Chapter 13

As Kadin walked to the front of the store he saw Roy talking with a younger person, again most likely a seventh year student out for some practical experience. As Kadin got close he overheard snippets of their conversation.

“dead, outside the town… I can’t believe it.. we have been friends for ever.” The boy was saying and then he seen Roy calming him.

“He will be a big loss, he had a lot of promise, you can grieve him for as long as you need – but you can’t let it get the better you. I told you both when you came here – this is the job. And there’s not many of us that get to my age, ohh and here’s our guest” Roy said indicating to Kadin then spoke

“Your horse is ready, it’s just outside – there are a few day of provisions as well and we have some guild supplies here so you can restock anything you have used. This is Adam. Adam here is a seventh year and only has a few more months to go before graduating … we uuhh – we lost young Guran last night.” Roy went on as Kadin nodded to Adam.. Kadin didn’t want to ask but he needed to know what happened and as he asked he saw the student start to get worked up – so he quickly spoke saying

“I know this is still fresh and raw – but I need to know what happened – its important.” Kadins thoughts were around if these two had also been ‘infected’ was he waiting for a knife in the back as he tried to leave.. more on reflex than anything else he settled into a defensive stance – he didn’t put his hands on his weapons – but made sure they were in easy reach. The student didn’t seem to notice but Roy noticed straight away and spoke

“If it’s really that important I will tell you what we know, but it’s not much. Two nights ago Adam here was working at the store – but young Guran had the night off and he wanted to go to the tavern he invited us both and though it was tempting – we still had work to do so we refused.” He finished then nodded to Adam who then went on

“He came back early.. but he didn’t say anything to us .. he just went and sat in his room … I thought he was mad at me for not going. I tried to talk to him but he ignored me.

Then last night there was a bright flash and a rumble. Roy told us to stay here – he was going to go and see what was going on. But a few moments after he left Guran just got up and started walking out.

I tried speaking to him again, asked him what was wrong but he didn’t even look at me…

I should have went with him..” Adam finished looking at the floor trying to fight back tears.

Kadin had a rough idea now that the necromancer – Norman would have likely infected those in the tavern, he tried to think of what to say to Adam but all he could do was say

“If you went with him either of those times – you very likely would be dead now too. I know who did this. I will find him and make him pay!”

Adam looked at him anger and rage in his eyes as he shouted

“You did this!! I have heard … you killed everyone, you killed half the town last night.”

As he vented Roy put his hand on Adams chest and said

“Woow now – easy boy, Kadin didn’t do this, Guran wasn’t there when he came back from the tavern .. there was nothing he, you or I could do for him then… We just need to stop it happening again.”

As Roy spoke Kadin thought back to his tired and rundown fight the last night and the fleeting fact that he used his magic to generate an explosion away from his body – thinking it was callus at the time as he didn’t know them … but now – how many families are not whole anymore because of him, and what kind of person was he becoming to think and act so callously… every person in this town would be effected by this and all he could think of was ‘don’t splat on me’ and ‘right – time to get some rest afterwards’.

Kadin was silent for a moment however He quickly snapped himself out of it Roy had been right – this was not Kadin’s doing but his quarry’s – All Kadin could do to make it right was to hunt him down and finish his job. He apologised to Roy and Adam and swore he would get this Necro.. Norman and make him pay!

As he bid farewell to Roy and left Adam to grieve, he stepped out into the town and went to get his horse- there was still the guard office to deal with and the last nights events to go over as well as the Vampire and the Paladin – but he just didn’t have the time his opponent was still getting further ahead so he decided to just leave – he would think of something to tell the gate guards to feed back to the others and deal with it later.. after. The town was quite with very few people on the streets, most of the shops that Kadin could see were closed, there was still smoke in the air from the events of the previous day and the hard pack dirt roads leading off the main roads were as empty as the cobblestone road he was on. He did see a few guards around walking in pairs with light plate mail on, spears in hand, shield in the other and a sword in a scabbard at their waist … so not just guards but soldiers too. As Kadin mounted his horse he turned it north towards the gate out of town he let the horse go at a quick walk he would push it harder when her was on the road north. As he made his way he caught sight of a few people who had braved the outside and he seen more than one finger pointing to him around hushed whispers. The pairs of guards and soldiers he saw would also send glances his way or their view would linger on him a few moments too long – remembering what Aurora had told him he pulled his hood up and felt the talisman that Roy had given him as if that would help. But after what felt like an age he finally got to the gate out of town, there were four town guards and four soldiers at the gate and as he approached he could feel their nervousness hesitation and uncertainty hung in the air around them. But he had a stop to make first.

Kadin was glad to see it was open so stopped by the shop, an alchemist he was going to be doing some hard riding and long days so he wanted to get some stamina regeneration potions. The potions themselves would only give their full benefits for about a day after they had been made and no one had yet found a way to preserve them longer than two days but even still after the first day there were only about half as effective. They also required some pretty rare ingredients including pure mana essence and life essence from a soul stone and because of that they were very expensive. As he entered the store there was a large counter in front of him and on the shelfs in the store proper there were stands with all manner of vials, elixirs and potions anything from sleep aids to aphrodisiacs. But behind the counter there were drawers chests and cabinets with all different manner of sizes small drawers that could hold a small amount of nuts, seeds and powders to the bigger chests that held dragon bone and troll skulls and all around the area behind the counter were jars with different coloured liquids and even a few that looked like pickled toads. There were also clusters of leafs and flowers hanging from the ceiling. As he stepped up to the counter he could see even more storage drawers and boxes through the back of a larger arched doorway it was from there that he heard movement. After a few moments of waiting a man in a yellow apron came out, Kadin couldn’t put an age to him he had no wrinkles and moved quickly and efficiently that Kadin would assume to mean he was young – however he was completely bald and as he greeted him he noticed that there was no hair at all on his head up to and including no eyebrows or eye lashes and his eyes themselves seemed dull and lifless. The lack of hair on his face made his eyes seem bigger and it unnerved Kadin to see the way the man was peering at him. It was then that Kadin noticed he had spoken and was waiting a reply – a fleeting thought of I think he said ‘yes’ or ‘can I help’ or something like that so Kadin quickly answered.

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“Hi there, this is a nice place you have here…” Kadin cringed however the man didn’t say anything he just stared.

So Kadin spoke again.

“I am wondering if you can help me.”

Stare!

“I think you will need to make them up as they spoil fast.”

STARE

Finally Kadin croacked out.

“Can you make me two stamina potions?”

S T A R E !! Then finally: blink and the man spoke again

“Stamina potions? Yes I can make.”

“Great thank yo..” but before Kadin could finish the alchemist spoke again

“Nineteen gold please” as he slowly lifted his hand turned it palm up and extended it as far as he could reach until his upturned palm was just inches away from Kadin’s nose, Kadin took out his coin pouch and counted out the required money and put it in the man’s palm at which point he flung his arm to the side throwing the gold into a basket on the floor .. at least most of them went in the basket a few bounced off the walls and rolled along the ground coming to a stop just on the other side of the counter. The man didn’t even look he just turned around and walked through the back, at this point Kadin wasn’t entirely sure this man was human. He peered over the counter and indeed seen multiple gold coins on the floor behind the counter and you would need to go behind the counter to pick them up… but he decided to just leave them there. A few second later he heard a grinding sound of a mortar and pestle. After a few moments Kadin seen the alchemist with a little stone bowl walk by the archway to a desk he placed the bowl on the desk, then held his hands over it and just below the bowl the soft red glow appeared it increased in brightness and started working its way up, at the bottom it started to turn yellow then steam or vapours starting rising from the stone bowl – where the alchemist picked it up with a pair of tongs, then took it back to the other side that Kadin couldn’t see, a sharp hissing sounds came and he could see the edges of a cloud of steam come through the top of the door, then the light grinding started again then a few second later it all stopped.

The Alchemist came around the door to stand in front of Kadin again, this time with two little vials filled with a green liquid, he handed them over and then just started staring again.

“Uh.. thanks” Kadin said.

The alchemist again stretched and held his hand out until it was just in front of Kadin’s nose again then said

“nineteen gold please!”

“Eerrmm – I have already paid you.”

STARE.

“Okay, thank you come again” he then went back through the door to the back of the shop and then just silence. Kadin took that as his queue and then left.

He got back on his horse and made his way to the gate out of town where the eight guards still stood and still looked awkward. Kadin thought they would try and stop him or bar his way, but as he got to them he saw that that was not the case casually leaning against the wall out of town was Vermilion, the vampire looked very different in the daylight hours his cloak black armour and silver buckles all looked the same but his face was more defined had a sharper contrast, his skin was still a sheet of pure white but his jaw, nose even the light bone ridge above his eyes all soot out clearly, his eyes were still the glowing pools of scarlet and his back swept black hair was tied in a tail at the nap of his neck. Completely ignoring the guards he turned to Kadin and said

“I told you we needed to talk.”

“I need to catch up to the man who did this … I need to push harder to chase him down.”

Vermilion looked slightly irritated then just said

“fine” he closed his eyes for a second focusing then his feet lifted of the ground and he raised to the same highs as Kadin then went on

“Lets go, we can still talk”

Kadin was a little surprised by this – he knew vampires could levitate and fly but being in the day he thought the powers would have been limited but he moved his horse forwards at a fast walk and said

“Your coming with me?” at which point Vermilion scoffed and said

“No! after what happened yesterday I need to return to the nest and warn them. I could feel the pull of that Necromancer as I approached this place – he might be strong enough to ensnare me; and I will NOT be a pet to a human!” he finished and Kadin could see that Vermilion was getting angry at the thought, Kadin was trying to think of something to say to defuse the situation but the vampire spoke first.

“I owe you a debt!” Kadin could also see this sat uneasy with the vampire and his response of

“Think nothing of it, I am glad I could help.” Unfortunately this was not the right thing to say… he had a habit of doing that.

“You would shame me and my clan – by leaving this debt unpaid?” Vermilion snapped.

“No, I apologise.. I know how much honour and the honour of your clan mean to vampires.”

“I doubt that!”. Vermilion scoffed but went on in a calmer tone

“ The debt I owe you is a debt of life, without your actions I would have died – the clan would have revived me, but that would have taken some time and the willing sacrifice of blood from the innocent.”

“Ohh – I didn’t know it was possible to revive a vampire after them being killed?”

“It’s not widely known and you WILL keep that to yourself! However…” as he was talking he reached inside of his own cloak and brought out necklace, a plain chain cord that held a small dragon head, the dragon head was about the size of a large gold coin, and from one of its eyes there was a teardrop of what looked like a blood ruby – it was one of the most detailed and delicate engravings that Kadin had ever seen. And Vermilion thrust it towards him, a little taken aback Kadins first thought was to refuse it – but he couldn’t insult the vampires honour again so he reached out and took it as he did that Vermilion spoke again.

“This will mark you as a friend of my people and all those aligned to the Augusteen bloodline, that tear drop holds my blood – so any other vampire will sense it and know its genuine. Present this to any vampire lord and they will be obliged to help you whatever the request!

If you kill this necromancer we would be indebted to you again…”

“I am doing this for my own honour.” Kadin interrupted but the vampire went on

“It is of no consequence!” Vermilion hesitated at this point, it looked like he was trying to work himself up to something and after shaking off his doubts he spoke again.

“Should you ever will it – come to castle Augusteen and I shall bestow on you the blood kiss, so that you may join us.” That statement hit Kadin with almost as much force as the 'electric shock' that Vermilion gave him the previous night after he had saved him. To be offered immortality and be offered a place in a vampire clan was beyond the highest honour of anything else that they could give and it was the same for the whole vampire race. Kadin didn’t know what to say, he opened his mouth to speak … but no sound came out – the chance was taken from him as Vermilion couldn’t look him in the eye but said

“Farewell, friend.” Before flying off to the south.