The Longest Road – Ch. 5 – 1: An Enthralling Presence

• Posted by Kyrielle Atrinati February 19, 2013 - 556 views

  I leaned over the side of the boat and wretched, tears streaming from my eyes as my body revolted against the sharp slapping of the vessel on the waves.  The bottom of the hull once more became an uncomfortable bed as I curled up on the cold, damp wood.  Fighting another wave of nausea, I shut my eyes.

  "Henny.  Wake up.  We're there."  A gentle hand shook me awake just as the boat collided with the dock in a booming thump.

  "Just so we're clear, I'm not taking you here again.  I felt sorry for your friend, but you're on your own returning," growled the ferryman as he slowly backed the dinghy away from the island.  He had remained silent for most of the journey, only swearing when a sheet of ice came too close to puncturing the tiny boat.

  "Thank you for bringing us this far."  I stood shakily at the end of the broken docks, my limbs swaying slightly as if the land was moving.

  "Father," whispered Serana somewhere behind me.  I turned, leaning on Valindor for support.

  An enormous castle dominated the island, snow laying heavily on its pointed roof.  The style reminded me of Skingrad with its tall, dark buildings displaying narrow windows like mean eyes.  Unlike the Dawnguard fortress, this place's construction was simple and relatively unadorned, relying on size impress its will upon the landscape.

  "Wait here.  Be back," the vampire said.
  

  "Why?  It's freezing out here, I'd like to go inside."  Valindor's voice was thin and insignificant in the gusting wind and snow.

  "No go inside.  Family make dinner."  She said the words slowly, then furrowed her brow as if they didn't taste right.

  "You mean, make us dinner."  He shuddered and rubbed absently at the healing slash in his shoulder.

  "How long?" I interrupted.

  "Soon."  With that, she strode across an arching bridge guarded by winged Imga-beasts.

  "Soon...  I think we're going to be here a while," I sighed, for what were days and weeks, even years, to a vampire that had been asleep for countless centuries.

  Valindor went with Meeko to gather driftwood for a fire, while I searched for food.  The island itself was a bleak spit of land occupied, aside from the castle, by a single watchtower.  We could take shelter from the weather inside, but it would be useless if we couldn't manage to feed ourselves.

  Near the docks, I shot at a few salmon sluggishly swimming, but either the wind or some other force worked against me and I missed with every shot.  Before long, my fingers were too numb to grip the bowstring, and I was forced to wander along the shore.  Surely something dead has washed up.  Something had, but it was a mutated and decayed vulture with nothing but dried skin and a few blackened, dusty feathers coating its body.  There was no meat on the bird, and overhead, similar vultures croaked their hollow calls.

  Further exploration revealed a small cluster of clams that I pried open with my sword.  When I returned to the watchtower, I found Valindor crouched before the fire warming his hands.  The slimy meat was placed on flat stones to be baked until dry.  While that was in progress, we set up the tent.  All the while, I heard the birds squawking dully.  It felt as if they were waiting for us to freeze to death.

  "We can't stay here indefinitely," I said.  I sat so close to the flames I was practically sitting on the coals.

  "Then what should we do?  The boat's gone and we've accomplished our goal.  The vampire's home with her father."

  "Maybe there's a dock here somewhere.  That worn out old pier can't be what they normally use."

  "Unless they can swim as fast as fish."  We thought for several moments, and Val frowned in determination.  "Perhaps we can get the Dawnguard to come here.  They'd love to know a massive nest like this is waiting to be wiped out.  We could head back to shore with them."

  "Yes.  That's a good idea," I said thoughtfully, listening to the dead cries of vultures.  'I'll be back."

  With light steps I climbed the tower to its ice encrusted top.  Wind whipped and shoved me so that I stumbled on its smooth surface.  I took my sword and held a breath as I sliced a thin line from the meaty side of my thumb to my wrist.  Blood dribbled to the ice, freezing on contact into small beads.  If they live with vampires, they must be like them.

  I ducked as the first of those birds dove towards me with surprising speed.  It called to its flock and they crowded about me, dive-bombing and plucking at my armor.  Sliding to hide behind the lip of the floor, I yanked my cloak from my shoulders and waited.  When one of those shadowy avids dove close,  I leapt upon it.  It struggled for several moments before becoming still.

  Carefully, I tied its feet together and its wings to its body, and the others, seeing their prey so agile, fled.  Even while alive, the bird had no muscle tone or flesh.  It was already long dead, powered by a fragment of magical energy.  My fingers were almost too numbs to write, but somehow I managed to scratch out a brief message to Isran, which I bound to its leg.  I was no necromancer, but I knew the key to controlling a dead body involved some kind sacrifice on behalf of necromancer.  Hesitantly, I chose to use my blood as a vehicle of my will.  Gripping its bald skull with the hand I sliced, I envisioned Isran, the fort, Riften, the shape of the land.

  "What are you doing with that thing?"

  Jarred out of focus, I released the bird and watched it fly vaguely southward.  "Sending a message.  Of course, I don't know how long we'll have to wait for a response."

  Valindor appeared to have not heard me.  "That was necromancy wasn't it."

  I shrugged and shivered in the same motion, only just remembering my cloak discarded on the cold tiles.  Val's expression turned black.

  "That's it.  Next time we're ashore, I'm dragging you somewhere away from this journey.  You're...you're corrupting yourself!  Look at us!  We're stranded on this spit of land with no food, water, or shelter all because this vampire means something to your ridiculous 'research'!"

  "It's not ridiculous!" I snapped, finally having had enough of his self-righteous attitude.  "Do you know what it feels like to wake up every day, knowing you've condemned your closest friend to an eternity in Oblivion?  I could have saved Derkeethus.  I could have made him stay away from that fight."

  "So that's what this is all about."  The Bosmer's face fell and he gazed at me pleadingly.  "Henny, he's gone.  You need to let him go.  Don't hang onto the past.  The forest does not linger over the dead.  It grows.  Moves on."

  I shook off his hand from my arm and fixed him with a glare.  "You couldn't possibly understand with your soft life.  I won't let him go until I've atoned for what I've done.  I should be the one trapped, not him."

  "You haven't done anything!  This is--this is folly!  I won't let you do it.  Your soul isn't something to be passed around like a common prostitute!"

  "Were's done talking about this, Val.  You can follow me or you can go home.  I care not," I spat stonily, pushing past Meeko in the stairwell.  He whined and smiled placatingly.

  My feet splashed noisily along the rocky shore until I reached the bridge spanning a low tidal pool.  Under the stone, I was protected from the icy gusts and driving snow.  With frozen hands, I built my own small fire from deadwood within reach and waited.

  By the time darkness fell, I couldn't feel anything anymore.  It was all I could hope for.