Elsa and Kristoff turned around when they noticed the portal festering and got ready to fight until the noticed Hjalti,Anna and Serana stepping out of it before they rushed towards the young princess and pull her in for a hug. "Anna!" They exclaimed in unison as they squeezed her tight.
"Hey! Hi! I...hate that I took so long..." She said with a kind of shocked tone as she pulled her sister and boyfriend closer to her while Hjalti and Serana look between them and each other. "Well,that takes 'happy family reunion' to a whole new level,doesn't it?" He says sarcastically,making her chuckle lightly.
"At least they aren't trying to kill each other like some would..." She said,making him nod in agreement. "True...that's a mess I'd rather not clean up today...we'll stick with the vampire or just undead army that may or may not be here already if at all." He says wittily as they move closer to the trio.
"I'm sorry to interrupt,but we still need to get ready for an attack...I doubt Mannimarco's going to appreciate us taking his leverage." Hjalti suggests in a kind of quick tone,making them look up after a moment. "What are we expecting...?" Anna asks hesitantly.
"We're presuming vampires considering a little 'incident' in your church...we have until sundown if we didn't waste that few hours in the Cairn." He answers,making her raise her eyebrow a little. "What do you mean...?" She asked.
"Time basically doesn't exist in an Oblivion realm,therefore you wouldn't be able to determine exactly how long you've been there or how much time has past in the mortal plain unless you have some alternative method of either measuring or determining time while you're there...if that makes any sense." He explained simply,making them think on it for a minute.
"I'm still trying t get used to all this..." Elsa said in a somewhat quiet tone,making him chuckle lightly. "It takes awhile...but,when you're used to it,there ain't much else that can surprise you." He said wittily while Anna starts studying him.
"How exactly do you get used to something like this...?" She asked curiously. "Wait until you have tentacles slithering through your head." He laughs,making her raise her eyebrow in confusion. "What?" She looked at him like he was completely insane.
"Like I said,it takes awhile to get used to." He says in a kind of simple tone,making her nod lightly before looking to the trail leading outside. "We should probably get back to the castle,huh?" She suggests in a kind of quick tone before he nods in confirmation.
"Definitely,they usually only attack at night,but they like to catch their prey off guard." He said simply as they left the cave. "Well,that's comforting..." She muttered to herself before they notice the dim rays of the setting sun glistening across the Fjord as they make their way back around to the castle.
"It's still in a safe place,isn't it?" Serana asks him in a quiet tone,making him nod lightly. "I don't see any vampires getting their hands on it anytime soon..." He answered with a light smirk,which made Elsa and Anna study them curiously.
"Getting their hands on what...?" Elsa inquired before Hjalti looks back to her. "A bow that can either heighten or dampen the power of the sun depending on what rites are used on the arrows accompanying it..." He answers,making the sisters raise their eyebrows a bit.
"Is that even possible...?" Anna asked,making him laugh. "Trust me...your little encounter with Mannimarco just dragged all of Arendelle into a world where everything that seems impossible is another average day for Tamriel,whether it be Skyrim,Morrowind or even Cyrodil." He says before they look between each other then nod in understanding.
"So,things are just going to get stranger..." Kristoff inquired in a kind of dull tone before Hjalti kind of starts debating to himself about what's happened already then finally nods lightly. "Yep,things are just gonna get stranger...how long it'll last here,I honestly don't know,but things will get stranger." He said,making him shake his head lightly.
"Should've guessed..." He says to himself as they rounded the corner that took them to the front of the castle. "Does...sunlight kill vampires...?" Elsa asks in a kind of quiet tone before Hjalti shakes his head. "Kill,no...weaken,yes. They could easily attack during the day,which would probably explain our friend in the church,but that's about the extent of an actual daylight attack...otherwise,they'll wait until nightfall and gather in groups to do more damage..." He explained,making her study him a bit.
"It's like they're just...savage animals." She said to herself,making Serana chuckle lightly. "Most of them can be...but,that's usually what happens when you mix mortal logic with the pack mentality of your deadliest hunters and boost it with the strength,speed and agility of let's say wolves,cats and so on...case and point,savage is a decent understatement." He said calmly before she kind of sighs.
"How are we going to win this fight,exactly? The undead pretty much overwhelmed us the other night..." She asks in a kind of hesitant tone,making him smirk lightly. "By the sweat on our brow...they're immortal,not invincible." He said simply,making her raise her eyebrow before nodding contently.
"Anything else as far as a weakness...?" She asks curiously. "Fire usually does the job pretty good,but depending on their feeding habits,there's no accurate strength or weakness that can be completely expected...your powers could thin them out a good bit if that's what you're wondering,other than that,aim for the head or the heart and they'll be down for the count...or if we can hold them off until the sun comes back up,they'll be much easier to take down...oh,silver works real good too." He explains as they entered the courtyard.
"So,in other words..." She starts. "Hit them hard,avoid the fangs and their life-draining magic,don't let them overwhelm you and make sure they're dead...do that and you'll be just fine." He answers,making her nod in understanding.
"That's easier said then done,isn't it...?" She asked before he nods in confirmation. "A lot easier said then done...but,I'm sure we can find a few things to use to our advantage against them." He said simply. Anna kind of looked between them when he said that and starts studying him curiously when he started looking around.
"What are you looking for?" She asked him in a kind of hesitant tone. "Advantages..." He answers simply,making her raise her eyebrow a bit before leaning over to her sister. "He's strange..." She said quietly,making Elsa giggle lightly.
"A little bit,but apparently he knows what he's doing..." She says,making Anna study her a little. "Is he that agent Ulfric was talking about...?" She asks before Elsa nods in confirmation. "Yeah...he saved Kristoff from some kind of demons that were led by a necromancer,fought Mannimarco off that same night and figured out where you were..." She explained,making her little sister look back at the outlandish warrior who she pretty much believed was crazy.
"What exactly do you do when you're not fighting power hungry maniacs...?" She inquired curiously,making him laugh lightly. "It's all part of the job,lass...we're adventurers,whatever most people wouldn't do,that's what we do..." He answers simply,making her raise her eyebrow.
"So,you just look for trouble...?" She asks. "Sometimes...other times it finds us or somebody else and we...intervene." He said. "Do you ever go in old ruins...?" She continues. "Plenty,for one reason or another...plenty of treasure to find in those crypts if you can get passed whatever's guarding it." He answers,making her study him more.
"What's usually guarding it...?" She asks curiously. "Bandits,undead,trolls...nothing like the ones you have here,though...vampires in a few,witches,necromancers,liches,things like that..." He said,making her eyes get wider every time he mentioned a different creature.
"Wasn't there one that had a pack of werewolves in it...?" Serana asked,making him shrug lightly. "I think we managed to get on decent terms with them...the pack on Solstheim,right?" He said in a kind of debating tone before she kind of shrugs.
"Yeah,I remember talking to them,but wasn't there a pack hiding out in a cave around Riften one time...?" She inquired,making a kind of 'ah!' look cross his face. "Oh yeah...no,I think that was werewolf hunters...when we did that 'job' for the Companions...but,I think we ran into a pack on the way there." He said curiously,making her think for a minute before nodding her head in conformation.
"Oh,that's right...when we helped the Circle take them out." She said calmly while Elsa,Anna and Kristoff look between them curiously. "Werewolf hunters...?" Elsa asks in a kind of quiet tone. "What they were worth...they were just bandits that used silver weapons." He said dully,making her raise her eyebrow.
"Are you...?" She started before he shrugs lightly. "Ain't sure...I was when I was in the Circle,I did cure myself one time,though,but the blood never completely leaves you and some side effects stick...on the other hand,I could go back and have my forebear turn me again if I want to...so,we'll just leave it at debatable." He said calmly before she studies him for a minute then just leaves it alone.
"Queen Elsa,if this ain't too of a suggestion,I'd like for us to walk the walls..." He suggested calmly,making her study him for a moment before nodding lightly and leading them to the wall. Hjalti scanned the landscape and sturdiness of the wall as he and Serana followed the royal family.
"What are you looking for...?" Anna asks curiously as he starts knocking on the stones. "Yeah,that should be sturdy enough..." He kind of mumbles to himself as his eyes start scanning the landscape surrounding the castle then nodding contently,making her raise her eyebrow and study him.
"Could prove useful..." He mumbles again before the princess approaches him and shakes his arm. "Hello...?!" She called out,making Elsa look back at them before he looks between them. "You've got a good foundation,the landscape and being this close to the fjord might slow them down a little bit,but it depends on how strong their blood is...on the other hand,stronger vampires or not,if we play to Arendelle's advantages,we'll be able to fight them off." He says in a simple tone,making the sisters look out across the land beneath them and note every detail he pointed out before looking back to him.
"Sorry about that,just wanted to see what we had to work with first..." He points out,making them nod in understanding. "And...?" Elsa inquires in a somewhat quiet tone. "Well,the walls are pretty damn sturdy,we've got a decent advantage being by the fjord,might cut the numbers down,which will drag the attack out a good bit...which can still work to our advantage." He said calmly as they listened intently before following him along the wall.
He started studying the village when they rounded a corner and kind of taps his fingers together. "Those trees might prove a downfall if there's any hiding in the city..." He said in a light tone before Kristoff studied him. "How would we be able to find out...?" He asked,making him chuckle lightly.
"They find you,more or less...if you know how to recognize any subtle signs of vampirism,you're doing alright. Consists of a few basics,glowing red eyes,dagger like fangs,pale skin and so on,but the catch comes in when try to track one in the day." He answers simply.
"Because they sleep in coffins during the day,right...?" Anna said off the top of her head,making Serana chuckle a bit. "You're half right,but the ones that don't can blend in with humans so easy that you could be talking to one and not even know it...which also gives them the opportunity to hypnotize you and take some of your blood...and it'd be like they were never there." He elaborates before they each started shivering at the thought.
"It's that easy...?" Elsa asks in a shaky tone before he nods in confirmation. "Just that easy...luckily,though,it's usually just long enough to take a quick bite to keep their hunger back. That's if they don't get addicted to it and start rampaging through a city or town,which unfortunately happens more than it should,but there's still plenty that just take what they need and they're gone,no harm,no foul...in a way." He said as the three of them look between each other.
"What if they turn you into one...?" She continues curiously,making him shrug lightly. "It's nowhere near as big a risk as the legends make out,but that one little possibility's still there...and should it happen,all I can say is learn to control it if you want that power or...wait,I memorized that,didn't I..." He kind of mumbled to himself at the end,making everyone raise their eyebrow curiously before he got his reserve back.
"Memorize what...?" Serana asks before he turned his attention to her and shows her a note with an incantation written on it that makes her nod lightly then hand it back to him while Elsa,Anna and Kristoff studied them curiously.
"What is it...?" Anna asked curiously. "Let's not worry about it unless we need it." Hjalti answered simply,making her raise her eyebrow a bit. "How will we know that we need it if you don't tell us...?" She continues,making him smirk a little.
"Inquisitive...I like that." He said before kind of patting her on the shoulder. "We'll know..." He said simply,which confuses her even more and makes her look back at Elsa and Kristoff who just shrug their shoulders as they studied him.
"So,how exactly do we want to stop them...?" Elsa inquires. "We get to play with fire for one thing...try and funnel them into some tight spaces where numbers won't matter then overwhelm them...and most importantly,don't die or get infected." He answers in a simple tone.
She studies him for a minute while looking between Anna and Kristoff before turning his attention back to him and Serana. "That's...a lot easier said then done,isn't it?" She asks simply,making him nod lightly. "I think we can do it,though." He said simply before she raises her eyebrow then nods contently.
Hjalti went to find Ulfric so they could plan for the attack while Serana waits with Elsa and Anna in the throne room. "Elsa...?" Anna asks in a quiet tone,making her sister look up. "Is she really a...?" She started as she discreetly motions to Serana before Elsa lightly nods in confirmation.
"I'm just much more civilized than most..." Serana said simply,making them jump before a light smirk crossed her lips. "So...you're not like the ones who want to kill us...?" Anna asked curiously before she shrugs lightly. "There maybe a few pure bloods in the bunch,but depending on what they did to get their power,I'm most likely stronger." She answered,making her raise her eyebrow curiously.
"How did you...?" Elsa asks curiously before they notice her smirk fade and a frustrated,violated sick look replace it,which made the sisters' eyes drop. "I'm sorry,I shouldn't have..." She starts before Serana shook her head lightly. "No,it's alright...it's just a long,unpleasant story." She said simply while they studied her.
"Do you...regret doing it...?" Anna asks in a hesitant tone,making her shrug lightly. "Yes and no..." She answers calmly before letting out a light sigh. "I regret what it's done to my family,more than anything..." She adds in a quiet tone while Elsa and Anna look between each other.
"Are you okay...?" Elsa asks in a concerned tone before they noticed her nod lightly. "I'm fine...thanks for asking,though." She answered in a soft,grateful tone when they noticed the Stormcloak leaders entering the throne room led by Hjalti.
"So,any ideas or are we going to see how it plays out first...?" Ulfric asks the Dragonborn curiously before he shrugs. "Most likely a little of both...because,we have to consider how strong the vampires that come are,how big of groups they decide to attack in and who or what's going to be leading the attack...oh,and let's not forget about the possibility that Mannimarco may decide to lead them personally,but the chances of that are slim..." He explains as they each took a seat near the throne.
The three women studied them for a moment before they each raised their eyebrow curiously. "What exactly are you planning to do...?" Elsa asks in a concerned tone,making Hjalti look to her with a light smirk. "Well,we want to try and keep your city in one piece of course...depending on the numbers in each group,if they do attack in waves,we'll have to see if we can't funnel them into some doorways,alleys and the like..." He starts as they listened intently.
"But,they may catch on to that and find ways to adapt their strategy and overwhelm us..." Serana suggests before he nods in agreement. "Which is why we're going to have archers on the walls,only the next best sets of eyes out of both armies and have jars of oil on both sides of the wall so they can light them with torches...that is,provided none of them have bows enchanted with fire,in which case,we'll put the ones that don't at each end and put them in the middle of the group." He adds simply,making her nod lightly while Elsa and Anna just watched them curiously.
"What about the courtyard and the village...?" Elsa asks calmly before his smirk grows a little. "Got it covered...we're going to have your guards,bolstered with stormcloaks guarding the streets in decent sized squads and all armed with silver blades,we'll have skirmishers in the alleys...also armed with silver weapons and quite possibly a few extra little tricks that may prove useful,a little person design of mine..." He answers with a somewhat twisted grin,which scared her a little bit.
"Why not give those same...trinkets to the soldiers patrolling the streets...?" Anna inquires. "Two reasons...one,they'll be equipped with shields adorned with spikes in the middle while the shields themselves will be plated with silver,which will hurt the vampires more and probably keep our casualties down...and two,well that's all depending on formation,which we'll most likely put stormcloaks on the outside,maybe add a few with larger weapons,great-swords,battle axes and the like...reason being is that they're wearing more armor and quite possibly hit harder,not trying to offend you or anything,but Arendelle seems more peaceful than Skyrim..." He explains calmly as they both just shrug the comment off.
"As far as the courtyard goes,we'll have a significant force in here with us,but not so many that we'll deprive our other squads and since we alone as individuals are quite formidable by ourselves..." He starts before Elsa interrupts. "What about anybody that can't fight?" She asked quickly,making him give her a light nod. "Will be escorted here unless you happen to know of a safer place,in which case they'll be escorted there until the battle's over...either around dawn or until we manage to drive them back." He answers before she nods contently.
"How do our chances look...?" She inquires. "Without accurate numbers,give or take no matter what plans we have...the oil lining the outside of the castle walls and the fire pots lining the tops will probably tip the odds in our favor if we use them right..." He said simply while she looks between everyone in the room then lets out a light sigh.
"When do we start organizing this...?" She asks calmly,making him give her a straight look. "Immediately..." He answered before they stood up. "Then we better get started..." She said simply as everyone nods in agreement and leave the room to prepare for the attack...
Elsa had been making sure everything was going according to plan,which brought her to the armory after awhile where Hjalti was passing out satchels full of what looked like little glass balls with flint and iron rims at the top filled with what she took to be oil.
"What are these...?" She asks as she carefully picked one up to examine it before he carefully took it away from her and put it back in it's place. "Dangerous...I came up with this idea one day that involved old mead bottles,oil,black powder and flint that provides close range fighters with a sort of 'tactical advantage' when they're being overwhelmed. Long story short,I decided to use those bottles to create these little devils then eventually evolved them in a few different ways,but either way,something's gonna blow or burn up." He explained simply,making her raise her eyebrow curiously.
"What exactly are they meant for,though...?" She asks before he kind of smirks. "Depends on the occasion...in this case,we're going to be roasting vampires." He answers wittily,making her study him curiously. "Why make this,though...?" She inquired before he shrugs his shoulders. "Why not...?" He answered simply as she just looks him over then looks to the improvised weapons.
"Have you tested them...?" She asks. "I've used them a few times,but being able to use magic and the Thu'um,I personally haven't had too much need for them,so I let soldiers who don't use magic use them,usually for a decent price,but this is an exception or sell them to mercenaries who want a little something extra when they're dealing with something maddeningly nasty." He answers with a light grin.
"Can I ask you something...?" Elsa asks in a somewhat hesitant tone before he nods lightly. "I don't see why not." He says simply,making her smile lightly before meeting his gaze. "The compliments...as much as I appreciate hearing it..." She starts before he raised his hand with a straight look on his face.
"Are merely honest observations,your majesty...I know how it usually sounds,but our relationship is strictly business...of course,we're friendlier with you than most others,but that's because you and your people have a relatively friendlier attitude than most of who we deal with." He answered simply,making her raise her eyebrow a little.
"So,if this weren't business..." She starts calmly before a light smile crossed his lips. "Don't get me wrong,I'd strongly consider it...but,in the end,I couldn't take you from your kingdom or make you a promise that I wouldn't be able to keep." He explains before she nods in understanding.
"What about you and Serana...?" She suggests curiously,making him raise his eyebrow lightly. "What about us...?" He inquires. "Have either of you considered...?" She starts before it hits him,which made him shake his head lightly.
"We've talked about it...personal beliefs put the idea out of the question." He answered,making her study him more when she heard his answer. "What do you mean?" She asks before he shrugs lightly. "To make a long story short,we each have our reasons..." He said calmly,which only made her more curious.
"What's your's...?" She asked. "My what?" He retorts before her icy blue eyes scan the room for a minute. "Why won't you ask her...?" She elaborates,almost making him burst out laughing before he took a light breath. "You mean...ask her to marry me...? You're serious...?" He chuckles lightly before she nods in confirmation,making him shake his head lightly.
"That's not too out there,is it...?" She suggested before he sits down and laces his fingers together. "Let's see,what's the best way to put this..." He mumbled to himself for a moment before looking back at Elsa. "Serana has...been through and done things in her life that make her feel like she...doesn't deserve it...?" He said in a curious tone as her head drops a little.
"That doesn't mean she doesn't want to...as far as I can tell,she cares about you...a lot more than you might actually know and,I think you feel the same way about her..." She explains in a somewhat quiet tone,making him study her curiously.
"What are you getting at...?" He asks,making her take a breath before just saying it. "Show her how you feel,prove to her that she does deserves that love...she'd probably appreciate it." She suggests as he just looks at her for a minute.
"If I didn't know any better,I'd say you've had some tentacles running around in your head...either way,I think she's about as fond of actually settling down as I am,which doesn't say a lot for either of us on that note." He said simply before she shakes her head.
"You don't have to...just let each other know how you feel,that doesn't mean either of you have to give up what you do." She insists before he shakes his head. "It ain't as easy as you're trying to make it,your majesty. I appreciate the counsel,but this ain't something we need to be talking about...we've already talked about it and have agreed to leave the subject alone,simple as that." He answers calmly,making her sigh lightly then nod reluctantly before giving him a light bow.
"I'll...leave you to it,then...and..." She says before he interrupts. "Don't apologize for curiosity,lass...that's like apologizing for having breath in your lungs." He said simply as she just shakes it off and goes to check on everyone else before looking back to see Hjalti tinkering with the bottles then turning forward and leaving the room,unaware that Serana had been in the corner the whole time and heard everything they were talking about.
Her glimmering red eyes scanned the room for a moment before stopping at her companion while something in her gut urged her to go talk to him. She considered it for awhile,even taking a few steps towards him until her hand barely sticks out of the shadows and makes her step back a little.
She studies him a little longer before shaking her head lightly and leaving the room,being very careful to remain unseen and unheard,however she couldn't help looking back to the dragonborn every now and then before he 'almost' catches her as she vanished through the door,which made him think on what Elsa said before shaking it off and getting back to work...
Yup...I went there...shit.
Well,here it is,finally. I was gonna include the attack in this one,but it took awhile to actually put it together,so it'll have to wait till the next one.
So,enjoy and so on,see y'all next time...