//------------------------------//
// 32: The Hidden Secret 
// Story: Sonata's Crazy and Wacky Adventure in Skyrim 
// by Sonata Blaze 
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	Sonata was somewhat surprised when she and her friends departed from Whiterun, because not too far away from where the orcs were spotted was a small caravan they had used to get here so fast, though they had stopped behind the brewery for some reason. There were at least five wagons sitting behind the building, almost as if they had been abandoned the moment the orcs had arrived, and there was still a horse attached to each one of them. It was as if the orcs were supposed to attack the city and then retreat, as if they had come to drag someone out of Whiterun, but in the end they were dead.

And, Sonata mentally added, the orcs had given her the perfect way to get them all to Riften without having to walk all the way there, as they could now use the carriages to get to their destination.

Kree, Goz, and Mez spent some time gathering everything that they could use, and making sure that the horses they didn't need would have a good home at the Whiterun stables until someone purchased them, before they got underway once more. They had decided to take two of the carriages for themselves to ride in, while using the third one for any additional treasure and supplies they might come across. Fortunately the orcs had apparently ransacked a camp at some point, though whether it was an Imperial or Stormcloak camp Sonata had no idea, so they now had the ability to set up a camp if they needed to.

Everyone else had searched everything that the orcs and vampires had brought with them, including going back to the bodies of the fallen and searching them for a few minutes. Gol and Mez, once again, insisted on taking certain pieces of armor and weapons from the fallen, so that they could use the metal for something better than what their enemy was using it for. The rest of the gear had been taken into the city, where some of it had been sold to the blacksmith and the general goods vendor, while the rest of it had been gifted to the Jarl.

Sonata was sure that their three carriages would attract unwanted attention from bandits, but considering that she had just killed Alduin, and saved the entirety of Nirn, she knew that common bandits posed little threat to her and her company of friends.

Once all of their preparations were complete, and they were sure that the city of Whiterun was safe from any further attacks, Sonata and her friends departed from the area and began their journey towards Riften. Sonata was somewhat happy that she was finally starting the hunt for Lord Harkon, in a manner of speaking considering that Lorthan could tell her where he was, because it was time to make him pay for everything he's done to her while she was figuring out how to stop Alduin. That also included making him suffer for anything that she wasn't aware of at the moment, though she assumed that Harkon had done more than what she already knew about.

"You never did finish your story on how you and Kael killed Alduin," Saerza commented, snapping Sonata out of her thoughts, "So, what happened after the two of you crossed through the portal that took you to Sovngarde?"

Sonata smiled as she told them what happened next; their journey through the soul snatching mist that Alduin commanded, her brief battle with Tsun, her meeting with the original heroes that banished Alduin, and then their fight with the World-Eater. She also mentioned that she had to tap into her true power, which half of her group knew about, and that she was able to end her foe with what she called upon. That was when Kael informed her that when she powered up, and tapped into her true power, her hair became spiked and went straight into the air.

What he described reminded Sonata of something she had seen back on Earth, before she and her sisters were defeated, something that she was sure was called a 'Saiyan' or something. She let the thought leave her mind as she focused on her next task, though she hoped to see what Kael had mentioned the next time she had to tap into her true powers.





When they arrived in Riften they asked one of the guards where Fort Dawnguard was located, to which they were pointed in the direction of Stendarr's Beacon. Oddly enough Lorthan knew where the Beacon was located, though Sonata guessed that it made sense considering that he would want to steer clear of it. He quickly led them towards the Beacon, though he was somewhat annoyed when they found the entrance that would lead them to the fort itself, as it happened to be a hole in the side of the mountain with two flaming blaziers in front of it.

"I do hope this is a joke." Lorthan commented as they climbed off of their carriages, "Its almost like they want Lord Harkon to find out where they are hiding."

"And yet it explains so much," Sonata added, walking up to the entrance, "A stupid leader means stupid decisions... but let's hope that they are willing to listen to reason."

Upon entering the hole in the wall, and entering the canyon area they had been told about, Sonata found a scared farmer who looked like he was trying to decide between walking up to the fortress or going back home. As she and her friends walked forward, and began to approach the fortress, the young man seemed to make up his mind and fell in with them.

"You guys here to join the Dawnguard, too?" the young man asked, trying to engage them in conversation while attempting to calm himself down, "Truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walk up with you. Just don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself. Not the best first impression for a new vampire hunter, I guess. You guys have probably killed lots of vampires, huh? I'm sure Isran will sign the lot of you right up. Not sure he'll take me. I hope so."

Sonata had to contain the sigh that had been building up while the young man had been speaking, because she knew that she and her friends had killed quite the number of vampires during her time in Skyrim, though it made her wonder how many more of them there were between her and Harkon.

"Yeah, we've killed plenty of vampires," Sonata commented, to which every one, including Lorthan, nodded their heads in agreement, "though I've been itching to cut the head off of the beast lately."

The young man, clearly not sure what Sonata had told him by the last part, fell silent as they approached the front door of the fortress, though Sonata noticed many of the assembled soldiers gathering supplies to make the place livable. The soldier in front of the door took one look at Sonata, and the people around her, and beckoned for them to enter without a single word, as if he knew that they were here to help them stamp out the vampire menace. When they walked inside the fortress they found two people arguing, though Sonata decided to wait for them to finish before bothering to approach them.

"Why are you here, Tolan?" the man on the left asked, staring right at the nord that was standing in front of him for a moment, "The Vigilants and I were finished long ago."

"You know why I'm here Isran," the man, Tolan, replied, letting out a sigh as he spoke, "the Vigilants are under attack everywhere. The vampires are much more dangerous than we believed."

"And now you want to come running to safety with the Dawnguard, is that it?" Isran angrily said, as if the very idea went against everything that he stood for, "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, Carcette is dead." Tolan answered, sorrow filling his voice for a moment, which caused Isran to stare at him in shock for a few seconds, "The Hall of Vigilants... everyone... they're all dead. You were right, we were wrong. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Yes, well... I never wanted any of this to happen." Isran simply stated, recovering from his initial shock enough to give a decent response, "I tried to warn all of you... I am sorry, you know."

Sonata had half a mind to jump into the conversation and mention that it wasn't the Vigilants that had stirred up the vampires, rather it was an orc warlock by the name of Grul that had promised Lord Harkon power if he handed Sonata over to him. She actually starting to wonder how Grul had come into contact with Harkon, because it didn't seem like chance was even involved at this point anymore. Though she knew that she couldn't put off meeting with the Leader of the Dawnguard forever, so she walked forward and forced both Isran and Tolan to look at her.

"So who are you?" Isran asked, something that Sonata was actually expecting, considering that the man before her should have no idea who she was or what she had already done to get this far, "What do you want?"

"I am Sonata Dusk, Dragonborn of legend and Slayer of Alduin the World-Eater," Sonata replied, bowing her head ever so slightly, more to show respect towards the person who commanded the Dawnguard, "I had heard that there was a group of people who were trying to get rid of the vampires that have been plaguing the people of Skryim, and considering that I have run into them many times I figured that I could lend my skills to your cause."

Sonata wanted nothing more than to accuse Isran of doing a piss poor job at taking care of the vampires she had mentioned, but decided to keep her thoughts to herself. Harkon was apparently a very old vampire, from what the Council had told her before they had been destroyed by Lady Vespula, so it stood to reason that it wouldn't be easy to take him out of the picture, or his closest allies for that matter. All she needed to do was figure out where Lord Harkon was hiding... and then she would ensure that his world came crashing down all around him for everything he's done.

"You heard right." Isran said, crossing his arms for a moment, though Sonata could see a smile on his face for a few seconds, "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. Seeing how you are willing to get started immediately I need someone out in the field, taking the fight to the damn vampires, while we're getting the fort back into shape... Tolan, tell her about, what was it, Dimhollow?"

"Yes, that's it. Dimhollow Crypt." Tolan replied, turning to Sonata and her friends for a moment, though the information was for both Isran and the assembled group, "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..."

"That's good enough for me." Isran said, beckoning for Tolan to show Sonata where the crypt was located, which he proceeded to do without delay, "Go see what the vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt. With any luck, they'll still be there."

Sonata nodded once she knew where the crypt was located, and the others did as well, before turning around and departing from the fortress, leaving Isran to tell Tolan that it wasn't a good idea to go there as well. The young man that had followed them into the fortress remained behind as well, clearly wanting to learn how to be a proper vampire hunter, though Sonata wished him luck. She and her friends swiftly returned to where they had left their carts, which were still packed with everything they had brought with them, before they mounted up and began the journey to Dimhollow Crypt.





Thanks to Tolan indicating where the crypt was located, and Lorthan easily navigating them into the area they needed to be in, they managed to find Dimhollow Crypt in record time, though it was merely a hole in the side of a mountain. Sonata was sure that anyone could have found the crypt and made off with whatever the vampires were searching for before their arrival, but she wanted to search it anyway. Gol and Mez were assigned to watch the carriages, as they had the ability to fight off multiple enemies at the same time and would keep the supplies safe, before Sonata led everyone else inside. Tolan also managed to catch up with them, thanks to the horse he was riding, and insisted on staying beside them on the journey to the crypt, so that they could explore it together.

Sonata wasn't sure why he seemed so calm around Lorthan, who happened to be a vampire, but decided that the Vigilant had decided that a friendly vampire was better than an enemy... or whatever his reasoning was for not hating her friend.

Once they walked inside the cave they found four vampires talking among themselves, though they seemed to be discussing whatever was located further inside the crypt that their master was searching for. Sonata assumed that Harkon already knew about Dimhollow Crypt and was having his underlings search for the artifact as well, though that just meant that she couldn't let him have it. She beckoned to Kree, who had pulled her bow out, and an arrow went flying into the room, to which a vampire collapsed on the ground while the remaining three started to search for the intruders. Lydia loosed a roar of her own and charged into battle, tearing the head off of the enemy she came to, while the others assisted her from behind.

Sonata was pleased that they had such a strong group dynamic in place, as the warriors would take to the front lines and hold the enemy's attention while she and the other magic users would stay at the back and hit people from afar. Tolan, who was completely new to how their group worked, fought along side Lydia with ease, to which that was where Sonata wanted him as they traveled further into the crypt. She also counted herself fortunate that the vampires had foolishly left the gates open for them, allowing them to save some time now that they didn't have to search for levers to open the doors.

The next part of the crypt was an open area that was covered in graves, though it was a few seconds after they entered the area that skeletons began to pull themselves from their slumber and attack them. It was rather easy for Sonata and her friends to clear out the undead, considering that they could shatter a skeleton's bones with a hard strike from one of their weapons, and the only thing that really proved to be of a challenge was the vampire that was raising the dead. When the vampire was dead they moved on once more, searching for anything that they could use and, more importantly, whatever the vampires were searching for.

The following area they came to had some draugr that were fighting the vampires that had invaded their home, though Sonata had them all wait until the vampires were taken care of before they attacked the wounded draugr. It was an effective plan, as the undead clearly weren't expecting more enemies to show up quite so soon, so they were able to move forward in a matter of minutes. Once they had looted the nearby chests, while killing and looting a Deathlord that had been protecting one of those chests, they continued deeper into the ruins. That was until they reached a small waterfall like area, where the dead rose of the water and attacked them while the vampire that had been watching the entrance ran for help.

Sonata set fire to the vampires that came at her and her friends while Lydia and Tolan remained at the front, taking the majority of the attacks while allowing the others to use their magic and arrows to take their enemies out. It took some time to clear out the vampires that were waiting for them, and the massive spider that happened to be guarding a door they needed to pass through, but eventually they managed to enter the area of the ruins that they had been searching for. Sonata was sure that this was the part of the cave system they had been searching for, because there was some strange structure sitting in the middle of a small lake that was resting in front of them.

There was also the matter of removing the vampires and their thralls that happened to be blocking their way, but it proved to be very simple and soon they were walking over the bridge that would allow them to access the strange structure. She approached the middle of the structure and spotted what she assumed was a button of sorts, so she turned back to one of the enemies they had slain and dragged it over to where the button was located. She pressed the vampire's hand against the button and, in a moment of genius, decided to pull her own hand back, removing in time to see a spike of sorts puncture the hand for a few seconds before sinking back into the pedestal the button was attached to.

That was before a ring of purple flames appeared around the structure that they were standing on, though while Sonata stayed in the middle of the area everyone else backed up to the edge of the structure and kept their eyes on her. Sonata looked around the area she was in and spotted a few braziers, one of which was on fire at the moment, and noticed the stream of magic that was attached to it. She moved the brazier a bit until it connected to the flames, to which the fire moved to the second one and forced her to repeat the process a few more times. Once all of the braziers were in place, and the circle was complete, the floor started to shake as it began to sink for a few seconds, though Sonata remained where she was standing and watched what was happening.

Eventually the shaking stopped and the floor came to a screeching halt, revealing a stone monolith directly below where the button had been standing, one that reminded Sonata of the coffins they had seen throughout the cave system. Sonata then approached the monolith and pressed her hand against it, feeling the front of the pillar lower until the monolith had split in half, revealing a woman that had resting inside the pillar. Sonata, noticing that the woman started to fall the instant the cover was removed, immediately reached for the woman and prevented her from hitting the floor, though it gave the woman the chance to awaken from whatever slumber she had been inflicted with.

"Unh... where is... who sent you here?" the woman asked the moment she opened her eyes, which was followed by her getting onto her feet and staring at Sonata.

"A man named Isran," Sonata replied, though that was when she noticed that the woman in front of her was a vampire, which she knew thanks to the time she had spent with Lorthan, so she had a feeling of what the woman would be asking next, "And no, he's not a vampire like you. Can you explain why you were locked away in such a complicated fashion?"

"That's... complicated." the woman admitted, letting out a sigh as she looked at the rest of Sonata's group, "And I'm not totally sure if I can trust any of you. But if you want to know the whole story, help me get back to my family's home. My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I would guess they still do. By the way... my name is Serana. Good to meet you."

That was when Lorthan tapped Sonata on the shoulder, because this was the piece of information she had been searching for the entire time after she had learned that her vampire allies had been slaughtered by one of their own. Now she knew exactly where Lord Harkon was hiding, which meant it was time to pay him a visit and destroy him like the bug he was, though before she could do that she had to speak with Serana first. Mainly to clarify that Lord Harkon was who Serana was talking about, because she didn't want to invade another Vampire Lord's home and destroy them for something that another one of their kind had done.

"Your father wouldn't happen to be Lord Harkon, would it?" Sonata asked, though the look that crossed Serana's face told her everything that she needed to know, and that was that she had her target in her sights now.

"What did he do this time?" Serana asked, though she sounded more annoyed than pissed off at the moment.