As he introduced himself, I had another face flash into my mind. It was very similar, but something said more dangerous. A shiver went down my spine and I tried to keep the image in my minds eye to figure out what it was, that was giving me pause. I couldn't pinpoint what is was and the sharp tone of the Knight-Paladin jerked me out of my thoughts.
I interrupted Serana who seemed to want to belittle the man for some reason. I told him that yes we were looking to get Auriel's bow and asked him about his Chantry, as he seemed to want to talk about it. I listened with interest as he told about how and why his people built the Chantry here and all the things that had happened since. He said he would help us with the bow if we would help him with his brother. Serana made a snippy comment and I really wanted to smack her upside the head, I made a mental note to ask her how old she was when she was turned. I said that we would help him, I didn't really see the problem and if his brother was in the main part of the Chantry, not just a way-point, then more than likely Auriels Bow was their anyway and we would have to do something to help his brother anyway.
He then explained that we would have to take the Initiates way and travel from Way-Shrine to Way-Shrine filling up the Initiates Ewer along the way to open up the main Chapel, where his brother should be found. He opened up the Way-Shrine and I filled the Ewer that he gave me and a portal opened.
Searana and I stepped through into a dark cavern, filled with glowing fauna. As we moved on and passed out of what I thought might be hearing distance of the Portal, I turned on Searna and asked, "What in Oblivion is your problem? Did you expect to just waltz to the end of a cave and find Auriel's bow guarded by a couple skeletons? Or is it the contempt that young often feel towards anyone old? Or perhap's you sense his power and know that it is a kind you will never have and you fear it because of that? What ever your problem, if you ever treat another person like that in front of me, we are done." I paused just long enough to see her eye's get slightly glassy and watch her lip's tighten, " If it's his religion, then get over it, I have never made a derogatory remark about your worship of Molag Bal. You have never said you regretted what you have become, so it is your choice, even if it hadn't been at the very begining.", With that I walked down the passage fast enough that she would have to yell after me or pant as she ran to talk.
When we ran into the first Falmer I caste a flame Atronach spell and then blasted them with firebolt's without even a pause in my step's. When the first little group of Falmer were dead, I paused long enough for Serana to catch up. I looked at her and apologized for my out burst, but also told her I wasn't joking about the derogatory remark's. She looked a bit rebellious, but finally nodded her head.
I really liked the girl, but I often got the impression that even though she had been in that crypt longer than I had been alive, I was the elder of the two of us by a couple hundred years. I really didn't think she had been walking Nirn much longer than her apparent age of early twenties. Even though she is a vampire I would like to keep her as a friend, I knew that she would be around for awhile. To often I have left friends only to return and find that their grandchildren are now adults and they passed away some time ago.
I know it has always been my choice to be around the shorter lived Human and Beast races than around other Mer. Sometimes I wished that I had found my love in another Altmer, instead of a Nord, but their is still no telling if he would still be alive. It's not like I have lived the safe life of a courtier or city merchant and the type man I like wouldn't be one either.
It seemed like half the day had gone by, by the time we exited the cave system. When we exited the caverns it was early evening by the angle of the sun. I both way's down the valley, to our left the cliff's and mountains were close, to the right it seemed we could walk through the forest for quiet a bit. So that is the direction I choose to go, feeling that if their was a Way-point in this valley, it would be a little bit of a walk to get their. It seemed I was right, in the last hour before the valley would be in complete night, we found the next Way-point.
I stopped a little distance away and even though the spectral guardian looked our way, I went no closer. To the right and slightly behind the Way-point was a pocket valley. I made my way in that direction, picking up kindling and deadfall along the way. If their was enough, we wouldn't have to chop one of the fallen tree's. I lit our fire while Serana set up her small tent, then I set up my tent while she started dinner.
When I finished that I wandered a little ways away from our camp and picked up more deadfall to keep the fire going. I found a largish limb that was just barely dry enough to burn without smoking to much, I used my hand ax to cut it into a reasonable size for our fire.
I sat on the log that bordered one side of our camp and Serana handed me a plate with my dinner on it. Venison, potatoe and roasted apple, much better than the bread and cheese I had been eating of late. I watched her pick at the food she had put on a plate for herself, it wouldn't have been enough to feed a small child , IF she had been eating it in the first place.
"You know you don't have to pretend to eat, I know that if you actually ate that, it would make you sick.", she started and then put the plate down. I caught her looking at me several times and finally asked what was on her mind.
" You aren't like any of the Altmer vampires that my father has around, not snooty and full of yourself." She kinda blushed, which was rather odd for a vampire. I took pity on her and answered the question she didn't really ask.
" I have spent much more time around Nord's, Imperials and Breton's, that I have around other Mer. I think that gives me a slightly different view of the human races than what alot of other Altmer have. I don't think we are superior, just different." Finishing my food, I dumped sand on the plate and scrubbed and then rinsed it with water. I said good nite and got up and went to bed. Serana woke me as color started creeping over the mountains.
We went to the shrine and talked to the spirit guardian, who raised the Way Shrine. I went in and filled the Ewer. I looked at the portal that opened up and decided that it could be the one that Knight-Paladin Gelebor was at. I walked back out and talked to Serana for a minute and then picked up the pack's I had made and walked through.
It turns out I was correct and I waved at Serana who waited on the other side. I walked over to him and told him that I made a pack with some fresh venison in it and also some fall apples and gourds I had found in the valley.They were for him, as it had looked like his supplies were a bit low. I told him the other pack was herb's and samples of plant's and fungi that I had collected along the way and wanted to leave with him, for us to pick up later. He said that was fine as any Way Shrine I opened would always be open for me to use.
I asked him a couple questions about the different Way Shrines and then walked back through the portal. On the other side Serana looked relieved when I came back. I told her we would be going up over the trail I had seen to find the next Way Shrine. I knew we could have walked through the other portal that opened up, but as it wouldn't actually exit at a Shrine anyway, I preferred to walk.
So we walked back the trail I had seen the day before and started up it, along the way were some familar foe's, Ice spiders. I was always nice to see a friendly face. As we crested the top of the pass, we could see a large valley, mostly covered in ice and snow. Waterfalls frozen in timeless beauty and a large lake who's ice could be a death trap, to those unwary enough to walk the middle of it. As we turned on a switch back I caught a glimmer of sun gold in the distance and pointed to Serana, who also thought that it might be a Way Shrine. We headed in that direction and sure enough, it was a Shrine.
I went through the ritual of talking to the guardian spirit and filling the ewer. I looked at the new portal that opened up and it also seemed to be on this icy lake. Along with the last two Way Shrines that I had opened up. I thought about that for a minute, from the view it appeared on the opposite side of the large lake. I was pretty sure we could make it to that next Shrine before sunset and then we could go through to the wooded Shrine, camp their in relative warmth and go back to that Shrine to head for the last one in the morning.
Which, sounded great, until we got out on the Lake and I heard two great explosions of ice as two dragon's came up through the ice pack. I told Serana to keep close and we would fight the dragons together.
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