Chapter 27
Into the Lair
The passing two weeks on the farm were relatively uneventful for them. Rona kept herself busy reading every book she could on dragon lore and Dragonborn history while Bishop spent his days prowling around the grounds, killing pesky rabbits that were eating up Illia's farm and hunting with Karnwyr. Serlas assured him that the blood seal and the runes would only hurt unwanted humans and elves in the vicinity, so Karnwyr was free to come and go as he pleased. He'd also set up a signal marker on the off chance some poor courier started making his way up to them so they could stop him before he walked into the invisible wall surrounding the farm.
Rona sat in her father's study, upstairs and looked out the window from the desk, watching as Bishop returned from his latest hunt with a few rabbits and pheasants in tow. He'd stopped hunting bigger game because Illia insisted that they had no more room for all the meat and told him to go sell it in town. That's when Bishop said he couldn't show his face there after having a bounty on his head for practically strangling one of Thorn's guys. Serlas then gave him a hundred gold to go and pay off his debt and told him not to come back until the pelts and meat were all sold.
Rona sighed and pushed aside Olaf and the Dragon, an old legend about King Olaf beating the dragon Numinex in various ways, all of which were speculation and the entirety of it totally useless to her. She added it to the pile of books on the desk; The Dragon War, Book of the Dragonborn, The Dragon Break, and There be Dragons. That was everything she'd found with the word dragon in it. She learned a great deal about the dragon cultists and the ancient nords worship practices but nothing about dragon resurrection.
She'd all but given up on it and was tired of reading and studying. She was itching to leave the house and go exploring with Bishop, but Serlas wasn't having it, "Not while the Thalmor and brigands are after you!" He'd shouted, putting his foot down.
So all she could do was peruse through the library and poke through books and old notes. She grabbed her copy of Dragon Language: Myth No More. This was one of the only books she'd found that really interested her. It was a clear cut description of the dragon language and all their words. She'd intended to learn it if she could.
Serlas came up the stairs and asked brightly, "How go your studies velvyn?"
She leaned back in her chair and said, "Not good. I haven't found anything useful in any of these books. Lots of historical facts, but nothing worthwhile."
He came over and looked down at her opened book on the desk, "Ah, setting out to learn a new language I see."
"Trying," she scratched her head, "But it would really help if I could go find a Word Wall to review and practice with," she gave him a hopeful smile.
He frowned at her, "Absolutely not. Bishop has no idea where that awful criminal is hiding out and the last thing we want you to do is go crawling into his cave."
"Ataaa," she groaned, "I'm going stir-crazy! I can't stay cooped up in here reading books! It's just like being back in the Mage's Guild. Ugh!"
"That's not so bad. I find reading to be quite relaxing."
She banged her head into the book and groaned loudly again. Serlas just chuckled at her, "We'll leave in two days and head to Solitude a bit early. How's that sound?"
"It's going to take foreveeer," she mumbled into the book.
"(Have patience my daughter,)" he pat her on the shoulder and walked away as Bishop came up the steps looking for her. "Ah, pardon me Bishop," Serlas said going around him and then whispered loudly, "She's being a bit of a Miffed Muffin, if you know what I mean."
Rona spun in her seat and glared at him. Serlas just smiled brightly and said, "Supper will be ready in a bit!" and hurried down the steps.
Bishop stood by chuckling lightly.
She narrowed her eyes at him, "What?"
"Just funny seeing you get ordered around by your father. The Ladyship I know would have crawled out the window and jumped off the roof to get away by now."
"I just don't want to worry him. Ata isn't exactly a young man anymore."
Bishop agreed, "No, he is definitely not." He pulled up a seat in the center sitting area, slumping into the poufy chair, "What's with all this stuffy noble furniture? It's too squishy to sit in and that couch down there is ruining my back. Think I'm going to start sleeping on my bedroll again… or I could crawl in bed with you," he smirked.
She blushed, "Not with Ata and Illia here."
"You're twenty-four years old Ladyship, time to start acting like it."
She scoffed, "By sleeping with you?"
"It's a start!"
She rolled her eyes and flipped at the pages in her book with frustration. Bishop came over and put a hand to her back rubbing it gently, "If you want I can take you out to the lake tonight. I'll keep my eye out for danger and your father will be none the wiser."
She looked up at him, half lidded eyes and said, "I'm not getting in that lake with you again."
"Who says we have to go in it?" he smirked.
She knew what to expect. They'd definitely be fooling around, which she wouldn't have minded at all, but she hated the thought of lying to her father and sneaking out… of course she also hated sitting around the farm and doing nothing but reading.
"Ok," she relented and poked him in the stomach, "but no funny business."
"Aw, c'mon," he complained, "It's been two weeks. I'm going to shrivel up from this dry spell."
She cocked an eyebrow at him, "You? Shrivel? I sincerely doubt that."
He leaned over and nibbled her ear and murmured, "I'll never get tired of hearing that."
She looked up at him sweetly and when he made to kiss her she just stuck her tongue out at him and hopped from her chair running downstairs. Bishop followed her laughing slightly and they joined Serlas and Illia at the table for their supper. When they'd finished Rona stepped outside, her father giving her the side-eye, but she sat down on the bench just outside the door, making it clear she wasn't going relaxed and finished cleaning up.
Bishop joined her outside, leaning over the porch railing and sipping on a bottle of Honningbrew. Karnwyr lay down nearby, carrying a dead rabbit carcass with him to lick and chew on. The stars were bright out and a few clouds covered the moon. They made light chit chat and as Serlas prepared to lay down for the evening he came over and said, "Bishop, tomorrow I'm going into town early for some supplies, I'll need you to be ever vigilant and keep an eye out on the farm for me."
He raised his bottle and said, "Aye, aye, Captain."
Serlas chuckled and said, "Goodnight you two," he started to walk away and then said more seriously, "If you're going out all I ask is that you be careful."
A chill ran up Rona's spine and Bishop pressed his lips firmly together. They'd been caught and hadn't even stepped over the blood seal yet. She turned back and said, "Ata…"
"It's quite alright velvyn. I shouldn't try to keep the dragon locked in a cage should I? Couldn't do it with your mother and I know I certainly can't do it with you. Just be safe. Bishop, I'm counting on you," he said giving him a firm look.
"I haven't let you down yet have I?"
Serlas smiled, "No, you have not. Don't stay out too late."
The second Serlas disappeared upstairs Rona leapt off the bench and sprinted down the hill enjoying the feeling of stretching her legs. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her along the lakeside, completely ignoring whether Bishop was following or not. Karnwyr caught up to her and ran beside her before outpacing her altogether. She loved feeling of the cool air on her face, needing this freedom, needing to run. She would have flown off on dragon's wings if she had them. When she finally slowed down Bishop caught up with her breathless, "Gods woman. How do you run that fast?"
She walked back over to him and smiled, "Sorry, just had to get some fresh air."
He was holding her bow and quiver and tossed them to her, "You forgot these."
"Whoops," she took them, strapping her quiver on and stowing her bow back. She bounced on the balls of her feet looking around for trouble while Bishop caught his breath. A strange looking structure caught her eye off in the distance and she wandered over to it.
"Wait!" Bishop cried, speed walking after her, "The hell are you off to now? This was just supposed to be a quiet walk on the lake."
She strolled up to the stone structure, which was round in shape and had two rounded out archways leading into it. A cold gust of wind blew by catching inside the archways making it wail eerily. Rona's eyes lit up, "We should go exploring!"
Bishop crossed his arms and shook his head fervently, "No we should not. I promised your father I'd bring you back alive and I'm not about to cross that man. I've seen what he can do people."
"It'll be fun! Come on, please? I haven't been out for five straight days and I've been itching to go draugr killing or something!" she wiggled her shoulders from side to side and made puppy dog eyes at him.
"You're nuts. We have no idea what's in there. There could very well be vampires or werewolves or Thorn and his fucking friends all hiding in there for all we know."
She slowly backed towards the structure, hands behind her back, smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes at her, daring her to do it, "Don't even think about it."
She grinned widely and bit her lower lip, spun on her toe and ran into the building, throwing the doors open. Bishop chased after her grabbing her arm and speaking in a hushed voice, "I'm not letting you do this. We need to leave, now."
Rona stared off down the corridor listening hard. He tugged on her arm and made to speak again and she shushed him, "Do you hear that?"
He paused listening and shook his head, "No, I don't hear anything. Come on, let's go."
"Lun," she whispered, she looked back at him excited, "Bishop it's a Word Wall! I can hear it."
He grit his teeth and groaned loudly, "Another time - we'll come back with your father, and then he can just tear this place apart with some magic or something."
She yanked her arm back and scowled at him, "Stop it! You just finished telling me to grow up and now you want to run away and go crying to Ata about it?"
He pressed his lips together and sighed heavily, "And this is why I keep my mouth shut… I better not regret this."
She grinned broadly and forged onward into the ruin. They came into a wide open and dark room with bones lying all over the floor. Rona looked around at them and noticed a set of skulls lined up neatly on a wall which gave her a slight chill. Bishop muttered, "Smells like death in here."
She looked down at the floor and scoffed at him, "Um, it looks like death in here. Come on, this way."
She swept through another corridor and Bishop grabbed her shoulder, making her kneel with him, "Shh."
An elvish woman's voice echoed in from the next room over, "Saw some wizard wandering around the woods yesterday." They crept forward and caught a glimpse of two people standing in an open room aligned with staircases and coffins.
"Best leave him be Fae. Don't want to get burned up now do you?" a male dunmer's voice came from the other person standing by.
"I think he's living out on that old farm, been seeing some folks coming and going from there for a while now. The wizard used a blood seal on it, never seen a mage do that before... unless."
"Unless what?"
"Maybe he's a vampire?"
"When'd you see him? Daylight? I doubt it. I been seeing a tasty looking ranger coming and going though. He looks weak enough, just need to get him without that damned wolf around."
"Oh yeah, I saw him too. Mmm, wouldn't mind turning him into a thrall and using him as a plaything for a while," she licked her lips and Rona cringed her nose.
She looked over at Bishop who had an expression of annoyance more than anything and he mouthed to her shaking his head, Vampires. Don't Shout.
"That's nasty Fae. If you want a good fuck you coulda just asked me, no need to resort to necrophilia."
"You're dead too Dax and at least the thrall wouldn't be limp."
"Pft...what do you know."
Shouting would be a bad idea, for sure, as they didn't want to alert the entire vampire's den of their intrusion. Rona let her hands go alight with flames. Serlas had been practicing with her over the last few days and she'd gotten a little better with destruction, she was ready to try it out. Bishop drew his bow and gave her a nod. She rushed into the room casting flames at the two vampires. They shrieked and their eyes lit up with rage, casting their own magic to bring life to the hundreds of bones in the room.
Bishop was behind her, picking off each skeleton with his arrows and yelled, "The dead are rising! It reminds me of you when you wake up on a bad day!"
Rona amped up her blaze incinerating the vampires completely.
Bishop shoved her aside as a skeleton came down with a swinging axe, grazing his arm. He caught it with an arrow bringing down the last of them.
He breathed standing over one of the charred corpses, "Blood drinkers, huh?I knew one of those once, cut off its head, took its gold and enjoyed a nice drink that night. Good times."
Rona came over and touched his arm with a healing hand and closed the wound, "Maybe we can get a drink after this."
He looked down at her, "I'm going to need a lot of drinks after spending the evening like this."
"It's not so bad is it? I'm enjoying myself," she smiled at him.
He grunted, shrugging his shoulders, "Better that it's vampires than... Yeah, let's get going." He meant Thorn and his brigands, but didn't want to talk about it. Discussing the vile man who had every intention of torturing and raping his beloved was too unpleasant a thought to hold.
They went up the stairs and crept through the cavernous place, taking out more vampires, thralls and reanimated skeletons that were not expecting them at all. They stayed swift and quiet, taking great care not to sound the alarm. By the sixth upwards landing she looked down into the shaft where they first came in and then up to the breach in the ceiling where the moonlight shone through. She whispered, "I wonder if this leads up outside the mountain."
"Watch your step Lightfoot," he murmured grabbing her shoulders and gently pulling her back,"Can't be having you fall and expecting me to carry you out of this damned place."
She cocked her head at him, "Because I'm just so heavy aren't I?"
He raised a brow at her and then swept her off her feet causing her to scream, "Yeeek! What are you doing!?"
"No you're right, I could carry you out no problem, 'course it'll be hard to fight off all the blood suckers without a weapon," he leaned in close to her face, grazing her lips with his and said, "Don't get too close to them, Princess. Wouldn't want you to get infected and mess up that pretty face of yours, now, would we?"
She felt her heart flutter. Even in a dusky old ruin with the dead creeping about he could be sensual and sexy, like there was nothing else around. Not to mention he was probably aching for her touch. She had to admit, she was missing his too and she quickly closed the space between them, meeting his lips and feeling his mouth on hers. The warmth of his breath and the danger of the situation really excited her. He took his time, holding her to him, twisting his tongue around hers and exploring her mouth. He let her slip from his grasp so that she was standing on her feet again and he grabbed her rear and caressed her back, groaning under her mouth. He really wanted it.
"THERE THEY ARE! INTRUDERS! KILL THEM!"
Bishop and Rona pulled away to look over at a hoard of vampires appearing from the depths of the caves all around them and they all started casting magic, summoning the dead, conjuring atronachs and casting ice and electricity. Rona was quick to throw out a ward and Bishop cried, "Now's a good time to shout!"
She shouted, "FUS RO DAH!" sending all enemies spinning.
"RUN!" Bishop bellowed, grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs. They rushed through the weaving tunnels as howls, hissing and screeches came at them from both directions. Rona summoned a song from her soul, something powerful to aid them. She thought of flames of fire and started humming a melody and a harp plucked in the distance.
"You're singing now!?" Bishop yelled as the sounds of a thunderous choir roared through the caverns scaring off a cluster of bats.
"Singing to save us!" she cried and released the words burning in her throat, as they ran through the ruins.
(The song is The Howling by Within Temptation)
"We've been seeing what you wanted, got us cornered right now
Fallen asleep from our vanity, might cost us our lives
I hear they're getting closer
Their howls are sending chills down my spine
And time is running out now
They're coming down the hills from behind
When we start killing
It's all coming down right now
From the nightmare we've created,
I want to be awakened somehow
(I want to be awakened right now!)
When we start killing it all will be falling down
From the Hell that we're in
All we are is fading away
When we start killing...
We've been searching all night long but there's no trace to be found
It's like they all have just vanished but I know they're around
I feel they're getting closer
Their howls are sending chills down my spine
And time is running out now
They're coming down the hills from behind
When we start killing
It's all coming down right now
From the nightmare we've created
I want to be awakened somehow
(I want to be awakened right now!)
When we start killing it all will be falling down
From the Hell that we're in
All we are is fading away
When we start killing...
When we start killing..."
I feel they're getting closer
Their howls are sending chills down my spine
And time is running out now
They're coming down the hills from behind"
They kept running as she sang, Rona casting her magic more and more fiercely now, feeling the destruction flow through her hands. Remembering what her father had told her, "Don't fear the destruction velvyn, feel it, take in you and redirect it casting it out!"
She took care not to burn Bishop who carefully stood out of her way, working as her backup and picking off the enemies she'd missed. They nearly reached the top landing when the sun peaked through the breach in the ceiling, lighting their way and sending the hissing vampires crawling back.
She stopped and looked down at them all, cowering. She wasn't about to let an entire den of vampires go on terrorizing the nearby villages though. As the sun touched her skin she felt a burning in her hands and held them outward, drawing forth a heated blaze at the bottom of the shaft. It started out small at first, but as her fury grew so did the flames.
"The sun is rising
The screams have gone
Too many have fallen
Few still stand tall
Is this the ending of what we've begun?
Will we remember what we've done wrong?
When we start killing
It's all coming down right now
From the nightmare we've created
I want to be awakened somehow
(I want to be awakened right now!)
When we start killing it all will be falling down
From the Hell that we're in
All we are is fading away
When we start killing...
When we start killing...
When we start killing..."
She felt it, she took it in and she redirected it, casting it out. Her song made it so much more powerful. The fire exploded, shaking the mountain and it whirled violently, growing very quickly - too quickly. She'd lost control, it was consuming everything and rising rapidly. She grabbed Bishop's hand and ran.
They were running right at the Word Wall she'd gone in for and she stared fiercely at it, trying to take in the word not realizing she'd stopped until Bishop grabbed her shoulders, trying to get her to move. He glanced back at the flames licking the walls and roaring towards them and cried, "No, no, no, no, NO!" as he practically picked her up and got her moving with him.
She cast a quick-foot spell over the both of them to pick up their pace and they burst through a pair of doors ahead, breaking into the sunlight and slamming the doors back together, throwing their bodies into leapt away as Rona directed her shout at it, "FO KRAH DIIN!" freezing the entire door and not a moment too soon as the flames smashed into it on the other side, cracking the ice and making it sweat from the heat.
They were very high up on an overlook built into the mountain with no way down. Falkreath was just below them, they'd made it through to the other side of the mountain. Bishop threw his hands out, exasperated and shouted, "It'll be fun, she said! Fun my burnt ass!"
Then he dropped to the ground, laying on his back, kicking a leg over the landing and sighed loudly.
She laughed and sat down beside him catching her breath, "I'm glad we came here, at least now you don't have to worry about being turned into some vampire's sex toy."
He grumbled, "At least I'd be having sex."
She leaned over him and wiped at the sweat from his brow, "Thanks for taking me out tonight."
He looked at her, his face exhausted but with a hint of affection, "Yeah well you owe me one."
She kissed him and he returned her vigor with a thousand times his own, both high on their narrow scrape with death, he started groping her breasts, making her shudder and he said in a low voice, "I have to have you. I can't wait anymore."
"Here?" she looked around, they were quite high up. A single wrong step and they'd go tumbling down. The rising sun peaked over the mountain, caressing the landscape in its light. It was breathtaking and she thought, what better place than here?
She didn't get much reply from Bishop though who was already unbuckling his trousers and pulling his hardened length out. He reached under her dress, sliding a finger into her incredibly wet nethers, he smirked and said, "I see danger gets you aroused. That why you're always dragging me off to make trouble?"
She blushed and moaned feeling his touch, not realizing just how much she'd wanted this. He lay back, centering himself on the overhang and grabbed her waist and said, "Get on top."
She did so, straddling him and felt him pull her panties aside, under her dress, allowing himself to slip in. No foreplay needed, in fact, it seemed that their foreplay had been their near brush with death. She took all of him in at once and with her face burning, bucked her hips moaning desperately.
He grunted and thrust into her, "I see you needed this just as much as I did, gods you damn sexy woman."
His hands clutched hard on her rear as he rocked back and forth, enjoying the feeling of her doing most of the work, twisting and writhing on his lap however she pleased. She reached down and touched herself and Bishop groaned, "Mmm, no let me," he pressed his fingers to her swollen nub, sending electrifying shocks through her spine. She moaned loudly and whimpered, bucking harder. He licked his lips and held a sensual look of longing on his face, "You like that, huh?"
"I love it!" she breathed with unrestrained lust taking over, "Touch me more, harder, please, Bishop. Oh please."
He rubbed her there, focusing his attention on pleasuring her so that she might tighten more around him. He gasped and groaned feeling her insides squeezing him harder and without moving his fingers sat upright, grasping her shoulders with his free hand and pulled her body to his. His breath tickled her cheek as he slipped further inward, burying himself. He kissed all over her neck, nipping at the sweet spots she loved, making her go wild. Her hips wouldn't stop moving, she was ready, she wanted to come so bad, "Bishop," she breathed, "Bishop, Bishop, I... I'm!"
He whispered into her ear, "Do it, I want to feel you come all over my cock."
His words and fingers sent her reeling as the pleasure wracked her body and made her walls convulse rapidly around him. She 'aaaahhh'd' loudly and heavily. He murmured, as his thrusts kicked into high gear, "Fuck, oh fuck! Rona!" He flooded her insides with his warmth and held her tightly to him. It felt like he'd never let go as they breathed against one another. Finally, he sighed, content and fell back, leaving her to catch her breath as she sat atop his body.
She suddenly realized just how tired she was as she wobbled slightly and he caught her, holding her waist, "Careful now. Don't want you falling off this cliff."
She climbed off of him and they fixed their clothes, both carefully standing up on the landing. He crossed his arms and had a satisfied smile sprawled over his lips that turned into a sour look suddenly. "Hey," he said, not looking at her, but staring over the edge.
"What?"
"You're still... you know, using that potion right?"
Their eyes met and she furrowed her brow, "Of course I am. It wouldn't exactly be a good idea for the Dragonborn to get pregnant now would it?"
He looked relieved, "Yeah, definitely. Not with you running around killing vampires, dragons and draugr."
She smirked, "Why? You worried?"
"No, not worried. It's just. Shit, after dealing with nine siblings... I just know what it means to raise a kid and our adventuring days would be over."
She looked up at him, "Our? You and me raise a baby together?"
The idea of it stirred something inside her. It seemed sweet, the thought of having a child with him. But she certainly couldn't now, not with the weight of the world bearing down on her shoulders. Bishop seemed to be thinking of it too as his face burned slightly and he turned away hiding it and mumbled, "Well... hmm. Anyway, glad you're still taking it," he cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Now uh, how do we get down from here?"
"We jump," she said flatly.
He gave her a side eye and shook his head, "You are nuts."
She took his hand and said, "Hold onto me."
"Uh, no, I don't think so."
"Well we can't very well go back through there," she thumbed at the frozen, ice block of a door behind them.
He looked back at it and then at her and then down over the landing. "I'm not doing this," he said firmly, "I'll let you drag me all over Skyrim, but I am not jumping off a cliff with you."
She rolled her eyes and grasped his waist. He protested again and she insisted once more. They stood at the edge and looked down, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck… I can't believe I'm about to do this."
"Just close your eyes and jump," she said reassuringly.
He gripped her tightly and scrunched his eyes together, "Okay, let's get it over with!"
"One, two – three!"
They leapt off the platform and Bishop howled loudly as she cast a spell to slow their ascent. He clung to her like his life depended on it and then started jabbering, "I don't like this! I really don't like this! This is unpleasant - this is not funny!"
He growled the last one at her because she was practically crying with laughter as he kicked his feet through the air and she finally said, "Just relax, it's a smooth sail down, we're not going anywhere I promise you." He kept opening and closing his eyes and she grabbed his face and aimed it at hers, "Quit that! You'll give yourself vertigo. Just look at me."
His chest was heaving and he kept his eyes trained on hers, trying to calm down. He swallowed hard and said, "This is… it's kind of not so bad once you stop looking at the ground."
"You gonna be okay?"
"Lightfoot, I'm half expecting a dragon to come swooping in to snatch us out of the air. That is not something you want to ask me right now," he glanced back at the ground which was still a bit far off and he said, "We're about to hit mountain - Ladyship!"
"Just kick off it," she said simply. He looked at her like she was out of her mind.
She made sure to aim them for a peak and they pushed off together leaping through the air. They did this several times on the mountain until they were safely on the ground. Bishop let go of her and fell to his knees and moaned, "Oh, solid ground. I never knew how much I took you for granted."
She laughed at him and said, "We should go home, I'm tired."
Bishop got up and threw an arm over her shoulder, mostly to steady himself.
"Told you, you'd get vertigo," she said.
They made it back to the farm, thankfully, without any issue. As they strode up the hill leading into the garden Serlas approached them, holding a tall stave and nodded to both of them, "Good morrow velvynen, Bishop. I see you're both up bright and early this morning. Would you like to accompany me to Falkreath for some shopping?"
They both looked at him, exhausted and with bags under their eyes. Bishop wobbled slightly, "Gonna have to pass today Serlas, but if you've got something for dizziness I could really use it."
Serlas raised his brows at them and said, "My potions are all marked, I should have one on the shelf above the alchemy table, Rona dear will be able to find it for you."
"Thank you Ata," she said and Bishop mumbled a thanks as well.
As Serlas walked by heading down the hill he called back, "Oh and thank you both for taking care of that vampire's nest for me, I was going to attend to it myself later today, but now I can skip the trip. Sleep well!"
Rona snickered and Bishop just said, "How? Does he have eyes in the back of his head or something? Just, how?"