Chapter 2: The Battle for Fort Kastav

Kataia?...

"Kataia?" SMACK! The whole courtyard fell silent. Save for Renmar, who attempted once to get the attention of the legate back on him before finally turning. There, fallen in the snow, was Galeven. The look on his face was somewhere between furious and completely lost. Whatever the case, his right cheek seemed darker, as if it were already bruising.

A Redguard woman with long dark brown hair stood over him. Her eyes were a dark brown, but still displayed a rage so powerful it could make one see them as burning red. A spiraling design of black war paint wrapped around her eye. The robes of the Vigil were lightly dusted with the snow. The fury she embodied was enough to shake even the hardened soldiers of the garrison. Suddenly, she smiled. "And that was for leaving Hammerfell without prior notice. I view that as abandoning your post."

Galeven rose to his feet, still covering his bruise. "Why don't you hit the people who made that decision then, and not the guy who's just following orders? I only left because the Vigil wanted me in Skyrim. Besides, I had a feeling that's how you'd react, even then."

Her brow furrowed. "I don't care. I would've at least been a bit gentler then. And I might have come with you, you know? Gods, do you ever think about the future?"

"Not at all. The present is far too interesting for me to turn my attention away from it." He smiled, clearly having regained his composure.

The group gathered up, Galeven introducing Kataia to Renmar and Jo. After some brief exchanges of experience and a bit more bickering they were shuttled into the fort's bar. The four were given food and drink. The food was utterly disappointing in every sense of the word. The drink was cheap, but adequate. Standard garrison provisions.

The legate finally had a chance to properly introduce himself. "I'm legate Amaotus. I was put in charge of Kastav just a few weeks ago. Already, things have been utter chaos. Those creatures fight hard. Even better, they aren't acting alone. Whenever they come down to attack, they are accompanied by dark-clad warriors. We haven't killed any of them. And when we kill their little pets, they-"

Galeven interjected. "Turn to dust? Because if they do, then you have nothing to fear sir. My specialty is-"

He was in turn interrupted by the legate. "No. They do burn, but unlike vampires, they turn into a gas. Or some sort of vapor maybe. And besides, if they were vampires, I'd call them vampires. I've seen a few of those in my lifetime. Not to say I'd like to see more of them."

The party fell silent for a short while. Galeven ran through what he knew about vampires. Both death hounds and gargoyles were known pets of theirs, but neither turned into a gas or vapor upon death. This was outside his area of knowledge. Slowly, one by one, all eyes in the party were on Jo'Raska. Save for his own. That would be weird.

Once he realized they were looking at him, Jo thought hard. He gave his response slowly, seeming to think on it even as he spoke. "I don't know of any creatures that I've heard can be summoned dying quite like that. This could be an interesting subject for future research though."

"So…" Amaotus spoke up once more. "How exactly are you going to proceed? I mean, how can we expect you to fight something you can't even identify, let alone plan against?"

Galeven smirked and rose. "Please sir. Part of our job description is the fighting of Deadra. I'm sure next to that, this'll be no trouble whatsoever. Now then, do you post a night watch?" Amaotus nodded, appearing almost offended that anyone would think the answer might be no. "Excellent. And an alarm system? A bell, perhaps a sort of call?" The legate gave a brief description of the different meanings for a few different bell signals of the fort. "Splendid. In that case, I suggest myself and my companions retire for an hour or so of rest."

To this, Amaotus responded in a frustrated tone. "You mean to sleep? What if we come under attack? Shouldn't you of all people be on high alert?"

Galeven wasn't even slightly fazed by the legate's harsh tone. "We, of all people, require rest. We will need our energy. And we will most certainly be attacked. According to our reports, the beasts have attacked on the tenth, the fifteenth, and the twentieth, no? Today is the twenty-fifth. Should their pattern be maintained, there will be another attack. And this time, they'll descend straight into the Vigil's waiting hands."

The rest of the soldiers in the room turned to Amaotus. The legate was well known for his short fuse, and for his stubbornness. However, he was also one of the most pious of those within the fort. No matter how they viewed his authority, they were servants to the Divines. Surely they were in the right. With great effort, Amaotus calmed himself, and agreed to allow them their rest. "Should we fall under attack the bells will sound three times. If that happens, I expect you out in the courtyard, fighting with us."

Renmar nodded. "Trust us. When we fall under attack, I'll be the first to bring one of the monsters down." The group then retired to their respective rooms, generously lent to them by the garrison. Galeven resumed reading his book, Kataia sharpened here scimitar, and Renmar passed out almost immediately. Jo'Raska hurriedly penned a report of the day, and sent it via hawk, which had until five minutes ago lived its "life" as a spoon. Another advancement Jo had made upon discovering his passion for magic.

One hour later…

Thrice the bell tolled. Out from the doors to the barracks burst the garrison, led curiously enough by the Vigilants, even though they had been resting in the rooms farthest back from the doors. Renmar, not even taking the time to aim, fired his first shot. Despite having originally been fired just to the left of the gargoyle atop the wall, it seemingly redirected itself straight into the creature's pointed ear. It died immediately. Seconds after doing so, the thing seemed as if to evaporate.

"So it is vampires. I'll admit, that's a new thing for gargoyles. Nevertheless, knowing what I'm dealing with…" He drew his left war axe, with its strings of fangs around its hilt. "Killing them will be all the more rewarding." He practically threw himself at another gargoyle, which had landed only feet away from him. The axe dug into its shoulder, and a harsh hissing and popping emanated from the wound. The blade seemed to effortlessly dig into the gargoyle, burning its way through the beast. Soon, it evaporated around the weapon.

"Oh, now there's a fancy blade. How'd you do that?" Renmar asked as he fired three shots off at once. With normal arrows, and a normal bow, it would have failed comically and without question. However, the arrows once again seemed to simply self-correct their course, felling three more gargoyles. The air above the fort was now seemingly devoid of stars, as they were obscured by the dark clouds of slain monsters.

Jo'Raska, though a mage, was known at the College for being fully capable of outmatching many in a physical fight. He spun wildly with a short steel sword, etched with Khajiit historical symbols, pausing in this whirl of metal only to fire bolts of fire and lightning. Nearby, defending the carriage and driver, was Kataia, her scimitar singing through the cold air, biting into both enemy monster and man.

The gargoyles were now accompanied by a large group of lightly armored, fast moving, cloaked humanoids. There were a few Khajjit in the group, judging from the occasional swish of a tail amidst the clashing of steel. Their appearance had almost gone unnoticed until one found himself face to face with Galeven. "So, you're the ringleaders? Excellent." He took a wide swing with his blade. The hood of the enemy was thrown back, revealing a fresh gash down his neck. "Oh, just a regular old wound? Guess you aren't vampires then. That's a bit of a shame. Still." He drew his second axe, quickly throwing it into his enemy's chest.

Not far from this exchange, legate Amaotus and his men were fighting to maintain control of the gates. There were even more cloaked figures outside, waiting for their comrades to let them in. The soldiers of the garrison with heavy armor dropped down upon the enemy. The enemies were quick and skilled with their weapons, but their armor was pitifully lacking. Those who weren't cut down retreated up the mountain. One of them, likely in some state of command, blew a horn to call upon the rest of his fellows.

Realizing that not only were they taking losses, but a large number of them, the cloaked figures remaining in the fight left as quickly as they came. The remaining gargoyles covered their retreat. After their masters had vanished, even those that hadn't been struck seemingly burnt away into the night.

The attack had been fierce, on point, and quick. The carriage had been set alight, but thanks to Kataia the poor civilian had survived what was likely the most traumatic moment of his life to date. There had been a total of sixty-three losses on both sides, not counting the gargoyles. Of these, forty-five were imperial soldiers. Though they had killed the cloaks, for the first time out of these attacks, the fighting took a far greater toll. Amaotus spoke up. "Well, we managed to finally kill a few of them too. Thing is, there were at least double the number we usually get here tonight. So despite our killing their monsters, there are actually more of them…"

Kataia placed a hand on the legate's shoulder, handing him one of the party's healing potions. "Don't worry. We're heading up there tonight. Whatever they're doing, we'll stop it, and we'll make sure to kill at least as many as you've lost. I swear it."

Jo'Raska nods, magically closing an injured soldiers wounds. "Yes sir, we assure you this matter will be resolved. The group behind this assault, and those prior, will be made to pay at our hands. Right?"

The two turned to Galeven and Renmar. The two of them, however, weren't paying their companions or allies any mind. They were caught up in a rather heated argument about who killed what.

"I'm telling you, my arrow was the thing that put her down. I mean no disrespect to your talent, and I know vampires are your forte, but this one's mine." Renmar pulled his arrow out of the stone wall as he finished this statement.

"Listen Ren, just because you hit it doesn't mean you killed it! I'm telling you, you pinned it there, but the kill blow was mine. I took its head right off. I'd keep it as a trophy, but for one thing it would scare children, and for another it evaporated." Galeven sat cleaning his right war axe.

Amaotus stood puzzled. He turned to Kataia, who explained. "Oh, never mind. That's just how Gal is. And it looks like he's found someone else just like him. How… Wonderful." Jo'Raska couldn't help but laugh. "These are the people the Vigil sends to stop chaos like this?" He thought. "Sure, Kataia seems capable, but there's no way she could keep these two in check."

After a short meal, legate Amaotus bid the Vigilants farewell, and the party began their ascent. That day would mark the beginning of a dark time for Tamriel. The events about to transpire would kick off a two year period of turmoil and strife throughout all of Tamriel. That day would be a day on Mount Anthor no one present would ever forget...

End Chapter 2

Subsequent chapters in the works will be added upon completion & revision. All critique and feedback is encouraged.