Archives: Vampire Hunt
Chapter 12: The Vampires’ Escape
Laies and N’shara finally reached the northern gate, Laies leading N’shara by the hand. He had wanted to get as far away from Rone as quickly as possible, even if he felt bad for half dragging N’shara towards the gate.
“Sorry,” he said upon arrival. “I...just wanted to get here as quickly as possible.” It was a bit of a lie, but not entirely. He released her hand and turned away from her. His cheeks and ears were red with embarrassment, but he choked that down and looked over the gate. Were he skilled in arcane craft instead of shamanism, he could set glyph traps to ward against Aryen.
“N’shara...” Laies began while still studying the structure with his keen eyes. “Are you familiar with warding spells?” His knowledge of other magics was limited to talk and rumors.
N’shara smirked a little after he looked away from her. He couldn’t hide what he wanted from her. “Hmm...” she mused as she looked over the gate. “I’m afraid that we have no true warding spells, but if I bless the arch, it may weaken a vampire temporarily if he tries to pass through it. I’m not sure though, all I know is that blessed objects repeal and damage the undead. However, we should probably search some of the nearby inns. Rone suggested that Aryen may not have left yet, but could be resting at an inn.”
“Good idea,” Laies replied. “Normally I’d suggest that we’d split up to cover more ground, but due to the last time we parted...” Laies grit his teeth. “I won’t make that mistake again.” He knew a few inns of some repute in the area, as it was pretty close to his usual exit to the forests north of town. “We’ll start with the inn closest to the gate and work our way out. There aren’t too many inns in this area, about three or four, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble locating him if he is in this area.”
N’shara stepped toward the gate to cast her spell. The guard regarded her curiously, but he didn’t seem to be one to question the motives of a priestess. N’shara laid her hand on the stonework arch around the gate. “Holy Marfa, mother of life, please put your blessings upon this stone,” the priestess prayed. The stone glowed in pure light for a moment, then returned to normal.
“By time this search is over, I’m going to be familiar with every inn in this town,” N’shara groaned as she followed after Laies.
“You can choose one for the honeymoon then,” Laies joked.
N’shara was struck speechless after the honeymoon comment, even if it was a joke. If there ever is a honeymoon, it better not be here, you cheapskate! she thought with a giggle as he led her off for more searching.
* * *
The inn Laies took N’shara to to start their search was a ten minute walk from the gates, following along one of the main streets. Laies guided N’shara into the inn and took a look around the commons so N’shara could conduct the interview. She was an eyewitness after all, and knew what Aryen looked like a hell of a lot more than Laies did.
The priestess found the proprietor of the first inn and began her questioning, but the innkeeper had nothing that could help them. Aryen hadn’t passed through this one. When N’shara finished her interview she turned back to Laies with a heavy sigh. “Let’s move on,” she said, heading for the door. How many more inns can this city have? she thought as she stepped back out onto the street. Dragon Eye was large, but she was starting to wonder just how many people passed through for so many inns to be needed.
Laies took her to the next closest inn. The lack of sleep he had made him drag his legs subconsciously. He yawned as he entered the inn and took off to inspect the common room again, leaving N’shara the proprietor once again.
The next inn was cheap and ill kept. The common room smelled of stale beer and the floor looked as if it had never been swept. N’shara made her way to the innkeeper behind the bar. He was a mostly lean man, but with a pot belly, lounging behind the bar in a chair.
“Excuse me,” N’shara spoke.
The innkeeper glanced up at her with yellowed eyes. “Kin I help ye priestess?” he asked with a heavy drawl. “I don’t think a fine lady like ye would want to stay in this dump.” Apparently he had no pride in his business—which probably explained the poor conditions.
“We’re looking for someone,” N’shara started. “A handsome man with black hair and blue eyes. He may have had a blonde woman as a companion. They would have come in late in the evening or morning, before dawn.”
The innkeeper shrugged. “I wasn’t workin’ overnight. I wouldn’ know.”
“This is very important to the safety of this city. Do you stay open late? Is there anyone who works over night?” N’shara questioned further. His lazy attitude was already frustrating her, but she kept it from showing too much in her voice.
“Yeah,” he said with a groan of reluctance, while scratching his scraggly gray hair. “THELMA!” he shouted back towards the kitchen.
A skinny young woman scurried out of the kitchen at his beckoning. “Yessir?”
“Did ye let any good looking fellows with black hair and a girly-friend in last night?” he asked her.
“No,” she said, but seemed hesitant. “Actually...I don’t know.” The girl stared down at the floor, trying to remember. “I kind of remember letting someone in, but I don’t remember when or who. Maybe it was the night before last.”
“Yes or no, Thelma!” the innkeeper groaned, rubbing his forehead.
“Umm...I’ll check the keys,” the girl replied. Her hands were shaking slightly, possibly afraid of offending her boss. She quickly stepped over to the bar and pulled out a box. Thelma searched through the keys inside, counting each of them. “There’s one missing. I guess I might have.”
“Eh, probably just some drunk lookin’ fer a place to sleep it off,” the innkeeper shrugged it off.
N’shara wasn’t sure if she should take this lead seriously or not. Was the girl scatterbrained? Even if she was, Aryen and Ileta were attractive enough to be memorable. The innkeeper was eager to let the subject drop and get on with a nap.
“There’s no gold though, sir,” Thelma replied.
“What?” the innkeeper growled and sat up. “Don’t tell me ye forgot to charge! Git yer ass up there and get the damn money a’for I pelt ye! We ain’t no hostel.”
Thelma gave a small yelp, then obediently scurried toward the stairs with the master key.
Laies yawned but intercepted the girl regardless. He placed a finger against her forehead and pushed her away from the stairs. “The guy we are dealing with is extremely dangerous, miss,” Laies stated, barring her from passing him. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’ll check on this person who came in.”
Even if it was only a drunk, it’d be better for her if he did it. Regardless of his gaunt appearance, he was a solid fighter and if the lout wanted to start a fight, he’d have a harder time beating an ex-knight over a frightened barmaid.
The barmaid stepped aside and glanced to her boss. She had no complaints about going up if someone else was going to check for her. The innkeeper didn’t have anything to say either, after hearing Laies say the man they were looking for was dangerous.
N’shara joined Laies at the stairwell. “I’ll go with you,” she said confidently. She was no fighter, but she had Marfa on her side. She wouldn’t be blindsided this time. “What room is he in?” she asked the barmaid.
“Number five, I think. That’s the key that’s missing,” she replied.
“Five, eh?” Laies took the master key from the barmaid gently and gave her a smile. “We’ll check it out and be back in a bit.” He took N’shara’s hand in his and guided her up the stairs towards room number five. “You sure you’re gonna be okay in his presence? You’re not going to get all weak in the knees again are you?” he asked her, half jokingly. “Of course, if this is just a drunk, pardon my actions of rendering him unconscious.”
When they reached the door for room five Laies grinned widely. “Time’s up,” he snickered. He half wanted to kick in the door, regardless of having the key with them. If it is them, then kicking in the door would get the drop on them. However, if I use the keys they would know that we were here. Of course if it’s just a drunk... Laies grit his teeth. “Screw subtlety,” he growled under his breath as he lashed out with his foot and kicked the door off the hinges. “Knock knock!” he called in. “Ass kicking service.”
“The hell spawn isn’t going to get to me twice,” N’shara replied in almost a growl. The priestess followed behind Laies, preparing to word a prayer before they reached the door.
Aryen shifted a bit, leaning up suddenly with a groan as he heard the sudden thud of Laies’ foot against the door, knocking it off the hinges. “What the hell....?” he mumbled as he looked up, his eyes fully opening, before jumping to his feet. “Who are you?!” he asked suddenly, then noticed the priestess N’shara behind him. “Damn it...they did intend to track us down...” he mumbled before turning and moving swiftly, grabbing Ileta and throwing her over his shoulder. “We gotta go!” he yelled before dashing towards the window.
Ileta gave a yelp as the action around her unfolded. There was a crash, people, Aryen grabbing her and carrying her across the room. As she looked back over Aryen’s shoulder, there was a pale skinned man with black hair standing at the smashed doorway. A vampire? Behind him, a dark skinned woman in white robes.
“Holy Marfa, mother of creation, subdue this unholy beast!” N’shara shouted her prayer, stepping in alongside Laies after he knocked down the door. Her palms were aimed toward the vampires, glowing with an aura of holy magic. Light surrounded the two vampires in response as Aryen ran, sapping their energy.
As the holy aura engulfed Ileta, she was overcome with an overwhelming ache and nausea. Unable to hold back, she choked, coughing up her last meal of blood on Aryen’s back before she passed out.
Aryen let out a groan of pain, feeling his strength being sapped by the holy spell that N’shara had cast upon the two of them, and if it had this much of an effect on him, Ileta must have felt the spell full force. “Damnit!” he yelled before crashing through the window, carried by his momentum. Luckily, as he tumbled out, the curtains ripped out with them. Feeling the curtains with him, he managed to pull them over Ileta as they fell. His exposed flesh burned under the light, but he would recover faster than her. His body hit the ground beneath them, it was a hard landing, leaving Aryen momentarily incapacitated.
Laies yawned as Aryen and Ileta fled. “Sylph, send word to Penna and Rone: we found our target.” He patted N’shara on the head playfully. “Do you think I’ve given him enough of a head start?” he asked with a malicious grin creeping across his thin lips.
N’shara was unsure of the effects of her spell, since Aryen had gone out the window anyway. It seemed more like he fell out than leaped out. She ran to the window sill and looked down at the street. Aryen and the girl she could only guess was Ileta were laying on the street, partially wrapped in curtains. “Go!” she shouted to Laies. “They’re disabled!”
Laies went on N’shara’s word. Running flat out he leaped past N’shara and out the window. “Grandiose Salamander of crimson flame, gather to my whim as I call thy name. Spark and flare at my desire, engulf my enemies in your hottest fire.” Laies hit the ground hard as he chanted his evocation, but kept his hand steady. Flames erupted from his finger-tips and engulfed the vampires.
The concussion from hitting the ground woke Ileta and the groggy vampiress looked up from under the curtain protecting her to see Aryen’s handsome face charring in the sunlight. He was struggling, she could see. The spell the priestess cast on them had weakened him as well. Suddenly, there was a roar of flames coming from behind and heat biting at her back. She gave a yelp, but she couldn’t quite move yet.
As Aryen recovered on the street, their attacker jumped down and cast a spell. Aryen managed to yank the curtain up over himself as well to shield himself from the fire. His finger tips were burning, but he couldn’t stop to worry about little wounds. When—if—they got away, they would recover. Aryen tossed away the flaming curtain, his and Ileta’s only protection against the light they had besides their clothes, the scrambled to his feet, dragging Ileta with him. She had woken up, and now she was staggering along behind him, clinging to his hand.
He darted into a shadowed alley across the street and kept running. There was another alley crossing the one they were on, and he turned left on it. He could only count on luck to protect him from the shaman. His burns were slowly starting to heal in the shade, but the ambient light from the day was slowing it down.
There were a few doors along the alleyway into the buildings, and Aryen suddenly went for a nearby one and flung it open, then pushed Ileta in and shut the door behind him.
* * *
They were fast escaping, leaving no room for Laies to recover from jumping at the height. The vampires had darted into an alley, and probably took a connecting alleyway to escape. The former knight cursed his foul luck. N’shara was probably still on her way out, and he knew that he shouldn’t run off after them alone. “Valkyrie, o’ spirit of light, seek out the wounded creatures of night. The scent of Salamander’s flames should still be on them. Find them and send a flare up in the sky to tell me where they are.” The white maiden complied, flying off into the alleyways. All Laies had to do now was wait. He sent another Sylph as messenger to Rone’s group, saying the following: “Two vampires, wounded by sunlight and Salamander’s flames, took to the back alleys. Valkyrie following.”
N’shara burst from the inn to see that the vampires had escaped and left nothing but the smoldering curtain. “Damnit!” N’shara cursed in a very un-priest-like manner. It looked as if they had escaped into the shadows of the alley.
* * *
Ileta staggered into the building. Luckily, there was no one in the room. It was cool and dark, but Ileta found her eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly. It looked to be a storeroom. A tingling sensation flowed through the skin on her face and chest, the skin that had been touched by the light. She was healing. The vampiress had been wearing her cloak, but she had no time to cover herself with it during the escape. “Who was attacking us?” she asked.
Aryen grabbed a shelf near the door, and knocked it down in front of the door with a resounding crash. He could feel his skin healing fast now that they were in the dark, but they couldn’t stay here. They had to keep moving. He could only hope the blocked door would keep whoever was chasing them at bay.
“That priestess, I fed on her earlier, but I didn’t finish her off,” he replied. “I don’t know who the man was, but when I was feeding on the priestess, someone started banging on the door, looking for her. That might be the same man.” Aryen had no cloak to cover himself with, so while they were here, it would be a good idea to look for something. “Find me something I can use as a cloak,” he said to Ileta, then began looking through the shelves.
Ileta obeyed and rummaged through the shelves. She quickly found a bolt of wool and tossed it to Aryen.
Suddenly, a bright light outlined the door. Ileta had no idea what it could be, but it had to be because of the people looking for them. Next, the sound of locks opening came from the other door which led into the store. “What do we do?” Ileta asked anxiously.
Aryen caught the bolt of wool as Ileta had tossed it to him. “This should do...” he said to himself before turning to her. “We should move out as quickly as we can, staying in one spot will only allow them to get closer,” he said while wrapping the bolt of wool around himself as a cloak.
The inner door of the storeroom opened, and a man who must have been the shopkeeper glanced inside. “Oy! Someone in ’ere?” he called. He had no lamp lit to look inside the dark room.
“Can we...feed on him?” Ileta asked in a whisper. She was feeling weak still, the blood would make her stronger.
Aryen looked to Ileta, then at the man who had looked inside. “Hmm, you will need your strength to move on, considering how much that spell had an effect on you, go right ahead if you so desire,” he whispered in return. Moving silently to ready himself to disable the man and allow her to feed on him.
Ileta stepped forward into the faint light from the store. It stung a little, but she didn’t feel her skin burning. She would lure him under the guise of being helpless. “Sir, please don’t throw me out, there’s a man chasing me,” she pleaded, her voice trembling with worry.
As the shopkeeper saw the beautiful blonde woman standing in his store room, he seemed to take pity. She was dressed far better than a thief. He stepped inside the room and went to her, offering his hand. “Oh, don’t you worry dear, we’ll get the guard and sort this out,” he assuaged her.
Aryen watched Ileta use her female strengths to lure the man in. He himself was hiding in the shadows, awaiting the moment she chose to strike and begin draining the human they had come across. “Nice work Ileta,” he whispered in the dark, moving stealthily behind the man, and silently closing the door behind him.
“What the...is someone else here?” the shopkeeper swung his head around trying to see who had whispered and shut the door. Ileta was suddenly upon him, tearing his throat with her fangs. It was sloppy, but blood gushed from the torn artery, and she swallowed as much of it as she could.
Aryen grinned, her sudden hunger had taken her, she made a sloppy job of things, but in the end she would at least regain her strength. “Hey, save some for me,” he said with a smile as he stepped up alongside her. Leaning in to the other side of the human’s throat, he opened up a wound of his own, lapping at the blood that soon spilled forth. They would indeed need this blood to heal the wounds they suffered earlier, on top of their strength which was partially sapped by the spell.
Ileta had her fill, and no one had yet come banging on the store room doors. Had they really escaped so easily? The vampiress wiped her mouth on her burgundy sleeve, then waited for Aryen to finish. “We should move, they might find us,” she said anxiously.
Aryen drank for a few more seconds, getting more than his fill so his body’s wounds could start healing as quickly as possible, in case they ran into more trouble. Pulling his fangs from the man and wiping his mouth clean with the cloak that he had improvised with, he turned to Ileta and nodded. “Yes, we should get moving, hence they find us and we have to fight. That would be too risky considering it’s day time,” he said with a look of concern on his face.
* * *
Fenix hated when business deals were halted; especially those he was obviously getting a great deal out of. The shop keeper was a bit to honorable for his own good—well, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. He would have to rethink certain measures, but in the end he would still get a good deal, and the shop keeper would gain a nice reputation. Hearing some noise, his resting on his staff came to an end, and he gave a look to where it came from.
“Hey, you alright in there?” he gave a light call. Hopefully the poor guy hadn’t fallen down or something. When no reply came, he cocked his head lightly to the side, and in his head, he felt something ugly forming. Even though he wasn’t a priest of Cha Za, he was still lucky, and he sometimes had gut feelings that turned out to be accurate, and right now, the mother of all of them was forming. Unfortunately, some measure of ‘good guy’ was telling him to investigate. In the end, instinct to run away like a scared rabbit was overshadowed by noble impulse, and much to rabbit’s dismay, Fenix started toward where the shopkeeper’s storeroom.
Ileta tossed her hood up over her head. “Where do we go then?” she asked Aryen.
“We’ll head out the nearest gate and run for the woods,” Aryen replied. “We might be able to find a cave to wait the day out in.” Aryen settled his new improvised cloak over his head, then went for the door of the storeroom. There was a voice out there. He couldn’t risk going back out into the alley, so they would have to deal with it out there. “Someone is out there. Just run, don’t try to fight,” Aryen said to Ileta, then threw the door open.
Ileta darted out of the storeroom first, holding her cloak at the neck tightly to keep the hood from flying over her hood. There was a young man out there, a customer of the shop, but Ileta avoided him and ran to the door to escape onto the street.
Fenix had a few seconds to react, which was to actually move out of the way of the two assailants. Whoever they were, they seemed more interested in escaping than attacking; Still, he choose to try to catch a glimpse, but was unable to. Other than the shapes, he could tell one was male, and one was female. He watched as they escaped, making sure they were out of eye shot to continue to the storeroom... as he entered, he met a very unwelcome sight.
During the war, he had seen a few dead bodies. Hell, even when he was posing as a mercenary to gain some funds, he saw some nasty numbers. But this was by far the worst. The man’s wounds were done by something no blade, no matter how wicked, could have dreamed. The man’s throat was almost ripped out, and by the teeth marks, he had been eaten. And the look of terror that was stuck on the man’s eyes, he had been alive for the first part of it. Putting his hand over his mouth and choking back his first natural reaction, he realized something. While the sickening scent of blood was in the air, it wasn’t nearly as prolific as it should have been, and while there was a small amount of blood, the room itself was fairly stainless of blood. Turning back, he felt his stomach sink. “Blood suckers? Fortune be merciful, you gotta be kidding me!”
Realizing the potential situation he could be in, he started back outside. If someone saw him leaving, then discovering the body, he would most definitely be in rough shape. The only solution now was to hope he could clear his name, which would mean draw attention to the true assailants. Great, trying to catch two blood suckers, or at least getting them to pay brief enough attention to reveal their fangs. Reaching the exit, he opened the door and yelled, “MURDER! Blood suckers on the loose, call the guard, two cloaked individuals! BAD GUYS!”
At the sound of the man’s cries of foul play, the Valkyrie had found her target. Issuing a bright flare into the skies she signaled the end of her purpose that Laies asked her to this plane for.
* * *
Rone sighed, standing in a doorway of the guardhouse with a mug of warm water. Guards were checking everything and Rone was watching for signs himself without imposing himself. From time to time, his reputation preceded him, so care had to be taken with such things. Routine checks rarely aroused suspicion, but who knew...
No results, he was constantly informed. It was no surprise to him. Patience was important when laying traps. Very important...
Their call came on the gentle flow of the breeze, a small voice whispering in the ears of Rone and his companions at the West Gate. The vampire was found. In each of their minds, they knew the location of which Sylph spoke. “A horse!” Rone barked. “I need a horse!”
Nakira heard the call and set down her drink, looking to Rone she walked over to him. She was ready to move out by the looks of it, and while uncertain of how to handle a vampire she would watch and learn. “I’m ready to go too, I will do whatever you need me to do. If there is anything I should know, then I’ll listen.”
Penna nodded and began to follow behind Rone. Laies had found them near the north gate. The second Sylph came shortly afterward telling that they had been burned by Salamander’s flames. Penna bit her lip. The fastest way there was to fly there, no obstacles could get in their way there then, but at the same time, it would heavily tax her mental energy as well as tell a lot more about the shamaness’s prowess than she wanted to let on.
The elven maiden drooped her shoulders and relaxed her arms. {“Oh ye of ancient air, I call upon thee. Grant your speedy wings to us three. Fly us to the destination your sister called us from on the winds.”} There was a sudden surge of air as Rone, Nakira and Penna were lifted to the sky and sent towards the northeast. It was too late for Penna to act like the innocent lady of the courts now. To two of her companions it was obvious that she was more.
Rone was thrown up by the very air as a knight was beginning to relinquish his horse. The battle-hardened priest flailed against the spirit’s power as if he were being assaulted by some foul ghost. His muscular arms did nothing against the rushing air beneath him until he looked at Penna, relaxed Sylph carried them. Flustered and confused, the hunter tightened his cloak against the wind. They were above the city and moving like birds. “A valuable thing you can do,” Rone commented to her. Though it wasn’t his preferred method of travel, he would not complain if it brought him to the battle quicker.
Nakira was surprised at being lifted into the air, though seeing that one of their allies in this hunt was a shamaness of this power made her feel safe. “Is air the element your most familiar with, I’m quite glad your working with us. You have skills that are far more valuable than mine, though I do have my uses.”
“Sorry,” Penna said directed towards Rone. “I assumed time was of the essence and that it would be far quicker to fly there rather than to take a horse.” It had been a while since she had used this much energy to fly, but luckily it wasn’t that hard of a spell. Within minutes the North Gate came into sight and the party landed softly, as the wind around them dispersed. Penna gave a weak smile and sat on the ground. “Let me recoup some energy and I’ll follow behind shortly,” she said in between pants.
“They’re in the alleyways,” Rone growled. “But which ones?!” Rone swung around to the others. Penna was still recovering, but he had to ask. “Penna, do you have the strength to send Laies a message? Just to tell him to send us a sign, something to follow, anything to find them from...”
Penna smiled. “I’ve got enough energy to do that. Messenger spells are rather basic.” She closed her eyes and softly spoke into the air: “Air mistress Sylph, please send a message to Laies: ‘please send a sign to us so that we can find where you are’.”
Nakira waited with them for a reply, she seemed a bit tense knowing that the enemy was something far more powerful than her. Trying to focus on what was to come she looked around, her eyes taking in every detail. “What’s the plan, how are we going to keep them from running again.”
* * *
Laies heard a soft whisper in his ear from Penna. “Shit,” He cursed under his breath. He gave a little sigh. He overlooked that point. “Wisp, I can’t bother spending more energy sending another spirit message, go fetch Penna, Rone and Nakira. They should be in the general area of the North Gate.” The wisp, his stalwart companion shifted off towards the North Gate to retrieve Rone’s group.
* * *
Penna pointed southward, where the wisp was taking it’s time getting to the group. “Um, I assume that’s Laies’s response,” Penna said with a small grin. Wisps were sometimes used to guide adventurers out of dark areas, but not usually in broad daylight. “Shall we follow the wisp back to it’s master?”
“I hope we’re not too late, but I agree with you Penna. Is it always that disorienting flying like that? For a moment there I felt a brief sense of vertigo,” Nakira replied as she followed Penna. She’d much rather use the ground, but in cases like this it was unavoidable.
“No time to waste,” Rone said, looking at the wisp critically. “How fast can this thing move?”
Hearing Rone question how fast the wisp could go, the wisp took a few seconds to stop its meanderings and straightened it’s flight path back towards Laies. It kept in sight but ahead of the group, as if to beckon the group forward towards it in a childish game of keep away.
“Much better,” Rone growled. “Vampires don’t wait.” Rone decided the pace to be a fast jog, just enough to keep up energy, without burning out, but still fast enough at least to keep on par.
The wisp brought Rone and the others to Laies and N’shara. “What took you guys so goddamn long?” Laies growled. He pointed ahead to the alleyway.
“Penna needed a moment to regain some energy, so that she could contact you two. We got here as quickly as we could, she used most of her energy with Sylph so we could travel faster,” Nakira replied looking in the direction he pointed, hoping nothing happened before they got there.
“We flew across a city, Laies,” Rone growled, with the tone of an angry lion. “Where did they go?”
As Laies was about to speak to Rone a flare shot up brightly into the day’s sky. “Valkyrie,” Laies stated. “That’s the way they are!” he yelled over his shoulder as he took off towards the alleyway.
Nakira followed Laies a second after he took off, she was not going to waste anymore time now that the chase led them elsewhere in the city. Rone’s muscles powered quite the speedy sprint, with one hand on his sword. Unlike most priests, he wielded both a mace and a sword. Mace was for fighting humans, the sword for deadly encounters with vampires.
* * *
Looking up as the flare caught his eye, Fenix blinked a few times. “What in Falis...?” He had expected the city guard, but something told him that that was not a summon for the city guard. Since he didn’t have a foreboding sensation, he assumed it wasn’t anything bad. “Whats going on here?” he mumbled under his breath. He didn’t see the blood suckers anyway, but he kept his back to the store wall; he really wasn’t in the mood to see how far they had gone, or if they were still hungry and looking for a quick meal.
Laies and the others had reached the area in which the flare had been fired off, not to long after it hit the sky. The mental exhaustion of spell after spell coupled with the lack of sleep was wearing on Laies. Sweating profusely, it was enough of an effort just keeping pace with the others let alone if the vampires intended to engage.
Another man was near the entrance to a shop, against the wall. “W-where...?” Laies grunted falling against the wall of the shop on the opposite side of the door. “...inside...?” The effort of talking while his energy drained away was seemingly more difficult than he anticipated. I should have paid more attention to my mother’s lessons of ‘conserving’ my energy.
Once she arrived, Nakira looked around, her eyes checking every corner she could see. Stopping by the door she looked to Laies, who was exhausted, then to the man there. “Which way did they go? It’s imperative we catch those two before they can attack more innocent people!”
Penna had just caught up to Rone and Nakira when they started running off again, and followed huffing and puffing until she caught up with Laies. Finally out of breath and energy she collapsed to her knees. She could totally see where Laies coming from in being out of breath and exhausted. Although she had more experience with the spirits her constitution was far more fragile than his it seemed. I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest.
N’shara ran after Laies, using her determination as fuel. However, once she reached point the flash had gone off at, she was still winded. Placing her hand against the wall of the building, she steadied herself as she caught her breath. There was a man standing by the building who Nakira had just questioned, and now they seemed to be waiting for his answer.
As he heard footsteps, Fenix put his staff in front of him defensively. It was the same precaution to why he was against a wall in the first place. When he saw that the people probably weren’t vampires, he gave a light sigh of relief. However, he did blink a few times as he saw a priestess appear.
“No, they took off running...” he said, at the first question, then turned to face the rest of the party. Not a bad looking bunch, if he wasn’t worrying about getting his throat ripped out he would have commented on that. “I don’t know where they went. I just know I thought it was a couple of thieves and figured I’d say a knocked out shopkeep. Instead I found his throat pretty much bloody ripped out! Next thing I know a small light explosion goes off, and you all come running...”
“The direction,” Rone growled. “What direction?!”
“Beats me...” Fenix said flatly, giving a slight glance around. He doubted they were heading in the direction that the flare came from. He didn’t know ’blood sucker’ psychology, but if they were hunted, odds were they would go as far from harm as possible. “I guess that way...I saw them run out, but beyond that I can only speculate. What in the name of Cha Za is going on here anyway?”
Rone looked at the surroundings, but did not wait to think much further. Ignoring Fenix altogether and unwilling to ready the others, the hunter bolted forward. He was a big man and ran almost like an orc, but for someone his size, he could move.
Laies groaned as Rone ran off alone. “Ugh...” He was beginning to get his wind back, even if the mental haziness hadn’t wore off. “All I can really say is that a vampire that was alone yesterday has a new feeding partner and they probably want to escape the city as quickly as possible, and I’m pretty sure they are going to go to any lengths to leave, including, if not limited to slaughtering the town guard and anyone who sees them.” Laies slapped his cheeks to bring his mind out of the fog. “The man who decided to take off, that was our ‘leader’ so to speak.” Laies felt his legs starting to grow weary. The lack of sleep coupled with the spells were really taking their toll on him. I’ve got about one little spell left in me before I’ll be too tired to be able to do much more. What I wouldn’t give to have a bit of a second wind right now, damn even an hour or two of sleep would be nice.
Nakira saw Rone take off and then looked to everyone else. Laies looked quite run down and she was sure that the others were feeling it too. Wanting to follow Rone, she worried that he was going to be in trouble going alone, though after that last run she might fall behind too much. “Anyone have the strength here follow him? I’m worried that he may be in trouble going off alone. I don’t think I can right now, that last run took a lot out of me.”
N’shara, partially fed by her adrenaline, was more than ready to follow Rone. “I’m going,” she said, then turned and ran after the priest.
Penna huffed hard but straightened up. A sudden cramp crippled her and brought her to her knees. “I...I don’t think I’m quite ready yet,” she said with a small laugh.
Laies, while winded, didn’t want to be separated from N’shara. “I’m good,” he lied. “Let’s go.” He took a few staggering steps then regained his composure and chased after Rone who had already taken off like a bat out of hell.
Nakira looked to Penna. They had to catch up, but she did not want to leave her behind. Maybe there was another way, but she had enough strength to head off. “We have to go with them, otherwise we’ll lose the quarry. If you need help keeping up, I’ll help you out. Can you move a little now?”
“How long have you been chasing those two? Sheesh,” he said, lowering his weapon. He doubted he was in any danger, hopefully anyway. As Penna crumpled a bit, he sighed. This was definitely something he probably didn’t want to get roped into, but it was starting to get to what little chivalry he possessed.
“You aren’t in much better condition than your friend,” he said, moving toward Penna and Nakira. Reaching out his hand, he chuckled. “I may not be the best of individuals, but I can help you up at least. That shopkeeper didn’t deserve the death he received, so I think I might be able to avenge it, perhaps...”
“I haven’t slept yet, but I have to keep going. I’m Nakira. Are you sure you want to do so? I’m not going to stop you, but this is my first time chasing after such beings.” Nakira knew he was right, but she somehow found the strength to go on. The nature of the hunted both scared and enraged her, plus she was bound to her word to see this hunt through to the end. “Nobody deserves this fate, that is why we have to move soon and rejoin the others.”
Penna groaned at Nakira’s stupidity. How can anyone that stupid have lived as long as she has? “Nakira, why don’t you be a good little dolt and run along. I’ll be along shortly, after I get my second wind,” Penna said with a malicious tone to her voice. {“Not that you did anything you useless twit. I only flew three people across a damn city, threw a couple messenger spells around. If anyone deserves my sympathy it’s Laies. The poor boy must be exhausted, both mentally and physically. But noooo. Try to hog all the spotlight for yourself there Nakira with your pathetic attempt at intelligent conversation,”} she grumbled in elven. She cleared her throat. “I’m Penna. I’d be more than indebted to you, young sir if you could help me.” She let her hand gently rest on Fenix’s and gave him a warm smile.
After they went inside Nakira headed off without a word to join the others, moving as quickly as she could. She hoped that they had some solid answers now, and that she’d be of more use in the future than just an extra person in the group.
Not too bad looking... he thought with a smile, helping Penna to her feet. “I don’t think the shopkeep would mind if we used his shop. Heh, considering his fate, he might welcome a hunter of those things for a brief moment’s rest.” Despite some fear, and even a bit of attraction to the elf, he still had no clue what exactly was going on; and despite hormones, and even self preservation, the sinking darkness that lingered in his mind from lack of knowledge ended winning out. “Well, judging from that reaction, I think you two needed a break from each other. But for now, could you tell me what exactly is going on?”
“Thank you,” Penna said with a soft smile. She was truly grateful to be on her feet. “Well, I came into this hunt out of concern for the barmaid Ileta, whom now is the female companion of the male vampire. From what I’ve gathered by Rone, he’s been chasing this vampire, Aryen, for a while now. Laies, the pale looking boy, has a thing for the priestess N’shara, who was bitten by Aryen. So, I’m sure revenge is fueling his reason to hunt the vampire. My concerns for Ileta seemed well founded, and then I guess I just got swept up in the entire hunt.” The elf maid sighed and repositioned her belt. “As for the vapid-headed moron, Nakira,” she started shooting an off glance at the redheaded thief. “I’m sure they—Rone and the others—found her doing something stupid.”
“So thats why I saw two of them. I take it the small one was probably the ex-bar maid. Well, two blood suckers are worse than one...” He gave a light sigh. Chivalry aside, he supposed he felt a bit slighted out of being kept out of a bargain, and his own hormones were saying that there were possibilities before. So, he would put his life on the line for all the wrong reasons. Business as usual. “Well, you really don’t like her. Why release your venom on her? If shes helping you, you should probably be a little bit more friendly with her... but hey, its not really my business.” Leaning lightly on his staff, he gave a slight chuckle. “Well, is there anything I can do to facilitate your comfort? I’m not really trained to heal, but I’m willing to try various things to make a lady comfortable.”
Penna felt a little bad for making fun of Nakira, but such idiocy tended to upset her to revile the person who committed such acts. She flushed with embarrassment and averted her eyes from Fenix. “J-just help me walk,” she responded. “I’m just tired from overexerting myself. It’s been a while since I bothered using my elven talents,” she admitted awkwardly.
“Very well...” Fenix said passively. He supposed the elf maid meant to go where he had assumed the vampires had went. Granted, he sort of didn’t want to go in the same direction as something that dangerous, but he doubted turning tail and running was a plausible option after what he had previously said. “Well, better start going. If we’re going slower than the others, probably wouldn’t help if we reached them beyond nightfall. Here, use this to balance yourself on the other side,” he said, supporting her weight, he positioned it so his staff would be free, and open for her to grab and lean on. Another hormonal reaction. “Not sure what shamanist spell fatigue does, but if I remember correctly, it wasn’t the most pleasant of feelings in the world.”
Penna inched closer to him and supported herself with his body. “Shall we? I believe that they headed towards the north gate.” Again.
* * *
Aryen and Ileta had escaped into another alley, across from the alley, and Aryen began to lead the way to the nearest gate: the northern one. It would be harder for their pursuers to find them in the forest.
As they reached the end of the back alley, Aryen checked the street. There was no one but two guards at the gate. Keeping his head down, hidden under his make-shift cloak, he walked slowly toward the gate, looking like a normal traveler.
Once the guards realized he was leaving, they stepped forward to stop them. Their hands were on the hilts of their swords.
“We have a pair of criminals on the lose, and we need to make sure that they aren’t escaping through the gates. Please let me see your face,” one of the guards said to Aryen.
Dammit! I bet they’re looking for us, he thought, but he raised his head for them to see under the shadow of the cloak.
The guards drew their swords. “It’s them! Raise the alarm!” the other guard shouted up towards the gate tower. “Shut the gate!”
The two huge doors began to slowly swing shut. Aryen growled in frustration, then lunged at the guard who had spoken first. Before the guard had a chance to swing, Aryen had his hand around his throat, squeezing with all his strength.
Ileta followed Aryen’s lead and went for the second guard, but the new vampiress was still fueled by bloodlust. She attacked with her fangs, ripping out his throat and drinking the blood that sprayed into her mouth from the guard’s ruptured artery.
The guard Aryen attacked was quickly suffocating, and when Aryen was sure he’d be incapacitated, he tossed the man aside and ran for the gate. However, as soon as he reached the arch, he was suddenly overcome with the same nausea and crippling weakness he felt after N’shara’s curse.
However, he crossed the threshold before he fell on his knees on the road outside town. He coughed, feeling the urge to vomit, and all the blood left in his stomach came back up into the dirt. The sunlight was hitting his hands again, burning him, but his head was spinning and he couldn’t muster the strength to get up. Glancing back, he looked to see what happened to Ileta.
Ileta too had tried to run through the gate, just a few steps behind Aryen. However, like before, the effects of the blessing upon the gate were harder on her. She collapsed and immediately passed out.
Not again... Aryen thought, looking at Ileta’s unconscious form. The gates had stopped closing. The guards from the guardhouse would probably be coming down to try and stop them. Aryen’s head stopped spinning, but he was still ill. Mustering all his strength, he crawled back to Ileta, then picked her up.
The guards exited the tower and started after them. Aryen was able to get back to his feet—then his head was spinning again. He clung to Ileta like a rock in a storm, then forced himself to run. He went directly to the woods off the side of the road and ran until the road was out of sight.
Rone charged forward, his goal the only logical choice. Their goal had been the northern gate and, being pursued, they ran however they could, like animals would. It was all too familiar to the hunter. Rone broke out of the alleys to the northern gate and the closing of it. Two figures, struggling to get past the priestess’s curse. “There you are,” he growled through his heaving chest. Drawing up his crossbow and hurrying forward, he had to get across the spacious way before he could get an accurate shot off. And so he pushed himself farther.
Laies finally caught up to Rone at the north gate before the older man ran off again. The tired quarter elf slumped to his knees and rested. If they got through the gates already then N’shara’s warding would have been enough to wound them. “Ugh...This is too much running for an hour of sleep.” He didn’t have the energy to complain further so he just lay down where he stopped. “...Just a little nap,” he murmured, falling back into sleep.
N’shara was the next to make it to the gate, and Rone was already running off after their targets. The priestess hadn’t seen them, and apparently her wards didn’t completely stop Aryen. Her spell had crippled him earlier, but he was still able to move.
N’shara wanted to chase Rone, but she first felt the need to check on the guards that had fallen. N’shara first went to the one that had been bitten, but he was gone. She then went to the one that Aryen had choked, and found a faint pulse. Immediately, she began a prayer to Marfa over the man’s body. Luckily for him, her spell was enough to save him. She left him in the care of the guards from the gatehouse, then saw Laies laying in the road.
“Laies?” she called, then hurried to him. Had he just collapsed from exhaustion again? She cursed to herself in a very un-priestly manner, and decided that she would cast a refreshment spell. Healing the guard had taken a good bit of strength, and after this, she didn’t think she would be able to muster enough power if anyone else was wounded.
“Holy Marfa, lay your blessings upon my friend. Lend him strength so that he may complete his task,” N’shara prayed. A holy aura surrounded Laies and invigorated him.
Laies felt the warmth of reinvigoration enter his body. His mind needed more rest but his body was ready to move again. He opened his eyes and gazed at N’shara’s face. “Sorry,” He murmured an apology. “Sleep overtook me again. All this running, not sleeping, and casting makes one a little tired, eh?”
N’shara frowned. They couldn’t keep dragging the tired and weary along with them if they wanted to catch the vampires. However, she didn’t think anyone could keep up with Rone. The priestess could feel the fuel her adrenaline provided wearing off, and Rone had long since escaped into the forest. “Then I hope we can get some rest soon,” N’shara replied. “But we need to catch up with Rone.” The priestess stood and offered her hand to help Laies up.
Laies accepted N’shara’s hand, but tried not to give her much of his weight. While he wasn’t the heaviest individual he couldn’t let a woman help him up completely without giving any help. Laies nodded silently to N’shara’s suggestion of catching up to Rone. “Should I chase after him and you direct the others when they come, and I’ll mark Rone’s passage on the trees?” His mother would skin him if she heard him saying he’d mark up the trees. ‘They are living creatures, Laies, home to fairies and all sorts of wood creatures.’
N’shara hesitated for a moment. She wanted to get on with the chase, but she was no fighter. “Yes, go on,” she replied to Laies. Hopefully her blessing would last a good long while.
“Alright,” Laies leaned toward N’shara and kissed her forehead. “For luck,” he explained with a slight blush on his cheeks. Before she could object, if she wanted to, Laies ran off in the direction Rone went, making haste to catch up to the seasoned vampire hunter and his quarry.
* * *
N’shara stood blushing at the gate. It was just a simple kiss to the forehead, but she knew there was something more than platonic behind it. She didn’t have to wait long for Nakira to catch up.
Nakira arrived a few minutes after Laies left, seeing N’shara she walked over and looked around. “Where are the others? I thought Rone and Laies were with you.”
“Laies and Rone went ahead after the vampires. I’m waiting here for you and Penna,” N’shara replied. “Where’s Penna?”
“She was talking to the man who found the bodies, I decided to go on ahead. She should be here shortly, he offered to help her catch up if she needed,” Nakira answered as best she knew, knowing that they might have another companion on this hunt. “He seems the sort who would act rather than watch, I thought I’d also let you know that much.”
“Alright,” N’shara nodded in acknowledgment. “I’ll wait here for them. If you want to join Laies and Rone, Laies said he was marking trees up into the woods along his path.”
“Thanks for the information, hopefully the other two arrive soon. I’ll be joining Rone and Laies now.” With that Nakira headed to the woods to catch up to the other two, keeping an eye out for Laies’s markings in the trees. She hopefully could be of some use here, even if it was an extra blade in combat.
* * *
Leading the way, the Fenix and Penna approached a little after Nakira had left. Granted, if Fenix had known they had been there, he probably would have slowed his pace a bit more. Penna and Nakira could definitely use some time apart, judging by Penna’s remarks. “Well, we have arrived, and it looks like its a bit later than I’d have preferred... Where are the others?”
“They went ahead, I stayed behind to help everyone catch up,” N’shara replied. “We had better hurry to catch up.” The priestess turned and began at a light jog down the road, expecting him to follow. “I’m N’shara, by the way,” she said to Fenix as she jogged.
“Well, looks like theres more running involved,” he chuckled, watching as N’shara began her jog. At least they seemed to have gotten the direction right. Maybe. Following behind, he gave a light nod. “Fenix, I’m a bit of a wanderer.”
“Well, my companion has marked his way on the trees, so we should be able to find them,” N’shara replied, then picked up her pace. Nakira hadn’t gotten far, and they were able to catch up to her and continue after Laies and Rone.
