just as quickly as the Atronach's fireball made contact with the rock, the two mages snapped their attention to the direction of Quill-Finder.
"shit." one of the mages, a man, said. following the atronach's lead, he charged a spell of his own, lobbing a fireball of his own. this time at Lydia who had already moved forward to engage.
Barely dodging out of the way, Lydia turned to her companions. "Illia!" she commanded, pointing at the Atronach.
Illia nodded, letting out a frigid hail of ice from the palm of her hands.
Quill-Finder cut to the left, engaging the second mage, this one a woman, who retaliated with a gout of flame.
Quill-Finder barely had time to cast her ward to block most of the flame, the fire barely licking her forearm before being cut off.
the female mage cursed, pulling out a dagger.
Quill-Finder simply smiled, summoning a dagger of her own from the aether.
Lydia had engaged the male mage. the man had panicked, launching volley after volley of fireballs as the housecarl closed the distance up a set of stairs, into the ruins of what was once a tower. she pushed the man against a piece of rubble, blade against his throat. and it dawned on her. this man was young. too young. he was barely older than a teenager, and he was out here fighting to the death.
the mage, sensing this, let loose a blast of flame, engulfing Lydia.
Lydia screamed in pain, falling off of the ruins onto the ground. she desperately patted out the flames just in time to see the man from atop the tower readying another fireball.
he smirked. and then the fire died. Lydia looked on as the body went limp, falling next to her, giving her a better view of the bolt of ice embedded into the man's head.
Illia rushed over, helping the downed housecarl to her feet. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah." Lydia choked on the words, looking back that the now dead mage. "just... just my pride."
the two looked over to Quill-Finder, who was just finishing her kill. a swift cut to the throat before thrusting the ethereal dagger into the skull. the blade dissipating before the female mage even hit the ground.
Quill-Finder looked on, and back to her companions. "That was too easy..."
Lydia nodded solemnly. neither of them said it, but they could tell what the other was thinking. "who sends out kids to protect a keep?"
The Keep was dark, wet, and teeming with young mages. with each scuffle, the party pushed deeper
Battles against mages of varying skills continued until there was a pause. they had entered what looked like a jail with a number of cages, each containing one person. Only one mage was looking over the room. he wore black robes with a red skull adorning the front of it.
The prisoners looked at their jailer with a mix of emotion. fear. anger. but most importantly, hunger.
Quill-Finder had enough. with a seething hatred, she stormed into the room, fire crackling in each hand.
the mage, only barely paying attention, turned just in time to see the young argonian raise both hands. the flames in her palms burned brighter before blasting forward.
Reflexively, the mage countered with his own fire. the magical flames clashing in the middle as the heat increased in the room significantly.
Illia moved to help, only to be stopped. Lydia, with an arm across the ice witch's chest, simply shook her head.
Quill-Finder could feel the flames licking her flesh. it was burning. she couldn't tell if it was from her own fire, or her opponents, but she grunted through the pain and let out a defiant shout, pushing with all her energy.
The fire plumed, pushing through and finally forcing its full might on the necromage. losing focus, the mage fell to the ground. his screams echoed through the room before being cut short. Quill-Finder, closing the distance, plunged her sword into the sorcerer's head.
Once more, the room was silent. all except for the four prisoners in each cell.
"You!" one of the prisoners shouted. A dunmer woman grasped the bars. "Let me out, this instant!"
Quill-Finder nodded, digging through her pack for a set of lockpicks.
"A moment." Illia interjected, waving both Quill-Finder and Lydia over.
Lydia was confused. "What's the matter?"
Illia pointed to all four prisoners. "Look carefully."
It took a moment, but both Lydia and Quill-Finder could see what they missed before long.
The dunmer, no, all four prisoners, didn't quite look right. their facial structure, while still graceful only in the way an elf's could be, was contorted. their eyes glowed with a hungry amber. and while some looked upon their would-be saviors with hope, it was undeniable they also looked upon the three like one would look at a steak.
"Vampires..." Lydia finally confirmed.
the Dunmer grasped upon the bars, visibly annoyed. "We're kept here against our will! Free us and we will offer you no trouble this day."
Lydia finally turned to her charge, giving a shrug. "It's your call, Quill-Finder."
with a sigh, the argonian cautiously approached the cages once more. "attack me, and you'll be dust." she warned.
the vampire laughed. "yours is not who we shall feast upon this day. we wish for something... sweeter." her grin turned stone cold in an instant. "Revenge."
before long, all four vampires were freed. and true to their word, they stayed their hands against their rescuers. there was a nod of gratitude before the dunmer threw open the doors to the next room, and charged at the first person she saw.
Staying out of view, Quill-Finder, Lydia, and Illia could only listen to the panic, the casting of magic, and the death of a small handful of would-be sorcerers until it finally went quiet.
Quill-Finder peered into the room. three freshly dead bodies, one pile of ash, and what looked like two corpse on tables.
the vampires were nowhere to be seen.
Quill-Finder wasn't sure to be relieved or concerned at that fact.
