This chapter will start the main quest of the Moon and Star mod. Those who already know this mod and that maybe leave a comment here, please no spoilers about the mod.
"...So my mother taught me a trick with a rock and a sock. They never disturbed me again." Inigo was explaining a little more about his past, mainly about his and his brother's childhood, being the adopted childs of a retired couple of assassins. He was now talking about the bullying he suffered from other childs because of his unique fur color. Lucien and Sofia were lessening to him, while Arissa, Lydia and Bran were paying more attention to their surroundings for any signal of danger.
Vardall had gone to Castle Volkihar with Serana for quite some time, and even though not everyone showed up, they're all worried about him. Suddenly in the sea, Lydia, spots that a boat exits the mist, with Vardall alone on it. Her and Arissa both sigh in relief.
"Vardall has returned!" With Lydia's words, Inigo, Lucien and Sofia all stop talking and look at them. When Vardall exits the boat, Bran immediately and stops in front of him, shaking his tail and barking with joy.
"Good boy! Good boy!" Vardall smiles and kneels to pet Bran, while the Husky starts licking Vardall's face. When he notices all his friends getting closer, Vardall pet Bran one last time and gets up.
"What happened, My Thane? Are you okay?" Lydia asks, concerned.
"Where's Serana?" Before Vardall could answer Lydia, Sofia asks him about Serana.
"She..." Vardall hesitates, still thinking about Serana. The cold wind on his face as he takes a deep breath. "...decided to stay with her father." Vardall shakes his head. He had more to worry about now, and so he started to walk away. "We need to go, now."
"Wait!" Arissa shouted as her and everyone quickly followed Vardall, all of them totally confused.
"What's going on, my friend?" Inigo asks. Vardall didn't stop walking. "Why all this hurry?"
"We have a big problem here." Vardall tells his friends, still walking quickly. "We're not dealing with regular vampires, they're much more powerful and in a big number." That creature Harkon transformed himself still was in Vardall's mind. Only by looking at him, he was able to feel the power he had. He didn't know if all the other vampires were also able to transform themselves in that creature, only another thing to be added to his concerns list. "And now they have a damn Elder Scroll. Isran needs to know this, right now."
Everyone there started to get worried. Powerful vampires already were a problem, but vampires in possession of an Elder Scroll? That was something to be very concerned with.
"We're right behind you, my Thane." Vardall managed to smile a little at Lydia's words. "I know you all are." Vardall has always been able to inspire that kind of loyalty in people. That's how he always managed to gather people who think in a totally different way, fighting together. It was like that during Blight, the events in Amaranthine and now Skyrim. Only someone like Vardall could make Lydia, a woman with a great sense of honor, fight side by side with Arissa, a thief. Not to mention that Sofia, who calls herself a free spirit and believes in living on her own, has now become attached to this group like no other.
Vardall never asked to be a leader, but it was clear he was born to be one. During the Blight, Sten once called him a Qunoran Vehl, a Qunari word that means 'someone who is an example to others'. But to be honest... Vardall thinks he now only deserves to be called a Saarebas.
# # # # # # # #
The whole group made their way back to Solitude, and there they took a carriage to Riften. It was much more quick than just crossing all Skyrim on foot, and even with a carriage they took a while to return to Fort Dawnguard.
Near Dayspring Canyon, the group was attacked by a dragon. But different from all the other dragons they met, this one had a full-green coloration and looked even more reptile if compared with other dragons.
The battle was a little hard. Not that the fights they all had with dragons until now were easy, but this dragon proved to be more tough than any other dragon they faced. He also had frost breath instead of fire, which caught everyone by surprise a little.
"Okay, you're fighting a dragon... Stay focused, stay alive." Lucien says those words to himself, as a sort of motto. Vardall smiles with that. Even seeing that Lucien still was afraid of facing a dragon, he would not let that fear consume him and lost control on this circumstance. Day after day, Lucien was being turned into a warrior.
Even with all the new challenges, Vardall and his group prevailed again, with Vardall and Inigo doing the killing blow upon the green dragon, with a deadly combination of Inigo sword skills and Vardall magic abilities. And as always happens, the dragon's body starts to burn itself and Vardall absorbs his souls, earning all his knowledge. That included the knowledge of the word Gaan, which Vardall learned back in Dimhollow Crypt, a word that means Stamina in the dragon language. With that Thu'um, Vardall now was able to drain the stamina of his enemies, making them get more easily tired. That was going to be really useful in fights against non-magical foes.
After all this time with Vardall, seeing him absorbing another dragon soul was not a big deal to his friends, except to Inigo, who was seeing that for the first time.
"Dragon souls are stinky." Inigo said in her thick Khajiit accent. Vardall looks at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised. "Do dragon souls smell?"
Inigo nods. "Yes, my friend. But only someone who has a strong sense of smell like me is able to notice that."
"Wow..." Vardall truly didn't expect that. "That's a totally unnecessary thing to know about, but it's definitely cool." He smiles.
Before making his way again to the entrance of Dawnspring Canyon, near the dragon skeleton, Vardall notices several strange things on the ground. Gettin closer, he can finally see what the object was.
"Are that... what do I think it is?" Sofia was surprised with that. "It's..."
"...dragon scales, yes." Vardall touches one of the many scales that was on the ground, noticing how incredibly strong it was. Even being very strong, it looked weaker than some metals, but it was, without a doubt, lighter than any of them. "It must have been chopped from the dragon's body during the battle."
Arissa opens a wide smile. "Actual dragon scales? I can't thing on anyone who ever had an actual dragon scale. We can make a very good money selling this."
"Or…" Vardall looks back at the dragon skeleton. "We could use this ourselves." Vardall knew dragon scales were very versatile and easy to be manipulated by a professional blacksmith, at least the scales of the Thedas' dragons. And the scales of the Tamriel dragons looked similar, so someone maybe could use these scales along with other things to create some of the deadliest items that ever existed.
To be more precise, if those dragon scales were used together with dragon bones to make a high quality armor and weapon...
Thinking this, Vardall goes to the dragon skeleton and takes some bones. His friends were watching all of this confused. "What are you doing, boss?" Lucien asks.
"We could use these scales and bones to make better gear for ourselves." Vardall joins the bones with the scales and takes everything, all those materials being quite heavy, but nothing that was impossible for him to carry. "And even if we don't manage to do that; like Arissa said, there exist people who would pay a little fortune for things such as this."
"Equipment made with bones and scales from dragons?" Lydia sounded excited with the idea. "It would be expensive, but would give us a great advantage in battles." The rest of the group agrees with Lydia. But Lucien in particular was more interested in studying the dragon bones, so Vardall took yet another bone from the dragon's skeleton and gave it to Lucien. With everything set, they all went back into Dayspring Canyon in direction to Fort Dawnguard.
Close to the fort, everyone is caught by surprise when they all hear screams and sounds of battle. Dropping the dragon scales and bones on the ground, Vardall runs in the direction of the sounds with his greatsword steady, all his friends doing the same. Near the fort's entrance, they all gaze at a large group of vampires attacking the Dawnguard members. Not losing time and noticing a group of 4 vampires who were a little more far from any Dawnguard member, Vardall throws a fireball on them, killing two of them and making the other two fall on the ground because of the shockwave the fireball created.
A sudden fire explosion caught the attention of several vampires, who were distracted while looking at Vardall and his group approaching. Some Dawnguard members used that opportunity and killed some vampires, but others were more quick and dodged, taking this chance to kill the Dawnguard members.
The vampires run to attack Vardall, but they're stopped by Inigo and Arissa arrows. Lydia charged directly to a vampire, her shield up and sword ready to strike. Sofia went together with her, while Arissa provided cover to both with her bow. Inigo stays close to Lucien, slashing any vampire that comes close while Lucien attacks them with spells.
Vardall by other hand was with Bran, and while the husky distract and even attack some of the vampires, Vardall annihilate them with heavy blows from his greatsword and his spells.
Now surrounded by the Dawnguard and Vardall's group, the vampires were killed one by one. Seeing that this battle was lost, many tried to flee, but some Dawnguard members fiercely pursued them. When it was all over, Vardall's friends all went to help the wounded.
"Look at this. I should've known it was only a matter of time before they found us." A familiar voice called Vardall's attention as he turned around and saw Isran, putting his Dawnguard warhammer on his back. "I don't suppose you have some good news for me." The stoic redguard says as he crosses his arms.
"Yeah..." Vardall hesitates to talk for a while, confirming Isran's suspicions. "Of course. Fine, tell me what you know." So Vardall explains the vampires in Dimhollow Crypt were not looking for an artefact, but a female vampire who was trapped in there. Vardall rescued her and took her to her home near Solitude, a place full of other powerful vampires. Isran obviously didn't like to hear that, but he didn't like the next thing Vardall told him.
"...and they also have an Elder Scroll." Isran's expression changes a little with that revelation. "They have what?"
"An Elder Scroll. You know... those extremely powerful artefacts."
"I know very well what an Elder Scroll is. Just didn't expect vampires to have one." Isran surely wasn't the type who likes jokes. "But you didn't stopped them? You didn't secure the scroll?"
"I…" Vardall hesitated a little, wondering what to say next. "...never had the chance." He lies. Vardall had several chances to secure the scroll when he was taking Serana to Castle Volkihar. The fact is, Vardall wouldn't dare attack Serana. He let his still conflicted feelings for her cloud his judgment, and that wasn't the first time that happened with him.
Fortunately, Isran seems to believe in Vardall's lie. "By the Divines, this couldn't get much worse. We're going to need some help."
Vardall crosses his arms. "From who?"
Isran told Vardall about some people he already worked with before. The first one was a Breton woman called Sorine Jurard, who was fascinated by Dwemer technology and could help upgrade the Dawnguard arsenal. The other one was a Nord called Gunmar, a man with experience on how to tame animals and more particularly, trolls.
"Bring those two back here, then we can start our plan." Vardall nods in agreement and Isran goes to help his wounded companions and bring them inside Fort Dawnguard. Vardall and his group also help take care of the wounded, and Vardall uses that chance to store the dragon bones and scales he had in Fort Dawnguard, with Isran's permission, of course. Isran also makes Vardall an official member of the Dawnguard, giving to him a heavy Dawnguard armor and a Dawnguard greatsword. Vardall promptly accepts that and wears him new armor and equips his new weapon, giving his old steel plate armor to Lucien and keeping his old orcish greatsword together with the dragon scales and bones. When it was all over, all the group exited the fort.
"What's our next step, my friend?" Inigo asks Vardall.
"We need to find a woman called Sorine Jurard and a man called Gunmar." Vardall explains to his friends while they walk. "After that, we can start to do something to deal with these vampires."
"I guess this is gonna take a while." Sofia claims while Vardall nods. "Yes. We need to start searching for them right now."
"Where are they?" Vardall looks at Arissa. "Sorine is on the Reach, exploring some Dwarven ruins."
Lucien sounds excited after hearing that. "Dwarven ruins? Oh, that's an opportunity I can't let pass." Vardall giggles. "Yeah, I knew you would like to hear that." He smiles. "Don't worry, Lucien. When this is all over, I'll make sure we explore all the ruins in Skyrim."
"And where is this Gunmar?" Lydia asks.
"I don't know."
"So we're hunting." Arissa claims.
"What are we waiting for?" Sofia asks. "Let's go."
Vardall agrees and they all leave Dayspring Canyon. With only the certainty that this would be a long trip.
# # # # # # # #
And it was a long trip, indeed. The whole group spent almost an entire month searching for both Sorine and Gunmar.
To everyone's surprise, Gunmar was the first one they finded. Following some information they learned in Riften, they discovered Gunmar was somewhere near the Shor's Stone village, which was relatively near Riften. Going there, they find Gunmar and manage to recruit him after dealing with a bear he was hunting.
Sorine was a little trickier to recruit, all because of where she was. Traveling from the Rift to the Reach wasn't complicated, but it certainly took a long time, as you almost had to cross the entirety of Skyrim. But for Vardall, that long journey turned out to be a very good one, as he and his group explored several Nordic Tombs and a few Dragon Lairs, and in all of them, Vardall found a word wall and expanded his arsenal of Shouts.
He found all the three words of the Aura Whisper shout, the second word of Become Ethereal, and the first words of Disarm, Frost Breath, Fire Breath, Kyne's Peace, Slow Time, and Elemental Fury.
After finding Sorine in a Dwemer ruin called Arkngthamz, which Lucien took the opportunity to study the place, Vardall and his group finally could return to Fort Dawnguard. They traveled the way back, stopping at Riverwood's inn one night to rest and proceed the travel on the next day. Vardall also used that opportunity to talk with Delphine about their invasion of the Thalmor Embassy. She said that they still didn't have a good opportunity to trespass inside the embassy, so they still needed to wait. Vardall only hopes this opportunity shows up soon.
After another sleepless night because of his nightmares, Vardall and his friends are finally ready to continue their journey back to Fort Dawnguard. But before they can exit the inn, a mysterious dunmer approaches Vardall.
"So you're the Dragonborn?" The dunmer puts a hand on his chin. "Hmm... amazing. You possess so much power, and no one could tell by looking at you."
Vardall and all his group were now very confused. "You're going to try to kill me?" Vardall asks, already prepared for any surprise attack. "Because, if you love your life, I suggest you get away."
The dunmer promptly assumes a more defensive posture. "No. I'm not here to kill you, Dragonborn. In fact, I'm here to ask for your help."
That catches Vardall's curiosity. "My help for what?"
"My name is Mandyn Hlaalu. I'm from Morrowind, and I was sent to Skyrim by House Hlaalu to hunt a powerful and famous criminal that escaped Morrowind."
Vardall knew very little about Morrowind. He knew it was another province of Tamriel and it was neighbor to Skyrim. Its predominant population were the dunmer, also known as Dark Elves.
"But... he's too deadly for me to face alone. That's why I need a hero's help." Mandyn said.
"Who is this criminal?" Lydia asks. Mandyn seems hesitant to talk, but ends up talking anyway. "That is something I can't tell. But what you need to know is that he already committed several atrocities to the people of Morrowind."
Vardall finded Mandyn's hesitation a little strange, but just decided to ignore that for now. "If this criminal is so dangerous, than I will help."
Mandyn smiles after hearing that. "Thank you, Dragonborn. I'll make sure you're well rewarded for this."
"So where's this criminal?" This was the time for Lucien to ask.
"I tracked him to a village southwest of here called Little Vivec, but after that, the trail went cold." Mandyn says. "However, you may have better luck."
"Hmm... I think I know what village you're talking about." Vardall remembers seeing a small village during his travels, right in the middle of a lake near Riverwood.
"What more information can you give us about this criminal?" Sofia asks.
"Not only is he a fearsome combatant, but he is silver tongued. If he begs for his life, do not believe a word he says."
Fearsome combatant and silver tongued who had committed several atrocities? Vardall had more in common with this criminal than he thought.
"In the meantime, I will continue my investigation elsewhere. I have another lead I'd like to explore. I'll be sure to contact you if it bears fruit." Mandyn says. Vardall nods with that. "So it's better I get started."
"Wait! Before you go, take this ring." Then Mandyn delivers a ring to Vardall. He looks at him, a little confused. "The criminal is known to wield enchanted blades, and this may protect you from them." Looking to the ring, Vardall could feel a strange, yet strong magic, like nothing he has ever felt before.
"Happy hunting, Dragonborn, and many thanks. You are doing both Morrowind and Skyrim a great service." Mandyn then exits the Sleeping Giant Inn, leaving to continue his investigation.
"Are we really going to do this?" Sofia asks. "I thought we had more important things to do."
"If this criminal is as dangerous as the Dunmer said, we need to find him." Lydia says. Bran also barks in agreement.
"I may be a thief, but even I have principles. If this criminal is really this dangerous, we need to stop him." Arissa affirms, what surprises Lydia.
"I also agree. There's enough dangerous people in this world, by doing this we can keep people safe." Inigo says.
"Totally agree. What about you boss?" Lucien asks Vardall.
"I also agree, but... I have a strange feeling about this." Vardall's words fill his friends with doubt.
"How so?" Sofia asks.
"I have a feeling this person Mandyn is chasing is more than a simple criminal. But I need to see for myself before I can judge." Then Vardall walks until the door of the inn. "Let's go check this little village. Maybe we can find some answers."
# # # # # # # #
Little Vivec was truly something to be admired. It was, like the name suggests, a very little village. If it had more than 5 buildings, it was too much. Most of its population were made all by Dunmer, with the only exception being a Nord boy that was the adopted children of a Dunmer couple. This was a peaceful place, built by peaceful people. Very few places such as that existed in both Skyrim and Thedas, which make them even more special.
"You know, when this is all over, I could live in a place such as this." Vardall told his friends while he still admired the village. "A peaceful life... without the weight of the world upon my shoulders..."
"I agree, my friend." Inigo says to Vardall.
"I also agree. A place such as this would be good to me." Lucien said. "Oh, if they only had a big library..."
"I can't see myself settling in on a place such as this." Sofia said. "I'm already too used to traveling and with the bustle and problems of big cities. To be honest... I think part of me even likes that."
Lydia looks to Sofia. "You say this now, Sofia. But in the future you will want nothing more than to just live in peace."
"It will sound strange, but I agree with Lydia." Arissa says, crossing her arms.
"Me too. I already saw too much death and suffering to say that I'm done with that." Vardall says in a melancholic tone. "I assure you, Sofia. One day you will reconsider this."
Sofia lifts one eyebrow. "You talking like this, almost sounds serious, but I hope you're wrong. I like my actual lifestyle, and I don't plan to change it too soon."
Vardall goes to her and puts a hand upon her shoulder. "Just think about what we said to you." He then proceeds to Little Vivec.
Inside the village, Vardall and his group split up and started questioning the villagers for any information they might have about this criminal. The villagers were truly receptive and polite with all of them, but they could not give any useful information to any of them. They all said, however, that a man passed by the village, and that the man was wearing a peculiar armor made in Morrowind and that he also was carrying a pair of strange, but beautiful blades. The stranger spent too much time talking with the village's hunter, a Dunmer called Bal-Ran. Vardall already knew who to talk to, but the problem was that Bal-Ran didn't trust strangers easily, which called Vardall's attention on why a man who doesn't trust strangers easily would spend a long time talking with a stranger. But in the meantime, Vardall already had a plan to get information about this man from Bal-Ran.
Going to Bal-Ran's small hut, Vardall spotted him, who was working on some animal skins.
"Bal-Ran?" Vardall casually asks, making the Dunmer stop his work and look to him.
"That is my name. Who are you?" Bal-Ran asked.
"My name is Vardall. I'm an adventurer who travels all around Skyrim and helps the people the best I can." Vardall lies, but he needed to earn Ran's trust if he wanted any type of Information. "I heard from the other villagers that you have a problem you can't solve alone."
Bal-Ran lifts his eyebrows with this. "That is very noble of you, and yes, I need help with something."
Vardall smiles. "I'm all ears."
"A group of bandits have been plaguing the woods nearby for weeks, sniffing for weakness. I made sure they found only arrows. Yet still, they linger." Bal-Ran explains. Bandits disturbing a peaceful village such as this? Even if Vardall didn't have second intentions on helping Bal-Ran, he would have helped him without any hesitation.
"So you need me to take care of those bandits." Bal-Ran nods. "Yes. I cannot leave the village to hunt them if they are watching, but you could in my place."
"Consider it done." Vardall nods while he speaks. The smallest of the smiles shows up in Ran's face. "You have my thanks. I'll mark their last known location on your map. The leader wears an Orcish helm. Bring it to me as proof. I will know if it is his."
Bal-Ran marks the location of the bandits camp in Vardall's map. Vardall thanks him and returns near the exit of Little Vivec, where his friends were waiting for him.
"Any luck, my friend?" Inigo asks Vardall as he approaches.
"Maybe. I have found a way to maybe earn the trust of a man who may know something we can use, but we first need to kill a group of bandits." He says, while looking on his map.
"This should be a piece of cake." Lydia says, smiling.
"Agreed. Let's go, the bandit camp isn't very far." Vardall started to walk and his friends followed him.
The bandits camp truly wasn't very far from Little Vivec. In less than 30 minutes, they all arrived there. Before entering the camp, they all prepared themselves for the combat. When they're all ready, they all raised their weapons before entering the camp.
Only to foolishly lower them after seeing the scenario in front of them.
The whole camp was a complete mess. All the bandits were dead, some of them violently mutilated and others completed burned. The water of a nearby stream was completely red because of the blood. It was truly a massacre.
"What in the name of Talos happened here?" Lydia was non-believer from what she saw. In fact, everyone from Vardall's group was shocked by that. Everyone less Vardall himself, as he already was used to see and do that level of violence.
"Look around. See what you can find." Vardall ordered and all of them started exploring the place. Besides some gold bags, food, drinks, arrows and of course, bodies and blood, this camp was clean. There was no sign of who did all that. Exploring the cam a little more, Lucien finds what they're looking for.
"Vardall, over here!" Not just Vardall, but everyone else just rushed until Lucien.
"What is it?" Vardal asked just before gazing at a body that had an Orcish helmet on his head.
"I think this is what we came here to take." Lucien told while Vardall took the helmet in his hands. He could sense it was made from a truly strong material and it was forged by a really talented blacksmith. The helmet also had a deep dent just above the left ear.
"We have what we came here for. Let's go, I don't want to stay here much longer."
"Who do you think did this?" Sofia asks Vardall.
"Who? I would guess what." Arissa says.
"Honestly?" Vardall was still analyzing the helmet. "I would guess it was our 'criminal'."
"What?" Lydia was confused. "Why?"
"If he really is powerful as was told to us, take down an entire camp full of bandits would be easy to him." Inigo answers Lydia before Vardall can talk.
"Let's just hope Ran can give us some answers." So Vardall and his group walk away. Leaving that bloody place behind and returning to Little Vivec.
# # # # # # # #
On Little Vivec again, Vardall went directly to Bal-Ran, who was expecting him.
"Ah, you returned." Bal-Ran truly sounded relieved.
"Here's the bandit leader's helm." He delivers the helmet to Bal-Ran. "But all the bandits were dead when me and my friends arrived."
Bal-Ran were filled with curiosity when Vardall mentioned this last past. "This is his helm. It carries the dent I gave it. But you said they were already slain? Curious." He then puts a hand on his chin, soon his expression changed to something like realization. "Wait... Could it have been him?"
Vardall crosses his arms. "You know who did this? Who was it?"
"I may, but..." Bal-Ran stops and hesitates for a second, but soon shakes his head. "No. All of you tried to do our village a service. You have the right to know."
Not just Vardall, but all his friends were paying very close attention to Ran's next words. "A warrior passed through here wearing armor from Morrowind. A powerful man, and honorable. We discussed much."
"I mentioned the bandits to him, but did not ask for his aid. He must have offered it anyway. Those poor fools. They would never have stood a chance."
"Yes... they never did." Sofia said, still shocked by the state those bandits were left.
"Please, can you tell me where he went?" Vardall humbly asks. "It's very important."
"He said he was seeking a Dwemer ruin called Kagrenar, far to the east. Near the Morrowind border."
"I can't say more, I am sorry." Bal-Ran says and Vardall nods in agreement while slightly smiling. "That is enough, thank you."
"You're welcome. I do not know why you seek him, but if you find him , I urge you, think before you act."
After seeing what this mysterious warrior did to those bandits, Vardall would be certain to not make any unnecessary action.
After warning Vardall, Bal-Ran walks away, back to his hut. Vardall then turns to talk with his friends.
"It looks like we already have our destination." While Vardall was talking, Lucien was deeply thinking. Vardall noticed that.
"Lucien, are you okay?" Vardall touches his friend's shoulder, calling his attention. "Hmm? Oh, yes! I'm... fine." Lucien quickly talks. "It's just..."
"Yeah?"
'The name of the Dwemer ruin Bal-Ran told us... Kagrenar... It sounds like Kagrenac. Could it be related?"
Vardall was now confused. He already heard that name, but didn't know who it was. "Kagrenac? Who is he? I already heard that name but..."
So Lucien explained to Vardall and everyone who Kagrenac was. He was the Chief Tonal of the Dwemer, a brilliant engineer, magecrafter, and the responsible for the Dwemer disappearance. Lucien says that Kagrenac discovered something called Heart of Lorkhan, that Vardall also has read about it but didn't know very much what it is, but that it was extremely powerful, more powerful that anything he knows from Thedas. This Heart of Lorkhan was beneath the Red Mountain, the biggest volcano of all Tamriel, located in Morrowind. But the main fact was that Kagrenac's manipulation of the heart made the entire Dwemer race vanish, and until today, no one knows where.
When Lucien finishes talking, Vardall was with both his eyebrows lifted. "That's... truly something. But do you think Kagrenar is related to Kagrenac?"
"I don't know." Lucien says. "But I have a feeling we will find answers in Kagrenar."
Vardall then looks at his map. "The location of Kagrenar is near Shor's Stone."
"That's what I call luck." Sofia says. "We can finish our business there and go right to Fort Dawnguard."
"Then let's go finish this." Everyone agreed with Vardall and they all made their journey to Kagrenar.
# # # # # # # #
THEDAS/TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ARCHDEMON'S DEATH
The reconstruction of Denerim has barely started. They still founded more and more corpses all over the city. Still there were many wounded being treated and many homeless people.
This Blight was defeated before truly starting, but that couldn't avoid so much death and destruction... But that wasn't the main thing worrying Vardall at that moment.
"This is what happened, nothing else." Vardall crossed his arms. He was already getting tired of this interrogation.
"You still insist on lying to us. That will only make things worse." Alisse Fontaine, the Warden-Commander of Orlais, was also with her arms crossed. Giving Vardall a cold and almost fatal gaze.
"I'm not... LYING!" Vardall gets up from his chair, putting both his hands upon the table in front of him strongly, looking like he was going to attack Alisse. Clarel de Chanson, who was on Alisse's side, quickly picks up her mage staff and prepares herself for any attack that Vardall could do. Alisse, on the other hand, remains calm.
"Calm down, Vardall!" Alistair, who also was in the room, puts his arms in front of Vardall's chest, as a way of blocking him. "Already few Grey Wardens on Thedas. Let's not further reduce these numbers by killing two of them." He looks to both Vardall and Alisse, his eyes begging to keep things civilized. Vardall looks at Alistair, angry, dominating his expression. After a few seconds, Vardall grunts and sits back on his chair.
"I'm starting to understand why Loghain hated Orlesians..." He murmurs, while Clarel also puts her staff on her back again. Alistair checked again if Vardall was calm, then proceeded to talk. "Commander Fontaine, I assure you that what Vardall is telling is the truth." Alistair explains. "Vardall made the killing blow against the Archdemon, but because of a reason that we don't know, he survived."
Alisse sighs. "You both will keep insisting on this story? That he killed the Archdemon but didn't die together because of what? A miracle? I truly expected more from you, your majesty." She says, looking directly at Alistair.
"As it looks like you both will keep this lie and will not tell us the truth and I don't want to lose more of my time, let's proceed to our next topic." Alisse said while Alistair nodded. "Naturally."
Vardal continued to give both Alisse and Clarel a deadly gaze while she continued to speak. "Since Duncan's death in Ostagar, the post of Fereldan Warden-Commander is empty, so we need a replacement. You both, Alistair Theirin and Vardall Amell, are the last Grey Wardens of Ferelden, so one of you needs to assume that post and rebuild the order here in Ferelden. Alistair is the senior Warden here, so naturally he would be the new commander, but he's now the new king of Ferelden, what makes that impossible. I could name one of my own as the Ferelden Commander, but I know most of the Fereldan people may not accept that, besides it would be needed a special permission from both Empress Celene and King Alistair. So our last option is..."
Alisse looks to Vardall, the displeasure being very on her face. "You, Vardall Amell, shall become the new Warden-Commander of Ferelden."
Vardall smiles, arrogantly. "Naturally..."
Alisse sighs. She didn't like that, but they didn't have any other option. "But a new place for the Wardens still is needed in Ferelden."
"I already took care of that." Alistair's words called Alisse's attention. "Since the death of Rendon Howe, the Arling of Amaranthine and his fortress, Vigil's Keep, are without a proper Arl."
Alisse knew where this was going. "You're suggesting that..."
"I'll make Vardall the new Arl of Amaranthine." Alistair says. "So the region will get a new ruler and the Wardens will have a base in Ferelden."
This time, Clarel was the one who spoke. "Mages can't have titles of nobility, that's against the Chantry rules."
"Alistair already made me his chancellor, so we already broke that rule." Vardall said before Alistair could answer anything. "He also gave freedom to the Ferelden's Circle of Magic after I requested. And also... I don't give a shit for what the Chantry says."
Clarel tries to answer, but the words don't exit her mouth. That only makes Vardall's smile even bigger. Alistair looked like he had a neutral expression, but he was truly trying not to laugh.
"So, I think it's settled." Alistair said. "And if I'm not mistaken, that ends our meeting."
"Indeed, it ends..." Alisse wasn't happy with this. It was clear Vardall and Alistair were hiding something from her, but there's nothing she could do now. Getting up from her chair, Alisse goes until the door, Clarel following her. "We still have things to settle, but we can do that on another occasion. Your majesty." She nods respectfully before exiting the room, leaving Vardall and Alistair alone.
As soon they're far, Vardall sighs heavily and covers his face with both his hands. "Those two bitches... I feel sorry for the Orlesian Wardens, having someone like Alisse as commander."
After that, Alistair also sighs. "We can't keep this secret hidden forever, Vardall. One day, someone will discover that ritual you did with Morrigan."
"No one can find out about this!" Vardall looks almost angry at Alistair. "You know very well why..."
Alistair nods. "Leliana."
"Yes." Vardall confirms. "I don't care that the Wardens discover about the ritual. But if Leliana finds out that I not just slept with Morrigan, but also had a child with her, she..." Vardall sighs and gets up from his chair. "She can't find out. I... I can't live without her."
"When I performed that ritual with Morrigan, I didn't do that for myself. I did it for her." Vardall stops walking and just keeps gazing at a wall. "If I died killing the Archdemon, I can't even dare think what that would do with Leliana. All the sadness and pain that would do to her."
"The way you both deeply care for each other, I also can't think of that." Alistair says, getting up and putting a hand on Vardall's shoulder.
"But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I'm alive and we still have each other." Vardall said those last words with conviction. "That's why I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
Alistair widened his eyes and his jaw dropped when he heard that. "What?!"
"Your heard. Marriage." Vardall now was with a smile on his face. "I'm ready, and I know she is as well."
"Vardall... are you sure of this?" Alistair still was non-believer with that, but Vardall confirms. "I am. I never was more certain of something in my entire life."
Alistair still was a little shocked, but that feeling soon was replaced with happiness by his friend. "Then let me be the first to congratulate you, Vardall."
Vardall smiles and he and Alistair both shake hands and give each other a friendly hug. "...If she accepts, can I be your best man?"
"If that means keep you far away from taking care of the food, I will make this sacrifice." Vardall answers with humor.
"Hey! My food isn't that bad!"
Vardall laughs. "Remember that stew you made to all of us on the camp? We could have used that to kill the Archdemon."
"It was typical Fereldan stew. The problem was that I didn't have some quality ingredients." Alistair says.
"The only problem is that you don't know how to cook! Only you can make lamb taste like Darkspawn." Vardall was having fun with Alistair's frustration.
"Lamb is a very difficult meat to use. And what do you know about cooking? You didn't spend your whole life trapped inside the circle's tower?"
"Yes, and I can tell that the Templars' food is better than yours." Alistair opens his mouth to talk, but Vardall already knew what he would talk. "And don't give me the excuse that you already were a Templar. That don't work with me."
"But... you never proved my stew made with deer meat..."
Vardall sighs while smiling. "Here we go again..."
So Vardall and Alistair walked around Denerim royal palace, arguing all the way about Alistair's food techniques. That only proved to everyone that those two were more than just two Grey Wardens, more than just a king and a vassal and even more than mere friends. They're brothers, and that was something they wood took to life.
# # # # # # # #
TAMRIEL
For the first time in a long time, Vardall wakes up with a smile on his face. This was the first relatively good dream he had in months, even with the memories of his discussion with commander Alisse and Clarel. His conversations with Alistair were always good and fun, with few exceptions. Getting up from his sleeping bag, Vardall cracks his neck and breathes the fresh air of Skyrim. He and his friends were almost reaching the Dwemer ruins of Kagrenar, where they hoped answers were waiting for them.
"Good morning, my friend." A familiar voice tells Vardall and he turns his head to see Inigo sitting near the fire. "Did you sleep well?"
"For the first time, I can say that yes, Inigo." Vardall was truly smiling now.
"That's good to hear." Inigo also smiles. "Well... I suppose we need to keep moving, don't we?"
Vardall nods. "Yes. Let's wake up the others and move. We're almost in Kagrenar."
Then they proceed to wake up the rest of their friends. Some didn't like that very much, but they needed to go now. When everyone was awake, they returned to walk until Kagrenar.
Arriving where it was Kagrenar's location, Vardall and his group find only a Dwarven elevator. Nothing else was around them.
"Kagrenar is a ruin that is totally underground?" Vardall lifts one eyebrow. Usually, Dwemer ruins would have at least a giant structure upon the surface and then the underground part.
"That doesn't matter." Lydia said. "We're here now, so let's go."
"Yeah, let's move."
Everyone stopped upon the big elevator and Vardall pulled its lever and they all started going down. They spend several minutes going down, so that ruin truly was deep. When the elevator finally stopped, they all officially entered Kagrenar.
Kagrenar looked just like any other Dwemer ruin, with corridors and more corridors. But when they all arrived in one room there was something there that called Lucien's attention.
"Fascinating." Ha said, looking, do some object upon some altars. "These are replicas of Kagrenac's Tools, which he used in his experiments on the Heart of Lorkhan."
"Truly impressive." Vardall said. "But I doubt something like this would be purely decorative, so be careful."
"Agreed." Inigo said. "Now let's keep moving, and I don't like this place."
In some more rooms up ahead, the group finds a strange chest, with a book on its side. The book had a riddle, and they all deduced they needed to put a certain object inside those chests. They solved the first and second riddles, but on the third one, they put the wrong object inside the chest, making them be attacked by two Dwemer centurions, but they quickly defeated them and proceeded to the next room.
Before they can reach the next room, Bran sniffs something and starts to growl.
"What's wrong boy?" Vardall tried to calm down Bran, but with no success. He quickly understood what was going on.
"Get ready." He ordered his friends while picking up his greatsword. They all advanced until the other room, weapons ready to any surprise. Entering the room, they all saw a man there, looking like he was waiting for them. He was wearing strange armor, looking like nothing Vardall ever saw in his life. The man was surrounded by several defeated Dwarven Centurions.
The man finally seems to notice the big group who arrived, he looks directly to Vardall. "Ah, at last you arrive." He spoke, and hearing his voice, Vardall could tell he probably was a Dunmer. "I've been expecting you, Dragonborn."
That caught Vardall's attention. "You know who I am?"
The man nods. "In a way, I know you better than anyone else, Dragonborn. The weight of destiny lies heavily on your shoulders. I can see it in your stride." He says. "I carried it myself once, long ago. At first it was easy. If even felt empowering, to be so important to so many." Then the man dodges his gaze and looks to the ground. "But time passed, and I grew tired."
Already carried the weight of destiny on its shoulders? Who was this man?
"Who are you?" Vardall asks.
The man looks back to Vardall. "My birth name lost meaning long ago. To the world, I am known as The Nerevarine."
The meeting of two legendary heroes. I know this is something every Elder Scrolls fan would like to see.
Saarebas: Qunari word that means 'dangerous thing', mostly used to describe Qunari mages.