The Strange One Chapter 1: Prologue: Capture, an elder scroll series fanfic

Prologue: Capture.

It was a frosty, almost moonless night as Lucien Lachance, dressed in his customary black robes and hood, was crossing the northernmost bridge in Cheydinhal on his way to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary when something seemed to stop him in his tracks. An Argonian was sitting on the railing of the bridge and singing cheerfully.

The Argonian was dressed nondescriptly enough in black wide pants with a rough leather cuirass and rough leather boots, but it was his face that gave Lucien his second pause. Almost completely black with a wide crimson band around his face from ear to ear and across the eyes, except where more black surrounded them, it was umbric enough to speak of Daedric interference of some kind. It was not this, however, that had caused the Dark Brotherhood Speaker to halt so suddenly, it was what the Argonian was singing. While parts of the melody were bright and lilting like that of a children's song, the lyrics were of a clearly darker origin:

"Don't set store by a Sanguivore

He will hypnotise you till you start to snore

Then his health he'll keep (Just because it's cheap)

By feeding on your lifeblood while you're deep in sleep

Don't set store by a Sanguivore

They are infamous in Tamrielic Lore

Lord Imbel, Seridur, and Janus Hassildor

You should never set store by any Sanguivore

You may be a quite friendly guy

Who thinks no one would tell him lies

But those sanguivores wear disguise

So they can feed from you on the sly

For instance:

Don't set store by a Sanguivore

He will hypnotise you till you start to snore

Then his health he'll keep (Just because it's cheap)

By feeding on your lifeblood while you're deep in sleep

Don't set store by a Sanguivore

They are infamous in Tamrielic Lore

Vicente, Seridur, and Rona Hassildor

You should never set store by any Sanguivore"

While Lucien had never heard the word 'sanguivore' before, it was close enough to the words 'sanguine' and 'omnivore' for him to guess at its meaning: blood eater. And the description of the sanguivores' habits and the infamy in Tamrielic lore the reptilian humanoid was singing about made it very clear that the song was describing Cyrodiilic vampires. Of which one of the Dark Brotherhood Executioners, Vicente Valtieri, was one. The Vicente mentioned in the song? The Speaker was not about to take any chances.

The Argonian had started again and was up to the word 'hypnotise' when the Paralysis spell hit him, rendering him helpless as he crumpled and fell to the floor of the bridge. He tried to call out for the guards, but could only get a gurgling groan past his frozen vocal chords. He heard a deep, cultured voice purring, "I would like to know how you came by your knowledge," and then the world went utterly black as he fainted with the shock of the trauma.

"Well," said Lucien, disgustedly, "if other Argonians are as weak as all that…"

('Cyrodiilic Vampires'; Copyright © 2011 Romersa's Protégé. Individuals and groups are free to copy, share, and perform this work for non-commercial purposes. All other rights reserved. [Adapted from 'Never Smile at a Crocodile'; Copyright © 1940 Frank Churchill. All rights reserved.])