"Oh ay, we'ad shom em roight nashty blod-shookers com round 'eshterday. Mae off wi' Jorla's ca'le, 'ey did. Shnoopin' in 'e dark an' whatnot, grabbed 'er 'eifer, then 'zoop!' Off 'ey wen'." With the din of the celebration, it was impossible for Nur-Ek to make any sense of the man's story. The fact that the Nord was piss-drunk probably didn't help, either. Instead, Nur-Ek looked at Geir, eyebrow raised.
"He said he saw some vampires come by yesterday. Made off with someone's cow," Geir practically had to yell over the countless conversations going on around them, "Though with the state he's in, I'd doubt any of what he says is true."
"Ish true, A tell ya'! 'Ere 'ey were, righ' befow me eyesh. All dark an' shaggy, like-"
Nur-Ek interjected, "Wait, did you say 'dark and shaggy?' Are you sure you aren't talking about wolves?" It wasn't unheard-of for wolves to attack unattended livestock, especially in the woods around Falkreath.
"Eh..." Confused, the man furrowed his brow, before taking another drink. Realizing the mug was empty, he shouted out, "Oi! 'Nother one on 'ese two!"
"You said it was Jorla's cattle they took?" Geir pressed.
"Jorla. You said the vampires took her cow?"
They were interrupted as another frothing mug was set before the Nord. Beaming, the man picked it up and took a long, deep draught. Although the way it looked, most of the mead was running down his chin and into his beard. "Aaah, thas be'er," he sighed, banging the mug down on the table. "Wa'you say again?"
Nur-Ek rubbed his snout in frustration. "Jorla. Were can we find her?"
"Oh, 'er? Farm'sh 'e one nea' 'e ol' grea' pine, 'long 'e dir' road. A thin'."
Abruptly, Geir rose from his seat. Nur-Ek followed suit, puzzled. "Thank you for your time," Nur-Ek said coolly, before following Geir through the crowd towards the entrance.
"Wai'! 'm No' done ye'! You go'a pay fer 'e drinksh!" The man stumbled out of his seat as he tried to follow, but promptly fell, hit his head on the floorboards, and passed out as the mead finally took hold of his consciousness.
Nur-Ek took a deep breath of the cold Skyrim air once they emerged outside, glad to be away from the stuffiness of the inn. "Why'd you leave? We might have gotten more out of him."
"Six weeks, Nur-Ek," The tall Nord grumbled, ignoring the question, as they started the long walk back to the abandoned farmhouse they had rennovated into their base of operations.
"Six. Weeks. How long are we going to keep up with this foolishness?"
"You saw how they left those farmers, didn't you? Pale, bloodless corpses. It isn't stopping, either. We can't just abandon them, Geir."
"Sure we can. I'm sure the idea that this is a lost cause has crossed your mind once or twice. Fuck, we could have killed several vampires if you weren't so dead-set on finding these ones. Instead, we're doing... whatever the fuck that was. We had and agreement, didn't we? I stick with you, long as we get to kill those bastards. Well, I haven't killed one in six weeks, and I'm more than a bit pissed." Geir pulled out his pipe and began cleaning the chamber with a rag produced from his belt pouch, as he usually did when he was irritated.
Nur-Ek rubbed his snout again, frustrated. With how much he'd been doing that recently, he was surprised the scales hadn't been rubbed off by now. Rather than respond immediately, he remained quiet for a time, thinking, as Geir simmered next to him. The sound of their boots crunching on the gravel road and the chirping of crickets echoed through the air, uninterrupted. A cold wind rustled the trees, detatching more than a few leaves. With how peaceful things were tonight, it was almost easy to forget the town had been victim to a string of murders.
"Well?" Geir demanded after several moments.
Nur-Ek sighed, "You're right, as usual."
The other harrumphed, "That it?"
"What else is there to say? We can leave by sunrise. No sense in letting everyone know we've abandoned the search."
Geir was obviously unsatisfied with that answer, but he said no more. They walked in silence the rest of the way. They were silent as they packed their gear in the morning as well, and as they left the town behind, making their way towards Whiterun as they had been doing six weeks prior.
