Chapter 4
4125words
Trinady awoke to find Kuma and Satura already in the process of tracking the vampire. As he walked down the stairs, the two inn owners stood over one of the large oak tables, which had a large map spread across it, and both had a severe expression on their faces.
“How close can you narrow it down, Sati?” Kuma asked sternly.
Satura tilted her head and cracked her neck. “It won't be very precise, but it will show me her most used routes. Focus on the map, K-bear.”
Trinady watched as the map began to glow, and decided not to interrupt the process, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.
The glow emanating from the map began to shrink and make its way around the northwest corner. In a matter of seconds, a series of incoherent red lines began to appear, all the while Kuma and Satura never lost the severity in their facial expressions.
Trinady raised his right hand just before Jathom reached the bottom of the stairs, signaling for silence, and Jathom eventually got the message, after several seconds of freshly awakened confusion.
A moment later, the glow of the map dissipated. Trinady and Jathom decided it was now a good time to approach as K-bear and Sati both let out a satisfactory sigh as they sat down in their respective oak chairs.
“We have a destination, Trinady.” Kuma announced. “Turns out she's been skirting the edges of Nabelanon Forest.”
“Why isn't she going in, though?” Trinady asked, admiring the magic lines on the map. “Her original clan should be somewhere in the forest, right?”
“Theoretically?” Satura asked before taking a deep breath and holding it in for a moment. “Yes, yes, yes, her clan should be somewhere very close to her hunting grounds, but for some damn reason, she just won't, or can't, go home. You can almost feel sorry for her.”
“I just might.” Trinady retorted.
“Doesn't matter.” Kuma stated bluntly. “We know where to go now. Better go wake up your aged friend so we can get ready. Not hitting the road on an empty stomach, or empty handed.”
After having their fill of hotcakes and bacon, the quartet set off once again on the way to their new destination: the outskirts of Nabelanon Forest. The forest itself has always been deeply enchanted. The magic emanating from the trees alone is enough to supply an army of mages with a lifetime supply of free mana. Some have tried to take control of it, only to be brought down by massive beasts and neko warriors. Even the elves steer clear of Nabelanon, and their magicka is unrivaled.
On this day, the forest almost seemed morose in its pale and misty visage.
Kuma kept the map on hand so he could check it periodically.
Jathom and Bertrum kept themselves entertained with frequent games of rock-paper-scissors.
Trinady remained silent as they walked, his mind reeling through the many questions he had about the creature they were pursuing. Who was she? He thought to himself. Where is her clan? Do they know what has become of her? Are they looking for her? Have they been victimized by her as well? Why isn't the main road a part of her...
“Trinady!” Kuma shouted. “Where are you in your head?”
“Did you notice that her route didn't include the main road?” Trinady asked.
An answer did not come, but Kuma slowly raised his hands above his head.
It didn't take much longer for Trinady to realize they were surrounded.
A small army of neko warriors had them surrounded, bows drawn and aimed at their heads.
Jathom raised his hands and whispered in Bertrum's direction, “What do we do now?”
“Siloh, Trrach!” one of the neko warriors shouted, his voice high and sharp, like claws on a smooth rock.
Another neko approached them cautiously, sniffing each of them one at a time, her tail swaying menacingly.
“Zenkarat.” Trinady said softly as he raised his hands. “Shah dezhumo, zenkarat.”
“I will decide,” an older neko spoke as he approached the group, an extremely long beard dangling from his small and wrinkled face. “I will decide who is friendly here.”
The little old man with the long beard and large cat ears approached slowly, supporting himself with a long, gnarled walking stick, which looked remarkably like a wizard's staff. The old man scrutinized the group closely, his yellow eyes appearing more menacing than the old man could possibly be.
At least, that's what Trinady was thinking.
“Cage them!” the old man yelled.
Darts flew at them from all directions and in a matter of seconds, all four men were paralyzed and being dragged into Nabelanon Forest, all the while having their weapons confiscated along the way. Not having any weapons on him, Kuma was treated like the most dangerous of the group. Wisely so.
As they were being dragged through the forest, Trinady noticed that he could still move his eyes, but the rest of his body seemed frozen in place, his hands still in an upright position, yet he could also feel every bump in the terrain as his stiff form was dragged roughly by multiple neko warriors.
Well, well, well... he thought to himself, unable to speak out loud. Is this how I die? Death by tiny cat people?
Alice awoke and dispelled her magically formed tent, green lights surrounding the formation as it slowly turned back into foliage. Alice stretched and dusted off her cornflower blue dress before picking up her staff and satchel. The sun had been up for some time before she finally woke up, but Alice was always late to wake up. A trait which most found both endearing and irritating. Endearing because they also found her adorable, but irritating because she was usually late for important events. In any case, Alice was finally awake, and she was finally prepared to continue her mission.
A few hours into her travels, she passed by a frozen cave, and although she knew it was an oddity, she decided not to investigate. She could smell the magic, a scent similar to a mix of lemon and vanilla, and knew that something serious had probably occurred within the cave. She decided to continue on her way, but was rudely interrupted.
“Did you do that, witch?” a crude voice called out from the trees.
Alice turned around to see three men bound in crude leather outfits walk out from behind the trees on the other side of the road. “I beg your pardon?” she asked, trying not to show any fear.
“Beg all you want,” the second man blurted out with the accent of a simpleton. “Makes it more fun for us.” he cackled disgustingly as his comrades surrounded Alice.
Alice cursed under her breath and raised her staff, prepared to attack, but one of the men was too fast. With a swift kick, her staff was airborne and disappeared into the flora, and before she could react, a second kick to her belly dropped her to her knees. One of the men grabbed her hair viciously and threw her to the ground.
“I'm goin' first!” the lead man shouted as he began to undo his belt, and the other two men grumbled to each other, but said nothing in protest as they watched their leader drop his trousers.
The forest suddenly fell silent.
The leader's vision suddenly went blurry as he looked at the apparently helpless woman on the ground struggle to get to her feet, but found himself unable to pursue her, as he looked down and what was protruding from between his legs was a long blade, dripping with blood, slowly getting longer and longer. In an instant, the blade disappeared from his groin and the world began spinning, as his head rolled down the road.
Standing behind the now headless man was a young woman in a black blouse and short skirt with long red hair flowing in the wind, and in her hand was a long, subtly curved sword, dripping with blood.
The other two men were completely dumbfounded, but soon found their fight as they lunged at the young woman simultaneously.
In the blink of an eye, the read haired woman dodged both men and swung her sword, which was nearly as long as she was tall, or short in this case, and quickly sliced through the second man's neck, quickly removing a second head from its repulsive shoulders.
The third man stumbled as he drew his sword, turned recklessly and lunged maniacally at the woman, swinging his sword chaotically, and before he could hit anything, blood was gushing from both of his thighs, and he collapsed onto the dirt road, howling in pain as he continued to flail his blade in every direction before falling face first in the dirt, his face quickly paling from the massive blood loss.
“All of you...” the girl growled menacingly. “All of you rapist scum deserve to die.”
Alice could see the expression on the girl's face. The girl's green eyes were cold, almost lifeless as she stood by and watched the third man slowly bleed to death as he begged for his life, clawing at the dirt, unable to move his legs.
Alice watched, but said nothing, as she didn't entirely disagree with the girl's statement, and was nonetheless grateful for her salvation.
The red-headed woman swung her blade, and all of the blood flew off of it before she sheathed it and turned to Alice, walking slowly toward the mage.
Alice was frightened for a moment, but the young girl suddenly had and extremely friendly expression on her face, totally contradictory to the look of a cold blooded killer she had mere seconds prior.
“My name is Karma!” she said gleefully. “What's your name?”
“Um...” Alice stammered, still nervous in the face of her rescuer. “Alice... my name is Alice.”
Karma reached out her hand and offered it to Alice, her face becoming more friendly by the second.
“Sorry about the decapitations and all that. I just can't stand to see good people get hurt.” she said, still speaking gleefully.
“Well,” Alice started, taking Karma's hand and rising to her feet. “I'm grateful, both for the rescue and for your assumption that I am, in fact, a good person.” She took a deep breath and felt her stomach where she was kicked a few moments earlier.
The third assailant finally died.
Alice and Karma searched for her staff and had a brief conversation about the recent attack and the unusual surge of dangers on the road these days. It wasn't long before the two were getting along quite well.
“So...” Alice started. “What exactly do you do?”
Karma puffed out her chest proudly and declared “I'm an assassin!”
“You're awfully forthcoming with that information.” Alice stated nervously.
“Yeah, my master says I should be more... what's the word... discreet? Secretive? I dunno!”
“You're certainly confident in your abilities, that's for certain.”
Karma puffed out her chest proudly once again. “Damn right I am!”
“So, what's an assassin doing out in the middle of nowhere like this?”
“I'm following you!” Karma said proudly.
“You really are forthcoming with information, aren't you?”
Karma blushed and swayed her hips nervously. “Yeah, probably should have left that part out.”
“Well,” Alice said, dusting off her cornflower blue dress. “You might as well travel with me. At least we won't get lonely, and together we can handle any danger we face.”
Karma nodded enthusiastically and shouted as she found Alice's staff in the foliage. “That's a GREAT idea!”
“Halt, fair maidens!” a gallant knight riding on a black stallion called out from the road ahead. The horse wore a caparison that made it look like a dragon, while the knight's armor made him look like the horse's wings.
“What is that?” Karma sighed grossly. “I think it's looking at us?”
“It's obviously a knight.” Alice replied. “What seems to be the problem, sir knight?”
“There is tribulation ahead, miladies!” the gallant knight called out. “A terrible injustice has transpired, and I daresay that it does not behoove two fair maidens such as thee to bear witness to such atrocities!”
Karma leaned out to take a peek and saw an overturned wagon stained with blood. “Meh...” she said with an intentionally bored tone. “I've seen worse.”
Alice sighed and waved to the gallant knight. “And who might you be, sir knight?”
“I am Ser Aela Lancaster, Knight of Camdenburgh!” the gallant knight called out proudly. “I am sent upon an investigation into the misdeeds of a vile and vicious villain that vexes these very lands!”
“Well,” Alice began calmly. “Might I inquire as to what it is that you are looking for?”
“That is an important question, and I am in no mood to give you a half answer, so let me tell you what I do know!” the gallant knight raised his visor purposefully. “Trade caravans and travelers alike have all been attacked, seemingly at random, by a fiend whose strength and skills are an unknown quantity. Furthermore, the carriage just ahead seems to be only the latest of victims, whom someone was kind enough to bury nearby and even marked the graves. It... it pains me to admit, that one of the victims was merely a child. There is still much gore to be seen, which is why I have blocked thy pathway, as it does not behoove two young maidens to bear witness to such things, as I previously stated. All in all, to answer your original question... well...” he paused and lowered his visor slowly and shamefully. “I'm afraid I simply do not know. I was not able to inspect the bodies before they were buried, hence I was incapable of gathering any evidence of my quarry.”
“Well,” Alice started. “Our goals may be connected. I too am looking for such a fiend. To be more precise-”
“A knight such as I must complete this mission entirely upon mine own merit!” the gallant knight interrupted.
“Shiny...” Karma quietly blurted out.
“You fair maidens should return from whence you came, else you face a dangerous foe.” the gallant knight gallantly turned his horse and proceeded to gallantly gallop away. “Fare thee well, and best of luck to thee!”
“What the hell was that?” Karma blurted out.
“Don't ask me.” Alice sighed.
They passed by the bloody wagon and saw the three different sized graves, including the small one in the middle, each marked with the names carved into planks of wood, which were probably taken from the damaged wagon.
Death by tiny cat people. Trinady thought to himself as the paralysis slowly wore off and he could start to move again. The quartet found themselves in cages too small to stand up in, but long enough to lie down. The cages themselves appeared to be made out of a mixture of thick branches and a select few bones, most likely there for a statement, rather than structural integrity.
“Humans are all the same!” the old man with the long beard hissed as he approached the Trinady's cage.
“I'm not human, zenkarat.” Trinady retorted.
“No-” the old neko replied. “You are a lycanthrope! Just a human with more power! You and the fat one!”
“Hey!” Kuma shouted.
“We're looking for one of your people who has been turned into a vampire.” Trinady said, trying to get back on track. “She has been attacking people on the roads. We have no ill intentions toward you or your people.”
“She has attacked no one!” shouted the old neko.
“Bullshit!” shouted Kuma.
“Not helping!” shouted Trinady.
“She actually bit me.” Jathom chimed in.
The old neko stroked his absurdly long beard. “That is precisely how she got infected. She bites everyone.”
“Look...” Trinady started, turning closer to the sticks containing him. “We don't want to be here and we don't want anything from your people. I understand that you don't trust humans, but this girl is a danger to you as well. Please allow us to stop her before any more people – yours or ours – get hurt.”
The old neko continued to stroke his beard, apparently in deep thought.
“You will cure her!” the old neko finally shouted.
“What?” all four men shouted in unison.
“What do you mean by 'cure' her?” Kuma asked angrily. “She's not sick, she'd undead!”
“Actually...” Trinady started. “Vampirism is like a disease. It can be cured, but it takes the blood of the vampire that turned them.” he quickly turned back toward the old neko. “How do you know about the cure, zenkarat?”
“My name is Choko! I am chieftain of the Feline tribe!” The old neko grumbled angrily and walked closer to Trinady's cage. “And you will cure my daughter!”
Kuma cursed quietly.
Choko glared at all of them one at a time, stroking his long beard menacingly. “You will agree to cure her, or you will not leave. I have been aware of the cure for the vampire disease for many years. We are not ignorant out here in the forest, wolf-man. One of our numbers was infected when I was a child. He, like my daughter, refused to feed on the living! He, like my daughter, refused to come home out of fear of harming his own kind! He, like my daughter, was to be cured! However... things went awry.
“A young man and woman traveling together had passed through our territory.” the old neko continued. “The woman had remarkable powers, and we believe she may have been a djinn. The young man was on a mission, and was absolutely determined to be an asset to everyone they came across. We were a much more trusting people back then. The young woman was an endless trove of wisdom and knowledge, and she knew how to cure a vampire. They set out in the morning and were able to track down the vampire responsible for turning our family member into a monster, and after a fierce battle, they slayed the beast and took from it its blood, and it was that very blood that was used to cure my Feline family member.
“So,” he continued, tears forming in his large eyes. “So you will understand why I am not ready to give up on my child! Why I am not content to allow her to continue hiding away from her family and feed on the blood of rodents! Why I must rely on strangers to do so! You people are the only hope I have left!”
Everyone fell silent for a long time before Trinady gave his answer.
The quartet stood at the edge of the forest the next morning, having spent the night in the small wooden cages, parted from their weapons. The neko chieftain returned their weapons only once they were outside of Nabelanon Forest, and only once they were sure that the group was unwilling to harm their kin.
The path was unclear, but they had to find their way before night fell.
The men stood around the map and examined their quarry's route once again.
“There appear to be three main locations which she seems to be avoiding.” Trinady explained. “The main road, which tells us that she probably did not attack your friends, Kuma.”
Kuma scowled, but waved his hand for Trinady to proceed.
“The second place she is avoiding is Nabelanon forest. We can obviously rule that out.” Trinady pointed to another spot on the map where the lines circled, but never crossed over. “Here!” he exclaimed. “This location is where we should start.”
“What's in there?” Jathom asked, scratching his chin.
The men looked at one another askance.
“It's an old village.” Bertrum stated. “Last I knew it was quite self sufficient, so they don't do much trading with Brhams.”
“Seems like a good place for a vampire to hide out, don't you think?” Kuma asked, arms crossed over his chest.
It was evening by the time the four men entered the village, and only a handful of people were walking the streets. The village was small – only about a dozen or so buildings in total – and the largest building at the rear appeared like a longhouse, and its face was elaborately carved, the designs resembling thorny vines and leaves, along with a large wyvern carved into the massive doors. On the edge of the town was a large barn with massive iron doors.
The quartet decided to split up and question the villagers independently, trying their best to describe a vampire without actually calling anyone a vampire. Nobody seemed keen on helping them.
It didn't take long for the sun to start going down behind the hills, and as the darkness crept upon them, so too did a sinister sensation.
The villagers were all in their homes, and the village was quiet as the grave.
“Looking for me?” a deep, melodious voice called out.
The quartet turned to see a man who seemed to appear out of nowhere, with striking features, black hair, and blood red eyes. He was tall and slender, well dressed for being in the middle of nowhere, and had an expression of boredom on his face.
Jathom was, unfortunately, the first to speak.
“Listen, blood sucker!” he shouted. “We need your blood, see! To cure someone you turned into one'a'you!”
Kuma and Trinady both pinched the bridge of their nose at the same time, both in utter disbelief and disappointment.
“Indeed.” the vampire said, boredom in his voice as well.
Bertrum gripped his sword, ready for a battle.
“Gentlemen!” the vampire shouted suddenly. “I have a proposition for you!” His deep and melodious voice called out in a way that felt unnatural. Soothing and searing at the same time. “If you accept my challenge, I will give you my blood.”
“Or we could just kill you and take it.” Kuma retorted.
“You can try, my friend...” the vampire hissed. “But I am over 300 years old. I have picked up a few tricks.”
Before his sentence was finished, Kuma was behind him, ready to strike with a frozen blade, and as he swung, the vampire merely tilted to the side, easily avoiding the swing, and in the blink of an eye, Kuma was on the ground. Nobody actually saw him get hit, or even fall, but he was down, and after a few seconds, blood could be seen dripping from his mouth, and the vampire dusted his coat off before looking to Trinady.
“As I was saying...” he started, his voice filled with boredom once again. “If you accept my challenge and win, I will give you my blood. The thing that bit me is a nuisance, and it needs to be dealt with. It keeps biting my comrades and being a pest.”
“What is your challenge?” Trinady asked calmly.
“Follow me.” the vampire purred.
Trinady picked up Kuma and carried his unconscious body as they followed the vampire toward the old barn with the large iron doors, and even the way the vampire walked was... unnatural, yet alluring. But the vampire wasn't done talking yet.
“I may be a creature of the night, but I consider myself – first and foremost – a scientist.” he stated as he approached the massive iron doors on the barn. “That being said, many, many years ago I asked myself a question: what else in this world can become a vampire? So I went about experimenting, even when I had spent some time in gaol after being caught... snacking. I tested my blood on every living creature I came across. The neko brat was an accident, but I am currently most proud of the creature I am about to present to you, as it presented quite the challenge to turn. But I have achieved the impossible, and thus will move on to bigger and better things, once I have fully tested the limits of this, my greatest and most violent creation! I call it: Drakolakas!” His voice steadily got louder and more maniacal as he spoke, and he reached up and opened the intricate lock on the heavy iron doors that barred the large barn, and with a firm swing of his arms, the doors slid open, and darkness greeted them.
Followed by a deep, sinister growling sound.
Kuma finally awoke just in time to see.
Out of the barn, balancing on its wings, and walking unsteadily as flaming mucous dripped from its maw, strode a wyvern, at least 20 feet long, baring its fangs before letting out a deafening roar.
