X

Unfamiliar Zero

Chapter 8
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For a people of supposedly small stature, the dwarves sure loved to build things big. Everything Louise had seen thus far in this underground city was a testament to that.

The hallway she now found herself in had to be at least twenty feet high, with a row of twelve-foot-tall statues of lifelike detail against the walls to either side. Each one of them appeared to be masterfully carved out of a single giant slab of stone and was of a clearly different bearded dwarf. All of them were also depicted armed and armored, with a proud and fearsome look to match.

A dense metal brazier stood in front of every statue, their flickering fires casting dancing lights and shadows across the finely hewn stones, making them appear to move and seem almost alive.

Louise eyed them warily while she walked past, feeling as if she were trespassing as their cold, stony gazes stared back at her. She hurried along, wondering who they were and for what purpose their statues were built here.

The doors at the end of the hall were open just enough for her to slip through without needing to move them, and she was glad for it because they seemed far heavier than she was capable of moving. Lady Elena probably left them like that precisely for that reason. Or maybe she simply had not cared to shut them behind her. That was plausible too.

Beyond those doors, Louise emerged into a cavernous hall with a domed roof that again had her in awe of the dwarves' ability to safely and precisely carve out and build such grand structures deep underground. More torches and braziers were scattered all over the place, providing ample lighting for her to see that this was some kind of temple.

At the center of the hall and directly beneath the apex of the dome was another statue, this one a massive stone imitation of a severe-looking dwarf whose thick, braided beard reached all the way to his feet. His arms were folded over a gigantic hammer that rested handle up on the floor, the head of which served as the backdrop for what looked to be a wide altar that was built on a raised dais.

A stone walkway ringed around the perimeter of the whole space from the doors she had walked through, with a few raised paths at specific intervals all leading towards the altar in the center. Dozens of rows of stone benches faced the altar from several lower galleries arrayed in a semi-circle, easily seating a thousand people. Perhaps even more.

Anyone seated would need to lift their gazes up a little to observe the religious services, both making it easier for everyone to see while also reminding attendees that they were subservient to some higher power.

Movement by the altar drew her attention to the now familiar figure of Lady Elena, her hand tracing along the stone surface of the head of the hammer.

Louise walked quickly towards the altar and stopped at the foot of the steps leading up to it, hesitant to intrude upon what had to be sacred ground for the dwarves. She glanced around, as if said dwarves would come out from the shadows to accuse her of even thinking about such sacrilege.

"It's alright, dear," Lady Elena's voice reached her ears, the thoughts that troubled Louise clearly not bothering the vampire in the slightest. "You can come on up. There are no dwarves here to get mad at you. Besides," she paused and spared a quick glance in her direction, "It's not like Mazdrin here is an actual god or anything." She patted the stone in front of her with a toothy smile.

"I. . . I think I'll just stay down here," said Louise uneasily, "If that's okay."

Lady Elena shrugged and returned her attention to inspecting the stonework. "Suit yourself."

Louise's gaze followed the length of the hammer up towards the towering figure of the dwarf apparently named Mazdrin.

"Lady Elena?"

"Hmm?"

"Who is… Mazdrin?"

"Mazdrin the Dwarf God, also called The Stonefather," the vampiress answered in a lecturing tone, sounding almost like Louise's professors at the Academy. "For it was he who molded the first dwarves out of living stone in the deep places of the earth, back when the world was still hot and newly forged. And it is to him that all dwarves return upon their death when their bodies are laid to rest in the stone… So say the dwarves, at least." She added the last bit with some amusement.

Louise glanced at the giant statue again. "But… you're saying… that's not true? He's not actually a god?"

"That is correct." Lady Elena continued to inspect the stone hammer head in front of her, and Louise was starting to think that she was actually looking for something rather than admiring the stonework like she originally thought.

"You see, Mazdrin was actually the first dwarf to be created in this world, not the god who created them," explained Lady Elena matter-of-factly while holding a finger up in the air. "Granted, he was no ordinary dwarf, what with his unmatched strength at the time compared to other dwarves. Not to mention his ability to manipulate the element of earth, so I don't really blame the others that came after him for calling him a god. He was already there when the others appeared, after all. Though I do find it fascinating that he didn't correct them."

Louise blinked, unsure whether or not to believe her. The vampire certainly sounded confident in her knowledge, and as far as Louise knew there was no reason for her to lie, but how could she know something so profoundly important and world-altering to dwarves while the dwarves themselves did not?

Before she could ask, Lady Elena let out a triumphant exclamation as she apparently found what she was looking for. Pressing her fingers against a certain part of the stone, which turned out to be a hidden switch that dipped inward, she was rewarded with an audible clicking sound as a hidden door that had been perfectly set into the stone pressed inward and then slid open to the side.

Lady Elena did not hesitate to step inside, disappearing from view and leaving the surprised young mage to wonder if she was supposed to follow.

After a few minutes of silently waiting and wondering, Louise took a deep breath, glanced around once more to assure herself that there really was not anyone else around, and then hurried up the steps.

=x=x=x=x=

Marcus strolled along the top of the wall with his arms tucked behind him, deep in thought. He absently greeted the squads of vampires that were interspersed along the walls as he passed, the members of the Night Guard making sure to look sharp and alert in his immediate presence.

Not that they were slacking off or not taking their duties seriously, but even the celebrated Night Guard of Nifleheim could not be on-guard and alert every minute of every day when there was no immediate threat. Especially with the reputation of the Black Fortress being what it was, the likelihood of the place being assaulted was near zero.

Ever since Queen Marielena had instructed them to man the walls and keep vigil on the surrounding area, she had yet to explain the full extent of the situation to them. To top it off, they had yet to encounter anything even remotely resembling a threat, no matter how far the scouts roamed into the surrounding area.

Basically, it seemed like their presence here was wasted, not that anyone would ever think to say that to him or the other officers directly. Though even if they were to tolerate complaints, orders were orders, and their responsibility was to obey. The Queen had no obligation to explain things to them.

Still lost in thought, Marcus was passing by another squad stationed on the walls when it happened: the telltale feeling of powerful magical wards failing and disappearing around him. The nearby vampires went stiff, hands on their weapons and a mix of eager and curious looks forming on their faces as some immediately turned to him for orders while others glanced out beyond the walls. Apparently, he was not the only one who had felt it.

His gaze snapped immediately to the impressive structure of the fortress keep that was nestled into the folds of the mountain.

What the hell was going on?

=x=x=x=x=

Louise breathed in the stale air in the cramped hidden room built into the head of Mazdrin's hammer and immediately covered her mouth and nose with a hand.

Lady Elena was standing unaffected in front of a pedestal upon which sat a thick tome. She was flipping through its pages, illuminated by the soft glow of lights from some strange looking crystals anchored to the walls by metal sconces.

Louise stepped closer, curiosity getting the better of her as she noticed that the words on the pages were all handwritten. Unfortunately, she could not read the language it was written in and it looked like random scribbles to her.

"The Book of the Dead," Lady Elena answered her unasked question without turning away from the tome. "It is a ledger that lists every dwarf who has died in this hold." She flipped a page. "Including details such as who they were, how they died, how many showed up to their burial, who performed the burial rites, and where they are now entombed, among other things."

Eyes going wide, the young girl took a tentative step back, starting to regret having come in here. Had the vampire known the book would be here? If so, then did that mean she knew what this place really was?

Of course. It only stood to reason that she did, considering how much she appeared to already know about dwarven culture and history.

"Quite useful when you want to learn what happened to what appears to be a dead city, wouldn't you agree?" added Lady Elena, as she continued to go through the pages methodically.

Louise nodded, not that the vampire could see her. That definitely made sense. Though a part of her felt like she would personally be better off not knowing if it meant going through such a list. She was not sure if she could stomach reading so many entries about when and how people died.

"I'll just… wait outside," she mumbled behind her hand.

Once back out into the open space, Louise dropped her hand away and took a calming breath, glad to be away from the stuffy air. She slowly stepped up to the stone table of the altar and looked out across the hundreds of empty stone benches.

How many dwarves had their names in that book? It had seemed like a lot from what she briefly glimpsed. Shaking her head, she tried not to think about it too much.

"Yer not suppos'ta be here," said a low, gravelly voice somewhere close by that made Louise flinch and remember the reason why they were here. There was, in fact, one dwarf still alive.

=x=x=x=x=

Marcus moved swiftly through the empty city in the direction of the massive keep. Behind him followed Regis, the much smaller vampire darting between the outsides of the buildings as he ran along the walls with great speed.

Despite their standing orders to stay away from the keep, the Captain of the Night Guard had decided to investigate what was happening himself, bringing Regis along in case something happened and he needed to get a message to the others. He left the rest of his squad in charge of the wall, ready for any potential attack.

The sudden disappearance of the wards had Marcus worried, and he was certain that the Queen would forgive him for going against orders in this situation.

Regis suddenly appeared next to him as they continued moving forward.

"Captain, we're being watched," said the smaller vampire, eyes darting around in an attempt to find who was keeping an eye on them.

Marcus let out a grunt of acknowledgement. He had felt it too, almost immediately after they had left the outer wall and entered the fortress city. He could not pinpoint from where they were being watched because it strangely felt like it was coming from everywhere around them, yet he could sense nobody else nearby.

"Keep your guard up," he told the younger vampire as they raced on.

When they finally arrived at the last inner wall that separated the keep from the rest of the fortress, towering twice as high as any of the other walls, they both felt a sudden pressure in the very air that seemed to tell them that they should not step any further.

The heavily fortified gate was closed shut, and even with his great strength, Marcus knew he would not even make a dent on the gate if he tried to break it down. The only way to get past it was to go up and over. Even with how high the innermost wall was, the two vampires could scale it easily enough.

He eyed the top of the wall, not seeing anyone and yet unable to deny the feeling that they were still being closely watched.

"You feel it too, right, Captain?" asked Regis, his voice tinged with nervousness. "Please tell me you feel that and that I'm not actually going crazy or anything."

"I do," said the burly vampire. The feeling of pressure that was telling them to keep out had stayed the same since they first arrived, making him think that this was some kind of defensive measure imbued into this final wall. Weaker beings would undoubtedly be too afraid to defy it. But the two vampires were far from weak.

"Maybe we should…"

"We're going over," Marcus said with finality.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just knock…?"

Marcus leveled a steely gaze at him.

Regis sighed. "Just a thought. Whatever you decide, I'll follow your lead, Captain."

"Let's go."

Crouching low for a moment and tensing his lower body, Marcus launched himself up and forward into the air towards the wall and then began to run up its side as his legs found purchase on the hard stones. Regis was only a step behind him as they raced up the face of the wall.

As they neared the top, there was a sudden shadow of movement on the battlements.

"Watch out!" yelled Regis even as Marcus already began to draw his sword.

A dark figure swiftly launched itself at them, wielding a giant war axe that it swung around with ease. The attack was easily parried by the Night Guard Captain, the meeting of their weapons causing an abrupt explosion of air accompanied by the ringing of metal against metal, but because he was in midair and the attack came from above, Marcus ended up being hurtled back towards the ground far below.

He spun in the air and braced his lower body before landing in a crouch with a loud boom, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaving a web of cracks and a slight depression in the ground.

Nearby, Regis spun and landed on his feet with a lot less force, his two curved swords drawn and ready in his hands.

"Are you alright, Captain?" Regis asked, sparing a glance towards his superior.

"Tch. I'm fine," growled Marcus as he straightened himself.

"That was quite the welcome greeting, wasn't it?" Regis said humorously.

The dark figure that attacked Marcus landed with a loud, echoing thud close to the wall in front of them as a second identical figure landed next to it. Regis had been attacked by the other one almost immediately after the first had struck, which explained why he was down here again too.

Getting a closer look at their assailants, they were surprised to note that they appeared to be large humanoid statues at least ten feet tall made of some strange black stone, each one wielding the same long double-sided war axe. Their eyes looked like burning motes of purple flame from the shadows beneath their stone helmets as they stood facing the two vampires, whose own eyes began to glow red with power.

"They seem pretty tough," Regis noted, already in a battle stance.

Marcus eyed their silent stone opponents, noting that they did not seem inclined to press the attack. A few seconds ticked by as both pairs faced off in silence. Were they simply trying to keep them out? Taking a quick glance around, he tried to sense if there was some magician who was controlling these things. No luck, though, as he could not find any such traces.

That likely meant that these stone sentinels were a defensive mechanism of the keep. Either that, or whoever was controlling these golems was able to perfectly hide themselves against him. He hoped it was the former.

Relaxing only a little, Marcus walked closer to the statues.

"Captain?" Regis said, watching him with bewilderment.

The dark statues observed him approach but made no move to attack as he stopped halfway between where he had been standing and where the statues were holding their ground. Despite leaving himself open to an attack, the stone warriors did not take advantage of it, confirming his instincts.

They were only trying to keep them out. For now.

He turned his head, glancing at Regis from the corner of his eye. "I'll keep them busy. You go on ahead and find our Queen. If she is upset in any way, tell her that it was by my order and that I reacted to the sudden disappearance of the protective wards. However, if there appears to be serious trouble in there, I need you to retreat and go back to the others to gather a force to secure the keep."

"But, captain—"

"That's an order, Regis." They had no time to waste. If there was something nefarious happening at the keep, they needed to know as soon as possible.

The smaller vampire's protest was quickly swallowed in his throat. His hands gripped tighter around his swords as he took a deep breath, clearly unhappy. Not that Marcus cared.

"Now, GO!" roared the big captain as he flashed forward with his sword at the ready.

This time, the statues moved in order to defend themselves as he attacked, sparks flying as their weapons met.

Regis took a step forward, wanting to help his captain, but then shook his head and stared up at the wall. With a frustrated growl, he swiftly started scaling the wall again.

One of the statues noticed, turning and preparing to jump after the smaller vampire, but just as its feet left the ground, Marcus evaded a counter strike from the other golem, twisted to the side, and then leaped up, managing to grab its foot in time.

"Get back here!" he bellowed as his red eyes glowed and he violently yanked the dark golem back down.

=x=x=x=x=

Louise stared wide-eyed at the dwarf standing at the bottom of the steps to the altar.

He looked very much like the many statues she had seen across the underground city. Short, stocky, with a thick reddish-brown beard and a large, wide nose between two dark beady eyes. Except unlike the statues, instead of armor, this dwarf wore a dirty leather cap over his messy mane of hair and a tattered cloth outfit.

"Who are ya? And what brings you here?" the dwarf barked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He did not seem to be armed, but Louise was wary all the same. She glanced towards the open door to the secret room and thought to call Lady Elena. Surely, she should have heard the dwarf, which meant she was going to come out any second now.

"Well? Speak up, human! Or are ya dumb or mute?"

Louise turned back to the dwarf and was shocked to find Lady Elena suddenly standing directly behind him. When had she gotten there?

"Now, now, little dwarf. Is that any way to speak to a lady?" said the vampire queen, bending down enough so that her mouth was near the dwarf's ear.

A stunned look passed through the dwarf's rough face. Then with a grunt he violently swung his right arm back while he twisted around, hand balled into a fist. Lady Elena dodged the clumsy attack easily by leaning back, the dwarf's fist passing a few inches from her bemused face.

Now facing the red-eyed vampiress smiling toothily at him, the dwarf let out a gasp.

"Bloodsucker!" he whispered fiercely as he stumbled back onto his butt on the steps behind him, face going pale.

"I haven't heard that term in a long time," said Lady Elena with a smirk. "Somebody really should teach you and your kind some manners."

"You're… real…" the dwarf whispered in disbelief. His expression turned stricken, as if he had swallowed something unpleasant.

"Very real," the vampiress confirmed. She stepped closer, smile widening enough to be unnerving even to Louise, who unlike the dwarf was not even the focus of the vampiress's attention.

"Stay back! Keep away from me!" The dwarf proceeded to scramble backwards up the steps in a futile attempt to get away.

He turned and tried to get up, perhaps thinking to make a run for it, but ended up tripping himself and falling onto his belly. He managed to save his face from smashing into the stone floor by bracing his upper half with his arms. Glancing up with eyes filled with fear, he caught sight of Louise who was still standing by the table of the altar.

"Help me! Save me!" he cried, a desperate look on his face. "Please!" He scrambled on all fours towards the pink-haired girl who was frozen to the spot and unsure of what to do.

"What?! Don't come any closer!"

What the panicked dwarf saw in her that somehow conveyed she could protect him from the vampiress, Louise did not know. She reflexively tried to move away as he crept closer but was effectively caught between the approaching dwarf and the stone table behind her. Not good.

Clearly desperate, the dwarf did not listen and continued to hastily crawl towards her. When he was close enough, he reached up with both hands as if to grab her, but before she could even react, Lady Elena was there.

The Night Queen grabbed the back of the dwarf's collar and casually flung him away, tossing the dwarf across the altar where he smacked into the stone surface of the giant hammer and let out an audible "oof." Louise winced, and noticing her reaction, the vampiress assured her that he was going to be alright.

"They're a hardy race," she explained, "And they're quite durable."

Sure enough, the dwarf, though in some pain and with the wind knocked out of him from being thrown like that, remained conscious as he slumped to the ground with his back against the massive stone hammer. He groaned, and Lady Elena was on him a moment later, crouching down to his level.

With both hands, she gripped either side of the dwarf's head, causing the dwarf to grab at her arms with his large, calloused hands. It was obvious that he was trying to free himself from her grasp, but the vampiress's arms did not budge even an inch.

"Look into my eyes," she said, her tone suddenly sounding seductive and entrancing.

The terrified dwarf tried to resist, looking anywhere but there.

"Look. Into. My eyes." Her voice took on a harder edge, sounding a little more forceful, but still entrancing. Using her thumbs, she managed to pull up on the dwarf's eyelids, opening them slightly.

Louise watched as the dwarf's hands fell away, limp, as his whole body seemed to relax. He was staring intensely at Lady Elena's face, then his eyes seemed to go out of focus and his face slackened, mouth falling open a little. Even his breathing, which had been short and sharp, became deeper and more measured. This was some kind of mind control magic.

"Good little dwarf," said the vampiress approvingly, sounding as if she were speaking to an obedient pet. She let go of him and straightened herself up. "Now, you'll answer all my questions truthfully. Okay?"

The dwarf nodded slowly. "Aye, mistress."

=x=x=x=x=

Dashing forward, Marcus raised his sword, angling the blade to deflect the incoming strike. More sparks showered him as their weapons scraped against each other and the poleaxe of his stone opponent ended up burying itself forcefully into the ground off to his side with a loud boom, kicking up a sizable cloud of dirt.

Bringing his sword around to his other side in a fluid motion, Marcus lunged forward and slashed diagonally up and to the right at what should have been the now exposed torso of his opponent.

Instead, surprisingly, the golem expertly used the other end of its long polearm axe to block his straightforward attack. Metal rang against metal as both sides met evenly. All of this happened within a second.

In the next second, his instincts told him to evade and he promptly followed them by disengaging and leaping to the side as the second golem had its poleaxe crash with ground-shaking force into the spot that he had previously been occupying.

Marcus frowned, jumping back several more feet to give himself a little more room to assess the situation.

These golems were far more powerful than any golems he had ever come across before. Though truthfully, he had rarely encountered these things at all in a lifetime of battles. For whatever reason, vampires were not particularly adept at manipulating artificial constructs into golems, and since vampires were actually the most common enemies he had faced in his life thus far, he could count on his fingers the number of times he actually fought against such things in his long life.

Their level of strength and the sophistication of coordination was on a completely different level than he even thought possible for such things. Further thought on the matter served to remind him that this was the Black Fortress, home to one of the most powerful Demon Lords ever known to this world. He should have expected as much and acted accordingly.

From the start, he had not been taking this fight as seriously as he should have. In fact, it had been a long time since he had to take any fights too seriously. However, before he could chastise himself further on the matter, the golems moved to attack. In a wordless dance of blindingly fast blades, they went after him, forcing him back with neither side finding any distinct advantage.

After taking the full force of an attack against his sword, the shockwave billowing his cape and kicking up a cloud of dirt in a 'V' shape behind him, Marcus narrowed his eyes and let out an annoyed breath. Concentrating on the power within himself, he felt a great surge of power through his limbs as his red eyes glowed much brighter than before. He could feel his already keen senses heighten even more and his body felt significantly lighter and stronger.

With ease, he pushed back against the poleaxe that had pressed down on him and swiftly moved behind the first golem, sword at the ready. Both golems saw his movement and reacted, but Marcus already knew that his attack could not be stopped.

With one step forward he proceeded to burst forth to the other side as he carved through the torso of the first golem with a strike so fast and powerful the wind followed after him in a surging gust. When he landed on the other side of the golem and turned his head to the side, cape billowing in the fierce wind, he eyed the huge gap in the golem's torso.

Marcus frowned again. He was certain that he had put enough force in his blow to completely bisect the golem, but apparently the stone that made up its body was a lot tougher than he had anticipated and his sword had not completely run through it.

The crystal buried in the middle of its chest, now partially exposed, was large and glowing bright with a purple energy that matched its flaming eyes. Though it was heavily cracked, it appeared that the crystal was also hardier than he thought and remained intact.

Every golem had a crystal of some sort that served as its power core. It was the core that animated their normally lifeless bodies, and destroying it was the surest means of defeating one. Most of the time, that crystal was embedded deep within its torso, the thickest and most well-defended part of its body.

Marcus had meant to cut down the golem and shatter its core in one strike, but somehow, he had failed.

Despite the golem being heavily damaged, it was still standing, and much to his surprise the gash actually began to close up on its own as the strange black stone seemed to liquify and move to connect from either side. As if the golems were not already powerful enough without the ability to repair themselves.

Annoyance flared across Marcus's face. He was at least glad that no one was around to witness his failure. Whirling around and feeling even more determined, he moved to finish off the broken golem while it was weakened when the second golem jumped in his way and blocked his next strike. And the next. And the next one after that, their weapons ringing and sparks flashing as they met.

Somehow, despite Marcus tapping into more of his power, the golem was able to just barely keep up. Were the golems also not using their full strength?

His earlier annoyance was quickly replaced with anger, both at himself and the golems in front of him.

With a flurry of swings that flowed one after the other, he slowly broke down the golems defense as he further tapped into his powers. Something he would never have thought necessary to dispose of artificial warriors like this.

With a roar of triumph, he delivered a powerful blow that broke the long handle of the golems poleaxe in half, cutting a few inches into its abdomen in the process. The golem reacted quickly, attempting to stab at him with the broken lower half of the handle, now a crude short spear or stake.

Marcus easily ducked underneath it and, tensing his lower body, cleaved up with his sword, managing to sever the extended arm of the golem by the elbow. As its right arm fell to the ground with a thud, the golem stumbled back on purpose, attempting to find enough space to swing the upper half of its broken weapon around to catch him in the side with the sharp edge of its axe. A futile but commendable attempt.

The vampire parried the blow, sending the poleaxe up into the air. With the golem off-balance, it was momentarily vulnerable, and Marcus was not going to waste the opportunity to take it down.

"Netherflame," he intoned in a deep voice as black and purple flames erupted around his sword. Glowing eyes flashing with power, he was about to deal the final blow when his instincts flared once again, this time screaming at him that there was an incoming high-speed attack from above.

He could sense that it was a powerful presence too, one that he could not afford to ignore.

Without any time to think on it, he acted. Changing his target from the golem in front of him, he faced the unknown third assailant and launched his attack up towards them instead. Leaving the ground with enough force to kick up a whirlwind, he swung his sword with a loud cry of challenge heard through the night as he unleashed one of his more powerful attacks. The black and purple flames trailed behind him in a roar and flowed out of his sword in the shape of an arc as he swung, looking like it was going to burn a line through the very night sky itself.

In the half-second before their attacks met, Marcus saw a bright red-orange light hurtling down from the heavens that suddenly turn a deep emerald green before a massive explosion erupted between them. Gritting his teeth, he was thrown back to the ground with immense force.

Even with the wind knocked out of him as his body slammed into the ground with enough force to produce a small crater, Marcus was not down for long. A dull pain filled his body as he rolled and got up on one knee. He coughed, covering his mouth with a hand, and tasted iron in his mouth. He looked down, noticing the blood that covered his palm. His blood.

How long had it been since he had seen his own blood in battle?

Wiping away the blood, he got back to his feet, his eyes glowing ever brighter as a black and purple aura began to form around him. There was no excuse now not to give this fight his all. No more holding back.

With two quick cuts of his blade into the air around him, he managed to disperse the cloud of dust that had formed on the makeshift battlefield. When his eyes found the figure of the newcomer, they could not help but widen ever so slightly in shock.

Standing before him with flowing jet-black hair that fluttered in the wind, and a fierce and excited expression on her beautiful face, was an emerald-armored woman. Her right hand held a black spear that glowed red orange with streaks of green light all along its length. The very air around her hummed and shimmered with power.

"Lady… Jade?" he managed to say.

Her lips spread into smile. "Please stand down, Captain Marcus. There's really no need for all this fighting, and my master would be rather annoyed if you caused any more destruction here than you already have." She gestured vaguely around the somewhat broken and damaged area of the battle.

He was aware of her great physical strength from the sparring matches the vampires and her had held over the last few days, but this went beyond that. To think that she would have this much power… and who was this master she spoke of? From the way she said it, he doubted that she meant the Night Queen.

Still uncertain of the situation, he made sure not to let his guard down. He was begrudgingly not confident if he could win against the human woman before him, painful as that thought was to his pride, but he would not hesitate to fight her if Queen Marielena appeared to be in any danger at all.

Thankfully, that question was answered in the blink of an eye when two vampires appeared next to Lady Jade.

There was Regis, swords sheathed and scratching his head with a slightly embarrassed look while directing a feeble smile at his Captain. And standing next to him was none other than the calm sharp-eyed butler of the Night Queen, Bartholomew.

If he was there and with Lady Jade, then that meant things were more than likely okay. That Lady Jade was not an enemy. There were very few vampires that Marcus trusted to never betray the Night Queen, ambitious and conniving as most of his kind were, and Bartho was one of those few. The butler would give his life before even thinking to betray her. Of that he was absolutely certain.

Marcus relaxed, lowering his sword, though not to the point of sheathing it just yet.

When the silence had stretched on long enough that someone was bound to finally speak up, a massive surge of magical energy from the keep issued forth and they all felt it as a new set of undoubtedly stronger wards enveloped them. Everyone except Lady Jade reacted with surprise, eyes drawn towards the keep nestled into the mountain that towered over the high wall next to them.

"Well, Bartho," Lady Jade spoke first, her spear no longer glowing as she hoisted it to rest across her shoulder. "I'll leave the rest to you."

The vampire butler turned and bowed to her, and Regis – looking very unsure of himself – hastily copied the action, before she promptly left, quickly followed by the two golems.

Marcus silently watched them go, and then turned to lock eyes with the old butler.

"Bartho… what exactly is going on?"

"I know that you have more brawn than brain, Captain Marcus, but surely you could at least deduce what's happening given the information you already have available to you?"

Marcus did not outwardly react to the insult other than to frown ever so slightly. Meanwhile, Regis looked sharply at the butler, though he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Even without any visible weapons, the butler was extremely dangerous based on reputation alone.

"If you can't figure it out for yourself, then I suppose I can give you a hint," said the butler in a flat voice. "He's back." There was a glint in his eye as he spoke those words.

Marcus had to admit that he was no intellectual and was far from the smartest of the vampires in Nifleheim, but he was also not a complete fool. Especially having lived for so long. As soon as Bartho gave the hint, his mind connected all the dots to come to the conclusion that he had already been suspecting in the back of his mind since their arrival here.

"The Demon Lord," Marcus said softly.

The butler gave a curt nod.

"WHAT?!" Regis blurted out, unable to contain himself any longer.

Bartho, face still devoid of emotion, suddenly looked off to the side. Marcus felt them too. The rapid approach of several vampires. One presence was particularly familiar to him. Katarina. No doubt they had come to investigate the fighting.

"I must return to my duties at the keep," said the butler, "I advise you to get back to your posts as well. Great changes are coming, and we are likely to be in the middle of it. To that end, we must all play the roles we are assigned as best as we can, lest we disappoint our betters."

With those parting words, the butler disappeared in a blur of motion and shadow, leaving the two of them standing in silence where the bewildered reinforcements led by Katarina found them moments later.

=x=x=x=x=

"My name is Brognon, son of Bazmunri, of Clan Stoneheart," answered the dwarf in a monotone. "I was born and raised here in Kal'Khorok Unrol almost 27 years ago."

"The City of Black Stone?" said Lady Elena with a raised brow.

"Aye, mistress. Or the Shadow City, some call it, for it was built in the shadow of the great Black Fortress and the mighty Black Mountain. Though the city was once known as Kal'Avnjul Klavram, or in the common tongue, the Nameless City, but my ancestors changed it long before I was brought into this world when it seemed the Demon Lord would not return anytime soon to name it himself."

"And where is your family now? Your clan?"

"Dead. Most of them, at least," said the dwarf without any emotion. "Before I encountered you, I was here paying my respects to them. Their crypts are further into the Hall of the Dead." He gestured towards the back of the chamber, where there were several doors. "Some of my clan still lives, I think. In other holds, far away from here. But I don't know them. All who were once here are no longer among the living. All except myself."

Louise, who was sitting across from the dwarf on the cold stone floor with her back against the table of the altar, could not help but feel saddened upon hearing that. Were he not under some kind of spell, she doubted very much that he could have admitted such things as calmly as he did.

"I read the Book of the Dead. Most of the latest entries described the dwarves dying in battle… What exactly happened here?" asked Lady Elena, and Louise put all her focus into making sure she could hear the answer clearly.

"I was yet in my mother's womb when it happened, mistress, so I cannot say for sure. All I know is what I was told by my mother. Apparently, a group of your kin had arrived some time ago, led by an incredibly powerful vampire. They had at first come in peace and were welcomed with caution, but something happened to make them upset, what it was is unknown, but they ended up slaughtering hundreds of our people before we could even organize any kind of resistance."

The dwarf paused to catch his breath, having said all of that in one go. "Some of my people fled, to where I do not know, nor do I know if they survived or were hunted down, but most stayed here and either fought or hid away. Somehow, my mother survived. When she searched for other survivors, she did not find any, and she ended up toiling to bury all of the dead herself. By the time I was born, she was considerably weak and exhausted, both mentally and physically, but she managed to survive long enough to raise me and teach me how to survive. Though from a young age I ended up taking care of both of us. She passed away shortly after my eleventh name day, and I buried her here with my ancestors."

Louise stared at the back of Lady Elena as the dwarf's tale ended, wondering what she thought of the events that had apparently transpired here. From everything she had said to Louise thus far, it was obvious that the Night Queen had no idea vampires were responsible for this dwarven city's demise. Perhaps she might actually know who they were.

"Do you know the names of any of the vampires who supposedly attacked the city?" asked the vampiress in a hard voice.

The dwarf shook his head. "I'm sorry, mistress. My mother didn't know, so I don't have any names for you. But she did tell me that the one who led them was a man with hair as black as night and a streak of white like a halo ringing his head. He also had a black cape, the inside of which was red, and on the cape was an image of a golden eye."

For one second, there was a sudden torrent of rage and power that exploded out of the Night Queen. A dark aura surrounded her as the blast of power affected even the air, resulting in a blast of wind that shot outwards in every direction. Louise shut her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest as the maelstrom raged around her.

The killing intent that was also unleashed in that second was enough to frighten her into a whimpering mess. Even the entranced dwarf had curled up into a ball, shaking in fear.

Then it was gone as quickly as it had come, and the atmosphere returned to what it normally was, almost as if it had never happened in the first place. Still shaking, breath ragged and heart pounding like it wanted to break free from her chest, she tried to calm herself down.

Had she just imagined it? She looked up and saw the dwarf still curled up by Lady Elena's feet. No, she definitely did not imagine it then. Warily, she glanced at the vampire queen, who had now crossed her arms over her chest. Her fingers tapped against her upper arms.

"Sleep," Lady Elena commanded, and the dwarf instantly slumped into a relaxed posture on the ground.

Louise swallowed hard. Once again, the casual display of power from the woman was frightening.

"Come, Louise. We're done here." Lady Elena began to walk to the exit at a quick pace.

Louise blinked for a couple of seconds in surprise, glancing back and forth between the unconscious dwarf and the departing Lady Elena before she scrambled to her feet and ran to catch up to her. "What about… him?" she asked, breathless.

Lady Elena waved a hand lazily in the air. "I'll have Bartho collect him later."

They exited the Hall of the Dead, retracing their steps as they headed for the surface. Lady Elena seemed to be in deep thought as they walked quietly, and Louise did not dare intrude upon her thoughts. Judging from her split-second reaction to the description of the one who had caused the deaths of all these dwarves, Louise was willing to bet that the vampiress knew who it was.

A powerful wave of magic suddenly passed through them, the epicenter of which seemed to be in the direction that they were heading. Even Lady Elena had paused mid-stride, as if surprised, before she continued on at the same pace without so much as a word of comment.

"What was that?" Louise ventured to ask, slightly concerned that they were heading towards the source.

"Lord Kaji has finally restored the old wards… no, actually he has even improved them from what I remember. They now cover even the city down here, where previously they did not." She said the last part with only a hint of bitterness.

Perhaps the wards might have helped protect the dwarves had they extended down here before.

They made it to the spiral staircase at the heart of the keep by the time Louise gathered the courage to ask one more question. The question that had been burning in her mind since the dwarf had finished his story.

"Lady Elena… do you know who attacked the dwarves?"

The Night Queen stiffened, halting her ascent up the stairs, which forced Louise to do the same. The young girl immediately regretted asking, fearing that she had asked something that she shouldn't, but it was too late to take it back now. She only hoped she would not suffer for her impertinence.

Lady Elena glanced over her shoulder at Louise. Though her face was a blank mask, her eyes shone with boundless fury that made the young girl recoil and instantly look away.

"His name is Kane," she stated with venom dripping from her words, "He is one of the most powerful vampires in the world… More importantly, he is also one of my greatest enemies."

=x=x=x=x=X=x=x=x=x=

Author's Note: Next chapter, Louise's training will begin, among other things. :) Sorry for taking so long... it's been a difficult time. Hope everyone is well.