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<\/p>\n\u201cThat Tolan fellow wasn\u2019t kidding, was he?\u201d Brynjolf muttered.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Andante gazed about himself with an odd mix of emotions.\u00a0 On the one hand, he couldn\u2019t abide the Vigilants of Stendarr, who hunted people like him \u2013 at least in the form he\u2019d had till just recently \u2013 for no other reason than that they were different.\u00a0 On the other hand, nobody deserved to be burned alive.\u00a0 Not humans, not vampires, not werewolves.\u00a0 And there were many corpses here in the ruins of what had been the Hall of the Vigilants. Everything was grey with ash and smoke; part of the roof had collapsed into the Hall and taken out part of a wall.\u00a0 There were pockets of embers still smoldering.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe certainly wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 I\u2019m impressed that vampires were able to do this, with fire no less.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d Brynjolf sighed, looking down and poking one of the bodies with his foot, \u201cnot all of them could, it seems.\u00a0 This one must have died before the flames got to her.\u201d\u00a0 There was a woman in vampire armor lying on the floor.\u00a0 Andante gazed down at her, saw the thin, distorted facial features that marked her as a vampire, and thought that once she must have been very beautiful.\u00a0 A shudder ran down his spine.<\/p>\n
When did I start feeling sorry for people when they died?\u00a0 I must be getting soft.<\/em><\/p>\n He tried to make light of it.<\/p>\n \u201cFree lunch, Bryn.\u00a0 If you\u2019re hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, lad,\u201d came the soft answer.\u00a0 \u201cShe didn\u2019t do anything to me.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let her rest.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante looked at Brynjolf\u2019s sad expression for a moment, thoughtful.\u00a0 I looked at her and saw lunch. He looked at her and saw a person. Yes. She deserves to rest.\u00a0 <\/em>He nodded. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u00a0 It\u2019s a long hike yet up to the top of this hill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAye.\u201d<\/p>\n The path they were on led up the mountain in a series of switchbacks.\u00a0 Cairns marked the way at strategic points, and there were stone stairs built into the steepest parts of the trail.\u00a0 This part of Skyrim was cold to begin with, but the higher they went the colder and snowier it got.\u00a0 Andante was almost grateful for being human right then, because warm human blood pumped through all parts of him with the exertion.\u00a0 It almost made up for the cold-induced ache in his lungs and the frozen nostrils. That\u2019s all I\u2019m grateful for, about this experience. This had best be worth it.<\/em><\/p>\n They rounded another corner, higher up.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t seem right.\u00a0 It\u2019s too high up.\u00a0 And it looks\u2026 vaguely familiar.<\/em><\/p>\n He was just about to stop and look around when he heard a familiar growling and a snort.\u00a0 He had just about enough time to register the fact that ahead of them was an angry frost troll \u2013 the most aggressive and tough-to-kill type in Skyrim \u2013 when Brynjolf rushed past him with his wicked sword drawn.\u00a0 Andante drew his axe but hesitated; surely Brynjolf would be able to take down the troll by himself.\u00a0 But Brynjolf stood there, bashing at it with his shield, taking a swing here and there, seeming to do very little damage.<\/p>\n Andante rushed forward and took out the beast with a couple of quick slashes, then turned to grimace at Brynjolf, panting.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you doing, playing with it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI needed a little practice,\u201d he answered with a smirk.<\/p>\n \u201cUgh. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante headed further up the hill.\u00a0 He\u2019d only been running for a few moments when the landscape was simply too familiar to continue.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been here before,\u201d he called back to Brynjolf.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going the wrong way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came here to get this dagger.\u201d\u00a0 He waved his off-hand weapon in the air.\u00a0 \u201cMehrunes\u2019 Razor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCavorting with Daedric princes, are ye?\u201d Brynjolf grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a fine one to talk, dear, selling your soul to Nocturnal. \u00a0And put your hood back on before you die.\u201d\u00a0 It was a bright, sunny day and in spite of how much Andante enjoyed the sight of Brynjolf\u2019s hair reflecting fiery red in the sunlight, it was too bright for a vampire. Brynjolf nodded and slipped his hood up over his head.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least I\u2019m not sworn to this one. I just came to steal his weapon, like a proper thief. Had to have him put it back together, first.\u201d\u00a0 He craned his neck and peered up at the top of the mountain.\u00a0 Sure enough, he could just make out the very top of the gigantic, threatening statue of Mehrunes Dagon that perched atop the door to his shrine. That was where the Daedric prince had spoken to him, had reassembled the shards of the deadly dagger into a whole weapon, and had told him to slay the man who\u2019d led him there. Andante had done as ordered, grabbed the dagger, and fled.<\/p>\n He turned back down the hill; facing this way he could see the snow-covered staircase he had missed, stairs that led up to the shrine from the lowest point in a bowl-shaped portion of the trail they were walking.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. This is the place. We\u2019ve missed the entrance to the Crypt. But there\u2019s a problem. When I got the Razor, Mehrunes Dagon summoned two of his minions to take me out.\u00a0 I\u2026 fear that I ran away.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf, following along behind him, laughed. \u201cYou ran? You?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, dear. Straight down the side of the mountain, and a miracle I didn\u2019t break my neck doing it. I ran to save my sorry hide. I was still trying to regain my strength after whatever it was that happened to me, before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou lived. It was the right thing to have done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but there\u2019s a problem I left behind by having done that,\u201d Andante said, breaking into a trot as they neared the lowest part of the bowl.<\/p>\n \u201cI honor my lord by destroying you!\u201d came the gurgling, hollow, eerie shout of one of a pair of Dremora who had clearly been waiting for him ever since their first encounter. These creatures of Oblivion were huge, nearly a head taller than Andante; they were terrifying, and very strong. Andante sprinted past the first, wove a path between them and attacked the second with everything he had \u2013 his human strength, a Daedric war axe and Mehrune\u2019s Razor. \u00a0He blocked, and whirled, and slashed, all to the tune of Brynjolf\u2019s bashing and taunting the second. The first Dremora dropped when Andante struck a lucky blow with the Razor; he whirled and ran to help polish off the second.<\/p>\n It was clear which of the two men was stronger, very quickly.\u00a0 Andante was an expert with his axe but Brynjolf, as a vampire, was better and faster.<\/p>\n \u201cFall, damn you!\u201d Brynjolf shouted, leaping forward and skewering the Dremora.<\/p>\n Andante nearly fell over the corpse, trying to stop.\u00a0 He pulled off his hood to get air, and grinned up at Brynjolf, who was looking smug.\u00a0 He laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cNice job, loverboy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante rolled his eyes and started running along the path.<\/p>\n Brynjolf\u2019s voice called out from behind him.\u00a0 \u201cAndante. That\u2019s still the wrong way, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n He stopped and looked around, then sighed.\u00a0 By the gods, it is. Exactly the wrong way. What is the matter with me?<\/em><\/p>\n He turned and ran back down the trail.<\/p>\n The entrance to Dimhollow Crypt was about halfway back down the mountain, well-marked with short pillars, a stone ramp and a brazier, just beside the main trail.\u00a0 He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cHow did I manage to miss this?\u201d he muttered.\u00a0 \u201cBecoming human again seems to have muddled my head.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou were in a hurry, that\u2019s all. Don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante turned and smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Bryn.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s only temporary.\u00a0 You\u2019re letting it get to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes I am. It\u2019s true. But everything in my life has been just temporary, as far as I can remember. I hope I\u2019m strong enough to do this.\u00a0 I\u2019m only human.<\/em><\/p>\n They hadn\u2019t gotten far into the cavern before he heard a man\u2019s voice, an Altmer by the accent. Even without being able to see the man, Andante could tell he was sneering just by his tone.<\/p>\n Damn superior Altmer.\u00a0 The Thalmor are the worst.<\/em>\u00a0 A shudder rippled through him from his core outward.\u00a0 But they all need to learn a bit of humility.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThese Vigilants never know when to give up. I thought we\u2019d taught them enough of a lesson at their hall.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo come here on his own,\u201d a woman answered. \u201cA fool, like all the rest of them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe fought well, though. They were no match for him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHa. Those two deserved what they got.\u201d<\/p>\n So Tolan is dead.\u00a0 At least he gave as good as he got.\u00a0 Better, even \u2013 he took out two of them before he died.\u00a0 Good for him. <\/em><\/p>\n There was a gated tunnel at the far end of this cave; and near one of the archways before it Andante could see the male vampire he\u2019d been hearing.\u00a0 He pulled his bow from his back, slowly, carefully.<\/p>\n Wouldn\u2019t do to have it scrape the ground and make a noise.\u00a0 Sure way to alert them<\/em>.<\/p>\n He took careful aim and loosed his arrow.\u00a0 It flew straight and strong across the cavern and into the vampire\u2019s heart.\u00a0 The man dropped with a loud exhalation and was still.<\/p>\n Andante caught movement from just in front of the gate.\u00a0 Up the ramp flew a small figure; a small, snarling figure \u2013 a Death Hound, its glowing eyes and exposed fangs making it all the more terrifying.\u00a0 It nipped Andante as it ran past him to attack Brynjolf.<\/p>\n Brynjolf was having no real problem with the dog but Andante saw red.<\/p>\n Leave. Him. Alone!<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d he spat.\u00a0 He swapped his bow for his axe and dagger and tore the hound apart in a few swipes.<\/p>\n He heard a soft chuckle from behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were worried about me, lad?\u201d Brynjolf whispered.<\/p>\n Andante would have laughed but it seemed more important to focus on the remaining vampire and the corpse she was reanimating.\u00a0 He knelt, took aim at the corpse and dropped it with one shot.\u00a0 The vampire was wearing a full set of hardened chitin armor, though, and it took three arrows to fell her.<\/p>\n He grinned at Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if I had been? Worried about you, that is? Would that be a bad thing, necessarily?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf simply chuckled.<\/p>\n The chain that opened the gate was in a small antechamber, across the musty cavern and up a short flight of stairs.\u00a0 Andante pulled the chain and found himself sneezing at the dust.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d he muttered, \u201cI could do without having human allergies again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStop whining, lad.\u00a0 Hold on for a while longer. Once we find out what\u2019s going on here, I\u2019ll turn you again if that\u2019s what needs to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante stopped and stared at Brynjolf, who was smiling at him.\u00a0 A strange surge of emotion welled up in him.\u00a0 He had to fight the overpowering desire to wrap himself around Brynjolf, to hold him and be held in return.<\/p>\n He really is ready and willing to do that for me. I wonder if I\u2019ve ever had anyone for whom I\u2019d have done anything. Before this, that is. Gods. I love this man. Is this always what it\u2019s like, for normal people?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Through a narrow tunnel and around a corner, the path past the gate opened into a larger cavern full of tall, ornate pillars and closed sarcophagi. Water had seeped in over the centuries, forming a stream that ran through the lowest part of the space. \u00a0Andante couldn\u2019t see anything moving, or hear any sounds, and with his nose full of dust all he could smell was the damp dirt nearby; but he didn\u2019t trust his diminished human senses to tell him true. \u00a0Andante, though, was one of those fortunate souls like Ulfric Stormcloak, able to learn and use some of the dragon language in spite of having no dragon blood in him as Dardeh had. He knew a few shouts; and for the fullness of the time he could remember, he\u2019d had the nagging sensation that he had known more and would be able to use them if he could only find reference to the words again. He gathered his breath, leaned forward, and Shouted, a hoarse whisper that travelled no farther than the end of his face but had an intense effect.<\/p>\n \u201cLAAS \u2013 YAH!\u201d<\/p>\n Aura Whisper lit the place up with the red-tinged shapes of at least five living creatures.\u00a0 Andante smiled grimly and motioned for Brynjolf to move forward.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m right behind you,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n Ordinarily I would have some smart retort to make about how much he likes being right behind me, but right now I think I\u2019ll take out this vampire who is trying to kill us. <\/em><\/p>\n There were three skeletons and a female vampire in this room.\u00a0 The skeletons were a quick pop, pop, pop with the bow to disintegrate but the vampire was tough.\u00a0 He fired three more times, as quickly as he could because she had run past him and his arrows, and was trying her best to drain Brynjolf\u2019s life force.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t have it. I don\u2019t care that he\u2019s not truly alive. He is mine, damn it all to Oblivion, and you can\u2019t have him.<\/em><\/p>\n Finally she crumpled to the ground and they moved forward, to a slope at the far side of the cavern and up to their left. There was another gate, this time opened by a lever close at hand.\u00a0 It opened into a more intact section of the barrow, a room containing an enchanting station that appeared to be in good working order.\u00a0 Andante scooped the empty soul gems he found there into his pocket and then continued into the next doorway. Around a corner it led him, down stairs, and into a long corridor lined with the niches that held the remains of ancient Nords.<\/p>\n A draugr Shouted: \u201cFus-Ro-Dah!\u201d in the harshly distorted, aspirated tones of a long-dead voice.\u00a0 At the far end of the corridor, a magic-wielding vampire and her death hound backed into view, staggered by the shout, threatened by not just a simple member of the walking dead but a Deathlord crowned as they all were with a wicked-looking horned helmet.\u00a0 Andante looked back at Brynjolf and nodded toward the far end.<\/p>\n And then everything erupted into a cacophony of Shouts, and clashing of swords on shield, barking and snarling and the distinctive sizzling of the vampire\u2019s shock magic as Brynjolf ran headlong into the battle.\u00a0 There was not just one Deathlord but two as well as a common Draugr, and the vampire reanimated the hound to her advantage after Andante took it with an arrow, to keep on fighting.<\/p>\n Andante knew he wasn\u2019t going to last long against the shock magic, not as a human, so he hung back and peppered the woman with arrows until suddenly he saw Brynjolf down on one knee, knocked off-kilter by one of the draugr\u2019s blows.<\/p>\n \u201cNO!\u201d<\/p>\n He hurtled into the midst of the battle and Shouted.<\/p>\n \u201cIIZ-SLEN!\u201d<\/p>\n One of the Draugr fell, frozen solid, and he whirled into it slashing like a madman.\u00a0 A part of his mind, somehow calmly observing himself as though from above, murmured Perhaps you are a madman, after all. <\/em>The Deathlord fell; Andante turned and made for the common draugr, and cried out in mid-slash as a shock spell hit him from behind.\u00a0 He gritted his teeth and hacked, grateful for the Daedric axe he carried, then turned to his left to look behind.<\/p>\n Either the vampire, or Brynjolf, or both had taken down the other Deathlord and were now locked in a grim battle with each other.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026 will\u2026 kill you!\u201d Brynjolf shouted between sword strikes and bashes.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that your best? Huh?\u201d the woman snarled at him.<\/p>\n Andante hurled himself at her, slashing wildly.\u00a0 She was enough injured already that she dropped almost immediately.\u00a0 Andante stood, panting, and frowned at Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was thinking that right now I\u2019m stronger than you are.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante grimaced, but nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s true.\u00a0 And I saw you nearly lose. Don\u2019t do that again, dear.\u00a0 You have people counting on you. I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou surprised me, lad.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know you could Shout.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am full of surprises.\u00a0 It surprised me, as well, you know? Apparently I must have been a scholar of some sort before \u2026 whatever happened to me.\u00a0 I just know these words.\u00a0 Only a few of them, and not to the extent our friend the Dragonborn can use them, but they\u2019re handy.\u00a0 I know some of Ice Form, some of Aura Whisper, and part of what those draugr shout.\u00a0 Ice Form is something I\u2019ve been known to use fairly often but that other one, well\u2026 I can\u2019t see any more, Bryn. Not as a human. I had to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou could have asked me to look, lad. I can do that. You know as well as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n He sighed.\u00a0 He\u2019s right.\u00a0 I\u2019m not used to being the weak link.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes. Well let\u2019s go see what all the hoopla is about. It must be important for them to have put people in here all along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet another gate led them down and through a narrow passage that emptied into a large cavern half filled with a pool of water.\u00a0 He could see the exit, above and ahead on the far side of the space.\u00a0 He could also see a vampire, three skeletons and a frostbite spider between them and their destination.<\/p>\n It should have been an easy battle but it wasn\u2019t; one of the skeletons refused to go down for the longest time, and the vampire was an expert in frost magic.\u00a0 She froze Andante almost solid and then turned her vampiric life-draining spell on him while he fought to move.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you thought I was just a pretty face,\u201d she snarled at him.<\/p>\n Brynjolf barreled into her, breaking her focus for just long enough that Andante was able to Shout at her \u2013 \u201cIIZ-SLEN!\u201d — and then attack while she was frozen herself. Even slowed as she was it took both of them hammering on her as hard as they could to finally bite through her finely-woven Redguard mail and take her down.\u00a0 She disintegrated into a pile of shimmering ash on the ground, and Andante shuddered.<\/p>\n That will be us, one of these days.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAre you alright, Andante?\u201d Brynjolf asked as he rubbed his arms.\u00a0 He\u2019d been hit with an ice spike and slowed nearly to a crawl himself.<\/p>\n Andante shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026 think so. Let\u2019s continue.\u201d<\/p>\n Their route took them into a nearly-intact barrow.\u00a0 The first chamber held a single vampire, taken by surprise, from behind, with no problem.\u00a0 But around the corner was another woman, muttering about the hunger gnawing at her.<\/p>\n I know that hunger. I\u2019m sorry. <\/em><\/p>\n She came at them with tooth and claw, ice and vampiric drain spells.\u00a0 The frostbite spider they\u2019d seen had retreated down this corridor and spat poison at them.\u00a0 Worst of all, though, was the pair of Death Hounds that latched onto Andante, snarling and biting, while Brynjolf attacked the vampire.\u00a0 Andante struggled, slashed with his dagger and tried to pull his axe as the dogs ripped at him.\u00a0 He managed to take one down when the second turned to rush at Brynjolf\u2019s back, but his heart was pounding and he was bleeding from a dozen wounds to his arms and legs when he stumbled forward to slash the hound.\u00a0 He\u2019d done enough damage to it already that one solid blow from the axe killed it.\u00a0 He stepped to the side, to Brynjolf\u2019s right. Brynjolf had the vampire cornered and was trying to sneak in sword blows around his shield, but she had switched to shock spells and it was too dangerous for him to lower the shield for long.\u00a0 Andante took a deep breath and stabbed at her with Mehrunes\u2019 Razor.\u00a0 The vampire had time to cast one painful shock at him, a spell that had him gasping for breath as he brought the axe down on her neck.<\/p>\n Andante immediately fired off as many healing spells as he had energy for, both on himself and on Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a little too close for comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAye. I\u2019ll try to do a better job of keeping my ears peeled next time.\u00a0 Sorry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t your fault.\u00a0 I knew she was there but those hounds came out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the next curve was yet another gate, this one huge and heavy. Behind it a lone vampire was fighting a truly enormous spider. He had just about taken it down when Brynjolf rushed forward again, after Andante threw the lever that lifted the gate.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, don\u2019t\u2026 Arrgh!\u201d\u00a0 Andante fired his bow as quickly as he could draw, over and over, at the vampire, but it became clear that even the ebony arrows weren\u2019t doing enough damage to kill the man.\u00a0 He ran forward just in time to hear the vampire growl, \u201cI\u2019ll drain you dry, mortal!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHa!\u201d he snorted, and began hacking.<\/p>\n Brynjolf swung his sword, shouting \u201cYou\u2019re\u2026dead!\u201d<\/p>\n The man\u2019s head rolled into the corner.<\/p>\n Andante stood and looked at the body in silence, and then up at Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cWell then. I thought I was the one in the Brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf gave him a sheepish grin. \u201cI do a lot of practicing in my spare time, lad.\u00a0 Straw dummies are really good for that.\u00a0 So are Falmer. Have I ever told you that I hate Falmer? Damn things smell so bad.\u00a0 You know it\u2019s bad when it bothers a guy like me.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re getting close.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He was checking the corners of the room for anything of value when he heard Brynjolf behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cAye, lad.\u00a0 But we\u2019ll do it together.\u00a0 I\u2019m right behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante smiled as he opened the wooden door next to the vampire\u2019s head.\u00a0 He could tell by the flow of air that brushed past his face that the space into which he was moving was enormous, and cold.<\/p>\n The door opened into an antechamber beyond which was a high balcony.\u00a0 Stone gargoyles sat on either side of the arched doorway. Voices drifted up from below Andante\u2019s line of sight.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never tell you anything, vampire. My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can infli\u2026\u201d The voice cut off in mid word.<\/p>\n A woman spoke.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure that was wise, Lokil? He still might have told us something.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante slunk to the edge of the balcony and looked down.\u00a0 The bottom of this huge cavern was full of water, with stone bridges crossing to a circular island in the center. There were concentric rings, deep channels of some kind, carved into the stone surface of the island, and the whole structure was surrounded with pointed arches, almost as though it was a gargantuan crown.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t make out what was on the far side for the mist; but below him, on the stone bridge, were the several figures who were speaking to each other. He moved quietly to the right, along the balcony, to where he thought he saw stairs.<\/p>\n \u201cShor\u2019s beard! Have you ever seen anything like it in your life, lad?\u201d Brynjolf breathed behind him.\u00a0 Andante simply shook his head and held his finger up to his mouth.<\/p>\n Shh. No, I haven\u2019t, and I don\u2019t want them to know about it, either.<\/em><\/p>\n The deep growl of the man who had been addressed as Lokil floated up toward them.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knew nothing.\u00a0 He served his purpose by leading us to this place. Now, it is up to us to bring Harkon the prize. And we will not return without it.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante drew his bow and took aim as the vampire continued to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cVingalmo and Orth…\u201d<\/p>\n Andante\u2019s arrow flew downward and across the stone bridge, striking the vampire with a resounding crack.\u00a0 He watched as one of the figures reanimated a skeleton that was lying nearby; another arrow from his bow dropped one of the vampires now rushing toward them.\u00a0 He turned and moved back up the stairs behind him, hissing \u201cGet ready!\u201d to Brynjolf as he turned to aim back at where the opponents would most likely emerge.<\/p>\n He and Brynjolf were both expert thieves, however.\u00a0 As soon as they dropped into crouches and slunk away from the edges of the platform, they nearly evaporated into the darkness. The vampires lost sight of them.\u00a0 He could hear them calling out to each other in the darkness as they searched for their assailants, but he held his position, as well as his breath, for several beats.\u00a0 Then he moved back to the stairs and began firing down into the massed vampires.<\/p>\n His first shot missed the man\u2019s heart, but struck him in the arm.\u00a0 All of them rushed the stairwell, and Andante acted out of instinct.<\/p>\n \u201cIIZ-SLEN!\u201d<\/p>\n He and Brynjolf ran forward and down the first half-flight, and finished them off one at a time.\u00a0 Then they made their way down the second half-flight of steps and across the bridge to the circular platform.<\/p>\n The circles were, in fact, channels, as were the deeper channels that radiated from a stone pentagon in the center of the platform. \u00a0They were all narrow, and carved deeply into the stone. \u00a0The channels radiating out from each of the pentagon\u2019s points were slightly wider and contained circular depressions where they intersected with the circles. Each of these channels held a small brazier atop a stone column, at varying distances from the center.\u00a0 A small pentagonal column topped with a strange, circular symbol, almost an inverted cup, stood in the very center of the platform.<\/p>\n It made no sense.<\/p>\n Andante sighed, looked around trying to puzzle out what he was seeing, and then turned to Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, now what?\u00a0 It can\u2019t ever be simple, can it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs there anything you can do with that piece on the top? Does it move somehow?\u201d<\/p>\n Andante reached out, to try to manipulate the round piece, and then cried out in pain as a stone spike shot up from its center, piercing his hand.\u00a0 He sank down against the pillar, nearly fainting as his blood ran down into the grooves and crevices, and the closest to him of the concentric rings began to emit a purple roaring glow.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn it! Of course it\u2019s blood.\u00a0 Of course it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Slowly and painfully he stood and forced his hand back up from the stone spike, then started fumbling to find something with which to wrap it.\u00a0 The spike had, almost miraculously, managed to miss the bones of his hand, but it would still take some time to heal, and it hurt like Oblivion.<\/p>\n He surveyed the area.\u00a0 It seemed to him that the braziers were vibrating, just slightly, as the purple energy pulsed. I\u2019ll bet these move.<\/em> He turned and walked past Brynjolf, toward the nearest of them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s on your mind?\u201d Brynjolf asked.<\/p>\n He chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWhat is ever on my mind, loverboy?\u201d he said as he walked to the brazier.\u00a0 \u201cNeed you really ask?\u00a0 In truth, though,\u201d he said as he pushed the brazier and watched it slide along the channel to click into position at the next circular stop, \u201cI think these need to be aligned somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n He spent the next few minutes experimenting with the braziers, Brynjolf giving him quiet suggestions as he went. \u00a0It was frustrating. \u00a0It seemed that no matter in which direction he pushed them, it was the wrong direction.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure there is some sort of pattern to this but I don\u2019t have the patience to figure it out.<\/em><\/p>\n Eventually, each of them clicked into its correct position, and each of them began to burn and glow with the same purple energy as had first emerged near the center.\u00a0 It did form a pattern, almost a spiral, leading from the outer ring into the middle.<\/p>\n As he pushed the last brazier into position, the floor shook, there was a rumble, and the area within the innermost circle turned a swirling purple. With the deepest complaint of stone grinding against stone, a large pentagonal block, man-height, slid up from beneath the surface and clicked into place.\u00a0 The purplish energy from the channels and the braziers died away as Andante walked around the block, staring at it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in Oblivion is this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019ve never seen anything like it.\u00a0 Can you open it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u2026 not sure.\u201d\u00a0 Andante ran his hands along each edge, pressed on the flat surfaces, and frowned as nothing happened.\u00a0 As he was about to give up he tapped on one of the block\u2019s faces, one with a large central groove. \u00a0He flinched, startled, as the whole surface moved outward and then, with a groan, sank into the floor.<\/p>\n There was a woman inside.\u00a0 An attractive woman, with medium-length dark hair.<\/p>\n Clearly a vampire, by her armor.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the\u2026\u201d Andante said.<\/p>\n \u201cShor\u2019s bones!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd other bits, as well!\u201d<\/p>\n The woman fell forward onto the floor. \u00a0Andante moved to help her but she waved him off and rose, slowly.\u00a0 Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked around, then turned to face Andante.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is\u2026 who sent you here?\u201d<\/p>\n Look at those eyes.\u00a0 She\u2019s a vampire, and a very old one.\u00a0 Powerful.\u00a0 This is what \u2013 or who \u2013 they were looking for.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWho were you expecting?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d she said, crossing her arms, \u201cI was expecting someone like me, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n She began talking, and talking, and talking about her father, and their home, and what was going to happen next.\u00a0 And Andante saw nothing aside from Brynjolf, who was smiling at him in a way that brought his heart into his throat.<\/p>\n We did it, Bryn.\u00a0 We found her.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d he whispered, smiling back at Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cYes lad,\u201d Brynjolf said quietly, his eyes glittering.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s like I told you. We\u2019ll do it together. Whatever comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n Andante tried to stop smiling at him, but couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the way, my name\u2019s Serana.\u00a0 Nice to meet you,\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat Tolan fellow wasn\u2019t kidding, was he?\u201d Brynjolf muttered. Andante gazed about himself with an odd mix of emotions.\u00a0 On the one hand, he couldn\u2019t abide the Vigilants of Stendarr, who hunted people like him \u2013 at least in the form he\u2019d had till just recently \u2013 for no other reason than that they were … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-1-15-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Andante<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"