The large stained glass window that dominated the westernmost wall of the throne room lay shattered. Each time I walked past it I wondered what it had originally looked like and what might have caused its destruction. I could guess that the castle’s chapel windows had once depicted the image of the Goddess, but the throne room was anyone’s guess.
“My Lady?”
I turned to see Kashmir standing at the top of the grand staircase that led up from the ground floor.
“Kashmir, how goes the preparation?”
“Everything should be ready,” he heaved a heavy sigh, “I have decided to ride with you to find the last of our loved ones.”
“Are you going to be okay with riding into combat?”
There was a hearty chuckle from Kashmir, “I’m no stranger to conflict, my Lady. I’m just merely averse to it. Someone has to advocate for peace every once in a while.”
“But Richten no longer deserves peace?”
“He forfeited that choice when he kidnapped our loved ones.”
“Very well,” I turned to face the window one last time, “send a rider out to the village to inform the Burgermeister and the Priest of the final details of our plans.”
“As you wish My Lady.”
“Prepare to ride out once they’re off. I will be there shortly.”
I listen to the sounds of Kashmir's retreating footsteps. From the window, I could see the various groups of gypsie folk that assembled themselves for the attack. Most of them were young, and a few want to pledge themselves to me. I still have yet to make up my mind on the matter.
Turning to leave I spotted Maricica had replaced her husband's spot at the top of the stairs. I noticed her hair had been recently cut short and there was a look of sternness about her.
“My Lady,” she greeted with a courtsey.
“Gwenyth is fine.”
She gave me a kind smile, “You have done our people a great service and won over the more foolhardy to serve you.”
“I’m just trying to do what’s right.”
“That is what makes you admirable,” she let her face harden a bit in seriousness, “Mind you I expect you to bring my family back to me safe and whole.”
“I will try.”
Suddenly restless for action I approached the stairs. As I drew near her, Maricica placed her hand on me.
“Watch that hunger of yours, my Lady.”
“Always,” I replied as I slipped past her down the stairs to the ground floor landing.
Outside in the front courtyard, I mounted a waiting horse that had my sword strapped to the saddle. I moved towards Kashmir and gave him a nod. For a moment there was silence except for the odd flutter of a bat overhead. Then Kashmir moved to the head of the group and turned to face the gathered riders.
“Friends and family,” he shouted, “someone has wronged us and stolen from us! Someone has defiled us and stole away our women and children! Tonight we right that wrong and bring down the vengeance of the Goddess upon him and all those who stand between us! It is not often we Roma resort to arms or conflict, we are people of song, dance, and story, but tonight we ride to battle!”
There was a cheer from the crowd and Kashmir kicked his horse into a gallop. The group of us departed from the castle. I could imagine that ours was the first war horde of the living to depart the Dark Lord’s castle in the decades since his fall to the Dark Gods.
From the high tower of the castle, I could hear a swarm of bats as they took off into the night. Like a dark cloud, it flew until it obscured the dim light of the moon that illuminated across the valley.
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It was unfortunate that we had to leave most of the horses and wagons behind as we approached the swamp and bogs that surrounded the entrance to Richten’s lair. The road that had once lead straight to the abandoned mine had long since fallen into disuse in the past several years and had become near impassable in parts.
The swamp creatures were a constant annoyance as we made our way closer. Above us, the bats swooped dived through the clouds of insects.
“Remind me the plan?” asked Timothy as he smacked away a bug off his face.
“Shh,” someone hushed him.
I turned and gave him a cold look before turning back to navigate down the path ahead.
“There it is!”
Someone pointed at the dark entrance that was carved into the cliffside. Eagerly I drew out my sword before turning to Timothy.
“How many?”
“What..?”
Someone next to him elbowed him as stared at him coldly.
“How many dead?” I hissed.
“Oh!”
Timothy closed his eyes and muttered quietly. The silence that followed seemed to last forever. Any moment I was expecting someone to call out in alarm or to see someone emerge from the abandoned mine.
“Only half a dozen,” muttered Timothy, “should be more unless he’s been busy.”
“And your sure he can’t make more?”
He nodded, “As I explained you need a necromancer to sustain the animation or a powerful undead.”
“You forget Richten is one of the undead,” I said lowly.
“Oh… Well, you don’t think he’s that powerful?”
“Maybe,” I said as I turned to look directly at Timothy, “You did confess to having raised his initial army of minions. He might have learned from watching you.”
“Shit!” Someone cursed
“Don’t worry,” started Timothy, “I have mastered the art of controlling them.”
“Or at least you think so,” muttered another of gypsie folk.
“Try to assert as much control as you can,” I looked around at the group around me, they had decided to join me in the initial charge and they knew it was a high possibility of being a death sentence.
“Let’s go.”
I raised my hand towards the sky and focused my mind. It was getting easier. I had started to suspect that I had inherited something of the Dark Lord’s affinity towards certain animals. In hindsight, it should have been obvious.
The swarm of bats descended out of the sky and flooded into the cave. My group leaped forward from the underbrush and charged into the cave. The chaos within was evident as Richten’s followers tried to fight through the cloud of bats. I could smell blood already and I unfettered a bit of my self-control.
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My sword dashed out and speared through an unsuspecting cave defender. Someone came around the corner nearly tripped into me. I grabbed and threw him into a flaying undead corpse that had loomed out from the shadows.
Not bothering to stop I moved deeper into the cave system following the old taste of blood that lingered in the air. I was willing to let my allies hold the entrance until I found Richten.
At first cross-section, someone leaped out at me with a sharpened stake of wood and took me by surprise. The wooden makeshift weapon dug into the base of my neck as my attacker rammed me into the wall.
With a hiss and a snarl, I grabbed him by the throat while baring my fangs. He tried to fight me off as I took my free hand pull the wood out. Blood squirted and drenched my front. For a moment I felt weakened from blood loss before my thirst took over and I ripped into the throat of my attacker. Once finished I let him drop to the ground and prepared to move on, my wounded neck already healing.
I moved cautiously thereafter, working to catch my opponents off guard and unaware. It helped that I could use the swarm of bats to obscure my movements or to provide a needed distraction at the right time.
It worked well until I was ambushed from behind. A crossbow bolt pierced my back. I spun around in time to block a heavy swing from an ax. Another opponent came at my side trying to get at me with his sword.
“No,” I hissed. With effort, I tried to summon a swarm of bats to drive him off as I parried another attack from the ax wielder. The distraction didn’t phase him forcing me to change tactics by leaping back to put distance between me and both my attackers.
Another crossbow bolt came flying at me from around the corner, forcing me to dodge and roll. As I came to my feet I swung my blade out and managed to catch the ax wielder by surprise. He stumbled back but before I could press on the attack I had to parry a swing from the swordsman.
I felt angry and frustrated. With a sudden surge of rage that made my blood boil, I swung a heavy attack into the swordsman that lifted him off his feet and into the wall. I turned upon the ax wielder as he staggered to his feet. With a thrust, I shoved my sword up into his gut hard enough to lift him briefly into the air. He coughed up blood as I withdrew my blade and he fell to his knees.
I watched in some grim amusement as he clutched at his stomach in pain before I stabbed my sword down the back of his neck into his chest. Another crossbow bolt struck me in the face giving me a moment of pause till I pulled it out.
The crossbowman disappeared down the dark tunnels as he comprehended with horror that I wasn’t going to die easily. I didn’t bother to give chase as I instead grabbed the unconscious form of the swordsman up off the ground by the front of his tunic. His dazed eyes flickered into awareness as I held him up against the wall.
“No,” he muttered.
Fear entered his eyes as my fangs lengthened.
“Stop! Don’t kill me!”
“Too late,” I whispered as I leaned in close to drink from my hapless victim.
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“My lady!”
I turned to see one of the gypsie riders approach. His face went pale as he took a few steps back in fear when I looked at him.
“Yes?” I asked.
Glancing away he recomposed himself, “we found the prisoners. I was sent to report to you.”
“Escort them away and once everyone is accounted for retreat to the castle.”
He bowed and disappeared.
After he was gone I turned back to face the dark stone tunnel. A dark mist had gathered along the floor. It moved despite the lack of wind like the shadow of death. I stood there sword drawn at the ready as it crept slowly closer, waiting patiently.
As the mist threatened to envelop me it suddenly pulled back and condensed to reveal Richten standing there with a pleasant smile on his face.
“You’ve changed.”
I didn’t say a word as he leaned casually against the wall.
“Hard to put my finger on it exactly but there’s something darker about you.”
Instead of answering I chose to square off reading myself to duel.
“Nothing to say? No words of warning? No declaration that you’re here to destroy me?” Richten laughed bitterly before his face darkened into an expression of seriousness, “Your such a disappointment, letting yourself be held back by these flimsy limitations of morality. You and I could rise together as the true rightful power over this valley. I have unlocked a few of the secrets possessed by our dark father. In time we could uncover more.”
“No.”
Richten’s eyes narrowed, “No? That’s all you have to say about my offer? Just ‘no’?”
He shook his head as he stood up straighter before taking a defensive posture, “There is no hope for you.”
“I could say much of the same about you,” I said.
There was a bark of laughter from Richten, “Why? Because I’m evil? Because I kill to live? We are no longer human. Should the hunter feel sorry for the deer it slew? Or the farmer his cattle? No, we are more than human. Stronger, more powerful, and blessed by the gods to attend directly to their will,” his face darkened as he sneered, “humans deserve to bow to us, as we have become their natural predator. They should grovel at our feet and beg us for their lives.”
“No,” I said again.
Richten’s sneer became a look of disgust, “You think yourself as their holy protector. If they haven't already they will cast you out for what you are because they are jealous and rightfully afraid.”
He lunged suddenly as he drew a cruel-looking blade. I managed to bring up my sword to parry. He hissed as his fangs lengthened and I pushed him back.
“I will enjoy drinking your blood. Perhaps I will leave you just barely alive and I could indulge myself in other ways with your body.”
Anger surged through me as I launched myself at him. He was expecting the attack and easily warded it off with a swipe of his sword.
“Tsk, tsk. Such a temper.”
I spun around my sword with another swing and he parried the blow before striking with an attack of his own. We continued to exchange blows, the clash of our swords echoing through the dark tunnels. Vaguely I noted that my body did not tire or become fatigued as we fought, even when we managed to break through each other’s defenses and deliver the occasional glancing blow neither of us were slowed. The nicks and cuts healed quickly alieving us of any concern for the minor injuries we exchanged.
With frustration, I pressed on harder with the attack. I needed to make a decisive strike if I was going to be able to defeat him here.
“Should I let you in on a little secret dark sister? I have two actually.”
The only response I gave was another quick thrust of my sword into his chest. Richten jerked in surprise, twisting enough that my blade missed where his heart should be.
“Good move,” he grunted, “but not good enough.”
He grabbed my throat and with his free hand thrust his sword up through my chest. Cold shock crept down my spine in horror.
“Such surprise, surely you know that neither of us is quite ready to die just yet.”
With surprising ease, he tossed me down the tunnel. I crumpled against the wall and felt the breath get knocked out of me. There was a brief moment as I realized I should be gasping for air but didn’t. I stood up just as Richten casually removed my sword from his chest.
“A well-balanced blade this,” he commented as he examined it, “I believe I shall keep it.”
I picked up his sword that had fallen close to where I had been tossed.
“As I was saying my sweet dark sister,” continued Richten, “I know a couple of dark secrets. One of which is mildly interesting, and the other I think you would be dying to hear.”
Cautiously I stepped back towards the middle of the cave tunnel and considered the situation before me. It seemed that neither of us could gain an advantage over the other, and Richten didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact the fight seemed like it could go either way. Either he had a hidden ace up his sleeve or he was merely playing with me.
“What’s your game?” I asked.
Richten smiled, “Starting to catch on? Well, let me divulge one of my secrets. This little fight is nothing more than a diversion.”
I stopped.
“That's right my dark sister, a diversion.”
“A diversion for what,” I hissed.
“For the small army of the dead, I had sent to attack your castle.”
He laughed cruelly at the expression on my face. My shock turned to rage and I sprinted at Richten with my sword raised. He lazily parried the charge with a sidestep and small twist of his blade.
“Your so easy to bait into attacking,” he commented, “I wonder what madness most have possessed the Dark Lord when he considered embracing you with the dark gift.”
“I’m going to enjoy watching you burn,” I spat.
“Is that a threat?”
“I’m going to make it a promise!”
I lashed out with another attack leading to another exchange of blows. Richten only seemed to carry on smiling throughout the duel.
“To think that as we continue our little petty squabble your supposed allies are fighting against my endless hoard as we speak.”
“Not if I kill you.”
“Alas, I’m already dead!”
With a leap, I tackled Richten to shove him up against the wall. Before he could move I pushed the sword into his chest hard enough to pin his body against the wall.
“Such anger my dark little sister.”
I raised my sword level to his neck.
“Decapitation? Not the classic stake through the heart?” he asked.
I swung the blade. The moment before it hit him, Richten dissolved into mist. Frantically I turned in time to see Richten reform and grab me by the throat.
“We are immortal! We will outlive the stench of humanity!” he hissed, “but your too stupid of a bitch to realize this!”
He leaned in with his fangs. I closed my eyes to what I believed to be the end when a surge of warm air flared down the tunnel. Richten turned and hissed at the sudden radiance of light that emanated.
Faintly I could hear the sounds of distant chanting and prayers that echoed down cave mine.
“What?”
“They are sealing us in,” I stated with a cruel smile.