Geil Rugner entered the mercenary camp with Major Pacha. The troops consisted of several former imperials who had fought against Barbarossa's forces. The rest were all mercenaries from different parts of the land. About three hundred all came from a mercenary group known as the 'Fire Dragons' from the Southlands. Another group of interest was the Shadows, a mercenary group that had fled Harmonia years ago when their country was taken over. The other mercenary groups he did not recognize, but one thing did catch his eye.
Sitting around a fire away from the other soldiers were three odd figures. Odd not because they were alone, but because they were yetis. One of them was tending to a pot over the fire, while the other two looked around warily. Geil turned to Major Pacha curiously, "What are yetis doing here?"
"They came from a yeti village east of here, along one of Lake Toran's tributaries," Pacha explained glumly. "Their village was attacked by the same vampire group ours was," Pacha explained. "Yetis are typically peaceful, so they were taken by suprise... though I daresay that they took down a fair amount of vampires..."
"Where are the others then?" Geil asked.
"They are the only three survivors, the rest were all dead."
Geil looked to Kreiser, "Recognize any of them?"
Kreiser caught on to what Geil was saying. He and Sydonia had battled with the yeti, Orcos, shortly before meeting with Kreutz. He had also fought him in Soniere Prison, where he was anything but peaceful. But from what he could tell, neither of the three yetis looked like Orcos at all. He idly wondered if Orcos knew anything about them. "I don't think so."
Pacha raised an eyebrow, "You've seen other yetis?"
"Yes," Geil replied. "But we don't have time to discuss this. What do the yetis want?"
"Revenge," one of the yetis suddenly growled as it stood up from where it was. Geil was shocked at how keen its hearing was. The yeti stalked over to them and looked Geil Rugner over. When he spoke again, it seemed to be with some difficulty as he stumbled over certain pronounciations. "You are the chief then?"
Geil Rugner nodded, "You might say that. But I wasn't aware yetis could talk."
The yeti snorted at that. "All things speak, chief. The birds speak, the trees speak, and yes... even yetis speak. But not all speak your language... It is difficult to speak, for yetis... though we understand it easily. Nogrell was chief of clan, so Nogrell learned to speak your language."
"I understand, my aplogies. What sort of revenge do you want?"
"I wish to kill... Drak... Drel..." the yeti stumbled, then turned to Pacha for assistance.
"Drolcen," Pacha supplied. "I'm not sure if he works for the Black Lady, but he and his vampires have been harassing us for some time now. We are always prepared for a vampire strike and have constantly defended against them. He somehow learned of the yetis and their location, though I don't know how."
"You must allow us to have our revenge," the yeti urged. "The souls of my kin demand it."
"It is granted," Geil Rugner replied. "What are your names?"
"Nogrell has already given name," the yeti replied. Geil then understood he referred to himself in the third person. The yeti motioned to the other yetis. "Here is Trolley, my son. And Impa, my daughter."
''Very well Nogrell, I thank you for your assistance. We depart from here in one hour, so have your companions prepard."
"Nogrell obeys," the yeti replied as he returned to his companions.
"One more thing," Pacha suddenly said as he reached to his side. "I have something for you."
Geil Rugner raised an eyebrow, "Yes?"
Pacha produced a sheathed knife, "This was found on one of the vampire hunters who entered here, a man named Thrak Vallmont. A Ressurection Rune was somehow embedded in it... The Vallmonts..."
"I've heard of them," Geil Rugner replied. "They know all the vampire secrets, but are cursed with incompetence."
"That's right, in your hands it should prove dangerous though," Pacha finished. "Now let us continue, the others are waiting."
Geil Rugner nodded and continued to follow Pacha into the officer's tent. Gathered now was most of the mercenary commanders. Orcho and Natalie had also managed to arrive ahead of him. In one of the corners sat Mendor, staring at his captors miserably. Between the group was a table with a map spread out on the table. The map was primarily of the Lorimar area. A path had been made with red ink that led to Castle Neclordia. Both the castle and the Warrior's Village had been circled.
"The castle is half a day's march from here," Pacha stated. "Since we struck Lorimar Fortress in the morning, we should arrive there well before sunset."
"That would over-exert our men," Orcho replied. "They marched all the way from Soniere and fought a battle already."
"Which is why I sent most back with the general," Geil Rugner interrupted. "The rest shall remain at Lorimar Fortess to protect it. We will take Pacha's men and mercenaries to attack Castle Neclordia."
Pacha was now red-faced, "You mean to say you're going to send us all to Castle Neclordia to die while you wait comfortably!? Is this Glasses's plan!?"
"Calm yourself Major," Geil Rugner said irritably. "Glasses intended for us to wait overnight before attacking, but it has become apparent to me that we need to use all due speed. Besides that, I will personally be marching to Castle Neclordia right beside you."
Pacha calmed down, "Forgive me, milord."
"We have already sent a messenger to the elders of the Warrior's Village," Natalie said after a brief period of silence.
"The response?" Geil asked.
"One of the elders, Zorak, has requested we meet on the road south of their village."
Geil Rugner rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "That will prove to slow us down some, but we cannot risk alienating them. Very well then. Men, prepare your troops so that we may leave on the hour. That is all."
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North of Castle Neclordia
Ronnie Bell was trying to be optimistic as she and her 'vampire strike team' (as Cornelius called it) trudged south, towards the former governor's mansion, Castle Neclordia. She was traveling with her core team (in addition to Tigerlily, Pauline, and Cornelius), minus two members---Bechno the dwarf, of course, had not taken the journey from Senan with them, and Scotch, her second-in-command, had insisted on remaining in Warrior's Village to help after seeing how distraught the villagers were at Tigerlily leaving them.
Ronnie scowled, mostly to herself. She couldn't understand why they were so dependent on that blowhard. Or, why it bothered her so much. Could it be that she didn't like looking at someone... replacing what she could have been, if her life had gone right? Baaah. Whatever it was, she shrugged it off for the moment and kept walking.
"If these vampires are as, ah, classy-seeming as that one rose-throwing gentleman, than I daresay we'll be encountering some of the more elegant ...." Pauline said, trailing off, as she really didn't know what the hell she was trying to say.
"Elegant monsters of the world?" Cornelius chuckled. "No matter how classy they are, when they bite ya, you'll regret it." Pauline formed a lovely sneer for the bounty hunter.
"Don't patronize me. I know vampires mean no good." she snapped, sticking her tongue out.
Eyesoar interrupted what could have become another big argument, thankfully.
"Ronnie, there's someone running after us..." he noted, from where he was hovering in the air above them.
"It had better not be Renaldo and Tefra." she muttered to herself, turning. It wasn't.
"Ronnie! Ronnie Bell, wait! Wait!" called the figure running towards them. Ronnie squinted. Clara? The group stopped, and she wondered to herself just what the girl was doing this far out of the village when she finally caught up to them.
"Clara, what's up??" Jaoullin asked curiously. Ronnie smirked as she noted that the teen completely ignored the knight, though she was certain it wasn't on purpose. She was still annoyed at him for being so nosy that morning about she and Norman. Not that anything had happened.
"Ronnie, Zorak told me to have you wait...!" she puffed. Ronnie frowned. Running in that homespun dress and everything had surely not been the most fun thing to do, so she let Clara catch her breath before inquiring what she meant.
"...What's this about, Clara?" she asked finally.
"I don't know all the details." Clara apologized, "But Chief Zorak said that some men want to invade the vampire castle with you, and you have the only way to get past the magic barrier..."
Wait a minute. Magic barrier?
"So that's what we need that glowing invite for." Norman mused. Clara continued.
"C-could you wait for them?" she asked. Ronnie nodded dutifully.
As they settled down to wait, Ronnie noticed that Clara, like a typical messenger might, was NOT getting up and leaving once her message was delivered. She waited a good hour before bringing this up.
"Clara..." she hissed. "You...you aren't staying, are you?"
"I want to come along..." Clara said, pleadingly.
"That's really not a good idea." Ronnie said seriously. "You know how dangerous the vampires are."
"I...know..." Clara said, staring at her shoes. "They killed my uncle two years ago. But I still have to come! I can't stay in that village... not right now. I..I need to get away from it for a while."
"I understand that, but I beg of you," Ronnie said, looking the girl in the eyes, "Reconsider this. If you need to get away for a while, leave Lorimar. You can always come back." She wasn't sure if she believed that herself, but said it anyway.
"I can't leave Lorimar! It's my home, and besides... I can't go back through that dreadful fortress..." Clara said, shivering.
"Well... I can't allow this. If you want to follow," Ronnie said with a sad smile, "It's not with my permission, but I won't stop you by force." Clara smiled.
"Thank you, Ronnie. I promise I won't be a bother."
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a cry from the winger, who was on lookout.
"Um...there they are, Ronnie! Wow! There's...a lot of them, huh?" Eyesoar said suddenly, pointing from his perch in the air. Ronnie glanced over and her jaw dropped.
Approaching them was a sizeable force, way more than she expected to see. It was some kind of army, in fact---though what kind, she couldn't pin down. There was a group of important-looking people on horseback near the front, followed by a mishmash group that looked like both Imperials and mercs.
"I...I thought you said, 'some men'!" she said to Clara.
"I-I did. They didn't tell me how many, just that they wanted you to wait!" Clara apologized. Ronnie supposed that if they all intended to hunt vampires, the more the merrier, but the force had a very intimidating feel to it.
Ronnie decided to just sit and wait for the army to reach them and see what they wanted. Cornelius, however, had other plans.
"L-look, there! Those people are about to be mauled by those yetis! See them there, sneaking?? The villains!" With that, he charged towards the approaching force with remarkable speed.
"Cornelius, stop!!---someone stop him!" Ronnie cried frantically. Tigerlily charged after the eager bounty hunter, but Ronnie really wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.
The yetis noticed him instantly and were just about ready to rip him to shreds when one of the horsemen quickly stepped in between, mere seconds before Cornelius was in range. The rider had a scar over his eye, was dressed in golden armor, and had his sword already drawn. Several of the soldiers had readied their long bows as well. The rider said nothing to the mercenary, however.
Tigerlily took advantage of Cornelius being blocked to tackle him to the ground.
"How could you be so impulsive? Even I, a protectoress, can see these yetis are WITH these men. Erm. I assume." she said. Cornelius positively wailed.
"But they're beasties! I must get them!!" he protested. Ronnie sighed to herself. Way to get off to a good start with whoever these people were.
The older looking rider steered his horse in front of Tigerlily and Cornelius and looked down at them. "These yetis are under my protection. Harm them and you will face retaliation from my forces."
Ronnie hastily ran over to the old rider and began apologizing. "Listen, I'm sorry, but he's an idiot sometimes. He's the most overzealous bounty hunter ever, so...ah...um. You are the ones who were looking for me, right?"
The older rider nodded, "Am I to assume you are the one with the invitation?" Ronnie nodded, but didn't take out the invitation just yet.
"That's right. I'm Ronnie Bell." she introduced, "But I'm a little curious just who you guys...well, are." She was about to continue when Clara screamed.
"W-what is HE doing here?!" she cried, distraught.
Ronnie glanced over and saw, of all people, that dirtbag of an imperial commander, Mendor, sitting on one of the horses. She glared, her anger rising. She whirled on the old rider again. "You---you're imperials??" she asked sharply.
The older rider nodded. "Yes, I believe you could say that."
"I...I don't believe this!" Clara wailed, "Chief Zorak said they were okay! He said..." She stopped, and merely trembled.
Ronnie scowled. "We have nothing to discuss, especially if you're with HIM." She indicated Mendor.
The older rider looked over to Mendor, "He is my prisoner. Isn't that right, Commander?"
Mendor sneered as he turned to his captors, "For the present-" He then turned to Clara. "-then perhaps I can continue some of my other interests."
Ronnie was halfway through her leap onto to Mendor's horse to strangle him forever when she felt Norman's calming hand on her shoulder. He leaned in close. "Not here, Ronnie. He's not worth it, and he's just baiting you. He'll get his." he whispered. Ronnie took a few deep breaths, and nodded, screwing her eyes shut tightly for a moment so she wouldn't have to look at the rapist bastard.
Jaoullin, as was his fort�, stepped forward and took charge...loudly.
"All right, cut to the chase, gramps. Who are you, and what's this all about? We don't appreciate the thought of tagging along with our friend Mendor here, so spit it out!" Ronnie very much wanted to elbow the loudmouthed knight, but he was wearing that godforsaken armor. Blast.
The older rider was silent for a moment before answering. "I am Geil Rugner, rightful emperor of this land." Before anyone could say anything, he named off his mounted companions. "This is Major Pacha and Lieutenant Orcho, both who are native to Lorimar. This is Captain Smitter and here is my personal aid, Kreiser. Commander Mendor you have apparently met already."
The wave of realization washed over Ronnie's band. She blinked. "G..Geil Rugner?? But...but..."
Norman finally spit out the comment they were all dying to make. "You're...still alive??" Eyesoar let out an 'eep' and hid his mini-Barbarossa-flag.
Geil nodded with a distant look in his eyes. "Twenty-five years I've spent away from my homeland as my nephew brought ruin to the land established by my ancestors. I have returned to take back what is owed me."
Norman looked starstruck. "T-that's...that's...amazing!! Geil Rugner, in the flesh? I'm honored!" Ronnie, however, seemed a bit more skeptical. After all, any dope could say he was Geil Rugner. She looked him over, and reconsidered. Maybe he WAS the real thing!
Jaoullin's reaction was less impressive.
"Oh, yeah? How come I've never heard of you, then?" he asked, thinking he had a valid point. He didn't.
"Because you're a buffoon, apparently." Pauline said with a sugary-sarcastic smile. Tigerlily finally sat up, though she didn't get off of Cornelius.
"I believe this esteemed man deserves our respect. No more outbursts from all of you. Especially YOU, Ronnie---how shameful!" Ronnie ground her teeth again, fuming, but waited for the emperor to speak.
Geil nodded to Tigerlily gratefully before turning to Ronnie, "The elders were gracious enough to give me your names. I understand that you were given a invitation by the vampires, Miss Bell?"
Ronnie pushed her fantasies of stepping on Lily's face out of her head and turned back to Geil. "That's right, they did---though we don't yet know why. We came here to fight the vampires; to protect the village."
"We have come to do the same," Pacha interjected. "To protect Lorimar- no, all of the empire from these vampires."
"That's right," Geil Rugner added. "There is no need to trouble yourself with these matters. We will personally see to the destruction of these monsters."
"I don't THINK so!" Cornelius bellowed. "I came here to fight vampires, and by gum, that's what I'm gonna do!!" Ronnie nodded.
"Listen, Emperor, er, Geil..." she added, "I have no intention of just packing up and leaving, now. There's too much at stake."
One of the yetis suddenly stepped out from behind Kreiser and spoke in a deep, sad voice. "We also desire revenge." He then turned to Geil Rugner, "You let Nogrell fight the vampires. Can they not do the same?"
Geil Rugner seemed to consider this for a few moments, "If you and your men are willing to risk death in the face of these abominations, then I cannot stop them. I merely ask that you extend your invitation to my men and I."
Tigerlily stood up grandly, finally hopping off of Cornelius. "As Protectoress, I feel it is my duty to accept your offer--of course you---OW!" she cried, as Ronnie 'accidentally' stepped on her foot.
"Ahem, oh, sorry." She turned to Geil. "If you're after the vampires, then you're welcome to come along with this invitation."
"Might I see the invitation?" Geil asked. "There are surely some conditions. I doubt the 'Black Lady' will allow my entire army march to in her doors willingly."
Ronnie hesitated. She did not want to just hand over their ticket to the emperor, for fear he might just take it and leave them. Then again, it had her name on it. She pulled it out. "I haven't really examined it that closely, actually." She looked it over. "Oh...you're right. It looks like there are limitations involved." She handed the glowing card over to the emperor.
Geil Rugner read the note out loud. "You have been cordially invited to dine with the Black Lady come sunset. Bring no more than nine of your companions. The doors will not open until sunset."
"Only ten," Natalie mused. "Not a lot if we plan to take out all the vampires."
"We have a few more hours until sunset to discuss our strategy," Geil Rugner replied. "I suggest we make use of them."
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Tigerlily wasted no time in getting to know Geil Rugner's forces as they walked along---in fact, one of the ranking officers she knew already, for as Geil stated he was indeed from the area.
"Well, Orcho. I'm glad to see you're finally applying yourself." she said pointedly to the man on horseback.
"Finally?" Orcho snapped. "Don't think I went to Antei to just sit around."
"Is that so?" Tigerlily replied haughtily, "It certainly seems like Antei is MUCH more interesting to the lot of you deserters than your homelands, which, I might remind you, were being devoured piece by piece!"
"Are you implying that I ran away?"
"Well, not exactly, like SOME people." She deliberately eyed Ronnie's general direction, "But you certainly didn't seem in any hurry to return."
"When I stab someone, I expect them to die," Orcho muttered. "Vampires don't do that, so why should I be in a hurry to return? At best we'll all make a nice addition to their zombies, if not than no more than nice midnight snacks when we arrive.'
"Hmph. You're not very optimistic. We can't just lay down and let them take over, so the only other option is to fight! As Warrior Protectoress---"
"You're still calling yourself that?" Orcho groaned.
"ExCUSE me? Is it not a fitting title? With many of the male warriors gone, I had to step up!" Tigerlily proclaimed proudly.
Orcho felt there was nothing more to be said and spurred his horse on forward. His thoughts became mixed with Tigerlily's words. She may be arrogant, but she was right.
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"What is your opinion on this Ronnie and her men?" Geil asked.
"I don't think they pose a threat to this mission," Kreiser answered. "It seems you want to make a good impression though."
"It seems important that I should," Geil replied. "People need to know that Geil Rugner is not some power-hungry monster. They need to know he is someone they can believe in."
Kreiser raised an eyebrow, "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"
"I perform all my jobs with absolute seriousness," Geil retorted, for a moment letting his true self speak. "I have an opportunity right now to show first hand Geil's quality as a leader."
"I don't quite think this is the sort of 'Geil Rugner' that Kreutz remembers or intends for you to be."
"I don't think it's the Geil Rugner people need. Besides, twenty-five years is plenty of time for a person to change."
"You may be right, but Kreutz hasn't changed at all."
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"I don't like this, Ronnie." Pauline made no secret of telling her as they walked southward.
"What don't you like?" Ronnie asked, waiting for an earful.
"Geil Rugner." Pauline said pointedly. "It's too easy. Where was this man for so long? Twenty-five years, and he magically appears to serve justice on a platter? I don't like it." Ronnie gave Pauline an appraising glance.
"You've changed. The old Pauline would have trusted him just because he was rich." Ronnie said with half a smile.
"The 'new' Pauline distrusts him for just that. If I've learned anything, it's that you can't trust anyone." Pauline said haughtily.
"No one?"
"Look at it this way." Pauline said, "Would you have trusted me, with all my money and power, before? Randomly helping you like this?" Ronnie snorted.
"Not likely. I'm not a fan of aristocracy." she admitted. Pauline assumed a look of victory.
"Now do you see my point?" she said smugly. Ronnie shook her head.
"I hate to say it, but you were different. You were all about the money and the power." Ronnie rebutted. "This man has the power, but I've yet to see him really flex his muscle and use it. He could have just taken that invitation from us, you know."
"Well....he.....hmph. I still don't like it." Pauline insisted. Ronnie smiled.
"I know, Pauline. But sometimes you just have to put a little faith in people."
"Daddy didn't believe in faith." Pauline said somewhat sadly. "After all, it wasn't something you could buy." With that, she left Ronnie to her thoughts and walked over to Jaoullin.
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They finally came within view of Castle Neclordia as the sun began to set. The casle was not designed like other Imperial buildings. It seemed to more of a northern influence. Perhaps from Harmonia, Jowston, or even Highland. Whatever it was Geil Rugner could not tell, but what he could tell was that in the fading light it seemed to glow with an unnatural light.
Among him now was the nine others that had been chosen. Ronnie had chosen four from her companions and he had chosen four as well. For Ronnie Bell, she chose Eyesoar and Norman from her bandits. With her would also go Tigerlily and Cornelius. Geil had chosen Kreiser to accompany him, as well as Captain Smitter. As he had promised earlier, Mendor would also be forced to come. Last of all, was picked Nogrell of the yetis to get revenge for his clan.
Kreiser, who had been waiting at the gate, returned to where the others were waiting. "Two vampires came out, I think they're expecting us now."
"What about the barrier?" Natalie asked.
"Still there," Kreiser replied as he looked back at the faint blue light surrounding the castle. "I suspect our friends will want to escort us in."
Ronnie stepped forward, clutching the invitation. "I guess I'm up." Unsure of what to do, she walked tentatively up to the static-like blue wall, and poked it with a finger. It certainly was firm---there would be no passing that. She found, however, the the hand with the invitation swung right through it. It was an odd sensation.
As she did so, her entire body fell through, and the field rippled like a pond. "Umm. It looks like I'm in. Maybe you guys need this, too." She handed the invitation out to the next person through the wall, and by passing it along, eventually the ten invitees found themselves inside.
"Ma-an!" Jaoullin complained. "I don't like this at all. Maybe we can sneak a few more people in?" He tapped at the wall, and to his surprise, felt a nasty shock go up his arm. "Owww! Never mind." Ronnie glanced at the invitation from inside the wall. Its glow had vanished. They were in, for good, it seemed.
"They take their invitations seriously it seems," Geil commented as he regarded the invitation. "I wonder what it will take to bring down the barrier?"
"We have to destroy EVERY last fanged menace, that's what!" Cornelius said, clenching his fists.
"Calm down. I have a feeling going in swinging will only get us slaughtered." Ronnie cautioned.
Approaching the group down the winding path from the castle's front entrance were two men---well, certainly vampires. One of them, Ronnie recognized as the one who had given her the invitation. His black tattoo and bleach-blond hair was unmistakeable. With him was a much taller, sturdier vampire, with a large sword on his back, and long, whitish hair. He looked much older than his partner, and while the tattoo-vampire was grinning, his expression was the polar opposite.
"Welcome. I see you made it." the tattooed one said cheerily. There was a hunger behind the grin that Ronnie didn't like, but she didn't reply. Who was he talking to, anyway? I mean, the invite was for her, but...should she let the emperor speak on their behalf?
Geil Rugner picked up on Ronnie's hesitation and stepped forward. "We have accepted the invitation of your 'Black Lady', so allow us entrance."
"Why, sir," the tattooed vampire said in a silky voice, "There's no rush. I am Klift, at your service. This is Kranach. Why don't you let us show you around our humble abode while the Black Lady freshens up?" Ronnie found this suspicious, but still didn't speak up. This Black Lady invites them, they arrive on time, and suddenly she's not ready? It reeked of a death-trap.
Geil Rugner had the same thoughts, but decided he had no choice to play along. At least he had one 'ace' up his sleeve they likely did not expect. "I am Geil Rugner, rightful emperor of this land. I suspect you already know Ronnie Bell, whom you had invited. For the moment, the name of my companions are of no consequence. We shall accept your offer, but know this first - I do not 3like to be kept waiting."
Klift laughed heartily, clearly thinking this a joke, while Kranach looked slightly more taken aback. "My, my! Look, Kranach---it's your long lost cousin!" Klift laughed. He leaned in towards Geil. "Listen, buster, I dunno who you are, and I like historical names as much as the next guy, but don't pull that bull on me again. I might accidentally slit your throat." He grinned cheerfully, and turned, heading back up to the castle. Kranach merely shook his head, and beckoned for the humans to follow him as he went up the path.
Kreiser apparently did not care much for Klift's attitude and stepped forward to 'take care' of Klift, but Geil put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Convincing the vampires he was Geil Rugner was inconsequential to their goal, after all. Behind him, he noticed that Nogrell was not comfortable being led around by vampires. Similarily, Cornelius apparently did not like following vampires and a yeti either.
Klift and Kranach walked well ahead of the group of humans, whispering.
"This is bad, Kranach." Klift muttered, "Whoever that stupid guy is, he obviously THINKS he's Geil Rugner, which is bad enough. If he goes around talking about how he owns the land, the Black Lady will REALLY be angry..." Kranach frowned at his counterpart.
"What, you mean other than the fact that she didn't actually INVITE these people here?" he sneered.
"Shut up," Klift said with a scowl, "You know I couldn't pass this up. You know why." Kranach nodded, sighing. "Yes, I know. But this will be trouble, mark my words." He turned to the humans as they entered the castle proper.
"What would you like to see?" Klift stepped forward. "Yes, yes, what? The dungeons, perhaps? They're lovely." He grinned fangfully.
Ronnie's mind raced. What on earth would they WANT to see in the castle? Cornelius, she could tell, wanted to see the vampires dead and that was about all. Luckily, Norman had a brilliant thought.
"That barrier is remarkable. I don't think humans could ever manage anything like that. Do you think you could show us how that works?" he asked. Ronnie wanted to kiss him---if they could find the barrier's power source and destroy it, Geil's army could storm the castle.
"Of course it's remarkable." Klift snapped. "What's it to you?"
Norman's expression didn't change. "You offered us a tour, did you not?" Klift looked like he was scrambling for an excuse, but threw up his hands.
"Fine, we'll take you up to the tower." He led the way down a corridor.
"Good thinking," Kreiser quietly remarked to Norman as he walked past him to join Geil. "Do you think it will-"
"Hush," Geil hissed quietly to Kreiser. "We already know how good yetis can hear, let's not test the vampires.
Eyesoar knew vampires were fairly agile, like wingers, so he knew something was fishy when he saw Klift walking extra-extra slow while leading them to the tower. Any slower, he figured, and Cornelius would step on the guy's heels (and likely kill him, too, but that was a given).
Mendor, who had been silent for the whole time, happened to look to his side at the paintings on the wall. One of the painting depicted a strange woman, with pale skin. She looked like a vampire, but it may have only been the artist's impression. But he recognized it as being a paining Governer Lukas Redeaux had commissioned after being visited by a 'mystery lady'. "Ah! The painting is still here... she is as beautiful as Redeaux's journal described!"
"Right this way. Up this narrow and suspiciously dark staircase." Kranach said, gesturing. Oh, thanks. Ronnie thought. I needed THAT pointed out.
"You go first! Creatures such as yourself aren't to be trusted." Tigerlily said valiantly. Ronnie nearly choked as she thought she saw Cornelius actually making goo-goo eyes at her for a second. She wanted to puke.
Klift started up the stairs, followed by Kranach. He was followed by Cornelius---who was most likely to kill them off if they tried anything funny---and HE was followed by Norman, who was most likely to stop Cornelius from killing them RIGHT AWAY. The others followed in quick succession.
"I don't like this. It's too dark, and too small, and it's hard to breathe..." Eyesoar said, starting to freak out. "Who's going so slow up there! Hurry it up!" Klift was in no hurry, however. He couldn't let the humans discover the barrier's source of power. The Black Lady would, to put it bluntly, ruin his shit.
Finally, they reached the top of the tower and stood bunched up outside a large wooden door of some archaic design. Klift fidgeted. "This, humans, is our fantasic barrier. Feel free to bask in it here, but I warn you, opening the door could incinerate you where you stand, so that would be a bad idea."
"That's not very logical," Natalie noted. "What happens if one of you vampires need in there?"
"We can handle it." Kranach covered up, but not very elaborately.
Suddenly, the humans found themselves being pushed aside by something...positively vile looking. It was a man, Ronnie realized, but...he was undead! He had the appearance of someone who may have been a successful young businessman or something. Only he looked like he had gone through a meat grinder. Bits of flesh and bone protuded from his body.
"Drrrnnnnnnnnnhhh...." he moaned to Klift. The vampire nodded, relieved. "Thank you, Reggie. You can go, now." He turned to the humans as the zombie shuffled down the stairs. "Reggie says dinner awaits you." Ronnie absently recalled that 'Reggie' had been the name of the last governor of Lorimar, and got a sudden sinking feeling.
"Dinner, huh? With you all?" Tigerlily said incredulously. Kranach nodded, and Eyesoar shrugged.
"That..uh...could be interesting."
Klift grinned wickedly. "You won't forget it."
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Ronnie and the others found themselves led into a fabulously lavish dining hall. Ornate chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the table stretched nearly from end-to-end of the room. An obligatory pipe organ was sitting in the corner.
On the wall opposite the entry was a fantastic stained-glass window, quite large, and depicting---the woman standing before them.
She was tall, and stood with an air of dramatic elegance. Her skin was pale white, but almost with a lavender tint to it. Her lips were (appropriately) blood red, and her eyes shone like rubies. She had long blonde hair that fell down her back, and she wore a low-cut black evening gown that showed off her ample curves. Finally, they stood before the vampire queen.
"Greetings, humans. I am the Black Lady, Neclordia, ruler of this castle," she said in a misty voice. The ends of her mouth turned up slightly as she added rather deliberately, "And this land."
"Have a seat." Klift said, slipping up behind Kreiser and making him jump. The humans took their seats at the banquet table. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. No one was at ease with this, and Ronnie was certain that Cornelius still had one hand on his weapons, even.
Nogrell was insatiable. It could be no coincidence he was seated across from the very vampire he utterly despised. In that seat sat 'Lord Drolcen', complete with a devious smile on his pale lips. Save for possibly Neclordia, he was the most extravagantly dressed of all the vampires. Complimenting his long silver-blue hair was his cape that was black on one side and red on the other. Under the cape he was dressed in a white suit with gold buttons that slightly covered his pants, that were also white. His shoes, curiously were curled up like the sort of shoes that elves always had in fairy tales. On his right hand were three rings with different jewels, on his left were another two rings set with different jewels.
"Looks like one of you vermin managed to escape," Drolcen said cruelly. "Looks like I'll have to see about finishing that job."
Nogrell was about to stand up to rip him to shreds, but Geil Rugner held up a hand to calm him. The yeti managed to calm down enough to speak, "Nogrell will make you regret your words."
"Behave yourself, Drolcen." Neclordia said with distaste as she sat at the head of the table.
"Yeah, behave." Klift sneered from the doorway. "Or I'll have to spank ya." He paused, thinking. "With my sword. Hehe." Kranach merely sighed and slapped himself in the forehead. Unfortunately for Drolcen, before he could fire back, everyone's attentions were caught by a flurry of movement from above all their heads.
Floating down to the table was a girl who looked to be in her late teens to early twenties. And man alive, was she ever a girl. She had the same lavender-toned skin as Neclordia, but showed it off, as she was clad in a very skimpy, tight black bikini. She also sported a cape for looks, and carried a coiled whip. She had oddly colored hair in a pony tail---it was blue, but with blondeish streaks in it.
Oh, lord. Who's this? Slutvira? Ronnie thought to herself as the vampire girl landed in a laying position right on the other side of Eyesoar's plate.
"Good evening! I'm Nikki." she purred, running her hands along one of Eyesoar's wings. His face turned eight shades redder, and he almost drooled on his plate. With that, however, the vampire vixen took her seat, opposite the winger, of course.
"Our meals should arrive shortly. It appears we have much to discuss..." Neclordia said, "I'm afraid I wasn't prepared for guests, but... I'd love to have you all for dinner." She smiled.
"Wait a minute." Ronnie said, speaking out for the first time. "Whaddya mean you weren't prepared for guests? We got an invitation from you. You invited us!"
"I did no such thing. As I understood it, you came to my castle seeking some sort of... negotiation. Isn't that right, Klift?" Neclordia said. Klift, however, was doing his best to blend into a corner.
"I... may have extended an invitation, My Lady." he said guiltily. "Heh, oops."
"Is that so?" Drolcen interjected. "Working on your own initiative again, are we 'Spanky'? How terribly... unsurprising."
Neclordia waved this all off. "Enough, it hardly matters." she said. "I'm sure we still have many issues to sink our teeth into tonight. For instance, Kranach here tells me...we have royalty at our table?" She looked as if this was a ridiculous notion, but her voice didn't betray any of that.
"That is correct," Kreiser replied as he stood. "I give you Geil Rugner-" Kreiser paused for emphasis. "-Rightful leader of this land.
Geil Rugner nodded, "That will do Kreiser."
Kreiser may well have found himself frozen solid by the icy glare Neclordia and her associates shot back. "It seems we disagree on a few things, ah, Geil." she said curtly.
"So it seems," Geil replied none too kindlier.
"But do tell---where have you been, these twenty-five years?" Neclordia asked pointedly, clearly trying to corner the emperor but trying to look polite and conversational while doing so.
"Everywhere," Geil answered, which was just about the truth. There was no need to cover that up, as Sydonia he had spent all twenty-five years of his life around the world. "From the Island Nations all the way to the Nameless Lands."
"Ohh! The 'rightful' emperor was just on vacation, I see!" Neclordia said humorously. She and Drolcen joined in some hearty if not mocking laughter.
"A journey of enlightenment and training. To perfect the mind and blade for my return," Geil replied, unaffected by their mocking.
"But surely, for a mortal, twenty five years is---" Neclordia began, but was interrupted as there was a sudden crash of glass behind them. The vampires and 'mortals' turned to the stained glass window---which was no longer there anymore. Swinging through it by some whip was a mysterious man. He landed on the table directly in front of Neclordia. He was well built, rugged, and handsome and was dressed in faded leather. In one hand was a whip, in the other was a stake. Wrapped around his neck was a string of garlic.
"I have finally found you, Vampire Queen!" the man exclaimed. "At last I, Rickver Vallmont shall have my revenge!"
Upon hearing his name there was a round of groans from the vampires and a few sighs of relief. Rickver apparently did not take that well and cracked his whip some on the table, "Prepare to die, undead scum!"
"At last!" Cornelius bellowed, jumping up on the table, sword drawn. It was all the party needed for hell to break loose, finally. Ronnie gasped as the yeti, Nogrell, lunged across the table for Drolcen. It was on. The yeti had Drolcen held tight and threw him as hard as he could to the nearest wall. The vampire transformed halfway before he hit and used his bat wings to slow him down before turning back. As he promised early, he lunged at the yeti to finish him off. With little choice in the matter, Kreiser and Natalie were soon in the action. Geil Rugner activated and quickly cast Canopy Defense on his allies.
Rickver Vallmont, taking advantage of the situation, quickly bit into some garlic and chewed it up. He then lunged at Neclordia ready to impale her with a stake and get some chewed up garlic on her. He did not get to either of these two things. Moving with the smoothness of liquid, Klift severed a chain on the wall, dropping a very sharp and pointy chandelier onto Rickver Vallmont, ending his vampire-hunting days. Nikki was already in the air, but Eyesoar chased after her. Tigerlily was fighting back-to-back on the table with Cornelius, and to Ronnie's dismay, she saw more and more vampires swarming into the banquet hall.
Norman noticed, amidst the pandemonium, that Neclordia had escaped, but remembered something even more important.
"Ronnie!" he hissed, "The barrier! You have to get rid of the barrier!" He pulled out twin daggers and was suddenly assaulted by two vampires, leaving Ronnie. She turned and saw Natalie was closest, so made for her.
"Natalie, come with me! The barrier, in the tower!" she cried, not even waiting to see if she would follow
Natalie turned to Geil Rugner, who was in the middle of battle and simply yelled, "Go!" Needing no more than that, she quickly impaled the vampire she was fighting and chased after Ronnie.
Klift found himself being elbowed by Kranach. "That's Bell! And she's headed for the barrier." With that, the two vampires gave chase, swords drawn.
"I...I think it was this way! Yeah!" Ronnie shouted to Natalie as she ran down a corridor she hoped led to that tower.
Nogrell continued his assault on Drolcen, who seemed to enjoy simply taunting the enraged yeti. Any other vampire that attacked Nogrell was thrown off like flies, but he simply could not touch Drolcen who was enjoying it immensely. Kreiser and Geil were back to back as they parried blows and managed to dut down a few vampires. Kreiser, who was good with nearly any weapon, we having a better time at warding them off. Geil, on the other hand, found himself barely able to keep them off. He reached to his side and unsheathed the knife Pacha had gave him. Don't fail me now Vallmonts...
Using his sword to ward off the vampire blows, he made quick use of the special 'vampire slaying' knife to impale and slash the oncoming vampires. Despite that, they seemed to be unstoppable and kept coming. Cornelius and Tigerlily had kept their position of covering eachother's back and moved through the vampire forces like a force of nature. No matter how many attacked them, they were unable to penetrate the two's defense.
Norman was quick with his twin daggers, but admittedly out of practice. One of the vampires he was fighting found an opening and hit him hard with its fists. Moving over to where he thought he'd be safer---next to the yeti--he slumped against the table and held his ground from there.
Eyesoar had given up on Nikki, who had departed shortly after Neclordia and was now being a general nuisance to the vampires with his attacks from above. He had grabbed Rickver's string of garlic and taken up the strategy of spitting garlic down on the vampires. After several curses, many of them turned into bats and gave chase to him. Seeing that, he quickly decided to show those stiffs what flying was all about and made up to the highest rafters. Some smart maneuvering caused most of them to run into beams and fall to the ground. One was particularily persistent in chasing him. Thinking fast, the winger quickly rounded one of the beams as the giant bat flew by. As soon as he saw it fly past, he jumped on top of it and produced his tiny little Barbarossa flag and jammed it up the bat's nose. It screeched and ran full speed into the stone wall as Eyesoar jumped away with his little flag, which he realized now had blood all over it. Curses.
Meanwhile...
"Crud, this way's a dead end!" Ronnie lamented.
"I knew it was left, this way!" Natalie bellowed as she ran off ahead towards the correct tower.
Before Ronnie could follow Natalie, a figure suddenly stepped in Ronnie path armed with a sword. It did not take long for her to figure out. Mendor's arrogant face grinned evilly as he held the sword towards her throat. "Well, well, well. I finally got you where I want you, wench."
"Y-you! Just back off, fuckwad. I won't leave a bone unbroken in your puny body." Ronnie said, forgetting her original goal. Mendor, in his zeal, slashed at her. She dodged and blasted him with her Hate Rune, which sent him sailing into a wall. To her surprise, a panel next to where Mendor landed flipped to reveal Klift, who stabbed Mendor repeatedly before realizing who it was.
"Aw, man." he grinned. "I was aiming for you, babe." Ronnie backed away, and broke into a run towards the tower. Klift seemed mesmerized with the pools of blood forming on the carpeted floor, but soon gave chase.
Natalie panted as she motored on up the steep, winding staircase. Kranach, who had seemingly come from nowhere, was close behind her.
Her side-crossbow had already been exhaused of ammunition as she attempted a few stray shots back. It slowed Kranach down some, but none of them actually hit him. She finally made it to the door at the top. It crossed her mind about the warning Klift had given before, but with no time to spare, she quickly ducked into the room. Wasting no time, she shut the door behind her and was pleased to find a wooden beam to bar the door shut.
When she turned around she realized the room was full of books and tables covered with documents. As she maneuvered into the center of the room, she was surprised to find an old man in the middle of the room. He held a glowing rod tightly in his hands. He was sitting on a bench, hunched over as he held onto the rod as if he was doing it for dear life. He seemed utterly oblivious to her or anything else going on.
Natalie considered for a moment how easy it would be to just push the guy over or something, and made to do just that, when a chill wind ran up her back.
"I see you've found our power source." came a misty female voice.
She whirled to find Neclordia standing behind her, a grim look on her face. "Tell me this..." she began.
Natalie backed up towards the old man and attempted to stall the vampiress, "Who is this guy?"
Neclordia did not answer the question, but merely glided forward. "I asked you to tell me. Would you destroy us? What is it that makes you loathe our kind? Are we not the rightful rulers of this world??" The elegant woman clenched her fists and had a very dangerous look on her face.
"Because you're no more than parasites!" Natalie growled as she continued to back up. "I have no more respect for you than I do for lowly gnats."
"I see." Neclordia said. "Then I'm sure you will destroy our barrier, allowing your mortal friends out there to swarm over us like rats. So be it." She stepped closer again. "Vampires live forever." she said darkly, scowling. With that, she vanished, but Natalie was certain that she meant no good.
Natalie looked at the old man and decided knocking him over we no good. She could hear Kranach pounding on the doors outside and she did not feel up to taking on two vampires. She grabbed a nearby piece of woode and proceeded to smack the old man's head as hard as she could, sending him on the ground hard. Out cold.
Outside Castle Neclordia...
Orcho looked up at Neclordia's Castle, idly wondering what was going on at that moment. He was regretting his decision to stay behind, it was a cowardly thing to do. He was about to return to the camp to wake up the next watch, but noticed something strange about the castle. The strange blue light the moon seemed to reflect off the castle had suddenly vanished. The barrier was gone! He quickly rushed back to camp.
"Are you sure?" Pacha asked.
"Postively," Orcho answered as he caught his breath from running.
"Excellent, we march now! It probably took a fight to get that barrier down, they'll be needing backup!"
Inside...
In the dining hall the battle was wearing on. The vampires continued to attack tirelessly, while the 'mortals' were tiring out. Eyesoar's wings hurt to even flap now and he was forced to fight on the ground now. Norman was now fighting just to survive. Cornelius and Tigerlily had been separated and now were just barely managing on their own.
Kreiser had taken a wound to his right shoulder and was forced to fight left-handed, which he was doing very poorly and was on the brink of collapse. Geil Rugner was doing little better than the others and was using his strength only to keep from being killed. Come on you two... hurry and get that barrier down...
Nogrell seemed to be the only unphased as he continued to attack Drolcen relentlessly. The vampire was immensely enjoying himself when a vampire suddenly cried out, "The castle is being stormed!"
Drolcen dodged one more yeti punch and grabbed Nogrell's arm with incredible speed and strength, "It looks like this is my cue to leave. But first, it is time-" Drolcen suddenly unsheathed a knife from his side -"for you to depart." Before the yeti could do anything, the vampire plunged the knife straight through him so that the knife came out the other side. When he pulled it out again, he glanced at his sleeve glumly. "Look, you got it all dirty."
Geil watched with shock as the yeti slumped to the ground. Taking the knife Pacha had given him, he threw it straight towards the vampire. It planted itself in his side and it was obvious Drolcen was surprised by the blow, "You... fool...!"
Geil cut down a vampire in front of him as he raced over to scewer the arrogant immortal. Before he could, Drolcen scowled and teleported through the ground. At that moment, Orcho rushed into the room followed by several soldiers. The remaining vampires fled or were killed.
Geil kneeled down close to the yeti where no one could hear him, "Are you..."
"Nogrell dies," the yeti choked out. "And soon all yetis be gone too."
"There is still Impa and Trolley."
"They shall be the last..."
"I've seen another who survived," Geil replied. "Orcos is still alive."
"Ah... Orcos...." Nogrell repeated. "Then all.... is good..."
The yeti finally went limp, looking peaceful in his eternal slumber. Geil then felt a hand on his shoulder and realized it was Orcho. He stood up and looked aorund. Most of the vampires had fled or were busy trying to. "Good work, Lieutenant. Where's Ronnie and Captain Smitter?"
Meanwhile...
Ronnie knew from the flurry of activity audible on the floors below that the barrier had been taken out by Natalie, but couldn't be relieved just yet---Klift and Kranach were now both aiming to corner her.
"What do you want??" she cried, backing away. Klift grinned a terrible grin. "We want you, of course. Just come with us, and I promise to keep the pain to a minimum." His eyes glinted evilly.
Klift was just about to leap upon her, when the hallway positively exploded into a ball of flames. Ronnie was thrown a few feet away by the force of the explosion. The hallway was in flames by now. Kranach looked around in confusion. Another lower vampire materialized. "The Black Lady seeks to trap the humans in flame! Escape, escape!" he told Klift and Kranach. Trap, nothing. Ronnie thought to herself. Scrambling to her feet, she shot off towards the dining hall to see if she could help her comrades still inside.
"Oh no you don't!" Klift cried, jumping to his feet and running after her again.
The doors of the dining hall burst open, and the remaining people inside ran out, some chasing vampires and some just running. Ronnie noticed that the hallway she'd been in hadn't been the only place a fire had been started. The whole castle was going up!
Kreiser, Geil Rugner, and a few of the soldiers rushed by Ronnie to escape the castle. Orcho grabbed Ronnie as he ran by her, "Where's Smitter?"
"I...I don't know! She was up in the barrier tower!" Ronnie replied, flustered. For all she knew, Natalie could've been eaten by Klift and Kranach, but she couldn't SAY that.
"Barrier tower..." Orcho mumbled and quickly caught up with Kreiser to get directions and rushed off to find her. The flames began to get worse, causing one of the rafters to break lose and crash on to the dining room table, crushing a soldier in the process.
Cornelius and Tigerlily burst out of the dining room and ran past Ronnie without stopping. "Wait!" she cried. "Cornelius, where's Norman and Eyesoar?!" Tigerlily kept going, turning down a side hall, but Cornelius turned.
"They're coming, they're coming!" he threw out, and then attempted to follow Lily, but obligatory Burning Beams And Shit rained down from the ceiling, blocking his path. He quickly went another way.
Norman and Eyesoar came out of the dining hall soon enough, the young winger supporting Norman, who looked beaten up and was limping. Ronnie ran over to assist. "We have to hurry, this place is like an oven!" she said. She and Eyesoar helped Norman along as they rushed down the hall as fast as they could.
"Where's the emperor, and his guys...?" Eyesoar asked. Ronnie shook her head. "I don't know---I think they went to find Natalie." Quicker than you could say 'impulsive', the young winger shot off in the general direction of the tower, to help.
"Eyesoar!" Ronnie cried. "Stop!" Norman shook his head. "He'll be fine...Ronnie. He can always fly out a ..window, or something..." With that, Ronnie and Norman hurried to the exit of the castle.
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Geil and Kreiser finally made it out of the castle. The army surgeon quickly rushed Kreiser to one of the beds, but Geil refused to be treated just yet as he waited for the others to get out. Tigerlily was the first one out and it was not long before Cornelius followed. A few minutes of waiting and he began to wonder what had happened to the others.
"The castle's not collapsing," Pacha noted as he walked beside Geil. "That's odd."
"They're smoking us out, I don't think they intend to let the whole thing burn," Geil muttered.
"Then I take it we're not done with the vampires?" Pacha asked.
Geil simply shook his head and continued to watch.
"What happened in there?"
"It's a long story."
"I've got time."
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Eyesoar was in big trouble. Several pieces of burning debris had blocked any exits that were back the way he had come, and he had flown himself into a corner. Trembling with fear, he had hidden behind a large, expensive urn as he watched two of the scarier vampires make off with that woman. And in doing so, now he was truly trapped. There wasn't even a window for him to fly out of, and in any case, his wings were under too much stress from the heat and the fight.
"Oh man, oh man, I'm gonna die..." he mumbled to himself, scratching at the walls and pounding at the doors around him. No luck, dead end.
Suddenly, however, a wall panel slipped open and a hand reached out and grabbed him. "Gaaaah! Don't eat me, you monsters!" he cried, thrashing.
"Stop that. But oh, you are cute when you're thrashing in mortal panic!" noted the female voice, likely owner of the scary monster hand that grabbed him.
He noted with some surprise that the scary monster hand was perfectly manicured. "Come with me, this way! I can't let YOU get all burned up. Come on." said Nikki, the scantily-clad vampire who had nearly been on his plate at dinner. He couldn't believe his luck! ...that, and he was so smitten, he'd have followed her even if she WASN'T trying to help him.
She led him down a back-staircase that ended up on the ground floor, in a hidden corridor somewhere.
"W-why are you helping ME?" Eyesoar wondered aloud.
"I like you, cutey." said Nikki with a wink. She dragged him to a large steel door and threw it open. "Hurry, hurry! Before I change my mind." Confused, he accepted her offer and ran the heck out the door. By the time he looked back, she was already gone.
Ronnie and Norman stumbled out of the castle soon after. Geil and Pacha walked over to meet them as they came. Too tired to stand anymore, Norman sat down on the grass to catch his breath. Pacha looked past them curiously, "Cornelius made it out. What happened to the winger boy and Tigerlily?"
Ronnie's heart strangled itself with worry. "W-what do you mean? Didn't they make it out?!" she cried.
Geil shot Pacha a look, "Probably delayed, nothing more. Some of the soldiers are still escaping. Those two seemed resourceful enough."
Cornelius, overhearing, began to panic as well. "Resourceful, nothing! She left BEFORE I did! She must've gotten out!" he insisted.
"T-they got her! The vampires got her! I saw it!" panted Eyesoar as he suddenly appeared from a different direction as most of the other men fleeing the castle. Ronnie thought it odd to see him running on foot like that, but noticed his wings were drooping a bit.
"You don't mean Klift and Kranach??" Norman gasped. Eyesoar nodded, shivering. "They threw a sack over her head and grabbed her. "I think...maybe they thought she was you, Ronnie!" he said between gasps for air.
Geil however, was not paying attention to Ronnie and her bunch. He was still waiting for the others to come out. He finally saw three figures coming out of the castle gate, seconds after the door caved in. It was Natalie and Orcho dragging some strange old man who was unconcious.
"Who is this?" Pacha asked after they had set the old man down.
"He was the one responsible for the barrier," Natalie explained. "But he's obviously no vampire."
"I'll say," Orcho agreed. "I don't see vampires wanting to take a bite out of a wrinkly old man like this."
"We'll find that out later," Geil interrupted. "Take him to one of the beds and we'll get his story later. That should be everyone out now."
Geil looked towards the yetis, Impa and Trolley, who were looking at the castle gate expectantly. He turned to Pacha, "Someone is going to have to tell them."
Pacha nodded, "You're right, I don't know how they'll take it though. They've had it rough enough as it is, but they've known me longer than you. I'll tell them after things calm down."
Jaoullin suddenly appeared from nowhere, running as fast as he could. He had twigs and leaves in his hair, but didn't seem to care as he literally dove towards Ronnie, Norman, and Eyesoar. He was ---what? Was he CRYING?
"I thought you guys were as good as smoked salmon!" he bawled, squeezing all of them tightly. Too tightly, Ronnie noted, struggling to breathe.
"OW." Norman noted. "You're hurting me."
Jaoullin released them, blinking. Then he frowned. "What's the matter with all of you?! I thought you were DEAD!" he said. Ronnie snorted, trying not to laugh. It was really mean of her, she knew, but...Jaoullin always overreacted.
"Uh, we're okay, Jaoullin." Eyesoar said, smiling. The Sunshine Knight quickly got to his feet and scuffed at the dirt, looking casual.
"Fuggit." he muttered. "I didn't care one iota about you losers." he lied. Pauline and Clara caught up with him, and they looked equally disheveled.
"You'll never believe what we found, Ronnie!" Clara said excitedly. Ronnie turned her attention to the teen. She considered telling her about Mendor, but decided it could wait until a more private moment.
"What is it?" Norman asked curiously. Jaoullin, annoyed with everyone, didn't say. Clara, however, barrelled on eagerly. "There's an entire VILLAGE of vampires, hidden in the forest to the south!" she revealed, "We barely got away before we were discovered!"
"So that's it," Natalie said, apparently eavesdropping. "No wonder we were able to get away so easily."
"There's MORE?" Eyesoar said, frowning. "I think these ones were more than enough." For some reason that the rest of them couldn't quite grasp, he sighed dreamily. "Some of them were really a cut above. Magnificent." he murmured.
"It only makes sense," Geil Rugner suddenly said, surprising some of them that he was listening. "Think about it, there was hardly three dozen vampires in there. Not quite enough to be destroying villages, raiding fortresses, and panic. Neclordia intended to be rid of us by allowing us to think we had won."
"We can't march to battle again!" Orcho said desperately. "Some of the soldiers haven't slept in two days and those that have are still tired."
"We still have much of the night left," Pacha noted. "We'd do better to attack the village during the day."
"Aside from the tiredness of your soldiers," Jaoullin pointed out. "It's not meant to be easily reached by any means. You'd only be able to take a small force in."
"The forest is tricky, and I think there's some enchantments in there, too." Pauline added. Ronnie sighed. "Looks like we have a real job ahead of us, then."
"There is no need for you to continue anymore," Geil replied as he turned towards Ronnie's group. "You have already helped more than enough."
The force of Cornelius's hand slamming down on the boulder next to him startled everyone present. "I think not. Tigerlily is within the grasp of those two bloodsucking beasts, and come hell or highwater, I'm gonna kill 'em and rescue her!" he proclaimed loudly. Ronnie didn't like Tigerlily, but she knew no one deserved whatever the vampires had in store. "That's right, Geil." she said simply.
"Very well then, it seems we shall be comrade in arms once more," Geil replied. "I suggest you get as much rest as you can, we attack at daybreak."
Ronnie prepared herself to sleep, though not sure that she could. Watching the reborn emperor walk off to his tent, she shook her head. What a day. When one spent time with queens (of anything!), and emperors, it was not supposed to be so brutal! She was supposed to get a nice dinner and a foot massage or something, dammit.
Oh well. she lamented, closing her eyes. So much for the royal life.
