Chapter 7

An Old Yet New Face

Jorrvaskr, the legendary mead hall known for its coexistence with the faction known as the Companions, shook with revelry and music on a cold night in the city of Whiterun. Inside, members of the group of fighters, and other residents of the great city danced and sang as a gathering of bards played old Nord tunes on an array of instruments. Sitting at the table in the middle of the commotion was Aela the Huntress, the Nord female quiet and to herself as she leaned against the piece of furniture. Behind her, a buzzed and non serious version of Vilkas would join her before commenting. "You have not even touched your mead, it seems that I've drunken both our fills!" He roared with the crowd as tradition to end the song the bards were finishing.

"Yes, it seems that way, doesn't it...?" Aela commented with a smile, but lowered her head once again, the other noticing her attitude then.

"What troubles you? Is it about the Harbinger?" Vilkas would ask, gulping down the rest of his tankard before putting all of his attention on her.

Aela nodded, handing her tankard of mead to him since she was not in the mood for having fun. "I feel at fault, if I had gone with him, maybe he still would be one of us! He still could have been a werewolf!" She exclaimed, lowering her voice as Farkas walked over then too, standing on the either side of her as his brother placed a hand on their shield-sister's forearm to provide comfort. "Aela, there was nothing that you or any of us could do, what happened happened, and Damos is completely fine with it, so should you..."

"So what if he doesn't come back?! The only reason he came straight here in the first place was to tell us what happened to him! Ever since then he's been up on that mountain with the Greybeards, doing whatever they do!" Slamming a fist into the table, her lycanthrope strength made everything bounce up off the tabletop. "He'll stop coming to Jorrvaskr, he'll stop being the Harbinger, and he'll stop being with me! He'll stop being with me..." Tears now streaked down her face before she buried her head into Farkas' breast, the large Nord looking to his brother. "I'll take her to her room."

"That would be for the best, thank you Farkas..." Vilkas shooed him off with a sway of his hand before looking away. Farkas picked Aela up in his arms, now moving toward the stairs that led down into the barracks of Jorrvaskr, leaving Vilkas to contemplate. Walking up, the old form of Tilma the Haggard appeared as she placed a hand on Vilkas' shoulder. "Is there something wrong, Vilkas?"

"Oh! Tilma, you startled me. Yes, it seems the Harbinger has lost his..." The Nord stopped, but Tilma only chuckled and shook her head. "I have been tending to the Companions for longer than you have been alive, young one. There are many things you all don't think I know, that I do know...and I am aware that young Damos lost his lycanthropy, shame..." The old woman trailed off, replacing the cups and plates that Aela knocked over in her rage.

"What do you think we should do? Drinking the blood wouldn't restore his abilities, its a one way deal, if you lose it, its gone forever..." Vilkas told her, the old woman seeming not to hear him, but after a long period of silence the crone would finally break words. "Maybe he shouldn't be apart of the Circle, maybe that's not his calling. There is a reason for everything, nothing just happens because it can..."

"But...!"

"No buts! Damos was not meant to be a werewolf for his entire life, sacrifices have to be made for new experiences to happen! Now, I'm done arguing with you, go check on Aela, and get back to entertaining your guests, and try to not make such a mess! Where you all get your manners is a mystery! The only good one is Damos, but he's not here to help me..." Vilkas would smile, rising as he left Tilma to herself before following her instructions and walking after his brother to check on Aela.

"Fus Ro Dah!" The words rung out as the force behind them slammed into Master Arngeir, sending the Greybeard flying into a column of ice and snow in the Great Courtyard of High Hrothgar. Damos, breathing furiously on the opposite side of the area behind the great monastery. Chest bare, the Redguard donned only a pair of ragged trousers he had picked up five days ago after returning to Skyrim, having stolen them from a wandering skooma smuggler. Now they were tattered and bloody, having been worn since then and gone through a vigorous training schedule with the Dragonborn. "Good, good! Your thu'um has grown stronger than last time, no thought you can defeat all of us without difficulty now. How goes your progress with Paarthurnax?" Arngeir asked, dusting himself free of the snow he had been buried in.

"Good, although he still does not offer challenge..." The Redguard answered, blowing flames into the palms of his hands to warm them up. "I am ready to learn stronger shouts, and not useless ones like how to slow down time, as well as myself!" His anger was obvious, and Master Arngeir frowned at the other before speaking.

"You are troubled by something, this is unlike you. Paarthurnax withholds a challenge because he is scared of losing control...you Dragonborn, just like the dragons that share your soul, have a constant will of power that flows through your veins! Domination, you were all made for it!" Arngeir tried to explain, but the Redguard only turned from him, ripping some strips from his trousers to make arm wraps. Usually, his beast blood would have kept him warm, but now he fully realized harsh environment that Nords grow up in, very much the opposite of the desert habitat that was known as Hammerfell. "Maybe we should continue training another day, Dragonborn. Feel free to return whenever you like, but now I must depart..." Master Arngeir bowed to the Redguard politely before turning and leaving him in the Great Courtyard behind High Hrothgar alone.

Rubbing warmth into his skin, the male would watch his master go inside. Damos grabbed a rusty ebony dagger he had found in the cracks of the wall in his room. Evening was creeping upon the horizon, and the Redguard decided to head down the mountain to stay in Ivarstead for the night. With nothing but the tattered and singed trousers and some thing foot wraps he had found inside as well, he would start down the mountain.

By the time he made it to the small milling town, the sun had set. Masser and Secunda both were shielded by a group of clouds, yet Ivarstead was ominously illuminated from the center of the town. It seemed as if a large bonfire was alight, and as the Redguard moved closer, he saw that the entire town was gathered around just that, the huge light source roaring in the night. "Oh...Damos..." Turning, he would rest his eyes on the form of Fastred, the daughter of the owners of Fellstar Farm, Jofthor and Boti. "I am glad you are here, in me and my mother's time of loss..." Putting the fact that her eyes were bloodshot, and dark marks were under them, he would sigh.

"Jofthor...I am so sorry Fastred..."

Damos offered her a hug, which she accepted, now leading him toward her mother and the other townspeople. Boti looked horrible, much to his dismay. Placing a comforting hand upon the older woman's shoulder, and nodding as she acknowledged is attendance, he would stare into the flames, the lone body of the elderly Nord looking noble and brave as he was dressed in a large fur coat with an elegant looking sword clasped between his dead fingers.

"How did this happen...?" He asked, the Redguard whispered to Fastred, since she was much more consoled.

"Bassianus Axius, he was sick after one of his so called "adventures," and continued to visit the place he kept going, even as his condition got worse. No one heard from his for some time, but last night...he attacked me! My father heard my screams, and rushed to help me. But Bassianus, he was so demented! He ripped my father to shreds right in front of me, then retreated back to that place!" She buried her head in her hands.

"Give me the name of the place...I'll bring his body back for you..." Fastred wiped her eyes, looking into them as she tried to recall where the lunatic had gone to.

"Dimhollow Crypt... somewhere South of Dawnstar!" Nodding, the Redguard would turn as he began to the mysterious location. "And Damos..." He looked back to her, shaken by the look upon her face. "...Don't kill him, bring the son of a bitch back alive for me!" Fastred turned, finished as she returned to her mother, as the ladder began to cry once again.

Sighing, he would turn, heading off into the darkness as the milky white light from the twin bodies as their forms finally peaked from behind the clouds.

The glacial hold known as the Pale was merciless as the winds tore at the Redguard's bare chest. His slow pace elongated his journey, and it was the beginning of the next day's evening as he neared Dimhollow Crypt. Gripped in his right hand was the rusted ebony dagger, and he slid to a stop as he came upon the entrance to the cave. From the undergrowth, the male scoped it out before sprinting inside. Once inside, he could overhear two people as he crept down a winding hallway, opening up into a large cavern where the voices originated from.

"He's a Vigilant! They never know when to give up, although I though we had roughed them nearly enough back at their Hall!" A male voice sounded, a raspy feminine laugh following before the owner too began to speak.

"To come in here alone... a fool like the rest of them." They both cackled, the Redguard moving up to hide behind one of the many natural stone pillars that were abundant in this particular cave. Damos rose a little, peaking at the two. Vampires, no thought, but none like he had ever seen before. He was just about to pull a silent ambush when the stench of death flooded his nostrils. Smooth black skin was tightly stretched along a thin frame that suddenly walked from behind the same pillar right in front of him, long razor sharp teeth protruded from its jaw below blood red eyes. The Redguard almost shouted out as he was startled, the death hound laying its eyes upon right at that moment, but his quick thinking got him out of the situation and ensured his safety. "Raan Mir Tah!" Its eyes dulled in color, the creature running up to rub against its temporary master.

"Well...you certainly gave me a scare there. Such a unique companion, but I cannot linger with you, I must get rid of your real masters."

Using his sneaking skills, the Dragonborn would quietly and quickly move up behind the two vampires as they faced away from him. With the ebony dagger gripped between his fingers, he neared them, only to have the male spot him just as he got a few feet within them. "Hey...!" Just as the blood sucker spotted him, the death hound tackled him, knocking him well away as the two undead creatures rolled on the cave floor. Seeing her comrade being attacked, the female vampire would draw her sword, but was soon taken care of herself as the Redguard took her out with amazing speed. Plunging the thin sliver of dark metal through her chest, Damos would take cover behind her fresh corpse as an ice spike suddenly pierced gut, inches from his guarded neck.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" The other blood sucker declared, having incapacitated the traitorous death hound. Making his move, the Dragonborn would pull an iron dagger from the female vampire's belt before throwing it by the blade as the small weapon found its target. Falling to the ground, the last thing the vampire would see was cleanly thrown dagger embed itself between his burning eyes. Gasping, the Redguard dropped the slain body of the female, moving quickly to the shaking form of the wounded death hound. "You saved my life just there..." He shook as he saw a deep stab wound leak blood in the hound's side.

"Let me return the favor..." He assured, using his magic to charge a Restoration spell in his palms, the Close Wounds spell shining brightly as the Redguard rubbed its healing powers into the creature's wounds. Damos had clearly improved his magical abilities, healing him completely within a couple of minutes, laughing as the hound jumped into his arms and began to lick his face, even though his shout had worn off. "I am glad to see your okay, now run along..." Standing, the male would begin to move deeper into the cave, intending to finish the journey alone, but having proven himself to the monstrous animal, it would continue to follow him. "Now I know you do not intend to follow me from now on...I mean look at us...!" The Redguard was conscious that he was talking to himself, but the death hound clearly would follow him to Oblivion and back, as the hound trainer in Markarth said periodically about his war dogs.

Stooping to its level, the Dragonborn would grip the collar around its neck, cracking it in two before he scratched under its chin. "If your gonna come with me, your gonna need a name...how 'bout Baldr?!" Although it was a much improvised name, the death hound seemed to love it, and Baldr barked a rough sounding call that echoed throughout the cavern. "Good then!"

Remembering his quest, the Redguard would quickly strip the male vampire of his armor, finely made just for a vampire, although the red and black robes would do just fine as some temporary clothing for him, taking the gauntlets and boots to match. Bowing his head to the group of Vigilant monks who had been slaughtered, he would pray to Azura to have mercy upon their souls before raiding their bodies too. Baldr patiently waited for his new master to finish with his looting, and was excited as the Redguard rose, two particular war axes drawing his eyes from everything else. Under the pair of weapons was an untouched piece of parchment, folded and sealed with a red stamp. "Now what could this be, Baldr?" Ripping the seal, the male would begin to read the mysterious note.

Adavald

You are clearly doubting the Dawnguard's abilities. For reference, I send you these two Dawnguard war axes, hopefully they will protect you from the growing vampire menace that has suddenly taken Skyrim. Do not send anymore of your Vigilants to Dayspring Canyon, or else I will have to execute them on your behalf. Tell your Keeper never to seek my counsel and or help again, or the Daedra will be the least of your worries.

The note wasn't signed, and the Redguard tucked it behind the decorative pendant in his new armor before picking up the war axes. Something about them seemed familiar, although he knew he had never seen them before. The heels of them reached down to about half of the curved shafts, and Damos held them right under heads. "A perfect fit..." He said to himself, looking down to Baldr, the death hound's eyes looking up at him as he smiled back at it.

"Come on then, we gotta find a murderer!"

Never had the Redguard since his loss of the beast blood had he felt so powerful. Although they were far more powerful than the other vampires the Dragonborn had dealt with before, they all were slain by his dual-wielded war axes. Each swing brought death or fatal injuries, but Baldr soon would end their suffering as the Redguard moved quickly through Dimhollow Crypt. Once he had dealt with a particular vampire who had been weakened by a monstrous frostbite spider, the male with his newest companion would move through a small door as it opened up to a humongous cavern, with a small balcony adorned with gargoyles past a large circular stone platform with arches that were centered around a small idol of some kind. Telling Baldr to stay put, the Dragonborn would move closer, hearing the conversation between a vampire and a human by the sound of it.

"I'll never tell you anything, vampire! My oath to Stendarr is far stronger than any suffering you can inflict upon me!" Adavald, Damos had assumed, shouted from his knees as he looked up at the vampires who were his captors. "Do your worst!"

"Fine..." The obvious leader would draw his steel sword, cleanly slicing through the human's throat and sending him to the god he worshiped. The male vampire who accompanied him sighed before looking at his comrade.

"Lokil, what if he had more information! He could have told us how to solve the puzzle, Bal only knows how it could be broken!" Lokil as he was called spat upon the body of Adavald before walking across the stone bridge back to the large stone "puzzle." The Redguard sprinted and jumped from the balcony, one of his axes raised as he landed upon the unnamed vampire before finishing him off quickly enough. Dressed in the black equivalent of the armor that Damos was wearing, Lokil would walk to the center of the puzzle, inspecting the idol before calling his thrall to assist him. "I need a drink, this puzzle is making me irritated!"

Sneaking past the dead corpse of the vampire, the Redguard would crawl down the stone bridge before hiding behind one of the large arches. Looking around it, Damos would finally rest his eyes on the face of the one known as Lokil, the vampire sinking his teeth in the soft neck of his thrall, but unknown to him, the Redguard recognized the blood sucker's servant as the very person he was looking for, Bassianus Axius.

"Damn! He won't come easily..." Grabbing his other ax, the male would make his presence known as he revealed himself to the two before him. Lokil hissed before shouting. "Who are you?! A new face, are you one of those halfbreed swine that call themselves vampires..." Pausing, the speaker would then smile. "No...you are a human, aren't you?"

"Yes, and I'll tell you why you should wipe that smile off your face! That one you have there, his name is Bassianus, and he's responsible for the death of Jofthor, a good friend of mine! So either you can hand him over, or I'll kill you!"

"Ah, you reek of bravery, such a good quality to have, but it is a double edged sword! What if the person you try to save doesn't want to be saved, like my servant here? Then what?!" Laughing, the vampire would throw Bassianus to the ground, the ladder unconscious from the amount of blood that had been drained. "Can I have the privilege of knowing your name?" Lokil returned, licking his lips which were stained red.

"My name is Damos, I do not use the many titles I have been given, just Damos..." He answered, swinging his axes as he took his stance.

"Good, good! I am Lokil, of Castle Volikhar! We meet in open combat, and only one will walk away from here today, it fills me with excitement to know that I might not return to my home, I hope you feel the same way!" Drawing his steel sword, the vampire would face his opponent, Lokil charging the health sapping spell that all vampire's knew. "Please..."

"Please..." Damos returned, his feet digging into the ground as he charged then, axes held behind him before the Redguard jumped and swung his weapons, the twin blades screeching against Lokil's sword, the blood sucker using his strength to throw the Dragonborn backward. Using his amazing speed, Lokil would grab a discarded Ancient Nord battle ax before dual-wielding it with his own steel sword. The Redguard rose to his feet, immediately locking blows with the vampire as their weapons slashed and threw sparks as they his each other between their wielders. Baldr, having seen his master in trouble, disregarded the command from before and ran full speed across the stone bridge at them. Lokil smiled.

"Death hounds are extremely loyal, but their bites are as cold the grave!" Kicking the Redguard to the ground, the vampire would smile, allowing the death hound to maul the human to bits, although once he ran past the mortal, he understood what was really happening.

"Then you better get use to being underground, cause I'm not the one Baldr is going to be biting! Get him!" Shouting the last two words made the death hound leap the remaining distance between him and Lokil, his jaws opened as they tore into the vampire's shoulder and clamped down. Dropping his weapons, the startled and terrified blood sucker could only watch as Baldr ripped muscle and sinew from his arm, finally ripping it free before Damos finally called him off. "He's mine, but thanks for the help."

"Bastard! I'll kill you!" Lokil leaped from the ground, grabbing his steel sword before pursuing the Redguard. Seeing the attack coming, the mortal would sigh, turning back around to face the desperate vampire before he shouted.

"Zun Haal Viik!"

The shout ripped the weapon from Lokil's only hand, and stuck out of the stone ground far from them. Falling to his knees, Lokil would drop his head, his blood draining his body from the torn arm. "Kill me! I am defeated, you are the better warrior, and I admit your superiority, now you may have the honor of killing me..." Chuckling, the vampire fell into a madness caused by his lack of blood, and since he was going to die from his injuries already, the Redguard left him, cackling and coughing up blood as he sat on his knees. Moving toward Bassianus' body, the male would look toward the stone idol in the center. Curiosity go the better of him, and walking toward the small platform, he would rest his hand on top, a button being pressed in and stabbing the male through his hand. "Ah!" Damos shouted, the blade gripping his hand as it went clean through his palm, the spilled blood leaking down into a small basin which caused the puzzle to glow a deep purple, the blade retreating then into the idol.

Looking around him, the Redguard would rip some red cloth from his armor before wrapping his hand, noticing that the purple glow ended at a certain place. A dull looking brazier rested just near it, and with a slight push, it moved to the spot where the light ended, causing it to light and extend the lights reach to another spot. Seeing that it was easy enough, Damos pushed braziers back and forth, lighting them up as they ended and began new lines until the final brazier took its place, causing the ground to rumble as the middle of the puzzle moved into the ground, the idol in the center rising to reveal a stone monolith out of a purple fountain of light. Baldr whimpered and moved behind his master, the Dragonborn walking toward the monolith.

"Wow..." His injured hand grazed the side, causing it to shake and descend down into the floor as well, a limp body falling out and onto Damos' form. Shaken by the activity, the Redguard would look down only to the see the image of a beautiful woman locked in his arms, her eyes opening to look at his injured hand, blood staining the improvised bandage.

"How did you..." He was about to ask but was silenced when the woman began to suck the blood from his wound, her fangs ripping into his bandage to allow the blood to flow more cleanly. Damos tried to shake her off of him but soon his eyes started to grow heavy and he fell to the ground, the woman resting atop of him as she continued to feast.

The last thing Damos saw before his eyes were overtaken by darkness was the burning eyes orange-yellow eyes of a vampire.


What's up, Ji-Smith here! Thanks for reading this chapter of A Slave's Tale, hope you like it. And thanks for the new reviews! I was very happy to see that, although I'm sorry for the period it took to right this chapter. Please tell me how you like it, I was wanting to start the Dawnguard questline in this story, and even eventually the new Dragonborn questline, but I was debating to do it before or after Damos kills Alduin, but I wanted that to be special in its own way, so I'm still brainstorming on that chapter. Thanks again, and I'm out~