“Laid to Rest” is one of the spookier quests in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. It takes place in Morthal and, in it, the player unearths the existence of an old vampire with malevolent intentions. While completing the quest ultimately saves the town from further harm, the initial damage has already been done.
To trigger the quest, the player must travel across Skyrim to Morthal and talk to the townspeople about the burned-down house. This will direct the player to the Jarl, who will explain the situation in more detail. After which, they’ll offer the Dragonborn a reward for finding the truth about the situation.
A Dangerous Love Affair
The burnt house belonged to a man named Hroggar, and he lived there with his wife and daughter. Before the incident, Hroggar was a simple lumberjack who provided for his family. Though at one point, a woman named Alva moved into Morthal and seduced Hroggar. Not long after, his house burned down, leading the townspeople to believe that it was the lumberjack’s doing. Now, Hroggar lives in Alva’s house.
After learning this, the player will be tasked with investigating the remains of Hroggar’s home. There, they’ll meet the ghost of a young girl named Helgi — Hroggar’s daughter. Helgi will ask the Dragonborn to play a game of hide-and-seek and promise to reveal who set the fire afterward. Though she will also note that they have to play come nightfall because “the other one” will be playing too.
Come nighttime, the player must find the site of Helgi’s grave, where she’s “hiding.” They’ll also find a woman named Laelette there, who will turn hostile upon spotting the player. Laelette is a vampire, and Helgi will reveal that she was the one who set fire to the house. Laelette hesitated in her task, however, and tried to turn Helgi into a vampire as well, but she failed to do this as the fires still consumed the little girl.
After speaking to Helgi, a man named Thonnir will find the player and Laelette’s dead body. He’ll explain that he’s Laelette’s husband and that he’s been looking for her ever since she decided to join the Stormcloak Rebellion. Thonnir also notes that Laelette had been spending a lot of time with Alva, whom she hated just a few days prior. This leads the Dragonborn to conclude that Alva must be a vampire too, and the quest directs them to Alva’s house.
Uncovering Alva’s Secrets
Upon entering Alva’s house, Hroggar will immediately turn hostile. The player can choose to either kill or spare him. Either way, the goal is to take Alva’s Journal. The entries reveal that Alva was, indeed, a vampire, and that she was sent there by a master vampire named Movarth to begin their quest of taking over the town.
She first seduced Hroggar as she knew that the man would protect her while she slept while the sun was up. Next, she made Laelette a vampire and her subordinate, whom she’d later order to dispose of Hroggar’s family. Alva instructed her to make it look like an accident so that Hroggar would appear innocent, but Laelette failed, much to Alva’s annoyance. After the botched job, Alva notes that Laelette seems different as she constantly talks about Helgi. It’s possible that Laelette either wanted a subordinate of her own or perhaps even a daughter.
The journal also reveals what the mysterious Movarth character intended for Morthal. Alva was to seduce the guards assigned to the village one by one then make them all her slaves. She can even be seen doing this with the guardsman, Benor, and the Jarl’s bodyguard, Gorm, as she teases them when they’re together. Once all the guards of Morthal have been dealt with, Movarth and his coven of vampires planned to take the entire town, enslaving the townspeople and feeding as they pleased.
However, before the vampirism and the plans to enslave an entire village, Alva was likely a normal Nord woman. Where she used to live and what she used to do are unclear, but her first few journal entries differ in tone from all the rest. In these, she talks about how boring her life is and how she wished a Nord warrior would sweep her off her feet.
After this, she writes about a mysterious man whom she met while picking Nightshade flowers after dark. She called him “exciting and exotic,” and the two promised to meet again the following night. In her very next entry, she writes, “Now I understand the true colors of the night.” This signifies that during Alva’s second encounter with the mysterious man, she turned into a vampire. And this mysterious man is likely Movarth himself.
Once the player has Alva’s Journal, they can take it to the Jarl, who will reward them for finding the truth. This triggers the final section of the “Laid to Rest” quest, where the Jarl will then promise another reward if the player deals with Movarth once and for all. The Dragonborn must travel to Movarth’s layer to the northeast of the village and, along with some of the townspeople, slay the vampire coven. Upon completing this task, Helgi will once again appear before the player and thank them as she is now “ready to sleep.”
Movarth Piquine in Skyrim
What’s interesting to note here is that Movarth is actually a centuries-old vampire. He’s even mentioned in a book from the Third Era — “Immortal Blood.” Movarth Piquine was a trainer in the Fighter’s Guild who’d changed professions to become a vampire hunter. In the book, he goes to a priest who had broad knowledge of the vampires of Tamriel. With the priest’s help, Movarth was able to prepare himself for combat with the vampire covens, as each had unique powers.
However, Movarth would ultimately fail in his quest to defeat the most prominent vampire coven in Cyrodiil. This one, the priest explained, was the most secretive group, and also the most civilized. True enough, Movarth could not find them, and when he returned to the priest, he is surprised to see his old friend’s visage — pallor flesh, hungry eyes, and distinct teeth. The priest simply says, “I haven't fed in seventy-two hours,” before pouncing on the vampire hunter.
Though the book ends there, it’s clear that it’s not a piece of fiction. The whereabouts of the priest are unknown, but Movarth has turned his back on hunting vampires and, instead, lives as one. As portrayed by the “Laid to Rest” quest, he’s not beyond manipulating humans in order to turn them and make them do his bidding. However, his latest conquest comes to an abrupt end at the hands of the Dragonborn. It would be interesting to see what Movarth did right after he turned, but for now, the people of Morthal can rest easy with his defeat.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
