The dark walls that surrounded the town had been destroyed in several places, half the guard towers were destroyed and parts of the town in flames.
In front of the destroyed walls Kadin seen mortal enemies engaged in combat, there was Vermillion sword in one had dagger in the other with a cloud of darkness billowing out of him and next to him a Holy paladin of light in full plate mail, shield in one hand and a glowing morning star in the other he too had a glowing white light surrounding him, that light that was made up of overlapping scales covering his whole body in a circle of divine protection. There was also a large group of towns people circled around the two.
Vermillion had has back to the paladin as he charged forward Morningstar swinging around his head, Vermillion raised his dagger but it was too slow, Kadin knew he wouldn’t be able to turn in time, Kadin watched as if in slow motion as the paladin swung down his weapon, watching as it swung past Vermillion’s head then shoulder and hit a simple towns person in the face, where he then crumpled forwards like a puppet with his strings cut, but the paladin wasn’t finished he swung his shield forwards catching the falling towns person on it and used the momentum to throw that person into the crowd even as green fire started to spew from where his face had been. A few seconds later another bright flash light up the sky, there was a roar from the towns people that Kadin heard even at this distance as they started to rush forwards towards the vampire and the paladin who now stood back to back against the incoming wave of people.
Kadin pushed his horse in to a gallop towards the battle, he knew his horse was tried he too was worn out but he needed to get there and find out what was going on… he pushed on pouring his willpower into the horse for it to keep going, as they were getting closer and closer eventually the horse stumbled and nearly fell, Kadin knew if he pushed any harder the horse would drop dead, so he leapt of it encasing himself in an envelope of air and pushed himself forward on foot. The horse stumbled for a few steps before collapsing to the ground breathing heavy, Kadin left it letting it get its well-deserved rest and pushed on, the air in front of him pulling him forwards, the air behind pushing him on he was close enough to see what looked like half the town surrounding the pair in front of him with more pouring out of the collapsed walls. He was almost at them so much so he heard the grunts of pain and the low growls made by the townspeople. When he was a few steps away from the crowd he cut off his air envelope and instead poured as much magic as he could muster into his twin blades a mix of air and water using the air to cool the water below freezing he could feel his blades start to vibrate as a blue hue seemed to emanate from it and frost started to form on the blades but he kept pushing more and more energy into it until he could feel the demon swords starting to fight back – refusing to accept any more magical energies and then when both were at their limits he let it explode forwards, a blast of true cold swept out from his swords enveloping dozens of the towns people, most freezing instantly others at the edges and around the perimeter being covered in a frost but still able to turn towards the source, Kadin didn’t stop but drew another of his bombs from his cloak and threw it at the centre of his attack, where the glass ball shattered and sent out a massive air blast that shattered the frozen people even as green fire started to pour from their eyes, ears and mouths. Those at the edges getting pushed back and falling off balance. The few second of confusion followed where all eyes turned towards Kadin – who was just standing there hands at his sides with a blade in each hand pointing towards the ground. Recognition flashed in Vermillion’s eyes but he stayed silent, the Paladin quickly collected his wits and said “So are you helping or not?” gesturing over to them with his shield. As he said that the people around them started to growl and roar and charge in again. As Kadin got closer to them the Paladin chanted something before shouting “extend” and the sphere of light around him spread and enveloped Kadin as well, he felt a gentle warms spread through his tired limbs, his mind also got sharper, more focused and he felt his mana replenishment massively increase, they were still however surrounded by almost three hundred townspeople who by now had collected themselves and charged forwards like a mindless horde. Kadin felt Vermillion surge forwards his form turning to the dark mist the was billowing out from him a few sharp swishing sounds and heads started to fall from bodies the mist pulled back and reformed as the vampire back where he was even as the headless corpses tried to push themselves back up but were trampled by the horde, after a few seconds there was a loud deep explosion as the trampled bodies finally gave out – these blasts caused huge damage to the horde body parts went flying in all directions as more and more green fire sprouted out of the body parts that went flying – however these did not explode as Kadin expected instead they fizzled out. He shouted to the others “find a way to blow up their torsos that will stop them rising again and exploding.” As he sent a mix of fire and air into his blades so he could trigger them when stabbing.
The Paladin however shouted “We have found that out already, genius – but what in the hells are they?”
“I don’t know … There seems to be an infection in the towns people its been spreading, infecting more and more at each town.”
As this conversation was happening Kadin was moving fluidly, gracefully in amongst the people attacking them using his previous approach of stabbing down between the neck and shoulder then activating the imbued power in his swords – he felt callus for thinking and doing it but he discovered he could channel the direction of the explosion away from himself so as to not get covered in gore as he killed person after person – people he was sworn to protect – but people he could do nothing for. He heard a sharp hiss coming from beside him and seen Vermillion with snaking black veins coming from his mouth and around his eyes as he tried to drink the blood from one of the people, he tried to turn to mist and pull back but he almost immediately solidified again and fell to the ground.
“Their blood is tainted.” He hissed trying to get back to his feet but tripping and falling again, he was also getting surrounded, Kadin pulled his last frost bomb from his cloak knowing vampires were immune to the cold and threw it at the people beginning to swarm Vermillion, Kadin then shouted out “Frost bomb!” to make his allies aware and as it shattered and the accompanying white flash explosion happened Kadin seen it froze at least eight people he knew he himself was also too close to it so it was going to hit him too so he braced, as the white mist fell over him – but it was kept out by the enchantment buff the paladin had cast, he could see the sphere around him shimmer and the overlapping scales shift and sway before reasserting themselves. However as this was happening the frozen towns people started to melt off the chill blast and Vermillion was not getting up. Again as before Kadin charged his blades with his shockwave and sent it at the frozen mass which shattered like glass. Vermillion was still trying to stand but he kept falling as black blood ran out from his mouth, nose and ears. Kadin rushed over to protect him and his heart sank as he seen another two or three hundred more people running out from the towns destroyed walls.
As Kadin got close to the vampire the shield that the Paladin cast around him came into contact with him and it immediately started to burn and blister the vampires skin so he quickly jumped back before he could do any more damage. His mind was franticly trying to think of what to do to help – Arrogance is a trait of the of all in the vampire race Kadin, as knew from experience and from that perspective Vermillion had been almost pleasant in comparison, in their previous encounter. He was just about ready to shout over to the paladin to remove the buff from him. But it was too late the people who had poured out of the town were too close, already circling the injured vampire.
But to his surprise, they were not circling him they were splitting around him to attack the other townspeople, they were coming to their aid. Kadin shouted to the paladin to remove his buff and ran over to the injured vampire. Vermillion still pushing himself to try and get to his feet but failing when Kadin got close enough he knelt down next to him to help him up. But Vermillion eyes were glassy not seeing anything he seemed to be moving on sheer willpower he quietly muttering to himself as Kadin got closer he heard what he was saying
“Blood ,I need blood.” Muttering the same over and over again.
Acting on instinct as he too often did he pulled out a small throwing knife from his belt and slashed at his wrist. As the bright red blood began to pool and then spill over his wrist Kadin held it to Vermillion’s mouth for a second he thought he was too late as the vampire had fallen and was staring blankly up at the sky – even as Kadins blood spilled over his chin and into his mouth, there was no reaction.
But then with a start the vampire slowly moved lifted his hand and grabbed Kadins wrist the next second Vermillion clamped on to it and Kadin could feel more than his blood being pulled – his very life essence flowed out of him along with his blood. Into the vampire it was being pulled at a terrifying rate, he was being completely drained of all he was, he felt lightheaded, dizzy. He was rocked by another explosion of green fire nearby and that brought him out of his trance he tried to pull back, but it was if he was paralysed he couldn’t move. He felt his own consciousness begin to dim things around the edge of his vision began to blur and darken he seen the flash of another explosion closer than the last but he didn’t feel it – he didn’t feel anything. Just as he thought he was about lose consciousness the draining sensation stopped. He was surprised by how quickly his senses came back to him, he was still weak and light headed but he tried to stand then stumbled only to be caught and helped to his feet be Vermillion who didn’t say anything, he was just looking at Kadin in a strange way a light dribble of Kadins blood still running down the side of his mouth.
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Then from nowhere Vermillion pulled his hand back and thrust forwards to strike Kadin, palm first he hit Kadin right in the chest. Kadin felt he had been struck by a bolt of lightning and as quickly as it came it went, his head started to clear and his sense started to sharpen and come together. “We will talk later.” Vermillion hissed at him before turning to mist and flying back into the fight. Kadin stumbled at the vampires sudden departure and had to catch himself from falling over however after a few minutes of collecting himself and his senses, Kadin turned and ran back into the fight a fleeting thought of how was he to know who was and wasn’t on his side was answered as he seen the people who had charged out of the town – the remnants of the town guard and garrison, he assumed. They were all holding weapons, had on armour and moving well and in teams whereas the others were in a mismatched sets of basic clothing and the movements were clunky and disconjointed as he charged forwards there was another explosion off to the side and Kadin seen people and bits of people fly through the air, But the green fire would on some case simmer and go out but on others they would swell and explode like someone was controlling the infected towns people. The fight went on for what felt like hours and finally where there was the hint of dawn on the horizon the last green flash and explosion sounded on the field. From this a cheer went up on the field of battle from the assembled guards and garrison men although their number had been more than cut in half there were less than one hundred men still standing, a few more wounded would likely be saved – but the tool from the hard riding and long fight left Kadin exhausted – he stumbled away from the group heading towards a section of crumbled down wall intent on finding the guild house here or even an inn so he could sleep – everything else would be a problem for later. Unfortunately a shout of “Halt!” stopped him on his way he turned to see the Vampire and Paladin being surrounded by the remaining guards. Kadin seen three men, two with spears an and one with a sword drawn approach him, gesture and say
“You, Join the others!”
“Urghhh..” Kadin muttered to himself as he trudged back.
The Paladin had dismissed his Holy shield, or Devine protection buff that had been cast, and Vermillion was still afflicted by the tainted blood he had consumed from the infected townsperson, and with the sun starting to rise his vampyric abilities would be limited and his powers reduced he wouldn’t be able to use his ‘Shadow step’ or his ‘Mist Form’ or even his transformation abilities. As Kadin reached them the Paladin took off his gleaming silver helmet and boomed out
“The lord of light has blessed us this day and we have been victorious over those stricken by evil and turned to darkness spawned brutes!” with a big smile on his face and rosy cheeks he then belatedly added “Ohh – errm no offense master vampire.” To which Vermillion case an irritated glare. Kadin was able to get his first good look at the Paladin he was perhaps the tallest human Kadin had ever seen standing a full head about himself. He had long honey blonde hair going in waves down past his shoulders and a large bushy beard, his hair was thinning and there was a small bald patch on the pat of his head, but despite that he looked quite young if Kadin had to guess he would say early thirties. He was also one of the largest men Kadin had seen, broad shoulders that Kadin could tell were well muscled even through his gleaming plate mail, and he could see that he enjoyed all aspects of life as his belly had to have angled plate made around it Size wise Kadin would compare him to an elder orc or a small ogre. His mace now hung off a loop on his belt, and as Kadin joined them he reached out a hand to Kadin saying
“Well met! Friend! Your aid in vanquishing evil will surely be blessed by the god of light… or at least one of his three lesser gods!” he spoke as if he was on great terms with the gods and knew their inner workings. But tired as he was he could only mumble
“Thanks.” As his hand was enveloped but the Paladins and held in a vice like grip. He looked like he was going to say more but then a voice braked out
“What do the three of you know! Speak!!” by one of the guardsmen he had a better quality weapon and armour then the rest of the guards Kadin assumed him to be a senior guard or lower officer or there about. His helmet had a single plumed red feather his armour looked to be Orichalcum a deep red tinge to the helmet, breastplate and greaves with a pair dark red boots and a lighter silver coloured metal across him abdomen and shoulder guards that left the upper of his forearms with a white tunic with a light chainmail over it and a pair of red gauntlets. Kadin also noted that his sword although of better quality, was clean and there was no dirt or blood on it - or his armour. Kadin was somewhat irritated by this person he could feel the rage boil off Vermillion but the Paladin jovially spoke up saying.
“I sensed evil and darkness from this area and came here to holy smite the that evil away – when I got here I noticed a blight on this town. I believed it to be from this creature of darkness.” He said joilting a finger towards Vermillion then went on.
“but it was not so, as I challenged him, he seemed somewhat distracted I thought he was using dark forces to try and overwhelm me. But then we were both attacked by a group evil inflicted townsmen… I was confused and taken aback at the townsmen, I didn’t think to raise my shield in time and I was almost run right through the gullet! But then it was not so!” he then again indicated to Vermillion
“ He came to my aid, he used his powers of darkness to blast away the men that were attacking me, but alas it was not just one townsmen after I was saved a whole swarm of evildoers charged at us both I had to get them out of the town and away from innocents- so I cast holy smite on the wall.” He went on looking proud then continued.
“Wait!, you admit to destroying the town walls?” the officer asked
“That I did!” He said proudly while puffing out his chest then went on “We then tried to make it out of the town, but the sheer number of people attacking us was overwhelming. So I put a heavenly shield around us as we made our way out of town as they attacked they could only beat on my shield but again this vampire used his unholy powers to fight back the people, they started to explode when they should fall over but I was determined to let this town again live in the light!”
“Enough!” the officer shouted then looked towards the vampire and snapped.
“You, Explain!”
Vermillion just looked at the officer in silence sending him such an intense glare that he backed up a couple of steps to easily jump behind some of the other guards should Vermillion attack. But after a few seconds the officer flushed a light pink and forced himself to step forward again, then said
“So what happened?” This time directing his attention to Kadin whilst pointedly not looking at the vampire. Kadin tired and just wanting to sleep responded with
“Just got here.. seen what I thought were undead attacking these people and this town- so stepped in to help.”
“You expect me to believe that! That you just happened to be here – in the middle of the night? Alone? And joined 2 mortal enemies who were slaughtering townspeople… so you joined in?... That’s what you expect me to believe??”
Kadin took a step forwards so he was face to face with this office and indicated his guild seal before saying
“I don’t care what you believe, I am a mithril rank in the guild, and that guild has complete freedom to act as we see fit. So believe what you will!”
The officer looked like he wanted to say something or come up with some challenge but Kadin just stepped past him and trudged into the town then shouted behind himself.
“we can get a better look later on this morning have your guards cover points of interest and we can take if from there.” And walked on not caring what his response would be…But a few moments late his long scene told him that the officer told the paladin and vampire told to stay in town until he could get updated orders from his superiors.
There were a few small fires around town that had quickly been put out, but the explosions had caused a few buildings to collapse and at least a wall or two of some others, but due to the chaotic events of the previous night there were not many people out and about on the streets. An atmosphere of shock and confusion lay over the town as the uncertainty of what happened during the night and why some whole streets had been emptied of every single person but the one next to it was fine – question over where the people had gone what had happened to them.. But Kadin noticed none of it .. he made his way towards the centre of town and took a side street that had some upper class merchants, clothing and jewellery stores as well as a store that sold magically enchanted goods it was to this store Kadin headed but instead of going to the entrance he took an ally way that lead down the side then turned to the back of the property, there was a high with a tall metal gate in the middle other than that the street dead ended as it came to an intersection of a couple of other streets off the town centre. The Gate however lightly clicked as Kadin reached it his guild badge unlocking it.
He stood in a very small courtyard with a well to the side and a paved area with a small bench and table. But with the high walls to his left and behind him and the magical goods store in front of him with another store to his right the area would only ever get sunshine when it was directly overhead and the space could only hold about three or four people without feeling crowded. But he went to the back door of the building his guild seal opening the door without issue.