Morning dawned amidst the cold and icy landscape of the Jerall Mountains. Crass awoke, stiff and sore from a long night upon the cold ground. A light rain/snow mix was falling outside of the small enclave they had found the night before, pattering on the hard rock and ripping through the air.

He turned to look at the wizard. His old form still fast asleep on his cloak, mumbling something under his breath and appearing to be oblivious to the loud storm a few feet away. Crass leaned over and shook him by the shoulder, "Wake up, we need to get moving."

Ted shook once more than gently opened his eyes. "It's cold."

"Well, we are in the mountains and we did sleep on cold stone, so that is not surprising." Crass smiled. "Come on, you need to lead the way."

They dressed, ate a quick meal, and set out from their resting place with their hoods up over their heads and flash-frozen water crunching beneath their feet. After a mile of walking further into the mountains, Ted looked over at his companion and noticed how cold he appeared.

"Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any." He smiled over at Crass.

Crass looked over, wiping some forming ice crystals from his nose. "Time for what?"

"I'm going to teach you some magic." Ted grinned. "Mostly because you look so damnably cold."

Crass quickly nodded, "That sounds like a fine idea to me."

Ted guided Crass by the arm to a region slightly away from the wind and with some light shrubs surrounding them. "Sit." He pointed to the ground.

Both men sat on the wet ground. The rain had turned to snow at this elevation and the cold flakes drifted onto them, melting on the exposed skin. "Crass, magic is about taking your thoughts and ideas and manifesting them into physical states of being." He looked over at Crass, who had a look of confusion on his face. "Or just think really hard, pretty much." He shrugged.

Crass smiled, "Thank You for dumbing it down for me." Ted leaned closer. "First we are going to craft some fire. It is simple, and the most basic of destruction magic. Some people prefer other fields of study, but for our purposes destruction is always a good option."

Crass nodded earnestly. "Alright, let's do this." Ted asked him to close his eyes and concentrate on the idea of fire in his hands. "Try to draw energy from the world around you. Think about the glow and the heat, the comfort and the warmth."

Creasing his forehead in concentration, Crass closed his eyes in thought. After 10 minutes of anticipatory silence, he looked down at his hand. There was nothing there.

"What did I do wrong?" He looked at Ted. Ted quickly replied, "Nothing really, it takes time and practice…did you at least feel the warmth?" He asked.

Crass nodded. "I think so."

"Well good. Fire is the most simple of elements to conjure, as we all have some relationship and physical association to fire. Unlike lightning or others, which can be more difficult to grasp and require many years of training to master." The snowflakes continued to fall on the ground around them, beginning to soak both adventurers to the bone.

"We should continue I suppose, I'll keep practicing in the meantime." They both stood and dusted off their clothes. Raising their hoods above their heads once more and entering into the open snow field.

Hours passed. Crass continued to practice summoning fire, eventually being able to conjure a wisp of smoke from thin air. Ted watched him curiously. Most people did not take to magic this quickly; his new apprentice seemed to have a knack for the arcane arts.

By midafternoon the snow was blowing at them sideways. Knocking them from their feet and piling drifts of freshly fallen powder in their path. The work became draining and exhausting. They were both tired and worn from their long trek from Falkreath.

As the dim light of afternoon began to shine through the slightly subsided snowfall, the cave they were looking for appeared on the horizon.

"There it is." Ted pointed through the blowing flakes, breathing heavily from the effort in getting to this location. Crass squinted through the dull glare cast off from the snow, spying a gaping entrance into the earth a hundred feet away.

"Looks cheery enough." He smiled sheepishly, and placed his palm on his steel sword, taking heart in its familiarity. They both walked towards the cave entrance, hearing the howling as the wind ripped past the open pathway and echoed further down the mountainside. The cave grew in size as they approached, eventually taking up a good chunk of the horizon.

One lone torch shined in the doorway. Glinting in the waning sunlight; with oil dripping onto the snow piled beneath it. "I guess someone is home, yes?" Ted glanced at his trainee, who seemed nervous about the task ahead.

"I suppose so; it would be terrible to keep them waiting, would it not?" He unsheathed his silver blade and retrieved a torch from their travelling pack, lighting it on the pre-existing flame.

Ted removed his armor and placed a woolen robe over his shoulders; he also retrieved his staff from their pack and held it tightly. The darkness parted for them as they slowly walked forward. Careful not to make a sound, only hearing the steady drip of the water leaking through the caverns above and the wind echoing through the tunnel system surrounding them.

It was at this point the smell hit them both. Ted squinted and continued forward, but Crass stopped in mid-stride and began to wretch. Ted placed his hand on his back and spoke quietly, "Silence. I know it is bad, but it would be worse if we were to make our presence here known."

"What is that smell?" Crass asked angrily. He covered his nose and breathed heavily through his mouth.

Ted looked at him and shook his head. "That is the smell of vampires, be ready."