Chapter Five: Akatra Calling
I should have seen this coming; I didn't need to be a soothsayer to have foretold the encounter that I was now faced with. I should never have allowed myself to fall asleep.
Well…It was most certainly too late now to do anything about it and here I was on board a trading ship in the middle of the sea, heading for a human haven and I had been discovered. I had been found like a cornered rat and now faced an armed crew member who could easily call for reinforcements. I had no weapon, no available aid, no room to move and, damn it all, no bloody boots on.
Ridwan didn't waste any time letting me get my bearings, he struck out again with a textbook slash that a human would have been hard pressed to dodge, but being a vampire I managed it well enough.
"Stand still and die you damn corpse." He snarled.
"I resent that." I informed him. Playing the fool was a natural defence mechanism for me when it came to situations that I was unsure how to handle. Jokes, laughs, smiles and sarcasm were my shield. I couldn't help myself. But it seemed that Ridwan was partial to the odd comment himself.
"Why? It's what you are. You are already dead; you just need to be reminded." He decided it would be best to punctuate his words with another attack. "Stop moving!"
"I've had a very bad day, must you make it worse?"
"Oh be quiet." And with that he pressed forward with the attack again. It wasn't like I was incapable of defending myself from a human; I just was not in the mood for any of this. Just as I had told him, I was not enjoying any of this and I had no desire to be hurt. Just having his hatred aimed at me was enough especially after recent events and the most realistic and terrifying nightmare that I had in long time. I was not in any frame of mind to be treated like a monster. Hah, like I was a monster. The human race needs to take a good, long and hard look at itself. Not that I could really blame the man before me for wishing naught but to cleave my head from my shoulders, for he was only trying to defend himself. Granted, I hadn't actually done anything to him but he recognised himself as prey and I as predator and so he was doing only what any animal would instinctively do in his position; fight or flight. As we were aboard a ship running was out of the question and so a fight to the death was apparently the only possible solution.
Ha! Predator! And here I am backing away from my so called prey. It was about time that I remedied that.
I didn't move to dodge the next attack, instead opting for a novel form of block that involved raising both hands to meet the moving blade and grasp it tight as it bit into my palms and sank down through the flesh towards my wrists. This, naturally, rendered my thumbs completely useless to me but having the blade jammed deep inside my hands and my fingers closed over it gave me enough grip to push sharply forward on the sword, controlling the angle, to crack the hilt smartly between Ridwan's eyes.
The shocked expression on his face was one I was sure could never be replicated as he stumbled backwards, releasing the blade to me in a reflex action. But, to his credit, he didn't remain that way for long and he kept his balance relatively well. Ending up in a semi-crouch he wiped away the blood that was now streaming down his face with one hand. Hnh, I must have hit him harder than I thought.
I was in possession of the sword now, but happened to be holding onto completely the wrong end in a manner that would more than likely make me gag if I were to dare to look at where so much pain was emanating from. Wrenching my hands apart in a flurry of blood, the sword clattered to the ground and I clasped my mangled extremities to my stomach while my thumbs reconnected back where they belonged and the rest of the wounding disappeared without a trace. All of that took a few short seconds at most and then it was back to deciding a victor again. During the time I had been nursing my poor hands, Ridwan was lunging for his sabre which was still by my feet where I had let it drop to. A swift kick saw him reeling back again but he was undeniably persistent and not even newly cracked ribs were going to keep him down.
I hadn't the time or patience to come up with a snide comment to pass his way about his relentlessness, so instead chose to snatch up the fallen weapon and strike out for his throat. He jumped aside at the last moment, allowing me to cut into a crate which refused to release the blade back to me. I would have tried to wrench it free if it were not for being suddenly caught blind when Ridwan came up with the idea of tearing his cloak from his shoulders and flinging it over my head. Before I could claw it off, he was on me again, punching my head repeatedly until I was too disorientated to stand, let alone fight back.
Damn it all to hell! Why was this so easy for him? One human who was weaker, slower and less agile than I yet he was running rings around me! I understand well that I am but a fledgling but this is ridiculous!
Rage welled up inside me and like before in my room a dark red wave flooded my mind and my senses. It was like having a second self rushing to take control of me, begging me to relinquish my body to it's will…I always did wonder if I was the only one to perceive the bloodlust in this manner as no one else I knew had ever described it as thus. Perhaps it was merely because I did not experience the lust very often…maybe it only seemed like another me because I consciously make a distinction and separating myself into two frames of mind.
Through a scarlet haze I ripped the cloak away, leapt to my feet and whirled around; lashing out at the human heartbeat I could hear pounding beside me. Catching Ridwan solidly in the side of the head he was knocked into a stack of crates which splintered, broke and sent others tumbling down on top of him. I was still infused with the dark desire to tear him limb from limb… hearing the pulse of his heartbeat reverberating within my skull and tasting his blood in my mouth when I breathed in the air around me. But as I crossed to where he lay the fog surrounding me cleared and what I like to consider as my normal self surfaced again…just as if I had been watching rather than performing the acts. The lust had subsided because Ridwan had ceased to interest my predatory side; I had grown accustomed to the scent of his blood by now, his breathing and heartbeat were steady and he was no longer moving…he was out cold. Shifting the wood aside Ridwan's comatose body was revealed with blood still smearing his face, but he wasn't dead and unless I killed him now, or I had given him brain damage, he would be able to wake in a few hours or so with a terrible headache and bruised body but a full life ahead of him. He was only defending himself…but I couldn't just leave him as he was risk to me.
But as I reached to take his head in my hands I heard boots thumping steadily closer in the rhythm of a panicked run.
"What the hell is going on here?" demanded a voice I could recognise as belonging to the man that had thrown the pebble at Ridwan back on the beach. He must have come down to see what all of the noise was about; the crashing of the crates and so forth. "Ridwan? Wha- Oh my god!"
He saw me...oh dear…here it comes…the oh so familiar cry of –
"Vampire!"
Yes, that's the one. And as could be expected his cry was responded to with yet more hurried footsteps coming my way. Sure enough, armed crewmembers were soon visible behind the pebble thrower.
"We can't let it get off the ship." One of them said coldly.
Off the ship? What, and into the sea? Off the ship indeed, what kind of notion is that to mention when a vampire is concerned? Unless of course…during my plagued sleep the good ship 'Everseeker' had made its sea crossing and Akatra was just beyond the bow that held me contained.
Either way, I could not afford to remain in this hold as it was far too small for me to stand my ground in for long. I was penned in with a fading bloodlust, restricted movement because of the broken crates and their spilt cargo…not to mention the limp form of Ridwan. So as the crew began their approach I ducked back into the space I had slept in to retrieve my belongings before charging forwards heedless of the weapons I could see them wielding. Slowing only to snatch up Ridwan's fallen sabre I ploughed headlong straight into the throng of crowded men, determined to push my way through and sprint for an exit before they could reduce me to ribbons. It was harder than I had anticipated; whether it be that they were heroically trying to protect their beloved land or had been galvanised by the sight of what they assumed to be the corpse of their friend (even though he was quite clearly breathing, I'll thank you to notice) they were not going to let me go.
With greater strength than they, I managed to force through the crush of bodies, lashing out when need be to provide a second's worth of space. They were after me the very instant that I had evaded them but as can be expected it was fairly simple for one such as I to outrun them and jump through the various hatches that they would have to pause to climb the stairs or ladders for. I encountered even more infuriated (and infuriating) men as I worked my way through the wooden maze and it didn't help that those giving chase were screaming things along the lines of 'stop him!' and 'the bastard got Ridwan!' at the top of their lungs as well as the ever faithful roar of 'vampire!' (You'd think they would have come up with something a tad more imaginative by now…)
It wasn't too long before I reached the deck, praying for all I was worth to the dear goddess of luck that it was night time, and was instantly stunned still by the view of the land…this island country…that was Akatra. If Nosgoth's poison had spread past the sea to this place then it did not show. Though all I could see was the port, which appeared to me to be another generic bustling port not so much different from any other I had seen pictures of around Nosgoth, it was obvious that Akatra did not suffer so. Even on this ship I could feel the vitality of this place, I had not realised that I sensed the pain and rot of my home, my former home, in my heart but this new place was devoid of all that suffering and sadness. In Nosgoth I had always felt the land dying all around me but because I had never known any different it had not registered in my mind, I had never had anything to compare it to, I had thought that it was normal…but now I knew so much better. This place lived and all of a sudden I felt unworthy of being here, as if I would spread the disease of Kain's unjustly glorified empire should I set so much as a single foot on its pristine soil.
But the cries of the men that were quickly gaining on me soon brought me out of my reverie and self preservation won out. The gangplank was not yet down but that wasn't going to stop me as it was the work of but a brief moment and hardly any effort at all to leap to the jetty below with an unfortunately undignified landing before running again, head down and belongings clutched tightly to my chest, as fast as my two feet would take me. Recognising none of my surroundings I charged on heedless of any people I knocked over and by the yelps that arose it seemed that there were many who suffered by my haste.
Hurrying over the wood boarded dock I passed into what seemed to be a town of sorts, an alley of which provided a place to hide from my pursuers and gather both my thoughts and energy. Allowing my items to drop I leaned against one wall and contemplated what my next move was going to be. There was no way that I would be going back whether I wanted to or not, an alert would be out about me now, I was in unfamiliar territory and surrounded by possible thousands of potential enemies. I was alone; very very alone. The only vampire in this land, if rumours spoke true, and I was young in my years…the prospect of spending the rest of my existence like this, on the run, in this unknown place suddenly descended on me.
I had worried about it somewhat beforehand and during my recent travels but the full weight of it had not sunk in then…oh, but it had now. I'd never lived alone and there were things about this new life which master Raziel had so graciously given to me that I was still yet to learn. If I lived long enough how would I deal with an evolution? And even after all of the master's counselling (and outright bullying) I still found it immensely difficult to bite people. I had no shelter, no food and no idea as to when the sun would be rising…or where I was even going now that I had come this far. This was a very bad night to be me.
Well, of all my problems, sustenance should not be too difficult to find but a suitable shelter was another matter entirely. I had better start looking right away, so I gathered up my things, donning my cloak with the bag slung over on shoulder, boots in my left hand and sword in my right. It didn't take much in the way of thought to surmise that it was best to stay hidden until the panic my arrival had caused had subsided but there was no way I could stay put when I was in desperate need of a place to protect me from the coming dawn…and so it was that I was forced to make my way into the great unknown.
Well, at least the change in scenery would be nice.
Keeping away from the main roads and away from people altogether would be my best bet as the fewer people that knew exactly where I was or where I had been then the harder it would be for anyone to locate and disembowel me…which I didn't fancy even if I could survive it. My wanderings took me deep into this port town which smelled predominantly of fish, seawater and humanity, and even though it was night there were many people out of there homes and the streets were brightly lit with gas and candle lamps as well as what appeared to be the odd few decorative paper lanterns. Nothing like what I was used to at all…as far as my life experiences had taught me, the only humans that should be out once the sun had set were suicidal or stupid. The homes here seemed far better constructed than the crude and dilapidated domiciles of Nosgoth, mainly wood, and the place seemed to have a very open and light feel even though it was crowded.
It was high time that I stopped contemplating and stewing over the same thoughts and actually do something before I was found. So I took myself as far away from the sea as I could get, as fast as I could go. The neat buildings began to peter out and bit by bit the town faded away into track roads indented with hoof and cartwheel trails that cut their way through what was rapidly becoming thick forest land.
Forest…
Even in the dark it was all so…green. So alive, so different from the scrub that was almost all that could survive in Nosgoth's decay. Akatra was Nosgoth's polar opposite in so many ways and the plant life was only one of them; in one place you could be driven to depression induced suicide while the other could smother you with the abundance and vividness of its life. It was only now I'd seen this place that I truly realised just what a cess pit the land I had been born into had become. I know it used to be like this, once-upon-a-time, but no one I knew nor could I myself ever recall such a thing. It must have been a long, long time ago.
While my thoughts spiralled around the same subjects over and over again I ventured away from the track in order to keep distance from anyone else who may be using it and thus see me…but in doing so I was running the risk of becoming dangerously lost. Although the stars were visible to me I knew not how to navigate by them, every tree looked the same to me and to top it all off my sense of direction was unbelievably poor to begin with. For my first year as a vampire I frequently became lost when merely trying to locate the latrine and often I would find Calisra or master Raziel waiting outside for me to be done so that they could show me the way back again. It was often embarrassing to say the least but I soon learned the way and no longer needed a chaperone.
In the dark I could see further than a human so I made a compromise and stalked off into the deeper edge of the forest; far enough away to be obscured from mortal sight but close enough for my heightened senses to make out the path and thus allow me to walk roughly parallel to the track. I did, however, encounter two setbacks. One was that my feet were being badly cut and bruised as I was not used to walking around barefoot. Though as a human (both man and child) I was predominantly without footwear, I never really had the opportunity to walk outside for any amount of time that would warrant my soles toughening enough to withstand trekking through open ground.
The second, and more important, problem was that the trees were now rapidly disappearing and soon enough I found myself traversing a scene devoid of almost all plant life, looking for all the world as if it had been burned away and the flora and fauna were only just beginning to venture back into it.
The scene seemed empty however, so I decided it safe enough to cross the expanse that lay before me…not that I really had much of a choice of staying where I was; it was onwards or nothing. As I continued I could make out in the distance where the singed landscape became lush farmland which in turn was met by what I assumed to be a village of sorts.
Time was against me and I had to hope that I would find what I so desperately needed in that village…
I had thought the place to be empty but as I made the crossing of the blasted landscape, feet beginning to feel distinctly raw now, a new and highly undesirable sensation began to creep through me to displace the almost light headed contentment that Akatra had previously been pouring into me. This new sensation was one of unease, as if I had suddenly been confronted by a creature with malicious intentions…like something was very wrong and harmfully so. Perhaps this place was not as perfect as I had originally thought, perhaps there was something here taking vampires places in terrorising the mortal inhabitants.
As if in response to this, my suspicion seemed to be confirmed when I stumbled upon the corpse of a human male lying face down on the scorched and healing ground. By the smell and look of things he had been dead for days. Turning him over to get a better idea of what fate had befallen him, his decaying face displayed an expression of such terrified anguish that I promptly and unconsciously opened up all of my senses to search out threats and gave a glance to every available direction at lease half a dozen times. The dead man, I assumed, had originally been shaven headed but the rotting skin had shrunk back to reveal the tips of the cut hairs (it is a common misconception that hair grows after death…un-death; yes, but true death; no), he wore a robe of sorts and clutched a long string of beads in one hand. Near his side was a slim wooden staff…purpose unknown. He looked like some kind of religious authority. I could see no obvious wounds on him, nor any blood, and he did not appear to me to be of an age that would warrant such an abrupt and seemingly painful demise. Apart from being dead and decaying he looked to be in good physical condition…it was as though he had literally been frightened to death, if his face was anything to go by. I suppose it isn't completely impossible for a normal, young man to have a coronary if the shock was bad enough. But what could have frightened him so?
What the hell was going on here?
Though I'm sure someone would object, I took a sash from the robe of the man in order to tie my boots to my satchel and thus free both hands for defence if need be (as I didn't want to tangle the bootlaces and end up tearing them trying to get them off again). Glancing around again I dared to move on, both wanting and not wanting to know what had happened.
But the closer I got to the village, the more corpses I found and by the time I had reached the farmland I had seen six more bodies, all with the same petrified expressions and unblemished bodies. They were men, women and children, dressed in more normal attire compared to the first cadaver that I had found…and I could smell other deceased that I could not yet see…just what was going on!
All I could do was move one, and move on I did.
After the artificial daytime of the port town, the village I finally reached was more familiar to me in the sense that it mimicked the human settlements of Nosgoth in its ghost-town like feel. Everything was shut up tight without even a candle's glimmer and the silence told me more than a sound ever would; people were afraid and were locking themselves away until the sun banished their fears.
Now was the perfect time to look for a place and it was not too long at all before I came across what seemed to be an abandoned structure on the outskirts…in fact all of the outskirt's domiciles seemed to have been vacated. The people of this village, though obviously held in terror, must have been quite trusting of their fellow man at least as not a single door was locked…which made my life, briefly, that much simpler.
The place which I entered in which to shelter was only one floor, with thin walls and the strangest doors that I have ever laid eyes upon; they slid open rather than swinging…I mean, I've seen some of the huge heavy stone doors in Nosgoth that slid within the walls to open and seal areas…but never anything as simple as this. Inside, it was obvious that whoever usually resided here and owned this place had left in a hurry; the place wasn't really missing anything. A search concluded that only the essentials had been taken when they left and the place still had the 'lived in' look and feel. But it was still all strange and foreign to me. All of the furniture was uncomfortably low…and chairs appeared to be in short supply. Even the beds were low, seemingly lacking everything except the mattress…but it was a tidy and comfortable looking mattress nonetheless. Of what I had seen of its people, none were dwarves and so why so much was near ground level completely escaped me. But it mattered not for I was here for one reason only; to remain and rest until the sun had passed and I had another full night to explore. After a search I found a blanket and made sure all the windows were blocked, shrugged of my bag and cloak, removed and set aside my boots and curled up into a corner to sleep
-o-
It was faint at first; the smallest of sounds at the limits of my hearing which were gone as quickly as they came but were enough to rouse me from my much needed rest. Every time I neared the point of returning to sleep the sound would seem to intensify as if purely to spite me and it wasn't even a noise which I could pinpoint or even fully make out…just white noise that would come and go, rise and fall and keep me from slipping completely. But then…after, perhaps, a couple of hours it all finally came to a head.
The noise had subsided for a while but once more, just as I found myself nodding off, it all came together again and this time stronger than ever with all my senses focused on that which now confronted me…
Flames!
The thick pouring stench of the smoke was all but choking me and it was a small blessing that I had no real need of oxygen to live…but even so I could not help but cough violently, almost to the point which I would fear my insides becoming outsides through the strain.
The house must be on fire! Or at least that was my first thought…but then…no…not the house…the smoke was coming from the fire which blazed over…over…
My god…
Animals! The room was filled with animals and birds, each and every one crammed into the space and wrapped in flames that devoured their forms and caused them to shriek endlessly in pain. Fur and feathers were already gone, already burnt away, leaving me able to watch skin and muscle disintegrate into ashes and shrink away from blackened bones. They came closer, howling for all they were worth, voices echoing all around me while I was smothered in the stench of charred flesh.
Still hacking my guts up I tried to pull away from the unbearable heat…not that I had anywhere to go of course; the only exits were and truly blocked and it did not help that my back was already flush to the wall.
Two fire engulfed wolves at the head to the horde began baying and growling, hunching up as if to leap at me with tremors of tension running over what remained of their haunches. I had to get away but there was no way out no matter where I looked. Maybe I could just run for it, right through the middle, and pray for the best? Ridiculous…beyond those that I could see in this one room I could make out yet more fire in the hall and beyond; I'd never make it out in one piece. I tried rising to my feet and completely flattening myself to the wall in a vain attempt to keep just that little bit further away from the heat which was already at an unbearable level and miles to close for comfort. Already my body was reacting to it with a human response, causing my clothes and hair to stick to my skin with sweat…they were so close…I could feel the tongues of flame brushing, scorching hot, against me and there was no way to protect myself. Covering my eyes with my arms I could only prepare for the worst.
"I should never have left Nosgoth…" my last pathetic wail as the wolves leapt for my throat.
But as the last syllable escaped my throat the oppressive heat was gone and after lowering my arms to risk a glance I saw that all of the creatures had vanished, along with their flames. There wasn't a thing in this place to prove to me that they had been nothing more than another nightmare, not a single lingering scent or blackened mark. Yet I was awake and my skin was cold and clammy with perspiration.
I slid back down the wall to the floor. What was going on in this place, this land? Those burning animals…were they what killed those fear contorted people outside and if so why would they leave me?
But even after that there was no way I could leave this house into which I had stolen into…it was the only place I had now…I could see the dull orange glow of a last sunrise leaking into the room under the curtain of the window…there was no way I could leave now…not even after that…
No wonder the former inhabitants had left in such a hurry…
But this was all I had…
I had no choice but to remain.
To be continued…
Author's Note – Ye gods! An Update! Can't see any apocalyptic horsemen…must be a good thing…
But seriously…six months…I can't believe it took me six months to get around to posting this...I'm so sorry.
I know I disappeared for a while. My brain turned to mush and then the site wouldn't let me upload anything and things piled up... I'll try and keep on top of everything in future. Thank you to all who reviewed and read. Special thanks to Anoobish and Sissy Samurai for recently reminding and encouraging me to get this done and as always to BiOhAzArD for the inspiration to start this in the first place and also for supplying both 'Akatra' and the chapter title (which was once going to be the title for the whole thing but was ultimately changed to 'Flight…' because I wanted to keep Akatra secret for a little while).
