Chapter 3. The vampire of the north
The north was cold. It was harsh, the group that took to travel in its direction was finding it inhospitable but not inhabited, small towns were seen on the path towards the north allowing them to get the necessary rations needed for their exploration, they would have gone back to the hamlet after the second week of journey, but something caught the attention of the group. An enemy, a shadow bringing fear to the north. It was not their problem; it was not their issue to fix… but the thrill of adventure was there. The thrill of the hunt…
"A vampire?" The old fighter questioned in the inn they were staying for the night with the barmaid. "Aye… that thing been terrorizing the north for a while, we all put up the money to the adventurer guild to request for help, but so far no one answered the call…" a vampire. He knew about the blood sucking creature through literature that the heir often mentioned, heck, he had seen blood sucking creatures before.
"Why not pull everyone together to fight it?" "You have not seen a vampire before have you sir?" She spoke with mirth and slight disdain, thinking of him as a rookie on matters of beasts. He was a survivor of the battlefield, a veritable fountain of combat experience, but alas, they didn't know that.
"… if this crisis is as big, how come there aren't more news of it? We didn't hear of it a few towns back." "The thing is that is trapped… it has been trapped for a while, but when the winter really hits up, the clouds will cover the sky and the night will be its ally…" So far the skies had been clear but apparently everyone spoke that the winter was taking its sweet time arriving, but when it did the land would be in darkness.
"Currently everyone is preparing for the dark road." A term they had been hearing for a while, merchants and everyone on the north was preparing for the time where the paths would darken and things would become scarce, the few merchants willing to take on the risks of the journeys during the darks would charge exorbitant fees that people would actually pay in exchange for the emergency resources they didn't manage to stash beforehand.
And this was the period when the vampire would really become a threat. With clear skies and short nights, the vampire didn't have the margin of time needed to become a full threat, but he was already a problem for the closer towns to the ruins where apparently the beast had made its nest.
It was odd, they were journeying to a bunch of ruins up north to look for a beast that may as well end their lives if thing went wrong… but that was the whole point, the hunt, the journey, the group moved through the northern lands because they knew nothing else but combat… but there was also deep down something else.
Deep, deeper than one could ever hope to understand, at the core of every being there was that feeling.
In moments that things seemed to go the worst possible way, in moments of hardship, one would get tested. And at those moments, their true face would show.
And they lived for the test.
"Last town before the ruins." They had procured a map of the Frontier a while back, of course, they knew the hamlet was not in the map as they were not citizens of the land, they also took notice of the odd naming conventions. "Let's look for a place to rest is quite late already…" the hound master sighed looking around the town of the setting sun. The town was bigger than the others, but there was something odd. Something his dog could smell and kept it on guard. "Ferghus is smelling something, so keep your guard up… how is she holding?" The hellion was sleeping peacefully with the Wolf's Tooth beside her, the glaive that had seen more blood in a small conflict than many others saw in their whole life.
"She is fine. But I could ask you the same." The man at arms looked at his friend. He had been having some nightmares due to the missing posters he saw on a few close towns. "Yes, nothing big." The older man nodded, understanding he would not speak about it.
It was an injury of the past, the kind that would not heal no matter how long.
Even the chief was in it.
In restless dreams he saw it, the evidence, the hound following the trail, a door. And behind a scene of horror…
I am the law he screamed as he let his cudgel fall against the head of the chief…the gendarme's pride stained in crimson as his faithful partner lunged against the threat of a cultist…
There had been no law that night.
Only a cudgel and collar sounding echoing in empty ears, for the innocent soul had left the world.
A bark brought him out of his musing as he walked through the town. "Ah… thanks boy…" he sighed and took notice of the reason that his friend took to bark. It was late, but there was no movement…
This was a trap. This town had already fallen victim to the figure of the ruins didn't?
"Your side is weak!" he heard the scream of the giant of a man in armor as a body took to clash against a wall. The figure tried pushing restlessly against the shield that was pushing its chest threatening to crush it. "Don't kill him!" the hound master called to his friend. "Go boy!" the hound took to hear the whistle of its companion and bit the leg of the man who had lunged itself against his friend. The man released a scream of pain. "Let him go now." "But," "Just do it." He released the pressure of the shield, and the man lunged away, running. "Why let him run?" "Because it will go to whoever is in charge to tell them of our visit." They weren't a group meant for sneaking; they were a group meant for a frontal assault.
The roar of the hellion alerted them that the enemy had tried going for her. "Let's pick her up, I am guessing the bounty hunter is already busy too." Military order was needed right now, and the older man took control of the group. A couple of ashes were around the woman who looked confused. "They don't bleed… but they die quite easily when you stab their chest." She motioned for her glaive that was looking clean. True, his own dog was not with blood on the fangs. "… I am guessing vampires feed on blood that they don't have?" "They die quickly." Out of the shadows the bounty hunter revealed itself looking the same as always, but behind him the trio saw the small mounds of ashes.
The Count was confused. One of his servants came back injured, he was confused as to why would the hunters let… of course.
The ruins offered comfort and darkness, his coffin was in the deep part of the ruins and a slight tremor allowed him freedom, he had gone to the town closest to him to feed, starting to make a force to move and conquer. But apparently the enemy had been faster…
"Stay together!" He could hear their steps… four, no, twelve… six pair of feet… no no, four and a dog. That's how they found him. Well, they may have found him. But entering the ruins had been a mistake…
Darkness, it had been too fast, but not fast enough as to bite him. Fast enough to receive a cudgel to the face. Pushing him away. Adrenaline fueled his movements, his dog was with him so he wasn't alone. "You are the vampire I take it." He spoke gripping his cudgel tightly as his oldest friend was getting ready for the fight. "And you are the hunters… you made a mistake coming into the ruins unprepared… you will bleed and die here tonight hunter…"
Without allies but his oldest friend, his cudgel tightly in hand, the ruins and the dark serving as witness as a man was tested…
Adversity can foster hope and resilience.
"There is no time to bleed!" He spoke before whistling loudly, the vampire didn't understand the motive of the loud whistling outside of bothering him. But he could feel the eyes of the dog focused on him. "Let us finish the hunt!" He tossed a treat for his friend; the moment the beast took the bite of the special treat the vampire noticed how it slightly gained more bulk, and the eyes looked sharper. The hound and its master were ready to deliver justice for the town that had been prey of the vampire.
A small note, I wrote the dog as male, but did you know the Houndmaster dog is a girl? I have played the game so many times and still did the blunder! See ya soon.