Allies

"So what's the plan?" Serana asked.

"We talk to people in town," Desmond said. "Innkeepers and such. Then we talk to the carriage driver, and from there we go either to Winterhold or to wherever they say."

"Why not just start at Winterhold?" Serana asked. "That seems easier."

"I'm not going to Winterhold if I can help it," Desmond said.

"Why?"

"I don't need to justify myself to you."

Serana caught up with him at the gates to Riften, glowering at him. "You an ex-student? Blow something up?"

"Hardly."

"What've you got against magic?"

"Nothing!" he snapped, shouldering his way through the doors.

"So let's go to Winterhold."

Desmond whipped around to face her, glaring and angry. "If I have to deal with your Elder Scroll, we're doing it my way. You can go to Winterhold on your own if you want, enjoy the walk th—"

Serana cut him off with a glare. "Fine."

Desmond headed straight for the Bee and Barb, looking for Keerava. Serana followed him in, skulking behind him. A priest from the Temple of Mara was speaking to the tavern at large while Talen-Jei tried to toss him out. People milling around did not seem to care what Maramal had to say, too busy with their food and drink to listen.

"Afternoon, Keerava." Desmond reached the counter, knocking on the solid wood surface. "How are you?"

"Looking for a place to stay?" Keerava looked up from where she was polishing glasses and goblets. "What can I get you?"

"You heard anything about a Moth Priest passing through?"

Keerava shook her head, returning to her cleaning. "Nah. I don't think so."

Desmond blinked. "That was... thanks."

"Why did you think Riften would know anything?" Serana asked him as they wove back through the crowded room to the door. "That didn't help at all."

"Riften's one of the first cities people run into when they come up from Cyrodiil," Desmond told her. "That or Falkreath. We could try there next."

"We could try Winterhold," Serana grumbled, following him into the streets.

"Look, Winterhold and I aren't exactly on the best of terms," he said, avoiding a deviously grinning Brynjolf and yanking Serana towards the gates of Riften. "It's a long story."

Serana snickered. "Right."

"What?" he demanded.

"You're like... no. Never mind, forget it." She shook her head, laughing at whatever joke she refused to share.

Desmond scowled at her, passing by the stables and approaching the man in charge of the carriage. "Just... shut up. This is gonna be long trip, wherever we end up going."

"Need a ride?" Sigaar held the reins of the carriage in hand, hoisting himself up into the driver's seat. "Where do you want to go?"

"You seen a Moth Priest?" Desmond asked, looking up at him and shielding his eyes from the midday sun.

"That's one of them Imperial scholars, right?" Sigaar asked. "Old man with a grey robe?"

"Sounds about right. You seen one?"

Sigaar shrugged. "Might be that I have, but I can't say for sure. I got enough troubles on my mind just trying to scrape by out here."

"Don't we all." Desmond reached in his bag, pulling out a handful of gold. "Will this ease your mind?"

Sigaar's face lit up. "Ah. Yes. I remember your Moth Priest now," he said. "Wanted me to take him out to Dragon Bridge, but I told him it ain't one of my stops."

"Which answers my next question." Desmond passed the driver the handful of gold, thinking.

"Where's Dragon Bridge?" Serana asked. Desmond yanked his map out of his bag.

"It's... near Solitude," he said. "We can hitch a ride there and walk the rest of the way, it'd be better than just walking from here. The sooner we get to him, the sooner we can stop him from running into someone unfriendly."

"What do you say?" Serana asked the carriage driver. "Two for Solitude?"

"Climb in back and we'll be off."

"What do you know about Elder Scrolls?" Desmond asked.

Serana edged back in her seat, keeping her Scroll well behind her and out of his reach. "I mean... as much as anyone," she said. "Not a lot. You'd figure a couple hundred years locked away with one would have given me some insight, but no. Turns out you don't learn much from just sleeping with something."

Desmond raised an eyebrow. "Right. Let's just... let's find the Moth Priest."

"I guess."

They fell silent for a moment, the wheels of the carriage kicking up gravel as they rolled along towards the east. Desmond fell back into his spellbook, throwing up a little ball of candlelight to read by.

"So explain something to me," Serana said.

"Hm?" Desmond looked up from his book. "What?"

"How did you end up doing all the legwork for the Dawnguard? You're, like, twelve."

"I'm eighteen."

"Isran is three times your age, half the people in that fort could have kids as old as you. Why are you doing all the work?"

Desmond shrugged. "I want to."

"Why? Shouldn't you be practicing on dummies or something?"

"Shouldn't you be snoozing in a coffin?" he spat at her.

"Rude."

"You're rude."

"Very mature."

"Shut up." Desmond retreated further into his spellbook for a moment, then slammed it shut, his candlelight fading. "You know what, no, you explain something to me."

"What?"

"Why in Oblivion are you helping us if your father is the one with the plan?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be helping your own?"

"What are you saying?" she demanded. "That it's wrong for me to kill other vampires, but it's totally fine if you do it?"

"Wha—"

"You kill other humans, don't you?" Serana shot at him.

"Well... yeah, but—"

"But nothing." She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "Vampires were mortals first, you know. Just because we share bloodthirst doesn't mean we're all alike. I'm proving my allegiance here, aren't I?"

Desmond threw up another ball of light, rubbing his eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

"Shouldn't you sleep?" Serana asked as he flipped open his book again.

"Sleep is for the weak," Desmond mumbled, finding his place again.

The road west was beginning to lighten as Desmond and Serana headed west over the Dragon Bridge, where a small child had pointed them. Serana pulled her hood lower over her face, shielding her skin against the sun.

"Need a break?" Desmond asked.

"I'm fine." Serana shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen worse sun than this."

Desmond shrugged as well, unwilling to press the subject once he saw an overturned carriage. He broke into a run, passing by two dead bodies and the still-bleeding body of a dead horse.

"Someone beat us to it." Serana surveyed the damage, ransacking the carriage and the pockets of one of the dead men. Desmond rifled through the other, finding a note.

"Who's Malkus?"

She looked over his shoulder at the note. "Son of a... Forebear's Holdout, huh?"

Desmond stood up, pocketing the note. "You know where that is?"

Serana shook her head. "But it's a safe bet that we can follow the blood."

Desmond loaded his crossbow and followed Serana, looking back over his shoulder at the carriage. That had been recent, they couldn't be far.

"In here," Serana said, looking around the mouth of a cave. "I'd be ready for anything."

"Expect the worst, I know." Desmond led the way inside, scanning the stone and water within.

Bloody bones were piled around a bonfire, a pair of smoking black dogs patrolling near the entrance of the cave. He sniped them off as quickly as he could, alerting a nearby vampire to their arrival. Serana fired off a spear of ice, overbalancing the vampire into the waterfall.

"Listen." Desmond strained his ears, trying to hear over the crashing water. Someone was speaking, and someone was responding, but it was impossible to hear clearly.

"Get closer. That's him," Serana whispered.

They crept up the stone steps, peeking through the collapsed stone wall and seeing a whirling mass of magic, surrounding a vampire and, sure enough, an old man in a grey robe.

"Hit him!" Serana shouted, sprinting forward while Desmond was still aiming.

"DAMN IT, SERA—"

Malkus came after them, shouting and throwing red sparks at them. Desmond fired, burying a bolt in Malkus's shin. Serana pitched a spear of ice, pinning Malkus against the wall. The vampire slid down to lay on the floor, and did not get up again.

"How do we make this stop?" Desmond shouted over the wind and noise the whirling magic produced.

Serana dug through Malkus's pockets and tossed him a heavy stone teardrop, glowing with runes. Desmond stared at it, confused. How was this going to help them get the priest out of there?

"What in Oblivion do I—"

"Up there!"

"Wha—"

"The glowing thing!" she yelled. "Put it in the glowing stone!"

Desmond sprinted up the stairs towards a similarly glowing stone structure. Far be it from him to figure out how precisely it worked, leave that to someone who wondered or cared. He shoved the teardrop stone into a hole in the top, the wind around them slowing as the magic vanished. The Moth Priest was hunched over on the ground, shaking.

Serana held out a hand to him. "Hey. We're not going to hurt you—"

"I serve my master's will. But my master is dead and his enemies will pay!"

The priest shot to his feet, flames in his hands. Serana staggered backwards, retaliating with magic of her own. Desmond took a shot from the stone steps, piercing the priest cleanly through the shoulder.

"Don't kill him!" Serana shouted, forcing the priest to his knees with a solid stream of ice.

"Wait! Stop, stop!"

Desmond came running down the steps, the priest falling back to sit against the stone walls.

"I yield," he said, panting. "That wasn't me you were fighting. I could see through my eyes, but I could not control my actions."

"I had a feeling," Serana said, watching Desmond hit the ground beside the priest and dig in his bag for potions.

"Thank you for breaking that foul vampire's hold over me," said the priest, gladly accepting what Desmond gave him and drinking it down.

"Not a bother. Are you all right?" Desmond asked, carefully pulling the bolt from the priest's shoulder. The priest yelled, but the wound did not bleed.

"I, I'm quite all right, thank you," the priest choked out, taking another potion. "Dexion Evicus is my name. I'm a Moth Priest of the White-Gold Tower. These vampires claimed they had some purpose in store for me, but they wouldn't say what." He swallowed another mouthful of bitter potion, pulling a face as he did. "Probably hoping to ransom me, the fools," he spat.

"No. I know why they needed you," Desmond said. "We need you for the same thing."

"You do? All right then, enough mysteries."

"We are the Dawnguard, and we need you to read an Elder Scroll," Desmond told him.

"You have an Elder Scroll?" Dexion asked. Serana turned a bit to the side, showing him the Scroll. "Remarkable. If my knowledge of history serves me, I recall that the Dawnguard was an ancient order of vampire hunters?"

Desmond nodded. "That's us."

"Well, excellent." Dexion shoved himself to his feet, wobbling a bit and steadying himself against the wall. "I will be happy to assist you with your Elder Scroll. Just tell me where I need to go."

"Fort Dawnguard, near Stendarr's Beacon," Serana said.

"We can take you there, we're heading back ourselves," Desmond added.

"I would much appreciate that. We should hurry on the way before more of those vampires turn up."

Desmond offered the old man his arm to support him out of the cave. "The sooner we get to Fort Dawnguard, the safer you'll be."

Desmond had woken up just as the carriage reached Riften. He had convinced himself that a nap was in order, and had somehow managed to sleep through the whole trip. On the walk up to the fort, he surreptitiously turned his head side to side. To his relief, he felt no bites or other injuries.

"I didn't eat you," Serana said quietly. "Promise."

"Much appreciated," he said, feeling slightly guilty. "Let's get Dexion inside."

Isran stood waiting in the middle of the entry hall, looking more shocked than impressed as Dexion walked in with them.

"I'm surprised you could find a Moth Priest so quickly," he said.

"Just gotta know who to ask," Desmond said, leaving his bow and bag on a crate by the door. He stretched, still not entirely awake. "Everything all right here?"

"Nothing's changed. Vampires still attacking all over Skyrim. This had better be worth it," Isran warned him quietly.

"If it's not, believe me, I'm gonna be upset, too. But at least the vampires don't have a Moth Priest." Desmond raised his voice as Serana passed Dexion the Elder Scroll. "Is everything set?"

"Oh, most certainly!" Dexion held the Elder Scroll, an almost childish excitement on his face as he looked it over. "Let's find out what secrets the Scroll can tell. Now, if everyone will please be quiet..."

Desmond sat down on a crate in the hall, Serana stepping back to stand beside him to watch Dexion unfurl the Scroll. Other members of the Dawnguard lingered in the halls to listen, some looking down from the balcony above as Dexion began to speak.

"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. 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."

Desmond did his best to suppress a heavy sigh. Other Scrolls? He knew of only one. How many others were there?

"Yes, I see them now... one contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood. My vision darkens, and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two Scrolls."

Dexion rolled the Scroll back up, teetering a bit on his feet. Isran stepped forward, a guiding hand out to Dexion to latch on to.

"I must rest now. The reading has made me weary," Dexion mumbled.

"Come on, old man. You should get some rest," said Isran, an unfamiliar kindness in his voice.

The two of them left the hall, Isran guiding Dexion to the sleeping quarters. Desmond hopped off his crate, not entirely pleased with what he'd heard. The silence in Fort Dawnguard gradually gave way to the low hum of chatter all around as everyone returned to their own business.

"Hey." Serana turned to him, her brow furrowed. "Do you have a moment to talk?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Dexion said we needed two other Elder Scrolls. I think I know where we can start looking."

Desmond blinked. "Ok? Why didn't you say it when everyone was around, we could all have brainstormed."

"Half the people in your little crew would just as soon kill me as talk to me. That doesn't exactly make me want to open up." She shrugged. "I got a warmer welcome from my father, and that's saying something."

Desmond sighed, nodding. "Fair. What is it with you two?"

"Ever since he decided to make that prophecy his calling, we've kind of drifted apart. I don't even think he sees me as his daughter anymore." She let her hands fall to her sides. "I'm just a means to an end."

He scowled. "So let's keep him from the end. Where's your next Elder Scroll?"

"We need to find my mother, Valerica. She'll definitely know where it is, and if we're lucky, she actually has it herself."

Desmond looked around the hall. Sorine and Gunmar passed through the hallway, talking and arguing. "I thought you said you didn't know where she went?" he asked quietly.

"The last time I saw her, she said that she'd go somewhere safe, somewhere my father would never search. Other than that, she wouldn't tell me anything," Serana said.

"That doesn't—"

"But the way she said it, someplace he would never search... It was cryptic, yet she called attention to it."

"It sounds like she was being cautious, too."

She shrugged again. "Maybe. What I can't figure out is why she said it that way. Besides, I can't imagine a single place my father would avoid looking, and he's had all this time, too."

Desmond ran a hand through his hair, scrunching up his face. "It does sound like he's had an awful lot of time to scour every inch of Skyrim."

"Any ideas?"

"Sealed away like you, maybe? I mean, he did leave you there for hundreds of years, too," he pointed out.

Serana shook her head. "I don't think so. She said she wanted to stay awake in case the situation was resolved. It had to be one of us, and, well... she's so much more powerful than I am. It just made more sense for her to be out here."

"Maybe she's in Castle Volkihar," he threw out, half-serious. "I mean, that place is HUGE."

There was a pause. Serana frowned. "Wait, that almost makes sense."

"What? I was kidding."

"Well, I'm not. There's a courtyard in the castle. I used to help her tend a garden there," Serana said, gaining steam. "All of the ingredients for our potions came from there. She used to say my father couldn't stand the place. Too... peaceful."

At this, Desmond laughed. "I wouldn't put it past him to never sniff a flower." Serana laughed in kind. "But isn't that risky, staying in the castle?" he asked.

"Oh, absolutely. But my mother's not a coward. That is... I don't think we'll actually trip over her there," she clarified, "but it's worth a look."

Desmond crossed his arms, thinking of what it would take to return to Castle Volkihar. Of everywhere in Skyrim, the castle full to bursting of vampires was definitely the last place he'd wanted to go back to. "They're not going to let us use the front door," he said. "Not me, at least."

"True. But I know a way we can get to the courtyard without arousing suspicion. There's an unused inlet on the northern side of the island that was used by the previous owners to bring supplies into the castle," Serana told him. "An old escape tunnel from in the castle exits there. I think that's our way in."

"Sure. We go in, we get the Scroll, and then we can end this."

"But we'll still be one Scroll short," she pointed out. "We can't end it until we have both."

"Don't worry," Desmond said, picking up his bag and hanging his crossbow on his back again.

"Don't—? Look, I think we got pretty lucky with Dexion," Serana said. "Finding another Elder Scroll isn't going to be so easy."

"Trust me—"

"Do you have a moment?" Sorine had approached them while they were talking.

"Huh? Yeah, what's up?"

"I saw you were heading out, and I wanted to catch you," Sorine said, wringing her hands. "Gunmar and I have been talking, and well, we're slightly worried."

"Aren't we all."

"We both realized that if Isran's even allowed us in here, he must be really concerned. And if he's that concerned, the situation must be pretty bad." Sorine shifted her weight between her feet, looking apologetic. "Does that make sense?"

Desmond nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I'm worried too, we're up against some pretty bad stuff."

"Yes," Sorine said, nodding emphatically. "These vampires are a new threat, and a truly deadly one. Gunmar and I agree that we're going to need Florentius to help."

"Who?"

"Gunmar and I have a lot of work to do here, so we were hoping that maybe you could track him down?" Sorine asked, biting her lip.

"Who's Florentius?" Desmond asked.

"He's a priest of Arkay... well, he was," Sorine corrected quickly. "It's... it's complicated. He's a little eccentric, but we can trust him, and we could definitely use his skills."

Desmond cast a glance at Serana, who shook her head. "Where do I find him?" Desmond asked, turning back to Sorine as Serana scoffed at him.

"Well, that's the thing. We don't know where he is," Sorine admitted. "Haven't seen him in years. I think he had regular contact with the Vigilants, and I know Isran kept track of them. So... maybe you can ask Isran if he knows anything? Just keep in mind that... well, that he might not like the idea."

Serana nudged him with the toe of her boots. "Why would he not like the idea?" Desmond asked, sliding his foot back to throw her off.

"The two of them just never got along. That's why Isran didn't have you go look for him when he sent you after us."

Serana full-on kicked him. Desmond dug his elbow into her side. "So you're sending me to talk to Isran because he doesn't completely hate me yet, is that it?"

Sorine put her hands together. "Please? Just try. I think Florentius could really help us."

Desmond's shoulders drooped. "Fine."

"Desmond!" Serana snapped. "We have better things to do!"

"Let's be honest," Desmond said. "Finding your Scroll might well take a while—"

"Let's not forget about the entire third Scroll that we have to find—"

"That one's easy—"

"Since when is finding Elder Scrolls easy?" she demanded. Sorine awkwardly backed out of the conversation, leaving them to bicker as Desmond went to find Isran.

"It's gonna be fine, remember how I said I had a friend who'd read one?"

"He still has it?" Serana asked.

"Well... no, but—"

"Then how does that help us?"

"He'll know where it is!" Desmond said. "If anyone will, it'll be him. Relax, the last one'll be easy."

"It's a bad sign when you have to tell me to relax," Serana spat.

"Sera, we can do this," Desmond said, exasperated. "Besides, we're going to Castle Volkihar. That's across the country, everything in between is on the way there. We can do Sorine's thing, get Martin's Scroll, then hop up to the courtyard and find your mother." He shrugged, pushing open a door. "Easy."

"Easy—!"

"What do you need?" Isran asked, eyeing Serana suspiciously. She stayed outside the room as Desmond spoke to him.

"You heard the Scroll reading," Desmond said. "What do you think now?"

"What do I think? I think I heard a lot of vague nonsense," Isran said pointedly. "You could interpret that a hundred different ways. Only thing that stood out to me was Auriel's Bow. That's a powerful weapon, and I sure as Oblivion don't want the vampires to get a hold of it."

"Yeah. Agreed."

"The Moth Priest can stay for now," Isran said. "As for the vampire..." He glared at Serana just outside the door. "I still don't trust it, so keep it on a leash."

Desmond sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever. Anyway. I need to find someone named Florentius, so—"

"Who said something?" Isran snapped harshly. "Sorine or Gunmar? I thought they'd've learned their lesson by now, I don't trust that man and I don't want him here."

Desmond swallowed. "...Sorine thought we'd need his help."

Isran grumbled incoherently, shaking his head.

"Come on. You're gonna need all the help you can get," Desmond pointed out.

"I suppose she's right," Isran mumbled. "Last I heard, he was aiding the Vigilants of Stendarr up at Ruunvald. He may still be there."

Desmond checked his map, locating Ruunvald. "See, Sera, it's not too far. We can do that, drop him back here, and head off to Dawnstar, then we'll hit Volkihar—"

"Desmond, this is not a sightseeing trip!" Serana snapped.

"It'll be fine!"

"If Florentius can maintain some appearance of normalcy, I'll allow him to stay," Isran growled at him.

"Yeah, yeah." Desmond shoved his map back into his bag, waving for Serana to follow him. "Come on. Let's go bolster the ranks."