It was just after midday when the vampire’s lair came into view. Aravi stopped walking and slowly crouched in case they had someone watching the entrance for intruders. The long grass came up to her breast. Her helm was stowed in her pack still; she will put it on before entering the ruin. She waved at Vera and Kayla, letting them know she could see their destination.

The vampires could have chosen a worse spot to hide. A beautiful waterfall splashed over the mouth of their cave, partially concealing it from view. A small, but deep pool of water formed in front of it. I would be tempted to swim if I didn’t think there were vampires just inside.

The vampires could have also chosen a better place to hide. They were too close to the city of Chorrol, and it wouldn’t take long for their activity to be noticed. Then the countess would dispatch mercenaries or professional hunters and this place would be one of the first to be checked.

Aravi flicked her ears in an effort to clear the bugs buzzing around her head. She was hot in her armor, her fur was sticky. There were many things she missed about Cyrodiil while she lived in Skyrim, but right now she longed for the cool mountain air. The bugs weren’t nearly as thick either. She flicked her ears again and tried to listen for anything while her companions approached.

If vampires could smell wet dog, they'd compare Vera to one of the wolves running out about the countryside. The heat was intense, and she began to sweat under her armor. And the small pool was simply beckoning to her for a drink. Vera was half-tempted to quench her thirst before he continued with her companions.

Vera crouched beneath the tall grass next to Aravi, and set her eyes directly on the running waters of the cavern and straight at the entrance which led to the nest of the slumbering nosferatu. At first everything seemed tranquil with the running waters, the birds singing above the branches and the butterflies fluttering in the distance. That was, until Vera saw past the waterfall and glimpsed a man standing right behind it. A human man. She couldn't tell if he was Breton or Imperial, but certainly a two-legged guard-dog standing outside. Whether he was mesmerized into their service or doing it for his own accord, it didn't matter to her. Though his only error could be standing there at the wrong place, at the wrong time, he was just as good as dead as those vampires who were inside.

Vera pointed her nose at the entrance with the kick of her head. "There's a man there," she told Aravi in a low whisper. She wasn't sure if Aravi spotted him or not. "If he sees us, he will raise an alarm to those inside."

She swung her pack from her shoulder, and placed it before her and Aravi. She opened it and inside was revealed a number of deadly tools; throwing stars, different colored vials of poison, and two hunting knives. One of which was mystical in appearance, and had Daedric lettering over the blade. The hilt seemed made of bone and was formed into the likeness of a wolf's jaw but the metal itself was undoubtedly Daedric. This was a weapon even Vera used in rare occasions. There was a fate worst than death for those whose life would be taken by this very dagger.

Aside from that, Vera picked away a green vial and held it up close to Aravi's face. "This here is a poison that can paralyze in seconds. Once it hits into the bloodstream it spreads just as fast as the blood flows." She turned to see if Kayla was there, too. But she remained focus on Aravi. "Vampires can smell blood, especially if too much is spilled."

She had thought of finding a way to shoot the man down with a bolt to his head, or cutting open his throat with one of her blades. But either outcome would result in bloodloss, and she didn't want to make her prey aware of their presence just yet. "You look like a girl with nimble feet. You're not as armored as I am. Get this inside his body without spilling too much of his blood. Everything else will be done for you. He won't speak, he won't wail, he will be powerless to even move a muscle. Just be strong enough to hold him so that he doesn't splash into the pool."

To avoid bloodshed, Vera added. "Vampires won't smell his blood if I snap his neck."

Kayla saw the flicker of movement behind the waterfall that Vera mentioned. She cursed, in her thoughts, the unrelenting heat. she sorely missed the Skyrim weather, as harsh as it was, she hated sitting and sweating.

She listened to Vera's options as she stayed crouched low, next to the other two women, and looked at Aravi.

"Snapping his neck is a good idea. No blood. It's just getting that close that poses the problem." She murmured. "You won't have to worry too much about splashing if you can drag him closer to the waterfall..." She pursed her lips.

"I wonder if he's a thrall..."

"There's a man there. If he sees us, he will raise an alarm to those inside."

Aravi saw him as soon as Vera pointed him out. He was standing just in the shadow of the cave, making him difficult to see. His dark clothing blended well with the rock behind him.

Vera opened her pack in front of them. Aravi spied many tools to end someone’s life. A dagger of Daedric origin caught her eye. A vial was the object of Vera’s search. She held it out to Aravi and shared her idea.

Kayla agreed with Vera’s plan. “I wonder if he’s a thrall…”

Aravi spoke. “There isn’t anything we can do for him. I’m not going to leave him behind us.” She took the vial from Vera. She shook the fluid inside. It was thick but still flowed freely. She wondered if her own claws would be able to deliver the poison. She would have to be careful to wash them in the pond as soon as she could.

“I’ll put some of the poison on my claws and break his skin. He won’t bleed much and after he’s paralyzed we can bandage him if we need to.”

“Vera, have your crossbow ready just in case.”

“Kayla… if you can be quiet you can come with me.”

Kayla nodded, keeping her eyes on the man. "If you'd like, I can hold him down while you deliver the poison."

Godsdamn, the sweat!

Vera looked at Kayla and nodded. "He won't splash if he's paralyzed."

She looked at Aravi, and liked the idea of her using her claws to deliver the poison. It was efficient, and not as messy as say slicing his throat open or shooting an arrow through his skull. Vera looked at the pond, and saw that the water too was a weapon she could use. She looked over at Aravi and Kayla, and pointed her nose to the water. "The paralysis takes time to dissipate. Depending on the dosage. Whatever is in there will last quite some time."

Frankly, snapping his neck wouldn't even be nescessary . . . not when he can drown to death with his head submurged in the water.

Vera prepared her crossbow as slowly and gently as possible, and before Kayla and Aravi left, she spoke. "Deliver the poison, and when he's paralized, Kayla you can go ahead and drown him. He won't be able to move as the water goes into his body into his lungs."

It wasn't the most beautiful way to die, it was far from it, but Vera knew it had to be done. She wanted to hunt down the vampires with little resistance.

She held her crossbow in hand, and had the bolt ready. Now all that was left was putting the plan into motion.

Aravi nodded. She held onto the vial. She would wait just before she attacked to put it on. I would hate for a careless touch to paralyze myself.

The man wasn't a disciplined guard, she was glad to see. He was sitting at the water’s edge now. His boots were off and his feet dangled in the water. His pale complexion made Aravi guess he was a Nord or a Breton.

Had he stayed by the mouth of the cave, it would have been nearly impossible for Aravi to get close without being seen. Now his attention was completely on the pond. He was throwing stones, trying to skip them over the surface.

Her mood soured. Gods he’s young. Let’s get on with it.

“Follow me Kayla.”

Aravi started moving through the long grass, angling herself to approach him from behind. Her hand loosened the stopper on the vial.

Kayla noted that the man was at the very entrance of the cave. She saw a stray bit of sunlight hit the man and noted he didn't flinch.

Her stomach dropped.

He's a thrall, not a fledgling. She realized. She made a decision to not drown him, but to carefully place him aside. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. Vampires used mortal thralls to keep watch on their lairs, and as a way to tell where intruders were during the daylight. At night, they fed on their sleeping thralls and, eventually, turned them.

She inwardly cursed herself for not mixing up a batch of dispel potions the night before. Too late now. She thought as she cast a muffle spell on her feet and followed Aravi, careful to mimic the Khajiit's moves.

The snap of Kayla’s spell was the last Aravi heard of her. Aravi didn’t look back to check, she knew Kayla was behind her.

She moved quickly, the more time she was out, the more likely it was that the guard would turn his head and spot them. Then all he would have to do is shout.

Ten feet away she opened the vial and poured its contents onto her claws without slowing. She could see now he had an iron breast plate beneath his shirt. His pants were toughened hide. Not true armor, but enough to prevent her claws from getting through.

Aravi stopped and turned to let Kayla step ahead.

Kayla saw the opening Aravi gave her and sprinted silently ahead. The man turned and had enough time to widen his eyed and take a breath before Kayla slid her left arm around his throat.

He thrashed, but his air was cut off and his feet off the ground to avoid splashing as Kayla gripped the inside crook of her right elbow with her left hand and pushed his head forward with her right hand. The momentum of her run had knocked them into the cave wall with a soft thud. The pair faced Aravi.

His boot kicked her shin, and it took everything she had to not cry out in pain as she shot Aravi a look to hurry up.

Aravi grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled it up passed his elbow. With her other hand, she sank her claws deeply into his exposed skin and dragged them down his arm. Her claws left long bloody furrows. That should get plenty of the poison in. He stopped struggling and went white. For a foolish moment, Aravi thought the poison had already worked. She jumped back when he kicked at her, and then at Kayla with renewed vigor. His eyes were wild with panic.

As quickly as it came, his fight became weak and feeble. He went limp in Kayla’s arms; he couldn’t even turn his head.

“It’s working,” Aravi said in a hushed tone. She looked at the pond. “Let’s get this over with.”

Kayla shook her head and set him gently down. "I never kill thralls. It's not their fault." She made sure he was leaning comfortably against the cave wall before inspecting her shin.

That's what I get for wearing thin armor. she scolded herself. She motioned to Vera that the coast was clear.

Vera stood idly as Kayla and Aravi went out together as the thrall was distracted, occupied with throwing stones in the pond out of boredom. Vera saw Kayla cast some sort of spell, and given the noise reduction Vera suspected it was meant to somehow quiet her movements. Aravi moved in first, and gave Kayla room to attack. The Altmer went in behind him, lowered her arm below and around his neck and turned him so that Aravi could apply the poison.

The huntress watched as Aravi rushed in, pulled up his sleeve and gave the man a dose of the paralysis with her deadly claws. Within moments Vera saw the familiar effects of her poison take place. The man went white, and his limbs went limp and he slumped in Kayla's arms. It was done.

Vera allowed herself a slight smile. That went better than I expected . . .

She threw the crossbow over her shoulder and went forth to meet with Kayla and Aravi. As she passed along the edge of the pond, she heard Kayla say something as she looked down upon the thrall.

"I never kill thralls. It's not their fault." Kayla said.

Vera gave the thrall a sharp look, paused, and then bent over and grabbed him by the collar with a single hand and dragged him over the edge, and into the water. There was no splashing, no resistance. The only sound was the waterfall and the slight bubbles rising to the surface until it was no more.

The Imperial stood over the edge, and spoke to Kayla though her back was still to her. "You'll kill them if they'd tried to drive a blade in your belly. They won't have a second's hesitation. Either you deliver the blow first, or you just might find yourself heading to Auriel's feet."

Their fault or no, they would still try to kill their enemies and Vera was a firm believer in self-defense no matter what. In this life, it is either them or me.

She turned around and headed toward the wooden entrance to the cavern. And so we begin.

She opened the door slightly, and went inside.

Aravi frowned. She agreed with Vera, the safest thing is to kill him. She didn’t like it, but she wasn’t going to risk the poison wearing off while they were in there and taking his sword in the back.

She made no move to stop the Imperial. Either Vera did it, or Aravi would.

Vera dragged his body into the pond and let go. Damn it.

She quietly let her displeasure known. “I was hoping to cool off in that pond when we were done here.” There’s no way I’m swimming with a corpse in the water.

She shook her head and followed Vera inside.

Kayla's fists clenched. Who does she think she is?!

She had half a mind to yank Vera back out of the cave by her hair and scold her, but she wouldn't do something so childish. Not now, not ever. Starting a fight in enemy territory was suicide. She took a calming breath and pushed down the negative feelings.

She's right. The cocky woman is right. Leaving him behind alive would kill all of us.

Had it been just her, she could be in and out, no problem. Kayla wasn't used to working in groups, and had no idea how much they would slow each other down. All of them looked quick enough alone, but since only Aravi and Kayla had shared techniques before coming here, neither of them knew how Vera operated.

By the looks it it, she never leaves anyone alive anyways, Kayla thought as she slid in behind Aravi into the mouth of the cave. She had seen the woman's arsenal. At least we can expect that much. Kayla wondered if the Imperial woman had a shred of compassion in her. If she did, it wasn't for those in the position of the thrall. Kayla took one last look at the pool where the body had sunk and whispered a nearly audible prayer in Nordic before completely sliding into the darkness.

Here the darkness is always. There is no sun, no dawn; just the perpetual gloom of shadow. The only light comes from the dimly lit candles set near sacrificial posts and above dining tables elevating a supply of organs and flesh and blood. The cave was just the place for Sedrane and his followers to make their abode. It was always in shadow, rendering terms like day and night meaningless.

This small haven granted them refuge from the sun, and safety from the hunters and the neighboring cattle. But not for long, though. Many enemies were out there, and he was sure they would be closing in one of these days.

The Dunmer patriarch sat on the table of his makeshift office in the corner of the chamber, flipping through the pages of an old book, pages yellowed with age. In this book, in Dunmeri words, was the knowledge he sought. What he had now, what he was, was but a speck of power compared to what he could become and what was out there waiting to be claimed.

I need it . . . I need it . . . my immortality depends on it! No longer will I sit and wait until a hunter walks into my lair to slay me. I must put my plans into motion or else it will be too late . . .

Vampires were all blessed with the power of Bal in varying degrees all over Tamriel. But the purebloods . . . the Daughters of Coldharbour and the Vampire Lords . . . It marked them as the elite; it elevated them above the lower ranks of the undead. And it was an existence that was fervently protected. To the eyes of the pureblooded, vampires without any connection to a clan was an abomination; by custom and law such a creature could not be suffered to live and Sedrane had to change that. Lamae was the first of their kind, the matriarch of the nosferatu and from her came countless vampires who never had to evolve. And there was walking relics there to be found. One had been located, but not yet retrieved and it was near. Closer than he once thought.

But his followers, the ones he turned, did not know of this. They only craved blood, not knowledge. They wanted flesh, not information of the betterment of themselves and this pained him. This is why Sedrane promised them that if they find the mobile relic that would make them vampire lords, the ultimate being of the vampiric race. No manner of captives, cattle, or thralls could ever substitute that. And so he sent three of them into the night to search for rumors. One returned alive, and with nothing. And this worried him.

The hunters are on my scent, and it would only be a matter of time before they find my lair and what I hope to discover. That in Cyrodiil, one of these relics of ancient power was there, alive, and within reach.

Sedrane rubbed his eyes, and closed the book shut. He needed rest, and he needed it right away. The stories of old, the tales of mythical antiquity could wait. But not the coffin.

Kayla slid in behind the other two woman, but neither of them could block the wall of stench that slammed into her nose. She gulped and breathed softly and slowly out of her mouth, careful to not make any extra noise.

When they reached the bottom, Kayla noticed a door on her right side, while in front of them, the large cave still echoed slightly with the sound of the waterfall outside. She gently tapped Aravi and Vera's shoulders and signaled that she saw three vampires. She just hoped they were as adept at seeing in the dark as she was, and she know that Aravi would have naturally keen eyesight in the dark.

But then again, Altmer were supposed to be great mages, and Kayla was not.

Kayla lightly tapped Aravi's bow and pointed at the nearest vamp, singled out from the others, hoping Aravi would understand the message.

Aravi never became used to the stench. It was a fresh shock each time she set foot inside of one of these places. She heard Kayla behind her gulp softly. It was oddly comforting knowing the other woman had the same problem.

She saw three vampires already. They are up at an odd hour for vampires.

She felt a soft tap on her shoulder. She looked back at Kayla, who signaled that she saw three. Good. She can see.

Kayla then tapped Aravi’s bow and pointed at the nearest one. Aravi gave her a short nod.

She turned back. Uh-oh. The vampire was sniffing the air, catching a scent like a dog. Our sweat.

Aravi took her short bow and selected an arrow with a large arrow head. This vampire wasn’t wearing armor and she was going to shoot it in the head.

A quick check on the other two showed that they had their attention on something on the ground, farther back in a wide open chamber. Both of their backs where to her, and she couldn’t tell what held their attention.

The other vampire was looking around now. She set the arrow to her string and pulled. She quickly lined up the arrow with the vampire and let go. The snap of the bowstring sounded harsh to her ears. The vampire looked right at her and opened his mouth.

The arrow hit him in the face, snapping his head back. He hit his head against the cave wall when he fell back.

Aravi quickly drew another arrow and set it to her string, not sure if the other vampires heard. It all sounded so loud to her. It always does.

Vera felt the small tap on her shoulder and looked at Kayla as she pointed out three vampires near by. Vera’s eyes adjusted to the darkness quite perfectly, and she was able to see the shadows and gloom brighten as day. Vera kept her head in the direction away from Kayla, lest the glow of any nearby torch reflect off her own eyes and glow in the cavern’s darkness. Last thing on her mind was a vampire hunter wanting to put a sword down the back of her neck for being a Lycanthrope, and she had the feeling she got on Kayla’s nerves already.

The smell of the cave was foul, and it had a stench of rotting flesh. It didn’t bother Vera as much as it would have in her younger years. While she seldom familiarized the stench with caverns, she was quite use to the smell of dead bodies when working in the Fighter’s Guild and waking up without any clothes in the morning next to a half-eaten deer.

Aravi was quick to react, and managed to fell one of the vampires and as she prepared to strike a blow to the other two, Vera walked forth with her crossbow in hand. She could find a way to kill both of them, but it wouldn’t be as covert. Vera shot a glance at Kayla and motioned for the high elf to prepare her weapon.

She let out a long, swift whistle that caught the attention of the vampires. Both of them turned from their distraction, and the moment they did Vera fired. The bolt swirled through the air and struck the vampire at the bottom of his throat. The creature yelped in pain a fraction of a second before he crumbled to dust in an instant, and his clothes fell to the floor beside his blackened remains. The other had her attention to Vera and Kayla, and Vera waited for Kayla to fire . . . lest the vampire make it known that there are intruders in the cavern.

Either way . . . the hunt was the hunt and Vera would have to change tactics.

Vera’s loud whistle caught Aravi off guard. They know we’re here. Both vampires whirled around. Vera’s crossbow sounded, and one was no more.

Aravi pulled her second arrow to her cheek, lined it up with the last vampire, and loosed.

The string snapped against her arm and the arrow struck the vampire in the breast. The force of the unexpected impact knocked him to the floor. She heard him gasp, trying to get air into a lung that was punctured.

He's not dead!

Kayla drew her sword, the blade glowing hot in the presence of the undead. In a flash she propelled herself forward and sank her blade deep into the heart of the vampire. She put her boot on his neck to prevent him from crying aloud until he spasmed one last time before turning to ash. She quickly sheathed Dawnbreaker, afraid the glow would attract more attention.

Better come collect this when we're finished...Fresh ash is hard to come by.

Kayla's quick action prevented the vampire from alerting the rest of the cave. Aravi was relieved that they still had the element of surprise. They had only entered the cave and already encountered three vampires.

Kayla's sword looked powerful, Aravi would be sure to ask to examine it when they got out of this place. Her own fire enchanted sword glowed dully, like hot steel, when she drew it. This sword radiated light that reminded Aravi of the stars in the sky.

Aravi went over the Kayla, still being careful to make as little noise as she could. She wasn't surprised to see her arrow was broken. She retrieved it nonetheless, sometimes they could be fixed.

She whispered to Kayla, "what's this?" Dusted in the freshly killed vampires, a dirty and torn piece of parchment lay on the ground. Drops of blood sprinkled one corner, and water damage obscured another. Looks like a map. She didn't recognize anything on it however. Maybe Kayla or Vera will.

Kayla had dispatched the last vampire with a ferocious attack. Vera saw, that perhaps, he underestimated Kayla a bit. The woman's scars certainly showed she was no stranger to combat, but this level of harsh action only made her respect Kayla a bit more. Her sword was something of interest, however. The blade glowed with an enchantement that Vera had never seen on mundane magic-altered swords, if mundane would be the proper word anyways.

This looked much like a Daedric artifact and this only made Vera more curious. She couldn't of stoled it, lest she incured the wrath of the Daedric Prince . . . Meridia? The only Daedra a vampire hunter would revere next to Azura. She couldn't imagine Kayla getting that weapon from Molag Bal or Sanguine. The blade itself radiated with a brightness that seemed like a dwarfed sun was living inside of the weapon. She must have done something to please the Daedric Prince to acquire such a weapon.

Aravi whispered something to Kayla, and Vera turned her attention from the sheathed blade to the piles of dust and burnt cloth on the ground. Vera approached the two women, and looked at the ground to see a map tattered at the sides with a bit of blood drops over the edges as water affected the rest, but the map was still somewhat readible.

Vera bent low to the parchment and gently unfolded the rest of it, so that more of the land was revealed on that old piece of paper. A few forts were marked on the map with red circles made from blood, and paths that led to forests. Vera noticed that the roads weren't marked off, and that a small note on the bottom read: "Remain clear from the roads, travel in shadow."

So, Vera mused. They were planning on migrating the nest somewhere else . . . or maybe they were searching for something? Vera couldn't imagine what. She hasn't been in those parts of Cyrodiil for awhile, and the last time she remembered anything about that land mark rumors of graverobbers and deranged kidnappers were abound. But nothing out of the ordinary in a place like that.

She folded the map again, handed it over to Kayla. "Keep this with you." She said, and then turned to Aravi. "Looks like they weren't planning on sticking here for too long, but you two vampire slayers might want to look into that."

She didn't feel responsible for any of the vampire attacks, and she certainly wouldn't go on another. Not unless the coin was good. As for Aravi and Kayla . . . she didn't know how devoted they were to exterminating vampires or witches or necromancers, but she knew either one had a sense of duty if more murders came. Chances were someone was going to look into it, or perhaps someone else from the tavern would.

One dark dwelling for another, Vera thought. We barely stepped into this stinkhole . . .

Vera collected a bolt from the dust, and slowly blew into it, and then wiped the blood from the edge with the dark robe the vampire was wearing. She paced forth again, and walked further down into the bowels of the cave.

Kayla tucked the map gently into an empty pocket in her pack, away from the potions. She didn't want one of her more viscous potions to leak onto the map and render it unreadable if one of the bottles broke. She looked at Vera's back and Aravi's face.

I know they noticed Dawnbreaker. Neither of them are idiots. Which means they know now isn't the time to ask about it.

She let out an inward sigh of relief. Once she departed from the inn, she'd investigate these new spots. She absently wondered if she brought any empty parchment with her. She'd fold the parchment into a makeshift envelope and store the ash-

She put a hand on Vera's shoulder and pointed above their heads. Two maces, each about the size of her head, sat perched, ready to be released as soon as some unlucky wanderer tripped the mechanism nearby. None of them were in sight of the tripwire as far as Kayla could see, but she wasn't going to wait for any of them to trip it.

"We're near a tunnel, but I can't see the tripwire," Kayla said softly. "Can either of you see it?"

Kayla had a sinking feeling she was very near it, but would allow the other two women to tell her if she was.

Aravi followed the behind the other women, her bow in hand. She listened for any sound of someone coming from the tunnel ahead. Kayla stopped and pointed above her head. Aravi’s eyes followed… Oh. That would have been bad.

“Can either of you see it?” Kayla asked.

“Don’t move,” Aravi answered. She moved up to them and looked at the trap above. Her eyes let her see just fine in the gloom of this cave, and she examined the trap. She found the release mechanism, if she could call it that, for the maces quickly. It was a rusty nail jammed into a couple of chain links with a piece of string attached.

Aravi moved out of the way of them quickly. “You both should move. These look like they could fall without the trigger. Come towards me.”

She examined the crude trap some more. When the string was pulled, the nail would slide free, letting the maces swing. All they had to do was cut the string to prevent the trap from triggering. If the nail doesn’t break on its own.

She moved forward slowly towards the mouth of the tunnel. The trap looked like the work of an idiot, but the tripwire was work of a genius. Straw was thickly scattered on the ground here. Without knowing about the maces, even she wouldn’t have guessed it was somewhere here.

She turned back to face Vera and Kayla. “I can’t spot the tripwire in this. We can go forward slowly and feel our way forward on our hands and knees until someone finds the tripwire, or I can shoot the trap with my bow and just have it come down. The chains will rattle and the maces will collide. Someone will hear it.”

Vera continued on until she felt a familar hand on her shoulder again. She didn't need to turn to know it was Kayla halting the progression, and once again, for a good reason. There was a trap set up nearby and Aravi told her and the Altmer to move out of the way in case they triggered the mechanisms.

"I should've let the thrall live," Vera muttered. "Cut him open, bleed him a bit and set him near the snare. The vampires wouldn't be able to control their blood hunger."

She pointed to the tripwire. "Set the man right there and all of the other vampires would be dust in less time than it took to say it."

Using another as a trap for a trap was one of the most clever and basic uses for hunting. Much like a fisherman using bait to lure in fish, or even other animals that use such tactics for capturing prey. If Vera was talented in any of the skills in hunting, it was guile. Speed came second. Strength third. A hunter's greatest weapon must be his mind, first and foremost. And Vera was content in knowing she had a sharp mentality. Just as sharp as Kayla's vision when it came to spotting traps like these.

Vera looked at Aravi, who told them the options of feeling for the tripwire and trying to maneuver around, or possibly shooting it. The latter would result in the trap setting off, and potentially making noise.

Vampires alerted to their presence or no, Vera could adjust. "Do your work, Aravi. Take it down if you must."

The Imperial huntress strapped the crossbow onto her back, and retrieved a mundane serrated hunting dagger from her ebony boot. This will work just fine.

Aravi nodded at Vera. She decided to search for the tripwire, taking a little extra time to disable the trap quietly would be worth the extra time spent in this awful stench. She kneeled down, setting her bow aside, and started to carefully feel forward with her hands.

Plenty of blood had been spilled on this straw, she imaged that it had been moved from somewhere deeper in the cave. And here she was, kneeling and digging in it. Not only was it dirty and disgusting, but she was sure biting parasites were crawling onto her every moment.

It was slow going as she methodically searched, placing her hands onto the straw and slowly pressing down. Any hint of resistance was carefully dug out to be sure it wasn’t the trigger. She was getting hotter in her armor too. It wasn’t intense work, but it was strenuous enough to make her uncomfortable. She already began to itch where the pests bit her.

She stopped for a moment’s rest, and scratched where her neck met her armor. She itched in other places as well, but those weren’t reachable under her armor, nor would it be polite even if it was more accessible. Her ears must have been flat in her irritation. I better not hear any flea jokes.

“Don’t help all at once,” she said to the other women. She placed her hand on the ground next to her and the straw didn’t give.

“Wait… I think I found it.” She carefully brushed the straw aside and saw the thin wire, not three finger’s breadth from the floor. It would have been easy to miss and step on, or kick forward. Had that happened, the nail would be pulled out and the trap sprung. With two of her claws, she pinched the string and the trap was defeated. “It’s done,” she said. She stood up and stretched her achy legs. “Where’s my bow?”

Kayla had picked up Aravi's bow while she searched. She felt her face flush in shame when Aravi called herself and Vera out for not helping. In truth, Kayla was afraid she'd accidentally sprung the trap, as she had done many times before in the past. She had watched in fascination as Aravi searched, succeeding where she herself had failed many times before. She held out Aravi's bow carefully so the Khajiit could take it from her.

"Good job. I'm awful at traps. I can see them, but usually end up setting them off if I touch them."

Aravi took her bow from Kayla without a word. She was peeved that the dirty and uncomfortable work was left to her alone. It would have gone that much quicker with another hand. Kayla’s reason for staying out sounded like an excuse to her in her current mood.

I can’t even bathe in the pond when we get out. I’ll have to carry these pests all the way to the inn. She balled her fist when she felt another bite under her armor.

She turned toward the tunnel, her tail flicking back and forth with nervous energy and annoyance. She crept into the tunnel, her bare feet making not a sound to give her away to anything that waited deeper within.

Kayla inwardly cringed when Aravi all but yanked the bow from her hands.

Great, she's pissed. She vaguely recalled Ma'Dat's body language when- And there it is. Aravi's tail twitched at the tip and it lifted slightly as her ears flattened. Kayla wanted to smooth things over as quickly as she could. A faceful of Khajiit claws was very unpleasant. She shot a look over her shoulder briefly before following the smaller woman. Hopefully Vera keeps her mouth shut and doesn't make things worse.

The passage curved downward as Aravi moved through it. Stray bits of straw littered the ground, but it wasn’t thick and Aravi didn’t worry about another hidden trap. Cobwebs and their creators covered the top of the passage thickly. Aravi swallowed nervously and tried to not imagine them coming down on her. Please stay up there, she silently asked. Looking ahead, she saw that the passage curved down sharply.

She whispered to the women behind her, “Ahead it gets very steep. And keep your head down.” She indicated up with her empty hand. “And if one comes down on me, don’t tell me. Just kill it.” She shivered at the thought.

"Okay." Kayla whispered, looking up at the massive spiders. She swallowed laughter as she saw Aravi's tail bush slightly, reminding herself she wasn't fond of zombies at all. Or those disgusting creatures Falmer kept in their gods-forsaken caves deep below the mountains and snowy landscape of Skyrim. Just the thought of their antennae brushing her face as she desperately tried to choke back a scream...

Kayla brought herself back with a blink, just in time to see a spider descending slowly above Aravi. Kayla's first thought was to push Aravi to the floor, out of the way, but that would probably alarm her more than if she simply reacted. Kayla saw the throwing knies in Vera's pack, but Kayla wasn't nearly coordinated enough to pull that type of stunt off. Fire would alert the rest of the critters.

Kayla grabbed Aravi's hand, knowing Vera would be following closely behind, and pulled her to the next room.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She whispered to the Khajiit. "I couldn't kill it without making the rest come down on us."

“What are you-?”

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! I couldn't kill it without making the rest come down on us."

Aravi swallowed and nodded. “Thanks,” she whispered back. She turned around, her tail brushing Kayla’s boot and the dusty floor. She needed to be careful to keep it off the ground. She’s had her tail stepped on before and she didn’t want to experience that again anytime soon.

Ahead of them was a crude, wooden door. Dim light showed through the gaps in the planks of wood that made up the door. She felt her heart pick up its pace a little as they approached.

Aravi pressed her eye to one of the more sizable gaps. She saw a trio of coffins, one with its lid wide open straight ahead. She angled her head to look at the corners of the room, and saw a skeleton in each. Each one stood straight, as if at attention. A long, two handed blade rested point down in between each one’s knees, their boney hands resting on the pommel. Neither one moved, they stood as still as a statue giving no sign that they were a necromancer’s construct.

They might just be bones, the optimist in her said. She rolled her eyes at herself. Then she checked the hinges, running her fingers over them. Dry. They will squeak.

She backed off from the door and went to Kayla and Vera. She whispered with barely a voice, “There are three coffins in there, one of which is open. I also saw a skeleton in each corner. I didn’t see either one move.” She shrugged her shoulders to indicate she didn’t know if they were undead or dead-dead.

“Lastly, the hinges on the door are dry. They will probably creak, unless either of you have some animal fat with you.”

Vera suppressed the urge to laugh. Kayla seemed to be causing Aravi's temper to rise. The khajiit's mannerisms and behavior told her that much. She always was experienced in reading people as if she was walking in their shoes. Aravi also seemed deathly afraid of spiders judging by her comment, to which Vera replied with a simple gesture of squishing one of the eight-legged miniature freaks crawling up her boot.

Spiders were repulsive, yes, but Vera didn't fear them. Now Spider-Daedra . . .

She shuddered. Spiders were never meant to be that big.

The trio came upon a wooden door and Aravi peeked through and explained that there were three coffins within, and skeletons inside, though she wasn't sure if they were dead or undead.

“Lastly, the hinges on the door are dry. They will probably creak, unless either of you have some animal fat with you.”

Vera made a sound of consideration, and thought it out. Instead of finding a more subtle method as she always has, she decided to adopt Lycus' choice of approach. She kicked the door wide and barged in with a heavy march.

"Animal fat . . ." she muttered. As soon as she entered the three skeletons began to move, their limbs cracking and their mouths clicking. Vera shot a look at Aravi and smiled with a wink that might have been friendly. "They're moving now."

Thanks to me . . .

“Idiot!” Aravi hissed. She dropped her bow and drew her swords.

A curved, slashing sword made of steel glowed with ruddy light in her right hand. Her other sword was a long and straight blade, ideal for stabbing. It was made of silvered steel. Not as effective as pure silver, but more robust and much easier to replace.

The two closed caskets opened, and their occupants stepped out. At least vampires didn’t like to sleep in armor any more than the living did. A male and a female vampire faced them. The male was an Imperial before he was turned, and wore nothing but a loincloth. He armed himself with a club. The female was a high elf and wore the old black robes of a necromancer.

The high elf looked at the three women and shrieked on top of her lungs. The entire cave knew they were here now.

Aravi moved into the room and stood to Vera's left. A skeleton was to her left and the high elf vampire was in front of her.

Kayla gaped at Vera when she kicked the door open, causing the room to echo with the sound of the wood clunking against the rock wall.

She hissed, calling Vera all sorts of lewd and derogatory names in Nordic while the vampires rose from their coffins. She grimaced when the high elf screeched like a banshee and drew Dawnbreaker. It ebbed and pulsated with lustful want at the presence of the undead, the light blinding to the vampires. Kayla charged for the elf, clad in black robes.

Before she could sink her blade into the vampire's flesh, she felt the breath being pulled from her at her life force was pulled from her. Kayla gritted her teeth and fought the urge to collapse and stabbed at the vampire. She easily dodged and laughed. Kaya rebounded with an elbow to the vampire's nose, breaking it. She slammed the vampire down by the throat and sank Dawnbreaker into the vampire's heart. Hot fire emanated from the wound before causing an explosion, incinerating the vampire and causing the other undead in the room to freeze with fear. The Imperial vampire let our a shriek of terror as the skeletons ran into each other, bones scraping and clacking together.

There was no doubt in Aravi’s mind anymore of what sword Kayla wielded.

Her ears were ringing from the explosion, but even worse was the effect on her eyes. She could barely see; the light overwhelmed her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to clear them. It didn’t help much. She stumbled forward into the room where she could at least defend herself without getting her weapons caught on something.

The bones of a skeleton rolled passed her feet. She struck out with her straight sword; the weapon gouged the old bones. The real effect was not damaging the physical bones, but wrecking the spell that held them together and directed them. Silver was particularly good at this.

Kayla heard old bones clatter to the ground behind her. She turned around in time to see a dark figure silently drop behind Vera and Aravi, the red of the eyes glowing brightly.

"Behind you!" Kayla shouted.

Vera had been called many things that were true: careless, cold, sarcastic, cynical but never an idiot. Between Aravi’s offensive name-calling and Kayla’s Nordic swearing(which Vera understands as plainly as Cyrodiilic, she could not decided who to punch first. Instead of returning spiteful words to the pair she simply stood there as Kayla brought out her damned blade of light that burned Vera’s sensitive eyes.

If I knew she’d bring that glow-sword of hers, I would’ve have told her to stay a few steps ahead, Vera murmured inwardly.

Bones clashed and an explosion happened, gratitude to Kayla’s daedric weapon. Vera never had time to even attack the others, nor did she try to make time. Seeing the two other women fight was amusing in its own right, comical, even. But even jokes came to an end, and this one did when Kayla warned Vera and Aravi of something behind them.

Vera sensed the thing before it even stood behind her. Her vision was not unlike the rest of these parasitic individuals who spent their days slumbering in old tombs and fetid caves. She was quick, too. Quick enough to turn around, kick her head forward straight at the nosferatu that was behind her. Their foreheads collided and it was the vampire who found itself stumbling back just as Vera leapt forward.

The huntress delivered a series of blows with her sharp gauntlets, and then tackled the vampire to the ground. She wrapped her strong forearm around the creature’s neck from behind in a choke hold, braced her other palm against its chin, and wrenched its head to the side, and then mass and blood turned to dust.

As she got to her feet, however, she felt the force of what seemed to be a multitude of people collide into her when in truth it was only one ravenous creature. A scream escaped from Vera's throat as her back hit the ground and the undead imperial began snapping his jaw at her, though they could not reach her throat when her arm held the bottom of his neck at bay . . . but not for long. It was a test of strength. Centuries of strength on Vera's side, and the primal fury of bloodlust on the other. Though experienced, even Vera knows that when one hungers for something, almost nothing can stop it.

With his club in his hand, she could not do much. It won't be long before his fangs pierce her throat, but even she knows that won't be much of a problem.

"Trying to get a drink, are you?" she managed to say. "Can't promise you'll like it."

His breath was cold upon her face, and she turned to the side. "Get this half-naked son of a bitch off of me!"

Kayla ran to Vera and delivered a swift, hard kick to the vamp's ribs. She felt him tense up as he turned his attention yo her. She had time to grab the hilt of her sword before he leapt onto her, putting her in the same position Vera had be in, only against a cave wall.

Kayla kneed him in the groin, eliciting only a pained grunt from him. Unless she angled her sword correctly, she couldn't stab him. She didn't have enough time for that. She grabbed the silver dagger from her hip and stabbed his neck.

He let out a strangled cry of pain before taking a step back and pulling the dagger from his neck and stabbing the unsuspecting elf in the gut.

The sheer force broke through her leather, but the pain didn't come for another few moments. Kayla leaned against the cave wall, staring at the dagger as the vamp bled out and died.

Huh. He stabbed me.

She pulled out a healing potion and pulled the dagger out,biting back a cry of pain. She poured the potion on the wound, lazily leaking black blood. She grabbed another and drank it, her face pale.

"Ow."

Aravi’s senses were slowly recovering. She could hear a little, though everything seemed muted, and she could see blackness instead of white now.

She heard Vera yell for someone to get someone off of her. Aravi turned, and saw the last vampire leaning in for the kill. She took a step towards them.

Kayla got there first. If the result of the first vampire is any indication, he will soon be dead.

Aravi felt something move past her foot. She looked down and saw bones moving over the floor. She turned around and saw the other two skeletons were still very much active. Both were quickly reforming, bones moving into place. They would continue to do so until the spells on them were broken. As she watched, the skull of one settled on its vertebra, points of light appearing in the formerly vacant sockets. It picked up its weapon and brandished the heavy blade lightly with one arm.

She moved towards the two, angling for the other skeleton. It didn’t have its arms yet. She was going to get the easy kill on it first before she confronted the one that was ready.

She felt another bone hit her foot from behind, and she quickly stepped on it to prevent it from completing the skeleton. Then she raised her silvered sword over her head and brought it down on the skull with all of her strength. The skull cracked, and the bones fell. The spell on one was broken.

Aravi risked a glance back and saw something was wrong with Kayla. Finish this one quickly, then see what is wrong with her.

The final skeleton moved while she was distracted and she barely had time to jump back and avoid a blow. She leapt forward inside of its reach while it recovered from the greedy, over eager attack. She delivered a series of quick attacks on it with both swords. Each time her fire sword hit it; sullen red flames appeared over it and quickly died. She knew the fire would do little on it.

The skeleton hit her with the pommel of its sword and forced her out. She had to bring both of her swords forward to deflect its next powerful blow. Gods it is strong.

She did a quick spin to gain momentum in her sword and slashed at it. The clang of weapons rang loudly and flames shot up the skeleton’s arm. It couldn’t counter her other blade however and the long blade shot forward into its eye socket. The bones dropped to the floor, the spell destroyed.

Aravi was breathing heavy but felt energized. She looked back at the other two women. “Are you ok?” addressing both with the single question.

"I've been better." Vera said, and waited until the vampires came.

Lets get this over with.

Kayla nodded, keeping her face straight to avoid a wince.

I need more time to heal, but that won't happen. she thought.

"I'm good."

Aravi took them at their word, even though she had doubts. There was no time to debate. All they had to do was survive whatever came next, and then she could use some of her healing magic if anyone needed it.

"They'll have to come through that door." She pointed ahead and added, "quickly, get on either side. When they come through we'll fight them one or at most two at a time."

She grimaced. "I'll stand in the center and keep them from pushing into the room. Unless someone has a better idea? Quickly we don't have much time."

Kayla bit back the cry that threatened to escape from her lungs as she nodded. "No, sounds good." She said, a little more breathless than she intended. The plan allowed her and Vera to take out the vamps in a controlled area with minimal risks. At this point, Kayla wanted out and to be done with this cave. She was starting to get claustrophobic, and her wound pained her more than she was letting on.

They took their positions, Vera on the left side of the tunnel, Kayla on the right, and Aravi a few yards from the mouth in the center. Kayla heard the footfalls of the vampires a few yards before they even reached their end of the tunnel. she drew Dawnbreaker and saw the women had the good sense to avert their eyes from its glow. The sword ebbed with an eerie glow as the anticipated prey made its appearance. The vampire swiveled her head to Kayla, smelling her blood.

Vera took the opportunity to stab the vampire in the chest, straight through the heart. Kayla had little time to be impressed at the force that was needed to stab straight through a ribcage, nevermind that the vampires coming through were very nearly bare, a few of them even naked. They poured through the entrance, One getting past Kayla and Vera and slicing Aravi's ear. Luckily the Khajiit suffered only that injury, while Kayla dodged getting her skull powdered by a giant warhammer and Vera slit the throat of another vampire trying to pin her to the wall.

"Six." Kayla panted when no more came through. "There were-"

She was cut off when white hot pain shot into her head, forcing her to go rigid. She screamed through clenched teeth as the shock spell hit her and fell to the floor with a hard thud.

"Prey." Was all the Dunmer vampire said as he emerged from the tunnel.

"Prey." An undead Dunmer said from the tunnel after blasting Kayla with shock. She did not have time to check on her fallen comrade as her own life was in danger. If Kayla survived, she would be checked for internal injuries. Vera was sure she

Judging by his confident walk of authority, his steel and quality equpiment and the age-old look in his eyes she could tell this was the patriarch, the leader of this brood of parasitic people. She can just imagine being the one killing him, or at least helping in killing him. She harbored him no ill will in a manner of speaking, she had nothing personal against vampires, unlike the other two women. Though together they made quite a deadly team sans the obvious issues between them all.

The word prey sparked something in Vera and she found herself sheathing her mundane blade in exchange for her hunting dagger of arcane quality given to her many years ago. She swallowed a glob of blood that was in her mouth from broken teeth and brandished her weapon while his hand glowed with blue sparks that were not yet shot toward her. The other hand held an ebony sword that seemed to glow with enchament.

"We have no quarrel with you, moon-born. Why do you come to this place?"

Vera had a mind to turn to Kayla or Aravi. She'd hoped they didn't hear his words lest they try to turn on her. But the word moon-born was seldom used and even rare among the normal-blooded multitude of people. It was more of a Lycanthropic vocabulary, if she could say so herself.

I should conjure up some story about being half-khajiit . . .

"There was blood on the wind today. Good hunt ahead of me. Couldn't resist," she moved to the side slightly. "But I'll be blunt. I think I should've resisted . . . this was terrible, terrible sport. I'd hoped you suck-heads had fight in you."

Annoyed, the creature unleashed bolts of lightning that arced through the air toward her. Vera leapt to the side nimbly as a feline, rushing up with all of her speed to catch him by the side as he charged another spell. With all of her force she pounced and tackled him down, their armor clashing together. Her blade raised in the air and she was able to mutter something that only vampiric ears could hear. "See you there."

Zap! Blue light filled the cavern and Vera felt the immediete and painful shock strike her belly and she found herself not falling but flying until her back cracked against the shallow ceiling of the old cavern before she fell with a heavy thud, her ancient blade rolling from her fingers.

While Vera had the vampire’s attention, Aravi slowly circled to his side. Her ear hurt terribly, the left side of her face was caked with her blood. Each heartbeat brought a fresh wave of pain, and more blood dripped. It was a superficial wound, but terribly painful and distracting. She listened to what they said; their voices could give her an idea of what is going to happen. She picked up on a few words, but she focused on their tone,

“See you there.” Then Vera leapt.

They both moved in a blink of an eye. A flash and a boom, Vera flew across the cave. The vampire whirled on Aravi, deadly magic forming in his hand. Aravi was a step ahead, she moved without thinking.

Her first sword was blocked by his. Her second however sliced through the bone of his casting hand.

He screamed and looked at his hand. Aravi pulled back for another strike. Then his head rolled from his shoulders before he dissolved into dust.

Aravi ran to Vera, golden light emanating from palms. Surprisingly her head looked ok, Aravi was sure she had seen the Imperial hit it. Hard. She placed her palms on Vera’s chest, about to pour her healing energy into her.

"No. I'm fine,” Vera groaned. “I have my own means of healing. Help me up.”

Aravi stood, surprise written on her face. I can’t believe she isn’t unconscious. She offered her hand to Vera. The other woman took it in a strong gip.

When Vera was up, Aravi went to Kayla. She looked pale. There was no protest when Aravi laid her hands and poured her magic into the Altmer’s body.

Kayla let out an audible sigh of relief as the healing magick knitted up the wound in her gut. Nothing major had been pierced, it felt like, but she'd been wrong before. Shed felt dizzy from the blood blood and stiff and achy from the shock.

She was disappointed that she had been hit so hard that she missed out on killing the patriarch, but it was her own fault for not watching the tunnels and assuming the worst was over. She slowly stood up, using Aravi's hand when offered, putting some weight on the small Khajiit's arm. She opened her mouth to thank her for healing, but a nervous bark of laughter came out instead.

"Aravi...uhm...were both of your ears pierced?"

Aravi’s hand darted to her ear. It stung painfully still, but she noticed the familiar weight was gone. Her fingers traced her ear and found only one ring. She sighed in answer to Kayla’s question. The tear was large and it took one of her rings. The other was missing. Blood oozed on her fingers while she explored the extent of the injury. She had a tiny bit of magic left and she used it to stop the bleeding. The tear remained, and she didn’t think she could heal it completely on her own. At least it felt like the ear was all there.

“I’m not missing any pieces of my ear, am I?”

She then felt the side of her face and shoulder. Sticky with drying blood. She’s going to be an ugly sight until she gets cleaned off.