A few hours later, we stood before the north-marked location of Shriekwind, by the road.
"So here we are." I said. "You know why I'm here, Lydia. But before I seek to turn to vampirism, I must be sure of whether you're ready to go inside with me. If you want to go back to Falkreath, I will allow you to, and-"
"No," she shook her head "you are my Thane, and my Love. Wherever you would go now, I will, if I can. I understand now, that you changed me somehow, something in your milk, you've manipulated me, but... now I WANT it. I NEED you. I NEED to encourage others to join us, to WANT you as well. I will follow you through all of Oblivion if I can."
Quite pleased with her answer, I decided we shouldn't waste any time in letting a vampire infect me. Argonians tended to be more resistant against disease or poison than other races, and although I made sure we were well stocked, we might need to face off against more than one vampire. Besides, since I was certain that this place WAS from my past, it might easily have some more secrets I deserved to know.
We opened the rusty outer gate, and oiled the hinges on the larger door inside the porch. It looked like it hadn't ever opened wide in a long time, but it clearly had been partly opened recently. Even with the oil it still gave a faint creaking noise. We were concerned for that of course. I quickly cast Muffle on myself, as for Lydia, she had so far only read the first page of that spare spellbook. Vampires have amplified hearing, but hopefully because it was still early afternoon, none would be awake.
There was a another large door directly ahead of us, and a smaller open room. Lydia wisely followed my lead this time, I think otherwise she might have tried the door first. I hadn't mastered as much of my Illusion magic as I'd have liked, and if I had, then I knew that I'd be able to cast any spell "quietly," even quieter than a vampire could notice, so Detect Dead was not happening for now.
I pointed to the side room, Lydia nodded, readying an ebony arrow with her new ebony bow. Lydia's arrow managed to find its mark in the vampire of the side room, she had turned from her book just in time for the black shaft to pierce her chest. Judging from the shot, I think Lydia was going for the head, not the undead's heart. Even though it missed that critical spot too, it punched into her lung, severely weakening her. She tried casting her Vampiric Drain Spell, but I put an end to that, chopping off the hand.
"DAMN YOU!!" She screamed, and fled, turning invisible. Thankfully nothing can escape a proper detection spell. I pointed, and Lydia's next arrow lodged next to the vampire's spine. She cried out in pain, collapsing on the steps.
Lydia was confused, and almost spoke aloud. But I shook my head, then cast my Detect Dead spell. Nothing but a few already fully dead draugr, and the vampire's body showed. Then I cast my Detect Life spell, sometimes, they used still quite living thralls. When nothing showed in range for either spell, then I spoke.
"It's okay for now."
"Thane?" Lydia asked. "I thought you wanted her to infect you."
"Only," I clarified, "after we've cleared more of the ruins. I will be badly weakened while infected, and doubtless there's more vampires here. We can't afford to be weakened here, because I will need to search this for more than contracting sanguinaire vampiris. In my previous life as a dragon, as the daughter of Alduin, I visited Lamae Beofalg here, in a bid to gain some way to convince the other dragons to turn away from grinding mortals under our claws. I sought the first vampire here, and she... she did something to me, but the answers still elude me."
Lydia simply stared at me for a minute then,
"I... I would never have thought that could happen... I don't know what to say."
"Let's just continue for the secrets this place hides."
"Ah, yes Scarlet, my Thane."
We continued creeping along, there were a few traps, and a puzzle with three handles to open one of two portcullises. While we had to do that, there were a few draugr that woke, but nothing we couldn't handle. At one point though, I found a scene that even I felt was... uncomfortable, though admittedly I would want to revisit later.
A still-living opponent was showing up with my Detect Life spell, and I thought about what I would need after turning. To feed. So naturally, I didn't want to kill the thrall yet, at least not if we could sneak by. I handed Lydia an invisibility potion, while also keeping one handy for myself, and the fur shoes we kept, which should help muffle her footsteps.
I told her to "sneak" around with the fur shoes, to see how well she had learned in minimizing her armor's noise. She satisfied me, but still needed more practice, but we could work on that later, especially in the variety of other ways that she could, and would, 'satisfy' me.
According to my spell, the next room had the thrall. I eased the door open slowly, peering through. I looked back at Lydia, and gestured, one finger, to the right. Then held my finger to my scaly lips. My housecarl nodded, and I used my invisibility potion, passing through the already opened door.
The room had a VERY bloody corner, with several cages, a low table, and a draugr's throne that the thrall sat in. I crept by, reached the far side of the room without incident. I turned to watch Lydia, or the "absence" of her. Soon she was next to me, about the time that the potions wore off, and the thrall was still oblivious of us. I smiled and left up the next stairwell. Eventually, there was another hall, and the bodies of four or five dead warriors. And...
I gestured to Lydia, pointed to a decorative stone panel on the floor, and shook my hand. She nodded, avoiding it.
Then a hall with steel bars in our way, and... a dozen metal spouts in the floor, walls, and ceiling. Either fire-jets, or dart shooters, I was sure. There was no sign of what would set them off, only the pull chain to the side. I figured it lower the bars, but if I didn't see any trigger from where they started, then I was suspicious that the chain would also activate them.
I tried Detect Life, and only Lydia and I showed. Then Detect Dead. The numerous dead bodies laying horizontal just past the traps, and one that was standing.
I crept to Lydia and whispered to her. "There's another vampire, perhaps the last one here, just at the end of this hall. I don't see any dead bodies in it, but many are just past it, and I smell burnt flesh, even if it's faint. Those are probably fire traps, and I'm sure that chain will activate them. So my plan is, after we pick our way through the activated fire jets, I'll go take on the vampire, fighting it while boosting my health with the potions, and let myself get infected. If it's not killed off by my fighting it, I'll draw him or her into the fire jets, vampires are particularly weak against fire. You use the last invisibility potion to get behind him or her to try your shots with the ebony arrows here, while it's attention is focused on me. If it's still 'alive' after that, I should be able to cut him or her down then, and survive with sanguinaire vampiris."
"I like the strategy, my Love."
"I know. We can focus on celebrating my efforts to become undead after this encounter. I should be able to feed on that thrall later."
