Random Encounter (Phlegyas)

[Ande]

The walk back to the entrance was always more peaceful than getting to the main chamber. Of course, he had already killed all of the Drauger on the way to the main chamber, but that was what made the walk back so peaceful. To be rhetorical.

Ande, paused at the door, preparing to go from the dim, cold, dark drafty burial chamber to the bright, cold, windy, snowy outdoors. He breathed into his hands and prepared both of them with fire bolt magic to keep them warm, pushing on the door and squinting his eyes a little against the light.

This had been one of the better places he'd gone to; nothing utterly horrific waiting for him past the entrance aside from a lot of Drauger and a few Frostbite spiders. And he had gotten another Thu'um out of it that he needed to study more.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

After spending the night at a camp of several hunters, Phlegyas took off before the rest of his temporary companions could wake up. They didn't know that he was a vampire, so it was for the best that he left before they got a good look at him. The sun wasn't very kind to the vampire, for rather obvious reasons, so he tended to stay farther north since the sun wasn't as intense and out as much. Sticking to the shadows as much as possible, the Nord stopped for a moment to try to find his bearings. Phlegyas had absolutely no idea where he was, nor where he was going. After leaving the College of Winterhold, Phlegyas didn't really have a clear path in life and felt rather... lost. Phlegyas liked structure, and being led even more so, so being off on his own with no place to go and no goal in mind was rather mind numbing. Hiding the fact that he was a necromancer was easy, but only so many people would actually believe that his red eyes were thanks to Dunmer heritage. Getting chased out of towns was unfortunate so he usually just kept his head down and minded his own business, even if he craved being around other people. Phlegyas kept going.

After trekking through the vast snow filled land of the Pale for quite some time, Phlegyas decided that he would stop at the next cave and hang out for the rest of the day. That way he could explore the cave and travel once it was darker outside. And then he saw it. A glorious cave not too far away. It was perfect. As the Nord approached the cave, he saw something at the entrance. The closer he got, the more of the figure he began to see. An Atlmer? That certainly surprised him. Then Phlegyas took a closer look. The man looked rather familiar... Phlegyas paused for a moment to dig through his memory. And then it hit him. The elf had been a fellow College goer back when he was a student there. If his memory proved correct, the Atlmer was the one that lost his eye to Necromancers.

"This might sound rather... odd... But I believe that I know you." Phlegyas sounded rather unsure of himself, but it was worth a shot, "You were at the College of Winterhold awhile back, weren't you?"

[Ande]

Ande froze upon seeing someone just outside of the ruins entrance, blinking as his mind temporarily went black. Normally people say nothing and they pass with some awkward silence, or there's some snide remark about mages or Elves or both, or maybe it's a fairly normal meeting and they exchange greetings and perhaps sit down for something to eat or any of a number of random things.

He'd never had anyone say that to him before.

The Altmer blinked and let out an uncharacteristic 'Aam?'. He'd been trying to learn the Dov language for years now, but he never had anyone to practice with if he wasn't up at High Hrothgar. To make up for it, he'd started to incorporate some of it into his regular speech.

"Yes? I still am at the College, as infrequent as it is. Do I... know you?" as nice as it was not to be attacked by every random stranger he encountered, this was still confusing and mind blowing.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

Based on the confused look he got, Phlegyas was sure that the Altmer didn't know who the hell he was. It wasn't very surprising, Phlegyas was one of those students that the College liked to keep quiet about so he wasn't offended or anything of the sort. Honestly, the Nord was just glad that Ande hadn't attacked him or anything yet... perhaps the elf didn't know that he was a necromancer? That would have been a godsend! They would be able to have a decent conversation without any necromancer induced awkwardness to ruin it all. Phlegyas finally had somebody to talk to and he didn't want to mess that up. Who knew if the elf would actually stick around? Everything was up in the air at that point.

"Oh, I used to attend the College as well," the Nord explained with a smile, "Phlegyas Ulfgar, nice to meet you."

Maybe Ande knew his name? Somehow, Phlegyas doubted that he would know who he was after hearing it. Oh well, a fresh start was better than a bitter memory. The Nord held out his hand for the elf to shake, if he decided to.

"I left to pursue my own path in life. Actually, i'm worse off now than I was before," Phlegyas laughed, "I don't believe we ever really crossed paths before, but I think I saw you a couple of times."

[Ande]

Ande seemed surprised at just how friendly this man was, and stared at the offered hand before accepting it slowly. His shake was firm though, and he smiled more as he looked into the other's eyes. Slightly red eyes.

The Altmer tilted his head slightly, but gave no other sign of noticing them, "Ah, I see. Ande. Or Hans, if you prefer. Other than worse, how has your time been outside of the College?" he smiled a bit more,

"Sorry if I'm not as friendly at the moment. You have caught me off guard." the Altmer smiled fully now, releasing the hand he had shook.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

Phlegyas was surprised that he actually got a handshake, even if it was just to be courteous it was still a kind gesture in the Nord's eyes. Then, a moment of tension... their eyes met, but the Atlmer didn't say anything. Maybe he didn't notice the fact that he had red eyes? Hopefully that was the case, because Phlegyas really didn't want to go anywhere else at that moment. Everything seemed to be going well enough and to ruin that... he didn't want to think about it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ande!" said Phlegyas, then thought about the things that he had done since then. "Well, it has been relatively... productive I suppose. Exploring ruins, getting chased by Falmer, doing incredibly stupid things... Just the usual."

When Ande mentioned that he wasn't being friendly because Phlegyas caught him off guard. The nord nodded, he understood what it was like to be caught on the spot and expected to do things. "That's quite alright, friend. I can leave, if you'd like. Don't want to intrude on your expedition."

[Ande]

The Altmer smiled and chuckled a little, "No, it's fine. I was just leaving actually," he looked past Phlegyas to the sky and ground, estimating the time. Clearly he'd spent longer than he had originally thought in there, because it appeared to be either recently dark or on the verge of becoming light. No point traveling at night now...

"But it seems too dark for safe travel in these parts. How long since the sun set?" he asked, shifting his weight as his eye traveled back to Phlegyas. Once again he noted the red eyes, and he lingered on them. Dunmer had red eyes, and Ande knew this because two of the teachers at the College were Dunmer. But this man here appeared to be a Nord. Nords typically had blue eyes, not red. And certainly not the intense sort of red this man had.

His eyes narrowed a little, searching his mind of reasons behind having red eyes. If he was going to rest with this man knowing his location, if not in the vicinity, he didn't want to be murdered in his sleep.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

Phlegyas glanced back at the dark sky when Ande asked how long the sun had been down. The Nord honestly didn't really remember since his thoughts had been focused on his travels most of the day, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of hours at the most. Taking a moment to think about it, Phlegyas kept his gaze on the sky, then looked back at the Altmer with a shrug. "Probably just a couple of hours at the most... I'm not entirely sure though, kind of lost track of time."

Then, he felt the elves' eyes on him again. Phlegyas felt a little bit nervous now, unsure if he had figured him out or not. It was rather likely that Ande knew, since they did talk about vampires at the college every once in awhile. If he did know, Phlegyas was just going to leave peacefully, there was no need to kill a decent guy for no reason. Phlegyas just hoped that the Altmer was either okay with vampires or thought he was part Dunmer. Would it have been better if he was just honest about being a vampire? Hmmm... it was easier said than done... What if he did say something and Ande ran off to tell the College? He'd be wanted in all of the Holds by nightfall if that happened.

"I prefer to travel in the dark in these parts. Most of the dangerous creatures are asleep this time of the day and there are less bandits, thieves and assassins looking for people to victimize," Phlegyas told him with a chuckle.

[Ande]

Not just talked about. Ande had run across a few vampires in his hunt for Thu'ums, and on all occasions they had attempted to kill him without any kind of conversation. Luckily, catching Vampirism was a low possibility after being bitten or swiped at, and he had been fortunate so far not to contract the disease.

The Altmer tilted his head a little, looking a little less friendly as he stared at Phlegyas. He abruptly smiled at the chuckle the other gave, "Ah, yes. It could also be safer at night, but I'd be wary of my footing in the dark. I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are your eyes red?" his stance hadn't changed at all, but it did still and tense a bit more. He was ready with a Thu'um to stun this man if he turned out to be a threat.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

Everything seemed to be going rather smoothly, so Phlegyas began to think that he was in the clear. He had fed the night before, so Ande was in no danger from him anyways. Even if he needed to feed, Phlegyas would have gone elsewhere to do so. The Altmer didn't deserve to be bitten... hell nobody really did, but that was just how things were. When he could, Phlegyas would try to sneak into prisons when the guards were being especially lazy and feast upon the lowly prisoners.

And then there was that burning question. Ande just had to ask why his eyes were red, didn't he? What was he supposed to say? Oh hey, i'm just a friendly vampire? Who in the hell would ever believe that? Even though it was far more likely that he was a vampire, the dunmer story was far less frightening and Phlegyas really didn't want to get into a fight.

"Oh, I don't mind," he lied, "I never knew my mother, but my father told me that she was a dunmer so i've just always had red eyes. Guess I got most of my father's looks." Phlegyas laughed quietly, hoping that Ande would just accept the answer and let it go.

[Ande]

Ande tilted his head a little, expression remaining exactly the same, "That's interesting. I know some Dunmer, but your eyes do not look like theirs." the slight smile was almost frozen in place as he waited to see what the other would do. The Altmer could sometimes be a little too curious, but he didn't consider it a bad thing.

He had, in fact, run into a vampire couple living alone in the wilderness. They hadn't tried to kill them, and it was only after talking to them that he'd realized they were vampires. Even after their secret was out in the open, they hadn't tried to kill him, which Ande appreciated greatly.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

Phlegyas didn't really want to explain some stupid lie that didn't make a whole lot of sense.... but he didn't really want to keep lying either. As much as he disliked being a vampire, he didn't really want to keep living a lie. Phlegyas was what he was, and there was nothing he could do to change that. The only rumor of a cure he had ever heard of was to become a werewolf, but so much about the theory was uncertain and way more risky than he would have liked.

With a heavy sigh, Phlegyas just decided to get it out in the open, "I lied so you wouldn't judge me before you had a chance to actually see that i'm a decent human being. I'm a vampire, BUT I am not going to try and kill you. Now that you know, it's probably best that I leave."

The vampire looked around and took a couple of steps back out into the fields of white. It had started to snow, which wasn't a terribly big surprise, but it would definitely make the walk unpleasant. He wasn't quite sure when he'd find another cave or place of shelter, but it was better than making an enemy. That was the last thing he needed now that he was pretty much alone in the world. Sometimes Phlegyas actually thought about giving up Necromancy, since it was what set all of the bad things that have happened to him in motion.

Then, the silence was broken by the thunderous roar of a dragon soaring overhead. Phlegyas looked up and saw the dragon. It would have been easy to just run and hide, but what if Ande was going to try and fight the scaly beast? It didn't seem possible for just one person to slay a dragon, so Phlegyas decided to stick around and fight if the dragon attacked.

[Ande]

Well that sure made Ande feel bad. It wasn't that he hated vampires or anything, though he did have a healthy dislike of them, but he just severely disliked being lied to. Now the fact that Phlegyas was backing down and leaving, Ande stepped forward to stop his retreat,

"Wait. You were waiting for somewhere to rest during daylight, weren't you?"

It made a lot of sense now, and it made Ande drop his guard completely. If he had wanted to, the vampire could have attacked him right then and there for food and shelter. The vampire had been very close distance wise, and the Altmer would have been in trouble if he couldn't back up far enough. But none of that had happened, and he felt as if he'd kicked some child's puppy from the look the Nord gave him. And the look had suggested the puppy was kicked quite often, too.

He stepped forward to follow the vampire, and immediately halted when he heard the ground-shaking roar. For a moment he was unsure what it was, as he had never faced a dragon before. But the heavy beating of wings gave him his next clue, and he was very tempted to go back inside the ruins and wait it out. The only thing that stopped him was his memory of the local area; there was a settlement nearby. A settlement that lacked many guards, with houses that would make excellent kindle to roast its inhabitants.

Ande grit his teeth and continued forward, readying ice spike spells in both hands as he looked up toward the sky. Something huge and vaguely greenish flew overhead, and the Altmer glanced at Phlegyas before slinging a spell at the giant beast.

[Phlegyas Ulfgar]

That certainly surprised the Nord. Phlegyas wasn't expecting Ande to say anything to him after he said that he was a vampire. If anything, Phlegyas was expecting a fireball to the back or something. Most people usually freaked out when they even heard the word vampire and to actually see one... that's when people broke out the pitchforks and torches. Phlegyas paused and turned around, but was far too distracted by the looming beast above their heads. The last thing he wanted to do was face a dragon... it surely meant that this was the end. The vampire had never faced a dragon before and didn't even know how to go about it. What spells would work best? What weapon, if any, should he use? Would any effort even be worth it? The cave was still so close... and running away would be easier than staying to fight.

However, the option to go back into the cave soon disappeared when the dragon's flames separated the two from the cavern. Phlegyas looked back at the dragon and drew his iron war axe and readied a shock spell in the other hand. Fire didn't seem like a good option against a fire breathing dragon and ice just seemed stupid against such intense heat. The scaly beast swooped down again, snapping it's jaws at them, trying to grab one of them. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, that was the most terrified he had ever felt in his entire life. It was extremely tempting to conjure up some help, but Phlegyas didn't want to use any necromancy in front of Ande. If he was right, Ande had a run in with necromancers and probably wouldn't appreciate a second surprise. A vampire necromancer? Was there anything worse than that?

"How do we kill it?!" Phlegyas asked, unsure of what he should do. The dragon flew to fast to really effectively shoot electricity at it... The fireballs continued to rain down upon them, Phlegyas leapt out of the way and attempted to shoot some more lightening at the creature with little success. If only it would land... It had to eventually... didn't it?

[Ande]

"Same way you kill anything else!" Ande yelled back, starting to run in order to avoid another path of fire. He skidded to a halt and swung around when he wasn't in danger, slinging two ice spikes up at the dragon and missing. The elf gritted his teeth and tried again, leading his target this time in an attempt to make up for the distance and speed that the dragon was flying at. Only one of the spikes hit home, and he got an angry roar in response as the dragon turned on him.

Ande knew what he'd be studying next. He'd be studying the best, safest and fastest way to kill a dragon.

The elf backed up when the dragon adjusted its flight path toward him, beginning to come in low and opening its jaws. Ande took the opportunity to throw more ice spikes at the dragon, one striking it in the mouth and causing the beast to buck in the air. He flung himself to the side when the dragon got closer, distracted by the ice spike to the roof of its mouth to aim as it breathed fire.

Luckily, Ande had thrown up a ward when he threw himself to the side, saving himself from any terribly damaging heat. He could swear he heard a voice say 'Yol' as the dragon passed.

Said dragon pulled up and then landed hard on the ground, turning on the Nord and the elf with a loud rumble.