Arela and Serana slipped into the large cave that was known as Forebear's Hideout.
Their idea to start the search for the Moth Priest in Solitude had paid off the moment a carriage driver had mentioned seeing a Moth Priest moving towards Dragon's Bridge.
The guards in Dragon's Bridge had pointed themwest, over the ancient andNordic-styled bridge. Arela despised the giant looming gargoyle of a dragon head; the black carved scales and sharp piercing horns remindedArela too much of Alduin.
The headitself gave Arela traumatizing flashbacks of her fight in Sovngarde; the very fight that hadnearly cost Arela her life. Fighting Alduin hadproven to be one of the greatest challenges of her life, and she didn't want to repeat that.
Serana's angry banter had become entertaining; Arela would have never guessed finding a Moth Priest could cause such a surge of emotions. Arela couldn't help but laugh at Serana's unusual impatience; normallyshe never complained about going on quests.
It hadn't been long before theyhad reached a smashed carriage, and clues of an attackhad been painfullyobvious. Vampire and Imperial guards' bodies had been left all around the cart. A vicious battle must have transpired here, and the details were illustrated as blood stains on the grass.
But LadyLuckhadn't abandoned them, for Serana discovered anordinance from a vampire named Malkus. This Malkus had instructed his vampire minions to capture the Moth Priest and bring himtoForebear's Hideout. Arela was sure theywere going to run into trouble at Forebear's Hideout; it was destined tohappen.
"Malkus... That name seems vaguely familiar." Arela muttered to Serana.
"That's because he is a vampire on my father's court," Serana remarked. "It seems he had some of his own followers... I told you he was up to nogood. Anyone that sneaks around Castle Volkihar is hiding a secret." She clenched her fists.
Arela was able to pick up the scent of humans and she couldmake out the stale scent of vampires. It was noordinary vampire she was detecting; it was the aroma of a Volkihar Vampire, mixed with the stench of weak blooded vampires. Arela frowned; she was certain now that Malkus was here.
Arela couldn't neutralize her light anxiety. What might happen if she was not be the first to find this Moth Priest? What would Harkon think of her? Would he be disappointed, would he presume she was weak, or would he go as far as even punishing her? Arela didn't want to be presented with an answer; failure wasn't an option.
"Someone else has been here. Vampires, and I'm prettysure the Dawnguard are in here," Serana whispered, trying to disguise the nervousness in her hushed voice.
"Don't worry, they aren't well organized. Isran, their leader, wasn't a man made to formulate armies; he wasn't even slightly organized. He just sloppily threw the Dawnguard together," Arela replied. "Plus, maybe the two groups killed each other, so there might be just a few stragglers left to deal with."
"I hope you're right. I don't want to fight more than I have to." Arela watched Serana run her handover her freshly healed wound. The mark on her head had disappeared, but Arela suspected Serana's sense of securitywas more shaken than anything.
"Don't worry, Serana." Arela have her a bright smile.
Arela watched her footing as she approached a small balcony overlookinga sturdyfort that was buried in the center of the cave.
The cave was quiet, minus the roaring of a minuscule river that was winding around the construct The streamwas only an advantage to an archer. It meant enemies had torun over the narrow bridge to get her, making it perfect to kill any attackers.
