Well, a lot has changed for me. I've got a new job, a new car, and a new apartment. Things are moving along, and looking good. But I still find time for this, even if I'm borrowing my roommate's hotspot because we don't have Wi-Fi yet. Hope everyone else gets some positive change in their lives.
Also, we're back on track! Finally done rewriting and posting chapters of forwarding progression. Thanks to xTRESTWHOx who has grown alongside me on this whole venture, and NaanContributor who went back with us to tailor up our beginning and will hopefully stay with us 'till the end.
For those on Fanfiction dot net, you can go to the first two chapters and see the rewrites there now, the once 2 chapters expanded into 6. Please enjoy, and welcome back.
Chapter 75: One Holy Rescue
22nd of Evening Star
The six women set off the moment they were ready. While there was a small ache at leaving the Dawnguard right when they needed help rebuilding, they knew it would be for naught if they lost this Moth Priest to Harkon's ilk. Yngvarr remained behind in order to get some rest and recover while Rumarin decided to head back up to Windhelm and 'take the holiday off from adventuring'. Traveling to Dragon Bridge on foot was no short trip, and most of them were already tired from previous travels and fighting. Still, they breezed past Riften, stopping only long enough to make sure their supplies were topped off, and headed northwest in the direction of Whiterun. They stopped at Sunguard as night fell, then Ruby felt a familiar pull in her mind and followed it with her team just outside the town to the nearby river.
"Okay, it's close," she told them as they rounded a large, steep hill and looked down to the riverbank. Their eyes all widened when they saw the crystal right next to the water, several purple motes of light circling around it. "I knew it! A Skyshard."
"So, those things really just landed all over the place?" Yang asked before scratching her head. "What's with the floating things?"
"Uh, I don't know." Ruby shrugged then began heading to the crystal. "Maybe they're friendly?"
As she closed the distance, several of the floating lights began heading straight towards her, the closest firing off spell-like orbs. Ruby dodged them and saw them explode against the ground in dark eruptions.
"Not friendly!" With that declaration, Ruby took out her scythe and closed on the nearest one, ducking under and dodging around its rapid-fire of attacks before hitting it with her blade. The spirit was sent through the air, but seemed no worse for wear and continued firing at her along with others. The five other women rushed to help her, either flinging spells or getting into melee range, but each were finding themselves equally ineffective at damaging the strange things.
"Nothing's working!" Yang called out after batting two away with exploding punches and blocking their stinging attacks. "We're just knocking them around!"
"They don't seem affected!" Weiss added as she tried to freeze one with a cone of frost, the spirit seeming no less quick even as the air around it was chilled.
"Crap!" Ruby cursed before lifting a hand and sending an Entanglement spell at the spirit she had whacked away. It made a screeching noise as the lights mixed and discharged off of it like lightning. Ruby blinked and then smirked. "Magna-Ge magic hurts them!"
"We don't know Magna-Ge magic!" the rest of RWBY called out, Serana lost as to what they meant by that at all and Lydia figuring her lack of magical skill was understood. Ruby sucked in a breath in realization as she put her weapon away and focused spells into her hands. A Prismatic Beam fired from her left, hitting Weiss' nearest foes in a raking motion while an Eldritch Blast hit one harassing her housecarl. While the spirits seemed to be hurting, there were no visible ques as to how much damage they took or how close to defeated they were. Ruby had started calling up Rods of Power and moving out of the line of fire when she looked back at the Skyshard, recalling the power that seeped into her the last few times she had absorbed one, including what Ilmaasi had made her do to the ghosts in the Snow Elf ruins.
"Hope this works," she muttered while leaving the Rods and hitting one spirit with Sentinel, making it the target of the constructs. She touched the crystal, which then imploded with power and sank into her, feeling much more like the one that she found in the beginning than either of the aligned ones had. Focusing on that power, she turned back to the spirits and tried to force it all into blasting away the ones furthest from her friends.
Nothing came of it, but all of the spirits floated up and seemed to simply wink out of existence. Everyone stood still for a moment while looking around, only moving when it became apparent that their enemies weren't returning to surprise them.
"What were those?" Yang asked while rubbing her hands and slowly walking over to Ruby.
"I think it was something to do with the Magna-Ge," Ruby honestly answered. "Guess they were supposed to be guarding the Shard, so once I absorbed it there was no point to them sticking around anymore."
"They had that same tenebrous coloration that Ilmaasi had when we saw him," Weiss explained as she sheathed her blade. "So…maybe we could call them tenebrous spirits?"
"Sure, just as soon as you tell the non-nerds amongst us what 'tenebrous' means." Yang snarked while pretending to examine her finger nails. Weiss rolled her eyes at Yang's cheeky tone, otherwise ignoring her as the conversation continued.
"So, you're fighting Magna-Ge spirits on the side while taking on dragons and vampires?" Serana asked the girls.
"Specifically, Weiss and Ruby are doing that," Yang told her with a half-hearted shrug and lidded eyes. "Me and Blake don't have much to do with it. We're just along for the ride."
"Am I not a part of it?" Lydia asked her.
"Uh," Yang awkwardly stalled while thinking over her answer. "You are. It's just that Ruby's the one on the quest while Weiss is the one who set her on it."
Lydia thought over Yang's answer while staring at her. After a moment, she nodded in acceptance and moved on. Yang sighed in relief, happy that the encounter didn't get too awkward while Serana narrowed her eyes at the group in slight annoyance.
"No need to relay the specifics, I suppose," the vampire complained.
RWBY picked up on her meaning immediately, and Ruby stepped forward to provide an answer.
"The Dark Archon of Y, Ilmaasi, wants to destroy the world," she offered in explanation. "The Scion of Scintil, Astetu, is opposing him and is leading me to the power to stop Ilmaasi, since I'm Dragonborn and have a connection to the divine that will let me fight him on equal footing while still leaving it to mortals to defend Mundus."
Serana blinked, opened her mouth to reply, stopped herself, raised a finger, and looked off to the side in thought. She then took a deep breath and sighed.
"You mean to tell me you're readying to fight a Star Orphan?"
"That's right."
Silence fell over the group as Serana tried to comprehend what Ruby was saying. Finally, she gave up and threw her arms into the air.
"Okay. This is my life now." Serana nodded and crossed her arms. "One of my travelling companions is training to kill a god."
Lydia smirked, and Yang felt like she was about to witness one of her glorious moments.
"Considering she's also preparing to fight Alduin…"
"Oh, by Oblivion…" the vampire princess muttered, drawing some giggles from the younger girls.
With that done, the girls went to bed and woke up at the crack of dawn. Little was said as they hurried towards Whiterun, cutting north over the rivers of the western Rift before turning west to follow the road north of Hrothgar. They had tried to keep an eye out for danger, but it seemed to be rather clear, with only some Giants of the Guldun tribe seen herding their cattle a distance away.
"Think they have some tusk powder?" Yang asked her sister, who shook her head.
"The Guldun just have cows, aurochs, and goats. They mostly live on the mountainside, so they can't really raise mammoth herds."
"We can check with other tribes later," Weiss told them with a nod of her head, Toggle seeming to oink in agreement. "Right now, we've got other priorities."
The team moved on after that. Before long, night was closing in as the women came to Whiterun. Leaving their mounts at the stables with instructions to have them saddled at daybreak and well-rested and fed before then, they headed in for a quick rest. Ruby, on the other hand, recalled something and made a quick trip to Jorrvaskr, Yang following along to have some quick words with the Companions while she could. Blake and Lydia worked to prepare something for supper that would hopefully feed the mortal members of their party well and help them sleep, Weiss and Serana both no help on that front.
"Do neither of you know how to cook?" Blake asked as she tried to fry up fish over the fire.
"I was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company with a literal army of maids, butlers, and other assorted servants to care for my family's every need," Weiss explained with eyes half-lidded, unwilling to acknowledge her lack of cooking skill as a shortcoming. "We literally had one who was specifically responsible for serving cake."
"I was an actual princess. Still am, by some measurements," Serana defended herself. "Plus, neither of us have to eat food anymore. It's a pleasure, not a necessity."
"Let's just be glad there wasn't some additional downside for vampires like all food tasting like dirt and ash," the heiress said before chuckling. Serana just winced a little, making Weiss wonder what obscure or locally-known fact she might have reminded her of with that point.
Before they could continue, Ruby entered Breezehome with a large bundle in her arms that Weiss assumed was a sword going by its dimensions and her partner's proclivities. Yang came in behind her, a large grin on her face.
"Okay, so I had this ordered a while back, but Eorlund said he managed to finish it up a few days ago. Happy belated birthday!" Ruby said while offering it over to Blake. The Faunus took it in hand, feeling the weight of the object before she unwrapped the cloth around it. It was black, likely ebony, and had a very mechanical look to it despite the traditional silvery filigree and smooth curve of the blade edge. Blake could see where indentations lay in it, like some form of slide-slot, and also noticed the hand-and-half handle up at the top. Holding it by said handle, she noticed how it could be wielded almost like a greatsword, though the angle also let her see places to tie it with rope or leather straps, or to attach to her old back harness for Gambol Shroud.
"It's an omni-sheath-sword. Actually, two swords. Nab it there and pull the pressure trigger."
Blake did so, holding onto a handle near the base and squeezing the trigger she felt there. The two parts came loose, and then she separated them, holding a longsword in one hand and a cleaver-like weapon in her other, sort of like a longer version of the destroyed half of Gambol Shroud. The sword had a wide ricasso base, the weight helping the balance so that when she gave it a test swing, it felt like it had a lot more force behind it than expected. There were indentations on this part as well, the gaps giving the spine of the blade a curious angular profile, and Blake had a suspicion about their purpose.
"You've been getting a lot of cool weapons lately," Ruby explained, "but nothing that could take the place of the missing piece of Gambol Shroud. That's why I asked you for your weapon specs, so I could make you a sheath for ALL of them. It can fit your original sword, the Nightingale Blade, Chillwind, several daggers, and even a bow. Well, the bow will fit onto it, but still. I thought about making it a quiver, too, but I thought that might have been overboard."
Blake chuckled. Of course, that's where the weapon maniac would draw the line. "Thank you, Ruby. This is actually very sweet. But…kinda worried about how much this would cost…"
"Oh, don't worry. I found a huuuuge chunk of ebony on the Throat-Of-The-World and brought it back down. It's actually made from a little of that chunk and paid for by a bit more."
"Thank the gods," Weiss muttered.
"Well, it's still great. I'd be proud to show it off anywhere back home." Blake sheathed the new blade then took her gun-sword from her back, finding the slot it was meant for and placing it within. She repeated the steps with her other blades, the entire weapon coming together like pieces of a puzzle, and was shown by Ruby how to set her bow upon it. After putting in the electric dagger she rarely used, there was only one more weapon left over, and it made her pause.
"Uh, you didn't make a spot for the Ebony Blade," she noted, and Ruby nodded while pursing her lips.
"Yep, it has no place here." For a minute, it seemed as though Ruby felt that was all that was needed to be said about the subject, before she coughed and offered a pragmatic explanation before the silence could get awkward. "Ahem, yeah. I thought about it, and I figured it'd do more harm than good. That sword cuts through just about everything, and I didn't want you accidentally slicing up everything drawing it. You already did that with its own scabbard a bit."
Blake blushed a little at that. It was true. Drawing the Daedric weapon had caused it to slice into the item meant to hold it at times, especially when it was drawn carelessly, such as in a sudden rush or at the start of a rage episode.
"Sorry."
"It's cool. Darn thing's too sharp for its own good."
"Yeah." Blake looked at her new weapon and shouldered it, the magnetic clip she used for her original weapons working with the one placed inside of it comfortably, though she'd have to get used to the new weight distribution. Ruby instructed her on the best way to use it and helped her feel where she could draw each weapon from behind her. Each and every hilt and handle were easily in reach, even the ones for the whole thing, and drawing them was as simple as tugging them free.
"I can't believe Eorlund put this together."
"Well, not to brag, but I did draw out the blueprints for it," Ruby said as though trying to cling to humility.
"You're certain you're not part Dwemer?" Serana joked. Yang laughed at that.
"Wouldn't that be something?" the blonde asked through a chuckle. "Ruby, imagine if grandpa Xiao Long was actually a Dwarf this whole time."
Ruby let out a raspberry at that before feigning serious thought. "Dad did say he got his height from his mother's side."
"I'm going to remind you of how impossible that is," Weiss pointed out.
"Uh, Capric?" Yang countered.
"What, you think it'll turn out we're all descended from people from Tamriel that ended up on Remnant?" Blake asked as she set aside her weapons and checked back on the progress of supper. Lydia had finished up the fish in her stead, leaving just the table to be set.
"Sure. You're descended from some Khajiit guy or gal, Weiss' ancestor was a Harpy-"
"Hey!"
"-and obviously some dragon got there and propagated the Xiao Long family."
"Weiss isn't that much like a Harpy though," Ruby noted. "Also, dragons don't have babies."
"No, dragons aren't hatched or born," Yang corrected her with a smirk. "I read up on it. And if Morihaus could do it, then so can a dragon."
Blake nearly stumbled at that, but caught herself and went stark still. Lydia shook her head and patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry," she reassured her with a whisper. "They haven't read it."
Blake was relieved for a second, until she suddenly put together that Lydia knew exactly what she was worried about. The housecarl seemed to understand her conclusion and just gave her a light smile.
Knowing they wouldn't be able to make it to Dragon Bridge in a day's time, Ruby came up with a plan to get them there quicker. It required calling in a favor, but in the end, it cut the travel time down to a quarter or less. The group waited outside the city walls with their mounts readied, a sort of magical beacon set out a few yards away from them. A bright glow coalesced near the beacon, then Capric appeared before them in a pop of air.
"I'm here," he announced, turning towards them and blinking. "Ah, you really are ready."
"Yep," Ruby confirmed with a nod. "We're ready to head out as soon as you get us there."
"Well, it is serious business," he admitted with a nod. "I wish I could help you all with finding this man, but that teleport alone took out a good bit of magicka. I'll be fine soon, but getting you all back will practically suck me dry. Just glad it wasn't as far as Riften."
Weiss suddenly had an idea and gasped. She took the amulet from her neck and approached the half-Bosmer, holding it out.
"Maybe this will help," she said. He hummed in interest and took the item in hand, looking it over before placing it on his neck. His eyes widened immediately as the felt the amulet's power course through his body, a sensation Weiss knew all too well.
"Wow!" Capric exlaimed, holding the Nordic jewelry up for a closer inspection while still strapped to his neck. "What is this thing?"
"A fragment of the Gaulder Amulet," Weiss answered. "Yang and Blake have the other pieces. Mine expands magicka channeling, magicka regeneration, and spell casting ability."
"And I was no mere apprentice before putting this on," he stated through a smile and nodded. "Thank you. I'll give it back before you set off on hoof. All right everyone, come near me, no further than five feet away. Animals, too. Don't worry about getting all of the horses' bodies in range. If it covers at least their heads, then the spell will adjust to bring the whole thing along."
Everyone did as he said, making a tight circle around him but giving him enough room to move his arms around to cast the spell. Patches seemed nervous about the situation, but Blake managed to calm him before he tried to run off.
"Okay. You may feel disoriented, but that will be because of the sudden change in the air, not the spell scrambling your brains or anything," Capric soothed as a faint blue hue of magic gathered in his palms. His attempt at alleviating RWBY's concerns, however, did not work as they all looked at him with slightly panicked expressions, and he quickly added. "Teleportation magic has existed for thousands of years. Trust me, the Altmer worked out the kinks, and I've practiced for decades."
Capric began waving his arms slowly through the air, magicka collecting along his limbs as they drew out a symbol. They came up to his face as though folded in prayer, where the blue light collected itself, then he opened them up as though to toss the spell into the sky. A bubble of blue and purple stretched out, surrounding the six women and their mounts. The bubble solidified and turned white, becoming bright and opaque for several seconds before fading again, leaving them several meters away from Capric's house. The Thalmor agent sighed and slumped before reaching up and rubbing his head.
"Been a while since I teleported that much." His remaining antler then seemed to simply fall off. He opened his eyes and chuckled at the sight, the half-Faunus now looking wholly elf without the defining feature on his head. Maarah rushed up to the group's side, looking at her leader with some apprehension but sighing in relief when he waved her away.
"Yay!" they all heard before a pink and brown blur shot through the air and landed on Lydia's shoulders. "Ruby came back with all the pretty girls!"
"Sorry, Vertina, we can't stay long. We have to stop a vampire plot," the Dragonborn explained to the feathery girl.
"Ooh, can I help?" she asked excitedly.
"I do not mind, but it is up to them," Capric told her as he took off the amulet and handed it over to Weiss. "They would be good scouts, they're practically born for it, but I can't promise they'd be much help in a building or underground."
"Help is always welcome," Ruby said while looking back at her team as though to ask their opinions. No one objected, and Yang and Blake were actually nodding. "We could use a bird's eye view, I suppose. So long as you can keep up."
"Yay! I'll get my knives!" She leaped off her Nordic perch, and Lydia rubbed her left shoulder.
"I don't think she noticed I was here."
"Your stealth powers must be extra effective on her bir-" Yang stopped herself from saying 'bird brain' when she recalled the other Harpy standing there and looking at her, seemingly knowing what she almost said. "Short attention span."
"Sir," Maarah aimed at Capric instead, who was now looking over his fallen antler, "should I go as well?"
"Certainly. Keep Vertina out of trouble while you're at it. I highly doubt either of you will see combat, especially if everything goes all right."
"Of course." She made a small bow, and then Vertina rushed back out and took her place back on Lydia's shoulders, making the Nord sigh.
"Okay, got them," Vertina announced while presenting her 'knives'. They were two blades, each as long as her pinion feathers with grip-hilts that let them double as bladed brass knuckles. She held both so that the long sides pointed down, resembling a reverse grip. Ruby thought that they might have been designed to be wielded that way if they were a Harpy weapon, seeing as they almost blended in with her feathers
"Okay, you might be light, but can you not dig in your talons?" Lydia requested.
"Ah! Where'd you come from?!"
The group rode south to Dragon Bridge, reaching the roadside town in an hour or so. The two Harpies had flown above them the whole time, banking down when they approached the town and gliding alongside the others as they entered. They stopped in the middle of the town, immediately splitting up in groups of two to investigate different possibilities while the Harpies watched the horses, gaining the attention of several curious children. Blake went with Yang to the Occulatus station, figuring that they would have information if anyone did. Ruby and Lydia checked the stables while the vampires headed into the inn.
"Yeah, they stayed here last night and left this morning. Don't know where to, but they mentioned having landed in Solitude, so I guess it wasn't that way."
"Thank you for the information anyways," Weiss told the man before heading out. "Stay safe."
Serana groaned as they reentered the sunlight. Weiss pulled up her own hood, keeping the light from blinding her as she walked back to where they were going to regroup with the others, now a place full of children curious about the two 'bird ladies' as some were calling them. Maarah actually seemed happy to entertain the little ones, letting them feel her feathers and sharing tales or information. The other two groups returned at about the same time, both looking disappointed.
"No luck?" Serana asked the others.
"The Occulatus say they don't know where they went," Blake informed them all. "They offered them extra security, but the soldiers believed they had it handled. No one bothered to ask where they were going."
"Similar story at the stables," Lydia said. "They took care of their horses, but they didn't see them leave."
"Hey!" Vertina said as she walked over, her wing behind the back of a boy probably in his pre-teens. "Clinton says he knows something."
"Wait, what?" Weiss asked, blinking.
"Yeah, I was on patrol this morning with Lucky, and we saw an old man in some robes leave on a wagon with a lot of Imperial Guards. They headed across the bridge and down south." He crossed his arms and smiled with pride. "It was just a little bit ago. If you hurry, you can catch up to them."
"Whoa, thanks little dude," Yang told the kid with a thumbs up. "You saved us a headache and a half. Let's go catch up then." Yang went over and hopped onto Lucky Day, the others all following suit, the two vampires doubling up on Toggle again, though the pig didn't seem to mind or notice.
"Girls, mind looking ahead?" Ruby asked the Harpies. Maarah nodded and separated from the children before taking off into the air.
"Thanks, Clinton," Vertina told the boy before ruffling his hair and kissing the top of his head. She hopped up and flew away as well, seconds before the rest rode out of the town and across the bridge. Clinton was left blushing, which another boy a few years younger than him noticed.
"Clint's blushing! Clinton Lylieve loves a bird lady!"
"Wha- What?! No I don't! Take that back!" he demanded while chasing the other child, who simply laughed as he ran away.
"Bird boy!" he called out. A few other kids joined in on the teasing, but two girls looked confused.
"I thought they were pretty," one admitted.
"Yeah. They were just ladies with feathers. I thought Harpies were like hags or something, but they were nice."
Team RWBY and company rushed out after the Moth Priest and his entourage, Maarah coming low and yelling them directions towards what she believed was their quarry. Wheel tracks were visible here and there, and Yang had even begun memorizing scents in case it was needed. Their pace was halted when they came upon a scene of carnage, dead men, horses, and a busted wagon left behind. They immediately unhorsed and began searching the area, hoping to find evidence of what had occurred. They soon found it in the form of two bodies, both clothed in the common uniform of Volkihar vampires.
"Damn it!" Weiss shrieked, pulling at her hair. "He got them! He has the Moth Priest!"
"Hold on, they can't be far," Yang told her, feeling a soldier's neck. "Still warm. Okay, we're going to need to go next level tracking."
A couple of them wondered what she meant as the blonde stepped forward, letting a snout grow out before taking sniffs of the vampire bodies. She looked up and off to the side before her face returned to human and nodded at the others.
"Got it. Just follow me, guys," Yang declared before following her nose towards their objective.
Back on the trail, the girls headed along the road again, crossing another bridge and seeing another cart and bodies nearby. Unable to stop and assist them, if there was anything left to help with in the first place, they continued on. Yang stopped at the base of a steep hill and started jumping up the rocks to get up to the top. The others followed her, keeping pace easily. Across from where they crested was a cave, which Yang walked up to before stopping.
"They're in here," she told them, extending Ember Celica and making sure her axes were ready. Weiss quickly checked her map before nodding.
"Forebears Holdout. This is a known location," Weiss pointed out with a frown. "Malkus is either desperate or knows something about this place that we don't."
"Could be a bit of both," Serana figured. "Either way, we have to stop him here. This is way too close to the castle for comfort. If they escape from here with him, they might be able to slip by us."
"We won't let that happen," Ruby promised before looking at the team. The Harpies had come down to ground level, ready to hear her plan, so she took them into account while thinking the situation over. "We need to take the quiet approach. Try to take down the sentries silently, then, whenever we get to the main place or wherever they're holding the Moth Priest, we need to make sure we have every exit covered. At the very least, surround them. Maarah, Vertina, you guys cover this entrance. If anyone comes out and they're not with us, stop them. Just watch out in case it's the priest. We don't want to hurt him."
"Right!" the younger of the two answered immediately.
"We shall watch with the eyes of Tranjir," Maarah told them with confidence. Yang raised an eyebrow at that.
"Who?"
"The God of Hawks and Justice, of course," Vertina explained as though it were obvious, rolling her eyes. "Ground people, sometimes."
The Harpy took off, her elder just behind her, and the two began circling above the cave entrance. The others began filing in once their mounts were secured nearby, everyone careful to tread lightly, lest they alert the vampires to their presence. The tunnel led them around a bend and then into a huge chamber, a stream running through it and an old fort built within.
"I question how so much usable architecture can be frequently discovered underground as though it belongs there," Weiss whispered in annoyance. She then zeroed in on the large, glowing dome within the fort and the being inside. Unlike the vampires clothed in red and black meandering around in either half-hearted patrols or general lollygagging, the imprisoned person wore stark white robes. "I believe we've found our priest."
"Yep," Ruby agreed while checking through her scope. "He looks roughed up, but not too hurt. There's an Orc talking to him."
"Malkus," Weiss noted. Ruby looked at her in surprise, but her partner just shrugged at the questioning glance. "Harkon seems to take in all types."
"Okay." Ruby checked over the area again, noting each moving group and individual and the patterns they all stuck to. "Right, they're sloppy. We can do this. Take down the patrols, then up into the fort and surround that dome. Malkus won't have anywhere to run, and we'll get the priest free."
Following Ruby's instructions, the group started heading down to the cave's floor. One Nordic thrall and his death hound companion began walking by a hiding place before Blake jumped out, putting him into a chokehold while Yang conked the hound before it could counter or make a ruckus. The man was silenced a moment later and then dragged away with the limp creature. Watching out for sentries along the walls, the women began crossing the narrow bridge one by one and followed the wall to where they saw a pair of vampires go. A large opening revealed itself and Ruby looked around the side with a sigh. Weiss focused and used Ghostwalk, the spell granting her temporary invisibility so that she could safely look around without being seen. At the same time, Blake simply stuck to the shadows, the otherworldly armor letting her blend in almost perfectly. Weiss got a good look before her spell ran out, reapparating her to the exact place she cast it.
"Four of them around a fire," she relayed to the rest.
"No real blind spots," Ruby added as she reached behind her back, pulling out her bow. "Okay. We need to take them down fast. Guys, bows or silent spells. Get around the corner as fast as you can and take them down before they can warn the others."
"Can do," Yang answered as she brought out her rapid-fire crossbow. Weiss and Serana both readied spells while Lydia and Blake both took out their bows.
"Now!"
The team dashed out of cover and unleashed a volley of death at their unsuspecting targets. The one with his back to them fell dead, two arrows and an ice spike piercing through him. The woman to the right fell and writhed, clutching the bolt in her chest. The furthest vampire collapsed with a grunt, an arrow in his neck. The last was hit with a green spell, going still as a statue save for his head.
"Intruders!" he managed to cry out. "We have-" Another bolt from Yang went through his skull, silencing him.
"Shiiiiii-" Weiss hissed before hitting her head. "The Paralyze should have stopped him from speaking!"
"It's okay! Let's move!" Ruby started to rush, but stopped when something leaped at her. The vampire with an arrow in his neck seemed to be less injured than they had suspected, and now he was coming at the youngest of them with teeth bared and blade in hand. Reacting, the Dragonborn sucked in a breath and almost instinctively Shouted.
"Fus!"
Her assailant was sent back, bouncing off of a rock with a cry of pain. He looked up to see Yang running at him, her fist coming at his face with a concentrated orb of fire before her knuckles. The punch landed and the spell exploded, blowing off his face in grisly fashion that elicited a horrific scream before he curled up and went still.
Everyone continued their rush, heading up to the top of the fort where the priest was being held, seeing seven more vampires aside from Malkus himself, all of whom were now on guard and ready for the intruders. Everyone readied their weapons, but Malkus was keeping his attention on the priest, his eyes aglow.
"The more you fight me, the more you will suffer, mortal," the Orsimer vampire coldly told the man.
"I will resist you, monster. I must!"
"How much longer can you keep this up, Moth Priest? Your mind was strong, but you're exhausted from the struggle."
The Moth Priest thrashed in his confines, but each movement grew slower and slower. "Must... resist..." he barely managed to get out, his strength visibly leaving him.
"He's trying to enthrall him!" Weiss warned everyone before sending a cascade of lightning at the group. Three wards went up to block it, then Ruby reached out and joined her partner in trying to fry their enemies. The wards were barely holding, but it was enough to steal Malkus' attention. He sharply turned towards them, a snarl on his lips and his fangs bared. He was about to shout something, then he noticed Weiss and Serana at the front of the group, and his eyes narrowed in absolute rage.
"You!" he shouted at them as the spells ceased. "So, you decided to steal credit for my accomplishments? I don't care if you are Harkon's favorite, this is my chance to shine! I'll kill you if you interfere, and I'll be in the right!"
"Uh, that's not-" Ruby started.
"The right?" Weiss scoffed and chuckled darkly, confusing the rest of her teammates. "If you were in the right, you would have delivered the priest directly to Harkon immediately rather than wasting time trying to break his mind and will. Instead, you're trying to gain an advantage over Harkon himself." She smirked in a way that seemed almost cruel. "If this had been an enemy to Volkihar, this would be where you lost the Moth Priest for us all." She leveled her rapier at them all. "Consider this a lesson, if any of you survive."
Malkus snarled, visibly insulted yet at the same time angry that his plan had been found out so easily. "Lhodon!"
"Sir?" a Redguard among his retinue answered.
"Kill that white-haired wench. Everyone else, slaughter the others how you see fit. Except Serana. I'll take her down and deliver her to Harkon himself." The Orc laughed. "Whatever punishment he devises for her will be better than anything I can think of."
"Always so positive," the vampire princess muttered as everyone else squared up. The Redguard drew a scimitar and rushed at Weiss with a smile. She blocked his first strike, but it slid loose and arced back around at her, as if the two blows were one motion. They locked blades there and faced one another, and after a moment Weiss noticed something different about the man.
"You're alive?" she asked in confusion.
"Right now, yes." They separated and sized one another up again, having gotten a taste of each other's skill and adjusting. "I promised him ten years of unquestioning service, and he promised me eternity undying. Better than anything the Ansei could ever promise me." Their blades clashed again, Weiss finding herself on the defensive from the man's furious blows. Ruby ran to help her, but was cut off when a Dunmer woman slashed at her with a halberd.
"Not so fast!"
"No, very fast," Ruby responded before dipping down and bringing her scythe up in an arc. The vampire blocked by jabbing her polearm down, but Ruby then kicked out, connecting with her stomach and sending her across the room. Ruby closed in with a trail of petals and swiped at her foe, who yelped and ducked before bringing her guard back up. Yang and Blake faced off against a pair of vampires, the blonde squaring against the bulkier male while Blake whipped her variant chain-scythe at the thin wisp of an Altmer woman. The latter backflipped and then summoned her Vampire Lord form, as thin as she was but with long, wing-like limbs that lacked the leathery flaps of most others. Blake kept on her, but she pushed off with one of her secondary arms, adding more speed on top of her vampiric reflexes.
Yang's foe kept bulking until he transformed, looking like a bestial man-bat more than a Vampire Lord. His bulging arms kept trying to claw into Yang, and she continued bruising his arms with every hit. As one fist was about to slip through his guard, both his hands came in and nearly grasped the woman, forcing her to leap back to avoid getting caught in what would have been a crushing bear hug.
"You're a little cleverer than I thought," she commented before thumbing her nose and bringing out Holy Ardon and Black Whisper. The vampire snarled and roared as he went back on the attack, Yang meeting him with her blades.
Lydia had pushed back two vampires, allowing Serana to come at Malkus, lightning sparking out to hit his ward while she closed in with her shortsword. The blade clashed into his axe and the two sneered at one another over their weapons.
"When I drag you back to Lord Harkon, I only hope he lets me dish out the punishment," the Orc hissed.
"In your dreams," Serana spat before smashing her forehead into his nose. He cried out and clutched the broken organ, giving the vampire princess an opening to cut at his side. Malkus yelled as he clutched his new wound and jumped back from her follow-up stab.
"I'll teach you…" he growled, the blood of transformation coating him before splitting open to reveal his Vampire Lord.
"How to look like the child of a pig and bat, right?" Serana mocked, not threatened in the slightest.
He bared his teeth at her before letting out a roar. "You won't need those legs to be dragged back to the castle!"
Ruby dodged around another downward slice and pulled her scythe.
"Wuld!"
Crescent Rose's ebony blades sliced through flesh and bone as she blurred past her opponent, leaving the Dunmer to scream and fumble back at her newfound armlessness. Thinking that was it, Ruby calmly turned only to see her opponent coming at her through the air, fangs bared. A shield appeared just as the Dragonborn readied herself to whack the vampire down, stopping her lunge mid-air, then Lydia's orichalcum sword beheaded her. Ruby looked over to see two more dead vampires and nodded to her housecarl.
"Nice save."
"Never turn your back to an opponent," Lydia chastised her charge, "and you're welcome."
Yang's blades dug into the skin of both her foe's arms, but neither cut deeply. She did note, however, that the wounds left behind by Holy Ardon were lasting longer and looked more grievous each time. Still, she didn't want to win through a death by a thousand cuts. Especially not when her opponent hit about as hard as a Giant. She was confident she could win, but they needed this done quickly. Luckily, she saw a chance to put a spin on things, as her partner was having trouble pinning down the quicker vampire.
"Bumblebee!" she called out. Blake, almost on trained reflex, threw her Gambol Shroud for Yang to catch while tightening her grip on the ribbon. Axes in hand, the blonde sent herself flying fast with a localized explosion. The speedy vampire dodged, but then a tug from Blake cut her next circle short, letting the Faunus pull her up and over her shoulder. Unable to stop her momentum in time, the vampire woman watched in horror as a flaming blonde was swung at her at high-speed with a pair of axes. Both sliced through her extra limbs, leaving her screaming. Yang turned the weapons in her hands as they crossed and brought them both back out and through the vampire's neck. The severed head fell, it and its body turning to ash and blood.
Blake, at that moment, turned her focus to the other Vampire Lord. She straightened Gambol Shroud and sheathed it into her new weapon, before immediately drawing the entire amalgamation and lobbing it at him point first. The vampire crossed his bulky arms to block it, but upon impact several blades burst out of the weapon to scatter onto the ground around him, leaving only the central sheathe blade embedded in his arm. The vampire looked around himself, but before he could take in the sight, Blake flashed in, grabbing the Nightingale Blade from where it was stuck into the ground and slicing into him. His claw went for her, but hit a clone instead, the actual Blake reappearing to grab her new ebony sword-sheathe from his arm and cut into his thigh. He roared and attacked, only to grasp nothing but shadow once more. Blake's next attack came with Chillwind, then one of her daggers, sending an electric shock through him. Again and again she would disappear and reappear from a completely different direction, grabbing one of her weapons and cutting her foe with it before disappearing again while sheathing it until all that remained was the Blade of Woe, which she sliced across his brow as it too was retrieved. As she sheathed the dagger, she grasped the hilt and handle of her newly gifted weapon, recently dubbed Gambol Union, and brought it over and down. The vampire tried to move, but the dozen cuts he received to his joints and tendons within a second made him lock up and stumble. The heavy cleaver-sheath came down on his head, slicing into and through it down into his chest, the corpse melting away a second later.
Weiss' blade flicked in and out, trying to get past the defenses of her opponent without surrendering her own. It was nearly impossible from what she was finding, as Lhodon appeared to be an expert at bladework and used the momentum of his scimitar to weave complex patterns of interchangeable offense and defense, his flourishes less wasted movement and more a part of continuous momentum, whereas Weiss' style was more suited to thrusts and parries. She had learned to keep herself safe, but had yet to move into an effective form of offense.
His scimitar suddenly came at her face, forcing her to bend back at out the way and see his blade slice through strands of her hair before she went into a flip, gaining distance before having to parry a strike upward and its follow-up to her side. She tried to get in a riposte, but he came forward, keeping her rapier from coming in for the thrust, his blade ready to come up and slice her from bottom to top. Normally, Weiss would've stepped out of his reach and tried to reposition to where she could see him, but she had noticed moments ago that this wasn't 'normally'. Weiss stepped in, stopping him from finishing his motion and reached forward. Her hands came around him, with her right grasping onto the hilt of Strahlendjuwel, letting her lock herself in as her jaw opened wide and her head bent. The man's eyes widened and her fangs sank in, but by that point, it was too late.
Her victim thrashed around and dropped his own weapon, the sword useless while he was locked in her grasp, losing blood every second. He tried to pull free, but Weiss pulled back and lifted him up to where his feet dangled off the ground.
"No! Please!" he pathetically whimpered. Weiss almost wanted to laugh at him, but her mind immediately admonished itself, telling her she was above such petty actions. As his struggling died down, she pulled herself away and dropped the man, who fell like a sack of potatoes before rolling away and groaning. Weiss took a second to let herself enjoy the vitalizing red liquid she had stolen from him and turned her attention back towards Malkus. Serana danced around the vampire, almost looking like she was toying with him with her smile and taunts. A couple of his fingers were already missing, and a few pocks marked his chest. Serana looked around the room and seemed to notice that all other enemies were down. The vampire hummed and then sheathed her blade, holding the scabbard in her off-hand.
"Hey, Malkus," she called out, getting the Orc's focus again. "I want to show you something."
"What?" he asked in disbelief, seemingly unable to bring up any curiosity in what she meant.
"It's a skill my father taught me. Wouldn't you like to see it?"
The Orc looked wary, but as his eyes roamed around, he noticed the situation he was in. Every one of his allies were down, and none of theirs were so much as bleeding. His eyes turned back to Serana and narrowed.
"Fine," he rumbled, his thoughts likely focused on trying to buy what time he could to plan. Serana smirked.
"All right. Whatever you do," she instructed him as she took up a stance, spreading her feet with one forward and one back, her waist turned and her hand on the hilt of her undrawn weapon, "Don't. Blink."
A second later, Serana was on the other side of him, landing on her feet with her sword drawn. Malkus turned back to stare at her, apparently having lost track of her movement as much as everyone else. Even Ruby only caught a flicker of black going past him. Serana stood straight, turned towards him, and held out her sword, letting everyone see the new sheen of red it had gained. Malkus blinked, then blood began seeping from his face. The vampire reached up, but around a third of his head began sliding off, the whole of his body melting just as it fell off to the ground.
"Ha! Haven't gotten to do that in a long time," Serana commented as she wiped off the blade, chuckles following soon after. "Really nice to do it to someone that deserves it."
"That was so cool! Kinda creepy, but cool!" Ruby exclaimed. The rest of her team shared her sentiments as they walked towards the two vampires, then heard a cough come from the glowing dome at the center of the impromptu arena.
"Thank goodness you all came," the priest within the glowing dome said, catching their attentions. "Please, let me know the names of my rescuers. I am Dexion Evicus. I am forever grateful for this."
"No problem, Mr. Dexion," Ruby said to him with a bright smile. "But I need to be honest real quick, we need some help with Elder Scrolls."
"It's quite frightful what the world is coming to," the Moth Priest said regrettably from where Yang was carrying the weakened elder on piggyback. "That it's gotten to the point even vampires are fighting against each other…"
"Well, that's why we're doing what we can," Ruby told him as the exit came into view. "We stop the bad guys, and things will be better for-"
"Not so hast!" a slurred voice commanded from up ahead. Everyone looked to the cave entrance to see a being with a partially burned face, skull exposed in places, holding a dangerously unstable-looking fireball in his hands, aimed right above them.
Yang snapped her fingers. "Crap! I think I punched that guy's face off!
"You ruined ne, 'ut I 'on't leave enty-handed." Behind him, the group saw the vampire woman who had taken an arrow to the chest, still clutching that wound and looking more than a little down. "You'll 'and o'er the 'riest, or you'll all 'e crushed 'hen I 'ake the ca'e colla'se."
Weiss looked up and around them, noting that the cavern wasn't completely solid. She wasn't sure if the spell was enough to actually make the cave collapse onto them, but it wasn't something she was willing to bet on. Ruby looked back at her and eyed Dexion before slowly mouthing words to her.
I know Spell Clash. Go with it while I charge.
Weiss looked up at the desperate, maimed vampire before making a small nod. She put a hand to Dexion's shoulder and slowly raised a hand.
"Okay, we'll bring him-"
"No!" he shouted. "Tine, gra' hin!" he ordered the other vampire. She began moving forward, but yelped and screamed as something grabbed her and pulled her into the sky. The other vampire tried to look back while keeping his eyes on the ground-based enemies, but a pink and brown blur went by him, sending his head into the air and then the ground. The threatening spell winked out and everyone rushed outside to see Maarah holding down the last vampire of Malkus' group while Vertina landed and held up a bloodied blade proudly.
"Got him for you!" she cheerfully announced.
"I'm just glad you all succeeded without injury," Capric said as the vampire was locked away in his personal dungeon. The fact he had one brought up several uncomfortable questions, but he mostly waved it off while pointing out his 'career path' occasionally required him to restrain someone. "Irerande will be here in a few days to securely transport this one. Doubt we'll learn anything Weiss hasn't already told us, though."
"Please, don't," she begged through half sobs as Capric put the key away.
"Sorry, but if you want to live, the only real way is to be a prisoner." He began walking away, Ruby hesitating for a second to watch the vampire woman a moment longer before she, too, left the basement area.
"This vampire situation is getting worse and worse," the Thalmor agent explained as they walked into the main chamber. "The attacks, takeovers, and infiltrations were all bad enough, but less a real shake-up and more like the norm escalated. That battle though… It's shown everyone that the vampires are more than capable of waging true war, should they wish." He turned to where the others were waiting, the rest of Team RWBY, their two friends, his agents, and the newly recruited Moth Priest looking at him and Ruby in anticipation. "And from what you've all explained, those were throwaway troops collected by a small splinter of a split-off sect of the Volkihar."
"It was a lot more than most people have the patience to bother with," Serana admitted. "But a more capable vampire, without as many defenses? No last-minute rescue from a dragon?" She shook her head. "There's at least a few in the clan. And a dozen other strengths and specialties with every other one that can call themselves a 'master' vampire."
"It's far more dire than I could have ever expected," Dexion agreed. "The squadron I came with stood almost no chance. I fear what may become of an Imperial Legion if they faced a similar number of vampires. And now…they're after a prophecy of an Elder Scroll!"
"They are, and we won't let them get it," Ruby promised him. "Mister Evicus, we'll take you wherever you need to go, all the way to Cyrodiil if you want. But we could really use your help when it comes to figuring out what exactly these vampires are after."
Dexion replied immediately, "I'm more than willing to help you and the Dawnguard if it means stopping these vampires." He looked over at Capric and chuckled mirthlessly. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose."
Capric understood where Dexion was coming from immediately, as did team RWBY. Although he was their ally for the moment, Capric Thorn was still an agent of the Thalmor, an organization which had wrought untold devastation across the Empire. Dexion's Empire. It would naturally be hard to put those hard feelings aside for the sake of the greater good, but the fact that Dexion seemed willing to do so said a lot as to how seriously he was taking this situation. For his part, Capric nodded respectfully towards the Imperial, then looked back at the four Huntresses.
"So, what do we do from here?" Blake asked, refocusing their attention on the task at hand.
"Immediate problem's over," Yang pointed out, "but there's still Weiss' sick friend."
"Yes, there is." Weiss nodded and looked to her companions. "You all remember what's needed?"
"Briarheart, tusk powder, magic snow," Ruby listed off. "I can go get the snow from the Throat-of-the-World. Dexion, would you mind a short detour on the way to Fort Dawnguard?"
"Do you mean to go up to High Hrothgar?" Dexion asked, and Ruby nodded. He thought and hummed for a moment, rubbing his hand through his beard before nodding back. "Well, I suppose. At least I'll get to see one of the most important places to Nordic culture along the way. I don't believe a Moth Priest has ever spoken to a Greybeard before. It could be…enlightening."
"That's good. Lydia's coming with me, most likely. Weiss?"
"I want to check with Duskfall," the heiress said. "Not just to see if they can assist, but also to make sure they're all right. I'll also try and retrieve some mammoth tusk powder from one of the Giant clans."
"I suppose I'll go with you," Serana told her. "Less complicated that way."
"I can get a briarheart," Yang offered. "I've fought them before, so I know what to expect and what one looks like."
"I'll go with Yang," Blake added. "I was planning on heading back down to Lakeview after this anyways."
"So, you'll be heading west into the Reach?" Capric asked the two of them, receiving a small nod from Yang. He smiled and called a few papers from a nearby shelf to his hand with telekinesis. "I've had a few rumors looked into concerning an old ruin in the Reach. No one goes to it out of fear. Not even Forsworn will set up base there. Investigating it has shown that it's likely the burial place of a powerful Dragon Priest from the Merethic Era."
"Which means that guy might still be floating around in there," Yang pointed out. "Those guys have a tendency to not stay dead after dying thanks to that dragon magic. We should know, after all. Had to fight two of the bastards already."
"I have several questions, but I'm sure we'll all get the answers eventually." Capric folded the papers and handed them over to Blake. "It's known as Ragnvald. If you can head down there while getting your briarheart, I'm willing to bet you can find some dragon-related artifacts and information. At the very least, it'll be something to send my superiors so that I can continue justifying my post here."
"You have to do that?" Weiss asked the half-elf, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Generally," Capric admitted with a shrug. "While the important people are already convinced, a little info to beat down the naysayers is handy to have. Anything to make my position look valuable and their complaints seem baseless helps. Not to mention, if the pattern holds and there's a Dragon Priest in the depths of this place…"
"Dragon Mask," Ruby figured with a nod. "The Morokei and Krosis masks are pretty powerful in their own right. Morokei is a power-multiplier for mages like Weiss, and Krosis makes the wearer way more skilled at bows, picks, music, alchemy, and other finger stuff."
Yang snorted a laugh but stopped herself. She cleared her throat to cover it and nodded. "Yeah, uh, right. So, if there's another one, it should be similar."
"There's no telling what it could do, but it'll be worth acquiring," Weiss agreed. "If nothing else, it denies Alduin a future resource. Ruby's already ran into one Dragon Priest working alongside a dragon. Who's to say Alduin isn't planning to gather their oldest and most powerful worshippers once the dragons are sorted out?"
"So, we'll get that on our way." Blake nodded. "We'll send the briarheart to you the moment we find a courier, Weiss."
"Same with the snow. Nurgleon will be fine before you know it."
"Nurelion," Lydia corrected.
"Right."
"Thank you, honestly." Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. "I just hope this works. If it does, it may even be repeatable." She smiled lightly. "Could you imagine infinite amounts of medicine, vaccines, and other things being created from nothing on a mass scale?"
"Like some sci-fi post-scarcity world," Yang figured. "Let us know if we can repeat it. That kinda stuff will change the world."
"Let's just focus on one sick, old elf for now. Once we've checked with Duskfall and have the powder, Serana and I can head to Windhelm and wait for the rest. Ruby will be able to meet up with us quickly."
"Yeah, and then we can get ready for the next big step."
"Next step?" Capric asked in interest.
"I'm almost afraid to ask, but I simply have to know," Dexion said with a mix of fear and curiosity in his voice.
"We've learned from a…source that there may be another Elder Scroll in Skyrim," Ruby explained to them. "An actual one. From what we were told, it should be down below Mzark, somewhere in Blackreach."
24th of Evening Star