Walking into the cold forest as the Sun sat just above the treeline, illuminating the endless jungle there inside of. The birds were chirping and they all could hear nature’s sounds from all manners of directions and some Deer stalked the flying Dragon orbiting the trio as they walked through the badly maintained dirt path that goes into the heart of the forest.
Jackson kept his hands locked at his pommel while the two Vampires just casually walked through the dirt path. Bahamut flew around them like a crow as she jumped from one branch to another, gliding around and flapping her small armored wings as she performed reconnaissance for the party.
“You know, I just realized it now.”
“Hm? What disturbs you, My Lord?”
“How come there’s no Guild building here? All the requests are from the village people.”
“It is due to the Holy See not sensing profit in keeping insulated and glass buildings in small outback villages, My Lord.”
“And I just realized this… our Party… is registered in Dragovh. Do we need to make a new one?”
“Uhm… I do not know, My Lord.”
“I see… and we need to keep our rank too. It's so hard getting irked about it when we try to get quests a bit far too strong for the rank we have.”
“I believe it’ll stay as long as we have our Cards to prove it, My Lord.”
“Nice. Let’s try to make it to Rank A then! Bahahahah!”
Walking behind them, Alana is biting her nails as she continues to walk in the open sun. Closely observing their surroundings as the Dragon flew around them eating Pears in one swoop.
Elizabeth, who could hear her fangs clashing with her lower jaws, turns around and started walking next to her. Keeping pace at the visibly perturbed girl.
“Does it bother you that much, Countess?”
“Your Majesty, I cannot allow such a thing to happen. For a lower and unrighteous Vampire to drink the blood of a Minuit. Such a shortcoming. I am trying not to think about it… but this annoys me greatly.”
“Believe me, you do not need to think much about it. Even my blood was drunk and used so profanely that if the Kingdom were to find out, they’d ransack every Human city and town.”
Jackson visibly recoils upon hearing it but continued to walk forward into the forest as the trees got thicker and thicker to the point that the Sun’s rays were unable to reach most of the dirt path they reached.
“Upon tradition, that Vampire must be killed and their name and property seized by the Minuits, Your Majesty. This is upon the rules you and King Charles set down.”
“Yet are you willing to do so? That Castle was very big, even for us. It would be a challenge.”
“Not only that.” The two then look forward to the Knight. His hands, one in the back and one on top of his pommel. “Vampire Players usually build their Guild Bases in open fields or atop mountains. That one we passed by, it had no roads leading to it, nor any cover.”
“As if it was dropped there without care.”
“Exactly, Elizabeth. So attacking that place without an army of players, at least… hmmm…” Jackson then opens his palm and with his right hand which he lifts from his sword starts to write numbers with his left hand. “One level ninety, that means there’s a Duke…” mumbling to himself for a minute, he soon crosses his palm.
“We’d need three level two hundred players and at least two hundred level fifty players in full plate and sixty mages. Half in Holy, Half in Flames.”
“Is it unique to only that Castle, My Lord?”
“Not really. It depends but that’s the bare minimum you’d need to storm a Vampire Castle. Alana, remember, they're still mostly Human.”
“What do you mean, M’Lord?”
“Elizabeth has said it herself back then. Vampires from my world are creative, but very shortsighted. That is due to them being mostly Human still, in the modern world. You need to think out of the box if you want to make a living. You already adapted and killed her but she also did the same.”
“But you come back to life, M’Lord. Those Altars of sorts from your True God. I technically hadn’t killed her, M’Lord.”
“Errrrrrrr…” Putting his hands up his chin, the man starts to rub it. “Does that count?”
“It technically does, My Lord.”
Rubbing his chin once again, the man just squinted his eyes thinking closely to himself as the ears of the three women perked up.
“I mean… if you really want to have that player pay… we can stealth it… though we will need to scout out the Castle first for a few days… hmmm. I’ll think up a plan when we return to the carriage, I guess.”
A large dog with tan plastic like armor and a collar jumped off the brush next to Alana. Being in a bad mood, her mere stare and snarl made the canine whimper instantly as she dodged its attack and the black dog made a run back to the forest.
As it makes a run back to cover, Bahamut in a larger form eats the large hairy dog whole, prompting Paul to jump in place and make a run to her mouth. Trying to fry it open with his bare hands. “BAHAMUT! NO! SPIT! SPIT!” The two other Vampires see this and try to help him open her mouth.
But the Dragon wasn’t letting off. Her eyes just in a bored expression as she slowly lifts her mouth. “NO! NO! DON’T SWALLOW THE DOG WHOLE!” popping out of the bush was a female High Elf in a dark robe accompanied by ten Knights and fifty soldiers from the Empire.
“OH BY FORRUS! LEOPOLD MY DARLING!”
Jackson then turns his face to the High Elf, making such a shocked expression that he had never seen one do before and with so much emotion behind it. “I-I CAN EXPLAIN!” she immediately opens her palm and it lights up a color blue. “NO! HER AR-” Firing a blast of her ice magic, the concentrated ball of ice and spikes hits Bahamut’s armored chin and merely returns to her. “Mor…..” as the last word he uttered as the High Elf gets completely whacked by her own magic.
“Human! Step aside or you will be killed by our blades! That Dragon must be put down!” Bahamut then growls as she opens her mouth, revealing her predatory teeth as she vomits the dog whole, still alive but smelling like used lantern oil. “The Dog is fine! Look!” it whimpers and with a wounded front leg. Walks back to the Elves with its head down.
One of the Knights dared to even look at Bahamut straight in her eyes, prompting her to stare back just for Jackson to get in between them. Breaking sight as he waved his hands. “Alana! Elizabeth! Revive! Revive!” They both quickly got into action and started healing the lady elf in her thick robe that has Knight pauldrons, greaves, and sabatons.
Using her blood magic, Elizabeth quickly awakens the feinted woman and she rises back fully awake. Breathing in heavily. “By Forrus! I saw my ancestors for a brief moment there! Oh Leopold! You’ve returned!” hugging the wet dog, she instantly recoils at the thick alcoholic stench it has planted onto its fur.
“Phew… uhhhh.. Sorry about that.”
“Master, that dog was tasty. You better prepare me a good meal for tonight.”
“Alana, what do you have planned for tonight?”
“It’s supposed to be a simple ribeye steak with salt and thyme, M’Lord. Actually, Your Majesty, had you salted the meat this morning?”
Standing up and cleaning herself, the High Elf coughs. “Ahem. Just what are you Humans doing here? And why do you have a Dragon with you?!”
“We’re here to find the Hobgoblin lair! I am really really sorry!”
“Tsk.” The High Elf then looks at the Dragon as it downsizes and glides to the man's shoulder. “You're lucky we Elves revere Dragons. Goddess Forrus has spoken about her love for them, and thus we shall exercise the same.”
“Th-thank you.” Looking at her, the woman is well prepared with a belt full of potions and a silver buckle to it. The Knights with her all equipped and armed to the teeth, with three of them having a feather style to their helmets whilst the grunts in the back carried heavy sets of rucksacks while wearing chainmail with bits and pieces of plate armor on their body.
Just as the rest, even the mere lowly grunts were prepared and equipped to the teeth. With their belts all containing a spare knife and healing potions.
“Uhm… are you here to hunt down the Hobgoblins?”
“Pfft. Insane for you Human to think the Empire would send us to do such menial tasks.”
“Then, the Vampires?”
“Yes, we’re here to actually scout them. We’ve been here for a week now and so far, I’ve only encountered roaming bandits of Hobgoblins and the occasional werewolf.”
“WE-WEREWOLF?!”
“Yes, yes. Indeed. Yu’gurath, what night was it?”
One of the Knights walks forward and removes his helmet. Revealing his triangular shaped face, it has light make up and the man's height was so tall that it even made Elizabeth have to look up a bit to see his purple coloured eyes accompanied by his well polished black hair.
“It was two nights ago In’grau. On the plains south of here.”
Jackson then walks up to him and looks up to see his face closely.
“What were they wearing?”
The High Elf just looked confused at the stoic and serious expression of the Human beneath him.
“Hmmm… if I recall correctly, they were shirt-”
“THOSE BASTARDS! THEY'RE ALSO HERE!”
Seeing the man act out suddenly, it made the two High Elves make a step back as he pulled his hair. “Grrrrrr! Those cringe ass motherfucking sons of- Grrrr!” The two Vampires immediately came to hold his hands as they patted his back.
“What is it, My Lord? Shirt what?”
“I hope we get out of here before they encounter any Vampires.” he then turns to Elizabeth who was holding his right arm. “If you think Player Wars couldn’t get any more petty like with Breznick and Libertus, imagine the Werewolf and Vampire Guilds. They’d fight over literal salt fishes if it meant war.”
A single smile appears out of Elizabeth’s face as her pretty thin eyebrow twitches upon learning this. “Uh…huh… and you tell me these are the same Vampires that captured me?”
“Believe me, best we finish this and leave before those two start fighting one another. Alana, don’t worry about your blood. The player who did that will soon waste it.”
He then stands up properly and opens his hand to the High Elf. “Thanks for the info.” the woman just tilts her head and observes his opened hand that’s vertically placed, his arm outstretched and a smile on his face.
She then outstretches her arm and Jackson grabs it and shakes her hand. The High Elf returned the expression and smiled to herself. She then leans in to her Knightly compatriot. “Yu’gurath, write this human gesture down.” the Knight merely moves his long ears.
“Thank you, really. Nice name for the dog. Leopold. Very Kingly.”
“Oh why, thank you for the compliment, Human. Yes, his name came from the plethora of words the first hero of the land used.”
“I see, I see. Where was he born?”
“Schon. Unknown village or city, he then moved to Dragovh. Many say he was an Elf like us.”
“Interesting, very nice, very nice. Well, I’m off then. To the Hobgoblin den.”
The High Elf then observes the strange group of Humans with a Dragon and tilts her head in the other direction.
“You plan to destroy the Hobgoblin’s lair without armor nor weapons? Though I must admit. I am horrified to find out Human Women can reach and even surpass the beauty of my species, what do you plan to do with this group? Or do you plan to rely on your Dragon?”
“They both are good in their own methods of fighting. Don’t let their curvy stature fool you. Their great magicians and in close combat.”
“I see… very well. Carry on then. The Hobgoblin lair you're looking for is down the path. On the fork, turn left and when you see a bush full of wild berries. Push through it and you should find the cave entrance.”
“R-Really?! Awww, Alana. Looks like the Innkeeper wasn’t far off with his information. Alright, thank you! Truly!”
Bowing his head multiple times, he starts walking away with his party as the Elves were left alone.
“Eques Yu’gurath, that person is not from our world, isn’t he?”
“He is not. Though his reaction to the Werewolves says much. Shall we call for reinforcements? Marchio Ou’ratha has been jumping at the opportunity of finally gaining glory in battle.”
“Hmmm… no. As much as the Kingdom of Carthegra has fallen, we cannot mobilize without a proper reason. The Remnant Lords might suddenly unite and remake the Nation to protect themselves against us. We’re too far from the border. It will take weeks for them to reach us so it's best we be cautious as always.”
“I see. Then how about we enter the town? We might find information there. Remember the Human Gesture he showed you.”
“A-Ahh… yes. That hand thing... Yes.”
“Good, let us leave before Stardown. I do not want to be at night in a place crawling with the Bloodsucking creatures and shapeshifting Humans.”
“Pfft. To think a Knight such as yourself is afraid of Vampires and Werewolves. We subjected the Werewolves; they never dared to return to this continent ever again till the Outlanders came.” she then nonchalantly walked down the path the band of Humans came from. With her hands crossed, she laughed to herself as the Knight looked back to the troop of High Elves and just gestured for them to follow.
Jackson’s party soon enters the fork on the road and they turn left as instructed. Bahamut who was sitting on his left shoulder was sniffing the air.
“Right ahead Master. On the left of the dirt path. There’s a wild berry bush.” following her instructions, they walk more into the direction till they indeed encounter it. Jackson just looks down on the two wild berry bushes and proceeds to walk over them and into the treeline.
He presses onward, using his hands to trudge onto the barks and sticks in front of him. “My Lord! East!” Turning to the direction, he quickly dodges an iron arrow as Bahamut takes off and bites the assailant's head off. “Master! Hobgoblin ambush! All directions!”
Unsheathing his sword without much space, the two Vampires behind him flex their slender bodies as they clawed the oncoming Hobgoblins. He could hear the screeching sound as their hands collided with their armor, a mixture of animal hide and metal.
With grayish skin color, small horns, and of taller stature with proper equipment and protection, their height reached just below his shoulders, making it a challenge to properly kill them and the Hobgoblins immediately retreated upon contact and a barrage of arrows and the howls of foxes were heard.
Riding on top of the foxes were the Hobgoblin with metal lances. They try to impale the Vampires but they quickly run up the bark trees, performing backjumps to behind them and immediately jogging at their pace to the horror of the gray skinned creatures.
Jackson on the other hand uses the mirror polish of his sword to locate where the barrages were coming from as Bahamut kept the tree branches above him clear of opponents. “Bahamut! Directly at Seven o’clock!” The Dragon then shifts its attention away and he could see the bloody aftermath as the flying creature ate them in multiple runs.
Running forward, he notices strings on the ground and a bunch of Hobgoblins in front of him. Smiling, he kicks the creature into the trap setting off a tree log to fall from the bushes as he blocks and then pushes them onto the way. Killing five of them in mere seconds as he stabs the ones trying to catch him with their shortswords inside the bushes.
One of the fox riders reaches behind him. Sensing this and with better training, he immediately turns around and blocks its teeths with his blade as the Hobgoblin rider on top pushes his lance forward, causing Jackson to bend his left shoulder away, inches from getting hit with it.
His brown eyes sparkle as he grips his sword harder. “Darkness Behold.'' The sword lit up a black flame, burning the fox as it wildly ran away whimpering and the Hobgoblin riding it unable to control the animal as it ran straight into Elziabeth who brutally crushed both the rider and the creature with her heels.
Continuing to push forward, using the corpses of the Hobgoblins to set off the traps. They soon reach a small patch right next to a stone wall. On it is an entrance with a larger Hobgoblin, going about ten feet tall wielding a greatsword surrounded by Fox riders and lower tier grunts.
Bahamut’s roar was heard as she flies by with a burst of her fire breath, firing multiple fireballs onto the crowd and wounding the Master Hobgoblin while forcing the Foxes to run amok into the forest where they were brutalized by the two Vampires as Jackson walks onto the opening with his sword ready, now left with the grunts who sees the tall Human with an extravagant glass sword of crimson.
One of the Hobgoblins in front then sheathes its sword and runs into the cave.
The single action prompts the rest to run away but the Master Hobgoblin just groans angrily as it wipes its burned face and charges onto the Human, swiping his large sword.
Jackson with his Vampire Rapier parries it to the shock of the huge creature and proceeds to jump onto its arm and stabs his forehead with the sword. In less than a minute, the Master Hobgoblin plops down like its soul just left its body and all its limbs instantly lose power.
Standing on top of its corpse was the Knight in peasant outfit. “Girls, looks like they plan on taking the fight to their home field.”
Appearing to his left was Elizabeth. “Then let us go, My Lord.” and then to his right, Alana. “M’Lord, we better wrap this up or I won’t have time to cook for dinner.” Finally, Bahamut descends onto his shoulder and fires a ball of fire onto the cave, lighting it up.
To his shock, the entrance had concrete on it alongside composite metalloids with the looks of piping embedded on grills. “Hm?” tilting his head. The man then walks in as Bahamut had five spinning fireballs around them.
Though most of the cave collapsed, some sections of what could be an underground Bunker of sorts remained.
Walking to the small section, Jackson tapped his boots on the cracked concrete and could see not only is it thick, but also well built. With the grills protecting the people walking by from the piping alongside even vents of sorts.
“Just what…”
“Master, I believe this is an Elven Fortress.”
“The Dragon is correct, My Lord. This cave seems to be part of what was once the Elven Fortress Network.”
“I see… then, let's keep our heads up.”
Continuing their walk, the Bunker section all of the sudden ends and their back to a cave that has bits and pieces of concrete on the floor and ceiling, all destroyed and without any formed shape.
Jackson had to watch his steps as the ground was not only uneven, with boots on it’d get into weird angles and one misstep is all it’d take for him to slip and hit his head on the sharp rocks below.
The two Vampires on the other hand had no problem tiptoeing through it even with their heels on and Bahamut flying ahead patrolling and setting off traps before they could walk into it. With the Dragon being more alert and attentive to its surroundings as it also listened for any movements.
In one of the traps, Jackson notices that it's not a normal one. Having shot multiple brown coloured metal darts onto the sides that melts through the thick concrete walls. The fireballs around them illuminated a good portion of their surroundings and in one of the forks, Bahamut flies back to them.
“Take the right one Master. The left is a dead end with an explosive trap.”
“Don’t you wanna set it off?”
“It’s a bag of those Mana stones the Rogues use in Schon. I might collapse sections of the cave, Master if I do that.”
“Alright. Keep patroling ahead.”
With a quick pat given to the Dragon, it smiles and continues its duty. Flying through a partitioned section of the cave with two huge composite metal doors with etchings on it of a Goddess standing atop a massive tree with her hands all open. Observing it more closely, above her was the Stars and below, the Stars still which caught his eye as in one of them, there’s an eye on it.
Even though the rust made it brittle and no longer shiny, upon contact of his hands, the thin bunker door didn’t move nor showed any sign of weakness. Its rust seemingly only found in its very surface. “Huh.” as he was about to go around it, the man stopped and noticed the other door was still inside.
“What is it, M'Lord?”
“Bahamut is a flying recon. She can’t spot traps that need a person going through it to activate.” He then looks up and notices the roller that pushes the other door in so that both of them could close at the same time is being held by strings. “Or ones that are more creative.”
He then opens his palm and shoots a thin fire arrow at it. The sudden and extreme ejection of force held on by hundreds of years releases and the other half of the bunker door violently crashes to its twin and a clang of epic proportions ravages the cave.
Dust from the concrete ceiling’s cracks fell on them as sharp pointed stones fell behind them. Coughing through the smoke, Jackson reaches the other side and his eyes widen at the wooden barriers and covers that were there.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Near them, they could see Bahamut’s fire in the darkness. The Hobgoblins dodged her and slowly overwhelmed the creature as the trio ran to the frey.
With his Rapier, Jackson stabs the Lanced Hobgoblins as Alana guarded his flanks and Elizabeth ran past them.
With both her hands lifting her skirt, the fireballs that followed her were unable to catch up as she ruined the Archer Hobgoblins standing on platforms near the ceiling. She’d grab them with her bare hands and throw them off just for her to open her wings and glide to cut them into thin slices
Meanwhile Jackson was slicing and stabbing his way through the Hobgoblins, having to even be challenged by ones using Composite Shields, able to resist the stabs of his Rapier. With a quick wit, he’d use the blade as a club and upon exposure of their body. He’d perform a fast stab, though not enough to kill, it's just right for wounding and making them retreat.
One of the Hobgoblins with a mace tries to jump on top of him as Bahamut and Alana were both busy on their own flanks. He merely turns his face to it and drops his sword to the ground, he pushes his hand onto its guard, with the pommel now far from his fingers. He clubs him with the butt of the sword and stylishly spun it around and punctured the Hobgoblin’s body.
“Jesus! These things are smart!”
“These Hobgoblins are remnants of the Third End Time, M’Lord!”
“That explains their organization! Alana! At your six!”
She quickly turns to the direction and in her shock was a large Hobgoblin wielding a greatsword. It swung it with such speed that it made her dodge its blade as Bahamut fires a blue stream of flames onto it. Prompting the Master Hobgoblin to raise its Composite Shield. Though it was heating, the strange metal didn’t melt.
This made the Dragon angrier and pushed her flames to a violet color with a darkish outline, lighting up half the entire cave as the hulking gray skinned humanoid dropped its shield and started to wave its arm from the extreme heat.
It then senses an attack from its left, turning its head, it was only met with Alana’s shoes. Its force was enough to make its head spin on its neck multiple times to the point that it detaches.
A wave of silence then hits them, with the tight cave now cleared they go on forwards. Only encountering small numbers of enemies.
As they reached the deeper sanctums of it, lit torches started to appear and the barriers got more and more elaborate, to even deployable Composite Covers still with the seal of the ancient Curate Empire on them.
Bahamut who was flying ahead spits fire on traps placed on a zig zagging path made by a bunch of cleverly set up covers. Due to the close proximity of the location, the Dragon was covered in dust, making it retreat back to its Master as it coughed out the plume of smoke. “Blegh. Master, watch out. I think I saw some pressure plates there.”
Jackson then walks forward and with his sword, he lifts it just above his neck. “Wind Call, Swiping Air.” and then swings it forward. Clearing the smoke as it disappeared into nothing.
Apart from the zig zag and the small craters on the thick concrete flooring, there’s only two closed doors left in front of them.
“Hmmmm… What do you guys think?”
“My Lord, I recommend we throw a body into that.”
“Alrighty.”
A dead Hobgoblin’s corpse was then violently pushed over the cover they hid behind and sounds of mechanism inside the walls came alive and darting out of the ceiling were two rifled bores with a iridescent Crystal behind it as a trigger started tapping onto it. Letting off a barrage of concentrated bullets of explosive balls of Mana. “CONTAACT!”
Like a man trained for the situation, Jackson immediately held his head down as he grabbed his sword as if it was a rifle. He looks up just to see Alana tip-toeing through the deployable covers in front of them, performing handstands and upon both her hands landing on the top of the thin armored wall, she then pushes herself up.
Her heels landing on the wall as she performs another jump. Wall Spinning as she kicked the first Crystal Sentry. Its bored barrel dropping into the floor.
Not letting her have all the glory, Elizabeth then vaults their cover and she raises her hands, the corpse of the Hobgoblin reanimating and taking the barrage for her as the blonde woman proceeds to grab its boot.
Ripping its leg apart, the Vampire then uses her other hand to create a sword from the blood of the Hobgoblin as she uses it to intercept the pointed balls of mana coming at her.
Having no definite shape, the moment she swings the Blood Sword, it modifies itself and the tip reaches the Sentry and destroys it. Slicing the trigger and firing pin clean off. Halting it from shooting any further.
“My Lord, what about this door?”
Popping out of cover with his eyes seemingly returning to the present, Jackson walks to it and tries the handle. The oddly shaped thing didn’t open like how back on Earth even though it had the same shape.
Instead upon grabbing the handle, it’d turn a ball sideways.
Then it stops, with Jackson trying to push it to the side just for it to jam. “Tsk. Bahamut, can you?” They then run into cover as the Dragon changes into a larger size. Just enough for her wings to fit inside the cave.
She then breathes in and her mouth combusts beforehand and a large fireball was shot out of her and into the door.
Peeping out of cover, it's been dented inwards but not destroyed. “Again!” Bahamut then repositions herself closely and once again, fires a ball of flames, this time coloured purple.
The explosion was loud, but even then, they heard the hinges blow open as the overpressure pushed it inward.
Elizabeth then stands up and immediately moves her shoulder to the side and slips, dropping down on Jackson’s hands as a section of the door flies past where she was. It went by so fast all they could hear was a fwish of the wind as the woman grabbed onto the man's wide shoulders.
She sat in front of him, gently held by the man as he peeks out a bit to see the smoke still has the room inside completely hidden. “Woah! Are you fine?” the blonde woman just nodded as she left her hands on the man's shoulders. He then looks out of cover to check for the dust cloud.
It slowly settles and a large well lit room starts to show itself.
In the midst of the moment on his arms, Elizabeth slid her finger slowly through Jacksons jawline as her face changed to flushed and her breathing became heavy. "El-Elizabeth, why are you touching me so sensually?" He then looks down to her and sees the blonde woman was on the verge. "My Lord, please."
"Nuh uh! We're literally in battle! Get yourself together!"
"Even just a bit?"
"Geez what is up with you Vampires and underground places? Does this trigger some primal thing?"
"This... this is not just lust, My Lord. My feelings for you goes beyond that and you know it." She said this with so much romance in her eyes that it even made him blush just as she is in the spur of the moment.
"Elizabeth, I know we have something thats far beyond words, but the problem at hand first please."
He then just pats her head lightly as he peeks over cover and then back to her. “Are you out of action? Do you need some time?”
“Your Majesty, I can handle this with Bahamut and Our Lord if needed.”
“N-Nay. Just give me a moment.” She then stands up and then goes into cover where she promptly shows her hand, her fingers together as reached into her skull. Jackson didn’t dare to look as she rattled her brain, but the sound of flesh being violently touched and desecrated with the sound of blood falling onto the floor sent shivers to his spine.
Alana then vaulted out of cover and with a fast hand, waves the air away just for another piece of the door to meet her. The woman's cold dead golden eyes with vertical pupils compressed as her left leg immediately lifted up.
She swiftly kicks to the side of the door frame. Making a loud bang as she sees the inside of the room clearly.
A massive storage room containing all sorts of artifacts on crates and statues with tarps on them.
Sitting on a marble throne with hands still sculpted on the arm rests was a large gray Hobgoblin with fully matured horns standing at twelve feet tall. He held on him a large pike as Master Hobgoblins in full sets of armor and chainmail stood at his sides.
“It seems that I won’t make it in time for the return of the King.”
Jackson shudders upon hearing the deep voice of the creature. Peeking out once again, he wore a tabard over his strange silver coloured armor and on his helmet, a red dyed brush angled horizontally.
“Show yourselves Adventurers!”
Coming out of cover, Jackson joins Alana and Bahamut. With them standing far from him, giving the Armored Hobgoblin a good full view of them.
Soon coming out of cover was Elizabeth. Looking like she rinsed her face with water from a sink.
“U-Uhhh… are you good?”
“Yes, My Lord. This should last long enough till we get back to the carriage.”
Tapping the end of his shiny Pike on the marble stage of the throne, he takes their attention and he in return stares at their faces.
“Hmmmm.. What fine pieces of meat we have today. With the casualties I suffered, I needed some methods to reproduce my men.”
“Interesting, I never knew I’d meet a Hobgoblin that could talk.”
“I am not just some Hobgoblin. I am a Gintiyaki Hobgoblin from the Underworld. Former Warchief of the Third Company of the Sixth Legion. I welcome such fine warriors into my domain.”
He then leans forward, resting his chin on his armored hands. His open faced helmet showed the Hobgoblin with piercing amber eyes, though his entire body devoid of any hair and his skin, that of a rubbery texture.
“... Just what I truly needed. A combination of a Human, Vampire, and Dragon. By Mavri Tyrpa’s empty and sorrowless words. Is this a Hero Party I am not aware of?”
“You just missed them. But I believe they’d be more… damaging if it was them.”
“Guess so. This is my mistake for being excited for what’s to come.” he then stands up and readies his pike. On it, the remnants of a flag’s latches. “After all these years of waiting, this single small mistake of mine led to such a Party to come after me.” he chuckles to himself as he stood straight up and looked like a valiant commander with his pose. “Well, then, enough talk. Let’s get this done.”
Bahamut immediately flies towards him, firing a burst of blue flames.
He then spins his pike, dissipating the balls of fire into nothing. It then continued to go faster and faster to the point it sounded like a Helicopter’s rotors and then a turbine engine.
The Dragon's flames are not going through at all as the Pike then stops dead and is fired right at her.
Bahamut manages to dodge it, her eyes fully open as she sees the shiny silvery pike fly right past her and explode at the corner of the ceiling.
Before she could act, it then suddenly returns, prompting the Dragon to once again dodge it as the two Vampires and Jackson fought eight Master Hobgoblins head on.
The Two Vampires were quick with their dismemberment, but the Master Hobgoblins only screamed in pain as they continued to fight even with tattered bones and limbs.
Elizabeth who sees Bahamut managing to return some fire opens her palm and materializes her .50 AMT AutoMag V, like an oversized M1911 pistol, just meant to fire the huge enchanted Fifty Caliber Enchanted Action Express rounds, she points it right below the Master Hobgoblins chin and had a devilish smile to her face.
She pulls the trigger without mercy, splattering her face with its blood as she materializes the second one, now duel wielding them, the next two were barraged with the large caliber pistol rounds. The Commanding Hobgoblin took notice of the powerful and ear blistering sound of the gun firing.
“My… what a magnificent tool!”
He then takes his eye away from Bahamut who has turned into her Human form. “Huh?” turning back to the Dragon, his face sinks at the sight of the woman in a funeral gown diving straight down to him.
“By the Gods of the Cosmos!” he then throws himself to the side, falling down the three steps to the marble throne he sat upon.
He then looks up to see the crash. The throne was destroyed as the woman walked out of it fully unscathed. Behind him, Elizabeth has her guns down as she drops on top of a standing Master Hobgoblin. Its armor is unable to withstand the bullets as she dumps the magazine on its corpse.
“Oy Gray skin. You tested me enough and I want to eat dinner already.”
“Now this is the death I want!” with a smile on his face, he charges Bahamut with his pike. Spinning it around like he knew the area where she’d dodge and lean. But even with his effort, the Dragon was far too fast.
Bahamut didn’t fight back, just dodging and dodging as her long straight black hair flowed like an encompassing darkness ready to pounce on him. Even with such an opponent, the Underworld Hobgoblin didn’t let off, his silver pike only breaking the sound barrier as he became faster and faster.
He then pushes Bahamut onto the edge of the throne’s stage, making her turn around to look at her heels, a mere centimeter from falling. “Ah hah!” the Dragon then turns to him as he was about to stab her face.
As if time has completely stopped, the Dragon just grabbed the shaft of the blade. With an intense white and black flame emitting from her hand, she bends it out of shape till it breaks free with the tip on her hand.
Time then starts to flow again, the face of the Underworld Hobgoblin slowly changing from a smile to an ecstatic laugh as she spins the blade on her hand to his direction and stabs his neck with it.
Blood gushes out of the gaping wound, none of it sticking onto her veil as it slips right onto her gown then to the ground. The fighting then stopped just as Alana was about to kill the last Master Hobgoblin with the choking sounds of the Underworld Hobgoblin, his hand trying to reach the Dragon as it then plops to the sides of his body. “You’ve fought well. Be assured of a good afterlife.”
His eyes close and Bahamut pulls out the blade and the heavy body of the Underworld Hobgoblin falls. Making a loud thud on the marble stage.
Alana then turns back to the last Hobgoblin who has grabbed a crate and threw it at her. It burst open and a bunch of Bananas fell out of it.
Elizabeth then opens fire with her pistols, destroying more of the crates inside the room. Inside them were fruits and vegetables alongside weapons and armor.
Nearing the exit, a Human then stood on its way, the tall man in a peasants outfit charged at him with his Rapier. Gladly with a smile on its face, it starts to run faster and faster as it puts his right hand in front of its face and leans down.
Running for a few seconds, there was no crash and looking back down, it sees the boots of the Human and unable to stop, Jackson stabs him in the face whilst laying down while facing upwards.
The Master Hobgoblin then falls down a meter from him and he stands up, patting his thighs and brushing his shoulders. Turning around, he gives them a big smile. “Nice work gals!” then followed it with a thumbs up and a contented expression.
Alana peeking out of cover also gives a thumbs up while Elizabeth who had landed atop the stacks of crates had her hands on her hips as he devilishly laughed.
Bahamut then glides to his shoulder. Looking down on the corpse of the huge armored gray skinned creature.
“Hm… they're like Orcs but not there yet.”
“Nonetheless, let’s collect the evidence and get outta here.”
Walking to the corpse of the Underworld Hobgoblin, Jackson removes the neck guard of his armor, unstrapping it from the chestplate and takes his Rapier, aligning the blade on its neck. He repositions his feet as he breathes in. “Alright. Step back a bit. This might get gory.” With force, he lifts the sword up above his head and then slices its neck.
To his shock, the Rapier didn’t go through it fully. Getting stuck on the spinal cord. “Eh?” He then starts to wiggle the blade. Not doing anything, the Knight starts to lift it up, only for the entire neck area to come along.
“My Lord, would you like me to try?”
“Uh, yeah sure.”
Stepping aside, Elizabeth grabs the sword's handle. Pressing her heels on its pauldron, she forcefully tries to free the sword, only for the spinal cord to rip out of the corpse’s skin. Making Jackson look away as more and more blood starts to gush out.
“Your Majesty, I might know how to do it.”
Backing away, the Countess then presses both of shoes onto the ground and slowly nudges at it first while Jackson just turns away from the gory scene behind him. The two Vampires acting like it's nothing while he just goes to the tarped statues and starts removing the cloth covering them.
The first one he removes has a statue of a woman in a toga, with a rose wreath on her head and on her hand, a cute small tree as animals were coming out of her skirt. On her stand, written on it in a language he does not understand were stars, with one of them having an eye on it.
“No Countess! Like this!”
“Step aside Bloodsuckers, I shall free the Master's glass blade.”
More rougher sounds of flesh getting ripped then evicts the peace on his ears as he then goes to the next one and removes the tarp. Ignoring the fact that behind him, Bahamut who tried to brute force it even more has struck multiple nerves and blood was coming out of the corpse like a fountain.
“EHHHHH! Dragon! Look at what you’ve done!” He then hears heels tapping the floor as Elizabeth walks to the entrance. “My skirt is all dirtied now!”
Removing the tarp over the next statue, his eyes instantly lit up at the sight of it.
It’s an old man with a bushy beard and hair flexing his muscled arms whilst in a toga. Even though the statue of the Human was way too old, the body is built like an absolute tank, having his abs even show through the toga he wore and the pose he makes exposing the toned hamstring and calves.
“Oh, M’Lord, that’s Mon’krol, also named as Humanus by your kind.” Alana caught the man surprised, making him jump as she giggled at his reaction. “Here is your blade, M’Lord.” handing over the Rapier, Jackson sees its been somewhat cleaned and sheathes it.
Bahamut, holding the Underworld Goblin’s head like it's a bag, walks up to him. Gripping the loose skin to present it to him.
“Master, here’s the proof.”
She then presses the dead and expressionless face of the Hobgoblin up to his head. He could clearly see the skin on its neck in tatters as bits and pieces of his spinal cord dangled aimlessly and blood dripped on the ground.
“EW! Bahamut! Put it in a box or something!”
“Heh.” She then takes one of the crates and opens it, the contents were full of linen and a note in Common. “To: Hohe Spitzen Region, Geraldia. Town of Rollo to a weaver named Anchlis”. She then kicks the crate over to the side, making a loud crash that spooked both Alana and Jackson, making him touch the statue.
All of the sudden, a flash appears before his eyes. As if a flashbang went off right in front of his face.
“M’Lord?”
“... …” He didn’t respond as Bahamut used magic to downsize the crate to perfectly fit the head of the Underworld Goblin while Alana waves her hand in front of Jackson’s eyes. “M’Lord?”
“... … …”
Bahamut then turns to him and the man then suddenly turns back on like someone flipped his On switch all of the sudden.
“Yeah yeah, I hear you.”
“What was that about?”
“I… I have no idea…” he then turns around to face the statue and slowly walks away from it. “But I feel like something was revealed to me there.”
“Master, be weary of Statues like that. Those are conduits of the Gods. That is why I had so many of them built in my Labyrinths.”
“I know, but that was strong. More stronger than the ones in Tur.”
The trio then walks to the entrance where Elizabeth was twisting her skirt to remove the blood splatter on it. “Tsk. I hope we find a lake or a river. This is such an annoyance.”
“Do not worry, Your Majesty. We should be hearing the border to Gareth soon. I believe there’s some rivers we may encounter on the way there.”
“Good. I’d also like to take a bath in one. It’s been long.”
Walking through the carnage they’ve made. The sound of silence was deafening through all of the corpses and mangled bodies the Vampires left in their wake as the smell of burnt flesh from Bahamut’s firebreath took over some sections of the cave.
Walking back to the exit, the two Vampires freeze alongside Bahamut who hovers right above them. With Jackson continuing onwards before he gets grabbed by Alana. “Woah!” pulled back into the shadow of the cave, the Knight could see that outside, it's already night with the blue hue of the Moon and its friend lighting up the path, inviting them to the warm embrace of the outside world.
The two Vampires then got him into cover. Peeking through the small opening on the uneven cave wall, Alana sniffs the air coming from the outside and her yellow eyes glow a golden color. “Your Majesty.” Elizabeth whose sharp nose picks it up nods.
“Master, they're here.”
“Nooooo…”
“There’s Seven of them Master. One Werebear, Two Werehyanes, Four Werewolves and… a Wizard?” Bahamut then turns to the two Vampires.
“Yes. A Wizard of sorts. I can smell the Mana oozing from here. He is waiting on the left flank of the cave, if we walk out. It's gonna be a violent fight. My Lord, what’s our orders?”
“Wait, wait, wait. That’s an entire Lycanthropy Raiding Party. Did they smell the two of you?” He then puts his hand up his chin, rubbing it slowly and his eyes then squinted. “I really hate these sons of bitches. Even here they're still getting in my way. Tsk.” His hands turn into a fist as he lightly grabs the hovering Bahamut and teleports in his Death Knight armor, though the cape was still in tatters, it only added character to his entire set.
Without telling them anything, he walks out of hover all of the sudden. His arms in a leveled and distanced position from his body, ready to pull out his revolvers or swords if needed as he leaned forward as his apathetic eyes beamed towards the empty opening on the exit of the cave.
“My Lord!”
He then stops just a few meters from the entrance and his senses overwhelm him with a barrage of danger as the trees and bushes rustle. Popping out right in front of him was a Grizzly Bear. But then its head continued to go higher and higher revealing a thick furry body with pronounced abs as it walked out of its hiding spot.
At full standing position, its height nearly reached the crown of the trees in their surroundings.
Coming alongside the Werebear were four Werewolves two to three feet smaller than it. The four players kept eye contact at him as on their very flanks, a Wizard with two Werehyanas, their bodies slouched forward like their hunchbacks. Baring their fangs clean and open, drooling with saliva as the tasty player in front of them revealed himself in the clear moon light.
Jackson then reached around for his Crimson Rapier as he walked back and forth eyeing each and everyone of them and they in return, looked back into his peerless visors and the endless darkness within it.
"I'm gonna fucking murder all of you. YOU AND THE VAMPIRES! Sons of motherfucking ingrate sons of-"
Elizabeth and Alana with Bahamut flying around them then reveal themselves, the Werebear only puts his claws up, not making his compatriots move as they try to drag the Knight back to the cave.
“I’ll fight all of you! Christ almighty! You know what I lost because of your stupid wars?! You and those cringe ass Vampire guilds thinking they can just close Caravan trails as they please!”
Being Vampire themselves and sharp ears in full view of everyone just stood confused at their Lord who is steaming with so much anger that puffs of smoke can be seen airing out of his visor.
"Dude, you have two Vampires behind you."
The deep voice of the Werebear didn’t sound threatening, instead confused and in a light tone. Jackson immediately walks up to the fourteen foot tall Lycan Bear standing on its hind legs, its abs in full view as he edges the tip of his Rapier below his chin.
"AND?! They aren't the Vampires from Dark World. Unlike them, these Vampires are actually TOLERABLE you stinking furball mothertruckin' grizzly piece of shit!"
He then walks over to the ten foot tall black wolf. Meandering around with his sword and Armor like a man who has had too much to drink.
"If you... ohhh if you fucks turn back into Human forms and none of you have shirts on, I don't care if its for the memes or the trolls. I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU!"
Standing far behind the Wolves were the High Elves. Just amazed at the Human standing up to such creatures, walking about as if he was the Alpha of the Pack. The Lycanthropes just standing and taking in his banter.
Putting his hands behind his back, leaned forward even more. Jackson gave each of the players a stern look through the darkened visors of his helmet.
"Now... THE FUCK do you furry sons of bitches want?!"
"We sme-"
"SMELLED VAMPIRES? FUCK OFF. Literally going to war over useless shit. These two Vampires would actually murder, gore, and brutalize you fucks if it weren't from me and I hate all of you! You're lucky I have my job of protecting players! If not! I would’ve let these two loose on you!"
Bahamut then lands on Elizabeth's shoulder. She sat down and started licking her wings.
"Uhm... Our Lord really hates Lycanthropes and Vampires don't he?"
"Master finds them overdone and it doesn't help that whenever we are adventuring. The two species would usually fight and cut off trade routes and such."
"And I remember that a Vampire stole our Lord's sword way back then, correct?"
"Add to that the time a special event came that Master was preparing months for. It was for a golden plate that could make the meal of your dreams at the cost of some Mana. When he learned a Werewolf and Vampire Guild were duking it out, he wanted to go and still push through it."
"Ohhh... and Vampires got to it first?"
"No. It became such a large battle that all routes to the Event area were closed. Master never forgave the two species afterwards. We tried many times but Master died. Even sneaking didn’t work and he almost got bitten by a Vampire. Having to shoot himself to prevent it… Yeah, Master is very angry at them and it has only been two months since his sword got stolen."
"Ah, I see... Mayhaps Countess should cook something extra special for our Lord tonight?"
"Say no more, Your Majesty. I will be bringing out the Tenderloins."
All the while, Jackson was completely out of breath from his tirade and was slumped on his knees catching wind.
“Haaah… haaah… so we’ll fight you! I’LL FIGHT YOU!”
“Erm… don’t you think it’d be rude for you to rush four Werewolves, two Werehyenas and one Werebear with Wizard support without your Harem approving?”
“Ha-HAREM?!” The man then ran to the Werebear just to get stopped by Alana, holding down his Rapier. “M’Lord, think about it clearly. These are people who are like you. They will return, even if we kill them. They’ll just come back till me and Her Majesty has run out of blood.”
Hearing Alana’s whispers. The man then stops and stands idly by. “Hmmmm…”He then turns around to face the two Vampires and Bahamut.
Elizabeth and Alana had their arms crossed, shrugging and their eyes closed while Bahamut had her thumbs up and was jumping in and around the top of the heads of the two women.
“Tsk… Then make way stupid Lycanthropy sons of a gun. Grrrrr…”
He then walks past them as they go into the forest. On it, the High Elves looked in amazement of what they just witnessed.
On the path back to the town, Jackson kept looking at their back as he could see the players in their Lycan forms speed away to the direction of the Vampire Castle they passed through when heading to the town.
“Tsk. Well Alana, wanna attack that Castle? I feel like bringing some of these morons a taste of my sword.”
“Ahhhh…” seeing the man’s fist, she just sighs. “How about we continue on our journey, M’Lord?”
“And your blood? Don’t you want to do something about it?”
“I believe those Lycans will be doing it for me. As you said, that blood will be wasted anyway.”
Seeing Alana’s heartfelt expression, the Knight proceeds to deflate. “Haaaah…” he then unstraps his helmet and then the chainmail underneath it, finally reaching the coif which messes up his parted hair. “Then, let’s collect the reward and get back on the road.”
Arriving at the town Inn, Alana proceeds to give the man on the counter the small box and the handful Adventurers there turn to see the shocked expression of the man.
They soon all huddled up in awe of the strange Hobgoblin head they presented. Complete with its helmet still on.
The Innkeeper then goes to the back and hands them their reward, 30 Punds of Meat and an old but well kept Holy Cavalry Sword marked by the company Rentsoss Arsenal.
Happy with the reward, they proceeded to walk out of the Inn and collected Junior and attached the large Black horse onto the two carriages and everyone got on. Riding out of town at the dead of night.
Back on the road, the gang was in their usual spots. On the far horizon were the mountain ranges as the clear sky gave them a perfect sight of the large continent. Its vast size reaches the ends of both sides of the land. Peeking above the frozen trees, it looked beautiful from afar. A natural beauty made by the Gods of Threa. Built as if it was meant to be eye candy. It looked so good that Jackson with the Vampires and Bahamut all unanimously stared at it.
“So… we’ll be passing through that?”
“Yes. M’Lord. We should reach Janishaire in three to five days if we make good headways.”
“Wow. Junior, I hope you're ready.”
The Black Horse just made some sounds as it tapped its hooves on the dirt. It threw up mud before the ground quickly got back to the frozen state it was in and the clacks of its powerful steps could be audibly heard.
Blasting through the forest, the bright foreign star blinds Jackson as his carriage arrives on a wide opening as they get to see the base of the mountainous range that spanned from both directions. Its peaks hiding on the clouds far above them and below it, running through the slices in between the mounts was a single rocky dirt road and the gray color of the rocky climate that awaited them.
Elizabeth then stood up from her usual spot, watching the second carriage and the hitch as she looked up to the clear skies, sniffing it.
“Is it just me… or do I smell something putrid?”
Alana, who was in the front seat next to Jackson, started to sniff and her eyes widened. “Yes, Your Majesty. That is odd.” The man then started to watch their surroundings as the sleeping Dragon only snuggled up to his linen tunic more from her place in his shoulders. Her nose dug deep into his chest.
Infront, a silvery four legged creature was approaching them. Its chrome is painted with a red color to it. Passing by, they could clearly see what it was. An armored horse drenched in plate armor, with a metal carriage behind it full of spikes and portholes for sharp objects to be pushed through.
“M’Lord?”
“That’s… a warhorse of the Vampires. That’s odd.”
“From Dark World?”
“Mhm. I wonder what did that. No one smelled or spotted any of the Lycans right?”
Its shiny color was gone, all that there was was blood. It coloured the once well polished armor of the horse to something that walked out of a bath of pure gore. Its eyes soon parted them, and it continued to high tail into the forest.
“My Lord, I can sense something.”
“Master!” Bahamut soon awakens fully, pulling her nose out of his chest as she smells the air.
“What?!”
Bahamut stood on top of Junior, shifting to her human form and pointing to their East, where Jackson’s eyes peeled to. But there was none, the open field was clearly visible through the tree line as each tree was far apart from one another and are now in lesser numbers than before.
“Oh Lord… Oh Jesus…” His eyes could see a plume of black and brown cloud appearing from the horizon at a fast speed.
He quickly pulled the reins and tugged on it as much as he could, forcing Junior to make a U-Turn and drove them straight to the bush where he then pointed at the grass below them. Everyone understood the instructions, with the Vampires quickly picking up whatever piece of grass and bush they could and throwing it to the carriage to hide the brown tarp.
The Black Dragon on the other hand crouched in silence, her right hand gently resting on the bark of a tree. The leaves of the plains blew a different direction as the ground trembled upon what was before them.
Carried by a six armed Demon that stood 10 storey tall was a robed person wielding a huge staff that had a pentagram, with a metallic black color. Below it was an army of skeletons and zombies followed by monsters of varying sizes. “My Lord, I’ve never seen those creatures nor the armor of those corpses.”
“Shush, that’s a player. A high level necromancy mage, probably a Lich. Bahamut?”
“Your assessment is correct, Master. That thing is a Lich King.”
“A Lich King?! There’s only like five players with that title in the entire community. Is he also looking for a way home? An army of that size is basically a mobile base.”
“M’Lord, can you not just talk to it? You Outworlders seem to be far more tolerable regardless of form.”
“No. Not like that, look at those boney skeletal hands that’re all up and spread out. That guy has Destruction or Chaos spells ready to go at a moment's notice. I’m not gonna risk it knowing our forms modify our personalities.”
“My Lord, can’t we just tear through them? I believe with Bahamut here and an open field, we can remove that stain from this land.”
“Against that? No way. That player probably has a Lich General with him, those are on a different type of problem that we have to deal with separately. We are far too few and those are all high levels. Their weapons are all capable of soul snatching as it is one of the only things that can prevent a Dragon from regenerating health, Mana, or even resurrecting.”
“Master, that Chosen One is using the same troops that the Kingdom of the Isles fought a millennium ago. It’s the forces of the Lost King.”
“Yeah, I know. His sword is pretty good from what I heard.”
“Heh, you're still thinking about that Master?”
“Well… I had to choose. Either grinding enough Dragon teeth to get you or mingle with the other hundred thousand players raiding the Lost King’s castle. Their weapons really helped in removing Vampire problems, including their ridiculous regeneration.”
The army of the Lich King soon passes them. Behind the huge crimson Demon with six arms was siege towers being pulled by Giant Undead Ogres. After a while, the ground stopped trembling and they immediately rode to the field. Leaving behind the dirt trail and the open plains that had now been tramped by an army.
“Who will take care of them, I wonder?”
“Master, I think the Heroes will be the one to do that. I don’t think it was an accident that they’ve been brought to Zavalda. If they are planning on lingering around the regions around it, they will surely encounter that Lich.”
“Is this the Dragon or the Goddess talking?”
“Both.”
“Ahahahahah. Oh man, the chills. Get me my coat, will you? The mountain looks so near yet I can’t even properly see its base yet.”
Throwing his black trench coat at him. The man wore it tightly as the temperatures once again went below the negatives. Over the rolling hills of the plains, their carriage rode through the emptiness that’s flanked by an endless sea of grass and flowers.
The base of the mountain still not revealing itself even through the vastness their in and the clear line of sight they have of the peaks.
“Alana, how long are we going to be here again? The curvature of the planet is really messing up my eyes.”
“About three to five days, M’Lord. Longer if we get sidetracked or encounter a problem.”
“Ahhh damn. I don’t like the cold at all and already, the temperatures are returning back like New Year's day.”
After a while, they stopped at a large opening near the road. Meant for merchant caravans running from the ranges down to the forest land. But there was no one there, all that was left was blackish circular markings on the ground, the pile of rocks on the side frozen solid and the bones turned to dust upon the touch of the human.
Alana had to keep Bahamut on her side to keep the fire on a good level, cooking the fresh meat they’ve been rewarded with while Elizabeth was busy preparing their beds. Three sleeping bags and the round bed meant for small Dragons. She also set the crystal lit lamp near the center where her Lord was supposed to be. Keeping it near the top of it to adequately provide warmth to his head.
Jackson on the other hand was checking the suspension of the carriage while also keeping tabs on the torque of the nuts and bolts on the hubs and springs. He’d crawl up and down the carriage, going from the belly to the top making sure the seats of the driver weren't fully frozen. Constantly having to flip and bend the long cloth he had put over it as it kept freezing.
He just sighs that even though they're in a plain that’s devoid of any snow and with lively grass swaying to the gusts of the wind, the air coming from the mountains far away was insanely cold still.
Being done with her cooking, Alana whistled and the two rushed to their deployable camping chairs and started eating. Thanks to Bahamut, even with the extreme cold, her magic kept their food warm and palatable. With some small chats and conversation, they all quickly packed up and into the carriage. Closing the tailgate, and all the flaps to completely protect them from the harsh climate coming down on them.
In the midst of their sleep, explosions and fighting could be heard echoing from far away. Emanating from the direction the Lich King player went to. The next morning, the first to get up was Alana who then awakened Bahamut, she proceeded to lick Jackson’s cheek, who then awakened Elizabeth. With a quick breakfast of toasted bread and eggs, they went back on the road just as quick. Heading forwards into the higher elevations.