Deep in her heart, Cura pleaded with the gods that perhaps, by some miracle, she would find her beloved Vigil at Dayspring Canyon. Maybe Keeper Carcette remembered Isran's Fort from all those years ago, and then she, Tolan, and Adalvald fled there. It was the last bit of light Cura could find in the accursed, murky darkness that consumed her life.
It was unlikely, but if Cura could not hope, she would simply drop dead on the spot.
"Wow, you are really fast, my friend! Slow down!" Inigo called out to Cura as he trailed behind her through the forests of the Rift. Cura had Fast Travelled again, and in spite of the weariness that accompanied it, she hustled through the treacherous valley.
"Speed up!" Cura snapped back as she continued to jump over stones and dodge thistles. "If they're there I want to see them!"
"'If' is the operative... huff... word!" Inigo gasped lightly.
Eventually, Cura had to slow down her pace to draw her stamina again. She heaved and faced the floor. Her heart was racing, but her thoughts were already at the finish line. Quickly, she shook her head, and with a reddened face, she bit her lip down and continued to run. It was so much easier when she was a Werewolf, truth be told.
"I see smoke atop the mount over there! What is that?" Inigo pointed up towards the Beacon on the precipice.
"Stendarr's Beacon!" Cura realized what the tower was. "Of course! How could I forget about that? I've heard of it before! Maybe they could be there!" She quickly hurried towards the natural slope that led up the mountain.
"Cura, watch out!" Inigo shouted as he fired an Ebony Arrow towards a Bear that crept out of the shadows of the early morning.
Cura was alerted when she heard the beast grunt and spun around, smashing its jaw with her mace and ending the ursine threat. "Thanks, Inigo."
Inigo caught up with her. "Yes, now let us walk up together. I can see in the shadows of night. You are blind as a bat in an echo chamber. No offense."
"Well... I can't exactly argue against it in good faith." Cura admitted with a shrug. "I did hit into four trees on the way here."
"It was quite funny." Inigo chuckled, and Cura responded by clicking her tongue and moving onwards.
Eventually the pair of friends traversed to the top of the small mountain and saw a large stone fort with many Vigilants of Stendarr wandering about and performing various tasks.
Cura quickly scanned the hooded faces for any familiarity, but she recognized none of them. The Vigilants were courteous when they saw Cura, recognizing her as one of their own, and a female Vigilant approached her directly.
"Greetings, fellow Vigilant! You must be weary from your travels! Come, share some Horker Stew with us." She invited Cura and Inigo as well, beckoning them over to the outdoor cooking spit. There were tables to eat at, and a stable nearby. There were armoured workbenches, an alchemy table, forge, and grindstone.
"Afterwards, if you need rest, we have bedrolls if it's only for a short while, and we have beds inside if you'll be here a while." The Vigilant began to pour bowls for the two of them as they took their seat at the table.
Cura decided to cut to the chase. "Thank you, but I have some questions. Have you seen Keeper Carcette?"
The Vigilant placed the bowls down and provided them with spoons before taking a seat in front of them. She seemed to ponder the question, trying to ascertain the meaning of such. "You haven't heard about what happened at the Hall?" She questioned.
"Heard it? She saw it up in smoke!" Inigo stated, waving his hands in the air.
Cura's face went grim. "I didn't find her body there, so I'm hopeful she may still be alive. Vigilants Tolan and Adalvald were also missing from the scene of the attack. Maybe they still live!"
"I hope so. It'd be a damn shame to lose them." The Vigilant nodded. "I'm Vigilant Emma, by the way." She extended a hand, and Cura shook it.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Vigilant Emma. I'm Vigilant Cura." Cura introduced herself, and then pointed to Inigo. "And this is my good friend, Inigo the Brave."
"Ah, the Dragonborn! Yes, I've heard of you!" Emma exclaimed in jovial surprise. "The gods are good to us, gifting you to our organization. I hope we can keep you."
Inigo looked at Cura and tilted his head. "Ooh, special, we are!"
Cura continued to drink the soup; its warmth embraced her in the bitterly cold air around them. The world could use a little more warmth, to be sure. When she finished, she stood up from her seat. "Can you point the way to Dayspring Canyon, Emma?"
Emma nodded and stood up, as well. "It's just to the East. Head towards the path leading to the border to Morrowind, but rather than going all the way, you'll find a cavern with a sign that will direct you to it. Then go through Dayspring Pass, and you'll be right there."
"All right. Thank you; I hope we'll meet again!" Cura took a light bow as she began to head towards the slope.
"Stendarr be with you." Emma blessed Cura and Inigo as the pair descended the mountain.
"You did not want to stay long." Inigo was surprised, as Cura normally delighted in the presence of other Vigilants.
"We have more important matters to attend to." Cura stated. "I'm welcome there anytime."
"I just hope the vampires do not attack the Beacon, too." Inigo mused. "They really seem to have it out for you all."
"I invite them to come after me directly." Cura scoffed. "I'll give them a taste of Dawnbreaker." She clenched the mystical blade's hilt as it rested on her left hip.
"A mace and a sword. You are proving to be quite the jack-of-all-weapons. But can you master them all?" Inigo scratched his chin as he issued the challenge.
"Probably not. I'm awful with Two-Handed weapons and atrocious with a Bow." Cura shrugged as they continued their walk over the bridge. "How about this; I'll do what I can, and you can cover the bases where I'm lacking. Deal?"
"Deal!" Inigo exclaimed with a chuckle. "Do not worry, friend; at the end of the day, you can do what I cannot; you can turn your voice into a weapon! You would make for one deadly Soprano!"
"Oh, stop it." Cura waved a hand lightheartedly.
"No! I am serious! I could see it now; you stand on the stage, and in the audience, there is... umm... Delphine! And then there is Elenwen, General Tullius, Njada, and maybe some nasty, ugly Vampires! You are wearing the iron helmet with the horns and plated armour, and then you open your mouth with reckless abandon!" Inigo was about to begin.
"Inigo, don't..." Cura tried to halt him.
The Khajiit continued unhindered. "OOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHAAAAAAA YOOOOOOL TOOORRRRR DAAAAAAAaaaaaaaah!" Inigo thrust his hands forward to mimic the explosive nature of her Fire Breath. "And then, pssssheeeew! All gone! The performance that kills itself!"
"That isn't how it works!" Cura corrected him. "I have to mean what I shout! It carries my innermost soul's conviction and thrusts it out into the world." She continued walking past the sign that read 'Dayspring Canyon' and led to the cavern pass.
"So it is true in your case that words can destroy or create." Inigo mused.
"Yes." Cura nodded seriously. "And "Yol Toor Dah?' That's not..."
Cura stopped in her tracks. She began to think about it, holding her chin with a finger to her lips.
"Yol Toor Dah." She repeated. "The Shouts are a language in and of themselves... so... could that mean..."
Cura stepped back from Inigo for a moment and gestured for him to keep a distance. "YOL FEIM!" Upon releasing the words, her entire body engulfed in flames that were blue, similar to Dawnbreaker's and she became transparent.
Inigo gasped when he saw the spectacle before him. "Cura! I cannot see you, but I can see Fire! Are you okay? Are you alive?"
The Shout wore off quickly, leaving Cura surprised. "I... can't believe that actually worked! Inigo, I can mix the Shouts together! You are a genius!"
"No, my friend, that is all you!" Inigo refused to take credit for the discovery.
"You gave me the idea, with Yol Toor Dah!" Cura said, which caused Inigo to instinctively leap out of the way, and bump head-first onto a rock inside the Cavern. Cura softly chuckled. "No, Inigo, come on! You know I wouldn't do that to you."
Cura was surely going to experiment with this further. Then the idea came to her that perhaps one day she could create her own Shout. If she were to, however, what would it be? What would it entail?
Those were thoughts for another day, as the travelling friends came upon the exit of Dayspring Pass and stumbled upon the beautiful Dayspring Canyon.
Cura was immediately struck by the sight of the gorgeous twin waterfalls and river, surrounded by luscious grass and greenery. There was a large pond that started the river, which was fed by melting ice falling around the waterfalls. It was a true vision of beauty, even under the moonlight. The beautiful canyon contained many plants, including blue, purple, and red mountain flowers, spiky grass and thistles, several types of mushrooms.
Torchbugs sparkled in the air and flickered like tiny, iridescent candles.
Cura felt a peace that she was beginning to miss as she approached the path after exiting from the fissure in the mountain.
It did not take long for her and Inigo to realize they had company in the form of a scrawny, blonde Nord fellow with a white dog. The lad seemed anxious and gripped the axe on his hilt before realizing Cura and Inigo were friendly faces. "Oh, hey there! You here to join the Dawnguard, too? Truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before."
"That's all right." Cura nodded and tried to force a friendly smile before walking past him.
The Nord boy was anxious, and after scratching his arm, he hurried to catch up with Cura and Inigo. "I hope you don't mind if I walk up with you."
"I don't mind." Cura continued to look around, and Inigo sneered at the boy.
After a walk in silence, they began to see a large, gray castle off in the distance; it was the larfest building Cura had ever seen in her life; dwarfing Castle Dour and the Palace of Kings, even!
"Hey, uh, don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself. Not the best first impression for a new vampire hunter, I guess." The boy mused, realizing how freshfaced he must seem. "I heard what's going on. The vampires, the Dawnguard, all of it. I wanted to help, so here I am. You've probably killed lots of vampires, huh? I'm sure Isran will sign you right up. Not sure he'll take me. I hope so."
"Well, the first thing a vampire hunter needs to do is learn when it's best to be silent." Cura tried to hint that he may be talking a little too much. She was trying to focus on the large, fortified door ahead along the path. It really was meant to keep the Fort secure, true, but she couldn't help but find it a little bit excessive.
"That must be it. Fort Dawnguard..." The boy pointed at the large structure that ran along the ravine. "Wow. Bigger than I expected. Where is everybody? This place looks almost deserted."
"Boy, shut up!" Inigo snapped at him. "My friend is being nice, but you talk too much!"
"Oh... I'm sorry." The lad lowered his head.
Cura approached the large door and knocked on it. "Hello? We're here to join you!" She shouted, to whomever may hear on the other side of the gate.
A loud click was heard, and the doors slowly parted outwards, revealing a small troop of men in armour similar to the one donned by the orc ranger Cura met in Whiterun. However, the leader of the troop was a familiar face to Cura. He looked a little disheveled, but it was unmistakable. It was Celann, the Vigilant who quit the Vigil just before she began her entire journey. He held up his crossbow and pointed it at her, Inigo, and the Nord boy.
"Celann?!" Cura exclaimed as she took a step forward in attempt to catch the moonlight.
"How do you know my name?" the Breton man lowered his crossbow and raised an eyebrow, mildly concerned, yet with piqued interest.
Cura quickly pulled down her hood, to reveal her face better, and Celann's eyes widened in shock. "Cura? Is that really you?"
Cura walked forward and met him halfway, and pulled him into a cordial hug. "It is! It's me."
Celann gestured for the others to lower their weapons and they obliged, and then returned to their posts. "Here to join the Dawnguard? Good." Celann was happy to see her, and more so that she was seeing their side of things now.
"Oh... you know him?" the Nord asked Cura.
"I was just about to say that!" Inigo pouted.
"Oh, of course!" Cura stated. "He was with the Vigil! He left the Vigil a little bit before my Journey began, actually."
"I hear you've made quite a name for yourself since I last saw you." Celann looked impressed. "Thane of Whiterun, a Companions member, Dragonborn, Thane of Eastmarch... you've been quite busy!"
"I have..." Cura sighed as the weight of her journey was catching up. "it hasn't been all fun and games, though."
"I heard about what happened at the Hall." Celann said with a saddened nod. "I'm glad to see you're all right, though."
"Any news from Keeper Carcette?" Cura asked him, wondering if he may have heard something. They did not part on the best of terms, but surely she would have tried to contact him and Isran, right?
"Oh... er... well, I think you should go on inside." Celann dodged the question. "We can all talk more there. It's dangerous out here."
"Agreed!" The Nord boy said as he whistled aloud. "C'mon, Snow!" He beckoned to his white dog, and the hound followed as he ran up the trail.
"Vigilant Tolan just got in a couple of minutes ago." Celann informed Cura. "He'll be very relieved to see you. Go say hello, will you?"
Cura's eyes began to sparkle and she rushed up the hill and around the spiked barricades. She bypassed a couple of Dawnguard fighters, and Inigo shadowed her steps. "Here we go agaaaaiiiin..." the Khajiit bemoaned her overaction.
Cura skidded past a farming area, and past an alchemical booth and weapons rack. The exterior of the Fort had it all; it was like Stendarr's Beacon, but more flourished. There were even places reserved for potential housing, Inigo noticed as they rushed through quickly.
The Nord boy opened the fortified door to the large castle, and his dog entered. Cura quickly dashed past him, and Inigo fumbled inside clumsily.
Immediately as they entered, they saw a large, circular room leading off to many branching corridors. There were flags depicting a golden, flaming shield on them hanging from the balconied above the rotund chamber. Water flowed beneath the grates along the circular floor, and on its center was a platform, where Cura could see the familiar back of Vigilant Tolan. Beyond him, she could see Isran. He was older, and in a new armour set, but it was surely him.
"Why are you here, Tolan? The Vigilants and I were finished long ago." He only confirmed Cura's suspicions as she slowly crept up to Tolan from behind.
Tolan crossed his arms. "You know why I'm here; the Vigilants are under attack everywhere. The vampires are much more dangerous than we believed."
"Vigilant Tolan!" Cura cried out as she jumped on him and pulled him into an embrace, nearly knocking the large man over. Her heart was warmed to see his familiar face once more, especially given the circumstances.
"Whoa, there!" Tolan turned to see the familiar face of Cura. "Cura?! Thank the Divines you're all right..." He placed his arms around her to reciprocate the embrace, "You have no idea how much of a comfort it is to see your face."
Isran raised an eyebrow. "Figures."
Cura slowly released Tolan and looked at Isran. "Brother Isran, it's been a long time!"
"The ankle-biter comes back into my life. Things must be hard out there." Isran scoffed, amused and a little unnerved.
"The Hall of the Vigilant was destroyed." Cura shivered as she revisited that dark scene she came upon.
Isran scoffed, looking her and Tolan up and down suspiciously. "And now you want to come running to safety with the Dawnguard, is that it? I remember Keeper Carcette telling me repeatedly that Dawnguard is a crumbling ruin, not worth the expense and manpower to repair. And now that you've stirred up the vampires against you, you come begging for my protection?"
"No; more that we can gather the others and-" Just as Cura began to propose an idea, Tolan cut in. He shook his head sadly.
The large Nord looked down to the floor and clasped his hands together as he tried to find the words. When he did, they came out shaken, much as he had been. "Isran, Carcette is dead. The Hall of Vigilants... everyone... they're all dead. You were right, we were wrong. Isn't that enough for you?"
Carcette is dead. The words were black claws that pressed into Cura's chest and sunk themselves into her heart.
Isran crossed his arms as the information settled in. His voice became softer. "Yes, well... I never wanted any of this to happen. I tried to warn all of you... I am sorry, you know." He never saw eye-to-eye with Keeper Carcette, but he never would have wished this on her.
Inigo looked worriedly at his friend, who seemed to be in a trance of some kind. Cura looked up to the sky above, then at Inigo.
Carcette is dead.
Dead.
Dead.
The words resounded like a broken record, and they made no sense. They hurt. The idea was dreadful.
It had to be a nightmare. Vaermina's doing. Perhaps none of any of this actually happened, and Erandur had betrayed her like Vaermina said, and was using the Skull of Corruption on her?
"Why did you leave the Vigilants?" Inigo asked out of curiosity. It wasn't their attitude, that much was sure.
"Isn't it obvious? They're soft, the lot of them. Totally unprepared for any real threat. And yet I was the one ridiculed for trying to be ready for anything. "Too extreme", they called me. Well, that doesn't seem to have worked out in their favor, now has it?" Isran's eyes slid over to Cura and Tolan as he said this.
Cura began to look around in a panic, unthinking; unknowing. Her knees wobbled and the world began to spin around her. It was nauseating. Cold sweat overtook the Breton and she clenched at her collar. It slipped from her fingers repeatedly, as did reality itself. She began hyperventilating. Fast, sudden gasps found themselves coming up from her throat; as if her soul itself were trying to slip from her mortal coil. She tried to hold onto Tolan for support, but she felt her heart wrench inside of her chest, and her body seized. With eyes rolling over, she collapsed to the floor and slipped out of consciousness.
"Cura!" Tolan exclaimed in horror as she slid to the stone below. He raced to the rescue, catching her mere inches from the stone.
"Be careful how you touch her!" Isran extended a hand forward as he lowered himself to Cura's level. "Make sure she has room to breathe! Turn her on her side and keep her mouth open!" He instructed. "I'll get the Priest."
Inigo rushed over from the entryway and examined Cura. "Oh, no, friend... not again..."
"This has happened before?" Tolan asked Inigo out of concern.
"It happened after she saw the Hall destroyed." Inigo stated. "She has been under a lot of stress lately."
"Haha! Look who's back!"
Cura found herself at a long table in the middle of a foggy forest, garbed in a silly Fine hat and blue Party clothes, and seated directly in front of Sheogorath, once more.
"No... not this again..." Cura held her head in her hands.
"Don't worry, friend! There will be no life montage this time!" Sheogorath was chewing on an entire cheese wheel. "Want some cheese? It's Maggot-free, unfortunately."
"I... I want to die." Cura wept as she faced the table itself. "I want to die. I can't do this anymore..."
"Oh, ye mortals an' yer death wishes!" Sheogorath waved it off. "Ye say that now, but then when death comes, ye beg for yer lives! I thought it was impossible for me to make up my mind, but sheesh!"
"I've made up my mind. Kill me!" Cura threw her hands up in anger. "Kill me!" Tears streaked down her face.
Sheogorath shook his head. "Nahh, I can't do that. Ye have an important role in fate, lass. Lucky you!"
"I never wanted this! I never wanted any of it!" Cura continued to rant. "I never wanted to be Dragonborn! I never wanted to be the opposition to Alduin! I never wanted to face any of it!"
Sheogorath stared off into space. His eyes seemed to be looking through Cura, as if she were a ghost. Then he spoke suddenly, and stood up, startling her. "Ye know what? I think it is high time for a wee little field trip! Come on, it's gonna be fun!"
He snapped his fingers, and the setting changed. He and Cura were riding on buckets, using them as a platform as they flew through the air. "Where is she, now..." He began to look around, before pointing off in a direction over a lake and through some trees. "Follow meeeee! ~ " He sang as his bucket turned on its side and a flame ignited causing him to propel through the sky even faster, like a missile.
Cura had little choice, as her bucket was moving on its own. Still, she decided to rebel. She jumped off the bucket and plummeted to the trees below, hoping for an end to her hopeless sorrow.
Instead, she landed back on the bucket.
"Ah, ah, ah. No kickin' the bucket, lass. I already told ye, ye've got an important role in fate!" Sheogorath scolded her. "Don't make me spank ye, now, ye silly goose!"
Soon enough, they found a wide open plain in the mountainside. On top of that plane was a little Inn, where children ran and played. As soon as Cura looked down, she realized that the world grew around her; or rather, she shrunk.
She became a child.
Cura looked down at her small, pure hands; hands she hadn't seen since her own youth. She realized upon inspection that the children were all wearing hoods and wielding sticks, and hitting Snowmen.
"Slay it! Slay the Dremora!" One of the kids shouted as the others whaled on one of them, collapsing the snow on impact.
"Ah, they're Vigilants." Cura realized.
"Sticks an' stones may break my bones, but maces do it better!" Sheogorath spoke from beyond the scene.
"Come inside, children! It's time for a nap!" A familiar voice called from within the house, and Cura quickly ran to the source.
It looked like Keeper Carcette, but she was a caretaker instead, and the Hall was an orphanage. She wore a green dress with white sleeves and a white hat on her head, similar to the one Fralia always wore.
The hooded children walked past her and into the house, and she looked at Cura, expecting her to follow, as well. "Cura, don't keep me waiting!"
Cura took a couple of little steps in the snow when she realized something.
Could this be her way out?
If she were to go inside, would she actually die? Was the Keeper inviting her, as well as those who perished in the Vampire assault?
Cura's small legs trembled as she tried to step forward. Carcette continued to stare at her. The air grew colder.
"Keeper, are you dead?" Cura asked her, which only merited a confused glance.
"Ye can't expect an illusion to give ye a straight answer, dummy!" Sheogorath laughed as he came outside of the house with a Boiled Creme Treat. "Just come inside! Ye'll like it in here, I promise."
Cura hesitated, but slowly walked inside the house, following the Mad Daedra. Carcette closed the door behind them. "Well, you just make yourselves comfortable, now." She said as she walked towards the table that was the Shrine of Stendarr in the Hall, but in this vision it was instead a Carrot made out of Gold on a pedestal.
"Now, that's what I call a 14-carrot gold!" Sheogorath laughed as he ran ahead and took it off its pedestal.
Carcette snatched it out of his hand and cleared her throat condescendingly before placing it back in its rightful place.
"Snob." Sheogorath waved his hands as he turned himself into a dog and went to sit in the corner.
Cura walked to the shrine to see it up close and Carcette picked her up and held her in her arms. "See that, Cura? It's the Shrine of Danvarrs."
"What's that?" Cura raised an eyebrow.
Carcette's face went from friendly and serious, to confused and full of embarrassed laughter. "I honestly have no idea! Ha, ha, ha!"
"What do you mean, no idea?" Cura asked. "You're the Keeper! You should know!"
"Well, I've been growing lots of fruits and vegetables!" Carcette placed Cura back on the floor. "Tending the field is what I love best. Not being a caretaker."
"Then why are you the caretaker?" Cura asked her.
"Because the previous caretaker put me in charge when she was promoted to prison warden. It's a long story." Carcette shrugged as she took out a cloth and began to shine the golden carrot.
"I love the Bretons!" Sheogorath stated spontaneously. "Ye make the best cheese!"
Cura flinched as Bretonic cheese wheels began to appear on all the tables.
"Ah, a bountiful harvest this year! Good! Danvarrs be praised!" Carcette walked over to one of the tables and took a cheese wheel.
"Stendarr. Stendarr be praised." Cura corrected.
"'Standard'? What's that?" Carcette wondered as she attempted to use an embalming tool to cut a slice of the cheese.
"I think she means 'Stuhn.'" Sheogorath said with a nod. "That old boring guy."
"Who's stunned?" Carcette looked around with concern at the children, who were all laying on sleeping bags along the floor, leading up to a water trough, which would have normally been the Hearth.
"Ugh, forget it!" Cura turned around angrily and faced the trough. "I want to leave. I need to wake up. This nonsense is just getting under my skin."
Sheogorath looked at her sadly. "Awwww, that's too bad. I was having such a nice time! Clearly, you have no taste for carrots or cheese, ye soulless fiend!"
"This... fake Carcette... it's just bad taste." Cura closed her eyes sadly as she returned to her adult form. "Don't mock her memory like this."
"Eyyy, 'tis not her memory, it's your memory!" Sheogorath laughed. "The Human brain is a strange, and very fascinating mechanism!"
"This never happened." Cura protested.
"It did now!" The Daedra laughed playfully as he poked Carcette's nose, making her giggle. "See how happy she is? Now ye know you're dreamin'! Haha!"
Cura headed to the front door and opened it, only to find herself at the bottom of the stair in the Hall. She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Are you really going to do this to me?"
Silence.
Cura was waiting for a response from Sheogorath, but she got nothing, which made her only more concerned. Suddenly, from upstairs she heard a voice.
"Keeper, we can't let them take Brother Adalvald!" one of the Vigilants exclaimed. "Wherever he is, we have to kill them before they reach him!"
A vicious laugh proceeded.
"Where is he?" Keeper Carcette's voice came out, shaking. Cura did not like the sound of that, and she quickly ascended the stairs.
"We've already got him." Stalf stated. "Now, it's time to rest in sweet Oblivion."
The sounds of war could be heard above, and Cura continued to ascend the stairs...
...and ascend the stairs...
...and ascend the stairs...
...and ascend the stairs...
without end, it would seem. Every time she reached about halfway, she would find herself back at the bottom, and the sounds of violence and slaughter could be heard above her.
"KEEPER, I'M HERE! I'M TRYING TO REACH YOU!" Cura shouted above the crashing when she rushed up the side wall and pulled herself up by the railing behind the Shrine table.
Then, she saw all the children in hoods dead, and snowmen melting around them.
"NOOOO!" Cura wailed aloud.
Cura snapped awake with a loud gasp and began to cough violently.
"Hey, hey!" Erandur exclaimed as he tried to hold her steady. "Whoa, there! Calm yourself; deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out."
Cura looked around, and saw Isran, Tolan, Erandur, Inigo, and the Nord boy and his Dog, Snow. She continued to try and find her breath.
"You're going to be all right, Cura; don't worry!" Tolan informed her softly.
"Kill them... I'm going to kill them!" Cura muttered to herself, still entranced. "Those vampires... have... to die. I will bring down Stendarr's justice... upon them. I will rain down every agony imaginable onto them... I will.. slaughter... ALL OF THEM! HRRRAAAAGHHH!" She punched the stone floor to release some of the rage building within.
Tolan nodded with agreement, and Erandur could only sadly sigh. She was so engulfed with wrath that she hadn't even realized he was there, and he just healed her.
"Yes... that rage..." Isran recognized that fury in Cura's heart. "I know that hate very well..."
Cura pulled herself back onto her feet clumsily, and her eyes continued to burn like green furnaces in hollow, swollen sockets. "I heard you were looking for vampire hunters."
"You heard right. I'm glad word's finally starting to get around. But that means it won't be long before the vampires start to take notice as well." Isran remarked.
"Yes, an Orc man spoke to us in Whiterun." Inigo stated.
"Durak." Isran confirmed. "Then he is worth his salt, after all."
"I want to help the Dawnguard." Cura stated. "Let me take them on, Isran. I promise you, I have changed a lot since you last saw me-and not just because I've aged."
"Fine, just keep your head above the ground from now on." Isran told her. "Tolan, tell her about, what was it, Dimhollow?"
Tolan laid a hand on Cura's shoulder. "Yes, that's it. Dimhollow Crypt. Do you remember? Months ago, Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long-lost vampire artifact of some kind."
"It was an artifact?" Cura asked him. "I thought it was just Vampires, period."
Tolan shook his head. "We didn't listen to him any more than we did Isran. The Keeper did not take it seriously enough; she sent a few men with him, but not with enough to do a thorough investigation, I think. He was at the Hall before it was attacked...the Vampires got him."
"Maybe he found something after all, and that's why they attacked!" Cura realized. "I hope he's all right..." Her fury was beginning to subside to worry.
Isran nodded dismissively. "That's good enough for me. Go see what the vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there."
Tolan turned to Cura and placed both hands on her shoulders, much like a reassuring parent would. "I'll meet you at Dimhollow. It's the least I can do to avenge our fallen comrades." He released Cura and headed towards the door.
Isran shook his head. "Tolan, I don't think that's a good idea. You Vigilants were never trained for..."
Tolan turned around to face him once more. "I know what you think of us. You think we're soft, that we're cowards. You think our deaths proved our weakness." He waved his hands mockingly. "Stendarr grant that you do not have to face the same test and be found wanting. I'm going to Dimhollow Crypt. Perhaps I can be of some small assistance to you." He spoke to Cura, whom Isran seemed to see as more capable. Perhaps it was true, given her status as Dragonborn, but that did not change the fact that Tolan had a score to settle with the fiends, himself.
Cura ran over and cut in front of Tolan, and softly tried to push him back. "No, please don't, Vigilant Tolan!" Her eyes were sunken and her face saddened. "I don't want to lose you, too! Please, please reconsider!"
Vigilant Tolan turned his face from the pleading Breton and exhaled for a moment before stripping off the gauntlet from his left hand, revealing the Oblivion Seal that was carved on it. The wound was still relatively new, but entering its scarring phase."They did this to me, Cura." He held it up to show her. "Those bastards carved this onto me. They mocked our faith. Killed our brothers and sisters! I am not going to stand idly by and allow them to continue their dark designs."
Cura looked at it with disgust. "How... did you survive?"
"This kind Dark Elf saved me. Says he knows you." Vigilant Tolan pointed at Erandur, who waved at Cura.
Cura finally realized he was there. "Erandur!" She approached him and gave him a quick embrace. "I'm so sorry about my rudeness... I've been very distracted as of late... Thank you for helping Vigilant Tolan."
"It's not a problem, my daughter." Erandur smiled with a lighthearted chuckle. "Lady Mara led me to him."
At least Mara seemed to care.
"Forgive me for noticing, but your Housecarl isn't with you." Erandur noticed Lydia's absence. "Is she well?" When Cura's expression fell, Erandur immediately understood. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. My condolences."
"I don't know why I'm still breathing." Cura admitted. "I feel dead already."
Isran leaned forward and gestured to the Nord boy. "You there, boy. Stop skulking in the shadows and step up here. What's your name?"
Immediately the modest lad became anxious. "I'm, uh... my name is Agmaer, sir."
Isran sensed his weakness, and like a wolf, preyed on it immediately. "Do I look like a "sir" to you, boy? I'm not a soldier, and you're not joining the army."
Agmaer tried to establish eye contact, but it was proving to be exceedingly difficult to manage. "Yes, si... Isran."
Isran scoffed and pointed at the ground in front of him. "Didn't I tell you to step forward? Hmm... Farm boy, eh? What's your weapon?"
Agmaer did as he was bid, walking around Cura, Tolan, and Erandur, and stepping up to the leader. "Uh, my weapon? I mostly just use my pa's axe, when wolves are attacking the goats or something."
Isran rolled his eyes and placed two fingers on his forehead disapprovingly. ""My pa's axe", Stendarr preserve us."
Cura and the others looked at Agmaer and Isran, and Cura could feel some sympathy for Agmaer: after all, she knew how difficult and strict Isran could be.
"Don't worry, I think we can make a Dawnguard out of you. Here, take this crossbow and let's see how you shoot." Isran tossed his crossbow to the fumbling lad, and found amusement in the moment it nearly slipped out of Agmaer's grasp.
Agmaer finally got a grip on it. "Uh, crossbow? I've never..."
Isran began. "Yes, a crossbow. Best thing for killing vampires. Just take a few shots at those crates over there. Watch the recoil. Takes some getting used to." He gestured towards a pile of crates on the western side of the circular room, to which Agmaer aimed with a shaking hand.
Isran nodded. "That's it. Take a deep breath and let it out as you fire. You'll get the hang of it."
The first bolt hit the wall above the crates, but the next one hit the bottom of the middle one. "Why doesn't... uh... Cura have to do this?" Agmaer asked.
"Because Cura has battle experience. She's not fresh-faced, like you." Isran stated plainly, before turning to the girl in question. "And, if you need to know, there's a Chapel of Stendarr, right around the west corner. We have a greenhouse on the rooftops, and an Alchemy tower. There's a library tower to the west. You can use the bedroom on the east side upper level as your own, if you need it. Also, there's a bath area somewhere around here, but you'll have to look for it."
"You don't remember?" Cura raised an eyebrow.
"There are more important things to worry about." Isran continued to supervise Agmaer's firing techniques with mild disappointment.
Cura turned to Tolan. "I... think I'll step by the Chapel first, before we go." She was hesitant, as her trust in Stendarr was tested more and more as she embarked on her journey. In the beginning, she felt nigh invincible with an Aedra backing her, but when Hilde and Bruna perished, and then Helgen, and then the Werewolf incident and all that followed, she could no longer look to Stendarr with certainty. As much as she wanted to love and serve him, she felt herself only drifting further and further away with each new footstep.
She found the small chapel. Within there were many pews to sit upon, as well as a lectern on the western part, a Shrine identical to the one at the Hall, and behind it was a statue of the Divine himself; depicting Stendarr with his bearded face and robed armour, holding his chalice in his right hand, in the process of pouring his mercy out to the world.
Cura slowly approached the Shrine and statue and knelt before it, offering up a Dragon Bone that she could not sell to the Aedra. "Stendarr, please hear my prayers." She lowered her head and placed her hands flat on the floor. "I have sinned. Oh, how I have sinned! I'm sorry..." Her voice broke a little. "I have killed many, over, and over again. I spared no mercy in Markarth. I killed as many as I could reach, and with a Daedric Weapon of darkest origin. I killed Vigilant Tyrannus... I could not resist Molag... I judged Fenrik... I hurt so many people... I insulted Talos... neglected my daily prayers... I've been a terrible acolyte."
The room was silent to all but the footsteps of Inigo, who approached at the door. "S'rendarr, forgive me for my sins in this life and help me to atone for my wrongdoings." He murmured to himself as he took a seat on a pew in the back. He clasped his hands together, and began to pray silently.
"Please forgive me of my wrongs and grant me the strength to continue and atone for the misery I've inflicted." Cura pleaded. "Please... I can't continue to go on like this... I don't even know if you're there anymore..." She shuddered as doubts crawled upon her back and into her chest. "Please, don't abandon me..."
She sat there on her knees for a few moments, met with silence and uncertainty.
Truly, whatever was going to come next, she was not ready. Her heart was fractured in many places, and she was uncertain if it could ever truly be repaired. Hilde was gone. Lydia was gone. Moric was gone. Keeper Carcette was gone. They were never coming back.
Keeper Carcette... there were so many things I wanted to say to you... Cura hung her head. I wanted to be able to tell you how I defeated Alduin... I wanted to make you proud of me... I wanted to... I wanted to thank you for taking care of me all those years... for raising me with Tolan and Adalvald. An audible sob escaped her once more. Regret. Regret was what hurt the most. Regret of things said, and of things left unsaid. "Keeper... why did this happen...?"
These last few weeks have been some of the worst in her life.
Inigo stood up from the pew and walked over to Cura, who was weeping before the Shrine of Stendarr. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "That's all right, my friend. Let it out..." Mourning never came easily to anyone. Inigo understood this very well, himself. He knew one thing for certain; he would be there for Cura through it all.
That was what friends were for.
After some time passed, Cura was ready to rejoin Tolan on the matter of Dimhollow Crypt. Erandur stood beside Tolan.
"Are you ready, Cura?" Vigilant Tolan asked, noticing her reddened eyes. "We're gonna hit them back. They won't even see it coming."
"I'm coming, as well." Erandur stated with confidence. "I believe I can lend some aid in the matters of these vampires." He demonstrated his fire spell, containing it in the palm of his hand.
"Thank you, Erandur." Cura gave him a small smile in response. "We're going to light them up. Teach them a little bit about fear." She gestured towards Dawnbreaker and headed out the door first.
Outside, Celann and Durak came walking up the pathway and met the small group there at the entrance. "Ah, Isran let you in, huh? I knew he would." Celann smirked.
May your next fight bring you victory, friend!" Durak wished them well.
Cura held Inigo's hand and Vigilant Tolan's arm and Erandur as well, and Tolan cast Fast Travel, bringing the group in front of the ruins of the Hall of the Vigilant once again.
Tolan, in his mind's eye, saw the place as it once was; and yet will never be again. "This was a cozy little place, once." He said sadly as memories of a gentler time, not so long ago surfaced. "Carcette... I will avenge you. All of you. Your deaths will not be in vain!"
Cura knelt down and placed a Blue Mountain flower on the front steps of the corpse of the Hall in downcast remembrance before following Tolan and Erandur up the mountainside. The group was silent for the trek up the mountain, and not even Inigo would whistle on this voyage. It was a precession for the dead, and a march to battle, all at once.
A discarded torch lay burning still at the entrance to the crevice in the mountain wall. Tolan picked it up and held it out at the darkness, leading the way.
Erandur followed after him, paving a safe way for Cura and Inigo. "The thought of the dead rising... makes me sick to my stomach." The Dunmer confessed.
Cura nodded in agreement. "Vampires are abominable!"
"I really do not want to be bitten on the neck." Inigo stated. "Why do Vampires feel the need to go for the neck anyways? It is like a hicky, only with much more dire consequences."
"Trust in Mara… She'll protect us in this dark place." Erandur tried to soothe their fears with hopeful reassurance. After some wandering into an open cavern, he whispered. "A good friend of mine was infected by a vampire long ago. He killed himself rather than change into one of those… things."
The area was a medium-sized cavern with an underground river running through it from below, and a few waterfalls on the eastern side, pouring down from the frozen ceiling. In the southwest corner of the cavern was a small, broken down stone tower.
As the group headed further in, they could hear a couple of voices talking. They were so low, however, that only brief snippits could be heard from the conversation.
"...Vigilants made for such easy prey... I wonder if another will wander in here after what we did..."
"...she said I'd forget, and usually I do, but sometimes... still remember their faces, their pleading..."
"...Dawnguard getting to be more than a nuisance... gather some of the hunters... teach them a lesson..."
Vigilant Tolan made no attempt at stealth. The moment he realized who the voices were, he took down his warhammer and rushed around a large pillar, swinging.
"I love it when dinner walks right into my arms." One of the Vampires stated joyfully as he dodged Tolan's swing. He sidled to the right and hit the large Nord in the stomach, causing him to recoil backwards.
Erandur blasted a fire ball at the Death Hound that came racing over to them from the western crag, and Inigo quickly chased another one up into the Tower on the east side of the room.
Tolan was grabbed as he attempted to strike with the hilt of the warhammer, and the Vampire pushed him down, holding onto the handle and pushing downwards. Tolan struggled beneath his supernatural strength, brought down on one knee as he continued to push upwards against the demon that towered over him. The vampire licked his lips and exposed his fangs. "I'm going to drink you dry!"
"Fat chance!" Cura ran to Tolan and uppercut the Vampire in the teeth with her shield, stripping his upper skull from his jaw and cleaving his head in two.
"HISS!" the second Vampire rushed at Cura, and other figures began to move in the shadows.
"Cura, watch out!" Erandur warned her from the other side of the brook.
"MERIDIA, AID ME!" Cura quickly whirled around, and, brandishing Dawnbreaker, impaled the attacker through the throat. Blue fire engulfed the Vampiress, and with a dying gasp, her immortality immolated and created a great shockwave of light that engulfed other predators in the shadows, causing them to jump around, wailing as the divine flames chipped their demonic flesh away second by second.
"Bad doggy! Bad, bad, bad!" Inigo exclaimed as he shoved his ebony dagger into the Death Hound's forehead and scrambled up the small set of stairs, a Cat in flight. The Death Hound melted before his very eyes, leaving behind a fiendish skeleton covered in black sludge and smoke. Inigo picked the collar off its corpse. "Hmm.. this could be stylish... let's see..." He placed the collar around his neck. "I hope it does not make me look too domestic."
He was startled by the shockwave of light and lost his footing on the stairs. Instead of falling down them, however, he fell backwards and hit his back on the upper stairs. "Ow! Yeesh! Calm down, out there!" He began to massage his shoulders and looked to his left, where he saw a pull chain on the stone wall, above a Health Potion and a Magicka Potion, beside an open window.
When Inigo walked to the window, he saw a gate on the other side of the cavern near where Cura, Tolan, and Erandur were fighting the fiends. "Ah, I see. If this chain connects to that, I will earn an extra Sweetroll! I do not care if it's cheating." He looked at the chain, then at the gate. Now was the moment of truth; the deciding factor. He gave the chain a tug, and the gate on the other side slid open. "YESSS! YES! Go, Inigo! It's your birthday!" He cheered joyfully as he pranced down the stairs. Tonight, he would have two Sweetrolls instead of one.
Erandur approached Cura and Tolan, and gestured towards the corpses of the damned around them. "They'll stay dead this time, right?"
"They'd better." Cura sheathed the sword of light on her left hip and gave a swift kick to one of the corpses in front of her. It felt oddly satisfying. So she did it again for good measure.
Erandur stared at Cura for a moment. He was not quite an expert on her behaviour, but this side of her was certainly new compared to the gentle, soft Breton he had met long ago. He was sure she would not have kicked a corpse back then. Even the Caermina Cultists', and they were Daedra Worshippers; as much enemy to her organization as the Vampires were. This vindictiveness was borne of something, to be sure; and it was not just the death of some Vigilants.
"These old ruins..." Tolan remarked as he collected his bearings and looked at the suddenly open gate. "my father always told me to stay away from them. Good advice, I'd say."
Inigo came running around the bend and reached Cura. "I found the Pull Chain and got the gate open! Now we can proceed into the horrible, probably worse-than we've seen depths!"
Cura nodded. "Let's get going, then." She turned the corner immediately once walking through the gate unhindered, and accidentally kicked a lightweight object on the blackened floor. When Vigilant Tolan approached with his torch, she could see that it was a book of some kind. Cura picked up the small book, recognizing it as a journal. She began to read it.
"Notes on Dimhollow Crypt Vol. 3 As written by
Adalvald
Divines be praised! Here at last is the breakthrough I have been seeking. All the dangers I have escaped, the traps I have eluded and the foul draugr I have avoided have brought me at last to this.
In my previous volume of notes and observations regarding Dimhollow Crypt's possible connections to the Ancient Vampire clans of Skyrim's history, I wrote of a great chamber, far larger than anything else I've yet seen here in the crypt.
Alas, a few wandering draugr forced me to retreat to the earlier passages of the crypt, thus depriving me of an opportunity to study this huge cavern.
Well, praise be to Stendarr, for as I write this, I have just spent nearly a full day exploring that very cavern.
It was a risk that proved more than worth it, because what I found in that chamber nearly defies description.
Central to this huge cavern is an island of stone in a subterranean lake. Upon this island is something I can only describe as an elaborate ceremonial construction surrounded by stone columns linked by arches.
There is no mistaking the stark contrast in architecture here; no ancient Nords make this stonework. Here, too, were more of the gargoyle statues that i first glimpsed in earlier passageways.
There is no draugr burial site in Skyrim that contains these statues, save Dimhollow Crypt.
Indeed, I am now certain that the strange construct in this main chamber was built long after the crypt, and by wholly different masters. These must be the same builders who placed the gargoyles through the crypt, perhaps to frighten away the curious.
All signs seem to indicate that the masons who crafted these strange arches were servants of some ancient master who favored necromancy or vampirism.
The style and craftsmanship in the stonework are not only distinct in terms of design, seeming to speak of an entirely different culture than that of the old Nord peoples, but also in skill with which they were fashioned.
The cutting and shaping of the stone, for example, suggests more sophisticated tools than the crypt's original architects would have possessed.
Although I feel a sense of exhilaration that my theories have at last been confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt, I am also disappointed at the lack of answers. How long ago were these new features added to the crypt? And by whom? And for what purpose?
On one point, I have no doubts. I must return to the Hall of the Vigilant and share these findings with my brothers and sisters. When they see what I've discovered with their own eyes, they will no longer scoff at my theories or mock my endeavors.
And when that is done, I will return to my work. For now, Dimhollow Crypt might be a mystery, but by Stendarr I will see that mystery solved."
Cura closed the journal with shaking hands. The Vampires had him, probably holding him further inside. She turned to Vigilant Tolan, Erandur, and Inigo and her heart fluttered within her ribcage. "He's here. He has to be. I only hope we're not too late."
She found Tolan alive, so perhaps if the gods favoured them again, so too would Adalvald be.
"I pray to Lady Mara that he is." Erandur clasped his hands together. "But we mustn't waste any time; it is a fragile thing."
Inigo turned to Cura. "The elf is right! We must go quick!"
Cura nodded and pocketed the Journal. "Into the Crypt we go!" She thrust her mace forward, leading the charge.