Daisy stepped ahead. She was feeling confident in her abilities. It was a dungeon of undead, and those were vulnerable to her magic, which could heal the living while harming the undead. The hallway ahead opened out into an immense room. The stench of the dead and decay filled it. Daisy wrinkled her nose. "Yuck, somehow worse than the others we've been to recently."

A figure at the other end of the hall rose. He looked mostly human, but with longer teeth. A pair of fangs that dangled down. He smiled at them, then made a grand bow. "You have made quite the mess. Clearly you've been eager to have a meeting with me."

Theodoren rolled his eyes, taking out his wands. "So, are you going to kill yourself, or do we have to do all the work?"

Daisy put up her hand to quiet Theo. "Let's talk first. Why not?" She shrugged to the figure. "You're a vampire?"

"I am, indeed." He gave another bow. "My name is Vasilias. And you are in my domain. Thank you for being polite. So many are uncultured brutes when they first arrive, forcing me to teach them manners. We get off on the right foot, don't we? We should be friends." He looked past Daisy to Cedric, then to Theodore.

He pointed a thin finger at Theo. "Especially you. I can feel the gentle touch of the night already drawing you towards me, fox." He took a few slow steps forwards, but kept his distance from Daisy. "I can see, as well, that I have something you want. Come to my side. I could use a man such as yourself, with a good head on your shoulders, as it were."

Cedric interposed himself between Theo and Vasilias. "Just because he got a, uh, mark, doesn't make him yours. What do you want, uh, sir?"

"Sir?" He smiled, teeth far too sharp and needle-like. "I like a polite soul. What do I want? I want to be left alone. Why you mortals feel a need to intrude into my home is a mystery to me, one I haven't solved after centuries of it." He chuckled softly. "But, since you're here, I would not be opposed to a new servant to replace the many you've butchered."

Daisy glanced at Theodore, who looked rather uncertain. She didn't want to lose Theo's help and friendship, especially not after they had just started to bond as comrades. "You can't have him. And especially not for that crappy reason." She raised her dagger. "You're super obviously the boss of this place. Give up, or be crushed under our feet. Make a choice."

The vampire laughed. "Such confidence. You're a good match with that weapon, I can see. My, you do make for an interesting bunch." He glanced at Cedric, then back to Daisy. "Truly a shame, in a better world we'd be sharing gossip over tea." He threw his cape back, wielding a silvery rapier. "But that is not the world we dwell in. Let us begin."

Theo pointed both wands at Vasilias and unleashed bolts of flame. The vampire deflected the first with a sweep of his blade. The second slammed into his shoulder, leaving a burning hole.

Daisy was on him just a moment later, leading with her shield and slamming it against the vampire. With a flourish of her dagger, she struck at him with healing magic. It did indeed seem to harm him, but not as much as she had hoped. "Damn bosses." She squinted at him intently. "You should have a, right." There it was, his hit points in a bold bar over his form. She just had to actually look for the thing.

The vampire swept his blade towards Daisy's face, but she blocked the blow with her shield. He was strong enough that the impact drove her back.

Cedric grabbed Theo and dragged him back. "Be careful!" He threw lightning at Vasilias.

"Like you're one to talk!" Theo shot fire at the monster.

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Vasilias took the brunt of the spells, staggering him back. "You think you've beat me, I should think not." He exploded into countless bats, each with readied fangs. They tore through the area, slamming into the trio in a frenzy of fur and biting teeth.

Daisy tried to keep away from the bulk of them. Her shield knocked most of the ones near her aside, but several had landed on her back, trying to bite through her armor and shirt. "This is so gross!" She smacked her back against the wall, crushing most of them. Only a few remained, trying to nip at her arms. "How are you two?"

Cedric cried out. He was being swarmed with the little creatures. Dozens were crawling up and down his body, biting at his skin and clothes, shredding him.

Theodore roared and threw flames towards the ground. The circle of fire roasting in a spreading sphere kept most of them off of him. "You're not winning! I won't let you!"

Cedric had collapsed under the weight of bats, and the rest were crawling over him, biting and clawing. Daisy swiped her blade at them as she charged. "Get away from him!"

Her magic sliced free of her dagger in a thin line that cut through many of the bats, but didn't hurt Cedric. She smashed the rest aside with her shield. They tried to reform into Vasilias, but he was too wounded to complete the transformation.

The result was a mess of blood and flesh with bits of what had been bats sticking out in all directions. Theo looked ready to gag, but Daisy was more fascinated than disgusted.

The partially reformed vampire took a step towards them before falling to his knees. "You think you have defeated me? You are a fool. I am eternal."

Daisy hurled her dagger in a sharp movement. It struck the beast between the eyes, ending the monstrosity with a healing spell to its brain. The body crumpled to the floor as she went to Cedric's side. "Ced?" She put a hand on his chest, looking over him.

Cedric coughed in a wince. "I'm, ugh, mostly okay. Got a little healing left?"

Daisy put both her hands on him, casting magic into Cedric. "Just relax, okay?" It took a few moments before he looked less ragged. "There you go, all better."

"Good for you." Theo had a new scowl. "Dang it."

Daisy peeked up at him. "Did something happen? You alright?"

He pointed to his feet. "You wanted to know when I changed. Well, my smile just got better." He flashed his pearly whites, revealing the great big fangs he'd been gifted with. "This is the second one."

Daisy sighed. She couldn't be too upset when he wasn't in the greatest of situations. "We'll get you fixed. Don't worry so much."

Theo gritted his teeth, just to laugh. "Well, does it suit me?" He took on his best mysterious look. "I vant to suck your blood." He grinned awkwardly at that. "How was it?"

Daisy frowned. "Your accent was atrocious. But you looked good. Maybe keep the new teeth? It kinda suits you." She waved lightly. "Lose the tail, obviously. But Theo with vamp teeth? Eh. Let's see what we got for that." She pointed at the loot.

It was a necklace this time. The chain had a fine weave, and the stone dangling on it was smooth and black. The stone didn't reflect light, so it had an odd look to Daisy.

─ Blackheart Amulet

─ Type: Accessory, Necklace

─ Rarity: Legendary

─ Description: This rare necklace is imbued with dark energy that helps the wearer resist healing and holy magic, but can damage them if they cast such spells.

Daisy threw a hand up. "Wow, striking out entirely for loot in this dungeon." She laughed despite it. "Still, I got some good practice in. Not a waste. So, who wants an amulet that protects against healing and holy magic?" She waved it between her fingers. "It hurts if you cast any of that type of magic, too."

"I can use it." Theo looked awkward. "I mean, I don't think Cedric uses spells that are affected, and I know I don't." He shrugged. "Could go to either of us. Cedric, you want?"

Cedric shrugged back. "No thanks." He looked over the chain a moment. "I'm not sure what use it would be, I don't get into situations where I need it."

Daisy stuffed it away. "Then we sell it and enjoy the split money. I'm sure someone else will want it. Now, how about we get out of here?" She gestured to the wall behind them, which had opened up into a doorway to the outside. She led them through, feeling relieved as she stepped out into the sun.

"Good job, Daisy." Theodore put his hands on his hips. "That was intense. But it was also fun. You were pretty cool in there."

Daisy waved off his words, but her tail swayed with pleasure behind her. "You were great too. Both of you. Thank you for the help, I appreciate it." She grabbed the both of them in a firm hug. "Maybe we can come back to this hole after we recover?"

Theo looked back at the place. "Maybe." He hugged her back, then turned to leave. "We really should stop by and get me healed, if that's possible."

Cedric squeezed them both before leading them off. "Let's get your tail back to normal. Fox mutagens aren't hard to find, shouldn't be expensive."