Chapter 4: The Search for Nupraptor

I continued down the long road, until I reached a strange shrine. On the front steps lay a scroll, which I promptly open. Once again, my "friend" the necromancer had left me something

"One of a vampire's greatest powers is the ability to shapeshift. There are four forms a vampire can assume. The first is the bat form, which when invoked will allow you to transform into a flurry of bats that can reach any place in Nosgoth with ease. However, it is best that you know the area first, lest you get lost in the middle of a swamp or rainstorm. Use it wisely. Inside this shrine lies another skill."

I smiled as the incantation at the bottom of the paper was etched into my mind. The necromancer really HAD thought of everything. He really wished me to suceed.

I stepped inside, and saw a scroll resting on an altar. I opened the scroll, taking note of the seal on the paper. It was no doubt the necromancer's "calling card".

"Inscribed is a magical spell, handed down by the ancient magi through the centuries. While natural light weakens a vampire, this spell creates a halo of magical light, which allows you to see in the darkest places without any drain on your power." I decided to call this the "Magical Light" spell.

I stepped out of the shrine, only to see a handful of knights standing outside. "There he is!" shouted one of them. "He's the one that slaughtered Ziegsturhl!" The knights raised their swords and morning stars and charged. I drew my sword and swung at them, cleaving three of their heads off in one stroke. The only remaining knight continued his defiant charge. I smiled as I grabbed his arm and tore it off with only minimal effort; he still tried to fight. That's why I ripped out his still-beating heart before pushing him out of the way.

I continued down the road. Brigands continued to attack, but I easily made meals out of them. However, as night began to fall, rainclouds came, accompanied with thunder claps. I quickly ran into a nearby cave as the rain began to fall.

I leaned against the wall, looking at the falling rain. Before, I had admired such weather; now, with my current situation, I loathed it. Then again, I never knew how to swim, so I tended to stay out of water, but there was a difference between staying out by your own will and staying out for the sake of your existance.

Then I noticed a figure in black drop something in the cave. He had not been there when I entered. I drew my sword and charged, but the figure dissapeared before my eyes. I looked at what he had dropped, and saw another scroll, once again bearing the necromancer's seal.

"This will allow you to assume the form of a wolf. When in this form, you will be able to move at a much greater quickness and grace, and allows you to clear large gaps that you normally could not cross."

I smiled, then sat down and waited for the rain to stop. When it finally did, I cursed my luck; the sun was beginning to rise. I picked up my equipment and left the cave, continuing to the south.

I followed the road for another hour, until I reached another cave. There was no rain this time, only a curiosity that compelled me to investigate. I stepped inside, only to find another scroll. This spell, however, did not carry the seal of the necromancer. Cautiosly, I unfurled the scroll. It contained a series of arcane runes, with a heading that simply read "Energy Bolt."

I pocketed the scroll and exited the cave, only to hear a low growl come from beside me. I turned, my sword raised. I then sidestepped the wolf as it pounced at me. While it tried to turn around, I sliced off its head and sampled its blood. I immediately felt sick to my stomach. Human blood seemed to be the one form of substance I could use.

I continued down the path, only to find another cave. I was more cautious this time, but I heard something calling to me from inside. "Come, Kain," said a distant voice. "Come to us." I entered the cave, entranced by the voices. Inside was a momentous site.

A large fountain filled the entire cave. Instead of water, however, blood flowed freely from it. The fountain itself was decorated with reliefs of human faces, twisted so that they seemed to be in eternal pain and misery.

"The blood of ages flows so sweet," said the same voice. "Come, drink from us."

I bowed next to the fountain and took a handful of the blood. I quickly shoved it down my throat, and felt my body begin to warm up. My muscles in particular seemed to be getting much warmer.

"Your strength has been increased," said the voice, "for our blood enhances." To my horror, the blood in the fountain became completely black. I did not dare to drink from it again; something was very wrong with it. I simply stood and walked out of the cave.

The road stretched on, unforgiving, for several more miles. Finally, I reached a small road sign. It pointed to the north and read, "Natchtholm." I followed the road, until I could finally make out the small houses and buildings that made up this small town.

However, my progress was blocked. Mountains surrounded the town, while a deep river ran through the only entrance. It seemed that word of my presence had reached here, for several boulders sealed the one bridge across the damn water. At first, I thought of simply trying to find another road, until I saw the dark clouds coming. I had only a few hours to find shelter, and I did not want to stay inside any town for too long.

In desperation, I pushed against the boulders, and to my amazement, they began to move effortlessly. Finally, after several minutes of pushing, they were out of my way. It seemed that the voices had not lied; I was indeed more powerful than before.

"Get him!" Then again, the foolish humans did not seem to notice what had happened. Already, several armed men, probably nothing more than petty mercenaries and bodyguards, going from owner to owner, driven by greed, approached me.

"Kill the vampire!" shouted one of them. I drew my sword and met their advance. I sliced one across the chest, then gracefully slid and sliced another's head clean in two, then removed another fool's arms with two clean strokes, with one more to remove his torso.

The others began to falter. "What matter of demon is this?" I overheard one of them ask. Many of them finally regained their nerve and charged, only to be destroyed with a few more slices. The last one turned and ran. I raised one hand and recited the arcane spell. The man turned just as the bolt of energy ripped through his body, tearing it to small pieces.

I smiled, and then feasted on what little fresh blood remained. It was not enough to satisfy me. I had to find some more. Then I spied a nearby tavern. Raising my sword, I snuck inside.

The roar of voices inside drowned out the commotion from outside, as well as my own heavy footsteps and the clink of my armor. The wenches were too busy enticing the patrons to notice me, while the men were too busy staring at the breasts of these prostitutes to care that a pale man with sharp teeth had entered their bar.

Then I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. "Get out of here," said a rather stiff voice. I turned, and saw the burly barkeeper staring at me. The other patrons and wenches turned their eyes towards me as well, and horror seemed to simultaneously flood over all their faces as they realized what I was.

"I will leave," I said, "but not until my thirst is quenched." I then grabbed the bartender and, with one mighty pull, threw him over the counter. I then bit into his neck and drained his body of blood.

The other patrons watched this in shock. Finally, they turned tail and ran, jumping out of windows and tearing through the door in an effort to escape. My thirst was gone, but I felt rather bored. I raised three of my flails, took aim at three of the fleeing men, and threw them. They went through the broken window and found each of their targets, tearing through them with ease.

I smiled, and then left the tavern. I next entered the old blacksmith's shop; it is always wise to ensure that a weapon is in its best form. The blacksmith, however, was gone. I sighed, until I noticed something below me. I bent over, and found a small red orb lying on the ground. It seemed to pulsate with a rather strange light, and I immediately thought of how strange it would be for a blacksmith to have something like this.

Then I heard the sound of a weapon being moved. I turned, and faced the blacksmith, raising a double-bladed axe. "Go to hell, vampire!" he shouted. He brought the axe down, while I dodged. In my panic, however, I had accidentally thrown the orb at the man.

The minute it impacted with his body, he began to scream in pain. I saw blood rise like a fountain from his mouth, as his body seemed to shrink. However, as I looked closer, I saw that it was not shrinking; it was being crushed together. The man screamed as his head tore to pieces. The sound of bones crunching echoed in my ears. Finally, what was left of the man exploded in a gory fountain of blood and pieces of organs.

I enjoyed the entire spectacle. I then noticed a small chest of these orbs, numbering about ten total. I packed the chest into my satchel, and then left the blacksmith shop.

I found little of interest in the rest of Natchtholm. I fed on an elderly couple simply out of hunger; they blood was tasteless and impure. Still, I needed the strength, for the road seemed to stretch on for many miles until the next town, and I did not know if any humans were traveling at this time.

I left the town, only to feel something hit my shoulder, followed by a sharp burning sensation. I looked down, and saw a few raindrops begin to fall. I ran down the road, in search of shelter, until I saw a nearby cave. In desperation, I ducked inside. Fortunately, I had only suffered slight damage, so I would heal rather quickly.

Then I saw the contents of the cave: another large blood fountain, exactly like the previous one I had found. The fountain's blood was still red, and stirred my hunger even more. I ran to the fountain, took a handful of the blood, and shoved it into my mouth.

Almost immediately, another warm sensation went throughout my body. I staggered back to my feet, as the blood turned black. "The rain will no longer harm you," said the mysterious voice from before, "for our blood preserves." I thanked whoever had designed these fountains; the previous had helped me greatly, and if this fountain worked...

I walked to the cave's mouth. The rain was now coming down in vast droves. I stuck my arm out of the cave mouth and waited. I felt no burning, no pain, only the sensation of water hitting my hand. I cautiously stepped out, and realized that the voice was correct; I was immune to rain. However, I had a suspicion that this did not extend to all water, so I simply continued down the road.

It was a full day before I reached the next town, Steinchencroe. I shuddered at the name, for it carried nothing but terrible meanings. Nowhere in Nosgoth would you find a place more filled with scum, debauchery, and disease. I smiled deep inside at the irony; in life, I would have never graced this nightmare of a city with my presence, yet in death, I only added to the stench.

The streets were filled with whores and drunken soldiers. None dared to lay an eye on me; this was the only place where I could blend in, at least during the night. However, my hunger was great; I needed a place to feed.

Then my eyes spied a large building. A sign hanging above it read, "Red Rose Brothel." I found myself licking my lips uncontrollably, but in a town such as this, that did not seem so strange. I passed through the entrance, only to find the desk unoccupied. Two women were escorting a man into one of the nearby rooms.

I started following them, when I heard a scream, followed by the sound of something being dropped down a long tunnel. I followed the sound, until I entered the kitchen. The man's head, torso, and various other body parts were dumped down a long chute into a large bin. Blood covered the walls, floor, and table. A nearly dead woman was chained to the wall, and the message "Help!" was written on one of the walls in blood. I cursed this waste of blood, and then ducked into a small pantry when I heard footsteps returning.

The two women returned, accompanied by a burly man. "Okay," said the man, "I get dibs on the heart this time. You two can have either the liver or a leg."

"Or maybe," I said, kicking the door open, "I'll just make myself a meal." I snapped one of the women's necks, and then impaled the other. The man reached for a bloody meat cleaver, but I twisted it out of his hand and brought it down on his head. I then feasted on their blood, as well as that of the chained woman. After all, one must not let a good meal go to waste.

I left the brothel and made my way to the northern exit of town. "Wait, stranger!" shouted a distant voice. I turned, and saw a man sitting in a dark alley. His eyes were glazed, his teeth were rotted, and he was stirring a large bowl filled with some sort of foul-smelling green liquid.

"I know what it feels like," said the man. "I live on the outside of existence as well. But you can find others that will speak to you...if you know how to look." I didn't bother listening to the rest of the man's ramblings. I simply left the city. Blood like his did not belong on my teeth.

I next came upon a small circle of tents, brightly colored and covered with elaborate symbols. These were obviously used by the gypsies, purveyors of lies and practitioners of foolish sorceries. Whatever they said had to be taken with a grain of salt, but sometimes, they had something of use.

I snuck around the tents, steering clear of the gypsies gathered around a fire. I ducked into one of the tents, which was mercifully unoccupied. However, a small book on the ground caught my eye. Curious, I examined its contents.

It spoke of the vampires and their various forms. Much of the text was too faded to read, but it spoke of a strange ability the vampires possessed. With the proper concentration, they could disguise themselves completely as a living human, therefore allowing them to enter settlements freely. However, the disguise was flimsy, and if any violent action was taken either by or on the vampire, they would lose their concentration, and thus the spell would break.

Curious, I followed the instructions of the book and concentrated. Suddenly, I felt my body ache and moan, along with a warm sensation. Finally, it stopped, and I took a closer look at my form. My pale skin was now a dark brown, my teeth were no longer fangs, and my clothing was now rags. It seemed I had disguised myself as a mere peasant, a disgrace to someone as noble as myself, but a necessary evil.

I stepped outside and approached the gypsies. Their eyes narrowed onto me, but they did not attempt to attack me, proving that my disguise worked. "Leave here, stranger," said one of the gypsies. "You are not welcomed here." He pulled a knife and pointed it at me.

I walked out of the camp, until I was beyond their visible range. I then broke my own spell, returning to my vampiric form. The gypsies didn't see me returning until it was too late.

The stretch of road continued to the town of Vasserbunde. Word of my coming had apparently reached even this tiny town, as large stone pillars, covered with mystical runes, sealed the buildings. Several heavily armored guards patrolled as well, intent on protecting this village from someone...or something.

However, the thoughts of their fear of me were dashed when I looked at the nearby mountains. Sitting on top of one of the tallest peaks was a bizarre lair, carved into a misshapen skull. A waterfall poured out of its mouth into a lake far below. I now recalled what I had heard about my opponent, Nupraptor.

He was a revered mentalist and illusionist, capable of sensing the future and providing guidance. Pilgrims often journeyed to his lair to seek an audience with the fool. Now, it seemed, the mentalist had turned his thoughts to destruction, and if he were corrupted like Ariel had spoken, he would enjoy the company of pilgrims no longer. Ironically, I had come seeking not his wisdom, but his life.

I approached one of the guards from behind, snapped his neck, and drank his blood. I then dismembered and consumed the other guards. I would need their strength if I was to survive the ordeal ahead. Now cruel fate had taken me to the last refuge of my enemy...Nupraptor's Retreat.