Chapter 11

The trek back to the mountain pass was longer than they would have liked.

He had sent Vlasie ahead to scout where their ambush had taken place, she was the only natural choice when it came to stealth. Her ability to blend into the shadows was a boon he could not easily overlook. She was nimble and fast, far faster than him and the rest of the guards who serve his family; if he ever ended up on the wrong side of her blade, he would have his doubts about winning.

When he was first introduced to her, it was on the other side of the Empire's law but he didn't care. Beyond whatever crimes she had committed, he could see her potential–so much so he pulled a lot of strings to have her freed from a pillory and indentured into his service. Let his commanders, his fellow soldiers, anyone–even his sister–with half a mind to question him and he will always give the same bullshit answer: to allow her to redeem herself. They both knew it was a lie, he made it very clear as to why he wanted her to join him and it has absolutely nothing to do with redemption. Quite the opposite in fact, she was worse than they had assumed when they managed to capture her and display her humiliation for the public to see.

Vlasie readily agreed. She had been bound for the gallows in less than a fortnight and was eager for any means to get free, even if it meant being a blade in someone else's hand. It took time but he was sure they were close enough to be considered friends; she was always hovering unseen, only making her presence known to those who should be wary of approaching him. His silent, stalking guard, he would joke. Mind you her attitude, even towards him, was still scathing but she had softer, less abrasive moments when it was just the two of them. If only he had found her a few years earlier, he would have ordered her to do such unthinkable acts for his own revenge against his enemies.

Though it was probably for the best, he would have been even younger than he is now - literally a child - as much as he is loath to admit his naivety he would have slipped up and damned them all to Oblivion's fiery depths when he would have been caught. Now that he is two and twenty he can see how immature he was only a few short years prior, he is now in control of his anger so instead of bursting into a rage without thought to the consequences, Valerius channeled it in working and training. The anger does not boil over or burn away, it merely simmers; waiting for the time to be just right. While he doesn't have his Grandmother's political acumen, she managed to instill some of her teaching into his thick skull.

Vlasie's return broke him from his thoughts, she came with less than ideal news. Bodies that were left to the wild and the fires were gone. Gone in the sense that they were moved and not by any animal, not in the time they have been gone. Her keen Dunmer eyes took in some drag marks but most… most left scuffles as if they staggered–shambled–away.

They took refuge in a small cave, not dissimilar to the last one they hid in, and rolled out a map. It wasn't the most detailed but it will serve its purpose for the time being; the few who stood with him stared hard at it, each gauging the best course to take to continue through the mountains.

"Here." Vlasie gestured to the maps, "This is roughly where the ambush started. The fire spread to about here–" she drew a circle with her finger to encircle the area then dragged it south as she continued "–and it seemed like the majority of the tracks lead this way, I think the only thing in this direction is an inn. I didn't follow up much further so I cannot guarantee they continue that way."

"Anything else of note in this region?" Julius questions, a plan forming in his mind.

"Yes." Vlasie and Eira speak at the same time. Eira continued, "Aside from the Imperial fort over here–" she points to a spot on the map "–there are the Akaviri ruins to the north, if the marks were headed in that direction then I'd be more concerned about us walking into another trap. This time with undead."

Julius disagreed, "There is still that chance. Those tracks may have gone south but who knows what is lurking in those ruins after all this time."

The increased pitch in the whispers between Julius, Eira and Octavian bespoke of a forming argument, each having their own ideas and plans. Sabina quietly listened, providing no commentary as was her usual of going along with whomever won the argument.

"The cave." Vlasie stated, it was the answer to their situation. "Janus called it Serpent's Trail."

Octavian starts, "Said to be infested-"

Vlasie sharply cuts him off with a wave of her hand and all but hissed the words, "Too scared, Octavian? And, pray tell, what would the Lady think?" No clarification was needed on who Vlasie was referring to, there was only one lady left of the house and she already made the journey on her own. "If she had managed to get through, so can we."

Valerius could only hope his sister made it through. If she didn't… well there wasn't much left to keep fighting or living for. Undoubtedly he would seek his revenge in the most brutal of ways against those he has since held himself back from outright murdering or orchestrating the assassination of, at least until he himself has been killed.

'Enough. Not the time or place for these thoughts,' he mentally chastised.

Vlasie was now giving Valerius a hard look as he studied her face in return; her blood red eyes glinting in the torch light. She sees too much for hisown good but he cannot find it in himself to care. Not when everything has been going to Oblivion in a handbasket anyway.

"I will scout the cave then." Vlasie's statement cut off the hushed argument between the others. All eyes turned to her, she crossed her arms and repeated, "I will scout the cave."

"Going alone is far too dangerous," Sabina muttered.

Vlasie glared at everyone. "I was aware of that. I will do it anyway." She looked to Valerius, all but demanding his approval. "It is the only option through the mountains that does not involve walking straight through an Imperial Fort. You have no choice but to agree. I will scout ahead while the rest of you follow at a sedated pace. If there is an ambush planned to catch us from behind then it will help having most of us in the rear with only one person scouting ahead, which clearly I am the best choice, subsequently the only choice. You all know this to be true. Do not argue unless you have a legit plan."

Eira asked, "But what if there is undead ahead? Goblins are also fond of caves. What will we do then?"

"Either I find us a quiet way around or I backtrack to the rest of you and we kill them all. Permanently."

Eira shrugged. "Works for me."

The others gave in and nodded as well, no one had anything better to suggest.

Valerius hated the thought of any one of them tangling with undead –goblins were easy enough so there was no concern on that side– even though their agreed-upon purpose for going to Skyrim, aside from his main goal, was to learn more about the Dawnguard and to join their ranks against an uprising of vampires in the region. While he found Janus insufferable, the vampire in charge of the group, Lord Fenn*, did well to mediate his dislike for his undead ancestor.

Vlasie remained undeterred as she held his gaze with a fierceness that vowed an earful if he disapproved.

He sighed, "You know not to take unnecessary chances."

She gave a sharp nod.

"Then go." Vlasie gave a wide grin at the rest of them before slinking out the cave and into the shadows. "The rest of you… We will follow shortly–" he gestured to the map, drawing a trail with his finger "–along this route. We keep low and move quietly. Same rule applies; do not take chances. We may not encounter anything but never let your guard down. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

The bitter cold tore through their armor as they finally made it to the other side of the Jerall mountains and out of the damn cave. Strangely enough, but lucky for them, the cave had been completely empty. No sign of goblins or undead, nor any bandits in the dilapidated ruins within the cave, and neither was there any sign of Lucretia. The latter being very important and reassuring as it increases the chance that she made it through into Skyrim.

Just a few feet out of the cave, Valerius came to a halt and the others followed suit. He took in as much of the surroundings as he can this late at night but it's not much. The light from Masser and Secunda haloed through the trees and brightened the snow on jagged ridges of the mountain; it was as eerie as it was beautiful.

The light reflected on a pair of red eyes and he tensed as he imagined a feral vampire, waiting to pounce and rip their throats out already. The shadow beyond the eyes spoke, "Well, well… You certainly took your time."

Valerius and the rest visibly relaxed at the sound of Vlasie's voice. She stepped in the moonlight, grinning. "I was starting to worry." The draw to her tone meant anything but worry.

Octavian had always loathed her and instantly his hackles were raised as he was the first to respond, "I'm sure you were. Ready to come dashing back to save us, were you? Or to leave us behind?"

"I don't help the ungrateful."

Valerius cut in, stopping the argument before it could continue. "Enough. Both of you. I have no patience to listen to the bickering of children." He continued when they said nothing. "Vlasie. Report."

"Sir." Her voice was curt, evidently annoyed at being called a child when she was the oldest one there, before evening out into her usual apathetic drone when giving 'official' reports. "As you may have noticed, there was nothing inhibiting the path forward. Quite peculiar. There were plenty of signs of people, and goblins, but none who remained." Vlasie gestured to her left where the faint glow of torchlight highlighted the stone ridges of the mountain. "Just beyond the ridges is the official border gate, manned by three legionnaires on this side with a possibility of two more on the other side of the gate. No scouts have ventured far from the others. There seems to be a fort ahead, we will need to skirt that one as well, but nothing else seems unusual from this side. We will not know much else until I have had the chance to scout further ahead."

With a flourish of her hands she said, still maintaining her apathetic tone, "Welcome to Skyrim."

Having decided against splitting their group, they agreed that it was best to continue to utilize the cover of night to travel. Being awake at night and constantly moving and on edge left them agitated but at better odds against any attacks that would have caught them unaware had they been sleeping.

They skirted the fort that Vlasie scouted around previously and continued on, heading eastward away from the Imperial town of Helgen. The urge to go westward was intense; tightening and twisting at his stomach until he felt like he might be sick. Had he been alone in this journey, undoubtedly he would have given in. Each of his comrades eyed him with knowing looks, some of them having known his sister just as well as they knew him before her marriage and subsequently before she was forcefully secluded.

As they began their ascent into the mountain, the trail winds back and forth, the centuries-old stones worn and slick from weathering, keeping their footing was a challenge in the dark and more than once someone has stumbled or slipped.

"Wait." Vlasie whispered as she held her hand up, signaling for them to stop moving. No one, not even him, spoke as she took a few silent steps forward, crouching near the cropping of stone and sneaking a glance further up the path that was out of view. As soon as they see her draw her dagger, they are on high alert and drawing their weapons as quietly as possible.

After a few moments, Vlasie slinked back towards them, once she's close enough to whisper her words are like ice in already-chilled veins. "Vampires. Likely a den in the cave around the bend." She turned back to watch the path, eyeing for any movement in the shadows as if it was the foe they were already being pitted against.

"Seriously?" Julius muttered, "We barely made it into the country and already we have to deal with them."

Eira shot him a smirk, "Don't worry, Julius. You can take up the rear and watch the professionals handle it."

"We have to be cautious." Octavian interjected, "We cannot risk getting infected by them. Valerius, how do you want to handle this?"

"I agree, avoiding physical contact as much as possible is preferable. I know it may come down to it but if you can keep the distance, do it. Vlasie–" she angled her head to indicate she could hear him, even at a whisper. "–use your bow. You and Sabina will have the best chances of hitting them in the dark. If you can't outright kill them, cripple them if you can and if we have to, we will rush in and finish them off."

He waited for any interjection but when none of them said anything, he nodded, "Go."

Sabina looked uneasy but stepped to stand beside Vlasie who gave the younger girl a pat on her shoulder. With years of experience, Vlasie switched out her dagger for her bow in a blur of movement that made it seem like she barely moved at all. Sabina was much slower, lacking in the finesse as her Dunmer companion. As soon as she held her bow, Vlasie shepherded them into the small, dark alcove on the opposite side of the path, giving them a better view further up but allowed those with their blades ready to cover the ground between them should the vampires rush them once they made their presence known.

They watched as the others moved toward the bend with Valerius taking point, he spared a glance to get an eye on the two vampires milling about the entrance of a cave in a conversation but it was too hard to hear what was being discussed, all that mattered was that they did not notice their group was closing in on them.

Vlasie whispered to Sabina, "Nock an arrow and watch for the signal. Aim for the one in the back, I will get the one closer."

Sabina does as commanded; she is the youngest of the group and the least experienced, much less having any when it comes to vampires, but ready to prove herself. She had been overly eager to join them on their mission given by the vampire group at the fortress and practically begged to be allowed to follow him.

Vlasie muttered, "Good. You're doing well." She refrained from saying anything more for fear that it would only fluster the easily-flustered young girl whose face blossomed with a blush at the minor praise.

They eyed Valerius as he raised a hand and they're holding... Holding. Holding. Now! The snap of the string, she exhaled the breath she was also holding.

Her arrow flew true and scored through the eye of her intended target and a swelling of satisfaction rushed through her only to be tampered when Sabina's finds itself lodged into the throat of hers and it managed to produce a gurgling cry loud enough to draw the attention of its ilk from the mouth of the cave. The alerted vampire rushed past its fallen brethren, now two piles of ash, in their direction. Pale hands flaring with magic that lit his sickly pallor with sinister reds and purples.

Sabina's body jerked back in fear and Vlasie pushed the girl to the side, further from the approaching pest. He was too fast to have proper time to nock another arrow and fire it so she pulled one of her daggers–this one hidden at the small of her back–and prepared herself should he get any closer.

As soon he passed the bend of the path, running right past the rest of their group hidden in the shadows, did his head roll from his body. Even quicker was when his form turned to dust.

Vlasie clicked her tongue, disappointed by how anticlimactic this whole thing was. Granted there may certainly be more further in the cave but that wasn't something they would be tackling tonight. Perhaps another. Certainly something to be noted on their map for future reference, at least.

"Don't look so disappointed. You'll get more than enough once we join up with the actual group fighting these creatures." Valerius remarked as he watched her annoyance cloak itself in indifference before she shifted her eyes from the dust to him.

She replied in a droll voice, "I can't wait." She returned her dagger to its rightful place and turned to Sabina; the girl looked like she was going to be sick and she half leaned against the rocky wall behind her. Her bow clutched hard between her hands turning her knuckles white, holding it as if to shield herself.

Vlasie pitied the girl, Sabina was young and naïve. She met vampires who showed a moderate amount of decorum and likely assumed the stories about their brethren being crazed were an over-exaggeration. Now she knew better. At least this introduction was within their control, it won't always be so quick and clean. Likely won't be if they ventured further into the cave but she knew Valerius. While he was many decades her junior, he has proven himself to be level-headed in most matters, at least those not involving his sister, he would have them continue onwards.

"See to her." Vlasie gestured to Sabina with the angling of her head. "We will need some of that dust." She gave a small pat on Sabina's head before she sidestepped Valerius, leaving him to encourage the younger girl that all was well.

The long night was going to get longer before the sun would return, best to keep moving.

AN: I'm sorry for the delay. I have been so depressed; I have lost nearly all motivation for everything. The only reason I am posting now is because majority of this chapter was already written.

So much has happened in the past few months, I will give a recap: my husband was laid off and he was our breadwinner, I make decent money since I also work in healthcare but not as much as he did. His mother came from out of the country to stay with us for the holidays and ended up tearing ligaments in her knee that will require surgery to fix but then was rushed to the emergency room just before Christmas and admitted with massive blood clots in her lungs; the pulmonologist won't clear her for her leg surgery until at least 3 months after being on blood thinners. So she will be staying with us for an indefinite amount of time and that isn't easy for our relationship since she has never approved of me because I couldn't speak their language and because of my own medical reasons, I am unable to provide a baby for the family.

After all of THAT, now I am taking off work this coming week to take my younger sister in to the hospital because she is a high risk pregnancy and they want her to deliver my nephew early but the risk of her dying is so high that paperwork was already written and signed to give me custody of him immediately should the unthinkable actually happen.

It has been a shit show.

Anyways, I gave the chapter a once over for corrections but if I missed anything, please let me know.

*Fenn aka Fennorian is a High Elf vampire and arcane investigator; for the purposes of my story, his role has been expanded as things will have changed since ESO to Skyrim Present time.