease.

“Divide and conquer,” she answered. “I took care of the arachnids whilst he gently tended to the vampires.” She felt the tension ease from Stenvar’s frame as Oengul nodded his approval. “And now we must visit Helgird to ensure neither of us have been infected with Sanguinare Vampiris.”

“Good idea!” Oengul’s nod was echoed by Hermir. “We’ll see you hale and hearty tomorrow!”

As they stepped out into the evening with full bellies, Stenvar leaned down to Lili. “Thanks for what you said in there. About my . . . “ his voice trailed off.

“Nonsense, it’s not something worth discussing with others,” Lili responded firmly. “Not anyone’s business but our own.” She turned her face north, into the cold wind from the mountains beyond the city walls. “Now to visit Hel-”

A scream cut off her words and brought both Star and Stenvar to combat readiness. The sound came from the graveyard, and Lili led the trio in that direction. A stumbling form appeared out of the darkness beyond, babbling about blood and death. Lili caught the emaciated form of Silda the Unseen, one of the beggars that loitered about the cold streets and hovered near the forge and the braziers for warmth.

“What is it, Silda?” Stenvar asked as he reached out and steadied the taller woman on her feet. The two guards in the market plaza moved closer to them, hands on hilts.

“Murder!” Silda shouted, struggling in their grips. “The Butcher! Again!”

“Where?” Stenvar demanded.

“Graveyard!” Silda shook herself loose and fled into the darkness. At her words the guards dashed past, their boots clattering on the stone stairs beyond that led down into the burial place. Stenvar followed close behind, Star on his heels. Lili took a breath and brought up the rear, moving carefully to avoid slipping on the icy steps.

“No!” Stenvar’s heartbroken howl lent speed to Lili’s feet. “Susanna!” She reached the circle of torches to find two of Windhelm’s burliest guards restraining the sellsword. Beyond, one of the other guards turned from the body sprawled on a stone sarcophagus.

“Damn, that’s the fourth one!” Her feminine invective caught Lili’s attention as she came to a stop beside Stenvar’s struggling form. Then all sound became muffled as Lili stared at the mutilated corpse.

Susanna lay nude beneath the cold stars, her body as white as the marble beneath her. Her eyes, no longer filled with the warm spark of life, gazed blindly at the winter sky. Blood gleamed starkly across her torso and neck from gaping wounds above the left breast, right abdomen and right thigh.

Breath left Lili’s body as she slumped to the ground, her eyes still on the barely recognizable barmaid. Susanna? No. Not Susanna. She was my first friend here! A sudden chill passed through her body as her nose picked up the faintest whiff of a recognizable scent.

“Susanna wasn’t killed here,” Lili heard her own voice speaking into the space between her and the female guard. The steel helm turned in her direction and the guard moved to stand before her.

“What did you say?”

Lili struggled back to her feet and forced her own emotions down. I need to be strong. For Susanna. For Stennvar. Time enough to grieve later. “See how little blood is there around her body?” She did not approach the bier. “Given the severity of those wounds, there should be blood all over this stone and even on the ground . . . “ She reached for a torch held by the one guard left standing near the corpse. Startled, the man did not object as she took the flame and lowered it to the ground. “No, hardly any blood here,” she stopped when she saw drops in the snow. “But there is a trail . . .”

“Let me go,” Stenvar’s voice had turned cold. Lili looked up into his eyes, and saw stone there. He no longer struggled for release, but she could see tears trickling into his close cropped beard.

“Release him,” the female guard ordered the two men. As they lowered their hands from him, Stenvar settled his armor over his shoulders and kept his gaze on Lili. “I’m Jyta Silverblade, leader of the night watch,” the woman drew Lili’s attention back to her. “What do you know of such things, Wood Elf?”

Lili gave Stenvar one last look before turning back to the watch leader. “I’ve been on the field of battle,” she struggled to keep her voice even against the onslaught of memories and emotions. “I know how bodies . . . look in death. She did not die here.” She gestured with the torch at the trail of blood drops in the snow. “But if one were to follow these, one might find the scene of the murder.”

“Look,” Silverblade spoke in the crisp diction of a militia leader, “we’re spread thin as it is, and folks don’t like to talk to us of such matters. Yet I cannot authorize you to look into this on an official basis.” She took a deep breath as the three male guards shifted their feet. “All right, Bearfist, Stormwall, back to your posts in the market.” As the two men, one of the two burly guards who had restrained Stenvar and the lean man who had inadvertently lent Lili his torch, snapped fists to chests and headed off into the night, Silverblade turned to the other bulky man. “Snowdrift, help Helgird with the body.”

Now Lili noticed the black-clad priest waiting behind her. Helgird stepped forward carefully, avoiding the blood trail Lili had pointed out, and leaned over the corpse. After a moment she nodded at the guard. “Gentle,” she warned.

“Yes, priest,” the one named Snowdrift cradled the body into his arms and followed Helgird away. Lili turned to Stenvar, who kept his gaze on the snow at his feet. Star seated himself next to the sellsword and leaned against his leg.

“The Butcher!” Another voice sailed out of the night. “I warned ye, I did! An’ now w’ve lost another young woman ‘cause of ye laysh-ziness!”

Silverblade hissed between her teeth and turned toward the aged Imperial who appeared out of the darkness. “Dame Giordano,” she addressed the other evenly. “Go home. I will visit you in the morning to speak of this. Wait for me there.”

“I tell ye, thish hash got t’ sh-top! Never mind th’ war, what’s th’ point of winnin’ th’ war if we ‘re bein’ terrorized in our own home-sh?”

Even from several steps away, Lili could smell the ale on the older woman’s breath. She’s been in the inn all evening. She moved to stand beside Silverblade. “You must tell me about the Butcher,” she kept her voice soft. “But right now we need to look at the scene and gather what clues we can.” She lives in the Stone Quarter, not far from here. “Would you like Stennvar to escort you home, ma’am?” She ignored the sharp glance he shot her, and approved of the way he quickly schooled his expression to one of neutral helpfulness.

“Him?” Giordano peered at the sellsword. “He could be th’ Butcher!” She staggered past them toward the western side of the graveyard. “I’ll sh-ee myself home, thank ye.” As she disappeared and her drunken rumblings faded away, Silverblade sighed.

“That damned Giordano woman,” she muttered, almost to herself, as Lili and Stenvar turned to her. “Roaming round Windhelm all day putting up posters about some Butcher, harassing people about their activities, and drinking all evening in Candlehearth. What a nuisance!”

“Why is she talking about a Butcher?” Lili asked. “And what did you mean this was the fourth one?”

Silverblade shook her head. “I’m not authorized to discuss guard matters with you, that has to be approved by the City Guard Captain. Come by the quarters in the morning.”

If I remember correctly, they are just starting on the most bug-ridden quest in the game. I wonder if their experience will be based on the intended path, or one of the glitched ones?

A good warm meal with the smiths. A shame that beautiful and capable sword will find its way as likely a decoration for the Jarl.

The death of Susanna is much more poignant for both the manner of her killing and the fact that she was a friend of both Lili and Sten.

Unlike ghastley, I don’t remember the details about this quest – so that is likely a good thing as it will be presented only through the eyes of Lili and Sten.

Lili reminds me of Jessica Fletcher as she quickly focuses on a significant clue at the scene of the crime. I’m guessing the shorthanded guard force may ask our trio to do some investigating.

I want to mention that, overall, I really like your pacing. You are not afraid to let Lili spend time when/where she wants to or treat us to rich details as the mood moves you. I tend to prefer character-driven over plot-driven stories and this one certainly hits that spot!

I think that detect creatures/astral sensing ability would be more important than ever in a dense rainforest/regular forest like Valenwood, where there is a mass of brush and trees that prevents seeing very far in any direction. So to me it seems more appropriate than ever that the Bosmer would develop such an ability to detect threats that are otherwise invisible to normal eyes due to the abundance of available camouflage.

Lil has an interesting remark about not all vampires being evil. That implies that she has known some who are not. Intriguing. Perhaps she has met Blood Raven in her travels?

And as ever she's got Sten's back when it comes to his reputation. That is doing a homie a solid.

The discovery of Susanna's murder really hits hard, with the way it just suddenly comes out of nowhere with Silda's scream in the night. Add to that Stenvar's relationship with Susanna makes this real in a way that the death of a total stranger does not. There is no question now that Lil and Sten are going to be on the case, and vengeance will follow...

Bearfist, Stormwall, Snowdrift. Good solid Nord names that evoke the icy cold of their homeland.

Uh oh, is Sten’s Ma a Stormcloak? Time will tell what that unease was about.

Kynesgrove! Wow, that’s a handy grooming spell. I could use one called “Brush Poodle.”

Ooh, Susanna has met her fate. Her loss hits much harder in Lili’s story since we have come to know her. You painted the scene very well, stark detail but not too gross.

Wow, with those names we have to be dealing with a bunch of Nords. Oh, and they’re in Windhelm. They have to be Nords!

Poor Susanna, and I feel for Stenvar.

First of all, to those who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

@ghastley: In all my playthroughs, I've never run into the glitches you describe, though I have heard of them. Maybe it's because I don't mess up the timing (that's the key to this quest, I've learned through my research into said glitches). That said, my presentation of this quest does not exactly follow that of the game, so enjoy!

@Acadian: As I mentioned to ghastley, I'm not exactly following the game version, but actually writing it more as a proper murder mystery. While you mention Jessica Fletcher, CSI and Law & Order are my guideposts here. I hope you enjoy my version of this quest. Thank you for the compliments regarding my pacing - I prefer to sit back and let my characters do the actual typing, and they do a good job of it, IMHO. You get to reap the rewards!

@SubRosa: You and I are thinking alike regarding the best skills for a given environment; we will see that Lili's instincts work best in close quarters like dungeons and crypts, while Sten's far superior vision will work better outside in the open. Hmm, I suspect we will learn more about Lili's past experiences with vampires, evil or otherwise. Eventually. And as Sten has Lili's back, so Lili has Sten's back. I'm glad that the start of the Blood on the Ice quest hit you the way I wanted it to. I know many of us are familiar with the quest, and I suspect all of you have been waiting for this ever since I introduced Susanna the Wicked way back in the first installment. I wanted her death to have more impact on everyone in the game, and it looks like I have accomplished my goal.

@Grits: I doubt Sten's Ma would have been a Stormcloak, given that Sten himself does not have much respect for either side of the Civil War. No, his unease has another source. I knew you would appreciate that spell of Lili's - it sure comes in handy with stinky dogs, muddy horses, etc. Though we won't see her using it much with cats . . . It was a struggle describing the crime scene without delving into too much graphic detail, as you know I tend to do (Daedra heart, anyone?). Such detail will be coming up later, but I will provide a Surgeon's General warning prior to those posts, so you all know to read it on empty stomachs. I'm glad you feel for Sten, we will find out more about the relationship he had with Susanna another day.

And now we start a new day - the most eventful one for Lili and Sten. Looking over my manuscript, I see that this day alone has twice as many posts as any of the preceding days. I think it's well worth taking the time to really delve into this mystery and explore the investigation. As I approached it, I began asking myself questions about the way the quest was written in game, and realized I had several issues with it. I hope I've addressed most, if not all, of these issues with the way I've written Fredas 22 Last Seed.

**************************************

Fredas 22 Last Seed - An Investigation

Ma -

Susanna is dead. I can’t write any more.

“Stenvar! Stenvar!” A violent shaking, accompanied by whining, roused Sten from a black slumber. Groggily he pushed back against the hand on his shoulder. “Stenvar!” The voice cleared into Nil’s light tenor. “Stenvar, wake up!”

Elda’s sharp voice interrupted the cook’s frantic attempts to rouse Sten, and a sudden onslaught of cold liquid washed the last of the drunken fog from Sten’s mind. He gasped and floundered into a seated position, his head ringing from Star’s anxious barks.

“Be quiet, dog!” Elda snapped at the excitable Husky, whose yipping subsided suddenly. “Nils, go back to the kitchen and get that tea made. This man needs a moment to get his wits together, and that hangover cure of yours’ll help.”

The small man disappeared up the cellar steps as Elda dropped the bucket beside Sten and knelt down in the puddling water. She pulled back the sodden furs briskly and handed him the rough towel she always kept over one shoulder. “Are you awake, now?” Her voice matched her eyes, rough and red-rimmed with grief, the same grief that came crashing down on Sten.

“Why did you wake me?” Sten mumbled into Elda’s bar towel, and winced at the pounding that increased in speed against the inside of his skull. “Why didn’t you just leave me be?”

Elda rubbed her eyes with the heel of one hand. “Look, I know you’re as heart-broken as we are,” her voice turned gruff. “But Lilisfina is in trouble.”

“T- trouble?” Sten frowned, trying to recall the sequence of events last night. How they had returned from that gruesome scene in the graveyard to a even more horrific scene at Candlehearth, where patron and staff alike sat in stunned shock, the usual patter of life gone with the vanished barmaid. How Elda and Nils had brought up a few kegs of summer ale from the cellar and tapped them, then left the ale unattended as patrons helped themselves. How Lilisfina had sat with him, the grief in her gaze mirroring the heartbreak in his chest as they drank. And drank. And drank.

Sten frowned as he struggled to recall how he had come to his bedroll next to the large boiler in the cellar. He gulped at the bitter brew that suddenly appeared in his hands upon Nils’s return from the kitchen. Then Elda’s voice resolved into words. “— and she went to the City Guard quarters to talk to the watch leader from last night. Then we get a message from Thane Free-Winter that she had been arrested!”

“Wait, arrested?” Sten choked on the hangover cure and set the mug down with a bang. “Arrested for what?” He struggled to his feet and looked around for his gear.

“Murder,” Elda would not meet his glare. “Susanna’s murder, that is.” She pressed a folded parchment into Sten’s hands. “This is from Thane Free-Winter. The messenger said you are to come to the Palace immediately.”

“Here,” Nils held out Sten’s zwei-hander and attached baldric. “Best not to go in your full gear, but you should at least have this.”

“Look, Sten,” Elda caught his woolen sleeve, “all of us here at Candlehearth know Lilisfina could not have killed Susanna. Giordano is already on her way there to protest the arrest, but I’m afraid they won’t listen to her.”

The parchment rustled in Sten’s shaking hands. Stenvar, if you are still the Wood Elf’s sellsword, come to the Palace immediately. She has need of you. Thane Free-Winter.

By the time Sten reached the Palace, the last dregs of his hangover had disappeared, to Sten’s short-lived relief. As Nils had feared, Giordano stood at the foot of the long table in the Great Hall of the Palace, frustration in her voice and fists clenched, as the Jarl’s housecarl Gjalmar Stone-Fist shouted her down. “It’s the same work as the other three murders, I tell you!” Viola remained undaunted as the big Nord, the bearskull helm on his head making him seem taller than most men, bore down on her. Her eyes flashed up at him. “There is no way that Wood Elf could have done all four of these murders when she hadn’t even arrived in Windhelm until five days ago!”

“Are you saying Captain Ironhand is wrong?” Stone-Fist’s growl reverberated around the Hall’s stone columns. At the head of the table, nearest the throne, Sten saw the Jarl seated, his head in his hands. Beside him stood the slight frame of the elderly steward, Jorleif, who watched with crossed arms and impassive face.

“Yes!” Giordano’s shout brought Sten’s gaze back to the duo in front of him. She stabbed a finger in the direction of the heavily armored guard captain who stood just past Stone-Fist. “That man has done nothing but sit on his arse for the past six months while women are being killed and horribly mutilated, but as soon as a little Wood Elf walks into town he decides he has found the Butcher!”

“For the last time, woman,” the guard captain shouted as he stepped beside Stone-Fist, “there. Is. No. Butcher!”

“Stop hiding your head in the yellow snowdrift, fool!” Spittle flew from Giordano’s lips as she leaned toward the guard captain. Nils darted forward and interspersed himself between the Imperial woman and the two armored Nords. He restrained Giordano’s increasingly agitated gestures as they began to border upon insulting and tried to press her away. As the two Nords began to follow after the little cook, Sten found himself stepping behind Nils and blocking them. Free-Winter and Shatter-Shield joined him, one at either shoulder. Sten didn’t speak, only locked gazes with the Guard Captain. Behind him Star growled softly.

“Jarl,” Free-Winter’s voice rang down the table, “I call my right to question the Wood Elf in custody.”

“We are interrogating her this morning!” the Captain protested. Sten’s heart sank. Interrogation be damned, it’s more torture than anything else.

“I am a Thane of Windhelm, and as such I demand to exercise my right to conduct any such interrogation!” Free-Winter’s voice took on a well worn battle tone. At Sten’s left, Shatter-Shield’s hearty second was a mere echo.

Jarl Stormcloak raised his head and sent a weary glance at his frustrated housecarl. “They are my Thanes, Gjalmar. They are closer to the people of Windhelm than you or I.” His sigh drifted down the long table. “Very well, Thanes, you may conduct the interrogation.” He turned to the outraged Watch Captain. “Captain Ironhand, please take them to the dungeons.”

“No, my Jarl,” Free-Winter shook his head. “I would prefer to conduct the interview here, in front of the people of Windhelm and my Jarl. That way no one can accuse either Shatter-Shield or myself of protecting a murderer.” At his words Sten glanced around in surprise. Seems like half of Windhelm, Nords, Dark Elves and Argonians, are here!

“You’re not going to let me breakfast in peace, then?” Stormcloak complained. He tossed down his dagger and rose to his feet. “Very well, let’s get this done with.” He nodded at his steward as he seated himself gingerly on the stone throne. “Jorleif.”

The impassive man uncrossed his arms and snapped his fingers. As servants appeared from both sides of the Hall and began clearing away the remains of the morning meal, others pulled benches away and rearranged the table sections into the shape of a squared crescent, with the open end facing the tall entrance doors and the cross bar nearest the throne. Jorleif glanced at the Jarl, who nodded his approval, then turned back to the two Thanes still waiting near the doors. “The court is yours, Thanes,” Jorleif called down the great chamber.

Free-Winter turned to Sten. “Do you still work for the Wood Elf?” At his nod, the elder sighed. “It would be best for you and for the lass if you stayed by the doors, and held your own counsel unless called for.” His gaze shifted to Star. “The dog, too.”

“But I am her sword-arm,” Sten protested softly. “My place is at her shoulder, same as Gjalmar’s for the Jarl.”

“You are in the Jarl’s court,” Shatter-Shield turned to him. “As much as we trust your judgment concerning your employers, we ask you to trust ours in this matter.”

A clatter of arms from the east side of the hall drew everyone’s attention to the dungeon entrance. Guards clapped their hands on hilts as the lean watch leader entered the Hall, followed by the small figure of the Wood Elf. Sten fought the urge to move to take his place at Lilisfina’s side, and bit his lip at the sight of the shackles restricting her movements. Still, she stood tall, back straight beneath the weight of the chains at wrists and ankles, and she moved with care after Silverblade.

As the guards led her within the arc of the tables and positioned her to stand facing the throne, Lilisfina shot him a glance. He inhaled slowly. She’s in good spirits. Trying to make me feel at ease? Not happy, but not desperate or despairing, either. Just calm. Well, if she can be calm, then I’ll be calm, too.

“Good morning, Lilisfina,” Free-Winter greeted her from the right table. She turned her head in his direction. “I’m sorry to see you in such straits. There seems to be some confusion about your role in the latest murder.”

“Good morning, Thane Free-Winter, Thane Shatter-Shield,” her voice slid smoothly into the chill air of the Hall. “I agree there seems to be some confusion.” She turned her head back to the throne and the scowling Jarl seated there. Sten saw her incline her torso in a half-bow. “How may I be of assistance, Jarl Stormcloak?”

Good lass, Sten approved silently. Show the man your typical courtesy.

Lil has been arrested? WTF? She is a wood elf and newcomer, so I smell a case of rounding up the usual suspects and putting all the blame on them. It is a lot easier than you know, actually investigating a crime. Or maybe the real killer was clever enough to somehow throw blame onto Lil?

In any case, a murder wrap in Skyrim sounds like a trip to the executioner. So Sten better work fast to get Lil sprung!

I love "the yellow snowdrift". Given that I know to watch out where the huskies go, and not to eat that yellow snow, I can easily guess what it refers to!

I like how you refer to Jarl Ulfric as Stormcloak, in the old English fashion of referring to a lord by his title, rather than his given name.

Clever of the two thanes to demand that Lil's interrogation take place in public. That way her testimony cannot be simply buried or changed when it does not match what law enforcement wants it to be.

A courtroom drama! I had not been expecting this. Good! I am sure all of us have played this quest numerous times, and by now know every twist and turn to expect. You have thrown the cannon storyline out the window here by introducing a new element, and given us something different and refreshing instead. Congratulations on taking a well-trod path and making it a new exploration again.

Lil's spirits are holding up. Or at least she is not allowing others to see them flag. That is good at least. It shows the strength of her character.

Poor Sten! Rough night, rough morning, and it’s not getting any better.

What the heck, they arrested Lili?! Oh wow, they’re going to hash it out in the middle of Jarl Ulfric’s court! This is great! I’m glad you’re putting your own spin on this quest.

I love how Lili calmed Sten down with a glance. She’s so cool!

Drinking their grief and troubles away clearly didn’t work – except for giving Sten a hangover and getting Lili tossed in the dungeon. Certainly an unexpected turn of events!

I’m thinking the thanes were wise to insist both on interrogating the Wood Elf themselves and doing so as publicly as possible.

Lili’s entrance into the Jarl’s ‘court’ displayed a presence that belies her size. And she has not been neglecting her speechcraft, I see. I imagine her restrained and polite – even dignified - approach will be more successful than the confrontational attempts of Giordano.

Interesting Lili corrects Oengul about the curse of vampires. "Not all of them" she says. True. I'd say Serana is not all bad, for instance.

Oooh, The Butcher quest. Cool, glad you're writing this up. I might have to blur my eyes occasionally, just 'cause here's another quest none of mine have done, yet. Damn, Susanna.... I like her. She gets killed??

Lili catches a scent, a-ha. Lili's like a forensics specialist in our terms!

I like the way Giordano speaks.

Wait, Lili got arrested?? The player gets arrested? So it's probably because Lili described how Sus had been moved from somewhere else. And some lunkhead authorities automatically think she knows more than she's saying. Thing is, Lili's got alibis left and right, I'd imagine. She's always around someone, right?

That's a good idea, having the interrogation being performed in public. I'm surprised Ulfric allows it for an elf. Guards clapped their hands on hilts as the lean watch leader entered the Hall, followed by the small figure of the Wood Elf. .... Aw jeez, this is silly. They really think the little elf is responsible.

In response to the universal question: Yes, the City Watch arrested Lili indeed!

@SageRose: Yes, you have it summed up - blame it all on the newcomer because what Windhelm resident would be so evil to commit all these crimes? It does put a black eye on the Watch's reputation. And the Captain of the Watch, who outranks our Jyta Silverblade, btw, is very typical of the Windhelm nobility. I figured someone would catch the yellow snowdrift reference, and yes, it's exactly as you imagined it! You are correct in saying that I tossed the canon out the window and went with my own path. The game quest served as my guideline, but how I got from A to B to C is a very different route, so hopefully you will enjoy the journey.

@Grits: the fact that Lili and Sten could communicate so effectively with mere glances is a demonstration of how far their relationship has come since that cold Sundas Lili came to Windhelm. Now it's Fredas and they have a good bond - moving too fast, or fate?

@Acadian: you are not the only one to call out the fact that the Thanes wanted to interrogate Lili in front of both the Jarl and the people of Windhelm. Of course, it's intended to prevent any coverup on any one's part. The Thanes are especially experienced in the ways truth can be hidden from those who deserve to know.

@Renee: Don't squint too hard - I tried to write this day a bit more intelligently than the way it was presented in the game. And Giordano was a heap of fun to write - she is a colorful character both in the way she shamelessly pursues poor Captain Cruel Sea and the way she harangues the guard on their inaction regarding the multiple murders. Of course, her investigational abilities lack a certain thoroughness . . .

And now we determine Lili's innocence - or guilt?

*******************************

Fredas 22 Last Seed - Interrogation

Lili managed to execute a graceful half bow to the Nord on the throne. “How may I be of assistance, Jarl Stormcloak?”

His scowl deepened as Jarl Stormcloak lowered his hand from his bearded chin. “Are you aware of the gravity of your situation here, Elf?”

“Yes, Jarl,” Lili lowered her eyes slowly. She could sense the hostility in the man before her, as well as those that stood at the table to her left. “I stand charged with the murder of Susanna the Wicked, committed just last night.”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, then?” Stormcloak countered with a soft growl.

“Only that I am innocent of any such crime here in Windhelm,” Lili kept her tone steady. These men are determined to see me executed for something I didn’t do, simply because I am a Mer. How to convince them otherwise?

The Jarl shifted restlessly on his throne, and Lili sensed his attention shift to the two Thanes at the right hand table. “Begin your questioning, Thanes.”

Free-Winter stepped around to stand before Lili, with the central table between them. “Please tell us your name, and your birth place, lass.” His tone, though soft, held a practiced neutrality.

“Lilisfina, of Valenwood,” she responded. Careful. Do not provide more information than asked. She had been through this before. So far it’s been easy, but no need to make it more difficult than it has to be.

“How did you come to Windhelm from distant Valenwood?” Free-Winter stroked his long grey beard thoughtfully.

“First I traveled to Elsweyr, and spent time in Anequina and in the Tenmar Forest,” Lili watched the elder Thane as he strolled the length of the table from one end to the other, gaze lowered to the floor as if in deep thought. He knows this already, but he must want the Jarl and the others to hear it from my own lips.

“Why did you linger there,” Free-Winter mused. “And how long?”

“Curiosity,” Lili provided the answer she had given him before, when they first met outside Sadri’s Used Wares. “And the desire to learn. I lived among the Khajiit for twenty-eight years.”

“Learn what?” Free-Winter lifted his gaze to hers.

“I am a mage,” Lili admitted. “Though one not well versed in the arcane arts. I stopped with a mage or two while I lived among the Khajiit. I also wanted to learn about their culture and history.”

“Hmmm, and after Elsweyr, where did you go next?”

“Black Marsh, among the Saxhleel,” Lili suppressed the joy she always felt when recalling her time among the marshes and jungles of the Hist. “I was there sixteen years. In Elsweyr I learned how to navigate buried ruins, dispel undead, and lay restless ghosts to peace. In Black Marsh I learned about elementals and how to work with them. After that, I was in Morrowind for six years.”

“Only six years in Morrowind?” Free-Winter lifted craggy brows at her. “Why?”

“Morrowind is a sad, desolate ruin,” Lili felt the sorrow color her tone. “The whole of the land is an ashen mockery of its former self.” She shook her head. “Even Shad Astula in Mournhold is gone. There was little reason for me to stay there.” Not after Tamira died defending me from that Bonewalker. “So I came to Windhelm.”

“When did you arrive at our docks?” This came from Thane Shatter-Shield. Lili turned her head to meet his gaze. Why is Shatter-Shield here?

“Five days ago?” Lili cast her gaze upwards. “It was Sundas the seventeenth. I’ve been staying at Candlehearth Hall since.”

“And what are your plans now that you are in Skyrim?” Shatter-Shield’s tone was as neutral as Free-Winter’s.

“Once I am more acclimated to this cold,” Lili shivered for emphasis, “I plan to travel to Winterhold to visit the College there. I was told as a child many years ago that I should seek mage training there.”

“What is the point of all of this?” Captain Ironhand demanded. “Who cares what this Wood Elf did before coming here, or what she intends to do now that she’s in Skyrim! She killed one of our own!”

“Fool!” Giordano exploded from the shadows near the doors. She darted forward to stand behind Lili. “Four of our own have been killed, and you —” she stabbed her finger in Ironhand’s direction “— have done nothing to stop it! I tell you the Butcher is one of us, not some outsider freshly arrived on the refugee boat out of Blacklight!”

“There is no Butcher!” Ironhand bellowed back, his face suffused with rage. He moved as if to leap over the table at Giordano, but Stone-Fist’s immovable arm across his chest blocked him. Lili noticed that Giordano did not flinch away, but rather leaned forward, ready for skirmish.

“Enough!” Stormcloak’s command reverberated around the Hall and broke the tension. Ironhand subsided back, still fuming. Behind her, Lili could sense Giordano calm a little, though she still quivered with indignation. Stormcloak turned his fierce glare from Ironhand to Giordano before settling on Free-Winter. “Though I do wonder what is the point of all of this, Thane,” his tone held warning.

Free-Winter bowed slightly to Stormcloak. “I am merely trying to establish a view of the lass’s activities in the time prior to the murders.”

“Murders?” Stormcloak instantly pounced on his thane’s choice of words. “Are you saying there is a ‘Butcher’?”

Free-Winter shrugged. “I am merely trying to establish the lass’s innocence or guilt in the current matter before us.” He waited until Stormcloak gestured impatiently for him to proceed before returning his attention to Lili. “Once you arrived in Windhelm and hired Stenvar Strongsword, what did you do between Sundas the seventeenth and last night when Susanna’s body was discovered?”

Over the next several moments, Lili found herself providing a detailed itinerary of her activities from meeting Free-Winter and first learning of the reavers, to hiring Stenvar to help her clear the wreck, through her conversations with Oengul and Hermir, with Nurelion, and their expeditions to Forsaken Cave and Cronvangr Cave. At this point Stormcloak broke in.

“Wait, why did you go to Cronvangr Cave?”

“Jarl, it was to recover an ancient sword for Oengul, so he could present it to you,” Lili responded, again turning her gaze floorward in courtesy.

“What ancient sword?” Stormcloak demanded. “Where is Oengul?”

“Here, my Jarl,” the smith’s cracked voice sailed out from the shadows where he waited with Sten and Nils. “I arrived here in time to see the lass stand accused of murder.”

“Come forward,” Stormcloak demanded. “Do you have this sword of which the Elf speaks?”

“I do, my Jarl,” Oengul stepped forward with the cloth wrapped bundle in one fist. “I am here to present to you the ancient Sword of Queen Freydis!” He paused before the throne, unwrapped the weapon, and presented it across two hands.

Lili watched the Jarl’s bloodshot eyes gleam at the silver shimmer of the ancient sword as he rose from his seat and stepped down to reach for it. All trace of weariness and surliness faded from his visage when the Jarl took the hilt of the sword and lifted it from the smith’s hands. He raised the blade before his face and thumbed it lightly, then flinched and raised his thumb to his lips. That sword is still keen after all these years, like Oengul said. Stormcloak sighted along the blade, then sighed in pleasure. “Well done, smith,” he nodded his approval and turned to Gjalmar. The housecarl carefully accepted the sword from Stormcloak and stepped back, the ancient weapon protectively cradled in his massive forearms. Stormcloak returned to his seat and gestured at Free-Winter.

“My Jarl,” Oengul did not move from before the throne. “It is the Wood Elf and Stenvar Strongsword you should be thanking. Else I’ll still be trying to forge the perfect copy of that sword.” At his words the scowl returned to Stormcloak’s face. The old smith bowed to the Jarl and moved to leave. Free-Winter stopped him with a gesture.

“Tell me how they came to you with the Sword of Queen Freydis last night, smith.”

“Hermir and I were just about to sit down to dinner last night when they arrived. They were cold, tired, and covered in cobwebs. But they had the Sword, and handed it over to me. Then after the evening meal they left us, and as soon as they stepped out we heard a scream from the graveyard, and Silda the Unseen came running from that direction,” Oengul detailed. “They stopped her briefly, and I managed to make out ‘Death’ ‘Blood’ and ‘Murder’. She also said something about the Butcher.”

“And how long were they with you before the beggar woman found the body?” Free-Winter asked.

“They shared the evening meal with us,” Oengul responded. “From shortly past sun down until after the market closed.”

“Thank you, smith,” Free-Winter released Oengul with a nod. “And I’d like to hear Watch Leader Silverblade’s report, as well, my Jarl.”

As Lili expected, the watch leader’s report was crisp, efficient and factual, much like the officer herself. It also made it abundantly clear that neither Lili nor Stenvar had anything to do with Susanna’s gruesome death. And with that, the farce was over. Jarl Stormcloak ordered her release with cranky impatience and called Storm-Fist into the war room with him. Ironhand was even more frustrated as he ordered the shackles be removed. Silverblade herself did the honors.

“I am sorry for this, Wood Elf,” the guard’s tone held regret. “I was looking forward to further conversation on this subject.” She turned her head in Jorleif’s direction. “I’ve already spoken with the Steward, but he has not given yea or nay regarding the assistance you offered last night. It would be wise for you, your sellsword, and your dog to return to the Inn and grieve.”

And avoid the Guard Captain. Lili heard the unspoken warning. “Thank you, Watch Leader,” Lili bowed her head respectfully to the taller woman before turning for the doors. Stenvar stepped forward, and she noted that he wore only his padded tunic and trews, which did nothing to hide his muscular bulk. “Have you eaten yet, Stennvar?” He shook his head, and Lili smiled sadly down at Star who pushed himself between the two. “Let’s go and eat.”

We have some new glimpses into Lil's history as the thanes press her for background information on how she came to Skyrim. That is a very tantalizing hint about Tamira. We do not know who she was exactly, other than a boon companion. One important enough that Morrowind was not worth staying within without her.

Ahh, the blade is still Sharpe I see.

Oengul saves the day! Phew. Just because Lil was innocent, that was no reason to believe that she would not be blamed anyway.

Well, if Sten's relationship with Susanna was not enough reason to investigate the murders, this certainly is the straw that breaks the silt strider's back. Now there is more reason than ever for Lil and Sten to carve up the Butcher for once and all.

‘I was fetching your queen’s fetching sword when someone murdered your villager, Jarl!’

Whew! It was only the overwhelming alibi that saved her from Ulfric’s elf-hungry Nords.

Like SubRosa, I enjoyed more of the hints from Lili’s past.

I have no doubt that Lili and Sten will honor Susanna by solving her murder. Then I wouldn’t be surprised if Lili is ready to move on from Windhelm.

“Only that I am innocent of any such crime here in Windhelm,” Lili kept her tone steady.

Wait…in Windhelm? Hmm.

Well, after getting Lili’s life story in broad strokes, it was the Sword of Queen Freydis that proved Team Lili’s innocence. Good thing they went on that particular mission.

Windhelm is a mess, there’s a killer on the loose, and Sten looks hot in his tunic and trews. It seems a good time to get the heck out of town, but now both Stenvar and Lili have personal reasons to solve these crimes. And Star might get a bone! Always happy to see Star right there in the middle.

Yeesh, she's facing Ulfric. And if I recall correctly, the reason she's here is she actually tried to help with clues she noticed. - I like that she's explaining to them her plans to continue to Winterhold. That's what a truly innocent person would do.

And think about it: if the Butcher IS real (which Ironhand does not acknowledge) he or she's been committing murders some time before the elf even arrived in town.

Stormy knows nothing about an 'ancient sword!' Okay, seems Oengul could be providing an unintentional alibi with timing, here. (I watch a lot of crime shows IRL..).

Alright cool. Lilisfina is free. Well that'll be something to tell around the hearth someday. Which is scarier: facing a bunch of spiders or speaking before Stormcloak's court?

@SubRosa: It was a good opportunity to introduce the timeline of Lili's travels from Valenwood to Skyrim, and to emphasize her easy relations with Argonians and Khajiit as we will see in upcoming chapters. As for Tamira, let's just say Sten isn't Lili's first rodeo. While being accused of a crime she did not commit would be enough incentive for Lili to pursue her own investigation, this is more than that. Susanna was one of the first Windhelm citizens to befriend Lili upon her arrival, and her easy going nature just clicked with Lili. So there was a nascent friendship of sorts already forming between the two. And who wouldn't want to be involved in the murder investigation of a dear friend?

@Acadian: Once the murder is solved (as it seems to be a foregone conclusion once Lili became involved), whether or not she will move on from Windhelm remains to be seen. We do know she has a vague urgency to travel on to Winterhold, but we also have noticed she is not in a hurry to travel to a clime even colder than Windhelm!

@Grits: Let's just say that Lili is not as squeaky clean as she seems to be Remember, in Bosmer lore, there is no such thing as ownership of property, as we have seen with a certain side quest in Woodhearth in ESO. And yes, Sten looks hot in tunic and trews, or out of them

@Renee: Actually, the Jarl is aware of the Sword of Freydis, which is why Oengul has been trying to create a passable replica of it. Getting hold of the real Sword of Freydis, whelp, that's something else altogether. And remember, the night before Oengul did say he was going to present it to the Jarl in the AM.

Lili was arrested for suspicion of murder, but the subsequent questioning in front of the hungover Jarl and half the city has cleared her of any wrongdoing. Now our Team Lili gets to play CSI (the original, not the knockoffs).

*********************************************

Fredas 22 Last Seed - Following the Trail

Boss was arrested for Susanna’s murder. But after questioning - not torture - she was released. I’m glad she’s none the worse for the experience.

Sten watched Lilisfina pick at her morning meal, a simple collection of cheeses, bread and cooked meat. I’m not very hungry either. Grief, and drink, will do that to oneself. Even the dog looks dejected. Star lay with his head beneath Lilisfina’s chair, his pricked ears drooping to either side of his broad skull. The inn’s great room felt empty without Susanna’s vibrant personality. The author Leotelli slumped over his mug of canis root tea at a nearby table, his occasional sniffles matching the mood of the trio.

The exterior door swung open and a swirl of cold air caused the tiny flame on the mantel of the hearth to flicker. Sten met the hard gaze of the night watch leader as Silverblade latched the door behind her. The guard removed her leather helmet to reveal close cropped blond hair, and flung her blue cloak back over her wide shoulders.

Lilisfina looked up as Silverblade strode to their table and seated herself without a word. The Nord woman placed her helmet carefully in front of her and ignored the soft growl from Star. “Wood Elf, I have a proposal for you and your sellsword.”

“A proposal?” Lilisfina leaned back in her chair and dropped a hand to Star’s back. The growling stopped at the light touch of her fingers. “Let’s hear it, Watch Leader.”

“Steward Jorleif has given me permission to request your assistance in the investigation of Susanna the Wicked’s murder,” Silverblade continued. “I would like you to view the body and the scene where she was found with me and give me your thoughts on the matter.”

Lilisfina met Sten’s gaze. Am I up to this? Seeing Susanna like that? I’m not convinced I can. Sten gave her the tiniest of shrugs. The Wood Elf turned back to the waiting guard.

“I’m not sure how much assistance we can be,” she said finally. “Susanna was a very good friend of ours, and we are still struggling with her loss.”

Silverblade’s gaze softened. “Susanna the Wicked was the kind of woman who made friends easily. She was compassionate, loyal, and warm-hearted.” Now her eyes returned to their icy state. “That’s why it’s important to me to get this resolved, and to end this killing spree.”

Lilisfina regarded the tea in her mug. “Very well, let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to finish your meal first?” Silverblade gestured to their half full plates. “It can be a long day for us.”

Sten met Lilisfina’s gaze and shook his head. She turned back to the Leader. “No, we have no appetite at this time. Let us begin.”

Silverblade led them first to the stone bier in the graveyard where Susanna’s body had been found. “You mentioned something about this not being the place where she was murdered. Tell me again why you think so.”

“Not enough blood considering those wounds we saw on her body,” Lilisfina replied with a glance at Sten. He nodded confirmation, but kept silent. Not sure I can trust my voice right now. “If she had been killed here,” she indicated the top and sides of the stone sarcophagus and the surrounding snow covered ground, “these would be covered in blood. Yet,” she pointed out the puddled stains on top of the bier and the drips down one side, “this is all we see from her body.” She knelt down and touched the scarlet streaks. “The body was laid from this side, as we see from these drips - see how few they are? And here,” she pointed at spots of red in the snow, some already scuffed over by boots, “there are more, which suggests the body was carried from this direction,” she pointed to the west.

“Can you track them?” Silverblade asked. “See where the trail came from?”

“The murder site, yes,” Lilisfina nodded. “But where?” She rose to her feet and shrugged. “Not sure if the trail is still visible.”

Sten stepped back and surveyed the snow in the direction Lilisfina had indicated. “Here, looks like another drop or two here,” he pointed out a few paces west, nearer the street that led down from the Stone Quarter. Lilisfina, Star and Silverblade joined him. “But which direction?” Sten turned his head. “The stairs from the market? Or the Stone Quarter?”

“Both are unlikely directions,” Silverblade mused. “The market place is still busy even at that hour. And the Stone Quarter is well patrolled, not just the City guards but also the hired swords of the families there.”

“You mean the Shatter-Shield and Cruel-Sea carls,” Sten added. “They would be clustered around the clan manors, though.”

“And we know of at least one house that is empty there,” Lilisfina added, her voice taking on a grim tone. She looked at Star, who nosed through the snow. The Wood Elf knelt beside Star and scooped up a bit of bloodstained snow with her fingers. She sniffed at it, and nodded to herself. “Trail’s still fairly fresh. Star?” She held her hand with the melting snow to him. The Skyrim Husky sniffed briefly, then turned back to the snow and began nosing around.

“Is he trained to track?” Silverblade asked skeptically. “I thought all he knows is how to mooch fish from the Argonians?”

Sten chuckled in spite of himself. “I thought so too, but the past few days has shown me that Star is more than a stray beggar.” He tipped his head at the dog, who had already moved a few paces away, toward the Stone Quarter.

Between Lilisfina finding more blood on the snow, and Star sniffing his way along, they found themselves standing before the abandoned manor at the end of the street. The small stone house crouched before them, its windows shuttered against the winter sunlight. It feels sad, lonely. The thought caught Sten off guard, and he turned to look at Lilisfina’s face as she regarded the structure.

“The blood and the trail definitely leads here, Leader,” she whispered, her breath barely visible as a thin stream. “And I’m told this was where Friga Shatter-Shield was found murdered. Does anyone have access to the house still?”

“It would be the Shatter-Shields,” Silverblade stepped to the door and tested its latch. “It is locked, so they would have the key.” She sighed. “I hate to ask them for the key at this time, but it’s needed to enter the house.” She slid a sly glance at Lilisfina. “Unless you know how to pick locks?”

Lilisfina shook her head. No, she doesn’t know how, or no, she wouldn’t do it? “I think I may be able to get the key from them,” she murmured. “We can come back later.” She gestured toward the base of the door. “See how the snow is cleared away from there? Someone’s been in and out of the house recently.”

“Yes, and the lock shows signs of having been picked,” Silverblade indicated the bright scratching around the keyhole.

“The Shatter-Shields can tell us if anyone has been inside the house since the last snowfall.” Sten mused.

“First let’s go see the body,” Silverblade turned back to the street. She paused when Lilisfina and Sten didn’t follow her immediately. Her brows disappeared beneath her helmet at them.

Lilisfina drew her bearskin cloak more closely about her against the cold. “Is there a Butcher?”

Silverblade looked skyward with a sigh. “There’s been four murders, all young women, in the past six months,” her voice threaded thinly through the frosty air. “First it was Friga Shatter-Shield, in her home. Next was Isabella, the girl who was with Adonato Leotelli. She was found dumped in the alleyway behind the smithy. The third one was Fjotli Cruel-Sea, and her body was found near the main gates.” She lowered her gaze to Lilisfina and Sten. “And now Susanna.”

“Was Isabella Nord too?” Lilisfina asked. Both Sten and Silverblade regarded her with puzzled frowns. “If you have a murderer who is killing more than one person, they usually have a type.”

“Type?” Silverblade asked as Lilisfina returned to the street to stand beside the Leader.

“A preference for what their victims are like,” Lilisfina responded. “All women, all Nord?”

“No, Isabella was Imperial, like her uncle,” Sten responded. “But like the others, she was tall, and fair of skin.”

“Hmmm, I see what you are getting at,” Silverblade nodded. “Tall women, fair skinned, not necessarily Nords.”

“Can you tell me what was taken from their bodies?” Lilisfina asked as they started back down the street toward the graveyard. “And were they all mutilated like Susanna?” Her voice was muted, as were the others’ as they passed between the stately manors and beneath the steady gazes of Cruel-Sea and Shatter-Shield guards.

“They were found nude, like Susanna, and when their homes were examined, nothing was missing from them.” Silverblade inhaled sharply, as at a sudden memory. “Wait, Nilsine said Friga’s house key was missing.”

“The key?” Lilisfina repeated. “Hmmm. We should ask Nilsine if anyone has been in that house since the murder.”

“Torbjorn, too,” Sten added. “He’s the sort of father to do things without his children’s knowledge.”

“Indeed,” Silverblade nodded agreement. “I’ll let you handle those two, though. Coming from me such a request may seem -”

“Insensitive?” Lilisfina asked. She shrugged. “We’ll see what we can do. Have to get a key to the house from them anyway.”

The investigation is afoot! Sten’s observantness, Star’s nose, Lili’s mind for arranging details, and Silverblade’s authority to proceed as/where they need combine into a potent team.

“Hmmm, I see what you are getting at,” Silverblade nodded. “Tall women, …’
- - Whew, well at least Lili doesn’t have to worry about becoming a victim.

I’m sure seeing Susanna’s body will be difficult for both Lili and Sten.

So thanks to Silverblade (which is a great name btw.) Lil and Sten are now on the case as private dicks.

The bloodhounds are on the scent - literally as well as figuratively - and Lil quickly shows her talents as an investigator. I like that she does not just use her knowledge of anatomy to determine that Susanna as not killed where her body was found, but also her recent memory, which dredged up the fact that there is indeed an empty house in the Stone Quarter.

So tall, fair-skinned, and I presume blonde women are the targets. Good thing January does not live in this timeline...

Next up, talking to the Shatter-Shields.

CSI Windhelm! I enjoyed watching the team ‘s investigation. It was especially interesting to see Sten’s reaction to shuttered and empty Hjerim.

Good idea to send Lili to speak with the Shatter-Shields. She has demonstrated that she can get through to people.

I have such fond memories of Hjerim as a family home in Jensa’s game. It makes me wonder if I have a working save of hers stashed away somewhere.

@Acadian: I'm sure Lili shares your relief that she doesn't fit the Butcher's 'type'! Potent team, indeed. And yes, the next part is going to be very hard for Lili and Sten, as we will see.

@Sage Rose: Thanks, I had a hard time coming up with these Nord family names! I decided on Silverblade because it sounds like it would belong to a hulking tank of a Northman, but instead we have a (hulking tank?) of a Northwoman. I was actually thinking of Paksennarion when I began writing this toon. When I play through this quest, the one guard we speak to in game is a woman, so I got to thinking about her as a character and ended up with Silverblade. I hope you like what I've done with what is essentially a throwaway character in the game. And if January lived in this timeline, I doubt the Butcher would have survived any attempt on her!

@Grits: Yup, CSI Windhelm! I agree that Lili already has established a somewhat tenuous connection with the Shatter-Shield family thanks to her prior conversation with Nilsine. Hjerim is such a sad little house, until I get my hands on it and clean it up! This is possible due to a mod that removes the Civil War requirements from ownership of Hjerim, and also removes those annoying Stormcloak banners. It has worked well for me through several playthroughs.

And now we are off to see Susanna one last time. Before I start, I must do this:

***********************SURGEON GENERAL WARNING***********************
Rated R for graphic content. Read only on an empty stomach! This is Julian's Daedra Heart times ten!

*******************************************
Fredas 22 Last Seed - Interview with the Dead

Helgird looked up from her scribbling as the small group entered the preparation area. She eyed Silverblade warily as she pulled her boarded parchment closer to herself.

“Helgird.” Silverblade’s curt greeting acknowledged the other’s presence. Her gaze was already on the body laid out before the priest.

“Silverblade,” Helgird returned as shortly. Her gaze moved to Lili and Stenvar, who had remained near the entrance.
“Lilisfina, Stenvar,” her voice remained as wary as her gaze. Seems to me there is some history between Helgird and Silverblade. Will this affect our investigation?

“Steward Jorleif has requested Lilisfina’s assistance in this matter,” Silverblade continued crisply. “She has some experience with death and how things appear after such violent acts.” She turned and gestured roughly for Lili to step forward.

“You can stay back, if this is too difficult,” Lili whispered to Stenvar. “Or wait outside. I -” her voice caught briefly, “- understand.”

“I’ll stay here,” Stenvar responded as softly. His steady voice did not belie the emotion Lili knew he felt.

The Bosmer moved forward to stand beside the bier, opposite Helgird and Silverblade. “Good morning, Helgird,” she greeted the priest. “It has been a very difficult night for all of us.” Lili forced her gaze to return to the familiar face before her, now less so without the life and personality that once filled those eyes. “May I ask what you have found so far, priest?”

Helgird glanced down at the parchment secured to the thin board in her hand. “I’ve only just begun my examination,” she replied. “But I’m sure you’ve already noticed the wounds - left upper torso, right abdomen and right thigh.”

“They’re quite obvious, yes,” Lili responded. “You haven’t washed the body yet?”

Helgird shook her head. “Not until I’ve observed the blood patterns and checked for other debris.”

“Good, let’s look together, shall we?” Lili moved around the body, stepping between Helgird and Silverblade as she completed her circuit. “I don’t remember the lividity before.” She closed her eyes briefly as she recalled the guard named Snowdrift lifting Susanna from the sarcophagus. “But there was some rigidity - mostly in her neck and shoulders.”

“She is now fully rigid,” Helgird nodded. “And the lividity developed overnight.”

“Which means she died within a few bells of the discovery,” Silverblade mused as Helgird jotted something more on her parchment.

“She was on her back, and her heart was still beating when these wounds were made,” Lili added. “Look at the blood spray across her body, and the pooling of blood on her skin along her back, heels and calves.” She peered at the hands. “No defensive wounds, and her nails are clean of skin and blood.”

“She didn’t fight back,” Silverblade’s jaw clenched. “Why not?”

Helgird leaned over the torso, her gaze on Susanna’s neck. “She was strangled first, likely into unconsciousness.” Lili recognized the bruising over the woman’s throat, now more apparent.

Lili joined the priest in her study of the body’s upper torso. Why was she cut like this? These wounds don’t seem intended to end her life.She traced the one over the upper left breast. Wait. What is this? “Her left collarbone has been removed. This wound goes no deeper than that.”

“What?” Helgird palpated the injury with her fingers. “You’re right, her left collarbone is missing.” She leaned back to examine the abdominal wound. “And the right liver has been removed as well.” Helgird met Lili’s gaze. “This might be the fatal wound - the blood loss from that alone is enough to end a life quickly.”

“What about her thigh?” Silverblade indicated the long gash that ran down the leg from hip to knee.

“The narrow muscle that runs from hip to knee is gone, too,” Lili examined the wound with her fingertips. “The large muscle is intact, but I can feel the stumps of the smaller one at top and bottom.” She stepped back and met Helgird’s gaze grimly. How were the other three mutilated? “Stennvar tells me that when Friga Shatter-Shield was found, her body was not intact?”

Helgird placed her hands on the edge of the bier and leaned forward, her head down. “No, we couldn’t find her head, her left foot, and her spleen.” She sighed. “And the left foot was disarticulated at the ankle, not chopped off. Same with the head, between the skull and first neck bone.”

“And the Imperial, Isabella?” Lili turned from Helgird to Silverblade, who watched her with clenched jaw.

“Isabella was missing her right hand, also disarticulated, her left thigh bone, and her womb.” Helgird’s bleak tone chilled Lili’s blood. “And Fjotli Cruel-Sea had had her right upper arm bone, her lungs, and her left calf muscle removed as well. All three had been strangled first.”

“So,” Lili stepped back from the bier, “we have someone who is —” she paused at the word that came to mind, “ — harvesting specific body parts. For what purpose?”

“It’s like you said, a specific type,” Silverblade could not keep the disgust out of her voice. “Tall, fair skinned, slender?”

“And killing women that fit that specific type?” Helgird’s eyes widened at the two. “That would mean half the Nord women in this city!”

“There’s been rumors the Dark Elves are behind these killings,” Silverblade muttered. “I wonder . . .”

“No,” Lili shook her head. “This doesn’t smell like Dunmer.” She met Silverblade’s gaze levelly. “Do we have any witnesses? Has anyone been able to speak to that beggar woman . . . ”

“Silda the Unseen?” Silverblade shook her head. “She’s gone to ground, no one can find her.”

“She does that anytime something frightens her,” Helgird added. “She’s suffered trauma in the past, and I suppose anything that brings those memories back . . . “ She sighed. “In the past she would disappear for a few days, then show up cold, starving, and thirsty.”

“Any other witnesses?” Lili turned from the women to look at Stenvar.

“We can talk to Viola Giordano, see what she knows,” Silverblade sighed. Her gaze sharpened on Lili. “What do you mean, this doesn’t smell of Dark Elves?”

“Were you speaking figuratively,” Stenvar addressed Lili softly, “or literally?”

“Both,” Lili responded as softly. She turned back to Helgird and Silverblade. “I don’t want to get in the way of your work, Helgird,” she said finally. “And I think we should try to locate some witnesses, potential or otherwise.”

“And get permission to enter Hjerim without being assaulted by Shatter-Shield carls,” Stenvar added. “Maybe speak with Nilsine before we talk to her father?”

“If the moment’s right,” Lili nodded. “We have to be very sensitive with that family.”

“Tell you what,” Silverblade stepped toward the entry decisively. “I’d like you to talk to Viola, get that over with. And I’d like you to try and find Silda — she’s unlikely to talk to any of the guard. But she might see you as friendlies.” She sighed. “Let me know what you find in Hjerim, too.”

“Of course,” Lili nodded. “Should we meet at Candlehearth?”

“If you get your appetite back, maybe mid afternoon?” Silverblade slipped her helmet back on and hooked the chin strap into place.

“Sounds good,” Lili nodded as Silverblade headed out. She gave Susanna a final glance. We will find who did this to you. We will not let more women suffer as you have suffered.

“I will care for Susanna,” Helgird laid a gentle hand on the dead woman’s forehead in a soft caress. “As she has cared for us all in life.” She met Lili’s gaze. “And the sooner we find out who did this, the less likely there will be tragedy in the Grey Quarter.”

The Dunmer. Scapegoats. Lili nodded silently.

A very realistic visit to the coroner’s office, run by Helgrid in this case. A fitting role for the priests who prepare bodies. Nice job contrasting the no nonsense manner of Silverblade with the softer and more circumspect nature of Helgird. And poor Lili tactfully managing in between them.

Harvesting body parts? Do we have some Frankensteinish soul trying to build the perfect woman? Or perhaps trying to rebuild someone lost? I’m not sure it smells like Dunmer either. Perhaps necromancy though. And a clue that the perp likely has quite a workable knowledge of anatomy.

Time for the sleuths to get back out into the city and ferret out some more clues!

Fun to see a nod to that time-honored TES tradition of seeking out a beggar when looking for information.

TBH, Silverblade sounds less like a strength build tank to me, and more like a smooth-talking rogue with the reflexes of a cat and the smile of a devil. Like danger and elegance combined.

I noted that frost between Silverblade and Helgird at the same time Lil did. Windhelm just got even colder. I wonder what the tale is behind that?

The autopsy immediately brings back memories of the X-Files, and Scully's frequent uses of the morgue to glean more information from the dead. And what information! The killer took a collarbone!?! WTF? This just gets weirder and weirder.

So they are all missing parts. I wonder if the killer is harvesting them to use as replacements for organs that are defective in a corpse he already has. Perhaps a loved one who suffered from some truly massive physical trauma? Or is he going the full Dr. Frankenstein route and is planning to build an entirely new person from multiple dead ones?

Ah yes, blame the marginalized minority for everything. Sadly the story would not be believable if someone had not tried to do that. Now it is starting to feel like the clock is ticking before the locals might decide to go full on Tulsa and burn the Gray Quarter to the ground.

More interesting tidbits of information about Silda, who evidently has a well-deserved nickname.

Ah I see.

22 Last Seed, very nice. Yeah, dogs pick up on our emotions sometimes, very true.

I like how Silverblade and Lilisfina refer to generic terms as they greet each other: Watch Captain and Wood Elf. Whoa, they want Lil's (and Sellsword's) involvement. Um, yah, because she's got crime scene tech talent, Windhelmites. She's going to solve this thing, rather than arrest the wrong people.

Wow, she's really good. Considering angles and positions and loss of blood. My daughter's about to get a job pretty soon with a CSU btw, really exciting for her. It'd be even more awesome if they could hire someone from Tamriel, right? because of magic. Detect Life, Detect Undead, even Detect Enemies in a way, if we consider the red dots on the magical compass.

The guard asks Lili if she can pick locks!

Thanks. Unlike my daughter, I am really squeamish IRL when it comes to insides and surgery, etc.. Let's see if I survive this R-rated chapter. : Ah ha, they're narrowing down the time of death.

Yeesh, no wonder they call this scumbag The Butcher. Grossness.

@Acadian: I figured in view of their role in preparing bodies for interment, priests of Arkay would be particularly knowledgeable about these things. And as Lili has healed on the battlefield in the past, she is also familiar with such things as mortal wounds, blood spray and etc. In view of the wounds on the ladies, harvesting certainly seems like the pattern here, doesn't it? You might have hit closer to the final truth of the Butcher than most folks realize.

@SubRosa: I knew you would call out the tendency to blame unfortunate series of events on the outsider. So it has gone throughout history, and I expect Tamriel to be no different. To be honest, the fact that certain folks in Windhelm have been rather quick to accept Lili is a bit surprising, but perhaps it's due to the fact that Windhelm hosts more outsiders (Dunmer, Saxhleel, and Khajiit traders) than most other cities in Skyrim? I did have Tulsa in mind as I wrote this chapter, as a similar episode has occurred in Lili's past and is still very much on her mind.

@Renee: Using titles - Watch Captain, Wood Elf, Thane, Jarl - are good ways to express respect while keeping a distance between oneself and the other. At least until they get to know each other better. For this chapter I drew on my training and extensive knowledge of comparative anatomy, as well as a digital copy of Gray's Anatomy, to describe the condition of these bodies. Heh, asking a Bosmer if she knows how to pick locks is another indication of the racial ignorance that seems to be rife in certain areas.

Now we look for a way to get inside Hjerim and try to locate the scene of the crime(s).

************************************
Fredas 22 Last Seed - Finding the Key

Boss was asked by the night watch leader to help with the investigation into Susanna’s murder. It’s hard to stay calm, but I have to help her with it. We will find who did it.

As Lilisfina and Sten wove their way through the graveyard, Sten touched the Wood Elf’s shoulder and leaned down to her pointed ear. “You could smell something on Susanna? The killer?”

“Something that links the killer to Susanna, yes,” Lilisfina nodded. “Same thing that I could smell in that house, and in the museum too.”

“Necromancy?” Sten recalled something Lilisfina had said about the House of Curiosities. “It reminds me of zombies and other necromantic entities. Undead, rotting but not really decaying into dust. Held together by evil magic.” Lilisfina shrugged. “And you could smell it at that abandoned house, the one Nilsine owns?”

“Yes,” Lilisfina responded. “That’s why I really want to take a look in that particular house.”

“Hjerim?” A sad voice reached them. Sten looked up to see Star seated in the snow before Nilsine Shatter-Shield. She stood a few paces away, a bulky carl in iron plate at her back. Sten recognized the younger man by his dark auburn mutton chops and gave him a nod of acknowledgment.

“Why do you want to go inside Hjerim?” Nilsine drew Sten’s attention back to her. Her red rimmed gaze still held immense grief, but there was a new determination to her posture.

“I’m sorry to remind you of the cause of your loss,” Lilisfina said softly. “Stennvar and I have been asked by the night watch leader to assist in the investigation into Susanna’s death last night.”

“Investigation?” Nilsine repeated. “And they couldn’t conduct one when Friga was slaughtered in our home?”

“Miss,” the carl stepped protectively to her side, raising his shield as if to protect her from attack. “Your father . . .”

“Never mind my father!” Nilsine snapped. The carl froze, but did not lower his shield arm. Take it easy on him, he’s just following orders - whatever they are. What is his name - I feel like I should know it.

“I wasn’t here then,” Lilisfina responded calmly. “If I had, perhaps I would have been able to find her murderer. But I wasn’t. Not then.” She took a deep breath and let it sough visibly into the cold air between them. “But I believe if I find who murdered Susanna, I will also find who murdered your sister.”

“So Viola was right?” Nilsine asked. “There is a Butcher?” Her gaze moved from Lilisfina to Sten. An inscrutable expression flickered over her pale face, then she nodded shortly, as if making a decision. “What can I do to assist you, Lilisfina?”

“Miss, your father,” The carl was not to be deterred so easily.

“Never mind, Calder,” Nilsine dismissed him with a wave of her hand. That was it - Calder! Her gaze did not shift from Lilisfina’s. “My father assigned him to guard me when he brought the news of Susanna’s death last night.” She shook her head. “If that murderer was going to kill me, he would have done so a long time ago. Not today.”

Lilisfina nodded at Calder. “You take your orders in the same spirit they were given, sir,” she addressed him respectfully. “And I will not ask anything that will violate those orders.” Sten realized how tense he had been when the carl relaxed slightly and took a half step back, his shield dropping back to his hip. So the boss knows he’s just doing his job.

“So,” Nilsine repeated with forced patience, “how can I assist you in your investigation, Lilisfina?”

“Please tell me if any possessions were missing from the house?”

“All the valuables were accounted for,” Nilsine took a deep breath. “But my sister’s house key was never found. We have not been in the house since the city guard turned it over looking for . . . “ her voice choked as she trailed off.

“Your sister’s missing parts,” Lilisfina lowered her gaze to the ground. “That was a horrific crime, and not something I’d want to see for myself. How much worse it has been for you.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Do you think the murderer is hiding inside Hjerim?” Nilsine shook her head. “The door has been locked and no one has been inside since then.”

“Nilsine is correct,” a growl drew Sten’s head around as Torbjorn Shatter-Shield approached from the Stone Quarter. Calder clapped his right fist to his breastplate as the elder Shatter-Shield stopped beside his daughter. “No one has been inside Hjerim. Nilsine has the only key, and she has not given it out to anyone since her sister’s interment.”

“I understand you don’t have a key, Thane?” Lilisfina met Torbjorn’s scowl. “Silverblade and I examined the lock, it shows signs of a key or lock picks recently being used.”

“Like I said, Nilsine has the only key.” He turned his dark gaze to the young woman at his side. “You have not given it out to anyone, correct, my daughter?”

“Yes, Da,” Nilsine nodded. She turned back to Lilisfina. “You can have the key, let me go inside and fetch it.”

“Let us walk together to Hjerim,” Shatter-Shield added as Nilsine set off, Calder in tow. “I may have spoken in your defense before the Jarl this morning, but I do not know you well enough to trust you with any evidence that may still be within the house.” He nodded after his daughter as they followed in her footsteps. “However, whatever you said to her the other day, it has helped her tremendously.” He sighed. “It has been very difficult for her, and for my wife Tova. I have to admit I’m at a loss how to help them.”

Sten sensed Lilisfina glance at him before she reached down and touched Star’s ears as the Husky pranced at her side. “Everyone deals with loss differently,” she spoke softly. “Star was the one who comforted her.” She sighed. “She did mention that her parents were also having a hard time, and that she did not know how to reach either of you.”

They were silent during the short walk between the Shatter-Shield manor and Hjerim. When they reached the stone arch that led to the small house, Lilisfina drew her fur closer around her and lifted her gaze to the two story structure. “Please tell me about the house, Thane,” she added.

“We purchased it a few years ago, after the family that possessed it died away.” Shatter-Shield sighed. “We knew the Snow-Borne family well. The father died fighting for the Jarl, and the rest of his family succumbed to famine and plague shortly afterwards. We bought it from the Jarl for my daughter Friga when she came of age. She invited her twin sister Nilsine to live with her.” He turned his gaze to the blue sky. “My daughters are all we have. Nilsine is the elder by several breaths, she stands to inherit the family business and the manor. But we wanted Friga to have something of her own as well.”

“And you haven’t yet decided what to do with it?” Lilisfina turned her face toward the avenue that led down to the graveyard to the south. Sten breathed deeply of the cold air. I can’t smell what she says she is scenting from inside that house, but judging from her look and Star’s demeanor, it’s still strong. Sten regarded the Husky’s tense stance, his lowered, motionless tail and raised hackles.

“When Friga - died,” the Thane’s voice faltered slightly, “the house passed to Nilsine as the surviving twin. She hasn’t made a decision about it, and I - “ Again his voice faltered. “I haven’t had the heart to ask her about it.”

“It is a decision not to be made lightly,” Lilisfina murmured, her gaze moving down the avenue. Sten spotted the approaching figures of Nilsine and Calder, the woman’s quick strides matched by the carl’s longer steps. “Please tell me, Thane, is making your man Calder Nilsine’s shadow a good use of his skills?”

Sten hid his wince at the glare the elder Shatter-Shield shot Lilisfina. “With the murderer still at large, I feel better knowing she is protected at all times,” he growled.

The Wood Elf nodded imperturbably to herself. “That’s fair, and well thought, Thane,” she said as Nilsine drew near and held out the heavy iron key to her. “Thank you, lady,” she said to Nilsine as she accepted the item. “Do you wish to accompany us?”

“N- no,” Nilsine shook her head. “It is still too —”

“Difficult,” Lilisfina finished for her. “That is all too understandable. Stennvar,” she held the key out to him, “please?”

“Of course,” Sten moved to the front door, Lilisfina and Star following a few paces behind him.

“Calder,” the Thane’s curt voice reached them, “go in with them, see what they find in there. I expect a report afterward.” Sten glanced back in time to see the scowl on the younger man’s face as he stepped behind the Wood Elf. He’s resentful. Why?

Well that was awkward, but not nearly as difficult as it could have gone.

I can understand old man Shatter-Shield's paranoia leading him to give Nilsine a Sell-Shield to keep her safe, whether or not she might actually be a future target of the Butcher's. It is just a natural reaction.

OTOH, I wonder what the origin of Calder's ire might be? Is he being a prickly peacock because he is in the presence of Sten, and feels the need to prove his manhood? Or does he simply find this to be a waste of his time and beneath him? Or maybe he just does not like elves - which would not be surprising given the events of the recent war and continuing unpleasantness with the Thalmor.

Awkward is right, and you paint the various hard-edged emotions well. Kudos to Lili for so deftly disarming Calder with a bit of respectful flattery. I can see why Nilsine has some steel and a shield to watch over her; as Friga’s twin, she clearly fits ‘the profile’ of the Butcher’s victims.

‘Snow-borne’ – another strong Nordic name!

I’m curious to see what, if any, clues they find inside.

Isn't Calder the housecarl for Hjerim? As such, he was probably responsible for guarding Friga. He'd be extra-diligent with this second chance, too.

That was tense, but now Lili and Sten have the key and a witness to what they find in the form of Calder.

Ugh, Hjerim is now Nilsine’s? That makes sense, but it must feel like another burden for her to carry while she’s grieving.

Can’t blame Nilsine for not wanting to look inside. I wonder what the investigators will find?

@SageRose: Hmm, I wouldn't use the term Sell Shield to describe Calder - he's a carl, and as we will find out, carls are basically armed indentured servants. The source of his anger will become clearer in the days to come, but not today (in story terms, that is). Though your guess that Lili is a Mer may have a little bit to do with it.

@Acadian: Thank you for your compliments regarding my Nordic clan names - I enjoyed coming across so many of them in ESO and thought it would paint a more in depth picture of Windhelm if we are able to see relationships between different citizens more clearly, as we will see in the coming days. And yes, Torbjorn's fear of losing Nilsine is real - not to mention the fact that it would push his wife over the brink.

@ghastley: You are correct, Calder is the Hjerim carl in game. I'm taking a slightly different approach with his role here, though.

@Grits: Yes, Nilsine is in no condition to decide what to do with the house now that Friga is gone. Like the others have said, I wanted to show the different ways people grieve, and this was a great way to explore that idea.

Now we are able to access the interior of Hjerim, and find more clues to the mystery of Susanna's murder (and those of three other women).

**********************************
Fredas 22 Last Seed - The Scene of the Crime

The odor assaulted Lili as soon as Stenvar swung the door open. She gulped and reached into her pouch for the ointment Quintus had given her. Let’s see if this mint and horker fat concoction does the trick. She dabbed the ointment on her upper lip, beneath each nostril. Stenvar watched her with a raised brow.

“Yes, it’s bad here,” she answered his unspoken question. “But this stuff helps.” Behind her Star whined, and she looked back to see him lingering behind the carl’s bulky form. “Stay, Star,” she held her palm out to the Husky, and he crouched down on the doorstep.

“Please leave the door open,” Lili turned to Calder next. “We need the light — and the air.”

“It’s already chilly in here,” Stenvar remarked. “Doubt leaving the door open would make it much colder.” He looked around the main room, at the overturned furniture and torn tapestries. “Where to start?”

Lili eyed the floor before them. “There’s fresh tracks through the dust here,” she pointed them out to the men. “If the house has not been entered since the murder, there should be no tracks.”

“You’re right,” Stenvar found a disused lantern, and with a bit of fiddling managed to coax a weak light from it. He lifted it toward the walls of the room while Lili followed the trail, first to an alcove on the south wall where an old trunk sat. She looked up in time to see Calder blocking the door with an overturned pot.

“Calder, were all the valuables removed from the house?”

“Yes, we went through and took out everything Nilsine had listed.” Calder straightened up and cast a glance around. “The furnishings were already badly damaged by the guard, but we managed to find everything.”

“Was this trunk here then?” Lili asked. Calder scowled at it.

“No, ma’am, it wasn’t.”

“Let’s see if we can’t get it open.” Lili tested the lid. It swung open with a creak that echoed through the house. “Empty.”

“Here,” Stenvar called from the center of the room, beside a broken trestle table. “Blood on the floor.”
Lili and Calder moved to stand beside him, regarding the stains on the boards at their feet. Lili knelt beside the drops and ran her fingers across them. Part of the splatter smeared with her fingers, part didn’t. “Some of it is older and dry, some of it is still fresh,” Lili remarked. She cast her glance around the hall again. A large fireplace took up the center of the south wall. The space extended back behind an open staircase that led up to the north side of the second story. Disturbances in the dust led to the space behind the stairs, framed by a wooden archway. Lili and Stenvar moved into the small back room, which contained a couple of bookcases and an old wardrobe.

Calder stood in the open doorway as they searched the bookcases. “This was the ladies’s workroom - they kept their books here, and sometimes worked with cloths. You know, making and repairing clothing, and sometimes embroidery.”

Lili examined the back wall. It was comprised of heavy stone blocks, in contrast to the timber structure of the rest of the room. “This is sturdy stone here,” she mused.

“Looks like part of the city wall,” Stenvar offered. He held a sheaf of papers in one hand, his puzzled gaze deepening as he shuffled through them. “That’s funny, why would someone have multiple copies of Giordano’s posters here?”

“Posters?” Lili exclaimed, taking the papers Stenvar handed her. He held up the lantern so she could read them. “Beware the Butcher! The killer who haunts the streets of Windhelm! These calamitous times bring out the worst in people, don’t become the next victim! See Viola Giordano if you spot any suspicious behavior.” She looked up at the two men. “I’ve never seen these before.”

“That’s because someone —” Calder shrugged bemusedly, “— is apparently taking them down as soon as she puts them up.”

“City guard?” Lili hazarded. “They keep denying the existence of a killer with multiple victims.”

“And there’s also these,” Stenvar handed over a small leather bound book and an amulet on a leather strip.

Lili’s blood froze as she read the journal. “Susanna’s mentioned in this,” she murmured. “Last night wasn’t the killer’s first attempt at her. And here’s mention of flesh magick?” She closed her eyes. Y’ffre. Necromancy? “It talks about sources of blood, flesh and bone, and now the killer is seeking sinew and marrow.” She shivered, and tucked the book into her belt. “We’ll need to show this to Silverblade.”

“Thane Shatter-Shield will want to see it first,” Calder stepped forward.

“If only to confirm the handwriting isn’t of someone in his household,” Lili responded. “I do not recommend he read this, however. The contents are rather brutal.” She fingered the amulet in her hand. A leering skull made of green stone peered out of a ring of pewter. Something about it set her instincts pinging, and she flinched at the sensation in her fingertips. “What about this, Calder? Would this be something that Nilsine or Friga would have owned?”

Calder frowned at it. “That wasn’t on the list, but I would ask Nilsine.”

Lili inhaled slowly. There it is, that necromantic odor is stronger back here. But from where is it coming? Again she cast her gaze around the small back room. It doesn’t extend the full width of the great room. Is there something behind this wall? Lili handed the amulet to Stenvar. “Keep this for me, please,” she murmured to him. As he tucked it into his belt purse, she touched the east wall of the room, where it stretched between the stone wall and the space beneath the staircase. “What’s behind this wall, Calder?”

“Nothing?” Calder shook his head. Lili watched as he considered her words. “This part of the city wall is built into the mountain behind us,” he added. “Could be the house was built around a boulder or part of the mountain that juts through the city wall.”

“Feel the wall here,” Lili told the two men. “If the other side is part of the mountain like you suggest, Calder, wouldn’t the wall be chillier than the interior walls in the rest of the house?”

Stenvar placed one hand on the northern stone wall, and the other on the eastern plank wall. “The back wall here,” he indicated the stones, “is definitely colder than the plank wall here,” he tapped the wood. It rang hollowly.

The carl’s scowl loosened into thoughtfulness as he did the same, then shook his head. Lili moved her hands along the wall, pressing the boards, but nothing gave way. She reached the tall wardrobe near the front of the room, and glanced at the floor.

“There’s blood here,” Calder pointed out the splatter in front of the furnishing. His gaze widened as Lili opened the doors to expose an empty interior.

Y’ffre! The smell! She gagged and pressed her hand against her mouth until she could swallow again.

“Do you smell something?” Calder asked behind Lili as she reached into the wardrobe and pressed against the back. It gave slightly beneath her fingers.

“Yes, and it’s not Ma’s cooking,” Stenvar responded grimly. “What do you feel, boss?”

“It’s a hidden door,” Lili responded, already tracing out its shape. “Trying to find a way to open it.”

“Let me find an axe,” Calder offered. Just then, something clicked beneath Lili’s hands, and the back slid away. “Gods, that smell!” Calder spun away and stepped out of the room to retch into a corner.

“May I have some of that mint stuff, please, boss?” Stenvar choked out. Lili pulled the small tin out and handed it to him, not taking her gaze off the gloom within. He handed her the lantern and stepped back into the workroom.

Lili held the lantern before her and examined what she could see in its faint glow. Blood splattered across the floor and partway up the walls of the small chamber. Against the northern wall stood a long table, likewise covered in dried blood. Multiple instruments, some of which resembled those used by Helgird, lay scattered across its rough surface. A bucket rested beneath, full of bones, some bare, some still bearing tissue. Another trunk rested against the stone wall to the left, a small leather bound volume resting on its surface. Lili gritted her teeth and stepped through the abattoir to pick up the book and lift the lid. A moment’s perusal of its contents confirmed her suspicion, and she stepped away.

“Do either of you need to see what’s inside?” The two men returned to the hidden entrance to view the room. “Or have you seen enough?”

“I’ve seen plenty,” Calder grated through clenched teeth. “But I can’t make heads or tails of what I’m seeing.”

“This is where the crimes took place,” Lili waved the lantern around the small space. She slid between the two men out of the room and moved to stand beside the stairway. “Silverblade needs to see this, and Helgird, too.” She held up the book. “This looks like a recipe for flesh magick. Handwriting matches that in the first journal we found.” She tucked it into her belt alongside the other volume. Her gaze moved up the staircase. “What’s upstairs, do you know, Calder?”

“Sleeping rooms, for both ladies and for the carl who guarded them.” Calder’s response was short.

“Where is this carl now?” Lili asked him.

“Her service was terminated,” Calder said gruffly. “She died shortly after.”

“How?” Lili exclaimed.

“Megris was blacklisted,” Calder explained. “And she had no other skills. No one would hire her for any kind of work, so she killed herself.” He kept his gaze averted from Lili, but she could see anger in the set of his jaw, the jut of his chin between those mutton chops.

“I’m sorry, Calder, that it happened to one of your comrades. Was she here when it happened?”

“She was with Nilsine in Kynesgrove, as escort.” Calder stepped toward the smaller room at the right side of the main hall. He looked within. “This was the kitchen,” he volunteered.

Lili and Stenvar headed upstairs, and Calder followed with a heavy tread. He’s angry. Is it because of what happened to Megris? Or with the Thane himself? Or with the situation carls find themselves in?

Upstairs a railing led them around the side of the house, opening up to three rooms set back beneath the eaves. The largest one was situated over what used to be the kitchen below. Of course. It would be warm from the cooking fires below. A second one across the house on the western wall encompassed the chimney from the great fireplace below. Calder indicated the third one, a tiny chamber tucked beneath the eaves in the northeast corner of the upper floor, as the carl’s room. All the rooms held tumbled furnishings, mostly damaged into unrecognizable pieces of wood.

“No valuables or other clues up here,” Stenvar remarked as they finished their examination in the tiny carl’s room.

“I think we’ve seen everything we need to see here,” Lili remarked. “Let’s head out and speak with the Thane.”

Nice job keeping the omnipresent smell front and center as the trio make their way through the clues.

Quite a few answers, but more questions as well.

Megris got a raw deal, sounds like. How could she guard two sisters in two different places at the same time? And who blacklisted her? If their safety was a priority, one would think the Thane would insist they stay together or hire another bodyguard if the sisters had to travel away from each other. Seems Lili’s wondering some of the same things.

I love that Lil is doing the equivalent of putting Vicks Vapor Rub under her nose to battle the smell. It is a classic.

Now it finally makes sense to me why there are so many copies of Viola Giordano's broadsheets in Hjeriim. The killer is taking them down to keep a lid on things.

Well, at least Lil is not the only one having issues with the smell. It must be really rank for both Calder and Stenvar to be repulsed by it as well, given that they are both people accustomed to death (even if not remains that are many days old and have begun to really rot).

You are right, now I see one of the reasons behind Calder's negativity. I wonder if he had a relationship with Megris that was more than professional? In any case, this is clearly more personal to him than I had originally anticipated. Thank you for weaving that into the tale. It was a good touch that added both more world-building and characterization.

That is a great investigative tool, being able to use one's nose to discern clues. Uups, they're going into the house.

Indeed. Why is the younger man scowling?

That's clever, using a pungent concoction under one's nostrils to fend off death aroma. I wonder if there's an equivalent in our world.

Ah-ha! A stack of Butcher fliers. And a book mentioning Suzanna. Wonder if The Butcher has any trophies, as well. Indeed, this leering skull-amulet could be just that. Whoever's been using this house seems rather comfortable with the fact that he or she has been getting away with murder, so far. Blood hasn't been cleaned up, the posters and amulet hadn't been particularly hidden well, etc. It's like The Butcher just assumes their crime spree shall last forever.

Calder seems cagey... Yeah... just seems ... evasive, or something.

Forgive me for being late with this week's post. Things are in a bit of upheaval here - just found out that my BIL is home on Hospice Care. He is just worn out from all the aggressive treatments and monitoring and not getting any better. I'm saddened that we are losing him, but it's time, and I'm relieved that he will get to spend his final days at home.

@Acadian: Yes, Lili uses her sense of smell in this investigation! It's her superpower! Good questions regarding Megris, it's one of the reasons Calder is so angry these days. We will learn more about him and his past eventually.

@SubRosa: You are correct in that both Sten and Calder, having seen war and battles, are familiar with the smell of death. But perhaps not so familiar with, nor so used to, the smell of necromantic dead. Remember Lili saying undead have a different smell than dead dead? And yes, I was thinking of a superpowered version of Vicks Vapor Rub when I described that ointment! Not sure if Calder had a personal relationship with Megris so much as they were comrades, and when something like that happens to your comrade, well that's enough cause for resentment.

@Renee: An often overlooked part of detecting and forensic work is the sense of smell. Now one may wonder why Lili doesn't use something similar in the crypts - the answer to that is if she did, she wouldn't be able to detect the undead before they rise to attack her and Sten! So in those circumstances yeah, she'll have to figure out a way to make extra potent anti nausea potions.

And now we seek out a witness - the lone witness we have in this tale.

************************************
Fredas 22 Last Seed - The Search for the Unseen

We found the place where the crimes were committed. It was awful. The thought of Susanna dying in such a way hurts inside. Boss isn’t happy about it either.

Star leaped to his feet as Lilisfina led Sten and Calder out of Hjerim. Thane Shatter-Shield, his arms around a sobbing Nilsine, looked up as they joined him on the street. “What did you find, Wood Elf?” His expression grew bleak at the look on Lilisfina’s face.

“These,” she showed him the two journals. “Calder doesn’t recognize the handwriting, which is the same in both.” She handed him the second of the two, the one containing the recipe. “Do you say the same, Thane Shatter-Shield?”

He flipped through the journal, frowning at passages here and there. “No, I don’t know who wrote this - this dreck.” He met Lilisfina’s gaze. “What else?”

Lilisfina glanced at Sten and indicated he hand the amulet to Nilsine. “Does this look familiar to either of you?”

The grieving woman took the necklace from Sten and examined it. “No, I’ve never seen it before,” she showed it to her father before handing it back to Sten. “Perhaps Calixto Corrium might know - he has an interest in oddities.”

“There’s more,” Shatter-Shield frowned at Calder, who avoided his gaze. “What else did you find in there?”

“Are either of you aware of a secret room in the house?” Lilisfina asked. “Tucked away in the back corner behind the stairs?”

“What?” Shatter-Shield took a step toward the house. Sten and Calder moved to block him.

“I wouldn’t look, Thane,” Sten said quietly.

“Stand aside, hireling!” Torbjorn laid one hand on Sten’s right shoulder and tried to push him aside.

“You don’t want to see this, Thane,” Calder spoke softly through gritted teeth. “Don’t add this to your memories of Friga.”

“Friga?” Nilsine exclaimed as she paused behind her father. “You found something . . .”

“What you couldn’t find six months ago,” Lilisfina replied. “Trust your man, if you don’t trust mine, Thane. You don’t want to see what’s in there.”

Sten watched the anguish conquer Torbjorn’s haughty expression as the Thane staggered back, breathless. The noble spun on his heel to stare at Lilisfina.

“All four women were murdered in that room,” Lilisfina continued, her tone flat. “At this time we don’t know yet who was responsible, but I assure you, Thane, and you, Nilsine, that Stennvar and I will find out.” She reached out and touched Nilsine’s wrist lightly. “Thank you for the information about Corrium. We will show him the amulet later today.”

Calder locked the door and regarded the key. “Thane, may I suggest letting Stenvar hold on to the key? And also we post a guard on Hjerim? We know the killer has been going inside the house frequently. Perhaps denying him access will discourage further killing until the Wood Elf and the sellsword identify him.”

Whoa. That youngster does have a brain beneath those mutton chops. Sten could see the way the Thane regarded his carl that the older man was readjusting his assessment of his hireling. “Good idea, Calder. I’ll leave that up to you.” He turned back to Nilsine as Calder handed the key to Sten. “Daughter, let us go find your mother. It is time we tell her what is happening.”

Sten caught Lilisfina watching him as the Shatter-Shields, accompanied by their carl, trudged down the avenue towards the clan manor. “And it’s almost time we meet Silverblade,” she said softly. “Tell her what we’ve found so far.”

Sten eyed the sun’s position. “I’d say a couple of bells at least. Shouldn’t we find Silda? And I’m curious to hear what Viola Giordano has to say about her posters inside Hjerim.”

“I’d be careful what we tell Giordano,” Lilisfina mused as they trailed after the others. “She strikes me as one who tends to berserk on the slightest excuse.”

“Berserk?” Sten found himself chuckling at the mental image that cropped up. “That is almost an apt description of the woman.”

“Then let’s see if we can’t see Silda the Unseen.” Lilisfina smiled wryly. “But where to begin?”

“With other beggars,” Sten responded. He cast his gaze around the graveyard. “There’s Angrenor, we can start with him. He’s not fond of Elves, so I’d suggest that I do the talking.” Lilisfina nodded her understanding. He led her to the barefoot man lingering near the brazier outside the Hall of the Dead. “Angrenor Once Honored, how do you fare today?”

“I’m not too proud to admit that I need a bit of help from time to time,” the emaciated beggar responded with a sly glance at Lilisfina. Watch it, man. Or my fist will be helping you.

Sten slid a silver drake from his purse and held it up to catch the sunlight. “Would this be helpful, then?”

Angrenor’s hand twitched toward the coin, then a suspicious look passed across his face. “What do you need for it?”

“Have you seen Silda the Unseen since last night?” Sten asked him.

Angrenor shook his head. “Not since Susanna was found - dead.” He scowled at Lilisfina. “I bet the Dark Elves had something to do with it!”

“That’s what we are trying to find out,” Sten assured him. “Do you know where she may be hiding?”

Angrenor, his gaze fixed again on the drake in Sten’s fingers, shrugged. “I do know she spends a fair bit of time over in the Grey Quarter with that orphan beggar - the one that sells flowers.”

“Thanks, man,” Sten dropped the silver coin into the Nord’s hand. “Get some warm clothes with that.”

“Will do, sir!” Angrenor nodded as he darted off, not toward the market, but in the direction of the inn.

“Think he’ll spend it on clothes like you said, or on drink at Candlehearth?” Lilisfina remarked dryly. Sten scoffed.

“He says he’s had trouble breathing ever since he took that Imperial sword through his chest, but he has no trouble drinking!”

Lilisfina chuckled. Then her face sobered. “Do you know about the girl who sells flowers?”

“Sofie?” Sten nodded. “I’ve seen her around the Gray Quarter. Shall we see if we can’t find her?”

“Yes, let’s,” Lilisfina dropped her hand to Star’s pricked ears. “The sooner we find Silda, the sooner we can get out of this cold!”

Sten nodded and led her past the Inn. “I’ve seen Sofie here and there in the Grey Quarter, as well as on the docks,” he explained. “Seems to me she has friends among the Dark Elves and the Argonians.”

“Dunmer, and Saxhleel,” Lilisfina corrected softly. “It is what they call themselves.” She glanced at Sten. “Just as you call yourselves Nords, while the rest of Tamriel refer to you as Northmen.”

“Hmm,” Sten mused. You are telling me this, why? Addressing Dark Elves as Dunmer serves what purpose? Would I care to be called Northman by an outsider? “And Khajiit?”

“Khajiit are Khajiit among themselves,” Lilisfina responded. “Though sometimes others will call them Cat-Men, but that is not appreciated.”

“And what do Wood Elves call themselves?” Sten caught Lilisfina’s pleased gaze.

“Bosmer. And the High Elves refer to themselves as Altmer.” Hmm, Mer - wonder if that means Elves?

Sten was silent as they passed the House of Curiosities. Lilisfina stopped before the building and regarded it with distaste.

“Same smell as Hjerim?” Sten hazarded. Lilisfina nodded. “What of Calixto Corrium?”

“I’ve not spoken to him outside the house, so I can’t be certain that he is the origin of that odor,” Lilisfina responded softly. “Let’s go on, find the flower girl.”

They moved past the great gates that led down to the docks and followed the winding path down to Sadri’s store, where Lilisfina had made her first purchases upon arrival in Windhelm. Sten saw a small girl, dark hair tucked into twin braids, seated on the edge of the stone porch fronting the shop. A worn straw basket, full of snowberries, and blue, red and yellow flowers, rested at her side. At their approach, the child’s swinging feet stopped and she leaped up with an expression of hope and wariness. She picked up the basket and approached Sten with a dubious glance at Lilisfina. Star stepped forward and licked Sofie’s face, his tail wagging over his back. She giggled and pushed him away with a fond caress of his fur.

“Would you like to buy some flowers? Please?” She held the basket up for Sten’s inspection. He nodded at Lilisfina.

“She’s the one with the mortar and pestle,” he said.

“What kind of flowers do you have?” Lilisfina asked gently.

“S- snowberries, lady,” Sofie stumbled over the words, “red mountain flowers, nightshade and dragon’s tongue.” She shyly lifted the basket to Lilisfina, who took it in her hands and examined them.

“These are fresh,” she exclaimed. “How did you come by them?”

“I go out every morning and pick them, lady,” Sofie whispered, casting her eyes downward. “Snowberries are plentiful here, and the others are found just a short distance away, toward Kynesgrove and along the road south of the Talos shrine.”

“Even these?” Lilisfina picked up the red flowers. “I heard these are rare around here.”

“There are some growing in the Palace of the Kings, I get a few sprigs from there every now and then,” Sofie did not meet either Lilisfina’s or Sten’s gaze. Stealing from the Jarl, are you? Nothing he’ll find out from me!

“I see,” Lilisfina lifted out the dragon’s tongue and held it to her nose. “This reminds me of warmer climes. How much for the lot?”

“A- all of them?” Sofie stammered, her eyes widening. Lilisfina fingered a couple of drakes out of her coin purse and held them out to the child.

“Will this be enough? Or do you need more coin?”

“Lady, no one has ever bought all my flowers before - “ Again the girl’s voice cracked into silence. Her gaze fell on the silver coins in Lilisfina’s hand. “It would be more than two drakes, lady.”

Lilisfina laughed. “Of course! Here’s twenty drakes for the lot. That should cover the risk you took picking these flowers.” She dropped the remaining coins into the child’s basket, removed the flowers, then handed the basket back to Sofie. Both Sten and the girl watched in bewilderment as she neatly tucked the blooms away into her little belt pouch. She is hiding potions in there, she had that tin of mint ointment, her mortar and pestle, and what else is in that bag? Why hasn’t it burst yet?

“Wait, they’ll be crushed if you put them in your pouch!” Sofie reached to stop Lilisfina.

The Wood Elf shook her head and smiled at the girl. “No, they’ll be fine. This is a magick pouch - it’s bigger on the inside than it seems on the outside.”

“More than your back pack?” Sten remarked with some wonderment. Lilisfina looked up at him and nodded.

“Sofie,” Sten turned back to the girl, “there is one thing we’d like your help with. We are looking for Silda the Unseen. Do you know where we can find her?”

Calder seems to have come around to team Lilsten. His suggestion that Sten keep the key and watch the house is certainly a solid plan. Though watching it in secret might be a better idea, as they could conceivably trap the killer there at unawares. If the actual murders take place in the house, then his victims would still be alive at that point, and possible to rescue. That would also imply that the killer has some means of incapacitating his victims until he gets to the house, such as through alchemy or a Sleep spell.

Have you seen Silda the Unseen
Given that nickname of hers... well...

I appreciated Lil's subtle hint to Sten to refer to the various non-human races on their own terms, rather than those that outsiders use for them. It might make them a bit more friendly, especially to someone like Sten, whose appearance checks every box for the type of person who typically causes them trouble.

I see that Calixto's stank has indeed raised a red flag in Lil's mind. Enough for her to not generally trust the man.

Lil has a bag of holding! Clever girl.

And now, to find someone who is known for her ability to not be found.