WINTERHOLD

I expected something horrible to occur when walking back through the portal. Some sort of verbal lashing from the Night Mother or Vorstag dead at my feet. Instead, I find Vorstag at the portal helping us out and Cicero in the corner, unbound and eyes hooded, almost like he was concentrating on something.

"Eve! You're back, how did it go?" Vorstag helps me down then goes to help Serana.

"Could say the same for you. What happened? How long were we gone for?"

"Three hours." He confirms. I guessed as much, "Cicero woke and was ready to kill me, but he stopped trying two hours ago. I unbound him to give him comfort, he's been quietly waiting for your return." My shoulders sag with relief. That's the Vorstag I remember. And no more bodies to bury, yet at least.

I'm ready to get us out of here, no use waiting around when there's another Scroll to retrieve. But Cicero has other plans. "Listener!" He races across the room to clasp my hands. I begin to pull away but catch his mad gaze. Maybe humoring him would keep the peace.

"What?"

"Mother. She's not happy. She couldn't get to you, so she spoke to Cicero." He begins to fidget.

"What is it now? Let me guess, she wants you to kill whoever the Daedric Princes send?"

He looks up in astonishment. "No, Listener. She told me not to. She said there is no need because you and her have a singular goal. The vampire lord is to die, and you are the one to do it. She wants that and she wants it to happen soon."

This is too easy. Too quick. Something is going on. Yet, the longer we wait the more time Harkon has to ready any defenses. "Let's go. Where do you think the other Scroll is, Serana?"

"Winterhold. Let's try there." She says immediately.

I get the group together and get us out of this dungeon, the whole way we walk she talks to me.

Cicero is right. You need to kill Harkon soon. Dare I say she sounds…fearful.

"The Soul Cairn was too much for you?" I whisper.

You won't be going back there again. It is not anything to worry about. I don't believe her but don't get a chance to get a word in. Go now, we have no time to spare.

The ride to Winterhold was longer than anyone wanted. Cicero stayed in the corner, mumbling as expected. I talked with Serana for a time about the Elder Scrolls. She gave little new information but mentioned that there's more out there. Food for thought. When she needed to rest, I took the time to catch up with an old friend.

"How do you feel about this?" I point to my fangs. Vorstag gives a brief smile.

"I'm not…entirely happy. But it's better than being sent to Oblivion."

"I thought you were dead." I whisper. "I struggled with it for a long time." I look down at my hands, which Vorstag takes in his.

"Eve, I know it wasn't your fault. And I'm sorry about what I said to you that day. I didn't know how bad it was." He doesn't dare say her name.

"Thank you." I nearly choke on some tears. To have someone acknowledge that is everything.

"I just wish I knew how to free you." He whispers, without my vampire hearing I might have missed that.

"We will." I settle that part of the conversation to keep her quiet. I have a suspicion she is with others though. Cicero won't stop whispering.

"I have a cure for it." I kind of perk up, "I got a potion, but it's not completed. When I find the correct ingredients, you can have it." I tell him. Yes, months ago all I wanted was to be free of the undead form. I thought she had more control over me because of it, but as I'm finding out, it doesn't matter what form I'm in. She would always find me.

"You still like it?" His face lights up with a bright smile. That's all I've wanted to see after realizing he was alive.

"It's not too bad. More perks and I'm stronger now." That was true. In the past few weeks, I've taken more blows that would kill any mortal. So, I am good with this vampire thing. At least for the time being.

"I'm not sure if the cure would work, the tattoo that keeps me from changing might prevent me from becoming mortal again. However, I think I will appreciate the newfound strength. Will make us better warriors." He closes his eyes for a rest. Forgot how much sleep a new vampire needs.

I let the carriage rock us, thinking some sleep might be good for myself. When I remember. "Cicero."

His head shoots up, his eyes ablaze. "Yes, Listener?"

"What does Mother want in the dungeons?" I lean forwards to get his answer.

His lips thin into a fine line and he begins to rock. More murmuring. Anything short of pinning his neck down with my Blade might not get the answer I need.

Don't think on that. We need Harkon dead.

"Then what?" The mammoth in the room

She stays quiet.

"Then what?" I repeat.

You will see.

Those words were final. I tried a few more times to get a straight answer, but nothing happened. Now I know my time is on a clock once again. When Harkon, the monster, was dead, something else was going to happen. And I would be along for the ride. I glance back at the ring on my finger. Still won't budge.

If I can't get them to get to me, then maybe I can go to them. The dungeons is where Mother will take me. Maybe when I'm down there I can defy her, use the dragon to get me back in to the Soul Cairn…then I'll figure something out. Mercer isn't much of a threat anymore and I'm certain Durnehviir would fight Potema off as many times as he had to. A solid plan. I shut those thoughts down, so she doesn't notice. It was risky to think that now but nothing bad is happening yet, just the slow rocking of the carriage.

Winterhold was cold. Very, very cold just as I remembered. The city was almost in ruins, very quaint. I guess it would be a city you only go to if you grew up there or had family there, if not for the towering castle behind it. The mages college. I'm not sure if they'll see my power, it's why I've avoided it for so long. But now I have little patience. Mother wants us back at Castle Volkihar as soon as possible.

This point was further driven home when I found Babette bundled up in a little coat and waiting outside the gates. "Took you long enough." She coughs when we approach. The four of us, three vamps and a crazy guy, face off with the little vampire and the Altmer behind her.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Good to see you too, Listener." She smiles, but it's a sour thing. "I'd rather be back in my cozy Sanctuary, but Nazir insisted. He said he heard a woman telling me to help in Winterhold."

I freeze, thoughts spiral out of control when Babette continues, "It was the Night Mother of course, she wants me to help you get through this mess more quickly. Nazir would have come himself but he's busy finding new recruits and tending to the Night Mother."

"Is Mother clean?" Cicero peeks out from behind me. The vampire girl, and when I say girl, I mean one who looks about ten, although she could have been older than even Serana here.

"I believe so. Nothing smells odd near her. Let's go. Nirya here just gave us entrance." She snaps.

The Altmer in question crosses her arms. "Let it be known that this isn't permission to go about the college grounds. To do that I need to see some spells to know you want to be in the college. Entrance is usually only for those who seek the knowledge inside. But I am making an exception for you. Babette told me you are here to see Urag gro-Shub and no one else." She looks to all of us to confirm our cooperation. Satisfied she turns. "Follow me then, be careful on these walkways, some of the stone is unstable…"

I'm a talker usually, not all the time, but I always find something to say. This time Babette told me to shut up and let her take the reigns. So, like the rest of my companions we were crowded around the librarian desk with various expressions of boredom on our faces.

"Do you even know what you're asking about?" The perpetually grumpy Orc looks up from his book with a stern expression. Looks like we pissed him off even more.

"Of course, an Elder Scroll." Babette states, her patience is showing.

"You think even if I did have one here, I would let you see it?" The Orc shoves his book aside and stands, showing his intimidating side. None of us have to intervene on Babette's behalf, she just bares her fangs.

"Yes. I know because we requested. Members of the Dark Brotherhood if you should know." Her voice darkens.

Oooh this guy did not know what he was dealing with. He looks around in panic and rubs his balding head. "It would be kept under the highest security! The greatest thief in the world wouldn't be able to lay a finger on it!"

"I'm certain. But we aren't asking." The clever little vampire replies.

If the Orc could go a few shades lighter, he would. His face screws up in something halfway between anger and fear.

Keep going. We need to get this done. When the bow is in your hands use it to kill Harkon. One of her many tips. I've been getting them for the past hour we've been sitting through this argument.

"Do you at least have information?" I ask before Babette can say something that would really make this guy wet his pants.

"I…I," He stutters, "I have some books. But don't get your hopes up, it's only lies, leavened with rumor and conjecture."

"Good enough, go get them." I tell him and he can't get out of there fast enough.

"Was I too harsh?" Babette looks up at me with wide eyes.

"No." I say, "I think you got him too flustered to think though."

Books slam in front of us. "Try not to spill anything on it." The Orc growls before retreating to a corner, to cry or read, I don't care. The four of us dive into the two books. I stayed with Babette to decode the first one. Vorstag and Serana were on the other one. Cicero was a lost cause, still talking to Mother.

This book had some weird shit in it. Basically, comparing what you find in an Elder Scroll with how a bird flies in the sky. I skimmed most of it and let Babette take on the rest. "I don't think this has anything substantial." I mention.

"No. Let's ask our friendly librarian. Surely, he would help," She snaps her childlike fingers, "Urag gro-Shub, if you would, we have a question about this." She holds up the book open on the first page.

He barrels over so we don't have to wait longer. I'm grateful for that speed and wish I could reward him somehow. Maybe gold or a cookie. "This 'Ruminations' book is incomprehensible. However, are we going to get the information we need from it?" Babette asks.

The Orc chuckles, "Aye, that's the work of Septimus Signus. He's the world's master of the nature of Elder Scrolls, but…well. He's been gone for a long while. Too long."

"Hm," Babette ponders, "He's dead?"

The Orc winces, "I hope not. But even I haven't seen him in years, and we were close. Became obsessed with the Dwemer. Took off north saying he had found some old artifact. Haven't seen him since. He might be somewhere in the ice fields if you want to try and find him."

He's sending you on a goose chase…

I pipe up this time, "Not good enough, need to know his exact location. We need to be on the other side of Skyrim in under a week so we can't go searching for someone who might be a skeleton at this point." I keep my eyes trained on the Orc who is just beginning to sweat again.

"Ugh, I didn't want to. But…here, I'll take you out there. I have a feeling I know where he is."

Babette produces a hefty bag of coin for the Orc's trouble. He takes it in strong hands that could snap anyone's neck in an instant. But he seemed more annoyed than scared at this point. "Let me get my cloak and I'll take you there." He spits, "Need to get someone to watch the library in case of any burglars…"

"Hear that team?" I yell to the others, "We're going Scroll scouting in the ice fields so get ready."

Our demented fellowship was nearly frostbitten by the time we hit the water. Good thing most of us were frost resistant. I made sure to bundle Cicero and the Orc up more than normal. After some fussing over their clothing (I wasn't being that charitable, just didn't want to have to bury more bodies) Babette got in the way and used a fire spell to keep them warm.

The ice fields were really just a vast plane of floating ice burgs. So, it was easy to keep my footing and balance each one to keep us from tipping over.

"I think it's up here." Growls the Orc. He's only gotten more agitated the longer he's away from his books. Looks like he has a common quirk with Cicero.

"Think or know?" I yell to him. The wind was howling louder than a pack of werewolves. I kept my eyes hooded to keep ice from blasting me in the corneas.

"Here!" He shoots back, not sure why we kept him at the front of the pack. He was the one leading the way but if we were going to get picked off, he'd be the first to go.

With that thought I race to meet him. "There." He points at a latched door leading into a hole in the ground. I give him a simmering stare. "Could have said this was it."

"I didn't know." He grunts and hoists the door free.

A ladder leads down into the abyss. We don't know what's down there. I let electricity dance down my arms and lead the way, showing the only light in this dark place.

We all made it down. One by one vampire and jester alike fell to the ground on their feet. From the looks of it, it was going to get crowded fast in here. The little cave only gave so much room with the hulking metal orb in the center. Around it a man was pacing.

He had black robes just like the mages. I prepared to fight but he only looked at us with keen interest. "Friends! Dig, Dwemer, in the beyond. I'll know your lost unknown and rise to your depths."

This was the guy we were looking for. The Orc races over and begins conversation with the man. I peek around the room for any enemies. Nope. Just this guy and a bunch of ice.

"Hello, sir. We need to know about Elder Scrolls." Babette cozies up to the Orc, looking all at once like the child she once was. Only we could see the tension in the Orc's stance. It was like a rabid tiger cuddling up to you like a cat, never know when they'll turn.

"Elder Scrolls. Indeed." The man's voice begins to sour. "The Empire. They absconded with them. Or so they think. The ones they saw. The ones they thought they saw. I know of one. Forgotten. Sequestered. But I cannot go to it, not poor Septimus, for I…have arisen beyond it's grasp."

"I'm sure." I say. "Where is the Scroll at?" I don't intend for this to be a shakedown but if we had to convince him…

"Well, here as in this plane. Mundus. Tamriel. Nearby relatively speaking. On the cosmological scale, it's all nearby."

"That's fine. Can you help us or not?" Patience was wearing thin with me. And for once, it was also waning with the Night Mother. I spy Cicero beginning to fidget more than usual.

"One black lifts the other, Septimus will give what you want, but you must bring him something in return."

"What do you want?" Babette asks sharply.

"You see this masterwork of the Dwemer. Deep inside their greatest knowing's. Septimus is clever among men, but he is but an idiot child compared to the dullest of the Dwemer. Lucky then they left behind their own way of reading the Elder Scrolls. In the depths of Blackreach one yet lies. Have you heard of Blackreach? 'Cast upon where Dwemer cities slept, the yearning spire hidden learnings kept." He doesn't look any of us in the eye, just stares unfocusedly in front of him.

I clench my teeth when the Night Mother urges me, "Where is this place?"

His hands wave wildly. "Under deep. Below the dark. The hidden keep. Tower Mzark. Alftand. The point of puncture, of first entry, of the tapping. Delve to its limits, and Blackreach lies just beyond. But only Septimus knows the hidden key…"

I begin to tune him out. The Night Mother was showing me this location in my mind. A ruined city tucked below a towering hill… how long would it take to get there?

The man continues to ramble. The others are patiently waiting for him to finish, all except for Cicero and I. He creeps over to me, seething. "Mother said this will take too long."

Did she?

Yes, I am sending Nazir for this task. When the man is done talking, he will be right outside with the Scroll.

How could Nazir go from the Sanctuary, all the way to this random location and to here in such a short time?

He has been travelling already, I knew this might happen.

I don't question it. This just goes to show that the hourglass isn't as full as I thought it was. A sudden banging comes from the door up above. We all look up in unison, but Cicero is the one close enough to get to it first.

When he grunts with the weight of the door another figure falls into the fray. He's got a cloak wrapped around him and ice covering his eyebrows.

Nazir moves to meet our little group, giving the cave a more suffocating feeling. "Good to see you all again, and good to meet the newcomers. I presume this is yours?" He hands something over, some sort of block to Sigmus. But I'm only focused on Nazir.

"Did you hear her?" I ask him bluntly.

"Ha. Yes. Listener, it sounds like she can talk to anyone now." He gives a sly smile, oblivious to the sudden constricting of my heart.

Anyone. She never had this power before. It was only me and Cicero for so long. "Can she still talk to you?"

He tilts his head. "Yes, yes I believe so. Don't look like that! This is good news!" He takes in my distraught expression. "More contracts can be taken in less time this way."

Sure. But soon she would start talking to Babette. And soon after that begin talking to someone else. Then it would spiral into a complex web, at that point she would be able to have my friends killed in no time, whether by their own hands or someone else's.

Now you see, follow my command and I swear on my own life that won't happen.

Yeah, but I'm not sure how much of a price she puts on her life.

"Oh, I almost forgot Listener." Nazir pulls down the wrapped cylinder from his back. "Took so long to get this so you all owe me. That lexicon took forever to transcribe." The cloth falls from the object, leaving a roll of white parchment.

"The Elder Scroll!" Serana leaps up from where she was resting to grab it.

That slow, sinking feeling returned. We wouldn't be long here. When we leave, I'm not sure who will be getting out of that Castle again. I turn to make my way up the ladder, best that I'm the first. Maybe if I'm lucky some dragon will fall from the sky and eat me up.

"Sigmus, what are you going to do with that?" I hear the librarian ask our friendly madman.

"This? Oh, I'm going to inspect it and get some research done…Hermaeus Mora will help…"

I try to keep listening in, but the Night Mother is louder.

Remember, follow me and you'll have your parents avenged. Get Auriel's bow and coat it with the vampire "cure". When that is completed, he is yours for the taking.

A gift from her. I choke back tears. After so long my parents will finally have justice, but she will also have me under her complete control. I just have to breathe. Calm myself. If I can get Serana to help me through that portal to the Soul Cairn again, I just might have a way out of this.

Cicero's Journal Entry

10th of Rain's Hand, 4E 202

Finally, we are headed back to the Castle! Finally, out of the cold! All the Elder Scrolls have been found and we are so close! So close Mother! This is good. Cicero heard you are speaking to the others…your power grows. How compelling! How…right.

A/N: Next week is the final week for this story! I have about three days worth of content for next week. Since it's a holiday in the USA, I might be delayed in posting but expect more chapters by Monday night at the latest. And be ready, it's going to get intense!