[37:09:10]
The ticking down of his life was the first thing to greet Luke when he woke up. Then, an excited crow slapping him with her wing was next.
"Enjoyed your nap, did you, lad? I've been hollerin' at you to wake up, but nothin' would do it. Your body must be at its limit, but I'm afraid there's no time to dilly-dally." Wayfinder spoke up upon noticing Luke had woken up finally.
Luke’s head pounded. Even with the extended rest, his body felt sore all over. Luke stamped out the fire embers after drinking water and sharing the remaining cooked meat with Sooty.
Picking up the wraith cloth he used as bedding, Luke shook it as best he could and then put it back in his inventory. He had forgotten about the Mysterious Rune. It was still in his left pocket. Taking it out, the rune was glowing dimly. Before moving on, Luke inspected his surroundings, seeing nothing amiss. He knew there was only one path or entrance left now. He knew he had no choice but to face those vampires again, along with whatever else lurking behind them.
“Let’s go, Sooty, time to show those blood-suckers who is the real ‘meal.’” Sooty decided to land on his head this time. He didn’t comment. She was apt to mess with him at times.
Luke had a few skill points left but kept them for now. If he were like Sooty, he’d learn a new ability the next time he leveled up. In case it was as powerful as Shadow Wing, he’d save his points for later. On his way back to the dreaded lair of vampires, Luke placed Infusion on the entire group over time, including Whispering Edge, of course.
Familiar torches with striking flames soon came into view. They were in the far right entrance again. Unlike last time, they knew part of what they were getting into. The pungent smell of blood filled the air again, and frescoes hinting at an unknown history adorned the walls. The hooded figure, having seen it in two caves, made Luke wonder.
Who is the hooded figure? He wondered.
The rune, of course, was doing its job to glow more dimly the further he went into this section of the tomb. As for the unknown language giving description to the walls, at this point, Luke hoped it was the written word of the world outside the cave. It was useless to dwell on. Finally, he was at the sharp turn again. No vampires were there this time. Slowing his steps intentionally, he peered into the unexplored depths before him.
Luke hurriedly took his head back upon understanding what he saw. In the next room was a much larger group of vampires enjoying a twisted meal on a wide stone table. They were lost in a feast of what looked like blood, meat, organs, and who knows what else. The red in their eyes was apparent. Goblets with bright red blood were scattered around the table. Some were even pushed over, being lapped up by other vampires like dogs. The vampires he fought before must’ve been the runts of the litter, too weak to claim their spot in the feeding ground. Strangely, there wasn’t any visible source to what the vampires were eating. Worse still, from what Luke could tell, there was an even larger room behind the feasting hall.
He decided to take another peek, only to try and get a count of the vampires he’d have to face off against. The interface may even tell him some extra details this time. Keeping his body to the wall, he was about to look over when a hand with exaggerated nails smashed towards his face. Without thinking, Luke used the active of Whispering Edge. The tactic worked, and the hand froze. Luke sliced down with his sword, and he cut through to the bone. He used a backward rolling motion to pull the sword out. Sooty was already in front of him by the time he looked up.
A vampire with well-made clothes stepped forward, her fangs glinting. The red in her eyes hadn’t receded at all. If anything, as she looked at him, her eyes only grew more insane. The black blade painted with blood made for a grim contrast. Muscles around her cut hand were wriggling.
Wayfinder analyzed, "Ah, another blood-sucker and this one's no wee one. Strike fast, lad. They heal up quick, you know."
[Vampire]
Level: 12
HP: 165/197
Child of the night and manipulator of blood, a well-fed vampire. Stuck in a feasting haze. Has an odd obsession with Victorian clothing.
Before Luke could fully rise, the vampire lunged at him, emitting beastly sounds as she did. Her nails elongated, and the fangs became more apparent.
Sooty was not a fan of a vampire trying to feast on her Reaver. She answered the vampire’s lunge with a Reaver Beak. With her attack stopping the vampire’s momentum, Sooty circled behind the back of the vampire. A Talon Strike to its neck landed a critical strike, killing the ravenous monster. The slow of Whispering Edge’s active came in handy.
Luke got his stance ready, with Sooty flapping up in place. A few seconds passed, then…nothing. Luke wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He had Sooty put an Iron Feather on herself, then look around the corner. Based on the fragmented thoughts and emotions sent over the Reaver’s Link, the other vampires hadn’t even noticed one of their coven die, too immersed in the feast before them. With that information, Luke saw two options: try to pick off a few more, hoping the others are too distracted to notice, or land an all-out sneak attack. After backtracking additional distance to ensure he wasn’t overheard, he put Infusion on Sooty and asked Wayfinder which idea was likely the best.
Wayfinder shared his point of view. "Aye, they both have their worth, but daftly guzzling or not, it's a fair bet you'll not avoid the attention of the rest if you lay into one at their scoffin' board. The beastie you scuffled with set herself apart, and unless you fancy biding your time for who knows how long, I'm doubtin' any other will toddle over solo."
Waiting wasn’t something Luke could do. He’d already slept more than anticipated. Luke would have to make a move with a day and a half left. Trying to prod Sooty through the Reaver’s Link, he got a rough idea of how many vampires were around the feasting table. Not including the one they killed, it was fifteen. An item came into his inventory, but now wasn’t the time to look. Instead, Luke got ready to aim his Essence Fissure. These vampires were all flooded around one table. He could get all of them in one shot if he were lucky. Sooty let out a sound of challenge. A weird screech even. But the feeling communicated over Reaver’s Link was something like: by myself.
Luke refused her wish. “Sooty, do you even know what you’re saying? By yourself? That’s too risky! And insanely dangerous. Don’t you remember what happened with the fish when I let you go in alone?” Part of him still hadn’t adapted to Sooty's quick progression.
Sooty was equally stubborn. She started hopping, letting out clicks and caws. She even let out a mean rattle with a coo toward the end. Sooty wouldn’t budge. She wanted to lay down her wrath on those vampires by herself. The strange sight of a man and a crow arguing occurred for a few minutes until Wayfinder intervened. “Ah, quit your bickerin', you daft numpties. Laddie, let the bird have her go. Give her your Infusion and be done with it."
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“And let me put a Bond on one vampire, at the very least!” Luke pleaded.
"Feathery wee death-dealer, what's on your mind?" Wayfinder became a mediator.
Sooty let out a half-defeated click. The Reaver’s Link communicated a feeling of acceptance from her. Realizing she wouldn’t budge further, Luke put his Infusion on her again and got ready to Essence Bond a target. He decided it would be more effective on a group than one on Sooty by herself. Sooty charged at the nearest vampire, letting out an angry caw.
Luke’s hands were gripping tightly. He cast an Essence Bond on a vampire. Sooty would have an easy time spreading the Bond through Essence Screech. The rest was out of his hands. Part of him still didn’t understand why Sooty wanted to take them on by herself. What did she have to prove? Was she worried about something he couldn’t understand?
“I’ll interfere if things look bad, no matter how angry it’ll make her,” Luke swore.
"Trust the lass. Even if she's biting off more than she can chew, it won't be as dire as you fear." Wayfinder reasoned.
Luke couldn’t say much else. He sealed his mouth in an effort to pay attention to his pal taking on the mass of vampires all alone. His breath was held in, and his eyes were widened slightly.
Despite her recent protests, Sooty took full advantage of the Essence Bond Luke placed. The light of her activating Spatial Feather’s active for true magic damage shone on her body. She let out an Essence Screech, and the vampires snapped out of their feast, hissing at her. That combo was the strongest AOE she could do. With Infusion backing it and turning it into the deadliest magic-type damage possible, the vampires took a severe hit immediately. They were now weakened by Essence Bond as well. The synergy between the three components was absurd.
Sooty didn’t waste her first-mover advantage. She raked her talon across a vampire’s face. Then Reaver Beaked through its eye. Flapping away, she left another claw attack on the back of its neck. The bleeding would be too much, even for it. Sooty rolled through the air, using Talon Strike right on the voice box of another vampire. There was no suspense. The vampire spattered into a pool of blood. That strike tenderized it easily.
With two down, the other thirteen vampires had gotten a grip on themselves. Blood rain, lances, arrows, and spikes came directly at the crow. Even with no Infusion stacks left, Sooty's Quicksilver Feather made her faster than she had any right being.
Taking a wide berth in the air, only a few stray blood drops hit her. Waiting a few seconds, she dived back into the action, the vampires growing frustrated at being unable to use their melee prowess against her. They nearly trampled on each other to get at her. Letting a cloudy mist of blood come out of their hands, allowing the range of their swipes to increase. Sooty calmly used Shadow Wing. The newly made shadow took each strike like it was air. Immediately after, she had it Essence Screech once again.
“Argh, that sound, how dreadful. Juliana, kill this pigeon already.”
“Keldran, useless as always, quit complaining and take it down with us.”
Sooty wasn’t done. She had the shadow cast an Iron Feather on her. A feather black as night floated around her. She then set the shadow to her right, having it use its remaining Reaver Beak and Talon Strike on an over-eager vampire. The shadow didn’t care about its claws and slaughtered the helpless vampire. Beginning to pick off the most damaged vampires, Sooty spiraled, letting a Reaver Beak pulverize the shoulder of one vampire, a wound it wouldn’t recover from. Pushing off the vampire, she Talon Struck another. The Talon ripped through its chest and shredded its heart.
Taking her leave, the only solid hit a vampire got in was heavily mitigated by the shadowy Iron Feather. Reacting to the scene before him, Luke got chills. His breath hastened, and blood flowed. His facial muscles fought one another to determine which expression to take on. The clone of Shadow Wing dissipated, taking one last vampire with it. Flying up to the chandelier above her, she let the vampire’s attacks turn the thing, having it crash down on them. With the newly created debris cloud, Sooty struck another vampire with a Reaver Beak peck. That alone was enough to execute the critically injured vampire.
Once again, Sooty flapped off, going to the higher ceiling of the room. With the distance, the accuracy of the vampires became subpar. She tanked a few stray hits. The damage was manageable, with them losing their momentum against gravity. She circled them, having them bunch up once more, striking at her. One surprised her, turning into a mass of bats, and rematerialized in front of her, trying to land a strike while falling. It was well-timed. Sooty reacted by casting her own Iron Feather. Regardless of her best defensive move, the strike was still heavy on her. A few feathers and specks of blood dropped from her body. Sooty was growing increasingly focused, her feathers flattened. Her beak was letting out noises she wasn’t even aware of. Her claws would repeatedly flex, readying themselves for a fresh kill. Luke, seeing the scene, was about to step forward. Wayfinder didn’t let him.
“Give it a little more, lad. She can still take one more strike like that and live.” Wayfinder’s voice was firm.
The vampire dropped back down several feet and, too concerned about landing a strike on this ‘pigeon,’ failed to prepare to land. Their legs fractured, bleeding grievously from its mistake. Seeing the consequences of such a play, no other vampire risked it. Even if the ‘pigeon’ died here, that vampire would bleed to death soon. Even so, some of the more lightly injured vampires were starting to regenerate. Drawing out the battle only had so much benefit, too much, and it’d have the opposite effect for Sooty.
She came down with a feint, avoiding a few waves of attacks her way. Then she veered off, letting out the Essence Screech that became usable once more. The third round of an AOE attack worked like a charm. Only the vampires who had yet to receive any other spells from Sooty or her shadow lived. Five vampires remained, throwing ranged blood abilities at her. Risking a strike, she dived at her fastest speed. Sooty let out half the remaining water in her spatial feather. The water distracted the vampires for a moment and blurred their vision. Mixing with the blood, it even seemed to slow their healing.
Sooty used her Talon Strike on the healthiest-looking vampire, then sealed its fate with a Reaver Beak. Not having used the moment well enough to her liking, Sooty lashed out with her talons again, raking against one more vampire, gouging out part of its face. Flying straight away from them, the remaining four vampires pelted their spikes and other skills at her. More partial blows landed despite her evasion in the air. Sooty knew she was at her limit. A roaring screech came out of her, and she dove straight for the vampires, turning her body to avoid their counter in time. She tore another vampire apart using both sets of nails, then flew toward Luke.
The broken communication through the Reaver's Link had one strong feeling. Not yet.
Biting his lip so hard it bled, Luke stepped out of the way in the hallway he was in, hidden by the turn. Sooty flew by him, using the walls to make the vampires chase after her. Three furious sets of movement were coming. Their eyes were so focused on the sky that they didn’t notice Luke. He plastered to the wall, trying to hide without interfering as promised. Sooty kept flying off, waiting for the right time. The vampires were growing exhausted, and so were their abilities. Like any being, they couldn’t spam a skill every second, and those that could be used every second or two wouldn’t have any real power. Noticing the drop of ranged attacks against her, Sooty twisted back to the three remaining vampires. Going as fast as she could, as the vampires reacted, she was on them, piercing one with Reaver Beak through their groin. Not a pleasant way to go.
Flying through the dying vampire’s legs, she had her claws rip out the back leg tendons of another vampire behind the first. With her hamstringing it, Sooty avoided any counter-strike.
At least, she thought she did.
The vampire Sooty hadn’t struck in her latest attack landed a fierce swipe on her body. Sooty plummeted to the ground. Only two vampires remained. Sooty dragged herself up, facing her beak against the final two. Sooty opened her beak, and the vampires instinctively paused and covered their ears.
They paused for two seconds waiting, but nothing came.
“Damn, pigeon, it tricked us. Let us finish it, Keldren.”
“With pleasure, Juliana.” Both sneered at Sooty.
And then they let their hands drop from their ears. Sooty let out her Essence Screech once more. Keldren, with his already ruined leg tendons, died, letting out a gurgling sound of surprise. Then Sooty fearlessly shoved her body forward and managed a single flap of her wings. She would take the last one down with her; no trace of fear could be in Sooty's eyes. Before the two were going to finish taking the life of the other, Luke had enough of seeing his pal fight on her own. She proved her point. Sooty wasn’t just his companion. She was a force by herself.
He landed an Essence Fissure on the last vampire. Her claw, an inch away from taking Sooty’s life, was forcibly lifted.
Sooty let out a resounding caw as she let a final strike of her beak end the vampire’s life.