The journey from south-east Winterhold to the Rift was rather uneventful. Menippus had really no trouble taking out the occasional wolves, after all it was his job. Moreover, the weather remained surprisingly friendly. Though the snow never failed to touch the land in the areas around Windhelm, the sun was shining bright and warm. The Rift was one of Menippus' favourite holds of Skyrim, since it bared quite a lot of similarities with his homeland, Cyrodiil. The flora was rich and the temperatures higher, and that was enough for him.

He thought about stopping in Riften for a short break but he changed his mind eventually. Not that he wasn't tired, -alas, the two day's journey on Reica's back had taken its on toll on the hardy imperial-, but Menippus was currently burning with anticipation. He couldn't wait to work for the vampire hunters, to test his hand on a more dangerous game than wolves and bears. It was this eagerness that fueled his body and mind, driving him straight to the south-east corner of Skyrim.

Menippus was now facing a huge mountain as he realized his path had come to a dead end. What the hell? There is no path here, how am I supposed to reach the damn Fort? With a nimble move, he dismounted Reica and set off to explore the area. To his frustration, he found out that the mountain was unapproachable and there was no visible road that connected the area with the fort. After an hour or so, Menippus finally gave up.

"Come to Castle Dawnguard, son. There will be money, son. I know that I look like a creepy, retired skooma dealer, but you need to trust me, son. It's not like I'm gonna trap you into the wild and send my thugs after your pouch, so-", his sarcastic monologue was interrupted when he heard a horse nickering from a distance. Menippus was so absorbed into exploring the area that he had forgotten Reica. He ran towards the direction of the sound, only to find his horse fighting a wolf pack. Swiftly, the imperial drew his sword and cut off a wolf's head, just as it was about to sink its teeth into Reica's chest. At the same time, the horse stood briefly on his two back legs and unleashed a powerful kick on the wolf that was in front of her,forcing it to crash on the mountain's base. There was only one more wolf left to kill, and though Reica was unaware of its presence, her rider was not. Menippus pulled out the hidden knife he kept inside his boot and skilfully threw it at the creature that was about to blindside his poor horse. The knife connected with the wolf's eyes, distracting it long enough for the imperial to finish it off with a shield bash that crushed its bones.

"Always looking for trouble, aren't you, Reica?", he scolded his horse while cleaning the blood off his sword and knife. And then, what he noticed made him gasp. A few feet away from Reica, there was a gap in the mountain that led right under its body. With a wide smile, Menippus kissed his horse's forehead and whispered in her ear: Good job girl. Good. Fucking. Job."

The gap was so narrow that it was impossible for anyone to cross it on horseback, thus Menippus instructed Reica to wait for him outside. After crossing the short path under the mountain, he found himself speechless as he looked at the sight in front of him. It was a waterfall, but unlike all the others Menippus had seen, this one was glacial and led to a frozen lake. Wow boy, now that's something impressive.

But he never really had the time to finish his thought as a man's voice addressed him.

"Oh! Hey there! Are you here to join the Dawnguard, too?" Menippus was so absorbed by the view that he hadn't noticed the man that stood just a few feet to his right. He had long blond hair and blue eyes- a typical nord visage- and he didn't wear any armor at all, but for a pair of hide bracers. He looked pretty young too, Menippus could guess he was about nineteen to twenty.

"Yeah, that's the plan", he answered indifferently.

"Good, my name is Agmaer, I'm here to join the order, too", and after waiting a few seconds for a reply that never came, Agmaer continued, almost stammering now:"Listen, could I..could I walk with you? I'm a little nervous, I've never done anything like this before".

Menippus' eyes scanned the nord in a moment of silence before he sighed. "If you are nervous about introducing yourself, then I don't think you have a future here, Agmaer. Do you even know what you want to sign for?"

"Yes, I..I want to become a vampire hunter", the young nord stammered with a disheartened expression on his face.

"Have you ever been in a fight, Agmear? Have you actually killed anything at all?", Menippus asked in an aggressive tone.

Agmaer caressed his axe's edge as he replied, "I have killed a wolf once, with my pa's axe."

Menippus' sarcastic voice was there again: "You are a true war veteran then, boy", before continuing in a serious tone this time:"Look, Agmaer, vampires are amongst the deadliest creatures in Skyrim, or that's what the books say. It is not smart for a man with no experience to join the fight. Go home. For your own sake."

"But I have no home! The vampires raided our house and killed my parents and my little sister", he protested, his voice almost broken now.

Menippus kept silent for a long moment before nodding in understanding. "Let's go", he patted the nord on the back.

The path to the fort was pretty straightforward. What both of the new recruits didn't expect though, was that Fort Dawnguard was actually huge. The musty smell that emanated from its walls was a sign of the castle's age,yet from the outside it seemed well preserved. Judging by the stains on the front walls, Menippus guessed that it had seen its fair share of war over the ages. They had just reached the entrance when they were stopped by a male breton, dressed in the same armor Durak was wearing back then, at the inn, the Dawnguard armor.

"Halt! State your business before you enter", he commanded.

Menippus saw Agmaer's skin turn white with the corner of his eye before replying in a calm tone."We wish to join the order. I was told to speak to a man named Isran".

"More kindling for the pyre,eh?", the breton answered while scanning the potential recruits from head to toes. "Very well, you may enter. You will find Isran inside".


The fort's interior wasn't nearly as impressive as the rest of it,or, to be more precise, the place was a mess. Torn and stained banners, half-destroyed crates and spider webs decorating the walls were just a few of the signs of neglect Menippus managed to notice, before his attention was drawn to a quarrel at the centre of the entrance hall.

"-say I didn't warn you Tolan! But no! You vigilants are always right,aren't you? And now that you finally scratched the surface you come to me like a wet cat asking for my protection!", the redguard with the shaved head and the thick beard was about to explode in any moment.

"Yes you were right Isran!", the angry retort came from the other man, a vigilant of Stendarr as Menippus could tell by the mage robes he wore along with a combination of plate steel gauntlets and boots. "Are you happy now? You were right! The hall is destroyed and everyone is dead because we didn't listen to you. But, please, you must help!"

The man named Isran shook his head in frustration. It was then that he finally noticed the two strangers who had entered his fort. "Who are you?"

Menippus took a few steps towards the redguard before answering. "My name is Menippus. I seek to become a vampire hunter".

"What do you carry that makes you valuable to me?", Isran questioned in his deep voice.

"A good sword", Menippus touched the hilt of his blade, "also, empty pockets".

Isran took a moment to inspect the candidate before nodding. Menippus was tall and well-built. One thing he knew was that he was an experienced warrior, and that's all he cared about. "Welcome aboard, then, fresh meat. And you?", he pointed at the second visitor.

Agmaer stood where he was, petrified, until Menippus subtly gestured him to step forward. "I am Agmaer, sir Isran, I wish to join, too".

"You? Don't make me laugh", Isran snorted, half-surpirsed, half-amused. "I'd be damned if I accepted a dandy into the order".

"I vouch for him", Menippus interrupted in an assertive tone, to Agmaer's surprise and Isran's annoyance. "He is stronger than he looks, in fact, he helped me kill a group of bandits just outside the vale".

"Did anyone ask for your opinion, imperial?", Isran barked. "But, anyway, just because we are short on manpower at the moment, you might as well stay for the time being. Now go find Vori, tall, blonde woman. She will supply you with a crossbow and teach you how to shoot it".

The new recruits started walking to the main hall, where Isran had pointed, when another bark stopped Menippus in his tracks. "Not you, I have another task that needs to be done."

"Now Tolan", the redguard looked at the vigilant who had been watching silently the conversations, "where did you say those fiends are hiding?"

"Dimhollow Crypt, that's what they said after they left the hall. I'm going there myself, as a matter of fact. I will have vengeance on them."

"Tolan, this is suici-"

"I know what you think of us Isran! That we are cowards! That we are not trained for combat", Tolan bursted out, "well coward or not, warrior or not, I'm gonna give these beasts one hell of a fight! It's the least I can do for my fallen brothers and sisters". And with big, decisive steps he stormed out of the fort, slamming the door behind him.

It took Isran a moment to recover from the vigilant's outburst, but when he did, he turned towards Menippus in his usual, monotonous voice. "Now, son, what I ask from you is to take the fight to those bloody fiends. I can't afford to prepare an expedition for that, so you are on your own on this one. I want you to travel to Dimhollow Crypt and find what the vampires are looking for. It's supposed to be some kind of an artifact. Find it and bring it here, to me. Think you can do that?"

"Yeah", the imperial nodded. What about my reward, though?"

"We will talk about that as soon as the mission is completed. Now off you go", he gave Menippus a gentle push on the back, "and keep an eye on that fool, Tolan if you can, don't let him die like a dog".

"Anything else, master?", Menippus grunted under his teeth as he exited the fort.


"So, how did it go?" the breton that stood guard on the castle's entrance inquired as soon as he saw Menippus again.

"It could have gone better", the imperial answered wryly. "I am a member of the order now, though"

"Welcome, then, brother! My name is Celann. And you are?"

"Menippus", he said shaking his hand. "I'm sorry brother, but I've got no time, Isran has appointed a task to me. Such a nice guy, that Isran. I'll catch you later, though".

Celann chuckled, "you will get used to him eventually, he has a soft side, deep inside".

"I doubt them both", Menippus snorted as he kept walking along the path that led to the canyon behind the mountain.

He had now reached the glacial waterfall while crooning to his favorite song:

"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked

Money don't grow on trees

I've got bi-"

"Menippus!"

He turned around just to witness a panting Agmaer running after him.

When he finally reached him, the nord passed him the crossbow he was holding at his right hand. "Here, good for killing vampires, they say", he gasped. Menippus briefly inspected the weapon before strapping it on his back. "Why, thanks Agmaer. Although I believe I need some bolts, to make this work".

"Of course", Agmaer exclaimed, "here", he unstrapped the quiver from his back. After a moment of hesitation, he finally asked: "Umm, Menippus?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you help me? With Isran. Why did you defend me?"

Menippus sighed. "Because I believe everyone deserves a chance to fight. A long time ago, someone did this for me, so I think it was time I did it for someone, too".

Agmaer nodded in sympathy. "Thanks. For everything. I will return the favor, one day."

"No need to", Menippus replied gently. "Though what the old man said back there is not far from the truth. You need to train, Agmaer. You need to train hard and daily, if you want to be a warrior. But more importantly, you need to start believing in yourself, because if you don't", he paused briefly, "well..no one else will. So, temper your axe and tear those ragdolls into pieces!"

"I know", the nord answered in a low voice, "and that's what I intend to do", he added decisively.

"Take care, now brother. Farewell", Menippus waved his hand with a smile on his face.

"Good luck, brother".

Outside the canyon, the imperial found his beloved horse waiting for him. As soon as she spotted him, she ran towards her master, delighted.

Menippus caressed Reica's forehead.

"We've got work to do. And you're not going to like it".


A/N: So, apparently the recruitment wasn't that soft,right?^ I know the story progress is kinda slow atm, but hey, I think character development is equally important. I want to thank you guys for following, favoring, reviewing and reading my story, I really appreciate that. Unfortunately, the next chapter will be a bit late as I have a bunch of important exams for uni (._.) ,but anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you guys soon.

Fruitseller out! o7

Legend:

The Rift: The south-eastern hold of Skyrim.

Windhelm: An ancient nord city, capital of the Eastmarch hold.

Cyrodiil: Located in the center of Tamriel, capital province of the Empire and home of the imperials.(Hello again Oblivion fans o7)

Riften: Capital of the Rift.

Reica: Rowan's loyal horse, now passed on to Menippus.

Agmaer: The guy you meet upon entering the hidden canyon. He really does seem scared of his own shadow.

Isran: The Dawnguard's leader, a stubborn, cynical and short-tempered warrior, former vigilant of Stendarr. Until recently, I hadn't notice that he is not bald, but shaved(what a pity:/)

Tolan: Skyrim's verson of Wolverine,the only vigilant of Stendarr that survived the vampire attack in the hall.

Vori(mentioned): A member of Dawnguard. You shall meet her soon.

Celann: A member of Dawnguard and Isran's old (and only) friend, since the days they were vigilants.