The Beasts of Ondil
Ian S. McClure
“Excuse me,” said a small, timid voice. “I need your help.”
I frowned, turning to the source of the voice: an Altmer child, perhaps seven years old, whose face was as dirty as the clothes he wore. He carried a pack that, while perhaps a bit small for me, he clearly had difficulty carrying. I found it surprising to see such a young mer alone, for my group was on the road to Mathiisen, and we hadn’t encountered a single soul since we’d left the ruins of Tanzelwil before sunrise.
Elereth spoke up, softly. “What’s wrong, lad?”
The boy sighed, running a hand through his unkempt, messy hair. “Near here, there are some ruins, Ondil. It’s full of vampires! I want you to—to kill them,” he said, on the verge of tears.
My frown widened. “Slow down, boy,” I said, crouching, my armor clinking as I did. “Vampires?”
He nodded. “Yes. Ondil is full of them. They’re led by an evil, evil mer. He’s called Aluvus. He… He killed my family,” he said, beginning to cry. “I ran away while he was distracted with—with my mother. I’ve been out here for days, waiting for someone that looked able to kill him. And you people look able.”
Suhr said, “If these ruins truly are infested with bloodfiends, we would do well to eliminate them.”
“But what if it’s a trap?” Lili piped up. “What if this ‘Aluvus’ is waiting for travelers like us? I don’t know if I can take on a vampire yet, let alone a bunch of them.”
The youth blinked, then looked down. “Maybe he is. I hadn’t thought of that. I… I don’t want you to get hurt…”
I weighed our options. Yes, the child seemed convincing enough, but what if he was a thrall? Or, if he wasn’t, how could we know the number and power of the vampires in the ruins?
With a heavy heart, I said, “I’m sorry, boy. I… don’t think we can help you. It’s too dangerous, even for us.”
I then took a coinpouch from my belt, handing it to the child. “Here. This should get you to Skywatch. Go there, alert the marines. They’ll be able to help.”
The child nodded, taking the pouch. He wiped his teary face, looking at me. “I’m sorry for bothering you, sir… And thank you for the coin.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Elereth said with a sad smile. “You did the right thing. The marines will be able to help you, I’m sure of it.”
“Thank you, miss. Good luck on your travels, all of you,” the boy said, hefting his pack and walking off.
“Should we ask him to stay with us? We could easily protect him,” Lili asked me.
“No. Too risky, I’m afraid. If he’s a thrall, there’s no telling what he could do to us,” I replied. I hesitated, then added, “And you would do well to remember, sister: You can’t help everyone. And trying will only get you killed.”
Lilinastre nodded, clearly downtrodden by the fact. “I guess so. It’s a terrible world we live in, isn’t it… Let’s keep going. We’ve still got some daylight left.”
The rest of the day was uneventful, the group traveling in silence. When night fell, we found a small cave, where Suhr procured some firewood he hadn’t used during our last camp.
Elereth sighed. “I guess I’m off to go find food, again. I’ll be back soon,” she said, before leaving the cave.
Lili hummed. “How do you deal with it, Ardolan? Not being able to help everyone like you say?” she asked, as she got the fire going with magic.
I was surprised to find I could not answer easily. I knew that no matter what I did, how hard I tried, good people would still die, often in pointless ways. But had I grown so detached from the world I was fighting for that I no longer truly felt for those such as the child? In the end, I simply said, “I’ve learnt to live with it.”
Lili nodded, understanding that I did not wish to talk about it. She, Suhr and I sat, listening to the crackling flames as we waited for Elereth to return. An hour passed. Then two. I began to feel the beginnings of worry gnaw at me, and from my companions’ faces I knew they felt the same. It was Suhr who eventually spoke up.
“Elereth has been gone too long. We must look for her,” he said, standing.
“Of course,” I replied shortly, standing as well, not expressing my fears that some terrible misfortune had befallen my beautiful Bosmer friend. Suddenly, I heard the crunching of leaves outside the cave. Without hesitation, I drew my blade. “Who goes there? Reveal youself!” I demanded.
The Altmer boy emerged from the shadows, looking shaken. “Oh, I’ve found you!” he said, before erupting into tears again.
I looked at my friends, then back to the child. “What do you want?” I asked, cautiously.
“They took her. The vampires took your friend,” the youth said. Immediately, I was overcome with dread and fury. The boy continued, “I saw them. They knocked her out with magic and took her away. They went to Ondil.”
“Where is this ruin?” I asked, serious as the grave.
The child dug in his pack, procuring a rough map of the area. “Here,” he replied, pointing out the location. He looked at us, still crying. “Promise me you’ll rescue her. That she won’t end up dead like Mother.”
“If the fiends dare even touch her,” I growled, “there will be Oblivion to pay. You have my word; she will return.”
The ruins’ exterior was soon riddled with the corpses of feral vampires—some stabbed, some slashed, some burnt. Both Lilinastre and I fought with zeal, and even Suhr seemed able to overcome his fear to great effect. I opened the door to the ruins, being greeted by a rush of cold air.
“Come on, we’re going in,” I told the group, leading the way deeper within. The halls were narrow inside Ondil, leaving the bloodfiends little room to dodge the onslaught of spells and blades, and so we were able to continue through Ondil without much trouble.
Eventually, however, the hallways opened into a spacious room, with floors covered in water that had crept in through the ages, mixed with what was clearly blood in a few areas. My eyes darted about the room, searching for Aluvus or any other vampires. I did not have to wait for long before a tall, lightly armored, deathly pale Altmer emerged, from behind what appeared to be an upright coffin. He was grinning an unsavory grin.
“Aha! So, the friends of Aluvus’ latest victim reveal themselves,” he said, leering. “I must admit, her will is impressive; I could not break her mind like I had so many others before her. She will make a fine bride in unlife, I think.”
“What have you done to her!?” I snarled.
“See for yourself,” the vampire said, opening the coffin. Within lay Elereth, bound by her wrists and ankles. She stared at me—not with the soft gold eyes I had loved so, but eyes of reddened hunger, whose slight glow illuminated the pallor of her face.
With an inarticulate cry, I lunged at the monster, who with abnormal speed drew his own blade, laughing. I was only dimly aware of Lilinastre firing spells, of Suhr trying to assist me, as I dueled the undead mer, our battle fierce and unrelenting. Neither side would give quarter, neither side would give up. And yet despite my best efforts, I felt my stamina begin to ebb as I attempted to smite the vampire.
“Hah!” Aluvus cried, parrying my increasingly slow strikes before dodging Lili’s fireball. “You will all fall, like so many before you! Join your Bosmer friend in servitude eternal!”
Suddenly, the horrible creature was pulled aside, and thrown onto the floor. With brutal strength, Elereth caved in the mer’s skull with a strike of her fist! She wiped her hand on her black armor, then looked at us, again with that terrible visage.
“Elereth—” I began to say, before she ran off at full pelt, much faster than any mortal could accomplish. With our weapons drawn, we followed her as best we could, but we were much slower than her, and so we arrived at Aluvus’ chambers later. We were met with a grisly sight—a Nord thrall’s corpse lay on the floor, in a pool of his own blood, his throat ripped to shreds. Elereth was feasting on the sanguine fluids, snarling inarticulately in between mouthfuls of blood.
“Oh gods,” Lili said, swaying slightly. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Elereth paused, then rose slowly, shaking, her armor drenched in the man’s blood. She turned to us, and I noted that her eyes no longer glowed, and her skin, though pale, could pass as normal. Her gaze was no longer one of ravenous, mindless hunger, but of pure horror.
“Ardolan.” she whispered, the sides of her mouth still painted with the thrall’s gore. “Ardolan—kill me. I can’t live like this. Like some monster.”
I shook my head, still trying to wrap my head around her fate. “No. Elereth, we can fix this.”
“Fix vampirism?” Elereth cried, starting to break down into tears. “That’s impossible and you know it! I’ll never be normal again! I’ll have to spend my life... preying on people! I’m not living like that. Just kill me and get it over with, damn you!”
Suhr spoke up, in a low voice. “This one heard whispers, when he was on the Prowler. Mastengwe studied vampires and Daedra; she believed she had found a cure to the condition. Elereth, we can go to her—we can fix this.”
She shook her head, tears falling fast now. “And how would I get to her? I’m a danger to you all now. I can’t travel with you. What if I get hungry again? What if—What if I go wild again? I’m not putting you all in danger like that!”
“How did Aluvus do this to you?” I asked.
“He force-fed me his tainted blood,” she said, looking away. “When I came to, I knew what had happened, but the hunger… I couldn’t handle it. It’s why I lost control—why I could gather the strength to break out of the bonds. And it’s why I did this to the thrall. That’s what I am now—a blood-sucking beast.”
“No,” I said, forcefully. “Aluvus was a beast—he felt no remorse, no shame at his fate. But you are different than him. You are still Elereth—still the Bosmer I met on Khenarthi’s Roost. And that, my dear, is why there is yet hope for you—and why I will refuse to strike you down.”
She fell silent. Without hesitation, I walked over, ignoring Suhr’s startled gasp. I placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me with those watery, dark red eyes.
“We will cure you, Elereth. Even if I have to stride anew into Coldharbor and fight Molag Bal himself until he relents,” I said, softer than before.
Silently, we embraced, Elereth weeping as she hugged me. I stood there with her, until she broke off. “Thank you, Ardolan. If—if you really think there’s hope for me,” she said, her voice cracking, “then I’ll try anything, anything at all to get me back to normal.”
I looked to Suhr and Lilinastre. “If you two—any of you—wish to leave, I shan’t stop you,” I said.
“What? No! I’m staying, Ardolan. I’m worried about Elereth, too,” Lili said, seemingly surprised I had asked.
“Aye,” Suhr said. “This one will remain as well.”
I responded, “Then us leave this place. We have much to do.”
“It’s done, isn’t it?” asked the small child as he exited. He stood amongst the horde of dead vampires in the moonlight, looking at us. “Aluvus is dead?”
I nodded. “Yes, he is.”
Elereth managed a small smile. “I understand I have you to thank for telling my friends,” she said. “That was brave of you. You’ve done well.”
The youth ignored Elereth’s praise. He clasped his hands together, closing his eyes. “Rest in peace, Papa. Be happy in Aetherius.” he said, in a low voice.
“Aluvus was your father?” Lili asked, shocked.
The boy nodded. “When he became a vampire, he became evil, like I said earlier. He killed my—his, whole family. He would have killed me, too, but I ran away… I hope that—that he’s back to normal, wherever he is.”
Elereth stared up the moon, silent. The child continued, “I’m sorry, Bosmer miss. I know he made you a… a vampire. But you’re not evil like him.”
She looked down at the boy, sighing sadly. I smiled at the youth. “We know. But thank you,” I told him. “And don’t worry—we’re going to fix this. I promise.”
He nodded. “I should get going,” he said, hefting his pack. “It’s a long road to Skywatch.”
Suhr lifted a hand. “We are headed to Vulkhel Guard, actually,” he said, looking at me. I caught on what he was trying to say, and I looked back at the child.
“And you’d be welcome to come with us,” I said, smiling.
The child smiled. “Thank you! That’s really nice of you all. I promise I won’t be a problem.”
“What’s your name, boy?” I asked.
“Verolias,” he responded.
I nodded, looking at Elereth. “Then let us be off, Verolias,” I said, before we left those accursed ruins behind.
Despite the cruelty of Elereth’s fate, I am, somehow, confident that it will be resolved. We shall see what Mastengwe has to say on the matter. Until next I write…
-Ardolan Larethbinder
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