//------------------------------// // Vampire: The Moth Priest // Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// After leaving Fort Dawnguard and the canyon it was located in, leaving Isran and his people to clean up the mess that had been created, Za'kera decided to stop in Riften for a day, mostly because she wanted to take a short break and relax as all of them figured out if there were other allies to gather for their army, though as they walked she turned towards Amaryllis for a few seconds. "Amaryllis, I want you to head out and see if you can find Sorine and Gunmar," Za'kera said, as she trusted her friend more than she was willing to admit, because while the Changeling in question was an assassin, who people didn't trust and only came to when they needed someone killed, she knew that Amaryllis would protect her with her life, against everything that the world had to throw at them, "while you do that we'll stay in Riften and gather whatever information and resources we can, maybe a few rumors about Harkon's movements." "And how is she going to do that?" Serana asked, all while they walked up the road that lead to the city in question, even if none of the guards could see them yet since this path didn't seem to have any, though she was more interested in the fact that Isran's people happened to be on the other side of Skyrim, based on his information, and that it would take a good bit of time for them to track down the pair in question, "We're better off using the carriage to travel to the Reach..." Amaryllis interrupted her by allowing her magic to wash over her body, where Serana discovered her true form and spread her wings, even though she took a moment to make sure everything was fine, though it was amusing since Wind didn't use any of her disguises and Serana was acting like this was the first time she had seen a Changeling, but with that done she quickly spread her wings and took off. For a few seconds she flew above Za'kera's group before focusing on the Reach and headed off without delay, once more keeping herself out of sight so none of the guards noticed her, even though she did find a number of bandits hanging around some of the forts that lined the landscape, which seemed to be common if they weren't on the main road. Part of her had to wonder if she or Za'kera might be able to speak with the bandits and offer all of them a chance to take down the Aldmeri Dominion, turn their forces into a force that would benefit, though she quickly decided to share the idea with Za'kera at some point and see if there was something they could do about them, before focusing on her travels once more. The downside of what Isran said earlier, about where both figures should be located, was that there were a number of Dwarven structures and a fair number of caves scattered around the Reach, plus she had to keep an eye out for the Forsworn, so she knew that looking for Sorine and Gunmar was going to take some time, even if she could fly around and check things out. It took her some time to get to the Reach, even while avoiding the Forsworn, though she was able to find a Breton girl who seemed to match Isran's description of Sorine standing nowhere near a Dwarven site, rather it looked like she was near a pillar and a river, though there was a Mudcrab nearby, causing her to sigh as she noticed that the lady was totally focused on her task. Since Sorine wouldn't see her coming she landed near the river, shifted into a male Argonian warrior who had a set of Dawnguard armor on, and slew the offending crab with one of her daggers without wasting time, though that did lead to her discovering a satchel filled with golden spheres, gyros she guessed, which she brought with her as she walked up to where her target rested. Sorine was surprised to see someone else in the area and was equally surprised to learn of Isran's request, especially since they apparently had a falling out at some point in time, though learning that the vampires had briefly gotten their hands on an Elder Scroll, even if they didn't have it now, was the kick in the rear to get her moving, with the gyros being a boost to her morale since she needed them. One thing Amaryllis discovered was that Isran had told a fair number of people about his desire to rebuild Fort Dawnguard, so it informed her that there might be a chance that one of his old friends might have joined the vampires and sold him out before he could get his forces ready, even though it was more likely that a vampire found them out on their own. Gunmar, on the other hand, proved to be somewhat easy to track down, as he was huddled outside a cave and it looked like he was ready to go inside to kill something, though he refused to listen to her, while she was disguised as a female Altmer rogue, and didn't believe her that Isran wanted his help, but that didn't stop him from expressing his desire to hear her out. Upon finding that they were up against a group of ancient vampires, and everything she told Sorine, he decided to join up with them, since it seemed like it had forced his old friend to swallow his pride and ask for help, before revealing that he needed to kill the bear inside the cave since it had been preying on travelers, so he wasn't about to leave it along, after all the tracking he had done. Amaryllis sighed for a moment before joining him in his mission, where they found that a single brown bear was inside the cave and it hadn't heard them come in, something she knew to be true since her own armor made it harder for enemies to find her, before she drew her blades and stabbed the bear as Gunmar watched, no doubt surprised by her sneaking skills. In the end it didn't take Amaryllis too long to kill her target, where she assumed it was the combination of both the Blade of Woe and Mehrunes Razor, and once that was done she informed Gunmar of the area that they would be gathering in, which he knew as well and confirmed what she had considered earlier, Isran told all sorts of people about Fort Dawnguard and it was his fault the attack had happened in the first place. With that done she made sure he was also on his way before shifting into her true form and took off, allowing her to head back to Riften, even though by the time she arrived it was getting to be nighttime and she discovered that Za'kera was now leaving for the fort, to which she landed and changed into her Khajiit disguise as she fell in, allowing her to tell her friend the news as everyone made their way back to Isran's fort. "Okay, Isran's people will be here soon, we have the Scroll, and Harkon has nothing," Za'kera commented, where she was pleased with their current progress, even though Harkon did know that the Elder Scroll spoke of a terrible prophecy, as it meant that they might be getting close to taking him down and bringing peace to Skyrim, but Amaryllis could tell that none of them had mentioned the dragon Scroll yet. "Whatever it says, it will have something that can help us stop my father... but, well, none of us can read it." Serana said, a fact that almost made Amaryllis pause as they entered the canyon that the fort rested in, since she hadn't considered such a thing when they went looking for the first one, that all of the legendary Elder Scrolls might be written in a language that none of them could read. "I'm sure my master could, if she really wanted to." Wind remarked, thinking about Ma'jera and the powers she had, not to mention all of the skills she must have picked up over the years, something Amaryllis almost agreed with given that she was the daughter of Hermaeus Mora, before she sighed as she focused on Serana, "Other than her, who can read the text of the Elder Scrolls?" "Well, the Moth Priests are the only ones I've heard of who can do it." Serana replied, where they passed through the gate of the fort, the wooden barrier one anyway, and made their way inside the fort so they could speak with Isran, who just so happened to be in the middle of the fort's main chamber, "They spend years preparing before they start reading, though... not that it helps us anyway, because they're half a continent away in Cyrodiil. I'm sure that your 'master' might be lying to you about some of her skills." "Some Imperial scholar arrived in Skyrim a few days ago. I was staking out the road when I saw him pass by." Isran said, his words informing them that he had been listening in on their conversation, even if he caught onto the last bit of it as they walked into his fort, though this was good information since none of them knew anything about such a person making his way into Skyrim, "Maybe that's the Moth Priest you're looking for?" "It's possible. Do you recall where you saw him?" Za'kera asked, though after what she had seen so far, about Isran's desire to kill the vampires and the fact that it seemed to be all he was focusing on right now, part of her knew that this was one of those questions that wasn't going to be answered, or at least in a way that would help them gain the upper hand so they could try to convince Harkon that war wasn't an option. "No, and I'm not going to waste men looking for him." Isran replied, where he gestured towards Serana for a moment, no doubt to remind them of the Dawnguard's mission, something that caused her and Lynthia to raise their eyebrows as he did that, likely knowing what he meant and didn't approve of him doing that, causing him to lower his hand as he recalled what happened earlier, "We're fighting a war against their kind, despite the fact that I'm allowing two of them to stay here, and I intend to win it, no matter the cost. I you want to find this Moth Priest, I would suggest talking to anyone who would meet a traveler, such as innkeepers and carriage drivers in the big cities, but that's all the help I'm giving you." Amaryllis had to resist the urge to groan, as Isran was an idiot and he was too focused on killing vampires to be of use to Za'kera, even his limited forces weren't worth the time they were putting into the Dawnguard, but this seemed to be part of the Dragonborn's destiny, dealing with three major threats that happened to come in the form of Alduin, Harkon, and Miraak, if she had to guess. Even Za'kera seemed annoyed, since there was a chance that finding the Moth Priest would do wonders for the morale of their forces, but she said nothing as they simply gathered in a section of Fort Dawnguard and took over a number of chairs and tables for the time being, mostly since it would give them time to talk and rest before it was time to leave. Her plan, now that they knew about the Moth Priest, was to head back to their own base and see if their new forces had any ideas as to where one might find him, to see what might be written on the Elder Scroll Serana carried on her back, even though Amaryllis felt that there might be an easier way to end all of this, just use her skills to assassinate Harkon while his guard was down. Of course she didn't say that, since it wasn't a viable idea right now and she didn't want to annoy Serana, as there might be a chance that she and her mother considered such an idea, though she kept it in mind as the others talked, allowing her to focus on making sure they were alone as Za'kera informed the others of her plans to gain whatever information was on the Elder Scroll. When early morning arrived Za'kera, Amaryllis, Wind, and the others left the fort while Isran and the others were sleeping, a bad sign since they were supposed to be vampire hunters and seemed to be lowering their guard at the worst moment, allowing them to return to their carriage before heading towards Whiterun once more. By Amaryllis' estimates it would be between eight and noon when they arrived at their fort, where she assumed they would find more forces gathering in the place that Ma'jera had provided for them, to build their army before heading to whatever territory Za'kera wanted to visit first, to liberate them from the Aldmeri Dominion's influence. Of course they had to deal with Harkon and Miraak first, as those were the last two enemies that needed to be take care of before Za'kera could move forward with her chosen path and the destiny that Akatosh had prepared for her, which Wind seemed interested in, even though she didn't speak of it as they traveled, no doubt waiting for a good point to ask the question. Other than that there was nothing else for them to talk about as they made their way to Whiterun, even though one thing Amaryllis noticed along the way was that all sorts of patrols seemed to be gathering, Imperials and Stormcloaks alike, making her wonder if the two factions were gearing up for war and were done waiting for something to happen. In the end they were able to get to the fort without anything massive happening, where they discovered all sorts of people were gathering now, the beginnings of Za'kera's army flushing out and getting ready for her future plans, though Za'kera headed inside and tracked down Ma'jera in no time, where she returned to the carriage without delay and informed them that the Arch-Mage had heard that the Moth Priest had gone to Dragon Bridge. Amaryllis found it a little amusing that they were passing through that small settlement a lot during their time with the Dawnguard, though she said nothing as Lydia got them underway and set them on a course that would bring them to where the Moth Priest had last been seen, while she had to assume that Ma'jera had spies they hadn't been told about, scattered all over Skyrim. Of course she was a tad bit worried about things since there was no telling if Ulfric and Tullius would fight each other, meaning a battle for the Hold that was in the middle of this province might be coming their way, but the others said nothing as they made their way back to the settlement they had passed through when taking Serana to her father's castle. Za'kera glanced at each other while they traveled, having seen the troops they had passed by and thought the same thing that she had considered, but for the time being she had to worry about Harkon and his plans for their world, given the information that Serana had provided so far, and remained silent as they waited for their arrival in Dragon Bridge. What happened when they got close to Dragon Bridge was that they didn't have to even get near the settlement, because they found an overturned carriage with two slain Imperial soldiers and a slain vampire near it, though it appeared that luck was on their side as they found a note on the vampire that lead to a nearby cave, where they planned on making the Moth Priest into a thrall. As such it didn't take the group long to reach their destination and Amaryllis did what she did in the past, she stepped into the shadows and scouted out the area in question, finding at least seven vampires scattered around the cave, which had a ruin inside it, plus two death hounds and a barrier of energy that had a light grey robed figure trapped inside it based on what she could see. To start things off she pulled out her bow and loosed two sets of arrows, the first pair taking down the death hounds before they even realized that they were under attack, while the second pair struck one of the vampires in the chest, taking it down as she signaled for Za'kera and the others to rush forward and start the attack, something that came as a surprise to the vampires. Sure enough her friend was the first one to strike, as she swung her flaming sword at one of the vampires and beheaded her without delay, Lydia rushed forward and smashed into a gargoyle that broke free from it's stone bindings, while Wind and Serana combined their Ice Spears into a barrage that struck a vampire in the chest without delay, leaving Sharva to deal with another gargoyle. Lynthia, of course, did nothing as she watched them deal with the enemies that had been in this place, not that Amaryllis was surprised since Molag's daughter acted like she was royalty and that she only had to get her hands dirty whenever she wanted to, and in a way she was given her heritage and power, but it was annoying that she didn't step in and help the one her father ordered her to help. In the end, with no help from the vampire princess, they crushed the remaining vampires and approached the barrier that Amaryllis had seen, where Serana found that one of their foes had been carrying a blue stone of some kind and that it was the key to powering down the barrier, by slipping it into a stone pillar of some kind that was above the area he was resting in, allowing them to gather near the Moth Priest. "I serve my master's will. But... my master is dead, and his enemies..." the Moth Priest said, as if he was in a trance, which meant the vampires had been partly successful in breaking him, though before they could do anything Lynthia appeared in the area behind him and grabbed onto the sides of his head before sending a surge of magic into him, breaking the mind magic that had been cast on him. "There, problem solved before it could become a problem." Lynthia remarked, no doubt thinking that this was the correct method for them to use, given her history and knowledge that was gained from her twisted father, before letting go of the poor man, where the Moth Priest stumbled forward for a moment as the magical trace disappeared instantly, returning him to his senses. "While I thank you for the assistance, that was quite unpleasant." the Moth Priest said, showing them that he wasn't too pleased with having someone like Lynthia treating him like he was just a toy, and to a Demiprince everyone happened to be such a thing, where he rubbed the side of his head as Lynthia simply grinned while stepping to the side, something that told Amaryllis that she enjoyed doing that. "Are you alright? You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?" Za'kera asked, as there was no telling what might have happened to the Moth Priest while he was in the custody of the vampires that had been in this place, not counting what Lynthia had just done to him, damage that might be more than what they were expecting, though as she said that Amaryllis found a chest, a large one anyway, and it held several ebony weapons and armor bits inside it. "I'm quite alright, thanks to you and your companions. Dexion Evicus is my name." the Moth Priest replied, where Za'kera found that he moved just fine, as he stood up and dusted himself off, and that his mind seemed to be just fine, which told her it might be possible that Lynthia knew not to harm him, before he sighed, "I'm a Moth Priest of the White Gold Tower, and these vampires claimed they had some purpose in store for me, but they wouldn't say what... they were probably hoping to ransom me, the fools." "Actually, they were trying to abduct you and force you to read an Elder Scroll... not that they have one, since we have it in our possession." Amaryllis said, as it was easy for them to connect the dots in her mind, given what she felt from Harkon earlier, though she wasted no time in beckoning for Lydia to come over so they could haul the ebony haul out of here, all while knowing the armor would go to Za'kera, "Most of us are temporary agents of the Dawnguard, though you'll have to excuse the presence of Lynthia Bal and Sharva... Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon are interested in our mission." "You have an Elder Scroll?" Dexion asked, his tone and emotions showing them that he was excited by the idea that they had one of the legendary artifacts, especially since part of his duties were linked to them, before he glanced at them for a few more moments, "Remarkable! If my knowledge of history serves me, I recall that the Dawnguard was an ancient order of vampire hunters... and Lynthia must be the daughter of Lamae Bal and Molag Bal, while Sharva seems to have ancient Daedric runes on her body... interesting. I will be happy to assist you with your Elder Scroll, just tell me where I need to go and I'll..." "No, you'll be traveling with us, because after what just happened I'm sure that Harkon will try to have you kidnapped all over again," Za'kera said, as she wasn't about to give Harkon the upper hand and Serana nodded her head, showing them that it was a good idea and that they should act on it, where Dexion paused for a moment before doing the same thing, as he trusted most of them with his safety, after everything they had done to make sure he was safe. With that done the group headed back for the entrance of the cave, as it was time for them to return to Fort Dawnguard, make sure Sorine and Gunmar had arrived since they had been missing earlier, and then see what Serana's scroll had to say on the matter of the terrible prophecy that Serana and her mother had discovered in the past, before figuring out the next step in their mission to unite Skyrim.