All Roads Lead To You (A Skyrim Romance Mod fanfic)

Chapter Twenty

Inside the Hall, Thonnir and the guard who had found Aruna and Bishop at Helgi's grave were part of a crowd in front of the Jarl's throne. When the door closed behind Aruna with a heavy thud, everyone turned to look at her. She strode forward, pulling Alva's journal from her bag.

"I guess by now you've been filled in," she said to the Jarl. She handed the older woman the journal, "this should be the proof you need."

One of the guards frowned, "what is that?"

"It appears to be Alva's personal journal," Jarl Ravencrone said as she frowned at the pages.

"How did you get that?" Thonnir asked.

"You don't want to know," Aruna said. She tried to wait patiently as the Jarl skimmed through the journal, but she was on edge and ready to put an end to the whole ordeal.

"Alva is part of a clan of vampires," the Jarl said, addressing everyone in the room, "led by a Master Vampire. They plan to take over Morthal."

A chorus of alarmed gasps and murmurs circulated the room. Aruna shifted her weight from one foot to the other impatiently.

"They're holed up in a cave not far from here," said Aslfur, the Jarl's husband and steward, "I know where it is."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Thonnir said, already heading to the door, "I'm going to round up some men. I want justice for Laelette!"

"Thonnir, wait!" called Aslfur, but Thonnir was already out the door.

The Jarl looked at Aruna, "these people are not warriors like you and your companion. Please go with them. If you can dissuade them, please do," she sighed wearily, "the sooner these vampires are dealt with, the better."

"I'll see what I can do," Aruna said, already turning on her heel and heading for the door.

Outside, Bishop was nowhere to be found. Aruna frowned, a cold dread settling in her gut. Without giving it a second thought, she ran for Alva's house and threw open the door. Hroggar looked up blearily from where he'd been sitting and drinking by the fire.

"Wha—" he lurched to his feet, knocking over his chair, "what are you doing in here? You shouldn't be here!"

Aruna ignored him and looked around, "where is Alva?"

"What do you want with her?" Hroggar demanded, "I won't let you hurt her!" He lunged at Aruna, but she dodged him. She saw a narrow set of stairs leading to a basement door and ran down them. She threw open the door and was only a little surprised when she saw the coffin in the middle of the room. It was empty.

"No!" cried Hroggar, stumbling down the stairs after her. Aruna darted out of his way.

"Hroggar," she said calmly, "please. I'm not going to hurt her, but I think she knows where my friend is. I need to talk to her."

"I don't believe you!" Hroggar said, "she told me you'd come for her. Now I have to kill you."

"You don't want to do that," Aruna said. She could hear shouting upstairs, through the open front door. If she didn't move soon, people were going to get themselves killed, "let me go. A lot of people are in danger right now. You have to let me help them."

"I don't care about them!" Hroggar cried, "I only care about Alva. And she cares for me!"

"What about your wife? What about Helgi?" Aruna said, "you know...your daughter?"

"What care I for the dead?" Hroggar shook his head. His eyes were wild, unfocused.

"Whoa, Alva really did some damage to you," Aruna muttered.