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18+ What Lurks in the Dark [V.2]

"Haven't seen many Argonians in Skyrim lately. I'm guessing the bounty brings you to this nasty little town?" Bright glanced up from his meal, and noticed the grey furred, emerald eyed Khajiit sitting across from him. She wore form fitting grey armour, an exposed blade that the Argonian identified as a falchion, and a subtle aura of danger. Bright surmised she was an assassin, or mercenary of some sort. As he had with the two young Imperials, he inclined his head. "Nor have I seen many Khajiit. And you would guess correctly. I am known as Bright. A pleasure to meet another of the shadow trade here, in Falkreath" he said, gesturing to her armour and the six blades skilfully hidden in her belt.
 
Julius watched the battle with wide eyes. The elven archer shot several men, and her bird was viciously attacking a bandit. Then another man arrived, and drew his sword, cutting through the men that had been chasing Julius and the girl he'd met. In seconds the two obviously experienced warriors, the Nord and the Wood elf had finished off the bandits chasing them. He turned to look at the robed girl, wiping rain out of his face. "Are you okay?" He heard the wood elf woman talking about getting wet, and fighting thugs. "shall we?" It took Julius a few seconds to realize she was talking to them. "Uh...sure"
 
Aliah frowned as the Khajiit woman stood and left the table, approaching the Argonian across the room. She turned to the girl, who looked rather embarrassed about her introduction. She laughed softly, knowing she should be insulted, but wasn't, particularly. She hadn't been with the Thalmor since the Stormcloaks had attacked and destroyed the Embassy near Solitude. She hadn't thought of herself as one of their operatives in years. That didn't mean she had any particular love for humans, but she wasn't about to berate the girl for her overly friendly attitude. "I'm rather surprised I haven't been picked up by a roving patrol." she admitted. "And yes, Alinor is quite beautiful"
 
"Nor have I seen many Khajiit. And you would guess correctly. I am known as Bright. A pleasure to meet another of the shadow trade here, in Falkreath" Shadari had guessed the Argonian was an assassin, and was proven right as he gestured at her throwing knives that were secured at her belt. She responded with a tilt of her ears and a smile. "Agreed. It's an added bonus to not have to deal with those Dark Brotherhood weirdos. I guess our purposes here are the same, then." She didn't know exactly why she was giving away her personal information to the man, but she wasn't too worried he'd betray her. He didn't seem like the type Jorn would hire.
 
Pulling his hood up again, to protect against the ever-present rain, Torin glanced around. Besides the two humans and the Bosmer, with her falcon, it didn't seem like any living thing was present in the woods, especially not bandits. However, the ranger had no desire to stand around waiting for more of the ruffians to arrive, looking for their friends. Torin was a master of the bow, and fairly good at sword fighting, but he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of fighting a dozen or so bandits, when they could instead be moving on, to the warmth and relative safety of Falkreath. The young man stated that he was alright, and the ranger motioned for the wood elf to lead the way. "Very well, then. The road's that way. We should make haste."
 
The fighting was over, for now, at least. Elizabeth was soaked through, one of the many draw backs of wearing woollen robes in the rain. "Are you okay?" That was the Imperial legion soldier, who'd she first stumbled across. She got to her feet, and grimaced as her robe clung to her body. "I'm fine. I'll be even better once we're somewhere warm and dry" she looked over to the wood elf woman. "Let's get out of here"
 
"I'm sorry sir but I can't tell you that. You're a stranger and papa told me not to tell strangers who I am or where I live, or who he is. Apparently there's people who want to hurt him and for all I know you could be one of those people. My big sister's here with me though. Maybe you can met her?" Donath hadn't really expected anything different. The girl wasn't stupid, apparently. "Bah! Away with ye then, little lass." He turned back to his drink, waiting for the others to introduce themselves.
 
"I'm sure he has. He may be mortal, but he's not stupid. I suspect he's known what we are for the past several minutes"the other vampires reply didn't exactly reassure Averain. He'd only dealt with vampire hunters a few times before, and most of them were surprisingly dangerous to his kind. However, the half-Breton believed the Altmer when he non-nonchalantly stated that he'd dealt with the mans kind before. The Thalmor robed vampire emanated dark power. Averain made a mental note not to cross the mer. "I am Averain Silverblade. Knight for hire. May I have your name, sir?"
 
Salthar kept an eye on the vampire hunter. While he'd slain plenty of them in his time, every hunter was a little bit different. A few had even managed to surprise the Altmer vampire, shortly before he'd killed them. At the moment, however, he wasn't too worried. Despite their fierce hatred of vampires, hunters wouldn't put civilians at risk in order to accomplish their goals. Taking a look around the tavern, Salthar wasn't too sure that the current patrons counted as civilians. Many of them wore armour and weapons, like one short, bald Nord that had just chased off a young girl.

He turned his gaze to the one other Altmer in the room, a female vampire with stunning arterial red hair, and fine delicate features that had been beautiful before, and were honed to breathtaking by the onset of vampirism. 'And people say vampires are decrepit, filthy creatures that live in tombs...fools' "I am Averain Silverblade. Knight for hire. May I have your name, sir?" The voice brought his attention to the other vampire, the one who's table he was sharing. "My name, is Salthar Vivarian"
 
Lythare motioned for the group to follow, impressed by the rangers sense of direction. Drop most humans in a forest, in the dark, and they were, more often than not, hopelessly lost. "Aethos, come" she said, extending her forearm for the falcon to hop onto. The bird did so ,sidling up her arm, until he was perched on her shoulder. The group moved through the rain soaked forest, until they reached the road. From there, it was a simple matter of following the road to Falkreath.

The guards gave them little trouble, and soon, they reached the inn, dead mans' drink. Lythare was surprised to see a large assortment of people, of different races packing the place. A pale half-Breton, a hooded elf in Thalmor robes, an Altmer woman, with a pair of swords and wearing all leather, a pair of young Imperials, a man in the corner table who looked like he was in the middle of a ferocious headache, a Khajiit woman, wearing uniquely all grey, form fitting armour, and a short, bald, and very likely drunk Nord. "Oh joy." She muttered, heading for a free table. She glanced over her shoulder at the other two Imperials. The healer and the soldier kid. "You might want to dry off before you catch a cold" she said.
 
Alice and Cilla headed back to their table and were now ready for some dessert when they noticed three new arrivals. A pretty bosmer woman and a pair of Imperials. One was an imperial soldier who was about Alice's age and the other looked like a priest who was three or four years older than her. All of them were soaked to the core.

The two girls looked with a mix of pity and intrigue. The girl was pretty and the soldier was very handsome, they could both agree on that. So they decided to take a chance and make them feel welcome. Alice waved over the wandering barmaid.

"Excuse me? Could we get three heated blankets for those three that just arrived as well as some towels? They really look like they could use them?"

"Certainly. I'll make sure to get them a seat by the fire."

"Thank you. How much?"

"No charge for heat or blankets. Just return then when you're done."

"Thank you very much miss."

A stack of blankets and towels was produced quickly and the girls gathered them up. Alice with the blankets and Cilla with the towels. They walked over to make their presence known and greeted the Bosmer.

"Good evening." Alice said. "You guys look pretty miserable from over there so we brought you a little present."

"Here you go. The blankets will be more comfy if you dry off some." Cilla said while she handed them towels. She looked up at the priestly woman. "Excuse me ma'am? If you don't mind me asking, are you a priestess? Which of the divines do you serve? Akatosh? Talos?"

Alice chuckled at how direct Cilla was. Technically she was being nosy but it was also really cute.
 
Lythare moved her sodden hair out of her face, and noticed a young human woman standing in front of her. The Bosmer schooled her expression to keep the distaste she felt accepting something, even something as trivial as a towel from a human. Aethos flickered his soaked feathers, hopped his way down her arm, and made his way to the table, and cocked his head towards the humans, examining with a golden eye. "Thank you. I suppose" she said, wiping her face dry, before moving to a free seat.
 
"Nor have I seen many Khajiit. And you would guess correctly. I am known as Bright. A pleasure to meet another of the shadow trade here, in Falkreath" Shadari smiled at him, "Yes.A pleasure" she said, a cunning gleam coming to her eyes. The Khajiit assassin was no novice to the world of shadows, and when one assassin said it was a pleasure to meet someone, it was usually a warning. Of course, the Argonian might actually mean it, and since they would probably be working together, she laid a thin veneer of courtesy to the conversation.
 
Torin followed up behind the group, keeping a wary eye out for more bandits, although they would have had to be mad to stand around in the heavy rainfall. Nevertheless, the cautious ranger kept a hand on the hilt of his sword, and his keen eyes scanned the landscape around Falkreath every few steps. The tall, majestic evergreens provided excellent cover for any archer that could shoot straight in this weather. A little while later ,the four of them made it to the road, and from there, to Falkreath.

Despite the guards staring at them in mild surprise, obviously not expecting anyone this late, they didn't give the group any trouble. They entered the town, and Torin observed that most of its' inhabitants had to be asleep. The only buildings that had any light emanating from them were the inn, and the guard barracks. The Bosmer woman with the impressive aim lead the two young Imperials and Torin to the inn, which served as a tavern as well. Despite the late hour, the common room was packed, not with Nords, although he did spot one of the Skyrim natives at the bar, but there were many other races inside as well. Altmer, Imperials, Breton, a Khajiit and an Argonian.

'This is why I don't like cities. Too many people, and, honestly, none of whom I'd trust' the ranger decided, stepping around his three companions, who were accepting towels and blankets from a pair of very young Imperials. Taking a chair near the far wall, and close enough to the fire so that his clothes would fairly quickly, Torin removed his pipe from his belt, tamped down some pipe weed, and lighting it. He then put his boots up on a chair opposite him, and watched the proceedings.
 
Elizabeth smiled down at the little girl who was remarkably well spoken for someone her age. "Yes, I am a priestess. Well, technically, priestess in training. And I serve Arkay." She pulled the wooden amulet out from under her sodden tunic. "Strange, I know, Arkay is about more than just death" she said, tucking the amulet away and accepting a towel.

(OOC: A little short I know, but I'm pressed for time. Plus I need to work on my Hunt post)
 
Alice didn't miss the cocked look the Bosmer woman gave her and Cilla, or the brief second her nose wrinkled at them. They smelled much better than most of the patrons so maybe the elf didn't like the way humans smelled or something.

strange way to greet two strangers, I'll say that much. Maybe she's got some sort of problem with humans? It's possible. Plenty of Nords don't like elves, I could see elves having a reaction to humans. Hmm...

"You're quite welcome miss." Alice said with a polite smile, concealing her quizzical thoughts. The woman went over by the fire to find a seat while Cilla listened to the priestess girl. She explained that she followed Arkay and he was about more than just death. Considering the only priests of Arkay she had ever seen were at the Hall of the Dead in Whiterun or similar places in Cyrodiil Cilla looked confused.

"So if you're a priestess in training shouldn't you be at a temple reading books or something? I asked a priest one time about Arkay and he said that when everybody's born Arkay gives us our first breath of life. Is that true? Do you work in a tomb? I went to a tomb once with some of the other kids at home and it was really cold and it smelled funny and seeing all the coffins made me sad. I wanted to leave but my friend Braith, well she's not really my friend but she secretly likes my friend Lars, she dared me to open one but it was too heavy. Then the priest found us and we had to leave. I was okay with that, I didn't want to stay there and we could have gotten into trouble."
 
Julius gratefully accepted the towel from his fellow Imperial, and nodded in thanks. He did his best to dry his face, arms and legs, although it still felt like he'd been dropped head first into the sea of ghosts.He took a seat near the fire and tried to get warm, while taking in the rest of Inns' patrons. There were a few other Imperials, a Khajiit and an Argonian, and a couple of Altmer. None of which looked overly nice. It was probably safe to say they were in Falkreath for the bounty. "This is going to be uncomfortable..." he said, noticing that most of them looked like they'd just as readily cut his head off as help him.
 
Discretely, Tyresius had been listening in on the discussion between the two vampires sitting behind him. Until he heard the name Salthar Vivarian. A chill ran down his spine as he realized who he was dealing with. The Thalmor aligned vampire that dwelt in the Bloodlet throne was feared even in Cyrodiil. His fellow hunters guessed that the Altmer vampire had contacts and servants in the seat of the Empire as well. He turned towards the pair of vampires, stood and approached them. "Vivarian. I know what you're accused of. I am only going to say this once, nightspawn" he glanced at the other vampire, adorned in the armour of a knight. " If you attempt to feed on a mortal, you will face justice"
 
Salthar glanced up at the Imperial, intending to tell him how rude it was to interrupt a conversation that he hadn't been invited to, when the man spoke. "Vivarian. I know what you're accused of. I am only going to say this once, nightspawn" With that, he glanced at Salthars companion, Averain, obviously intending his words for both of them. " If you attempt to feed on a mortal, you will face justice" 'interesting. Clearly, he knows who and what I am.' The fact that the man, obviously some sort of vampire hunter or paladin, knew of him, and the fact that Salthat knew nothing of the human both intrigued and slightly worried him.

The Altmer vampire was not surprised at the mortals threat. It was a common way of covering up their own fear. He stood as well, knowing that he couldn't let the human get away with idle threats. "Isn't it odd how your kind dedicate their lives to hunting my kind. You slay us with out an ounce of remorse, and expect us to withdraw to our hidden crypts and decrepit castles peacefully. Now, you arrogant fool, if you utter one more threat, I'll flay you inch by inch" the vampire lord said, keeping his voice light and neutral. Almost as if he was discussing the weather with the Imperial. He glanced over towards the door, noticing a bosmer, a hooded man enter, along with two young Imperials, one a magic user of some kind, the other what looked to be an Imperial soldier. The two Imperial girls were offering them warm towels and blankets.

'More come to claim the bounty, I suppose' the vampire began to wonder how they'd ever split the ten thousand septim reward among themselves. Not that Salthar Vivarian needed gold. His treasuries were quite full with the taxes his coven had extracted from the villagers of Riverwood and Falkreath. He'd joined the venture in order to teach the fools what happened when they stole from their betters.
 
Every fibre of Tyresius' body urged him to strike down the impudent vampire standing before him. However, he hadn't reached his age by being foolish and rushing into battles. Besides, as much as Tyresius trained, and fought, he would inevitably slow down as he aged, where vampires only grew stronger, the longer they 'lived'. And judging by the way the Altmer held himself in a confident pose, and the cold aura of fear that seemed to ooze from every pore in his body, indicated that he'd been a vampire for a long, long time. He'd faced a few like Salthar before, and knew that even if he did cut him down with Justice, or shoot him with Vengeance, powerful vampires had a way of returning from death, to wreak a terrible toll on their supposed 'killers'. Something told Tyresius that he didn't want this particular vampire coming after him. From the reports he'd read, Vivarian was too well connected, too well funded, and very powerful in most schools of magic.

Plus, there was at least two other vampires in the room. The others inside, apart from the most recent new comers, and the two Imperial girls that were greeting them, didn't look like they'd be inclined to help him if he got in a fight with three angry vampires. Instead of pursuing the matter, he resolved to keep a very close eye on Vivarian, and his friends. If he knew vampires, it was only a matter of time before the Altmer struck. And Tyresius would be ready.He turned away, towards the bar once more, and ordered another goblet of wine, to wash away the sour taste in his mouth.
 
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