A/N: This is a sequel to Chapter 100. The OC, Freyja Snow-Song, is the very same character from my OTHER Skyrim X-Over fic idea, Harry Potter and the Dragons of Skyrim (Chapter 81), HOWEVER, she is NOT the Dragonborn in this idea. However, she DOES fill the role the player character fills in the Companions Storyline. Needless to say, you can make assumptions on what she's been doing, as well as Xander, by things they talk about and weapons and gear they use. Needless to say, the Dragonborn would not be doing any of those things. After all, IRL, no one person could realistically fulfill every role the PC does in the game.
Shield Maidens, Princesses and Zeppos, Oh My! (BtVS x TES V: Skyrim + DLCs)
Xander simply surveyed the carnage before him.
He'd hoped that Tolan would have waited for him to arrive, but it seemed as if the man's desperate vendetta against the vampires who's killed his comrades had won out. All around him he could see piles of dust, a dead Death Hound and various Vigilants. He couldn't help but be curious about the fate of the head Vigilant, Keeper Carcette. He couldn't identify her amongst the fallen, so he hoped her fate was swift and if not, that she'd been put to the torch with the building, as he didn't want to think about what would happen to her if the vampires had decided to keep her prisoner.
He heard movement behind him.
He stealthily drew his crossbow from his back, it was already preloaded with a bolt. The first thing he saw was the point of a steel arrow, notched in an Imperial style bow. Wielding this weapon like a pro was a nord woman with braided dark hair, wearing scale armor.
"Identify yourself," He demanded, startling her. He kept his crossbow trained on her. The only thing that saved her from his bolt was the fact that it was day time. She immediately trained her bow on him.
Her amber colored eyes belied the rage she was feeling. "If you were gonna use that thing, you should have shot me when you had the chance. You might kill me, but I'll definitely kill you."
"You're human… At least human enough for me," Xander explained. She quirked an eyebrow. "It's easy enough, when you know how to look, how to spot a were. As far as I can tell, you had nothing to do with this massacre, so you're safe from me- so long as you don't attack me first."
"Freyja Snow-Song," she introduced herself, withdrawing her bow. "I'm with the Companions."
Xander tilted his head as he lowered his crossbow. "Are all Companions weres?"
"Met some of the others?" Freyja asked.
"A big guy named Farkus," Xander said. "Helped me out with a vamp infestation a few weeks ago in Falkreath Hold. I'm Xander Harris, with the Dawnguard."
Freyja's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're the guy he wouldn't shut-up about?"
"We did good work," Xander replied. "Sadly, we've both already discovered our callings- though I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to team up with him again."
"Sadly, it's just me," Freyja replied. "And no, not all Companions are werewolves. The werewolf bit isn't widely known or talked about, even amongst ourselves. Only the members of The Circle have lycanthropy. It's part of the Initiation."
"Ah, gotcha. Well, unless one or more of you start going on senseless rampages, your secret is safe with me. So what brings a member of the Companions all the way up to the Pale?" Xander inquired.
Freyja sighed in sadness. "The Vigilants are a tough group to get along with. Their crusade against Daedra and other 'unnatural' creatures, like vampires and werewolves borders on zealotry. Even so, I had friends here. Keeper Carcette taught me quite a bit about healing before I joined up with the Companions," Freyja informed him. "I had to come see this myself."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Xander replied.
"I take it you're here to investigate?" Freyja asked.
"A little yes, mostly no," Xander replied. "We already know that it was vamps that did this, even without the overwhelming evidence here. And we know why they were in the area and where they went," Xander replied. "One of the survivors of the attack actually made it down to Fort Dawnguard in The Rift and informed us of everything he knew, before making his way up here. Isran tried to talk him down and I tried to get him to wait for my arrival, but it looks like he went ahead anyway."
"Would you mind some extra company?" Freyja asked.
"You and Farkus are both members of the Circle, right?" Xander inquired. Freyja nodded in confirmation. "Well, if you're even half as good as he is, I don't see why not."
"Thank you. What is that weapon you're using?" Freyja asked.
"It's called a crossbow. For all intents and purposes, it's the signature weapon of the Dawnguard, though I'm told they're not exactly common- not even in Morrowind where they originated," Xander answered. "If you'd like, I can talk to Isran about sparing a couple for your people. You guys do good work."
"Not many of us used ranged weaponry," Freyja replied. "Mostly it's just me and Aela, and I doubt either of us are going to give up our bows anytime soon."
"Fair enough," Xander stated.
"So if you're not here to investigate the attack, why are you here?" Freyja asked.
"Mostly, just checking to see if I can find anything of use- something that survived the attack that the vamps overlooked," Xander commented.
"Oh?" Freyja replied interestedly. "Find anything interesting?"
"Interesting, yes. Useful, no," Xander answered. "Just a book on some mythic Aetherium Forge that might or might not actually be real."
"Are all questions asked of you answered twice?" Freyja asked half jokingly.
"Depends on the question," Xander said with a shrug.
Freyja simply shook her head in amusement. "So, where are those vampires holed up at?"
"A nearby cave called Dimhollow," Xander informed her. "Apparently, one of the Vigilants- an Adalvald, made some sort of discovery relating to vampires- some sort of elaborate crypt down there. According to Tolan, no one took him seriously."
"To be fair, I've met Adalvald. He saw conspiracies in anything and everything you can think of," Freyja defended her dead friends.
"It's only paranoia when a vampire coven doesn't wipe out a significant chunk of your order," Xander chided. "Even Tolan admitted that the Vigilants had gotten arrogant when warned of the vampire threat, having had so much success fighting off daedra as long as they have."
"So, where is this Dimhollow?" Freyja asked, changing the subject.
Xander let the matter drop. "Just up the mountain, believe it or not. With their main headquarters so close to a potential hotspot of vampire activity, I'm surprised they didn't give the matter more of their attention."
Freyja frowned. Though she didn't want to, she couldn't help but agree with Xander there. "Any idea of what we can expect?"
"Vamps, vamps and more vamps. Some of their undead mutts too," Xander told her. "Other than that? No clue. Caves like those typically have drauger, frostbite spiders and the occasional troll. Hopefully, whatever nasties that have made their home there and the vamps coming in to claim whatever it is that they think will further their goals, will wipe each other out, allowing us to take whatever treasure they're looking for, for ourselves."
"Then what?" Freyja asked.
"Well… I can't exactly pay you, I don't typically carry all that much gold on me. So you're free to take whatever you want from whatever treasure we find, so long as I get the artifact that the vampires are after," Xander offered. "Deal?"
Freyja shook her head. "I'm not doing this for the coin. Those things killed people I cared about. You can have the artifact, and we can split whatever treasure we find."
It didn't take the duo long to find the entrance to the cavern. Just outside, they found a torch that had been carelessly dropped.
"Somehow I don't think that's a good sign," Xander commented jokingly, trying to lighten up the tension.
"You have a gift for the understatement," Freyja replied in a grim tone. "Do you think it was Tolan's?"
Xander picked it up, and felt the warmth of the, normally, fiery end of the torch. "It's not that old, so possibly. I arrived not long before you and sunrise wasn't so long ago." He sighed in frustration. "Only a damn fool attacks a vampire den alone at night. Vigilant arrogance mixed with a need for revenge… I figured Tolan could use this to get passed what happened to his comrades, but it looks like Isran was right to say Tolan should have stayed behind. Suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given his history with the Vigilants."
Freyja frowned. "I've never heard of this Isran."
Xander shrugged. "Apparently, he and Celann used to be card carrying members."
"What?" Freyja asked in confusion.
"Sorry, expression from my homeland," Xander replied. "Isran and Celann used to be Vigilants, but left them long ago to fight vampires instead of daedra. Don't ask me why, they haven't seen fit to share the whys of that particular tidbit of information."
"So you want to lead, or should I?" Freyja asked.
"Can you see, hear or smell any better than I can?" Xander asked in response.
"In my wolf form, but that's not exactly subtle," Freyja informed him. "And since I haven't been a werewolf long, I can only hold that transformation for so long and can transform only once per day. I do have full control though."
"Good to know," Xander acknowledged. "So you can transform at will?"
"It takes a few minutes, but yes, I can," Freyja informed him, knowing he was no doubt accessing these tidbits of information as weaknesses in case he felt the need to put her down. She subconsciously felt her ring, feeling the bestial power stir inside of her. If he did decide to turn on her, she'd at least take him down with her. She was that confident at least. "Anything special about you?"
"Yes and no," Xander said with a smirk. "What little bit that is special about me is hardly relevant to our current situation. Maybe if we get to know each other first?"
Freyja snorted in amusement. "I doubt you could handle me."
Xander continued to smirk. "Play your cards right and if we both get out of this, I just might let you find out."
"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Freyja asked as the entered the cave.
"Yeah, well to be honest," Xander said in a low tone. "The female warrior bad-ass thing you have going on is a bit of a huge turn on for me and I'm not exactly hard to get into bed anyway."
"I can respect a man who knows what he wants," Freyja whispered coyly.
"I haven't the slightest idea what I want, I simply know what I like," Xander countered.
It didn't take them long to enter a rather large cavern. They immediately saw two vampires. It wasn't hard to tell, despite the lack of light and the distance, that the two vampires had somewhat recently fed, their chins glistening with crimson liquid. It was impossible to make out what they were saying to one another, however.
"You take the one on the right, I get the one on the left?" Freyja asked.
Xander was silent. "That'd be a good idea, except look to the shadows." He pointed off to the left of the vampires. It took her a moment, but Freyja quickly noted the movement in the shadows. "Death Hounds- two by my count."
"I can barely make out one," Freyja whispered. "How can you see two?"
"I work more in the dark than you do," Xander replied. "Hell, this cavern is far better lit than most vampire dens I've been in that weren't caves. We need to take them out first, think you can manage it?"
Freyja squinted. "I'm pretty sure I can- in one shot even."
"Just in case, do you have a blade with a fire enchantment?" Xander asked as he took aim with the crossbow.
"I have a silver blade," Freyja said as she too took aim.
"Really!?" Xander replied in a whispered exclamation as he did the same. "But you're a werewolf!"
"I'm not exactly one right now, am I?" Freyja bantered back. "Say when."
"Point." Xander acknowledged. "Reloading takes a bit more time than a bow, so take out the vamp on the right when they turn to check on the dogs. I'll take out the bitch on the left, since she likely won't notice her partner being dusted behind her. And I didn't exactly expect a werewolf to be carrying the key to her own destruction. When."
They both fired at the same time. Both Death Hounds let out a shriek of pain as theY were killed. As predicted, both vampires turned to the noise, only for the male vampire to end up with an arrow through his heart. The female vampire actually did notice but was too confused by the sudden chaos to do anything but die when Xander's crossbow bolt struck her own heart.
"I love it when a plan comes together!" Xander declared.
"You do have a point there," Freyja acknowledged Xander's previous point. "However, it's not like only silver can kill a werewolf, it just kills us faster than most other weapons and it's just as effective on undead. You'd be surprised at how often we get called out because some idiot hedge mage or rogue necromancer wants to start an undead uprising."
"The Dawnguard may only exclusively deal with vamps, but I do my fair share of freelance work, so I know how it goes," Xander sympathized. "You should have seen this one idiot who thought he was gonna be the next archmage because he used his grandfather's staff to raise a few zombies when the grand sum of his entire magical potential laid in the staff he was using like a supreme idiot. I generally try to avoid killing humans if I can help it, but I nearly shot him on principle for that particular stunt. Luckily, he surrendered the staff with little fuss."
The two quickly made their way to where the two vampires had simply left Tolan's body left to rot.
"Such a waste!" Xander said in disgust. He then drew his blade, which Freyja noticed for the first time. It was golden, but did not look as if it had been made of dwemer metal and glowed with otherworldly brightness. He stabbed Tolan's body in the heart and incinerated it. "One less thing to worry about."
"Interesting blade," Freyja commented.
"Daedric weapon, The Dawnbreaker" Xander answered. "Something I'm sure would give any Vigilant a heart attack, provided I actually cared about something like that and despite the fact that the daedra in question isn't exactly seen as evil, even by mortal standards."
"Which…?"
"Meridia. That lit up temple on Mt Killkreath… That's hers," Xander replied.
"I'd wondered who lit that up," Freyja commented. "Me, Farkus and Ria were just miles south when we saw it light up. By the time we got up there to investigate, we found no sign of anyone and what appeared to be the main chamber was sealed."
"Durak and I found the beacon for her temple in a vampire lair and, along with my housecarl, we cleansed the temple," Xander told her. "A Necromancer was attempting to use the bodies of the Legionnaires and Stormcloaks entombed there to build himself an army, either not realizing or not caring that it was also a shrine to a daedra with a serious hatred for the undead."
"So there's more than a simple fire enchantment in the blade," Freyja stated.
Xander nodded. "The enchantment works like a typical fire enchantment for the most part, the fire just burns a helluva lot hotter when burning the undead. However, whenever I strike a killing blow, it releases an explosion of power that sends all undead for a hundred yards into a panicked frenzy. Forget flight or fight… It's pure running for the hills for all but the most powerful of undead- typically that means Death Lords and Mistwalkers. As far as I can tell, it doesn't affect werewolves, or at least untransformed ones. Or at least it didn't affect Farkus any."
"Good to know."
It was then that they noticed the way forward was barred.
"See the switch anywhere nearby?" Xander asked as he examined the barred doorway. "Every now and again these things can be pretty well hidden."
"Likely over there," Freyja commented as she pointed to a crumbling tower structure built into the cavern wall.
"Or they can be remarkably placed in plain sight," Xander replied.
Freyja giggled at his response. "You are very strange."
"Oddly, that's not the first time I've heard that," Xander bantered back as he went to the tower and activated the switch that lowered the bars.
Freyja was waiting, bow in a ready fire position, guarding the passageway in case something backtracked to investigate the entrance chamber.
"Once more into the breach?" Xander asked rhetorically.
"You first, you see better in the dark," Freyja replied. "I'll follow your lead."
"Fair enough," Xander replied with a nod and the two them crept down the cavern.
The second chamber they found themselves in, was more of a hall and filled with drauger. Some had risen and were fighting a vampire and two death hounds.
"Hounds, vamp, drauger," Xander stated.
"I'll take the bloodsucker," Freyja stated.
The hounds died instantly, distracting the vampire enough to allow the drauger it was fighting to kill it. Freyja killed the drauger that stole her kill instead. Xander took out another one, leaving the final drauger for her.
It wasn't long before they came into a moderately lit cavern with a vamp simply sitting carefree on a ledge. Xander began to take careful aim at it as skeletons began to rise from the pond, catching the attention of the vampire, vampire hunter and the shield maiden. Freyja secured her bow on her back and drew her silver longsword. "Take him out, I'll deal with these."
"Gotcha." Xander agreed as he took aim at the vampire, who'd done little more than stand up. He released the bolt, taking it out as Freyja charged the skeletons, making short work of them.
"Barely even a warm-up," Freyja commented in slight disappointment.
"Not exactly a bad thing, you know," Xander chided. "Besides, we still have yet to find the head honcho, so I'm pretty sure you'll have plenty to sate those blood-lusting urges of yours on."
Freyja sighed. "I can't help it. I'm a nord, a woman and a werewolf. It's who and what I am."
"Is it strange that I'm more afraid of the woman part than I am of the werewolf part?" Xander asked her with a sideways glance.
"It just shows you're smarter than the average male," Freyja commented. "There's hope for you yet."
"There's just something about taking down vamp dens that brings people together," Xander commented.
"Speaking of which, how did you and Farkus get mixed up together?" Freyja asked.
"Ran across him fighting off a group of spriggans," Xander answered. "He was holding his own pretty well and likely could have taken them on his own, but it was three on one, so I stepped in. He decided to help me out with my contract, which I can't really talk about, in repayment."
"Why can't you talk about it?" Freyja inquired.
"My contractor wanted to save face. It's an image thing," Xander replied evasively.
"So it was likely a matter of court, either a Jarl or a Thane," Freyja guessed though she didn't expect an answer and was unsurprised to not get one. "And unfortunately, since it was Falkreath Hold, anybody who's anybody has an ancestor or twelve buried there."
"Farkus knows. There was no way in hell I was going in there with him without his complete trust," Xander said. "And while he might project the image of the dumb warrior nord, he's smart enough to be discreet, though I'm pretty sure the Harbinger at least knows. He was uncomfortable keeping things from the rest of you, so the contractor gave him permission to at least tell Kodlak Whitemane."
The next area housed more drauger, though these looked like they remained in a restful slumber. There was, however, a multitude of frostbite spider egg sacs and webbing all over the buried chamber. The two almost immediately spotted a vampire, but remained undetected. Freyja crept up on it, grasping its shoulder and impaled it from behind on her blade.
Xander spotted a death hound at the top of a small set of stairs that had come to investigate the noise. He shot it in the eye, killing it instantly.
"Interlopers!" shouted a vampire and another death hound rounded the corner. Freyja quickly shot it, staggering it, but not killing it. Xander drew his sword and sliced its head off, ignoring the pain of the frost aura it put out. Fortunately his exposure to it's frost aura was brief. The kill also had the added effect of releasing the Dawnbreaker's power, sending the undead frostbite spider that had followed the death hound scurrying away. Xander gave chase, only to be caught in a red stream of power from the vampire. Freyja shot it's hand, breaking its hold on Xander and then put another one it its heart, killing it.
The two watched as the frostbite spider crumbled to dust since the vampire's hold on it was severed.
"Damn, that was stupid," Xander cursed himself. "Thanks for that."
"We're shield-siblings, it's what we do," Freyja said dismissively.
"All the same," Xander replied catching his breath. He was feeling a bit woozy, so he pulled a potion from his pouch, uncorked it and drank it down. Freyja raised an eyebrow, so he explained. "Just making sure I don't get vamped."
Her only response was a nod as they delved further into the crypt. They found themselves in yet another chamber. Freyja was quick to note some vampires fighting off a giant frostbite spider. It was Xander who noted the switch near the door.
"How's your stealth?" Xander asked her.
"I could sneak up on a Falmer," Freyja boasted quietly.
"Then let's force them to do our work for us," Xander replied.
"And mop up the survivors," Freyja added, quickly catching onto his plan.
One of the vampires turned to see the gate come crashing down, losing focus on what he was doing. The end result, for him, was the wounded frostbite spider catching his neck in its' mandibles and snapping his head off, dusting the vampire. Another vampire shoulder tackled the giant spider, knocking it off balance. He raised his sword to finish it off when a crossbow bolt penetrated his lower back. The sudden force jarred his stance and the unexpected attack made him lose his grip on his sword as the spider recuperated and knocked him down with it's leg.
A third vampire attempted to further drain the spider's life force, however the spider was quick to overwhelm it. While it couldn't get a solid killing blow it did leave multiple bites on the vampire. In small amounts, even the weakest of vampires are highly resistant to poisons, however, this one was just a fledgling and the spider, though wounded, was no mere regular frostbite spider, it's gigantic size adding to the potency of its fresh poison. It was enough to overcome the vampire's natural resistance and the vampire felt immense pain as its' blood began to freeze in its veins. The second vampire recovered and jumped on top of the wounded giant frostbite spider and stabbed downward into it's head, killing it. It crashed into the vampire below it, pinning it down as it screamed in agony before succumbing to his wounds and turning to dust.
The vampire let out an unneeded sigh as he turned to see the gate reopening, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and then back up at the bastard who'd shot him and the nord bitch right next to him.
He exploded into a cloud of dust.
"That was strange," Freyja noted. "Don't they usually turn to dust immediately upon death."
"Never underestimate the power of dramatic effect," Xander warned her. "It just goes to show that the world is stranger than we know."
"As if a civil war, vampire uprisings and returning dragons weren't enough," Freyja complained.
"Don't forget early winter," Xander added. Freyja looked at him strangely and he just shrugged. "It was something a friend of mine said."
An agonized scream met them in the next chamber, this one seemingly more grand than the previous ones.
They hurriedly crept to a nearby ledge.
"Adalvald," Freyja whispered. Throwing caution to the wind she stood up while taking aim. "Hey, bastard, over here!" She fired her bow and her aim was true. The vampire, however, was a master and easily caught it. His underling wasn't so lucky as she dusted when struck with a crossbow bolt. In retaliation, he stabbed the arrow into Adalvald's eye, killing him instantly. Meanwhile, his thrall ran to the stairs to intercept the intruders. Xander drew Dawnbreaker, moving to engage the thrall. Freyja, on the other hand, consumed by rage, began to change as she leapt to the ground below. She let out a mighty howl as she landed and pounced on the master vampire, savagely ripping him to shreds. She then attacked the thrall, who'd become distracted by her sudden change and savaging of his master. He didn't last more than a few seconds. Xander on the other hand, watched Freyja warily as she turned her gaze on him.
"Freyja… Calm down…" he said soothingly.
The werewolf snarled at him.
He put his sword down. "Easy girl. I'm not gonna hurt you."
He approached with his arm outstretched, allowing Freyja to sniff him and gauge his intentions. To his relief, she allow him to scratch behind her ears when suddenly she shrank back down to her normal self, sans clothes. Xander immediately turned around to preserve her modesty.
"Sorry," Freyja apologized. "I was just so angry."
"Who wouldn't be in your shoes," Xander replied.
He was startled when she walked passed him without an ounce of shame. He suppose than since many of her order were werewolves that they didn't have a large amount of body modesty. Even still, he did his best not to stare at her nude form. Freyja looked back at him with an alluring smirk. "Like what you see?"
"Even a dead man would like what I see," Xander quipped. He couldn't help but start at her bare ass as she walked up the stairs to where her armor lay as she added an extra sway to her hips. To put his mind off his currently nude companion, he searched the area around Adalvald. All he managed to find was the Vigilant's notes on Dimhollow Crypt that seemed to be about the pedestals nearby. "Convenient."
"Ready?" Freyja asked.
"Considering the size difference, how is it that your armor is in one piece? Or how does someone like Farkus not get crushed in that armor of his?" Xander asked.
Freyja shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It's not something we think about."
"The world truly is stranger than we know," Xander said with a shake of his head. "So, this is what we have." He showed her the notes Adalvald had on the crypt.
Freyja perused them for a moment. "They're pretty vague."
"If I had to guess, the vamps kept him alive in case they couldn't figure out the puzzle based on his notes," Xander stated.
"Any ideas?" She asked as they stepped into the dais.
"Blood offering..." Xander noted. He rushed back to the thrall, hoping that enough of him was intact to guess what had happened. A quick check of the remains was enough to confirm his suspicions. He made his way back to the altar where Freyja looked at him inquiringly. He studied it for a moment, taking note of the dried blood on it. "They couldn't get it to work."
"Activating this altar's function requires a blood offering," Xander said.
"Looks like they tried that," Freyja noted.
"If I'm reading between the lines right," Xander said. "Vampire blood wouldn't cut it, at least not vampire blood of a specific bloodline, which I'm guessing these guys belonged to. So they'd at the very least need an unaffiliated vampire, which they wouldn't trust, or a human, acting on his own free will. Most humans acting as daytime bodyguards and servants to vampires are thralls. They've been enchanted to do the vampire's bidding."
"And Adalvald would never willingly help a vampire," Freyja caught on. "So now what? Because I've already tried moving the pedestals like he described, but none of them will budge."
"My guess is that the altar has to be activated first," Xander said. "And this button is at least the first step to doing that. He pulled off his left gauntlet. Freyja idly noted that it was the opposite of his sword hand. He took a deep breath.
"Expecting something bad to happen?" Freyja asked incredulously.
"Yes," Xander replied shortly as he pressed down on the button on the center of the altar.
"Xander!" Freyja cried out.
A sharp spike pierced his hand, making him cry out in pain and he collapsed, his hand held in place by the spike. The basin of the alter filled with his blood and the spike receded. Freyja held him securely in her arms as the altar began to glow and the pedestals lit up with other worldly purple flames.
"Fuck that hurt!" Xander exclaimed as Freya dressed the wound as best she could.
"Are..." she began to ask on pure instinct before she stopped herself.
"I'm as fine as can be expected," Xander answered her unfinished question. "So… Think the pedestals will move now?"
"Potion first," Freyja insisted as she pulled a flask with ruby colored liquid in it.
"'Tis but a flesh wound," Xander declared.
"Drink anyway," Freyja insisted further.
Xander made a disgusted face. "I'd rather eat werewolf droppings."
"That could be arranged," Freyja scolded. "Now, quit being such a baby and take the damn potion."
Reluctantly, Xander took the healing potion and drank it down quickly in an effort not to taste it. "Blech..."
Freyja snorted in amusement. "Milk Drinker."
It didn't take them long to figure out how and where to move the pedestals to. Once the last one was in place, the altar began to lift itself out of the ground.
"This should be interesting..." Freyja commented sardonically.
The obelisk type object that rose from the ground opened up to reveal a woman inside of it. She immediately collapsed, however before she could hit the ground, she was caught by Xander. Brown eyes met crimson as he pushed her hair out of her face. She looked apprehensive, but was too weak to move out of Xander's arms.
"You're not who I expected..." she said weakly.
"And just who were you expecting?" Xander inquired.
"Well…" her eyes cut to where she saw Freyja with her bow drawn and arrow notched, waiting for her to make even the slightest misstep. "Someone a bit more like me."
"Sorry to say, you're gonna have to make due with us," Xander said with a comforting smile. "What's with the scroll?"
"It's an Elder Scroll," Freyja said.
"And none of your business," the unnamed vampire replied.
"Considering the trouble the vamps we dusted went to, to find you and your scroll, I'm pretty sure it is our business," Xander argued. "So… Any idea how long you were trapped in there?"
"Well... Who's the High King?" she asked.
"A very good question," Xander praised. "And once the Jarls figure that one out, we'll be happy to tell you."
She quirked an eyebrow at the comment directed at Freyja.
The lycan shield maiden elaborated. "War of Succession."
"Well, at least things didn't get boring while I slept," she commented dryly. "Who's the leading candidates?"
"Jarl Ulfric of Windhelm is leading the rebellion while the Empire supports Jarl Elisif of Solitude," Xander informed her.
The woman looked startled. "Empire!?"
"The Cyrodiilic Empire..." Xander said slowly.
"Cyrodiil is the seat of an Empire?" she asked in disbelief.
"Well..." Xander said as he looked up at Freyja, who looked shell-shocked at the information, and then back to the mysterious woman, "Let's just say you've been down here a long, long time."
"So, what do did those other bloodsuckers want with you?" Freyja demanded. Xander could barely contain his sigh at her blunt questioning.
"I… I'm not entirely sure," she replied. "It would all depend on who sent them and to figure that out, I'd have to go home."
"Somehow, I think that'd be a bad idea," Freyja commented.
"Maybe not," Xander interjected.
"Give me one good reason why we should spare her?" Freyja demanded.
"For one, we haven't the foggiest clue as to exactly why they were here. Even if we kill her and take her scroll, we still wouldn't know what they're after or who we're dealing with. Or what sort of resources they have," Xander argued. "Vampire attacks had been nearly non-existent until recently. The destruction of the Hall of the Vigilants was just the beginning."
"So, what? You're just going to take her home and confront this mysterious vampire overlord in his own home?" Freyja asked incredulously.
"I wouldn't put it quite like that..." Xander winced.
"And just how would you put it?" Freyja inquired challengingly.
Xander sighed. "Okay, I would put it like that, but it's not like we have a choice. Any information she'd have is centuries out of date and I doubt any of the vamps we've been dealing with up until we faced down the one who killed Adalvald have any sort of significant rank or stature," Xander reasoned. "We're fighting blind and this is our only true alternative."
Freyja sighed. "Do what you want. In the mean time, I'm going to warn both my comrades and yours about what's going on." She then unnotched her bow and resecured it onto her back before addressing the vampire. "What's the quickest way out of here."
"I don't know, this place looks quite a bit different from when I was first sealed here," she commented.
"Just great..." Freyja sighed.
"Can you stand?" Xander asked her.
"I-I think so..." she replied.
Xander helped her to her feet and steadied her. "So… You got a name?"
"S-Serana..." she answered. "My name is Serana..."
"I'm Xander, with the Dawnguard, and this is Freyja, with the Companions," Xander replied.
"Your friend smells like wet dog," Serana said with a modicum of distaste.
"Werewolf shield maiden, real nasty temper," Xander replied. "While I'm just a regular, average human vampire hunter."
Serana looked at him suspiciously. "Why don't I believe you?"
"I assure you, she really is a werewolf," Xander promised.
"As if I couldn't help but notice the smell," Serana replied distastefully. "I was talking about you."
"I really am a vampire hunter," Xander said reassuringly.
"Though not exactly what any sane person would call normal," Freyja commented earning a glare from Xander.
"Very funny," Xander sourly responded as he surveyed the surrounding area. "Serana… How's your night vision?"
"Better than yours, I'm sure," she replied.
"What's off in that direction?" Xander asked.
"What are you thinking?" Freyja inquired.
"That I don't want to have to fight through every vamp within a few miles of here if they have reinforcements waiting at the entrance," Xander replied. "Not to mention, if she's seen with us fighting her kind, or even just watching us fighting her kind, they'd be less likely to accept her and we'll still be clueless."
"She's standing right here," Serana reminded them. "Stairs and a cavern."
Xander nodded. "With luck, that will be an exit and not just a quick way back to the entrance."
"And how often are you that lucky?" Freyja asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Never you mind," Xander replied as he lit Tolan's torch and began to walk towards the darkened part of the cavern, Freyja and Serana following close behind him. Unfortunately, as soon as they reached the stairs, the two gargoyle statues on either side exploded, making them realize they were not ordinary statues.
"Damn it!" Xander cursed as he'd fought them before. Only this time he didn't have a Farkus with him to easily take them down. He immediately bashed the one on his right with his torch, setting it ablaze, as he lashed out with Dawnbreaker. The slash did minimal damage on its own, with the fire enchantment doing more to it than not.
He heard a growl behind him and he turned to see Freyja having transformed into a werewolf once more and savagely attacking the other gargoyle. Unfortunately for the Companion, this wasn't a vampire that had been caught off guard, but a creature of magic who was nearly it's equal in strength and battle prowess, if not pure savagery. The distraction cost Xander as the gargoyle back handed him on the back of his head. Despite his helmet, Xander was seeing stars and it took his head a moment to realize why there hadn't been a follow up attack- the gargoyle had a shard of ice sticking in it's shoulder. There was also a stream of lightning that surged through it from Serana's hand. Shakily, Xander got back up as he shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it.
Serana loosed another ice spike at the gargoyle, while maintaining her stream of lightning. Unfortunately, time had taken a toll on her and having only just awakened and not having fed, she was incredibly weak. She couldn't hold up much longer and once her magicka had run out, she was out of the fight. The gargoyle, despite being hit with a constant stream of lightning, slowly stalked her. She released a third ice spike at it, causing it to stumble. As luck would have it, her strength gave out and she collapsed and she dropped to her hands and knees.
The gargoyle roared in victory as it lifted its taloned hand to finished her off, when she heard a cry of defiance from the only male in their trio. She looked up to see Xander once more engaging the beast. While most of the damage caused by the blade was moderately superficial, each swing was causing more and more damage and the fire that was caused by the blade was more than making up for the lack of damage from the sword. She could only look in awe as the "simple human" vampire hunter defended her with both bravery and savagery. Considering her former position in her father's court, the image of a brave and noble knight defending/rescuing the fair princess from a savage and brutal monster played strongly in her mind.
She hated those stories growing up.
However, living out the story she was not only more than a little thankful to him for saving her life, but the image wasn't as repulsive as it had been when she was small girl wanting to be the heroine saving the stupid boy from the monster instead of it being the other way around. Then again, she'd already done that. In fact, she'd saved him first. So perhaps they'd saved each other from the fearsome beast- the warrior princess and the roguish knight…
She'd definitely spent far too long in that obelisk.
With a final cry, the gargoyle went down as Xander pierced it's chest with his sword, bringing it down for good. He looked to Serana. "You okay?"
Though she didn't want to admit it, especially not to herself, his genuine concern for her was touching. "Fine."
"Damn that took a lot out of me," Freyja said as her naked form stumbled towards them and she collapsed. Xander immediately rushed to her aid, pulling out a green colored potion.
"This will help you get back on your feet," he said as he handed it to her.
"Thank you," Freyja said quietly as she accepted the stamina potion.
"I thought you could only transform once," Xander said as he tried to do the gentlemanly thing and not look at her nakedness.
Freyja absently played with her ring, the only thing she was still wearing from before she transformed. "Trade secret."
Serana was certain that Xander hadn't really noticed as he wasn't really looking at the shameless nord shield maiden, but Serana would know the mark of Hircine anywhere and that ring had it.
Compared to the gargoyles, the drauger in the next chamber were a joke- something Freyja had commented on, much to Xander's dismay.
"You just had to say it, didn't you," Xander groaned.
"What?" Freyja asked, sharing a befuddled look of confusion with Serana.
"You've cursed us!" Xander exclaimed.
Serana looked at Xander curiously. "I didn't see or sense her use any magic..."
"Because I can't," Freyja added. "I'm not exactly mage material."
"Just you wait," Xander warned them. "We're gonna have to fight some sort of big nasty in the next chamber and it will be all Freyja's fault."
"That's completely and utterly ridiculous!" Freyja exclaimed.
He was right.
The moment they stepped into the chamber, Xander groaned out loud once more in complaint as they were met with the sight of a combat arena littered with skeletons, which even with their ability to use varying weapons and magic, weren't difficult to deal with.
What was rather troublesome however, was the drauger deathlord that had challenged them. It rose from its throne and immediately engaged them in combat. Xander charged it with Dawnbreaker, however his weapon had be wrenched out of his hands by the drauger's Thu'um. He only barely managed to avoid getting his head chopped off in the process and it was only Freyja's skill with a bow that save him as the creature stumbled backwards.
Serena then engaged it with Freyja's silver longsword, which had bewildered her as much as it had Xander that Freyja actually used one. The drauger expertly parried her blows, but stumbled back as Xander shot it with his crossbow. She went for a decisive killing blow when her fist met the mummified zombie's breastplate as a wave of energy washed over her and she found herself weaponless.
The drauger backhanded her, but was engaged by Freyja wielding two daggers. The nord woman was quick and pushed the drauger back before it could fully recover. Just as it did, she ducked out of the way and backed off as another crossbow bolt hit it in the chest, causing it to stumble once more and an ice spike finished it off.
"Don't say it," Freyja warned Xander as they collected their weapons.
Xander smiled unrepentantly. "I wouldn't dream of it."
All in all, the trio were immensely glad to see the light of day, as it were, and breath in the fresh, crisp, night time air that one could only find in Skyrim and took in the sight of the aurora borealis, that lit up the sky.
It was Xander, standing in the middle of the trio, who broke the silence first.
"I don't think that is something I'll ever get tired of."
On either side of him, the werewolf shield maiden and the vampire princess couldn't help but agree.