Chapter 7
He is sweaty and tired and his body aches. He hates this. All he wants is to sit down and take off his armor and sleep for a few days. If it wasn't for the fast pace Janus set–the careful urgency of his tone pushed him onwards and thus pushed his men to keep going–Valerius would have given into exhaustion. There was grumbling from his men but they continued to follow him, following some unknown man hidden within armor of the family they swore their oath to. They might not like it and they were keeping eyes on him the entire trip, but they did not openly doubt his motives. Not yet at least.
After a few days of hard travel, they were forced to seek shelter in a nearby cave due to the weather. Janus was displeased but he could shove his displeasure up his rear end for all Val cares, these were his men and it was his duty to also look after them too. After a bout of heated words, Janus relents and helps scout out a place for them to shelter and rest before heading out again to scout and while his men were not sure, he knew that Janus had been starving himself to lead them to… Well to be absolutely honest, he isn't quite sure where they were going. Janus has been quite silent on that part or any part of the plan really; the only thing he has assured him of–and Val believes him–was the fact that they shared a blood relation and he did not want to see Val or his sister dead.
Valerius sat near the mouth of a cave they huddled in, watching the world as if through a rounded glass. The winds howled fiercely, whipping the snow into blinding white sheets that obscured visibility and turned the landscape into a frozen maze. After making a sweep through the cave to ensure they were well enough alone, the group found a small crevice where they could light a fire, and the dancing flames provided a flickering warmth that chased away the chill. The cave's walls acting as a natural shield against the relentless snowfall, providing a brief respite from the storm's wrath.
A sullen demeanor took over those who were huddling near the small fire for warmth, others took the opportunity to catch up on sleep with little chance of success. Whispers pass between those who were awake and Val pretends he doesn't notice when they spare a few glances his way, he knows they have questions but he doesn't have any answers right now.
A rustling of clothes and armor alerts him that at least one person is approaching, Octavian speaks quietly, "Staring out there and freezing to death over here won't bring her back."
"She's not dead." Val mumbles with indifference but for a quick moment, he feels a squeeze in his chest before it subsides. He absolutely believes she is alive, he can feel it in his soul.
"Sir, you should join us. Aulus is almost finished making the broth. It's no use sitting over here."
He wishes Titus was here with them, he had always been a voice of reason and a solid foundation of how he was supposed to make it through this Daedra-damned world; Titus had been his closest friend and confidante, his brother-in-arms and all but blood. 'If only Luce could have married him instead.' What he'd give for some advice right about now.
'But he isn't here. They are though.'
Valerius sighs and finally looks at Octavian, meeting his gaze before glancing back at the others who sat watching. His eyes glancing from one to the next, even to those sleeping, taking in their sunken faces worn from the stress of the last few days and burned from the frigid winds that bite at them–Claudio, Julius, Calus, Aulus, Vlasie, Sabina, and Eira. He was grateful for their presence, they have trusted him so far and he can only hope to keep that trust for as long as possible.
"It's not much but we are going to need our strength. You may as well get over here." Aulus holds out a cup towards him, nearly brimming with Aulus's usual bland broth. But it's hot and will soothe his stomach that has only suffered through dried meats and stale bread.
"Well when you put it like that, Aulus, how could I possibly say no?" With a creak in his knees and a quiet pop in his back, Valerius stands and stretches before clapping a hand on Octavian's shoulder and leads him back to the fire and they both plop down between Vlasie and Eira. He accepts the offered bowl and slowly sips at it as the conversations pick back up, this time including him.
"So what's the deal with that creeping guy?" Someone to his left–Claudio–asks.
Blessedly Eira interjects before he has to, buying him more time. "Who cares if he is creepy? He has done his best to keep us alive. Or have you forgotten the magic he wielded when we were attacked? I, for one, am glad he is on our side. I wouldn't want to imagine if those bandits–were they bandits?–had such a mage on their side." He watches as Vlasie nods her ever-silent agreement. A grumble of agreement passes through them.
Claudio huffs and mumbles, "Aren't Nords supposed to dislike magic?" A pointless jab at her heritage.
She glares at him. "You must have taken too many knocks to the head. We literally serve a family known for being well-versed in magic. And besides, I was raised in Chorrol, not Skyrim."
The conversation died there as they all refocus on him.
Val hums as he takes another sip to give himself a moment to think of what to say. There was no easy route at this point and he barely has any details as it was, may as well go with some form of the truth and hope for the best but he's certainly expecting the worst.
"We are… very distant relatives of a sort."
"Relatives? How come we have never seen him before?"
"Well technically you have seen him before but he hasn't been around for a long time." Valerius thinks of the grand painting in Castle Skingrad of the Count and the one in the Romulius house basement, the one with Janus and the Count's second wife. "He's been staying with other family members because of his…condition."
"He certainly doesn't act like he's suffering an ailment."
An amused voice speaks from the mouth of the cave, startling them. "Oh, I most certainly am."
Janus stands with the helmet tucked under his arm as he runs his other hand through his dark, gray-streaked hair, eyes glowing red in the darkness briefly before being shielded by the helmet once again. It could almost be considered a trick of the light from the flames but the uncertainty leaves them more on edge than being caught talking about the man.
Janus dusts the snow from his shoulder as he moves further into the cave, as he nears the fire a few of the guards quickly drain the rest of their broth before retiring for the night and join Sabina and Julius who have blissfully remained unaware as they slept. The only ones forced to remain are Aulus and Eira for the first watch, both huddling into their bowls of broth and mumbling quietly to each other. All of Eira's prior confidence fades as if she had not just spoken in his defense.
Janus's amusement gives way for solemnity as he sits to Valerius's left, where Octavian previously sat, keeping a bit more distance between himself and the two huddled forms pretending they weren't paying attention.
"The storm should be letting up around dawn. We will need to move as soon as it does."
Valerius eyes him warily for a few moments before sighing and draining the rest of his cooled broth. Once he adds his bowl to the pile for Aulus and Eira to clean and pack away, he stands and gestures back towards the mouth of the cave.
"We need to speak."
"Soon. When we-"
Valerius doesn't hold himself back as he grabs Janus's armored shoulder and tugs, pulling Janus slightly back but he catches himself quickly, holding himself up at an awkward angle. Aulus and Eira are openly eyeing the situation with trepidation, arms at their side and hands inching towards their nearby weapons. The breath of those feigning sleep stops, listening for anything more to occur and to jump into action.
Valerius lowers his voice to a harsh whisper. "Now."
"I see. Fine. Let go." Valerius releases him, watching Janus adjust his pauldron before heading towards the cave mouth as soon as Janus lifts himself from the ground.
"Seems your impatience is getting the better of you. You were always a fiery child. I remember-"
"You will not speak of my childhood." Valerius growls, rounding on Janus with a cold, green stare. "You will tell me where we are going and you will do it now. If you don't then you have given me nothing more than an unfortunate delay in finding Lucretia."
"Careful of what you demand, boy, and from whom." Janus gives a low, haughty chuckle. "But alright, since this is what you want, I will tell you. I can promise you this: you are not going to like what you hear; you may as well make yourself comfortable, it is a long story and you will be foregoing sleep to hear it."
Janus–that undead bastard–led he and his men from the southern edge of the Jerall mountains into Colovian Highlands where they found themselves sequestered inside of a fortified castle. And straight into the hands of a vampire group from High Rock who call themselves the Ravenwatch who are using the castle as a base within Cyrodiil itself; a group of vampires that supposedly have kept watch over the various clans of vampires for centuries and ensure none made attempts against the betterment of humanity. And as it would seem, his ancestor was a member of such a group.
Janus had given him an abbreviated history lesson centered around their family and the deep connections to the royal family of High Rock as well as the Empire–what was left of it. It seems that at the height of the Romulius family they had spread their reach to influence many important figures since the early second era; one of the reasons the Thalmor had eradicated their family during the Great War. Another reason was because of how many Altmer had been swayed to their side and the bloodlines merged, this they considered an insult.
Val didn't care much for more history lessons, Janus grumbled as he eventually relented and the reason why he was brought here was made known within days of their arrival. Only a select few from his men were privy to the meetings that have taken place over the past week and a half. There was so much he still did not understand and it was infuriating but what he did understand was how his sister was still not safe. Janus did his best to reassure him that he has someone he trusts guarding her and he has all the confidence that Lucretia is slowly finding her own and thriving in Whiterun. Valerius wasn't sure why she wasn't in Windhelm but he will just have to trust that she is doing what she thinks is best for right now. As long as he knows where she is, he can always find her when he gets to Skyrim.
While the Ravenwatch wanted to maintain order from the shadows, there is another group known as the Dawnguard forming to openly combat the vampire threat brewing. The long-winded meetings made it clear that the Ravenwatch had human and vampire spies in numerous places who were able to feed this information back to them. He is not quite sure how they managed that but as long as the information was accurate then that is all the matters.
The leader of the group stationed here goes by the name of Fenn and so far he has shown himself to be a likable man. His plan was for Valerius and a few of his men and women to join up with the Dawnguard and assist with openly combatting the vampire menace in Skyrim; the rest of his men would remain garrisoned here, assisting them with daylight missions and whatnot. Though the thought of asking this of his men did not sit right with him, they needed to know the truth of the situation so they knew what it was they could be sacrificing their life for as it goes beyond their loyalty to him and Lucretia. It won't be an easy conversation, that's for sure.
AN: Hello! As always thank you for making it this far into my fic, hopefully this means you don't dislike it or are at least open to seeing it progress? Anyways, I'm sorry for the delay, I got it in my head to work on my other story as well as 3 chapters at the same time for this story then one of them I disliked and started over (this one specifically) and it happened to be the first tidbit finished. The next chapter will be another POV before we progress more with Lucretia in Chapter 9.
As a newbie with writing, how is it coming along? I appreciate constructive criticism, I don't have a beta so I have no one to double check my work. Also I literally just finished this chapter with a quick glance over so I may have missed any mistakes, if you find something let me know so I can correct! :)
The guards are as follows:
*Titus - Guard Commander, Imperial Male (DECEASED)
*Aulus - Imperial Male
*Octavian - Imperial Male
*Claudio - Imperial Male
*Julius - Imperial Male
*Calus - Imperial Male
*Vlasie - Dunmer Female
*Sabina - Imperial Female
*Eira - Nord Female