We left the inn just before dawn in an effort to maximize the time we could spend poking around the ruined house before the townsfolk started poking their heads into things. With how especially distrusting of outsiders the people of Morthal were, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to work without someone acting like I was minutes away from killing them all and stealing their belongings getting in the way.

Unfortunately I wasn’t even sure if a long investigation was going to be any help here. The fire that had destroyed the house had been days ago and it was entirely possible there simply wasn’t anything to find anymore.

“I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of working with a mage on an investigation like this before.” Erikur commented as we made our way around the outside of the ruins. “Is there some kind of spell you can use to determine who was at fault?”

I rolled my eyes at that. Magic wasn’t so convenient that you could just ask a question and get an answer.

“No, but I think my wilderness skills will be more useful to us here.” I pointed at one of the ruined walls. “Look there, see how the outside of this wall is unburned? You can see that the fire spread inside the house and was put out before it could spread outside.”

“The townspeople did mention Hroggar said the fire started from his wife spilling bear fat in the hearth.” Erikur mentioned.

“Right, but if you look over here,” I pointed at the top of a different section of wall. “Both the inside and the outside are burned, but it looks like they burned evenly, like a candle.”

“Is that important?”

Jordis stiffened. “If the fire was from the inside, one part should be burned more.”

I nodded. “Exactly. Now, it could simply be that a jumping spark created a new fire, but it could mean that there were multiple fires set at once. We might be able to tell from the burn marks inside.”

Actually getting inside was a bit trickier than we were expecting. My magelight ensured we could see perfectly fine, but there were broken boards and bits of roof remaining that covered the ground and made our footing hazardous.

What we saw inside wasn’t the most encouraging either. The fire had very clearly devastated the inside of the house but it was hard to tell exactly how it spread. People had come and shifted things around either removing the bodies of the two killed in the fire or removing whatever valuables that survived. Most of the clues we were hoping to find had probably been destroyed in the process.

“Well it probably wasn’t an accident.” I eventually decided and shook my head helplessly. “I’m seeing several signs that there could have been several deliberately set fires, but it’s been covered up by the moved debris. Let’s just check the last corner and move on. I don’t think we will find much here.”

A section of roof had fallen in a way that blocked us from seeing anything but pieces of crushed furniture underneath it. I helped Erikur pull from one side while Jordis pushed from the other. When I heard her breath hitch and saw her draw her sword though, both of us quickly dropped the bit of roof and moved to see what had bothered her.

And I had to say, I couldn’t exactly blame her for her reaction.

Sitting on a blackened bed was a small girl…and I could see right through her.

“Well then, I wasn't expecting a ghost when we decided to poke around.” I said soberly. Ghosts tended to form for many reasons, strong attachment to a location, curses, mages spiritually locking themselves to an object or projecting themselves, or for a number of other reasons. Children almost never formed ghosts because they rarely met the conditions to create one naturally. That we found one here almost guaranteed something more was afoot.

“What do we do?” Jordis whispered when the ghost girl made no indication that she noticed three people around her.

“I don’t know. Whenever I heard tales of ghosts in the past it was about wailing spirits, not inattentive children.” Erikur whispered back. “Are ghost children dangerous?”

“Not generally?” I hedged. “Even the most dangerous of Spirits tend to be weaker than they were in life, though there are exceptions. I don’t think that would apply to a little girl though…”

“So what do we do?”

“Talk to her I guess?” I looked between the two nords and shrugged. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and she can tell us what happened.”

No one came up with a better idea, so I cautiously approached the girl after I cast a few wards for safety. No need for one of us to end up possessed if this was a trap.

“Hello there, can you hear me?” I called out softly to the ghost. “Who are you?”

“Hmmm hmm hmmmm, oh. I’m Helgi.” The child said absently. “But father says I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. Are you a stranger?”

Did…did she not realize she was dead?

“Your father Hroggar, right? If he told you that he’s a smart man.”

Her ghostly features brightened. “Do you know him? He made my favorite dolly, but I can’t find her.” Then she frowned again. “Are you sure you’re not a stranger?”

Jordis prodded me from behind. “Ask about the fire.” She prompted.

“She’s right.” Erikur agreed. “We might not get another chance like this. If the girl could point us at the culprit…”

…We could investigate them and get justice for Helgi.

“No, I’m not a stranger.” I lied. “I’m a friend looking into what happened to your house. Do you know what happened?”

Helgi hunched in on herself. “The smoke woke me up. I was hot and I was scared, so I hid. Then it got cold and dark. I’m not scared anymore. But I’m lonely.” Her pale eyes looked hopefully into my own. “Will you play with me?”

Gods damn it. I wasn’t going to be able to say no to that.

“Sure…” Jordis poked me again. “...but if I do, will you tell me how the fire started?”

“I can do that!” Helgi brightened up again. “Okay, let’s play hide and seek. You find me, and I tell you. But we have to wait till night time. The other one is playing too, and she can’t come out until then.”

Erikur cursed at the near confirmation of a vampire being involved. And I felt a cold rage fill me as I put together how a child became a ghost. The leech must have done something to the girl for her to remain on this plane. And if Helgi was now damned to Coldharbour because of the parasite I would take my time killing it before it could join her in that realm.

“Who do you mean?” I tried to keep any of the rage I was feeling out of my voice but it was a near thing.

“I can’t tell you, she might hear me!” Helgi cried. “She’s so close! But if you can find me before she does then I can tell you.” Her outline began to dissipate and I felt a flash of panic.

“No wait!”

But it was too late. The child ghost faded away leaving the three of us alone in the ruins of the house.

Erikur was the one to break the silence.

“We need to speak to the Jarl.” He said grimly.

-o-

“So it is certainly murder then?” Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone asked gravely.

“Yes, I’ve been informed by my companion that the presence of a spirit is usually a sign of dark intentions. Even more so for the spirit of a child.” Erikur replied.

“And you are certain it wasn’t Hroggar?”

“Helgi, the child, referred to the other as female. We can’t be sure that person is the one who set the fire or was involved in some other way but Thalin is convinced that Hroggar couldn’t have caused the ghost of his daughter to remain and cause her to appear so lucid.”

I only half listened to the conversation between Erikur and the Jarl. While important, it was mostly a formality for us and we would likely need to try tracking down the ‘other one’ tonight.

It was a nicer experience than the last time I needed to talk to a Jarl though. Working with a thane ensured we were allowed access to the meeting hall almost immediately and no nosey housecarls poking around my weapons. Of course it could just be because Morthal was much smaller than Whiterun and Jarl Idgrod simply didn’t need such security. She could also simply believe that the handful of guards and her court wizard were enough to deal with the three of us.

“She is right. It would be extremely rare for a spirit to form naturally. Even more so for one so young.” The court mage, Falion, confirmed. “This ‘other’ you mentioned must be the cause.”

He turned to me, a glimmer of interest in his eyes. “Do you have much experience in Conjuration? Not many are knowledgeable about spirits and how they appear. Usually only Summoners and Necromancers care to learn.”

“I don’t.” I replied. “I just picked some things up learning how to avoid the attention of things from other realms.”

“Ah, I see. Then you are a smarter and much rarer practitioner than I first believed.”

“Enough, Falion. You may continue a scholarly discussion after this incident has been resolved.” Jarl Idgrod interrupted. “What must we do next?”

“The spirit said we needed to wait for nightfall. Until then there is not much we can do since there was no more evidence in the remains of the house.” Erikur said. “But from what she said the ‘other’ is close by. Based on this and some encounters not far from here, we believe this may be the work of a vampire.”

“A vampire?! Are you certain?”

“No, but the circumstances fit closer than we’d like.”

“Then it is even more crucial we can find Helgi’s spirit first. Do you have any leads?”

“Spirits tend to appear in areas that have meaning to them.” I replied. “Either that or areas with large amounts of energy to sustain them. Places like favorite playgrounds or hiding spots would fit for a child spirit but we aren’t familiar enough with the girl to know where those would be.”

“The surrounding marshes would also be a possibility. The energies there would make it trivial for a spirit as Miss Thalin described to manifest.” Falion added. “I would be happy to comb the areas around the city to ensure nothing…unsettling…is occurring there.”

The marshes were a focus point for magika? I hadn’t gotten that impression, but I also hadn’t gone all that close to them.

“It would be helpful. Also maybe you could spare a local familiar with Helgi? It would make searching for her ghost much faster.”

Jarl Idgrod nodded. “I’ll have Thonnir escort you. His son Virkmund and Helgi were friends and the families were known to be close. He can take you to the places Helgi might be.”

“My thanks, Jarl.” Erikur pressed a fist to the middle of his chest. “We will do everything we can to make sure this ends tonight.”

“Then the gods be with ye.”