Chapter 22

I woke up feeling refreshed. We had a tall task in front of us. Equipped with our new spell we should stand a much better chance against the vampires. We had no idea how many vampires there were or how many humans were working with them. We need to keep that in mind that their human helpers may too try to stop us. We strapped on our gear and made sure everything was in good order. This hopefully would be the last time we would have to go down into the tunnels. We had a few tasks in front of us. The first and most important thing was to see if we could find the missing townsfolk. The second was the elimination of the vampires and all of their helpers. Why the human helpers as well you may ask? There was no going back to regular life after making the choice to deliver your fellow humans into the hands of these monsters. The last thing was to find the blood stone. Kalastrovax seemed to think the blood stone was in the possession of the vampires and he needed it to help with his escape from the necklace. Hopefully the townsfolk were still alive. I didn’t hold out much hope of that but there was at least a small chance. After we got everything ready we made our way downstairs to have some breakfast before heading out. We sat down at our normal table and the maid brought us bowls of oatmeal and a fresh loaf of bread. We ate slowly. We had a lot on our mind. This could end up being our last meal if things didn’t go as planned. We had prepared as much as we could for the fight that was to come. It was time to set out.

We got up from our table and headed towards the entrance to the tunnel. In only a few minutes we were in the store room where we had practiced the fireball spell. We had a few tunnels we still needed to check out. We had managed to look through a few of them. Though there was still more to do. We didn’t know for sure which tunnel led to the Vampires but we would start with the tunnel we had been attacked in. That seemed like the best lead we had. We made our way down the tunnel and came across the patch of ash and blood that was left behind from the battle with the vampire. I tried to not let it bother me but how could it not? I had nearly died in that spot and only actual divine intervention had saved my life. We kept walking and were soon met by a dead end. Well that was a waste of time so we turned around and walked back. We then tried the next tunnel. It was the same as the tunnel that led down from the surface. This one led to a random part of the forest outside of town. There was only one more tunnel to try so we figured this had to be the one. We glanced at each other and nodded. We lit our torches and made our way into the final tunnel.

Walking through the pitch black darkness with only our torches to lead us was very foreboding. After walking for a little while we still hadn’t come across anything. We stopped for a little snack. There was no use fighting on an empty stomach. After that quick break we went right back to walking. Not too much longer after we stopped we came upon signs that people had been using this part of the tunnel. We moved slower and started to take our time moving down the tunnel. Before long we saw a light heading toward us in the tunnel so we backed away quickly and put out our torches. We snuck a little farther back and unsheathed our swords. As the light got closer I could make out who was coming toward us. It was a man. From the look of it he was a human so we decided to take the initiative and attack before he could sound the alarm. We waited until he was right on top of us and then we lunged at him. He was caught completely unprepared and before he could even make a sound we had each stabbed him with our sword. We pulled the body deeper down the tunnel so that we wouldn’t be found out too soon. We now knew that they had at least a few guards on duty so we needed to keep a lookout. The sun should still be up so the vampires should be sleeping and if they weren't they would at least be a little bit weaker. We continued down the tunnel until it opened up into a little room. There was a small table and a couple of chairs with some cards laid out as well as a couple mugs. Must be the guard room and from the look of it there is at least one more guard out there on watch.

There was nothing else in the room so we decided to head deeper. We were sure to come across the other guard. Hopefully we could take this one by surprise as well. We had to be getting closer to the main chamber where the vampires were but we didn’t know how far we needed to go. We came upon a door and opened it. It led into a hallway that was full of doors. This added a new question. Did we just keep going straight or did we open every door to see what we could find. I already knew that we were going to look into every room. We had too much we needed to find. We were not only searching for the vampire but also for the missing townsfolk. So we started with the first door on the left. Once again it led to a store room. It must be where they keep the food for the captured townsfolk and the human guards. We went across the hall and checked that room. I wished we hadn’t. The sight that met my eyes would be burned in there for eternity. Humans covered in blood and worse were chained to the wall. I had no idea how long they had been there. Just left hanging there as if they were animals that were meant to be slaughtered. The only positive thing was that they were alive, but they just stared off into the void as if they couldn’t see us. I didn’t notice any of these people as the villagers that were taken. That didn;t mean that a few of them weren’t but I knew I needed to set them free. We looked around the room to no avail. We couldn’t find any keys to release their bindings. We headed back to the guard room and lucky for us there was a ring of keys on the wall. We went back in the room and started to set everyone free. All together there were nine people in the room. None of them seemed to have their senses about them. So we did what we had to do and carried all of them to the guard room and laid them all down. We brought food and water from the store room and set it out for the captives. None of them made a move to eat or drink but for now we had done what we could for now. We would have to leave them here for now.

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Just as I thought that two people walked into the room. We had gotten so caught up in helping the captives that we hadn’t paid attention to what was going on around us. It was a man and a woman and they were definitely not human. They were pale like the vampire we had seen before. My guess was all but confirmed when the woman spoke. “What are you doing with our cattle? We got up to have a little midday snack and here we find you trying to make off with our food. It's bad enough that we can’t eat the ones from the village. Though Mistress Isabella said we could do whatever we want to these beasts, and where is Floyd? Did you kill him? He was next in line to receive the gift. He was a loyal servant. For that and for stealing our food you two must die.” They didn’t waste any time moving towards us. We didn’t have our torches any more. We had put them out to hide from the one we now knew was called Floyed and hadn’t thought to light them again. We did have our new spell to use and without a second thought Sora and I lifted our hands and conjured fire balls. We sent them flying towards the vampires. Each of us managed to hit our target. I blew an arm off of the man and Sora blew a chunk away of the woman's torso. They began screaming and yelling at us but we didn’t let up. We had caught them off guard with our first attack and rained down fire upon them. Nothing was left other than ash once we were done. The fireball had proved to be very effective against these vampires. I didn’t know if these were the weaker or stronger vampires but with how easy that had been I leaned towards them being weak. The battle had roused a few of the prisoners. One had even worked up the courage to approach us. I told them we didn’t have time to help them right now, but if they wanted to survive they needed to make their way down the tunnel and back to the city. The man told us that he would get them all going that way so we left them to it.

We headed back out into the hallway and with a glance behind us we saw the man trying to shepard the other prisoners down the tunnel. It would be tough for them but even if we failed they should be able to escape. That was a small comfort to us as we searched the other rooms. Two of them looked to be the bedrooms of the vampires and a third room was set up with some bunk beds with trunks in front of the beds. This must be where the guards stay, I assumed. The last door in the hall was also a dud. It was just another storage room. So we opened the main door and made our way into the main part of the vampire hideout. It opened out to a big hall. We made sure not to make too much noise when we opened the door. The guard room that we had fought in was pretty far away from this hall. So I hoped we would be able to sneak further in without raising the alarm. It was amazing to me that such a big structure underground had been hidden for so long. I didn’t know what it would take to build something like this but the vampires had time and slaves to build anything they wanted.

There was a door to our left that we made our way towards. We opened the door slowly so as not to make too much noise. In there we found where all of the townsfolk had been taken. Giant cages lined the wall. We looked around and it seemed that there was no one in here keeping guard. We made our way to the cages most of the people were sleeping in. I guessed there wasn’t much to do while being held captive. One person in particular caught my eye. The mayor of the town was awake and she had been watching us ever since the door had opened. She hadn’t made a noise yet but I went over to her and she said. “I’m glad you two made it down here. Though you need to leave before she comes back. They have a plan for us. They want to sacrifice us in some kind of ritual. I don’t know what it will cause but from what I heard they are close to completion. That's why you haven't seen many guards. They are all working on the ritual.” This was definitely not what we had expected. I had figured that what the vampires wanted was to eat the townsfolk. We needed to find a way to release all of the prisoners. I didn’t think it was going to be as easy as with the humans from the first cage but we had to try.

That was when once again the door opened. In walked three vampires. In the lead was a woman with pale skin and hair as dark as night. She was breathtakingly beautiful if not for the fact she was a blood sucking monster. “So you’ve come down here to nobly rescue the other humans. Didn’t you think it was strange that you made it down here without too much resistance?” That was when doors that had been hidden all around us opened and human and vampire guards all flooded in. We were surrounded. The mayor said. “I told you guys that you needed to leave. Now you’re going to be captured like the rest of us and used in this ritual.” We each drew our swords and summoned fireballs. They may take us but it wouldn’t be without a fight.