Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

by Worth a Shot

Warhammer Fantasy and Mass Effect crossover. Shepard's infamous luck holds and she survives the impossible for a second time. Now on a strange new world, inhabited by even stranger beings, she fights to survive and find a way back home. Be sure to read the author's note at the end for further information on this story.

4. there's always plan b

Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

Chapter 3
there's always plan b

/ooooooo\

Location: Unknown
Day: Unknown

It was cold. Why was space always so cold? And how did it even get cold in her cabin anyway? Cerberus spends two years and billions of credits bringing her back but they forget to put a thermostat in her room, that's how it gets cold.

With a shiver, Maria Shepard curled up on the bed.

"EDI, could please raise the temperature by five degrees," Maria pleaded as she began blindly grabbing for the bed covers. "Either that or tell Joker to pilot us into the nearest sun; whichever warms the cabin faster."

But when she finally found the sheet and pulled it over her head, it wasn't the fine Thessian silk she had bought on a bargain in the markets of Nos Astra. Instead it was rough, it was scratchy and it smelled… well it smelled. And then her brain woke up and she remembered everything that had happened on the road.

She had met a group of knights in the middle of the night.

One of those knights had beaten her, without her managing to do anything to save herself.

And then that same knight had transformed before her eyes before he… then…

Maria bolted upright, knocking away the blankets, as her hand immediately went to her throat.

"Oh shit."

Her bare feet hit the stone floor a moment later as she nearly jumped out of the bed and went straight for the cracked mirror hanging on the wall across from the bed.

One hand still on her throat Maria used the other to wipe the dust and dirt off the mirror. "No-no-no-no-no-no, please no," she chanted softly as she examined the skin where the knight had – had literally bitten her.

"This can't be happening." Checking the side of her neck there was an area of skin that was still a light shade of pink, and as Maria looked closer she could make out two red dots. Little needle points right where the knight's teeth had pierced the skin.

She stared at those two small red dots for a few moments before shaking her head.

"Nope," she dropped her hand and just stared at her reflection. "Uh-uh, not even going there. Just – no."

Carefully pulling up her tank top Maria winced as she took in the sight of several very large bruises covering her ribs and stomach. Turing around and checking the mirror she could see another large bruise right where that tree had connected with her back.

Turing back to face the mirror she put a hand on her ribs and slowly took in a deep breath and blew it out again. Everything checked out. She was still sore but at least nothing seemed to be cracked or broken. Score one for Cerberus cybernetics.

"You should see the other guy," Maria joked lightly. The woman looking back at her from the mirror didn't look very confident though.

A cool wind blew through the room causing Maria to shiver, as a few dried leaves brushed over her feet. She looked down in confusion as to why leaves would be in her room, let alone a strong breeze, and following the leaves to the source Maria finally looked up and realized exactly where she was.

"Oh…wow."

Walking slowly across the stone floor she reached the edge of the room and instead of a wall, there was open air. The wall was gone, well actually, the bricks that would have made a wall were broken and shattered around her feet. Wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm, Maria could walk right to the edge and look down to see she was very high up in the air.

It was probably fair to say that she was in another castle but this time not in the dungeon. And as Maria took a step back from the edge, she had an amazing view of a mountain range at night. The small amount of light she had available was coming from the moon high in the sky, its ugly green twin still hovering low on the horizon and partially hidden behind a mountain peak.

Admittedly it was a beautiful sight. And any other time on any other planet Maria would have already been planning some well-deserved shore leave. But…unfortunately…not today.

Another mountain breeze blew into the room causing Maria to shiver some more. She went back to the bed to grab one of the scratchy covers only to notice her own grey blanket had been laid out as well to keep her warm. Grabbing that one Maria found the center and was about to pull it over her head when she paused and noticed a dark red color staining the neck line. It was her blood from when that vamp – man, knight, sick weirdo – had bitten her.

Swallowing down her feelings, she pulled it over her head anyways and began rubbing her arms for added warm. Maybe it was lucky but she couldn't see her breath in the air, but a lot of the surrounding mountains had snow covering their peaks.

"Okay, take a breath, and analyze your situation," Maria said out loud as she stood next to the bed. "You were on the road. You could see the Grey Mountains… probably in the Grey Mountains now. You met some new knights. One of them managed to kick your sorry ass without breaking a sweat. You did manage to shoot him twice in the head so I guess we're even."

She looked down at her toes. "And now you wake up here. No armor, no weapons, no omni-tool. Half-naked but at least you still have your blanket…" Maria closed her eyes and tried to take another breath. "I was better off in that dungeon."

Another breeze blew through the room and this time she was grateful as it pulled her back and helped her focus.

Opening her eyes, Maria looked out across the mountains with new determination. "All right. Behind enemy lines and low on supplies. I've handled worse." She turned away from the view making the decision to leave the room and made for the door. "First thing first, I'll need – FUCKING HELL!"

She had made it halfway across the room and had only then noticed two armored figures standing guard by the door in the room with her.

Naturally assuming she had been alone until now, this was quite the startling realization… probably jumped a foot in the air.

Hand to her chest, Maria fought through her near heart attack as she glared at the two men standing at the door. "What the shit!? Damnit all, have you two been standing there this entire time?!"

Both men were covered in red and black painted armor from head to toe and both had helmets covering nearly their entire faces. In the dark of the room, Maria couldn't even see them really. On their belts, each had a large sword and both carried a metal shield on their left arms. The shields had also been painted to match their armor.

Neither one of them responded to her outburst… or even moved.

"Well?" Maria asked folding her arms across her chest. She looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'm assuming you're here for a reason. What do you want?"

Again, neither of them spoke or moved. They just stood at perfect attention on both sides of the door.

And after nearly a minute of staring, Maria finally figured out that there was no one in the armor. She really was alone in the room. These were just mock-ups, basically museum pieces; so she started walking to the door.

"If – When I make it back home," Maria promised quietly to herself, "this will not be a part of the debrief."

She got within five feet of the door when suddenly both of the figures came to life. Maria froze mid-step as each reached for their swords and gripped the hilts. But that's all they did. Just put their hands on their sword hilts.

Maria frowned. "Very funny assholes." Apparently there was someone wearing the armor. "Now you're just pissing me off. Just tell me what you want."

But, once again, Maria stood staring back at the two armored figures for nearly a minute without either one of them talking.

"Fine. Don't talk. But I'm leaving." She took another step for the door and the instant her foot hit the ground, both men pulled their swords half way out of their leather sheaths. Most likely this whole act was a threat to keep her in the room.

Instead of backing off, Maria took another step toward the door. And just as before, when she did, the armored men yanked the swords entirely free from their belts and now held them out at the ready.

The problem now was that Maria stood only three feet from both armored men and the dark that had once helped hide their faces was no longer as effective. She could see their heads under the steel helms.

Maria had stopped walking and now stood still with pursed lips because there was no face staring back at her. Literally nothing was under those helms, except for a skull. A human skull. Empty eye sockets, no nose, obviously skinless, and the one on the right was missing its lower jaw.

Maria was staring at two armored, and somehow animated, skeletons.

"So, um…" Maria brought a hand up and rubbed her eyes, just to be sure. "This is a new one."

Momentarily thrown off balance, Maria did the only thing she could think off that might help the situation and took a step back from both skeletons. In response, both of them smoothly returned their swords to their belts and once more stood at attention.

"Oookay, we're dealing with skeletons now." With a shiver Maria glanced back at the mountains and rubbed her arms once more. "First we had human sized rats, bigger rats, ninja rats… and now skeletons… yeah, okay."

She shrugged looking back at the armored bones.

"Well I'm not staying here," she stated firmly, and feeling really awkward talking to a skull. "I'm awake, I'm hungry, and I'm cold. So whatever's supposed to happen next let's just get it over with. I'm not staying in this room forever."

Much to her surprise, one of the skeletons actually turned around, opened the door and left the room. Which just left Maria standing alone with the other one.

And after ten minutes of just standing in dead silence she could admit things didn't feel weird at all…

The door finally opened again and the armored skeleton entered the room and re-took its spot on the side. Behind it, entered a man.

He was a head taller than herself and the two skeletons, with shaggy dark brown hair covering a round face marred by scars. He may have been as tall as Vincent but this man lacked the Grail Knight's girth and strong physique. Underneath his heavy leather shirt Maria guessed he was probably lean. He carried a sword on his belt but the only piece of armor on him was a dented and dirty breastplate.

"Seems yer awake then," he said gruffly looking Maria up and down. She noticed a tired weariness behind his brown eyes as one hand remained on his sword hilt. He nodded to the door, "Well, come on, the night's wanin'."

He stepped out of the room with Maria behind him. As soon as they were both out the two skeletons followed and flanked her. She glanced back at them for a moment before the man faced her.

"Let's get this out in the open now," he said observing her carefully. Maria caught the traces of another accent and it wasn't French like those in Bretonnia. "I heard what ya did on the road. An' I won't pretend someone like me could take ya. But those two bones with us are the Count's own guard. Ya make trouble, an' they cut ya down. Understood?"

Maria nodded. "Understood."

"Good," he replied turning around and starting down the hall. Maria followed him and it took her a second to realize that he may have responded to more than just her nod. She stared at his back trying to work whether he was one of those… things… or just a man, as he led her through the castle and down a flight of stairs. The two skeletons stayed only a few steps behind.

Going through another corridor they came across another section of wall that had been completely broken away allowing Maria a glimpse at the mountains.

"Your castle has seen better days," Maria commented dryly as she picked her steps carefully to avoid the worst of the sharpened stones on the floor.

The man just huffed. "An Imperial siege will do that ta a place, not ta mention several hundred years of neglect. Ta this day tho' Blood Keep still holds its own as a fortress in the Grey Mountains."

Maria nearly slipped when the man replied back. She stopped and stood in the ruined corridor. "You understood all of that?"

The man turned to face her with a frown and raised eyebrow. "Yes. I did." He jerked his head, "Now keep movin'."

Maria jumped over the remaining stones and quickly caught up to him. "Wait! It's just that – well I need you to answer one really important question first."

The man didn't turn around this time and just continued leading her down another flight of stairs.

"Ask yer question."

She was more than a little nervous and swallowed before asking. "Before we go any further I need to know if, well I need to know if you are a… are you one of those – I'm asking if you're, you know…"

The man stopped walking suddenly and Maria nearly bumped into him as she rambled. And she was now very conscious of the fact she was wearing next to nothing in front of a person she didn't even know was a person or not.

He frowned again, staring down at her. He almost looked confused himself. "Are ya asking if I'm a bloodsucker?"

"Yes?," she said with a squeak.

"No."

"Oh," she breathed out with a small smile. "Good. Good, good, good, good, good, good."

Now he was staring at her as though she was the odd one for even asking such a question. He guided her through the rest of the castle until he reached another door. Opening it, held led Maria into a very large room with a high ceiling. In the center was a table long enough to seat twenty people and the walls were lined with lite torches. Except for another large stretch of stone that had also been destroyed in the apparent siege.

The two skeletons stayed positioned at the door as the man reached for the nearest torch and made for a wide fireplace at the opposite wall. Assuming she was to stay in the room, Maria walked slowly around the hall's edge until she reached the demolished portion of wall. Looking out and over the edge, she could see they were still five or six stories up, but at least now instead of open wilderness she could make out more demolished buildings, pitched tents, lit fires and people and horses walking around in the courtyard below. Probably somewhere around thirty to forty of them.

"There we go."

Maria turned around to see that the man had managed to start a growing fire. It quickly brightened up the hall, as well as provide a warmth against the cool wind. She hurried over to it and out stretched her hands, soaking in the heat.

"Stay here for the time being," the man ordered as he walked to replace the torch on the wall. "I'll be back, and with some food."

Maria held a foot up to the fire and wiggled her toes. "I'm not going anywhere," she replied with a smile. "But bring as much as you can, I'm starving."

When she heard the door close behind him she looked back to see the two skeletons still standing by the door acting as her guards. Turing her back to them, Maria raised a fist and concentrated. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled as wisps of dark energy danced over her fingers, before condensing and covering her fist in a dark blue glow.

"Alright then," Maria said softly as she slowly released the power in her fist. "Let's see where this goes."

/ooooooo\

Maria sat at the table with a plate holding a generous portion of cooked meat and potatoes sitting in front of her. She even had a fork and knife available this time around and a water skin she was pretty sure wasn't filled with water.

As far as imprisonments went this one was rapidly making up for the earlier meeting on the road.

"This is great," Maria praised between mouthfuls as she cut another chunk of meat. "You guys even seared it first. Best way to lock in the flavor. My compliments to the chef."

Since getting her the meal, the man did little else except pace the room and watch her eat. He stopped by the fireplace.

"Yer lucky," he said staring into the fire. "It's unusual ta find boar so far out of the forests. Luckier still I was able ta get some away from my men before they devoured it all." He turned and looked at her with a frown, before starting around the hall again.

Maria watched him as she continued to shovel the food down as fast as she could. This was literally the best meal she had been able to get since arriving on this world and she wasn't going to blow the opportunity by taking her time.

But that wouldn't stop her from talking with only the second person who had so far been able to understand her. She swallowed and took a quick swig from the water skin.

"Where are you from?" she asked conversationally, trying not to sound too interested.

"I'm not tellin' ya that," he replied shortly.

Maria cut another piece of meat. "Why not?"

"My company's wanted from here to the Northern Wastes," he nearly growled out, but still walking the room. "An' yer a stranger that managed ta kill my employer."

Maria was taken aback by his wording. "So, you're a mercenary then?"

"Aye." He leveled a hard stare at her. "Ya got a problem with that?"

With a shrug, Maria focused back on her meal. "Not really. I've employed a few mercenaries myself." She bit potato off her fork and looked back at the man. "But you ever stop to think that the reason you're a wanted man is because of your choice in employer?"

The man stopped, looked back at her, and let out a harsh laugh. "Worry more about yourself, lass."

"Fair enough." She took another bite of her meal and asked, "Speaking of me then, how long was I out?"

"Only a day," he said walking the room again. "Should have been two, but the Count pushed us hard to reach this Keep before a second sunrise."

"And why was that?" Maria asked.

Before the man could answer the door to the hall swung open and several heavily armored figures strode into the room. The one leading them spoke as he entered.

"Because the sun agitates my fair complexion," he said with a dangerous smile as he walked to the table's edge locking eyes with Maria.

Maria in turn couldn't stop from staring back. And she couldn't stop the chill from traveling down her back, because the man who had just entered and who was now standing only feet from her, was the same black knight that had traveled with the red one on the road only the day before.

Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew he was one of them.

/ooooooo\

Location: Blood Keep
Day 6

He was still wearing his jet-black armor with the gold outlines and his cape was a dark purple that hung from both his shoulders and nearly touched the ground. But now in the light Maria could finally see his face.

And disturbingly he wasn't gruesomely decayed in his appearance. Maria was forced to admit he was actually handsome. His hair matched his armor and hung straight down to his shoulders, and his face was smooth but sharp with pointed cheek bones and chin. But it was his eyes that really got to her. They were a darker shade of blue than her own, but the power that they held was nearly smothering. There were few people in the galaxy Maria was actually afraid of crossing, most of them were either Admirals or older N7's in the Systems Alliance, but just looking into this man's eyes she knew he was beyond dangerous and intelligent.

And add all of that to the very terrifying fact he was… one of those things.

"My lord," Maria's guard immediately came to attention, as four more armored skeletons who had been flanking the Count walked to the room's edge and took positions in silence.

The Count held Maria's gaze for a few more tense heart beats before acknowledging the man.

"We have what we came for," he announced, as he walked slowly to the fireplace. "Ready your men Sergeant, we depart within the hour. When the sun rises, I expect us well on our way. I'll cover our trek just as before."

The guard hesitated for only a moment as his eyes darted to Maria. "Very well, my lord." He then walked briskly out of the room and closed the door behind himself.

Maria was now left alone with six skeletons and the Count.

Having never been in a situation like this before, Maria just continued to eat her meal, now being extremely aware of how much noise her knife and fork were making on the plate as she cut the potatoes and meat.

The Count turned from the fire and stood at the table directly across from Maria. She watched as he reached for his belt and unbuckled the two swords he had anchored at his hip, before he then placed them on the table in front of her.

"Disgraceful creatures, Varghulfs," he began conversationally. His voice as refined as his appearance. Maria's translator couldn't even make out a single accent, every word was pronounced elegantly.

He brought a hand up to wipe a few red specks, blood she noticed, off his armor. He wasn't wearing gauntlets; his hands were bare.

"Have you ever seen a Varghulf?" he asked her, making eye contact.

Maria shook her head. "Count yourself lucky then," he said, wiping his hands clean on his cape. "Terrible beasts. Imagine a bat, twice the size of a horse and packed with muscle. Teeth and claws the size of long swords and infinitely sharper. They can no longer fly, but that hardly matters with the strength they possess. They're what happens to my kind when we give in to the beast locked away within ourselves. I had to kill a very ill-tempered one still lurking in the depths of the Keep. Probably been hiding there since the fall of the Blood Dragons. Perhaps, even, one of the knights themselves."

Maria put down her fork and knife and leaned back in her chair.

"Your kind," she said.

The Count rest both his hands on the table and leaned forward. "My kind?" he said, the edges of his lips ever so slightly pitched up in what could only be described as amusement. "How long have you avoided saying it? How long have you stopped yourself from thinking it?"

"Since I met you on the road," she replied as steadily as she could.

Strangely, amusement disappeared as he continued to stare back at her. He very nearly frowned, as he asked, "You've never met one of my kind before, have you? No… that's not entirely correct. You haven't met us, but you do know of us. Our power, the fear and terror we project.

"Where are you from?"

Now Maria almost smiled. "A very long way from here."

The Count cocked an eyebrow. "So it would seem." He straightened back up and glanced at some of the armored skeletons standing at the wall.

"Bring in the chest," he commanded. Two of them immediately walked to the door and left the room.

He then pulled out a chair and took a seat. Relaxing back, he rested his right arm on the table, but waved his hand as he did. "Don't stop on my account. Continue your meal. I won't consider it rude if you do."

So Maria did. But she recognized the beginnings of an interrogation. And he had ordered the man who had been her guard to get ready to leave soon. So Maria ate, but at a much slower pace than before.

"Maria Shepard," the Count began as he observed her. "May I call you Maria?"

She shrugged back, "Sure you can," and then swallowed her mouthful of food, "but it's actually pronounced Shepard."

"Very well, Shepard," the Count replied. "Forgive me though, but you don't look like a Maria."

Maria paused for second as she thought things over, but figuring who she was dealing with, honesty was probably the best policy to follow until something really delicate came up.

"Maybe because it's not my real name," she explained as she played with a piece of potato on the plate. "I was born an orphan, no parents to name me, and eventually I just decided to pick my own." She had to hold back a pout. "I really like the name, Maria. As for Shepard, I just thumbed through a book until I found something that just seemed to click."

"Fair enough," the Count said with a nod. "Who am I to judge?"

"What's your name?" she asked back.

The Count laughed, a light and controlled laugh, as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you my name."

"That's not really fair," Maria said with a frown. "You know mine."

"Because your name has no meaning behind it. You say you're a long way from here so let me fill you in on an important facet of life here in the Old World.

"Names hold power," his voice and eyes serious. "The right name spoken at the right time can prevent wars, quell entire armies, force kings and princes to submit, and change the very course of history. The opposite can also be true. Speak a name to the right people and suddenly Empires march to bloody war, maps become redrawn, with heroes and villains spoken of by every tongue."

"So which is yours?" Maria asked, already guessing the answer.

The Count frowned and looked over her shoulder and past Maria. "My name… I suppose it depends on the situation, like most things do." He met her gaze again. "But right now, mine would bring terror, and a war I'm not yet prepared to fight.

"You can trust me in this one thing Shepard," he added with a smirk. "For now, it's better for the both of us that you really don't know my name."

Maria decided to just let it go and continued to eat her meal, which was unfortunately almost done at this point. The Count seemed content to let her eat for the moment as he glanced over to the door.

While he was distracted, Maria stole a quick glimpse to his right hand still resting on the table. She had wanted a better look since she had first noticed it but didn't want him to know that.

On his middle finger was a ring. But it had immediately caught her attention because of what it was. It was bigger than the average ring and gold in color. Probably made out of the material actually. But the top was exquisitely molded into the shape of a dragon opening it jaws. Between the creature's teeth, being held in place, was a striking red gemstone.

It was beautiful, but the strangest thing of all, was how Maria's gaze was always drawn to it. She didn't know how it was possible, she didn't know how she knew, but there was this feeling that the ring was… something. And it unsettled her just as much as the man wearing it.

The Count got to his feet a second before the door to the hall opened and in walked the two armored skeletons he had earlier told to leave. They walked in carrying a large wooded chest with metal bands between them, and placed it down at the head of the table.

As they returned to their place along the wall, the Count stood by the chest and unlocked the latches holding it shut.

"Well, now we can get to the heart of the matter," he said opening the chest. He reached in and began pulling out several items. Each of them placed in a row on the table. When he was done, he shut the chest and moved it to the floor.

Maria's eyes were wide as she looked over the array of items. Items she was intimately familiar with.

"Shall we start with this," he said, lifting Maria's Collector armor up by the neckline. He ran a hand down the front and nodded in admiration. "Curious material. I can say I've never encountered the like. The outer layer seems almost organic. I can see the leftover signs of burns and tears but the material acts like skin and has begun to re-knit itself. While the inner layer is clearly made from synthetic elements, metals and such, but remains flexible almost to the point of cloth. I am duly impressed."

"But these," he said with something almost like excitement as he laid the armor to the side. "These are far more exotic, and if I'm to wager, just as deadly."

The Count picked up the phalanx heavy pistol and Maria couldn't stop her jaw from dropping as he easily worked the controls to compact the weapon and expand it open again. "This is clearly a pistol," he said as his eyes stayed locked on Maria. He smiled at her expression. "Don't be so surprised Shepard. We are not so primitive in the Empire to not notice a firearm when we see one. The dwarfs have had this technology for centuries already. Let alone those developed here."

He popped out the pistol's thermal clip and examined it. "Obviously a source of ammo," but his eyes darted to Maria for just a moment before he looked at the thermal clip again. "No, it seems not exactly the ammo but clearly important for the whole machine to function." He returned the thermal clip into the pistol and held it up with a sharpshooter's confidence, glancing down the sights.

"But this is my favorite part," the Count said as he thumbed the switch on the side of the heavy pistol and the weapon's laser targeting system activated. Projected from the weapon, a blue dot of light materialized on the far wall. "This would make even the proudest dwarf engineer drool in absolute envy," he said sweeping the pistol slowly across the room. "Does the light direct the bullet? No? Ah, an amateurish mistake. My apologies. The light only shows where the bullet is supposed to travel. The shooter must still have the skill to hit the target. Although, to have such an advantage available, marvelous."

He guided the pistol's sight and laser to Maria and slowly brought the blue dot to bear right between her breasts. He held it there, challenging her, as he stared right into her eyes.

Maria fought to keep her breathing steady and struggled to hold back a biotic barrier that almost naturally formed whenever a weapon was pointed at her. Things had escalated way too fast for her and she was barely keeping her cool. At this rate the only advantage she had left was her biotic ability and she couldn't risk showing her last defense in front of the Count. After all, he wasn't going to shoot her now of all times. He was showing his hand. Proving to her that every secret she thought she held had been revealed. He was doing all of it for a reason, and she had to make it to that point for her to have a chance at survival.

Eventually he thumbed the switch again and the laser deactivated. He put the pistol aside with her armor and picked up the locust submachine gun next.

"And if that was the pistol, this is clearly the larger more powerful version," he stated with confidence, just as easily compacting and expanding the submachine gun the same way he had the pistol. "Fires bullets faster, but perhaps not as accurately. To have such weapons at your disposal..."

He set the locust down beside the phalanx as Maria managed to find her voice and asked the all-important question when it came to her firearms.

"You didn't actually fire any of them while I was out, did you?" she asked, hating how meek she sounded. But any rounds fired would have burned out the thermal clips, and she only had four of them left.

The Count stared at her for a moment, perhaps concerned by how concerned she sounded at the prospect, but he shook his head. "No. I only spent enough time to learn how they worked. Not how destructive they actually were."

Small miracles, she thought letting out a breath she had been holding. But the worst was yet to come.

The Count reached over and picked up the metal band that would fit over her forearm when she equipped it. He now held the most valuable piece of equipment she had left, something more cherished than her armor and weapons combined.

He was holding her omni-tool. She tried to stay calm, she really did, but when his hand touched the device she nearly bolted out of her chair.

The Count looked at her, curious over her reaction, and Maria's heart skipped a beat.

"Now this is a surprise," he said slowly, his eye's darting between her and the tool. "I never even considered this to be so highly prized when compared to your armor and weapons. But, now… this bland, featureless band of metal truly matters to you, doesn't it?"

Maria stayed silent as she did her best to look and stay calm, but she knew she was failing miserably. If she knew where she was, if she had some way of communicating with the wider galaxy, if the people here even understood space travel, then maybe she wouldn't be reacting the way she was.

That tool was literally, literally, her only hope of getting off world and it was currently in the hands of an evil, bloodsucking Vampire.

"What exactly is it?" the Count asked and he turned the tool over and examined it. "It must do something. Perhaps some sort of enchantment? I don't sense anything directly. It can't just have sentimental value. You covet this piece of metal dearly." With Maria still unresponsive his expression hardened. "Tell me what this means to you. And please don't lie to me, you know what I am, I can hear your heartbeats."

So Maria didn't lie. "It means everything to me," she replied, answering his question directly.

But this was getting out of hand. Rats, rats she could handle. Why she could handle them, Maria had no idea, they were just simpler a concept she supposed. And as far as the one that shot the green lightning at her, well that was a problem for another day. But this?

Maria wasn't trained to handle these types of things. Give her Batarians, give her blood-frenzied Krogan, hell she'd take a Reaper at this point… but Vampires?

The Count was controlling the room and she was letting him do it. It was time she screwed with the world that was screwing with her head.

Taking the last bite of her meal, Maria pushed the plate away and got out of her chair. She walked around the table and approached the fireplace. Honestly, as she finished chewing, it really did taste good.

Staring into the fire, she took a deep breath, and turned to face the Count.

"The device you're holding is called and omni-tool," she began explaining. The Count was about to enter her domain now. "Specifically, a Savant model X, designed and built by the Serrice Council. It's a computer, diagnostic tool, capable of hacking, decryption, and repair thanks to a miniature fabrication module.

"That device is the most powerful piece of technology on this entire planet and I would appreciate it if you would gently put it back down on the table. I'm going to need it in working order when I leave here and continue on to Nuln."

The Count's eyebrow's rose in surprise when she spoke, but as soon as Maria finished, he ended up doing the last thing she expected and smiled.

"There she is." He put the tool back on the table. "I was wondering what happened to the woman on the road. I thought, perhaps, that Walach had indeed killed her after all." He put a hand to his chest an offered a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Maria Shepard."

"Well it was my first time meeting a Vampire, let alone being bitten by one." Her hand went to her neck and she winced. "I'm new to this, so you mind just confirming that the fact I still have a heartbeat, it means I'm still human, right?"

"It does."

"Great," Maria didn't hide the small amount of relief she felt at hearing that. "Thank you, that eliminates one problem at least."

"The process of creating a new born Vampire is a bit more elaborate and intimate than just a bite from my kind," the Count explained. His expression again turned serious. "But your problems have just begun Shepard."

He walked slowly from the table and joined her by the fireplace. Maria folded her arms under her poncho and forced herself to hold her ground as he did. He didn't tower over the same way Vincent had, but his presence was even more palpable. He radiated a power and the confidence in how to use it.

"I'm impressed you had the fortitude and strength of will to shake off Walach's bite so quickly. But the reason you're not dead, the reason he stopped feeding from you, was because of the blood in your veins."

Maria frowned. "I don't understand."

"Then I shall educate you. The Vampire's curse gives us power and longevity far beyond that of mere mortals. But it comes with a hefty price. Foremost of which, we must drink the blood of the same mortals we ourselves once were, to survive.

"That's because the curse originates from that blood," he said, as he looked into the fireplace. "Dark magic warps the spark of life all mortals carry within themselves, and ultimately transforms us. It's the power of that spark that we truly pull from our victims when we feed on their blood."

He then looked at her. "Your blood, however, does not contain that power of life."

Maria blinked. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're alive, but at the same time, not. There is nothing in your blood for a Vampire to feed on. If we drink from you, we receive no strength, no increase in longevity. Even the recently deceased have the magic linger in their bodies for a time but you… in you it's completely gone. You are the ultimate paradox.

"Maria Shepard, you are the one mortal in the world a Vampire can't drink from, and at the same time the one mortal in the world immune to the curse of the Vampire."

The first thing that popped into Maria's head were the jokes her original crew had made about her being resurrected as a zombie by Cerberus. Joker had more than a few times made her laugh at the absurdity of it all; being dead for two years and suddenly brought back.

Suddenly those jokes weren't as funny anymore…

"I'm… not really sure how I'm supposed to react to that," she admitted, deeply uncomfortable with how intensely he was looking at her. And then something alarmed her. "How do you know all about my blood?"

"How else?" he said with a shrug. "I fed on you myself after you had passed out on the road."

The Counted then laughed lightly. "I wouldn't take the news as a comfort. Once word reaches more of my kind, they will consider you a very grave threat to their continued existence. You've made many, many powerful enemies Shepard."

Maria frowned back at him. "So, that's your plan. You're going to use your own kind to threaten me? Tell the whole world about me, unless I…what exactly?"

"Oh, I would never dream of blackmailing you," the Count said back with a smile. "After all, I want everyone to know Walach Harkon is dead for a very different reason."

"The Vampire I killed?" Maria asked.

"The very same." The Count walked back over to the table and picked up the two swords he had earlier set down. He began buckling them back to his belt as he continued, "Walach Harkon was Grand Master of the order of the Blood Dragons, a soldier of ancient Nehekhara, and one of the pupils to the greatest warrior this world has ever seen. His life spanned countless centuries, his feats on the field of battle are infamous… and he was a constant thorn in my side since the two us first met."

He turned to face her with a smile. "Personally, I'm thrilled you killed him. His death might upset some other people in the world but what's done is done." His expression turned curious. "You did an admirable job of luring him in but next time I would suggest making your move a little earlier? Maybe it's just me, but I don't usually let my opponents throw me around before making the killing blow."

"Not like I had much choice," Maria sulked as she stared into the fireplace. "Whatever he did to me felt ten times worse than a stasis field. I couldn't do a damn thing until he released it."

She looked up when the Count was back by her side and was surprised to see him studying her a way he hadn't yet before.

"You are saying that when Walach, a brute with the most amateurish skill in magic used his pathetically small power, you couldn't break free or prevent him from hurting you?"

"No," she admitted. "It felt like all the heat had left my body, and I couldn't even breathe. My muscles just froze."

For a few moments, the Count just stared into her eyes.

"You're not lying." He took a step back and studied her top to bottom, from her feet to her head, and almost seemed to be looking around her rather than at her.

"Well this would explain some things I suppose," he murmured to himself. He stepped forward again and raised his right hand up to her face, causing Maria to quickly flinch back.

"What are you doing?" she asked alarmed, hands raised in defense.

"Relax," he said, basically ignoring her. He cupped her face with his hand and gently, but firmly, pulled her closer until they were inches apart. "Give me your right hand," he commanded holding out his left expectantly. "This won't hurt, I'm just testing a theory. If it turns out to be true you may even thank me."

Maria knew she really didn't have a choice and slowly put her right hand in his left. "If you're a Vampire why are your hands not freezing from being dead?" she asked.

The Count was looking back and forth into both her eyes, clearly focusing on something else but he still answered her.

"You are feeling the residual warmth of the blood I took from others. It will eventually fade when I need to feed again."

Maria swallowed, realizing just how vulnerable she was standing there with him. "And when will that be?" Forget what he had said earlier, it was still terrifying what they did.

The Count smirked. "Not for many months. It can vary greatly among my kind but generally the older and more powerful a Vampire is, the longer they can spend between feedings."

"So how old and how powerful are you?"

"That would be telling." He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for and stood straight. "Now, you remember our meeting back on the road? When I said, you had the winds of magic about you, right before Walach attacked?"

"Sure," she replied not really thinking about it.

"Good." He raised her right hand up. "Now I want you to stay still and if you start seeing anything strange appear in the room, please let me know immediately."

Maria couldn't stop a smile from slipping out. "I'm standing in a ruined castle with a Vampire and his skeletal bodyguards, and you want me to report anything strange?"

"Trust me. You'll know if you see it," he replied staying serious.

A second later Maria felt a tickle of wind around her feet then crawl up her legs, just as another wind brushed down from her ears and worked its way around her shoulders. They connected around her chest and then worked their way down her right arm to the hand the Count was holding. The most disturbing thing of all was, she could see the wind. The air had condensed and was beginning to have the same effect she had seen around the rat that had shot the green lightning at her.

This feeling wasn't like her biotic power. That felt like electricity working its way through her skin from inside herself. Whatever this was, it was being pulled from directly around her. The power was coming from the air.

Maria's gaze was pulled to her right hand and her eyes went wide when the gathering wind suddenly blackened, solidified, and entirely engulfed her and the Count's clasped hands. For a brief moment, their hands had vanished behind darkness.

Just as fast as it had happened, the air dispersed revealing her hand again, while the breeze around her body stopped.

"Well now that is interesting," the Count said as he dropped his hand from her face. "It seems you are favored by Ulgo. That would not have been my first guess."

Maria just looked at him, completely lost over what had just happened. So the count clarified, "Shadows, concealment, illusion."

Yeah because that cleared things up, she thought holding back the compulsion to roll her eyes. She looked back at her hand still trying to reason out what she had seen and felt when she noticed something about the Count's. And it was honestly as surprising as what she had just witnessed.

"You're married?" she asked checking out a silver band with embedded diamonds on his ring finger.

"I was," the Count replied with a frown and immediately released her hand while walking back to the table. "A very long time ago." He reached her equipment, staring down at them in silence. When he looked back up at her, Maria felt a chill.

"Well, Maria Shepard, I think we have finally reached that tipping point of our little conversation and I'm afraid we must press forward." The Count was in full Vampire mode now. His eyes were hard, his voice sharp, and Maria could have sworn the room had actually gotten colder even though she hadn't stepped an inch from the fireplace. "You managed to kill that fool Walach Harkon for me, so I'm inclined to show you a bit of gratitude. Thanks to his death I am now the Grand Master of the order of the Blood Dragons, the greatest knights in the old world."

"What about the Grail Knights of Bretonnia?" Maria asked, purposefully in a challenge. "I hear they're pretty impressive."

The Count's jaw clenched. "My, my, have you become bold. The Grail Knights, despite their prestigious skill with the lance, are still mortal men. Each member of the Blood Dragons is an experienced fighter turned Vampire, with centuries of combat to their names. I was forced to duel two of them to make my claim as the Grand Master. I can attest to their own prowess with the blade."

He stood tall with one hand gripping the hilt of one of his swords, and looked right into her eyes.

"I don't want you as an enemy Shepard. But neither can I simply allow you to go on your way. Your weapons are formidable, your armor never before seen, and I'd wager you have more than a few secrets you've yet to share with me; but there are forces at work in the world that you have little hope of surviving. I can offer you protection, and a place in my growing army. All you must do, is choose to surrender and serve me in life...

"...or die now and slave for me in death."

Not much wiggle room there, Maria cringed as she looked around the room at the six armored skeletons before glancing back at the Count. She nervously bit her lip as she went over her options, grateful for the fact the Count seemed to be giving her the time to think. But the problem was she didn't have any options available to her. The Count had her omni-tool. She couldn't leave until she got it back. And she doubted he would just give it to her if she asked…

…actually there's an idea. Honestly, a pretty terrible and absolutely suicidal idea but, what the hell, she fought one of them already. Well, sort of. So if she was going to survive this, it was time to pit an N7 against a Vampire. Raising her hands and running both through her hair, she then gave herself a shake and bet everything she had.

"I have a counter proposal for you Count," Maria began, her voice brimming with forced confidence as she walked slowly away from the fire and to the table. He didn't argue right away so she took that as a good sign.

"I know I don't look it right now, standing here wearing barely more than a blanket, but back where I'm from, I'm considered a premiere soldier myself. Recognized by multiple species in the galaxy as one of the elite, and a war hero by my own people. So when you tell me to just surrender, well, that's harder than you may think."

Reaching the table, she cocked a hip and leaned against one of the chairs, while under the blanket, folding her arms across her chest.

"But I tell you what," she continued steadily. "Despite all of that, I'm here now and I honestly have no idea where here even is. I'm alone, out of my depth, and could really use some help just trying to understand this place.

"You said you had to duel two of the Blood Dragon knights to cement yourself as the new Grand Master. What I propose is we do the exact same thing."

The Count's eyes narrowed. "You want a duel… between you and myself?"

Maria nodded. "That's exactly right. You allow me my equipment back and then the two of us fight it out. If I beat you, I get to leave here a free woman."

And to cement the deal Maria gave him the one thing he wanted, by releasing a concentrated burst of biotic power across her entire body, that blew the poncho she was wearing out around her with a wave of blue energy. She kept her command over the power and released it away as slowly as she could so the Count got a great view of what he was fighting for.

"If you manage to make me submit," she finished trying to keep her voice strong, "then I will follow by your side and you get to learn all my little secrets."

The Count had reacted to her biotic display with little more than widened eyes but it was enough that Maria knew she had gotten his attention. But she did manage to catch him gripping the hilt of his sword a little more tightly. And that gave her a surge of self-confidence she had struggled for until now.

"Do we have a deal?"

/ooooooo\

Maria was back in her armor.

She had suited up right in the room after the Count had agreed to her proposal, and was currently standing next to the fireplace as the skeletons moved the table and chairs to the far wall in order to give her and the Count the space needed for their duel.

Double checking that both her pistol and submachine gun were anchored firmly back on her hip, she then booted up her omni-tool and ran a quick system check to ensure it hadn't suffered any damage. Luckily it hadn't and with a sigh of relief, she shut down the holographic interface, only to find the Count giving her a hard stare from the center of the room.

"I take it that came from the metal band I held earlier," he stated more than asked.

"Yup," she nodded.

He turned away from her, pulling one of his swords free. "You will tell me how that device works when we are done here," he added.

"Only if you win," she replied, walking slowly to the center of the room, just a few feet from the Count.

When he turned to face her he seemed far more relaxed than Maria would have liked him to be. He held his sword low and just off to the side. She noted the blade wasn't double edged, like those she had seen the men in Bretonnia carry, and it had a slight curve near the tip. But considering she knew absolutely, positively nothing about swords to begin with, the fact it was a four-foot-long piece of sharpened steel was about all that mattered really.

But she did wonder why he had chosen that specific sword to fight with. He did after all have a second still on his hip.

Maria then realized something that made her feel rather foolish.

"So, um, do I get a sword?" she asked, looking around the room to see if she had missed one just laying about.

"You do." The Count raised a hand and motioned at one of the skeletons to come forward. The nearest armored form walked up to Maria, and pulled its own sword free, before holding it out in both hands for her to take.

Maria carefully gripped the hilt and took the sword from the skeletons grasp. As soon as she did the undead thing walked back to its place against the wall joining the others; Maria's and the Count's silent audience.

Holding the sword in her right hand Maria was surprised to discover it was heavier than she would have expected, especially taking into account her cybernetic enhancements. And it was double edged, unlike the Count's. As she made a few practice motions to get a feel for it, she noticed the odd effect of the blade becoming lighter in the swing, before becoming heavier once again when held still. Stopping for a moment to look closer, she blinked when it was clear the blade was glowing a faint white light, that quickly faded away until she gave it another swing. Once again, the blade glowed faintly, before returning to normal.

Maria stood there continually giving her sword a swing and watching it glow, amazed at what she was seeing, until a voice startled her and she nearly let it go mid-swing.

Fumbling with her grip on the hilt she looked up to see the Count staring at her with a frown.

"Sorry," she apologized with an awkward smile. "It's… well, it's my first glowing sword. Actually, my first sword, ever."

The Count frowned. "It will be your last if you don't start taking this seriously," he chided. His eyes darkened as he stared at her. "You say you grew up an orphan. You say you are a soldier of some skill. I expect you to know the answer to my question.

"What is the first rule of survival?"

Maria knew the answer. She knew it all too well. She held the Count's gaze, and replied, "There are no rules."

The Count nodded. "Very good. But this is a duel. And in accordance with tradition and the laws of Empires, duels do have rules. Most important, unless otherwise stated, a duel is never fought to the death. You merely enage and wear down your opponent, or strike them with non-fatal wounds to the point it would be foolish of them to continue. Duels are tests of skill, a way for civilized folk to engage one another, without the superfluous and messy loss of life."

He raised his sword up in front of his face before swiping it down again to his side again, with a flourishfull flick of his wrist.

"Defend yourself."

And with that Maria's eyes went wide in panic and she just barely raised her own sword in time to stop the Count's swing at her head. The two blades scratched together just inches from her cheek. The Count had moved way faster than she had been prepared for, although… considering what he was, maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised.

Taking a step forward the Count swung again, this time at her feet. Maria skipped back and the Count's blade scratched against stone floor, cutting a narrow groove right where she had been standing. Without losing momentum the Count took another step forward and swung at her chest, and then stepped forward again thrusting the blade at her head.

And with those three attacks, the Count got serious. Suddenly Maria was being forced back and doing her absolute damnedest to just get her sword into the path of the Count's own. The sound of the two blades clanging together echoed in the stone room, rapidly gaining in intensity as the Count struck harder and faster than the last. Before she knew it Maria's back was against the wall, she was holding her sword low, and the Count's was flying toward her head.

Maria ducked a heartbeat before the sword would have taken her head. She scrambled behind the Count and already had a hand on her head.

"Are you kidding me?" She sent a scowl at the Count as he almost lazily turned around to face her again. Bored amusement was the only thing that could describe the look on his face. The bastard was enjoying this.

Maria threaded her fingers through her hair. She could have sworn she felt that last swing of his actually take an inch off.

"What the hell was that?" she asked angrily. "What about, this is my first sword ever, did you not seem to get?" She gave the sword a shake to emphasize her point.

The Count smirked. "If it means anything you did quite well for your first time."

"Really?" Her anger momentarily vanished at the praise. She had managed to block most of his strikes. But then she shook her head. "Then what was that last swing at my head? You said duels weren't fought to the death. I don't care what my blood told you, I'm alive! And a sword to the brain would be pretty darn fatal."

The Count cocked an eyebrow in thought. "Hmmm… A fair point." He raised his sword, pointing the tip of the blade directly at her heart. "Again."

For the next few minutes the Count paced the room methodically, as Maria jumped, dodged, ducked, dived, and jumped some more, with the ever-present sound of the two swords striking each other filling the room. The whole exchange was totally unfair. The entire time Maria was focusing her attention to not being skewered, the Count was calmly explaining and scolding her for every mistake in proper sword etiquette she was making.

The Count swung his sword far quicker than before. "Now the left."

The two blades struck each other solidly as Maria moved hers to meet him.

"Good. Now the right."

Again the two swords met as Maria could feel sweat already beading on her forehead. They were in the mountains, in a stone castle, and she was sweating from the exertion of fighting the Vampire in a, what was honestly becoming apparent, as a practice match for one of them.

"Above. Good. Now below. Faster. To the right. Now the left. Left again. Again. Widen your stance. Once more, above. To slow. Watch your footing. Below. From the right. Again."

Maria had enough. She pushed away from him and took a few steps back to open the space between them.

The Count took her bait and advanced forward faster than he should have. He was still expecting her to play along, and was pulling his sword back for a wide, and highly broadcasted swing, to her left side.

Instantly, Maria had her opening. All at once she stepped forward to meet him, while activating her suit's tech armor and raising her left forearm to take the Counts sword swing. His sword struck her improved shielding and slide against it harmlessly, the same moment Maria swung her own sword at the Count, aiming for the one place he wasn't protected by armor.

His face.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and just as fast it was over. Maria stood in the room with her left arm still raised and her right arm holding the sword swung across her chest. The glow of her tech armor mingled with the torches and fireplace to fill the darkened room.

The Count was sprawled face down on the floor. He had been spun around from Maria's strike and had dropped his sword.

Breathing harder than she realized she would be, Maria straightened up and took a step back from the Count's body. A faint light caught her eye and she looked down to see her sword glowing white again. But this time it didn't dim right away, and raising it up Maria could see the tip of the sword covered in a thin layer of blood. She blinked when the implications sunk in. She really had managed to hit the Count.

Lowering her sword Maria looked around the room at the gathered skeletons still standing silently along the walls. None of them had drawn their own swords. In fact, none of them had even moved yet.

"I wondered which of us would break the terms of the duel first."

Maria's heart sank and the floor nearly fell out from under her as the voice filled the room. She stared disbelievingly in its direction. The Count's armor scratched along the stone as he got to his feet, his back still to her.

"I must say, well done. I didn't expect you to strike so swiftly and with such deadly intent so soon."

He finally turned to face her. Maria hadn't imagined anything, her sword had struck its mark, it was just that her target was far more resilient than she could have ever hoped to guess. He looked at her with a proud smile on his face, no worse for wear, except for the deep gash across his head all the way from his ear to his nose. It was deep enough that Maria could literally see bone, but is wasn't gushing blood. The smallest of red streaks only just began to trail from the cut down his cheek.

Icing on the cake, Maria watched the cut slowly close itself right back up again. Four seconds flat and it was gone. As if it had never existed in the first place.

The Count bent down and retrieved his sword. "You surprise me Shepard," he began as he raised a hand and wiped the blood on his cheek away with a finger. "I hadn't taken you for someone willing to break the rules so carelessly and with such little regard to the consequences."

Maria swallowed. "To be fair," she replied with a weak smile, "you weren't supposed to have survived that and been able to complain afterwards."

"Not even an apology," the Count said shaking his head at her, still smiling.

Maria laughed nervously and gestured at him with her sword as she took another step back. "Who's the Vampire here? I think what I did was entirely justified."

The Count shrugged. "Perhaps…" He then fixed her with a predatory stare and started to advance holding his sword low. "We both know that this fight must now evolve to the next level. I hope you're prepared for that."

Maria took the last two steps she needed and got ready. "Ready for what you can do? Not really… but I do have one trick left." She tossed the sword to the ground and immediately powered up her biotics. As her body was enveloped in the blue glow Maria raised her left arm and held it defensively toward the Count.

In response to her power, the Count stopped his advance and stared at her with a critical eye.

"That is not being drawn from the winds of magic…" he stated while raising his sword up.

Maria winked. "Nope. This is all me."

And with her right hand she pulled everything out of the fireplace and toward the Count. Burning logs, red hot coals and choking ash, all of it was thrown into the middle of the room and into the Count. But Maria didn't stop there. Without waiting to even see if she had hit him or not, Maria sprinted for the broken castle wall and dove straight out of the gaping hole and into the night.

Six stories above the ground…

/ooooooo\

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"

As she flailed around in the air, Maria concentrated her biotic power and condensed the field around her body as quickly as she could, rapidly righting herself to fall feet first and then slowing her rate of decent.

She didn't have a lot of time and was sorely out of practice for this type of biotic maneuver, but there's something to be said about the motivation behind initiating a strategic withdrawal as rapidly as possible from a Vampire you may have just seriously pissed off. When Maria did hit the ground she rolled forward to bleed momentum and was back on her feet all in one movement.

But now she was standing in the middle of the castle's courtyard. A blonde woman wearing collector armor who had just fallen from the sky right in the middle of the camp of people who were traveling with the Count.

Maria now had more than a few eyes on her as the men stopped packing up the camp and just stared at her in surprise.

The nearest of the men was actually someone she recognized. It was the same man who had met her in her room and led her to the Count. He recovered from the shock of seeing her first and looked up at the castle, before looking back at her and picking a sword up off the ground.

"Hi there," Maria offered him an awkward wave and smile.

"Stop her!" he shouted at his fellow mercenaries. "Quit y're gaping an' get her – Ophf!"

Maria tossed a biotic field his way and sent the man blasting back before he could finish but the damage was done. The other soldiers in his company were already dropping their gear and grabbing for their weapons, all of them shouting bloody murder as they did.

A stealthy escape had effectively vanished at this point and Maria had no desire to be bogged down in a fight. When she had first been led into that room up in the castle, she had glimpsed out the ruined wall and got a good look at what was in the courtyard. From where she stood now, escape meant getting to the horses the men had been riding.

She broke off into a run as the men surrounding her charged after. All of them were armed. Most with swords, others with axes, and a few others with spears or pikes. None of them however got even close to harming Maria. The exhausted, half-starved woman that had landed on this world was gone. With a day's rest, food in her belly, and adrenaline pumping, she didn't hold back.

The first few to get close were zapped by an electrical overload burst from her omni-tool, while the second group was sent careening through the air by another biotic blast. Her powers gave most of them pause before closing in but she had to give them credit when they did anyways.

She reached a group of a dozen horses roped together and spent a precious second looking all of them over hoping she would catch a break. Luck was on her side because at the end of the rope line was the one she was looking for.

Her horse was with them.

As she ran over Maria raised her arm and blasted the wooden rail her horse was tied to with a cryo blast. The wood and rope snap-froze through allowing Maria to shatter it with a fist when she reached it.

"Steven, am I glad to see you!" Maria exclaimed as she jumped onto his back. Whether the horse shared her feelings or not, she didn't know, but he did seem eager to sprint off with little urging from her.

As the horse took off across the courtyard Maria did her best to keep everyone out of their path, with a combination of biotic and tech powers. Suddenly a shouted command from someone filled the air and Maria soon heard gunshots going off.

Her armor could easily withstand a bullet, more so even if she had kept her tech armor activated, but her horse wasn't offered the same protection; so Maria abandoned her offensive tactics and did her best to expand a protective field around herself and the animal. A slight blue shimmer filled the air as the 'bubble' of power effectively shielded the two of them, and it was done just in time as Maria looked ahead.

Impressively, Steven knew where the exit was, as he had run straight for the gate leading out of the walled courtyard of the keep. Unfortunately, the alarm of her escape had proceeded them, and the wooden doors had been shut while a group of mercenaries stood in front of it with muzzle-loaded rifles pointed in her direction.

They fired and Maria felt the impact of a half dozen bullets strike her barrier. She could hold it up longer if she had too, but with the gate shut, she was trapped. And the Count had to have been able to leave the keep by now…

The horse began to slow down but Maria snapped the reins and pushed him to keep sprinting to the closed gate.

"You need to trust me on this," she said as calmly as she could. Whether from her tone of voice or her words, Steven whined in protest, but sprinted all the faster directly at the wall ahead. With the distance rapidly shrinking and the mercenaries firing another round of bullets into her barrier, Maria gripped the reins as tightly as she could and raised her right arm toward the gate.

Pushing herself far more than she had since arriving on this planet, Maria poured every ounce of biotic power she had into her outstretched arm. The entire length was enveloped by a solid blue field of pulsating energy, and she fought to hold the power even as the implant at the base of her neck became hot from the strain. With her muscles already shaking from the effort Maria dropped her barrier and transferred the last bit of her power into her arm. Gritting her teeth and sweat pouring down her face, she forced herself to hold onto it until the last possible moment.

That moment came was when she and her horse were only a dozen feet from the gate.

With a shout, Maria directed the condensed power directly ahead into the mercenaries and wooden gate. This was a solid mass of dark energy Maria had effectively fired. That was a sealed gate in her way, so she knocked, with what basically amounted to knocking on a door with an Alliance dreadnought's main gun.

In an explosion of splintered wood and shattered stone, her biotic attack had blown not only destroyed the solid wooden doors, but most of the stone it had been securely hinged to; allowing Steven to then gallop through the ruble and escape the keep.

As the horse sprinted along the mountain pass and down the trail, Maria pitched forward in the saddle and hugged his neck for support. A wave of dizziness and nausea washed over her and for a moment she couldn't see a thing as spots of color filled her vision.

"Uhhhh… that, that was a mistake," Maria groaned as she tried to sit up again. Closing her eyes and fighting down the urge to pass out, vomit, or allow her head to explode, Maria opened them again as she glanced back to see if anyone was chasing after her.

The trail behind was clear for now. If it stayed that way, it appeared Maria had managed to survive her very first Vampire.

She frowned. Vampires? Pegasus? Human-sized rats? Vincent didn't sound crazy when he was telling her his stories but it was still hard to believe everything he said. Of course, now…

Feeling the onset of a migraine, Maria stopped thinking and let her mind go blank. She reached forward and rubbed the horses neck, instead focusing on just getting down out of the mountains. It may not have been according to plan, but she had made it through the Grey Mountains and, hopefully, entered the Empire.

Nuln was next.