Bishop looked around carefully – there was no one in sight.
They stayed at Highmoon Hall for a while yet and talked more with Jarl Idgrod. She was very curious about Aeyrin's abilities and the process of consuming souls. To be safe, Aeyrin didn't tell her anything more about the black dragon, the Blades, or their pending investigation, but she shared only the things that were general knowledge anyway. As paranoid as Delphine was, Aeyrin was not willing to divulge any information about her, especially to people who had ties to the Empire and the Thalmor. It was better to be safe than sorry, no matter what she personally believed.
They left before sundown in order to spend some time plotting and planning their next course of action.
Aeyrin didn't want to split up, but Bishop managed to convince her. She was not exactly a burglar material. Whatever she did in her youth, she'd promptly forgotten in her adulthood. It was more likely that she merely used to rely on people not being at home if she robbed a house rather than being quiet.
She was anything but sneaky and subtle.
So in the end, she went to investigate the burned-down house alone while Bishop carried on to Alva's place, intent on sneaking in while Hroggar slept and Alva was at the inn.
He knelt by the door, covered in darkness.
He pulled out his lockpicks and started fiddling with the locks as quietly as possible. Hopefully the man would be asleep already. According to Idgrod, he worked at the mill – that meant he was getting up early.
It was a bit odd how Idgrod insinuated that they should 'investigate' Alva's house. Couldn't she just have her guards do it? Then again, if people saw an inspection coming, they usually managed to hide their suspicious shit. Maybe the Jarl was more savvy than one would think.
"What are you doing?" a voice made him freeze in place.
What the fuck?
He was careful!
He looked towards the source – there was a young boy, no older than ten, standing at the corner of the building and watching him with his mouth ajar.
Why didn't he see him? He must have been hiding somewhere in the bushes nearby...
Why?
Maybe he was trying to peep on Alva. It wouldn't be surprising.
"I'm... checking if it's... not broken," he pondered a bit before answering the boy as straightening himself up from the door. That was probably the least convincing lie he's ever told. But it was just a kid... they were gullible...
"No you weren't! I'm not stupid! You were breaking in!" the young boy looked at him with narrowed eyes and approached slowly.
Not that gullible apparently...
He was pretty brave. If Bishop was really a burglar with intent to rob, he might have just killed him to avoid witnesses. Wait, was he brave or incredibly stupid?
"Why are you here?" Bishop asked after a while. It was better to go on the offensive instead. The boy was likely doing something he shouldn't have himself.
"I wasn't doing anything! I'm just... waiting for my mom," he pouted and shuffled his feet, somewhat embarrassed.
"Uh-huh..." Bishop smirked at him disbelievingly and waited for the boy to explain himself further.
"I was! I just..." suddenly the boy teared up, looking into the ground stubbornly and avoiding any eye contact.
Oh, fuck! What was that about?!
Bishop got uncomfortable instantly.
"They... they say momma's dead... But it's not true! I saw her! I saw her from my window at night!"
Shit, this must have been Laelette's boy – the woman whose body they found after the dragon attack.
He saw her?!
It was likely wishful thinking on his part... but... the whole 'mortal' thing and now this. It was all too fishy.
"Why... why are you here then?" Bishop wasn't really sure how to deal with the sobbing boy. In his family, the kids usually didn't express their sorrow so... publically. It wouldn't end well for them if they did. So he just pried further, trying to pull the pieces together.
"She... she's been here a lot before... before they said she died. The lady here... she was a new friend of hers... I thought... maybe she was living with her... maybe she..." the boy started to sob so loudly that he barely got the words out of his mouth, his eyes still downcast pitiably. "May-maybe she doesn't.... she doesn't want to live.... with me anymore...," the boy sniffled pathetically, wiping his tears away in a last hopeless attempt to save face.
Bishop just stared at the boy for a while.
Fuck... how could he make him stop?
After a while of silence, broken only by the boy's uncontrollable sobbing, Bishop decided to clasp him on his shoulder. The boy froze at that, stopping his sobs suddenly. He looked more surprised than fearful though.
"Hey, look at me."
The boy raised his eyes to his uncertainly, but there was no fear in them. He still sniffled, but it was as if with his eyes finally not fastened on the ground, he got more determined to stop crying and look somewhat... tough.
"Let's make a deal. I'll go inside and I'll look if your mother's there. In turn, you won't tell anyone about any of this."
He shouldn't have given him false hope. His mother was likely eaten by a dragon and whoever he saw was just a figment of his grief-stricken mind.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, something told him that... the boy might be right.
The boy stared at him wide eyed for a moment before he nodded his head hurriedly. He was obviously eager to see what Bishop found.
Bishop smiled at him and turned back to the lock, pulling out his picks again.
"Go hide like before. If anyone comes here, don't make a sound," he instructed the boy and he hurried back to the side of the house. After a second only the rustling of bushes echoed through the quiet night.
Bishop just hoped he didn't unwittingly make everything worse for him...
...
Hroggar's snores filled the room as Bishop snuck in.
He took a quick look around – some cupboards and nightstands... it was possible that there were some secrets stashed in them, but not very likely. Those were too accessible.
There could be a hidden chamber or... the basement.
He made his way down slowly while the wooden steps creaked lightly under his feet. If only he could have kept those enchanted muffled boots from Frey...
The basement was locked too, but the continuous snoring assured him that he was in the clear. Jingling with his lockpicks as little as possible, he managed to open the door after only a couple of seconds.
He was going to look into every nook and cranny, find any little thing that suggested that there is something wrong with Alva, that there is something she did, either directly or indirectly, to cause that fire.
He didn't expect the evidence to show up right away, but...
"Fuck."
He cursed under his breath at the sight of the rather lavish empty coffin in the middle of the room.
"'Fuck' indeed," a sultry laugh rang out behind his back.
He didn't hear anyone follow him!
He turned around quickly and brandished his new shortsword in an instant. Lydia would be so fucking smug about that. It was a low quality iron blade, with his funds generally depleted, but it was... something.
"Oh no! There's a strange man in my bedroom!" Alva laughed as she stepped even closer until the tip of his blade gently touched her cleavage.
He should stab her right away!
Why couldn't he stab her?
Was she doing something weird with her arms?
Fuck, just kill her! She's a vampire, ice-brain! Kill her!
"Isn't that how it goes? This time it's more sad for the strange man than me though," she gave him a flirtatious wink and snuck her hand past the blade languidly. Her nail started trailing over his arm before she stepped closer again, ignoring the sword completely and placing her cold hand on his cheek.
Kill her, dammit!
"We are going to have sooo much fun together, darling," her hand dropped to his neck, her nail pricking the side of his throat.
Why couldn't he move? What has she done to him?
Her hand was distracting.
And she was so beautiful. Maybe he could have some fun with her... did it really matter what she meant by 'fun'?
"But first... we need to take care of some annoyances. I wonder how far are you willing to go already," she smiled sweetly and her head tilted from side to side briefly before her eyes fastened on his neck. Her tongue flicked over her ruby-red lips.
Damn... he wanted them on his neck, sucking on his skin.
"Darling, there's a pest snooping around. Besides you that is..." she chuckled merrily. "If you went out and killed that pesky elf of yours, we could spend... an eternity together," her smile turned irresistibly seductive and his sword dropped on the stone ground with a loud clank.
'Eternity'... that sounded... nice.
Eternity with someone like her... that would be perfect. She was perfect. That gorgeous black hair, that body, those tits in that tight dress... and most of all, those full blood-red lips. He wanted to see them colored with real blood instead. His blood.
His... blood? Wait... what? Why would he think that... there was something strange about all this, wasn't there?
No... he should just do what she asked, then he could be with her forever. Just letting her do whatever she wanted with him. All he needed to do was kill Aeyrin. Put whatever was between them aside and just get rid of her. How hard could... uhhh...
What was he thinking?!
He needed to kill the vampire, not Aeyrin!
"No? Too much?" she pouted in disappointment, but then she smiled again. "That's too bad. But I know someone who can help with that."
She closed the distance between them and breathed against his neck with a strangely cold huff. Fuck, that felt so fucking good.
"I just need to make sure you'll be a good boy until we get there."
He felt her kiss him hungrily on his throat. Her tongue flicked over his skin and her lips sucked in eagerly. There was a sharp pain in his neck suddenly and he felt liquid pouring out of him, but none of it reached his armor and clothes. It felt like something was actually pulling on his veins.
His knees buckled heavily but he didn't fall, as if he was held up by the sheer power of will.
It felt so good. He's never felt this good in his life. He never wanted this to end.
But the pressure in his neck stopped and he felt deeply disappointed.
"Take your sword and follow me, darling. We're going to teach you manners," Alva laughed again and turned her back to him as she walked out of the basement, beckoning him with her finger and swaying her hips exaggeratedly.
He wanted nothing else than to follow her forever.
...
Aeyrin was sifting through burned-down rubble for what felt like hours.
Karnwyr kept sniffing around the remains of the house too, but there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. He did seem somewhat on edge though, but strangely not as if they were in danger, but rather in anticipation.
"Bishop's taking his time, huh?" she turned to the wolf with a worried expression.
She never actually saw him in action with his thieving abilities. She knew from their dungeon delving how quick, agile and quiet he could be, but breaking into a civilian's house was different. He certainly couldn't just rely on killing anything that discovered him.
She remembered her own criminal past. She was very small, so it wasn't that hard to break into places. She was pretty good at climbing, so she usually waited until the residents left and climbed into an open window. It wasn't often though – she only ever broke into very few houses. It was a scary ordeal and she rarely ever dared to steal from the large mansions so there was usually very little reward.
But Ri'zhassa insisted that she tried anyway when there were no other immediate avenues.
Bishop was much more experienced in this and it made sense that he went alone. She still didn't like to separate though, she was too anxious and unable to concentrate on her own investigation.
"It's you!" a sudden voice interrupted her musing; she turned around immediately to see its source.
It was a... ghost.
"H-Helgi?" she sputtered, staring at the translucent little girl.
Karnwyr barked once, happily, as if in greeting. Strange, Aeyrin thought he would freak out. Perhaps he could sense whether the ghost meant any harm.
"You remembered!" the girl exclaimed excitedly, she looked so... happy. "You were right! I won the bet! There are no dragons here!" she laughed and spun around, the ethereal skirt twirled dazzlingly in the moonlight.
"When Virkmund gets here, he owes me a sweet roll!"
Again with the sweetrolls...
"But it's weird. I never thought it would look the same..." She was referring to the place she passed on to, but she never left. She thought to travel to the afterlife but she didn't.
Why? Did she linger because her death wasn't avenged? Because the culprit wasn't found?
"Helgi, you are still... here... on Nirn. You... still have somewhere to go," Aeyrin tried to speak calmingly so that she would not frighten the girl.
Helgi knew that she was dead, that made things easier. Aeyrin talked to ghosts before in the chapel undercroft. She even played the lute for them along with her friend. There were three of them, guarding the entombed. One of them didn't realize he was dead. It was always difficult to speak with him and also somehow heartbreaking – he always asked about his family.
"Really? That's great! I was looking for momma and granpop, but I didn't see them! Do you think they're in this other place? Waiting for me?" she sounded so hopeful and excited.
"I am sure they are, Helgi," Aeyrin smiled at her kindly, but the girl's face creased in somber realization.
"But... how do I get there?" she looked up sadly at the elf and searched her face for any sign of hope.
"We'll figure that out together, Helgi. I promise," Aeyrin nodded at her reassuringly.
"You're so nice! I didn't even have anyone to talk to. The guards came, but they scare me... and she comes here often, but... I don't know what she wants from me..." it looked like Helgi shivered with fright.
Did she mean Alva? What would Alva want with the remains of the house? What would anyone who wasn't investigating want with them?
"'She' who?" Aeyrin asked her, even though she already expected the answer.
"Virkmund's momma... but she's not... she's different now. I don't like her anymore..." Helgi hugged her arms nervously.
Virkmund's mother? Wasn't that Laelette, the woman thought killed by the dragon? Maybe she really wasn't killed... but why would she come here?
"She's here almost every night. She waits and whispers about... praying. But she scares me, so I hide from her," Helgi looked to the ground in embarrassment.
"Praying?" Aeyrin looked at her in shock? That seemed more and more convoluted... was she praying for the departed? But why would she scare Helgi then?
"She says... 'a pray will come, a pray will come'. I don't know what it means..." Helgi cried out a bit desperately, clearly terrified of the woman.
'Pray'... or 'prey'?
She was waiting for something to hunt... or someone.
"Quick, duck!" Helgi yelled all of the sudden, making Aeyrin crouch in panic immediately. There was a swishing sound just above her head and then an arrow hit the charred wood to her side.
She looked up instinctively.
It was dark, but... was that... Bishop's arrow? He always fletched his own...
She turned her head to the road, only to see him standing by the inn, notching another arrow quickly. Did he see the ghost and try to kill her?
No... Helgi was pretty far from the trajectory.
Bishop never missed.
Wait... what? Was he aiming at her?!
Karnwyr whined pathetically, clearly equally confused about the situation. He ran a short distance in Bishop's direction then back again. He seemed frantic and uncertain what to do.
"Bishop! What are you..." she didn't manage to finish the thought since she had to dodge another arrow quickly and jump out of the way.
What was wrong with him?!
She looked at Helgi but she was gone, likely frightened by the events.
Aeyrin decided to run towards him, to tackle him, subdue him and clear all this up – it was so dark, but... he didn't look right. Halfway through she saw him notch another arrow and, this time, he would surely hit.
"FEIM!"
The arrow swished through her body harmlessly.
Bishop's face was hidden by the shadows, but she could have sworn that she could make out an angry sneer on his face. He fastened his bow on his back and readied his sword.
Was he actually going to fight her? What was going on?!
She jumped him and tackled him as soon as the effect of her Shout dissipated. His sword only grazed her plate armor at first, but he immediately pressed it against her neck.
"FEIM!"
She managed to Shout again before the blade went through, a light burning on her neck signaled just how close a call it was. Bishop was no longer pinned down though and his body moved through her immaterial form smoothly, making her shiver all over and making her stomach churn unpleasantly. It was a disturbing feeling.
He stood up and readied his bow again, knowing full well that she had no way to touch him in her ethereal form.
"Bishop, what are you doing?!" she tried to yell out and she gave him a desperate look, but it was in vain. He didn't even seem to hear her and his face was strangely feral.
He pointed the arrow at her head and... waited.
What now?
He would shoot her once the power dissipated again!
She only had seconds to spare, but she found herself at a complete loss. Her head was swarming with confusion; she could not concentrate on thinking of a plan to get out of this.
"Halt! Drop your weapon!"
Two guards suddenly ran from the direction of the Highmoon Hall, surrounding Bishop. He did not move and kept aiming his bow at her adamantly, unconcerned about the interruption.
"GRAB HIM! NOW!" Aeyrin yelled just as she felt the buzzing of her ethereal form slowly subside. It was now or never.
The arrow was let loose right before the guards captured him by his elbows roughly and his bow fell from his grip. The arrow swished through her mere seconds before she felt her corporeal body take form again.
Now there was another problem though.
Bishop thrashed and squirmed wildly and one of the guards raised his sword with his free hand.
"NO! STOP! DON'T HURT HIM!"
The guards stared at her in confusion, trying to hold the struggling ranger with all their might as she yelled hysterically.
"Please! He's not himself... I don't know what happened... Please, just... lock him up. I'll... get to the bottom of this," she realized she was still on her knees on the ground, but that wasn't exactly a bad thing for the current situation. She gave them a pleading look. She was sure that Alva or someone else made him this way.
She just prayed that it was reversible.
"I... umm.... We'll need to discuss this with the Jarl... I think," one of the guards nodded uncertainly as they dragged Bishop kicking and, well... snarling, towards the barracks.
"Lady Dragonborn, go get the Jarl, please. We'll detain him in the meantime."
Aeyrin nodded. She was still completely at a loss about what happened, before she realized another potential issue.
"Oh! Be careful! He has lockpicks... and knows how to use them!" she called out to them at the last moment. Bishop instantly growled back at her hatefully like a rabid animal.
It was... heartbreaking to see such an expression directed at her.
She touched her neck lightly, feeling the small trickle of blood from the wound he made.
What could have possessed him to act like that?
She felt a lick at her hand – Karnwyr's expression of support as they both watched Bishop be dragged away forcefully.
...
Vampires... she should have known.
She used the small whetstone to sharpen the edges of her mace while she sat on the bench in Highmoon Hall. Bishop was in prison, still raving, clenching the bars and practically throwing himself on them in order to get out and... kill her.
She told everything to Idgrod, mainly where Bishop's been, and the Jarl ordered to have the house searched immediately. Alva was gone, but there was a coffin in the basement along with a letter... from Alva to Laelette. It explained, rather condescendingly, that after Laelette catches a 'worthy prey', she is to bring them to a cavern near Morthal and be induced into their... clan.
After arresting Hroggar and getting the evidence to the Jarl, the guards then also notified Aeyrin that they noticed two bite marks on Bishop's neck as well as on Hroggar's. It appeared that Alva weakened the men this way in order to charm them and make them do whatever she wanted... like burning down their families or killing their companions.
Aeyrin learned a lot about vampires from Stendarrite texts, but she never actually fought one before. She knew that they were very susceptible to fire, as all undead were. She also knew that they could infect mortals with Porphyric Hemophilia, potentially making them into one of their own.
She'd need to watch Bishop closely after this for any symptoms. It was curable when it was caught early on. Of course, only if... he went back to normal after she disposed of the vampires...
Gods... she couldn't even think of that.
It was almost dawn. The perfect time to strike.
Idgrod promised Aeyrin some guards to accompany her to the vampire lair, but she refused. They needed to be on the lookout for Laelette and she wasn't really certain on the whole charming thing and how it worked. If they turned against her... it would likely end badly.
Of course, there was the option that she would be charmed...
How did anyone ever fight vampires?
She sighed and headed outside of the longhouse determinedly.
Her Shouts would save her, there was no need to worry. She'd set the whole vampire nest aflame if needed. And she had Karnwyr with her, eager to avenge his friend.
They could hardly charm a wolf... could they?
...
There was a small crowd waiting outside Highmoon Hall for her. Several villagers... with pitchforks... and torches.
Was she about to get lynched?
"Dragonborn! We are here to help you rid our town of the abominations!" a burly Nord exclaimed as the five other people cheered proudly, raising their makeshift weapons up in the air.
Oh no... they were so excited! How was she supposed to reject them?
"I... I am very grateful to you... but it's really dangerous and..." she stammered, giving them an apologetic look. Adventure was all well and good, but even she was troubled by assaulting a vampire nest.
"We have a right to defend our home! We will go with you and send those freaks back to Oblivion!" a woman yelled out, upon which the villagers cheered again.
Vampires weren't really from Oblivion, but that was beside the point.
"L-listen, I may need to resort to Shouting and there's a lot of collateral..." before she could finish the thought they cheered again, very loudly and excessively this time.
This was... bad.
How was she supposed to get rid of them? They didn't even have armor or weapons! It was concerning. She couldn't watch out for them all.
"I'll come with you too," a familiar voice echoed from the back, silencing the crowd.
The Redguard mage, the brother of the innkeeper, made his way to Aeyrin and gave her a sly smile as he turned to the crowd.
"We will be an unstoppable force with my magic!"
He smiled proudly before the burly Nord yelled at him with anger: "We don't need none of your tricks! This is a matter for warriors! You're an outsider anyways!"
The crowd suddenly started to boo him.
Were they really that concerned about mages that they would shun the help of, possibly, the most capable person in the village? He would, after all, attack from a distance without getting in the way. And his conjuration skill would certainly be useful.
"I would actually welcome a mage's help," Aeyrin gave him a grateful smile and the villagers all looked at each other nervously.
There was a murmur among them before one of them called out: "Well... we'd likely just get in the way of his... spells."
The crowd dissipated rather quickly after that and the mage gave her a sly smirk.
"Falion, by the way."
"Aeyrin," she smiled at him gratefully again. That was a clever tactic. And she also kind of hoped that his offer of help was sincere. A conjurer with a good supply of fire atronachs would really be invaluable.
Luckily, the mage winked at her promptly.
"Well, shall we?"