Got the 'Legendary Edition' of Skyrim this week and it's just so flippen awesome! Serana is the best npc ever! (mostly because she doesn't die when 'friendly fire' occurs haha)
Anyway, decided to get this fic on paper, so to speak.
Let me know what you think of it so far :)
The only sound to be heard was that of deep, ragged breathing and the steady dripping of the moisture on the cavern walls. Slowly, the breathing became steadier before finally returning to normal. The figure standing alone in the gloomy crypt straightened and slung the bow he had been clutching onto his back. Stepping over the bodies of those he had just felled with his arrows he made his way to the bound figure that lay just ahead.
The archer knelt next to the body, briefly checking for any signs of life. There were none. He sighed and turned his attention to the items that were scattered close to the corpse. He scraped the few coins together and shoved them into his pack, not wanting them to go to waste in this dank hole, and picked up the book. It was a field journal, most likely Adalvald's. Skimming the pages he found nothing of particular value so he placed it back on the ground. Standing, he turned away from the body and looked out towards the island structure that rose out of the underground lake.
He had been in various caves and crypts over the last couple of years and even though most looked vaguely similar, there was always something that made each one stand out from the rest. The arena like island that now stood before him was what made Dimhollow Cavern different. Archways towered over him as he stepped towards the center of the structure, his eyes fixed on the pedestal that rose from it. He circled it a few times, inspecting it closely before placing his hand on the pressure plate on top.
A deep rumble sounded from deep within the ground. The archer watched as various pillars rose up from key points in each concentric ring that radiated outward from the central pedestal. He suddenly cried out in shock and pain as a shard of metal shot up from the pedestal, piercing right through his palm. He cursed loudly and wrenched his hand away, stepping back slightly while fighting off a wave of nausea. He endured the pain for a few moments before finally getting his mind to focus again, allowing his Restorative magic to mend the worst of it. Looking at the pedestal again he was surprised to find a band of deep purple light snaking across the floor, stopping in front of one of the newly raised pillars.
It took the archer a while to figure out the puzzle of the pillars. He found that each pillar was 'mobile' so to speak and could move along a track that spanned across the concentric circles. He had to push and pull them a couple of times before they created a complete path for the odd purple light to follow. When the final pillar rumbled into place there came a loud booming sound followed by a bright flash of light created by the snaking purple line. The archer closed his eyes, momentarily blinded. As his vision slowly recovered he could hear more scraping and rumbling coming from the center of the structure.
With his vision returned he saw that the concentric circles had lowered into the ground, creating a series of steps leading down to the central pedestal, which was now a lot higher due to the floor around it being lower. Slowly he approached the pedestal again, being cautious this time. Reaching out he placed his hand on the cold surface. All was silent for a moment before the front half of the pillar suddenly shot down into the ground, revealing the figure of a woman at its hollow center. The archer was so surprised that he almost let her fall to the floor when she started leaning forward. He gathered himself just in time to catch her. She groaned, her voice straining from disuse. When he was sure she would be able to stand up on her own he stepped back.
"Are you ok, miss?" the archer asked her, trying not to sound as perplexed as he felt.
"I- um, just give me… just give me a minute." She replied, her voice cracking with the effort of speaking.
As the archer waited for her to compose herself, his eyes drifted to the object strapped to her back. His gasped as he recognized it.
"That's an Elder Scroll, isn't it?" he asked, motioning towards it.
"Yes, yes it is. And it's mine." She said, a hint of warning in her voice.
"Hey, I'm just asking." The archer said, raising his hands in mock surrender. The woman didn't react.
After a few more moments of silence he spoke up again. He asked her a few questions like who she was, why did she have that scroll and what she was doing in this crypt but she barely answered any of his questions. After a while he got fed up with her silence
"Ok, what in Oblivion is going on here?" he asked loudly, startling the woman. "First I get pulled off the road by a random fellow who begs me to make haste to help some kind of sun cult that's bent on ridding the world of who know what. The moment I walk into the place I get pulled into their plans and end up in this Divines forsaken place where I'm hounded by the undead for what feels like days, only to run into a woman who's being difficult. Give me a break here!"
The woman, who had initially been quite taken aback by his outburst, did the strangest thing then. She burst out laughing. It was so unexpected that the archer completely forgot about his frustration and smiled.
"Sorry about that, it's just been a tough week." He said sheepishly, reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck.
"It's quite alright. I'm sorry as well. It's just that… I don't know you at all so it's a bit difficult to trust you just like that, you know?"
The archer sighed loudly.
"Of course, I'm such an idiot. Here I am going on about my shit week when you've been trapped underground for um… How long have you been here exactly?"
The woman scanned the cavern for a moment.
"I have no idea… Must have been quite some time judging by the state of this place."
"That long huh? You must be quite old then…"
"I was 'old' long before I was put in this crypt."
At the raised eyebrow she received she frowned.
"You do know what I am, right?"
"Um, a woman?"
"Oh thank Oblivion, I thought no one would notice." She said in a sarcastic tone.
The archer smiled.
"Of course I know what you are. The Dawnguard wouldn't have sent me here otherwise."
The woman froze.
"You're with 'them'?"
"Sort of. My organization was asked to assist them in their return to Skyrim after they learned of rising daedric activity in the region."
"Your organization?"
"I'm Valen, Harbinger of the Companions."
"The Companions? You're a Werewolf then?" the woman asked.
The archer shook his head.
"I was one briefly, but I didn't like the smell of wet dog each time I took a bath so…"
The woman smiled briefly at his attempted humor.
"So what are you going to do now? Take me to the Guard? Or maybe hand me over to your pack of wolves?"
Valen shrugged.
"I don't know, what do you want to do?"
The woman looked surprised.
"You're giving me a choice?"
"Why not? And even if I had intended to take you prisoner, I don't think I would have gotten very far going up against a starved, Elder Scroll wielding Vampiress."
The woman smiled again.
"I'm Serana by the way. I should have introduced myself earlier I guess." She said, a subtle blush showing on her ghostly white face.
Valen smiled at her.
"So then, Serana. What's your plan of action?"
"Could we go outside? I'd like to breath in some fresh air again."
"Of course. Wasn't planning on staying in this dump for too long anyway."
After another few hours spent navigating the tunnels and halls of Dimhollow, fighting skeletal mages and undead warriors, the pair finally emerged into the fading sunlight of late afternoon. Serana rushed forward and breathed in deeply.
"Finally!" she exclaimed.
Valen smiled at her outburst. As they had been making their way through the crypt he had come to realize that she must have been trapped for many hundreds of years, judging by her reactions to certain parts of their conversations. She didn't know about things that have been there for many years, like the Empire and the Dominion. He suspected that she might even predate the Dwemer disappearance as well
"Where we headed to then?" he asked as he stepped up to stand beside her.
"Where in Skyrim are we exactly? All I can see is snow, which covers most of the province."
"Think we're in the Pale, not too far from Dawnstar."
She smiled sheepishly.
"Um, I don't recognize those names, sorry."
Valen laughed.
"Ok then. Why don't I take you on a bit of a tour of the countryside? Just so you can get your bearings."
"That sounds wonderful. But…"
"But?"
She motioned towards the scroll strapped to her back.
"I don't think it would be wise to trek across the province with this thing."
Valen nodded.
"No, that wouldn't be the best idea." He said before growing silent as he thought.
"We could go to Whiterun. My people will keep it safe. Then we can get in some sight seeing."
"You're sure they'll be ok with 'me'?" she asked.
"They're surprisingly laidback people once you get to know them and in any case, I'm the boss so they have to go along with it." He said with a grin.
"Werewolves and vampires don't mix Valen." She said, still not convinced.
"I'll get them to understand, ok? The Companions are like a big family. We all trust each other completely. And if I trust you, they have no reason not to trust you as well."
"But do you trust me?" she asked, a slightly serious tone in her voice.
Valen watched her for a moment.
"I don't know why, but since the moment I saw your face I just knew I could put my trust in you. My instincts are generally always in the right and they were confirmed when you backed me up while we fought our way out of that crypt."
Serana smiled.
"I had a similar feeling."
"So it's settled then. The Companion Headquarters it is." Valen said and started trudging through the snow in the direction of the main road that stretched off in the distance. He pulled a hood over his head to keep the wind from whipping his hair into his face. He noticed Serana doing the same.
They walked in silence, each lost in their private thoughts.
"Although, now that I think about it," Valen said, stopping in his tracks, "Vilkas might take some convincing…" he added after a moment with a slight frown.
"Who's Vilkas?" Serana asked, stopping beside him.
"He's my m- He's my second-in-command." Valen said
Serana lifted her eyebrow at his momentary hesitation, wondering what it was that Valen was about to have said before changing his mind. She made a mental note of it.
"But I have ways in dealing with him, so don't worry."
"Well then, if you think it's best. Lets get going. I'm no fan of this blizzard."
Valen chuckled before setting out again.
"You came to the wrong country then."
There you have it :)
It's not going to take the direction you're thinking though, there will be a bunch of twists in the very near future ;)
Any questions? Feel free to review or PM me