The Return of Lash pt. 2: Most Likely Not a Vampire

Previous Entry

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Cloudbreaker and I quickly acquired our weapons and my new outfit. I would have liked to have put on the new clothes, but seeing that we had about 20 minutes to meet up with the others, I opted to wait until tomorrow to change.

On our way to the crime scene, I thought about the possibility of there being another vampire. I recalled Bal Vyr and Cloudbreaker saying they killed one. I was certain there was two.

“Um, you and Bal Vyr mentioned that you killed a vampire last night, right?”

“We did,” the Goliath confirmed

“Well, I think there’s another. I had woken up at one point and heard, whom I assumed to be, one of the vampires command another to find someone else for the ritual,” I felt a shiver run down my spine as I recalled what the vampire said to me, “that vampire called me his ‘little dove’,”

“Oh, I’m sure there was a vampire spawn we missed. That could very well be the second voice you heard,” Cloudbreaker responded.

“Are spawns intelligent?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Then perhaps that’s the case," I said, "I’ve never encountered vampires before. Hopefully whatever we find at the crime scene won't have anything to do with them. I suppose we’ll be finding that out right quick won't we?" Cloudbreaker gave a nod of his head.

"Yes, let us see if the Guard Captain is in the right to be frustrated with us.”

As we walked into the Commoner’s part of town, Bal Vyr called after us. He and Abu had just finished their errands and so it was we all made way to the home of the murdered family together.

When we approached, the guards there asked what we wanted. Bal Vyr quickly explained we were to investigate the scene to see if we truly were responsible for it. The guard asked if he was sure.

“Absolutely,” the Drow stated.

“And you ma’am? Are you sure?” the guard questioned me.

“I’ll be fine,” I simply replied.

We walked on past the guard into the pitifully small home. The place reeked of blood. It was no surprise either considering that every inch of the 15x15 foot home was covered in the crimson life source. In the middle of the home, laid side by side, were three bodies: Two parents and what looked to have been an 8 year old boy. They were pale, like myself, and not a drop of blood was on them.

My eyes locked on the boy. I thought about Joran, the boy Cortanna had accidentally killed. The image of Meryth’s dead body in the grave I made came to mind too. I wasn’t certain how long I stood there watching, but I snapped out of my trance as Bal Vyr and Abu crouched down to examine the bodies.

“There’s no bite wounds! Blood wasted and no bite marks?” Bal Vyr stated. The Drow turned on his heels and stormed out of the house.

Bal Vyr vehemently informed the guards that what we just saw was not done by the hands of a vampire. He asked if there was anyone in town well versed in the lore of vampires. The guard was under the assumption we were the experts. The Drow massaged his temples as he explained to the ignorant guard that there was a plethora of creatures capable of doing what we saw in the home. Abu added that vampires would not waste that much blood.

The Drow mentioned that it could very well be the work of a demon. He recommended getting someone well versed in cults to come to the site or perhaps someone from the Wizards Guild. Bal Vyr was certain it had something to do with blood magic. The guard suggested that we were more than welcome to go find assistance for the case.

Cloudbreaker was more interested in going back to the Guard Captain to get our reward now that we were certain what had happened to the family wasn’t at the hands of a vampire. Bal Vyr mused over the idea that the murder could very well be another source of income we could help the Captain out with.

So we headed back to the Captain of the Guard to inform him on our findings. He was less than persuaded by the evidence we presented. Bal Vyr pitched the idea that we’d help solve this problem for pay, but the Captain stated firmly that he would do no such thing until it was ruled out that no vampire was involved.

“Captain, we spoke to you last night about the cult we found with in the crypt. This looks to be the very works of that cult of Orcus, a message from them,” Cloudbreaker spoke, “Isn’t that proof enough?”

“If that’s the conclusion you are drawing from some tapestries you saw, then I’m afraid I’m going to need more evidence that this cult truly is up and running,” the Captain responded, “Prove to me that someone’s leading this cult. If it’s a vampire, kill it. If someone else, report them to me.”

Bal Vyr bickered some more with the Guard Captain to make sure that if we did find evidence that we’d be paid in addition to the contract we already fulfilled with the vampires. We were informed that such payment would be made if it turned out that the current problem wasn’t the result of a vampire.

We departed from the Guard house to which Bal Vyr suggested that Abu and I go to the Wizarding Guild to ask the wizards if they might know of what spells would cause what we saw. I was all for going, but once I turned around in the direction of the Guild, a knot in my stomach formed and I found myself unwilling to leave Bal Vyr and Cloudbreaker. I looked back at the guys, giving a nervous smile to Abu.

“Um,” I began, knowing I was about to sound unreasonable, “I- uh, I would rather go with one of you two,” I said, pointing at the Drow and Goliath. Bal Vyr rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable going off with a guy I just met,” I quickly added (though Abu was one of those who had saved me...).

Bal Vyr placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me in the direction I ought to have been going with the cleric, stating, “Araja, focus here. We need you to do something. Now go and do it.”

“I can go alone if it’s a problem,” Abu began to say.

“Think about it,” Bal Vyr continued, “We just saved you from the bottom of the vampire’s crypt.”

“Yeah!” I snapped, looking at him in a way that I could only hope suggested that it was too soon for me to leave him or Cloudbreaker.

“All we’re asking is for you to go to the wizards guild, which is down the street. That’s it!” Bal Vyr attempted to persuade me, “And might I add, that there are very helpful wizards there available if you get into trouble.”

“No, I’ll go with Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker stated.

“No you won’t,” Bal Vyr ordered, “You don’t know jack about magic. I’d go but they’d know who I am,” the Drow then looked me in the eyes, “Please Araja- er, Blackwing, we need you to do this.”

My eyes felt wide and I could feel my heart work. I didn’t want to be a problem and I knew I was making a big deal about it. So I conceided.

“Okay,” I heard myself say.

“Abu, you said you were fine going on your own right?” Cloudbreaker asked.

“I did.”

“Then you go. Blackwing, come with us.”

“You do know we’re splitting up to canvas the neighborhood right?” Bal Vyr questioned. I nodded, but for me, at least both of them would be a little closer.

Abu took off for the Wizard’s Guild while the rest of us went back to the Commoner’s part of town. I stood around for a moment as Bal Vyr went back into the dead family’s home and while Cloudbreaker looked about the near by homes. As he looked at one of the houses, I figured I could ask the folks who lived inside if they’ve noticed anything unusual taking place last night.

“Blackwing, there’s blood on this house,” Cloudbreaker pointed out as I passed him.

“Well I was about to knock on the house door. We could ask about it,” I mentioned.

I went to the door, knocked upon it and heard the shifting of pots before footsteps coming to the door. A woman in her mid 40’s answered and eyed me and Cloudbreaker up before asking what was wanted. I asked if she knew about the blood on her roof. She looked very concerned yet upon me asking if I could investigate it, she asked us to leave her alone.

Cloudbreaker knelt down and pleaded with the woman if she had heard anything last night, in particular to something happening on her roof. The woman’s eyes grew wide as her jaw tightened. She shook her head and said she knew nothing. I placed a hand on the door to prevent her from shutting it. I could see she was terrified and that she knew something.

“Please. We want to end whatever terror is taking place here,” I said as gently as I could. The woman looked me in the eyes and pursed her lips together. She tried closing the door again, but to no avail.

“No!” she said defeated like, “It was a demon! Stay away from me!” the woman sputtered out. Cloudbreaker latched onto the first clue she gave us and prodded further, assuring her that we would protect her. The woman went on to state that nothing could save them from the dark, winged demon with glowing red eyes. As soon as she stated that I took my hand from the door. She closed it immediately while I slowly turned to face Cloudbreaker.

“Lash!” I barely stated in a whisper.

“That is not good...” Cloudbreaker said. He then knocked on the door and asked the woman if she heard the demon make any noise. The woman, through a crack in the door said she heard what sounded like nails on glass. That was the last thing I heard after Lash took off in her flight from the grave yard. Apparently Cloudbreaker had heard it too that night. The Goliath and I looked at each other and quickly retreated back to the crime scene where we last saw Bal Vyr puttering about.

“Bal Vyr!” Cloudbreaker called out. The Drow, who was coming out of the alley by the house, looked up expectantly, “It looks to be the work of Lash.”

“Really? Who was that?”

“The other female that traveled with us,” I reminded him.

“Oh yes, the one that died in the graveyard.”

Just then, Abu returned with another man following him. I was impressed with how quickly he found someone to come out to the scene.

“I have found someone,” Abu announced.

“We can see that,” Cloudbreaker replied, “Go on, introduce us.”

“Well...” the cleric began, looking at his companion, “I’ve actually forgotten his name,” he drawled. The wizard rolled his eyes before introducing himself in an exasperated tone.

“My name is Dunco from the Wizards Guild.”

We each introduced ourselves, Cloudbreaker being more formal by offering his hand. The mage politely shook hands with the Goliath, but wiped his hand afterwards.

I watched as Bal Vyr escorted Dunco to the house. The wizard, in his fine robes, had an air of haughtiness about him. In fact, there was something reminiscent about him and my once best friend’s father. Perhaps it was the way he held his nose in the air or the fact he daintily placed a hand to his nose as he opened the door to the crime scene. Without stepping in, Dunco leaned forward as he looked about. He then stepped back, closing the door once more.

The men began to pester the mage about what he knew. Dunco commented that it looked like something a friend or college of his would know. Someone named Leeland, who might know of the spell that would have caused it. The important part though was he agreed that there was magic at work there, which a vampire could have done, but likely a cultist or demon. So quickly we began to head back to the Guard Captain’s office with Dunco in tow.

Along the way, the wizard and Bal Vyr got into deep discussion about the situation. The Drow talked about the cult of Orcus as well as the tapestry and scrolls we found within the crypt. Dunco was too intrigued. I watched him interrogate Bal Vyr, who was running off with his mouth, and soon the conversation lead to our marks. Thankfully the Drow had half the mind to not state what they were and lied, stating they were magical tattoos for our mercenary group. “The only magic they possess,” Bal Vyr elaborated, “is to enable us with the ability to know if each other’s location.” I somehow managed to not laugh or scoff the whole time.

Anyways, listening to them talk, I had a very unnerving feeling that the information we were giving Dunco was not to our benefit. I felt that especially when he inquired about the magical scrolls. I placed a hand on the top of my haversack protectively even though it was never asked who had them.

We walked into the Guard Captain’s office and it was clear he was displeased to see us.

“For heaven sake! I told them not to send you up here!” the Captain fumed, “What could you possibly want now?”

“We have a wizard,” Bal Vyr stated.

“You don’t say...”

“We brought him along since we found the murders was not something done by a vampire. We assumed you’d prefer to hear it from someone else,” Abu calmly stated. I cocked an eye. I figured we had returned to once more try and persuade the Guard Captain that it was highly unlikely that a vampire had committed the murders.

“So have you ruled out the possibility that this could have been a vampire attack?” the Captain asked Dunco.

“No,” Dunco said flatly with an air of arrogance.

“You did rule out that it wasn’t a standard vampire though didn’t you?” Abu continued.

“That is correct. What I saw back there would indicate that if a vampire was involved it would need magical capabilities.”

“And the vampire we fought had no such capabilities,” Abu explained, “It and all it’s spawn, were bereft of magics.”

“Well the werewolf we fought was a mage of sorts,” Bal Vyr added.

“Yeah, he nearly killed us with that spell,” Cloudbreaker said.

“What spell?” I asked. The most I recalled from the werewolf was a skeleton being summoned.

“The one that just about killed you Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker answered.

“The woman cast that spell,” I reminded.

“Yeah, well, that woman was a disguise for a man who turned into a werewolf,” Bal Vyr explained, “Anyways,” the Drow continued on while my head worked the information of the woman being the werewolf, “We questioned a woman who had a very interesting story to tell.”

“By all means, do tell me,” the Captain said, though the tone of his voice would say he was finding amusement in our attempts to convince him.

Cloudbreaker gave the description of Lash’s new form that the woman saw, stating that she saw it in front of the victim's home before it took off and making a horrible screeching sound. Bal Vyr noted that she called it a demon.

“So one person said that they saw a winged, dark figure?” The Captain questioned, “And was there anyone else to confirm this as well?“ The silence that followed was painful. We were amature slueths. It was a pitiful attempt to get ourselves off the hook of this incident that wasn’t our fault. So it amused me greatly the response Bal Vyr gave.

“Nope, but we thought since you’re wasting our time with this quest that we’d waste some of yours.”

“Well, by all means, take your time with it. I’ll just be hanging onto your reward until you’ve taken care of this problem,” the Guard Captain simply responded. He stood up, walked around us, and opened the door to his office.

“I suppose if you can locate this ‘demon’ thing, then we can put this all to rest,” the Captain said as we began to leave. No one responded as we continued on our way.

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Next Entry

The Return of Lash pt. 1

Previouse Entry

The Case of the Murdered Family

Well I felt mighty silly this morning. I woke up, peeled my face off of my journal and laughed, despite my headache, when I noticed my unfinished sentence. I had meant to write ‘a couple of vampires and werewolves.’ Dale went on to say I was mighty lucky to be breathing again. I certainly can’t deny that. The Inn keeper tried encouraging me to go up the stairs to sleep, but despite not feeling good at all, I brushed it off saying I was fine.

The truth, however, was I didn’t want to be alone in the room. So I remained at the bar and journaled while Abu and Cloudbreaker had their fun.

The Goliath and cleric were already awake when I woke. Considering how much they drank, I was somewhat surprised they were up before me. They both had passed out after their seventh pint. I informed Cloudbreaker that I wanted to go get my halberd and new outfit right away. He then told me that we had earned an audience with the Mayor for having killed the vampire last night. He thought we best wait to do our errands until after that meeting and getting healed.

Abu kindly offered his assistance in restoring our health. Cloudbreaker certainly looked far better than he had. Something had withered him while in the crypt, but after Abu’s help, he looked healthy as a horse once more. Bal Vyr came walking in shortly after we were healed. He mentioned it was time for us to go meet with the Mayor.

Before leaving I went and washed my face and hands off of all the blood I had acquired. I braided my hair from my face and made sure I had all of my gear before returning to the men. While I did that, I noticed something strange. Maybe I’m being too clingy, or I’m allowing myself to become paranoid, but in the moments I was alone, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic. It was relieving to return to the party even though a half dozen guards stood in front of Bal Vyr, Cloudbreaker, and Abu.

“Now that your friend has returned, let us go,” one of the guards said. I looked at Bal Vyr and Cloudbreaker wondering what was going on.

“Apparently the Guard Captain needs to see us again,” the Drow commented under his breath as we followed the guards. We went politely, and were escorted to the Guard Captain’s office. The Captain paced behind his desk a little, which only added an element of seriousness to what he was about to say.

“I don’t like being lied to!” he seethed. I narrowed my eyes on him as he accused us.

“About?” Bal Vyr questioned.

“You said you killed the vampires.”

“Yeah,” the men simultaneously responded.

“Well it would seem all you did was make it angry!”

“How so?” the Drow asked.

“An entire family was found with their bodies drained of blood!” The Captain snapped. Bal Vyr turned to Cloudbreaker.

“Did we miss a spawn?” he asked the Goliath. I opened my mouth to mention that there were two vampires I had heard last night when I woke after being captured. However I stopped myself from speaking figuring all that would do was get them, well us, in more trouble.

“Because we killed the vampire,” Bal Vyr continued.

“Well, clearly you missed one for there was blood everywhere in the home of this murdered family.”

“Perhaps it was the werewolf we mentioned last night to you,” Cloudbreaker said.

“No,” the Captain responded coolly, “this was something only a vampire could do.”

“Then this vampire problem is bigger than you thought. We killed the head vampire last night and that alone should have solved the problem,” Bal Vyr retorted.

There was a few seconds of silence as the Guard Captain eyed each of us.

“Look, we’re sorry that some people have died, but that’s not our problem-” Cloudbreaker began.

“It is!” the Captain snapped again, “You were to kill the vampires!”

“We did,” the Goliath said distinctly. I watched Cloudbreaker flex his hands and knew he was growing impatient.

“Hey! It was you who said that there was a bounty for each head. Never did you say we had to kill them all!” Bal Vyr jumped in, “we regret that they’re not all ‘dead’, but it was pay by the head, not for completion of the job.”

I stifled a smile as the Captain fumed under his skin. The look he gave Bal Vyr was utmost contempt.

“Besides,” the Drow went on, “Why didn’t your guards prevent something from happening. Why is it they didn’t see anything last night? Hmm?,” the Captain said nothing as he continued to glare at Bal Vyr, “Perhaps we ought to go investigate this scene. You know, just to make sure it really was something a vampire did.”

The Guard Captain scoffed before answering, “and what might your constitution be like for such a scene?” Bal Vyr assured him that he, and the rest of us, were well adept to seeing blood and viscera. The Captain then stated we’d find the house in the Commoner’s section of town, which was nearby.

“But what about our reward for killing the vampire and our meeting with the Mayor?” Cloudbreaker asked.

“That can wait until you’ve finished taking care of this problem,” the Guard Captain simply responded.

“So you’re not giving us the reward for what you said you would reward us for-” the Goliath began to shout

“Cloudbreaker!” Bal Vyr snapped at him, ”Let us deal with this first,” he finished more calmly.

“No!”

“Yes! Innocent people are dead.”

“I didn’t put my life on the line for this man to cheat me!”

“You didn’t put your life on the line to kill the vampire!” Bal Vyr spat out. The room got very silent to which Bal Vyr’s next statement rang loud and clear as he gestured toward me, “You put your life on the line to save Blackwing!”

I felt some heat in my cheeks. Part of me felt like I was the cause of the troubles that were happening then and there, yet the frustration in Bal Vyr’s voice matched my own feelings of insignificance; why was it Cloudbreaker risked his life to save me?

The Goliath muttered under his breath that he killed the vampire, but seemed to give up the fight.

We finally maneuvered out of the Guard Captain’s office and worked our way down stairs. We discussed the need to pick up some items to which Bal Vyr and Abu went their way while Cloudbreaker and I went ours. We were to meet up at the crime scene in an hour.

As the Goliath and I walked toward the Blacksmith’s I thanked him once more for the rescue. He shrugged and didn’t make a big deal about it. I suspected he was still feeling bitter about the whole interaction with the Guard Captain.

“Cloudbreaker, what exactly happened last night?” I said in an attempt to take his mind off the Captain and to get a better idea of what went down, “Is... Grendel finally dead?"

The Goliath let out a short chuckle, “I can only hope that the crusader is buried 6 feet deep. Since Bal Vyr and I didn’t see him after we made our escape from the places we were teleported to, I imagine he too was teleported and never made it out."

"Then why do I recall you saying Bal Vyr died too? Am I just jumbling that with Grendel's death then?”

Cloudbreaker remained quiet for a minute before answering in a grave tone, “Bal Vyr did die." I glanced up at the Goliath. His face was hard and forlorn as he continued, “Hell hounds, that the vampire had, tore him apart... and after I killed the vampire, the tomb was engulfed in darkness that came from Bal Vyr’s body. Within the darkness was some monster. Abu, Armadeus, and I were able to destroy him once outside the crypt. After killing him, he reverted back to his Drow self.”

“Hmm,” I mused as I pondered the gravity of our situation, “Perhaps I should have tried harder to kill the creature Lash became. Maybe then she could have been saved.” I once more glanced at the Goliath and could see him deep in thought.

“This worries me Blackwing,” he said, “What are these marks doing to us?”

I pursed my lips together. To me it was clear what was happening; we were becoming evil. But what confused me most was the mark did two new things I wasn’t aware of. First it was changing in shape. Bal Vyr’s mark was maneuvering up his chest and Cloudbreaker’s was climbing up his arm. Heaven knows what mine must look like...

The second thing was how Lash and Bal Vyr had turned into some other being upon their death. Never had I seen that before. Even when Meryth died-

Besides those newish things taking place, there was the power that the mark had that was overwhelming my agency. I was drinking, something I had sworn never to do. I tried to steal from an old lady. Let alone, I’ve actually been contemplating helping the Druidess assassinate those she had requested of us. Plus, another incident happened today that I’ll get to later. The point is the mark is slowly turning us evil and apparently into some monster upon our death.

“Cloudbreaker,” I finally spoke in a soft, defeated tone, “With how the mark is behaving... it’s making us evil,” I noticed the Goliath eye me in my peripheral, “Two of us have turned into some monster upon death, I can clearly see the mark consuming your arm, and I’ve felt the effect of it on my choices,” I felt my chest tighten as my emotions suddenly ran strong. I bit my tongue before adding, “I don’t want to become evil.”

“You have control Blackwing. You cannot become something you don’t want to be. This mark may consume our bodies, but it cannot touch our heart. Not even the Gods can change them,” Cloudbreaker responded. His optimism was quite inspiring. I gave a nod my head.

“Cloudbreaker, you definitely make it hard to doubt,” I said with a small smile, “Therefore I will try to believe. I will continue to fight what I’m most certain is changing me.”

I suddenly felt a warm hand placed on my left shoulder. I looked at Cloudbreaker to find  him smiling at me. I felt my stomach flutter and my heart race as he looked upon me closely.

“Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker began in a warm and firm voice, “I believe in you. You have such inner strength that dwarfs my own. It heartens me to know that we are to fight this doom together.”

The butterflies left as a pit fell in my stomach. I had inner strength!? That dwarfs his own? How could he think I had any strength at all? Why was he lying to me? Those questions rang in my head as I remembered my inferiority to the Goliath. Gently I took his hand from my shoulder and though part of me wanted to keep holding it, I let go and looked at my feet. It was there I realized we had stopped walking.

“What strength?” I muttered. Then I looked the Goliath in the eyes. It really did seem like he was speaking lies to me. Why would he, a Goliath in which only the strong survived, say I have strength when I was most certain I hadn’t any?

I continued on making my point, “I have none! What have I done to contribute to your well being since we’ve been together? You’ve saved me 3 times,” I emphasised by placing three fingers up, “I’m forever grateful of course, but... in or out, I have no strength.”

Cloudbreaker let out a soft sigh and looked away. It was funny how in that moment the clarity of life moving about us was apparent. The Goliath then spoke, in which the world faded and it was just me and him on the busy street.

“Perhaps you don’t see it yet, but I certainly do,” Cloudbreaker said meeting my eyes once more. It was clear he was sincere and he lit up as he continued when he saw my cold eyes staring back, “You single handedly destroyed an abomination back in the bowl. You rowed out to save me on the lake and you stopped me from killing the gravekeeper in cold blood.”

I involuntarily scoffed when he mentioned the gravekeeper. “I was certain you resented me for preventing you from killing that man.”

“No,” Cloudbreaker said with a shake of his head. There was a soft smile on his lips though his eyes looked forlorn, “I can get carried away. When I get angry... I lose sight of things and tend to do stuff I normally wouldn’t do,” he then shrugged and looked me in the eyes once more, “We all have our faults. Mine so happens to be a testament to my weakness,” or the mark, I thought.

He reached out, as though he wanted to grab my shoulders, but stopped himself. Instead he balled his hands into fists before relaxing, stepping closer, and pressing them together to point at me.

“Remember, you have plenty of strength, Blackwing. I believe in you and you should do the same,” Cloudbreaker encouraged. I pursed my lips together. It still felt like lies he was speaking, but he was so genuine... or perhaps it was the closeness. I managed a smile to show my gratitude and placed my hands around his.

“Thank you Hajarikn. That means a lot.” I squeezed his hands a little before letting go and leading the way to the Blacksmith’s. I could feel my heart racing again and I really wanted to clear my head from the euphoria I was feeling. I don’t know what’s going on between me and the Goliath. Part of me doesn’t want Cloudbreaker to like me, yet... that's the very thing I’m hoping for.

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Next Entry

Part 3: Saved... Again.

Previous Entry

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I stood in a familiar room. It was dark and empty. It was the very room I was in a few nights ago in my nightmare. However, instead of being on a table unable to move while watching two men fight, I was standing alone. Fear took hold of me as the loneliness set in. It was like waves against rocks; I’d feel the fear hit me, subside a little only for another wave of fear to crash over me more intensely. My body was unable to move as I began to desire to run, to flee, to find wherever it was Cloudbreaker had went.

In my helpless state I became aware of that humanoid being again. It was there in my peripherals, but I still couldn’t see it. I just knew it was there. Once more, the creature placed it’s warm tongue on my cheek, licking down slowly to my neck.

My eyes snapped open as I sucked in a deep breath. The cool air felt good, but the fear still lingered as I realized I was alone. I could feel myself laying down on a table with heavy chains webbed across me. The chains didn’t feel that tight, yet I couldn’t will my limbs to move.

I then heard voices whispering. They weren’t the kind of voices that would instill a sense of relief, but rather tears welled in my eyes as it became evident that they were my captors.

“Can’t I have a little nibble?” I heard one of them ask. Vampire, I thought. Somehow I wasn’t shaking as my mind swam in a sea of terror.

“No,” a second, almost too soothing, voice said, “You saw what happened last time-” Lash must have been who they were talking about, or at least that’s who I’m certain they were referring to, “Now, we need one more. Go find us another for the ritual,” the being commanded.

It was silent for a moment when I suddenly felt the presence of the second voice above me. I could see a faint glint in his eyes that were inches from my face. I then felt his hand stroke my cheek.

“Don’t worry my little dove. You will always have me.” I could sense the hungry smile upon his lips. His sensual voice was repulsive like his touch. Alas, there was nothing I could do as my mind worked while my body remained motionless. I then faded back into the darkness.

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My eyes opened once more. The weight of the chains were gone and so I sat up. As I did, my body clenched up in fear while my head throbbed in pain. I hugged my knees and cradled my head while a sob escaped my lips. Just as I was about to let the despair of abandonment take hold of me once more, I felt a warm hand and heard a familiar voice.

“Blackwing? Are you alright?” Cloudbreaker’s gentle voice called out. So many emotions struck my mind in the few seconds that it took me to find my words. I hated how he had disappeared earlier and left me to those monsters. I hated that I was angry at him and still uncontrollably dependant on others for my safety. Yet at the same time I loved him all the more that he came for me. Then guilt took over. Why was the Goliath wasting his time on me? Wasn’t it my resolve to keep him safe? Between the throbbing headache and how weak I’ve felt since waking up in the bowl, I felt utterly useless. I looked at Cloudbreaker standing in the dim light the room now held.

“My head hurts,” I simply said, “Can we get out of here?” I asked. Cloudbreaker nodded his head. He then introduced me to a man who I didn’t recognize. His name was Abu. I told him I was Blackwing.  

I then took in my surroundings. I found myself sitting on an altar made of skulls. A lone woman laid next to me to which I scooted away. Part of me wanted to rescue the poor damsel, but another part of me wanted to save my own hide. As I stood up, it was like some unforeseeable weight was placed upon my shoulders.

“Where’s the way out?” I asked as I took a few cautious steps away from the altar.

“Just through the tunnel over there,” Cloudbreaker pointed out.

Right about then I realized Grendel and Bal Vyr was no where to be seen.

“Where are the others?” I asked. Then I heard the Goliath mention something about Bal Vyr dying but was up the tunnel and fine... or was it that since he hadn’t found Grendel that he was the one who died... Whatever had happened, it didn’t matter much for Cloudbreaker and Abu began to mess with some of the items at the base of the altar. I didn’t want to try and leave on my own, so I sat down near Cloudbreaker.

I don’t recall quite when I began to lean on the Goliath, but I bolted upright as a weird glow encased him. I tried to focus on Cloudbreaker to figure out what was happening.

About as soon as I noted Cloudbreaker’s state of immobility, Bal Vyr suddenly was in the room. He asked what happened. I wasn’t sure so the Drow directed his attention to Abu. He said he handed the Goliath a scroll that was addressed to him. Bal Vyr muttered to himself and walked around the Goliath. As I think about it, he wasn’t disguised at the time. Part of me was impressed that Abu wasn’t freaking out.

Anyways, Bal Vyr then came to some solution as he scrutinized over the Goliath. He reached out to Clodbreaker and suddenly the glowing aura was all around the Drow.

“I dunno Abu, these scrolls are probably a waste of time- Bal Vyr?” Cloudbreaker stated before noticing the frozen Drow in front of him, “When did he get there?”

“You were frozen just a moment before. Bal Vyr then touched you and became frozen himself,” I answered. Abu then apologized for having him read the scroll. I then reminded the group that we really ought to leave. Cloudbreaker picked Bal Vyr up and as he walked away with him, I looked back at the woman. I wanted to leave her, but I felt compelled to try and help her. So I woke the woman up.

Almost instantly she went into a babble about it being too late and that we were all to die. She then dropped her voice and began to wave her hands in a familiar way. I knew it was a dark spell that could kill each of us. With a moment of adrenaline I brought my halberd around (surprisingly my gear wasn’t taken from me) and swung at the woman.

I remember missing. What I don’t remember was how I got on my back. Some other man, who later I learned was a cleric named Armadeus, was standing near me. He wasn’t looking in my direction as he slowly moved away. I quickly looked about and found Cloudbreaker fighting with a werewolf. I felt my heart race. I picked myself up and realized I was bleeding heavily. My body shook with fatigue and my head continued to pound. I maneuvered to the back of the room, casting a light about me. As the light became stronger, I pulled out my rust  colored bag of tricks to get a creature to help fight.

As I did that, suddenly a skeleton that resembled the frame of an owl bear, appeared. I watched as Cloudbreaker fought valiantly against the creatures. I was able to send a wolf in to help and directed my charged light at the skeleton.

It seemed the fight was over about as soon as it started. The werewolf had escaped through some secret door. Part of me was nervous about the beast still being alive and missing, yet the pain I was in made it impossible to worry. I had to get out. The men thought the scrolls might be of importance and that it'd be unwise to just leave them behind. I didn't care, but I went and snatched them up hoping that that would get them going faster. I also took a ritualistic looking dagger off the alter before turning on my heels and heading toward the tunnel.

Of course getting out wasn’t completely seamless. The tunnel, that was our exit, was blocked at the end I was on and water began to flood the cavity we were in. I tried to break the grate that prevented our escape but it was a pathetic attempt. Cloudbreaker pushed past me as the water became waist deep. With one jerk he removed the grate and helped the rest of us out.

Something else unusual that I remember happening during the fight and our escape was Cloudbreaker glowing once more. However, as soon as Bal Vyr regained his ability to move, he’d touch Cloudbreaker again and take the glow back. I can’t remember why he did that, but the priests at St. Cuthbert made the glow stop completely once we arrived there.

We then stopped at the Guard Captain’s place to show the evidence of the kills we had made. I sat down in the lobby waiting on the men as they went up. With how hurt I felt, it pissed me off somewhat that they were taking their time, at least that’s my assumption. I had just decided to get up and make my way back to the Chalice Inn when I heard the men’s footsteps come down the stairs.

“You look awful Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker pointed out.

“You don’t say,” I sarcastically responded. The Goliath chuckled and gave me a pat on the back. I cringed under the weight of his hand and once more my desire to go to bed increased.

“Hey, let’s go back and get us some drinks,” Cloudbreaker suggested. For a moment I wanted to scream at him and all the guys who agreed. Wasn’t it clear that I was badly hurt!? Yet funny enough, the sound of a drink was very desirable.  

And so here I am writing while Abu and Cloudbreaker do their drinking contest. I've enjoyed my pint which dulled some of the pain I felt. Dale shook his head when he saw me.

"What you go and get yourself into this time missy?" Dale asked with a mischievous smile.

"Oh just a couple of vam

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