Mission
Erik P.O.V
I sit by the icy lake in Dayspring Canyon feeling the cool breeze blow by, listening to the running water from the two waterfalls that flow over the ice covered cliff. I feel the warmth of the sun on my body as well as the beast's blood coursing through my veins, even though I was a creature of the night and didn't like being in the sun much but it felt safe. Whenever I wasn't on a mission this was where I liked to be or inside with Bran and Sceolang the two war huskies the Dawnguard owned, even though I've been here for almost a year I still feel like an outsider; everyone here didn't like it when I came here to fort Dawnguard for the first time.
Fort Dawnguard is a castle in Dayspring canyon it's owned by the people of Dawnguard, the vampire hunters. The threat of vampires were getting worse so I decided to join but when I got here and was asked why I wanted to join almost every single one of them pulled their weapons out ready to kill me all because I'm a werewolf, Isran the leader thought I was there because vampires and werewolves were enemies but that's not the reason I came here, I came because my family was murdered by them and I watched in horror as my father was skinned alive in his beast form. I wanted revenge on the one who skinned my father I beat he still has his hide where ever that heartless thing is but where ever it is I'll get it back and place it back with my father's remains, I sigh at the memory even after almost a whole year here I still wasn't even close to knowing who he was.
"Are you going to mope all day or are you gonna get up and do something about your problem?" I turn my head around to see behind me and I see Isran standing on the path not far from me "It's a bit hard when no one will give me a lead" I say getting up fixing my red and black Dawnguard armor, I walk up to the small hill and onto the path "Well then today may be your lucky day, I've got some Intel on a vampire skooma joint that might be linked to a higher up vampire that needs clearing out and I want you to go" he says pointing at me, I look at him surprised for a minute then smile "I'm up for it where's this Skooma joint hiding?" I say wanted to get going as soon as possible. "It's called Redwater Den and you're going to sneak into their alone and take them out and find out anything you can but you can't wear the Dawnguard armor either because once you walk through someone will notice the armor and its gonna be tougher, Gunmar has been told about this mission and has already got a random set of armor and weapons for you to take so you look like just a normal traveler or something like that. Once you've gotten all set up come find me and I'll show you on the map where this place should be" he said, I nod and head up to fort Dawnguard.
I reach the doors of the castle pushing the old huge heavy door open, I walk through the dimly lighted halls and reach the blacksmith in his work space hammering what looks to be a soon to be new Dawnguard sword "Gunmar" I say over the loud banging of his hammer hitting steal, "Ah Erik let me guess here for the armor? It's on the table by the smelter" he says pointing to the big round metal thing on the ground behind the orange work bench with iron ingots all over it. I walk down the small steps to the table and see plain iron armor with matching bracers and boots and... A silver sword, 'Damn it Gunmar don't you know silver is a werewolves weakness' I think to myself, I swear that man is losing his memory or something. I look at my own sword which was a Dawnguard one so I had no choice but to take the silver one, I sigh and pick up my new gear and head for the chambers where everyone sleeps expect Isran who sleeps on the top floor with his own little vampire torture room. I look around the room first to make sure no one else was around and once I made sure the coast was cleared I walked up to one of the beds and started to take my armor off and replacing it with the new ones, I finish getting it all on and place my old armor in the corner of the room on the floor next to my knapsack with all my belongings.
I walk out of the room and head to the kitchen to grab some supplies which Hakar was nice enough to help with; I walk around the corner of the kitchen area and see Isran standing by the table with the large map of skyrim on it waiting for me. He shows me on the map where he was told it should be which wasn't very far from here and should take me two days most to get there, do the mission and get back. I head out of the fort and head down the path back to the lake and see my horse vector, his light brown coat and blonde tail covered in a light layer of dirt from sitting on the dirt covered ground. He stands up when he sees me and trots up to me and nudges my shoulder, I laugh gently and grab a carrot from the small sack of supplies I packed "I know what you want" I say giving him the carrot, rubbing the side of his neck as he ate. I set up the saddle on him making sure everything is secured, I lift myself up onto the saddle and head off through the mountain pass out into the open land of skyrim.
~hours later~
I look around the place for the so called 'vampire skooma joint' but there was nothing, nothing but grass, trees and wild life. I was starting to think this might have been a wild goose chase, I look up at the sky and saw its soon going to be dusk and thought I'll keep looking for a little longer. After another hour of looking around I decided to give up and head back to Riften and stay there the night and head back to fort Dawnguard tomorrow morning, I start looking around for the river so I could follow it back to Riften but only got myself more lost; I sigh at my own stupidity for not bring a map with me.
"Hey that's my half!" I lift my head up to the sound of some man voice, I stay quiet in hopes they say something again so I could find where they are "I cooked it, get your own!" this time it was a woman's voice, I figure out what way they were and head in that direction. As I got closer I could make out that it was an old burnt down house with the two owners of the voices inside, the women was a Redguard with black hair tired up into a bun wearing fur armor sitting on a chair in front of a fire where the old fire pit was and standing next to her was a bold male nord with studded armor. I stop from a distance and get off Vector for safety in case they were bandits, I walk up to the house and the Redguard lady was the first to see me "Your here for Redwater go on in" she says calmly. This has to be it, Redwater den; I nod and walk past her and try to act as normal as possible. I see a small cellar door behind the wall on the floor 'This must be it' I think to myself opening the door and climb down the ladder into the den. I walk down the narrow stairs and into a small room with another male nord with studded armor leaning on the wall next to another door.
"You better not be making any trouble down there" he says to me looking at my sword, he turns and opens the door "Go on it but I'm watching you" he says going back to leaning on the wall. I nod and walk passed him down the stairs into another room that was bigger than the first, I see a bar with a cage around it with a female wood elf with white orange hair in two small pony tails wearing a white and brown dress inside; I walk up to the cage unsure with what to do "Hey welcome to Redwater Den, what can I get ya?" she asks me as I got closer, I guess she was the dealer and the cage was to protect her. "I-I'm here for s-some skooma" I say unsure of what to really say "Redwater skooma or normal Skooma?" she asks, "What's the different?" I asked curious, I've never heard of Redwater skooma before; I guess that answers the name of the place though. "It's much stronger than the normal one, never had some before?" I shake my head in response "Well... because it's your first time you can have one on the house" she says giving me the small red bottle. I thank her and a male dark elf with black hair and wearing a dirty white and brown clothes similar to the wood elf's comes up to me and takes me to one of the booths to 'have' my skooma, as we walk passed all the booths I see all the people who were in them. One was a nobleman; of course he would spend his money on this stuff, a poor guy; nothing new there. The booth I was put in had a poor dead guy left in there; clearly no one here cared and then the last that was across from mine had an Imperil soldier, 'What in oblivion is a solider of the Imperial army doing here in an illegal skooma joint?' I thought to myself, he could go to jail for years or worse life because of it. He looks up noticing me staring at him "Let me guess you're wondering why someone of my status is here? I know I shouldn't be here but I badly hurt my back from the dragon that attacked Helgen, I-I just needed something to take away the pain..." He admits. I guess I could feel sorry for him; some people would do anything to get rid of the pain.
I hear an iron gate being opened and saw women walk pasted, no... a vampire; she was a nord with black hair done up into two buns and wearing a black vampire armor, boots and red glowing eyes, the number one dead giveaway of telling who's a vampire. I watch as she looks in the booths and then sees me, I act like everyone else making it look like I was on the stuff; she walked into the booth and went over to the dead guy. She picks him up and throws him over her shoulder and walks back from where she came from, I watch as she closes the gate but she didn't shut it properly so it was left a little open but she didn't notice and walked off to do oblivion knows what to that poor guy. I look around making sure no one was watching, the dark elf was in the booth giving more skooma to someone and the wood elf was in the back getting something so I took my chance and quickly slipped into the other room without being seen. I move into the dark away from the door so no one could see me, I could see another opening with light coming from it and people talking so I sneak through the dark to get a better look; as I got closer to it I could see more. My eyes widen in shock, the vampires had a whole production for making skooma right here in skyrim.