Chapter 13, Enter the Dawnguard
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My name is "Isaiah, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ida." Isaiah greeted the werewolf.
"Isaiah? What a strange name... You are not from Skyrim I take it?" Ida asked.
"Gee, what gave it away? My lack of killing intent, my way of talking, or my lack of survival skills?" Isaiah rolled my eyes at the chuckling Ida.
"Well, is there anything you wish to take with you? Perhaps any memories you want to keep of your... uh...Tribe? Clan? Family?" Isaiah listed.
Ida had walked around one of the burnt down huts and shifted through burnt stone, ash and damaged wood, seemingly looking for something.
"There is one thing that I hope survived. We call our gatherings 'Packs'. Like wolves, we form together to help our survival odds, in the past, it used to be clans with family blood flowing through our veins, but due to our lack of numbers nowadays, our pack would take any willing stray werewolf who is willing to pull their weight with us and invite them through a certain ritual to join our ranks." Ida had then lifted one more burnt log out of the way to reveal a small, crushed chest. Removing the damaged parts of the chest, she had sighed in relieve that a certain piece of jewelry was undamaged. She pulled out a necklace that had 4 teeth like ornaments all encased in gold and 2 circular plates at the middle of the 4 teeth with the string going through them.
"What's that? A family heirloom?" Isaiah curiously asked as he looked closer at the necklace.
"Something like that, but not exactly, it's more personal. My pack actually practices a certain way of what you mortals call marriage. It's a ritual bond for mates. It's the equivalent to a wedding band, but the gold covered teeth on these are from the mothers', fathers', and of course the bonding mates' fang teeth dipped in gold." Ida said as she opened her mouth and pointed at one of her K-9 teeth.
"Huh!? You guys actually used your own teeth for that ritual?! But wouldn't that hinder your hunts for food and defending yourself?! Not to mention that would look weird-(giggle)-?!" Isaiah paused for a brief moment to look at Ida's face which she was holding back a laugh.
"(He-he) That part I was joking about. We don't use our teeth to make the ornaments. Though that was rude of you to judge a tradition." Ida replied as she poked the center of Isaiah's chest.
"S-sorry. You just threw me off..." Isaiah sheepishly replied scratching the back of his head.
"This was my mother's after she gave it to my father. The teeth actually are carved from bones of hunted prey. My father actually killed a few giants and a mammoth with my mother to symbolize the bond of the rite and the feast that followed. That was how strong the love was, and what they were willing to go. What lengths the mates are willing to plan, to go through, and the number of kills on that special hunt. So it could be from hunting herds of deer, hunting giants, or even hunting bandits in some special cases.
"Hm... I see..." Isaiah replied.
Ida then broke off the gold fangs from the neckless but only left the moon. She walked over to the graves of assumably her parents.
"...Ok, now I have to ask about that. Why did you break the fangs? Aren't they supposed to be a reminder of your parents?" Isaiah asked confused of the broken parts of the heirloom.
"When the life of the bonded ends, it is the duty of the offspring to carry down the tradition. The fangs go down with the parents upon death as their achievements and the love that they shared, but the moons are carried on with the offspring. Just like the cycle of life, we all move along with it from day to night." Ida stated as she buried two fangs in two different graves.
"That's... Honestly pretty deep for something simple like hunting, which is done on the daily, but really symbolic." Isaiah mused.
"Well, is that all you need? What about your clothes? Do you not find any spare clothes in there?" Isaiah asked concerned about his spare clothes still being on Ida's.
"You want me out of your clothes already? And here I was getting comfortable in them~" Ida pouted as she hugged herself with her arms pushing up her chest to make her bust look bigger, the white shirt was stretching out from the pressure.
"Please don't tease me like that..." Isaiah blushed at the sight and looked away from Ida with her snickering at the sight. She could tell that this guy would be fun to pick on with just how vulnerable he looks when he is like that.
"Fiiiiiiine. I did find my wardrobe chest intact when I found my necklace. I'll pack up, get redressed, and then we can go to wherever the group you think that can help me get my revenge. Sounds good?" Ida asked.
"Yeah, sounds perfect." Isaiah agreed.
Ida had packed her bag, exchanged her clothes, a sturdy pair of leather boots, metal arm guards, a steel dagger at her side, and a lovely scaled armor set that had an opening for her chest that Isaiah did not gawk at when he turned around after she was finished changing.
Isaiah and Ida exited the village and said one final goodbye to her village. Ida had readdressed the information that was dwelling in her mind. Her family is dead, her life was spared, and now this weakling of a human says he knows where to get allies on this terrible day to exact revenge on the vial vampires that did the damage to her pack. While she can easily kill him off now and break for wherever the rumors of a group that hunts down these vampires, its more efficient to follow the human, this... 'Isaiah' for the time being. There was also hesitance in his voice before saying his name. 'Isaiah' might be an alias name for all she knows. Sure, the deeds he had done were all good, but nobody does anything with just the 'kindness' in their heart... without a goal in mind.
But because his information is useful, fun to tease, and doesn't take immediate advantage of her body. So Isaiah gets to live... For now...
[A few hours later...]
As time has passed, the two were making their way to Riften. Isaiah had spoken of the details of group of Vampire hunters who are at an old fort called the Dawnguard near the city to Ida who was intent on listening about them. And from what Isaiah has told, a group of people had gathered after suffering from Vampire attacks and are forming a bit of a resistance against them. They are new but are being led by a man called Isran who is an expert on vampire hunting.
"There is no mortal alive who hates vampires more than he does. Cranky as fuck and untrusting to anyone except a few individuals, even in the Vigilants of Stendarr. His skills and connections are more than sufficient to aid in your cause. He will be a valuable ally without a doubt, along with everyone else who is in the Dawnguard." I told Ida.
"So, how do you know so much about this guy? And where did you hear about this Dawnguard in the first place?" She asked curiously.
"Let's say that I have my sources, and I know an abnormal amount of information and have connections to get the info from a certain...uh... person who I keep in regular contact with. And for the Dawnguard? You would be surprised in what information the inns would have. Be it for the right amount of coin, or by talking to the right people there. That, and there was an orc that was spreading information about Dawnguard. I asked him for the details." Isaiah replied.
"Huh... Well, for someone who is new to Skyrim, you sure got a damn good connection." Ida said in amazement.
'Yeah, and I am 'the guy'.' Isaiah thought to himself as he chuckled.
"Oh, looks like the gates of Riften is up ahead." Isaiah looked in his bag just to look depressed. Sadly, he doesn't have any gold. And thus, most stuff would be blocked off... from the entryway to even getting supplies.
"Is this what being broke feels like?! God, I feel that depression is inevitable..." Isaiah muttered in angst.
"Now-now, you still need to point me into the direction of the vampire group before you fall too far." Ida rolled her eyes at the overdramatic statement.
"Oh, right. I guess we can skip-huh?" Isaiah was looking back to a wagon of goods coming up. "Is that a Khajiit Caravan coming up?" Isaiah said excitedly recognizing a familiar Khajiit, but widen his eyes in shock in remembering something important. Deadly important.
"Uh-oh..." Isaiah then dug through his bag to pull out the Mask of Concealment and equipped it.
"Isaiah, what are you doing-?" Ida said before another voice chimed in.
"Excuse this one sir, but you look... huh?" The Khajiit leading the caravan paused as he looked at Isaiah, now equipped with the mask.
"Oh, uh... hello there Khajiit. Your name was...uh, Ri'Saad one of the leaders of the Trading Caravans?" Isaiah said unsure of if his mask would work.
All Isaiah noticed that his voice was deeper, but also lighter. like its... tuning? The words as they come out.
"Uh... Yes... This one is correct. My apologies, Ri'Saad was almost certain that he saw a familiar face on this one. Turns out, this one was wrong to be so hopeful..." RI 'Saad spoke in the third person with a sigh of disappointment.
"Who did you think I looked like, and why did you think I was this person you speak of?" Isaiah replied uncertain of the effects of the mask.
"Ri'Saad was thinking of a certain hero that died recently. A month back at Whiterun during a dragon attack, a brave odd man who goes by the name of 'Jester' was memorialized after his death against a powerful Daedra, and that was after assisting to kill a dragon that destroyed part of the town. Bless his soul, Ri'Saad hopes he is at rest knowing that he saved hundreds at Whiterun. And this one hopes that Jester knows how grateful we all are for his contributions." Ri'Saad smiled sadly.
"I'm... sure he knows well..." Isaiah muttered solemnly. Isaiah almost choked-up with tears with how he was remembered for one battle.
"Did something happen? Why did we stop?" A young female Khajiit came out from one of the carts.
From what Isaiah recalled; this one female Khajiit was the one that really enjoyed his story from back then. He remembered that her name was Jenna.
Jenna was about to inquire more about the sudden stop but took a long look at Isaiah as they locked eyes.
Just as Jenna was about to talk. Ri'Saad interrupted her.
"Jenna! It is rude to stare at others." Ri'Saad hissed. "We will take off to Riften soon. So please return to the cart." The leader asked Jenna.
Jenna bowed and apologized as she left to the cart. Ri'Saad spoke up again to Isaiah and Ida.
"My apologies. Jenna is still new to how things are around Skyrim. And recently has been sad since our friend Jester died. Jenna actually wanted to get to know Jester more, but..." Ri'Saad's eyes had then widen. "Oh, apologies, it seems that this one has gotten carried away with personal chatter. We will be on our way. Take care young ones." Ri'Saad had bowed his head and took off with his caravan of Khajiit.
"...Ok, I'll be the one to say it. What in Oblivion was that about? What is with that mask?!" Ida questioned in confusion at the encounter and situation.
"...We should get going towards the mountains. There lies our destination for the Vampire hunters." Isaiah said ignoring the question and put away the Mask of Concealment.
With the Khajiit caravan, idle chatter was being made between two Khajiit.
"Ri'Saad? Did you also smell it?" Jenna asked Ri'Saad.
"Aye. Ri'Saad is also confused why that one has the familiar smell of the one called Jester... This one questioned his sanity before you also had the same reaction. But that's impossible..." Ri'Saad stated as he drove the caravan to the usual spot just outside of the Riften stables.
"...Do you think that he-" Jenna spoke but was interrupted. "No. Forget those thoughts. The dead don't simply come back to life. He looks nor sounds nothing like him." Ri'Saad lied to Jenna and himself as he assisted in opening up the Caravan's market outside of the Riften stables.
[Back with Isaiah and Ida a few minutes later...]
After traveling across the bridge and into Dayspring Cavern where the road was tight for a travel and the Dawnguard was to be found, Isaiah was looking at the Mask of Concealment in thought wondering about the aftermath of the last encounter. The book said the mask was supposed to make him look like another normal person of no recognition unless they were closer to the individual wearing the mask... Was it because they spotted him before he dawned the mask? Or was it because they knew who he was and shared a meaningful interaction with them... What about enemies like bandits or Daedra? What effect would that have on them seeing him? Could they see me as their own or as an anonymous being not worth driving their attention? So many questions and so many dangerous outcomes, and only a single life-(Boing!)
Isaiah had suddenly collided headfirst into 2 soft pillows and fell back onto the ground.
"Hey! Am I invisible to you now, or are you going to listen to me yap to no end?" Ida stood tall over the fallen man.
"I'm sorry Ida, I was preoccupied in my thoughts about something, what did you want to say?" I apologized.
"How did you change your appearance! You looked different from before, and I would have been fooled just a bit, but you did change! How did you do that?!" Ida was more excited to learn more about the strange mask.
I looked at the mask for a few seconds before answering.
"...I barely understand the weird powers of the mask, so I think it's better to focus on staying vigilant about any wolf or sabretooth attacks." Isaiah changed the topic. "We are almost there at the Dawnguard fortress and I would rather keep this mask's secret between us. And besides..." I pointed out before looking ahead spotting a person. "...we have another guest about to join us on our walk."
There was a younger blond Nord man looking to be in his early 20s wearing what you might call farmer's clothing next to a fishing area with boats and fishing equipment and nets. He was staring at a twin waterfall scene flowing from several meters high with bits of icicles hanging off from the edge. The Nord was wearing a green tunic with a brown belt, and dirty white pants from what I could only assume was the stains of dirt, with a nervous outlook of uncertainty as he looked at us... Truth be told, I forgot his name since he was so unsignificant to the story.
"Hey there, are you two looking to join the Dawnguard too?" The young Nord asked.
"That we are sir." I replied.
"Truth be told, I'm a little bit nervous. I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walk up the path with you too." The young Nord said.
"Sure, why not?" I casually said.
"I guess..." Ida replied with almost a hint of annoyance in her voice. Not a fan of other people I'm guessing.
"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. I heard what's going on-" The young Nord farmer went on for a bit of a one-sided conversation with himself. Ida looked really annoyed at the guy and I... well, can't say much since I also am known to be a bit annoying. The one key difference is that I annoy people intentionally.
After a good minute of walking in the valley to the fort, we all stared at the fort that came up to view as the valley widened to a castle like fortress with massive watch towers that bridged to the main building. To say that it was imposing was an accurate depiction of what Dawnguard is... if it wasn't a crumbling piece of shit.
"Wow, it is bigger than I expected. Where is everybody? This place looks almost deserted." The Nord asked.
"Well, what did you expect? Dawnguard had probably started operations not too long ago, maybe a few months ago, and we were the few people that had some intentions to check this place out to help stop the blood suckers. With the Civil war going on with the Stormcloaks and the Empire, the rising dragon threat, and other shit going around that isn't related to those problems, that being the big cannibalistic tribe called the Foresworn in the east of Skyrim trying to take back Skyrim from the Nords with the Hagraven witch monstrosities, our own kin who turned to bandits and thieves for a living trying to rob the less fortunate just to get by in this world for greed or drugs, the underground, devolved snow elves, or the Falmer as they are called, who ransack and destroy anything breathing that isn't themselves, or gods forbid, Daedra involvement. I would actually be surprised if there are some number of people here who care about the rising vampire threat above all of that." I replied.
"Y-Yeah... I guess so..." The Nord said disturbed at my casual reply.
We came up to a wooden outpost with wooden logs that served as a bit of a barrier and a small camp inside of it, but from the looks of it, all of it looked incomplete... Was I wrong to assumed that Isran had started a few months ago? It barely looked put together as it is as if work was just starting barely a week ago with a few workers, including that one orc, Durak that was supposed to set the main character onto the vampire quest practicing his crossbow aim at a few painted targets with a few trainees from the looks of it. But none of them seemed to look familiar. Regular people I assume?
Durak was an older Orc by the looks of it. Big, but not as big as Trok that's for sure. From what recall of him, he has lost two wives from the vampire attacks of his orc stronghold and had sought out revenge against the vampires for it. He has grey hair that is tied up in a high pony-tail with the rest laying loose. His suit of armor was called the Dawnguard armor. Plated by design with a grey tunic style of padding and buckles serving as the button up attire with a chain belt serving as a holster for the weapons. Heavy grey boots and pants from what I can guess to keep warm from the ice attacks that the vampires favor to use against mortals. The whole purpose of the Dawnguard armor was meant to stop the vampiric magical attacks and light weight dagger attacks of the vampires, not heavy slashing weapons like you would expect out of bandits. The more that I think about it, the more I enjoy thinking about how practical the design was that Isran designed this armor.
"Well, well. You made it, and it looks like you brought a few friends to help us with our cause. Good. Isran's in the fort. He'll get you three sorted out." Durak looked over and smiled as he shot another bolt at one of his targets.
From what I had saw, the two had been eyeing the crossbows with curiosity of how capable it looks to be.
"If you are curious about the Crossbow weapon, its fairly powerful comparable to the bow. Vastly different from the typical bow you see on the daily from the guards and soldiers, it shoots a readied bolt instead of arrows at the enemies. Its more suited for mid to close combat opposed to the bow that is more for mid to long range combat. Its pretty effective at what it does."
"Hmh. You are pretty knowledgeable about something that is uncommon in Skyrim. Its nice to have another knowledgeable person around. I look forward to working with you." Durak smiled as he continued to load another bolt in his crossbow as we left for the entrance of Dawnguard around the corner.
'Hm... strange orc... they usually only praise strength.' I mentally thought to myself.
As we walked up to the door, we saw the gate keeper, he... well, I forgot his name too... Wow, i am not that good at remembering details of lesser characters, am I?
"Here to join the Dawnguard? Good. My name is Celann." The Breton introduced himself.
"Oh, my name is-" The young Nord farmer tried to speak, but was interrupted.
"Hold your horses kid. Isran will decide if you've got what it takes to join the Dawnguard. If he thinks you are a good fit with us, then I'll learn your names. Go on, he's right inside." Celann welcomed us.
...But for some reason, when he and I made eye contact, could feel a piercing gaze from him on me and Ida his playful smile shifted to a stern one. It was... Not as welcoming as when he was to the Nord guy, but just a bad feeling of judgment... I shook it off since he thinks that I probably look weak in comparison to the Nord farm hand.
I then took notice that Ida was really quiet and restless ever since we stepped foot into camp. It honestly kinda worried me if she was ok or not. But nonetheless, we all stepped into the fort doors.
When we were inside the fort, we saw 2 men talking in a huge circular two-story chamber that acted like the main hall and from the looks of it, it was really... REALLY dusty and broken down. One was a Redguard in Dawnguard uniform, and the other in whitish-blue robes with plated steel gauntlets and boots to match. The Vigilants attire. Hard to mistake it for anything else.
The Vigilants are basically Daedra hunting corps formed after the Oblivion Crisis that specialize in hunting anything unnatural... Kinda like the holy crusaders of this world one might say. They pretty much hate, reject, and pursuit anything related to vampires, werewolves, witches, and especially the Daedra. They also worship the Aedric God Stendarr, the God of Mercy.
"Why are you here, Tolan? The Vigilants and I were finished long ago." Isran said almost in an annoyed tone to the Vigilant.
"You know why I'm here, the Vigilants are under attack everywhere. The vampires are much more dangerous than we believed." Tolan replied in a regretful tone.
"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?" Isran replied in anger.
"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?" Tolan said with trying eyes.
"Yes, well... I never wanted any of this to happen. I tried to warn all of you... I am sorry for all of your losses, you know." Isran sorrowfully replied to Tolan.
He then took notice of us with a hardened expression.
"So, who are you three? What do you want?" Isran demanded with suspicion in his voice.
I stepped forth with my hand extended and answered. "Names Isaiah sir Isran. And my female companion here is-"
"A werewolf." Isran suddenly interrupted.
"Huh?" I uttered dumbfounded as Isran then shoved me to the ground with one hand knocking me over, in the same instance. Ida responded defensively and tried to pull out her steel dagger to then attack Isran.
Isran quickly activated a spell that shined bright in one hand that formed a magic circle below Ida, and before she could attack, mystical chains of light formed around her trapping her in place and bringing her onto her knees, arms held back, and over her mouth to prevent her from speaking. "It's useless to struggle against these Binding Chains of Standarr. They prevent transforming of any werewolf." Isran then pulled out a small one-handed crossbow aimed at Ida's struggling head as she stared daggers into Isran.
"WAIT-Wait-Wait-TIME OUT!" I yelled and put myself in between Isran's crossbow and Ida, my danger senses were screaming at me that he was ready to shoot without a second thought, but I ignored it. "We all came to help against the vampire threat and mean you or anyone here no harm in anyway whatsoever Mr. Isran!" I tried to reason with the vampire killer as I put myself with my hands up showing no hostility. Tolan already had his Warhammer out ready to swing, and I can see that there are 2 crossbowmen above us on the second floor of the chamber aiming at us ready to shoot.
"Now let me ask you another question, Isaiah. What makes you think that I won't pull the trigger on you just to kill that wolf in human skin who would endanger what little forces I have, Daedra worshipper." Isran said with a cold and uncaring stare. For some uncanny reason, it looked like it glowed for a second.
"Daedra worshipper? What do you mean by that? I worship nothing of the sort!" I replied angrily.
"You can't fool a Vigilant of Stendarr's gaze. We Vigilants are all trained to sense and see the evil power of the corrupted Daedra cultist and all of their followers. Normally we would see a purple for the tainted ones like your little chained pet" Ida growled in response. "But you... Never have I seen a soul so blackened with such filth aside from the very Daedra themselves!" Tolan barked angrily at me.
I was beginning to regret my first pick in choice to come here... More ways than one, and I wasn't in a good state of mind with many questions coming into mind... and Ida's eyes were looking at me, and I can almost read her thoughts of why in Oblivion did we even came here if we were to die anyways.
I had half a mind to use my powers to try and create a portal and escape. But that would just make ourselves more at risk and lose powerful allies. That, and I don't think I could even wave my hands without getting shot in the process...
"Let me explain our circumstances before you make a grave mistake resulting in the Vampires blacking out the sun!" I blurted quickly to Isran.
Isran's eyes narrowed.
"Blacking out the sun. Ha. Very funny Daedra worshipper. Next thing you are going to tell me is that you are some sort of prophet." Tolan joked ironically.
"Isran, I know that you are an untrusting guy, especially in my case, but if you are half the man I heard that you are, you would be pressed to hear me out for strong allies and foreknowledge to win this vampire war!" I pleaded as I held my breath.
"Isran, Give Stendarr's mercy to this heretic already and kill the werewolf abomination!" Tolan ordered.
"..."
(Speech Skill Increased)
"...You have only one opportunity to explain yourself before I pierce your skull." Isran responded.
"What?! Have you mad Isran!?" Tolan exclaimed.
"There is a rising Vampire threat I have to address, Tolan. While I don't like it, we don't exactly have a lot of allies since we just started the Dawnguard, people are being killed left and right by those damned blood suckers, and this guy says something about the sun being blacked out. That would explain why there is more vampire activity looming about. And with everything that is happening in Skyrim especially the civil war that is a huge picture that hides what is at work behind the scenes, I need all the help I can get." Isran then lowered his crossbow and my knees dropped to the floor in latent mental exhaustion.
I looked back to see that Ida was still chained with the spectral light energy."Can you also release my friend please? I don't want her to be in any more discomfort than she already is." I asked.
Isran looked at Ida with a contemplated look but walked up next to her passing me up and loosened the spectral chains for her neck to look at him.
"Don't try anything stupid, wolf. I have several crossbows aimed at you from the few Dawnguard soldiers above, and all of these bolts are silver coated to deal with both the undead Vampires and Werewolves. You both are going to answer my questions accordingly, or you both will die where you stand. Nod if you understand." Isran told Ida, to which she reluctantly nodded her head.
Isran dispersed his spell, and the chains faded away with Ida falling over coughing. I went and knelt next to her.
"Ida, are you ok? I honestly didn't expect this outcome to happen. I thought he wouldn't care much about your werewolf blood since he only cares about Vampires."
"Y... (cough-cough) yeah... I'm fine. I'm just glad we got a small chance." Ida coughed.
"Now explain yourselves and what do you know about the Vampire's plan?" Isran demanded.
"There has been a prophecy about a weapon that would darken the sun so the vampires would freely roam around without worry of the sun." I told Isran.
"And how did you come to know about this information? I would only assume that this isn't something you could just find from a scrap paper. For all I know, you could have pull that to just try and save yourself. What is your proof and where did you get it from?" Isran retorted.
I was stumped on how to answer this question without sounding like I pulled that information out of my ass. But I then remembered why this game series was called the 'Elder Scrolls'. And after all, Isran does have an idea of how powerful the elder scrolls are.
"Due to my odd circumstances, I did come across an Elder Scroll before I came here to Skyrim. I opened it, and it briefly showed me of a creature of the dark finding a way to block out the sun. Before I knew what was happening, it vanished from my hands before I saw anything else." I falsified my excuse.
"An Elder Scroll? From what I heard, anyone who reads an Elder Scroll goes blind." Isran scowled.
"Yeah, the key word being 'reads'. I barely opened it, and not even for 2 seconds, it forced itself shut and vanished..." I thought for a second to add something that seem. "Though that would explain why my vision has been slightly blurry..." I replied scratching my chin to add some confusion and realization to my standing.
"Hm..." His gaze focused on me trying to figure something out... or judging if my lie was really a lie.
"...Fine. Is that farm boy with you?" The young farmer flinched at the hardened gaze from Isran as i sighed in relief.
"Him? No, we barely met 5 minutes ago at the entrance of the valley. He isn't affiliated with us." I honestly replied. "And for our motives, we really did come to join the Dawnguard to fight against the Vampire threat. I'm sure that we are going to prove to be a valuable asset to your Dawnguard if you would give us the chance, sir."
"Stop calling me sir. I'm not a soldier." Isran retorted.
"And yet you are recruiting for a fighting group. You are going to be a leader of a bunch of potential frontline anti-vampire soldiers, so what does that make you? The Dawnguard Captain to lead your troops into battle? Dawnguard General placing strategic advancements against the opposing faction? A Drill Sargent training other soldiers to do as you do? And above all else, the term 'sir' is to refer to the higher person in power or order." I chuckled.
"Quit prattling about that and stop wasting my time." Isran said annoyed as raised up his crossbow to make his 'point'. "What is your real motive for joining the Dawnguard."
"What did you mean by that? I just told you my reasoning to stop the vampire threat from causing too much damage to an already delicate situation that is Skyrim. Do I need more of a reason?" I asked Isran puzzled.
"I didn't ask for your surface leveled reason you silvered tongued heathen. Nobody ever does anything for the better good without an ulterior motive. Especially not with what you have been through with that blackened soul of yours, I won't be satisfied with some half-baked answer." Isran growled.
I paused for a moment. What is my real reasoning for joining the Dawnguard? Over the course of what I have gone through... which is not long, but it definitely felt like a long time. No matter what I would say, he would still not understand that I come from a completely different world. Everything here is fiction that came to life. That, and I intend to help a particular person from the shadows so they can fulfill their prophecy as they should.
"Well, thinking it over... I don't think no matter what I say is going to make any sense to anyone else..." I dryly chuckled. "To put it simply. I want to go home."
Many confused looks were traded around the room. "What do you mean by... 'home'?" Tolan inquired.
"(Sigh) Just like the Nords and you guys might call Skyrim your 'home', I have my very own home that I want to return to. But due to EXTREMELY specific circumstances, I am... for a lack of better words, 'locked' out of my home, and I need several 'special keys' in order to go back to my home and these keys are spread throughout all of Skyrim. I don't know what those keys look like, but I'll know it when I see them. And I was hoping that by joining the Dawnguard, I would be able to find one of these 'keys' through helping you guys. That is my reasoning for joining the Dawnguard, so I can get one step closer to going home and returning to my everyday normal life. That is all you need to know about what I want." I summarized as locked eyes with Isran.
Isran stared and narrowed his gaze, from what I could only assume if I was lying or not. "Hm... Alright then. I'll choose to believe you for the time being. What about you, wolf. what do you want with the Dawnguard. The last I have heard, werewolves like to stick with their packs and don't like to socialize with others. Explain yourself." Isran looked at Ida who growled at the mention of her pack. The growl put Isran on immediate guard as he readied the sealing spell in his free hand.
"(Growl) They are all dead." Ida bitterly admitted, and Isran raised an eyebrow as he was suddenly more interested lowering his weapon. "My pack was all slaughtered like cattle in one night a few days ago. Over a hundred of those blood suckers with their foul dogs that came to kill my pack. I killed some of those vampires and barely escaped with my life hanging by a thread, and I was saved by that one right there" Ida pointed at me. "...and he promised me a way to get back at those bloody bastards by joining you guys and avenging my family. If you are not going to help me with my revenge, then stop wasting my time and get it over with." Ida finished with a defiant look.
"...If there is one thing I like about you, it is that look in your eyes. I can tell you hate Vampires almost as much as I do." Isran praised. "Almost being the case."
"Now listen, boy." Isran turned back to me. "I won't ask about what happened to your soul since that seemed to be another matter entirely, what I do need to know is what Daedric Prince you were affiliated with." That took me back a step in surprise. "How did you know that I was affiliated with a Daedric Prince?" I replied. Isran stare intensified, and I swear that I could see his eyes glow. "You could say that I met my fair share of dealing with Daedric Cultists in the past. Even some Champions might I add. The Champion's soul was darker colored then any of the other cultist I had come across and almost always blessed with some sort of unnatural ability, and you have the darkest soul I have ever seen. What Daedric prince looks over you? I don't want to have to deal with an otherworldly entity laying in trials or traps along the way while we are fighting against the vampires." Isran explained.
"Oh." I replied. "Well, either way, you don't have to worry about that. The Daedric Prince of Comedy and Entertainment that appeared about month ago, the one that did this to me is dead." I answered.
"A Daedric Prince does not simply just 'die'." Isran retorted. "The Daedra are basically immortal masses of energy and return back to their plane in Oblivion, they can be defeated temporarily but not completely." Isran continued.
"No. I'm pretty sure that it did die. From the looks of what I saw, most of its powers were practically shattered, and I saw the husk of what was left when I last talked to it. Afterwards, it shriveled up to ash and faded to the winds without a trace. If that isn't true death, then I don't know what is." I responded.
"...Well... I can't say that I haven't ever heard of a true death of a Daedra before... Much less a Daedric Prince." Tolan pondered with Isran.
"Listen. We are getting off track of what the main issue is, and that is vampires. Listing and recruiting members is, right? Do we agree that you need all the help you can get, yes or no?" I threw the obvious question he needed to answer.
"Isran, I would advise against it. Need I point out his tainted soul? For all we know, this could be a plot to kill us in the end!" Tolan once again brought up my soul state.
"Tolan, need I remind you that I left the Vigilant years ago? I don't operate as you or the others do. So, keep your advice to yourself." Isran replied coldly As Tolan stepped away and avoided his gaze.
"Alright boy. You are correct in what you say. I do need more recruits to fight back against the nightcrawlers. And the more I think about it, there is an advantage to having a werewolf as an attack dog. But don't you think that I won't kill the both of you off the moment you start to hold us back or if I sense there is something is wrong. Do you understand?" Isran threatened about any backstabbing.
"We will earn your trust in due time. Just give us a mission, and we will make headway to what needs to be done and prove ourselves." I said with a grin.
"Fine. Rol, Borjun, stand down These two are under my watch now." Isran called off his crossbow troops. "Tolan, forget about the Stendarr's rules just for this time. Tell them about... what was it... Dimhollow?" Isran recalled.
"...Ugh, fine." Tolan said with reluctance. "Dimhollow Crypt was the place. Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long-lost vampire artifact of some kind. We didn't listen to him any more than we did Isran. He was at the Hall when it was attacked..." Tolan replied solemnly.
"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." Isran replied slightly excited to finally score one against the vampires.
"I'll meet you at Dimhollow. It's the least I can do to avenge my fallen comrades." Tolan eagerly stated.
"Tolan, I don't think that's a good idea. You Vigilants were never trained for..." Tolan then interrupted. "I know what you think of us Isran. You think we're soft, that we're cowards. You think our deaths proved our weakness. 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 after I take the heads of those damned vampires!" Tolan then hurried in the direction of the exit.
"Tolan, wait!" Isran tried to stop Tolan to no avail.
Tolan really is a hardheaded type of character, and I really don't have a positive impression of his character, especially of his arrogance... But above all else... Not everyone who strives for good deserves to die. Even idiots have their uses on the battlefield.
"Let him go to his Pathetic death, just like his other tragic Vigilants!" I raised up my voice loud enough for the whole fort to echo with my voice. Tolan stopped dead in his tracks as I insulted his deceased comrades. Many who've heard went wide eyed.
Isran gave me a harsh glare.
"Isaiah, what in oblivion are you doing?! We just got out of trouble!" Ida hissed at me.
"You'll see." I mumbled as I walked to a more open space away from Ida and the others.
"...Pathetic, you say?" Tolan turned and sent me an angry glare and started to charge at me with his war hammer out and yelled. "YOU DARE MOCK THE VIGILINTS OF STENDARR AFTER WHAT HAPPENED?! YOU BASTARD!"
Now, what is my plan to prevent this guy from attacking me, as well as a prevention of Isran from attacking me once this fight is resolved? Well, it's time to show my worth as a fighter. I took a breath and made absolutely sure that I want 'this' to happen as I placed my hand on my stomach as it began to slightly glow. After sizing up the Nord Vigilant compared to the other monstrosities that I had faced... I think I can take him.
"Activating Ability: Spatial Tear."
[Ability Spatial Tear has been activated: Time limit 3:00 Minutes]
I charged in and briefly took out Deceit and clicked it to unleash its true sword form. The sudden surprise of a sword from nowhere made Tolan hesitated slightly in his charge and the surrounding audience gasp as I then clashed weapons with Tolan in which he has the weight advantage.
"Tolan, stop before you kill him!" Isran tried to order the ignorant Nord Vigilant.
"Bold of you to lock weapons with a man stronger than you and with a heavier weapon than yours." Tolan criticizes with fury in his eyes as he quickly got the upper hand by forcing me on one of my knees with his weight and force of power. "You're a fool for not knowing your own limits, and you will die a swift death you milk-drinker!" Tolan insulted.
"Ironic coming from you. But I know exactly what my limitations are, and where I want to be!" I claimed as I placed my left hand on the ground to open a portal below me, and one behind Tolan, using the gravity and Tolan's Nord strength to push me through the two-way portal and allowed me to pop behind him as I delivered a good kick to the back of his head knocking him down to the ground as the portals closed immediately before he could go in.
"W-What kind of magic trickery is this?!" Tolan stuttered at the head attack as he slowly recovered.
"The kind that is saving you from killing yourself you prick. Now be thankful!" I retorted feeling more confident in the fight.
"Raagh!" Tolan got up and tried to swing his slow war hammer with one hand at my head from the ground up. I ducked underneath the slow upwards swing, and tried to slash at Tolan with Deceit, but Tolan then grabbed my sword with his free-handed gauntlet by the blade and yanked it from my grip with a grin and delivered a punch to my face that sent me flying a few meters away. I slowly got up and grabbed my aching jaw for a moment before ignoring the pain and focus on the idiot in front.
"So... You did have a Daedric artifact with you. I thought I sensed something off from this blade." Tolan looked over Deceit.
"Oi! That blade isn't yours! Give it back!" I shouted at Tolan.
"Ha, you would like that wouldn't you? After I destroy this blade and kill you for mocking the Vigilants death, I will be avenging (Deceit) my comrades... deaths..." Tolan arrogantly spoke but noticed that the blade suddenly vanished from his hand. "Where...what?" Tolan tried to make sense of what happened to the sword as it vanished from sight only to end up in my own hands. I grinned briefly at his confusion.
"I think you need to chill out before you make another mistake. Your first mistake was underestimating the Vampires like they are just common rats and look where that got the Vigilants of Stendarr. Destroyed headquarters, many of y'all murdered, and not knowing how to fight back effectively." I told him off.
"You shut your damned mouth! Or I will shut it for you!" Tolan charged in as he raised his war-hammer to slam into the side of my body.
"Second, you brute force your attacks like that are going to be the answer to everything, just like you typical Nords to see so little without the help of magic!" I formed another portal to fall through and appeared further away. "You think the Vampires are also going to fight fair against you?!" As Tolan charged at me, I formed one small portal to the side of one of his legs and stuck my arm into the portals to grab his boots and tripped him over. "You think you are invincible, and everything is going to go as poorly planned like you hear in the stories?!" I formed another portal and stepped into it appearing over the fallen Nord who turns over to find the blade of a sword placed over his neck. As I sent a glare at him "Don't make me laugh."
Tolan slapped away the blade and tried to get up-
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Isran roared out in anger as many spectral chains of light formed over the both of us and tried to bind us. Only for the chains to shatter as they touch me with only Tolan being the only one chained down. Isran had once again drawn his crossbow and aimed at me.
"Don't worry Isran. I just wanted to send a message and prevent this idiot from killing himself and becoming another snack to those vampires." I replied without looking as the sword then reformed back to its original pen state. "Tolan. Your third mistake was mistaking me to be a bad person with evil intentions based off of the little information that you saw and knew. Ignorance as I call it. Not all honorable people come from noble places. And I come from a fucked-up reality I am barely accepting..." My eyes then locked with Isran who continued to stare at me with his unreadable gaze as he slowly lowered his crossbow. "I apologize for insulting your friends Tolan, but Ida and I will take things in Dimhollow Crypt from here. You study up on Vampires. And uh... for Stendarr's sake, don't let your pride be the death of you. You'll disappoint your comrades in the afterlife if you join them so soon."
Tolan paused to think about his dead allies and stopped struggling against the light chains as they dispelled by Isran who read the situation. Tolan got up from the floor with no aggressive movements.
"I'm...I'm sorry... It's still hard for me to just accept their deaths..." Tolan replied solemnly.
"No, I understand. But arrogance and ignorance are something to avoid, and there is too much both in Skyrim. It's like a disease you can't avoid, and it turns people into common idiots. I just can't stand it, especially in suicidal cases." I sighed as I put right 2 fingers on my temple and tried to remember the location of my next destination.
I took a few seconds to remember where the Crypt was before I raised my hands to open one last portal to the site of the wreckage of the Hall of Vigilants just a few meters away.
Isran and the others gasped at the sight of a place so far away just being a few steps away as well as the chilling winds that flowed from the portal.
"Ida, let's go and clear out those Vampires and stop them from getting what they want from that crypt." I called out to my werewolf companion.
"Uh... y-yeah. Coming!" Ida said getting out of the shock and stepped up to the portal before reluctantly stepping through.
I was about to step through before noticing a lone crossbow and bolt quiver on top of a pile of crates and walked over to it. I can definitely make use of this. "Isran, do you mind if I take this?" I asked Isran.
"You better be back with something to show for it." Isran grinned as he finally knew a bit of my potential.
"Thanks, I will sir. See ya." I replied cheekily to Isran's sour frown as I equipped the bolt quiver filled with 10 bolts and slung the quiver over my shoulder. Wow, he really hates to be called 'Sir'...Heh. I'll keep it up just to peeve him.
"Wait! Please, let me come with you! I need to avenge them!" Tolan shouted as he rushed to me as he grabbed my shoulder.
"Hmm... Let me think abo-" I didn't bother even finishing that sentence when I walked immediately through the portal, shown Tolan my middle finger and closed the portal immediately.
"..."
"...Well, that happened..." Isran stated. "Now. What to do with you..." Isran said as he turned to the young Nord farmer who was still dumbstruck at the events played out. "What's your name boy?"
"I'm, uh... my name is Agmaer, sir." Isran then sent a harsh glare at Agmaer.
"I've said it once, and I will say this again. Do not. Call me. Sir. You will call me Isran. Do I make myself clear, Agmaer?" Isran threatened as he got up to Agmaer's face.
"Yes si- I mean, Yes, Isran..." The farmer replied.
"Good. We have crossbow training to do for your first step into Vampire training..." Isran replied as he handed Agmaer a crossbow.
[With Isaiah and Ida...]
As I closed the portal flipping off Tolan, I could feel that the power about to fade with the glow of my stomach also fading with the active ability.
I took out my bag and put on extra clothing, namely a jacket for the harsh cold that has been making me shake uncontrollably. When I put the jacket on, I was still cold, but it's better than just the white T-shirt.
[Active power: Has been deactivated.]
[Cooldown for Spatial Tear: 23 Hours, 59 minutes.]
'So, I wasn't just imagining all of those 'game-like' messages...' I thought to myself. Well, I'm sure that it would help in some-
"HOW DID YOU DO ALL THAT!? WHATS WITH THAT COOL SWORD?! HOW DID YOU GO ALL OVER THE PLACE?! DO IT AGAIN!" Ida grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me with excitement.
"H-h-Huh-w-W-wait-s-S-Stop!" I tried answering but being shaken to this extent, it was hard to respond properly. I grabbed her arms and threw them from me so I could properly answer the excited women. Ouch, damn she has a grip of a bear.
"Listen up Ida, I'm going to tell you this only once. I'll give you a brief explanation of my portal ability. But please try not to blabber about it to everyone you see. It's my hidden ace." I explained.
"Ok, I promise." Ida smiled as she was paying full attention.
"Alright. I have the ability to create those portals, but only a limited time per day so I can't do that whenever I want. So long as I know where the place is, I can roughly open the door to that area. Or in the case of a battle, I can use it as a vantage point to create good opportunities to attack from blind spots or to create an escape for myself in case I bite off more than I can chew." I explained.
"And your sword? Where is it?" Ida asked. I pulled out Deceit from my pocket and handed it to Ida. "Here you go. Have fun." Ida eagerly took it and inspected it. Clicked it for the ball point at the end to come out and in a few times. Ida shook and smacked it to no avail to make it reveal its true form. As I thought. Only I can really make use of Deceit...
"Why, won't it appear?!" Ida said frustrated as she clinched the pen in her hands.
I chuckled as I think I would let her play with that pen for a few more minutes.
"You are awfully ecstatic for someone who was momentarily shy to speak earlier. What happened to your playful nature back there?"
"Well, aside from the obvious cold stares from those from the ex-Vigilants. I don't think it's... right to be that playful around strangers. Especially with how serious they are about the whole vampire hate." Ida smiled while she scratched the back of her head.
I acknowledged her point, and we continued into the devastation of what was left of the Hall of Vigilants. A tragedy of what happened here as there was nothing but dead bodies of both Vampires and other people. A mix of dismembered Nords and Elves' bodies ripped apart by assumably hell hounds or by vampires taking their own snacks from their corpses. It was sickening to say the least and the biggest attraction of what happened was the burning hall that was still burning cinders at different parts of the building, but it was still standing for some parts of the building. It was... sad for a lack of better words.
Ida looked perplex on what to feel. Hate for the vampires, pity for the Vigilants, or dislike for what they both had done in the past to the werewolves. When we saw the horrors that was inside of the building, it was obvious what feeling was the most prominent.
Anger.
Carcette the Keeper, as well as a few other higher ranking Vigilants was steaked up and burnt just like Ida's father and her pack.
I could see Ida's teeth showing and a growling rising, and I even saw signs of transformation as hairs began to slowly grow.
Before she could do anything, I immediately rushed to her and gave Ida a tight hug that immediately stopped the growling.
"Ida. I don't want you to lose control over yourself, otherwise you might hurt yourself in a blind fit of rage. Try to control your anger and revert back." After a few seconds, I felt a bit of tension loosen from Ida's posture and I slowly released the hug. "Let us get out of here and avoid the sight. Are you alright?" I asked Ida as we stepped away from the horrific scene.
"I would be lying if I said that I was. But I do feel a bit better..." Ida admitted. "Though I want to find the crypt sooner and kill some of the vampires that did this." Ida growled. "We will do just that. Would you do the honors of sniffing out those vampires? If we track the vampires scent, we would be able to get into that Crypt." I reasoned.
Ida knelt down to one knee and sniffed out some of the footprints and found that some of them led to next to the side of a mountain besides the ruins of the Hall of Vigilants.
"I smell the scent of vampires and blood going this way." Ida pointed towards a small path leading off of a cliffside of the mountain.
"Thats a good girl." I cheekily responded lightly scratching the side of her head as if I was praising a puppy.
(POW!)
Ida punched me in the ribs that made me lose my breath. "Gah! Ida, (Gasp) that hurt! (cough)" I cried out in pain gasping.
"Please don't do that Isaiah..." Ida embarrassedly said with a solid blush across her face.
'...Note to self... Be careful of making pet jokes to Ida... But FUCK that hurt!'
As I (Barely) recovered, we had crossed a few man-made paths that led to a few iced over stairs. Over time, I noticed that Ida wasn't shaking from the cold, despite her wearing 'less'.
"Ida, how are you holding up for the cold?" "I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking. We werewolves grow accustomed to the climates of Skyrim. I may have Imperial blood flowing through my veins, but my pack trained to survive through harsh hailstorms. I'll be fine." Ida flashed a smile.
Time passed and the cold grew to keep biting me through my light preparation of heat preservation. A small blizzard even came in to make things worse.
"Ugh... Where is this damn cave entrance! I'm freezing my nuts off in this cold-Gah!" I complained as I lose a bit of my footing due to the ice path. Damned numb limbs... I think I'm getting frostbite."
"I think I see a light up ahead. Prepare for a fight Isaiah." Ida alerted me as I took out my crossbow just in case.
We came to an end to our search and found a small cave with a stairway that led to the cave with a burning torch laying at the foot of the stairs.
"I think we can assume this is the Crypt." Ida deduced with the sniff test. "Yup. the smell of vampires gets stronger."
"What are we waiting for? Let's make our way inside!" I hurried to the entrance.
"Isaiah, WAIT!" But it was too late for the warning as the sound of an otherworldly large black K9 that dashed and jumped onto me, falling back first to the ground being pinned with the black nose-less beast was barking my face with its many slobbering teeth as I barely grabbed and held it back by the neck collar with both hands.
"WaH! AhHH! KILL IT! KILL IT IDA!" I panicked from the sudden Deathhound pinning me down and getting closer as it tries to bite-(lick?) me. There was a frosty breath coming off of each attempted attack with its seemingly serpent-like tongue dragging along parts of my face, and I really didn't want to know what the actual bite was like, but just the saliva alone was chilling.
Ida quickly came up and grabbed it by the collar, making me let go of it, and she hurled it over the tall cliff. A few seconds later, a brief dog 'yip' was heard from below, and then silence. Wow... that dog must have weighed at least 80 pounds or so, and for her to throw it so easily...
"Woah... that was... Intense..." I caught my breath and got up and hugged Ida. I won't admit to anyone that she was really nice to hug with her being warm to the touch. "Thank you, Ida. I'm sure that it would have gotten a chunk of me if you weren't here."
"Awfully huggy today, aren't we? Are you that thankful for me saving you, or are you trying to feel me up for warmth? All you need to do is ask and I'll let 'cha warm up all. You. Want~" Ida giggled and reciprocated the hug with a small blush of her own that I didn't see.
"N-No!" I quickly tore out of the hug and recomposed myself. "A-Anyways. we should proceed with caution. There are vampires up ahead. We should be more careful."
"Says the guy who was almost killed by a dog." Ida sighed.
"That was a Deathhound, and you know that was a ruse!" I retorted as I progressed through the tight cave.
"Sure it was..." She rolled her eyes as she followed me.
After a minute of tight cave traversal, we came across into a good cave space that let natural light into the cave from the opposite side of the cavern. There was even a small waterfall in the area for potential sneaking.
"From what I remember, there are two vampires and a Deathhound in this room... we killed the Deathhound... But since Tolan survived... We are going to be dealing with a total 4 Vampires for our first battle... and they are from the Volkihar court, so they are going to be tough opponents... probably.
Ida was behind me when
I then heard bickering echoing from a far...
"...You LOST him?! What did you mean you lost Kilosk?! I WAS GONE FOR 5 MINUTES!"
"The fuck?" I said to myself as I got closer to the rocky cliff that overlooks the whole nature filled area.
"Look, that mutt has a mind of its own. He ignores basic commands, shits everywhere it pleases, and smells of death, and not even the good fresh kind. You expect me, a Volkihar Vampire to deal with such trifling matters such as you commoner Vampires and that pungent husk you call a pet?!"
"His NAME is KILOSK you unbearable asshole! And need I remind you that you are a DEMOTED Volkihar Vampire! Speaking of which, you forfeited your position when you messed up that delivery of fresh livestock mortals for us to feed on, for the last THREE month! Did you forget that I was put in charge of our group because of your CONSTANT MUCK-UPS, CHARLES?"
"I can hear you just fine, Julian. You don't need to yell out what you think is supposed to change my views. Your dumb guard dog isn't even doing its job for 'guarding'. Why don't you get after that mutt instead?" The stuck-up vampire replied.
The dog owner continued. "I LOVE that dog to death and forever onwards! While he may not be a killer at heart, I raised that Deathhound from pup birth and he has been my source of absolute joy, and I'll be damned by all the Daedra and Gods and even Lord Harkon himself before I forgive you if he gets hurt while under your watch or worse SO HELP ME-!"
"Julian. Charles. Would you guys please stop bickering?! You two interrupted my power nap. And Julian, I'm sure Kilosk is fine. He is a strong hound... despite his short comings... " Another voice called out as the owner of the voice was leaning in a chair against the wall with a big straw hat shading his eyes from what little sun is shining through, yawning with little care.
"Ulis, quit your complaining. You barely do anything as it is, lazy bum. You need to be alert in case any other vigilantes come through and investigate their destroyed social gathering." Responded a more feminine voice.
"That MR. Lazy Bum to you, miss attitude. And we haven't had a single problem or intervention for the past day after the attack on the Hall of Vigilants. Even after 200 years, you still have that stern attitude, aye Lila?" Laughed the tired vampire.
"Even after 200 years, I'm surprised that you still use that same line after gods knows how many times. You ever get tired of using it?" Lila responded displeased.
"As tired as I am now? No. I'm going back to sleep. Good night beautiful." The lazy vampire replied as he leaned back against the wall assumably trying to nap while the other female vampire scoffed.
"...Ok, looks like they have their own stuff to deal with... And looks to me that the way forward is open, so we won't have to deal with most puzzle bullshit it seems like..." I said aloud.
"Puzzles? What are you talking about?" Ida asked.
"I'm guessing that you never ventured in a Nordic ruin before?"
"Wait, this is a Nordic ruin? I wasn't even aware that it was with all of this overgrowth of moss and rock." Ida replied puzzled.
"Well in any case, most areas like this, you have to solve convoluted puzzles to find a way forward, fight Draugr, and since this is a Nordic ruin, they have a bunch of switches and traps to open the gateway forward for the deeper part of the ruin which usually hold valuable treasures."
"Wait, you been graverobbing before?" Ida asked in shock.
"No, this is my first time in a Nordic ruin-wait...No yeah, I been in only one before." I forgetfully remembered.
"...Alright then, how are we going to attack them?" Ida asked.
"Wait, you aren't going to go headfirst? I thought that's what you were going to go for your revenge and whatnot." I questioned.
"Oh believe me Isaiah, I would LOVE to tear them asunder." Her Voice had almost gone feral l but reverted back to normal. "But I believe you to be the better voice of reason opposed to mine. You had proved it back with the small scrap back at the Dawnguard. You are weak, but you are resourceful. I think you should plan this out."
Before I could turn to view the Vampires again, I felt something fall out from my bag to look down and see my mask of concealment had somehow fallen out. I was about to wave it off like it was nothing, but I remembered that it has the concealing effect that would also work on enemies... What a dangerous coincidence...
"So... We have a few choices..." I mumbled.
"A few?" Ida asked.
"Yeah. As you know, we could just straight on just attack them going gun-ho, using our ambush to take them by surprise but we risk exposing ourselves to further attacks from those that we don't see, or two, we could sneak our way around and avoid contact if at all possible until it becomes inevitable, and the third option... I could disguise myself as one with this here." I pulled out the mask of concealment. "From what I know, it has the ability to substitute my face for a non-conspicuous one." I saw a look of confusion on Ida's face.
"Third option is basically I go in and I look like them. I think I might be able to convince them enough for a surprise attack that I have planned out, maybe even find out who exactly is steaking up those people like what was done to your clan and the Vigilants." I listed out our choices.
"Whatever you have planned out, I will go with what you feel comfortable with. Though I would love to start things off with a bang if that helps you pick." Ida replied.
What option should I go through with?
1. Let's Fuck them up on my go. (Surprise attack!)
2. We should try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Let's go around them and sneak past. (Sneak past...)
3. I'll try to distract them and scout ahead. Wait for my signal. (Information gathering and sneak attack!)
[Chapter End...]
[Authers Notes]
Howdy y'all. RedTokyo95 here. I don't have much to really say other than I'm looking for another job, lol. But I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And here is the part where things get foggy for me, so I have to replay the game again and observe the areas and go from there. Maybe a bit of adjustments here and there, character changes to keep the story entertaining, and adding stuff to make stuff more unpredictable. And I am thinking of adding some of those game related stuff like ability increased and other stuff that I haven't planned out yet other than funny/serious moments like what happened with Isran.
Anyways people, vote now with how Jester/Isaiah should proceed with this part to Serana. Submit your votes and tell me what you think about this chapter. If its better, worse, or if you have any improvements that you would like to see. I am always looking to improve my writing and as a hobby, I think its pretty solid, but not good enough for the masses to really appreciate. But nobody's perfect. :/
Oh, and if you guys enjoy the brief Vampire banter, there is a secret character introduction that I would add to those NPCs that would play into the story if option 3 would be picked. But overall, it would add more characters to the poll to somehow keep track of. But I will try and add more interesting points of views like this one... If the moment pops up.
I hope the potential fighting strength is to be realized to some extent, and that Isaiah can finally not be pushed around as much. The inner dialogue of the new female character Ida, and the personal changes that I have made.
Anyways, if you guys want me to add more stuff to the end, please let me know, be it stats of certain characters, (Like before) or short story shorts for certain character interactions. (Spoilers, I'm really looking forward to one pairing if that's the case.) All you got to do is ask, and I'll think about it. ;)
But with that being said, I'm RedTokyo95, Signing off for the day!
{Transmission End}