“Adalvald, how’s our prisoner been the past few days?” The older man was on watch when I got to the dungeons. He shrugged.
“The wretch alternates between complete silence and bursts of feral screeching. I’ve checked his chains twice a day, to be sure he hasn’t somehow wriggled out of them, but they hold firm. Hania told me that you know far more about their kind than you let on, even to me.” Adalvald sounded slightly disappointed.
“Times are changing, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss that later. If you want to hear more, you’re welcome to join me. I’m going to get my answers out of the vampire today.” I held up my dagger and the last remaining black soul gem I’d gotten my hands on. Yngdaril had several, sadly most of them had been filled already. Adalvald grimaced.
“Jori mentioned your fondness for that tactic. I can’t say that I approve of it.” His words were more polite than his expression suggested.
“Death and pain don’t mean much to immortal beasts. They know their master will call them to his plane, unless something else gets them first. The other Masters are strong enough to contest the claim on their souls though. We aren’t in a position to give up a weapon against them.” It was a distasteful tactic, but I hadn’t come up with anything else that would scare an answer out of those that didn’t fear a normal death.
“As you say Champion.” Adalvald’s tone told me I’d hear more of it later. He could bitch and moan about my tactics after we’d won, and he was alive to do so. Adalvald opened the door holding the monster, revealing a dimly lit cell. The once-man had been stripped down, just a scrap of cloth to keep him decent, to prevent him from being able to hide anything. The room was completely bare, given that he didn’t need to eat, sleep, use the bathroom, or anything else. He kept letting his head hang despite the loud noise of the door.
“Do you really think we’re going to fall for that?” I leaned against the wall across from him. Adalvald took a position out of reach, but between us. The vampire didn’t move.
“Speak beast! you aren’t fooling anyone with this.” Adalvald sounded impatient, a bit of his anger seeping in.
“I’ve seen a mage replicate a little ball of sunlight, vampires didn’t seem to like that much. You’ve done the same. Care to give an example to our guest?” I looked to the Vigilant. He nodded, raising his hand.
“Alright, alright, you’ve caught me. Suppose it was too much to hope for against vampire hunters.” The vampire straightened out, calm and composed.
“Must have gotten yourself out of a few tricky situations against city guards with that.” I twirled my dagger.
“Oh, more than a few. Four hundred years I’ve roamed, yet you are the first to have surprised me. Congratulations. You must be the Champion I’ve heard whispers of.” The vampire nodded his head towards me, and my armor.
“That I am. Sorry I haven’t been around to properly introduce my self, there were other matters more important. I have questions for you.” The vampire smirked.
“And what do I get for answering them? I doubt that release is on offer.”
“Well, you can avoid quite a bit of pain and suffering, but I won’t lie to you, I have no intention of letting you leave this cell alive except to stake you in the sunlight. Death comes in many forms though, some quicker than others, some long and lingering.” No reason to beat around the bush. A vampire that had lived for centuries knew the score.
“Fuck you then. Kill me.”
“I was hoping you would say that. Give my regards to Milek.” I revealed the black soul gem, and started towards the vampire. He stiffened immediately, a slight look of concern on his face.
“Woah! I think that maybe we got off on the wrong foot Champion.” He recovered quickly, trying to play off his fear.
“Oh? Really, I’m sure there’s at least a few people that’d really like to hear from you… they’ll be disappointed.” I leaned back against the wall.
“Perhaps. So, your questions?” The vampire’s eyes kept wandering between the dagger and the soul gem.
“What were you doing with the necromancers?”
“Looking for the methods and techniques of creating a draugr, obviously. Your friend there made it quite clear that he was after the same things we were.” The vampire sneered at Adalvald. Whether that was the whole truth, or just a convenient cover… Huh.
“Suppose you’ll need dependable servants when the sun winks out. What was the solution for blood?” The vampire kept it cool, but his sneer went from unconscious to forced, a little twitch.
“I have no idea what you’re talk－”
“Don’t give me that shit. Harkon is obsessed with the prophecy, bringing the world to its knees. I’m a Champion of Stendarr, would I have been brought here if something crazy like that wasn’t happening? He may have succeeded two thousand years ago if Serana hadn’t gone missing.” I let the vampire in on just how much I knew. He would’ve paled if he was human, instead, he sighed.
“I don’t know what Harkon’s plan is for the prophecy, but he’s even more fervent than usual about it. He says that the chaos among the cattle leaves them weak, that there’s never been a better time than now. He’s searching for Serana again, but I don’t know why. You seem more well informed than I am. How is that exactly?” The vampire tried to get back to comfortable ground, I ignored his question.
“What does Harkon know about Serana? Is he close to finding her?”
“That wasn’t my place or my task.”
“Really, you hadn’t heard anything going on? I find that hard to believe.”
“Perhaps you should take a look at a map of Skyrim, it’s a big place if you hadn’t noticed. I’ve not been around to hear Harkon’s ravings for months.” He had me there. It took a week to reach Dawnstar from Winterhold, Morthal probably another week, two to get around the Reach and up to Solitude, then a boat ride. A month of traveling just to arrive unless he’d taken a ship, unlikely in the winter. It seemed that was the end of the Vampire’s utility.
“Adalvald, do you have any questions for him?” I looked to the elder mage.
“Only the ones I’ve asked already. Where are the tomes? The ones that were mentioned in your journals. You’ve claimed ignorance, but that is a lie.” Adalvald had calmed down, and spoke as if he was asking the weather.
“I sent them off with a skeleton when it became apparent that the others were on to me. It wasn’t long after that the necromancers made their move. It was daylight, I had no space to manuever. My next memory is being chained up much like I am now, then you arrived. I’ve lost my connection to the skeleton. It could be anywhere, or nowhere, covered in snow. I doubt the tomes will be found again.” The vampire shrugged. He seemed remarkably calm about the whole thing. I didn’t know how much we could believe, but at the end of the day it didn’t really matter all that much. I knew enough of the key items and actions Harkon needed to take to be successful, and I’d already denied him the most important one.
“So, what now? You burn me and celebrate one less creature of the night?” The vampire leaned back against the wall. I turned to Adalvald.
“Do what you want with him.” I left the elder mage to handle the vampire. There was a flash of gold before I’d even gotten out of the room. Burning was a horrible way to go, but the noises the vampire made, it must have been an especially shit end for them. Too bad. I went looking for the next batch of scum to take care of.
“Grimvald, are these three earning their meals?” I stopped in the main hall, where new timbers were being put in to repair the place. Our bandit prisoners were there as well, consigned to hard labor for the foreseeable future.
“They had some lip to give at first, but they’re learning fast.” He pointed a club at one of them, the man had a lump on the side of his head.
“Don’t beat them unless they do something to deserve it. Thieves and murderers they might be, but I need them fit to work.” I looked over the trio. Until more labor started coming in, we needed all the extra hands we could get. Grimvald’s father had rounded up plenty of local men willing to work, but split between repairs, logging, and the hunting parties being led by the twins, every available, able bodied man had been hired.
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“Aye Champion, I’ve kept the stick to my self mostly.” Grimvald tucked the implement back into his belt.
“How long till we’ve fixed the main beams through the place?” I looked up at the ceiling. It looked like half of them had been replaced here, but the damage wasn’t exclusive to the hall.
“My father has some of the men working on the higher floors, and the barracks. Two days and we should be done with the important pieces.”
“Good. I’ll trust you to handle this then. You three, I don’t want to hear about Grimvald smacking you around, so don’t give him any reasons to. You live as long as you don’t cause problems.” I reminded them of the deal. Banditry, robbery, murder, all of them were grounds enough for an execution, but Winterhold had other traditions, like working prisoners in mines off the coast. It wasn’t as bad as Markarth’s system, well, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Cidhna mine was pretty damned brutal from what I knew about it.
The prisoners nodded meekly, and went back to their work. It was about time for lunch, then I’d be training with the company men in the courtyard. The first few days of it had been rough for everyone, but within a few weeks, I’d be able to push them twice as far with half the pain, different pain. They’d all be a lot stronger, so we’d probably end up with more sparring injuries, nothing the vigilants couldn’t fix. Speaking of them, I noticed that they were conspicuously absent from the training ground after we’d eaten.
“Hania, where are the rest of the vigilants?” I looked around, maybe they’d chosen a corner to gather in, they were still a bit insular.
“Pursuing other tasks. Jori is teaching several classes of advanced magic, Adalvald has been lecturing about vampires, some of them have enjoyed the tavern in town.” Hania looked slightly annoyed with them.
“Gather them up, bring them here. If we’re going to work together, we need to train together, and that goes both ways. Men from the company will start sitting in on lessons about magic after this.” Combined arms meant we’d all need to know what the others could do, how to compliment each other’s strength.
“They won’t like that… This will be fun.” Hania grinned, and turned on her heel. We started with calisthenics, which had ended with me giving up my explanation and just telling them to do it. After the stretching, I had them jogging around in circles, jumping jacks, lunges… The vigilants were all gathered up and looking on incredulously as I was explaining the concept of a burpee.
“Kind of you all to join us.” I stood and turned to them. One of the vigilants, a man named Bertram, stepped forwards.
“As the champion asks, we will listen… Why are we here?” He sounded confused.
“Because we’re training, and you volunteered to join us. That means training with us too. Those robes won’t do too well for the task.” I pointed at his attire. Bertram looked over to Jori, then to Adalvald, the older man had a grin a mile wide.
“We are mages, not soldiers.” Bertram protested.
“Does that mean you won’t be marching, or following along behind soldiers, and needing to keep up with them? Vampires fight up close, blades, teeth, and claws to go with their magic. You need to be ready for that. Drop the robes.” I turned back to the thirty odd soldiers. “So, a burpee is－”
“It’s freezing out here!” Bertram kept up his whining.
“Then you’d better get moving. The rest of us are getting cold listening to your bitching.” Winter was coming to a close, but there were still a few storms to come before spring.
“If vampires have gotten close to us, your soldiers have fai－” His protests were cut short with a light jab to the mouth.
“Magic didn’t help you there. Try to zap me, come on.” I’d closed the distance with him to make my point. Bertram flushed red, and lightning came up in his hand. Nothing terrible, but enough to hurt. I caught it with my ward and kicked his knee out from under him. He brought his hand back for a spell, my boot crunched down on it.
“You’re dead. Magic is helpful so long as your enemy isn’t in your face. You saw what the fighting was like in the barrow, close, claustrophobic, confused. We’re going to fight in a lot more places like that, against things a whole lot more dangerous than draugr and skeletons. If you don’t want to learn how to survive, then you can go and die with the rest of the vigilants that don’t join us.” I turned my eyes to the vigilants that had shared Bertram’s sentiment, to make sure they knew my words were for all of them. “Just like all the others that have died because they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. Your magic is strong, but your tactics leave a lot to be desired. Before I can fix that, I need to fix you.” I put my hand down to Bertram. He grumbled, and stood up himself.
“So, drop your robes and find a place, or die. Your choice.” I gestured first at the company, then the open gates. Lyanna was the first to fall in, her experience in the barrow had probably been remarkably similar to what I’d done to Bertram. All but two of them joined, with Bertram having been pulled aside by Adalvald. The younger of the two was heatedly arguing, Adalvald was exuding stern grandfather energy. Finally the younger angrily started to strip out of his robes.
“Adalvald, you’re the only one that doesn’t necessarily have to join us. Not be rude, but your age is－” He held up a hand.
“I’ve been fighting longer than you’ve been alive Champion. I know how to strengthen my self, even in my advanced years. I will see to it. Perhaps you can teach me something new.” He fell in with the rest, though slightly off to the side.
“Alright then, so, a burpee is a bitch, to put it simply, and y’all are going to learn to love them.”
Several Hours Later
“Harald, how’s the repair going on the smithy?” I found the man after we’d finished the closing jog around the outer walls. Harald looked like he was ready to fall over and die.
“Few days, I’ll have it ready Champion.” He breathed out, clutching at his side.
“Put your hands on your head and walk around, breath in your nose, out your mouth, the stitch will go away.” I showed him what I meant. “But that’s good. Jorn and Lodor are getting their father’s ships ready to serve until we have our own, we’ll have plenty of ore for you to work with soon. Have you found an assistant?”
“Kalor introduced me to Kargrin, the younger boy that came along with us. He’s eager to keep with the company, and could use a trade.” Harald’s eyes tracked towards the milling crowd, to a tall, but lean and lanky kid.
“Good. I’ll be helping around the smithy when I have time. I could use a trade aside from this too.” I patted the mace on my belt. Harald nodded.
“It’s a simple thing to learn, but it takes years to master. When you go to Dawnstar, you might ask after some of their smiths too. They have quite a few, for pounding out ingots from the mines. I’m sure that plenty of them would like the chance at making something else.” Harald’s suggestion was a welcome one. We’d end up with more metal than hands to work it if a tenth of the survey I’d gotten was accurate.
“That’s good advice, thank you Harald. If you need a hand repairing the smithy, let me know. And if you see them, tell the twins to come find me.” I turned for the keep. Dinner was cooking already, horker steaks and eggs by the smell. Vegetables were getting lean this late in the winter. Karliene was sitting patiently at the door of the kitchen, tail wagging as I approached.
“How you feeling big girl? Hungry after all that running?” I scratched at her head. She had healed from the indirect lightning, and taken to making friends with all the new people around, especially the cooks.
Arooo-rooooooo!
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’ll make sure they cut you a nice big piece. You should learn about chewing though. Inhaling the whole thing isn’t healthy. You better not be eating skeevers either, those things are disgusting.” Karliene looked away for a moment, a guilty glint in her eye.
I hadn’t figured out exactly how much she understood, but she wasn’t like the other dogs. Icefoot was just as smart, but he didn’t understand the twins the way Karliene could understand me. I hadn’t thought about it much, but I knew it had something to do with the strange window that had appeared when I picked her.
“Come on. If you promise not to eat any more skeevers, I’ll have the cooks fry up a piece of fat off the meat.”
Arrooooo!
I did as promised, and got Karliene the cut she wanted. Dinner was loud and boisterous, with the company still in high spirits after our success. They’d also gotten paid, nearly two hundred pieces of gold each, for a week of work. Garrison pay would be quite a bit lower, but they also weren’t paying for food or equipment.
“Johannes! Look what we got!” I heard Angven calling over the noise. His party had left early in the morning, and looked to have been very successful.
“You were supposed to hunt the elk, not the thing hunting the elk!” I called back with a chuckle. He had a bear’s head in his hands, massive thing.
“Oh, we got that too!” He tucked the head under his arm, and hiked a thumb over his shoulder. The hunters had an elk tied on a sled, dragging it towards the kitchens to be butchered. We wouldn’t be going hungry any time soon at least, not with that much meat.
“Great work. You know I’m not paying you for the animals, right?” I asked. Angven laughed as he passed off the head, and came to sit closer to me, lowering his voice.
“Not worried about that, I caught my own prize.” He offered over something wrapped in cloth. I opened it, revealing a dagger built in the old nordic style.
“Another barrow?” I asked quietly.
“Small one, up in the mountains. The bear had made a lair in the cave before it. Thought I’d ask how you wanted to handle it. Probably won’t be the same kind of treasure trove as the other ones, but it could be worth exploring.” Angven tucked the dagger back into his bag.
“Let me think about it. If there isn’t much risk, we could send a smaller team to clear it out. The veterans.” A smaller team meant less shares.
“You, my brother, Hania, we could take it ourselves. Each of the large barrows we’ve come across had a lord’s fortune inside, if this one had a quarter of that, we’d be rich.” It brought my thoughts to mind about how to keep paying for everything. I had three months of budget without tapping into what I’d set aside for my self, I still needed to pay for the other three months.
“We’re already rich. You’ve got enough meat for us for a while, take Grimvald and Hania to check the barrow tomorrow. If it’s not too dangerous, go for it, otherwise come back here and we’ll make a plan.” That brought a smile to him.
“Got it boss.” Angven started to leave. I waved him back.
“There’s some other things I wanted to talk about, but we’ll wait till your brother is here.”
“I’ve been sitting here for a while.” Anglin spoke from my left, whipping his cloak away.
“I never should have given you that fucking thing.” I grumbled. The twins just laughed.
“So? What’ve you got to tell us?”
“About how we’re going to kill a bunch of blood suckers, and some elves too. We need to train a few men, enough for each of you to lead a team of them, and one vigilant each. Did either of you ever practice the things Riga taught you about magic?” The twins shared a look.
“Not really.” Angven admitted.
“Alright, well, that’s less than ideal, but we have time. There’s some magic you should learn that can help keep you sneaky, and even if the vigilants don’t like it, there’s another school of magic that’s too valuable to dismiss. Have you ever heard of a Familiar?” I got into my plans. Asymmetric warfare was the oldest form of war, and we’d be teaching the vampires and the gold plated cunts a thing or two about it.