Getting down the mountain was the easiest part of their trek, as the three of them had climbed up and down the mountain enough to know where all the steps were. Plus they managed to somehow defeat every single creature that lived on that side of the mountain, making the trek peaceful after all the fighting they had done. Once in Iverstead they found the carriage driver waiting for them, somehow knowing exactly where they were and knowing that they would require his services yet again. This time he was more than willing to give them a ride to Riften for free, saying something about repaying them as the loyal customers that they were.
Raika enjoyed both the peace that the carriage ride provided her and the fact that she wasn't going to burn out of her hard earned gold, something that she was starting to run low on. She was glad that she had several spare weapons from Skuldafn, as ebony weapons fetched higher prices in the market than the weapons she usually used. She leaned back against the carriage walls and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, knowing that either Trixie or Sombra would awaken her when they arrived outside of Riften.
Trixie pulled out Nahkriin's mask and stared at it, realizing that she had, effectively, defeated the most powerful Dragon Priest in all of Skyrim's history. From the legends she had heard in her brief time in Skyrim she knew there were seven more Priests scattered around the land, each baring a mask like the one she held in her hand. She even recalled one of her fellow apprentices mentioning that there was a special mask, but it had been lost in time in someplace called the Labyrinthian. Maybe, if Raika allowed it, they could spend some time hunting down the other Priests and collecting their masks.
"You appear to be lost in thought," Sombra commented, seeing Trixie stare at the mask for a great deal of time, "what's on your mind?"
"I honestly don't know," Trixie admitted, one thought coming back to mind, "but why did you stay here? You were offered a chance to go home, with the mare of your dreams, and yet you turned her down and stayed here with Raika and I. Why didn't you return to Equestria?"
"No one but Celestia and Luna would be happy to see me," Sombra answered, shaking his head ever so slightly, "The Elements of Harmony witnessed what I had done to the Empire and wouldn't be quick to accept me with open hooves after what I had done while they were there. Princess Cadence and her husband would be shocked to see that I had survived the blast that should have killed me. Then when they learn what had driven me insane and my entire story there's still the chance that, even if I apologized to the entire empire, that I would never be allowed to return anyway. Better to let them think I had been destroyed for now and let the tension cool off from out last encounter before I make my return."
"Wow," Trixie replied, still shocked that he hadn't returned with the Princesses, "I'm just wondering if Raika will take some time off from saving the world and hunt down one or two of the remaining seven Dragon Priests."
"I know of one of those Dragon Priests you might be interested in," the carriage driver said, cutting into the conversation with something interesting to say, "there's a nordic ruin near Riften called Forelhost, said to be the resting place of a Dragon Priest called Rahgot. If your interested in hunting them down I would suggest you start your search there."
"Thanks for the help," Trixie said, a smile appearing on her face, "If Raika wants to find another Word of Power I have someplace where she can learn one without too much trouble."
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When the carriage finally arrived outside Riften Trixie gently rocked Raika awake and they climbed off the carriage without much delay, though it was clear to everyone that they were ready for anything. The first order of business was getting inside Riften and trading most of their weapons to whoever would buy them, but they were stopped by one of the guards.
"Hold there Khajiit," the guard said, his hand flying to his sword, "Your thieving kind aren't welcome in Riften, so I advise that you leave before I force you out of here."
"Racist," Raika replied, coming to a stop in front of the guard, "Now, I'll have you know that I am the Dragonborn, the only person in all of Temriel that can slay the dragon known as Alduin the World-Eater. I just got back from Sovngarde, where my friends and I destroyed the World-Eater, saving all of your souls from being devoured by him whenever you died. The friend on my right is Trixie Lulamoon, Apprentice of the College of Winterhold, a capable Illusionist that slew one of the most powerful Dragon Priests in Skyrim's history. The friend on my left is Sombra, the nord whose capable of summoning crystal pillars and disrupting the ground itself, though you must have heard about that at some point."
"The King of Shadows? HERE?" the guard asked, his voice trembling as he began to sweat the moment he laid eyes on Sombra, "Please sir, forgive me for obstructing you and your servants from whatever task you are currently working on."
One glare from Sombra was enough to make the guard unlock the front gates before running down the hill, terrified that a crystal spike would leap out of the ground and impale him without delay. Raika held back a laugh as she opened the gates, not believing that the guard had reacted more to Sombra than to her claim of being the Dragonborn. The guard didn't even seem to flinch when she mentioned that Trixie destroyed a Dragon Priest, and not just any old Dragon Priest, but THE Dragon Priest. Maybe they would hit the College of Winterhold and get Trixie's training furthered, just so she could stick it to any guards who came their way in the future.
"There you are lass," a voice next to them said, turning out to being the thief that delivered Esbern to them back in Dragonsreach, "Now that your business has settled down how about I interest you in a job that will earn you some coin..."
The thief stopped the moment that he noticed Sombra standing next to Raika, fear creeping into his eyes as he realized that his life could be over in a matter of seconds.
"I'm not a thief," Raika remarked, passing by the thief with the others in tow, "so I suggest that you stop trying to recruit me, otherwise I can't say how badly Sombra will mess you up."
She left the thief standing there, knowing that he wouldn't dare follow them for the fear of Sombra turning around and impaling him with a crystal spike. It was funny how fast the news of Sombra's powers had spread, installing fear in every guard starting at Solitude and going all the way to Riften. She wondered if the vampires had heard about his powers as well and were fearing what he was capable of, maybe making her mission to stop them even easier.
"Buy weapons and armor from Greka," one stall keeper said, just as they entered the marketplace, "Keep you and your loved ones safe."
"I'd like to sell you some weapons," Raika said, pulling out three ebony weapons she had picked up, "two ebony greatswords and one ebony battleaxe. Give me three thousand septims, one thousand for each weapon, and I'll be out of your hair in a matter of seconds."
"I don't think I can give you that much for these weapons," Greka commented, studying the craftsmanship of the weapons anyway, "How about I give you a thousand septims and we call it a day?"
"Listen, I don't think you understood me," Raika sighed, knowing that the lady was trying to cheat her out of a fair deal, "Three thousand septims overall. Now listen to me carefully, I am the Talos-damned Dragonborn and my friends and I just got back from killing the World-Eater. I would appreciate it if you just gave me the amount I have asked for so I can get underway with my next mission."
Greka, once again, began to raise her voice and deny Raika the amount that she had asked for, but then she noticed exactly who was standing right behind her. The steel armor, the lush red cape, the iron crown, the red unicorn horn on top of his head, and the flowing black hair that seemed to be made out of the shadows themselves. She could feel the sweat running down the side of her face, a telltale sign that she was already scared for her life at that point.
"Of course, what was I thinking?" Greka nervously remarked, collecting the three weapons and pulling out a rather large bag of gold, "Three thousand septims for three mint condition ebony weapons. Please, don't let me delay you any longer."
Raika collected the gold and walked away from the market area, knowing that it was due to Sombra's fearsome reputation that Greka had even agreed to her deal. At first being the Dragonborn seemed like it had no perks at all, but now that she had completed her destiny and destroyed Alduin there still weren't any perks. People were turning the other way whenever Sombra looked at them, clearly showing that they had heard what happened at Whiterun and were scared that their time had come for them. Maybe, given time, the people of Skyrim would see that Sombra had helped destroy Alduin and that he wasn't the bad guy anymore.
Once they were back at the main gate Raika asked the remaining guard where the Dawnguard had set up its main camp, telling him that all she had heard was that it was in Riften somewhere. What she learned from the guard, who was much nicer to khajiits than his partner had been, was that the Dawnguard had set up their base in an old fort to the east of Riften and north of someplace called Stendarr's Beacon. The guard was more than generous to give her precise directions that would take her from where they were standing and bring them to the Beacon without delay. Before they could even depart from the gate the other guard returned, though he had discarded his suit of armor, donned a suit of steel armor, and looked like he was itching to kill something.
"I'm not scared of you, 'King of Shadows'," the guard laughed, pulling out a rather wicked looking pair of swords, "I have kept these hidden for the day that I could use them to rid all of Tamriel of someone that poses a threat to everyone. Finally, that day has arrived and I will take great pleasure in sending you to Oblivion."
"Very well then," Sombra sighed, closing his eyes as he directed the next bit to the guard behind him, "Tell me something guardsmen; if this man were to attack me, would it be within my rights to fight him back and kill him seeing as he is threatening my very life?"
"So long as he deals the first blow," the second guard answered, "then it would be within your right to fight and either slay him where he stands, or defeat him and let him serve his sentence in jail."
Before Sombra could even say anything the guard ran at him and brought one of the swords down on top of them, cutting through the shadows that protected him. Sombra hadn't expected there to be a chance that the weapons could even damage him, but with the fact that the ex-guard had drawn blood it kicked him into high gear. He tore his sword from its sheath and struck out at the e-guard, catching him off guard and driving him back for a moment before he landed a blow that severed the guard's right arm. Even as the limb feel away Sombra knew that the wound would be sealed to prevent blood loss, but the loss of an arm didn't seem to bother the guard. He came at him again, but this time Sombra side stepped him and disarmed the other weapon, letting the guard hit the ground with a thud.
"Do what you will with this swine," Sombra said, sheathing his sword before collecting the other weapons, "I'm taking his swords with me, if that's okay with you."
"That's perfectly fine," the gate guard said, shoving the ex-guard into the hands of another that joined him, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to explain to the Jarl why this guard went insane and attacked you for no reason."
Sombra nodded and began the journey towards Stendarr's Beacon, knowing that Raika and Trixie would eventually stop him and inquire why he had taken the swords with him. He stopped beside one of the two towers that rested down the road, allowing his magic to kick in for a brief moment and seal the wound that was still bleeding. He noticed that his regeneration magic was getting slower, most likely from using too much magic in the last few days and not giving it time to recharge.
"Are those Daedric swords?" Raika asked, studying the blades that Sombra was holding, "Where in Oblivion did that guard get such dangerous weapons? I doubt that he payed for them, as they require a heart of a daedra warrior for a master smith to forge them. May I?"
"Take them," Sombra said, handing her the swords before staring at the road, "Now, let's find where the Dawnguard has set up its main base and find out what these vampires are up to."
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As it turned out they found the location of the Dawnguard's fort with ease, as all they had to do was find Stendarr's Beacon and ask one of the Vigilants where the fort was. They were directed down the other side of the mountain they had climbed and a bit north to the cave that they hadn't seen when they passed the cliff side. When they entered the new cave they found some scared farmer debating whether or not to go through with joining the Dawnguard, though they passed him without a moment wasted. The canyon was open to the sunlight, allowing them to take in every detail of the surrounding area as they made their way towards the giant fort in the distance.
"So this is Fort Dawnguard," Sombra commented, staring at the stone structure and remembering the beauty of the Crystal Empire, "it has a sense of beauty to it."
Raika rolled her eyes as they approached the gates of the fort, finding at least five or six people running around with crates that she suspected were full of weapons. A few of them stared at them as they passed, whispering to themselves and pointing at the shadows that wrapped around Sombra every now and then. Raika knew what it was, they were discussing what it would mean for such a dangerous person to join their cause and what they could do with his powers. And, once again, they ignoring the fact that the Dragonborn was walking among them, almost as if no one actually cared that Alduin had been destroyed.
It made Raika wonder if she had wasted her time with something that no one was ever going to thank her for.
"I see that your here to join the Dawnguard," a warrior said, beckoning to the large iron doors behind him, "Head inside and talk to Isran, I'm sure that he has something for a group of fine vampire hunters like yourselves to do."
When they entered the fort they found that the entire place was full of cobwebs, dust, and dozens upon dozens of crates that were full of weapons, armor, and other supplies. In the center of the fort were two men, both of them wielding warhammers on their backs while they discussed a recent attack on the Vigilant's hall. Raika had heard of the attack when she had been on her way to Helgen with the rest of her brothers and sisters, it only surprised her that nothing had been done about it yet.
"You there, recruit," the bald man, no doubt the one named Isran, called to Raika, "I need you and your friends to investigate a place called Dimhollow Crypt. It seems that the vampires have been searching that place for some long lost artifact and we can't have them finding anything that will aid them in the war against us. Go there, destroy the vampires you find inside, and find whatever they were searching for."
"For the sake of not wasting time, where is this Dimhollow Crypt?" Raika asked, wondering where she needed to go to get the job done.
"Near Dawnstar," Isran replied almost immediately, "just southwest of the town."
"Ugh...fine," Raika said, pinching the bridge between her nose, "I'll go see what they're up to and find this artifact. Let's get moving."
Once outside Raika lead her friends to an area where the other members of the Dawngard would overlook them, giving her plenty of time to ask Sombra a question.
"Hey Sombra," Raika started, staring into his eyes for a moment, "remember how you delivered both you and Trixie to Skuldafn? Do you think you could repeat that process and get us to Morthal? It would save us plenty of time and we'd get this hunt started sooner."
"Seeing how we've already been to Morthal before I don't see why it would be a problem," Sombra replied, allowing the shadows to gather around him, "Just a word of warning, the first time using a shadow gate may be a little rough on your body, but it will allow us to traverse great distances in a matter of seconds."
As he finished speaking the magic seeped into the ground and a mass of shadows sprung up behind him, twisting until they formed the shadowy gateway that he had used to get to Skuldafn. Once the gateway was stabilized Sombra nodded and Trixie immediately stepped through the shadows, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Sombra beckoned with a hand and Raika, hesitating for a moment, steeled herself before walking through the darkness that had been called upon. She could feel the shadows wrapping around her, moving through her body as if she were transparent, before she found herself standing outside the town of Morthal. The moment that Sombra stepped through the gateway and appeared on their side Raika moved to the side of the nearby bridge and heaved what was in her stomach.
"I told you it would be rough," Sombra coughed, covering his mouth with his left hand for a moment while he closed the gateway down, "It takes some time and a lot of usage to get used to the feeling that comes with the shadow gates."
"Let's find that cave," Raika announced, heading to the northeast of the town, "I'm anxious to see what the vampires are so interested in that makes them finally strike out at the Vigilants of Stendarr."
As Trixie followed after Raika Sombra took a moment to look at his left hand, surprised to find that he had actually coughed some blood up after summoning the shadow gate. He quickly wiped off the blood and followed after his friends, wondering if the blood was a sign that had to deal with his magic and the slow regeneration. Neither of them seemed to notice that he had fallen behind just a bit, but he was sure to keep an eye out for any signs of the cave they were supposed to find.
As per their luck they found a group of bandits hanging near the walkway that would lead them up the side of the mountain they needed to climb. The moment the bandits saw them one of them shouted that they were issuing a toll on the mountain pass and they would not let them past them without giving them two hundred gold per person. Trixie, not wanting to be bothered by such lowly enemies, summoned her mirror images and attacked without pausing, allowing magic to fly from her hands. As her copycats got closer to the bandits Trixie pulled out Nahkriin's mask and put it over her face, feeling the ancient magic seeping into her body as she blasted a bandit with a rather large fireball.
The bandits were dead in a matter of seconds, freeing up the pathway and allowing them to continue up the mountain side so they could find the cave.
"That was amazing!" Raika exclaimed, staring back at the bandits for a moment before turning to Trixie, "Not only did you wreck those bandits, but you copied the same fireball spell that Nahkriin used against us in Skuldafn. You are definitely one talented mage Trixie."
"Thank you," Trixie replied, her face growing hot by the fact that someone finally commented on how talented she was at magic, "now, where is that blasted cave?"
It didn't take them very long to find the cave, but the moment they entered Raika heard several voices talking about a foolish Vigilant that ran in and got himself killed. Raika held up a hand, stalling her friend for a moment while she pulled out her bow, wishing that she had spent some time picking up some more arrows. At her current state she only had roughly ten arrows, enough to put down ten more opponents if she could get her shots right and didn't miss anyone. She gently walked forward and located one of the gibbering vampires, pulling back her bowstring with the arrow ready as she took aim on her target. Once she was sure that she could hit her mark she loosed the arrow, watching it fly through the air before landing dead center in her target's chest, knocking him off his feet and hitting the back wall hard.
The other vampires, now aware that someone was near them and had killed their comrade, got into action and began to move towards the caves opening. Raika, predicting their actions with ease, beckoned for Trixie to move forward and she ran forward, throwing a fireball into one vampire's face before slicing another in half with her ancient sword. One of the vampire's beasts ran at Trixie, but Sombra, having seen it coming immediately, intercepted the beast and slew it without pause. Raika had been stunned with how the Equestrians had moved before even getting to Skuldafn, but now they seemed like they had moved onto a whole new level.
She found a lever on the other side of the chamber and they continued deeper into the cave, finding another draugr crypt with several of the undead fighting three vampires. Raika had them wait until the immediate fighting was done, watching as only one draugr fell to the ground as the group of vampires were defeated. Once the fighting was done the three of them rushed in, magic and steel flying as they clashed with the remaining draugr and felled them with ease. It was to their advantage to wait for the original fight to be over, as it had weakened the draugr and given them the edge they needed to move on.
The next chamber they came to they found one vampire hanging with at least a dozen skeletons, each of them carrying a sword or an axe and waiting for the command to attack something. Trixie brought her hands together and formed a large fireball, one designed to explode and take as many of her enemies out in a single blast, that she proceeded to throw at the vampire. Before the vampire could even move out of the way the fireball tore into her chest, exploding and taking most of the skeletons out with her. The remaining skeletons fell the moment that Sombra and Raika swung their weapons through them, giving them the opportunity to continue further into the cave.
The next group of vampires, and most likely the last, noticed them coming when they entered the chamber before an iron gate, but they move back a bit as they drew closer. It was clear that they had heard all the fighting and they were beginning to feel fear, terrified that, even with their superior numbers, they wouldn't be able to stand against them. One vampire decided enough was enough and ran towards them, only to feel the burning sting of Raika's new daedric swords as she put him down. The others didn't fare any better as they either fell to Trixie's magic or, in an attempt to run, fell victim to the shadows that Sombra summoned around them.
"'These vampires are becoming a nuisance,'" Raika mocked, recalling what one of the guards had told her as she passed them in Whiterun, "those guys couldn't be more wrong. At least a full dozen vampires and a group of skeletons guarding a crypt, yet we tore through them in seconds. The guards of Skyrim are just wimps."
Neither Trixie or Sombra replied as they found one more vampire fighting a giant spider, but the moment they opened the door the vampire felled the spider and brought it back, intending to use it against them. Raika, not wanting to fool around anymore, bypassed the resurrected spider and cut down the vampire before he could even move an inch. With the newest annoyance dead they moved into the next area of the crypt, finding a rather large open chamber with some strange formation sitting ahead of them. She held up her hand as she heard more voices, coming to a stop as she listened to the vampires questioning another Vigilant about the formation in front of them.
When the Vigilant refused to give them anything the head vampire laughed and killed him where he stood, or sat as Raika couldn't see where any of them were from where she was. Without another second wasted she pulled out her bow, stood up, and loosed an arrow that hit the lead vampire square in the back of the head, killing him in seconds. Trixie, sensing the opportunity, threw an ice spike at the other vampire and nailed her to the ground, allowing Sombra the chance to move past them all and slide his sword into the remaining target that stood near the formation.
"And that's all of them," Raika cheered, finally glad that they had managed to clear out the entire cave of every vampire that had been inside it, "now, let's see what these vampires want so badly."
She found a button in the center of the formation and would have pressed it, but considering that it was vampires that had built the area she knew that there was something tricky waiting to happen. So she picked up the closest dead body and pressed his hand against the button, drawing her's back in time as an iron spike punctured the hand with ease. The moment the spike withdrew a bunch of purple flames began to appear around them, causing Trixie and Sombra to back up and inspect what was going on. Raika, seeing where the flames were going, moved one of the braziers until it clicked into place, causing more flames to point to where the next brazier was to be moved to.
Raika followed the puzzle, pushing the braziers to where they needed to be, until the circle had been completed and she stepped back to wonder what the flames had to do with the center. Then, as if something connected with the flames, the floor began to shake until it began to lower beneath their feet. Eventually the shaking stopped and the floor came to a screeching halt, revealing a stone monolith directly where the button had stood. Raika approached the monolith and pressed her hand against it, feeling the stone lower until the monolith had split in half, revealing a women resting in what she then realized had been a tomb of sorts.
Raika grabbed the women before she could fall and hit the floor, but as she did so she realized that the women was carrying a second Elder Scroll on her back.
"Ugh...where am I?" the women asked, opening her eyes and realizing that she wasn't alone, "Who...who are you?"
"I am Raika Snow-Heart," Raika replied, helping the women onto her feet while also noticing the glaring color in her eyes, "and your Dimhollow Crypt. The only question I have for you is why in Oblivion would vampires come here, killing the Vigilants of Stendarr to open this place up?"
"And I really don't trust you right now," the women replied, snatching her hand away from Raika, "Look, if you want to hear my story I suggest you take me back to my family's home. Once we get there I'll share what little information I can with you."
"Fine," Raika said in defeat, knowing that she would never get her way with anyone in Skyrim, "where can we find your family's house? Is it somewhere close to Dawnstar or Morthal?"
"No..." the women said, clearly having no idea where either of those two places were, "My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. Actually, I would guess that they still do. And seeing how you already gave me your name I should give you mine; I am Serana. Wait a minute...does that guy have a unicorn's horn sticking out of his forehead? And why does that women have a similar horn sticking out of her forehead?"
"Meet my friends Trixie Lulumoon and Sombra," Raika said, beckoning to the others that stood behind her, "and we'll explain why they have horns later on, but we have something else that we need to do. Let's get you out of here and find this island where your family used to live or is still living at. I'm sure that this is going to be the start of a rather annoying quest to save all of Tamriel...again."
What Raika didn't realize was exactly how true her words were going to be in the days to come.