"Nope," Gunnar replied, sounding bored. As a half-breed, he could no longer drink. "You've had enough for now. You need to sober up so we can get moving in a few hours, you know..."
"Gnarly-face, come on!" she slurred some more, "I need more pale ale over here! It's my birthday-suit day." Gunnar leans over to the bartender and requests sparkling water instead, before turning back to Eden and patting her on the head. "Yes yes, you're a big girl. Take it easy though, it's not like we're made of coin."
Smiling a little through her drunken haze, she replies, "Okay, I'm satisfied now." The cool water hits her throat and she turns to Gunnar. "So, remind me again, what are we meant to do?"
The burly man from before returns again, eyeing the pair up and down. "You guys in need of some coin? You look like a beef-cake, and we could do with some manpower."
"Nah, I don't think you'll get beef-cake over here to get in on your plan. He swore to never join the military no-more." she said, smiling happily to the man.
Gunnar looked up at the man, who he had ignored before. To his sober eyes, he didn't really look like the military type. "What did you have in mind?" he asked.
"Oh , no, little lady. I'm not from the military." he responds, wiping the sweat off his forehead, "I'm Bjorn, one of this city's protectors."
"And?" she murmured, looking right at him in her drunken stupor, cocking her head to the side.
"Haven't you heard? There's been these... kidnappings, terrorizing the folk as of late." he responds, with a grim expression.
Just then, a pair walked through the door. A tall, slim man with a gigantic bardiche strode in, seemingly too large for his built and yet he was walking steadily across the floor with ease. He sighed in exasperation. "Ava, daughter of Abbadon, this is not the place for tea!" he guffawed to the girl by his side, she was spunky with dark flowing hair and a cold expression.
"Shut up and sit down!" Ava groaned, "I want some mead." The server gives them a timid smile and waited for them to finish before adding, "Actually, we do have tea."
"Oh is that so?" Vincent's eyes brightened at that, "I would like a pot of rum rooibos, please!" It was then that he overheard the conversation coming from the table across. A drunk girl and well-built man met his gaze for a second, and the drunk girl waved at him cheerily.
"We're looking for mercenaries, soldiers, ex-soldiers, whoever is strong enough to help out with solving the case of these kidnappings." bellowed Bjorn, "The city's mayor has placed a fairly large reward on this." Ava's ears perked up at that, she got up from her seat and pushed past the crowd of oily-faced and drunk townsfolk.
"Kidnappings, you say?" she muttered, fist slamming against wood grain, inadvertently causing Eden's bottle of pale ale to fall over.
"My ale!" Eden cried, pouting. "I'm sorry, I will pay for that. Another bottle of ale for this lady, please, under my tab."
After a pause, she turned to Bjorn. "I am Ava, daughter of Abaddon from the Azure nation." she said, "I have been investigating the case of these kidnappings, as a number of my clan have gone missing in the very same fashion. Rumor has it that it is the work of vile vampires-"
"Hey!" Vincent scowled.
"Please ignore him. As I was saying, the House of Albarea - a clan of vampires - are the main suspects, said to be kidnapping humans and demons alike to satiate their blood lust."
"Interesting," Bjorn responded, "Please continue."
"They would drop these emblems belonging to themselves, and not long after, someone in my clan goes missing." she said, producing a circular metal pendant from beneath her cloak.
Vincent cleared his throat, interjecting, "You know, Ava, I've been tailing these munchkins for quite some time now. I've a feeling that you are after the wrong guys, as greedy as they are, I don't think they're the culprits."
"Munchkins?" Eden giggled, red-faced and still holding onto a now empty bottle of pale ale. Vincent smiled warmly at her. "Well, they're much shorter than my ancestors and I, at least for vampires."
"Do you have a better lead then?" she interrupted, striding back to their table.
"As a matter of fact, yes." he grinned dangerously, fangs shining against the light of the well-lit bar.
Part II
"All right, so we're up against an entire clan of vampires. If we can't find the culprit, we'll roughen them all up a bit and get them to talk." Gunnar laughed, polishing his broadsword.
"I love teaming up!" squealed Eden in delight, swinging clawed knuckles in the air. "Woah, careful with that!" yelped Vincent, when she had absentmindedly swung her armed fists an inch away from his face.
"You're sure of it, then?" Ava said, looking Vincent in the eye, searching for any ill intent, for she still had not trusted him. "God, I've just met the lot of them this afternoon!" she thought to herself, "what am I doing?"
"Look, I've always worked alone-" she started to voice her doubts.
"Well, you could go at it alone, Ava, as I presume you've always had, or you could follow me, and you'll see that it's easier this way."
Wordlessly, she turned away from him and started to trek on forward. She caught up with Gunnar and a still excitable Eden and asked, "Are you still drunk?"
"No, but it's almost time for me to take my medicine." she said, as though it was everyday conversation she would have with a stranger. Puzzled, Ava looked to Gunnar for an answer.
He paused for a long while as they silently trekked through the hills. Finally, he spoke. "Eden's had the misfortune of being subjected to various experiments that has left her dependent on these drugs. Not only that, but she's lost her memories and some sensibilities, everything that was her life before I found her half dead by a river." he stated solemnly, rummaging through his pocket. He tossed a vial into the air and in a second, Eden had caught it in her grasp and downed it in a single gulp.
"I see." Ava grew quiet then, smiling softly at the younger girl. Peering at the girl through the morning light, Ava noticed that she looked fifteen, maybe sixteen. Vincent was by their side now, remarking at how it was already daybreak while Gunnar scoured a map for the Kruezen region, where the Albarea clan resided.
"I'm telling you all, you got the wrong lead but I'll come along and when you're done roughening them up, you'll see that I was right."
"It is better to not leave a single stone left unturned." remarked Gunnar.
"How are you still alive?"Ava laughed at Vincent, as she pointed to the sun.
"Magic." was all he said with a sideways look.
After four days and three nights, they had reached the Kruezen region, where the sun never came out and the smell of blood and decay lingered in the air. Corpses were strewn about, and the remnants of farmhouses were burnt to the ground. Vincent grimaced at the sight, his grip on his bardiche tightened. "This is disgusting." he spat.
"Human settlements has long been a thing of the past in this region, where vampires rule and humans are kept as slaves." Gunnar remarked without any emotion evident on his scarred face.
"Halt!" a voice pierced through the cold ruined air, "state your name and purpose for being on Albarea-owned land."
"We just want to have a little chat with your master," Vincent grinned, scratching his cheek, "if you would be so kind as to show us-"
Before he could finish his sentence, a lance came ripping through the wind, hurling toward Vincent. The guard never saw it coming, or knew that Vincent had anticipated would dodge as quickly as he did. Within seconds, the guard's insides splattered with each swing of a broadsword that came at him with full-force. Then, there were just ashes in the air, as cold steel armor fell with a clatter to the ground. Vincent patted Gunnar on the back and they carried on forward. "You're welcome," laughed Gunnar, "I've always hated the Albarea clan and their ways of being anyhow." More guards who opposed them were slashed to pieces, mostly by an enraged Gunnar whose anguish grew only tenfold at the steady sight of decay and ruin amidst a once human settlement. Every unyielding guard that stood in their way became mere
ashes.
As they trudged through a deserted wasteland, Eden turned to look at Gunnar and said, "Say, Gnarly-face, you've told me about your home town, that it was burnt to the ground."
"Mmhm." he murmured, pipe hanging from his lips. A deep puff of smoke swirled in the air as he exhaled deeply.
"You've never actually mentioned your hometown's name, have you?" she continued, peering up at him with innocence. "Nope." he answered, drawing a long puff from his pipe again. She was silent then, knowing when it was best not to pry, and to leave her master alone. Gunnar was deep in thought as they traveled for what seemed like forever, before a familiar sight had hit him. There in front of him was a broken pile of rubble, what was once a home. It was a common sight these days, and had been for decades since he was a boy. He remembered the moment his world had shattered, and the sight of rubble and brick reminded him of it so; but he could never have mistaken it for someplace else, for it was once his home. It was warm, cozy, a neat little cottage where his father and mother had lived, where he had lived as a boy. He could almost see the cherry blossoms fluttering, and the smell of freshly baked bread wafting in the air. The old stone well, and the meadow that lay beyond the town where he would play with the other children. These were all treasures to him. They still were, a treasure that brought with it a weight of grief, for they were now a lifetime ago never to be again. That didn't matter to Gunnar at all, if he had to carry this weight for the rest of his life, he was willing to, if it meant crushing those that had destroyed everything he had cared about. Those that had destroyed his homeland, tore his people asunder, enslaved them, all of them would die under his hand.
As they traveled further, the sight of a castle loomed atop a mountain in the distance. Several hours had passed, and the group decided to rest and build a fireplace.
Biting into sweet rice rolls, Vincent made a sound of appreciation. Ava looked at him, and he looked back with puzzlement, "What? Never seen a vampire enjoy a delicious rice roll before?"
"Just what are you?" Ava said, biting into her own rice roll, "You don't shrivel in daylight, you hate vampires who by the way, are your own kind, and you're still here."
"Whatever is wrong with that?" he answered absent-mindedly, too busy chewing onto more grub. "I'm a pacifist, I'll tell you that much."
"A pacifist? Are you bloody joking with me?" she cried incredulously. He laughed good-naturedly and patted her on the back.
"You're still fairly young. Haven't even grown into your body just yet. There's much you've yet to understand." Vincent laughed cheekily. By now, Gunnar and Eden had stopped eating and were watching the two bicker like a pair of lovebirds.
"I'm done with this conversation." she said, rolling her eyes and continuing with her meal, moving onto an apple.
"Well, all right. When you say my kind - what the hell does that even mean? You can't throw all vampires into a single box. The house of Von Alen have been long gone, I'm the only one of my kind that's left. There's one thing my Grandfather drilled into me, and that is, despite the centuries of human slavery by the hands of us vampires, I have the choice to live however I want. I've friends of all walks of life, humans, orcs, elves, vampires, demons, you name it. Even my first girlfriend was an orc, and she was quite a nasty one but I digress. This is the way of the House of Von Alen. Violence isn't necessary, greed and blood-lust are a way of being that others choose to live by. Whatever you are, human, troll, vampire, it's a choice and not built into us."
By the end of his sentence, he was met with total silence apart from the chirping of crickets. It was Eden who broke the silence.
"Wow, I had no idea you had a way with words, or such depth, Mister Von Alen." she teased in her usual cheery voice. It was then that he noticed the missing apple from his lap. All that was left was a pathetic, thin core of what was once a juicy bright red apple. "Hey!" he pouted, "that was my apple!"
They were gathering provisions from an abandoned village when Ava held her hand up to silence a chattering Vincent. Then, shadowy figures came out of the bushes.
Ava threw a bolt of lightning their way, and a single figure flew to the ground, it twitched and gurgled before turning into ashes. More guards emerged, and as if sick of how none of them had learned their lesson, Gunnar sighed before brandishing his broadsword. Just then, the sound of shackles rang in the air. Hunched and defeated, a man chained by the neck was dragged by several guards.
They threw him to the ground, and then hooded men crowded around him. Mocking derisively, they got into formation and chanted. Ava's eyes dilated at the sound, her eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched; the sound seemed peculiarly familiar and yet she could not remember exactly where she had heard it. Blood-lust was what she felt, and agony. The encircled man screamed as his body crumpled lifelessly to the ground. Derisive laughter turned into invigorated, howling madness as the once hooded vampires became unrecognizable, their faces contorted in grotesque, their fangs threw tenfold, and their robes reduced to shreds. A seething rage grew within Ava, then, an explosion of lightning burst forward and backward, in all directions, burning and charring her enemies. "Ahh!" cried Vincent, what was once an ordinary dog had caught him off guard. It became a large, drooling, three-headed monstrosity that had jumped on him. It barred its teeth, saliva dripping from its mouth, ready for meal time. More of its kind emerged and pounced onto a struggling Vincent. Laughing, Eden leaped and twirled in the air, then she dove down, piercing and ripping into the ugly abominations. Without hesitation, Gunnar followed suit; a bardiche rippled through the air, piercing through a row of monsters. Blue streams of lightning blinded the battlefield, charring soldiers and monstrous beasts till they were but ashes.
"Thank you," cried Vincent, "I would have been eaten alive to the bone if it weren't for you."
Tattered and torn bodies filled the battlefield, and most of the monsters were wiped out save for one.
"Stop!" growled the survivor as he desperately clutched onto a gem shard that twinkled in the moonlight.
"Now what have you got there?" chimed Vincent, grabbing it from the monster's weakened grasp. "No, don't!" he cried. Without a word, Ava snatched it from Vincent's fumbling fingers and smashed it to the ground. With a growl, she crushed it under her feet. The survivor whimpered, his frame grew smaller, his fangs reverted, and the color in his eyes returned, showing fear.
"What have you done with him?" she muttered, pointing to the chained corpse. Glancing around, she could see the gem's remnants scattered throughout the battlefield.
"You've ruined everything!" he screamed, as his bones crunched under her feet. "Tell me." was all she said, unblinkingly, as he shrieked into the night.
"I'll never surrender." he finally spat, reaching under his cloak. Before they could register it, he had stabbed himself in the heart with a dagger.
"Well, shit." murmured Gunnar.
The battlefield grew silent, and the group carried on with their journey.
Panting, Gunnar chugged down the last of his water. They had reached the entrance of the castle. But there was no one in sight. Cautiously, they strode in. Ava felt as though she had been transported into a different dimension, its interior had an air of wealth and luxury, gold chandeliers, fine works of art across the centuries hung on the walls, and candles alight. It was in stark contrast to the dying land beneath the mountain that they had traversed.
"Now, just who has been frying and cutting up my beloved subjects?" hollered an amused voice. At the very end of the mansion, a single figure sat on a throne. A giant painting of what looked like a vampire adorned with jewels and slaves, hung atop just behind the throne.
"Ew!" cried Eden, "that is one ugly bastard." Gunnar patted her head, and drew his broadsword, ready to slice whoever sat atop that throne.
"Lord Albarea," Ava said with clenched teeth and an icy gaze, "tell us what you know of the kidnappings that have went on for far too long now."
There was silence, and then a maniacal laugh echoed through the ch
amber. "You are a fool, Ava, daughter of Abbadon." he howled with laughter, rising from his throne. "Turn back now, before I tell your father just what his precious daughter has been up to."
"Shut the hell up," hollered Gunnar, "we're here to put an end to these atrocities, so you had better be prepared to talk."
"I left without my father's orders or permission, nor do I care for what he has to say." she retorted. Fragments of a past she could barely remember had floated about her mind and haunted her dreams, and with that, had created an inexplicable animosity within her against her father. She felt it tingling within her, a seemingly bottomless thirst for bloodshed bubbled to the surface, twisting her dainty features and revealing a monstrous smirk.
"Why, little Ava here hadn't a single clue, did she?" Lord Albarea continued, smiling, showing razor sharp fangs beneath, "no matter now, I will tell your father that you had died in an unfortunate accident, and with time even you will be forgotten!" His sinister voice seemed to come from every angle now, and then it seemed to be not one but multiple voices that came forth from him.
Rolling her eyes, Ava shot a bolt of lightning at him, which singed his hair. Then his image multiplied in swarms, armies of the vampire lord now stood in every direction.
"Know your place, little one." he sneered. A thousand swords were conjured into the air and with a whip of his hand, they flew towards Ava. In light speed, she deflected the incoming blades with bolts of lightning, but then she felt it: A slice to her cheek and blood trickled down her face. Vincent was relieved for the thousand swords were just illusions and all but one was the real deal that had left a scratch.
Vampire Hunt Page 2