"I see a vision before me, an image of a great bow. I know this weapon! It is Auriel's Bow! Now a voice whispers, saying "Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise". In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one." It was only Dexion that spoke, nobody dared interrupt the reading.
"The voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort. But wait, there is more here. The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls. Yes, I see them now... One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood." Dexion's face contorted in concentration and his grey brows furrowed as he seemed to struggle, and he was silent for a few moments.
"My vision darkens, and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls." The Moth Priest concluded, carefully rolling up the Elder Scroll as he finished. He took a step forward and suddenly lost balance, grabbing hold of Isran for support.
"I must rest now. The reading has made me weary." Dexion said, and Isran assisted him towards the stairs until the old man told him he was steady enough to walk.
"Rest up, old man." Isran said as Dexion began slowly walking up the stairs. It was only Serana, Isran, and I that remained in the hall now. Serana was biting her lip once again and appeared to be deep in thought, so I did not bother her at first.
"I admit, I'm surprised you found the old Moth Priest as fast as you did," Isran confessed. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble"
"Nothing we couldn't handle." I replied, and noticed Isran's face twitch ever so slightly at the word 'we'.
We arrived at Dragon Bridge at sunset, and I noticed Serana lower her hood as the sun finally stopped troubling her. She shook her head and combed her fingers through her hair. Serana stopped when she noticed me staring.
"Not that I don't appreciate the hood, but it doesn't do wonders for my hair" She said, the trivial problem causing me to laugh, and in effect, for her to slap me lightly to make me stop, but joining with a giggle as she did.
The carriage driver in Riften, after being paid in gold, told us that the Moth Priest was heading for Dragon Bridge. We then hired the carriage driver to take us to Solitude, and from there, we walked to Dragon Bridge.
"We should ask around. Well, you should" Serana said, avoiding eye contact with a guard that walked by. I was about to ask the guardsman when I felt something poking at my leg. I turned around to see young Clinton Lylvieve with a wide grin on his face.
"Mr. Mikhael! It's been so long since I saw you!" He said enthusiastically, hopping in place slightly as he did, causing me to chuckle. The boy was right, his growth by a few inches taller was evidence of how long it was since I was in Dragon Bridge.
Now that I thought of it, the last time I was in the small town was when I wiped out the Penitus Oculatus in their outpost after assassinating the emperor. It was a form of stress relief, and a form of revenge for what they did to the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary. I was clad in the Brotherhood's armor, and was not bothering to hide my affiliation to Sithis. Then I saw the child walk up to me to interrupt my mission of vengeance, and I ended up playing tag with the boy, after hearing of how his only friend was a goat.
"Indeed it has, boy" I ruffled his hair fondly, while Serana silently watched from the side, a small smile on her face. Clinton looked from me to Serana and back, a curious look about him.
"Who's that, sir? Did you find a wife like you said you were trying to when we last met? She's really pretty." The child spoke so quickly, and I felt my jaw drop slightly, not quite knowing how to respond to all that was said.
Ah, I recall that when asked what I was doing in town, I told him I was seeking a wife. He bought the excuse without question that time. And now he thinks Serana is my wife.
I looked at Serana, who held a hand to her mouth to suppress a laugh at my reaction to the boy's question. But at the same time, I could see her blush, despite the darkness shrouding us. I bent down to one knee so I was leveled with Clinton, and didn't have to look down as I spoke.
"That's Serana, Clinton. She's a friend." Clinton eyed me suspiciously in a way that said he didn't believe me. "Now, the two of us would really appreciate it if you could give us a hand" The boy perked up at the idea of being able to assist us.
"Anything, Mr. Mikhael!" Was the enthusiastic reply.
"I'm looking for a Moth Priest. I heard he passed through here." I told him and watched Clinton as he rubbed his chin for a second before replying.
"There was an old man in robes that passed through. He was in a carriage with a few Imperial guards. They went across the bridge. That was only a little while ago, so you should be able to get to them if you hurry." The boy reported.
"Good man, Clinton" I stood up and turned to Serana, who nodded. "We thank you for the help, lad. I'll try to drop by again as soon as I can, okay?"
The young boy grinned and hopped in place once again in excitement. "I look forward to it, sir! What does a Moth Priest do? Is he gonna be the priest that will marry you and Ms. Serana?"
My cheeks heated up and I coughed loudly and took a few steps back, "That's a different type of priest, Clinton. A priest of Mara tends to those matters. I'll tell you what Moth Priests do one day. Now, we must get going. Farewell, child." I quickly ended the conversation before there could be any more embarrassment. The boy gave a sly, almost knowing smile before waving as we departed.
A glance at Serana confirmed she was about the same shade of red as me at this point. She noticed the glance and chuckled awkwardly, "Cute kid."
It was a few minutes of walking before we found the Moth Priest's carriage flipped onto its side, corpses littering the area.
"Oh no" Serana muttered, picking up the pace to approach the carriage. By the looks of it, the vampires wrecked the carriage and made off with the priest. Among the bodies of Imperials, there was one dead vampire. I crouched down to inspect her body. I patted down her pouch and found a note detailing where the priest was being held.
"Forebears' Holdout" I repeated out loud. "Let's go" I moved quickly, moving at a jog to approach the nearby cave. It didn't take us long to find the vampire's hideout. There were splatters of blood along the trail and marking the cave's mouth, and I had to wonder if it belonged to the priest.
There were several mutts guarding the stairs leading to the center of the cave. The center had a great magical barrier surrounding a man, while several vampires guarded the barrier. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those damned gargoyles suddenly snapped to life, as well.
Serana sent several ice spikes out, and effectively took the hellhounds out without a sound. We quietly made our way up the stairs and found ourselves in an area that very much seemed like an arena. The stairs leading to the barrier were blocked by a vampire, who now took note of us.
He leapt from where he stood and landed a good two feet from Serana, and quickly engaged her in combat. Two more pounced from my side, and I narrowly dodged the attacks. In between ducking the slashes and stabs, I successfully drew my crossbow. The first lunged, slashing to the side. I deflected his arm with my free hand and jabbed him hard in the middle of the chest with the crossbow, causing him to stumble back and cough loudly as he gripped his chest. I spun around the face my other attacker and fired a bolt into his eye, quickly putting him down. I quickly returned my crossbow to the sling on my back and drew my blades. With a quick swing, the first vampire was down for the count.
I turned to Serana to find that she was done dealing with her assailant. She motioned towards the stairs and began ascending, with me in tow. We arrived at the top, and were greeted by two vampires. One was a large Orcish vampire, and seemed to be the one in charge. He was probably Malkus, the man who wrote the note I found on the vampire.
Malkus charged me, as his companion went for Serana. Malkus suddenly flung an axe in my direction, and I narrowly avoided it. Twisting my head to the side, the axe grazed the side of my face, drawing a small amount of blood and ripping some facial hair off. Not wishing for the fight to last longer than necessary, I ended it before it got too bad.
"YOL TOOR SHUUUUUUUUL!" I incinerated the vampires before they could take another step closer to us, the white hot flames licking them up and consuming them alive, leaving nothing but ash in its deadly wake. I steadied my breathing as I ascended the stairs, finding some sort of mechanism that controlled the barrier. Serana stayed by the barrier to check on the Moth Priest's condition.
There was some sort of rock of magical property that was next to the mechanism. I tried inserting the rock into the mechanism and was pleased to hear the magical barrier weaken and slowly lose its glow. I went down the stairs to meet Serana and the priest. After a few moments, the barrier went down, and the Moth Priest's eyes snapped open. Something was wrong.
"My master is dead, and his enemies will pay!" The priest was enthralled, and I felt that I should have seen this coming. Perhaps I could simply knock some sense into him. Flames appeared in the palm of his hand and he drew a long katana, similar to that of The Blades. I took several long strides forward to meet the priest head on, sheathing my blades as I did. I licked my lips and inhaled. My throat was still sore from the first shout, and did not have time to recover yet.
"ZUN HAAL VIIK!" The blade was ripped from the Moth Priest's hand, and the flames in his hand were extinguished. I felt my throat burn in protest and knew that I had to give it a good break for a few hours. Before the priest could scramble to his blade or ready his flames, I swung with my fist, delivering a powerful blow to his temple, sending him flat on his back and knocking him unconscious. I looked at Serana, who walked up to the priest and rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"He should wake up in a few hours free of enthrallment." Serana declared. "Good job, by the way. That was one mean punch"
I shaved my beard after the incident when I had the time, leaving a simple but fitting goatee. Serana gave me her approval of the new look. "Who needs a fancy stylist when you have an angry vampire with an axe?" I remembered joking with her.
"Do you believe her now? After hearing the reading?" I asked Isran, hoping he decided to be rational. Isran frowned before replying, stubborn as ever.
"I heard a lot of vague nonsense. You could interpret that a hundred different ways. To me, the only thing that stood out was Auriel's bow. That is a powerful weapon and I sure as Oblivion don't want the vampires to get their hands on it." Isran looked behind me, and at Serana. "I still don't trust her. Keep her on a leash"
I found myself frowning at Isran's words but realized he actually referred to Serana as a "her" and not an "it" for the first time. I don't think he noticed his own choice of words at that moment.
"And I trust it that you and the vampire will handle locating the two Scrolls? I'm handling things in the fort" I gave Isran a brief nod in response, and the Redguard walked off. I watched the man's retreating figure and began wondering if he was slowly opening his stubborn mind. No harsh side comment that she was planning on eating my insides. No note on how his business was far more important than helping Serana and I.
The Dragon Scroll was in Breezehome. I refused to sell it to the College of Winterhold, and felt it was best that it stay in my home, where I could keep a close eye on it. I could take a quick carriage to Whiterun and get the Scroll. That just leaves the Elder Scroll of Blood.
"Do you have a moment to talk?" Serana's voice turned my thoughts away from Isran and the Scrolls.
"Upstairs, in the room they provided for me" I told her, before proceeding up the stairs and to the small room I was assigned to. It was nothing fancy. An end table, a few chairs, and a bed. I took my helmet off, unstrapped my gauntlets, and set them down on the end table. I dropped onto the bed and relaxed myself. Serana rubbed her hands together and looked around the room before taking a seat on the chair next to my bed.
"What's on your mind?" I asked.
"Dexion said we needed two other Elder Scrolls. I think I know where we can start looking" She waited for my reaction. I gave a lazy nod before replying.
"Why didn't you speak up earlier? Isran might have appreciated the news and deemed you more useful than he first thought" I added the last part half-jokingly.
"Half the people here would just as soon kill me as talk to me. I got a warmer welcome from my father, and that's saying something." The reference to her father caused me to frown slightly. I adjusted my position so I wasn't sprawled out on the bed.
"Do you trust Harkon at all?" I asked seriously. Serana sighed as she leaned on the end table with one elbow and placed her head in her hand.
"It's not a question of trust. He's just obsessed with the prophecy. A thousand years hasn't helped him, either." Her brow was furrowed, and the saddened look on her face was unmistakable.
"I don't think he even sees me as his daughter anymore. I'm just..." I placed a comforting hand on her arm. She placed her own hand over mine, and I felt an involuntary jerk in my muscles. Her touch was as cold as the harshest winters of Winterhold. She finished with a sigh, "I'm just a means to an end."
I soothingly squeezed her arm, in an attempt of silent reassurance. She mimicked the motion, and I had to refrain from tensing up or twitching. I'd have to get used to that coldness.
I tried to steer the topic away from Harkon and back to the Scrolls. "So where is this Elder Scroll?"
Serana shifted her seating to look a bit more poised and I took it as my cue to withdraw my hand. Serana was a proud woman, and I had to guess that she was trying to avoid looking weak or fragile. She cleared her throat before speaking up, "We have to find my mother, Valerica. She's sure to know where it is. If we're lucky, she'll actually have it herself."
"The thing is... I'm not totally sure where she went. She told me she'd be somewhere safe. Someplace that my father would never search... The thing is the way she said it. 'someplace he would never search'. It was cryptic, yet she called attention to it." Serana had her thinking face on and I leaned back into the stone wall and began thinking as well.
"Your mother is a cautious one." I noted.
"Yeah, she is. I just can't imagine a place my father wouldn't think of searching. He's had all this time, too..." Serana trailed off into thought, and I tried to put myself in the vile vampire lord's shoes. Where would he think not to look? Well, maybe he was arrogant enough to think that she wouldn't hide right under his nose. Perhaps she was in the castle. It was a mad idea, but you never know with an ancient family of vampires.
"What about right in Castle Volkihar?" I suggested, causing Serana to frown for a second, as if to turn me down. Before she could respond, her eyes widened in realization, and she agreed.
"That almost makes sense! There's a courtyard in the castle. I used to help her tend the garden there. All our potion ingredients came from there, too. She used to say my father couldn't stand it there. It was too peaceful. I think it'll be worth a look." The thought was almost amusing. The idea of a vampire lord being repelled by a beautiful garden.
"They won't let us use the front door, though" When I said this, I was hoping she already had something in mind, which she did.
"True. But I know a way we can get into the courtyard without arousing suspicion. There's an unused inlet on the northern side of the island. The previous owners used it to bring supplies into the castle. An old escape tunnel from the castle exists there. That's our way in." Serana finished, awaiting my reply.
"Let's get going in an hour or two. Wait for sunset, then we get a move on." My reply seemed to cause Serana to deflate somewhat, as if she was expecting us to leave immediately. "Come on, lighten up. I'm doing this for your sake. The hood makes it bearable, but I know travelling during the day is still taxing for you. And besides... I don't know about you, but I could use a breather." I folded my arms behind my head and leaned further into the wall.
"Sorry, I just..." Serana appeared to try and relax herself before continuing, "I can't wait to see the courtyard again. It was so beautiful. I bet you'll like it too."
I recalled that Serana still hasn't told me much about her mother, and my curiosity got me to ask again. "Were you and Valerica close?"
"Before my father became obsessed prophecy, mother and I spent quite a bit of time together. She was very fond of that garden I mentioned. She taught me a lot about cultivating quality reagents. We got along like the best of friends. I shared everything with her." Serana had a faraway look in her eyes and I could see her tighten her grip on the end table.
"Then it all changed" I added quietly. Serana gave me a sad smile before continuing.
"It was so sudden. One day it was like we were a normal family, and then the next I didn't know who they were. Some days I'd try to visit her in the garden but she'd just shoo me away, saying she was much too busy... She's got to have been up to something in that garden. I'm hoping it'll lead us to her whereabouts"
"I'm sure it will. You never know, maybe we'll get lucky" I smiled in reassurance. "Now get some rest. We have a few hours before we get moving" With that, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax.
A/N: Hey guys, just a short-ish chapter here today, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Another big thank you to everyone who takes their time to read my little piece of work here.
If it's not too much to ask, I'd really appreciate more reviews and constructive criticism. It helps me improve the writing and encourages me to increase my work output. I'd really love some feedback. Now I hope you stay tuned for the next chapter, which will be set in Valerica's study. Enjoy the rest of your day, folks. Cheers!