2
Arrival
Emerging from the portal, he found himself in a forested area in what seemed like the middle of the night.
The land though reminding him much of Falkreath, he knew was likely in an entirely different continent, perhaps even a completely different dimension.
"I should find shelter and a source of sustainment." He said to himself as he walked off in the direction of a column of smoke.
/
Tracking the smoke to its source, Henry found it belonged to an old stone fort nestled at the top of a small hill.
Sneaking into the fort via a hole in the outer wall showed him that the source of the smoke came from the small stone keep in the center. As it was late at night, the majority of the garrison were likely inside, leaving a handful of men to patrol the walls and courtyard.
"Been too long since we had a raid, when are we gonna see some action?" One man in a leather vest questioned as the pair walked directly past the vampire, unaware of him.
"Tomorrow midday, the boss was eyin' some village to the east. He thinks the garrison's been rotated back south with all the orc raids." Another man replied.
"Finally, been lookin' to get my hands on some ass… Damn shame we only got that Dark-Elf bitch on our scouting run. And the boss' been keepin that tail to himself… Greedy bastard." The first guard exclaimed with a grin.
Having heard enough talk from the bandits, he snuck ahead of their patrol route and into a dark corner.
/ Fort Blackthorne, Central Keep
From inside the keep, the bandits sat around a large wooden table, eating and chatting amongst themselves.
"Hey you logs, listen up!" A voice boomed and the bandits snapped to focus their gaze on a towering man in crude steel plate armor standing at the end of the table.
"I've already briefed the patrol outside, we're going on a raid tomorrow!" The man exclaimed, earning hearty cheers amongst his clan.
"The local garrison's been moved outta the region, my little bird says there's only ten men guarding the outpost. I say we visit that little village east and collect ta-"
"Raggghh!" A voice screeched out from outside.
"What the fuck? Someone check that out!" The leader commanded and the two closest bandits quickly rose and walked out the door.
For several moments, complete silence befell the room.
"Those oafs better not be playing a joke…" The clan leader said crossing his arms.
Just as he finished, a severed head was sent rolling into the room from the door.
"Hal…" A bandit gasped, slack-jawed as he recognized the head as it came to a stop at his feet. The bandits' attention was soon diverted however to what followed suit.
Stepping into the room, a hooded man in black armor with blue accents entered, a bloody sword in hand.
"Evening boys…" He said with an unsettling calmness.
/
Fort Blackthorne, Dungeon
Jailer… a give or take posting… For the bandit, Rufus it was usually a give right now.
With a woman in the cell in the next room, jailers usually had free reign with them, so long as the boss got his cut first. Rufus didn't mind sloppy seconds, by the time the boss was done with them, they were compliant and didn't resist.
Usually
Unfortunately, elves were a rarity in their raids. So the boss got her all to himself until they could find a buyer.
Sitting at the fireplace in the center of the room, Rufus warmed up and ate his supper, a bowl of rabbit stew.
Suddenly the door behind him opened, he nonchalantly stood up to face his presumed replacement.
"Is it time already? I thought I just started-" He said bowl in hand before turning and realizing the man standing before him wasn't his replacement.
Before he could drop his bowl and reach for his weapon the man lunged forward with shocking speed and grabbed him by his collar before slamming him into a wall.
"Where is the girl?" The fiend asked in a flat, almost monotone voice.
Instead of answering, however, Rufus drew a dagger from his belt before attempting to stab his interrogator.
The knight anticipated this sly move however and grabbed the man's wrist and forcefully twisted it until it was fractured, revealing bone.
"Agh!" Rufus screeched out in pain as he was forced to drop the knife, now he was forced to face his attacker's blood-red eyes.
"The girl…" The man repeated in the same voice.
This time, the bandit complied, motioning towards the wooden door on the other end of the room.
The man now grinned, eying the firepit next to them, causing the bandit jailer to gulp audibly.
"No.."
/
Four days… Four days she was kept in this cell, smelling of piss, shit, and semen. Claire lay in near pitch darkness, attempting to sleep. Fearing the next day the wretched bandit leader would come to give her… company.
She cried at the thoughts of his hands forcing her legs open and forcing himself into her.
"Agghhh!" A voice screamed out in agony from the outside, shaking her from her thoughts.
Moments later, the door was kicked open and light flooded into the darkroom.
Fearing it was the clan leader again, Claire faced the wall in tears as a pair of heavy metal boots landed directly behind her.
To her surprise, however, the figure squatted down and placed a gauntleted hand gently on her arm.
"You're safe now." A male voice said softly.
Turning to face her supposed rescuer, she couldn't see much of his face, only the glowing red eyes underneath his hood.
"I won't hurt you, I promise." The hooded man said as he leaned over to unlock her restraints.
Once released she couldn't help but stare at her now chain-free hands before looking back at her rescuer who only stepped back to give her space.
"Come on out." He said reassuringly as he stepped into the light and gestured for her to follow him.
Stepping into the light, her eyes did their best to readjust to the light, but things still appeared fuzzy to her. What she did notice however was the face of her would-be jailer.
Or rather, what was left of it.
Rufus had been forced into the fire facefirst, as such his face was burnt beyond recognition. Claire was only able to identify him by his distinctive ginger red hair.
"He won't hurt you now. None of them will." The man insisted, offering her a hand to take.
Taking his hand with some hesitation, Claire followed as the man led her back into the main hall.
Entering the main hall, Claire couldn't help but stare with pure shock at the bloodbath before her. The bandits were left in varying states of death, two were disemboweled, others missing limbs or with throats slashed open. Two were even piled on top of each other and impaled with the same spear.
"You don't have to look." He said pulling her along up a set of nearby stairs leading her to the living quarters.
Despite her compliance, she was now more scared than ever. This man, if he even was one had single-handedly slaughtered an entire bandit clan and was now leading her to the clan leader's bedroom. If he could do that to a bandit, what did he have in mind for her?
"You'll sleep here." He stated, opening the door for her before quickly turning to leave.
"Wait…" Claire spoke quickly, stopping the vampire in his tracks.
"Yes?" He answered, still facing away from her.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked.
"...Because it's the right thing to do…" He replied before taking his leave.