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"Then I shall be at your side." Viconia said softly, moving closer to me until I could smell her perfumed flesh over the smell of fresh snow and the furs we wore. "But don’t think I’m doing this for your yeunn Aedra or some long dead wael. I’m going to do this for you." |
I crushed her in an embrace once more, feeling her heat pressing against me. "I know. It’s not like we have a choice in this at least." |
"Find the unfindable, or watch the world be turned into a funeral pyre." She shivered as she pulled away and brushed snow from her arms, her gaze turning and looking to the south. "Either way, we will be warm at least." |
For the four days that we travelled south there was a strange pull, a desire that we could not shake no matter how hard we tried. From our discussions both Viconia and I had been granted the same sight of our destination on the south eastern portion of lake Rumare; a shrine under construction on the banks of the enormo... |
Moving off the highway as it snaked its way south east to the Blackmarsh-Morrowind borders made for slower travel. Within the first few hundred meters we were forced to dismount and lead Ultrin and Trygve on foot as the forests changed with every kilometre, becoming thicker, denser and shifting away from pines and har... |
It was noon on the fourth day’s travel by the time we managed to clear the vegetation and find ourselves gazing upon Lake Rumare. From our positions on the far bank we could only barely see the towering spire of White-Gold Tower dozens of kilometres away, and to the south west there was a smoky pall hanging on the hor... |
As a thin strip of sand between the water’s edge and the encroaching vegetation, there seemed like there was little room as Viconia joined me with the enormous bulk of Ultrin close behind. Even without the two enormous warhorses there was not much space in the tiny bay that we had found ourselves in. |
"The Surface world always seems to be filled with such wonder and beauty," She said simply, looking about the sight before us. The calmness of the bay and the feeling of the warm breeze on our faces were strangely relaxing but Viconia was still as taut as a wire. "I cannot help but look around myself for the hidden sp... |
There was no doubting the coldness of her tone and I put my arm around her and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "The Underdark is far from here." |
"Not far enough." Viconia shuddered before pulling away and tying Ultrin’s reins to his saddle. "But now that we are here, we best start looking for this shrine." |
I nodded, following her to where our steeds trotted into the water to drink their fill. It was a beautiful day but as we moved closer to the water and down the sandy slope to the small beach, I felt a cold chill pass through my body as my subconscious picked up what my conscious mind had not. |
Realisation crept into my mind and I stopped in place, feeling the sand grip tight to the soles of my boots. "This isn’t right." |
Vicona had realised the same thing as I had, keeping one eye on our horses while looking about at the sight before us. "Vith... There’s no trace of any shrine. There’s almost no trace of anything being here." |
"There has to be something though. We both saw what Pelinal showed us." |
"You can see for yourself Mrannd’ssinss," Viconia said with a wave of her hands. "There is nothing here." |
I closed my eyes and controlled my breathing. The overwhelming feeling of failure and that we had wasted almost a week on a useless journey was like acid in my stomach, even consuming the nagging instinct that we were in the right place. It was all I could do to relax, and my gloves creaked as I formed fists. |
The sights that Pelinal had revealed to us flowed through my mind like water, and even as I stood there with our enormous warhorses trotting closer to the water to drink I knew that I was standing close to where I had in the vision. In my mind’s eye I could see the dozens of builders and miners scurrying about with th... |
"Oh vith uns’aa..." I swore under my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose with forefinger and thumb with the realisation. |
While I had murmured the expletives in Drow it was still loud enough for Viconia to hear me, even over the sounds of Ultrin and Trygve splashing into the water. "What?" |
"We are in the right place, and the shrine is here." |
"Really? Where?" |
Ignoring the sarcasm in her voice, I gestured to the water. "Right in front of us." |
"I think the accursed sun has gone to your head..." She trailed off, blinking and scowling forcefully as she too realised what I had. Over the course of thousands of years, Lake Rumare and the Niben had risen considerably and had effectively submerged the entirety of the shrine under several metres of water. "Have I m... |
"I’m not overly impressed with them either." I replied simply, unclasping and shrugging off my cloak before working on the various leather straps and buckles that fastened my armour to my body. "They seem to have a twisted sense of humour." |
"And they don’t have the decency to inflict their tortures face to face." |
Her face was impassive as she watched me pull the various pieces of my armour off and left them in a neat pile on the grassy edge of the tiny beach. Even the daedroth scaled chainmail was shrugged over my head and laid out in the grass along with nearly every other piece of heavy clothing I usually wore. |
"Well, it was about time you had another bath." Viconia laughed but there was little humour in it. She too had begun stripping her armour off despite her obvious distaste. |
"I hate water. Its filled of disease and fish fuck in it." Another thought entered my mind as I buckled Sunchild down my back. "Speaking of fish, keep your eyes open for slaughterfish." |
Stopping in mid motion as she took off her boots, Viconia gazed at me intently. "What do they look like?" |
"A stomach, with a tail on one end and teeth on the other." |
She directed another glance at the water but copied me in adjusting Dragonbane’s scabbard and belt to hang down her spine. While I knew that armour would have resulted in us drowning, I wasn’t liking the thought of coming face to face with one of the most voracious denizens that lived in Tamriel’s waterways without it... |
Rolling my arms and loosening them up I took several deep breaths in preparation for the swim. "Here’s hoping it’s not entirely flooded." |
"Here’s hoping that some bandit doesn’t come and steal our equipment." |
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. "Any bandit that is smart or lucky enough to get past two tonnes of trained warhorse is welcome to our stuff." |
Whistling to our steeds before diving into the water I was left as ease at the sight of the pair of saddled destriers moving over to graze near our discarded armour. Neither of them would wander too far in our absence and I doubted that anyone was anywhere nearby anyway. The tiny bay was far away from the main roads o... |
The water was chilly but bearable, the snow-melt from the northern counties and the somewhat cool days ensuring that even at the mouth of the Niben winter was making itself felt. Swimming was one of the many skills that I did not have confidence with, but my vampiric nature at least allowed me to ignore my unease. I w... |
It was a sensation that was not helped with how quickly and abruptly the ground fell away as I swam from the beach. The bottom dropped away almost a metre vertically with every metre that we moved from the shore and within a few strokes I felt uncomfortably exposed. |
Viconia entered the water with all the grace of a being born to it, diving under and resurfacing with her hair plastered to her neck and face. The only metal other than her swords that remained on her person was her circlet and it proved its worth in keeping her hair out of her eyes. |
"I’ll dive down first and see what I can find." Brushing my hair from my face with one hand while treading water with the other, I couldn’t help but think of the way that my clothes were sticking to my body. It was even more difficult not to think of how Viconia’s clothes would be sticking to her curves as she bobbed ... |
The bright blue sky fell away into a world of blurs and echoing burbles of sound. Light sparkled through the rippling surface, playing across the bottom of the lake nearly ten metres below and I found myself admiring the strange still beauty of the underwater world. |
Strangely thankful for my curse in a new way, my vampiric eyes turned the crystallised view of the underwater realm into something hollow and two-dimensional but allowed me to see much clearer than I would have found possible as a mortal. Large rocks and boulders poked through the silt of the ages, and everywhere I lo... |
But it was there, and my eyes looked over the enormous marble blocks where they were almost hidden under three millennia of mud, picking out the larger pieces of the shrine and even glimpsing a darker recess in the marble where the entrance beckoned. Kicking my legs, I pushed down and dived a few metres until my ears ... |
Viconia saw me appear several dozens metres away from where she remaining treading water, and as I regained my breath she made her way over to me. "Well?" |
"It’s worth a shot." Feeling the strain in my muscles that were not used to such exertion, my mouth slipped before the surface for a moment and left me spitting "The shrine is mostly flooded, but there is air down there. It’s a bit of a swim though." |
"I’m sure I have experienced worse." Viconia muttered, choosing to ignore my unspoken warning and suggestion. "I’m a better swimmer than you anyway." |
I raised an eyebrow questioningly and shrugged as best I could while I treaded water. We swum in place for several minutes, breathing heavy to fill our bodies with air and with a mutual nod between us we filled our lungs with one last massive breath, plunging our heads underwater and kicking out for the bottom. My wor... |
The vertical dive was somehow the easiest part as the weight of our swords pulled us down, but once we reached the yawning abyss of the shrine’s entrance we had to angle ourselves through the silt and various plants growing from the bottom. It was easily three or four times deeper than I was tall to the bottom, and al... |
So was Viconia, and her motions began to become more jerky and hurried. With trembling arms, she pulled on the sides of the tunnel to propel herself forward, appearing as a shadow with burning red eyes as she used her own abilities to see in the darkness. Between the pressure, the darkness and the distance we had to t... |
Fangs split my lips in a smile and suddenly death by drowning appeared as inconsequential as a mosquito bite. Just like it had when I had fallen into Lake Arrius the vampire simply ignored such fragile mortal concerns and concentrated on surviving instead. Bubbles billowed out of my mouth as I turned to Viconia as she... |
Coughing and spluttering she began to vomit up a considerable amount of water, alternating between her uncontrollable heaving to try to stare at me murderously. In between the sound of her retching I could her a staccato of curses and epithets in Drow, only pausing to throw up until there was nothing left to expel. |
Her eyes glowed blood red in the darkness as they picked up all sources of heat and warmth within the small antechamber that we had found ourselves in, but there was just enough light for us to see the faintest of shapes. Small chunks of Welkynd Stones glowed faintly in their sockets embedded in the walls, showing the... |
"Are you all right?" My words came out as deep and terrible growls and I flinched as she twisted away from me instinctively. Between my changed throat and appearance, she pushed herself away slightly before I crushed the vampire away with my will. |
The silence that fell between us was broken only by the soft crunches of bone as my face returned to normal. "Sorry." |
Viconia turned her eyes away, running her hands over her scalp and pressing the water out of her long blonde hair. "It’s okay. You... You just startled me." |
It was obvious that she was doing everything in her power not to look me in the face. "I didn’t mean to. Are you alright?" |
"I’ll be fine. Next time we really need to check how far we have to swim." |
Nodding in reply, I turned and gazed off into the depths of the shrine with my eyes peeling the darkness away. "We can rest here for a little while if need be." |
"I said, I’ll be fine..." She rose to her feet, checking that Dragonbane was still within its scabbard and continuing to cough. "Let’s go see what surprises this ruin has in store for us." |
With no available reply, I turned and began moving softly into the darkness. We moved with the utmost care, following the paths of the ancient halls carefully as we had little idea what we were venturing into. It was cold, especially with how both of us were soaked to the skin and for the first dozen metres at least, ... |
"It’s a curse." I said suddenly, surprising Viconia enough for her to jump. |
"What?" the pair of ruby red glows turned and faced me in the shadows. The handful of welkynd stones scattered about the ruins were enough to show her outline but not much more. |
"Vampirism. It’s a curse." |
After several long, pregnant seconds she turned and attempted to concentrate on the passage before us. "Is this really the best time to be talking about this?" |
"I have said that I would eventually tell you more about how it is to be a vampire, and this seems to be as a good a time as any." |
"Because of how you reacted. I don’t want you to be afraid of me." |
She sighed, very softly that it was almost impossible to hear. "I’m more afraid of the unknown than you Mrannd’ssinss. We have faced them together, killed them together and while I mightn’t truly understand the curse I know that you would never hurt me. You have proven this several times already." |
"I don’t think I could ever harm you, vampire or not." I said, stooping under a fallen marble support where it had taken part of the ceiling away as it fell. Roots and creepers hung down from the soil and rocks above our heads, a sign that we were under the beach at least. "Most of the time I am... well... me. But the... |
"Something else?" Ducking down, she took my offered hand as I helped lift her up from under the fallen column. "How do you mean?" |
"I revel in bloodshed, and inflicting pain. When I let the beast take control there is nothing more thrilling than the taking of lives. I relish the agony and there have been several times where despite the overwhelming thirst to feed on someone’s blood has been sated by the mere act of torturing them." |
"Such as that, woman... you dealt with near Anvil those months ago." |
I couldn’t help but grimace and feel ice grow in the depths of my stomach at the memory. "Yes." |
"You should do it more then." |
She watched my reaction as I stopped in place, turned and looked at her in shock. "What?" |
"You should do it more. I’ve been watching you and your changes these past months and while you might think you are being careful I can tell when you satisfy your urges." |
Despite the darkness of the ruins where only a handful of faint welkynd stones lit our path, I knew that she saw the flush that spread up from my neck and across my face. It wasn’t the first time that I had cursed her unusual ability to see heat in darkness. "Satisfying those urges for the most part simply involves dr... |
"What would happen if you were to not drink?" |
"I would lose myself to the darkness, become more and more like an animal until I fed." |
"And when you do you become stronger, both in body and mind." There was steel in her tone and I could feel the burning embers of her eyes resting on me. "I have seen you become something far greater than a mere surfacer during our travels and I believe the longer you live and the more you feed the more you will contin... |
"I realise this, and I told you of what Volmyr spoke of before we fought. Blood is the key to the strength of the vampire." |
Stopping in place I held a hand up in front of me, concentrating as I stared at the palm of my hand. A small ball of fire sprung to life for an instant, casting flickering shadows through the passage and illuminating Viconia’s ebony features. |
"What..." She hissed, confused and trying to understand what she had just seen. "You have never shown me that you can cast elge faer..." |
"Destruction Magicka? Until recently I thought I couldn’t." |
"How recent is recently?" |
It took me everything not to meet her gaze. "The past weeks. I discovered I can conjure fire in the days after my run-in with the Rangers. But even for the weeks before that I have noticed that my restoration has markedly improved." |
"It appears to be more proof that the more you feed the greater your strength and power becomes." |
"Yes. But I also know that my ability with magicka has markedly increased since I fed on the vampire matriarch in Glenvar." |
"You... You fed on that elg’caress?" The steel in her tone was increasing with every second. "I thought you had simply killed her..." |
"Well, technically I did when I broke her spine and threw her outside." |
"But you still fed on her. Is feeding on your own kind even possible?" |
I shrugged. "I don’t know. I suppose it is as I’m living proof but I’m also able to exist in sunlight and I’ve never heard of my other abilities." |
"Whether it is or it isn’t, it is useful." A gleam was building in her eyes that was uncomfortably reminding me of how power was intoxicating to her. |
"It is. I can move faster than almost anything alive, I’m strong enough to meet werewolves and minotaurs head on and can simply ignore injuries that would leave veteran legionaries screaming on the ground. Although it comes at a cost. The more I call upon the vampire’s strength and abilities, the more I lose myself. I... |
"Is this why you prayed at those shrines? For nelgetha... forgiveness?" |
"I don’t think that what I have become can be cured or forgiven and I don’t think there’s any repentance available from the gods. The only thing that truly awaits me is a daily struggle not to give in to this... curse..." |
Awkwardly, Viconia’s hand ran down my arm, pressing the soaked fabric against my flesh and making us even more aware of how cold it was in the darkness. For the briefest of moments our fingers brushed together, but we both pulled away as I came to a halt and stared at the long corridor in front of us. |
"You see that?" |
"I can’t see much of anything mrannd’ssinss." She replied simply. "It’s far too cold and there’s not enough light." |
"Wait here." I said to her as I snapped off one of the many tree roots dangling from the ceiling that appeared drier than the others. We may have been above the waterline but there was a permanent dampness to the ruin despite the dust and soil that had fallen through the cracked masonry over the centuries. The cracks ... |
"Traps... We must be getting close." |
"How can you tell?" Viconia’s eyes were positively glowing now with the heat of the torch, giving her an intimidating, daedric appearance in the gloom. |
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