Chapter 22. Third person now for the rest of the story, too much going on in these chapters and writing from just one character's perspective is too constricting when you want to try and get a sense of scale, after all the Dawnguard are preparing a full frontal assault on a heavily fortified and defended castle. Been throwing around a couple of ideas on how to end this story, think I've settled on one but still yet to write it properly only have a few drafts at the minute. First thought was maybe a happy ending but life doesn't have happy endings.
Chapter XXII
End of the Road
The convoy approaches ice water jetty in the early morning, the sun just starting to crest the horizon as the shoreline comes into view. Serana and Vannius sit in the back of one of the wagons, underneath the tarp and as far back in the shadows as they can get. Vannius has his eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest as his head rests against the wall of the wagon. Serana stares out of the back at the wagon behind theirs and some of the riders next to it, the soldiers from the Rift and the eight more from Falkreath. Vannius was right about Falkreath she thinks bitterly, the young Jarl there has no sense of duty and sent a mixture of the youngest and least experienced guards he had. Young men, most of them still boys really barely fifteen years old, the oldest of them almost pushing nineteen. Most of them will probably never make it back, they'll just die on that island.
Vannius grunts in his sleep, flinching slightly as his fist clenches and his arm tenses harshly. She watches him as he slowly starts to relax slightly, he does it every time he sleeps she thinks. She rests her hand on his shoulder, squeezing slightly to try and other him some small amount of comfort, his armour is off pushed off to the side underneath one of the benches his sword belt resting next to it. She followed his lead and took off what little armour she has along with her boots, after the attacks in the Rift the journey has been mostly quiet, the plains around Whiterun being the worst but the bandits that tend to attack trade convoys gave them a wide birth, leaving armed convoys well enough alone. They have no way of knowing how many men Harkon has only that his forces more then likely outnumber the dawnguard, Celann broke off from the convoy two days ago to ride for Solitude to get help from the Legion garrisoned there or from High King Torygg his army is the second biggest in Skyrim. Vannius flinches again, kicking his leg out as he sits upright as his hand goes straight to his waist, grabbing for the sword that isn't there. His eyes shoot open and he looks around quickly before his eyes come to a stop on Serana, he looks more tired after he sleeps then he does before he tries. She stares at him, her eyebrows furrowing as she wonders which memories torture him at night but she doesn't want to push him for an answer. She knows he's lost people in the past.
The convoy comes to an abrupt stop, the weapons and other equipment rattling loudly against the sides of the wagons. Serana leans back slightly as Vannius sits up properly. "Ready the boats!" Isran shouts from somewhere in the convoy. There's some more shouting and a loud scraping as they get to work unloading the boats. "Get the oars ready!" He orders as the dawnguard rush around readying the equipment.
Vannius pulls his sword belt on and turns to look at her, he fastens to the belt around his waist leaving his armour under the bench. "Wait here." He mumbles as he climbs out of the back of wagon and stepping into the sunlight. The bitterly cold air hits him straight away as he looks around the convoy of wagons and horses. Isran stands off to the side watching as the dawnguard load up the rowboats and sort out their arms and armour, he turns to face Vannius as he walks over to him. "How many are we?" He asks the Redguard as he comes to a stop next to him.
Isran grunts something under his breath before he turns back to watch the dawnguard work. "Not enough." He answers grimly as he rests his hand on the arming sword at his waist. "Durak rode for Dragonbridge to hire mercenaries." He sighs heavily. "Hopefully we can persuade some of them to fight with us." Vannius nods slowly and rests his hand on the hilt of his long sword and looks off towards the imposing castle in the distance. "They'll be ready for us and they have more then one advantage." He turns to look at castle Volkihar as well. "My men aren't soldiers and most of the Jarl's men have only ever fought in the training yard." He mutters turning back to stare at the dawnguard. "Our last chance is the legion." He grumbles turning back to Vannius. "Real soldiers from a real army."
Vannius doesn't bother to tell him that if Harkon doesn't bother to meet them in open battle then they've already lost. They've no battering ram to break down the castle gates and the don't have the men for a siege, the walls are too high to shoot over or climb and the dawnguard doesn't have the resources to set up supply lines. They'd starve to death on that island while the castle sits there and mocks them, or freeze to death in the bitter cold. They need the legion as much as he'd hate to admit it, they have experienced battle commanders who know how to attack a castle, how to set up a supply line and how to turn men into into soldiers. This battle won't be a battle, it'll be a slaughter of a stalemate.
Vannius turns away from the castle and Isran and starts to head back towards the wagon, he's thankful for the tarp making the wagon easy to spot in the large convoy of nearly identical carriages. He hangs his head slightly, hand going up to rub the bridge of his nose, there's a lot of shouts from around him as he looks back up to the now noticeably darker day. He quickly looks up towards the sun, a shadow is creeping over it, dark red, almost black. "Work quicker!" Isran shouts from off to his side. "I want these boats in the water now!" He orders as he storms over to the tarp covered wagon.
Vannius reacts quickly as he follows him closely, hand on the hilt of his sword. "What are you doing?" He demands Isran as he reaches out and grabs the other man's arm, forcing him to stop and turn to face him. The Redguard glares at the other man's hand before his glare travels up to meet Vannius' eyes.
"If I drag it out and it doesn't burn." He snarls, putting emphasis on the word it as he pulls his arm away roughly. "Then we know what just happened." He spits at him, he nods to a couple of men behind Vannius as they move forward and grab him by the arms and pull him back as the Isran climbs into the wagon. She tries to fight him off as he grabs her and throws her out of the wagon and onto the frost covered ground. She lands hard on her hands and knees, the still harsh daylight shinning down on her as she flinches back out of instinct and tries to climb back under the tarp. Isran kicks her hard in the shoulder, throwing her back down as he climbs back out. She leans back on her hands as she looks up at the sky and then back down at herself. Isran looks around at the dawnguard who have stopped what they're doing to watch, the two holding Vannius' arms let go as he stumbles forward towards Isran, hand gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles go white. Isran glances at him before he looks back down at Serana. "It's alive." He mutters under his breath. "We no longer have the benefit of the sun." He mumbles, looking away from her and up at the sky. He starts to walk off. "Back to work!" He orders as he walks over to shoreline.
Vannius walks over to her and helps her up as she stares up at the sun, she looks around at the blue sky, darker then it normally would be but still lighter then it is at night. Still a beautiful shade of blue. She looks at Vannius, the man next to her who she's never seen in the daylight, the man she's only ever seen in the dark. His skin looks less pale she thinks, more colour to it she can also see his faint scars more clearly. His eyes are less cold and more forgiving. She turns away from him and looks around at the grass and the trees, paler in the snow covered landscape but so much brighter under the sun. She'd almost forgotten how beautiful the world was when it wasn't shrouded in darkness, how beautiful it could be if they stop her father. She looks down at her hands, she had forgotten the feel of the sun on her skin. She smiles slightly despite herself, she wishes it could be like this always, it could be she thinks in the back of her mind. But it never will be. If Harkon wins then the world will never look like this again, it'll fall to darkness and Harkon will cover it in blood.
"You alright?" Vannius asks her as he holds her arm gently. She turns to look at him, his anger is plain to see she could practically taste the fury in his veins as he stared at Isran, that quiet anger that comes with no warning. She nods slightly and climbs back into the wagon, pulling her boots back on as Vannius watches. "Is it too late?" He asks her as he leans against the wagon, he leans in and grabs his armour. "To stop that." He mutters looking up at the sky.
Serana sits down on the bench, picks up the quiver of sunhallowed arrows. "They should work." She answers looking at him. He starts to pull his armour on. She gets back out of the wagon and they start to walk over to the shore. Vannius walks round to the front of one of the rowboats and takes a hold of it as Serana comes to a stop behind him. They start to push as the tide comes in slightly, the rest of the dawnguard around them doing the same as they prepare their assault on the island. Hopefully they work she thinks to herself as some of the men behind her start rowing. Spears laying on the floor of the boat and shields at the ready.
"Shields up!" Someone shouts as someone on the island shouts out loose. The dawnguard and soldiers quickly raise their shields as Vannius pulls Serana down for cover. The arrows rain around them, clattering into the shields and digging into the boats, a few of the men who couldn't get their shields up in time slump over after being hit by arrows. Another volley quickly follows the first as Vannius reaches back for a crossbow. "Knock!" One of the dawnguard shouts out. "Draw!" Vannius moves back around, aiming with the crossbow, the boats are reaching the shallows near the island as some of Harkon's men move forward to meet them. "Loose!" The air around them fills with the dull thwacks and the more metallic clunks of the bows and crossbows. He takes aim with his crossbow and shoots at the nearest of the defenders, the bolt flies forward and hits him in the thigh, he stumbles forward in the knee high water.
"Get ready to charge!" Isran shouts from one of the other boats, readying his warhammer as the dawnguard prepare their shields and spears. Vannius jumps off from the front of the boat and charges forward to meet the thrall in the water, he goes in for a over head strike but Vannius meets the blade with his own, drops the blade and slides it forward into the thrall's armpit, slicing deeply through the muscle and making his sword arm more or less useless. Another tries to attack from his left, shield held ready as he comes in close. Vannius kicks it as hard as he can, making the man fall backwards into the water, he's just about the swing his sword down into the attacker when a bolt of Serana's lightning hit the thrall in the side of the head, the heat so intense that his eye bursts in its socket. Vannius turns back to the first thrall he hold his sword in his left hand, raises up to strike him but Vannius grabs his arm and slides his sword along his throat.
The main dawnguard force and the few hold soldiers rush the beach to attack Harkon's forces. Vannius runs towards the beach with Serana right behind him. "Knock!" The most senior of the soldiers shouts out. "Draw!" One of Harkon's archers turns to face Vannius and Serana, shooting at them both, Vannius ducks to the side to avoid the arrow as Serana quickly sends a few ice spears towards him and the other archers around him. "Loose!" The arrows rain down on the thralls and vampires numbers, cutting a good portion of them down. The two forces quickly meet in close quarters, the deafening clash of steel on steel filling the air. Isran quickly slams his warhammer down into another man's shield, pulling it back and repeating the movement until the thrall falls to the ground, his arm broken. Vannius moves around the back of the dawnguard as they charge straight into the defensive line. He grabs the closest of the thralls by the shoulder, pulling him forward into the dawnguard line as they thrust forward with their spears. Arrows clatter uselessly against the dawnguard's shields, someone swings an axe at him but he manages to block the attack with his vambrace, the blade running along the leather covered steel as he thrusts his sword at the attacker.
They manage to push through, falling to the vampire's weapons as they cut a hole in the defence. Serana uses her lightning on them, the arching bolts burning into them and dropping them to the ground as Vannius tries to run through. A spear is pushed towards him, the blade cutting into the skin right above his right eyebrow, he falls onto his back as he tries to retreat. "Push!" Isran orders at the top of his lungs as he charges straight into them, the dawnguard rallying behind him. Serana ducks down as the battle rages on around her. She never knew it'd be like this, she has no idea who's winning the fight only that a lot of people are dying. She looks around at the blood covered mud as she tries to find Vannius in the massive group of people. "Push!" He shouts out again, killing another of the thralls with a hard swing to the top of his head, smashing the top of the skull inwards and shattering the neck. She tries to follow them as they push through towards the portcullis putting her dagger away and quickly grabbing an arming sword from the ground. One of them swings a mace at her and she manages to parry the strike with the arming sword, swinging the blade round and and slashing it along the mans throat. She moves around him as she falls to his knees, she quickly sends a few ice spears at another of the thralls as he charges straight at her, he falls forward as one of them stabs straight into his stomach he falls towards her and she slams the pommel of her sword into the top of his head.
Vannius lays on his back, half on top of another dead man as he uses the back of his hand to wipe some of the blood out of his eye. Holding his sword in his left hand, blood dripping down the blade. the fighting carries on around him as he tries to get back to his feet, another body slumping backwards into him as he gets back to his feet. Someone swings a mace down at him and he only just manages to block the strike, left hand holding the blade of his sword as he lifts it up. The man pushes the mace down into him as he keeps his sword up to hold it back, he reaches for his belt and pulls out his dagger, stabbing it up into the thralls neck as he pushes back against the mace. He looses his dagger as the man falls backwards into the mess of bodies on the ground. He retreats back slightly, sword held loosely as he looks around to try and get an idea of the battle. "Loose!" Someone shouts from the castle, the arrows rain down as the dawnguard finally break through and charge the portcullis. He parries a strike and swings his sword straight into the man's leg, cutting open the side of his knee. "Retreat!" He orders again, Harkon's remaining forces quickly falling to the dawnguard as they take up positions around the castle.
Vannius moves forward as they reach the portcullis, lowered and making it impossible to get in. Isran stands in front of it, his warhammer held lowly as he stares at the steel grating. He starts to walk back towards the beach, looking around at what's left of his forces. "Prepare to lay siege!" He orders them as he reaches the beach, he turns to stare at the castle. "Set up camp!" He orders them as he sits on one of the boats pulling his water skin out and taking a long drink. Vannius walks towards him, hand resting on his now sheathed sword. "We don't have anywhere near enough men for a siege." He mutters.
Vannius looks around at the dawnguard as they "prepare" for a siege and set up a camp. "Your army isn't an army." He tells the redguard. "By the looks of it you just lost a quarter of your forces, nearly half." He sits down next to him, looking around for Serana. Blood drips down his face from the cut above his eye, he wipes some of it away with the back of his hand as he looks around for a rag. "You just threw everything you have at them and it isn't enough." He points at the castle. "We have no idea how many are in there."
Isran sighs as he leans forward. "The empire will send help." He grumbles, Vannius looks round at him as he holds a rag up to his eye, pressing down to try and stop the bleeding. "They can't ignore that." He says pointing up at the sun. There's no limit to what the empire can ignore, he thinks bitterly. An entire army posed to invade and the empire barely acknowledged them until they'd already attacked. "We'll meet in the command tent later." Isran tells him as he gets up to arrange supply lines and transports.
Vannius lets his head drop and stares at his boots, he closes his eyes, hand finding the hilt of his sword and tapping his thumb against the pommel. "I've never fought in a battle before." He looks up at Serana as she stands over him, grime and blood on her face, arming sword held lazily in one hand. She looks around at the bodies that lay still on the beach, covered in mud and blood as a light rain falls on them. "I never really imagined what it would be like." She says, staring at the dawnguard as they search the bodies for any survivors, taking anything useful or valuable from them as they go. "If I did it would never have been that." She mutters. "The stories were never like that."
"That's just what they are." He grumbles, she looks at him as he looks up at her. "Stories that they tell young boys so they'll be happy to march with the rest of them." He gestures to the pile of bodies. "That's the glory of war." He drops his arm. Battles have never been how they are in the stories, heroes riding into battle on horseback to kill tyrants and free good men. Heroes don't exist and the ones that do end up dead, feathered with arrows or a sword in the gut it doesn't matter, its the tyrants who survive. Skyrim is proof enough of that, the Jarls sit in their castles and longhouses feasting and entertaining nobles as their people starve to death and take up steel against the empire. He stands up hand going to the hilt of his sword. "How many men do you reckon Harkon has?"
They start to walk along the beach, towards the broken tower. "A lot more then we've seen." She answers him, tucking the arming sword into her belt. "My father always had a standing army of around five hundred in case the island was attacked." She clarifies for him, she rings her hands slightly as she looks towards the castle. "However he knew we were coming." She says quietly.
"So he has more men." Vannius finishes as they reach the broken tower, he leans against the stones and turns to face them. He looks hard at the portcullis. "Doesn't matter." He grumbles. "Need to get in first." He looks at her as she nods slowly, leaning against the tower next to him.
He doesn't know how long they stand there in silence, he moves to get his fur lined cloak after a while returning to take up his self assigned vigil at the tower. The rain still falls lightly on top of them. The dawnguard are still stealing from of the bodies as they search for any survivors, putting a few of them out of their misery as they go. Not enough supplies to treat a large portion of the wounded, there's screams from one of the tents as a man's leg is amputated. Serana looks down at her feet, closing her eyes as the man screams and cries out in agony. Never fought in a battle before, the aftermath is often just as bad. A horn blows loudly from the top of the tower, Vannius and Serana both turn to look up as the horn sounds. "Ships!" The lookout shouts. "Ships on the horizon!" Vannius walks around to look as the ships approach the island, He looks hard at them, the wind pulling hard at his cloak as he stands on the shore. "They're flying Imperial colours!" He shouts out again.
Vannius stares at the ships, so the Empire answered their call.
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