Tales of Skyrim IC

[caligari]

Loïc scanned the battlefield, silhouettes of vampires and bandits littered the burned down streests of Helgen. The broodmaster had to be around here somewhere, they had to have followed someone here. As he peered into the flood of vampires still pouring through the gates he saw a lone figure merely standing before the outer wall of the city, nightspawn rushing in from either of his sides and he merely stood there... watching, observing... waiting. That had to be him! "There!" Loïc yelled at his temporary comrades as he pointed to the figure. He cast another Stendarr's aura and pulled in Ketty and several other bandits in the glowing, magical sphere that surrounded him. "Stay close, don't fall behind and no matter what happens; Keep pushing forward!" With that he led them deeper into the attacking brood. While Loïc and those close enough to him to be protected hy his restoration spell were kept mostly alone, the bandits that followed who weren't able to enter his ray of safety were less lucky and picked off one by one by attacking vampires. Soon enough they were completely surrounded with hordes of nightspanw in any direction. Still, as he said, Loïc kept pushing forward, his axe digging deep into the flesh of the vampires that were daring enough to come in close enough, leaving a trail of vampire dust in his wake.
Eventually they reached the figure that during all their struggle and toil had barely moved an inch. Close enough now and lit up by his aura, Loïc could now clearly see his face. Pale and sickly, the vampire looked back at him smirking all the while. Loïc didn't bother to stand on ceremony and swiftly cast a powerful spell named vampire's bane at the broodmaster. The nightspawn leader merely lifted his hand and the powerfull ward he cast deflected the offensive restoration spell of the Breton hunter. "This is no ordinary vampire..." he whispered, and his words had barely left his mouth or the beast before him became veiled in a darkness blacker than the night and mere seconds later cast aside his human skin to reveal the monstrous demon underneath. A Volkihar vampire lord. "et'Ada save us..." Loïc muttered in shock of the revelation, but quickly composed himself. He picked up a steel axe from on of the fallen bandits since his spells would not work of this beast and got into a battle stance perfect for dual wielding axes taught to him when he was still a forsworn and screamed his battlecry "Hircine guide me!" before storming into combat with the beast. It was true that he did not give orders to Ketty and the brigands that followed him this deep into the Lion's den, or better yet, the vampire's den, but he knew that if the beast was given time he could use it to his advantage and activate his blood magic. Besides, he had seen Ebonheart bark orders like a proper commander so he had some assurance that she would know what to do.

 

[malina]

"Um.... What's a Netch? Anyway... I'd personally like to die an old man, with a brood of grandchildren at my knees asking for stories of my ventures. Then they'll be inspired to continue the legacy of Kararq!" He stood, and dusted himself off. He trotted over to Nightmare, and climbed up into the saddle. "We won't go far, but I'd prefer NOT to sleep with a bunch of dead wolves, or any wolf for that matter. We'll probably srtop for the night near a spring." The two humans rode along for awhile until night began to settle. Kararq squuinted in the darkness, and found a nice ltttle spring, guided by the moonlight.He slid off of Nightmare and upacked the camping equipment from the saddle bags. He quickly and efffeciently set up a camp. He had two chairs by the little fire and a HUGE tent. Then he realised..... "We only have one tent." He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "We'll figure it out after dinner." He pulled out some of the food he'd been storing, a load of bread, an apple, and some cold chicken. he looked at Yiva. "Don't worry, the chicken won't be bad. I have my ways for keeping it fresh." He winked. Then he dropped the chicken in the pot over the fire and commenced cooking.

"You do not have Netch here?" Unbeknownst to her the creatures were not in fact native to Solstheim either, but they were common enough now for her to think so. "It is like..." she signaled with her hands her inability to find the correct words. "Like a floating bunch of tentacles." She nodded; it would have to do. "It has a tough hide and it attacks with paralzying shocks. You can get jelly from it though! And meat, lots of meat." Ylva wondered what image she'd created for the mercenary. She slid off Nightmare as they stopped for the night and watched him set up camp.

Although the mercenary might have considered it rough living, for Ylva such a huge tent was a luxury. She'd always used a simple bedroll and a one man tent back home. The chairs were overkill and it made her wonder if she'd picked up a very wealthy mercenary if this was Skyrim's custom. Ylva's mouth dropped as she overheard her companion mutter about having only one tent. Not understanding his embarrassment, she took it another way. "Only one tent?! That is at least three tents!" She crawled over and stuck her head inside the flap, checking out the interior.

Touching the fur made her realize just how tired she was, which was a bitter feeling. It was cruel how she'd never feel truly rested no matter how comfortable the bed was. She shuffled her way back out before heading towards the pot. "Eaten worse before." She sniffed and reached down to tear off a chunk of half cooked chicken. Regardless of how done it was Ylva devoured the piece she held and sat on the free chair.

Now with all the action done, she felt it was time to find out more about their destination. She would have been content to just hear the fire crackle but she wanted to make sure she was headed in the right place. "So about the College of Winterhold. Have you ever been there?" She checked the pot again to no avail. Ylva had found her appetite to have increased greatly with her beast blood. "Oh, and I never got your name."

 

[KoolaidKing]

"You do not have Netch here?" Unbeknownst to her the creatures were not in fact native to Solstheim either, but they were common enough now for her to think so. "It is like..." she signaled with her hands her inability to find the correct words. "Like a floating bunch of tentacles." She nodded; it would have to do. "It has a tough hide and it attacks with paralzying shocks. You can get jelly from it though! And meat, lots of meat." Ylva wondered what image she'd created for the mercenary. She slid off Nightmare as they stopped for the night and watched him set up camp.

Although the mercenary might have considered it rough living, for Ylva such a huge tent was a luxury. She'd always used a simple bedroll and a one man tent back home. The chairs were overkill and it made her wonder if she'd picked up a very wealthy mercenary if this was Skyrim's custom. Ylva's mouth dropped as she overheard her companion mutter about having only one tent. Not understanding his embarrassment, she took it another way. "Only one tent?! That is at least three tents!" She crawled over and stuck her head inside the flap, checking out the interior.

Touching the fur made her realize just how tired she was, which was a bitter feeling. It was cruel how she'd never feel truly rested no matter how comfortable the bed was. She shuffled her way back out before heading towards the pot. "Eaten worse before." She sniffed and reached down to tear off a chunk of half cooked chicken. Regardless of how done it was Ylva devoured the piece she held and sat on the free chair.

Now with all the action done, she felt it was time to find out more about their destination. She would have been content to just hear the fire crackle but she wanted to make sure she was headed in the right place. "So about the College of Winterhold. Have you ever been there?" She checked the pot again to no avail. Ylva had found her appetite to have increased greatly with her beast blood. "Oh, and I never got your name."

"Oh I'm Kararq. And you?" The mercenary was amazed at this lady. She was so different! She seemed like child, amazed at every little thing. "And it's not really a big tent. Any old cave bear will do for making one. By the way, your notch sound horrifying. Anyway, i've passed by Winterhold. Didn't stick around long, heavy Stormcloak sympathizers round there." As he stirred the pot, a realization struck him. "That reminds me..." He narrowed his eyes and look at her. "Who are you really? No normal Nordic woman would be stupid enough to sticking around a REDGUARD." He fingered the hilt of the scimitar. "What type of Stormcloak spy are you? I don't trust ANY Nord."

 

[malina]

"Oh I'm Kararq. And you?" The mercenary was amazed at this lady. She was so different! She seemed like child, amazed at every little thing. "And it's not really a big tent. Any old cave bear will do for making one. By the way, your notch sound horrifying. Anyway, i've passed by Winterhold. Didn't stick around long, heavy Stormcloak sympathizers round there." As he stirred the pot, a realization struck him. "That reminds me..." He narrowed his eyes and look at her. "Who are you really? No normal Nordic woman would be stupid enough to sticking around a REDGUARD." He fingered the hilt of the scimitar. "What type of Stormcloak spy are you? I don't trust ANY Nord."

"I'm..." Ylva fiddled with her clothes while trying to recall the name she'd used in Raven Rock. Her motives were fishy enough to spare any inconsistencies in her story. "Geira! My name is Geira." She smiled. "It has been a long day." She reached over for the loaf of bread, tearing it into two and taking her half. She'd only taken a single bite when Kararq began to get suspicious once more. "What do you mean? I hired you; was that a stupid decision? I hope not." Ylva pulled out her Stahlrim sword, not to use, but to show. "I do not know what a Stormcloak is, but you are right when you say I am not any Nord. I am a Skaal of Solsthiem. We are different from our Skyrim cousins in everything but race. If you do not believe me, take a look at this. It is made from Stahlrim, a Skaal secret." She held out the blue blade hilt first to Kararq. At the same time she prepared herself to shift forms at a moment's glance, for she knew handing over her weapon would leave her vulnerable. "I do not want to fight you. I do not even want to be in Skyrim. I just want a cure."

 

[KoolaidKing]

"I'm..." Ylva fiddled with her clothes while trying to recall the name she'd used in Raven Rock. Her motives were fishy enough to spare any inconsistencies in her story. "Geira! My name is Geira." She smiled. "It has been a long day." She reached over for the loaf of bread, tearing it into two and taking her half. She'd only taken a single bite when Kararq began to get suspicious once more. "What do you mean? I hired you; was that a stupid decision? I hope not." Ylva pulled out her Stahlrim sword, not to use, but to show. "I do not know what a Stormcloak is, but you are right when you say I am not any Nord. I am a Skaal of Solsthiem. We are different from our Skyrim cousins in everything but race. If you do not believe me, take a look at this. It is made from Stahlrim, a Skaal secret." She held out the blue blade hilt first to Kararq. At the same time she prepared herself to shift forms at a moment's glance, for she knew handing over her weapon would leave her vulnerable. "I do not want to fight you. I do not even want to be in Skyrim. I just want a cure."

Kararq sneered. "You really think I'm stupid enough to fall for your tricks? Any damn Nord can get some weird clothes and blue blade. And EVERYONE knows who the Stormcloaks are. They're the arseholes who run Skyrim now. Ulfric Sotrmcloak, the usurper is their leader. I hope the little fucker dies. They are a bunch of good for nothing creeps. They have it out for anyone who ain't a Nord, anyone!" Kararq seemed to be getting heated up, He was pacing back and forth, food forgotten. "I wish I could do something about... As a matter of fact, soon as I'm done with you I'll go see who else from the Legion is still around.... We might be able to do something. I know Hadvar might have some contacts..." He then turned and stared at her. "Wait... you know what? You said you don't know anything bout the Stormcloaks. You're also a Nord. They might trust you, they're chummy with everyone, right? So... what d'ya say to helping a good cause out, hmm?"

 

[malina]

Kararq sneered. "You really think I'm stupid enough to fall for your tricks? Any damn Nord can get some weird clothes and blue blade. And EVERYONE knows who the Stormcloaks are. They're the arseholes who run Skyrim now. Ulfric Sotrmcloak, the usurper is their leader. I hope the little fucker dies. They are a bunch of good for nothing creeps. They have it out for anyone who ain't a Nord, anyone!" Kararq seemed to be getting heated up, He was pacing back and forth, food forgotten. "I wish I could do something about... As a matter of fact, soon as I'm done with you I'll go see who else from the Legion is still around.... We might be able to do something. I know Hadvar might have some contacts..." He then turned and stared at her. "Wait... you know what? You said you don't know anything bout the Stormcloaks. You're also a Nord. They might trust you, they're chummy with everyone, right? So... what d'ya say to helping a good cause out, hmm?"

Ylva bristled with indignity. Although she was far from the perfect image of a Skaal it wounded her pride to hear her relics talked about with such disregard. "Weird clothes? Blue blade? This is traditional Skaal garb and this," she plunged the sword into the campfire, "is no blue blade. As I said, it is made of stahlrim and only the Skaal know it's secrets. When I said I was not from this land, I was not lying. How could I know about your politics? Raven Rock is -was- the only place I got any information about Skyrim and even then, the Dunmer cared more for news about Morrowind." She drew the enchanted ice out and nodded with satisfaction at it's solid state. Ylva let him vent about the Stormcloaks and resumed chomping on her bread. With the tension in the air her appetite had lessened and it was more for the sake of doing something rather than hunger. At his invitation to join his cause she threw her hands up in the air. "I do not care. I will speak, but I will not kill." Inwardly she scoffed at herself, aware of her hypocrisy but what Kararq didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, it was her lycantrophy which drove her to kill and nothing else. Before it she'd been a model Skaal, or so she believed. "What happened in Skyrim anyway? The only major thing I know about this place is of the Dragonborn, and those stories were told years ago."

 

[KoolaidKing]

Ylva bristled with indignity. Although she was far from the perfect image of a Skaal it wounded her pride to hear her relics talked about with such disregard. "Weird clothes? Blue blade? This is traditional Skaal garb and this," she plunged the sword into the campfire, "is no blue blade. As I said, it is made of stahlrim and only the Skaal know it's secrets. When I said I was not from this land, I was not lying. How could I know about your politics? Raven Rock is -was- the only place I got any information about Skyrim and even then, the Dunmer cared more for news about Morrowind." She drew the enchanted ice out and nodded with satisfaction at it's solid state. Ylva let him vent about the Stormcloaks and resumed chomping on her bread. With the tension in the air her appetite had lessened and it was more for the sake of doing something rather than hunger. At his invitation to join his cause she threw her hands up in the air. "I do not care. I will speak, but I will not kill." Inwardly she scoffed at herself, aware of her hypocrisy but what Kararq didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, it was her lycantrophy which drove her to kill and nothing else. Before it she'd been a model Skaal, or so she believed. "What happened in Skyrim anyway? The only major thing I know about this place is of the Dragonborn, and those stories were told years ago."

"Have you been living under a rock?! We've just had a civil war! We should've won... -By we I mean the Legion. I don't know how we lost. I heard that the "Dragonborn' was aligned with Ulfric. As far as I'm concerned, any so allied 'Savior' who is with the Stromcloaks isn't a savior at all. On another note, I wasn't asking you to KILL, I was asking you to SPY. I need someone on the inside, and i have no idea if the the other Legion veterans have contacts. Oh and by the way, if you don't care, I suggest you leave Skyrim, fast. If you're here, you choose a side or both will be after you. Especially, if, oh, I don't know, have a certain ailment." Kararq knew the blackmail was dirty, but there a lot of dirty things in life. He also knew that pushing her too much might have the opposite effect than he wanted. Geira going to the Stormcloaks would be horrid. He'd have to tread carefully.

 

[Kinton Nyr]

"There's too many of them," Ketty told the man closest to her as Loïc ventured towards the vampires' leader. "We can't fall back, we'll be taken out one by one. But we can't all focus our blades on their leader or else they'll stab us in our backs. We have to form a ring and fight them back as far as we can so that they don't kill Loïc. He's our only way out alive."

Immediately after, they had all tightened around her into a circle. They had began cutting away at various figures until their arms began to ache. She knew that they needed to buy him enough time to kill their leader, and she also knew that if he failed in his task, the lives of all of her men in the town would be lost, excluding perhaps some of the men defending the keep. If she had led them back now, they would die before they reached the keep, that much was certain. Prolonging Loïc's life was her only task now. She swiftly sliced at a vampire's skull and cleaved it cleanly in a single slash, before snapping a second one's spine and savagely stabbing him in the stomach. Once she had severed his torso, she stretched her arm and slammed her sword towards the ground, splitting him again into small sections.

 

[caligari]

Nordic steel clashed with vampiric claw time and time again and at first it seemed as though the man and the beast were matched in their struggle against each other. Loïc's barrage of blows and almost suicidal way of fighting as he left defence behind in favor of pure offense, kept the beast of the night at bay. Each time the vampire swung at him with his razor sharp claws, Loïc dived out of the way, causing him to slice at air and air alone. But this battle wouldn't last, just as Loïc struck a fierce blow causing his dawnguard axe to cleave a way deep into the vampire lord's left arm, turning it into an almost lifeless piece of flesh and bone hanging from the shoulder with little to nothing, the nightspawn lifted his right arm and down came the claws. Loïc's tunic did little to defend him from such an attack and deep in the flesh of Loïc's chest the cuts were made as four brutal open wounds now stretched from his shoulder to his waist. It was to be expected, Loïc was tired from lack of sleep and a hard fought battle before jumping in against to vampiric lord. And even if he wasn't, there was no guarantee that the vampire hunter could defeat such a monster.

Bleeding and dying, Loïc collapsed to the ground barely conscious. With what little strenght he had he cast a healing spell so pathetically weak that not even the vampire lord who stood above him noticed it, but it was all he could do. With his primary threat gone, the nightspawn master now turned to the brigands killing his brood. He fixated one one closest to him and with his massive hand, the one that he could still use, he grabbed the bandit's head and squeezed until, after many screams of the outlaw, the head went pop. Another brigand attempted to take the kill of the vampire and win the day, but as his greatsword went down, the vampire's claws went up deflecting the blade and leaving the bandit wide open. Two claws stretched forward and took out the eyes of the bandit leaving him blinded and screaming on the ground before two regular vampires jumped him and tore him appart with nothing but their teeth.

Now his attention went to Ketty, she who had killed about as many of his followers as Loïc, she who had led the offense against him, she who would be his personal supper for such insolence.

 

[malina]

"Have you been living under a rock?! We've just had a civil war! We should've won... -By we I mean the Legion. I don't know how we lost. I heard that the "Dragonborn' was aligned with Ulfric. As far as I'm concerned, any so allied 'Savior' who is with the Stromcloaks isn't a savior at all. On another note, I wasn't asking you to KILL, I was asking you to SPY. I need someone on the inside, and i have no idea if the the other Legion veterans have contacts. Oh and by the way, if you don't care, I suggest you leave Skyrim, fast. If you're here, you choose a side or both will be after you. Especially, if, oh, I don't know, have a certain ailment." Kararq knew the blackmail was dirty, but there a lot of dirty things in life. He also knew that pushing her too much might have the opposite effect than he wanted. Geira going to the Stormcloaks would be horrid. He'd have to tread carefully.

"No, but you are not too far off from the mark. Skyrim is not the center of the universe you seem to think it is. The ash fall concerns us more than your civil war." Ylva sulked before tossing what remained of her food aside. Arguments she could handle but being pressured to join problems she knew nothing of annoyed her. In fact, when the mercenary suggested she left Ylva had half a mind to do so right then and there had it not been for his next sentence. She froze in her seat and gripped her sword tighter. "I was going to leave after I found my cure. I thought I made that clear from the start… was it really that obvious what I am?" She didn't even feel angry, just disappointed in herself thinking of all those years training to control her beast blood - only to be sniffed out by the first person she really met. "If you knew my secret, why did you not kill me from the start? How can you trust someone like me to spy for you?"

 

[KoolaidKing]

"No, but you are not too far off from the mark. Skyrim is not the center of the universe you seem to think it is. The ash fall concerns us more than your civil war." Ylva sulked before tossing what remained of her food aside. Arguments she could handle but being pressured to join problems she knew nothing of annoyed her. In fact, when the mercenary suggested she left Ylva had half a mind to do so right then and there had it not been for his next sentence. She froze in her seat and gripped her sword tighter. "I was going to leave after I found my cure. I thought I made that clear from the start… was it really that obvious what I am?" She didn't even feel angry, just disappointed in herself thinking of all those years training to control her beast blood - only to be sniffed out by the first person she really met. "If you knew my secret, why did you not kill me from the start? How can you trust someone like me to spy for you?"

" Well, to be honest, I knew what you were by what you said and your whole demeanor was defensive. Plus your story about a 'cure for friends' didn't really add up or seem honest, as if you had to think about it for a second. And why didn't I kill you? I don't know. You seemed so naïve and innocent." Kararq chuckled softly. "Even though we are close in age. I guess I've seen and done a lot. I was born in Stros M'kai, a place of sailors and merchants and different things. Everyone was unique. It also used to be the capital of Hammerfell. And after my father's death, my mother and I traveled until HER death, at the hands of a sabercat. I saw the wonders of Tamriel, or at least a few of 'em. " He smiles ruefully at days long past, when he was a carefree "So, now that we're all chummy and such, what's your story. I'd be delighted to hear." He stood and plucked the chicken from the to, as it was starting to overcook. He poured the stew into a bowl and sat down. He ripped a piece of bread from the loaf Geira had abandoned, and used it to soak up broth. He dug into his dinner.

 

[malina]

" Well, to be honest, I knew what you were by what you said and your whole demeanor was defensive. Plus your story about a 'cure for friends' didn't really add up or seem honest, as if you had to think about it for a second. And why didn't I kill you? I don't know. You seemed so naïve and innocent." Kararq chuckled softly. "Even though we are close in age. I guess I've seen and done a lot. I was born in Stros M'kai, a place of sailors and merchants and different things. Everyone was unique. It also used to be the capital of Hammerfell. And after my father's death, my mother and I traveled until HER death, at the hands of a sabercat. I saw the wonders of Tamriel, or at least a few of 'em. " He smiles ruefully at days long past, when he was a carefree "So, now that we're all chummy and such, what's your story. I'd be delighted to hear." He stood and plucked the chicken from the to, as it was starting to overcook. He poured the stew into a bowl and sat down. He ripped a piece of bread from the loaf Geira had abandoned, and used it to soak up broth. He dug into his dinner.

"I am sorry about your parents." Ylva offered lamely. Though near the same age she felt he'd gone through more hardships than she had, making her story seem tame in comparison. The tension before all but disappeared completely once he started eating and the smell made her stomach grumble once again. She resumed her meal, taking her share of the stew and debated over revealing her story. It was true that Kararq had not attacked her even though he knew her condition. In the end, Ylva figured that if he could share his history, she could too. "I was born on Solsthiem as a Skaal. I ended up falling astray from the ways of the All Maker when I was cursed with this... second form. I was foolish to hunt alone. I cannot return until I am cured, or I will be greeted with nothing but a swift death." She chose not to elaborate further and instead turned her attention to cleaning out the bowl. Finished with her food, Ylva retreated to the tent. Originally she had planned to wash in the spring nearby but the allure of the fur spread and the pitch black night helped sway her decision. It took only a few moments for her to fall asleep but Ylva knew that in the morning she remain tired.

 

[KoolaidKing]

"I am sorry about your parents." Ylva offered lamely. Though near the same age she felt he'd gone through more hardships than she had, making her story seem tame in comparison. The tension before all but disappeared completely once he started eating and the smell made her stomach grumble once again. She resumed her meal, taking her share of the stew and debated over revealing her story. It was true that Kararq had not attacked her even though he knew her condition. In the end, Ylva figured that if he could share his history, she could too. "I was born on Solsthiem as a Skaal. I ended up falling astray from the ways of the All Maker when I was cursed with this... second form. I was foolish to hunt alone. I cannot return until I am cured, or I will be greeted with nothing but a swift death." She chose not to elaborate further and instead turned her attention to cleaning out the bowl. Finished with her food, Ylva retreated to the tent. Originally she had planned to wash in the spring nearby but the allure of the fur spread and the pitch black night helped sway her decision. It took only a few moments for her to fall asleep but Ylva knew that in the morning she remain tired.

Karaq nodded a goodnight to Geira. He soon finished his dinner and walked over to the hot spring to bathe. About an hour later he rose, fingers and toes prune, to go to bed. He was about to enter the tent when he remembered Geira was sleeping there. He debated whether he should enter or not but, Curse it. I'm not being kept out of my own tent, he thought.He grabbed his bedroll then entered the large tent. He laid out his bedroll on the other side of the tent from Geira, and then secured the tent flaps closed. He blew his lantern and fell asleep.

 

[Kinton Nyr]

As Ketty noticed her numbers becoming fewer, she watched Loïc collapse to the ground as the result of a blow from the vampires' leader. She looked on in horror as the vampire turned to her. Her great sword was firmly in her grasp and she wanted to cut it down but, somehow, she could sense that if Loïc had failed, armed with experience and spells, there would be no hope whatsoever for her. She stepped backwards a little, readying her blade, as an arrow flew over her head from the keep towards the vampire leader. The shot was far too wide and the arrow vanished somewhere within the disorderly crowd. She prepared herself to die, her heart thumping inside her chest and her hands shaking a little. The vampire lord flashed across her vision and swiped with his able right hand, but she had leapt to the side just fast enough to evade being decapitated.

"Do you have any advice?" she shouted across to Loïc, sounding like more of a demand than a question.

 

[caligari]

With hazy eyesight and deafened hearing, Loïc barely remained consciousness, still casting that healing spell, though now it was more powerful, though only by an extremely slight margin. It took him great effort to so much as lift and turn his head to look at Ketty, groaning and gritting his teeth all the way. Advice? He thought, Don't get killed? Even if he had any decent advice, it didn't matter as he was too weak to say anything louder than a whisper, besides, no amount of advice could he scream at her that would aid her any more than her own battle skill. The dawnguard hunter had already made one arm of the vampire lord unusable, she just had to take care of the other one. Well, the other arm and the head.

To aid his healing process, Loïc inched closer and closer to a set of clothes filled and covered in vampire dust and began to slowly eat the vampiric remains. It was disgusting to say the least; vampire dust tasted like rotting wood covered in sand and would gie anyone a dry mouth, but it had slight regenerating properties for both health and magic, not to mention the main effect of invisibility. This allowed Loïc to remain hidden from the other vampires while slowly healing due to his pell and the vampire dust.

Meanwhile, the vampire lord had grown weary of both the axe lodged in his shoulder and his useless arm hanging from his body on mere strands of skin and flesh. With a beastly growl he tore the almost amputated arm from his body and removed the dawnguard age. Blood poured from the removed arm and pooled around his feet. But despite the wound that would stop any mortal being dead in its tracks, the nightspawn master continued his attack. He grabbed Ketty's blade with his only remaining hand and held it firmly in his grip, the iron edge barely cutting his monstrous skin. The beast leaned over to Ketty's height and gazed deep into her eyes. Anyone witnessing it would think that he would attempt to make her his thrall through hypnotisation, but vampire masters rarely enjoy drinking from willing thralls. No, the beast enjoyed seeing the fear in his prey's eyes and wanted to see it in Ebonheart's.

 

[Kinton Nyr]

Ketty watched in disgust as the vampire lord tore his limp arm from his shoulder before grabbing her great sword by the blade and leaning into her. She pushed back, her arms still shaking a little from a combination of anxiousness and exhaustion. Loïc was far too weak to assist her now; this was something she was going to have to do alone. Her men behind her continued to parry the attacks of the other vampires, but one of them was torn into two halves by a swift blow. Pressing forwards, Ketty propelled all of her strength into the great sword, struggling to push the vampire lord backwards, and when she had managed to do so a little, she lifted her arms into the air with nimble speed. The vampire lord, his single hand still clutching the blade, felt himself forced towards her, and then her elbow clashed with his cheekbone. This managed to startle him for a few seconds, leaving Ketty with enough time to swing her sword towards the vampire lord's thigh. The vampire flicked away the incoming blow as if he was swatting a fly, and the sudden change of movement threw Ketty onto the floor, with her great sword sent flying in some direction or another. She had landed rough, deeply grazing the side of her torso, but quickly scrambled to her feet as the vampire lord closed in on her and struck again. His clawed hand scratched her chest and severed some of the fur clothing, and a following strike knocked her back down onto the ground, this time slamming her jaw into the dirt. The pain in her face and body seemed unbearable at first, but as Ketty again crawled onto her hand on knees in order to stand up, she realised that all of her men had been incapacitated. There were none left fighting, those who lived were screeching in pain. The other vampires had encircled her completely, forming a dense ring around the pair to act as a barrier. This was it. With only a few corpses and discarded weapons dotted around the enclosed space, Ketty felt trapped. The vampire lord advanced towards her and prepared to finish her off, kicking her in her stomach so that she fell flat onto the ground, before slashing with his right arm.

Ketty, in haste, grabbed the dagger of one of her fallen allies, and as soon as the vampires' leader's right arm had approached her, darted onto her feet, sprang towards him and plunged the dagger into his neck. The first stab had not felt satisfying enough, and the infliction of the wound was not as powerful as she might have imagined due to her weakened state, but she made up for this with repetitive stabs. Repeatedly punching her dagger into the vampire lord's face, she had badly scarred him by the time he had knocked her back again. But this time, she didn't allow herself to collapse onto the floor, and she plucked a shield and sword from the dying hands of a fellow bandit, before facing the lord again. He was observing the wounds with his fingers, his face filled with anger, when he noticed that she was still standing and in battle stance. He pulled the dagger from his own jaw and dropped it on the ground. The silence was cruel as Ketty and the lord exchanged a frustrated glance, and the sound of the dagger clattering on the floor brought some relief to Ketty's mind. As if it was an indicator to fight, both of them rushed towards each other once the sound had faded, and the vampire lord mightily threw himself onto her, his clawed hand deflected by her shield in her left, and, without stopping in her run, she penetrated his armour with her sword and drove it into his heart until it was fixated there.

Everything fell silent again. Ketty and the vampire lord were now standing still, with their backs turned to each other, and at a distance of a few metres. Ketty turned first, to see the lord's head turn seconds after, his face full of anguish. Now facing her, he sneered. He then pulled the sword a few inches out of his chest, but not completely, as his numbing legs gave way and he fell to his knees. She approached him with caution, one of her hands massaging the area on her left side where her skin had been grazed off and exposed her flesh, and her other by her side. Reaching him, she focused her energy on withdrawing the sword from his chest. It was covered with his blood, but she smiled sweetly, saying, "Any last requests?" Denying the vampire lord a chance to answer, she severed his head from his neck in one fell swoop, sending his head spinning in the air for a few seconds and spraying blood in all directions, including over her face and body. His corpse fell to the ground with a heavy thud, in unison with the head. She wanted to take the vampire lord's head by his hair into her grasp and show the other vampires what she had done, but she stumbled towards Loïc instead and collapsed into a sitting position beside him.

"Come on, we have to get you back to the camp," she whispered, momentarily forgetful of the existence of the other vampires around them.

 

[caligari]

As the master's head rolled over the floor to the feet of some vampires, the nightspawn seemed unclear of what to do. Whispers and mumbling could be heard from anywhere in the crowds as they hesitated to either advance on their attack or retreat to the hills. Perhaps there was a vampire who had enough nerve to charge at the two weakened humans who had just taken out their leader, but no one would ever know as another vampire dropped his weapons and fled out of Helgen at an alarming pace. Once the first nightspawn had begun his flee to safety, others quickly followed and once enough of them were on the run, all of them decided to go with their tails between their legs.

Loïc sat up straight and spat out some of the vampire dust. He no longer felt like he was dying, but merely as though he had been deprived of sleep for weeks and was unbelievably tired. "I'll have to admit," talking with more of a whisper than anything else, he began before stopping again with a short pause. "I didn't think you could do it..." With a little bit more of his power returning he stretched out his hand to the wounds on Ketty's chest and cast healing hands thus healing both him and her with two different spells at the same time, though her wounds were slightly less deadly as his. "You did good, Ketty, very good."

Loïc closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, in his mind he prayed and thanked both Hircine and Meridia for allowing them to survive yet another night, though barely. as soon as his prayers were done, he opened his eyes and turned to Ketty. "I think... I think both of us could use a drink right now..."

 

[Kinton Nyr]

Ketty rolled her eyes upon hearing Loïc's breathless comment about not thinking she could do it, but she was unable to respond due to her own shortage of breath. She sat on the grass with her palms pressed down into the soil in her back stretched out, her neck was craned so that she could see behind her and towards the keep, and her hair hung down, the two plaits which had previously held back her red hair loosened. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, knowing that killing that vampire had saved the remaining population of her people. But as she turned her head onto its side, she could see many of her own friends' corpses shattered and torn apart, with limbs and other various body parts acting as a reminder of the bloody violence which had just occurred.

Finally able to regather her breath, she looked at Loïc and said, "Thank you. Without you, we'd be done for." She then managed to stand, the graze on her side still stinging at her side but had been greatly reduced of pain due to Loïc's healing spell. On her feet, she looked sorrowfully at her new friend, somewhat saddened to see his wounded state, and she knelt onto one knee beside him and stretched out her hand to offer him some support getting onto his feet from the seated position he was currently in. "Come on then. Carwyn has a big old bottle of mead lying about somewhere. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the saviours of Helgen taking a mugful."

 

[caligari]

Using Ketty as an aid to get back on his feet, he clutched his chest in pain, but did his best to hide it. He would not be able to finish his task of killing every vampire in these mountains after all, at least not alone; he'd have to call in aid from the dawnguard or perhaps even the vigilant, but both groups were spread thin as it was. Still though killing a vampire lord was an amazing feat on its own.

As he leaned on Ketty's shoulder while they walked toward the keep Loïc spoke yet again. "Let's not call ourselves the saviours of Helgen until we're sure Helgen is saved. At least for the moment. Keep an eye on your men the next few days, those infected with vampirism will suffer from three days of restlessness and horrible nightmares. If you catch anyone with these symptoms then you're in luck as the victim can still be saved by any priest or with your average disease curing potion. If anyone hides their symptoms they will die in three days, do not waste time with burials or rituals, simply remove the head and burn the body."

He sighed and was reminded of how tired he was by the fact that his eyelids felt heavier than a brick. He looked down at his once grey tunic, now cut to ribbons and soaked red with blood, the fabric scraped his wounds and he'd have to be careful later when removing all the bits of cloth from the bleeding cuts later on. The last he would want is cast a proper healing spell and magic his wounds shut with cloth still lodged under his skin, that's a one way trip to a deadly infection. Loïc could only imagine how terrible he looked, his hair was wet with grease, sweat and blood, his eyes had dark bags underneath and his skin was pail from loss of blood. Still he couldn't help but give a bit of a smirk at the thought that in the past he was planned to have his chest cut open and his heart removed. If his current state was any indication, he was glad he left.

After a few seconds he turned back to Ketty. "What will you do now? I can imagine that an event such as this probably wasn't something you and your comrades expected. Not to mention all the losses you suffered."

 

[Kinton Nyr]

"I think I'm going to head to Whiterun to ask the Jarl for protection," she replied quickly, as if she had thought it through. "It's a risky move because they're Stormcloaks and they don't recognise us as Helgen's owners. But we do need somebody to protect us from a future vampire attack. I prize the lives of my friends over my pride."

As they reached the keep, still helping Loïc by helping him stay upright, she opened the door with her right hand and looked in to see that some of the wounded were resting around a table. Taking note of what he had said about addressing the situation of any of the afflicted men, she decided to deal with the situation later, and proceeded to walk Loïc in the direction of the room she had given to him.

"I think we should get you to bed for now," she said in a quiet and worried tone. "In the meantime, I'll round up the deceased and the wounded. We can share that mead in the morning."