ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔛𝔛 - 𝔅𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔢 𝔘𝔫𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡
ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: ғᴀɴᴛᴀsʏ/ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ/ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ/ʟɢʙᴛǫ+/sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ
ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴠɪɢᴅɪs [ғᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ ᴅʀᴀɢᴏɴʙᴏʀɴ ᴏᴄ]/sᴇʀᴀɴᴀ
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ᴇ
ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ, ᴘᴛsᴅ
Serana waited until the sun was swallowed by the horizon and the sky had plunged into a starless darkness before she departed the ruins, her leather hood pulled over her head. The flaming wisps of a few scant torches dotted the sleepy town, the swamp alive with the midnight choir of cricket chirps, toad croaks, owl calls, and the deep rumbles of other creatures unseen. She wrinkled her nose as the loamy, fetid scent of the bog wafted through the humid air and merely strengthened in potency once she reached the bottom of the hill.
She stood there for a long moment as her glowing persimmon eyes scanned the main road before her, uncertain where the wizard might reside amongst the scarce buildings: the jarl’s longhouse, the inn, an alchemy shop. She began to turn on her heel—only to bump into a burly guard she hadn’t seen.
“Oh—sorry,” she apologised quickly.
He immediately regarded her suspiciously, his thin gaze narrowed in distrust beneath his wild brows. “Only burglars and vampires creep around after dark,” he spat in warning. “So which are you?”
Her pale lip twitched. She was amused by the irony, but not enough to warrant a witty response from her. She wasn’t just wandering around at night on a whim, after all.
“I’m looking for Falion,” Serana told him simply yet smoothly as she rested a hand on her hip.
He sneered at her, and for a moment she thought she would have to rely on seduction to get an actual answer—until he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Last house before the dock, on the right. Can’t miss it.”
He roughly brushed past her without another word. Serana knew that such behaviour around Vigdis wouldn’t have gone unchecked—perhaps she would’ve bloodied his nose, or insulted him to incite a reaction. The thought alone made her smile.
She missed the hunter already.
With a slight shake of her head, Serana strolled in the direction the guard had pointed: onto a sturdy wooden bridge that followed the marshy shore and groaned under every step. It was lined with three simple houses, and she slowed as she approached the last structure just before the covered dock. She exhaled as she ascended the few steps that led to the porch and went up to the door.
The lock was broken. Her stomach sank.
