Biography of a Shadowscale -- Chapter 2: The Assault on Shriekwind

• Posted by Shadowscale August 20, 2012 - 855 views

       The first few weeks were terrible. Many a merchant and traveler fell to my hunger. However, I came to terms with it fairly quickly, long before I could actually control the urges. This is because I also killed vigilantes and other vampires, and I had a dark nature to begin with. I never had been one to kill without reason though, and though one might say my hunger was a reason, I disagree. I was but another man in the world, and I did not fear the death I too often delivered.
       Eventually, I learned control, and soon after that mastered it. I chose my victims carefully, clearing out bandit camps and assassinating highwaymen. As my vampiric powers and control grew, I started planning an assault on the vampires who attacked and turned me. Luckily, they were terrible at covering there tracks. Of course, they didn't need to be good when their numbers consisted of literally a small army. I ended up finding out their location from a bandit in a cave I was clearing. He told me to go back to "Shriekwind, where you demons belong." The information was worth a quicker death than what I could've given him.
       It took one trip into town to figure out that there was a particularly large and infamous coven of vampires lairing at an old Nordic ruin known as Shriekwind Bastion. I was honestly excited. It was now 1E668, Red Mountain had just erupted, and I viewed it as a need for change in Skyrim too. By eliminating the Shriekwind coven, I would be putting Skyrim's vampires on the endangered species list, taking their population from a couple hundred to a couple dozen.
       I planned carefully, some of these vampires being much older than I was. I needed to be careful, using stealth to clear as many as I could. After several months of learning everything I could about Shriekwind and preparing supplies, I was ready. I started by creating two campsites. One to act as my base of operations, and one to lure the vampires on the outside to me. Being able to see in the dark, I had no need for a campfire, so my actual camp was made in a small cave, about a mile north of Shriekwind. The decoy was about a quarter mile south and had a large campfire meant to attract attention.
       It was only half an hour after I made the fire that a small scouting group of three vamps showed up. The first two were dead the minute they entered the clearing. The third I made sure screamed. The plan worked surprisingly well, luring another ten or so vamps. Such a small group was also easy to eliminate. I approached Shriekwind, using my night vision to scout the place out. I was lucky that the vampires were so many in number. Over the years, they must've grown arrogant, forgetting what it was like to need security. All of the outside vamps had gone to the camp because of the scream, and all were now dead, allowing me to safely approach the ruin.
       From what I learned about the ruin, there were several large floors, each capable of housing several dozen vampires. I started by sneaking to the bottom floor. On my way down, however, I felt an odd energy wash over my body. Something empowering, that I somehow knew I could feel only because of my vampirism. A source of power, I thought. I wasn't wrong, but I had definitely underestimated what was waiting for me. The Shrine of Molag Bal.