Private Rising at Dusk

[T. Rakinson]

As the group was led through the hallway, Brendela couldent help but notice Amy giving her a Simmering glare. Deciding they could talkit over once they were aquainted with the outcast group, she trudged on, taking in all of her surroundings, not wanting to make the mistake of falling into a trap.
"Can we trust this man?"
"Not one bit."
Brendela was starting to get doubts herself, but decided not to join their conversation. Now there was less chance of attack, Brendela couldent help but notice how strange It was that this forts inhabitants had lasted so long; She hadnt seen any guards on the exterior, there were no traps set, and as far as the interior went it seemed nobody but them was here. Deciding a notched bow might cause concern, her hands went instead to her daggers, keeping them poised for any surprises. The group carried on deeper into the fort, the darkness kept at bay only by the odd lantern. Finally the long, winding path opened up into a small room, which contained several sleeping bags with dozing men & women inside. Finally someone spoke up.
"May we see Egil?"
Brendela couldent help but be silently embarrrased from the statement. Her relief towards finding refuge combined with her anger towards Amy had led Brendela to forget about their awkwardness-crazed friends absense. The mans voice sounded somewhat scripted.
"Soon, but not quite yet,"
As this was said, the man shouted down the hallway they had came from, as if to invite people into the already cramped space. As footsteps were heard in the distance, Amy leaped in with another question.
"Isn't it crowded enough in here?"
The man's reply seemed off topic at first, and within a few seconds Brendela realised why.
"Cage them!"

As if on cue, a snarl issued out from behind Brendela.
Who let the dogs out? Brendela asked herself sarcastically, not even bothering to turn & look at its source.
As the familiar Werebeast leaped into the room full of now awakening people, Brendela silently cussed herself.
I need to learn to detect thralls. Seriously, how do corpses get the jump on me?
As the group slowly reacted to the surprise attack, Brendela quickly rushed out of an opposing doorway, not wanting to get caught in close quarters. Three undead, daggers in hand, followed her whilst the rest dealt with the others, but Brendela didnt allow them to get close. Quickly unsheathing her elven bow, she fired an arrow with lots of propulsion. It caught one thrall in the side head, & continued on to lodge itself in the third thralls skull. Expressing its pain through a loud moan, the first one jumped at Brendela, resulting with a bow slammed into its face.
As the thrall crumpled & Brendela began aiming at the final thrall, A black furred khajiit with clouded black eyes, she couldent help but wonder what had slain this group of outcasts for slave use. Had this been a trap for them, or anyone foolish enough to be invited inside?
'Who are you? Who do you serve?' Brendela asked, not really expecting an answer & yet not firing an arrow either.
To her surprise the khajjit began shaking its head, as if it had briefly woken from a dream. It stared at her, a look of fear on his face.
'You have to help me! The vampires- They're after me! I cant let them have the m-' A short whistle briefly filled the air followed by a quiet thud!, & the thrall stopped... dead in its tracks.
Brendela ran up to the now frozen khajjit, but as she reached him An arrow seemed to sprout from her leg. She couldent see any noticable wound, but as she went to pull the arrow out a wave of dizziness rushed through her. Seemingly paralyzed, Brendela fell to the floor of the room, watching moving shadowy figures filling the room dissapitate into the encroaching darkness...

 

[Khaotic3]

Amy sat up in her cage, taking in her surroundings. The room had maybe fifteen or more cages; it was hard to tell from in between the bars. She was in the cage closest to the door. Of course. Who wants to touch a werewolf, much less haul one to the other side of the room?
Amy had trouble standing up. Her limbs were stiff, as if she had been out in the cold for too long, making her ebony armor seem especially heavy. She had to use the bars of the cage to heave herself up.
The thralls had closed the door, and a single lamp was the only light for the whole room. Amy's jaw and lips felt frozen as she tried to speak, making pronunciation a bit of a challenge. But she had grown up in the cold weather of Skyrim, so it was not a new feeling.

"Well, that was quite a unique welcome. I mean, they take us inside and give us cells for rooms. You could have at least left me a sleeping bag!" Amy shouted the last part towards the door. She looked around again trying to figure out who was in which cage. Finding Egil, she called out to him. "Thanks for finding us a room, man. Although the service could have been better." Amy laughed. She then turned towards Brendela's cage. "Any plans, oh wise and powerful leader? Or was this it right here?"
"Shut up in there!" someone called from the other side of the door, banging on it as well. "Go back to sleep, you animals!"
"I CAN"T GO TO SLEEP UNLESS YOU READ ME A STORY!" Amy screamed back at them, shaking the bars on her cage. The door swung open as the man stepped in the room. "How 'bout a show instead?" He threatened, a fire spell in his right hand.
"Bite me."

 

[tdatapina]

Egil turned his back and threw the rock to the floor as he heard voices. "Can we trust this man?"
"Not one bit." Brendala? Amy? He cursed to himself and ran up to the bars. Why would they go searching for me?! He hung his head in shame as he heard the fighting commence. Look what you've down now. You damn fool! He kicked at the cage bars in anger. Only moments later a thrall entered the room with a woman being dragged behind her. She thrashed violently, but the attempt was futile. Blood dripped down her back and jaws. Amy... The girl was thrown into the cage, up against the wall and she rose back to her feet. She ran for the cage doors but it was slammed shut. She was still gnawing at the bars when she began to turn back. And finally she gave up. Turning back to the wall she walked a few feet and fell to the cold hard ground. What have I done?

A few minutes later he realized he had been staring at Amy. She was the one to bring him back to realization."Thanks for finding us a room, man. Although the service could have been better." She laughed. All Egil could manage was a small smile. A smile that hid how he really felt. Stupidity. Sorrow. Remorse. Anger. "Amy I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. And I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I thought I had a good plan. I guess when you pointed out all the mistakes I just, overreacted." "Any plans, oh wise and powerful leader? Or was this it right here?" Egil hadn't even noticed Brendala had been dragged into one of the cages. He sighed.


"Shut up in there! Go back to sleep, you animals!" "I CAN'T GO TO SLEEP UNLESS YOU READ ME A STORY!" Egil couldn't help but laugh at that, but his amusement would only last for that moment, because the man stepped into Amy's cage. "How 'bout a show instead?" She responded, but it was too quite for Egil to hear. And all he could do was watch.

 

[Tiaz Raydari]

Che'anni followed the hallway, until she heard somebody shout, ""Cage them!" She then rushed to her way deeper into the fort and then she saw it.
It was a trap after all, men with daggers seemed to have appeared and were approaching the group. She heard a growl, and then looked towards it's origin only to see Amy busy transforming. She saw Brendela run into a hallway, three of the thralls followed her. She unsheathed her sword, and then quickly looked around for somebody to attack. An immediate pain shot through her skull, before she dropped to the floor. Her vision blurred, and certain shapes took longer to form before she dozed off unintentionally, as if her mind had plans of it's own.

Che'anni woke up, light shining into her eyes, she started to wonder what had happened. Her head still felt heavy, pain slowly eased from her mind until she felt dazed and confused. Shapes moved around and she heard a familiar voices, Amy? Egil?
Slowly she picked herself up, only then she realized the dry blood crusted upon her neck, pain shot through her body as she leaned against the cage, "Oh dammit, give me a break already or perhaps a vacation in a mountain lodge, also while we up to it add a few hot springs so my body can relax!" She screamed at the thrall at the door, who seemed angered.


"Shut up in there! Go back to sleep, you animals!" he replied, "I CAN'T GO TO SLEEP UNLESS YOU READ ME A STORY!" Amy screamed back at him, and that seemed to get his attention even more. The man unlocked her cage, walked in with a spell in hand, "How 'bout a show instead?" he responded. But all Amy said was, "Bite me."
The man smiled slyly, as if he gladly accepted her invitation.

 

[Kimrisvik]

Ralyx slowly opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. He was lying alone in a small and cold cage. The room he was in had a few other cages, but Ralyx couldn't tell if the others were there too. His vision was still a bit blurry, and his eyes hadn't quite adaped to the sight darkness. He managed to crawl up to the stonewall behind him, even though his limbs were still a bit numb after being paralyzed.

Now the room got clearer, and Ralyx could see the others also trapped in cages. He looked over to the cage right next to his, and saw Che'anni, who also seemed to have just woke up. He looked at her and gave her a slight smile and a gentle wave. "Well, it is nice to see that we all got identical rooms for the night, or the day. I'm not even sure any longer." Ralyx started to laugh. "Hey, room service?" He screamed at the door. "Can i get a bottle of wine? My mouth is quite dry!"

"Shut up in there! Go back to sleep, you animals!" Someone from the other side of the door yelled at them. Ralyx looked over at Che'anni and lifted his shoulders. "I CAN'T GO TO SLEEP UNLESS YOU READ ME A STORY!" Amy screamed back at him, making him even angrier. He entered the room and walked straight over to Amys cage. "How 'bout a show instead?" He had a somewhat sinister voice, and he threatened Amy with a fire spell. "Bite me." Amy seemed to be ready to take whatever the man had planned for her. Ralyx leaned a bit closer to the cagewall to get a better look at what was happening. "Well, this is interesting. Where is my wine?"

 

[T. Rakinson]

"-nd I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I thought I had a good plan. I guess when you pointed out all the mistakes I just, overreacted."
"Any plans, oh wise and powerful leader? Or was this it right here?"
What a noise to wake up to.

Aside from the insult from Amy, the first thing Brendela noticed about her surroundings was that she was well & truly trapped. That was a bad thing. All her allies about her? good thing. The fact that they were also in cages? Bad thing.
Remembering some of the lockpicks she kept in her pocket, Brendela silently pushed herself up from the floor of the cage, her hands going to her pocket. Some of the lockpicks must have fallen out when the Deathounds had jumped her, but two still remained. Remembering her fathers rule to always have at least one on hand, Brendela looked around for a keyhole. Finding it, Brendela struggled to open the lock for a few seconds before the pick snapped, its usually-quiet noise echoing throughout the room. Deciding an escape plan could be figured out later, she decided to get a view of her surroundings.

Ralyx and Che'anni were on one side of the room, & Amy was next to Egil on her left. A few others mages were in the room, but most had been sent off to other parts of the fort. Brendela hoped they were okay, but the unmistakable stench of Necromancy was still lingering in the air...
"Can i get a bottle of wine? My mouth is quite dry!"
"Oh dammit, give me a break already or perhaps a vacation in a mountain lodge, also while we up to it add a few hot springs so my body can relax!"
"Shut up in there! Go back to sleep, you animals!"

Deciding not to join her comrades in their childish antics to enrage the guard, Brendela looked over to Egils cage. The yound man looked much more beaten than the others; Brendela's guess was that he'd been caught & subdued with brutality after his earlier strop. Trying to sound confident but coming off with a quivering tone, Brendela adressed him, in a voice barely heard over the yells of her Skooma-addled comedian.
'When you were brought in here, did you see any exits?'

 

[tdatapina]

Egil turned at the sound of Brendala's voice. "When you were brought in here, did you see any exits?" He closed his eyes for a moment trying to recall the earlier events. He'd been resting on a tree, and suddenly he was attacked by two men, one of them a vampire. The first opponent was defeated successfully, but the second brought him down in a matter of moments. Egil rested his arm on bars and leaned forward, placing his head between two of the bars. His head didn't fit, but it left just enough room for him to support himself. "I don't remember anything. One moment I was fighting, the next, I woke up in here." He cringed as he remembered the vampires eyes. They seemed to stare into his very soul, burning a bright reddish orange color.

Egil looked around the room and saw his most of his comrades en-caged. He clenched his fist tightly in anger. Next chance he got, he'd tear the eyes out of the vampire that struck him unconscious. "Sorry Brendala, but you shouldn't have come here." He turned and headed for the back of his cell and then remembered something. "Wait," he said. "I was digging out a weak point in this wall. Once I dig out enough I could probably kick a stone out and squeeze through it. But..." He looked at the rock he had been digging with. The once sharp point, was now dull and rounded. He'd make no progress digging with such a tool. "If you had a dagger, or something sharp I could dig my way out, sneak in, and let you guys out." He thought for a moment, stealth wasn't really his strong suit. Looking at the floor he noticed a broken lockpick by Brendala's feet. "You can pick locks? Then maybe..." Outside the cage and down a hall, he noticed a door slightly cracked open. He wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed as if there was a corner of a chest barely visible. "This used to be a bandits hideout, yes?" He asked the question even though he had already known the answer, and gave no chance for her to respond. "If it were, which it is, then no doubt there are some lockpicks lying around here somewhere. I could get you some and you could break us out. But first I need something hard and sharp."

 

[Khaotic3]

"Bite me."

Amy's words sounded fearless, but seeing the fire spell made her a bit wary. She couldn't help but remember the ashes and the smoke as flames licked through the halls of Jorrvaskr...

The mage guard gave a rather sinister smile, and Amy wasn't sure how long she could keep up her facade, but at the same time she felt an anger towards him, something within her that wanted him to try something.

"Well, no magic I throw at her is going to get through that armor, someone get it off her!" the guard ordered. Two more thralls appeared and unlocked her cage. Amy jumped at them, but her limbs were still slow and numb, making her attempts to overpower them futile. She tried to lift one of the thralls and throw him at the other, an easy task under normal circumstances for her, but before she could turn the female hit her over the head with something hard. Amy fell to the ground, her vision blurring. One held her down while the other stripped her of her armor, and they then exited the cage with her things.

Amy was now on her knees in nothing but her undergarments. "You think this'll fit me?" the female thrall asked the male.

"Now where were we? ...Oh right, I was about to fry you just like that little pack in Whiterun." At that, Amy jumped up, enraged, but it was too late. He shot a fireball straight at her face, then a few more on her as she fell.

The heat was unbearable. He did not stop with the fire, even after Amy seemed to be made of it herself. Was this how Vilkas had felt before she had found his melted wolf armor and greatsword? Was this the torture they had put Aela through before cutting her open and leaving her with Amy to die? Amy heard a loud scream, moaning maybe, but it seemed foreign. Amy had never been through a physical pain like this, so how could she recognize her own cries?

It may have only been a couple minutes, but it felt like hours. At some point he stopped with the fire, but Amy passed out soon after. She couldn't smell the vampires and death over her own burnt flesh. She had no idea her saviors had been the very creatures she hated most.

 

[Daryl Dixon]

((OOC: I had a detailed, gory, and revealed background on Alex with this vampire but I lost it and I am not rewriting it.))

After they returned from brutally murdering the vampire, they returned to the fort. They entered and a thrall approached them from his patrol route as he had patrolled the halls. "A group of survivors has been captured sir, they were looking for that prisoner you had brought back. We handled it." If Alex had a heart it would have jumped, just as planned. The excitement dwelling within him he kept a rather serious look. Alex looked to Jokar, who nodded.

"I'll lead you to them." The light haired imperial said, seemingly in his late thirties to early forties. As the man turned to walk down the hall Alex grabbed him by the shoulder mid turn and then grabbed the mans face, his thumbs on the mans eye sockets. He began to push in as blood swelled up and pushed out, he felt the eyeball squish under his thumbs. Alex's hands lit up as he held an intense fire in his hands, melting the mans face. Alex pushed the mans head back and the body fell to the floor. "That won't be necessary."

"Cmon." Alex said as he started darting off down the hall, making his way through the fort. Alex saw the group locked in the cages like animals, the plan was coming together. Alex felt a surge of power vibrate through his body as he realized what his great mind could do, he caused this.

He had the help of a friend, but Alex could have used anyone as a pawn. Alex wasn't pawning Jokar, he felt Jokar was worth more than that. That was why he was trying to convert him to 'true vampirism.' In a matter of seconds Alex thought of a few ways to approach the situation, he was out of sight but could smell them all. There was a werewolf, images of Jokar informing Alex of some sort of beast with them flashed through his mind, that was the beast. The werewolf was in the furthest cage from the pair, and was being stripped of her armour. Alex looked to Jokar and raised an eyebrow, then back at the caged woman near nude. He couldn't see much of her, only the wizard and what he was to do to her.

As the werwolf began to get burned alive, a plot formed in Alex's mind, this this was perfect. He would save her, it may not gain trust but it would comrade. Even if just a little. Alex snapped the neck of a thrall to his left, with Jokar to his right. 5 others of mixed sex and race had noticed this and began to swarm to pair, Alex drew his sword and in one swift movement deflected a careless swing and swiped a redguards head clean off. His next opponent was a little more clever. Alex kept trying to advance upon the thrall, getting closer and closer until it would have no room to make such accurate swings to block Alex's would-be killing blows. Hearing the screams of the woman he cast a fireball into the chest of his opponent, then another into the wizard casting the fire spell. Jokar was fighting, and had drawn a fair bit of attention. 4 had surrounded him now, with bodies littering the ground around him.

Alex threw an icespike into one of them, but he had to make his way to the wolf. If she was dead this plot would have been wasted, he advanced toward the cage cutting down the few left to get in his way. The wizard he had stopped began to stand up, fear began to circulate in his eyes as Alex pushed his sword through the man and grabbed the wizards throat with his right hand after sheathing his weapon, slamming him against the cage. Alex tilted the mans head and bit furiously onto his neck, you never know how long your next feed is away. Alex let te mans body fall to the floor, and with a gentle push it feel out of the way. The cages were bound with locks, which Alex looted the key to. It was a master key in which all the locks were opened with, and Alex opened the burnt woman's cage. It smelt awful, and it looked even worse. Alex crouched down by her body, the hooded figure leaning over her. He held out his left hand, and prepared a healing spell slowly bringing it down to her face. She had passed out, and hopefully this would help. Had she been awake she may have tried to attack him, but Alex knew what had happened to them. They had a paralysis poison administered to them, through a means Alex could only guess, they would only be able to perform basic movements. Alex left the cage, tossed Jokar the key and he began to unlock the remaining cages and freeing the prisoners.

Alex heard a groan from the cage containing the werewolf and he walked toward and into the cage, she had awoken. Alex slowly helped her up, and began to walk her out of the cage. He was not too surprised when she shoved him off of her as she regained her senses, stumbling over and clutching at the bars of the cage door to support her.

"Why did you save me?" She asked just above a whisper, "What else could you possibly do!?" She yells at him. Alex looks at her, she was visibly upset and in pain. "I don't want to see you suffer." He said calmly, "I only want to see my enemies suffer. Harkon is my enemy."

Alex stepped closer, "We're on the same side," he said as he held his arms out briefly, "I freed you." Alex gestured over to the body beside the cage door, "They ambushed you, locked you in cages like animals and then they tried to burn you alive." as he said this he stepped a little closer, and prepared a healing spell in his left hand. He slowly reached his left hand out to put on the girls shoulder, she seemed like she wanted to pull away but she was either too weak or she wanted the pain relieved too much. He was healing her while he spoke, the glow of the healing spell lighting up her shoulder in a mystical energy. "I didn't fulfill the prophecy, and I didn't kill your friends."

"Same side? You think I'm that stupid?" She lifts his hand off her shoulder "You may not have been there, but your thralls seemed to know about what happened to my friends. You saved my life, but your good deeds are wasted on me. I have no reason to trust you." She continued "Why would you want to kill the other vampires, anyway? Didnt they give you your powers?"

Alex's face shows annoyance, "They were not my thralls! And I don't want to kill them, I want to DESTROY them." he says as he turns away from her and takes a few steps. "Harkon, Valerica, the rest of the vampires." He faces her once again. "And I need your help." He begins to walk closer again. "I deceived Harkon into turning me into this, but I was already a vampire." Alex glanced to Jokar, the other prisoners were free now. "Harkon fulfilled this prophecy, and we're gonna make him pay. We're gonna reverse it, somehow, and then we can all go our separate ways. I won't lie, undoing this prophecy wasn't in my plan, I just want to destroy the ones who did it. I don't need to go around fixing everything, and that doesn't make me horrible. The fact that I'm a vampire should mean nothing, your discrimination is petty and incompetent. Way I see it you don't have a choice anyway, you want to get out alive you'll need us. That poison hasn't completely worn off, sure you can walk but can you fight? We could kill you now, but we don't, what more is there to talk about? We're not like other vampires."

 

[Khaotic3]

-----------------------------------------
Amy had her horse running full speed, charging towards the capitol of Whiterun. She could just make out the black smoke against the oddly black sky from the woods just north of Riverwood, and could smell it as well. The vampires in the roads were fighting with the guards; she managed to ride by unnoticed. Her horse bolted to the secret entrance to the Underforge just behind the Battle-Born farm. She climbed straight from her horse onto the ledge and ran into the cave.

The secret shrine smelled of burnt flesh and blood. Their was a trail that led from Jorrvaskr to outside of Whiterun. Someone, maybe all of them, had escaped. But Amy had to be sure.
The moment Amy moved the door, she was attacked. The vampire was easily taken care of. She bolted inside in a panic.

Inside, fire was everywhere. The smoke choked and almost blinded her. The banners that had previously been strung across and down the beams were reduced to ash. The walls had smoke damage, and were falling apart, along with the beams that held the roof up. Amy had this awful feeling that the building could fall on her. The large table that had been the centerpiece for the room was shattered and now served as firewood. the pile was on top of the fire pit that they had used to cook their food. It was as if the vampires had taken the sun out of the sky and placed it in Jorrvaskr. But now she could hear someone downstairs. As she made her way towards the steps, she almost tripped over some armor;wolf armor, or at least it had been before it had been before the fire had deformed it. The greatsword next to the corpse and its armor was melted a bit as well, and told Amy that this had once been Vilkas. The smoke was thick, so tears had been in her eyes before she had found him. But this certainly hadn't helped. Coughing and stumbling, Amy made her way to the living quarters.

The door was burning, and Amy was forced to use her mace to break through. Two more vampires awaited her. One was on the other side of the door, a fire spell still hot in his hands. Amy finished him off with a blow that immediately followed the one that had broken down the door.

The next vampire was just inside Kodlak's study. The doors were open, so Amy could clearly see Torvar and Kodlak's bodies leaning against the far wall. The vampire was in the doorway with Aela in his arms. She was badly burned, and hardly recognizable. The vampire, a wood elf, had a sadistic smile, and had a fire spell of his own prepared. "You vermin had enough yet?" His smile revealed his fangs.

Amy bashed her mace against her shield, taunting him to come after her. His sadistic grin grew wider, and he used a sword to cut open Aela's gut. She fell as the vampire flew towards Amy--literally. He had morphed into some sort of bat cloud, and when he was a solid creature again he looked like some sort of bat-man crossbreed. Amy found it disgusting. She was about to go after him, but again he flew away, and escaped upstairs.

Amy ran to Aela, who was hunched over and breathing oddly. Amy was coughing, but Aela had short, shallow breaths. In Aela's green eyes was a rage far worse than Amy had ever seen, but at the same time she looked terrified. She grabbed Amy by her armor, and Amy tried to pick up Aela, but it caused her even worse pain. Amy had no choice but to wait with Aela until the smoke or her injuries led her to Hircine.

After Aela's last breath, Amy let out and angry shout. She would make them pay. That bat-man, his lackey's whoever had demolished the sun. Amy would either clear Skyrim of vampires, or she would die in her quest.
-------------------------------------------------
Amy felt her face tingling as she awoke, until the pain from the rest of her burns hit her like a brick. She moaned, and a man helped her up and began to lead her out of the cage. Was she dead? This man's heartbeat was so slow for a moment she thought he didnt have one, and he felt cold. But he smelled of death...

Amy shoved the vampire away as she realized what he was. She had to use the bars of her cage to stand, and it hurt to touch anything. But why? Why was she still alive? Had he saved her? Why would he do such a thing?

"Why did you save me?" She asked just above a whisper. Her throat felt dry and it hurt to speak, but she raised her voice in her next question. "What else could you possibly do!?"
"I don't want to see you suffer." He said calmly, "I only want to see my enemies suffer. Harkon is my enemy."
Amy wasn't sure who "Harkon" was, but she was sure he was a vampire and probably had something to do with the sun's disappearance.

The man stepped closer, "We're on the same side," he said as he held his arms out briefly, "I freed you." He gestured over to the body beside the cage door, "They ambushed you, locked you in cages like animals and then they tried to burn you alive." as he said this he stepped a little closer, and prepared a healing spell in his left hand. He slowly reached his left hand out to put on the Amy's shoulder. She did not want his help, but her body refused to move when she tried to pull away. The relief felt too good.
He was healing her while he spoke, the glow of the healing spell lighting up her shoulder in a mystical energy. "I didn't fulfill the prophecy, and I didn't kill your friends."

"Same side? You think I'm that stupid?" She finally managed to lift his hand off her shoulder. "You may not have been there, but your thralls seemed to know about what happened to my friends. You saved my life, but your good deeds are wasted on me. I have no reason to trust you. Why would you want to kill the other vampires, anyway? Didn't they give you your powers?"

The vampire's face showed annoyance, "They were not my thralls! And I don't want to kill them, I want to DESTROY them." he says as he turns away from her and takes a few steps. Thanks, that really cleared things up, Amy thought, annoyed. "Harkon, Valerica, the rest of the vampires." He faced her once again. "And I need your help." He begian to walk closer again. "I deceived Harkon into turning me into this, but I was already a vampire." Oh, no. He's one of the bat creatures. The man glanced to another vampire, a dark elf that Amy had not noticed earlier. The other prisoners were free now. "Harkon fulfilled this prophecy, and we're gonna make him pay. We're gonna reverse it, somehow, and then we can all go our separate ways. I won't lie, undoing this prophecy wasn't in my plan, I just want to destroy the ones who did it. I don't need to go around fixing everything, and that doesn't make me horrible. The fact that I'm a vampire should mean nothing, your discrimination is petty and incompetent. Way I see it you don't have a choice anyway, you want to get out alive you'll need us. That poison hasn't completely worn off, sure you can walk but can you fight? We could kill you now, but we don't, what more is there to talk about? We're not like other vampires."

"If you were going to kill me, you would have already. I don't see why else you would kill them," Amy gestured to the dead thralls. "I don't see how it matters anyway. Life or the Hunting Grounds, I see no way I can lose."
Amy looked over to Brendela. "Please don't tell me you're dumb enough to trust them. They'll use you until you are no longer of use. Then they'll turn you into thralls or just kill you. But if you think they can be useful--well, I didn't expect to survive this quest anyway."

 

[Kimrisvik]

Just as Ralyx had asked jokingly for his wine, he could see two of the thralls entering Amy's cage, both laughing. Ahh, yes. Taunt the beast. Morons. He thought and got a sadistic smile to his face. Waiting for Amy to change into her 'inner beast', he imagined all the different ways her large wolfform could kill those poor idiots. As his expectations grew larger, he noticed that Amy was still affected by the paralysis and that she had trouble fighting back as the thralls stripped of her armor. C'mon Amy. Show them! He clenched his fists in anger, as all he could do was to stand back and watch.

The thrall that had unlocked Amy's cage was now playing with a firespell in his hand. He seemed to enjoy what he saw, as he smiled. Ralyx could hear him say something about Whiterun, and this seemed to trigger Amy's anger. She now shot up from the ground, trying to reach the mage before he could do something. Let the show begin! Ralyx laughed as he watched, hoping for Amy to not be too late. Unfortunately she was. The mage managed to shoot a fire spell right in her face, and she fell to the ground screaming in pain.


Ralyx' smile fainted, and he now had a shocked and desperate expression. "AMY!" He screamed as he shot whit all his strength into the cagedoor, trying to break out. As he hit the door, he could hear a cracking noise. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, since both the door and his shoulder seemed to be unharmed. Ralyx looked over at the thralls standing there, just watching Amy getting burned. But suddenly one of them, who Ralyx couldn't remember seeing earlier, snapped the neck of another one. The rest of the thralls didn't waste any time in attacking him, and he, alongside another one, seemed to easily overpower the charging thralls.


After killing the other thralls, which seemed to be an easy task for the two, one of them, a hooded man, walked over to the mage that was to busy burning Amy and pierced him with the sword. Then he proceeded to hold the man up to the wall and bit him on the neck. Vampires... Ralyx thought to himself and tightened his hand around the hilt of his sword. The hooded vampire looted a key from the now dead mage, and threw it over to the other one. This was a scarred Dunmer. The elf started to unlock the cages, and when he got over to Ralyx' cage, Ralyx got up and stood face to face with the man as he unlocked the door.

"Is this how you vampires amuse yourself now?" Ralyx shouted as he intentionally bumped into the Dunmer on his way out of the cage. "Are you in such great numbers that you can order your thralls to watch over the prey, then just burst in and kill everyone trying to look badass?" He turned over to the hooded vampire, who was busy healing Amy from her burns. Doesn't like his food fried, eh. He turned back to the elf. "What now? You're gonna set us free so that you can hunt us down once more? Pity."


"Why did you save me?" Amy had gotten back on her feet, and was now confronting the vampires. "I don't want to see you suffer." The hooded vampire spoke. He had a calm voice, but Ralyx didn't buy that they had just been saved by two of the enemies. I want to see you suffer. "We're on the same side. I freed you." He pointed at the dead bodies. "They ambushed you, locked you in cages like animals and then they tried to burn you alive." He now prepared a healing spell and laid his hand gently on Amy's shoulder. After a short while of healing, Amy lifted his arm off her shoulder. "Same side? You think I'm that stupid?" Ralyx was glad to see that he wasn't the only one to be skeptical to these strangers motives.

The vampire started to argue for them to trust him and his companion. I could kill him. Take him by surprise. Ralyx' grip around his hilt tightened, but something stopped him from attacking. The hooded vampire now got into threatening the group, telling them that if they didn't help him, they wouldn't get out alive. Amy looked over to Brendela. "Please don't tell me you're dumb enough to trust them. They'll use you until you are no longer of use. Then they'll turn you into thralls or just kill you. But if you think they can be useful--well, I didn't expect to survive this quest anyway." Ralyx smiled slightly by this. "Something tells me they actually don't want to kill us. Yet. But if we should take that chance, live side by side with an enemy, just waiting for them to show their true side. I mean, we have killed two of them already. Why not two more?" Ralyx measured the two vampires, while looking through his pockets. He then fetched out a small bottle, and walked over to Amy. "Here, take this." He smiled at her. "It wil help against the pain."

 

[Jo'rak Vandeni]

"Something tells me they actually don't want to kill us. Yet. But if we should take that chance, live side by side with an enemy, just waiting for them to show their true side. I mean, we have killed two of them already. Why not two more?"
Jokar sighed loudly at this remark, and then chuckled grimly as he grasped his elven sword and let loose flames crackling around his hand. The man did not seem to notice this, but continued, and walked to the hurt woman and Mercer, he unsheathed half of his sword prepared in case the man would try anything, but he simply raised a small bottle form his pockets.
"Here, take this." He smiled at her. "It wil help against the pain."
"Keep that filth away from her." Jokar demanded, and he stood himself between the man and Mercer and the injured woman, putting one of his hands on the cocky Imperials wrist and with his free hand he raised his blade a bit further.

The others he freed were stepping out of their cages and begun gathering around them, all seemed very suspicious of their saviors, just as expected.

You better know what you're doing Mercer, I'm not dying here.

 

[tdatapina]

Brendala's response was cut off before she could say anything at all. As soon as Egil finished speaking a vampire began unlocking his cage; by the same vampire who he had fought with in the forest. Egil gritted his teeth and glared at the beast who gave no response whatsoever. It just continued to unlock the rest of the cages. Why are they doing this? He looked over to another vampire talking to Amy. Please. You think any of us will trust you? The vampire was healing Amy's wounds, most likely trying to gain the trust of the group. Not going to work that easily, beast. Egil looked around the room for anything sharp he could use to fight with. He did, after all, make a promise to himself that he'd destroy the vampire that en-caged him.

 

[T. Rakinson]

"Please don't tell me you're dumb enough to trust them. They'll use you until you are no longer of use. Then they'll turn you into thralls or just kill you. But if you think they can be useful--well, I didn't expect to survive this quest anyway."
As soon as Brendela had stepped out of the cage, she had been planning to find her bow & snipe the two vampires down, but now that Amy had trained the groups attention to her she froze, unsure what to do.

"I mean, we have killed two of them already. Why not two more?"

For once, Brendela's Skooma-addled friend had a point. Though they were still disoriented from their imprisonment, she reckoned they could all take the two undead, however cocky or passive agressive they came off as. Even now, Brendela could see Egil searching the room for something he could use as a weapon. Unfortunatly due to this she couldent make eye contact with him, & Che'anni wasnt anywhere close by. She was on her own. Deciding to aim her words at the "lead" vampire, Brendela spoke up.

'You let us out of cages & attempt regular conversation with us? Your mistake. As for your peace offering, I cant think of a reason why a vampire wouldent want darkness. You want Harkon dead? Ha! Whats the matter, He not offering you a promotion out of the private eye department!'
She paused for a second, adopting a more thoughtful look.
'A vampire is a vampire, no matter how much you try to segregate yourselves from your bretheren. Maybe your right. Maybe you can strike us all down! But thats not what you want, is it? If you had a chance of stopping Harkon on your own, you would have took it. But you cant. There is no chance in Oblivion that a vampire can reverse the effects of the scroll. You would need... us'.
Brendela imagined they knew of the scrolls already, so she wasnt exactly exposing her plans. Speaking of which...

'Im leaving this wretched place. Follow me, pray that I dont find you. Strike me down, enjoy your eternal midnight. You've earned it'.
She looked towards the group. Amy was almost healed thanks to the "apprentice" vampire; Not that Brendela minded leaving her behind. Ralyx looked healthy, & Che'anni, Tolfdir & Egil could probably travel to Falkreath with a few healing spells.
'Lovely meeting you two though. Oh & by the way, for future reference, dont pick the wolfhound as a hostage. Because im not paying ransom for her, & she has a tendency to bite people'.

(OOC: If this is ok, guys dont leave the fort yet.)

 

[Jo'rak Vandeni]

'Lovely meeting you two though. Oh & by the way, for future reference, dont pick the wolfhound as a hostage. Because im not paying ransom for her, & she has a tendency to bite people'.

Who was this ignorant lady? She mocked them, her saviours! Jokar had surpressed his anger all the time she spoke, but as she finished he could not contain it longer, and the rage took him, and he stepped up to the woman, yet careful not to touch her in any way.

"A vampire is a vampire, no matter what. That's your remark?" He yelled at her.

"You think I chose the curse? You think I was always like this? No life before the fangs infected me? I didn't have family? Loved ones?" The voices roared within of him, forcing his emotions with each word, and they took shape as tears, slowly gathering in his glowing eyes.

"I grew up in Raven Rock, I was tricked into this hollow substitute of life. I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!"
He slammed the rock wall next ti him with all his force, the stone brick pushed back slighlty, and blood erupted from his hand from the pressure suddenly set to it.

"Harkon murdered my wife, my wife! Yes! Vampires do love as well! He murdered her without flinching, in front of my eyes I watched her fade into nothing at all!" The voices mocked him, laughed, and vanished, and his temper returned, and he breathed heavily.

"Keep that in mind, next time you throw around words you do not comprehend." He hissed, and walked away from the group, there were still thralls in the castle, he would make sure that was changed, let Mercer take care of those, he could handle them better in words than Jokar could, and his Lord shape was more than enough if tensions rose further.

 

[Tiaz Raydari]

Ralyx shouted at Amy and encouraged her to fight back but sadly that didn't happen. Che'anni watched as the thrall burned Amy, the thrall showed no mercy and looked as if he didn't care about any orders. If they did want us to die, surely we would all be dead but instead we are trapped in cages like animals. Ralyx's expression changed and he started to shout for her safety, he even tried to break the cage's door with no success. Just then two men stepped into the room, he quickly disposed of the thralls, threw the other man the keys and he unlocked all the cage doors. The one helped Amy out of the cage, and slowly healed her while they spoke. Suddenly his voice rose and he revealed himself as a Vampire lord as well as his friend who could be one too.

Che'anni looked at Egil, who was looking around on the floor for something. Perhaps a weapon? The vampire continued his speech, telling of how he could of killed us but instead saved us.

'You let us out of cages & attempt regular conversation with us? Your mistake. As for your peace offering, I cant think of a reason why a vampire wouldn't want darkness. You want Harkon dead? Ha! Whats the matter, He not offering you a promotion out of the private eye department!' Brendela suddenly said, speaking to the vampire lord. She paused for a slight second before carrying on.

'A vampire is a vampire, no matter how much you try to segregate yourselves from your brethren. Maybe your right. Maybe you can strike us all down! But that's not what you want, is it? If you had a chance of stopping Harkon on your own, you would have took it. But you cant. There is no chance in Oblivion that a vampire can reverse the effects of the scroll. You would need... us'.

'I'm leaving this wretched place. Follow me, pray that I don't find you. Strike me down, enjoy your eternal midnight. You've earned it'. she stopped and then looked at the group.

'Lovely meeting you two though. Oh & by the way, for future reference, don't pick the wolfhound as a hostage. Because I'm not paying ransom for her, & she has a tendency to bite people'. she turned back to the vampire as she said this.

One of the vampires turned towards Brendela and started to spit out his life story, the shortened version of it anyways. He sounded as if he wanted to rip her throat out, he was in extreme pain as he described the death of his wife. He hissed his words at Brendela before he turned his back and walked away.
Che'anni moved towards the gate, pushed it open and walked over to the vampire that healed Amy, "So whats your name? I'm Che'anni, could you point me to where they held our stuff? They hardly gave us water," she said while she remained calm although her body hurt but she couldn't comprehend the pain Amy must of been in, or still is.

 

[Kimrisvik]

"Keep that filth away from her." The Dunmer vampire had blocked Ralyx' way over to Amy. He had almost unsheated his sword, wich looked like it elven. Ralyx took one more step, now standing just inches away from the Dunmer looking him right into the eyes. He grabbed the hilt of his ebony blade and unsheated it slightly, just as the vampire had done, but without letting taking his eyes away from his. This 'staring contest' lasted for a short time before Ralyx started to speak in a sharp voice. "Sir..." Before he could continue, Brendela spoke up.

'Lovely meeting you two though. Oh & by the way, for future reference, dont pick the wolfhound as a hostage. Because im not paying ransom for her, & she has a tendency to bite people'. This seemed to take the vampires attention away from Ralyx. 'A vampire is a vampire, no matter how much you try to segregate yourselves from your bretheren.' Brendela continued. This seemed to make the Dunmer angry, as he now stepped out of Ralyx' way and over to her. Ralyx released his grip from the sword, and it made a slight scraping sound as it sled back into its sheat. Then he made the last few steps over to Amy, and laid the skooma bottle in her hand, nodding at the vampire who had healed her, as some sort of a 'thank you'.

"A vampire is a vampire, no matter what. That's your remark?" The vampire now yelled at Brendela. "You think I chose the curse? You think I was always like this? No life before the fangs infected me? I didn't have family? Loved ones?" Ralyx turned to look at the enraged vampire. He got a point... Ralyx thought to himself as he listened to the man yell about how his life had been before he got turned, and what had happened to his wife. Poor man.

As the elven vampire turned away from them, Ralyx started to clap slowly. "Very well, Brendela. You upset the man that saved us." He didn't say anything about why he had just changed how he felt about their shady saviors, but he thought that they would understand it was because of the way one of them had just opened himself, in a angry way, to them. He then turned over to the vampires again. "I must say that I'm sorry for suggesting to kill you. But you can't really blame me, eh? Most vampires I've met so far has tried to kill me. No surprise that anyone would, vampire or not. I am rather annoying, if I may say so myself. But something tells me you can be trusted. For now."

 

[Khaotic3]

Ralyx seemed to agree with Amy that the vampires could not be trusted. He then approached Amy and tried to hand her a small bottle. "Here, take this." He smiled at her. "It will help against the pain." She probably would have asked for some later, and she was glad to see that he was willing to share. Amy smiled with gratitude, but the Dunmer vampire grabbed Ralyx's hand before Amy could take the skooma. "Keep that filth away from her."

Amy was outraged. Who did he think he was? He shows up, saves her life, then wants her to do as he says? He should have just killed her. But this elf had missed his chance. Amy was about to put this creature in his place, but Ralyx beat her to it.

The two stood very close to each other, swords half unsheathed, locked in a staring contest. "Sir..." Ralyx began, but Brendela began to speak.

Brendela's speech made it very clear that she was not interested in any sort of alliance. Her last bit about "the wolfhound" was rather amusing. But the elf now had left Ralyx and Amy to yell at Brendela.

"A vampire is a vampire, no matter what. That's your remark?" The vampire now yelled at Brendela. "You think I chose the curse? You think I was always like this? No life before the fangs infected me? I didn't have family? Loved ones?" Amy was a bit surprised by his outburst. The only vampires she had ever run into seemed rather sadistic and ready to kill. "I grew up in Raven Rock, I was tricked into this hollow substitute of life. I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!" He slammed the rock wall next ti him with all his force, the stone brick pushed back slightly, and blood erupted from his hand from the pressure suddenly set to it.

Amy couldn't help but think of Kodlak, and how he had desperately tried to find a cure for his "curse." Was the vampire now deciding he did not want to pledge himself to a Daedric Lord? Was he tired of whatever side-effects came with vampirism? "Harkon murdered my wife, my wife! Yes! Vampires do love as well! He murdered her without flinching, in front of my eyes I watched her fade into nothing at all!"

Amy was now getting the impression that vampirism and lycanthropy might have a bit in common. The difference was, werewolves were not very interested in power. They simply killed as part of the Hunt, part of the Game of The Circle of Life. It sounded as though when a vampire was obsessed with power, he would destroy his own kind until only he and his allies were left. Was that what this "Harkon" was? A sadistic politician who enforced his rule by torturing those who opposed him?

"Very well, Brendela. You upset the man that saved us."
Amy was shocked not only by the words, but the fact that Ralyx had said them. Was this whelp so easily swayed? While it was a touching story, she still felt that these vampires were up to something. Especially the one who had tried to heal her.
Ralyx even went so far as to apologize to the vampire. Was he crazy? At some point Ralyx had given her the skooma, and her thoughts began to focus more on pain relief. An ice bath sounded pleasant. Or just the cold air outside would be nice. She would have her skooma and sit in a nice cold lake...

"So are we going soon?"

 

[T. Rakinson]

"Very well, Brendela. You upset the man that saved us."

The vampires words, so sharp they could have tore his throat from the inside, cut through Brendela like a blade through dough. The mans... no undeads life story was a saddening one, but still, Brendela did not take liking to those who spoke of their life as if they were a shade amongst lanterns. Her's had not been one full of joys. Perhaps he was a vampire now, a shadow of whoever he once was, but at least his period of life had been relatively happy. Maraige. Peace. Acceptance. Hers had been one of hunting every day so to prevent starving, constant fear of attack from bandits, beasts & other threats, & hoping authorities did not invade her families world. This world was not one in which stories mattered. All that it & its comfartable occupants focused on was the now, & those that thought otherwise were subjected to manslaughter. It was only by trying to forget the past that had kept Brendela alive so long. This man was an example of somebody who could not cope with change, & as a result demons had been able to manipulate him with his own emotions.

Without a word or thought towards the others in the group, Brendela left the room.

************************************************************************************

Tolfdir followed her out moments later.

'However foul his corporal form may be, that Vampires words are true. It was rude of you to not apologise'.
'It was rude of him to turn his pain against others in the first place'.
'That is not the point, young one. Though a vampire may seem to be a species of its own, a mortal essence is always there, fighting for what little control it has of its body. You saw his rage, the rage th-'
'Just stop! OK! I've had enough of this growing doubt that swarms me, plauges my thoughts, infects my conscience. You dont know the things I had to endure in my short lifetime! years of bonding, companionship & love! Lost to a heartless scaly beast! You didnt know them! My mother, My father-'
'But I did'.
Brendela stared at the man speechless. His words could only be lies. Nobody had known of her families existence. Her father had given her much advice over the years, but the one that had always stuck was his way of living.

'You cannot depend on others. Over-expectation of friends leads to dissapointment, which leads to anger, which leads to hatred. We live in solitary for our own good'.

It couldent have been false words, or could it?

'I knew your family. Well- specifically your father, I had never met Angi or Thomas in person. When you were born, your body was weak, too brittle for your families lifestyle. Your father came to the college, desperate for help. Knowing of the bounty on his head, the college turned him down, not wanting to help a criminal. I- I felt sorry for the elf. Cyrus was younger then, the weight of the world had been sparingfull back then. Against the Arch-mages orders, I brought him the vial you needed to live. He was grateful to me, but had developed a hatred for my colleagues. He left with just a nod'.
'For years I heard little from Cyrus. It was dangerous for him to communicate with the outside world, but the little news I did recieve was that you had survived your ordeals & were growing up fast. He returned the favour by collecting me ancient tomes He found in the world, but they were never brought in person. He & I lost touch afterwards, for the safety of you & your family. He raised you in such a way that so that you were never left in a vulnerable state like he was on that day'.
'But to try surviving on your own, In a world designed to break ones spirit, That your father would never have asked of you'.

Brendela didnt know what to say, or think for that matter. All this time she had thought that by being alone she was less vulnerable, but now she realised that by removing herself from her group, she was the most vulnerable of all.
Here it is again. The darkness is toying with your mind again!

Brendela had to stop to think about this. Either way she thought about it, It was too confusing. She began retracing the route she had taken when she had fled the ambush. Tolfdir seemed to struggle to keep up , But for some reason the room seemed to get darker & opaque, & all the energy seemed to leave Brendela's body. She could no longer see Tolfdir at all.
With a rush of air from an unknown source, all the lights produced by the lantern flickered out, & the smashing of glass could be heard. Brendela collapsed on the floor; all the oxygen in the room seemed to have dissapeared, & it was now hard to breathe. Before she had a chance to hit the floor unconscious, Tolfdir came running into the room With a candlelight spell in his hand, but as he tryed to reach Brendela a deep laughter erupted out of nowhere, causing the mage to stagger. Only one word came from the old mans mouth, one that shocked Brendela to the bone.
'Boethiah'.

 

[Daryl Dixon]

Alex's fangs almost came out as he was mocked by the most ignorant woman he had met thus far, but he kept calm. Jokar however, did not. This didn't ruin anything, Jokar deserved to have his say.

Alex began to hear a ringing in his ears, and all sound was blocked out. "A vampire is a vampire, no matter how much you try to segregate yourselves from your brethren." Alex brought his left hand up to his forehead, which was in much pain. The pain fled quickly, and he returned back to reality.


"So whats your name? I'm Che'anni, could you point me to where they held our stuff? They hardly gave us water," she said while she remained calm. Her calmness made Alex feel a little better, "At least they know we don't want to kill them.." He thought to himself.

"I don't know where they left your things, when we arrived after... Dealing with one of Valerica's vampires this had already gone underway. I'd say the barracks, but I wouldn't go for it just yet."

Alex walked out into an empty space, "Now listen." He yelled out, drawing attention. "This fort is still crawling with the thralls, and I don't think you take them alone." Alex looked toward the pig headed woman. "We can't separate ourselves from our brethren?" he mocked, "They are not our brethren. Egil is the only one who can be pissed at us, we kidnapped him. We needed to do it to draw you guys to us, we would have been here to greet you but Valerica had a vampire lord on the way. I thought you could handle a few thralls. Maybe I was wrong about your group after all, you don't know an ally when you see one. Egil, I'm not sorry, your hardship was needed to bring your group to us. Valerica kidnapped the Arch-Mage, does this interest you?" he asked, looked around at the faces of everybody. "Now this alliance needs to happen, I'm not saying it'll be easy. It's gonna be harder than standing here fighting each other, but what choice do you have? If you would rather fight than align you are the true monsters."

Alex noticed the ignorant shrew had left, but he did not care. "We don't want to come in and take over, we want to join you. Fight for a common cause. Now you can stand here talking about who's an ally and who isn't or you can do something worth doing.

Alex turned his head to Amy, his hood hiding his face from most who weren't looking directly as him from the direction his head was turned to. "Valerica, a powerful vampire, kidnapped the arch-mage. Now what she wants with him, I'm not entirely certain, but what we need to do now is retreat to a safe place where we can discuss your plans."

Alex knew someone would likely complain about privacy or mistrust but Alex was past all that. "Now we can kill all who get in our way or act like you're my thralls, take your pick. Either way, you're getting out of here alive." Alex went to leave the room, following the ignorant woman when he stopped and turned back around. "And theres no secret motive to this, if you were smart enough you'd know I could have used these thralls or some others. I could have killed these ones and raised them up as my own, or gone and made some of my own. I'm not like that. Now think clearly, make a choice, and let's act."

Jokar had given Mercer a look before he had left, Jokar was clearing the fort himself. But Alex needed these people on their feet and thinking past more than 'oooh vampire oh noes!'