The late afternoon sun was barely visible above the treeline as the inhabitants of the small abbey gathered to send the wandering cleric and doctor off on their journey, as well as look for any signs of Julianna's return. Father George was noticeably absent from the gathering, still praying in his room and likely pleading for the sister's swift return, as opposed to her safety and well-being. As much as William would like to stay around to keep an eye of the magical nexus, he did have a duty to return to the larger base of operations in the south and Victoria's overall demeanor seemed somewhat agitated in her own subdued way. She had likely felt something out of place and didn't want to pry into the disturbance any further, instead suggesting the clergy and assorted orphans abandon the church for a month or so. Her recommendation was immediately rejected without consideration by the Patriarch of the church, sparking a sermon on the cowardly nature of the female condition. Regardless of the possible threat, the trio left the abbey with the promise to help Julianna if they ran into her.
-
They had only travelled maybe a mile before Victoria suddenly jumped out of the cart, covering her body in her heavy black cloak as to protect herself the last rays of sunlight, before running towards something just off the side of the road, “Leo stay with the wagon, hands on your weapon.” the vampress called out. “We may need to leave in a hurry.” William followed her, bracing for whatever magical entity she had sensed. There, impaled onto a large elm tree was Julianna, still alive and in constant pain. Her clothes had been removed and various bloodied symbols were carved into her body, dripping blood onto the ground below and tainted with a black glow. The pain had sent her into unconsciousness, sparing her from much of the horrific ordeal. “Things just got a lot more complicated.” Victoria sighed, inspecting the markings as if she were appraising fine art. “Let's get her down, before you do anything rash.”
William's mind had become enraged at the sight of the skewered nun, both due to the carnal brutality of the crucifixion and the demonic runes carved into her limp body. He forced himself to calm down and slowly remove the twisted black spikes, made from some unknown metal. Once the last nail was removed, William lent forward as to support the full weight of her body as she fell to the forest floor. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go hunting for the bastards who did this. I can see a blood trail heading deeper into the woods, why should I not go after them before they can harm anyone else?”
“Because you would not be able to save anyone and throw away your life in the process.” her answer was not one of concern, but cold reasoning. “You know little of chaos magic, so you would not recognize the symbols. The runes carved into her body have two purposes: both to give strength to the perpetrator and to offer tribute to their master. She was sacrificed to call forth a powerful demon and their subordinates, her life force is being siphoned to them as we speak.” The vampire moved several feet towards another tree, this time with a bird similarly impaled into its trunk. “This sparrow met a similar fate, although it did not survive the ritual.”
William, still cradling the maimed body of Julianna, slammed a free arm into the tree out of anger, showering the forest floor in a cascade of leaves and twigs. “I assume this demon is a powerful one.” Victoria nodded “Yes. In my opinion their primary goal is not the church, rather the gathering of creatures to the magically rich area. I think they are attempting to summon a dark one which is powerful enough to fight the demi-god and their assorted attendants by sacrificing the inhabitants of the abbey. The magical creatures will simply be offerings to their master, in exchange for more supernatural power. If you try to fight the demon's followers, you will find yourself outnumbered by their demons and potentially be caught between a battle between powerful entities. If you go to the church, I won't be going with you. Leo and I will wait for you, but we don't plan on risking ourselves beyond that.” The night hunter understood, asking her to fight something far beyond her own supernatural class, and fighting even minor deities was far beyond what could be expected.
At that point Julianna stirred, gasping for air and spasming in pain, before being forced into stillness by William. “The... children... please save them...” she said, coughing up blood in the process. The night hunter placed a reassuring hand on hers “Don't worry, I about to go and evacuate the church. Stay here and Victoria will attend to your wounds. “Save your... breath.” She wheezed through the pain, “I am dying... save your ...words for the kids... Doctor... you aren't human, are you?” “No, I am not.” Admitted the vampire who was helping to move her onto the damp soil. “I don't care what you.... are. Use my body in anyway... a trip hell is a fine price to pay for their lives.” she cried out in desperate defiance.
-
In Victoria's mind: getting heavily involved in anyway, would likely endanger herself as both sides of the conflict would see her as a hostile force. Supposing that she did join any skirmish there was not enough time to prepare and, unlike the hunt for the werewolves, there was no incentive to do so. Even using Julianna's corpse as a hapless ghoul would have negligible impact, as the bumbling corpse would likely fail to reach the small church in time to make any difference. The only method which would both make a noticeable change in the outcome and minimise risk to herself was to accept Julianna as her familiar. William could be accompanied by the two familiars, which in turn could aid in the evacuation.
When she considered the longer-term effects, accepting the maternal nun into her soul predominantly provided benefits. Julianna joining her spiritual body would not only increase her own magical power, but also add an additional body and skill set to her group. The nun's character and morals also fell within the vampresses' acceptable standards, flexible enough to take lead when absent and fall back to a supporting role when required. Not to mention act as a motherly presence which Rose, and privately herself, currently lacked. Even if they could not age, emotional damage and psychological needs would linger if not treated.
-
William saw the look on Victoria's face, one of contemplation and calculation. “If you are going to offer aid, do it. I will deal with whatever the consequences are once we have rescued the people from the church.” Leaning down, the vampress looked into the dying woman's eyes and “Here is my offer: you will become my familiar and I will grant you the power to save your adopted family from the orphanage yourself.” Victoria stated, far harsher than any other expression she had given prior. “Your soul will enter mine and be subject to my will until I die, meaning that you will leave your church almost immediately after you save them. It is a curse, in many ways.” A quick glance and the silently incensed William was enough to steel her resolve, “Do it. Better my soul be in yours... than be used to harm the children.”
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“I am going to drink your blood,” Victoria instructed “Do not resist the draining feeling in your mind and focus on your desire to join me.” The night hunter, begrudgingly held onto Julianna as the vampire drank her blood directly from her neck. It did not take long for her large body to become limp in his arms. From her newfound mistress's shadow, Julianna emerged. Her form now devoid of demonic runes and signs of abuse, wearing nothing but a basic black tunic and pants covering her private areas. She gave a few tentative stretches of her various muscles, finding them to be noticably stronger than when she was human.
“William, give Julianna a few minutes to adjust to her body.” Victoria stated while wiping the blood from her mouth. “Take my two familiars to the church, Rose will lead the survivors to my wagon while you protect any stragglers. The further that your fall behind, the more danger everyone is in. Leave Julianna alone if you need to, she can retreat to my shadow in an instant and run back to support. Don't fall to far behind.” William nodded in agreement, “Understood, I will stay as close as I can to the group.”
It was not long before the original familiar returned bearing shovels. “We will bury Julianna's body after purifying it,” Victoria declared “There is no need for the children to stumble upon it later.” The three made short work excavating a hole barely two foot (sixty-one centimetres) deep, while Rose removed any remaining metal spikes and doused the wounds with holy water as to break any ties to the demonic. The body was then thrown, rather unceremoniously by the original owner, into the earthen pit before being covered in the soft earthen soil.
-
Leo waved at Victoria with sword in hand, trying his best to steady the normally well-tempered horses, as even they could sense the trouble developing in the woods. Leo kept a lookout as the vampire collected various jars containing both alcohol and holy water. “I thought you preferred to keep out of any supernatural affairs” He asked, through the moderate strain on the reins. “You are mostly correct, although I only plan on tilting the scales as part of an agreement.” She replied, bringing a small whistle to her lips. “Luckily, I do not need to directly interfere with the larger scale of things and can simply focus on the church.” Whatever sound the tiny instrument made could not be heard by his ears, but it surely reverberated around the forest to countless unseen creatures.
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Morgan was the first to respond to the demi-god's call, or rather the vampress holding their blessing. Their experience with dark magic creatures was already highly varied and with the pervasive air of black energy which surround their small frame, the fairy's paranoia was only heightened. The cursed miasma was already taking a toll on the weaker fairy's bodies, leaving some struggling to perform their assigned duties for their celebration. Some even went so far as to seek respite in the nearby structure maintained by the collection of humans who worshipped the beings of order, as the devout follower's rites were able to repel the chaotic forces to some extent.
Siting on the back of a horse-drawn cart was the Vampire they had met earlier, although the area around her had curiously less dark energy than that of the surrounding area. “Speak blood-drinker, there is much which needs doing around here.” Angrily chimed the small fairy. “I have information which would be valuable to you and payment if you get the message to someone more powerful than you in quick succession.” The woman said, hand wrapped around a bottle of elderberry wine. The allure of the drink was enough to tempt Morgan into listening to her information.
“To keep it brief, there are a number of demon worshippers encroaching into your forest with the intent of sacrificing your master at the moon's Zenith tonight and the thick dark magic throughout the forest is of their design.” Her words stunned the minute figure, stunning Morgan enough so that they fell a foot or so from their preferred altitude. “Furthermore,” the vampire continued “if you were to look at the animal pinned to this tree... You could see that the demon worshippers are siphoning of life force from the forest to summon demons, weaken your magics and strengthen their own bodies.” Morgan had seen humans performing various rites on the various fauna, but due to their own ignorance of other aspects of the supernatural, they could not comprehend any malicious intent.
“Why do you offer information which would damage your affiliation so freely?” Morgan asked, scepticism clearly marked in their voice. “I have made a deal with a mortal, and the disruption of their plans would aid in the fulfilment of the pact. So,” she asked almost tauntingly “Would you like to hear more?” “May I ask the contents of your agreement?” Morgan asked, still feeling the requirement to confirm the vampire's intentions. “The former-human desired that I make moves to save the humans residing within the nearby church,” she replied calmly. “You might see where our goals might align.” The explanation was in line with the few interactions the fairies had had with this specific vampire, including seeing her temporary stay with-in the church. “Alright, let's hear everything you have to offer.”
“The demon worshippers are likely going to first raid the church for additional, last minute, offerings to summon a powerful demon from the chaotic realm with the intent to subdue your own forest deity. Once the people with-in the abbey are sacrificed, they will move onto the beings with-in the forest clearing with greater strength. I suggest that your allies move to prevent that.” She explained, as Morgan took quick mental notes. With their comprehensive knowledge of the woodland, the transgressors could easily be located.
“Furthermore, to weaken the aura of black magic you will need to find the numerous offerings hammered into the trees. To disable them, you will need to remove the nails from the bodies and douse the wounds with holy water sourced from the light faction, this will nullify them for the most part and should dissipate over several years.” A quick demonstration was enough to confirm the effectiveness. “Take these two bottles of holy water, the aforementioned church holds an additional supply if you should need it.” Morgan was unsure if it was by design, but all of the information seemed to point towards one required action, that being to defend the small church. Or at least retake it from anything which had usurped its inhabitants.
A quick call from Morgan summoned a cascade of faeries, quickly carrying away the wine and holy water. “Your information, if true, will be extremely advantageous to our group. Return to us when you can, and you will be highly rewarded.” Morgan promised while removing a rabbit from its cruel impalement on a tree, with the supervisory aid of the Vampire. “I do not require such a reward; our goals simply align. No more, no less. Although, if you could try and let the light worshipper's escape. It would be appreciated.” Her humility, uncharacteristic of vampires, was unusual enough for the small fairy to internally elevate her worth and spread her name in certain circles. It never hurt to establish relations with beings that were happy to remain neutral between factions unspoken boundaries.