Three bodies fell to the ground and with only a moment of hesitation the guards and mercenaries took the opportunity to resume their assault on the shocked bandits. Most of those that were grouped up attempted to retreat behind their walls but the few that remained behind were quickly cut down giving them little time.
The melee fighters supported by the archers and Arthur pushed into the bandit camp killing as many bandits as they could see. The few bandits in the basic towers upon seeing the carnage unfolding upon their commarads attempted to just off and over the wall to escape, but only one managed to do so. The rest were all shot down by Kavok the moment they looked for even a moment like they were considering escaping, the only reason one escaped was because he was so far away.
Towards the end of the raid the remaining bandits attempted a counter attack by surrounding and pelting the main force with anything from arrows to rocks and switch to their melee weapons when they got close. This did not succeed because several of the bandits upon seeing an opportunity to sneak by and escape through the pitiful excuse of a front gate did so, leaving their allies to face the full force of the guards and mercenaries on their own.
Needless to say they did not last very long and any that survived the fight were swiftly captured and after a quick search of the camp they began to walk back to the city the same way they came.
Along the way back Arthur was given a chance to think about what happened, specifically Kavok and his contributions.
‘Kavok is very skilled with the bow, almost like he's been practicing for decades. But that can’t be possible, he can’t even be past his late thirties.’ Arthur attempted to think of a possible explanation for his skill that apparently surpasses what his age should allow or at least cuts it close.
‘Perhaps he had a very skilled teacher, or his class is focused on archery, or he might not even be human.’ Upon thinking the last possibility Arthur paused, he recalled the vampires he fought in the past and what he learned through the information available to the public that vampires are immortal beings that will live until they are slain by someone or something, and unlike the stories and myths vampires do not burn or die in sunlight.
‘He hasn't shown his face to anyone and I haven’t seen him eat anything since the raiding party was formed. Since the only thing that can keep vampires fed is blood he would have no reason to eat food if he was one. Should I just ask him and clear these questions out of my mind? Or should I tell Captain Tasius about what I noticed.’
After almost twenty minutes of walking the group took a rest, they all needed it and for safety reasons they should keep away from the bandit camp as the blood and gore might attract some desperate animals, and if everyone was resting they wouldn’t be prepared to face them.
Arthur did take note that Kavok did not appear to be tired at all despite being a key player in the raid. It was odd, very odd and in fact further supported Arthur’s theory of Kavok being a vampire. So he waited till there was only five minutes remaining of the break and sat next to Kavok on a large rock.
“Are you not tired from pulling that bow string so many times?” Arthur attempted to engage in some small talk.
“Not particularly, this wasn’t all that intense, all things considered. I have faced far worse and lived to tell about it. What about you? What has been your greatest obstacle?”
“I once fought a demon with a group of others, and we even managed to kill it.”
Kavok turned his head and looked Arthur up and down. Arthur could almost feel his eyes looking over him giving him an eerie feeling like when he faced The vampire Lord Darius.
“That is incredible! What type of demon was it?”
“From what I heard from the others it was a warlock, it used powerful geomancy to fight against us and even create an improvised armor out of conjured stone. Also it gave this to one of its subordinates.” Arthur reached into his dimensional bag and pulled out the spear made from raw iron ore and showed it to Kavok.
Kavok took the spear while looking it over, then he gave it a few test strikes against a nearby tree and returned it to Arthur.
“It's quite good for something made by a demon, so keep it for now in case you need it. Otherwize just sell it to a blacksmith for the raw material, any of the major establishments should give you a fair price.”
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Soon the break ended and the raiding party returned on their journey back to Antium. On the way back some food was passed around, specifically a sort of dried meat that a few of the guards referred to as jerky. Arthur watched as Kavok refused the jerky and be passed onto the next person instead.
When some was given to Arthur he thanked the guard handing it out and took a bite. It was surprisingly tasty unlike the dried chewy appearance, it had some sort of spice that made its taste bountiful and it wasn’t as chewy as expected.
Clearly Kavok hadden’t refused because of the taste, he refused for another reason, and Arthur suspected that it was because he was a vampire and could not eat regular food to survive. ‘I am definitely telling the captain of his strange behaviour. Even if I am wrong about this I can still find the actual reason why.’
Once the raid party returned to Antium they quickly went through the southern gate checkpoint, being that their job was sanctioned by the Captain of the southern guard they passed quickly and made their way back to the barracks to report their success.
Only the corporal and the mercenaries entered the captain’s office, the other guards returned to their duties whether they were patrolling the city or other menial tasks.
The corporal gave his report while the three mercenaries waited outside, soon the corporal left the room and motioned for the three to enter. “Welcome you three, I am happy to see you back all in one piece.” Captain Tasius happily greeted his hired mercenaries.
“Corporal Pius just told me of your inputs on the mission, and I am quite happy with what I heard.” Captain Tasius reached into his desk and retrieved three bags of silver coins.
Each mercenary took their bag and after a quick thanks went to leave, except for Arthur who stayed behind. “Sorry captain, but there is something I need to discuss with you.”
The other two mercenaries, including Kavok, paid little attention to his words and left the room, closing the door behind them. “And what might that be?” Captain Tasius took note of the worry on Arthur's face, he hadn't seen him look so worried before.
“It’s about my colleague Kavok, he has been acting strange for the whole raid. It reminded me of the vampires that I fought up in the northern district when I first got to the city.”
“Reminded you? In what ways?” Captain Tasius was thinking in overdrive on what Arthur must have seen that would make him speak in such a way.
“Well for starters he hasn’t shown his face, and vampires are quite easy to spot with their exceptionally pale skin and red eyes. Also vampires can’t survive on normal food, they need to drink the blood of mortals, Kavok actively rejected any and all food he was offered, and he didn’t eat anything of his own even at lunch.”
Captain Tasius listened closely to what Arthur told him and after a moment of thinking on the subject he spoke. “That is very convincing, but unfortunately there isn't enough evidence to prove him to be a vampire. But I will keep an eye out on him just in case.”
“Thank you captain, and let me know whenever you have more work for me.”
The two said their goodbyes and Arthur left the room passing Lieutenant Goldenshield who entered the room in his place. “You called for me sir?” While Arthur and Captain Tasius were speaking, Captain Tasius used a feature on his communication orb to call Lieutenant Goldenshield to his office.
“Yes I did. Do you recall the mercenary named Kavok? His primary weapon is a bow and he said he was a ranger.”
“Yes I do. He was the one in the dark cloak that arrived with one of your cards and acted all mysterious for the time he was here. Why did he do something?” Lieutenant Goldenshield might have been weirded out by the man but he had to respect his skill.
“Our friend Arthur has informed me of some very strange behaviour on his part. For starters he did not eat anything for the entire raid that the two took part in, and to our knowledge he has never shown anyone in the city his face. Does that sort of behaviour ring any bells?”
Lieutenant Goldenshield paused and attempted to understand what he was being asked. ‘Humans and their riddles, why do they use them so often?’ Eventually he managed to process the very simple figure of speech and say. “He sounds like he is hiding from someone.”
“That is partly correct, Arthur suspected him to be a vampire. While we don’t have enough evidence right now to prove it we can keep our eyes open and compile anything we notice. I want you to inform the corporals so if they are assigned to him they will watch him. Understand?”
“I understand sir.” Lieutenant Goldenshield gave a salute. “But should I tell them we suspect him to be a vampire? That sounds like it could spread panic.”
“For now we will keep them in the dark regarding Kavok possibly being a vampire. Just tell them he has been acting strange and they should keep their eyes on him for anything out of the ordinary.”
“I understand Captain.”
************
Lieutenant Goldenshield immediately called a meeting for all the corporals that will or have been assigned to the field and informed them of the suspicious activity of the mercenary Kavok and that they should keep an eye upon him at all times.
Most looked bored at the meeting but the lieutenant forced them all to write down the information so they would not forget it as that was something that had happened in the past.
“Now are there any questions?” Lieutenant Goldenshield asked, looking over the crowd of bored guards. No one spoke a word as they all wanted to get out.
“No one? Very well then, you are all dismissed.”