Alduin's Rise

[FennecFyre]

The priestess accepted the amulet gratefully. "Oh, thank you!" She examined it, pleased with the elegant Argonian workmanship. "This will our little temple afloat for a while longer." As Abdul left to watch the vampire, Sivari went the other direction in order to speak to the farmer.

 

She knelt by the stone altar and touched his hand gently. The man stirred and groaned, focusing the noncovered eye on the Khajiit. "Who're you, cat?" he mumbled. His eye seemed unfocused, and his words slurred. She guessed the priestesses had given him something to make him drowsy and help with the pain. Sympathy rose within Sivari, an unusual feeling for one used to being treated like a pariah by those without fur. Damn, how she wished she was a better healer.

"I'm a friend, sir. I need to ask you about what happened in Dragonsreach."

The man snorted. "I got beaten bloody and thrown out on my arse, that's what."

"What did the inside of the palace look like?"

"Oh, I don't know, like any hall. Tall ceiling, big central fire, long tables."

"Any entranceways other than the main one?"

"Not that I could see, but I'd bet you there were ones in the kitchen and servant's quarters." Suspicion clouded his gaze. "Why are you asking me this?"

Sivari's mind quickly scrambled for an excuse, but she figured there was no harm in telling him the truth. She lowered her voice so that only he could hear. "I have a plan to kill Hevnoraak."

"You're going to your own death," mumbled the man before exhaustion and painkillers dragged him back into slumber. Sivari stood up, then, as an afterthought, moved up one of the blankets to cover him. How did Nords stand the constant chill? They were certainly tough.

 

A distant commotion caught her attention, and she strode down a passageway only to run smack into Edwin, who looked panicked. Sivari's expression quickly matched his as he spoke. Hunting? Wounded?! "Who?!" she demanded, although she already knew the answer. Abdul had gone after the spy... "Oh gods," she breathed, pushing past him to run down the corridor. The Priestess joined her, also drawn by the noise and Edwin's shouting.

 

She entered the room to see Abdul slumped against a pillar and covered in blood, with Artago standing guard. Her gut roiled. "Abdul!" she gasped, running to his side. Her hands gripped his, frightened at how cold his scaly skin was. "What happened?" The vampire was laying there dead, but she couldn't be sure the danger was over. "It...it didn't infect you, did it?"

 

Another thought occurred to her. Edwin had said vampires. Plural. The others' weapons were crusted with new blood. She could smell the vampire scent on them. She looked at them, fighting down panic. "Who else ran into a vampire?"

 

The Priestess pushed past her in a swish of orange robes, kneeling by Abdul. She was better at keeping her head at the sight of the blood than Sivari. She muttered a few quick words under her breath, and her hands became enveloped in a warm golden aura. She moved her hands above Abdul's injuries, sealing up the marks and driving out infection in a wash of light. Still, magic only covered physical injuries, if this Argonian had contracted the dreaded Sanguinare vampiris, then he would need medicine before the hexed virus took over his body and warped him into a vampire.

[Spawnsy]

Artago taps Sivari's shoulder "Is there a back room where we could talk?" he looks around "there is already enough panic here, we need a quiet space"

[Keanumoreira]

Abdul turned to see Sivari rushing towards him in a panic. When her hand fell into his, something within him had awakened. His heart raced, his hands felt wet, and he could feel as his breath escaped him. It was troubling to speak, "I-I...I was ambushed; he used an invisibility spell. I would be dead if Edwin didn't find me when he did. He was able to close the major wounds." He could feel his cheeks burning, "No...I wasn't bitten. I was able to push him off before he could." Abdul looked down; her hand was still there, "I didn't know that you cared so much..."

 

As the priestess entered, she pushed passed Sivari and their hands parted. She managed to close the remainder of the wounds, of which was excruciating. But pain soon subsided into relief, and Abdul was able to stand again. He would be sore for awhile, just as Edwin had predicted. He thanked the priestess, "Kindness is easily rewarded isn't it?" He smiled, only to frown again, "I've been feeling rather unusual lately, like I'm...not myself. Palpitations, sweating, what feels like a mild fever...am I sick? It can't be the vampire. I wasn't bitten and the symptoms have persisted for a few days now. Come to think of it, ever since I met these fine people in Riverwood."

Edited September 27, 2013 by Keanumoreira

[twentynine29]

Edwin calls for the attention of his allies. "I have a plan. One of the companions told me that a dragon comes by Dragonsreach on a monthly basis. During that time the priest will take a large number of his guards out on the balcony to greet the dragon, which means less guards to deal with. If we can enter the palace during that time we could have more time to wreck whatever we want and destroy his phylactery. The dragon should be happening very soon, no more than a week, it could even be today."

Edited September 28, 2013 by twentynine29

[twentynine29]

Edwin calls for the attention of his allies. "I have a plan. One of the companions told me that a dragon comes by Dragonsreach on a monthly basis. During that time the priest will take a large number of his guards out on the balcony to greet the dragon, which means less guards to deal with. If we can enter the palace during that time we could have more time to wreck whatever we want and destroy his phylactery. The dragon should be happening very soon, no more than a week, it could even be today."

Hello? Anyone still active?

Edited October 4, 2013 by twentynine29

[Keanumoreira]

(Waiting for others to reply)

 

 

Abdul turns to Edwin at the mentioning of this news. It seems like they had a real chance to free Whiterun. Lives would be lost, most likely, but any price is fair when it comes to freedom.

[FennecFyre]

(I was waiting for Macman, but I'll go ahead and post.)

 

Sivari blinked and looked down at their hands, then quickly removed hers, clearing her throat. "It's just that Khajiit did not wish to fight the Priest with a group any smaller than this." she mumbled, trying to brush it off, acutely aware of the heat rushing to her cheeks and glad for the thick fur disguising it.

 

The priestess thought over Abdul's symptoms. "I'm not sure, you could simply be ill with something. There's a potions shop in the city called Arcadia's Cauldron, you could likely buy something to cure yourself there."

 

Sivari turned as Edwin spoke, listening intently to his plan. She grinned. "A good plan. We will have to be quick, though, and have an escape route planned if he should walk in while we're looking for it." There would likely be a few guards remaining inside, but if they could handle vampires, they could handle Draugr.

[Keanumoreira]

The thought of a good plan was a relief for Abdul. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but the possibility of death began to sink in. It was not one that he took lightly, but after thinking it over for a bit, he decided that there couldn't be a better way to die than for fighting for the oppressed and impoverished. Abdul reached for his bow and felt the power of the Hist flow through his fingers. He looked up at his friends and smiled, and with confidence, he took his place among them. "I still feel somewhat ill, but I'm not going to allow that to stand in our way. I'm ready to move when you guys are. We'll free Whiterun and the rest of Skyrim, one by one, as a brotherhood; united, nothing can stand in our way."

[Spawnsy]

"Guys, i found out very disturbing information." Artago takes a dagger off the dead vampire and holds a poser with a strange man on it and stabs the dagger through the top and pins it to the wall and recieves a dirty look from the priestess. "An old contact of mine from my dawnguard days has informed me that this man, Harken, lord of vampires, has allied himself with the Dragon, if we ever get split up and attacked again by the foul blood suckers, take their canine teeth out and toss them in a fire, just because you killed one does not mean its dead, unless you burn their canine teeth, it holds them to the earth, thats why dead vampire lose their teeth after a minute, they have a new vessel to hang on too." Artago throws the teeth he collected into a fire warming the temple and a evil hiss is heard around the room. "Now those blood suckers wont come back."

[Keanumoreira]

Abdul nods, "Good to know." He thinks back to Alduin and the purpose of their quest, "Makes me wonder how we're going to slay the dragons. The souls of the dovah are immortal, and can only be trapped."

 

 

There were stories of old, even in Blackmarsh, of valiant men and women (some Argonian) who did battle with the "sky serpents." Some were merely mortal, just as Abdul was, but others were blessed with an ability that enabled them to devour the souls of these foul creatures. But a dovahkiin hasn't been on Nirn for a very long time. Abdul knew that the Septiems were dragons themselves, hatchlings of Akatosh (as the Argonians would call them). Perhaps, however, there was another way, and there had to be if they had any hope of winning.

Edited October 5, 2013 by Keanumoreira