Split (1)

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"Not as my first option." The dust clung to the base of our cloaks and I could feel my boots sink until they touched solid stone.
Her eyes began glowing a steady red in the darkness as they drank in the heat from the lantern. "So that’s why you didn’t want anyone else coming with us then."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh come on mrannd’ssinss; I know you better than that. You wouldn’t be coming in here alone, with or without me unless you fully intended on using your "other’ abilities."
I grinned slightly, seeing her look of satisfaction at being proven right. "I took on a werewolf last night on my own and only managed to kill it with my vampiric side. I want to keep my options open if this proves to be more than what we can handle. Having others around means I can’t fight to the full of my abilities without giving away my secret."
There was a sigh in the darkness. "Yet again you have to go out of your way to be all heroic..." Her eyes narrowed, gesturing to the rectangular contraption dangling near my waist. "But in that case, what’s with the lantern?"
"For the sake of appearances." My grin was somewhat terrifying in the half light as I raised it to my face, showing her the way that my skin was pulling taut and my fangs had begun lengthening. "I didn’t think it was a good idea to let them know that we both don’t need light to see..."
With a puff I blew the tiny flame out and wrapped an arm around her waist. With a tiny yelp of surprise, she felt me pull her close, the lantern dropping into the dust even as I kissed her fully on the lips. For several seconds we held each other close and I felt her gloved fingers tracing down the side of my face where the bones pushed against my skin. There was something about the darker side of my nature that seemed intoxicating to her and even in such a place her desire heated her skin.
"As much as I would enjoy it," she whispered into my ear as she finally detached my lips from hers. "We have a job to do."
"Unfortunately we do." I replied, the darkness falling away from my vampiric sight and allowing me to gaze upon her despite the complete darkness. "Business before pleasure."
There was a hint of a laugh in her tone as she grinned in the darkness. "After you, Mrannd'ssinss..."
Following me with her hand on her hilt in the confined space of the tunnel we both fell into silence. The dust muffling all noise from our feet even if we didn’t have our unique skills to call upon, and even before we had made a dozen paces both of us were fully covered as much as we could. Our masks covered our faces, not only to reduce the shine of our skins but also to stop the billowing wisps of the ages from entering our noses and throats and forcing us to cough.
The tunnel itself was a simplistic affair, hewn from the stone with little care or craftsmanship and just over twenty metres long. From my reckoning it barely even entered the castle’s interior before coming to a stop, the sight of a dozen iron rungs hammered into the stone leading upwards to a solid block that capped the top.
"Well, let’s hope they aren’t expecting guests." I muttered, gripping the rungs and slowly making my way up. Each one I held firmly, pulling down slightly to determine how securely fastened they were and ensuring that none of them would squeal or otherwise make any other noise. Carefully I climbed up the small iron ladder, feeling the opposite wall press into my back and my shoulders bump into the sides as I climbed. There was barely enough space for someone to climb, and if we had been fully armoured like Hadrgar it would have been impossible to ascend or descend the ancient ladder.
The rungs stopped barely five metres up by a solid stone of granite that seemed to slot seamlessly into the walls of the tiny tunnel. After hundreds of years of disuse, the tiny gaps had filled with dust and debris that left everything caked in layers of the fine powder. Especially after I drew my dagger and began levering it into the seams I was left with the smell of dried earth in the sinuses.
Viconia had thankfully remained at the base of the ladder as when I started carefully prodding the gaps, tiny trickles of dust rained down in miniature waterfalls of decay. Had she been below me on the ladder she would have been coated in the stuff and would have most likely had to fight off sneezing as I soon found myself doing so despite the mask.
Finding the spaces and freeing the stone slab slightly I moved higher up on the ladder until I could push upwards with my shoulders. Taking the weight and gripping the rungs tightly I lifted, groaning under my breath until I felt it suddenly give and lift from the grip of dust and soil.
Ten centimetres thick and shaped into an octagon a metre in width, I raised the floor tile until I could peer out from a gap. The sally point could be accessed from the depths of the castle, within the foundations where the armouries, treasury and servants living quarters could be found but with quick glances I could see that it was completely deserted.
In less than a minute Viconia and I were crouched down in the tiny storeroom, carefully lifting and placing the flagstone down and brushing away the traces that it had been disturbed. Despite the obvious gaps around the tile we could see that all of the other stones had also been placed into the floor bereft of mortar to help maintain the illusion that there was no secret exit from the castle.
"So far so good." I whispered, and Viconia sighed, giving me a light slap over the face that stunned me for a moment.
"I swear by Shar, if you afflict us with ill-luck I will beat you within an inch of your life."
"That almost sounds like a fun night." I retorted and I could see the glitter of amusement in her burning eyes.
She hit me on the shoulder but not hard enough to make a noise. The castle was deathly quiet and there were no lights within the room that we had found ourselves in, not that we were hindered in any form.
"Looks like some kind of armoury." Like a shadow Viconia slid through the room and quickly looked over the series of weapon racks lining the walls. The room itself was about six metres wide and ten long, a door imbedded into the stone walls in the centre of the shorter one. Three sets of weapon racks ran in parallel rows, two along the walls and another double sided set that ran down the centre with a short space between the end and the door to allow entrance.
"And it hasn’t been used for a while." I added. The weapon racks were mostly empty, lined with dust and the handful of weapons were decayed to uselessness. A pair of halberds had cracked shafts and rusted heads, and I lightly ran a finger down the length of a bastard sword and felt the rust. "But there’s no traces of anyone using the sally point though.
"It’s either been forgotten, or those who know about it haven’t needed or had the chance to use it."
She pressed into the doorframe the same way as she had outside the botany. The door swung open slowly and gently, none of its hinges squealing or making any noise despite their neglected state. Using all the skill at our disposal we flitted through the door, moving along the walls and watching and listening to anything that may await us within the castle.
We were within the castle barracks, a surprisingly small but cosy section of the castle itself that was built into the southern side of the central keep. The keep itself was a massive edifice, five stories tall and only matched in height by the towers that jutted from the corners of the walls. Built against the northern wall, the keep was large yet comfortable, the halls wide despite the narrow spiralling staircases that were made with defence in mind. The upper levels would be the living quarters, the library and the various studies and bedrooms while the ground floor was the dining and entry hall and a kitchen large enough to supply a feast for dozens. There were more rooms in the keep, than an entire legion fort and even some of the guest rooms had their own dining rooms and personal kitchens available. The County may have been the fraction of the size of some of the others like Skingrad and Bruma but its strategic location had left it and the castle powerful and imposing.
Under the courtyard and the ground levels of the castle were where the servants, guards and Men-at-Arms lived and served the Counts. Dozens of individual rooms and a handful of barracks dormitories were carved from the hilltop, intermingled with a separate kitchen and dining arrangement for those who served the behest of a member of the Elder Council to live out of sight and out of mind. The larders, storage rooms and wine cellars were built into the foundations and it was from one of the weapons storerooms that Viconia and I had emerged from.
We moved as quietly as possible, but to my straining ears, even the softest of sounds seemed as loud as clashing steel in the total silence. The only sounds that marked our passage was the soft sighs of our feet sliding across the floor, our soft breathing through our leather masks and the rustling of our cloaks as they swirled around us. The air was close and heavy with age, and surprisingly enough I noted the complete lack of any traces of vermin through in any of the rooms or passages we moved through.
The Castle had the feel of the ages pressing down on it, and I could almost reach out and touch the history that had been written here. A thousand years of history had pressed itself into the walls and the barracks had been home to countless generations of soldiers. I felt that if I concentrated enough I could almost see their shades patrolling the halls around us just as they had done so in life. Phantom echoes of orders being barked left whispered remnants wafting down the corridors and the muted clashing of shields, swords and spears reverberated from the training yards above our heads. Even as we passed the mess hall I could sense the laughter and song that would have flowed with the ale and beers, almost as though it could seep from the stones themselves.
It was unease what entered my body with every carefully placed step, moving past and through abandoned rooms that hadn’t seen a living presence for several days, if not weeks. Beds were left unmade, plates and dishes left where they had been stacked and in every room the tiny piles of personal effects were scattered about, alone and abandoned by their owners. Like a large portion of the village the barracks was almost abandoned, lacking all trace of those who should have called it their home but what was more concerning was little signs in the way of violence or disorder.
The vampire was rising to the surface, and my entire body was alive and humming with built up energies as it seemed to react to something my conscious mind was not aware of. It became increasingly difficult to contain the building emotions and the tingles and twisting of muscles and I knew that Viconia was watching with something akin to her own unease as my lips and jaw began tightening my mask to my face. It was only when we walked through into the primary guard post that led into the castle itself that I found myself faced with something that made my conscious mind uneasy. The tiny hall where guards would rest between shifts and stand guard over the tiny prison wing contained a couple of lit lanterns. Most of the collection were long since dead, but there was one next to each door, burning through their tiny amounts of oil, and heavily shuttered to reduce their light. It was enough to leave the room in a faint orange-brown glow that flickered and danced shadows across the walls, but barely enough for normal beings to be able to see.
"Someone still lives here."
I nodded, moving to the side of the door and carefully looking around the room. It was mostly undisturbed, but other than the lit lanterns there were signs of individuals travelling through quite regularly. Rectangular, the room separated the main portions of the basement levels and acted as the hub for the militaristic portions of the castle. The southern door where we entered lead to part of the barracks, as I could see through the opened door to the eastern wing that it too contained dormitories and armouries. The western door led to the prison, and a small flight of stairs rose up to the ground level in the northern wall.
Moving along the eastern wall like a pair of ghosts we both froze at the slight sound that plucked at the edges of our hearing. The sound condensed into footsteps of someone wearing soft soled shoes and as Viconia and I desperately looked about for anything resembling cover a tiny figure appeared from the prison wing. Barely more than a shadow, the figure was carrying a cauldron under one arm and a flickering candle in the other.
Viconia pressed herself into the corner between the doors leading to the barracks and I slid into the shadows using my vampiric nature. There was a muted gasp of astonishment from Viconia and I realised that while she had seen me appear from the shadows she had never seen me use the ability to fade. Even to her sight I had become undetectable even despite the fact that I was standing almost in the centre of the room.
Dressed in a flowing dress and appearing no different to the hundreds, if not thousands of servants throughout the empire, the woman was approaching her middling years and looked sturdy enough to wrestle a soldier. Solid and overbearing, even by the way she walked I could tell that she was one of the senior servants; used to ordering the others and ensuring that the demands of her liege were met to the letter. A grubby apron was clasped around her thickening waist, shoulders as wide as a farmhand’s and a permanent sneer of displeasure was plastered on her features.
Moving undetected through the shadows I moved over to her, materialising over her shoulder and pulling her close. Hardened from years of serving the nobility, she was strong but her strength was nothing to the vampire. I was able to hold her firm and have a hand clasped over her mouth before she knew she was no longer alone.
Despite the way I had ambushed her, there was very little surprise from the woman. She tensed from the intrusion of my hands, the way I wrapped my arms around her to pin hers by her sides and stop her from shouting out.
So close, and with the vampire rising to the surface I could feel her humanity and I knew that she was no vampire at least. She was mortal, of flesh and blood and uncorrupted and presented the perfect opportunity to learn more about what was happening.
"I’m going to let go now." I whispered into her ear. There was no tension or terror in her like there normally was when I revealed myself to others and despite the vampire’s instinctual urgings I didn’t consume her will with my own. "Don’t shout out or make a noise."
Releasing my grip over her mouth I could hear her licking her lips and trying to get rid of the sensation of the minotaur leather of my gloves on my skin. I didn’t release the rest of my hold though, instead shifting my grasp to ensure that she wasn’t able to drop the cauldron or move her arms.
There was a sigh of what could only be described as annoyance. "I’m getting really sick of your games Rolartolas. Just because you have some new tricks to play doesn’t mean that you can keep playing them on me."
She sensed the pause and the way I stiffened as I tried to come up with an answer, turning her head slightly in the vain attempt to catch a glimpse of me from the corner of her eye. "Well, don’t just stand there boy... Either do what you have to or let me go."
Feeling confused I slowly released my grip on the woman’s shoulders and arms, taking a step away as she shook herself and turned. The expression on her face was long suffering annoyance of someone used to being the attention of numerous practical jokes.
"I swear, you and the rest of your useless friends..." Stopping in mid-sentence as she fully turned, I saw the expression of annoyance change into one of confusion as she looked at my darkened form. "You’re not Rolartolas..."
Dressed in my daedroth scale, ebony-alloy armour and almost fully concealed by the deep grey-black minotaur leather cloak and hood I would have cut an imposing sight. It was though, a very unique one. Both Viconia and I cut very specific appearances and even if someone didn’t know our identities they would immediately know that we were not regular people.
"No, I’m not..." I said simply, raising my hands and seeing the look of confusion growing ever more pronounced on her rotund face. "We’re here to help."
"We?" The confusion lasted for a fraction of a second longer as she caught the shadowed glimpse of Viconia sliding out of hiding with a grace and ability that only her kind could match. "Here to help..."
Darting between the two of us, her eyes wandered over our strange clothing and armours and I found myself staring at the heraldry that had been stencilled into her clothing. A cloth patch had been sewn over a portion of her right breast and I could see the faintest hints of the Glenvar shield iconography under the thin woven strands. What had replaced it was a much simpler design; a simple blue circle with a ruby-red droplet placed in the centre. Almost at the same time both the servant and I realised the situation, and she stepped back in horror and alarm.
"Guards!" she shouted on the top of her lungs, throwing the empty cauldron aside with an enormous metallic ringing sound that echoed through the empty halls. "Guards!"
With the vampire so close to the surface that my jaws were deformed I moved entirely on instinct, ripping my dagger from its sheath on my breastplate and slashing it across her throat. A smile opened up under her jaw that cut off her cries in mid breath, spraying an arc of crimson across the floor and splattering Viconia’s boots.
"What the vith is wrong with you!" Viconia spat as the servant dropped to her knees, grasping at her gashed throat with both hands that left the candle to bounce and extinguish itself on the floor. She was minutes, if not seconds from death as her blood bubbled from between her lips and fingers as she tried desperately to staunch the flow.
"She’s a thrall!" My words were little more than growls around my lengthening incisors as I motioned for Viconia to move back toward the door we had entered through. There were no sounds of approaching feet or any further shouts of alarm, but with the vampire consuming my flesh and mind and the way it had been uneasy about the whole situation I wasn’t taking any more chances.
Not turning our backs on the room or the near dead servant we edged towards the door, glancing back to ensure we didn’t trip even as Sunchild found its way into my hands. I almost expected to hear howls of the cursed and a wall of werewolf flesh come charging down the two-metre-wide staircase, but instead there was nothing. No further cries of alarm or tolling of bells or anything, just the sickening gurgles of a dying woman as she choked and bled to death on the floor.
Again something dark and terrible in my mind stopped me, prodding at my conscious mind and leaving me as still as a statue and gazing carefully into the shadows. There was no sign of movement, no pulsating life-force other than the weakening one writhing a few metres in front of us, but some deep corrupted instinct I knew that something was wrong.
Sunchild returned to its sheath and Viconia watched as I turned, moved past her and ripped the lantern from where it hung. She was shocked and confused, standing less than a metre from the entrance into the southern barracks even as I opened the lantern’s shutters and flung it overarm in the general direction of the stairwell.
Glass shattered and metal deformed as the lantern hit the stone floor, the tiny burning wick inside spreading its hint of flame to the remnants of the oil as it sprayed over several metres. Where there had been flickering shadows and gloom was for the moment a flaring radiance that filled the room with golden light, and illuminated a trio of figures who until a second before hadn’t seemed to exist at all.
"Well, that was clever." One of them hissed as he and his fellows were pulled from the shadows. Armour clinked together as they stepped forward over the burning oil, staring at Viconia and I with eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.
Unlike the servant who had finished squirming as life left her, these were no mortal beings. I could taste their corruption, and looking into their cursed eyes I felt almost as though I was staring into a mirror.
"Kaius." Viconia whispered, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her gesture to another pair that seemed to glide their way out of the prison wing.
A handful more stepped from the shadows, showing the exact same ability that I had only minutes before. Appearing as though birthed from the darkness, Viconia stepped back slightly at the sight of almost a dozen vampires surrounding us. Pale skin was wrapped tightly under layers of leather, fur and metal; pallid and unhealthy like a corpse yet to feel the bloat of rot. Their eyes glowed in the darkness, reflecting the light of the remaining lanterns almost like those of a Khajiit at night during a full moon.
They were all laughing, a horrible, flesh tingling laughter that crawled over the flesh like insects as the armoured figures surrounded us in a loose semicircle. Facing those creatures of a similar curse as mine I felt my hold on my own animalistic side tighten, pushing it aside and allowing my face to crunch back into shape once more. They were doing little more than sizing up what they believed to be their next meals but I struggled to hold back the smile as I pulled my mask down to reveal the face of a man.
"My, my..." Chuckled one of the grinning vampires as it stepped forward sniffing the air. "How lovely to see a morning snack deciding to come to us for a change."
Despite my outward appearances I was highly unnerved. Far too easily did these creatures remind me of Volmyr. They were not mindless animals like the rest of his wretched coven, instead they still contained a large amount of their humanity that hadn’t been consumed by the thirst. Some had already drawn weapons, tapping swords against armoured thighs or patting maces or war hammers with a paternal familiarity.
I cursed under my breath and moved between Viconia and the semicircle of blood drinkers. While I had no illusions of her ability in combat and I knew that the creatures could smell her blood, whereas mine was unpalatable. They had us backed into a corner figuratively and literally and even if Viconia and I had tried to flee we wouldn’t have gotten more than a dozen paces before they fell upon us.
Hissing with a warning, I felt all their eyes darting between me and Viconia, seeing the shifting changes in my facial structure and the hint of fangs under my lips. The warning went unheeded, and one of the armoured vampires moved forward from the group with a disapproving expression on his face.
"Really brother, there is no need for that." The grin that creased the Imperial Vampire’s face was not one of camaraderie despite his words. "And there definitely wasn’t any need to kill one of the cattle... We’re short enough as it is."
"I can remedy that..." There was threat laden in every syllable and I returned his smile with one of my own. "Brother..."
Another of the creatures laughed. Dressed in chainmail and plate and transformed there was little to determine the vampires sex other than the feminine tones of her voice. "Oh I bet you can. A thrall for a thrall is the preferred payment after all."
Their expressions darkened further as I laughed in their faces, waving Viconia off as I sensed her rising anger. "Is this it? A pack of you facing us and all you can think of is satisfying your thirsts? Not how we got in here or what we are doing in the depths of the castle?" I grinned like a mountain lion that hid my eyes in shadow. "I’m going to take great pleasure scattering your ashes..."
The snarls of anger were not lost on me and Viconia gave me an exasperated look despite the scent of fear that was slowly emanating from her flesh. While not one for losing herself to terror and capable of bearing witness to horrors that would have left most people in comatose states, the dread and terror that a vampire excluded was unnatural and affected her nonetheless. In the back of my mind I was concerned with the way that she was feeling fearful of me as I slowly released my grip on the darkness of my soul, allowing the vampire to clothe itself in my flesh and fill me with its power.
"Such questions will be asked and answers found later when we take you to the mistress." The lead vampire growled, fangs fully extended and fingernails sliding out and tapering to a point even while he gestured to Viconia with his sword. "But we will have a taste of your meat first."
Even since they had revealed themselves I had been studying them, looking over their clothing and mannerisms and prioritising them from most dangerous to the least. I knew Viconia had been doing the same, seeing the way how they held themselves like trained fighters despite how they were all only a few short strands from raving animals. All were dressed in the similar way to the now-dead servant whose corpse was cooling in a pool of blood, and I knew that most were from the original castle guards. Their heraldry defiled, smeared and otherwise covered in some form; they all instead wore patches or surcoats with the curiously simple blue circle and blood drop that the servant had worn. Some deep instinct provided me with the knowledge that despite their corrupted natures, they were not vampire ancients or had been suffering the curse for long. The flesh still had the aroma of their mortal forms and the stink of mortality had not diffused from the corruption and soul-rot seeping into them. A month previous, or in some cases less than a fortnight before they had been normal men and mer serving the county as guards and Men-at-Arms. Now, they were nothing more than monsters.
My terrible grin was growing larger much to their annoyance, the tenseness of their muscles almost leaving them humming in their pale, waxy flesh even as I reached behind my head and drew the Light of Dawn.
Like starved wolves they all looked at the swirling blade that I held confidently in both hands. Almost as long as a claymore, it appeared almost ridiculous that I had chosen to draw such a weapon against a pack of the fiends. They had no understanding of the significance of the enchanted sword, instead they continued to laugh and mock us.
"There’s fourteen of us, and two of you." my eyes flickered over to one of the vampires blocking our escape through the southern door as it spoke. "You’ve got no hope... Brother..."
I turned and looked at Viconia momentarily. "You might want to close your eyes for a second."
"Yeah!" said the armour plated leader. "Close your eyes meat... You don’t want-"
I crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat, moving far faster than the newbloods around me could even react. Before any of them had realised I had moved, the Light of Dawn had erupted from between the lead vampire’s shoulder blades, spearing it through the chest and cutting its foul heart in two.
With less than a handbreadth between us I snarled through a mouthful of fangs, more and more of my teeth tapering to a point as the creature in front of me struggled to realise what had occurred. The entire length of the Light of Dawn was coated in its blood after ripping through his body and plate armour like it was nothing more than fog.
The creatures were stunned not only at my speed that made them appear little more than infants but the way how the changes that were consuming my flesh were different to their own. While I shared their curse, my nature was not the same as theirs but before they could move the enchanted blade began to react.
Drinking deeply from the vampire’s blood it seemed to drain a portion of its essence into itself, absorbing the blood into the shining metal to fuel the powerful enchantments. Within a second the powerful magicka bound into the star-metal had ignited and light blasted out almost as a physical force.
The vampire impaled on the blade was seconds away from death from having its heart cut in half, but the scouring light from the sword was what truly killed it. Powerful and ancient, the enchantment burned the creature from within, the sun-like rays striping flesh from bones and turned it to a steaming pile of ash and scorched armour and smouldering clothing.
Roars and hisses in agony the other vampires felt the full force of the Light of Dawn. It burned brightly in my grasp, forcing me to look away from the blade’s edge as it blasted away the darkness with the full force of the sun and crisping the flesh of the other thirteen creatures within the room. The scent of burnt hair and roasting flesh filled the air as they shrieked and scrabbled away from the powerful beams of light. Even above their wails of suffering I could hear their skin and muscles sizzling like cooking fat on a fire.
The true potency of the blade against vampires I soon discovered was not the impossible cutting edge but rather the specific effects of the sword’s enchantment on vampires. Able to cut through anything I had tested it on, it was sharp enough that if I dropped it point first from chest height it would sink to the hilt in solid stone. It could hack a fully armoured orc from forehead and groin in a single blow, slash through marble statues and so far I had not found anything other than Sunchild that could withstand its edge. As such I had been limited in practicing with it. I couldn’t spar against Viconia as even the slightest mistake could result in the loss of a limb or worse, but in the depths of Glenvar castle I found myself thankful for the hours I had trained alone with it.
Overwhelmingly burning, the enchantments fuelled by vampiric blood did effective, if horrible work against the bloodsuckers. Even against a pack of the creatures the light blasting from the sword’s edge was wounding and disfiguring which was how the Light of Dawn was the ultimate vampire slaying weapon. It could cut through anything yes, but the light would burn flesh and blind. Even a half second’s exposure left the creatures reeling and flailing from the light, their skin burnt and blistered. Those dressed in full plate armour and helmets that only allowed the tiniest slits or holes for seeing and breathing were affected just the same as their brethren with exposed flesh. Eyes were plucked from skulls, eyelids fusing together and the pair of fully plated vampires were left screaming and pawing at their sallet helms as the light took their vision.
I danced through their ranks, hacking and cutting through the pain maddened vampires with impunity. Even someone without my strength could have destroyed them, the light removed their ability to defend themselves or in some cases even see or hear me coming. More than one was left shrieking on their knees, cradling their faces even as the magical energies burned and fused their palms as though welded.
Some fought with all the savagery of animals caught in a trap, ignoring the pain and damage to their bodies even as I cut through their defences and armour with ease. Weapons were cut into pieces, armour cloven apart and several burning skeletons were left scattered behind me.
A couple of the vampires hurled themselves at Viconia, their speed only barely matched by her own Drow reflexes as she parried and stabbed with Dragonbane. Forewarned and having closed her eyes as I had stabbed the first creature, she hadn’t been left as disoriented as what she could have been. While somewhat faster than what she was, the blasting waves of light were disorientating and battering their defences mercilessly, leaving them open for attacks as she swatted aside their flailing attacks.
I cut through a steel sword like it was made of nothing more than silk, ramming the pommel of the Light of Dawn into the cringing Vampire's throat as it struggled to comprehend what was happening. Another dropped into a pair of twitching and burning halves as I bisected it at the waist and I had to kick away the burning remnants of one that ran screaming onto my blade. It took a second or two for the enchantments to absorb their corrupted blood but this left the room looking as though it was playing host to a thunderstorm. The flickering and flashing blasts of light seemed to make the vampires even more disorientated, leaving them cringing and screaming and alternating between trying to fight or shield themselves through the fact that flesh was burning and hair smouldering.
Between the two of us we slaughtered them. My vampiric abilities and immunity to sunlight allowing me to hack and slash my way through the others of my accursed kind, and Viconia with her natural skill and years of training as a priestess of Lloth allowing her to combat their lightning quick movements with those of her own. Despite my initial fears for her safety, two of the three creatures facing her were soon following their fellows into Oblivion. She took one of their snarling heads clean off its shoulders as she grasped its fellow clawing at her armoured forearm by the throat. There was no sign of pity or emotion on her expression as she crushed its windpipe, repeatedly jamming Dragonbane into its armpit until it burned and tumbled away into ashes.
Three of the vampires were left, all burnt and singed and I could see one of the ones facing me had ripped its eyelids open in its agony after they had fused closed. They were both terrified; an emotion that the vampire within my soul found disgusting as I advanced towards them, shaking away the ash that coated my arm to the elbow while holding the blade out to my side. While seemingly open for an attack I was doing little more than taunting them to attack me. One hesitantly did but the other decided to try to make a break for it.
Turning tail to flee up the stairs, it didn’t make it far. With a twist of my wrist and a flick of an arm, the Light of Dawn ripped through the air and pinned it squirming to the wall. It shrieked in agony for a second, grasping and trying to draw the blade from its chest even as its blood fed the enchantments. Pure light erupted from the blade, stripping the flesh off its bones and leaving its scorched armour and clothing to clatter to the floor.
The second looked at me in fear, the skin of its face red raw and weeping from the burning effects of the Dawn's light. It snarled at me through split and bleeding lips, seeing the way I had disarmed myself and lunging towards me with a sword of its own. No longer holding the blade that had left its flesh burnt as though it had been rolled through hot coals, the vampire attacked with a desperate slash at my throat, cutting through the air before the blade was parried away with a clang.
Sunchild appeared in my hand, being ripped from its sheath and slapping away the careless attack even as I gripped the hissing creature by the throat. There was horror in its burnt and scarred eyes as I twisted Sunchild in the palm of my hand, leaving the blade in a downwards grip before spearing it down its gullet.
Behind me Viconia was left facing the last of the coffin-dwellers as I slaughtered the rest of its kin. Shielded partially by the way I had fought with my back to them it was only partially scalded by the humming blade’s light, leaving half of its face and head a smouldering ruin of blisters and wounds that wept blood and other fluids. Viconia was struggling against the creature that was now pain maddened and thirsting for mortal blood to soothe its horrid injuries.
Hearing her cries of outrage and anger I twisted the red-hot blade of Sunchild from the immolating form of the vampire’s charred skeleton, sending the flame weakened bones and ash across the floor as I twisted around. The burning pain of the repeated waves of light over its scarred flesh had allowed it to utilise its unholy abilities to the fullest, and even my hardened and experienced drow companion had struggled to fend it off. She was pressed back first into the wall, holding Dragonbane tightly even as she pressed a knee into the armoured sternum of the beast on top of her. It was all that she could do with their swords crossed between them, her knee locked into it and hand holding it by the throat to keep its gnashing fangs from her face and flesh. She was screaming and roaring her own pain into the creatures twisted visage, but where it was thirsting for her blood and pain-maddened; she was infuriated that it had managed to subdue her in such a way.
Seeing her trapped under the weight of the vampire pinning her to the wall and struggling to sink its fangs into her flesh, something within my own mind snapped. Within a second my face had twisted and writhed and I roared on the top of my lungs that left dust shaking from the lanterns and support beams above our heads. Crossing the distance between us, I saw it stiffen at the threat I posed, some bestial instinct triggering a flight response from my daedric bellow. Both Viconia and the remaining vampire froze at the sound, both twisting and staring in horror as I appeared behind its shoulder fully changed into the monster that dwelled within my flesh.

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