"Bring them in the other room," Ruttaag said to his vampire minions. "But not these two. Leave these two out here." He pointed to Ivema and I.
The vampires tied us up and threw us into wooden chairs. The lump in my throat filled with nervousness kept getting bigger and bigger.
I could tell Ivema was trying very hard not to cry. Her eyes stared into mine as we witnessed the final moments of our life.
But not all hope was lost.
On the table, just a few steps away from where I was sitting, there were two healing potions. I tried to swing my head in that direction so Ivema would get the signal. She caught on. Still, neither of us could move, but I could slowly feel myself regaining strength.
"So, we meet again." Ruttaag circled around us. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, I really do, but damn, kid, you screwed up bad. I was extremely prepared for this moment."
I couldn't talk with the rag tied around my mouth, so I just gave him a harsh look.
He laughed. "How foolish of me! I forgot that you cannot speak! But after all, I do like silence..."
Ruttaag trotted over to Ivema and began to stroke her hair. It pissed me off. I could feel the adrenaline pumping now. I was regaining strength extremely fast.
"There are multiple things I'd love to do to you," Ruttaag said. "But sadly, killing you is at then top of that list." He kicked over her chair. The nightmare was about to begin.
Until the entrance swung open. Standing there, sword wielded in his hands, was Jarl Ogmuls. He had survived. "Halt!" He shouted.
"What do you expect to do, Ogmuls?" Ruttaag asked him.
"I've come to challenge you in a duel, Ruttaag. No magic, no conjuration, just a sword on sword duel. If I win, I want my people back. If you win, well..."
"A duel to the death?"
"I guess so."
"For me, it is a wonderful deal. For you, it may be the worst decision of you've ever made in your life."
It was a horrible decision, in my opinion, but it was the only choice we had. Ogmuls potentially saved our lives.
"Why don't we get started then?" Ogmuls asked with confidence. He had something up his sleeve. I knew he did.
"Let's do it," Ruttaag replied.
They both pulled out their blades and put them to each other's throats. Ruttaag made the first move only to have his sword blocked by Ogmuls' own. Ogmuls backed up a few steps and attempted to jab his sword into Ruttaag's stomach, but only hit air. Ruttaag kept pushing him back. He was too strong. Ogmuls backed up too far and knocked the table over beside us. Both the healing potions fell without breaking apart. Ivema and I stared at each other realizing this was our chance.
I tried to break out of the chair, but it was no use. The ropes were tied too tight. I fell over and felt my head begin to bleed.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Ruttaag shouted at me as he turned around.
"Don't worry about what he's doing," Ogmuls said as he slid the sword into Ruttaag's chest. Blood trickled down his robes quick.
"Agh!" He screamed in pain as he held his wound. "Vampires! Retreat to the basement! I need to replenish my wounds!" He disappeared in a blue cloud.
"Dammit! He got away! We have to go after him!" Ogmuls screeched as he untied our ropes, took off the rags on our mouths, and gave us the healing potions.
I felt back to full health after drinking it, and Ivema looked as if she felt the same. We still had a chance to kill Ruttaag.
"How did you find us?" I asked Jarl Ogmuls. "How did you get here so fast?"
"After seeing my city fall, I wanted to do anything I could to avenge it. I asked people around Skyrim where Ivema and you were, and they told me Volkhiar. How I got here? That's a story for another day..."
"I can only imagine," Ivema replied. "We should look around for anymore potions. If those troops in the other room were as injured as we were, they'll need rest."
Ogmuls straightened his shoulders. "I will look for them. You two should hurry and find Ruttaag. It will be much easier to defeat him if he is injured."
Ogmuls was right. We had to find him before he healed. I assumed Dremora would heal faster than mortals.
I nodded and waved Ivema over to the basement stairs. "Let's end this," I said. I opened the door and darkness awaited us.
"Grab a torch, Ivema," I commanded.
She grabbed one of the torches off the wall and took the lead. "I was scared back there, Tanen. It was exactly how your nightmare was described. We lucked out."
"I know we did. We owe Ogmuls."
"I owe him more than you do," She replied softly.
I put my arm around her. "Killing Ruttaag is owing him."
"The more I think about it, I guess so."
A loud crash to our left grabbed our attention. "You think he's in there?" I asked.
Ivema put the torch closer to the wall and examined it. "Tanen, some of these bricks are loose. He's no doubt in there. Probably a secret room or something."
She pulled out a brick and we peeked through it. "What do you see?" Ivema asked me.
"I see a courtyard. This wall leads outside. I wouldn't doubt that Ruttaag is out there."
"Do you see any vampires or anything?"
I shook my head, until I spotted something. "Hey, wait. I saw something move out there."
"What was it?"
"I couldn't tell. Let's go out there. Keep that torch lit."
"Alright." We both removed the bricks and traveled into the courtyard.
Tall pine trees made it hard for us to see any signs of movement. We looked around for a while but saw nothing. We heard something though.
It was a horrible buzzing sound. I could feel it getting closer and closer. And then the green creature lit up the night.
"Spriggan!" Ivema shouted and dove out of the way. I dived right after.
"I don't think it saw us," I said.
"Shh..." She hushed me and pulled out her bow. "I have one more arrow. It won't die unless I hit it in one of its eyes. In case I miss, I want you to go up the hill and prepare to defeat it with your sword."
I didn't want to do it but I nodded and made my way up the hill. I glanced at Ivema and saw her pull back the string of her bow. She let it go and hit the Spriggan in the forehead.
It did not die.
I snuck up behind it and unsheathed my sword. Before it could turn around, I stabbed it in the back. The beast lost its green color as if all the life was drained from it and fell onto the ground.
"Pretty good, right!" I shouted over to Ivema as she sprinted towards me.
Wait.
Why was she running towards me? And I realized why after I was tackled by the figure behind me. I found Ruttaag.
Or in this case, he found me. He flipped me over and punched my already injured jaw multiple times.
Ivema finally made it over to me only to be shouldered by Ruttaag as she fell over. She got back up and readied her sword.
"You really think you're going to kill the Dragonborn?" She asked Ruttaag as he stopped punching me. "You really think you're going to take Tamriel away from Tanen? From Ogmuls? From me? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
He turned around as his wound still dripped blood and slowly trotted towards Ivema. "I know my purpose in this world."
I rolled over, grabbed my sword from the grass and got back up.
"You should've never come here. You're mortals. You will never kill a Daedra like me."
I charged to Ruttaag as I muttered the words, "Rethink that statement," and shoved my sword into his neck.
He fell onto the ground and coughed up immense amounts of blood. He was trying to say something, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. All I could see was the fear in his eyes. He was in disbelief. He had been defeated by a mortal.
"You killed me, but Tyite and Mehrunes Dagon still stand in your way. Killing me will enrage them. They will want you dead so badly. You made yet another mistake," Ivema said.
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
"That's what he was trying to say," She replied.
"You scared the shit out of me for a minute," I joked.
She smiled and looked down at Ruttaag's body as it burned up and turned into a pile of ash.
"I just wish it was me who killed him," She said. "You're a lucky bastard."
"Without that speech you made, I couldn't have killed him. You practically killed him for me. Sometimes mental power is stronger than physical power."
"Very true," She said. "When we kill Tyite, though, I want to be the one that puts a sword into his flesh."
"Be my guest," I replied with a smile.
"Tanen, your jaw looks horrible. Do you think it's broken? How the hell are you talking without feeling pain right now?"
"It probably is broken. The pain? I don't even notice it right now. Ruttaag just punched it so hard that it became numb."
"Well, you should get that fixed before you injure yourself any further. I know someone in Whiterun that can help you with it."
"Those people that butcher your face? No thanks."
"It's either that or you lose your mouth," She joked.
I shrugged. "Ruttaag is dead, but what about the vampires? Where do you think they went?"
"I don't know. Let's go back inside, gather our things, and head back home. Maybe Ruttaag killed the vampires while he was out here."
"I doubt that."
"We can only hope." Ivema opened the castle door.
We headed back to the room we began in, and were not pleased by the sight. On the table where the healing potions were, lay a man's body stapled to the table with daggers. Both hands and feet. It was as if the man was crucified. I turned his head around.
The corpse belonged to Jarl Ogmuls.
Ouch. There was a lot of pain this chapter for the characters. Thanks for reading! Comment your favorite character in the reviews!
