With a snarl, the Dunmer threw herself against the bars. Her long, skeletal arms reached through to claw at the guard and her lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth. In alarm, the guard staggered back several paces, only to be seized from behind.

"Newbie." drawled the man in the opposite cell, lazily drumming his fingers against the guard's throat as his other hand reached for something at his side. "This could be our lucky day, Oreyn."

The guard choked against the arm that trapped his throat, struggling desperately for a moment, until he felt the sharp tip of a knife pressing against his stomach and fell still in fear.

"Give him to me, Bellamont!" whispered the Dunmer hoarsely, "It has been so long since I last fed!" She stretched her arms further, her fingertips less than a foot from the guard's chest.

"In a moment." Bellamont turned his attention back to the guard, whose wide eyes stared at him in fear.

"Captain…Marus…will come…looking for me." he gasped through his restricted windpipe. "He will…kill…you…for this!"

"Hear that Oreyn? Marus is going to kill us." Eyes glittering maliciously, Bellamont lowered his head to whisper in the guard's ear. "When Marus comes down, he's in for a shock. I don't suppose he's ever been confronted by a starving vampire before, has he?" Noting the guard stiffen, he smiled. "Oh yes, she's a vampire alright. Didn't anyone tell you?"

He was about to continue, but Oreyn interrupted him in anger.

"What do you mean, starving vampire?" she hissed, pressing her face through the bars. "You promised me this one!" She snapped her fangs at him in irritation, once more attempting to grasp the guard in her claws, but her nails missed him by several inches.

"Please!" choked the desperate guard, "Don't…give me to…her!"

"We'll see. But first…" he ran his free hand over the guard's belt, smiling triumphantly as his hands closed over cold metal.

A hiss of glee escaped Oreyn's lips at the sight of the heavy iron keys.

"Give me them!" she commanded. "Immediately! And then him."

Bellamont hushed her angrily, casting a furtive glance towards the stairs. Oreyn pursed her lips in agitation, but remained silent.

The guard looked horrified as Bellamont one-handedly unlocked his cell door. In a sudden blur of motion, he was released and thrown against the bars opposite, whereupon the vampire immediately sank her fangs deep into his throat. She sucked greedily until his body slumped, completely drained of blood.

In the meantime, Bellamont had freed himself and was moving over to unlock her door too. Her eyes, a violent shade of red, were shining in anticipation.

"Years!" she whispered. "Endless years of imprisonment!"

Soon she too was standing in the corridor outside the cells, almost shaking in her excitement.

"Quickly. You wasted too much time taunting him."

They crept towards the window at the far end of the corridor, Oreyn gesturing for him to give her a leg-up. He knelt obligingly, but murmured a warning under his breath.

"Remember, vampire, you need me to escape this city without being caught."

She snorted, tossing back her long dark hair over her shoulder.

"You think I need a sniveling Breton to escape?"

"A sniveling Breton who helped supply you with fresh blood? How would you have killed that guard without me? I would still be free without you, elf, but you would still be in that cage if not for me!"

Once more, Oreyn snorted, but said nothing, instead focusing her attention on the bars of the window. With a twitch of her fingers, a flash of fire illuminated the bars and warmed them until eventually they had been softened enough to be pulled from the stone.

Ignoring the pain of the blisters covering her fingers, Oreyn pressed her face against the opening and glanced around before dragging herself through the window. Everything outside was clear and she knelt to help Bellamont up.

"Wait! Wait for me!"

They both turned at the sound of the only other prisoner currently kept prisoner in the Bastion.

"You can't leave me here to rot! I've done nothing wrong!" hissed the voice. "I'll…I'll call the guards! I will!"

"You will remain silent, Arcadia, or I will suck every last drop of blood from your body!" snarled Oreyn through the window.

"You don't scare me Oreyn! Now I swear, open this door!"

Bellamont and Oreyn exchanged glances.

"Fine then!" spat Oreyn, turning her back angrily on Bellamont who shrugged and swung himself back down into the prison. About a minute passed before Oreyn heard their stealthy footsteps on the stone behind her. She glared at the Imperial who steadfastly ignored her, though she noted that he twitched nervously with every movement she made.

"I swear, if you get us caught…" she hissed threateningly, poking a long-nailed finger into his throat. She left the sentence unfinished - it was perfectly clear what she would do to him without the need for words. "We'll regret this, Bellamont."

Bellamont did not answer. He gave her a small, irritating smile instead, and as Arcadia drank in the fresh air, Bellamont leaned in close to whisper to Oreyn.

"I remember once you told me that you were born under The Shadow."

"This is no time for small talk!"

"No, no, I assure you this is nothing like small talk. More, a way of evading the guards - and Arcadia."

Oreyn raised an eyebrow, and waved a hand for him to get to the point.

"I presume that means you have the Moonshadow power. And I," here he paused and drew a bottle from the sack he had taken from his cell, "have this."

The Dunmer's eyebrows rose even further into her hair.

"And that is…?"

"An invisibility potion."

For a moment, she gaped at him, the question clearly written on her features.

"You will recall that Nord in the cell beside me? Afjod the Sour? Let's just say he was rather adept at hiding things from the guards. Not so good at escaping." He grinned wickedly. "Anyway, what say you we give Arcadia the slip just before we get in sight of the guards?"

Oreyn's eyes lit up and a cold smile spread across her face. She nodded her approval, and in silence, they returned to Arcadia, who had been staring at the stars with a dazed expression.

"We are leaving?" he asked, face still dreamy and eyes continuing to gaze upwards.

"We are."

"Good."