Until Dawn [ADDED]

[El Scumbago]

Now, this is a bit of a large story, No.100+ in the thriller/adventure list of books, I guess.
Stay tuned, for hereby we shall show you snow, blood, wilderness, blood, hacking & slashing, blood, monsters and of course, blood! Kidding, I just didn't have a decent prologue!


Until Dawn
by Keratus Vernikomenus

Dark was falling in the town of Blackmoor, deep in the icy province of Skyrim.
The guards begun to light the lanterns, and soon enough their blurry light was flowing through the streets and alleys of Blackmoor, all of them filled with a layer of snow, so thick that Nifjol’s feet were sunk to the ankle into it.
By the time he got to the tavern, he was already exhausted, even though his house was just on the other side of the town.

Covering his eyes as he was getting used to the bright lights that the tavern’s chandeliers were pouring into the room, he walked to a table in a corner, suspiciously far from all the others.
The patrons were having all the fun they could ask for, drinking the goblets of mead with greed, smoking their pipes and touching the waitresses at every possible opportunity.
The room was drowning in smoke and Nifjol begun to feel his eyes itch as he was dragging a seat to join a company that felt a lot out of place, sitting in that cornered table. A pale Altmer, a sneaky Bosmer and a Nord girl were the parts of that company, waiting for him to arrive.

“Welcome,â€Â￾ said the girl with a smile. Her name was Tonja and she was Nifjol’s connection to the couple of male mer that was sitting in front of him.
“Let me introduce you,â€Â￾ she said. “Meet Shaesmeel, our Altmer, an expert in spellcasting and alchemy, and Menavor, the Bosmer master of stealth. Gentlemen, this is Nifjol, the final associate of ours, quite an expert in melee combat like me. I believe we are now ready to proceed.â€Â￾
The three men nodded with their heads. Tonja took a look around to make sure none was overhearing or paying attention to them, reached for her backpack that was lying on the table and pulled a rolled paper out of it. It was a hand-drawn map, showing the town and the surrounding area, emphasizing the latter.

“Come closer everyone and open up your eyes and ears,â€Â￾ Tonja said.
She put a tankard in each side of the map to keep it flat on the table and begun to explain; “This is where we are, Blackmoor. To the south and a bit east of here lies Oakwood. As most people know, the area between us and Oakwood has quite a lot of beasts, cliffs, hills, snow, rocks, caverns and tombs. They are the very reasons everyone prefers to take the road to that town, spending thrice the time on the journey.
Not even a brave Nord warrior would prefer crossing that blasted gods-forsaken piece of wilderness to get to Oakwood.â€Â￾
Shaesmeel asked her to pause, lifted his hand to the waitress’ direction and shouted with all of his power to be heard through the continuous laughter, chatting and mumbling of the crowd, ordering a cheap Valenwood wine for him and the Bosmer, and mead for his Nord partners.

Soon as the drinks were served, Tonja unrolled the map again and continued briefing the three men.
“As I was saying, no one walks through this desolate area. However, a friend of mine who was out of time due to business of his in Oakwood did. Upon returning here, he told me of a strange camp he saw during night. It appears that some people had set a couple of tents around a tomb but lit no torches around them.â€Â￾
“What’s so strange about it?â€Â￾ Menavor asked. “These campers could be anyone; pilgrims, bandits, raiders, smugglers, or even usual travelers, perhaps an imperial archaeological research team. Those idiot scholars defy everything for their science. For me, the only thing to defy all others for is gold.â€Â￾
“We’ll get to that,â€Â￾ said Tonja with a smile.
“They couldn’t possibly be pilgrims,â€Â￾ Nifjol said, “there is nothing out there worthy of pilgrimage, and nobody worships a tomb, much less setting a camp around it. Nor could they be bandits or smugglers, for they reside in caverns.â€Â￾
“Archaeological teams have no interest in tombs either, and raiders wouldn’t get that far from their vessels,â€Â￾ added Shaesmeel.
“As for being travelers, I already answered to that from the beginningâ€Â￾ said Tonja and continued; “The camp that strangely enough lacked torches was not made by the hands of men or mer. Or at least....â€Â￾ For a moment she seemed to lack the courage to go on.
“Speak your mind girl; we want to hear it all. For your sake, hide nothing from us,â€Â￾ said Shaesmeel.
Leaving a sigh, she stared at all of them and answered; “Alright, I hope you all are as brave and resolved to do this as you seem to be. The camp was set from the nocturnal undead.â€Â￾
Nifjol laughed, seeming to expect something much more serious and challenging. “Big deal, is that it? My axe can cut through all sorts of undead, whether they walk in daylight or moonlight...â€Â￾ But suddenly his expression changed and anxiety replaced joy in the depths of his heart. “You don’t mean, I mean, by the word “nocturnalâ€Â￾ you don’t, I want to say... Oh no, in the name of Hircine, you do mean for us to hunt these creatures?â€Â￾
Shaesmeel and Menavor felt uneasy all of a sudden, staring at the fear that was obvious in their associate’s face. They instantly turned their heads and stared Tonja straight in her eyes, waiting, until she finally admitted;
“Yes, I do mean it. Vampires are the prey.â€Â￾ Upon hearing this, all of them grew pale. “But please wait before changing your minds, the prize is great, great enough to worth the risk. Besides, the plan I came up with is guaranteed to succeed, without casualties. Hear me out, will you?â€Â￾

They sat silently, waiting for her to tell them her plan, which they knew was pure madness, but deep inside them hoped for something reasonable and possible.
Yes, that would give them the courage they needed to proceed.
“Alright, here goes nothingâ€Â￾ Tonja said. “I already knew a vampire ancient was traveling from Karthgran Vale of the High Rock province, towards the Pale Pass in the borders of Skyrim and from there, straight to the Nibenay Valley and Cyrodiil itself, to discuss the terms of a truce with somebody. It is either another ancient one, or a big shot of the Imperial Palace. Perhaps the Emperor himself, I don’t know. What I do know though, and is the important part of all this, is that the vampires are not only carrying their miserable cattle with them, but also a huge treasure, crates full of gold, gems and exquisite goods. Must be their offerings for the truce, I guess. I see you begin to overcome your fear. Want me to go on?â€Â￾

They all said “yes,â€Â￾ at once, and Tonja begun explaining her plan;
“Listen up and listen well, gentlemen. This is my plan of action; First of all, our attack will take place at nightfall...â€Â￾ Before she completed the sentenced, Nifjol cried out;
“Are you nuts girl? At nightfall? They will be awake; we shall be torn in pieces! Your plan is as good as suicide!â€Â￾
“Shhhh! Shut your mouth you big, dumb, ugly Nord. You want to draw everyone’s attention onto us?â€Â￾ said the Bosmer.
“He’s right,â€Â￾ Tonja continued, “I will explain myself if you let me do so without further interruptions.â€Â￾
The company silently agreed.
“Very well, now pay attention. The reason I suggest a night attack is this; their cattle are not only acting as a cover and baggage carriers, they also guard them during daytime. Sneaking up to them is next to impossible in daylight, and even if we do so, once we slay one, the others will notice and run inside to inform their masters. They will then be expecting us inside. Against such a force, we are doomed. During night though, we can move undetected, eliminate the cattle and enter. No one will notice us, should we remain hidden. The vampires expect a report from their servants at each dawn and dusk. This means we must be gone before dawn. Menavor will take care of any locks and traps. He can also blend perfectly with the shadows and scout ahead. Shaesmeel will provide the magic we need to keep us invisible and safe. As for me and Nifjol, we will do all of the dirty work. What say you people? Are you in?â€Â￾
They all agreed it was a good plan, safe and rewarding, and agreed at once.

Nifjol and Tonja spent the whole next day practicing stealthy close combat, Menavor prepared his tools and brought all the disarming and lock picking tricks he knew of to his mind, as Shaesmeel bought herbs to brew as many potions of invisibility as he could, for himself and the Nords to use. And though it would be better if they prepared themselves for longer, all had to be done at that night, for the vampires would move on to another location, which none of the four adventurers could be aware of.

In the afternoon, the four of them, properly equipped, met just outside the town and begun walking to the direction of the tomb with haste.
“Until dawn; that is all the time we will have, so do not forget it,â€Â￾ Tonja reminded them.
The sun had just begun to hide behind the mountains when they saw the camp and the entrance of the tomb.
“Everybody down,â€Â￾ she said, “if my information is right, in a few minutes we will enter the scene.â€Â￾
Indeed, not five minutes later, one of the cattle entered the tomb, came out and announced that they were now allowed to sleep. After a while darkness would cover everything, and when it did, vampires would take their positions in front of the tomb as its guardians for the night.
As soon as they did, Menavor began to sneak towards the tents, followed by Tonja and Nifjol who had taken the first of their invisibility potions.

The three of them easily took out the sleeping cattle, carefully slitting the throat of their unsuspecting victims, making no sound at all. Covered as they were by the darkness of the night and Shaesmeel’s potions, they crawled silently behind the two vampire guardians.
The two Nords synchronized their moves, lifted their axes high in the air and struck, beheading the helpless couple of undead at once. Menavor ran to their previous hiding spot and returned with Shaesmeel who was already trembling with agony and fear.
“Stop shaking,â€Â￾ said Nifjol, “and brace yourself. We are all going in, grabbing as much loot as we are able to, and sneak our way out. We can’t risk getting in there multiple times, it is way too dangerous.â€Â￾
The Altmer agreed and drunk a potion. The Nords did the same - Menavor did not need one - and Tonja repeated;
“Until dawn, that is all the time we have, and we’re already running short of it. Until dawn...â€Â￾
They shook their heads and entered. Closing the door behind them, they found themselves surrounded by absolute darkness.
“In the name of all gods,â€Â￾ whispered Nifjol, “none of us ever thought of the absence of torches in here. None of us idiots thought that vampires need no light. We should have paid attention when Tonja reported there were no torches outside. If we move on, we are done for. Perhaps....â€Â￾
“We can’t,â€Â￾ whispered Tonja, “This is our only chance to become rich, and I will not waste it. If need be, I will chop the head of every single vampire that stands between me and the loot.â€Â￾
“Right, as if you would see them,â€Â￾ Shaesmeel said with sarcasm, secretly blaming himself though for not thinking of it, for if he had, he would have brewed some potions of night-eye already.

Menavor though, was a thief, and as he had already said, gold is what he defies everything for.
“I can help....a little,â€Â￾ he said. “I am used in dark places due to my, ahem, profession. In a little while I will be better acquainted with the place and I will be able to see a few things. Not much, but as many as we need to avoid falling onto a hungry patrolling vampire.â€Â￾
After a while, the Boomer’s eyes had indeed gotten used to the dark and he begun to move on in order to scout the corridors of the tomb, trying to ignore the fact his heart was beating faster and faster in every step of his. The rest of his company followed him.
They were all feeling better as they were getting the feeling of the space around them.
All of a sudden, two bright red eyes made everyone freeze in fear. The creature was clearly a vampire, and it seemed to have seen them. As it begun walking towards their position, they all rushed to the sides of the corridor and stuck their backs on the wall, pushing against it, as if the wall would move and allow them to stay away from the nocturnal hunter’s way. Finally, it passed in front of them and disappeared in the darkness of the place. Everyone was more than thankful to the fate and gods for still living, and all pressed themselves not to release that sigh of relief that was choking them.

They went on, and on, and on, carving each turn in their minds while their heart was beating as a neurotic drummer beats his guar skin drum, stopping every time a pair of shining eyes was visible, or when the sound of steps was heard.
And as the company begun to grow desperate for not finding the loot they sought and for running out of time, Menavor, who was leading them, stepped on something he was certain was not a rock. He touched it, and instantly lifted and bit it to reassure himself. Then silently turned to the others and whispered with an enthusiastic voice; “Gold partners, it’s a coin.â€Â￾

They all touched it and their hearts filled again with courage and faith that they would succeed. It was then that Menavor said he could see chests and sacks around him.
The Nords and the Altmer drank another potion to maintain their invisibility while the Bosmer, full of joy, was already devoted to his favorite sport, unlocking containers that belong to others.
Within moments, the small party was filling their hands in gold and gems, precious artifacts and jewels, feeling as if in heaven. All but Tonja, who was getting extremely nervous, counting the minutes since the moment she and the others entered the tomb.
While filling her backpack with all it could hold, she kept mumbling, “Until dawn, until dawn is all the time we get, no more, no more, we are dead after dawn, gather the gold until dawn, until dawn, after that we are dead, dead after dawn, dead...â€Â￾
Hearing her, they all got awfully scared, she couldn’t stand all that fear and anxiety, finally having a crisis caused by the dreadful terror of the upcoming dawn, during which the vampires would expect their guardians to fall back into the tomb and their cattle to report they were replacing. No such thing would happen though, and Tonja was absolutely stressed on timing the infiltration, unwillingly bringing herself to such a situation that she now was out of control. It was merely a matter of time before the vampires would hear her and discover her companions.

Menavor did not hesitate, his life and the gold around him were good enough reasons to draw his sword and pierce Tonja’s neck, ripping it apart. Nifjol and Shaesmeel were shocked and made haste with filling their backpacks.
Menavor carried his backpack and Tonja’s since he was the weakest, while Nifjol and Shaesmeel carried their backpacks and a large chest.
Moving as quietly as possible, trying to remember all the turns they had made, they crossed the vast tomb back to its exit, the blood pumping inside them as time was against them.
Then, the Altmer realized it. As they were nearing the exit, they drank their last Invisibility potion. They were invisible to the eyes of the tomb’s visitors, eyes that could pierce through the darkest dark. But Tonja’s body was not. It was next to the gold, lying dead in a pool of blood, uncovered, totally exposed.
“Hurry up, hurry up, don’t lose a single second, the girl’s body, they will soon find it.â€Â￾
The exit was now in front of them.
“Don’t worry Shaesmeel,â€Â￾ said the Bosmer, “Time is now against them. They can only hunt us until dawn, and then we’re safe, they cannot survive in the sunlight. Be strong, until dawn.â€Â￾
“Until dawn...yes, I can do that, I suppose. Until dawn, until dawn...â€Â￾

Menavor rushed out, carrying the backpacks, followed by his companions who were carrying their own and the large chest, when they heard the otherworldly echo of screams and howls coming from the corridors of the tomb.
The vampires had discovered Tonja’s corpse and the missing treasure. They would now hunt them down and reach them within seconds as they all knew well.

The two men threw away the chest and begun running with all their strength after Menavor, but the previous day’s practicing, the long walk and fear had exhausted all three of them.
“Run men, as fast as you can! Until dawn. Run towards dawn!â€Â￾ Nifjol shouted.
The undead predators however, had already reached Shaesmeel who was the least powerful of them, unskilled in running and tired as never before.
His screams were heard all over the wild plain but his companions would turn back for nothing. They still had three backpacks filled with gold and gems, running to their salvation, the dawn, which was not coming yet.
Deciding he could live with less, Menavor dropped one of the backpacks, hoping it was enough to help him endure more and save his skin.

Suddenly Nifjol whispered; “I see the dawn, the gold and silver shines through the stones, the dark has gone, I see it, the sky is velvet...â€Â￾
Menavor turned and stared at him anxiously without slowing his pace, and saw in his eyes the same flame he had seen in Tonja’s. The sun was nowhere to be seen.
“I can see the velvet colors of the dawn, like rubies or emeralds or diamonds and the sun is made of gold...,â€Â￾ Nifjol would not pause between the words now, his feelings were rushing to his brain as the vampires were rushing to them. His emotions were a waterfall, uncontrollable, undeniable.
“Until dawn, until dawn, all the time we have, it’s all the time we have; we had, dead after that, dead! Until dawn....â€Â￾
He suddenly began crying like a child and fell down on the snowy ground weeping as he never had before.

The last thing Menavor heard from him, was blaming the vampires, saying it was their entire fault before he literally got torn to pieces.
He kept running, the last of them, he should make it, he could make it. But no sun was there, and his powers had almost abandoned him.
Menavor finally decided he had no reason to maintain his fear and agony, Tonja had obviously made a mistake counting the time. Perhaps the sun was to rise after an hour, maybe two.
Tears fell from his big eyes, he stopped, threw the backpack on the ground and cursed Tonja with all the power he had left, hoping for the gods to hear his plea and fulfill that last wish of his. Then, he fell on his knees. Silence was everywhere. No animals, no birds, not even wind was shaking his hair, no clouds in the night sky. All was peaceful, so peaceful, and he was glad to feel peaceful too at the time of his death.
A gruesome pair of vampires approached and stood over him, their eyes burning with rage, their evil smiles were shining with pleasure drawn from the torturing death Menavor was about to endure.

He looked at them, deciding that things came like this because of a mistaken calculation, and that because of it, there could be no other outcome.
Then, he looked at the top of the trees around him admiring all that he never did in his life. And then he saw the one thing that frightened him to no end, more than the vampires, more than his death. He was mistaken. The tops of the trees were slowly
getting brighter and brighter. The horizon was turning from black to blue. Tonja was right. Dawn was upon him, and he quit just before it. If only he had run a bit more, a bit towards “dawn, until dawn, until dawn, no more from there on, no more. We have time until dawn, they have time until dawn, I must run, must run, run to the dawn. Until dawn, until dawn...â€Â￾

[Haplo]

3.B..

I dunno. I'll look tomorrow. I'm preoccupied with a ladyfriend tonight.