Chapter 18 – Darkfall Cave

"Been tending your hounds? You smell like a wet dog!" – Quote, Guard

"I never trusted those damn scrolls" Serana grumbled again. It had been a few days since leaving the glade, now they were heading for the bow, the location Tai had seen in the Elderscroll. It was somewhere in Darkfall cave.

"Serana I'm fine" Tai's reply was faster than it should have been. What he had seen had scared him, not from Serana but the fact Molag Bal had known he would be the one she would love. His name was carved in Serana's scars; he chose not to tell Serana.

"Tai! Who knows what that thing could have done to you? Look at Dexion" Serana was shaking still as well, she sensed Tai's fear. Maybe she knew something too.

"Honestly Serana, I'm fine. I'm just shaken. Reading a scroll, it's big" Tai turned to face her on the road, she stared at him.

"You're afraid of me aren't you?" She suddenly whimpered, tears beginning to form. Tai gripped her shoulders.

"Don't you EVER say that Serana. It has nothing to do with you" Tai lied, Serana shook her head.

"I see the way you've been looking at me"

"I just got shaken, you laughed…" Tai was cut off.

"About the moths?"

"Yes" Tai was heavy as Serana dropped her head.

"So it was amusing from the outside" she whispered.

"I have a fear of giant bugs"

"And of me? I've seen how you stare, like you saw something in the scrolls" Serana hit the nail on the head. Tai sighed.

"I did. It wasn't what I expected, it means nothing"

"I'm going to get you killed. You're afraid of me" Serana was about to cry. Tai's heart sunk, his gut knotted. He hated seeing Serana in pain.

"I'm afraid I hurt you Serana, I could never fear you. You mean too much to me" Tai countered. A tear streamed down Serana's face.

"Tell me you love me" she whispered, more tears falling.

"I love you Serana" Serana let another tear fall. Tai instinctively wiped it away with a gentle thumb. Serana closed her eyes, leaning into his hand. Tai wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, Serana's arms gathered on his chest as Tai held her.

"We should keep moving" Tai finally whispered, obviously pained. Serana tilted her head to look him in the eyes.

"Hold my hand?" She asked, obviously needing the comfort. Tai smiled, his arm suddenly hooked under her knees as he lifted her from the ground. Serana laughed as he shifted his grip, and then looked her seriously in the eye.

"I'm not carrying you the whole way"

How mistaken Tai was.

They finally reached Darkfall cave, Tai had indeed carried Serana the rest of the way. He let her down inside the cave, tightening the belt around his leather pants. Tai groaned, the cave appeared completely black, a single circle of light ahead.

"And I thought my castle was dark" Serana mumbled, Tai chuckled.

"Dark, Darkfall cave. What were you expecting?"

They walked forwards, slowly around a few bends until they stopped. Tai pointed ahead, the sound of rushing water greeted them as the ground began to feel sticky. They came to the source, a waterfall, into a small pond. Around it was bright, showing clear details of a cave opening across the deep set pond, and the path curving around into the unknown. Tai and Serana naturally took the unknown path.

"Go quietly" Serana came up behind Tai with a sudden whisper, Tai jumped with a startled scream. Serana chuckled before kissing him briefly just under the earlobe, on his jaw joint. Tai sighed and crouched, moving almost as silently as the amazingly stealthy Serana who led the way. This time.

"I'll get you back" Tai vowed quietly as they rounded the corner, spider webs began on the walls. By the time Tai caught up with Serana she had already plunged her dagger through a frostbite spider. Tai nodded approvingly as she cleaned the dagger.

They crept down a steep path, towards a small bridge. The webs on the cave walls seemed to thicken; Tai was clearly un easy as was Serana.

"I don't like spiders" Tai finally hissed, staring at a worn old bridge across a pit. Serana looked down and sighed, her own eyes worried.

"I don't like the looks of this"

Nervously Serana stepped out onto the bridge; it was shaking wildly but holding up. Tai suddenly leapt forwards however, gripping Serana around the forearm, almost exactly as the bridge fell. Tai and Serana began their descent. Tai desperately grabbed an old wooden step of the bridge, jarring to a stop abruptly.

"Tai let me go" Serana shouted, Tai glared down at her then back to the crumbling wood, already collapsing under his grip.

"No" Tai grunted, pulling Serana up slightly, she seemed in awe of his strength for one moment before continuing.

"Tai! This is madness. Even if you can get me up, we can't get back up there. I'll survive the fall" Serana drew Tai's attention as he stared beneath her, water. Obviously deep but he assumed flowing. Tai couldn't tell where it flowed too, the green tinged rocks and dooming walls made him tighten his grip further.

"We don't know what's down there" Tai strained, Serana seemed to roll her eyes. She screamed loudly as the wood broke beneath Tai's hand, again setting them falling. Tai caught the rope, desperately straining to bring Serana up to his side, maybe she could escape. The roaring of the water was louder now, clear in Tai's ears as he clamped his eyes shut. The creaking of the rope echoed through the stone pit, as did Tai and Serana's heavy breathing. Then the rope snapped. Tai and Serana's screams were lost as they fell to the waters far below.

Tai was turned around in a whirlpool, rarely breaking the surface and gasping for air. His limbs were thrown around, his foot kicking him from the force. Tai would have yelped if he had not needed to breathe. He was carried down a passage, the harsh rocks jutting into the water as Tai did his best to avoid them. Finally he came to a cleared part and saw the edge of a fall. Roaring white foam and the dark brownish black cave walls behind, lit blue from glowing plants. The thing that scared Tai however, was the spider webs thickening the highest points, and the huge dark spiders sleeping upon them.

As Tai reached the fall and started to plummet he gasped, cursing loudly. The spiders awoke; their legs and fangs flared as they dropped on web stings towards him, venom and web shots flew from their fangs, but never hit Tai. The spiders' web broke beneath their weight as Tai continued to fall downwards, trying desperately to catch something.

Tai hit the rushing river beneath hard, again been tossed through a small whirlpool before been rushed, backwards away from the struggling spiders. So far he counted a few dead, maybe three. Finally, he turned to see where he was going. Tai froze, staring straight into the spider nest.

No cave wall was visible; the webs had completely engulfed it. The river rushed beneath a harsh thick bed of web the spiders had obviously built to protect themselves from the rushing water. Hundreds of pouches were built into the web, bodies of those less fortunate than Tai. Then again, Tai wondered how he was going to get out of this situation unharmed, especially since he was unarmed.

Tai jogged forwards, to what he assumed had once been a pillar. The first dead body he saw had a sword of some kind. Tai grabbed it and tugged, somehow spinning and slashing the first spider coming at him across the legs. It reared back, leaving Tai an opening to stab it through the stomach, falling onto the spider with a groan. He hated spiders. The blade stuck in the creatures gut, leaving Tai unarmed again. Another spider approached quickly, fangs raised and ready. Tai cursed, unable to summon his voice in time. It landed over him as Tai caught it; it's fangs continued snapping for his face. Suddenly it stopped, Tai threw it off with a triumphant yell then stopped, it was impaled. Tai stared at the ice spike through it then to Serana who stood tall, she had already disposed of several spiders which now surrounded her feet. She truly was the ice lady.

"Looks like I'm buying dinner" Tai called out, smiling briefly as Serana shot another spider with her magic. She had superb aim.

"Just dinner? You're a sore loser Tai" Serana drove Tai crazy.

"What do you want then? Lunch? Breakfast? What?" Tai panted, ducking another spider which ran straight into Serana's ice spike.

"I want breakfast in bed, I think you can cook" Serana replied, Tai stared. He knew where this was leading. The full serving man, fine clothes, manners and an irresistible accent.

"I'm guessing you want me to use an accent too?" He half exclaimed in annoyance, punching a spider that leapt for him. He then shouted into its face, fire erupting through it and a few following spiders.

"I would rather you just not talk" Serana retorted with a cheeky smile, more ice spikes flying into the looming spiders.

"If that is" Serana spun, ducking a spider and punching it in its haired chest, ice erupting from her touch.

"Even possible for you" she finished, kicking a large spider aside, it rolled down the other bodies with a few soft thuds, only auditable to the animal or vampiric ear.

Tai and Serana stared around the nest, nothing moved. Tai panted, his throat still dry from the fire erupting from it. Since becoming human again Tai had found shouting harder.

"Anything else?" Tai asked sarcastically, Serana smiled.

"Kiss me?"

"Finally, something I want to do" Tai laughed as Serana wrapped her arms around his neck, he leaned down and kissed her. Again the rush, every time he kissed Serana he felt that rush of fire and ice through him. At first the sensation along his neck had been painful; the sensation in a kiss was the most amazing thing he had ever felt.

"Serana. Don't you think we should slow down?" Tai betrayed himself as the kiss was broken; Serana stared at him, concern in her face.

"This is a first for you, I don't want to push you" Tai finished. Serana smiled at him, relieved.

The sudden sound of spiders walking drew both their attention sharply. Tai stared into the nest continuing around a corner, the river had turned into a soft stream and was no longer covered by web. Tai looked at the natural rock formation bridge, his own eyes painfully aware of Serana's orange glow in the darkness. She could see perfectly.

"Laas Yah Nir" Tai whispered, the sudden darkness changing to a greyish colour. Beside him Serana glowed the bright red as he viewed her life force. He saw another form, hidden in a wall near the rock bridge. One final Giant Frostbite spider. There were three other faint glows, obviously deeper into the cave.

"Anything?" Serana whispered quietly, it seemed she knew what he had used his shout for. Tai nodded.

"Giant Spider, over the bridge hidden in the wall" Tai whispered back, Serana nodded. She suddenly summoned another magic to her left hand, replacing the ice with electricity. Tai jumped back instinctively from her hand, he knew her terrible judgement with that spell. Serana sheathed her dagger, finding the slight metallic ring satisfactory, she resummoned the ice to her right hand once more.

Serana took a deep breath and fired an ice spike, straight at the wall. The protruding legs oozing from the wall made Tai shiver as the monstrosity that was the spider came into full view. Serana froze, Tai froze, and the spider froze. Serana was the fastest to act, sending an electric bolt straight into the dripping spider. It was enough to kill it instantly.

Tai winced as he saw the red light go out after a blinding flash. It was always hard, seeing a light go out. Unlike Z, Tai did not enjoy watching death on such a personal level. Tai was a killer from the cold; he couldn't know his victim more than sight.

They continued through the cave, the smell of human blood filling both their noses. Tai felt sick as his mouth watered, Serana was also combating her hunger. Since been turned Tai had appreciated blood in a whole new light, enjoying its smell in ways he didn't believe possible. That was one thing he had not been cured of when he was cured of Vampirism, his blood hunger.

They came to the top of a hill, another path leading from the semi cave. There was a woman in her later years lying dead. An Argonian lay further away, also dead.

"These people… Who would choose to live here?" Serana said, averting her eyes from the slow torturous death they obviously suffered. Tai himself swallowed down a sick burb, the stench of blood was unmistakable.

Tai grabbed the woman's body, still warm; he had seen this death before. He rolled the woman over and stared down at her slashed gut, he lowered and sniffed. Instantly he wished he hadn't.

"Gut torn. She didn't stand a chance" Tai whispered to the sniffing Serana, she could kill so easily and yet cry for a stranger. Tai was forever in awe. He lifted the woman's body; then carried it with ease to the downhill slope. With a soft grunt he threw her, sending the body rolling.

"What are you doing?" Serana screamed, just a little too loudly for Tai's liking. The rumble rewarded him as several rocks fell down from a trip wire trap. Tai silently pointed as Serana's mouth gaped.

"Trap" Tai said simply as he began his descent, Serana came to his side as they rounded a few more corners into a humongous cave. Serana gripped his shoulder. Tai glared, he didn't like her games in dark caves, and this was Darkfall Cave.

"Wha…" he never finished.

Serana pointed ahead, then placing a finger over Tai's lips as he went to speak again. The huge, gorilla like Trolls roamed past huffing and grunting. Serana drew her dagger, climbing up onto a rock bank. Tai stared, there was no way Serana could defeat them with just a dagger. He gathered his courage and ran out, screaming loudly and waving his arms.

The first troll that reached him he dropped to the ground, his legs wrapping around its knee, it fell forwards. The second leapt over Tai, straight into Serana. Serana wrapped her legs around its midsection, her dagger against its throat as she rode its back. Her dagger tore into the raging troll's neck as she leaned her weight back against it. The blade sliced completely through the creatures wind pipe. Serana pushed her feet into it's back, spinning her left shoulder roughly, her whole body followed.

Tai pulled back on the beast, his legs around its midsection. He strained, for the first time since been captured, glad he didn't have armour on. The Troll he was fighting screamed loudly as several bones snapped, Tai himself was dangerously close to tearing a muscle. Serana slashed her dagger repeatedly across the troll's neck. When Tai finally released it death was imminent.

"Teamwork right there" Serana said happily, Tai's eyes however were on one final being. A human of some kind, maybe an elf. He began walking, drawn to the being like he had been drawn to Serana's tomb.

"Tai?" Serana asked as Tai tilted his head, gazing at the now clearly Elf man before them. He was unlike anything Tai had ever seen; his armour was unknown to Tai. Bone like material with dark patterns carved and burned in.

"Come forwards. You have nothing to fear here" The voice was deep, almost catching in the elves throat, pleasing however.

Serana squeezed Tai's shoulder as he moved to obey.

"Be careful. It's a damn elf"