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Archives: Vampire Hunt

Chapter 11: The Guardhouse

    Nakira entered the small place she, Dralen, and Rhianna called home. Seeing Dralen boiling some water for tea, she walked up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. “Sorry I’m home so late dear. I managed to find a job that could pay well. It’s dangerous, but we need the money. I missed you.”

    This came as a surprise to him. He turned his head to the side, he had an idea of what was coming next. He hated the thought, but they were just getting by on the ill-gotten gains as it was. Smiling, he hugged her. “I was wondering where you were. I thought the guards had finally caught you. Please don’t scare me like that again, I love you too much to think that could happen. I’ll make breakfast, you look exhausted.”

    After than Nakira went to check on Rhianna who started to fuss. Coming back into the kitchen, she was holding her, trying to calm her down. After ten minutes they were eating. Though it was a simple breakfast, it was enough to fill her up. Over breakfast she explained that she was hunting a dangerous criminal who had already killed two people, and that she may have to travel in order to finish the task. Once that was out of the way she handed their daughter over to Dralen, before going to pack and get her gear ready for travel.

    “I’m worried that you’ll get killed one day. Promise me that you’ll be careful hon. I only want to know you’ll return, she’s quite the handful when your not here,” Dralen spoke leaning against the wall of the bedroom, admiring her as she got ready. She did so much for their sake that she sometimes forgot about herself, then again, he tried his best too.

    “You don’t need to worry, and yes I promise. Why don’t you get a cat or something while I am working? I think you both could benefit from that. Anyway, I have to head out soon, be sure to pay more attention to her as well. Rhiana hates being left alone for more than several minutes, and make sure she is in bed two hours past sunset. I love you, so don’t worry too much about me,” she replied as she finished packing. She worried more about them on the dangerous jobs than she did herself. Turning to her daughter, she added, “Be good for your daddy. I’ll get you something nice when I return.” Once everything was done and all assurances in place she headed out, making her way to the guard house to meet Rone.

* * *

    N’shara, Penna, and Callin left Ileta’s apartment and followed their previous path back to the Dragon’s Fist Inn. N’shara wasn’t looking forward to telling the innkeeper that Dutia and Ileta were dead. She wasn’t going tell him that they suspected Ileta had become a vampire; the barmaid was as good as dead if she had become one. Once they arrived at the inn, N’shara paused at the door and took a deep breath.

    Penna swept into the inn but avoided eye contact with Daim. She was too embarrassed to say the state of the one woman found, and that the woman she actually cared about, Ileta, was now one of the damned. She sat at an empty table and placed her thin face in her hands. She dared not cry in public, but her constant stoic mask she tried to wear after the scene she witnessed was harder and harder to continue to paint over the pain and sorrow she felt.

    Penna walked in without hesitation, and N’shara followed, Callin tagging along behind. Oh Marfa, how will I do this? she thought. As she and Penna entered, a hush came over the inn. The mercenaries were still waiting on news of Darin, and Daim had paused in wiping down the bar counter.

    “Callin, go speak to your friends,” N’shara said softly to the mercenary. With a nod, he agreed and went to the men. N’shara didn’t join Penna at the table. Mustering her strength, she went to meet the innkeeper.

    “Something happened, didn’t it?” Daim asked as she came close. His brows were furrowed with concern and it looked as if he were on the verge of tears.

    N’shara gave a solemn nod. “We found them,” the priestess replied. She thought it best to lie about Ileta, as she assumed the barmaid was turned undead. “I’m afraid...they were murdered at Ileta’s apartment,” she explained softly. “We will be continuing our search for the killer.”

    Daim slammed his fist into the counter, causing a few inn patrons to jump. The man was doing his best to hold back his tears, but one still trickled out of his red-rimmed eyes. He clenched his jaw shut, afraid that any sound he tried to make would come out a sob. After he took a deep breath, he replied. “Find that man, make him pay. In Marfa and Falis’ names, make him pay,” Daim choked his reply.

    “Of course,” N’shara said. After a moment’s pause, she had to ask for her own needs. “If it’s not too much trouble, I must eat before I can continue.”

    “Yeah, yeah, just talk to Tanildy. Your friend hasn’t woken up yet either,” Daim replied, and walked into the kitchen. N’shara overheard him speak to his wife about making breakfast for her, but he wouldn’t tell her what was wrong. He probably intended to speak to her later.

    The innkeeper’s wife emerged from the kitchen and N’shara requested breakfast for herself and Penna. With that taken care of, she joined the elf at the table and crumpled into the chair. “Oh Marfa...I pray we don’t have to give anyone else bad news in this hunt.”

    Laies’s wisp floated down the stairs, bored of sticking with his unconscious friend. Seeing that both N’shara and the elf woman Penna had returned the wisp gently floated to their table and perched near N’shara’s shoulder. It gave off a warm light as if to comfort her but remained just slightly out of touch radius of her shoulder.

    “I hope so too,” Penna muttered. She looked up at N’shara to console her but nearly hopped out of her seat when she noticed a will o’ wisp near her shoulder. “Holy Marfa!” she exclaimed aloud accidentally. “I-I’m sorry N’shara. I just...I didn’t notice that we have a visitor amongst us.” Penna pointed out the wisp’s position near N’shara’s shoulder.

    N’shara saw the light radiating from beside her before hearing Penna shout. The priestess gave a small start, then turned to see the familiar little wisp on her shoulder. “Oh, hello there,” she said, though she didn’t know if it could understand her since she wasn’t an elf. “I’ll give Laies a little longer to nap while I eat my breakfast.”

    Soon, the innkeeper’s wife and inn’s cook, Tanildy, emerged from the kitchen with two meals on a tray. She set a plate with eggs, ham, and a biscuit in front of N’shara, then gave Penna the bowl of broth she asked for before they left. “There ya go girls,” Tanildy said sweetly. Apparently Daim hadn’t told her anything. “Penna dear, if you need more than that, let me know.”

* * *

    After finishing her breakfast, N’shara went upstairs to find Laies. He only had an hour to sleep, and hopefully that would be enough. Rone wasn’t going to slow down for anyone. For the sake of everyone’s sleep, she hoped they found Aryen soon. The priestess quietly slipped into Laies’s room and sat down at his bedside. Gently shaking his shoulder, she tried to wake him. “Laies...?”

    Laies opened a single eye to scout out who was waking him. When he saw it was N’shara he opened his other eye and sat up. “Time to go already?” he asked with a stifled yawn.

    “Yes, Rone won’t stop for much,” N’shara replied. “While you slept, we found two more victims, and it seems Aryen may have ‘unbirthed’ someone as well. Rone wants us to meet him at the guardhouse so we can keep looking for Aryen.”

    “Oh,” Laies sighed. “So much for happy tidings...” He rolled out of bed opposite of N’shara and stretched. “Which guardhouse is he at?” Laies asked with a small yawn.

    “I’m not sure, it’s in this neighborhood, though,” N’shara replied.

    Laies nodded. “I know the way then.” He looked over to N’shara with a sympathetic look. “How are you doing? I assume a priestess like yourself isn’t having the easiest time with something as vile as this.”

    “It’s...hard,” N’shara admitted, looking away from Laies. “I’m just trying not to think of it and focusing on the job ahead.” The priestess shuddered as she remembered Dutia’s corpse and felt her gorge rise. N’shara swallowed, forcing her breakfast back down. “You didn’t get much rest, I hope you’re up to continuing.”

    Laies smiled widely. “Of course I’m up to continuing. In my veins pump the elixir of life, three quarters human, one quarter elf. If an hour isn’t enough to relax and sleep for someone as mixed and blessed in blood as I am, then we’d have a problem,” he feigned bravado and gave her a little wink. “Let’s not keep the Falis priest to his own devices too long, he might just start attacking innocents.”

    The priestess smiled, though she worried that Laies wasn’t as well as he said he was. She couldn’t just keep casting refreshment spells on everyone. Eventually they would need sleep—but hopefully the hunt wouldn’t last much longer. “Let’s go then,” N’shara said, then continued to explain their situation as she and Laies headed out; “We have two new people helping us, an elf named Penna and a mercenary named Callin. They are patrons of the inn, Callin worked with the mercenary who was killed and Penna was close to one of the barmaids, it seems.”

    Laies nodded. “Alright so an elven woman and a mercenary.” He gave a small smile. “Well hopefully it’ll end tonight. I’d sleep a whole lot better later on if I knew that he wasn’t anything but dust and bones.”

    N’shara returned downstairs with Laies only a few minutes after she had gone up. They had finished breakfast and hopefully Callin had finished speaking to his former comrades. N’shara had a meal in her belly to re-energize, and now they could meet with Rone and continue the search for the vampire. The priestess made her way to the mercenaries’ table and stood behind Callin. “Callin,” she started, “are you going to continue the search with us?”

    The mercenary turned and shook his head. “I’m afraid not,” he replied, sounding reluctant to admit it. “I need to notify Darin’s family. I’d like to help, but I’m afraid I don’t know much about vampires. That Rone fellow seems like he should be more than enough help. Can you guys handle it without another sword?”

    N’shara was disappointed. Rone and Laies were capable--well, at least she was sure Laies was, if he was once a knight—but she would have felt better with another fighter. “Yes, I suppose we can. Thank you for your help.” The priestess bowed to him and added, “May Marfa bless you.”

    After parting ways with the mercenary, N’shara went to Penna. “Laies is ready to go,” she informed the elf. “Callin, however, will not be joining us.”

    Penna’s face fell when she heard that Callin would not be joining them. Although she didn’t particularly know him, the idea of another hand not joining in on the fight was something that made her uncomfortable. Sure, the spectacle in Ileta’s apartment was enough to sour even a strong stomach, but Penna thought perhaps Callin would at least join them for revenge. “Very well.” The well-bred elf maiden said slowly, standing as she did. “I hope Laies has enough rest in case we are pushed into confrontation.”

    Laies came down stairs shortly after N’shara left, making sure the make-shift armor of his poncho was on correctly. If worn incorrectly it would make wearing it extremely uncomfortable. He patted the priestess on the shoulder to let her know that he was there. “N’shara, I’m ready when you two are.”

    “Laies, this is Penna,” N’shara politely introduced him to the elf. She had already been acquainted, however, when he was unconscious. “We had better not keep Rone waiting any longer.”

    Laies nodded. Without another word he and the others left the inn behind them to catch up with Rone and Nakira.

* * *

    Rone moved with swiftness down the streets. He stopped only to purchase a loaf of bread, which he wolfed down as he walked. People innately knew to move out of the broad-shouldered warrior of Falis. Though almost all of them didn’t know him by appearance, his manner and seriousness was sign enough to stay back.

    He quickly found the guard house, which had two guards positioned at the door. He didn’t even bother to greet them. “My name is Rone Kalmaine, Hunter in service of the temples of Falis. There is a vampire that may attempt to flee this night and I require the cooperation of your command to keep him from getting away.” For proof, Rone pulled out the symbol of Falis, which was a variation on the original; its shapes were made of weapons shining in holy light. “We have no time to lose. Get your commanding officer!” Rone commanded as harshly as any veteran general might.

    Shortly after Rone arrived Nakira showed up, she had wasted no time in getting there after getting prepared. Moving near Rone she nodded to him, all they had to do was wait for the others now. “Hopefully the others will be here soon. I’m worried that when Laies is ready he may have already slipped away.”

    “The foul creature will be put to death. We won’t wait for them if we catch sight of him,” Rone said.

    Nakira was sure that they would arrive in time to help deal with the situation, though if worse came to worse then she would fight as well. “Alright then. If it comes to that then you can count on me.” She still recalled the scene from the apartment, if they failed here more innocent people would be in danger. She was more like her father now than her mother, despite being the disinherited black sheep of her family.

    “I am,” Rone replied smoothly as the guard at the door disappeared. He wanted to instill a bit of responsibility in Nakira. She seemed to be the most eager to help him rather than take over. She knew her place and Rone truly respected that in people. Too often, everyone assumed the position of expert, despite their lack of study. Nakira placed trust in him, it seemed. Rone felt it prudent to place trust back in with her.

    The guard came back and welcomed them through the door and into the main room, which had a few lounging guards, but more importantly, the captain. Rone wasted no time. “Captain, my name is Rone Kalmaine, Hunter of the Damned for the temples of Falis. There is a vampire in your city and has been for at least a day. We have reason to suspect that he is to make his leave from the city tonight. Already, a few have been taken down, including a farm girl outside the city and several other citizens and non-residents. I need you to get the words out to be a man matching his description and stop him from leaving the city.”

    Laies, N’shara and Penna arrived at the guardhouse rather promptly after leaving the inn. Laies himself wasn’t too keen on the earful he’d probably get from Rone, due to this hunt being his ‘sacred mission’, but he’d gladly take a few earfuls if it kept N’shara or Penna getting any flack. To succeed in gaining Rone’s attention to divert the tongue-lashing away from the two girls, he entered in with a grin on his face. “Have no fear, Laies the magnificent is here.” That ought to do it. He thought behind his cocky grin.

    Rone ignored Laies completely. His business with the captain of the guard was all he cared about.

    N’shara stayed silent behind Laies as she found that Rone was conversing with who appeared to be the captain of the guard. Rone didn’t seem concerned with Laies’s greeting, and N’shara seemed unsure if he had even heard them. It seemed they arrived only shortly after Rone and Nakira.

    The captain had dismissed runners as Rone continued to explain the dangers for a moment more. When the captain broke away to continue his work, Rone turned to the others. “The guard has been informed and runners have been dispatched to warn every gate to watch for this man and arrest on sight.”

    “Arrest on sight?” Laies repeated the last line he heard. “Isn’t that a lot like sticking your face in the boiling water to get the apple at the bottom of the pot? This is a vampire we’re talking about, right Rone? Pardon my inexperience, but I’m pretty sure that a bunch of guards won’t really be able to just ‘arrest’ the vampire we’re looking for. Don’t they have a whole slew of demonic-like abilities at their disposal?” The quarter elf sneered and looked to Penna. “Penna, your grasp of shamanism is stronger than mine, I assume. Could you possibly summon something to track it?”

    Penna was only partially listening to Laies, her mind was distracted by the events of the day so far. “Uh, summon?” she muttered softly. “Oh! Yes, I probably could summon a sylph to find him, but I don’t have much to go on. No description except the one that N’shara gave.” And I don’t have much in the way of rituals for finding people. It wasn’t really my specialty. She gave a meek smile. “Maybe we should just wait and follow Rone’s plan. I’m sure he has more experience tracking them than I do, and he has already initiated his own precautions...”

    “Yes, vampires do, however would you rather they watch the vampire walk away? If he wounds the vampire, it makes him all the easier to track.” Rone looked at Laies blank-faced. He wasn’t sure whether to praise him for trying to think or slap him for being thoughtless still. “If all they did was run here to warn us, our target could escape without a trace. If the guards spot and engage, we can find out how strong he is and exactly what we are dealing with. Know thy enemy, Laies.”

    If the guards faced Aryen, they would lose their lives. This reality struck N’shara sharply as it did Laies. For a moment, she hoped that Penna would be able to help, but her heart sank back down with Penna’s hesitation. However, she saw why Rone accepted this course. “There isn’t much we can do,” she said in a low voice. “We can’t wait at every gate ourselves, and if we did, splitting up would only make us—well, most of us—weak. If Ileta is a vampire now, she’s as much of a threat as Aryen. I don’t want any of the city guards to lose their lives...but they accept that as a part of their jobs.” It hurt to say that last part, but N’shara had to resign herself to that fact.

    Laies punched the wall beside him. “Damn it!” He cursed loudly. “What is the point of trying to protect people from him if you just give him more food and ammunition?” He growled. “Fine, I’ll go look for him myself. I’ll send wisp back if I find him.”

    “Laies!” N’shara cried out, then hurried after him and caught his wrist. “Don’t go!” She wanted to keep him close, but she also needed Rone’s expertise. Though Rone would undoubtedly be frustrated by this. It occurred to her that Laies didn’t know the plans they made after Ileta’s apartment. “We aren’t stopping our search. The plan was to inform the guard for their help, then continue on our own! We can’t afford to just sit around and wait the day out,” she explained.

    Laies sighed and nodded. “Alright...” he responded sullenly. Rone could possibly live with another innocents’ blood on his hands, but Laies didn’t want to live with another burden on his shoulders. Still, if he was too hasty he would be the one dead, not a guard. The overwhelming feeling of being impotent in situations like this weighed on him, and, like a chastised dog, returned with N’shara with his proverbial tail between his legs.

    Rone nodded. “N’shara is correct,” he said calmly. Laies’ little fit was enough to make a seasoned veteran cringe, but now was not the time to encourage his fury. Laies was a good man, Rone was sure, but the art of war was not yet in his mind. “The match has begun now. Sometimes one must lose a fight to win a battle. We must decide however how to proceed, since communication will be an issue...”

    “I know a few communication spells,” Penna said softly. “But I’ve never tried sending messages to humans before, so I’m not sure if it would work. The theory is fine, but the practice, that’s another matter.” She wasn’t overly comfortable about using spells around humans to begin with. It was better that everyone just thought of her as a frail noble, rather than a shaman, which she was.

    Nakira had watched things and agreed with Laies a little, but then if they were not careful the vampires could slip through their hands and escape more easily. “I know I don’t have any real experience in this, but I’d like to use all of my skills to our advantage. Perhaps I could case the crowds to look for anything suspicious, I’d just have to know what to look for.” She spoke confident that she could help out with more than just locks, her skills could be used as they best saw fit.

    “I know a few messenger spells as well,” Laies stated. “I know that they work on humans, it’s how I introduced myself to N’shara. But surely there’s a better plan than just sitting around here and waiting for something to happen, right Rone?”

    “That there is,” Rone replied. “There are only two logical main exits for this man to take. Though there are smaller ones plausible, I doubt he will take them. We split into two groups. Laies and N’shara can be one, while myself and Penna the other. If one group identifies the target, a messenger spell would be cast to notify the other. Then pursue. As for Nakira, casing crowds may be valuable. You can choose what you think is best to find the target and where you might suspect him. I myself am not used to your more... clandestine methods. Are we in agreement?”

    “Yes, and I’ll make sure they don’t see me if I find them. Best I can do is tail them and follow their path, otherwise I’ll find the nearest group and report to them,” Nakira replied, knowing that she would have to do something to avoid getting caught by them. Even if it meant purposefully getting caught by the guard, she would do it.

    “Umm...Pardon me, but what good would ‘casing’ crowds do if we’re hunting vampires?” the priestess asked. “It’s day time.”

    Nakira realized her mistake and looked a little sheepish, her logic was flawed and she realized it. “I forgot about that part, sorry I’m still getting used to going after something that is not human.”

    “I’ll try not to take offense to the ‘not human’ thing,” Laies snorted. “Although a better choice of words would be ‘non-living humanoid’.”

    N’shara tipped her head toward Laies after his comment. Surely, Nakira meant nothing by it. “So, if we can use the spirits to communicate, will we split into two groups? One with Laies, and the other with Penna?” she asked Rone.

    “That seems to be the best option available, given our circumstance.” Rone fussed with his beard a bit. “Unless there are any other stops or similar urgent matters anyone needs to attend to, I’d like to get us into position as soon as possible.”

    “I will go with Penna’s group for now, until night falls I can only do so much to help the search,” Nakira replied after making a quick decision, either way one group would have two people and nothing would really change.

    Alright! Laies thought. Alone with N’shara at last... “Fu fu fu...” Laies let out a small chuckle under his breath. “Alright then, N’shara and I’ll see you guys later, as we should probably get to our post, just in the off chance that the sun sets unexpectedly.” He took the priestess by the hand and started taking her off away from Rone and the others.

    “He seems eager to be alone with her,” Penna said through a concealed smile. “I’m worried more about the priestess than about Laies though,” Penna said, her face darkening. “The spirits will protect the boy, and if he has any aptitude with them, then there won’t be much problem on his side. However...” Penna shook her head. “Ignore the ramblings of an old elf maid.” She gave a little wave, although her fears of Laies’s feelings perhaps betraying him in the company of the priestess were far from alleviated.

    “She is a priestess. Against the damned, she should be able,” Rone replied. Rone had not considered the possibility that Laies was untrustworthy, so he had assumed she just meant that N’shara was not the crusader that he was. “Let us move.”

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