Skyrim: The Faces of Death

by Blackdrag-rose

Vampire: An Order Revived

Amaryllis discovered that they were able to get through most of the rest of the day without anything happening, save for Ma'jera using her magic to teleport the horse and carriage they had been using back to their new base, scaring the poor horse in the process and required Diane to calm him down, though one thing she made sure to do was hide the Elder Scroll in the chest that she could summon and dismiss at will, mostly so it wasn't laying around and stolen by a thief, if someone tried to do such a thing anyway. Of course not everything was peaceful for them since not even an hour after Esbern and Delphine arrived, the latter being taken elsewhere while she complained about her filled breasts and udder as she was escorted to another part of the new keep, Jarl Balgruuf and a number of his guards arrived, which included Irileth and Farengar. Amaryllis wasn't surprised to see that he had picked those two to come with him, as the former happened to be his Housecarl, his personal protector who took her job way too seriously at times, while the latter happened to be his Court Wizard, so there was a chance that he had detected an influx of power and had caused his Jarl to discover this place, or maybe someone had noticed the base and told the Jarl. As she thought Balgruuf was here to ask about the new fortress, or city as he soon discovered, where he quickly discovered that Za'kera was preparing for something major that would be happening in the near future, as she didn't want to tell everyone that she happened to be in the middle of readying herself for war and was building an army to tear down the Aldmeri Dominion, though Amaryllis had a feeling that if she revealed this to Whiterun they might get a lot more followers, but she said nothing and kept an eye on the shadows, just in case the Thalmor sent assassins after them.

As it turned out Balgruuf was more than willing to let them have their base here, especially since he wasn't about to fight an Arch-Mage who was capable of manipulating the ground and surrounding area as she wanted, no doubt worried about what it might mean for his city and his people, though he would do his best to ensure that no one inside Whiterun even learned of what was going on out here, despite the fact that all of them were sure that some people would come out and speak to them for themselves, or just to see this with their own eyes.

One of the people who came to speak with them was a male Orc who was dressed up in some leather armor that had bits of metal mixed in, like he was a hunter who specialized in hunting creatures like werewolves and vampires, as Amaryllis had learned of their existence thanks to meeting Arnbjorn, though he carried a crossbow with him and held ax axe with a rather sharp looking silver head, meaning he was definitely outfitted for battle, even if he was missing a shield and a helm to cover his head. Durak, as that was the Orc's name, had something interesting to tell them, that the Dawnguard, which was an ancient order of vampire hunters, were rising up to deal with the ever growing vampire threat that existed in all of Skyrim, even though Amaryllis knew that he had to be exaggerating since she hadn't seen any blood suckers or heard of an attack since she met Babette. Apparently, when Za'kera made a mention of not noticing the 'vampire threat' Durak told her off by claiming that she hadn't been paying attention and would only notice when a creature was sucking her blood, even though Amaryllis wouldn't let something like that happen in the first place, and asked her if she had heard of the Hall of the Vigilants had been attacked, which none of them had heard about and only seemed to infuriate the Orc more than he already was. While they were talking Amaryllis took a moment to wonder why news of the attack hadn't spread, as her abilities let her know that Durak was telling the truth, before he mentioned that if they wanted to join the fight they would find the order of vampire hunters at an ancient fort in the Rift, Fort Dawnguard as it was called, before he departed from their base of operations and headed out to either find new allies or head back to his boss.

Za'kera didn't seem at all interested in hunting down the Dawnguard and seeing what they wanted, as it seemed like the Orc had been sent to find the Dragonborn, instead of an ordinary hero or group of known adventurers, but Amaryllis did mention that saving the Holds from a potential threat, as she and Wind knew that Durak had been telling the truth, might gain them some points with the Jarls. Her friend did acknowledge their comments on the matter, even though they had no way of knowing if the Hall had actually been burned down by vampires or if it had been someone else entirely, she even considered Esbern's opinion on this topic, that it might be the Aldmeri Dominion trying to spread fear to weaken the rest of Skyrim, though it was more based on his experiences and not on his feelings on the Thalmor. As such Za'kera decided that it would be in their best interest if she, Amaryllis, and Lydia, at the very least, headed to Riften and tracked down the exact location of Fort Dawnguard, as Ma'jera had a habit of making sure her apprentice was nearby to impart more of her extensive knowledge to her, so this way the mages could stay here with Esbern and their new allies, and maybe Kya if she returned for a rest. Amaryllis was perfectly fine with her friend's decision, as it allowed her to make sure Za'kera was safe, or as safe as one could be given that they were going to be fighting enemies in the near future, while Wind could keep an eye on the city and those that were already here, that way when they got back she could figure out what happened while they were gone before they planned out their next move in building their army.

Of course she had a feeling that once they found the fort in question, and she was sure that they would find it in due time, that she and her companions would be roped into a new quest and hoped that Za'kera was ready for whatever the future held for them, since there was no telling what might happen when they found Fort Dawnguard and the leader of Durak's revived order.

---

After Durak left the group had dinner, relaxed for some time, and then went to sleep since they had another big day once morning arrived, though Amaryllis and everyone else woke up early, as the sun was rising and used the carriage to leave their base for some time, leaving it in the hands of Ma'jera and their companions, though they knew that Esbern and their newest addition, Kaelriil, would have things ready for them when they returned. One thing Za'kera was thinking about was where they were going to find more allies to form the start of her army, even though she was still surprised by all of this, as building an army to take down the Aldmeri Dominion seemed like a dream and Amaryllis found her friend taking a few seconds to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, only to find that this was real and that they were heading for Riften once more, to find a new order that wanted to deal with vampires. She knew that some of Balgruuf's guards, those who protected Whiterun anyway, would likely come and join them to tear down those who wronged the Empire or beat them down to the point where the treaty was written in the first place, and it was possible that the Companions might join up with the start of their forces, as some of them, from what she had heard, wanted to earn honor and seemed to think that a war was a good place to earn it. In the end Amaryllis mentally sighed and glanced out at the rest of Skyrim as they headed for Riften, as she knew that it was unlikely they would find an army lurking in the wilderness, especially since she hadn't seen such a force during her travels above Skyrim's surface, hence why she focused on the order they were now seeking out and the mission they were trying to uphold, and if they could convince them to stop hunting vampires and join the start of Za'kera's army.

It took a few hours for them to reach their destination, coming up the road that passed through a fort, before they found that some of the guards knew what they were looking for and directed them towards the road that headed in the direction of Morrowind, as there was a cave off on the left side of the road and would have a pair of braziers outside it, something that they discovered in no time and Lydia brought the carriage to a stop as they climbed off it and headed inside the cave, finding that it was a passage that lead to a secret area between two mountains, before they found a male Nord off to their right, who looked like a farmer and carried a simple axe on his belt.

"Oh, hey there! Are all of you here to join the Dawnguard, too?" the Nord asked, as he seemed surprised to find that some people were coming to speak with Isran, even though Amaryllis and Lydia focused on walking down the path while taking a few seconds to make sure there were no enemies in the area, even though Za'kera said nothing and simply nodded her head for a moment, "Truth is, I'm a little nervous... I've never done anything like this before. I hope you don't mind if I walk with you for a time... hey, uh, please don't tell Isran I was afraid to meet him by myself, as I know that its not the best first impression for a new vampire hunter, and he might reject me because of it."

"Considering the fact that Durak's looking for allies, I don't think Isran will reject anyone," Amaryllis commented, which was followed by her companions nodding their heads for a moment, as they agreed with her when they took a few seconds to think about the information that was given to them, before she thought about what the young man had said before she spoke up, "but we won't say anything about this."

"Anyway, I heard what's been going on lately," the farmer continued, waiting for a moment to make sure no one else had anything to say on the matter, where he discovered that Za'kera was still silent as they walked down the path in question, causing him to think that they might not know as much as he did, "you know, with the vampires attacking and killing all sorts of people, the Dawnguard rising to fight them, and everything else that's happened. I wanted to help, so here I am. The lot of you have probably killed lots of vampires, huh? I'm sure Isran will sign you right up. Not sure he'll take me, but... I hope he'll give me a chance to prove myself."

Amaryllis could tell that the Nord was nervous, as it was practically radiating from him at this point, but it did seem to go down while they walked with him, which she was happy about, before they found that the path brought them by an area that was used for fishing, which made sense since Isran and the others needed something to eat, before finding a rather large and impressive fortress in front of them that had to be Fort Dawnguard. One thing she noticed was that there were a number of areas etched out in the ground, no doubt markers so someone could build some walls or barricades for some extra protection, especially since no one had any idea when the vampires would show up, meaning Isran wasn't done with his work and his followers were doing everything in their power to ready themselves for the future. Beyond the first tower, as the fort had towers attached to it and made them go around its base, happened to be a camping area that had a tent, a small farm that seemed to be growing potatoes and leeks, or at least it sure looked like that, before finding Durak outside it as he used his crossbow on the target that was in front of him, meaning he was readying himself for whatever the future might hold for them. After that they found a path that lead right to the main doors of the fortress, where another member of the Dawnguard, a male Breton, commented on their arrival and ushered them inside, assuming that they were here to join him and his companions, where they headed through the main door and found two people, both male while one was a Redguard and the other was a Nord, who appeared to be arguing right now, causing them to stop and wait their turn to speak with Isran

"Why are you here, Tolan? The Vigilants and I were finished long ago." the Redguard asked, where Amaryllis found that he was wearing the armor of the Dawnguard, which made sense when she considered that he had to be the leader of the few people they had seen outside, though his attention was firmly on the man who was standing near him, someone who had the attire of a Vigilant of Stendarr, as in a mage's robe for the chest while having steel plate over their arms and legs, not a good combination in her mind but she kept that to herself.

"You know why I'm here, Isran, the Vigilants are under attack everywhere." the Nord, Tolan, replied, something that made Amaryllis and Za'kera glance at each other for a few seconds, as neither of them had heard any news about this, nor had they heard of the Hall being attacked and destroyed, but they remained silent as they waited for their turn to come up, all while their new companion hung back in the shadows as he tried to get his nerves under control, "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 stated, where he frowned as he said that, as it was easy for anyone to tell that he was annoyed or displeased with Tolan and the Vigilants, to the point where Amaryllis didn't even need her innate powers to figure that out, even though the Vigilant stood his ground as he waited for Isran to stop talking. "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, a foolish mistake I might add, you come begging for my protection?"

"Isran... Carcette is dead." Tolan said, sounding incredibly sad over the fact that he had just admitted, even though it also seemed to have some effect on the Reguard, as Isran paused for a moment as well, meaning he must have had friends in the Vigilants and this might have made him wonder if anyone had survived, even though Amaryllis could feel the sadness coming from Tolan go up a notch or two in a matter of 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. I tried to warn all of you... I am sorry, you know." Isran replied, where it was clear that his earlier anger and annoyance had cooled off and allowed him to think about the situation they were now in, especially since he must have lost some of his friends in the process, maybe even family, before he noticed that Za'kera, Amaryllis, Lydia, and the newcomer were standing by the door, even though he only beckoned to the three of them once he regained himself, "You there, the two Khajiit and the Nord, step forward and state your intentions."

"We heard that you were looking for vampire hunters and came to see what was going on for ourselves," Za'kera stated, as she made it sound like they were thinking of joining the Dawnguard, which would convince Isran to spill the beans on what was going on and allow her to make a decision on what to do next with the order, did they help them or did they just leave to continue preparing for their war, "Plus you sent Durak to find the Dragonborn for some reason, so I'd like to find out why you would want such a thing."

"You heard right. I'm glad word's finally starting to get around," Isran answered, showing that he was pleased to have a few newcomers who were interested in seeing what the problem was and that they might be interested in tearing down all of the vampires that his order was designed to destroy, or at least that was what all of them figured out by listening to what Isran and Tolan had said, "however, that also means that it won't be long before the vampires start to take notice as well and come up with a plan to destroy us."

"Given how many members you have right now, it looks like you need some help." Amaryllis commented, because if one were to look at the path leading to Fort Dawnguard it looked like there were three other people in Isran's group, at least Durak, the guy who greeted them, and a lookout, so Isran made four and there was no telling who else would arrive after all of them were gone, though Lydia remained silent as she continued to make sure no one tried anything with her Thane, showing her loyalty to Za'kera at all times.

"Indeed, though I need someone out in the field, taking the fight to the damn vampires, while we're getting the fort back into shape and finding some new members," Isran replied, which made sense when the pair considered it, since having a few more people join the fight would do wonders for the man and those who had joined him so far, before he glanced at Tolan for a moment as he considered something, before glancing back at them a second later, "Tolan was just telling me about some cave that the Vigilants were poking around in... they seemed to think that it was related, in some way, to these recent vampire attacks. Tolan, you said it was Dimhollow, right?"

"Yes, that's it... Dimhollow Crypt." Tolan answered, confirming Isran's words while he considered them for a moment, no doubt remembering something he had learned or had been told by those he had worked with before the Hall had been ransacked by the vampires, though Amaryllis could feel his sadness as he thought about those who had fallen, meaning he must have had good bonds with them, before he sighed, "Brother Adalvald was sure it held some long lost vampire artifact of some kind, one of great importance, but we didn't listen to him at all, just like we didn't listen to Isran. Adalvald was at the Hall when it was attacked... I don't know if he was taken or killed in action..."

"That's good enough for me." Isran said, clearly seeing the pain that Tolan was going through and wanted to change what they were talking about, or at least Amaryllis hoped he was being considerate towards his old friend's sadness and not just being a jerk about it, by not caring about what Tolan was going through, before he glanced towards Za'kera once more, no doubt thinking they had joined his order when they hadn't agreed to help him, "So, Dragonborn, go see what the vampires were looking for in this Dimhollow Crypt... with any luck, they'll still be there and you can eradicate them. Feel free to poke around the fort and take what you need for the mission, though be warned that there isn't much yet, given that we have had our own problems lately, but you're welcome to anything you can use."

"I was curious if you had heard my comment, since you didn't react at all," Za'kera remarked, though she wasn't trying to poke fun at him or anything, she had been curious as to whether or not he had noticed her mention of the Dragonborn, as he didn't move a muscle during that moment, before she turned for a moment and started to return to where Amaryllis and Lydia were standing, "but we'll check out Dimhollow Crypt, see if we can figure out what the vampires are up to and if any are still there."

In that moment Tolan mentioned that he was coming with them, despite the fact that Isran believed that he wasn't ready for combat since the Vigilants had been wiped out, but Za'kera was fine with him coming along with them, as they might learn more about what Adalvald was looking for and any potential information he might have to share, though Amaryllis came to a stop when they left the fort, discovering that they had a new arrival, the ash furred khajiit she had seen during her time on the Emperor's ship, standing in front of them.

"Dragonborn, I have come to speak with you and the Listener," the khajiit stated, where Amaryllis noticed that she was no longer wearing rags, rather it looked like she was wearing leather armor that was torn in some places, as the chest piece only covered her breasts and showed off her midriff, while having no sleeves, and the sides of her pants looked like she might have gotten into a fight with a bear that shredded them, revealing the Daedric runes on both her arms, legs, and her chest, even if there were more on her face and the rest of her body, all while she pulled out a pair of wicked scimitars, no doubt Daedric in origin.

"Is that so?" Za'kera inquired, though as she said that Amaryllis found that her friend was gripping the handles of the pair of blades that she was carrying right now, revealing the situation to her, if the ashen khajiit attacked she was going to pull her weapons out as well, meaning she was ready for anything and everything, all while she and Lydia stayed at the ready as well, just in case, "Why are you seeking us?"

"I am Sharva Doomstrider, servant of the Prince of Destruction... and I have come to join you in your quest," the khajiit answered, where she stabbed both of her blades into the ground, something that caused them to pause for a second, and bowed her head for a moment, though what interested Amaryllis was what happened when Sharva spoke the title of her boss, the runes seemed to flash for a moment, why she had no idea.

Za'kera had no idea why someone else wanted to join her, or why Mehrunes Dagon wanted to bring down the vampires, but she, naturally, welcomed the khajiit into their group and allowed Sharva to pull her weapons out of the ground, due to the fact that she'd rather not piss off a Daedric Prince, though Amaryllis was curious if they had found another Demiprince or if Sharva was actually a follower of Dagon, before deciding that time would tell her what the truth was.

Comments

[Night_Moon60606]

hmmn, interesting...never really liked Isran, and this new Kat...Dagon is not known for His...compassion...quite the opposite in fact...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11027804 I don't really like Isran either, but he's less of an annoyance than Harkon is... as for Sharva, she's experienced the dark and twisted side of Dagon before.

[Night_Moon60606]

11027812
i actually find Isran just as annoying as Harkon, just in different ways, though it is amazing just how alike the two are...both are zealots, both are convinced of the 'rightness' of their cause, both are extremely arrogant...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11027832 True, you got me on the zealot part.

[Night_Moon60606]

11027890
oh, and it might be a good idea for ur Dragonborn to pick up the manor properties, lots of potential there, what with the fish farm from Morthals building location, the Beehive from Falkreath or the mill u get from building around Dawnstar...all of these r helpful in their own ways...the first two make fine collection points for various Alchemy reagents, getting a steady supply of Salmon Roe or River Betty is something anyone would want...not counting the Jerin Root, River Betty is the most deadly Ingredient in the game... The Betty by the River stands amid the Thistle, awaiting the sounding of the Bell. With Slow and careful step will the Body die, leaving Mind to be Ravaged in the doing

[Blackdrag-rose]

11028003 I will consider such a thing for the upcoming chapters.