"I have sampled tonics, tinctures, spirits, soporifics, stimulants, and hallucinogens the world over. I'll tell you right now; nothing can addle the mind quite like love or anger." - Vrarnoluck Jebondig, halfling Pathfinder
1st Eras, 4721 AR
Kintargo, Ravounel
Temperance and Violetta dashed through the street, causing minor alarm at their sudden burst of motion. If that wasn't enough, Temperance drawing his sword and Violetta hefting her scythe ensured that everyone in their way quickly stopped doing so.
"Two vampires. You're sure?" Tem asked her.
"Positive. Powerful ones", Violetta replied, saving her breath.
Tem nodded. Scrolls of detecting the undead were not the only Pharasman boons Violetta had in her repertoire to aid in their hunt. Additionally, Violetta's scythe, Requiem, was imbued with positive energy. While Forbearance was enchanted with holy magic, in addition to flame, positive energy was different. Holy magic came from the Upper Planes, from the Celestial and Good. Positive energy flowed from, appropriately, the Positive Energy Plane, a font of life and the source of healing magic. Positive energy was anathema to the undead, who were, perhaps obviously, sustained by negative energy. Normally, dhampirs like Violetta would not be able to stand positive energy, but as she had said, she was born and sun-blessed in a temple of Sarenrae for precisely that reason.
Templar and Usher hurried down an alley between a cooper's shop and a bakery, Violetta leading the way. Tem had never faced a vampire before. He'd heard plenty of stories growing up; old Sandru's favorite tale was how he, supposedly, married a vampire on accident back in his adventuring days. Tem never believed it, of course, but if there was one thing he had gathered from everything he heard above vampires, it was that they were swift, strong, and durable. They often had other abilities, too. Worst of all, there was not necessarily consistency among all these nobles of the night as to what those other abilities were.
In short, they would have to be ready for anything.
Violetta led them down another residential street. Tem looked at the street sign as they went past.
"There." Violetta pointed at the second townhouse on the south side of the street.
While they ran, Tem drew out the scroll of sending. He read the arcane words under his breath. The ink fizzled and grew blurry. Tem felt magic bloom. He reached out, connecting with Asaf's mind.
Halo. Eastern edge of palace district. Vazdan Street, near intersection with Laern Street. Something tells me you'll hear us. Temperance thought the words, then remembering to add. Two vampires.
Understood. On my way. Asaf replied, and the connection was severed.
They stopped in front of the townhouse for a moment, inspecting the outside.
"They're in there. Upstairs. We're too late." The Usher muttered.
"Too late to stop a killing, maybe." Tem said, approaching the front door. "But not too late to punish those responsible."
"Tem. It's two vampires." Violetta balked, stopping him. "One would be enough for the both of us. I…I know you offered to help, but this…"
Temperance ceased her with a look back and a confident smile.
"You think Ragathiel would forgive me if I walked away from this? No. The Worldwound couldn't kill us. This'll be no different." He assured her, then kicked the front door open.
Wood splintered and the door swung open. Crimson flames flickered and danced about Tem's body, shrouding Forbearance as the tiefling leveled his shield. He heard Violetta tromping in behind him. Together, they ascended the stairs, but before they could reach the top, a pale figure with Chelish features emerged from a door to the right of the upper landing.
She was about what one would expect from a vampire; tall and svelte, pale as the grave, moving with uncanny grace. The vampire was clad in what appeared to be a noble's hunting clothes, practical in function but the soft leathers and furs clearly luxurious in compared to the average forester's gear.
Temperance braced himself for the battle ahead.
"Wait! Stop!" The vampire cried, holding out a hand. Her blonde hair fluttered around her as she skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs.
Temperance did so, feeling Violetta bump into him from behind.
"Tem! What are you doing?!" Violetta snapped.
"She told us to stop." Temperance said, staring up at the vampire.
"Just give me a moment to explain…", the vampire tried to say.
Temperance was smacked on the back of the head and his eyes fluttered. He felt the unseen hooks of magic come free from his mind as he shook off the vampire's command. Still in a mind fog, the tiefling tried to regain himself.
"He just needs a few more, that's all!" The vampire hurriedly spat the words, still not attacking. "As the Euphor runs out, there will be less in peoples' blood. He can come down slowly and…"
Something whizzed past Tem's head. The flask of holy water smashed against the vampire's chest. She shrieked, an air splitting sound that hurt the ears. Tem used that pain to ground himself, raising his shield. The vampire shrieked again, her long fangs baring, her fingernails becoming talons, and she leapt down the stairs, slamming into Tem's shield. Temperance braced and absorbed the lunge, redirecting the leaping attack to slam the vampire into the wall of the stairwell to his left. Paintings and knick knacks fell from their mountings, thunking down the stairs. The vampire merely scrabbled up the wall like a spider, kicking out at Tem with both legs like a mule.
The powerful blow knocked Temperance off balance. He fell back through the railing, down to the hall that led from the front door to the kitchen and dining room in the back of the house. As he landed, he saw Violetta knocked back, falling to the foot of the stairs. The dhampir released her scythe as she fell, the long-hafted weapon a hindrance in the confines of the stairway. Violetta and Requiem landed with a clatter.
Temperance shot to his feet, stabbing up at the vampire's ankles as the creature prepared to spring down upon Violetta. Forbearance struck home, cutting the meat of the vampire's calf, searing the flesh. The vampire hissed and recoiled, giving Violetta time to draw a pair of daggers from the small of her back. Both of their disk shaped pommels bore Pharasman spirals of lapis lazuli set into the steel.
"Lady of Graves" Violetta intoned as a mass of inky darkness solidified into a long-beaked mask of black leather upon her face, "veil me from my foes." That darkness spread from the mask, consuming Violetta, and she faded from sight just as the vampire was leaping down at her.
The vampire's claws raked gashes in the wallpaper of the townhouse. The creature turned, seeking Violetta. Tem wasn't sure what to do. Where was his friend? Had she left the house?
The vampire turned her head just as two puncture wounds opened in her chest. Violetta came into view, still wearing the plague mask, dodging back as the vampire swiped her claws at the Usher. Thick, coagulated blood lazily seeped from the stab wounds as the vampire reset her stance.
"I don't want this. I do not want this!" She seethed. "Begone. Leave us in peace."
"The only peace I'll leave you in is the peace of the grave!" Tem bellowed as he attacked with an overhead slash.
The vampire leapt onto the wall, dodging the attack, then sprang up the stairs in two great bounds. Temperance wasn't sure, but he swore he heard the vampire saying something as she went up the stairs.
Violetta tucked her daggers away, scooping up Requiem and charging up the stairs after their quarry. Tem did the same, right behind the dhampir. However, as they went, the vampire cast a spell. The entire stairwell, both the stairs and the wall, became coated in spider webbing. Templar and Usher's feet were both stuck fast. The vampire, turned on them, fire building in her hand.
"I gave you the chance to flee." The vampire said, almost apologetically.
She sent a gout of flame that engulfed the stairs.
"Two gods-cursed vampires." Asaf growled to himself as he ran through the street, spear in hand. It seemed so obvious now. Cuesa's death had been so different from the others, yet Asaf had not even had the sense to consider a second killer.
Asaf heard the shriek of something bestial and he knew he was getting close. Could the three of them reasonably take down two vampires? The aasimar didn't know, and he didn't care to speculate on the possibility as he ran headlong into trying to answer that very question. All he knew was these bloodsucking monsters were feeding on the people of Kintargo. No matter if it was blood, dreams, psychic energy, or life force, a vampire could not obtain what it needed from non-sapient creatures. They had killed, they would keep killing, and they needed to be stopped.
Asaf emerged onto Vazdan Street on the opposite side from the target house. He was in the middle of crossing the avenue when he heard the unmistakable sound of claws scraping against cobblestones, like a dog off its leash and running.
As Asaf looked to see the source of the noise, he realized his mental analogy was not far off. A pack of seven wolves with russet and grey fur, each one easily over one-hundred pounds, were dashing through the street.
"I need another damned vacation." Asaf groaned to himself. He launched a lightning bolt through the incoming wolves, the bright, jagged projectile burning through two of the canines. They poleaxed over, fell to a stop, then disappeared. They were magically summoned, then, as Asaf suspected.
The remaining wolves attacked. Asaf cast a flight spell on himself and lifted off the street, but one of the wolves leapt up, its powerful jaws clamping down on his left ankle. The beast's teeth easily sank through the leather of the aasimar's boot and made Asaf call out in pain. He stabbed downward with his spear, the blade piercing the wolf's forehead and causing it to fade away at once.
However, the wolf had dragged Asaf down far enough that another of its packmates could leap onto his back. Asaf twisted in the air, causing the wolf to bite down on his shoulder rather than his neck. Though he felt the pressure and bruising spread across his shoulder, luckily the enchanted leather and adamantine studs held fast. Asaf did a forward somersault in the air, hurling the wolf off of him and into one of the others that was about to jump for his throat. Asaf was not high enough to really swoop downwards, but instead skimmed horizontally with all haste, lashing out with his spear. The blade pierced through the back of one wolf and the chest of the other, eliminating them both.
Just as Asaf was going to fly up and assess the situation, one of the two remaining wolves actually bit down on the shaft of his spear before he could pull it back. It was a situation Asaf responded instinctively to, desummoning his spear back into bracelet form. The other wolf used this opening to slam into Asaf from the side, carrying both of them through the air. Asaf was rammed into a lamp post and lost all concentration on his orientation, falling to the street. The wolf that had run into him fell as well, landing on its back and righting itself much more quickly than Asaf could.
Asaf formed his bracelet into the shortsword he had used to fight the slavers, rolling onto his back. One wolf landed on him, fangs bared and dripping. Asaf stabbed the wolf in the flank, channeling a shocking grasp spell through the blade. This set the wolf to juddering and shaking as lightning surged through it. Asaf managed to focus and lift off from the ground as the final wolf surged in to finish him. The aasimar immediately reversed direction, coming down with a two-handed stab that pinned the wolf to the street. He drew the sword out and stabbed it down twice more before the creature finally desummoned.
"Hah! Going to…take more than that to stop…the Worldwalker!" Asaf exclaimed, turning to face the house where the vampires were.
It was on fire.
"Oh, Sarenrae's mercy." He breathed.
Temperance reacted at once. He wrapped his shield arm around Violetta's waist, cutting her feet free from the web with the other hand. As he moved, Tem summoned his wings, curling them around Violetta. Summoning the wings stripped Tem of the additional resistance to fire granted by Ragathiel's magic, but he was a tiefling before he was a Templar. He would endure.
The webbing igniting with a fell whoosh, the cone of fire launched by the vampire engulfing the two hunters. Tem grit his teeth against the heat, holding Violetta close, his burning wings enfolding her. The flames washed around the two of them, Tem able to feel blisters forming on his skin.
Once the initial blast of flame was past, the vampire hurried into the room she had initially emerged from. Temperance surmounted the stairs with a flap of his wings, setting Violetta on her feet once they reached the top.
"Th-Thanks, Tem." Violetta said with an unusual stammer.
"Anytime, Fangs." Tem said, furling his wings by leaving them on his back, already heading into the bedroom.
The bedroom was a scene of carnage. Blood was splattered in every which direction, soaking the bedsheets and dotting the walls and even the ceiling. A man dressed similarly to the vampire woman was hunched over the mutilated corpse of a humanoid that Tem couldn't identify. The woman was tugging his arm, trying to pull him off the corpse. For his part, the vampiric man was half drinking blood, half eating the flesh of his victim.
"More…a bit more…just a bit more, love…", the man was repeating, his words uncomfortably slurred and wet from a mouth full of human remains.
"We have to go, my love. Now!" The woman was urging, but her companion was paying no heed, actively throwing her arm off.
Temperance and Violetta did not give the vampires a chance for better cooperation or more magic. The vampire woman released her companion and moved to bar the way, but Violetta once again used her mask's ability to turn invisible. Temperance engaged the vampire woman, slashing twice at her with Forbearance. The woman dodged both attacks, backing away from the burning sword, desperately looking around for Violetta.
Sching
The male vampire's head was shorn from his body, Violetta appearing behind his corpse on the bed. Normally, this would have resulted in the vampire turning into a cloud of mist and retreating to their coffin. Not so with a killing blow delivered bearing positive energy. The life-giving magic severed the thread of negative energy that tethered the vampire's soul to the Material Plane. The headless body slumped into the disgusting morass of his victim.
The scream that filled Tem's ears could have put the clatter of a full scale clash of armies to shame as the female vampire watched her love be struck down. She ignored Temperance, throwing herself at Violetta. The dhampir was tackled off the bed to the far side from Tem.
"YOU HALF-BREED FILTH! I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT!" The vampire screamed, her ravening claws barely kept at bay by Requiem's haft.
Tem leapt onto the bed and drove downward with Forbearance, slashing a wide, charred path through the vampire's back, exposing her spine. The vampire arched her back unnaturally, giving Violetta the chance to throw the creature off. Injured, her lover dead, smoke filling the room, the fire from the stairwell beginning to consume the townhouse, the vampire glanced between her two opponents, then chose to leap through the bedroom's window that faced the street. Glass shattered, Temperance taking a futile step after her. However, there was another scream outside, and Tem ran to the window to see what happened.
Just below the window, Asaf was floating in the air, a cloud of mist dissipating around his shortsword and whisking off into the darkness.
"The beast summoned wolves." Asaf said, indicating his damaged armor and bleeding ankle. "Get out of there. It will take most of my magic, but I'll try to contain this fire.
"Alright." Temperance said, turning to Violetta. "Here. I've got you."
The dhampir allowed herself to be taken into Tem's arms, the blush on her cheeks surely the result of the fire and the exertion of battle.
Tem jumped out of the window, gliding down to the street and setting Violetta down. As they watched, Asaf flew above the house, using great cones of frost magic to try to stifle, or at least slow, the fire. There was little either Templar or Usher could do to aid the aasimar in his work. Along the street, neighbors who heard the screeches of the vampire and sounds of battle were emerging, some beginning to evacuate their houses to get out of the path of the fire. A bell was ringing somewhere further in the city, no doubt summoning the guards in their role as the fire brigade.
"Got one." Tem said, his throat raw from smoke. He coughed and spat, feeling the sweat on his body rapidly cool in the night breeze off the Arcadian Ocean. The blisters across his body pulsed uncomfortably.
"Yes." Violetta rasped, leaning on Requiem, the blade of the scythe still dark from the vampire's clotted blood. She looked up at him, a thoughtful, analytical expression on her face.
"What is it?" Tem asked.
"It's, ah…nothing. Don't worry about it." The dhampir said softly.
Tem raised an eyebrow, but didn't press. It was hardly the time for it. Unable to just sit and be still, the tiefling set about the task of knocking on the doors of nearby houses, ensuring those who hadn't shown any signs of activity. Violetta joined him in this task.
Asaf managed to contain the fire to the townhouse it had started in, the rest dealt with by the fire brigade. The aasimar alighted on the ground beside his companions and hopped on one leg until he could down a healing potion and put weight on his bad ankle.
"We're in no condition to pursue that thing." Violetta said, now favoring one leg as the adrenaline of battle faded; a result of being tossed down the stairs, most likely. "It will be a few days before she's fully recovered, and she has a limited amount of time to return to her coffin, limiting our search radius nicely. We should get some rest and I'll be able to follow her trail with more of the scrolls in the morning."
Both Tem and Asaf agreed with silent nods. The aasimar had clearly suffered the worst of this fight, but Tem wasn't exactly feeling great after being thrown off the stairs himself and immolated shortly after that.
It could have been worse. They could have been forced to fight two vampires at once. Temperance saw in his mind's eye the male vampire desperately hunched over his victim, unswerving from his craving in spite of the mortal danger confronting him. It felt wrong to think it, given the vampire was a murderer, but it was poignantly tragic to Tem, to see a creature of such power and capability reduced to that state. He cursed Hobbe for the umpteenth time, imagining all the unfortunate citizens of Kintargo who would be going through crippling withdrawal over the next few days.
"Could go for an ale." Tem grunted.
"Normally, I would be absolutely remiss to deny a glass of wine after a victorious battle." Asaf said. "But given I was just recently used as a chew toy, I shall be retiring to my room upon our return to the inn."
"I'll join you for that ale." Violetta decided.
So decided, the trio left the fire brigade to their work.
True to his word, Asaf trudged upstairs the moment they got back to the inn, not even taking a bath beforehand. The inn was called Domina's Drink, though whether the Domina herself had ever had a drink there was anyone's guess. It was certainly a nice place, with a much more refined clientele than the Fumbler's Tumbler had catered to. This meant the heavily armed tiefling and dhampir were pointedly ignored by most of the other patrons.
Tem and Violetta stored their gear in Tem's room, Tem coming back down in the gambeson and leather breeches he wore beneath his plate, Violetta doing the same in a dark arming shirt and linen trousers. The two former Crusaders found an open table in a back corner of the Domina's Drink and sank into their seats. Around them, the establishment was awash with Ravounel iconography. Blue and white were everywhere; the glaze on the flower pots, the flowers themselves, the tinted crystal of the wine goblets. Reproduced portraits of Domina Jilia Bainilus, alongside other nobles who upheld the secession from Cheliax, lined the walls.
The waiter who brought them their beer spoke with clipped, concise words. The two drank slowly and sat in silence for a while. It was not an awkward silence for Tem. He'd spent a lot of nights in Drezen's Half-Measure Tavern with Violetta, Dergir, and Arashi during the Crusade, and sometimes all they did was sit, drink, and be near each other. To Temperance, this was a comfort. Now, as with back then, he could look across the table and see one of his friends enjoying a beer, alive and well, with another day of battle behind them.
At some point, Tem realized Violetta was staring at him over the rim of her mug. The tiefling cocked his head and broke the silence.
"I'd say 'copper for your thoughts', but in a place like this it'd have to be a silver." Tem said quietly.
Violetta scoffed, then, "true, true. Forgive me. I was just…thinking."
"About?" Tem prompted.
Violetta sighed, and for a brief span it seemed like she wasn't going to elaborate. Tem didn't press her on the issue. They weren't in a hurry.
"On the stairs." Violetta finally said, speaking into her beer before taking a long drink, setting down the empty mug.
"Aye. That was a mess, wasn't it?" Tem chuckled grimly.
"Well, yes, but…", she drew in a deep breath, then let to puff out, "...Tem, in a situation like that, you don't have time to think. You have to act on instinct alone. Your first instinct was to protect me at your own expense."
"Knew I could take the fire. It's not often I get the actual benefits of demon blood." Temperance joked, waving his tail for emphasis.
Violetta tried to muster a smile, but it didn't quite work. "You weren't thinking that, though. Not really." She screwed her eyes shut as if frustrated, then waved to the waiter, pointing towards their mugs. "I don't want you to get hurt for my sake, Tem. This little mission we're on is already far bigger than I thought."
"I know where you're going with this, Fangs." Tem said. He spoke firmly, but not unkindly. "And you can stow it. I took the oaths of the Crimson Templars because I wanted to protect people and destroy evil. You are my friend. I don't have many of those. In fact, you're one of my best friends. Whatever happens, whatever comes our way, if I can protect you from it, I will do it gladly."
Violetta's hands balled up on the tabletop and, for a moment, it looked like she might start crying.
"Now, I say all this", Temperance tacked on with a wink, "but we both know you're going to have to keep me from dancing with a succubus again or something like that."
Violetta laughed, a joyful sound, and though a few tears did run down her cheeks, they were not the sort that were unfortunate to see. Tem laughed with her.
Refills were placed before them. As Tem grabbed his, he looked around the room and saw a bunch of patrons were staring at them for all the noise.
"Uh, gods save Domina Jilia." Tem said to the room, raising his mug slightly.
A few murmurs of agreement and repetitions of the blessing on the Domina. Tem and Violetta turned to each other and laughed again, this time more quietly.
"By Alseta's two faces, I had forgotten about the succubus." Violetta said with another giggle.
"I wish I could." Tem sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Another few moments of quiet passed.
"It's…It's really good to see you again, Tem." The dhampir finally said. Both her hands clutched her mug and her fingers drummed against it. "I missed you." A pause. "All three of you, I mean." She cleared her throat.
"Aye. I do wish these chairs were full." Tem agreed, looking to the two open spaces at the table. "But I am glad I got to see you, Fangs. And no matter how dangerous it is, I'm glad we have a chance to help you."
"A few hours ago, I would have said that I wouldn't have minded if it was just you." Violetta admitted. "But, if nothing else, the Worldwalker has proven he's not all talk."
"He's alright. Arrogant, sure, and definitely thinks with the wrong head a lot of the time, from what I've seen." Tem mused, taking a drink, then remembering his defense of Tem at the Fumbler's Tumbler. "Definitely has a good heart at the center of it all, I think. We served with far worse in Sarkoris. Remember Hulrun?"
"Lady of Graves, that bastard." Violetta groaned. "What a self-righteous prick."
They reminsced on the people they once knew. Irabeth Tirabade, the mighty paladin of Iomedae and leader of the Eagle Watch. Irabeth's wife, Anevia, a cunning rogue and the one who taught Violetta about the potion that changed her physical form. Queen Galfrey, once queen of Mendev, now Herald of Iomedae (though they couldn't claim to have really known her). Of course, Dergir and Arashi were talked about a lot, as well.
The day's events and the alcohol finally took their toll. The pair briefly argued over who would pay the tab before agreeing to split it. When they rose and Violetta collected her gear, Tem walked her outside to the street.
"I'll meet the two of you here at dawn." Violetta said as they stopped on the sidewalk.
"Still the early riser." Tem noted with a grin.
"'Your body will have plenty of time for sleep when your soul is in the River.'" Violetta quoted with a shrug.
"Will you even be in the River of Souls? Won't Pharasma make a psychopomp out of you?" Tem asked.
Another shrug. "Perhaps." Violetta admitted. "That would be the most ideal outcome for me. But even for that, I'll need to travel the River to stand before the Lady of Graves and receive that judgement. It's in My Lady's hands, as all lives are eventually."
Tem nodded. "Well, maybe you'll be the one to guide me to my place in Ragathiel's garrison." He said with confidence.
Violetta smiled, but it was wan. "Perhaps. Should that actually come to pass, it would be my honor to do so." She looked up at him. "But…I'd prefer to enjoy your company among the living for now, if that's alright."
"I can live with that." Tem said, cringing. "No pun intended."
They stood there for a few moments longer. There was an unfamiliar intensity to Violetta's gaze, like she was trying to will herself to say something. Tem felt self-conscious all of a sudden.
"Tem…?" Violetta began.
"What is it?" The tiefling asked her.
Another few moments of silence.
Then, the dhampir sighed. "Thanks again for saving my backside today."
Not certain what just happened, Tem said, "of course. I know you'd do the same for me."
"I would." Violetta agreed. "Alright. Well. Goodnight, Tem. Sweet dreams."
"G'night." Tem replied as Violetta walked away.
Temperance was left with an odd feeling in his gut as he watched his Violetta walk away. He wasn't exactly bad with people, but he also couldn't read them like others could. Arashi had been an expert at figuring people out. How Tem wished that smooth-talking swordsman was here to give him some advice on their old friend.
With nothing else to do, Tem went back into the tavern and to his room. Confusion about Violetta or not, he'd be useless against a vampire and Ragathiel knew what else if he was exhausted the next day.
2nd Eras, 4721 AR
Five miles southeast of Kintargo, Ravounel
The rain returned the next day.
Much of Ravounel was a coastal lowland, kept arable by a series of dikes and dams. Small rivers, streams, and creeks threaded through the farmland, many of them branching off the Yolubilis River. They were not so prevalent as to call the area a delta or an estuary, but it was clear someone, probably Old Cheliax, had to invest a lot of coin in a series of stone bridges over these many obstacles.
Temperance and Asaf rode in the back of a covered wagon with a half-dozen Pharasman devouts in black brigandine armor known as Graveguards. The Graveguards were armed with blessed hammers and crossbows, each of them an inscrutable and dour statue behind their helms. Up on the driver's bench and holding the reins was none other than Father Oberius, who followed Violetta's guidance. Oberius wore only his robes and a wide brimmed hat with three raven feathers tucked into a band around the cap. He had explained that he was an ecclesitheurge; a cleric who eschewed armor and shields in exchange for a greater connection to their patron's divine magic. All in all, though fairly small in number, it was a formidable group, especially in regards to facing down the undead.
As the wagon bumped and rolled down the road, the rain pattering against the canvas over their heads, Tem looked across the way at Asaf. The aasimar looked tired, but focused.
"Halo." Tem said after a while.
"Hm?" The aasimar asked.
"I know I said it the other day, but I don't think I said it properly." Temperance said. "You stuck up for me in the Fumbler's Tumbler. You didn't have to do that. You could have just walked away and said it wasn't your problem. I won't forget that, and I'm sorry for lashing out at you afterwards."
Asaf's easy smile leapt onto his face. He was not at all opposed to receiving praise, it seemed.
"It would not do for word to get out that Asaf the Worldwalker allows his compatriots to be spoken ill of." He said, though he did grow a bit more serious before saying, "your apology is unnecessary, Sir Temperance. I was misunderstanding your circumstances, it seems. Your life…it is very different from mine."
"You could say that again." Tem agreed. "Look, I know we got off to a bad start back in Absalom, but after the mess aboard the Godray, dealing with Hobbe, and that scrap last night, I can definitely say I don't mind having you watch my back. I hope you can say the same about me." The tiefling offered his hand across to Asaf.
Asaf considered his hand for a moment, then gripped it and gave it a firm shake. "Yes, I certainly think I can say that. Which is good, considering what we're about to do."
"You aren't kidding." Tem sighed, leaning back against the side of the wagon. "What should we expect?"
"This vampire was able to stand up to a Mortal Usher and a Crimson Templar in face-to-face combat. That is no mean feat." Asaf reasoned, stroking his chin. "She is powerful. We can expect servitors of some kind, perhaps enthralled bandits or previous victims transformed into vampire spawn. Of course, each vampire is an individual so who knows? I once faced a vampire alongside clerics of Nana Anandi deep in the jungles of Mwangi. The vampire had been creating these brutish automatons of flesh and bone with corpses from battlefields. I heard of another who spent their days binding spirits to their lair to fend off intruders. In short, we must be ready for anything."
"Great." Tem said quietly.
The wagon eventually came to a halt. Everyone filed out. The weather had cleared somewhat, the blue sky broken up by large banks of grey and white clouds. The wagon had stopped on a mostly overgrown lane leading up a hill to a castle perched on a small cliff. The cliff overlooked a stream that ran in a curve around its base.
The castle itself was in poor condition. The curtain wall was fallen in in several places, though with ivy and other creeper plants adorning its face. There were a few places were cracks had formed in the mortar, a loose stone here and there, but nothing major. Only half of the six towers around the wall still stood. The keep beyond looked to be in similarly bad shape, based on what they could see from the outside. The stream wrapped around enough of the castle that a drawbridge was necessary to reach the front gates.
"Why's a fortress like this abandoned and in ruin so close to Kintargo?" Tem wondered.
"No one to garrison it." Oberius said as he hopped down from the driver's bench, walking with a ebony wood staff topped with a dire raven's skull the size of Tem's fist. "Cheliax found it redundant even before they took their armies with them when they left the Ravounel. Domina Jilia's built up the strength to keep the towns and roads safe enough, but little else. You'll find keeps like this scattered across Ravounel. Some are bandit havens or breeding grounds for beasts. Common job for adventurers around here is clearing them."
"Mm", Tem grunted in confirmation, drawing Forbearance and his shield.
"Stay together and keep alert." Violetta said, taking charge of the group as she hefted Requiem and squared herself with the fortress. "Few creatures survive an undeath of hunting sapient mortals by being foolish or reckless."
Tem didn't mention the thought of how reckless the vampires had needed to be in the first place in order to get caught the previous night. But that, obviously, had been a situation possessing extenuating circumstances. Now, they would be dealing with a vampire whose mind was bent on vengeance. The only thing the group could know for certain was in their favor was the fact that the vampire woman would still be far from fully healed.
Violetta led the way forward. The drawbridge was down, the chains that hauled it up either snapped or simply gone. Beyond the bridge, the gate leading into the city was open.
"At least we don't have to storm the walls." Tem muttered as they cross the drawbridge.
"True, though I admit I am discomfited by the fact that our host believes herself secure enough to leave the gate unobstructed." Asaf reasoned, ready with spear and spell.
"An aura of undeath surrounds this place. Suffuses it." Violetta said quietly. "Picking out a single undead creature in here will be impossible. Be on guard."
The inner yard of the castle was overgrown with weeds and wild flowers. The wooden outbuildings were beginning to suffer from the elements. Off to their right, beside the keep, the roof thatching of a smithy was collapsed in a large section. It looked like an untended fire had burned down what had been a kitchen on the opposite side of the keep. Practice yards were choked with weeds, training were dummies barely seen outlines among the vegetation.
"The coffin will be somewhere that is out of the sunlight." Oberius reasoned. "The keep is our surest bet."
"Agreed, Father. We should begin there." Violetta said. Even though she was the ranking person present thanks to her status as a Mortal Usher, the dhampir clearly held Father Oberius in high regard.
"Turn back." A voice said, echoing out from the empty doorway leading into the keep.
Everyone paused, raising weapons.
"Show yourself." Violetta demanded, Requiem held up and ready to strike out.
The speaker gladly did so, emerging from the keep. The man was equipped like an Ulfen warrior, wearing a hauberk of chainmail and a rounded spectacle helm. The Ulfen carried round shield, a spear, and a one-handed axe. He was equal to Tem in height, but the corruption of the grave had taken his bulk. The Ulfen was withered, his flesh pallid. The skin of his face was pulled tight, making his eyes and mouth seem too large. The braided beard that hung from his chin was brittle and tangled.
"Turn back at once, and there will be no death today." The Ulfen wight said. "I am Arjyk Biorrsson, called Shield-Splitter, huscarl to King Sveln of Vylkavik. I am bound to guard this place, as much as I wish I was not, and so I give you the chance to flee. My mistress is weak right now, her hold not as strong as it once was. I'm guessing you're the ones who wounded her."
"We are." Violetta replied. "If you wish you weren't under this vampire's control, then stand down and allow yourself to be destroyed, wight." Her disgust undead was plain in her voice.
Arjyk showed a rueful, fierce smile. "There are two problems with that. The first; Mistress Helvetia may be weak right now, but her power remains. She compels me to guard this place. The second; Arjyk Shield-Splitter has never submitted to any foe, and that will not begin today. If you wish to pass, prove yourselves worthy, and send my soul along the River to meet my shield-siblings in the Maelstrom. I should have joined the Einherji long ago. If you do not turn back, perhaps you will be the ones to finally grant me that honor."
Many warlike gods, namely Gorum, the Lord in Iron, did not have Celestials or Fiends, serving them, but were followed by the Valkyries, the Choosers of the Slain. The Einherji were those chosen slain who died bravely in battle.
"Fangs." Tem said quietly, standing at her shoulder. "Let me handle this."
"What do you mean?" Violetta asked, looking back at him.
"You'll see. The tiefling said..
Temperance then stepped forward. Focused as they were on chivalry and honor, Crimson Templars were well-versed in the dueling etiquette of cultures around Golarion.
"Arjyk Shield-Splitter, I, Sir Temperance Tasgal of the Crimson Templars, called the Hallow-Horn, challenge you to holmgang." Tem declared, pointing at the Ulfen with his sword. "To be fought here and now, in sight of the Lord in Iron." It was a common way that Ulfens and Kellids resolved larger conflicts with single combat.
Arjyk's surprised managed to show through his withered features.
"Oh, Gorum knows how long I have been waiting to hear those words once again." Arjyk managed a rictus smile and a languorous wink. A new spirit, new purpose, seemed to suffuse him, some semblance of the life that once filled his now ruined body. "It is a shame I will be unable to keep the rest of your friends from getting through this door while fighting you."
"Clever." Asaf said quietly. "Helvetia is weak, still healing. Her hold on this man must not be as strong, as he claims. He fulfills the compulsion provided by his master while allowing her demise."
Temperance squared up with Arjyk. "I'll hold his attention. If I fall, he'll come after you, so make it quick in there."
"Let me stay and help you." Violetta insisted.
"No. This is a holmgang. It's me and him." Tem said over his shoulder, meeting her eyes.
Violetta frowned, but she did not stop Temperance. Something passed between them, conveyed with eye contact alone. It was a look they had shared many times before, sometimes in the heat of battle.
I trust you. I don't want you to get hurt, but I trust you.
That trust made Tem's heart feel full even in this dire situation.
"Enough talk." Arjyk declared, clanging his spear against his shield. "I, Arjyk Shield-Splitter, Prow-Breaker, and Jotunn-Slayer, accept your challenge, Temperance Hallow-Horn. We will fight unto death."
"Then may Ragathiel watch over me." Temperance intoned, charging the Ulfen wight.
Arjyk hurled his spear, which Temperance deflected and kept going. Forbearance slammed into the Arjyk's shield, but the Ulfen held fast. He struck with his axe several times, the bearded blade ringing off Tem's shield.
Violetta led everyone else around the duel. Arjyk actually stopped for a moment, turning to face them, some compulsion warring in him. It was the perfect opening for an attack.
Tem did not take the opening.
With a snarl, Arjyk refocused on Tem and made a series of savage strikes, backing the tiefling up in a circle around the yard.
"You honor me and yourself, Sir Temperance." Arjyk was saying amid his assault.
"I would shame myself and my family if I took advantage like that during a holmgang." Tem replied, finally managing to deflect the axe and riposte with a cut and thrust that drove Arjyk back.
The two warriors stared and circled each other.
"Family…you do look familiar but I can't place it." Arjyk said as he measured Temperance up and down. "You hail from Vylkavik?"
"No idea." Tem replied. Then he lunged, flames roaring on Forbearance. He stabbed low, which Arjyk dodged, but Tem rotated his wrist and slashed upward. He cut the side of Arjyk's head and took the wight's helmet off. Arjyk didn't react to what should have been incredibly painful. Tem was then doubled over as the rim of Arjyk's shield punched him full force in the gut. His breastplate absorbed the worst, but the air was driven from Tem's lungs and he had to raise his shield to keep his skull from being cleaved open. The sound the axe made against the shield was disconcerting. Tem definitely heard something crack. It was the only piece of equipment he wore that wasn't enchanted. Had the fight against Sehaton weakened the shield?
"The name 'Shield-Splitter' was earned honestly." Tem wheezed as he slashed across his body then kicked low.
Arjyk blocked the slash, then raised his leg to take the kick on his shin, which knocked him back a couple paces. "Aye. I earned the name when Foebiter here sundered the shield of a Hellknight with a big mouth." He raised his axe. "Needless to say, he was a lot quieter when I was done."
They circled again. Tem was at a distinct disadvantage in a lot of ways. Arjyk wouldn't tire, nor would minor wounds impede him very much. However, the wight's movements were somewhat stiff. If Tem could attack with a bit more speed…
Clang.
The tiefling's shield rang against the ground as he cast it aside and gripped Forbearance with both hands. Better to discard it of his own volition than to have it shatter in his grip. Tem changed his stance, holding the bastard sword in a high guard.
"Well, the world could always use fewer Hellknights. You have my respect for that." The Templar said. "Now. Prepare yourself."
Tem charged back into the fray.
Not at all liking how keen his partner seemed on getting himself killed, Asaf moved into the keep with the others all the same, the duel between tiefling and wight ringing on behind them. Violetta seemed even less enthused, but set a hard face and kept going forward.
The first room of the keep was an entry hall full of dust covered portraits and standing suits of armor left to rust. A stairway immediately to their right hugged the wall, turning left twice before reaching a second floor landing that overlooked the entrance. A stone's throw straight ahead was another set of double doors, while there was an opening near those double doors in the otherwise solid wall to the left. Sunlight shafted down all the way through the structure, coming in through holes in walls, ceilings, and the floors above. Large piles of dank, rodent infested rubbled marked where entire sections of the structure had fallen in.
"She will be in the cellar, where there is no risk of sunlight getting in." Violetta said with confidence. It made sense to Asaf. The dhampir went on, "straight ahead, then."
They moved on.
Just as the group was passing through the far doors, the protest of metal against metal could be heard, quickly followed by a cry of pain. Everyone wheeled around to see that the nearest suit of armor had come to life and smashed through the body armor of one of the Graveguards with a halberd. The other suits of armor were coming to life, as well. The nearest Graveguard crushed the helmet of the offending armor suit, then slammed another blow against the thing's flank, which caused a sharp snap of disrupted magic as the armor pieces were thrown against the wall in a clattering heap.
"Don't aim for the heads. The torso is where the animating magic all binds together!" Asaf warned his compatriots. He collapsed his spear back into bracelet form, spoke an arcane word, and clapped his hands together, sending forth a burst of thundering energy. Two armor suits were caught in the arc of magic, one staggered and dented, the nearer of the two being instantly blown apart.
The Graveguards did as they were told, targeting the remaining suits of armor. They were slow and their rusted bodies did not hold up to the attacks. Just as the last one fell in a heap, several more appeared on the overlooking landing of the stairway and fired down with crossbows. One Graveguard was hit twice in the shoulder, another in the back of the head.
Oberius raised a barrier that protected those still standing as Violetta responded by leaping onto the railing of the stairs, bounding around the corner to the next rail, then skipping off the rail to hit the wall. She sprang from the wall to close the rest of the distance with these new suits of armor before they could reload, Requiem buzzing through the air twice. Four rusty suits of armor created a near deafening clamor as they fell to pieces.
"I think we're clear!" Violetta said.
Oberius was pulling the crossbow bolts from the Graveguard who'd been shot in the shoulder, closing the wounds with healing magic. "First a wight, now animate armor. Layers of defense, meant to wear us down."
Violetta vaulted the railing from above and landed easily among the survivors of her group. "Indeed, Father. We're lucky Lord Asaf knew their weakness."
"I've learned quite a bit in my travels, Lady Violetta." Asaf said simply. "But we can thank each other for our contributions later. We must hurry and destroy Helvetia."
The Usher led them through the far double doors, which brought the group to the castle's audience chamber. The next door yielded a long hall running left and right with a moldering carpet covering the floor. Further in the hall was a stairwell leading downward into darkness. That wouldn't be an issue for Asaf or Violetta, but the humans with them would be blind.
"Show us the way, My Lady." Oberius intoned, the skull on the end of his staff becoming a beacon of brilliant daylight.
Down into the darkness they went, their shadows cast starkly against bare walls of mold dusted stone by Oberius's light.
Had better make our journey down here quick. Asaf thought as he looked at the mold. Would rather not have to breathe that garbage in for too long. He had a moment of reflection at the absurdity of the fact that his greatest concern was the mold on the wall rather than whatever might lay in wait for them in the basement. Such was the life of any Pathfinder worth their salt, Asaf supposed. When one engaged with the extraordinary on an everyday basis, the mundane had a way of being exceptional by sheer contrast.
The bottom of the stairs yielded a long hallway with several doors on either side of it, a final one at the very end. The air was musty and damp, with moisture gathering in cracks in the walls and ceiling. There were a few bones spread across the ground; humanoid bones, to Asaf's reckoning.
"One room at a time." Violetta said.
The doors, all save the one at the end, slammed open as if in response to Violetta's words. People emerged, moving with unnatural speed. They screeched and protested as they entered Oberius's light, but it did not stop them from charging. They were pallid things, their clothes in filthy tatters, their bodies emaciated. Talons tipped the fingers of these despicable wretches, and vampiric fangs showed from their caterwauling mouths.
"Vampire spawns." Asaf realized, preparing and hurling a fireball down the hall. The spawns reacted swiftly, leaping onto the walls and ceiling, scuttling like spiders. The fireball exploded and consumed a couple of the creatures, reducing them to ash in an instant. Between the fiery light and the lurching movements of the creatures, Asaf couldn't get an accurate count of how many remained. It was no horde, to be sure, but these were no common zombies.
Then the vampire spawns were on them.
Forbearance made a burning arc through the air, slamming against Arjyk's shield. The wooden shield was barely scratched, but Arjyk was rocked back by the blow. Temperance didn't let up, using the momentum of the rebound from the shield to bring Forbearance around into an uppercutting slash.
Arjyk halted the bastard sword with the steel rim of his shield, hacking with Foebiter. Tem leaned to the side, letting the axe swish scant inches from his face the scrape uselessly down his breastplate. He drew Forbearance back as if drawing it from a scabbard, reversing his hands as the sword sprang backwards, clutching the blade. Without his wings manifested and not flaring the flames, Tem resisted the heat of the sword long enough to take it in a mordhau grip, holding by the blade and using the crossguard like a warhammer. Arjyk showed visible surprise, barely reacting to get his shield in the way.
Tem had anticipated this. He hooked the shield with the crossguard and pulled, yanking the shield off the wight's arm. The shield struck the ground and rolled several feet like a tossed discus before clattering to the ground.
Surprised by how easily the shield had come free, Temperance was actually thrown off balance, Forbearance slipping from his grasp as he went tumbling to the ground, only then seeing that he hadn't just pulled the shield free. Arjyk's desiccated arm flopped to the earth. Tem expected the Ulfen to be upon him and desperately scrambled to his feet. However, while some force was clearly trying to compel Arjyk to seize the initiative and attack, the Ulfen remained in place, fighting against it.
"Only fair." Arjyk stated, his skeletal grin a combination of pride, strain, and genuine cheer.
Tem saluted his opponent with his sword, saying, "I wish I could have fought alongside you in life, Shield-Splitter", before resuming his stance. Sweat was running down his face, beading on the end of his nose.
"Worry not, Hallow-Horn", Arjyk said, doing the same. "I will seek you out in the time of ash and sword, the hour of wind and wolves, at the end of all things. There, we will stand as oathsworn brothers against the darkness."
"Agreed." Tem declared.
The two of them stormed ahead at the same time. With his shield gone and an arm missing, Arjyk was the disadvantaged one now. Clearly he knew this, for he suddenly threw his axe.
It was Tem's turn to be caught off guard. Suddenly, Foebiter was coming end over end through the air at him. The tiefling acted instinctively, lifting Forbearance to try to deflected the axe. Temperance was successful…but only partially. He managed to lightly slap Foebiter with the flat of his bastard sword, turning the flight of the axe. Rather than slamming into the center of his face, the axe veered, cutting into the flesh of his left cheek. The downward spin of the axe blade carved a deep furrow into Tem's left cheek below the eye, its course carving a notch from the base of the Templar's ear and down to the back of his jaw. It struck the shoulder of his breastplate at a bad angle but still managed to stick in the steel and bite a shallow wound in the tiefling's shoulder.
Arjyk reached Tem at a sprint, the Ulfen's final weapon in his hand; a seax with a broad, single-edged, eighteen inch blade. Arjyk came in low, intending to spring up and drive his seax under Tem's chin or into the tiefling's eye. Unable to bring Forbearance up in time, Tem turned his torso ever so slightly. As Arjyk tried to come up with his attack, the handle of his own axe was driven into his eye. The cloudy eyeball burst under an impact that wrenched Foebiter from Tem's shoulder. Arjyk once again did not react in pain, but still moved awkwardly as half his vision was suddenly gone, his deathblow attack foiled.
Temperance took Forbearance in both hands, taking one strong step into the baffled wight's reach, then whipped the sword around, flaring the flames for all he was worth. The blade met resistance, but kept going, filling the air with the stink of rotting and burned meat, rusting chainmail links scattering across the castle's courtyard. Then, Arjyk's one-armed torso was falling to the ground with a rattle of mail, his legs stumbling drunkenly before falling as well. Temperance ran up on the Ulfen, stomped on his remaining wrist, then slashed away his hand, sending the seax skittering away.
Then, Forbearance was at Arjyk's throat. Tem's vision was fuzzing a little at the pain lancing through the side of his face. Hot blood was running down his neck, soaking into his gambeson and shirt, nevermind the wound in his collarbone. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to catch his breath.
"Hah! Gorum's own blade, that was a good fight!" Arjyk said, sounding awfully excited for an undead torso with no hands and only one arm.
"I'm glad…you enjoyed it." Tem breathed. "Do you have any last wishes?"
Arjyk nodded, his expression turning serious. "I do. First, I want you to have my shield, Blackbole, Hallow-Horn. It was crafted from the bark-skin of an ancient treant I once hunted near a portal to the First World. Consider it my thanks, and my apology for breaking yours."
"I'll carry it gladly. Thank you." Temperance said with a dip of his horned head.
"Of course." Arjyk said. "Second, Foebiter and my seax. I want those returned to my kin. My son is Galmar Arjyksson. I don't know if he has earned any epithets or if he still lives. He was not that old when I left Vylkavik, though that was many years ago." There was some regret in the Ulfen's withered face, but not as much as Tem would have expected. "You have my eternal gratitude, Hallow-Horn. Now, you have friends that need your help, and I must go on to meet my destiny at the end of the River of Souls."
"Until we meet again, Arjyk Biorrsson." Tem said, then drove Forbearance up into Arjyk's brain. The wight fell still.
Temperance could once again feel Ragathiel's approval, just as he had after the duel with Cormac Blight-Needle. It was stronger this time.
"This victory is yours, General of Vengeance." Temperance uttered as he started making his way into the keep. "Here's hoping it isn't the only one for today."
"We will not fall here!" Father Oberius roared, a font of positive energy rippling from him as the spawns drew close. Whatever minor injuries everyone might have sustained fighting the animate armor suits were healed. At the same time, the spawns were ravaged by it, their undead flesh sloughing from their forms, causing them to spit and snarl like wounded animals.
Then they were upon the group. A Graveguard's hammer smashed one into the floor, but another behind the first leapt upon her, wrenching the Graveguard's head aside and sinking its fangs into her neck. Violetta hooked Requiem around the spawn's body and pulled hard, the scythe splitting the vampire spawn in twain.
Asaf found himself to the right of the group, squaring off against a pair of spawns, one slightly ahead of the other. The nearer one was on the wall, but leapt to the ceiling, then jumped again, this time directly at Asaf. The aasimar caught his foe on his spear. The spawn snapped at him, grasping the spear shaft and trying to bite Asaf's face. The Pathfinder turned, collapsing his spear into bracelet form just as the second spawn leapt from the wall. The same instant the first spawn had nothing to grasp onto anymore, its friend slammed into it, sending the two creatures tumbling in a tangle of limbs.
Asaf resummoned his weapon into the form of a thick-bladed machete, hacking down and taking the head off the first spawn. The second shoved the headless corpse of its compatriot back at Asaf with surprising strength for one so decrepit. Asaf was buffeted by the body and the spawn dove for his legs, wrapping and pinning them, causing the aasimar to topple over. He hacked down at the spawn as the thing's claws reached up and sank into his hips.
"None of that!" Asaf hissed through the pain as his machete cleaved into spawn's skull. A shocking grasp spell channeled through the weapon put paid to that creature, leaving a smoking cleft in the top of its head.
Rolling to his hands and knees and looking up, Asaf saw the fight in the hallway was not going particularly well. Only one Graveguard was still standing, and they were beset by two spawns. Oberius was belting another vampire spawn across the head with his staff, then reaching out to touch the forehead of his foe and channeling positive energy directly into the creature's skull, turning it to ash. Violetta whipped Requiem back and forth, carving through three more of the creatures with that undead smiting scythe of hers.
Past them, further down the hall, Asaf saw six more of the beasts. These were in better shape than the ones assailing the squad of vampire hunters, wearing decent armor. Helvetia's personal guard, perhaps?
Behind these greater spawns was Helvetia herself. She was still clad in her ruined hunting attire, still bearing the wounds dealt by Asaf, Violetta, and Temperance. She was drinking from a glass bottle with shaking hands. A blood solution, no doubt; an emergency ration.
They were all waiting, watching the chaff weaken their foes before moving in for the kill.
Asaf pushed himself up, hacking down on a spawn that was drinking from one of the fallen Graveguards. Blood ran down the aasimar's legs as he then returned his weapon to bracelet form, steeling himself. The pain was debilitating. All he wanted to do was drop to the floor and take weight of his injured legs. Instead, Asaf spoke and arcane word, then followed it with a single clap of his hands.
The thunder boomed down the hallway, shaking dust and water droplets from the ceiling.
"What are you doing?!" Violetta demanded as she was dodging around the attacks of two more vampire spawns.
"Something foolish!" Asaf responded, summoning his will and producing another thunderclap, directing it diagonally upward.
More falling dust. A few of the cracks in the ceiling spiderwebbed out.
Glass shattered as Helvetia threw her bottle aside and commanded her guards forward.
BOOM. More thunder down the hall.
Violetta and Oberius put down the last of the lesser spawn. Violetta was moving uneasily, dazed, blood caking a swathe of her hair from having her head cracked against the wall of the hallway by one of her opponents. Oberius was leaning heavily on his staff, bloody claw marks tracing a line down his flank.
The guards were closing, Helvetia casting a fell blessing upon them to increase their strength.
"Leave the dhampir alive. That mongrel bitch is mine!" Helvetia demanded.
BOOM.
Pieces of masonry falling from above. Streams of dust. Stone was audibly cracking, the building shifting.
The nearest vampire spawn leapt at Asaf, its arms reared back to claw into the aasimar's head and crush his skull. Asaf timed his final spell, waiting for the last moment, bringing his hands together barely an inch in front of the leaping spawn's face.
BOOM.
The vampire spawn was blown apart in a spray of gory shrapnel that shredded its nearest comrade. Oberius raised another barrier, the other vampire spawns rebounding off of it as they tried to strike at the three remaining hunters.
The entire keep shook as large chunks of the ceiling started falling in. The remaining vampire spawns dodged the falling debris with relative ease…
…but less so the sunlight that speared in from the ruined keep above.
The spawns smoked and shrieked as they were exposed to the light, their forms hissing and bubbling. Oberius's shield kept their frantic scrabbling at bay, forcing the spawns to either remain stationary and perish, or flee back through the light in the hall. Both courses led to the same fate; smoking piles of ash and blackened bones.
Helvetia, injured as she was, was not swift enough to get out of the way of a falling piece of debris that was three times her size. It crushed her leg, holding the vampire in place as the dust cleared enough for the sunlight to strike her. Helvetia wailed in agony, spewing some of the most vile curses Asaf had ever heard as she was slowly disintegrated by the burning rays. No cloud of mist. No return to the coffin. Just purification in the Dawnflower's light.
"Blessed Sarenrae be praised." Asaf murmured.
Oberius dropped his magical shield, taking several unsteady steps backwards before slumping down onto the stairs. The only noise in the basement hall was the sound of rubble shifting and small pieces of stone tumbling. Violetta leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths and trying to steady herself. Dust coated the sweat on all their faces.
Footsteps on the stairs as Asaf hobbled painfully over to them. The large form of Temperance emerged into view, his burning blade held like a torch.
"What the fuck did you do?" Tem asked in amazement.
"Disposed of the target." Asaf answered leaning back on the stairs, which was less than comfortable, but he did care. "Sweet gods' blood." With the last of his magic, Asaf lifted off the ground. "Father, would you like some help getting back to the wagon?"
Oberius nodded his acceptance and thanks. Asaf floated beside the priest, taking his weight while Oberius used his staff as a walking stick.
"Fangs? You alright?" Tem asked as he approached her.
Violetta didn't nod or shake her head, saying, "I'm alive."
"Can you walk?" Tem asked her.
"Yes." Violetta assured him.
The dhampir took two steps forward before losing her balance and sagging against Temperance.
"Perhaps not." The Usher sighed, looking embarrassed, looking up at him. "Lady of Graves, Tem, are you alright?"
"Hurts like Hell but I'll be ok until we get back. Here." Tem said, sheathing his sword, then gently picking Violetta up.
"You don't have to…", Violetta started to protest, face turning pink.
"I know." Tem replied, carrying her up the stairs. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were starting to make a habit of this."
"Sh-Shut up!" Violetta cried.
6th Eras, 4721 AR
Kintargo, Ravounel
Temperance and Asaf rested for several days, recovering their strength. Magic healing always left Tem weary and sore. He was glad for time to relax.
Asaf went to the Pathfinder Lodge in Kintargo looking for leads. Once, it had been a secret institution thanks to Cheliaxian dislike of the Pathfinders, but now could exist in the open under the Domina's rule. Regardless, Tem's only request had been for something that would take them towards the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and, more specifically, Vylkavik, so the tiefling could fulfill his promise to Arjyk.
The sky was clear and blue the morning Tem and Asaf were about to leave. The two Pathfinders were at the docks, bound for the two day journey north across Conqueror's Bay. This would bypass both traveling through Cheliax and their equally dislikable neighboring vassal, Nidal. Devoted to Zon-Kuthon, the Prince of Pain, Nidal was just about the only nation Tem liked less than Cheliax. No, a quick jaunt across the Bay to Varisia was much faster and safer. Unfortunately, the Godray was long gone, so they had booked passage aboard a Qadiran barque called the Sojourn. Asaf knew its skipper, Captain Zafira, in passing, it seemed.
Asaf was up the gangplank, talking to this acquaintance of his, while Tem stood on the dock. Shifting his shoulder, the tiefling settled Blackbole's unfamiliar weight on his back as looked out over the crowd. He was not boarding just yet due to…
A head of snowy hair bobbed through the dockside crowd, weaving among the press of bodies until it reached Tem. Violetta was once again clad in the fine garments she'd been wearing when Tem and Asaf had first encountered her in Kintargo. She carried a satchel over her shoulder.
"Oh, good, I didn't miss you." Violetta said with a smile as she stopped in front of Temperance.
"You will once I leave, I'm sure", Tem chuckled, then sighed. "I'll definitely miss you, Fangs. I'm glad we could help you."
Violetta kicked one foot, looking down at the dock. "I'll miss you, too, Tem. I can never thank the two of you enough."
"You're sure you can't come with us?" Tem asked. It had been gratifying to fight alongside Violetta again, and was equally melancholy to have to be parted from her so soon.
Violetta frowned, looking up with those sharp, amethyst eyes. "I wish I could, Tem. I really do. But, Ravounel needs all the help it can get. With Cheliax gone, the force that would be putting down necromancers and ghoul cults is gone with them. If this place is going to thrive, they need all the help they can get. I know it in my heart that this is where Phrasma wants me. At least for now. I'm sorry."
Tem dipped his head to her. "No. Don't be sorry. You're doing your duty and that's admirable. Suppose I'll at least know where to write to you, then."
"Actually, you won't have to worry about that", Violetta said, reaching into her satchel, handing a metal pen and a journal to Temperance.
Tem accepted the items with a confused blink.
"The tinker called it a Far Pen, which isn't really creative, but regardless", Violetta explained in a bit of a babble, "anyhow, so, you take that pen and designate a journal with it. I'll do the same with one that I have. Then, what you write on yours will appear in mine, and vice versa. It can only handle one page a day, but it's still a lot faster than normal letters…"
"Oh. Wow. That's a great idea." Tem enthused, rather excited by this. He held the Far Pen to his eye. It looked like a normal pen to him, but he was no artificer. "I'll try it out tonight and make sure it works. Thank you, Fangs."
"Great. You're welcome." Violetta said, her smile widening.
Several moments of silence passed.
"We're casting off, Sir Temperance." Captain Zafira said down to him.
"Right. Thank you, Captain" Tem said. He took a step toward Violetta and wrapped her in a hug, lifting her off her feet and giving her a firm squeeze.
Violetta let out a surprised squeak, but she returned the hug.
"Glad you weren't wearing armor." Violetta's muffled voice said into Tem's gambeson.
Tem laughed, setting her down. Violetta's hands remained on Tem's shoulders for several seconds. Tem tilted his head, wondering what this was about. The unfamiliar intensity was back in Violetta's eyes. The dhampir opened and closed her mouth several times before a blush crept across her face.
"S-Stay safe, Tem. See you later." Violetta finally muttered, turning on her heel and joining the flow of foot traffic once again.
Temperance watched her leave, his head leaning the other way as he wondered what that was all about. Maybe the hug had embarrassed her?
With a shrug, Tem walked up the gangplank, passing by Asaf. The Sojourn's sailors hauled it up behind him while the rest finished casting off. The canvas above unfurled to half-sail.
"You know, Sir Temperance, I was trying to let you figure it out on your own, but I cannot take it any longer." The aasimar said as if exhausted.
"Huh?" Tem grunted, stopping at the railing beside his partner.
"That girl is head over heels for you, you great oaf." Asaf said like he was speaking to a particularly dimwitted troll trying to learn how to count to ten.
"Head over…", Tem started to repeat, his eyes flicking back to the crowd. He spotted Violetta among the crowd. She was watching as the wind started pulling the Sojourn out with the tide. Temperance waved to her. Violetta held her hand up and waved back, offering an encouraging smile. "No, that can't be right." Tem said to Asaf as he lowered his arm.
Asaf, who turned around and leaned back against the rail said, "my good Sir Temperance, it could not have been more obvious if Lady Violetta had inscribed the words 'kiss me, you foolish tiefling' across her forehead."
Tem made a wordless sound of disbelief, once again glancing to where he had seen Violetta. The dhampir was gone, leaving Temperance with an unfamiliar feeling in his gut. It was like…the prickling realization of forgetting something important at home but being too far away to go back and get it.
"Me? Why would she feel that way about me?" Tem wondered aloud. "I'm nothing special. I'm just…Temperance."
"Naturally, you don't find yourself special. You spend all your time around yourself, so now you seem mundane to yourself. It's part of the mortal condition." Asaf reasoned with a wide gesture around.
"Really? You saying you're immortal then? 'Cause it's pretty obvious you don't find yourself to be mundane." Tem quipped.
Asaf scowled, but then shrugged one shoulder and smiled graciously. "There's exceptions to every rule, Sir Temperance. What can I say? I simply live with confidence."
Temperance scoffed, but did not dispute Asaf's statement. Then, the tiefling asked, "why didn't you tell me sooner, if it was so obvious?"
"Three reasons, actually." Asaf held up an index finger, "first, as I said, I was hoping you would figure it out for yourself." He held up his middle finger, "second, it would not do for the both of you to be distracted by angst amid a vampire hunt." Finally, the ring finger. "Third, it is better this way. Now you have time away from her to think with a clear head if you feel the same way. Whether or not you reciprocate her affections, it would behoove you to decide upon it without her standing before you and looking hopeful. Such matters of the heart are best considered with time."
"I guess that makes sense." Tem said, puffing out a breath. He'd never given something like this any thought before. Sure, he'd had a crush or two in the past. It seemed like everyone did. But the Crusade had called him more than anything else, his devotion to that cause, to Ragathiel, and to his friends leaving no room to even consider romantic entanglement. The tiefling rubbed his eyes, "by Desna's winding steps, I have no idea what to do."
"You're in no hurry, Sir Temperance. Just think about it for now." Asaf advised. "As for me, I have an urgent appointment with my hammock and a long nap." He gave Tem a conciliatory pat on the shoulder before heading below deck.
Temperance watched Kintargo shrink into the distance, the Sojourn cutting through the waves as it tacked on a northerly course, its sails full and proud. Still holding the journal and Far Pen that Violetta had given him, Tem tucked the items into his bag of holding, then remained at the railing, lost in thought, for quite some time after.