Scroll Scouting Part 3
-Haafingar-
After a long, but pleasant journey the two companions arrived at their destination. The sun had already come up and Serana donned her hood. In the town of Dragon bridge they asked around about the Moth Priest, but none of the inhabitants seemed to know anything.
"Are you sure you haven't seen anything? He would look like an old man, probably clad in grey and he would have an escort of Imperial soldiers."
"Your companion already asked the same. No, I have not seen anything."
After the two of them asked every person at least twice they entered the Four Shields Tavern to think. Serana wanted to get indoors as soon as possible, since the sun would burn her skin.
"He is not here," Serana said. "nor did he pass through the town. Are you sure the orc was right?"
Tarrion nodded.
"Yes, I trust him not to give us false leads."
"Then where else could he be?" she asked and she grabbed a chair.
Tarrion ran all possible situations through his head.
"It is possible that he left for Dragon Bridge, but never arrived here."
"So now we have to scour every last nook of Skyrim to find this guy? Great." Serana sighed.
"It's not so bad." Tarrion tried to cheer her up. "I'm sure stories would be told of this."
Serana looked at him.
"'The Tale of the great Moth priest hunt'. Not something I'd like to read."
"I was thinking; 'The Two Adventurers seeing the World', but if you don't like that title…"
Serana had no response to this, and unless Tarrion's eyes were deceiving him, he saw a slight blush on her face.
The doors to the tavern were slammed open and a man almost fell through.
"There has been an attack!"
The innkeeper looked up and walked up to the man.
"Easy now Lodvar. What happened?"
"Bodies!" Lodvar said. "Almost a dozen of them, just south of the bridge. Imperial soldiers and an cart… It… It looks like a bandit attack, but some of the bodies…"
"What is it?" Tarrion asked.
"Some of the bodies are Vampires! Their eyes are red and their skin is charred in the sun!"
Tarrion felt a hand on his shoulder, and heard Serana whisper.
"Come on. We have to go."
Tarrion followed Serana out of town and until they crossed the large bridge he asked why they had to leave.
"Because I think that these Vampires attacked for a reason."
"What do you mean?"
Serana explained.
"Remember what I told you about that prophecy my father became obsessed with? He wants to understand it better, try to find out what he needs to do to make it come true. But to do that he first needs the Elder Scroll. Since I have it, he will look for something else, or rather 'someone' else. Someone that can read an Elder Scroll. A Moth priest."
"And you think he knows that that there is one in Skyrim right now?"
"My father has eyes and ears everywhere. I think he gave the order to capture anyone that even looks like a Moth Priest. We have to move."
Tarrion and Serana followed the road to the south, and a bit later they found the scene of the attack. An overturned cart blocked the road and almost a dozen bodies were lying still on the ground. Most of them were Imperial soldiers, but some of them were clad in dark robes, and had red, bloodshot eyes and a charred skin.
"Vampires." Tarrion said to himself.
It looked like the Vampires left no survivors, but when Tarrion searched one of the bodies, he found a note.
I have new orders for you.
Prepare an ambush just south of Dragon Bridge. Take the Moth priest to Forebears' Holdout for safekeeping until I can break his will.
Malkus
"Serana! He was here." Tarrion said.
"You found something?"
"Yes. They took him to forebears' Holdout."
Tarrion gave Serana the note.
"Where is this place?" she asked.
"Not too far from here. It's an old cave, that way."
They reached Forebears' Holdout quickly. It was clear that something, or someone, was dragged in here because Tarrion saw many tracks. Many footsteps were still visible, along with claw-marks. When they entered the place they saw more footsteps, claw-marks and now also signs of struggle.
After a few small tunnels they reached a vast open hall. It looked like a small fortress was build inside the cave, with its own walls, gate and towers. Although Tarrion could see a few figures move around near braziers and torches, Serana could see everything. She saw the hound-like creatures move around, the Vampires that stood watch and the river that flowed right through the cave.
Together they reached the bridge that crossed the river, and they reached the gate. It was open, but as soon as they walked through it, it closed behind them. Three Vampires jumped from the walls and attacked them. Despite that they realized that Serana was a Vampire, they attacked her nonetheless. And she fought back, nonetheless. She sliced the throat from one of her attackers, while Tarrion incinerated another. The third one tried to flee, but fell to the ground with a large Ice-spike in his back.
Tarrion could not help himself but to ask about the fact that Serana killed other Vampires without hesitation.
"You fight without hesitation." He said.
"Yes. So do you." she answered.
"But… it doesn't bother you that they were Vampires?... just like you." He added.
Serana took a long breath before she answered.
"…. No." she eventually said. "They attacked me, and I defended myself."
It was clear that there was more behind it, but he dared not to ask, and Serana did not want to talk about it.
"Please, let's just keep going."
They reached the top of the fortress where Tarrion saw something he had not seen before. A huge barrier, that looked nothing like a ward, stood in the middle of the room. Four huge stones surrounded the barrier, and they were engraved with runes and figures. The barrier seemed to be in constant motion, and it reminded Tarrion of the barrier that Ancano had created when he controlled the Eye of Magnus. A total of six Vampires stood around the barrier and one of them noticed them.
"There they are! Malkus! They're here!"
One of the Vampires looked up. His hair was pitch black and he smiled viciously.
"I was wondering when you would come here, Tarrion."
Tarrion looked at the Vampires, surprised to hear his own name.
"How do you know my name?"
The Vampire simply chuckled.
"Ha! I know more than you think. I heard from our Lord that you would come for the priest. But you are too late. You will not have him!"
The vampires attacked, and Serana and Tarrion fought for their lives. They were outnumbered, but they were also much stronger. Tarrion shattered the spine from one of his opponents, while Serana buried her dagger in another's neck. She twisted the knife, effectively severing the spine. The Vampires were fast, and Tarrion had to use his strength to block and stagger them. He quickly cast Bane of the Undead, and both Vampires screamed in agony. They tried to flee the glowing circle Tarrion just cast, but he grabbed them both and shot lightning through their heads. They fell limp to the ground.
Serana used her speed to match her opponents' and she staggered one of them, and finished him off with another Ice-spike. Only Malkus was left, but he was stronger than the others. He cast a powerful spell on Tarrion, sending red light, weakening him. Serana distracted him, which gave Tarrion enough time to fire a Thunderbolt, killing Malkus instantly.
Tarrion let out a long breath.
"Ah… Are you alright?" Serana asked.
"Yes… don't worry about me." he panted. "It takes more than a bit of red light to stop me."
"He tried to drain you of your life. If he had time enough, he would have killed you with ease."
Tarrion looked up confused.
"That is what he did?"
"Yes," Serana said. "Most Vampires can do that, but only the powerful ones can kill you with it."
"Right…. Well let's get that priest out of there."
The Moth priest had watched from behind the barrier and seemed to stand still, like he waited for something.
"How do we deactivate this barrier?" Tarrion asked.
"Maybe with this."
Serana showed him a Weystone. It was a fist-sized rock engraved with runes and figurines, just like the giant stones that surrounded the barrier. Tarrion looked around and saw a pedestal standing atop a small, stone staircase. He walked up to it and saw that the pedestal had the same runes and figurines engraved on it as the Weystone, and he placed it on the pedestal.
Immediately the ground started to shake, and the giant stones that surrounded the barrier started to sink into the ground. The barrier started to fade away, until it was completely gone and the Moth priest stood amidst a few large, engraved stones.
"My master is dead, but I will carry out his will. I will avenge him."
The old man grabbed a small dagger and charged at Serana. Because she did not expect this, she could not duck away in time, and the priest sliced her arm. Tarrion still stood on the pedestal and knew he could not reach him in time and so he Shouted.
TIID
Time slowed and Tarrion ran toward the priest and hit him hard on the back of his head. The man fell limp to the ground and dropped his dagger.
"Curse this priest!"
Serana had her hand over her arm and Tarrion could see dark, red blood flowing out of the wound.
"Let me help you." he said and he cast a healing spell on her arm. But nothing happened.
"Normal healing spells don't work on Vampires." Serana said, as she gritted her teeth. "But don't worry about me. Vampires can heal their own wounds much faster."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes. I'm fine. That priest could not aim that well."
"Why did he attack us anyway?"
"He was bitten." Serana explained. "He was Malkus' thrall."
"Is he still?"
"I don't think so. Killing the master and a good hit on the head, tends brings people around again."
Serana suddenly stumbled, and almost fell. She managed to grab Tarrion just in time.
"Hey, easy there."
Tarrion saw that Serana was clearly not 'fine'.
"You are not alright."
"Don't worry about me." Serana said, but Tarrion could hear the fatigue in her voice. "I'm just a bit woozy, that's all."
Tarrion saw that there was clearly no way to convince her to rest.
The Moth priest woke up a bit later. As soon as he saw the look Serana had in her eyes he pleaded.
"Please… please that was not me. That was not me you were fighting. I could see through my own eyes, but I could not control my actions."
"Easy, old man. Easy" Tarrion said, and he raised his hand in a calming gesture. "We know."
"Oh.. oh, alright." the priest nodded in relief. "Then… Then I should thank you, the both of you, for saving me from these Vampires. They claimed they had some plans in store for me."
"We know that too," Serana said and she rubbed her arm. "because we need you for the same purpose."
"Oh, really?" The man seemed surprised, but not scared. "Well, no more riddles. What do you need me for?"
"Let us first know your name."
"Oh.. yes, of course. My name is Dexion Evicus. I am a scholar, currently in Skyrim on a search for information regarding Elder Scrolls."
"Well, then today is your lucky day." Tarrion said. "Because we have an Elder Scroll, and we would like you to read it."
"You have an Elder Scroll?"
Dexion was clearly surprised by this, and also delighted.
"Really? Well…. That is… that is amazing. I would very much like to help you with this, but I do need some preparations before I can read one."
"In that case I would like to ask you to come to Fort Dawnguard. It is located to the south-east of Riften, near Stendarr's Beacon."
"Hmm. Well, if I you'll let me read an Elder Scroll, I suppose I could do that for you. Very well then. I will meet you there."
-Falkreath Hold-
After they saved Dexion, Serana and Tarrion lend him one of their horses. Serana now sat behind Tarrion on his horse and tried to keep her balance as best she could. Riding without a saddle was difficult, but she managed just fine. Right after they passed Whiterun Tarrion and Serana went south towards Riverwood. Tarrion wanted to check on the construction of his manor near Lake Illinalta, and he thought that it would be a good thing to do, now that they were nearby. Dexion went straight for Fort Dawnguard, after Tarrion gave him the exact location, and so they went separate ways.
After they passed through Riverwood, they followed the sound of hammers and saws. Tarrion saw from a distance that the building was coming along nicely and all the towers were already finished. The builders greeted him with a slight bow, and Umar explained what they were doing.
"There are no issues as far as we can tell. The construction goes as planned, and we received your letter, concerning the bath."
"Ah, good." Tarrion said and he looked out over his manor. It was not finished yet, but it already looked impressive, and he thought that even a Jarl would envy him.
"This is going to be your house?" Serana asked. "That is impressive. Who is invited?"
"Invited? What do you mean?"
"Are you going to live in this place all by yourself?"
"No, of course not." Tarrion answered. "I will invite others to come over to visit occasionally, and of course my housecarl Rayya will live here as well."
"Well, however you want to do it, it will be the talk of the hold." Umar remarked. "I will say that this is the biggest manor I ever had to build. But I'm happy to do it."
"Because you love your job, or because there is a fat purse in for it?"
"Both."
Tarrion and Serana left soon after, because there was not much they could do, and also because they had to go and report back at Fort Dawnguard. They took the road that led past Helgen, and followed the mountain path to the western ends of the rift.
The night slowly began to fall, and the stars came out. The skies were mostly clear, except for a few clouds that dropped a few snowflakes here and there. Tarrion slowly started to feel that he had not slept in almost two days and he longed for a good, long rest in a warm bed. Serana seemed to feel the same way, because she had her eyes already closed and rested her head on Tarrion's shoulder. He did not mind this, and thought that it would be for the best that at least one of them got their rest.
But when they reached the slopes of the mountain and the beginning of the Rift, Tarrion realized that there was something wrong. Serana had not said anything since they passed Helgen, and she seemed to be fast asleep. But just when they passed the last few rocky formations, she fell off the horse and laid still on the ground.
"Serana?"
Tarrion jumped off his horse and ran towards her. He lifted her head, and noticed that she was not breathing.
"Serana! Wake up!"
The sky had grown darker, and it slowly started to rain. Tarrion looked around and saw a small hut. It looked like it was abandoned, and he lifted Serana in his arms and carried her to it.
The hut was indeed abandoned, but there was still a bed pressed against a wall. Tarrion laid Serana on the bed and tried to wake her up. But she did not respond, and although he did not know why, he felt himself panic.
"Come on, Serana! Wake up! Think, dammit think!" he told himself. "What does a Vampire need?"
The answer came to him quicker than he thought.
"Blood."
Without any hesitation he grabbed a dagger from his belt and pulled the sleeve from his left arm away. He gritted his teeth and made a large cut in his arm. The warm blood flowed out immediately and the wooden floor coloured red. He carefully opened Serana's mouth and held his bleeding wrist over it. The red blood flowed fast in her mouth, and Tarrion had to withhold himself from grunting in pain.
After a few moments Serana began to move, and still Tarrion did not remove his bleeding wrist from her mouth. She suddenly opened her eyes and harshly grabbed Tarrion wrist and sucked his blood out. He forced her back on the bed and held her down.
"Don't move." he said, and he looked in her red, glowing eyes.
He then saw a look in her eyes he had not seen before. Tarrion did not know what this look meant, but he felt different because of it. It strengthened his resolve and still did not move his hand.
But after another few moments he felt himself become weaker. Be began to daze and could not see straight, and still he did not remove his wrist. Serana had her eyes closed and drank his blood, and Tarrion could see that she started to feel better. She grabbed his hand again, but this time it was not with a firm grip, but a gentle, soft touch and she moved his wrist to her mouth. Tarrion could feel how her soft lips enclosed the wound, and how her tongue licked the blood away. He even thought he heard a slight moan, but he was too dazed to be sure.
Everything became black before his eyes, and he fell to the ground.
"Tarrion!"
Serana jumped from the bed and looked at him. Tarrion was breathing heavily and was unable to stand up.
"Horse…. pack…. vials….. red…. and green….." he moaned.
Serana lifted him carefully on the bed and ran towards the horse.
"Red and green vials. Red and green vails." she repeated to herself.
She rummaged through the packs as fast as she could and finally found two vials, one with red liquid and one with green liquid. She ran back to the hut and uncorked both vials and mad Tarrion drink them. The last thing Tarrion saw was a terrified Serana looking at him.
Tarrion opened his eyes a few hours later. He heard rain pouring down and thick drops hammered down on the hut. He moaned and tried to get up, but a pale hand forced him down.
"Rest… please."
Serana appeared next to him and she gently pushed him back. Tarrion saw that same look in her eyes. She looked surprised, but in a thankful way, and he saw a tear crawling down her cheek.
"I… you…. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Tarrion said.
He looked at his wrist and saw dark cloth wrapped around it. He saw that Serana used a few lines of cloth from her own clothing to bandage his wound, and a large piece of her cloak was missing. She sat next to him on the bed and looked at him.
"Why did you do it? You almost killed yourself."
Tarrion tried to sit, but had to lean against the wall. He still felt too weak to stand up.
"You would have died otherwise." he said. "I couln't just do nothing and let you die."
"Most people would have."
"But I am not most people."
Serana opened her mouth, and closed it again without saying anything and Tarrion saw another tear crawling down her cheek
"No-one has ever done that for me."
She looked him straight in his eyes.
"…. Thank you…."
Tarrion wanted to say something back, but could only nod. He did not know what to say. He held his left hand up and rubbed it.
"I'm sorry… I wanted to heal it but…..I don't know how…."
But Tarrion leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you."
Then, completely unexpected for both Tarrion and Serana, she leaned forward and kissed him. Then she left the hut and walked into the rain. Tarrion stayed on the bed, completely taken by surprise, not knowing what to do.
It took him a few moments to come to his senses and he gathered his strength and walked outside. Serana stood beside the horse and stroked its manes.
"I'm afraid we'll have to wait until it stops raining."
Serana refused to look at him, and it was clear that she wanted to move further.
Tarrion gathered his strength and Shouted to the skies.
LOK VAH KOOR
A thundering sound echoed through the mountains behind them and Serana quickly turned around, only to see Tarrion fall to his knees. Tarrion was barely strong enough to stand up and the shout drained him of strength even more. But it worked nonetheless, because it stopped raining and the clouds vanished like smoke.
"How did you...?"
Tarrion shook his head and Serana helped him up.
"You… you are Dragonborn?"
She looked at him with both surprise and fear. Tarrion only nodded and gestured to the horse.
"The horse."
The horse was scared by the sound of the Thu'um, and was about to run.
"Get it, I'll be fine."
Tarrion turned around and entered the hut, and Serana ran to capture the horse. It did not take long, and Serana had to help Tarrion to get back in the saddle. Tarrion was still very weak, but Serana helped him stay up and guided the horse in the right direction. During the journey neither of them said a word. Both were too occupied with their thoughts about what happened in the hut.
-Fort Dawnguard-
"Ah, my rescuer. It's good to see you again."
"Yes, it's good to see you again too, Dexion." Tarrion answered.
He tried his best to stand up, but found himself unable to do so. He grabbed a crate and used it as a chair.
"So, you've found your way here safely I hope?"
Dexion seemed surprisingly excited and happy.
"Oh, yes of course. Your friends here have made me feel like an honoured guest, and might I ad, this is a remarkable fortress. I would very much like to study this place."
Isran walked up to Tarrion and looked at him.
"Are you alright? You look a bit pale."
Serana looked up and seemed afraid of what Tarrion might say.
"Yes, yes I'm fine." Tarrion said. "I haven't slept in a while, that's all."
Serana sighed in relief.
"I'm afraid we don't have time for studying this fortress right now." Serana mentioned. Her mood was lighter than it had been before, and a slight smile was visible.
"We have an Elder Scroll to read. Are you prepared enough?"
"Ah, yes. I am as prepared as I can be now. Let's see what secrets this Scroll can tell us."
Serana handed the Scroll over to Dexion who seemed almost frantic with happiness. It looked like he was shaking, that is how much he wanted to read the Scroll.
"Now if everyone would please be quiet, I must concentrate." he said and he opened the Scroll.
"I see a vision before me. An image, of a great bow…. I know this weapon! It is Auriels Bow. Now a voice cries out.
Among the Night's Children, a Dread Lord will rise.
In an age of Strife, when Dragons return to the world of Men
Darkness will mingle with Light, and the Night and Day will be as One.
Now the voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort, but wait! There is more here. It seems the Power of the Bow is written on other Scrolls. Yes, I see them now! One contains the Secrets of the Dragons, and the other tells of the potency of Ancient Blood. My vision darkens, and I see no more."
Dexion began to shake and Isran grabbed him before he would fall.
"To know the complete Prophecy, we must have the other two Scrolls. I… I must rest… the reading has made me…. weary."
"Come on old man, you should get some rest." Isran said and he led Dexion away, leaving Serana and Tarrion alone.
"Great." Tarrion said, and Serana looked at him. "We found a Moth Priest, only to find out that we need two more Scrolls. This is starting to look like a wild goose chase."
"Maybe not." Serana said and she sat down next to Tarrion. "I know where we might find one, but we have to find someone else first."
"Who?"
"My Mother."
=End of Chapter=
=End of Arc=
=Authors Notes=
Ooowww snap! We gotta find mommy!
But for real, that wraps it up for this arc. This chapter is long, I know, but it was either that, or have two very short ones. I am also on a roll here, writing an entire chapter in one day. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well do this. This arc is indeed only three chapters long, but I am guessing that the next one will be a bit longer. But we'll get to that when the time comes. For now, I hope you liked it.
Dragon Language Used:
Lok Vah Koor: Sky Spring Summer (from the Clear Skies Shout)
Tiid : Time (from the Slow Time Shout)
Characters:
Lodvar: Guy in Dragon Bridge, Turns out he has an affair with his brother's wife! The dog
Malkus: Vampire found in Forebear's Holdout. No significance here. Just a douche