Author's Note:
Posting earlier than intended as thanks to everyone who supports me, comments, kudos, follows, votes and reads. It really means a lot to me that you enjoy my story. You guys spur me to write more and more :) :*
Enjoy the chapter
Chapter LVI – Up in Flames
"Do you have any idea how many are there?"
Falion asked as they stopped in front of the cavern at the outskirts of Morthal.
"Not really. There's Alva and her master at the very least, then maybe Laelette. But there's likely more of them," Aeyrin shrugged uncertainly.
"I am aware of their weakness to fire but other than that, I haven't devoted much of my studies to vampires – the Daedra absorbed my attention completely. Although, I have to say, they do seem to be fascinating creatures. This charming ability in particular draws my interest. After all, convincing a man to kill his family, and your companion seemed rather fond of you before too, the power to make that happen must be… extraordinary," Falion seemed positively enthralled. Hopefully he wasn't planning to experiment with getting himself charmed while they were in that cave…
It was horrifying enough to see Bishop in that state and that was in the middle of the town. Being assaulted by a capable conjurer in a cavern full of vampires sounded even more dangerous. Although, granted, not nearly as heartbreaking.
They entered carefully, sneaking in with Karnwyr taking the lead, his nose to the ground, sniffing for any potential threats on the way.
They had to be careful – with no idea about the numbers they were facing, alerting the whole nest could prove catastrophic.
They reached a chamber with two of the creatures bent over a table with… something on it.
It looked like they were… feeding.
On closer inspection, there was definitely a person beneath them curled on the table.
"Fascinating… do you think the victim is being kept alive for continuous source or perhaps killed and sucked dry quickly for a one-time frenzy?" Falion whispered to her with a twisted amazement.
How could he be so enthralled with these abominations? They were vile, luring in innocent people and drinking their blood.
Blood… she remembered Idgrod's premonition.
It made her strangely happy.
After all, it meant that there really was something to her visions, meaning that the feeling of hope and victory from the blue light that clipped the black wings… it could be real. There could really be a way to help defeat the dragons.
"There are only two, would you mind terribly, my dear, to preserve the corpses as much as possible? I would like to study them once we're done. That means no burning," he gave her a wry smile, eliciting a sigh from her.
Pursuit of knowledge was always worthwhile, but Falion was starting to worry her with his obsessiveness.
She nodded at Karnwyr and they both charged the feeding vampires, taking them by surprise, while Falion took a wild guess and attempted reanimating the victim's body. It was a corpse, just as he suspected, and the mindless husk started to claw at the feeders in a matter of second.
While the creatures were preoccupied with their newly animated victim, Aeyrin smashed her sharpened mace into one of their heads and Karnwyr ripped into the other one's throat.
"No! The teeth! That blow must have damaged the teeth…." Falion exclaimed desperately at Aeyrin's attack and she threw him a level look. The man should be glad that the beasts were dead. Besides, the other one was somewhat intact.
The body of the young naked woman covered in blood and bite-marks slumped to the ground momentarily – it was quite horrifying what state she was in… there was hardly a spot on her body which wasn't gnawed upon an bruised.
Aeyrin shivered.
She suddenly felt really glad that Bishop was sent by them to kill her instead of… this.
"They really left no inch untouched, huh? Impressive dedication… or was it desperation? The punctures are not even exclusive to major blood vessel locations… curious," Falion studied the poor girl tentatively, brushing his fingers gently over the most prominent bite-marks.
"Falion, we should go on. I'm sure you'll be able to study anything here after the danger's over," she interrupted his trance as he gave her a sheepish look.
"You are right. There's at least one intact vampire and one victim. We can go ahead and use everything in our arsenal now… although having the master's corpse preserved would… hmmm… we'll see," he chuckled at Aeyrin's exasperated expression.
…
They continued through the cavern undisturbed for a while.
There were no hints of vampires, however, there were numerous signs of them – namely the blood traces all over the place and even an occasional corpse or severed limbs.
These things were… abominable.
She heard differing opinions on vampires from her Stendarrite brothers and sisters – some called them mindless animals, deserving of the same treatment as a bear or a wolf would; some considered them on par with Daedra – monsters deserving nothing but eradication.
She never gave much thought to it, but at that moment, she leaned towards the latter.
It was all the worse that the creatures were capable of masking themselves as people and that they were cunning and skilled enough to infiltrate, influence and charm the unwary.
She wondered just how much of an ordeal Bishop had to go through… the guards said there were only two bite-marks on his neck, but who knew? It wasn't as if they could examine him properly with the strangely rabid state he was in. He didn't even talk to her during their fight. Looking into his eyes and seeing… nothing, it was beyond terrifying.
And now these beasts were going to pay for that.
…
They reached a large cavern, sneaking in carefully. A deep raspy voice of a Dunmer was echoing through the halls.
"… didn't bring anything. We are running out of cattle. If she doesn't prove herself, we'll go ahead and use her as a cover as originally planned."
Aeyrin gestured at Falion to be quiet – they could learn more information about what happened from the vampires.
But who were they talking about? Laelette? She was supposed to 'bring prey' to the cavern, according to the letter the guards found.
"Where is your pet? It's taking too long," the voice growled irritably.
"He'll be back… she won't suspect him. We'll have both of them here soon."
That was without a doubt Alva – Aeyrin never talked to her but she heard her laugh carry through the tavern before. It was definitely her.
She was talking about Bishop and her. What did the vampires want with them?
Was it just to stop their investigation?
"I hope you are right, Alva. You are on thin ice yourself… attracting attention as you did," the voice growled – he seemed to order her around – it was likely her 'master'.
"Master, that was Laelette's fault again. She's too feral… she's lucky I was clever enough to fake her death. It would have been much worse," Alva scoffed derisively, eliciting a substantially raised voice from the other vampire: "She's a new one, what do you expect?! You turned her! She's your responsibility!"
There was a moment of silence before Alva talked, in a much quieter voice.
"Master… I only meant…"
"Quiet! I smell… hmmm…." the master interrupted her immediately.
He smelled? What? Them?
"It's time," Falion whispered as he raised his hands readily.
She nodded at him, her shield in hand, she charged, heading towards the source of the voices alongside Karnwyr and, in a few seconds, a bright fire atronach.
There were four vampires in the chamber, all standing up swiftly from their dining table with another naked corpse on it, surrounded by pools of blood and severed body parts.
What did they even do with the lone limbs?
Did they use them as some twisted makeshift blood goblets?
Disgusting monsters...
Aeyrin didn't waste time and charged one of the beasts with her shield raised, tackling it to the ground.
Her mace landed in its face immediately, cracking of bones and a shower of blood the only evidence of its previous un-life.
The atronach burned another creature steadily, its screams echoing through the cavern.
She suddenly felt crackling magic around her and she saw strange little crimson lights circling her. A sudden bout of weakness enveloped her, forcing her to her knees, seeping the energy out of her slowly.
Karnwyr interrupted the magical attack by lunging at the master's leg.
The master roared in pain and stared to shake his leg with force, sending the wolf flying into the large table, the carnage that was on it now splattered all over the chamber after Karnwyr's impact.
Aeyrin managed to overcome her state rather quickly and got back to her feet just in time – she turned around only to see Alva's long pointy nails scratch viciously across her face, catching her off guard.
A burning spread across her cheek and she startled enough for the woman to manage grabbing her hair forcefully with unnatural force. Alva yanked her head back, exposing her neck, her other hand, draping over Aeyrin's armored body and pressing her into a disturbing embrace.
She felt her mouth close to her neck, her cold breath tickling her skin.
She needed to act.
"YOL!"
A large portion of the cavern was lit aflame momentarily and Alva's fierce grip on her withdrew in an instant.
Aeyrin knew that Falion was still in the hallway, keeping his distance and watching over the atronach.
But then she remembered Karnwyr.
Oh Gods!
This was exactly why she was fighting alone after she left the temple. It was exactly why she felt like she could only ever rely fully on Bishop in battle – he could watch both their backs flawlessly.
Why would she go back to her reckless use of Shouts like that?
It was all her fault, she procrastinated with her practice, getting more interested in spending time with Bishop than in ensuring that her powers wouldn't hurt anyone.
If she hurt Karnwyr, he'd never forgive her.
She'd never forgive herself.
Pained screams of the burning creatures echoed through the chamber as she yelled out for him, rushing towards the table.
She heard a low whine on the other side, running around the furniture to see him curled low to the floor.
He… he looked… fine?
"Karnwyr?" she asked uncertainly.
The wolf had his head hidden under his paws, his tail low and curled around his hind legs. There seemed to be some singed fur on his back, but it was only the very tips of his brown hairs – the flames obviously didn't even graze the skin.
He raised his head tentatively, his expression joyful when he saw her face.
"Oh, thank the Divines! I am so sorry!"
He barked happily while the atronach was roaming through the chamber, burning anything that still tried to move. Karnwyr jumped up, his paws pressed against her stomach as she rubbed him behind the ear in relief.
"Well… that seems to be the end of it," Falion seemed a bit sad as he looked around the room.
"What's wrong?" she asked him anxiously, but truthfully her only thought was on Bishop and whether he was back to normal.
"I just… wish more was preserved. I believe studying these creatures will be certainly worthwhile. I wonder if there's any humanity left in them…" Falion was pensive, looking over the charred remains of the vampires plaguing Morthal.
"They're monsters. Look around," Aeyirn scoffed in disgust, the images of severed body parts and lakes of blood swirling in her mind.
Falion gave her a sad smile, nodding, but there was clear doubt in his eyes.
She didn't understand that.
Didn't he see all this?
It was abhorrent.
The Stendarrites were right to despise these creatures – she was never more sure about her upbringing and faith than now.
…
Bishop looked around himself in confusion.
What happened?
What the fuck?
Was he… in prison? He was locked in a cell, completely empty safe for an uncomfortable looking bed and a bucket. There were no walls between the cells, just bars. He could see into every one of them. There were six in total and they were all empty. With no one to tell him how he ended up in there.
Alright… he needed to retrace his steps.
Did he get drunk? It was the usual reason why he would be in prison…
No… he remembered… He broke into Alva's house… He went down to the basement.
There he saw a… what was it? Things were blurry.
Wait, a coffin!
That was it! She was a vampire!
But what happened then? He remembered seeing her, didn't he?
She did something to him… some twisted vampire magic.
But why was he in prison?
Finally he heard heavy armored steps approaching from the stairs near his corner cell. A guard, no doubt.
"Hey!" he yelled at him as soon as the man entered the room. He looked kind of shocked, looking Bishop over very warily.
"What happened? Why am I here?" he barked impatiently. He needed to know what was going on. And where was Aeyrin? What if Alva got to her?! Vampires were so unpredictable and dangerous…
"What… you… don't remember? Attacking her?" the guard rubbed the back of his head nervously.
Attacking her? He must mean Alva. Shit, he attacked her and she got away. No one else knew what she was! And if she managed to go after Aeyrin before she could find him… Fuck, he needed to find her!
"Yeah! She was a vampire! Let me out!" Bishop growled at him, his hands gripping the bars and yanking them.
That… may not have helped his case…
"Ha! Right! The Dragonborn's a vampire," the guard scoffed at him, shaking his head.
What the fuck? Dragonborn? Does he mean that… he attacked Aeyrin? His eyes went wide at the man, his head swirling. What would ever possess him to attack her? What has that fucking vampire done to him?! And more importantly, what has he done to Aeyrin?
"What the fuck are you talking about?! Tell me what happened!" he was starting to get really irritated. Why did it take the guy so long to tell him what was going on?!
"You… uhh… attacked the Dragonborn. You were kinda… rabid. We were gonna put you down but she asked us not to. She told us to just arrest you. Then orders from the jarl came, that we were just supposed to keep you here until the Dragonborn says you're free. Or kills you I guess."
A wave of relief washed over him when he finally processed the information.
She was fine…
But what was happening? What was she doing while he was there? Was she talking to the jarl, asking for his release? She didn't know what Alva was, only he knew! She was still in danger! There was no time for this bullshit!
"Where's Aeyrin? The… Dragonborn…" he snapped again at the guard.
"Why? So you can try again?" the guard scoffed derisively.
"No! I didn't… fuck…" he didn't what? Mean to? He didn't even know what happened! He just needed to know that she was fine. That he didn't hurt her. That Alva didn't get to her. "Look… I don't remember what happened… But that woman Alva, she's a fucking vampire. Just look in her basement! And I'm pretty fucking sure she's after Aeyrin now. I just need to know if she's alright…" he sighed defeatedly, managing to give the guard a surprisingly pleading look.
The man frowned, but he seemed to be at least a little moved by Bishop. He sighed, taking a step towards the cell, but not close enough that Bishop could reach him through the bars.
"Yeah, we know. We know all about the vamps. Lady Dragonborn asked the jarl to have Alva's house searched after you attacked her. She's fine. She went to take care of the vampire nest," the man gave him a reassuring smile.
That wasn't fucking reassuring!
"A NEST?! There's a whole fucking nest and she went in there alone?" he snapped at the man instantly.
"Hey man, calm down! She's the Dragonborn! I'm sure she can handle a couple of bloodsuckers. 'Sides, the townspeople say that the mage went with her," the guard shrugged noncommittally.
The mage? There was that Redguard who helped them with the dragon. He probably meant him. Well… that was a bit better. A conjurer could just send his Daedra forth without risking being hit by the spell that he was and turning against her…
Still… he wanted to be there. It made him so anxious to know in what kind of danger she was and being this helpless.
"Just stay calm and you might even get out of here," the guard smirked, turning on his heel and leaving him locked in the cell.
He should have argued more… He may have convinced him to release him. Then again, he did say that he was waiting for Aeyrin's orders on that.
Fuck, this was frustrating. Maybe he could think of something with a more level head.
He calmed down a bit, looking for his lockpicks.
Gone. Of course.
So were his weapons but nothing else.
Aeyrin probably told them what to take so that he doesn't get out.
If he was really… rabid, and after her, he could hardly blame her.
But that meant only one thing.
There was nothing he could do but wait.
…
"Bishop?"
He snapped his eyes open at her uncertain voice beside him. There was so much worry on her face. She must have though he was still… rabid.
"Princess, are you alright? What the fuck happened?" he got up to his feet immediately, looking her over through the bars. He wanted to touch her instantly, but she was far enough so that he couldn't. Fuck… she really must have been wary of him.
"Thank the Divines, you're back to normal! I was worried that killing the vampires wouldn't work…" she breathed out a sigh of relief and started to fumble with a key quickly, unlocking his cell.
She still had her armor on, stained with blood, her face decorated with three rather deep scratches, still grimy and there was a distinct smell of ash surrounding her. It was obvious she didn't even bother healing herself and just rushed to the prison. The thought made his stomach flip warmly.
She lunged at him immediately, standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck, locking him in an eager kiss.
He pulled away after a moment reluctantly, not able to stand the confusion anymore.
"Sweetness, they told me I attacked you! W-what happened?" he gave her a worried once over. The wounds she sustained were clearly not from him – the scratch looked like it was made by a claw or long nails and the blood on her armor didn't look like it was hers from the splatter alone.
It was a big relief, although… when he thought more about it… it was a little hurtful.
Did he seriously not manage to even scratch her?!
She was good, sure, but still… He would have expected himself to be at least a little challenging opponent for her…
Although… she likely healed herself before heading to deal with the vampires…
Yeah… she definitely did.
Not to 'inflate his ego' no doubt.
"Oh yeah. Alva must have charmed you or something. You were… like you weren't even present. I don't know… We scrapped for a bit, I used that ethereal form to avoid anything happening and the guards heard the Shout and stopped you," Aeyrin sighed, shaking her head.
He gave her an apologetic look, cupping her wounded cheek and brushing his thumb very gently over the scratches. That never would have happened if he was there to watch her back.
Then again… he didn't know how much or how little it actually took for him to turn on her. He would have liked to think that whatever that spell was… it was powerful. Just seeing her hurt, even as little as she was… it was infuriating. He wouldn't have done that right?
He would have never turned on someone he cared about ever again!
She gave him a gentle smile, placing her hand on his upon her cheek. She turned her face slightly, planting a brief kiss into the palm of his hand.
Her gesture made it clear that she didn't blame him for a thing. But he still couldn't help but feel bad. If things went even a little differently, his betrayal might have cost her life. It might have cost him everything…
"Come on, I'll tell you all about what happened. But first, we have to stop at the apothecary for potions against the vampiric disease. Then we're meeting the jarl. She wants to thank us for our service in protecting her Hold," she smiled at him proudly.
He wasn't sure how he protected the Hold from inside its prison, but rewards were always welcome.
…
After jarl Idgrod thanked them for helping her Hold again with a generous amount of money and promise of any other assistance she could give them in the effort against the dragons, they made their way towards the inn.
There was a commotion at the burned down house as they approached – several guards standing in a circle, looking at something on the ground.
Before they could approach, an angry yell interrupted them.
"YOU!"
They turned around simultaneously, seeing a young boy running towards them angrily – Virkmund.
The boy marched to Bishop determinedly, a glint of something in his hands.
"You did this! We had a deal!" he screamed at him, tears in his eyes as he raised his hand, a kitchen knife now plain to see.
Bishop grasped his hand in his swiftly and somewhat painfully for the boy, the knife fell out immediately and Virkmund cried out in pain, although it wasn't certain whether it was from the physical kind.
He used his other hand right away to pummel into Bishop's stomach angrily but the blows had very little actual effect.
"You told them about her! Now she's dead! You did this!"
Suddenly the object of the guards' attention was clear – they found Laelette.
Bishop sighed, looking at the boy pummeling him with tear-stained eyes for some time before he spoke.
"Kid, that wasn't her," Bishop shook his head somberly as the boy stopped for a while. The anger did not disappear from his face, however.
"I saw her! They stabbed her and burned her! I saw her! You're lying!" the boy clenched his fist around Bishop's tunic, pulling at it in frustration.
"Kid, listen," Bishop looked him in the eyes sincerely. It's not that he could claim any knowledge on how to deal with children in this state – he'd dealt with many, being one of the eldest in his family, but he could hardly say that he knew how to treat someone from a… normal background.
Then again, who was normal?
This boy's mother was a vampire killed and burned right in front of his eyes.
"Your mother died. This wasn't her. Something just… raised her body. There was nothing of her left though."
It was the simplest way he could think of saying it. Going into the nuances of vampirism with him probably wasn't a good idea.
The boy stared at him for a while, his eyes narrowing.
"You're saying she was like a draugr? No… You're lying! I don't believe you!" he screamed again, but there was sudden uncertainty in his face – he didn't hit Bishop anymore.
Bishop gave out a deep sigh, crouching by the boy to keep him at eye level, giving him a look as sincere as he could muster.
"Think about it. Do you really think that if she was alive, she wouldn't come and see you?" Bishop asked.
It's not like he would expect any parent to be decent in any situation – most people were generally assholes just looking out for themselves.
He figured the kid would believe it tough, if nothing, then because of the fact that he never lost hope for finding his mother before.
Maybe it was a lie, but in that moment, it was the best he could think to say.
He loosened the grip on the boy's hand and he stepped away from him, sniffling.
He didn't answer, his eyes downcast but he did nod slowly, turning on his heel somberly and running of into town.
"That was nice… what you said," Aeyrin looked down on Bishop, giving him a gentle smile.
"I doubt it was true…" he scoffed derisively, shaking his head.
"Does it matter? He needed to hear that," she smiled again, outstretching her hand to him to help him up on his feet. He took it, but the second he was standing he yanked her by that hand into a tight embrace, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
How did she always make him feel like a better person that he actually was?
The guards have scattered in the meanwhile, dragging something wrapped in cloth with them.
They went ahead to look over the burned remains of the house one last time in silence, walking through the ashes, now decorated occasionally by still burning embers.
"You're back!" there was a familiar voice echoing through the rubble but no source was visible.
"Momma's calling me! I know where to go now…" the voice was joyful, clearly at peace after a long wait.
"Thank you for coming to see me again. I have to leave now… I hope there aren't any dragons there either…"
