I Tried To Hint That This Was Coming A Little Before We Got To It. - Tumblr Posts
Moonlit Water
Ravenna waits until Kaidan is long out of view before fleeing back into the comfortable darkness of the prison tower. The less-than-welcoming number of Stendarr's Vigilants that passed them by during their chat made her uneasy and while she's never been caught by them before, she knows she must be careful to have the advantage of the night in case they somehow noticed her secret. As rested as she's going to get sleeping next to a brazier in a moldy abandoned prison and feeling utterly grimy, Ravenna finally retreats from hiding when the moons are out to watch over her again as she pushes on towards the artfully concealed Rosewood Estate in Falkreath hold. Unfortunately though, she doesn't make it very far. After passing by Valtheim towers and on the road towards Whiterun, she sees them up ahead, waiting eagerly. A large group of the Vigil of Stendarr have congregated in the middle of the road and the hairs on the back of Ravenna’s neck stands on end as dread rises in her chest. They are likely there for her, but she is a wise deceiver, and knows better than to show her hand so soon. So she walks toward them, as confident and nonchalant as she can feign being, and does not look at them, making as though to pass by without interacting at all. She has to hold back from clenching her fists in anxiety as she starts to physically walk past the six paladins, forcing herself to keep her cool, but one of them stops her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Hold, citizen," he greets in a tone that is just unfriendly enough, "Our leader believes he's seen a vampire travelling this way. It isn't safe to be on the roads this late at night. We'd like if you could state your reasoning, if that's alright?" His tone becomes increasingly sinister and Ravenna has to come up with a good lie on the spot or she knows they won't let her go. They might not, anyway.
"I'm a scholar of magic," she begins, cursing herself internally for the way her voice wavers just slightly, "And I’m afraid one too many late nights at my college have instilled a habit in me to-"
"It's her," a smaller, female paladin interrupts from behind Ravenna, and when she turns to look at the Vigilant, she is holding up a spell of Detect Dead in one hand. "She's the vampire."
". . . Shit," is all Ravenna can say for herself in the brief moment of calm before the storm springs to life. Ravenna takes off running towards Riverwood, using an Oakflesh spell to protect her and trying to dodge the swings of swords and maces and bolts of magic sunlight as the six Vigil try to converge on her at once. They all give chase and Ravenna, Mara save her, cannot run very fast for very long even with her supernatural capabilities. She is also unwilling to try to fight them off - killing a group of Stendarr's paladins to save herself is contradictory to all her personal beliefs, despite her fierce desire to live this ugly half-life. Her only option is to lose them in the dense forest of Falkreath hold. As her Candlelight spell fades, Ravenna puts some of her faith in the cover of the night and relies on her supernatural eyesight instead - a choice she normally would not make to appear more human. The darkness and the moons make it easier to sprint more than if she was in broad daylight, helping her put distance between herself and them but still they are hot on her heels, slinging spells and brandishing their weapons in their efforts to kill her. Hoping to shake them off, Ravenna sprints ahead as far as she can to the Riverwood bridge, stopping at the edge of the water only briefly to see if they are still close behind her before slowly stepping onto the surface of the water.