Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin
Chapter 17
there's always plan c
/ooooooo\
Location: The Great Forest, along the border of Talabecland and Reikland
Day 55
After Maria Shepard confessed who she truly was and where she was originally from to a man who had just used his mind to turn exactly twenty-three thousand, four hundred and two beastmen to solid gold and closed a black hole floating above their heads, Supreme Patriarch Balthasar Gelt directed his Reiksguard to escort Maria back to the army's camp and told her to wait patiently until his return.
She was currently busy pacing the length of the tent she had been left in. Still covered in blood. Still trying to wrap her mind around the last twenty-four hours.
Shipwrecked on Albion, check. Met a vampire, check. The vampire was named Markos von Carstein, a survivor of the von Carstein bloodline. He had wanted to take her to the Count she had escaped back in Blood Keep. Good for him, bad for her.
Then there was fighting, involving giants of all things. Some more near-death situations, a trip through a terrifying magic doorway, and then Maria found herself in the middle of a full-on war between a Reikland army and a Beastmen war herd.
Where was Albion again? Over a thousand miles away with night somehow turning to day. How was that possible? Because she jumped through some fizzy air.
Maria reached the end of the tent, spun on her heel, and continued pacing; only at the midpoint of the events so far.
She had killed a few beastmen, including another minotaur, and that's when a Reiksguard came over, lent her a hand, and asked her to fight with him. He died shortly after.
That's where things got weird in a very unsettling way. Maria stopped pacing and ran a hand through her hair, only to stop and pull the same hand back down so she could stare at her palm.
She had torn a beastman to bloody pieces with this hand. Its blood was still on her. The image of that moment played back in her mind. A dull ache throbbed in her head and chest.
Her attention was brought back to the tent when the front canvas was pulled aside and in walked the Supreme Patriarch. Still covered head to toe in gold and red and still wearing his golden mask.
Right behind him entered another man. He stood only slightly taller than Maria and Gelt, but she felt the unconscious urge to back away and give him whatever space he needed. The man was wearing the same gilded suit of armor reserved for the Reiksguard, the same few Reiksguard soldiers who entered the tent behind him, yet on this man it looked unquestionably magnificent. A vest made of animal fur hung over his shoulders and was attached with thick gold chains across his chest.
His face was stern and tough, but Maria guessed the man was reaching the point considered old age. He had thick grey hair combed back on top his head and an impressively large white mustache that was combed and curled up at the ends. He stood straight with broad shoulders and his eyes were severe. They were hawk-like, sweeping over her, and Maria immediately knew that he was categorizing what he saw in the terms of a soldier. He saw a woman in armor, a sword at her hip along with two other weapons, and she was covered in blood.
The five escorting Reiksguard stood back along the edges of the tent as Gelt and the man approached her, both appearing unhurried and extremely confident. This was their space. They had just won an important battle. And they were ready for more if Maria caused any problems.
If they thought this would unnerve her… well, they were right.
"Maria Shepard," Gelt held his long gold staff in hand, so he used the other to gesture to the man beside him. The wizard's voice still had that odd metallic quality about it, "may I introduce Kurt Helborg, Reiksmarshal of the Empire and the commander of the army."
Maria's eyes widened at the name and title as Kurt Helborg, Reiksmarshal of the Empire and commander of the army, just crossed thick arms over his chest and nodded to her.
This was the guy in charge of the Reiksguard Knights. The Emperor's most trusted general, and the greatest swordsman in the old world. Icing on the cake, that wasn't an ordinary sword anchored to his hip. No, no, the best general deserved the best weapon. He carried the Solland Runefang. Since the province was destroyed hundreds of years before, there was no true leader to wield it, so the Emperor gave it to his best man.
This was starting to be a little too much. "Nice to meet you," Maria replied. But then she smiled nervously as she looked back at Gelt. "If you tell me the Emperor himself was flying one of those griffons I saw and is also moments away from coming into this tent, I'm going to need a few minutes to mentally prepare."
"The Emperor isn't here," Kurt Helborg said. His voice was hard and his words strong, they filled the tent without him even raising his voice. "He is safe, far from these lands."
That sobered Maria up quickly as she met the man's stare. Message received loud and clear mister general sir. I'm not getting anywhere near the Emperor until you decide what to do with me.
"He is still back in Altdorf," Gelt added indifferently. Which earned him a quick glare from the Reiksmarshal. The Supreme Patriarch didn't even acknowledge his comrade's rebuke, adding, "We felt a dark force growing in the great forest. The Emperor commanded the Reiksmarshal and I to investigate. Neither of us realized the true extent of the threat until we reached this glade and encountered the six spikes of black stone."
He took a few more steps into the tent, his mask focused on the ground. "We were losing the fight until you showed up." His mask then faced her. "Your arrival changed many things. Not all of them for the better."
The Reiksmarshal took a single step forward as his arms moved to rest on his belt. "This is your one chance. Tell us who you are. Tell us where you are from. Explain yourself and do so honestly. Your words will be judged fairly, on that you have my word."
Coming from the Reiksmarshal that held a significant weight. But Maria wasn't stupid.
"A lot of what I'm going to say you won't like," Maria replied, carefully watching the man.
His face remained stone. "Speak of them anyways."
Alrighty, then. Don't say I didn't warn you. Maria took a deep breath. And then she started to tell her tale. She began at the very beginning. Who she was, where she was from, and her role in the larger galaxy.
Just in the broadest strokes though. She omitted the parts about the Reapers, and her dying. Some subjects were just too delicate to broach.
This included the creepy voices in her head. The obvious reasons were obvious.
And then she proceeded to tell them absolutely everything that had happened to her over the last fifty-three days. She told them about Bretonnia. She told them about the vampires. She told them about all her dealings in Nuln and how she eventually left the city.
Marienburg and her battle with the black dragon came and went, and then she was telling them about her ride through Middenland and Nordland. She told them about the wolves and vargheists, how she got a wolfship to take her to Ulthuan, and how that ship instead beached itself on Albion.
The final part of her story covered her leap through the magic doorway and how she found herself surrounded by the stone pillars and an army of angry beastmen. She told them about the Reiksguard who died offering her his hand, and how she reacted.
Her tale ended, and Maria stood in the tent suddenly exhausted. It had taken long enough to tell the story. Her head was pounding, and her chest felt tight. There was a small table with a few chairs behind her, and she desperately wanted to sit down, but she'd be damned if she showed any weakness now.
Maria had just rolled the dice, showed all her cards, and bet everything she had. If this went south now… she honestly didn't know what else to do.
"You're right," Gelt was the first one to speak, "I didn't like most of that."
Helborg had yet to react to her story, continuing to keep up his hard stare.
The front tent flap was pulled back and another person came walking in. He had a thick grey-brown mustache and beard, he was wearing the Reiksguard armor and had red cape clipped to his shoulders that reached the ground, and he immediately stopped in place with a gaping mouth when he saw Maria.
"You!" he growled while leveling an accusing finger at her. Both Gelt and Helborg turned to face the new arrival.
Maria cringed as she recognized his face. Oh boy, here we go. Maybe he'll be forgiving?
General Christof von Forsberg walked up to stand in front of her. "You – You! Do you have any idea how much flak I received from those arrogant, blasted, pointy-eared, high and mighty elves when you vanished from my camp!"
Well that answered that. She also noticed a bright wizard follow him into the tent, and just her luck, it was the same bright wizard from Marienburg as well.
"Who do you think you are woman?!" General von Forsberg continued, his face reddening nicely. "Escaping from my camp! Dressing yourself up in our armor! Stealing one of my horses! You must have some nerve girl; most understand the danger they're in when they've been apprehended by the Reiksguard. I should have you flogged!"
"You left me alone in a tent, handcuffed to a cot," Maria replied. "I only just survived a dragon! I wasn't about to let people I didn't know imprison me for whatever reasons they decided to come up with!"
Would this guy just let it go? It was a harmless crime, and if anything, he owed her for the dragon! All this noise was making her head hurt more.
She took a step toward him, her own frustrations bubbling up. "And when I was stuck in that tent with you and everybody else, you said you were going to take me back to Altdorf under guard! At that point getting away was all that mattered to me!"
"Stuck in the tent…?" General Christof blinked in confusion, but then he figured it out. "You were the knight with the bloody bandage wrapped around your neck?! Of all the brazen acts –"
"General," Helborg cut in loudly.
Maria drowned the Reiksmarshal out. "I even took the time to make sure the horse was going to be taken back to Altdorf! I liked that horse! I named him George! And we fought beastmen and undead wolves together!"
He scoffed. "You what?! First you rob an Imperial camp and now you think making up tales will save your scrawny neck! I will –"
"General!" Helborg snapped again, and louder this time.
General von Forsberg's looked over his shoulder to the Reiksmarshal, and he quickly straightened up taking a few steps back form Maria.
The general's beard and mustache twisted with a snarl. "Reiksmarshal, I recommend we clap the woman in irons and begin interrogating her at once. She has secrets about her we need to discover."
The tent was quiet except for an odd sound coming from the Balthasar Gelt's direction. Maria glanced over to see his mask looking down at the tent floor and his shoulders lightly bouncing. Was he trying not to laugh?
"General," Helborg began slowly, "the Supreme Patriarch and I just finished questioning this woman. Her name is Maria Shepard and she has told us everything that has happened to her, including the events in Marienburg."
"She did?" The general looked around the tent, seemingly acknowledging everyone else's presence for the first time. He cleared his throat loudly. "Well, as long as you believe she can be trusted Reiksmarshal. It is of my opinion she should be watched closely."
The scarred bright wizard still standing at the front of the tent chuckled. "So that's a no to leaving her alone in another tent then Christof?"
General von Forsberg looked over and pointed angrily at the man. "You… shut up."
"You have a report for me General?" Helborg asked, clearly keen on getting things moving again. He was quickly coming off to Maria as a no-nonsense kind of person.
General von Forsberg sent one last growl toward the bright wizard before saying, "Yes sir. Captains are reporting their casualties. Its not looking good. Every regiment is hurting, and we estimate losses of six thousand. They ambushed us good. This will be remembered more as a slaughter than a battle.
"My griffons' got a broken wing. One of those giants managed to get a hand around him. Reaver will be walking back to Altdorf with the caravans. General Arkwright and Bloodbeak made it through alright. He'll have to be the one scouting out our route in case of more trouble."
He glanced over his shoulder at Gelt. "Whatever that thing was, hanging above those stones, it drove those beasts mad. If you hadn't acted when you did, Supreme Patriarch, I don't think any of us would be around to celebrate."
"And what of the stones?" Helborg asked next.
Maria nearly groaned at the mention of them. Blasted stones. They should just leave them be and get as far away from them as possible.
"Artillery is being positioned as we speak," General von Forsberg said. "We'll be ready to fire in no time and let the wizards deal with the remains."
Wait, they were going to do what? They can't be thinking of destroying the stones?! Can they even do that?
The pressure building inside Maria's head was immense. She brought her hands to her forehead and tried rubbing out the pain.
The general grinned, "I look forward to seeing those things shatter to pieces."
"You can't!"
Someone in the tent shouted and suddenly Maria watched all the Reiksguard pull out their swords. General von Forsberg and Helborg both stepped back as they drew their own blades. The bright wizard's wooden staff flared out as a new fire burst from the top. He moved to the side and had the tip of the flaming staff pointed in her direction.
Maria's body flared with biotic power and she had her own sword in hand without even remembering grabbing for it. Her head throbbed.
They wanted to destroy the stone circle?! They couldn't be allowed to do that! She had to kill them now, all of them, before the order was given!
Full stop.
What… where the hell had that come from?
Maria cut her biotics as the sword fell from her limp fingers. "Oh fuck…" she looked around the tent, horrified over what she had nearly done. "I – I didn't mean that. I don't know where that came from! You said you were going to break the stones…"
A hand went to her head and grabbed a fistful of hair. "Those stones helped me with the hole in the sky! I don't… you can't just break them! They're wrong – and I know they're dark, but… I don't…"
Maria screwed her eyes tightly shut and the image of the most terrifying face she had ever seen flashed before her.
"No!" she shouted, as she flailed backward and launched a powerful biotic blast straight at all the men standing in front of her.
Before the wave of energy could strike anyone, the Supreme Patriarch stepped in front of the biotic power. A shield of golden light repelled the attack she had just launched, and the blowback knocked her down to the ground.
Maria pushed herself up on her elbows only to find the world's most powerful human wizard standing at her feet staring down at her with that unreadable mask.
Damnitall! Son of a bitch, what the hell had she just done!? He was going to kill her. Turn her to solid gold like the thousands of beastmen outside. This was it. The end. All because Maria was seeing ghosts, and her head felt like it was going to fucking explode!
"Everyone leave." Gelt turned his back to Maria so he faced the others. "I need some time alone with her."
Helborg's stance lessened only a fraction. "I'll have some men posted outside."
Gelt nodded, and only then did the Reiksmarshal lower his sword. At a sharp command he, the general, bright wizard and the guards all left the tent, with Gelt ushering them out. When the last person left the wizard pulled the tent flap closed behind them, and then turned back to face Maria.
She was still on the ground.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly as he walked back toward her. "I didn't… I don't know what's going on."
"Relax," he said, walking past her to the small table behind. "Deep breaths. Get your heart back in sync first. The mind will follow." She watched him grab a chair and pull it out, then grab a second and set it in front of the first.
"I don't even know what that means!" Maria shot back angrily. He head was beginning to throb again.
"You'll have to learn quickly then." He gestured to one of the chairs. "Sit down."
Maria got back to her feet and sat down in the chair. Sitting on purpose felt a lot better than sitting because she had been knocked down on her ass. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to get herself back under control.
Gelt reached into one of the small leather bags on his belt and pulled out a tiny glass vial. "Drink this," he said handing it over to her.
Maria didn't even hesitate. What did she have to lose at this point anyways? She pulled out the small cork and downed the blue liquid. There was barely enough for a single swallow, but it left a cooling sensation on her tongue and down her throat.
She handed the vial back to him. "What was it?" The dull ache in her head began to lessen. Not disappear, but it was enough for her.
"A potion of my own creation," he explained, taking a seat in the other chair, so he now faced Maria with only a small amount of space separating them. "I won't go into specifics, but it helps anchor the spirit."
Yeah, maybe you should go into specifics. Maria watched Gelt as he took his staff and set it standing up in the air, away from the chair, and then let go.
The staff stayed standing on its own.
She rose an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?"
He shrugged, seemingly playing it off as nothing. She wished she could see his face. This whole thing was going to be entirely unfair if she couldn't.
"So," he began, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees, "you lied to us."
She met the eyes of his mask. He was pretty smart after all. "Lies of omission only."
"Why?"
"No offense, but I don't know you," Maria replied, a bit harsher than she intended. "If I asked you to tell me your life story, right now, would you share every last private detail of your life?"
"I suppose not," he said with a light shake of his mask. "But my life's story won't help us now. Yours will."
Maria couldn't help but frown. "I just told you I'm from another world. An agent of a galactic spanning society, and you're concerned about the things I'm not telling you?"
Gelt's head tilted a little to the side. "You said you spent most of your time in Nuln reading books. Tell me, if you read a book, and the book was missing several chapters, would you still be satisfied with it?"
Maria groaned as she leaned back in her chair and ran a hand through her hair. "I can already tell I'm not going to like you."
To her surprise he laughed lightly. "That's a shame then, because I already know you are the most interesting thing that's ever going to happen to me." He stretched out a hand. "May I see one of your weapons?"
He waited patiently as Maria slowly took her phalanx from her belt and set it in his palm. She watched as Gelt ran a hand softly over the compacted weapon, then he worked the mechanism to expand the gun and easily popped out the thermal clip.
He examined both carefully and then pushed the clip back into the pistol. He raised the phalanx over the side of the chair and looked down the sights. "How does it work?"
"The piece you popped out is called a thermal clip," Maria explained. "The pistol generates a lot of heat when it fires. The clip safely absorbs that heat. The ammo is actually a solid brick of metal within the pistol's casing. Small beams of light shave bits of metal from the main block, no bigger than a grain of sand. The pistol fires those grains at an incredible velocity. Anything on the other end that isn't properly armored or shielded is going to regret it."
"Remarkable," he said softly while thumbing the targeting laser on and then off again. He compacted the pistol and handed it back to Maria. "And every species throughout the galaxy has weapons as advanced as this?"
She shrugged. "More or less. There are slight variations between the races. Everyone thinks they can build a better gun than the person before them."
He chuckled. "The Imperial engineers back in Altdorf would agree on that. Nothing's ever perfect, everything can be improved.
"How's your head?"
Maria blinked. She had almost managed to forget about it. "Better. Thank you."
Gelt's shoulders dipped as he leaned forward in his chair once again. "Don't thank me yet," he said, and his voice took on a heavier tone, "because now we need to talk about what's going on inside that head of yours. Before coming through that portal, you were on Albion?"
"Yes. At least, that's where the vampire told me I was. It made sense bearing in mind where our ship was sailing, and I don't see any reason why he'd lie about such a thing."
"Then remember that von Carsteins do lie," Gelt stressed back. "It's in their nature, and part of what makes them dangerous. Never trust anything any vampire tells you, unless you already know it to be true."
He waved the conversation on. "Let's assume that he was telling the truth. You were on Albion, it was night, then you jumped through the opposite side of a portal that had beastmen running out the other."
Inwardly Maria winced. When he put it like that, she sounded mad… wait, never mind. Reapers, collectors, dying and coming back. Honestly, what used to be crazy was just standard fair now.
"Do you remember anything from the trip through the portal?" he asked.
Maria felt the sweat forming on her brow. "No."
Gelt's mask just stared back at her.
"Fine, alright! I just…" She swallowed and felt a chill run down her neck. "I don't want to remember." She put her head in her hands. "I've seen things, okay? Before I get stuck on this planet. I'm a soldier. I've fought on countless worlds. I'm fighting things the rest of the galaxy doesn't even want to admit are real and its costing me everything I am!"
Maria wiped her hands over her face and met Gelt's mask. "I don't want to remember what I saw because even the vague idea of it is terrifying enough for me."
Gelt nodded as she heard him take a deep breath behind his mask.
"Would it help to know that I've seen exactly what you saw, and that I've witnessed it on more than one occasion already?"
Maria stared at him. "How?"
"I'm the Supreme Patriarch," he replied, as though that explained everything at once. "After you came through the portal, you met one of the Reiksguard knights. He died, didn't he."
"Yeah," Maria said, remembering.
Gelt continued. "And after his death, that's when I felt a significant change in the winds of magic. That change was you grabbing all the power you could without a thought to the consequences."
"They needed to die!" Maria shouted, suddenly angry. As quick as the emotion filled her, it vanished again. She was left sitting in her chair, feeling empty.
And now everything started to make sense.
She brought a hand to her head and rubbed her temple. "What's happening to me? And what does it have to do with the stones?"
"Technically none of this is your fault," Gelt said as he sat up in his chair. "Your magic was unnaturally, attached, I suppose is the best word. That Vampire Count you encountered in Blood Keep. He helped and crippled you at the same time.
"When you went through the portal you encountered…" he looked away for a moment, "well, its not important right now. But its influence marked you. Couple that with the dark forces within those pillars, and we have a recipe for disaster. A trained battle wizard would know how to protect themselves."
"But I've never had the training," Maria finished for him, and he nodded. She took a deep breath and blew it out loudly. "Alright, what do we need to do to fix me?"
His mask looked at her for a long moment. "Well firstly, you let the stones outside be destroyed."
Maria felt another sudden flare of anger, but this time she knew it was coming. She closed her eyes and methodically smothered the emotion back down. She didn't have time for this crap. Her own anger over her stupid situation being stuck on this world was already enough to deal with. If anything wanted a fight for her mind, she'd crush it under heel and leave it in the dirt.
"Done," she replied, opening her eyes. "Screw the stones. What's next?"
His head tilted. "Is it really that easy for you?"
"This isn't the first time I've had something try to mess with my mind."
"More things you're not telling me?"
Maria didn't respond, so he continued. "Very well. Among the first things a prospective mage is taught within the college's is that magic doesn't come from our realm. It comes from the realm of chaos, and flows through our world, much like the wind. Hence, the winds of magic.
"We pull on the winds and that grants us our powers. The more we grasp, the stronger we become, the more powerful spells we can unleash. I think I've demonstrated this enough for you when I turned the beastmen to gold.
"But there are limits. As we take from the winds, we reveal ourselves to the other side. Think of a candle in the night. Put the candle in the center of a forest and you may never see it even in the dark. But, as we gather the winds, that candle grows. Soon the candle becomes a lantern. The lantern becomes a campfire. The campfire grows to ignite the trees around. The more power, the greater the flame.
"The greater the flame, the more eyes you draw to yourself from the other side. When you took from the stones, your candle became and inferno. You were noticed by the one who feeds the stones. Without you immediately realizing it, that something decided to send some of itself into you."
Maria swallowed. "How much trouble am I in?"
"Right now? None. I can banish whatever decides to manifest." And at that Maria breathed out a sigh of relief. But Gelt added, "However, you revealed yourself to the other side. When you took from the stones and when you leapt through the portal without properly shielding yourself."
He stopped and stared at her for a moment. "I'm beginning to understand why your connection to the winds has felt strange all this time. When you first arrived on our world, you said you fell through flames and just landed in Bretonnia.
"Your magic wasn't earned… it was, gifted, or maybe grafted, to you. I can see that now. It's been fused to your very being. No wonder you were able to call on the winds so easily."
"You're not making me feel any better here," Maria said nervously.
"Good. A bit of fear will keep you from pulling on the winds so egregiously next time." He stood up from his seat and put the chair back with the table and motioned for her to do the same. She did as he directed and the two of them now stood facing one another.
Maria watched as Gelt's body took on a light golden glow. He raised one of his gloved hands and placed it only inches from her chest, right between her breasts.
"Um, what are you doing?"
His hand glowed brighter. "Relax. This will only take a moment."
Maria raised an eyebrow. "You know, that's exactly what the vampire told me right before he did something magical too."
A pulse of golden light stretched from his hand to wash over Maria's body. Just like when his magic passed over her before, she felt all the aches and pains vanish. Her head became clear and she felt like a weight was physically lifted from her. She honestly hadn't felt this good in years. It was amazing. And this time, the effect persisted even as the glow dimmed away.
"Wow…" she breathed. "If you ever found a way to bottle that stuff, you'd make a fortune."
"I've removed the corrupting influences from your heart and mind," Gelt explained, "and cut you off from the dark magic within the black stones. Don't purposefully pull the magic from them again and you should remain free from their desires.
"And yet there's something…" His hand slowly moved up across her chest to her neck and then her face, still never touching her, as his glove passed over and rested next to her cheek.
"Do you know what magical order I belong to?" he asked her suddenly.
Maria thought back on what she'd read. "The Gold Order, right? I don't remember the name of the wind."
"The winds of Chamon, the lore of metal. Much of our magic is alchemical in nature, but we are also accomplished in transmutation, as well as spells of forging and runic inscriptions. I can conjure molten lead, living metals, strengthen them past diamond or weaken them to rust, and melt steel with just a word."
The very tips of his gloved fingers touched her skin, and Maria felt a slight tingle of electricity. "If its metal, I can sense it and read its molecular make up with the barest of thought and applied energy."
Oh crap. It hit Maria like a ton of bricks, and she quickly stepped back so his fingers no longer touched her skin. His glove tightened to a fist and he slowly lowered his arm.
"Another lie of omission?" and she swore she heard the smirk in his voice.
Maria grit her teeth. "A part of my life I'd like to remain private."
"You'll have to tell me the story."
Maria kept her mouth shut.
Gelt grabbed his golden staff. "It's a long way back to Altdorf. We'll have time on the road to talk. You're going to have to answer some of our questions truthfully."
Maria could already see where this was going. "Assuming I haven't already screwed everything up, how am I going to be traveling back to Altdorf with the rest of you?"
Gelt turned to face her. "I don't know… what was your official title again?"
"I'm an agent of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel Council. We're called Spectres, and I'm the first human to ever hold the position."
He raised a hand toward Maria. "Balthasar Gelt, Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic."
Maria took his hand, and they shook. "Maria Shepard."
"Welcome to the Empire, Maria Shepard, Spectre of the Citadel Council and Ambassador of the wider galaxy."
Maria looked at him skeptically as they released hands. "It can't be that easy. What about the Reiksmarshal, Kurt Helborg, and General von Forsberg?"
Gelt chuckled behind his mask. "The Reiksmarshal will always distrust you but that's because you are a soldier from another people. Helborg may be stern but he follows the Emperor with a commitment that makes zealots balk. And the Emperor will see the bigger picture here, on that you have my word."
He then shrugged as he turned toward the front of the tent, Maria following behind him. "And as for General von Forsberg, all I can say is… good luck."
/ooooooo\
The rest of Maria's day went by surprisingly well.
After Gelt led her out of the tent and into the camp, they found Helborg and Maria was reintroduced to the Reiksmarshal, with the Supreme Patriarch explaining Maria's wild emotions at their first meeting.
He had been right, Helborg didn't really warm up to her much, but he did accept Gelt's reasoning and welcomed Maria to the Empire. The Reiksmarshal also warned Maria she would be watched constantly and that she shouldn't do anything stupid like throw around more of her blue magic.
Maria took what she could get. Helborg had the safety of the entire Empire on his shoulders, she understood where he was coming from. It also helped that while they were talking the Imperial artillery opened fire on the six tall black stones. Breaking them apart into smaller pieces that would eventually be purged by the battle wizards of their foul magic and then buried deep in the earth.
Helborg had been waiting to see her reaction, and Maria was just as happy to feel nothing as the stones were being pummeled to pieces.
That was where Gelt left her. He had to oversee the purging of the stones. Maria was escorted by a pair of Reiksguard through the camp to a tent that would be hers for the time being. The Reikland army would be staying in the glade for the next few days at least. Destroying the stones was a priority, but the army also had to account for their dead and dispose of the bodies.
Within her own rather spacious tent, it was big enough for her to stand in and had a cot with a large chest for belongings, Maria was finally able strip her blood encrusted armor off and clean herself up. A Reikland uniform had been provided for her. Thankfully this time, for modesty's sake, she'd have a set of underwear to wear under the uniform, provided by one of the army's few female soldiers. The bra was a little primitive for her liking, but at least it was something. The uniform was much like the others she had worn from both Middenland and Nordland, except that the shirt was white with red sleeves. The pants had been dyed as well, one leg was red, the other was white. Her boots were black and freshly shined.
The uniform was appreciated. Now that Maria had openly declared herself to the Empire, she had no reason to hide the collector armor, but the soldiers around her remained highly suspicious. Add on the fact that Maria had a pair of Reiksguard shadowing her every move and she wasn't really making the best first impression.
Once the army decided to get on the move again, she'd put her collector armor back on. There had been enough surprises in the forest for Maria to learn that lesson.
She had been allowed to keep her pistol and submachine on her person within the camp and they remained tucked inside a new bag belted at her hip, but her fancy glowing sword had been quickly confiscated. Apparently, the sword was a 'wight blade' and the magic that made it glow was old and evil. The sword was to be melted down and destroyed.
A bit of a bummer, but she had accidently threatened the Reiksmarshal with it. Letting it go without fuss was an easy way to buy more goodwill.
As the sun began to set behind the forest surrounding the camp Maria was directed to a large tent serving meals for the army. After the last twenty-four hours she had been forced to endure, this was the best news of all time. It was a marvel she hadn't already collapsed. Whatever magic Gelt had hit her with really did work wonders.
She was sitting on a cart, dunking a roll of bread into some sort of stew, when that same man approached her. How his golden jacket seemed to sparkle even in the fading light amazed her. Did he magic his jacket just to look more impressive? She should ask him.
"Did you use magic on your jacket and robes?"
He came to a stop in front of her and looked down at himself. "Yes, actually. Crafted the enchantments myself. I would be dead thrice over if I hadn't."
She took a bite of her roll. "What does it do?"
"From a distance it dazzles my foes," he explained gesturing to the sky. "Most battles I'm up on Quicksilver's back. An archer or rifleman finds it hard to take aim at either of us."
"You're carrying a sword now though," Maria noticed.
"Sometimes I'm not lucky enough to stay in the sky."
She dunked her roll again. "So why the sword now that the battle is over?"
"I'm heading back to Altdorf," he said. "Tonight. As soon as the sun sets. Quicksilver is the fastest mount in the old world. I'll be back in the capital well before the sun rises and informing the Emperor of recent events."
Maria startled. "You're leaving?" She slid off the cart. "What about the stones? You said they had to be cleansed, or whatever."
He nodded. "And they have been. The guns have shattered them, and my wizards and I have placed the charms. All that remains is to bury what's left, and I don't have to be here for that."
Gelt stepped closer to Maria. "Before I leave, I needed to ask you one last question, and its important, so please answer this one as truthfully as you can."
Maria nodded. "Okay."
He took another step closer. "The Vampire Count you met in Blood Keep… what can you tell me about him? What did he look like, what was he wearing?"
She thought back on that night. "Well… he was wearing black armor that had gold outlining the edges of each plate. And he had a purple cape that hung down to the ground. He had black hair that was straight and touched his shoulders, and he had eyes a deeper blue than my own. No one ever called him anything other than my lord or count."
"Black armor with a purple cape," Gelt contemplated softly. "Anything else you remember? Anything at all?"
Maria would hardly forget it. "Yes, he had a ring on his finger that felt like magic."
Gelt's mask was rooted on her. "A ring?" his voice sounded tight. "What did it look like? Describe it to me."
"It was gold, and bigger than your average ring would be. Its top was shaped like a dragon and in its jaws was a red gem." Maria felt an involuntary shudder remembering it. That ring had to have been magical in nature now that she thought about it. Especially after everything she'd learned since then.
Maria may not have been able to see the man's face, but she could still read his reaction well enough as he tightened his grip on the staff and stood straighter.
"Sooo, the ring means something, doesn't it?"
"There are many magical rings throughout the world," he replied stiffly. "Could mean anything…"
Maria eyebrow rose. "Now which one of us is telling lies?"
"If I choose to lie it would only be for the best reasons," he countered, and rather smugly Maria decided. "Provided all goes well on my trip I should be back with you as the army begins its march back.
"Don't leave the camp," he stressed, shooting a quick glance over his shoulder. "This part of the forest remains dangerous. And there's something lurking the woods, watching us even now. I can feel it at the edge of my senses. Whether its watching the army, or watching you, I don't know yet. And I need you to reach Altdorf in one piece."
Maria smiled. "I didn't know you cared about me so much."
Gelt scoffed. "Not you directly. That armor of yours is fascinating. And those weapons, they could hold my attention for the next few years at least. I don't want them lost because you decided on a nighttime stroll."
"Don't worry," Maria said with a laugh. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to the two Reiksguard standing just far enough back to give her the illusion of privacy. "I doubt my escorts would appreciate me running off now."
Gelt didn't laugh back. Instead he stepped right up in front of her, so they were inches apart.
"I jest no longer Maria." His voice was low, and he startled her by using her name. She met the eyes of his mask, suddenly worried. "If anything should happen during the short time I'm gone, then you must find either the Reiksmarshal or one of the army's battle wizards and stay by their side. No one else can truly keep you safe. Am I understood?"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Maria couldn't help but bristle at the implied comment that she couldn't protect herself. What were the odds that a second black hole would just appear over head and try sucking her in again?
Of course, on this planet…
"Loud and clear Balthasar."
She used his name just to see if there'd be a reaction. Disappointingly, Maria couldn't spot one as he opened some space between them. Not with that damn mask in place. Talking to the Geth, Legion, was easier in some respects. He at least had the decency of broadcasting when he was being evasive. 'No data available'. What was easier to see through than that?
The Supreme Patriarch of the Empire just stood in front of Maria, staring at her for a few moments, then simply gave her a nod, turned around, and left. No doubt off to find his famous pegasus.
Maria watched him until he disappeared through the camp and she couldn't help but shoot her own glance out toward the dark forest lying in wait at the edges of the meadow. Something lurking in the woods, hm? Good thing her tent was closer the center of the camp. Whatever was out there would have to get through half an army before it reached her.
Maria frowned at the thought. What the hell was she thinking? If anything tried to mess with the army now, Maria would be one of the first to march out there and kick its ass. That stupid wizard was just playing on her nerves. Just because he was the one who turned twenty-odd-thousand beastmen to gold and saved the day didn't mean he was any better than humanity's first Spectre.
Of course, if she was going to run headfirst into more of whatever this world decided to throw her way, Maria would much rather do that wearing her collector armor instead of a cloth uniform of Reikland.
She finished her stew and returned the empty bowl back to the cooks. Then she walked up to the two Reiksguard playing her bodyguards and waved them along as she returned to her tent.
"I'm turning in for the night," she said once they stood outside her tent. She looked at them both and gave them a wink. "You two planning on standing guard out here all night or can I convince either of you stay warm with me inside?"
She fought to hold back a laugh as they both jerked in surprise. "That won't be necessary my lady," the one on the left said. "Good night. Someone will come to wake you in the morning." Then they both marched off, and rather quickly for a pair of legendary soldiers.
Maria smiled to herself. What dirty minds these knights had. She would have been happy just spending the long night having someone to talk to. If the conversation was good, well then, who knows.
She pulled back the tent flap and stepped inside. Maria barely had a chance to straighten up when something hard and solid struck the side of her head. She collapsed to the ground with a moan, and tried to get back up to defend herself, but her last coherent thought was if Cerberus hadn't reinforced her skull so well than her assailant wouldn't have had to hit her a second time.
That's when the next blow came, and her world went dark.
/ooooooo\
Location: Unknown... annoyingly...
Day: Unknown... also annoyingly...
Maria dreamed. She dreamed she was on a horse that wasn't a horse. She dreamed she rode past trees at an astounding pace. She dreamed that she nearly woke up, but a voice told her it was better to remain asleep. For some odd reason she listened to the voice but distinctly remembered not liking it. She was tired of being asleep. Eventually she'd decide to stop listening and just wake up on her own. This wasn't even an interesting dream honestly. And she said so when the frustration finally began to boil over.
"What a strong-willed woman you are," the voice said. "Lucky for the both us it was time you did awaken."
Her ears popped and Maria blinked, suddenly very aware of her surroundings.
She was standing in a room that was dark, near black, except for the torches lining the walls. Looking around she noticed it wasn't a room, but a huge cavern. The air was cold. She was underground. The walls and ceiling were crisscrossed with thick wooden beams keeping the earth at bay. The ceiling had to be about thirty feet high, and at least fifty feet wide.
There were a few tables and chairs sparsely spaced along the wall's edge. Digging equipment among other things. The torches only helped illuminate small portions of the cavern. Maria was still wearing the Reikland uniform. The bag holding her pistol and locust was still thankfully belted at her hip. That solved one problem, but her armor was missing.
There were people in armor standing along the walls in the dark spaces between the torches. Most of their armor was black or other dark colors hard for Maria to identify in the gloom. As were their faces.
One figure was standing a few feet in front of her, but she recognized him. Anger flooded through her.
"Are you kidding me?! How the hell are you here!?"
Markos von Carstein was still wearing his jagged sharp black armor and his hand rested on the pommel of his sword. He didn't look happy either.
"It wasn't by choice, I assure you," he practically snarled back. "I told you not to pass through the barrier. If you had listened we –"
"You were a thousand miles away," Maria cut him off sharply. "How did you find me here?"
Markos's lips peeled back. "I followed you, you daft woman! Through the portal! Nearly killed me when I emerged from the other side in the light of day. I sucked four men dry before I felt strength in my bones again! It was sheer luck no one spotted me with the fighting going on. Or that my soul wasn't ripped from me on the journey through the blasted portal."
He really did look pissed, but Maria hardly cared. She was pissed enough herself.
"So you waited to kidnap me from the camp?" The events of her dreams played through her mind again, and her hands clenched to fists. "You used your magic on me, didn't you! I wasn't dreaming at all! You forced me to travel with you while I was under some spell!"
He spread his arms with a mocking smile. "I doubt you would have come with me willingly. Your company was so much more enjoyable while under my direct guidance."
The bastard! "Why am I here? And where's my armor?"
Markos frowned. "I spent too much time in that camp as it was. Once I had you, I made speed far from the clearing and away from the army's wizards. There wasn't time for me to search your tent for all your belongings."
Maria stared at him, mouth gapping, completely stunned. Her hands went to her head and tangled in her hair as she spun around and paced the dirt. Coming back to her original spot she looked up at the vampire.
"Are you telling me," she started slowly, her heart pounding in her ears, "that we left the camp and my armor is still back in that tent?"
"As I said, there wasn't time," he growled.
Maria brought her hands to her mouth and closed her eyes as her body trembled. "The tent wasn't that big. There was a cot, a chest and me, that's it Markos. That was it."
"The armor wasn't in the chest and the only thing under your cot was a blanket. I wasn't inclined to search further –"
Maria's world exploded. "My armor was wrapped in the blanket you asshole!" she screamed at him. "You were in such a hurry kidnapping me that you couldn't pull the obviously armor shaped blanket aside to find my armor!"
She paced the dirt again, hands waving in the air and tangling through her hair. They had left her collector armor behind. She did not have her armor. Her collector armor was no longer in her possession. It was not here. The armor was not nearby. It was gone.
"Of all the stupid – how could you just – why am I cursed to – you sonofabitch, motherfucking, weasel faced, blood sucking, shit for brains!" She stopped her rant and faced the vampire. "I'm marooned on this shithole of a planet, and now I don't even have my armor?! Is that what you're telling me Markos? Is that it?"
Markos's fangs had grown in his mouth as he let out an inhuman growl. "Now you listen to me girl, I won't be –"
Maria body flared with biotic power. "Screw you Markos. I'm leaving. I don't care what you had planned, I'm done playing with you guys. I'm going to return to the camp and get my armor back. If the next words out of your mouth aren't telling me which way leads out of this place, I swear I'm going to pull your fangs from your mouth and stick them in your eyes!"
If looks could kill, his would have ended her life in a heartbeat. As it was, unless he had a magic stare, Maria was still left standing in the cavern. A few figures along the wall shifted in their armor, but other than that, it was silent.
Fine. She was done. Maria turned on her heel and started walking toward the dark tunnel at the end of the cavern.
She made it no more than three steps when another person stepped out of the tunnel, directly in her path and into the torch light. He was wearing a suit of gilded black armor and had a purple cape that just touched the ground. His har was straight and jet black, hanging down to his shoulders. His face was smooth but sharp with pointed cheek bones and chin. The man's blue eyes beheld a strength and intelligence that was overwhelming.
Maria stopped midstride and even took a step back before she caught herself. She straightened up and kept her chin high as the Vampire Count she had dueled back in Blood Keep stepped into the cavern.
The Count smiled at her. "Maria Shepard," he said, casually bringing a hand to his chest and offering her a slight bow, "what a pleasure to see you again." He straightened up. "Apologies for the method of travel. You must admit it would have been difficult for Markos to simply ask the Reiksmarshal to hand you over to him."
Great. Just great. Now how the hell was she going to get out of this? Well for one thing, she'd need a clear head. Maria paused to take a deep breath and tried to get her earlier anger back under control.
"To be honest," she finally replied, "I wouldn't be as angry as I am if someone had at least grabbed my armor before kidnapping me."
The Count frowned as he strode further into the cavern. "A perfectly valid point. Frankly I'm disappointed in Markos as well. He should have at least pulled back the blanket to see what was underneath. Your frustration over the whole matter is understandable."
"Forgive me, my lord," Markos said through tight lips. "As I explained, I was alone and surrounded by a Reikland army under the direct command of the Reiksmarshal. Any less capable servant of yours would have been quickly found out and eliminated."
The Count placed his hands behind his back and took a step to the side so he was able to see past Maria. She watched him level a very stern and unsettling look at the other vampire.
"This woman's armor was among the most valuable treasures in the world and you left it in the hands of the Empire." He narrowed his eyes and it felt as if the cavern's temperature dropped a few degrees. "We needed her, and she needed her armor. This was a costly mistake."
Markos opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it. He simply offered the Count a deep bow. "Yes, my lord."
Finished reprimanding Markos, the Count strode calmly back to the center of the cavern and stood in front of Maria.
"So… Shepard. Shall we finish what we started?"
Maria's stomach felt uneasy. "What we started?"
The Count unbuckled the two swords at his hip and pulled one free from its scabbard. It wasn't the same sword she had seen him use before. This one looked just shy of four feet long and was double edged. It tapered at the point and, best of all, started to smoke with a fine white mist along the length.
He tossed the second sword and the two scabbards to one of the figures standing at the cavern's wall, then stood facing her as he unhooked the cape from his shoulders and let it fall to the dirt.
"Oh." Maria sighed as she figured it out. They were going to finish their duel she had asked for back in Blood Keep. "Can we not?"
"I'm afraid we must. Unless you are willing to surrender now and remain amongst the living."
Maria closed her eyes but this time she was doing it as she mentally counted to ten. This was her life now. Reapers weren't enough, were they. She opened her eyes to see the Count looking at her with a smug smile.
Fuck it. If she couldn't have Markos's fangs, she'd take his.
"May I have another sword?" Maria asked far more politely than was necessary. "The soldiers back at the camp took the wight blade I stole from one of your skeletons."
The Count shrugged. "Fair is fair." He waved one of the figures along the wall forward. Maria was surprised as a woman walked out of the shadows and into the light. She was wearing black armor as threatening as Markos's, but Maria could see red silk under the metal plates. The bright color matched the woman's hair, which was piled atop her head in a braided fashion that matched the style of the female vampire Maria had met in Dietershafen. Her skin was also remarkably pale.
The woman smoothly drew her own sword and held the hilt out for Maria to take. When her fingers touched the hilt, the woman tightened her grip on the metal.
"My advice," she said, her voice low and soft, as she met Maria's eyes, "put up a good fight, get your anger out, and then surrender before he puts his blade through your heart." She released the sword and stepped back to her place along the wall in the shadows.
Maria stood holding the sword as she looked around the cavern. Well that sucked. Their audience clearly thought Maria didn't have a chance. And of course, if she did manage to beat the Count, she then had to deal with Markos and the remaining vampires. While trapped who knows how far underground.
Ugh. Fine then. It was about time this planet had the pleasure of finding out how much damage a pissed off biotic could dish out in a confined space. She might not have Jack's raw power, but the anger levels had to be even by now.
The Count turned his body to face her sideways and raised his mist-shrouded sword. "I'm sure you've deduced this won't be exactly like our duel back in Blood Keep."
"Fine by me," Maria replied. And then she fired a cryo-blast from her omni-tool.
The Count used his sword to intercept it and the drone snap-froze the metal. Ice frosted across the blade. He swung the sword again and the ice broke away revealing the sword remained in one piece. Maria's shoulders dropped. Nothing was ever easy.
He charged her and Maria had to brace herself as she tried to parry the strike. The blades connected and Maria felt the strain. He wasn't holding back this time either.
Just like their bout within Blood Keep the Count proved he knew what he was doing, while Maria floundered to avoid his deadliest strikes. His sword barely missed her skin multiple times over, but it had missed her, and suddenly he pulled back and opened some space between them.
He pursed his lips. "You haven't improved since our last duel. That's a pity."
Maria didn't rise to the bait. "I haven't had to fight anyone with a sword since then. Mostly ended my fights other ways." She condensed a solid ball of biotic power in her free hand and launched it at his feet. He easily skipped to the side and avoided the blast as it impacted the ground and sent a pile of dirt through the air.
He studied her carefully. "Hmm. More of that blue power of yours. That's how you pulled the logs from the fireplace."
"Yup. How'd that feel by the way?"
"Ah, yes. Then you jumped out the side of the castle," he said with a chuckle. "Before that impressive leap, did it ever occur to you that instead of being burned alive, I would just take a step back and avoid the fire altogether?"
Ah, no, it did not. That was a bit of a disappointment.
"Don't misunderstand me, what you did was very rude. I'm just surprised you didn't think it odd that you weren't pursued all the way to Nuln."
The Count came at her again, but Maria was done playing. Her tech-armor came to life and as soon as their swords met, Maria again used her free hand to fire a warp straight into his chest. But when she raised her arm, the Count spun out of the sword lock and the warp passed harmlessly by. He swung at her head, forcing Maria to duck or suffer another haircut.
She scrambled away and quickly faced the Count. When he lunged for her Maria changed tactics and tried an overload burst. That caught him off guard, causing him to grunt and stagger a step as the electricity surged through him. As soon as he was off-balance Maria swung her sword for his head, forcing him to raise a forearm as he took the swing on his armor.
Whatever sword Maria was using must be fairly impressive because the blade bit into the armor. Not enough to strike his arm, but when Maria yanked the sword free again as she jumped back from the Count's counterattack, she noticed a significant chink in the plate.
Another warp was dodged, and he caught her blade with his own. As soon as they were locked together, he quickly punched her across the cheek, and then swiped a leg under hers, knocking her to the ground. She was forced to roll away as he drove his sword straight down where she had been a second earlier.
Maria got pack to her feet as her face throbbed. Okay, that had been close. It would have been a coin toss whether the tech-armor deflected the stab. The temptation to try and call on the winds of magic was there in the back of her mind, but so was the fear she'd bring attention to herself from the things so recently awakened on the 'other' side. For now it was safer to play this with the weapons she had.
She fired another cryo-blast at him, and when that missed and he came at her, Maria tried another warp. It caught him in the shoulder, but he still managed a swing. She caught his sword with her own and then they stood face to face. She shot a glance to his shoulder. The armor was mangled but he didn't seem to care so it must not have hurt him. His own free hand went to his belt and he suddenly had a dagger heading for her stomach. She just managed to twist away from the thrust, but he quickly reversed the grip and stabbed again. She caught his arm as the tip of the blade sparked against the tech-armor.
Now the stood locked together with their limbs twisted at uncomfortable angles. The Count smiled at Maria and she noticed the tips of his fangs.
Okay. Sword fight over.
Her body exploded with biotic power tossing the Count through the air where he then rolled across the dirt. Before he got back to his feet, she used her power again to reach out and grab him, tossing him into the air. He hit the ceiling, and she pulled him back down to the ground with all the force she could muster.
Right before the Count struck the dirt his body literally exploded apart into hundreds of bats. The bats swarmed through the cavern and surrounded Maria, flapping and screeching their high-pitched cries. She was inside a whirlwind of tiny bodies.
N7 training hadn't covered this…
She swung her sword a few times but never seemed to connect with the bats, even though there were hundreds of them around her. Maria then tried biotic and tech attacks, but the little bats always seemed to swarm just out of the way. An overload burst just caused them to twitch a bit as they continued flying.
Maria concentrated and sent another blasting biotic wave out from her entire body. The swarm was successfully pushed away, but then it just swarmed in even closer around her. And that's when a sword suddenly came out of nowhere and struck her chest, knocking her down into the dirt.
Maria quickly got back to her feet. "This cannot be fair!" she shouted into the swarm, spinning around to try and anticipate the next swing.
The sword came out from the swarm, and Maria just barely parried that one, but it vanished into the whirlwind of bats only to reappear aiming for her leg. The tech-armor took the blow, but her leg was knocked out from under her and she fell back to the ground.
She scrambled to her feet. "Well screw you then!" she shouted as she chucked her sword into the swarm. She reached into the bag still on her hip and pulled out her locust, shouldering the weapon as it expanded, and started firing quick bursts in every direction.
Finally, some of the bats started to fall to the ground. As soon as they did, a terribly angry and animalistic roar filled the cavern. All of the bats swarmed and came back together directly in front of her, and the Count stepped into existence.
He looked furious. His hair had gone stark white and the skin of his face was stretched tightly against the skull. His fangs had grown over his bottom lip and his eyes were red. He raised his mist shrouded sword and prepared to swing at her.
Maria had already swapped her locust for the heavy pistol. She took aim and pumped five shots into the Count's chest plate before the vampire swung his sword and knocked the pistol from her hand. She pulled the locust back out and got another two bursts into his chest before the Count snapped his hand out and pulled the submachine gun from her grip, tossing it over his shoulder.
He started swinging and this time there was nothing Maria could do to stop his almost to fast to see sword. The Count really had been holding back this whole time. Maria started taking swings on her tech-armor as she tried to send a few more warps back into the vampire.
She managed to land a few hits, but her tech-armor gave out first, and in a burst of light she felt the first slice cut her thigh. The next cut her left forearm, and after that he nicked her right bicep. She just managed to avoid a thrust at her head but still felt a cut on her cheek. A moment later another slice of pain burst across her shoulder.
When the Count thrust, and the tip of his sword cut across her stomach, Maria grabbed the blade with her right hand and then used the half second that bought her to put her left palm on the Count's blood drenched chest plate. She fired a warp point blank into him that knocked the vampire across the cavern.
Maria was bleeding from a half a dozen places and she was starting to feel a little out of breath. Whatever magic Gelt had used to make her feel so great had obviously worn away by now.
Despite his chest being turned to swiss cheese, and the warp that had clearly taken a part of his chest plate and impaled itself into him, the Count pushed himself back to his feet. His face was now decayed, and his nose had rotted away. The skin on his forehead had thinned to the point that his skull was visible above his right eye. When his sharp blood-red eyes narrowed as they met her gaze, Maria knew this was the last time they'd tangle.
Unless she thought of something fast.
The Count's raised his sword to his shoulder as his body disappeared behind another swirling mass of bats. The bats screeched and flapped wildly, then took off straight for her.
Think of something faster!
She charged her right hand with as much biotic power as she could muster but a flash of steel had her stumbling back as the bats washed over her. Maria threw her hands forward in defense the same moment the Count's sword struck her left arm. The blade passed straight through her bicep and the force of the thrust carried her down to the ground, where the sword then sunk deep into the dirt, with the Count standing directly over her.
As Maria fell back, she managed to fire off the biotic power she had gathered, and the energy flew harmlessly past the vampire's ear and toward the cavern's ceiling. Her back hit the dirt and Maria cried out in pain. It had been a long while since she had last been stabbed. This was something she could have lived without experiencing again.
The Count put a boot on her left wrist, keeping her impaled arm stretched out. He put the other boot on her stomach even as Maria's body continued to glow with biotic power.
"It's over," he declared looking down at her. "Last chance Shepard. Surrender, or die. Either way you're serving me from now on."
Just for spite he twisted the blade in her arm, causing Maria to cry out again. She looked at the blade and her heart skipped a beat when she watched her own blood being drawn from her body and absorbed up the length of the mist covered sword.
"And I'm giving you this last chance to let me go," Maria shot back through the pain.
The Count growled as he twisted the sword some more. Maria grit her teeth and choked down a scream. She'd be damned if she gave him what he wanted.
"I may not gain strength from draining your blood, but this sword will still suck you dry in minutes," he snarled.
"Minutes, seconds, it doesn't matter to me," Maria ground out through clenched teeth. "Either way you'll be dying with me when I drop a ton of rock and dirt on your head."
The Count frowned at her so Maria jerked her gaze over his shoulder. He looked up to see the entire ceiling glowing with the same blue color of her biotics. A number of the wood beams holding back the tons of dirt were already fracturing and sending splinters to the ground around them.
Her warp had never been intended for him. She was going to play chicken with the vampire. Maybe not the best plan, but she was committed now.
He looked back down at her and his eyes searched her face. "You won't do it. No matter your blustering, you won't sacrifice your life now. You're terrified of death. I can see it."
Ha! Maria managed a grin. "You're right about that. But I'm only scarred of dying because I already know the galaxy is fucked without me. I can't afford to die. So you either let me go, or you, and all your vampire friends, spend the next thousand years of your life trying to dig your way back to the surface!"
He twisted the sword and she felt it cut her bone, causing her to scream out.
"I wonder what kills you first," she shouted through the pain. A beam above them shattered away entirely and a mound of dirt spilled to the ground. "I've seen what a vargheist looks like! Do you think that will be all of you when you starve from lack of blood!"
The Count raised the hand with his large ring. The red gem glowed with power. "I can stop the cave in."
Maria laughed. "Well that's good because the cavern is caving in whether I like it or not! My biotics only rip things apart. All I'm doing at this point is keeping the ceiling up while we negotiate. And if you think you can repair it before I simply pull it down, then go ahead and try!"
She glared up at him. "Swear you'll let me go or I give up and let the ceiling collapse."
Her vision was starting to go fuzzy as the sword in her arm continued to drink her blood. This had to go faster, or she'd pass out.
The Count must have realized that fact as well. He smiled down at her. "Of course, Shepard, I swear."
Nice try buddy, but I wasn't born yesterday. Maria grit her teeth as she struggled to hold up the ceiling. Another beam above split in two raining dirt across the ground.
"Swear it on your wife."
The Count's smile vanished. He looked down at her and she would swear his fangs grew even longer as his eyes glowed an even deeper red.
"Swear it on your wife," Maria said again. "Swear it, or I'm ending this contest now."
He held her gaze as Maria felt the dirt begin to cover her sweaty brow. Her heart pounded in her chest just as the sword in her arm kept drinking her life up. He wasn't going to do it. He really was going to kill her and take the risk he could escape the cave in.
The Count suddenly yanked the sword out of her arm and she nearly lost her concentration at the spike of pain.
"In the name of Isabella von Carstein, I swear to give you your freedom."
Maria cradled her bleeding arm to her chest. "Thanks. Now catch the ceiling before we die."
He raised the hand with the ring up into the air and the gem pulsed with a blinding red light. Maria blinked as all the torches lining the walls erupted into bonfires. The raging flames stretched out, up to, and across the ceiling above them, then sunk into the dirt and melted everything above. One moment the ceiling looked like a river of molten lava and the next it began to darken and cool into a single solid mass of melted earth.
Maria watched the whole thing from her spot on the ground. She hadn't even seen the waves of magical power that should have accompanied such a feat. She looked up at the vampire still standing above her as he just stared down at her. Now she finally knew his name.
Vlad von Carstein. The first and greatest of the von Carsteins and the Vampire Counts of Sylvania. The one who started a legacy that persisted to this very day and tainted an entire portion of the Empire. The one and only vampire who raised an army that conquered the living and reached the very gates of Altdorf. The only vampire who was one battle away from declaring himself Emperor.
History said he died during that last battle, thrown from the battlements and impaled on a wooden stake below, where his body then turned to ash that floated away in the winds. Clearly history was mistaken.
And she had managed to piss him off twice now…
Maria remained very still as Vlad von Carstein kept his unyielding stare on her. One thing history had also claimed was that Vlad really did love his wife, or at least felt something as close to love that an undead vampire could feel. She had bet her life that this was true, on the fact that he still wore his wedding ring centuries after the two of them had supposedly perished.
Without a word Vlad turned away from her and walked with his sword still in hand toward one of the black passages leading out of the cavern. His back was quickly swallowed by the dark, and a few of his vampires left the cavern following behind him.
Maria struggled back to her feet, wincing as she felt every cut across her body. Not to mention her pierced left arm. That really, really hurt too.
Markos von Carstein and the female vampire with red hair left their places on the wall and walked up to Maria. Along the way the woman picked up her discarded sword as Markos retrieved the heavy pistol and submachine gun. At her urging Markos handed the pistol over to the woman as they both approached Maria. She turned to face them and mentally readied herself incase this wasn't over after all.
The woman turned the phalanx over in her hands a few times with a thoughtful expression on her face. Then without a word she handed the weapon over to Maria, who took it slowly from her hands. Markos then did the same with the locust and Maria deposited both in the bag on her hip.
"I believe the years ahead are going to be very interesting Markos," the woman said with the slightest hint of a smile, before she then turned away and started toward the passage opposite the one Vlad had taken.
Markos sighed heavily at her back. "What a brilliant deduction Elize." He turned to Maria. "Come with me. We're heading back to the surface and our camp. You'll get patched up by one of the mercenaries." He didn't wait for her and simply started for the tunnel the woman had taken.
Maria held her arm as she shot a quick glance over her shoulder to the dark tunnel Vlad had taken, but then hurried up to Markos's side as he and Elize began leading her out of the cavern.