The cure for vampirism

Chapter 3

Coldness.

That was the first thing I felt. The second thing I felt, was...

...pain.

I awoke when someone touched my arm. More pain shot through my body and I moaned. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Anonymus sitting next to me. He sighed in relief.
"Thank the Divines! You're alive," he said.
Alive? I wondered. Then my memories started flooding back: the mace, the howls, the scents, Anonymus' fangs...
I sat up rapidly. There was nothing underneath me, only the cold earth. I was sitting where I had fallen unconscious.
"Where's Naomi?"
"Here!" came the answer.
I tried to turn to its direction, but when I wanted to use my arm I winced from the pain. Anonymus' head shot up in alarm.
"Don't try to use your wounded arm until it healed!" he insisted.
Naomi let herself fall down next to me.
"I've looked at all corpses, chests and urns. There was nothing except gold in there! Hundred-nineteen," she said, and threw Anonymus' backpack on the floor. It made a klirr sound as it landed.

Anonymus rolled his eyes, then handed a potion over.
"Here. It'll heal you."
I gazed at him thankfully, drank the whole bottle and felt the pain vanish. I have no idea how, but in seconds my arm was fixed completely. The pain became a bad memory. Testing if it really worked, I set some weight on it. Nothing.
"What happened?" I asked them.
"Well, after you started to bleed and then passed out," Naomi said, clearly pleased to be the one who spoke, "we fought some draugr. Four were in there."
"Draugr don't hiss or growl," I said.
Anonymus nodded, "That was me, and your sister was in her werewolf form."
"But thanks to that we've won! It could've turned out worse than that," Naomi quickly added.
I nodded. "I'm not going to be mad at you, it's okay. You guys saved my life!"
"Oh, don't you dare say any flowery thing about how much you love us, or something like that! Let's get moving," my sister said, " And by the way, I smell skeevers."

My vampire friend took hold of the backpack, while I stood. Reaching for Curvy, I silently followed my sister. On the floor lay four corpses, all belonged to draugr.
The next room was bigger, but I felt like I was captured in a small box. The next pass was on the right side. The walls here were also full with ancient carvings.

Naomi led us right, then she turned left. Her eyes widened sightly, and I knew she saw the skeevers she had smelled earlier. With a swing of her weapon she killed one, but a second and a third beast appeared. One bit her leg and my sister hissed in pain, the other leaped at me.
Before the skeever could get me, I smacked him with Curvy.

I heard Naomi say, "Fuckin' pest!" before she got rid of the last skeever. She cursed again and investigated her scar.
"Not deep. Just a scratch. But it itches so badly!" she reported.
I stepped next to her and looked forwards. To get to the next room, we had to cross a little pool.

The next destination was just an arm-length wider than the last one. In the middle there was a waist-high column, three handles on its surface. They probably opened the three gates. There was one on the left side, one on the right side and one straight ahead. My eyes scanned the place, searching for another exit. Then I noticed a fourth gate.

Anonymus raised a brow.
"Do you think there's treasure in there?"
Naomi eagerly stepped to the handles and pulled one. The gate on the left flew open. A wooden chest was in the very end of the tiny room.
"I'll watch out for traps this time," she told me. "You two should investigate what the other two handles do. And be careful, sis!" she giggled.
I sighed and pulled another handle. The gate straight ahead opened.

A huge chest was in there. I went towards it, my eyes searching for traps. To my surprise I couldn't find any, so I stopped. Nobody would be foolish enough to leave a chest like this guard-less here. I examined the floor and found what I was looking for.
A round and not-too-flat rock with strange markings was right in fron of me. As I looked up I noticed the sharp and deadly iron heads attached to a gate-like wall. I jumped over the rock which activated the trap and landed in front of the treasure. There was no string binded to the lock. But I had to pick it. It wasn't a big challenge.

A shiver ran down my spine as I thought about the first time I had picked a lock.
I was thirteen at the time. My "foster-father", El Rablo, had taught me how to pick a lock. Well, actually, he had showed me the technique once, then he had told me I wouldn't get anything to eat until I unlocked his chest's lock.
I remeber how my hands had shaken at the time. I still don't understand how, but I had managed to complete the challenge on first try. Rablo had only nodded, as if he were expecting my rapid success.

I pushed the thoughts about that asshole away and focused on the lock.
Coins were thrown on the bottom of the chest and there was a book too. I collected the gold first, then took the book and examined it.
It was a document, not a book. Opening it, I peeked at the first page. It was blank.
Narrowing my eyes, I turned a page.

Tirdas, 12th of Sun's Height, 4E 170
Today we gained two new associates: the twins, Mork and Jex. Finally their time has come, too! I hate to wait and I wonder why I had decided to...

"Sis, have you found anything useful?"
I closed the document rapidly and hid it under my armor as quickly as I could. I turned to my sister, hoping she didn't notice what I had done. I showed her the coins.
Anonymus came from his room back and let us stuff the loot in his backpack. We decided not to share what we had found as it was a waste of time and we'll share the treasure at the end of our journey anyway.

I felt a little guilty as I thought about that. After all, I was the one who stole this document. But somehow I thought it was important that they didn't know about it.
As we stood by the entrance to the next room - the fourth gate - we noticed there was no other handle that would open it.

Naomi was about to transform and "bend iron" when I stopped her.
"Hey!" she protested.
"I saw pull-chains in the room I had investigated."
I went back, skipped over the trap and looked at the three chains that hung above the now empty chest. My sister stayed by the fourth gate and Anonymus stood in the entrance of this room.
Without thinking I pulled the chain on the left. I heard a gate move.
"You locked yourself," Anonymus told me. I made a mouth and pulled the chain on the right.
"You opened it!" Naomi shouted.
I pulled the last chain and turned around to see the gate in front of my friend rise.

As my stubborn sister wanted to go away, I said, "Wait."
"What is it now?"
"I want to check something," I told her.
Both of them frowned, but I didn't bother to explain. They didn't know about it and we didn't have time to discuss it.
I prepared myself for a shout. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the words of power. After a second Naomi got impatient.
"By the Nine, what do you-"
"LAAS - YAH - NIR!" I shouted.
For a moment I saw nothing, but then - as usual - my vision came back. I could see red lights - bodies - through the walls. Six were the closest to us, they were probably in the next room. Then there were other three enemies, and I could also see other four. Other four as I turned around. I looked downwards , saw nothing, gazed upwards and gasped. A lot of enemies were up there. I started to count them but then the red lights faded. I sighed. I knew I couldn't shout again for an hour.

"Wha... what was that?" Naomi asked, amazed.
"I don't have time to explain it now," I quickly said and walked past the gate.
A red flag was blown by the wind. Wait, wind? The gangway curved left and for a moment I was blinded by the sudden increase of light. The ceiling had a hole. Some roots hung inside the gangway. I wondered if I could climb out from this place through that hole. I lowered my gaze and searched for an obstacle that would jack me up.
And then I saw it. Or rather felt it. Like my energy, my living force would just... flow out of me. I stood there, frozen, staring in shock at the vampire who cast his spell on me. I was already sinking to my knees when my companions appeared. Anonymus jumped in front of me, breaking the effects of the spell. I heard a weird sound and I saw my sister transform into a werewolf. My eyes instantly widened by the sight of limbs stretching. Naomi howled and with two steps she was at the vampire, biting her neck. She then got out of my sight.

I jumped up and hurried with Anonymus after her. He summoned an atronach that appeared in front of us. As we wanted to Naomi, two draugr appeared and attacked. I ducked from the first attack, but the second got me. I hissed in pain as a sharp blade cut my arm. As my friend dealt with one of the draugr, I rolled backwards and unsheathed my sword. I used the floor as a springboard and rammed my blade into my enemy's chest. It didn't kill him though, the draugr only became pissed off. He growled and I dodged an attack. I couldn't see Naomi or Anonymus, ad I felt a little panic when a second draugr appeared behind the first one. The newcomer opened his mouth.
"FUS - RO - DAH!"
The force of his shout made me skid backwards on the floor until I hit the wall. For moments I was numb, but then I opened my eyes ans saw the draugr running towards me. My weapon was standing out of one draugr's chest. I had no other choice but to use magic. Even though I only knew restoration and illusion spells, it had always been enough to save my or someone else's life.

With a quick move I cast the invisibility spell on myself, then rolled away. My enemies stopped dead in their tracks. Using my advantage, I got to my sword. I grabbed the hilt and slashed it upwards, killing the first draugr. My spell broke, but I already had the upper-hand. With rapid us I got rid of the other draugr too.
I ran to the next destination where I assumed to find Naomi and Anonymus. As I entered the room, I saw how my werewolf sister slashed her claws in the direction of two skeletons. Needless to say, they were dead in a heartbeat.
Anonymus was crouching on the floor and staring at Naomi. He bared his fangs and hissed, making me flinch. If they attacked each other now, I wouldn't be able to stop the tragedy.

But in the next moment Naomi's form shrinked and she was a human again. Anonymus calmed down and I sighed in relief.
We were in a cave-like room, and I noticed there were way more bones lying on the floor than that would be possible to belong to the skeletons.
I darted forwards, my companions following me. The next destination was similar to the one that three floors, the only difference was that this time the second floor wasn't connected to the first. As I looked at the second floor I noticed movements, and I signed the others to move close to the wall. The next room was on the other side.
Thankfully the one up there didn't notice us.
The floor was covered with gigantic roots.
Naomi whispered, "Vampire," and I drew my bow. This gangway had a doorway on the left side and I could peek inside. I saw some candles, a little blood, and a throne. A vampire was sitting on it with his eyes closed. I don't know how he didn't know we were here, vampires had a genial nose like werewolves, and they could smell other vampires from a big distance too. I got rid of the undead man with an arrow to his throat.

The room was a torture chamber. The other side of it was covered with a big pool of blood.
We hurried to the next gangway. On the left there was an empty urn, on the right there was a blue sword tilted against the wall. Naomi grabbed it and we were about to go when Anonymus said, "Wait."
He was looking at the wall and examined something I couldn't see because of a column. He reached for the thing and pulled it. Crack. The wall started to move downwards, revealing a gangway. My sister frowned, sniffing the air.
"Nothing in there. Maybe it's an exit?"
We went through the way, which led us to a place that had barely anything else in itself than stairs and candles. A column split my view and I skipped with my sister up the stairs.
My excitement faded as I saw this was a dead end. The ceiling had collapsed. Naomi cursed angrily. We both turned when we heard the same crack again. Anonymus came to us.
"I closed it," he reported, "We deserve a break."
He sat down on a wide step and signed us to do the same. I let myself fall down next to him, but Naomi stood.
"I'm not going to sleep next to a vampire!" she said.
"C'mon now! You don't have to be afraid-" Anonymus started, but was cut off by her,
"I'm not afraid of you, you idiot! I want to have the same amount of blood in the morning as now!"
"I fed last night, so you don't have to worry about that," he replied.
My sister gave him her Dude, seriously? look, she even raised a brow. But then she shrugged and sat in front of him.
"Whatever. Anyway, why did you come here?" she asked.
I looked at my friend, who reached for something in his pocket and gave it to Naomi. It was a paper. Her eyes went from left to right a few times, then she made a mouth. "That's all? I thought it was more than that," she said, disappointed. She handed the paper to me.
"Yes, that's it," Anonymus said.

Bounty
By order of Siddgeir:
To all able bodied men and women of Falkreath. The foes located in North Shriekwind Bastion have
been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.

A reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.

We sat in silence for a while, then Anonymus spoke, "How old are you, Naomi?"
My sister rolled her eyes, looking annoyed. "Nineteen. She's six year older," she pointed at me, "Why?".
"Nothing, I just wondered... about your childhood." he looked at me before continuing, "You've never told me about that."
I swear, I could hear the snap inside Naomi's head before she lost it. She clenched her fists and bit her lip so hard it started to bleed.
"Fuck off," she said with a dangerously calm tone.
She glared at him for moments, then stood and left us there. She went to the column and sat down so we couldn't see her.

"I'm sorry..." Anonymus stated, trying to apologize.
"It's okay," I told him. Naomi wasn't listening anyway. "It's a theme she doesn't like to talk about. Because of our... family they were murdered."
He frowned slightly. "Can I... ask how it happened?" he whispered.
I breathed in deeply, then started it.
"I was ten, she was four, and our brother, Tom was seven. Our family had a demense in Rorikstead. We were quite... rich. One night bandits came and they broke into our house. They killed our parents in their sleep, carried everything that had value away, and found us hiding in the cellar. They binded our hands, feet and our eyes and took us with them too. They came on horseback you know. Before they left, they had set the house and the crops on fire. On the way, Tom... he started to yell. And wouldn't stop. So a few bandits stopped and they... killed him. I..." I took another deep breath and continued, "They took us to their hideout. I don't know what they wanted to do with us, and I'm glad we didn't figure it out."
"You escaped?"
"Yes, with a help of a girl who was a few years older than me. She was responsible for us, but she freed us and told me to get a horse. I had pushed Naomi on one, then climbed behind her and we raced until we reached Markarth," I said, and now I looked at Anonymus, curious to see his face. He had tilted his head to the side and was now staring at the air. When he noticed I was watching him, he blinked a few times and looked back. His expression was a little blank.
"After we had arrived, the orphanage there became our new home," I continued.
"But how were you seperated from each other?" Anonymus asked.
"I was adopted and she wasn't," I lied. "And you know the rest."
"That psychopath used you to get rich. And when you moved to Whiterun and met me, you asked me to help to kill him. And two years later you got Naomi back," he said.

Well, that was not fully the truth.
Two years after we had arrived in Markarth, and had gotten a new home, the owner of the orphanage died. I don't know what happened to the other orphans, but I and Naomi were adopted by a noblemen named Bemak. As it later turned out, his only daughter has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper was willing to give her back in exchange for someone else. That's how I got to El Rablo.
In the beginning, he was quite... nice. He didn't let me meet other people, though, for the first year. During that time he told me about vampires. Yes, he told me how they looked like, what they were, and what they did. He convinced me that they were cruel creatures that deserved no mercy. That was the reason I had agreed to help him assassinate the ones who had successfully hidden their true identity. So he taught me sneaking, lockpicking, pickpocketing, and using small, but deadly blades.
And if I have to be honest, I did enjoy what I had done. Until I met Anonymus.
Rablo never told me what was the reason why we had to move to Whiterun, and it didn't matter how many times I annoyed or threatened him, he wouldn's say a word. So I was quite mad at him. The first night I even sneaked out of the house to go to the Stables. That was the time when I met Anonymus.
I could tell he was a vampire, but I didn't care about that and had approached him. I can't remember what we had talked about, but I had enjoyed his company. So much I sneaked out next night too just to meet him. That went on for a week. Then Rablo found out. He was outraged, of course. And I was, too.
The next time I met Anonymus I asked him to help me kill him. And in the end, we didn't even get caught by the guards.
Since that I wasn't a vampire hunter anymore.

"Let's get some sleep," Anonymus said, taking me back to reality. I agreed with him.

Today was a long day.