Chapter 25
Falinir stepped away from the river and glanced up the long winding main road. About thirty miles away, in the foggy distance he could see the tree city of Falinesti with it's massive branches stretching high into the sky. It had been eleven years since he last gazed upon the city of his birth, the day he told his parents of his ambassadorship to Summerset Isle. Looking at the massive tree brought back memories of his youth and a feeling of comfort. He never really felt at home in Summerset Isle. Valenwood was his true home.
He walked back along his path through the trees and sloping hillsides until he reached the entrance of vampire cave, then began walking in the direction Loac had run. Her tracks were being washed away by the rain, but were still barely visible enough to follow. He didn't want to call out her name because if she replied it could draw beasts or other dangers to her. He knew he'd catch up with her eventually, simply by following her trail.
As the day grew late, Loac began to worry about Falinir. It had been several hours since she had called out his name and still there was no reply. She tried not to think about the fact that he could be dead. She kept imagining seeing him again in Falinesti and the life together they would finally have. By sunset, she felt worn out from both walking and worry. She sat down at the base of a tall tree and tried to rest. The light rain sprinkled down upon her, but she was already so soaked it didn't make any difference. She assumed she would not get any sleep being so cold, wet, and hungry, but her exhaustion took over. After awhile she finally dozed off to the sound of the rain.
Shortly after falling asleep Loac awoke to a sound coming from the tree above her. She gasped and looked up to see a man-sized shadow swinging through the branches. When she stood, two glowing orange eyes looked down at her.
"Who's there?" she said, with a tremble of fear in her voice.
"Pardon me, my lady. I didn't see you down there," said a deep baritone voice from above.
He swooped down from the branches, and looked at Loac with an expression of surprise and delight.
"My, my, you're an Altmer aren't you? It is such an honor to meet a woman of your noble and superior race," said the ape-like man. He bowed so low that his head touched the ground, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Galanil of Falinesti. If I may ask, what are you doing in the woods alone so late in the night? Are you lost?"
"A pleasure to meet you, good sir. I'm Loac. I was on my was to Falinesti with my fiance, but now I can't find him, and I'm not sure if I'm headed the right way," said Loac.
"You're in luck. I'm on my way there as well, and I would be honored to show you the way. Would you like me to carry your bag? Ah, I see you don't have one," said Lord Galanil, "Perhaps I can carry you?"
"Oh that's really not necessary," said Loac.
"Very well then. Off we go," said Lord Galanil bowing once more before leading the way to Falinesti.
His hairy orange ape-like arms swung through the trees with ease, while Loac walked below. She didn't know what to think of the strange man whose race she had never seen or heard of before, but she was grateful for his help. She found it odd that he bore an Altmer name, yet he was obviously not of the Altmer race. He looked more like an ape than a man, and was covered with long neatly combed bright orange fur, except for his chest and face. He wore a purple cloak, and loose-fitting pants, but no shoes or tunic. On his back he carried a brown sack filled with tree fruits that looked unfamiliar to Loac. He seemed to know where he was headed, and Loac decided she had no choice but to put her trust in this stranger.
A few miles away, Henantil stood outside the cave with a look of surprise. Had Loac and Falinir really been foolish enough to enter a cave unarmed? The dog led him inside, and Henantil cast a light spell on himself. The spell made his body emit a pale white glow to illuminate his way. After entering the first chamber of the cave, the dog began to whimper and pull back.
"Cowardly dog," muttered Henantil to himself, as he forcefully dragged the dog further into the cave against its will.
Henantil had to admit, he had an uneasy feeling about the cave as well. The place was eerie, and stunk of death. There were no sounds of rats or other cave dwelling animals. It was too quiet. The furniture scattered about the place looked antique and tattered, like it had been abandonned long ago. Henantil trudged onward, following the footprints that led farther back into the cave. The stalagtite-covered ceiling grew lower, and he had to hunch down before entering the final chamber of the cave. It was larger than the rest of the cave and the darkness prevented him from seeing the whole area, despite his light spell. The dog wimpered and pulled harder, finally freeing itself from Henantil's grasp. It bounded out of the cave like a pursued rabbit.
Henantil let it go. The dog had served its purpose. He knew Loac and Falinir had to be hiding in the dark cavern somewhere. It looked as if there were no other way out. He made his way to the center of the cavern room and squinted, trying to see. There were large rectangular crate-like boxes in crevices of the walls and all over the floor that they could be hiding behind. Henantil decided now was a good time to try out his new detect life spell. He raised his hands and cast it hoping to see the purple glow emitted from Loac and Falinir. As soon as he cast the spell the whole room filled with a purple glow. There were at least a dozen people illuminated all around him within the crates. Now that light filled the room he could see what surrounded him were not storage crates at all. The rectangular boxes were coffins. The purple light coming from the sleeping vampires' bodies immediately woke them. Simulataneously the lids were pushed off of the coffins, and Henantil was surrounded by the coven of surprised vampires.
He cast destruction spells at them left and right, but they kept coming. The vampire blood within them made them far stronger than the Cathay-Raht bandits he had faced earlier. Despite the fact that most of them were dressed for sleep rather than battle, they were amazingly resilient. He was now in true danger. He managed to kill one of the vampires with a few blasts of fire, and take his steel shortsword. Swinging at them wildly with the sword in his right hand, he used his left hand to continue casting spells. He gasped in pain as a sword sliced open the side of his leg. While he turned to slay the vampire that had cut him, he felt another vampire grab him across the chest and penetrate his tender neck with her fangs. He felt blood being powerfully drained from his wound by the hungry vampire. As he swung his sword behind him and stabbed her, he staggered forward in pain, running out of the cave. The few surviving vampires tended to their wounds and did not pursue him. An odd sensation pulsed through Henantil's veins. He knew he had been infected with porphyric hemophilia. If he did not drink a cure-disease potion before falling asleep he'd wake as a vampire. He'd be doomed to a life in the shadows as a blood-drinking monster. There would be no hope of a cure then. He could not let himself fall asleep.
Henantil had already been without sleep for days, and he was lost in the vast forests of Valenwood without his scent-following dog. The chances of stumbling across a Bosmeri village and getting a cure potion in time looked unlikely. Despite his bleak chance of being cured, he tied a cloth around his leg wound and limped through the wet forest as fast as he could. Keeping his eyes open for fire-light, smoke, or roads, he looked for any sign of a nearby town. He didn't even notice in the darkness that he was passing Falinir, no more than 50 paces to his right. He continued onward until something moving caught his eye. In the trees above he saw a flash of orange. Stepping closer he realized it was an Imga, one of the native ape-people of Valenwood. Then what he saw next stopped him in his tracks. Trudging along behind the brightly colored Imga was Loac. Henantil had finally found her.