Chapter 8: The Four Shields

"That was a moth priest? He just left with an escort. You should be able to catch him if you hurry."

Yazir tossed the guard a coin, and spurred his horse forward. Serana was right behind him. The journey to Dragon Bridge had been much less eventful after leaving Morthal. Although Yazir had declined the jarl's offer of a thaneship, the jarl had insisted on the construction of a home for Morthal's savior to use however seen fit. Winstad Manor, she'd called it. She promised that Yazir and his companion would always be welcome in Morthal, and the Manor would be complete before their return. Serana's mood had also improved significantly after their brief stay there.

Since the day he had freed her from Dimhollow, she had clung to Yazir like a giant to their mammoth. Now, she seemed to be more independent. It wasn't just Serana who had been changed by their most recent adventure. Although Yazir would hesitate to admit it to anyone else, he realized that he had somehow become more–tolerant of Serana's presence. Despite her nature as a vampire, she was fiercely loyal, and seemed to genuinely enjoy helping others.

They didn't make it far up the road before they found a small massacre next to it. A dead vampire, dead guard, and dead horse all lay strewn about. After a brief investigation, Yazir found a note. "Vampires took the moth priest to Forebears' Hideout," he said reading it. "It's not far from here, let's move."

*

Rescuing the Moth Priest had taken a good part of the day, but the good news was that he–Dexion–had been so grateful that he had immediately agreed to assist the Dawnguard. He had set off for the fort right after being rescued.

With Dexion on his way to Fort Dawnguard, Yazir and Serana had agreed to stay during the day at the Four Shields Tavern in Dragon Bridge before returning to the Fort. Faida, the tavern keeper, had served them food and drink in their rented room, which allowed Yazir to replenish himself after allowing Serana to feed from him once more. As Yazir ate his food and drank his wine, he remembered a question he had forgotten to ask a while back. "What did Silus mean when he called you a follower of Molag-Bal?" He asked quietly. The door to their room was closed, but he still didn't want to risk being overheard. "Does it have to do with you being a pure-blooded vampire?"

Serana wiped the blood from her mouth, and nodded, staring at the wall. She told Yazir that the vampires he had encountered thus far in Tamriel were lesser vampires before explaining how her family had been devout followers of the Lord of Domination, and her father had sacrificed thousands in order to obtain his 'blessing' from the Daedra. Afterwards, the women had been offered up to the Daedric Lord in a dark and degrading ritual, on his most sacred day. Those who survived the ordeal were born as pure-blooded vampires and henceforth known as 'Daughters of Coldharbour'.

His companion fell silent as she became lost in the memories of the past. "I can see why you have such a–complicated relationship with your family." Yazir said quietly. He didn't know what else to say after such a dark and morbid tale. Thankfully, Serana took the reins and steered the conversation in another direction. "Tell me about why you joined the Vigilants." Yazir barked out a laugh that made Serana stare. "I joined because it was better than starving," he said. Serana gave him a quizzical look, and Yazir dove into his story.

"My family arrived in Skyrim from Hammerfell almost twenty years ago. We lived near Falkreath for a time, but eventually my parents were killed in a small plague. My brother and I had no family, so we were taken to the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. The woman who runs it–for I have no doubt she is still there–is Grelod the Kind. A misnomer, for the woman is anything but. When I turned of age, she kicked me out onto the street. My brother–idiot that he was–followed me from the place."

Yazir took a breath before continuing, "We left Riften, looking for a nearby farm for work and shelter. We got lost and ended up lost in the woods before we were set upon by a necromancer who set his skeletons after us. Thankfully, we were actually near Stendarr's Beacon and some patrolling Vigilants intervened. They were impressed by my brother and I's fighting spirit so they invited us to join their order. They had food, fire, and bedrolls for us. How could we say no?" he shrugged. "My brother may have had the spirit, but he had no talent for the blade. He served the order mostly through scribe work, and cooking duties. I was the one the order sent if they needed something killed." The Redguard looked at Serana, "The order was the only family I ever had aside from my brother. Out of respect for your recent services, I must tell you I have already vowed to Stendarr that I will have your father's life. I hope for your sake as well as my own that you won't interfere when the time comes."

The silence that filled the room afterwards was not an uncomfortable one. In fact, Yazir couldn't help but look at his companion with new eyes. Like him, she had made certain choices in order to survive. We may be natural enemies, but does that mean it must always be so? He thought. Before he could ponder any further, there was a knock at their door, and Faida the tavern keeper poked her inside. "Begging your pardons sir and miss, but are you a Vigilant of Stendarr?" Yazir's hand drifted slowly towards the dagger in his boot. "Yes," he answered warily. Faida had not noticed the movement and continued. "There is a patron here who is in need of a healer. Healing potions have not worked on him, and his companions saw you enter earlier and thought you might be able to help."

Serana looked at Yazir as if trying to gauge what his answer would be before he gave it. The Redguard's eyes and face betrayed none of his emotions as he said, "Very well, let's have a look shall we?"

Yazir and Serana stood, but Faida didn't move away from the door. "Before you see them," the tavern keeper said slowly, "There's something you should know…"

*

Faida had not lied. In the largest room of the tavern, lying on the bed in front Yazir was the largest orc he had ever seen. He stepped past the women who had accompanied the orc to take a closer look. The orc had a heavily muscled frame. His arms and shoulders were as large as Yazir's head, and he had massive horns on the side of his head the likes of which Yazir had never seen before and his skin was a sickly-gray color. "His name is Marzuum Gro-Narzul," the blonde nord companion said. "I am Uthgerd, and this is Aela the Huntress." she motioned to the red-headed woman with war paint on her face that sat in the chair nearest the orc. Yazir hesitated, he knew of Aela the Huntress. She was a member of the Inner Circle of the Companions, which meant she was a werewolf. Which also meant, she was an enemy of the Vigil.

"This orc is a member of the Companions?" Yazir asked. "A member of the Circle?" The women nodded. "Then I'm afraid I cannot help you. My vows prevent me from healing one afflicted with the curse of lycanthropy unless he also wishes for the Blood to be taken from him."

Aela stood from her chair so fast that Yazir barely had time to reach for his axe before she stood face to face with him. She was slightly shorter than the Redguard, but she glared up at him without any fear. Serana had started forward as well, only to face Uthgerd who was reaching for her own sword. Yazir's hand tightened on the handle of his axe as he waited for Aela to speak or strike.

"He refused the Beast Blood you ignorant fanatic," the Huntress spat. "He is as mortal as you stand there–although," she sniffed the air. "Less so than your companion." Serana turned her gaze towards the Huntress. "I thought it smelled like dog in here," she hissed. She conjured, an ice spike in her hand, and Uthgerd drew a dragonbone axe. "Enough!" The Redguard snapped. "We're done here," he turned to leave and Serana followed suit. "We can pay!" Yazir turned back to face the room. Uthgerd was digging into a travel bag, while Aela continued. "We have something that would be worth your time." Uthgerd had retrieved an item from their bag. She unwrapped the cloth that covered it, revealing a small sword that glowed with the energy of the sun.

"This sword is called Dawnbreaker," Aela continued. "It's a Daedric artifact that is deadly to the undead. Heal our friend and it's yours. Use it, confiscate it, destroy it, it'd be yours to do with as you wish."

Yazir eyed the sword with caution. "Where did you get such a powerful object?" He asked quietly. "What service did you perform for what Daedra to obtain this item?" Uthgerd spoke up now. "We cleared Meridia's temple of the undead dead and killed the necromancer Malkoran there. This sword sat upon a pedestal, when we were done." She looked over at the orc on the bed with such affection that Yazir was beginning to see a bigger picture here. "Marz was injured killing the necromancer. He was hit near the heart with some kind of spell, and he has been cold ever since. Nothing we have done to try and warm him up has helped. He was barely able to ride back to this town." She looked back at Yazir again. "He slew a dragon to save Whiterun, and turned down a thaneship. Please," she pleaded. "Help him."

The redguard looked from woman to woman and took a deep breath. "Give me some room to cast."

*

"I'm surprised you agreed to help them. I thought you might just fight them for the sword."

Yazir removed his robes, and laid down on the bed in his room once more. "I'm surprised I was able to heal him at all," the Redguard admitted. "He'll be alright now. In a way, the orc was lucky it was dark magic. Stendarr Light works best against such spellwork. Did you put the sword away?" He looked over at Serana who was nodding and staring at him. "What?" he asked. The vampire shook her head. "You have a lot of scars," she said.

The Vigilant laughed, "I lead a dangerous life Serana. I'm surprised I don't have more. Now, please allow me to rest for a few hours before we travel back to Fort Dawnguard." He rolled over to face the wall. The last thought he had before he fell asleep was realizing that somewhere along the way he had grown comfortable enough with Serana to not only sleep in front of her, but with his back to her.