"It was the vampires," Ivema said in disbelief. "No one else was here except for them and our troops."

"It could have been Tyite," I suggested.

"Tyite would want to kill you before anyone else. I doubt it was him. Let's look for our troops."

We walked into the room that the vampires were keeping the soldiers in and saw no sign of any death. Or anyone.

"They took them somewhere," I said.

"Where, though? We were just in the basement and the courtyard. No sign of 'em. I bet they're already on their way back to Skyrim's shore."

"Then shouldn't we go? What if the boats are gone?"

"We can't just leave Ogmuls here. Not after he saved us like that."

"Let's just take him with us, then." We lifted his body and carried it outside Castle Volkhiar.

The boats were gone. "So what do we do?" I asked. "Wait for someone to show up?"

Ivema put her hands on her head. "Ugh. It will be years before anyone comes back to this hellhole. Our only chance would be to swim."

I gave a surprised face. "Are you kidding me? We'll freeze. We'd be better off building a boat from those pine trees in the courtyard."

"We're not craftsmen, Tanen."

I shrugged. "Nothing will happen if we don't try."

Something did happen. I spotted Paarthurnax in the skies above us. He landed on the ground.

"Dovahkiin!" He exclaimed. "You did as I asked! Ruttaag's demise is the greatest thing that could have happened at the moment."

"I thought you never left the Throat of the World?" I asked Paarthurnax.

"That is true, but I leave it occasionally. I knew you were in need."

"You mean you're going to fly us to the Throat of the World?"

"I can do that. What are you going to do with that corpse?"

"I was hoping we could take him with us. He saved our lives. He deserves a proper burial."

"I only have room for two. He is going to need to be left behind."

"No deal," Ivema barged in. "There's enough room for him up there. I'm not leaving him."

"You may be trapped here, then." Paarthurnax got up and began to fly away.

"Wait!" I shouted. "Tell me where Alduin is before you go."

"I cannot tell you that here." Paarthurnax flew away for good.

I looked at Ivema. "Well? What are we going to do?"

"There's probably enough food in the castle to survive for a while. Our only option is to wait," She replied. "Jarl Morintus will realize we've been gone for a while. He'll send someone to get us."

"Hopefully soon," I added as a bag was thrown over my head.

I saw nothing but darkness. I squirmed around, trying to escape wherever I was, but it was no use. I was tied up extremely tight. I screeched at the top of my lungs, calling for any help at all.

The bag slipped off my head. Piercing orange eyes glanced into my own. The man I was looking at was a vampire. "Shut the hell up, Argonian!"

"Where am I? Are we in Volkhiar? How long was I asleep?" I asked the trio of questions.

"Volkhiar?" The vampire laughed. "Not even close. You've been asleep for at least a day."

I looked around. I was surrounded by a cobblestone room. There was a window on each side of the room but I could not see outside them. It felt warm.

Too warm to be in Skyrim.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Not your friend," The vampire replied with his teeth showing.

"You were one of Ruttaag's minions, weren't you?"

"Yes I was. And now you're here for me to avenge him." He smirked.

I was sweating with nervousness. "Where's Ivema?"

"Your dark elf friend? Not even close to where we are. Someone else took her."

"And where the hell did they take her to?" I asked, enraged.

"Does it matter? You're going to be dead soon anyway."

"Then what are you waiting for? I'm sitting here right in front of you. Kill me."

"No. My clan is going to feast on you later. We're going to give you a slow and painful death. It's what you deserve."

"Tell me where I am then."

"You're in Hammerfell. In the middle of the Alik'r Desert."

I gave the look of disbelief and glanced out the window again. I saw it now. He wasn't lying. We were in the desert.

"I-" I was interrupted by a door slam followed by the death of the vampire in front of me. Ivema slid her Elven dagger along his throat and he fell to the ground.

She cut my ropes and got me up out of my chair.

I hugged her tight. "How did you find me? How did you escape?"

Ivema smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. I got out with the help of my new dragon friend." She pointed towards the dunes and there he was, Paarthurnax.

"We have to get back to Skyrim," I said. "How did Paarthurnax find us?"

"He can feel your presence wherever you go."

I gritted my teeth. "That means Alduin can do the same."

We ran over and hopped on to Paarthurnax. "I'm glad you lived," Paarthurnax told me. "We will go back to Skyrim and I will reveal Alduin's location."

"Thanks for the ride," I said. "Is this vampire threat done, then?"

"I believe it is. I don't know how they got you over here so fast. Ivema was taken into Cyrodil."

I looked at Ivema. "Are you going to come with me when I battle Alduin?"

She nodded. "If it's possible, of course I will." She kissed me and began to take a nap.

The anticipation of knowing Alduin's location was going to make it a long night.

Sorry, I know the chapter is really short, but I haven't updated this for a while. Reason being, I was camping and didn't have Internet. I wanted to get a chapter out quickly so that's why it's short. Thanks for reading.