The assassins spent two days in Dawnstar, before making their way to Whiterun. News was slowly making the rounds on what happened at the ball. Even the Companions had heard the news and started asking questions. All Evelyn told them is what she saw. Things were going fine until Elenwen had made her way to a balcony and hung herself after making a short lived speech. All her fellow Companions talk among themselves, clearly surprised by this. But many wonder what may happen now that she's dead. Some of her friends make sure she's alright and she nods. She's just as surprised as everyone else. Things might get a bit chaotic, but things will be business as normal. Evelyn isn't sure yet how this will all play out, but all she can do is act like everything is normal. After a sort stay in Jorrvaskr the assassins ended up in Breezehome. They ended up together in her bed. She wasn't used to sharing her bed, but she finds she doesn't mind it. Just gives her something to hold onto. Which is normally her pillow, but now it's him. Her head resting on his chest. If he minds, he doesn't make a show of it. He just lets her sleep. It's rare to see her relax, even when sleeping. Sometimes she'll twitch, move, mumble even. But for once she's quiet, calm, resting. For once her dreams don't seem to be hunting her, so he lets her sleep on him. His half way to falling asleep himself when there's a knock at her door. He jolts awake quickly and slowly slides out of bed. He pulls on his pants and grabs his dagger as he makes his way downstairs.
He opens the door, dagger in hand to see a woman standing there. She's rather pretty, young looking with short hair. A few strands are breaded and wrap around her head. Her head tilts as she looks at the shirtless man before her. "I'm looking for Evelyn." He's still holding his dagger tightly. "And you are?" "Serana, I'm a friend." He lowers his arm slightly as he turns to go inside. It takes him a minute to wake her as Evelyn lets out a small snort. "Hmm wha?" He rolls his eyes slightly at her. "A woman is here, Serana?" She wakes up quickly at hearing that and gets dressed. She makes her way downstairs to see the woman now in her home. "Hey~" Serana smiles and the two of them hug. "Sorry, I was...um.." She glances behind her and Serana chuckles gently. "Busy, sorry to interrupt." Artemis crosses his arm, his eyes on both of them. "Serana is a old friend. She was a vampire, but she was able to cure herself. I take it you're enjoying the sun?" "It's still a bit bright, but it's nice to travel during the day and not feel it sting." Evelyn nods at this. "so what brings you my way?" Serana shuffles a bit as she leans back. "Isran asked me to find you. Ever heard of a place called Redwater Den?" Evelyn gives it some thought. "I don't think so.." "It's out of the way, hides itself as a Skooma din, but underneath it is run by vampires. My 'fathers' idea, get people hooked on Skooma and use their blood to fill the Bloodspring. I didn't even know the place was still running until Isran got reports of people gone missing.."
Evelyn just nods and heads off to go get her armor. Artemis is quick to join her as she opens her case and hands over a sword. It's so bright, a strange flame glows in the middle. "Dawnbreaker, it's very useful against vampires." Artemis gives her an odd look until it dawns on him to take the sword. She makes her way back to the main floor of her house and opens a chest. She pokes around for a bit before pulling out a few bottles. "Cure disease, drink it AFTER you kill the vampires.." She hands a few to Artemis, then holds out a few to Serana. She's glad for the offer, she's not looking to become a vampire again any time soon. "Vampirism is a disease, you won't really notice at first, but in a few days you'll wake up with fangs. Once it sets in, curing it is not easy, just ask her." "Falion didn't make it easy, but it worked at least." Serana turns to leave as Evelyn looks at Artemis. "I would keep the potions, just because you're partial shade, that doesn't mean you're immune." He wasn't about to argue the point. Once outside Serana starts to lead the way. "So where is this place?" "It's in the Rift, west of Fort Greenwall.." When they make it outside, Isran is waiting for them near the stables. "I was wondering what was taking so long.." Evelyn just smiles at him. "Good to see you to, sorry I was sleeping." She says in a sarcastic voice and he just shakes his head. Isran is an old Redguard who doesn't take a lot of crap from people. However he has a deep respect for Evelyn for everything she's done. Once they were ready they head down the road on foot. It's the only way Isran travels. "Isran started the Dawnguard, a group dedicated to hunting vampires. Killing them isn't the hard part, it's just making sure you're not infected. All vampires are weak to fire, which is why I gave you Dawnbreaker. That and it made to deal with the undead. A small gift from Meridia."
As they make their way to Riften, Evelyn catches up with Isran as Artemis is watching Serana closely. The woman just crosses her arms as she walks. "I don't recognize you. How did you end up traveling with Evelyn?" He turns his eyes to the road. "She rescued me from a sinking ship some months ago. How did you two met?" "Long story, my mother hid me to protect an Elder Scroll. My father became obsessed with a prophecy written on the Scroll. Do you know of Auriel's Bow?" Artemis nods at this. "I have seen the bow myself." "Lets just say, in the wrong hands, that bow becomes a deadly weapon when used by a vampire. But Evelyn made sure my father would never get his hands on it. Now that the castles empty I hope my mother can live in peace." Serana lets out a low sigh, knowing well enough she can no longer return to the castle. Not that she would ever want to. She made her choice, she wanted to live out the rest of her days as a human. As they walk, she watches Artemis closely, she doesn't miss the way he looks at Evelyn. "I take it you two are close, given what I saw earlier.." He glares at this, a small warning. "My relationships are none of your concern." She drops the subject after that, she has all the answers she needs. It takes awhile to make their way to Fort Greenwall. It would have been faster on horse back. But for some reason Isran never uses the animals. Once they reach the fort, they turn west. Isran's only weapon is a crossbow, but Evelyn knows well enough the man has other abilities to keep himself safe. By the time they make it to Redwater Den the sun was starting to go down. Isran turns to them. "We can't all go marching in there."
They needed a plan, Serana couldn't go, because they would know who she was the minute she got close. Evelyn raises her hand. "I'll sneak in, just leave it to me." She doesn't say a word, she just ducks low, and 'poof' she was gone. It takes Serana a few minutes to figure out where she was. "I had no idea she could turn invisible..." Evelyn makes not a sound as she slowly makes her way to the long guard sitting at a table. The place looks nothing but just a normal house that's falling apart. Of course, that's the idea, anyone passing by won't know any better unless they were a vampire. Or hooked on Skooma. Using her dagger, Evelyn goes behind the guard and slits her throat. Once the guard is dead she makes her way inside. There's another guard inside, guarding a chest. She takes him out as well, dragging his body outside. The Shadowcloak of Nocturnal was always a useful ability. One of the perks of joining the Thieves guild. Once she makes sure the way is clear she makes her way outside, letting out a loud whistle. "Good work." Isran looks around slowly before going in. "I had no idea you were so good at stealth." Serana rises her brow slightly as Evelyn just smiles. "A gift from Lady Nocturnal, that's all I can really say." Once back inside, the hall was thick with smoke. Evelyn covers her mouth, not wanting to breath any of it for to long. Most of the people on this floor are just addicts, most are so out of their minds they have no idea what's going on. Serana leads the way. There's a hidden hatch that leads to the Bloodspring. The walls are lined with coffins. A large group of vampires turn as the four of them enter. Evelyn pulls out Charon's Claw as she unleashes a powerful fireball. "Dinners over!"
The vampires hiss at the fire, one of them getting hit and turning to ash quickly. Isran rises his crossbow and fires at the closes monster, as Serana uses her own magic. Artemis uses Dawnbreaker against one of the vampire. The fire eats away the vampire quickly as he swings back, removing the vampires head. It doesn't take to long to clear out the area. Evelyn moves slowly, seeing the large pool of blood. "Okay, that's gross..." Isran frowns as he looks around the room. "We can't just leave this here..." Evelyn rubs the back of her head. "But it's not like we can burn the place down. Maybe we can taint the blood?" Serana snaps her fingers. "Gather some ash, dump it into the pool, it will taint the pool so no one can use it." They gather all the ash from the now dead vampires and throw it into the pool. Evelyn steps back as the the crimson pool turns dark quickly. "Now what about the people above?" Evelyn turns to Isran as he puts away his crossbow. "Not much we can do about them. Maybe when the Skooma wears off they'll come around.." There's no cure for Skooma, none that Evelyn knows of. Once a person is hooked, the only thing a person can do is stop taking it. And that rarely works most of the time. The only thing they can do is destroy the place as best they can. Evelyn uses her fire, burning everything she can. The smoke quickly becomes to much and they turn to leave. Artemis covers the back as one of the coffins slowly start to open. A vampire slowly makes its move and bites inti his neck. He yells out as he thrust his sword back, burning the vampire. The vampire jerks, taking a small bit of flesh as it does.
Isran kills the vampire as Evelyn ruses to his side. She places her hand on him, using her healing magic. "Are you okay?" He frowns as he places his hand on hers. He's not used to healing magic, but it seems to be doing the trick. "I didn't hear the b*****d..." He had no idea the vampire was behind him. Then again he's never really fought the undead monsters so his information on them is limited. Once he stopped bleeding, Evelyn lets him go. "It's going to leave a mark, but it won't be to bad...' She looks him over before handing him a small healing potion just in case. He takes the bottle, drinking it slowly. It has an odd taste to it, but he knows it's for his own good. He leans in slightly. "If anyone ask I'll just tell them you did it." She gives him a slight shove. "Ha ha." They quickly leave the den and Evelyn takes her cure disease potion. The others follow suit just in case. Artemis too, he doesn't want to risk becoming a vampire on top of everything else. "We should search the area, make sure there's no more vampires hiding in the area." Isran lifts his crossbow as he wonders off. Serana lets out a low sigh. "I better go after him, thank you for the help." Evelyn nods her head as the woman turns and runs after Isran. "Come on, we'll wonder the area a bit just in case." Still holding a flame in her hand and Charon's claw in the other, they march south. "Doesn't holding that flame tire you out?" He's still getting used to how magic works here. He's no mage after all. "Not really, it's a minor spell. Holding it doesn't use magicka, but using it does. Besides if it starts to get to that point, I have potions." She holds out a large blue bottle before she puts it away. "I always come prepared for anything." Artemis rubs his neck, he doesn't need to be told twice.
"Where I'm from, only priest can use healing magic." Her head tilts at this as she walks. "Really, why is that?" "It's holy magic, in order to use it, a person has to have a connection to the Gods. Helm, Ilmater, Selûne..." He says that last name with so much venom it makes her shutter. "Huh...so in order to use healing magic you have to pray...guess that makes sense." She wiggles her fingers as she looks at the flame in her hands. "Some people thank Kynareth. But I never gave it much thought, it's just something to learn." All things considering she doesn't really pray. She never has, she already knows it won't do her any good. The Gods aren't magic, mortals are left to make their own fate. There's blood on his armor now, but he seems fine for the most part. She didn't trust him to not use his dagger. God's only know what that may do to him. "Are you really okay?" He rubs the side of his neck. "I'm fine, I wasn't expecting that. I've never faced against vampires..." "Oh...I had no idea. Bad way to learn eh?" After awhile they end up in Riften. She shrugs slightly as she makes her way into the small town. She heads into Honeyside to see someone waiting for her. "Brynjolf?" The handsome Nord smiles and pulls her into a giant hug. "I was hoping to catch you Lass." She struggles a bit in his embrace. Not that's she's not happy to see him, but his crushing her lungs just a touch. "What are you doing here?" He lets her go, a huge smile planted on his face. "I've been doing some digging in Mercer's old place." He holds out what looks to be a rough drawn map. "He marks where he hid his loot." Her brows shoot up at this. "We can get back everything he stole from the guild." She pauses, hearing a loud tapping sound behind her. She almost forgot about Artemis. "Oh, um, Artemis, this in Brynjolf, he's with the thieves guild." Artemis just kind of glares at the Nord as he takes one step back.
"Mercer used to run the guild when I first joined. Turns out he was hiding a lot more then we thought he was. Anyway long story short we learned he had been stealing from the guild for years. However we had no idea where he hid it all." She looks at the map before she looks at Brynjolf. "Where did you find this?" "Believe it or not Lass we found the thing in Riftweald Manor, we had to tear the place apart however. He hid that well." "Even dead he's annoying.." Evelyn takes a moment to study the map. Most of the places she recognizes. "Irknthamz, Bonestrewn Cave, Fort Blackmoor, Aalto Mine, Barrow Cove, Bullseye Cave, Sunken Ruin near Morthal, Duarknd Mine, and Ngalft..." There's a few she knows of, some not so much. "If we split the locations, we'll have that loot in no time." This is the first time in a long time she's seen Brynjolf look so excited over something. "Inform Karliah, take her with you. Some of these places, some not so much. I know of Irknthamz and the Fort. Nothing else sounds familiar..." Brynjolf pats her shoulder. "Don't worry Lass, I'll get some of our other members to join in the hunt. It's been ages since we've pulled anything like this off." He looks so happy about the idea. "We'll met in the Ragged Flagon in the morning and we'll go over the details there." Brynjolf looks at Artemis before he looks at Evelyn. "Don't worry, we can trust him." The Nord just nods and leaves. Once alone Evelyn looks back at the map. "I had no idea Mercer even had this. Hell we just gave up all that treasure for lost." "What did he take?" She lets out a low snort. "Better question is what didn't he take. You name it, it was gone, mind you the b*****d had years to get in and out of the vault with no one's notice."
She makes her way downstairs to her bedroom. "He only got in by using the Skeleton Key. No one had any idea of course...but it'll be interesting to see what we can find.." There's something exciting about a good old fashion treasure hunt. "Make's me wonder what Mercer was even going to do with it all." She turns the map over a few times before folding it carefully. As she does, she makes a sight face. "Ehh, I don't know why but I can see him buying his own island. Then filling it with barely clothed women...or men. I always kind f wondered about him. He hated my guts but he would always check out Brynjolf." She shrugs slightly, she's not one to really judge people, but Mercer was always an odd one. "At any rate, this might be fun and far more safe then dealing with vampires." She gives him a cheerful smile, hoping to get him to agree to tag along. Not that he's ever really turned her down yet. He wouldn't mind seeing for himself what they just might find. "As long as I get a share." "Of course, hell you can have whatever you want." After him getting attacked by a vampire, she owes him one after all. Plus he rarely askes her for anything. She's always the one handing things over to him without thinking twice. "I just hope we find something interesting.." She starts to remove her armor as she gets ready for bed. "Last time I did this I found nothing but a bunch of burnt books.." She kicks off her boots before laying back. Artemis is already next to her without a word. She lets out a low sigh and closes her eyes. She just hopes the next day will be better.
