UNEARTHED
WINDHELM: EIGHTH DAY OF FROSTFALL 4E
"Elda, bring more ale!" Called one of the patrons.
Candlehearth Hall was all the buzz in celebration as the Butcher of Windhelm was now dead and gone, thanks to the dragonborn! The citizens of the city relieved that once again they could peacefully walk the streets without fear of abduction and murder. Everyone joined together in song, drinking and feasting. All seemed right now that the butcher was gone!
"A toast, to the dragonborn!"
"DOVAHKIIN!" All the men cheered.
Mikel joined his nord brothers as he drank from his tankard the best ale in all of Eastmarch. Brunwulf sat beside Mikel and asked him of his plans for the future. Interested to know what other endeavors the dragonborn would go on if not to stay in Windhelm.
"I have no interest in leaving any time soon my friend. It seems the God's have seen fit to place me here."
"Aye, but for how long? Stay here, and you'll never leave."
"Are you trying to get ride of me already Brunwulf? Scared I shall steal all the women from you before you can have them for yourself?" Mikel said teasing Brunwulf.
"Ha-hahah! Very funny dragonborn. I may be an old man with only one eye. But I have far better knowledge of women than you will ever have!"
As they were talking, Mikel noticed a beautiful woman at the other end of the room making eyes at him. She was sitting with a friend of hers who was equally as beautiful as she was. Mikel saw it as an opportunity to make his move.
"Excuse me my friend, but beauty calls."
"Be careful dovahkiin. Young women are dangerous!"
"Aye, as am I my friend. As am I."
"Hello there!" Mikel said smiling from ear to ear. The two young girls sitting before him giggled abashedly, nervous that the dragonborn was actually talking to them.
"Have I said something funny?" he asked.
"No mi'lord." The brunette replied. Shyly gawking at him.
"Can I buy you both a drink? Perhaps some ale or mead?"
"That'd be nice." She replied. "But I don't care for a stiff drink."
"Oh, is that so? Then what does the lady need?"
"Is it true you can kill a man by speaking one word?" Her friend asked.
"Aye! But it's not just one word, it's three. Three words of power."
"And how many words would it take to get you to agree to leaving with us?" The brunette asked.
"None." He replied grinning back at her.
Mikel then took her by the hand, and lead her downstairs where they would retire for the night in his home. Her friend was too shy to leave with them, and instead stayed with Brunwulf, who was more than happy to keep her company!
"Where are we going?" She asked him.
"To my home." He replied. The girl giggled excitedly as if she had met an idol or something. At first Mikel was flattered by her remark. Stealing kisses along the way, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. The warmth from their bodies increasing as his eagerness to have her grew.
As they continued walking towards his home, eventually they broke from each other's embrace, letting go of her hand, not paying any mind to where she had gone at first. He thought she was playing around with him until the something shifted in the air. Mikel caught the scent of something unpleasant blowing past him in the wind. The stench of death, similar to that of a draugr. A smell he was most familiar with from his travels to ancient tombs and caves.
He called after the girl, concerned she'd run off. As he was about to turn around to look for her, he was attacked by a ravenous vampire! It jumped on top of him, knocking him to the ground. Clawing and grabbing at him to try to bite him.
Mikel managed to turn around and gain control of the situation, grabbing the vampire's hands before it could do any damage. As he looked into the face of his enemy he realized that it was the girl from the pub!
"Ah, so...(AHN!) Here is your true face!"
She screeched and hissed at him, gnashing at his face, squirming as she tried to break from his grip to satisfy her desire to quench her thirst for his blood. He was far too strong. Stronger than she anticipated for a mortal. But he was more than a mortal. Not only was Mikel dragonborn-a living breathing dragon in man's form-but he was also blessed with the curse of Hircine-a werewolf!
"Unhand me!" She screamed.
"Aht-aht ah! Say please first!" he teased.
There was no holding her. The longer they wrestled in the snow, the shorter his chances were for him to defeat her. Eventually she would find another way to kill him if he was not careful. Coming to this conclusion he used the power of the thu'um to thrust her off of him. Her body hurled across the courtyard, colliding with the wall of the cemetery, and then dropping onto the cobblestone ground like a sack of potatoes!
Quickly Mikel got to his feet and unsheathed his sword to prepare for the fight. But by the time he'd gotten up, she was gone. Immediately he began looking for her. Calling her out, challenging the unholy demon to show itself. So far there was no sign of her foot steps in the snow, nothing to tell him what direction she was in. Her scent fading in the cold air.
"Show yourself you coward!" But he heard nothing. He stood silent a moment. Still, listening to his surroundings, honing in on the world around him. He waited patiently until finally...
"AAHHH!" She leapt from atop the roof of the temple and tried to grab Mikel once again. This time she was unlucky, for he was prepared for her. The moment she landed, her body became impaled onto his sword, going right through her heart! A perfect and immediate death!
In a matter of seconds her body quickly turned to ash, and she was no more. Mikel stood over the ashes of his fallen enemy, saddened that such a young girl would have to die in such a way. But glad that no one else would have to suffer under her wrath.
Just as he was ready to return home, another presence became known. An orc peered from behind the dragonborn. He startled Mikel to the point of defense, raising his sword in warning, demanding to know who this orismer was.
"Easy nord. I mean you no harm." He said.
"Who are you? SPEAK!"
"My name is Durak." The orc explained. "I am here to find the dragonborn? That you?"
"Who wants to know?" Mikel asked.
" I come on behalf of Isran-leader of the Dawngard. We're looking for good men like you to help us quell the vampire menace of Skyrim. Can you help us?"
"Aye." He replied. "What vampire menace do you speak of? There hasn't been an uprising in years. Why would there be one now?"
"Not many are aware of the signs. A vampire can live amongst humans for years undetected until it becomes too late."
"Clearly." Mikel remarked.
"Here." Durak said, he handed Mikel a map with directions to Fort Dawngard.
"I'm not gonna demand anything of you. I know you're a busy man. But if you decide to join us you can find us west of the rift inside of Dayspring Canyon. We'd be honored to have you at our side."
"Very well." Mikel replied.
Durak left, back down the road to join his brothers in arms. Mikel was left with the responsibility of cleaning up the mess he made in Windhelm. Unfortunately, he was not the only one who encountered the vampires who trespassed in the city. Brunwulf was later found that same evening dead in the alley near the grey quarter. The vampire who killed him was long gone. Her scent though still relatively fresh in the air, had begun to fade off into the distance. She was no longer in the city.
The next morning Mikel approached the Jarl about what happened the night before. Ulfric was furious when he found out what happened to Brunwulf, as was Galmar.
"Brunwulf was a good man. A honorable warrior who earned his peace in retirement. Damn undead bitches should have been reduced to a pile of ash!" Roared Galmar.
"Believe me brother, no one is more upset than I. I can't help but feel partially responsible for his death." Mikel said.
"No." Ulfric protested. "No man would have foreseen this. Brunwulf did the same as you, he allowed his sexual desires to get the better of him. You were lucky enough to see it coming where he did not. You cannot blame yourself Ice Veins."
"Still, Brunwulf's murderer still roams the streets in Skyrim. She must be stopped! She, along with all of her kind must meet their end and pay for their crimes!"
"Aye, I agree brother." Ulfric said.
"And just what do you plan to do about it Bjorn?" Galmar chastised.
"A member of the Dawngard approached me last night after nearly met an end to the vampire who attacked me. he says they were looking for me to join them in the fight against the vampires. Says there's an uprising. I plan to join them" He explained.
"Are you sure that is what you want to do?" Ulfric asked.
"Say the word and we will gather every able bodied man to rally behind you to suss out that demon!" Galmar suggested.
"There will be no need my friend." Mikel replied. "And yes...I am sure this is what I want to do."
"Very well." Ulfric replied. "You are free to leave on your own free will brother. Your service to us has been more than generous. I cannot ask anymore of you than you have already given."
"My thanks to you Jarl Ulfric." Mikel replied.
He returned to Hjerim to gather his things. His journey to the rift would be a long and dangerous one. As the seasons changed so did the behavior of nature herself.
"Would you prefer I travel with you thane?" Asked Calder, Mikel's housecarl.
Calder was given to Mikel upon being named thane of Windhelm. An honorable title among many given to the dragonborn for his efforts in protecting the citizens of Windhelm. Calder was a seasoned warrior himself. And many times he fought alongside the dragonborn as they traveled across Skyrim clearing out dungeons and and fending off any enemy threatening the city. Needless to say Calder respected the dragonborn, and he was very much concerned for his well being.
"I am afraid I will not be needed you to go with me. Not this time my friend." Mikel said.
"What can I do then?" Calder asked.
There wasn't anything Mikel could think of that would please the housecarl now that he was no longer needed. Nothing he could give but one thing.
"You have served me well Calder. Many times you have had my back in the heat of battle. And for that I am forever grateful to you. Here, I want you to take this." He said.
He handed him a brass key. The key to Hjerim. Calder needed a home now that he was an expectant father. He and Niranye had become quite an item over the years. Now that she was expecting, Calder would need to be home with her. Hjerim was the perfect place to raise a family.
"There's plenty of rooms in the house, enough for a boat load of children! No doubt you will bring Niranye and your children honor."
"I thank you my thane." Calder replied. He shook Mikel's hand one last time and watched as his former thane left.
The road to Riften would take Mikel at least a day or two before he would reach Dayspring Canyon. Having decided to travel alone, he was left with his thoughts. Recanting the events that took place back at Windhelm, he could still smell the Brunwulf's blood in his nostrils. He could hear the blood curdling screech of the vampire who attacked him as well as the threat she made to him before he killed her.
Then suddenly he remembered what Durak said. Could there be more vampires in Skyrim than Mikel realized? Was there really an uprising? Perhaps there was more to this than he thought.
Hours had gone by, and nightfall was vastly approaching. He would need to stop and make camp for the night, and return to the road in the morning. Unfortunately, being blessed with the curse of Hircine, Werewolves are not blessed with the ability to rest. And with a full moon out, he knew there would be all kinds of creatures afoot in the wilderness.
As he directed his horse into the woods, setting up camp beside the base of a mountain, he stopped upon hearing a strange noise in the distance. A menacing sound similar to a beast or demon. Whatever it was, was surely miles away from him and headed in his direction.
Mikel slapped the arse of his horse forcing it to run off to safety and quickly undressed to shape-shift into the beast, preparing to defend himself. In his mortal form he was vulnerable, despite being half dragon. But as a werewolf, he would be the ultimate predator!
As soon as his transformation was complete, he leapt up into the trees and awaited his enemy to reveal themselves. He could hear their heavy footsteps in the distance rapidly approaching him. He sat up there waiting until finally they arrived. A tall stone like creature with horns appeared. Mikel had never seen a creature like this before and wondered what it was. Behind it came it's master. A master vampire and her death hounds.
"I smell him!..." She hissed, inhaling deeply. "FIND HIM!" She commanded her beasts.
They ran throughout the forest searching for Mikel. His scent scattered in the air making it hard for them to find him. He remained in the trees waiting for the right opportunity to attack. The moment she would be alone without her beast and death hound at her side.
The vampire, now alone, continued searching for the dragonborn. "I can smell your filthy odor in the air! Won't be long before I find you and kill you!" She said.
"Hm...you'll soon regret it." Mikel thought to himself.
"When I find you, you shall pay for what you did to Morena! I'll be sure to take my time killing you. Peeling your skin slowly from your body as you scream, begging for mercy!...but you will find none in me."
"Is that so vampire?" Mikel thought to himself.
Now he was ready to attack. He leapt onto the ground and stood before the master vampire, standing tall towering over her. His fangs and claws bared, mouth drooling with anticipation to rip into her rotted flesh! At fist she was mortified to discover that the so called mortal she'd been tracking was werewolf. A fear that immediately melted away once she realized her beast was right behind the dragonborn. It grabbed Mikel, knocking him onto the ground.
The two of them wrestled on the forest floor competing for dominance as her death hound joined in biting and gnawing at the dragonborn wherever it could. It's bite felt like a white hot cold, one he had never experienced before. But nothing compared to the thrashing the vampire's beast gave him. Even in his beast form he was no match. There were no amount of strikes or bites to defeat it. It's flesh hard like stone.
"Do you like my beast werewolf?" The vampire teased. "I'm sure you'll find it interesting it's stone like hide. By the look of things it doesn't seem you've encountered anything like it before! Ha! Ah how I love gargoyles. Their hide is nearly impenetrable! It makes a fight with them harder than anything you could have ever imagined."
Mikel staggeringly stood to his feet, blood leaking from his mouth, scratches all over him. The vampire stood across from him cackling at him, mocking at his pain. She awaited what she believed to be his final moments. Her power over the gargoyle controlled every move it made. With the wave of her hand she dictated whether or not Mikel would live or die. Of course, she preferred the latter.
His body ached all over. It felt like a fire had been lit inside of his flesh. But he knew what he needed to do in order to protect himself. He could not allow her to defeat him! Though he was tired and in immense pain, he turned his gaze toward her growling as he decided then and there that she, along with the beasts she controlled would perish one way or another! And so he charged towards her to attack her.
Just seconds before he could even reach her, the gargoyle tackled Mikel down to the ground again. The death hound barking and growling, lunging towards the fight to join in, but the master vampire commanded her hound to stay put. It obeyed her command, though the desire to tear into the dragonborn's flesh still called out to it.
Mikel struggled to fight against the beast at first as it clawed and gnawed into him with no remorse! Mikel countered his attack on the gargoyle this time using his brute force to overpower it. He knew he could not bite into it without damaging himself. So he would have to switch to far brutish tactics if he were to survive. He managed to flip the gargoyle onto it's back, continuing to tear into the beast relentlessly! He showed no mercy as he punched the face of the evil demon. Eventually the beast was defeated when Mikel grabbed it by the horns, tearing them off of it's head. Then grabbing it by the face and twisting it counter clockwise all the way around until he ripped it from it's shoulders! There the beast lay dead on the ground.
"ARGHH! Feline...KILL IT!" She commanded her death hound.
The undead dog charged towards Mikel at the command of it's master, leaping into the air to end the dragonborn's life. It failed as Mikel caught the dog in mid-air, splitting it's body in half as if it was nothing. Now, it would be her turn to die.
Slowly he began walking towards her. She began backing up away from him, summoning her life drain powers to infect him with vampirism, or perhaps absorb whatever life he had within him to make herself stronger. But it would not work, for werewolves are impervious to infections. Noting she could do would work in defeating her enemy. Finally Mikel reached her as she was backed all the way up on a tree. He bent over to her, his face close an angry gaze pouring into her emitting fear within the undead vampress.
"No...NO!...This can't be!" She begged.
But it did not matter how much she begged. Why would he give her mercy when she gave none to her victims. Why would he spare her life when she would not have spared his. If memory served, she was prepared to torture him slowly, pealing his skin from his body and draining him dry. With that in mind, Mikel extended his claws and prepared himself to end her life!
"I curse you vampire. For my kind will have it's revenge on all mankind!"
His hand reared back, and with a swift action he decapitated the undead vampire's head from her body! Her head rolling across the forest floor as the rest of her body turned to ash before him. It was over. The fight...was finally, over.
He reverted back to his human form, and fell to the ground from exhaustion. Hours later he would find himself being carried off. Tired, he was unable to defend himself, uncertain as to who was there with him. Eventually he would awaken and find himself within a cave, wrapped up in warm furs laid beside a roaring fire. Across from him sat a woman. Her face unseen as she had her back to him. But she knew the dragonborn was awake. And the moment she spoke he knew who was with him.
"Still getting into trouble eh Bjorn?" The woman asked.
"I know your voice...Karliah?" He asked.
"Never imagined in a hundred years I'd see you in these parts again."
"Wasn't the plan initially." He replied.
"Then why are you back? You were banned from Riften! Exiled for betraying your own people. I should kill you right now!"
"Yet you haven't. You know as well I, that if you truly wanted me dead you would have sought out the opportunity when I passed out in the forest. You spared my life for a reason. Why?"
"No...you don't have the right to do that! You were dead the day you killed Etienne! How could you do that to him? You saved him years ago, why kill him?!"
"I HAD NO CHOICE!" Mikel roared at her. His voice echoing through the cave's caverns.
"I had no choice Karliah, I did what needed to be done. He stole from us. The same way Mercer-Frey stole from the guild. I remember what it was like being under him and having to scrape to survive on low cut jobs that not even Vex wanted! The guild would have died had we not handled Mercer. I saw in Etienne what I saw in Mercer...a selfish, lying, greedy nord who only cared about filling his pockets with coin!"
Karliah was saddened to hear him say this. She shook her head in disbelief, and recanted her memory of the events leading up to Etienne's death.
"I remember better than anyone the man Mercer was. An arrogant ass filled with self ambition. But Etienne was not that kind of person, and had you taken the time to hear him out he would still be alive today!"
"Is that so? Tell me Karliah, do you remember our last mission. The one you, me and Etienne were sent on by Vex to retrieve the gold chalice from Solitude. You know the one. It was worth eight thousand in gold, covered in diamonds! We found it in this old woman's house just off the hill from the blue palace, remember?"
"Aye."
"When we waited for nightfall...we sat in the temple for hours waiting for our time to strike. I remember seeing him praying to Kynareth for guidance. He thought he was alone in there but I heard him. I heard him beg Kynareth to give him the strength to do what was right. He admitted to her his sin to the guild...stealing from the vault. God's only know how he did it but he did never the less. When we came back from the mission the chalice came up missing. I knew he took it. I knew he would sell it to the highest bidder! I waited for him to go after it. Caught him red handed in my room with his hands in the safe reaching for it! Twice he took from the guild! Twice he disobeyed guild orders! He, was not for the cause Karliah! What was worse, he came after me to over it!"
"What are you talking about Mikel?"
"(scoffs at her) you seem to forget woman. Allow me to remind you."
He stood to his feet and removed the rags and bandages from his chest to reveal to her the scar across his chest. That scar, was only there because of Etienne.
"When I caught him stealing from us, I addressed him of course. He became crazed and drew his weapon first. I defended myself but it came at a price. This scar is proof of that. I could have died that day. I wouldn't have killed him over the chalice. I wouldn't have killed him over gold. But to make an attempt on my life...brother to the guild or no...he needed to pay."
In he eyes she fought back tears as she revealed to Mikel the truth to Etienne's thievery. Unbeknownst to Mikel, while out in Skyrim handling jobs, Etienne met a woman. Over the course of a year they had been seeing each other, and eventually she became pregnant with his child. Worried about the man his unborn son would become, Etienne decided to start planning for his son's future. Saving money wherever he could find.
Unfortunately-even for experienced thieves like Etienne-the theft game does not always pay well. And so when the chance came for him to make some real coin-the job involving the chalice-he took it. Mikel unfortunately stood in his way.
"The day after we returned from the job Etienne received word from his wife that she was expected to give birth within the week. This would have been his last job and then he would have left. I know it was wrong for him to have stolen from us. But at least he was doing it for all the right reasons! You would have known that if you talked to him first."
"Are you listening to yourself Karliah? I was expected to talk to a man who made an attempt on my life?"
"You could have handled it differently! You did not need to kill him, you could have wounded him, detained him for questioning. Find out why he made the choices he made!"
"I see. And I wonder love, how did it come to your attention before it came to mine?"
She drew back a bit, having realized that she had revealed the true truth to her knowledge of Etienne's betrayal to the guild. Etienne, had confided in Karliah about his life outside of being a thief. And he had also revealed to her his plans to betray Mikel-who was the guild master at the time.
"You omitted the truth of his plans. A truth that I was meant to know. So if anyone is responsible for his death, it is you. Had I been made aware of his intent when he told, I would have handled things differently. Your decision to keep his secret is the only real reason he is not alive to see his son grow in the first place."
"I made a mistake saving you. I should have never spared your life!"
She went to reach for her dagger, attempting to finish what the master vampire started from before. To finish what Etienne attempted to do!...But Mikel saw through that and stopped her with three simple words.
"ZUN...HAAL, VIIK!"
A disarm shout that forced all of her weapons off of her body onto the ground. And with a wave of his hand-the use of magic he learned at the college of Winterhold-he summoned her weapons to him leaving her defenseless. If she were to challenge him she would have to do so at hand to hand combat. A fight she knew she would not easily win.
"You seem to forgotten who I am Karliah. Before the guild, I was dragonborn. I am, dragonborn."
"I know what you are. More importantly what you have become. Why did you come back here Mikel?"
"To help the people of Skyrim." He replied. "A vampire crisis has emerged within the province. I am joining the Dawngard to help stop it. Believe me, I never meant to come back after what happened."
"Your best bet, is to get out of here while you still can. If Vex and the others find you're here...there will be far worse to happen to you than me. That you can count on...dragonborn."
Thanks to his Lycanthropy, Mikel would be healed completely. The hours he spent asleep in the cave after Karliah found him, was enough time for his injuries to disappear. Allowing him to get up and leave as he wanted to.
"I would have hoped that when we saw each other again, that it would have been on better terms. Whether you are angry with me or not, I am still one of you. The oath I took pledging my life to Nocturna still means something to me."
"As far as I am concerned Mikel, we have nothing more to talk about."She replied.
It was clear that she was still angry with him despite the time they'd been apart. With that said, Mikel gathered his things, thanked the dark elf for saving his life, and left on his way down the road for Dayspring Canyon.
Hours after he left Karliah, he finally arrived to the entrance of the Dawngard's secret headquarters. He stood outside the entrance to Dayspring Canyon, contemplating his decision. Uncertain of what awaited him inside. The reputation of the Dawngard was not exactly in high regard. Just as he was about to go in, a young nord walked behind him. He seemed nervous and unsure, but excited to join the Dawngard.
"You here to join?" He asked Mikel.
"Eager to kill vampires lad?" He asked the boy.
"Of course! Aren't you?"
Mikel looked at the boy and knew he was an inexperienced fighter. He could smell the innocence on him, so pure and unburned by the world around him.
"Word of advice lad, don't believe everything you see. The world around you is not what you think it is."
"O...kay, I suppose." The boy replied.
Mikel lead the way inside, and together they followed the path through Dayspring Canyon.