A Song of Ice, Fire and the Dead
…
Chapter 39: The Battle for Gresit
The sun was slowly descending towards the horizon, inch by inch. Trevor knew it was only a matter of time before the giant ball of flaming gas would finally be gone and the curtain of night would fall on Gresit. And with it, the Night Hordes of Dracula would finally sweep through the city, killing all that lay in their path. Trevor didn't know what would come of the Speakers, but he hoped that those two kids, Aegon and Saeko, would convince them to leave Gresit for safety.
As he thought of the two, Trevor suppressed a small smile. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he'd become fond of them. They were damn useful in a fight after all, so they had that going for them. And it was comforting to know that the Speakers would have two capable fighters protecting them for the time being.
The Belmont was then shoved roughly inside the Cathedral of Gresit. With the group entering the place of worship, two priests/thugs stood by the door with the rest of them guiding Trevor towards the base of the stairs that led up to the pulpit. They then left Trevor to stand alone at the base, but he was not alone for long as the Bishop entered the room to stand at the pulpit.
The Bishop was old with a nearly bald head using a small cap to hide the bald spot on his crown. He wore nearly pure white robes that were highlighted with red cloth and gold trims. Trevor looked at the man carefully; something about him didn't sit right with the Belmont, something that put him on edge and he did not like it.
"I am the Bishop of Gresit," the old man declared almost pompously.
Trevor stared at the man for a moment then made an educated guess. "You're not from around here," was his theory.
"No," the Bishop did not even deny it. "I was originally from Targoviste. I was the aide to the Archbishop. How did you divine that, I wonder?"
"Well, you're not running away screaming like the rest of the locals, for one," came Trevor's snarky response.
The Bishop scoffed at this. "From you?" he asked snidely.
"From the baby-eating freaks of nature that come to raid Gresit every night apparently."
"I am here to save Gresit!" the Bishop declared pridefully.
Trevor snorted in derision; if the Bishop thought he was the one to save Gresit, then he would eat his own whip.
"And how do you plan on that?" the Belmont scion asked.
"I brought you here to answer questions, not ask them!"
"Well, tough shit," Trevor shot back. "How exactly do you plan to help these people by killing the Speakers?" he reiterated his question.
"The Speakers brought this on themselves. One cannot live without God… quite literally these days," came the Bishop's answer.
Trevor looked at the old man in disbelief and continued, "You think Dracula's hordes came down on the people because they weren't religious enough? And you were at Targoviste!" he accused as he out the pieces together. It was obvious to Trevor that the Church were the ones to blame for Dracula and his hordes laying waste the Wallachia and were deflecting the blame onto those who wanted to help the little people. Trevor was almost glad that he was excommunicated from the Church, he thought to himself privately.
"The Archbishop had certain… interests that I believed compromised his ability to protect the city and the country," the Bishop said in a manner that a politician (read: trainer liar) would. "I was sent away long before Dracula descended upon the city. We disagreed on matters of clerical discipline," he politicked again.
"But you were there for the burning of Dracula's wife," Trevor pointed out. "I heard all about it."
"Oh, yes, that. I arranged it in fact," the Bishop said almost smugly.
This caught Trevor by surprise and angered him as well. The Bishop was sitting high and mighty in his ivory tower that he didn't realise just what he had done was damn the people of Wallachia to certain death.
"The woman was a witch and there can be no doubt that she consorted with the Devil. She even married him!"
"I see," Trevor bit his cheek at this before getting to the reason of his summoning. "Am I here to be disciplined?" he asked tightly.
"Not as such, for I have a gift for you and the two mercenaries you were with," the Bishop replied referring to Aegon and Saeko. He then extended his left hand out to Trevor to offer his gift. "Your lives. Take it and go." He retrieved his hand before continuing. "Tonight, the Speakers will be dealt with and Gresit will be secured. I, however, refuse to toil so hard for the soul of this city with a heretic within its walls, soiling the people living here with their influence!" The Bishop grasped the edges of his pulpit. "You are undoing everything with your presence!" he spat.
Trevor looked at the madman, genuinely stunned by what he was seeing and hearing. "My God… you actually believe it, don't you?" he asked.
"You and those foreign sellswords will leave Gresit by sundown, or you will not see morning. Do I make myself clear?" The Bishop asked, his words and tone threatening. "Despite the crimes you three committed against my aides, despite the crimes your accursed family committed against God, you will walk safely until sundown."
Hearing the absolute insanity in the Bishop's words made Trevor snap out in response. "My family committed no crime! You people simply decided we were wrong to defend this land from the supernatural. And now-"
The Bishop's eyes bulged out as he bellowed, "YOU BELMONTS HAVE NEVER UNDERTSTOOD THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD!"
Having interrupted Trevor, the Bishop composed himself before speaking more rationally, yet anger leaked through his words as he said, "The people of this city are mine and the Lord's now, and they'll do as I ask in His name. By morning, no Speaker will defile these streets and you and those mercenaries will either be gone or dead. Do you understand?"
Trevor knew a death-threat when he heard one and he didn't like it. "Fine."
The Bishop prepared to leave the pulpit, but not before saying to Trevor, "Do this thing for me and the matter of your excision from the Church will be something we can discuss."
Trevor sneered at this. He knew that if he ever rejoined the Church, he would be kept on a very short and tight leash. Something he did not ever want for himself. Trevor also knew that if he became the Bishop's lacky, he would be damning the Speakers to certain death; something he could not and would not allow. A plan began to form in the Belmont scion's head as he started to make his way out of the Cathedral, saying over his shoulder to the Bishop, "No offence, but you are just a Bishop. My excommunication came from an authority a little bit higher up the ladder than yours."
If Trevor had keener hearing, he might've heard the Bishop say to himself, "Targoviste is gone. The other great cities are lost or losing. Gresit will be the last great city of Wallachia." An evil and delusional smirk was on the man's face as he left for his chambers to prepare for tonight. "For all intents and purposes, I will be the Church!"
Once out of that damned place, Trevor hurried his way back to the Speakers shelter. They had to be warned of what would happen when sundown came.
…
Meanwhile, Aegon and Saeko conversed with the Elder of the Codrii Speakers. They had quickly befriended Sypha and decided to learn as much as they could about the Speakers and the reason they were in Gresit.
Sypha's grandfather became a teacher for Aegon and Saeko as he told them the purpose of the Speakers. "Our whole purpose as Speakers is to pass down our knowledge that we have learned through verbal means and to use that knowledge to aid others in their times of need," he told them in a teacher-like manner. "We are nomads by nature, so that usually means we come across trouble more often than not."
"Like here in Gresit," Saeko pointed out which made the Elder chuckle in response.
"Yes, like here in Gresit," he confirmed. "Although your friend wishes for us to leave before our work could be done," he then said.
"Well, a lot of people here in Gresit don't seem to like any of you," Aegon told the Elder. "Which begs the question of why you chose to come here," he remarked.
"We were asked to," replied the Elder softly.
"Asked? By the people of Gresit?" Aegon asked.
The Elder shook his head and corrected Aegon, "After many armies were decimated by the Night Hordes with little effort, the Pope himself personally asked that all Speaker tribes – among other groups – to lend their support to Wallachia. Gresit is just one of many stops we are to undertake. And we accepted the task."
"The Pope asked you to help Wallachia?" Saeko asked in surprise. "Then that would mean that the Bishop has been blatantly lying to the people!" she realised.
"Yes, he has been misleading the people of Gresit," the Elder confirmed Saeko's words. "But the Bishop is cunning enough to suppress the truth of our mission here in Gresit with carefully weaved lies to the populace, along with his men to enforce his rule," he said regretfully.
"Then how do we get the truth out to the people?" Aegon asked. "They have to know the truth of your mission and the Bishop's lies!" he stated.
"If there were a way, we would've already tried it," the Elder said sadly. "But that is a topic for a later date. What of you two?" he asked looking at Aegon and Saeko. "You two are foreigners, that much is clear," he pointed out to them.
"Is it that obvious?" Saeko said with a smile.
"It is," the Elder said with a good-natured smile. "And forgive me for saying, but there is an odd aura about you both," he added.
"Aura?" Aegon repeated raising an eyebrow at this.
"It is a skill our people have developed over the centuries," Sypha informed him. "The aura you and Saeko have is something different, almost otherworldly," she said.
Aegon and Saeko glanced at each other, wondering what they could or should tell their hosts. So far, the Speakers had been accepting of others and didn't seem the type to burn people at the stake on the grounds of witchcraft and heresy, but would they believe in the concept of other dimensions and worlds?
As Saeko prepared to say something to explained hers and Aegon's origins, the door to the abode swung open and striding inside came Trevor. Sypha frowned upon seeing the last son of House Belmont, but her grandfather was more welcoming. "Ah, Trevor! Come join us."
"Eh, sure, why not?" Trevor said nonchalantly, walking in and closing the door behind. "By the way, you're all gonna die," he said to them all casually.
An awkward silence reigned for a long moment before someone in the room blurted out, "What?!"
Leaning against the wall, Trevor said, "The current Bishop of this place is… well… he's beyond insane at this point. Over the top and bat-shit crazy. He's convinced that the salvation of Gresit lays on your people being torn apart by the angry mob."
"You really know how to tell it, don't you?" Saeko said sardonically to Trevor which made him snort in response.
The Elder groaned softly at Trevor's word. "When?" was all he asked.
"Before the sun fully goes down," Trevor told him.
"Are you serious?" Aegon asked tensely as he glanced outside to look at the sun that was close to disappearing over the horizon.
"Unfortunately," Trevor said grimly. "Like I said, the Bishop is completely insane and is fucking psychopath on top of that. By his logic, you all have to die before the Night Hordes' next raid. Not to mention you, Saeko and I have to be out of the city as well."
"But why?" Aegon asked in disbelief.
"Because we're undoing everything he's working towards," Trevor replied which got some confused looks. "I never said the Bishop was the most logical or sound of mind," he said darkly.
"What happens if we stay and survive?" the Elder asked.
"Well, then the Night Hordes will come anyway, the church will blame and it'll start all over again," Trevor said blandly.
Aegon's hands tightened into fists as he spoke, "This is wrong! To drive these people out when the Pope himself asked them to help Wallachia, only for the Bishop to drive them out with his lies will only doom everyone!"
"I agree with Aegon," the Elder said in agreement. "This is not the Speaker thing to do."
Trevor glared at the old man angrily. "We had a deal!" he hissed at him.
"Well, it's not a Belmont thing either, is it?"
Trevor approached the Elder and his Speakers and said to them, "I don't care. You need to leave now!"
Aegon watched, conflicted by the exchange and the situation and voiced his disappointment. "The needs of the few over the needs of the many. No-one person or group can handle everything by themselves!" he declared.
Sypha also voiced her thoughts on the matter. "We can't leave these people, not when they need our help most!"
Trevor glared directly at Sypha and said, "These people think you're causing their time of need!"
"Because they're being misled by the Pope!" Saeko stated. "The Pope himself asked the Speaker tribes and other groups to lend aid to Wallachia and they accepted the job. Why the Bishop is lying to the people, I don't know why, but we can't let him continue misleading everyone for his own gain!"
Trevor paused at this before he asked the Elder, "The Pope asked your people to help?"
The Elder nodded at this. "He did as a matter of fact. The Pope personally visited the Speakers to ask them for their help and we accepted." Trevor was silent at this which the Elder continued to say, "Does one run away when someone tells lies about them? What has the Church said about the Belmonts? That you are corrupted by your dealings with the supernatural, that you mock God, that you are a threat to all around you and bring evil wherever you go. And tell me, Trevor, what did you in answer to that?" he asked.
Trevor frowned at this, clearly angry about his family's history with the Church being brought up like this. "I didn't run away!" he vehemently said.
"Really?" Aegon said almost mockingly. "Because it seems to us like you are running away. Running away to another bottle of booze and a tree to climb in," he stated accusingly.
Trevor directed his glare at the young swordsman and asked in a deadly voice, "Are you calling me a coward?"
"I don't know. Are you?" Aegon retorted.
Trevor stared at Aegon for a moment before turning away and saying, "We didn't have a choice. I didn't have a choice!"
"Maybe. But we do now," Sypha reminded him. "We carry the accumulated wisdom of this country. We can use that to fight this battle!"
"You'll lose," Trevor said in a defeatist sort of way.
"We may very well lose, Trevor Belmont," Saeko said to him calmly and stoically. "But if anything we will die on our own terms with dignity, rather than end up being burned on pyres or being eaten and torn apart by monsters."
"Well said, Miss Busujima," the Elder said in approval before looking at Trevor telling him, "And if nothing else, we can show the people that there is a larger war at stake," he declared.
"Against Dracula's armies?" Trevor asked.
The Elder shook his head. "A war for the souls of the people," he corrected. "Because if all we really is a bunch of violent people who will kill one another at the whims of a madman, then we deserve for Hell to swallow us all," he said solemnly.
"And it's time for those among us who can stand and fight this war, Trevor Belmont," Aegon jotted in. "Regardless of your feelings on the matter, Belmont, sooner or later, you're going to play a part in it," he said.
Trevor stared at everyone for what felt like an eternity and sighed tiredly, "Fine."
"Well, now that that's settled, what's the plan?" Saeko asked looking at Trevor.
"We gotta get this lot to somewhere safer where the mob of peasants won't come looking for them," Trevor replied jerking his thumb at the Speakers.
"And the mob of peasants?" Aegon asked.
Trevor smirked at this before detailing his plan. After hearing the plan, smiles broke out across Aegon and Saeko's faces.
"You might be a drunkard, Trevor Belmont, but that's some plan you got," Aegon told him. Trevor chuckled at this and replied, "You're no genius yourself, kid." Aegon laughed at this and they set out to prepare.
…
The sky was streaked with rays of orange, red and purple as twilight and snow descended on the countryside. The night creatures of Dracula's armies stirred to life and began to encroach on the city of Gresit. As they began to approach, the citizens of Gresit lit torches and grabbed whatever would serve as a weapon; pitchfork, axe, sickle, rusty and tarnished swords and spears, anything that would hurt when struck with.
With the Bishop's men leading them, the mob made their way to the Speakers abode. Riled up by the words of the Bishop via the priests' mouths, the mob of peasants approached the ruined house. Two villagers, armed with an axe and hammer respectively hacked and hammered the front door, breaking it down. Light from the mob's torches spilled through to reveal only Trevor Belmont, Aegon and Saeko waiting for them. The three warriors were calmly waiting for the mob.
The priests entered the house, obviously confused thinking they were going to find the Speakers and instead found them gone, save for the three warriors who assaulted a few of their own clergy.
"Where are the Speakers?" one of the priests demanded in anger and confusion.
"They're safe, that is all someone like needs to know," Saeko told him.
Down below the mausoleum, the Speakers were quite nervous around the corpse of the dead cyclops that Trevor and his companions had killed earlier.
"I swear it just moved!" Arn commented fearfully as he glanced at the monster's dead body.
The mob outside began to hum and mutter and the priests glared at Trevor and his friends. "You defend evil! Give them to us!" one of them ordered.
"Shut up," came Trevor's blunt response.
"What?!"
"I believe he told you to shut up," Aegon said to the irate priest calmly. "Or are you so thickheaded that you can't hear things clearly said to you the first time around?" he asked mockingly.
Trevor smiled at Aegon's words and back them up with, "You're not getting the Speakers. You're not getting any of their blood today. So shut up!"
The priest backhanded Trevor across the face and shouted, "You will give us the Speakers so that we can save the city!"
"And you were doing such a marvellous job of it," Aegon replied making the priest glare at him. "Your precious Bishop has been lying to these people the whole time to further his own insane agenda," he said. This earned him a slap to the face from the priest. Aegon glared at him and told him, "I'll let you have that one, but if you do it again…?" he warned.
"This city was lost the moment you scum moved in," Trevor said getting the priest's attention.
The priest stepped aside to show the angry mob outside and asked, "And what? You three will fight us? You three can convince that a group of black magicians are good for Gresit, and that it's the presence of God's men that brought the night hordes down upon them?"
"Your Bishop was the one responsible for Dracula's wife being burned at the stake," Saeko replied. "He was the catalyst for Dracula to declare war on humanity and the root of Gresit's problems."
"Silence, you whore!" the priest screamed at her before pointing at Trevor. "You're a wreck, and you stink of ale! You can barely keep your eyes open! And you two!" He glared at Aegon and Saeko accusingly.
"What about us?" Aegon asked coldly.
"You're nothing more a lowly sellsword with a foreign whore beside you!" the priest told him.
"You get all that just from one look?" Trevor joked in bemusement.
"I see all through God's eyes!" boasted the holy (not really) man.
"Now you're just talking shit," Trevor deadpanned.
"Well, this city is full of village idiots and we've just found their leader," Saeko stated dryly. Aegon chuckled to compliment his girlfriend's words.
"What do you expect to achieve against us?" the priest asked with a sneer.
Trevor smiled whimsically and replied, "Absolutely nothing."
"So you're going to die for nothing? For people you don't know?!"
"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe go fuck yourself," Aegon said to the holier-than-thou bigot. "It's the right thing to do after all. And if it means we get to kick your teeth in, then all the better," he added.
"I don't know about all that, but that doesn't matter, does it?" Trevor turned around to face away from the priests. "My family, the family you demonised and excommunicated, has fought and died through the generations defending this country. We did it for Wallachia and her people." Trevor began to undo the strap of his cloak. "We don't have to know you all personally, but we do it anyway. And it's not dying that frightens us." Trevor's cloak dropped to the floor, revealing the Belmont family crest embroidered on the back of his tunic. "It's never having stood up and fought for any of you!" Trevor turned around to face the priests and said, "My name is Trevor Belmont of House Belmont, and dying has never frightened me!" Aegon and Saeko drew their swords and stood beside Trevor.
The priest growled pulling out a blade from his robes, shouting to his compatriots who followed suit, "Slay the heretics and Belmont!"
The three warriors eyed the priests. Crouching low, Trevor hurled small throwing knives at the priests' hands, forcing them to drop their weapons with cries of surprise and pain. They barely had time to contemplate what had happened when Aegon and Saeko launched themselves at them. With seconds, the priests were laid out on the floor of the house, cut up and bruised to all hell.
The trio rushed out of the building with Aegon and Saeko slashing through the supports of the door, causing to cave in and trap the priests inside.
Saeko then looked at the mob of angry and fearful peasants who began to approach with malicious intent. Trevor acted quickly. Using his whip, the Vampire Killer, Trevor lashed out the braided leather cord, snatching an axe from one of the villagers' hands. Now in his possession, Trevor threw the axe, giving it just the right twist so that it curved around like a boomerang. The sharpened edge of the axe cut through a rope that suspended a giant wooden cross from a building. The object broke free from its mooring and fell down towards the mob of peasants, forcing them to disperse, although an unfortunate few were caught in the crash.
"Nice throw!" Saeko congratulated Trevor.
"Thanks," came Trevor's response.
"We need to move now, because they're gonna be pissed at what we did," Saeko then said immediately after.
Not needing to be told twice, the trio of warriors fled down an alleyway. The mob then recovered from the sudden shocking display and gave chase down the alleyway.
Losing their pursuers, Aegon heard a whizzing sound and ducked just in time as an arrow whizzed over his head. Looking up to the rooftops, Aegon grimaced as he saw some of the Bishop's priests armed with bows and arrows nocking arrows to their bowstrings.
Getting an idea, Aegon pulled out Leviathan, the runes engraved on the blade glowing an icy blue. Lining up his target, Aegon hurled the rune axe with all his might. The axe went end over end and struck the edges of the roof that the bow wielding priests stood. An explosion of ice burst out as the axe hit the tiles of the roof and the sudden explosion knocked over the priests. Stretching out his hand, Aegon waited only a second for Leviathan to come flying back into his grasp. Grinning at this, Aegon said to the icy weapon, "Let's see what else you can do!"
Some priests came running around the corner, armed with an assortment of weapons. Trevor avoided a stab from a priest's knife, one whom he had blinded earlier in the day. Grabbing the one-eyed man, Trevor used him as a meat shield to block an incoming attack from a mace wield priest. The iron wrought studded head caved in the partially blinded priest's skull, killing him instantly. Saeko acted quickly by slashing through the mace wielding priest with her katana then grabbing the now dead man and tossed his bleeding corpse into the others.
Trevor drew his short sword and parried away thrusts from a spear. Slashing upwards, Trevor cut through the priest's arm, quite literally disarming him before grabbing the spear and killed any remaining priests that barred their escape. Trevor then hurled the weapon at an oncoming foe, skewering him in the heart.
"What now?" Aegon asked.
"We have to keep moving, keep them focussed on us," Trevor told him.
"And then what?" Saeko asked as she quickly wiped the blade of her katana clean with her gloved hand.
"It's a work in progress," came Trevor's reply as they ran down the alley with the mob chasing after them.
Meanwhile, in the Cathedral of Gresit on the other side of the city, the Bishop stood behind the pulpit. His head was lowered and his eyes were closed. It almost looked as if he was praying to God. And he was praying; he was praying that his men and the local peasants would dispose of the Speakers and for the Night Creatures not to attack Gresit. Not that that prayer was going to do him any good if we're being honest.
The Bishop wanted, needed the pagans to die. They had given him nothing but problems for the plans he formulated since his arrival in Gresit. They knew too much. And if the locals learnt that that those pagan witches had been personally asked by the Pope himself to aid Wallachia, then all his plans would be for nought and he would face either excommunication at best, or be burned at the stake, same as what he did to the Devil's bride last year.
The doors to the church opened, breaking his concentration. He opened his eyes to look up at whomever was entering the church at this hour. But the light that shone through the stained glass windows behind him, shrouded the rest of the church in darkness. Before the Bishop could make out what was entering the church, the doors closed quickly.
"Who's there?" he asked. "Are the Speakers dead yet?" he demanded.
Then came a voice, one that sounded more bestial than human.
"No."
The Bishop frowned at this answer as he heard something walk closer and closer to the pulpit. "Well, get back out there!" he ordered. "The Speakers have to die before the sun goes down!" he fretted.
The figure in the shadows kept coming towards the pulpit before the light from the window revealed its form. "The sun is already down."
Standing in the light, the Bishop's heart stopped dead when he gazed upon it; a massive demon with glowing blue eyes and long knife-like fangs of equal colour, contrasting with its midnight black furred body. A row of bony spikes protruded from its back at almost every conceivable angle.
The Bishop then heard the soft hissing growls above him as he looked up to see bat-like creatures crawling down the walls and ceiling all glaring at him with glowing blue eyes.
The Bishop stood in stunned frightened silence as he contemplated what was happening. He thought himself a saviour who… who…
…
…
…
You know what? Fuck it! This holier than thou cunt totally deserves what's coming! And it's going to be glorious!
The Bishop stepped back from his pulpit, his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to compose himself and muster whatever courage he had left in him. Grasping his rosary in his hands, the Bishop's voice quavered as he spoke.
"You cannot enter a house of God!"
The blue-eyed demon sneered, "God is not here. This? Is an empty box!"it snarled out dismissively.
"God is in all his churches!" came the Bishop's desperate words.
"Your God's love is not unconditional," the demon told him in response. "He does not love us and He most certainly does not love you!"
"I have done his bidding!" the Bishop shrieked, trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. "My life's work has been in His name! For I am the Bishop of Gresit!" he wailed as he tried to defend his actions.
"Your life's work makes Him puke!" the demon told him. "Your God knows that we wouldn't be here without you. This… is all your fault, isn't it?" it asked.
"SHE WAS A WITCH!"
The demon laughed at this and asked, "Lies? In your house of God? No wonder He has abandoned you. But… we love you."
"W-What?!" the Bishop's voice was numb with shock at this admission from the demon. He couldn't believe what was being said to him.
"We love you," the demon told him again as it stood on the other side of the pulpit, raising itself to a standing position, its height dwarfing the Bishop who could only stare up at it mute shock and fear. "We could not be here with you!" the demon told as it stretched out clawed hands to grasp the Bishop's face. The Bishop let out a series of terrified gasps as his face was brought closer to the demon's glowing maw. "Come. Let me… kiss you," it crooned as it opened its maw and began to maul the Bishop who could only scream in response. The Bishop had now paid the price for his bigoted actions that had doomed Wallachia and its people.
…
Back with Trevor, Aegon and Saeko, they were doing their damnedest to avoid hurting the mob of peasants. None of them wanted to hurt the villagers who had been misled by the Bishop and his lackeys, but sooner or later they would have to start laying the hurt on those who wanted to hurt them.
Coming to a stop in the marketplace, the three fighters were then surrounded on all sides by the mob of commoners and priests.
"Any ideas?" Aegon asked through tired pants, tired from all the running around.
"Wasn't what you said about going down fighting better than doing nothing?" Trevor said to him making Aegon shrug his shoulders in response.
As the peasants approached the three, a ring of fire suddenly sprang up around Aegon, Trevor and Saeko preventing the villagers and priests from getting to them.
"Was that one of you?" Trevor asked looking at Aegon and Saeko who both shook their heads in response. "Then who?"
Saeko looked up to the rooftops and said, "Maybe ask her."
Aegon and Trevor looked up to see Sypha Belnades standing atop of a wall. Her fingers were flexed in odd motions with her index and middles fingers glowing with bright orange-red light, the glow highlighting the faint smile on her face.
Then the priest with the maimed hand spotted her, pointing his knife at her, shouting, "WITCH!"
"No! I am a Speaker and scholar of magic. I serve no demon and do no evil!" Sypha replied positioning her hands which now glowed an icy blue instead of fiery orange. Her hands glowed brightly as a blast of freezing wind shot out from them. The blast hit the market place, forcing the peasants to back away fearfully. Straight after, Sypha's hands glowed orange again and she rose her left arm with a small grunt. A twin trail of fire shot out from the ring, allowing, Trevor, Aegon and Saeko passage out from the ring of fire.
"You never told me you were a magician!" Trevor shouted up at the Speaker as he and the others walked their way out of the fire ring.
"You never asked," Sypha shot back.
"I think we now know why it was you that went down into the catacombs in the first place," Aegon remarked knowingly as it made sense now.
"What are you doing here?" Trevor then asked Sypha. "Why aren't you with your tribe's people?"
"I didn't ask any of you to fight for me. I fight for myself," Sypha replied.
"If you'd told us in the first place, we'd have asked you to tag along," Saeko told her which made the Speaker look a little sheepish on that, conceding that she probably could've and should've told them that fact.
As Trevor traversed out of the fire, he spotted the bearded priest who threatened him earlier, and had threatened Sypha's grandfather. "You!" the Belmont scion spat distastefully.
Realising all the attention was on him, the facial-haired priest tried to rile up the crowd. "Kill them! Quickly!" he urged.
"No," Trevor denied him fiercely. "You and me. No-one else! C'mon then!" The priest glared at Trevor angrily who continued with, "You're very big on getting others to do what you. Getting others to commit murder for you. But let's see how you do on your own, shall we?"
With the challenge issued, the mob backed away as the flames dispersed. Everyone looked at the priest who suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Trevor saw the holy man stepping back in fear.
Putting a hand to his short sword, Trevor said, "I see you're carrying a blade. I wonder if the good people of Gresit have ever seen a priest use a knife for anything other than self-defence before?" he mused.
People began to whisper among themselves as they heard Trevor's words.
"C'mon then! Your long knife and my short sword. Let's go!"
Aegon and Saeko stood off to the side, watching everything transpire. As Trevor approached the priest, they saw the latter break out into an agitated sweat. It was a clever tactic to show everyone just how corrupt the church really was by challenging one of their own to a one on one fight. It needed now was a little push to get it over the line.
"You didn't have a problem beating an old man earlier this afternoon, did you?" This got everyone's attention. "And you had no issues lying to the people about the Speakers!"
This titbit of information had the citizens of Gresit muttering darkly, now glaring at the accused priest spitefully.
The priest tried to save face by shouting, "The Speakers brought this upon us!" His voice cracked as he shouted, belying his fear at the accusation.
"That's a load of shit and everyone knows it!" Aegon shouted back as Sypha joined them. "You just wanted an excuse to murder those people who were asked by the Pope himself to lend aid to Wallachia and her people!"
This statement had the crowd muttering even more now and Trevor saw his chance by adding, "It was your Bishop that started this entire catastrophe! Your Bishop who brought Dracula's Night Hordes down on all Wallachia! Your Bishop who murdered and burnt a defenceless woman alive at the stake, accusing her of witchcraft when he knew she was innocent in all of this!"
Furious looks were on the faces of the crowd as they now realised that what Trevor and his companions were saying was true and they were seething with rage.
"You would've made murderers of all these people here!" Trevor accused as he raised his short sword. "The only guilty party in Gresit… is you!"
The result was instantaneous as someone rushed past Trevor stabbing the priest in the chest with a knife. Other peasants followed suit, bringing their weapons down on the corrupt clergyman, killing him where he stood.
"A fitting end for his kind," Saeko commented blandly.
"The hearts of men are easily swayed," Sypha said philosophically. "Especially when regarding the common people living their lives through whatever circumstances they're out in," she added out of pity.
Having heard this, Trevor made to give his input when explosions interrupted him. Turning towards the source, everyone demons flying about with civilians chewed up in their maws,or blasting out gouts of fire.
"It's them! They're here!" Sypha exclaimed grimly.
Aegon and Saeko drew their weapons. "We can't take them all!" Sypha reminded.
"We have to try!" Aegon retorted.
"And we won't do it alone," Trevor finished before looked at the frightened peasants. "Time you lot learned to defend your keep. Head back to the far side of the square! Pikes up front, now!"
"Wh-What?"
"You heard me!" Trevor shouted like a drill sergeant. "I'm the only one here who knows how to fight these things! So those with pikes, spears, longswords and other weapons stand with me! Rows of six, one in front, one behind and one in the middle! Get it done now!" he ordered.
The villagers hastily followed Trevor's instructions with those who armed standing in rows of six with Trevor.
"Hold steady!" he commanded before adding, "I need a priest! One who was properly ordained by the church!"
A moment later, a priest stepped out from the crowd of peasants and Trevor looked at him and asked, "Do you know what to do with water? For the aspersion?" The priest nodded at this which Trevor shout out his next order, "Gather some people and get as much water as you can, now!"
The priest and some villagers scrambled to do as Trevor said. The Belmont then looked at Sypha. "Sypha. I want them walled in as soon as they hit the square. I want it so that they can only come to us. Is that something you are capable of?" he asked.
"Will ice do?" came Sypha's response.
"Better than fire anyway," Trevor stated and he turned to look at Aegon and Saeko, "You two are with me. Got that?"
"Let's get to it!" came Saeko's response.
Trevor nodded his approval before turning his attention to those who had yet to move. "I want salt over here! As much as you can find!" he ordered them.
And how quick it was that the villagers brought over several buckets of salt before the Last Son of House Belmont who quickly instructed the fighters. Grabbing a handful of salt, Trevor rubbed it on the blade of his short sword.
"Everyone with a sword wipe their blades in salt now!" Everyone did as Trevor told them, with Aegon and Saeko also following suit with their swords. Now they were all ready for the battle ahead.
A burst of fire travelled along the alleyways towards the square. And from those came the night creatures of Dracula's hellish army.
"Sypha, walls!"
With a flex of her hands, the Speaker magician used her magic to conjure thick walls of ice, creating a narrow pathway, closing the night creatures. The display distracted the beasts long enough for Trevor to hurl a bucket of water into the air. The contents spilled onto the monsters, causing them shriek and hiss in pain as steam came off their bodies as soon as the water touched them.
"Well, well, that priest could make holy water after all," Trevor commented in mild surprise.
"You doubted him?" Aegon asked looking at Trevor who replied with, "In this shit hole of a city? Yes."
The Belmont then quick issued orders. "Pikemen! Four steps forward!" Looking at Sypha, Trevor said to her, "Close the door behind them!" He then looked at Aegon and Saeko, "Get ready you two, you're going in!"
Sypha closed the wall behind the demons. One of the larger leapt over the pikemen with Trevour shouting, "Rear pikes up!" The rear pikemen lifted their spears, pitchforks and other long weapons, impaling the monster on them. The beats thrashed about, hissing, spitting and squealing angrily only for Saeko to slice its head at the neck with her salted katana.
Trevor hefted a bucket of blessed water in his hands and cried out, "Salt kills demons! Spread the word!" He then hurled the bucket into the air. The contained of water went over end as Sypha used her magic to turn the spilling water into sharp icicles that flew down onto the demons, impaling them. Frozen as it was, it was still holy water so it burned the night creatures, causing them to thrash about in pain.
Some of the remaining demons who hadn't been killed switched tactics by using their fiery breath attacks to disrupts the ranks of villagers. The makeshift militia scrambled to avoid the ball of fire which raced towards Trevor who dispersed with his whip before lashing out the end to hit the offending night creature. With a sharp crack of air, the Vampire Killer whip struck the monster which began to bulge and bloat up like an crudely made balloon, its insides glowing a fiery red even through its flesh and fur before it finally exploded in sprauy of gore.
Sypha, Aegon and Saeko looked at Trevor's weapon in surprise. "The whip's consecrated. Made for killing vampires and demons. Forgot to mention that," he informed them.
"And here I thought you had an S&M fetish," Saeko joked.
"I don't," Trevor replied with equal mirth. "Unless you're offering?" he said looking at Saeko with a cheeky grin.
"Sorry, I'm spoken for," Saeko grinned playfully as she indicated Aegon with a jerk of her head.
Trevor looked at Aegon, apparently impressed. "Lucky bastard," was all he could say. Getting his head out of the gutter, Trevor shouted the next order, "Swords!"
Aegon and Saeko led the charge with those armed with swords, cutting down the remaining demons while Trevor upended a bucket of holy water which spread out underfoot of the night creatures, burning them allowing the swordsmen villagers to dispatch them more easily and quickly. Then the last remaining demon, a large brute of a thing with glowing blue eyes and teeth, leapt over the swordsmen towards Trevor and Sypha. Trevor rolled out of the way as the demon swiped at him with a taloned paw, scoring a glancing hit. A large shadow fell over the night creature and it leapt out of the way as a large block of ice slammed down onto where it had been a scant moment ago.
Aegon and Saeko broke off from the swordsmen and rushed over to aid Trevor and Sypha against the demon brute. Flanking it, Aegon slashed at the monster with Blackfyre, while Saeko leaped onto its back to stab it through the chest with her katana. The monster roared angrily as it shoved Aegon away and tried to latch onto Saeko who smoothly avoided its grabs. Trevor's whip slapped the monster in the face, but in spite of the whip's blessed nature, it did not kill the beast instantly. Saeko then stabbed her katana into the space between the beast's shoulder, making it howl angrily.
"Saeko, move!" Saeko did as she was told as Sypha conjured out from the ground a column of razor sharp icicles which impaled the demon in multiple places.
The beast screamed in defiance. "There's an army of us! An army! From Hell!"it promised before Trevor's whip slashed its face in half, causing it exploded in a burst of fire. Sypha shielded her friends with walls of ice until last, the battle for Gresit was over.
"Did… did we win?" Aegon asked as he looked around. "Is that all of them gone?"
"For now," Trevor told him. "Dracula's got a whole army out there, waiting for us," he then said.
Before Aegon could open his mouth to reply, a terrible groaning rumble followed by the sound of multiple thing cracking was heard. Aegon and his companions felt the ground begin to break apart, with the tiled masonry falling beneath.
"I think we overdid it!" Saeko said in alarm as she and the others tried to get to firmer ground. But to no avail as the ground gave way beneath their feet and they fell down into the darkness beneath the city of Gresit.
The wind rushed past everyone's ears as they rapidly descended to the bottom of whatever lay beneath the city. Trevor used his whip to snare everyone closer to him and Sypha used her magic to slow their rapid descent.
Thankfully, the landing wasn't so rough as to cause fatal injury, but it was still pretty rough. Hitting the ground with a thump, Saeko landed on top of Aegon who looked up at her and smiled.
"Saeko, I know we're in a relationship, but is now really the best time? What would Trevor and Sypha say if they saw us?" the young swordsman joked.
"Why am I even in love with you?" Saeko said bemusedly. Aegon chuckled at this and pressed a swift kiss to a sensitive spot on his girlfriend's neck making her give a cute little squeak of surprise.
"You two alright?" Trevor asked them.
"We're fine," Aegon answered for Saeko and himself. Sitting up, the young warrior looked around and asked, "Where are we?"
"The catacombs," Sypha replied. "But I think we're even deeper than before," she mused.
Electric lightbulbs cast an electric blue light on them all and the sounds of gears grinding against each other could be heard in the background.
"Question right now is: how do we get out of here?" Saeko asked the question on everyone's mind.
"We just have to see where these catacombs take us and hopefully find a way out," Trevor replied as he got to his feet with everyone following suit.
The four adventurers then began their journey through the gloom of Gresit's catacombs, hoping to find a way back to the surface.
…
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Chapter 39 is done and dusted! This took me about an entire day to write out, with some breaks in-between, so I hope I delivered and I also hope I made the chapter of this arc somewhat different to Jebest's Castlevania arc for his Kingdom Hearts/Game of Thrones crossover, so a big thank to you Jeb for providing some inspiration.
Next chapter, when? Don't know, but the next chapter we'll be seeing the arrival of Alucard, the eternal cool uncle of the Belmont family and then onto the journey to take down Dracula before Aegon and Saeko then go on the search for a way back to Skellige which Alucard can certainly help them with, but we'll definitely see Aegon and Saeko travel to some other worlds before making it back in time for dinner in Skellige. Speaking of, looking at the poll results of what worlds Aegon and Saeko can travel to next after the Castlevania arc, it seems that One Piece, DC Comics and Marvel Comics all share the top spot with Critical Role/Legend of Vox Machina following after them.
So depending on when I finish this arc, if the results are still largely the same, I'll have to make an executive decision and lately I've gotten into the One Piece live action adaptation by Netflix, which is seriously good! I'm not kidding the first season while it had some changes and differences to the anime/manga, it still holds the vibe and energy of One Piece and the casting was spot on! And admittedly, I have never really watched a full season of the One Piece anime, other than one or two episodes back in highschool, I could tell right away that they were largely faithful to Oda' work while making some acceptable changes, unlike what they did with the Witcher Netflix series… The bastards…
Anyway, so if you haven't already voted on the poll, please do so now and if you liked this chapter, let me know what you thought in a review and I'll see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.