Dura didn't say anything for a while. She just sort of trudged up the snow-coated steps quietly. Possibly it was dredging up some bad memories, but she didn't physically show any sign of it. After a bit, there was a roll of her shoulders that suggested a shrug. When she spoke finally, her voice was measured and calm.
"Short of it was that I got ambushed by a pair of vampires who I reduced to ashes with a scroll, but not before being turned. But as we still got a way to climb, may as well give the long version. This was decades ago that I got turned. I was travellin' on my own, was gonna check out a tomb. As preparation beforehand, I bought a scroll of Bane of the Undead, in case I needed to make an escape. While in the woods, I apparently caught the eye of a vampire who thought I'd make a good fledgling. He and one other, probably another fledging that he turned, ambushed me when I was settling down for the night. I was physically forced to accept the bastard's blood and blacked out.
"When I came to, I was a vampire. And I was pissed. Don't think the bastards ever expected a recipient of their "gift" to thank them by unleashing a Scroll of Bane of the Undead. Probably wasn't the smartest idea, unleashing anti-undead magic as an undead. Probably only saved by the scroll's spell being made to not affect the caster. But I was in the rage, and I wasn't thinking straight. So once they were reduced to ashes upon the wind, I gathered my things and headed deeper into the wilderness. Had to come to terms with what I was now. Had to figure out how to live with it. Had to understand how to control myself in the presence of people. Control the thirst that comes with it. Hardest was to learn was how to not stand out. Learn how not to be the one who looks the most suspicious when something goes wrong. Was a couple of years before I felt comfortable in a city again."
When she finally felt silent again, they were almost to the top. Seems travellin' up a mountain takes less time when one's focused on something else. Not to mention all the animal hazards seemed to have been dealt with already. When they entered, she followed the sound of chatter and the smell of food to where everyone else was. Once there, she bent down to allow the small Khajiit off her shoulders then leaned against the wall away from others.