Layondo and Pain

Moments after Pain had his first meal of blood, a set of new faces came out to greet him.

These vampires did not look at all too strong, they wore literal rags for clothing, and with the help of Petty Scan, I was able to gather some information about them with just a simple glance. Their leader Clifford, Daywalker, No Class, strode over to Ignoc's side and ripped open the door, letting Ignoc tumble to the floor.

I silently watched him; he had red skin with linear blue diamond patterns down his body. His forehead was entirely red; bleeding red bars cut through his blue face, down his red and blue eyes, and around his blue and purple lips. His dark blue frizz of hair fluttered in the soft wind as he towered over the cowering Ignoc.

CLIFFORD

You shouldn't keep this gent alive.

I was dazed as the term 'daywalker' brought back pre-immortality memories, and I vividly remembered nightwalkers, daywalkers, shadowalkers, husks, and blood demons—each a type of creature cursed with vampirism.

PAIN

Well,

I muttered,

PAIN

No reason to kill him.

Clifford scowled at me as I cast a quick peek at the others— none of them had classes? How was that even possible?

CLIFFORD

He would talk. Spread news about you. And give us trouble.

IGNOC

Please,

Ignoc pleaded,

IGNOC

I beg of you! I won't say a word!

PAIN

What kind of trouble—oh...

I quickly realized—

PAIN

You all must stay nearby the town.

I stated as Clifford raised his clawed barefoot above Ignoc's head.

IGNOC

Please!

CLIFFORD

You're right.

He confirmed as he crushed Ignoc's head. Despite not having any classes, they were still vampires after all. And then there was this Vampor that granted abilities from drinking blood. I sighed,

PAIN

Quite rude to kill someone begging for mercy.

CLIFFORD

I don't care. You're coming with us.

I said nothing as I attempted to look the other four in the eyes, but they turned away. Five to one, and they barely had the will to fight... well, except Clifford.

BONE

Our leader wants to speak with you.

He blurted out, his eyes averted. I looked over at Bone with a grin.

PAIN

Your name is Bone?

He exchanged looks with me; I took in his mossy strands of green hair and bright yellow skin with swirls of orange patterns down his body. There were also dark patches of oranges around his bright green eyes and golden lips.

Petty Interference tingled as Bone grimaced at me.

BONE

Your name is Pain.

He retorted dismissively, and I smiled softly.

PAIN

Fair enough.

Mac, a black-haired female vampire, stepped forward,

MAC

We are not here to fight you.

PAIN

Never said I was not going to come.

I said, raising my hands in defense. I was actually curious to see where they would take me.

PAIN

Lead the way.

Clifford was about to lead but caught sight of Dante, the Lead Guard, a Warrior, moving and went over to him. My skeleton Slasher stepped in his way.

PAIN

I cared less for that fat pig called Ignoc. But leave any surviving guards alone.

Clifford scowled at my Slasher.

MAC

Clifford...

Clifford exhaled heavily through his nose before leading us through the woods.

The walk to their hideout was long, silent, and extremely awkward. It was as if each and every one of us were complete strangers to one another. They all walked a distance from each other and kept to themselves.

I pursed my lips together—their hideout must be quite a sight, seeing they looked starved and down on their luck. Of course, I had the urge to ask them questions, but I restrained myself as I followed them upon my sword.

Not only was I interested in where they lived, but also in them; I found each of them attractive. Possibly because of the many weeks of seclusion I had to endure...

Mac glanced at me, but I caught it and stared back at her. She had pale blue skin with hard-to-see black lines resembling vines flowing up and down her body. I knew she could feel me staring at her as she glanced at me again with her magenta pupils swimming in a dark blue iris. Her black lips parted as she asked me,

MAC

Is it not sharp?

She gestured at my position, and I shrugged.

PAIN

Not comfortable. But it beats walking. How far are we from your lair?

CLIFFORD

It's not a lair.

He explained,

CLIFFORD

We're still far away.

And that was the only line of speaking as we continued to trudge west through the forest while occasionally stopping for them to hunt down any morsel they could find.

I watched as Mac and Bone greedily guzzled the blood of raw rabbits in such a sloppy manner that I had to look away. I was seconds away from offering to cook it for them, but they threw themselves into their meals the second they caught them.

We arrived at their lair, a spacious plot of vine-covered stone ruins hidden within the forest. I kept my familiars along the outskirts of the ruins but close enough in case I needed aid. These ruins had to be hundreds of years old as I looked at stones so totally engulfed by roots and vines that not a shred of the stones beneath them was visible.

As soon as we entered the ruins, the other four daywalkers immediately parted ways while Clifford continued to lead me through the ruins. There were dozens of daywalkers lingering about the ruins and refuging underneath the remains of ruined shelters in such depressing manners that nobody bothered to look at me. Hell, I doubt if any of them knew I was a fresh face among them.

At the center were stairs leading beneath the lair. Wooden pillars held up the entrance into the depths, and within, we shuffled through a narrow dark hall of dirt and wooden support. At the end was a curtain of rags Clifford pushed aside.

I followed after him into a poorly lit oval room; makeshift torches lined the room, and remaining relics of the ruin aided the structural support in the form of old marble pillars. In the center was a circular stone table where three other vampires sat cross-legged upon the dirt. The vampire sitting at the head and wearing the best dark woven clothing out of all I have seen here was named Layondo, Nightwalker, Mage/Cleric.

Hmm... Cleric was a second-tier class after Mage. Looking at his contorted, curled-up pale face and bloody red eyes alone, I knew he was a nightwalker. The other two were ladies, Cloe and Elizabeth, and both daywalkers with no classes. They were studying a large map and seemingly discussing me when I entered, noted by Layondo's last words,

LAYONDO

Someone must have turned him into a...

He looked up at us.

CLIFFORD

Here he is.

And with that, Clifford quickly departed. Layondo nodded at his fellow daywalkers, and they left past me.

LAYONDO

I hope Clifford treated you kindly on your way here.

I approached just enough to clear the entrance,

PAIN

Sort of.

LAYONDO

I'm assuming Clifford explained our situation to you?

I planted my staff into the soil and folded my arms,

PAIN

No.

And he attempted to tuck in his misshapen lips.

LAYONDO

Well, okay then.

He sighed before asking firmly,

LAYONDO

First, would you like to tell me how you became a vampire?

PAIN

Sure, as long as you tell me about yourself and this clan.

He gave me an intense look, and I assumed he was attempting to raise a non-existing eyebrow,

LAYONDO

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

I was about to tell you everything. And I will, as long as I have your word, you will not bother the town again.

I shrugged,

PAIN

Sure. I got bit by some nightwalkers a few weeks ago.

He leaned slightly forward,

LAYONDO

Some nightwalkers?

PAIN

Well, there were three of them—

LAYONDO

Dammit!

I stared at him with my mouth agape.

LAYONDO

One lady and two gents, I presume?

PAIN

Uh, yes. I figure they came from here?

He shook his head.

LAYONDO

Neorine...

PAIN

Neo- what?

He stood to extend his legs and paced the room carefully.

LAYONDO

We all came from the far west, and we all used to live in peace with vampires… along with other races, many fleeing slavery. A discourse gave rise to a mutiny among the vampires, and the opposing group called themselves the Neorine.

He stopped pacing to face me,

LAYONDO

Long story short, Neorine sought to grow in power,

He growled with abhorrence.

LAYONDO

By turning everyone they saw into vampires... how I became this curse. Stupid shit got out of hand, and the balanced states of the west fell apart.

He took a deep breath.

LAYONDO

Those vampires you met came here. They were part of a ridiculous group who sought to overtake Dagon years ago. Apparently, their leader came looking for me... I do not like to resort to violence. I may not fit the role, but I am a Cleric.

He paused, anticipating my response, but I awaited his following words patiently.

LAYONDO

A Cleric long before this curse. Right now, I have some sort of peace with the state of Dagon. No vampires are allowed within the town but me. If they call for me, I visit to heal the sick, and my fellow vampires are given food and peace.

He clenched his jaws and gave me a hideous smile,

LAYONDO

Some nights ago, a famous enchanter by the name of Isaac frantically spoke of a monster vampire.

PAIN

Oh—um, sorry about that.

I shrugged, but he shook his head,

LAYONDO

I put a lot of work into giving these hapless ladies and gents a place to find peace... but my work is far from over. You've seen them. Out there, living in rags and given this curse, I will never smile again.

He raised his hand and pointed outside firmly,

LAYONDO

But those daywalkers who stumble around in sadness—they have the ability to smile, and they do not because I am failing them. None of them asked for such a curse. To be whipped into obedience by nightwalkers and disillusioned daywalkers. Now, they are hunted down like animals!

I exhaled to shut him up,

PAIN

I understand. I will not bother Dagon any longer.

And he bared his fangs for a moment.

LAYONDO

See to it that you do not.

PAIN

Was that all?

LAYONDO

Yes... Where do you stay?

He asked.

PAIN

I am a vagrant—a traveler.

I lied, but a part of me had a sneaking suspicion that he did not believe me as he muttered,

LAYONDO

Intriguing.

He returned to the low table and sat down.

LAYONDO

You are free to leave. But just because I do not want to turn to violence does not mean I won't hesitate to use it on you. I hope you understand I will do anything to preserve the peace for my fellow kin.

And with that, I turned to leave. But a question came to mind, and I stopped.

LAYONDO

What?

PAIN

I'm wondering… can you poop?

He flinched and gawked at me as if a horn sprouted from my forehead. Flustered, he repeated my question,

LAYONDO

Can I… Can I poop?

PAIN

I have been wondering if nightwalkers could poop.

I confessed innocently.

PAIN

It has been bothering me, honestly.

His cordial expression furled into annoyance and anger.

LAYONDO

What kind of imbecile are you? Asking such a childish question!?

He growled at me, his eyes scanning me as if to ensure I was genuine.

PAIN

Well, can you?

I asked honestly. He looked off to the side and scoffed before finally articulating,

LAYONDO

No.

I chuckled,

PAIN

Fascinating.

And with that, I departed. Quite the gent he was, but for some reason, I felt like the bastard was lying through his teeth. Maybe it was his distorted demonic looking face that made him feel untrustworthy.

I returned to the surface to be intercepted by Clifford,

CLIFFORD

Let me guess, he asked you kindly to stop messing with the town.

I frowned at his tone,

PAIN

Yes, he did.

I stated, wondering why he did not know this already.

PAIN

Something wrong?

CLIFFORD

Pacifist coward.

Clifford scoffed to himself and then looked back at me,

CLIFFORD

Take a look around and ask me that again. To hell with that damned town. If I were you, I would curse him and do whatever I please.

I did not have time for his false vainglory as I walked past him,

PAIN

And yet, you are still here.

CLIFFORD

What's that supposed to mean?

He asked after me.

PAIN

You know exactly what that means.

I left the ruins in haste and was undoubtful that I would be followed. But I wonder, would they be able to keep up with me? I took off into the air the moment I left the ruin's border, and as for my familiars, they were fast and had natural stealth.

We were far west of my lair that I had to hurry less the sun came out and roasted my familiars. My skeletons were easily replaced, but as for my undead squad of arachnids, finding deer or catching piles of fish to replace them was not a fun chore.

****

I awoke within my lair the following morning and noticed the mana energy emitting from the two remaining rings was trivial compared to when I had first seen them. Yet, the sinister energy emitting from the two was still there, and I figured it may have something to do with them fusing into my bone and flesh when worn.

Hmm... since I had no plans to venture out into the night, I decided to unseal the two rings and practice whatever new spell or skill I learned from them for the entire day.

So, after a morning meal of roasted fish, I placed the two rings on the floor before me and proceeded to unseal one of them. Unlike the last time, I had complete control over the tug of my mana, yet the ring still unleashed pulsing waves of mana. I resisted the ring's attempts to raise us into the air, and within a few seconds, the ring was unsealed— Ring of Telekinesis.

Fascinating. I was expecting another elemental ring, but this was more favorable as I thought about it.

PAIN

Next one,

I whispered to myself, eagerly looking forward to revealing the last and final ring. I emitted my mana into the last one and felt a strong tug on my mana. But I refused to let this ring best me and put effort into my control over the ring's energy— Ring of Teleportation.

PAIN

Teleportation!?

I scoffed. My mouth fell agape at such a powerful enchantment as I stared at the Ring of Teleportation in disbelief. I snapped out of it, grabbed the two, removed my gloves, and endured the pain of sliding them down onto my fourth and fifth fingers.

Active Acquired:

Spell: Telekinesis

Spell: Teleportation

I rushed into the Chamber with glee on my face. I could not wait to see what I was capable of. Within the first hour, I noticed I could use sight magic with Telekinesis. Hand magic was far superior, of course, but sight magic had its use. Furthermore, unlike Fire, Telekinesis was not much of a danger to my eyes, but forcing it too much did cause me some pain.

Still, I decided to focus on sight magic with Telekinesis because having two proficient mana zones was better than one. I could lift puri coins with sight magic alone and spin it. With hand magics, I felt the physical attributes of whatever I telekinetically grabbed. I could quickly think of some things I would rather not feel.

With hand magics, I could charge up Telekinesis similar to Fire and let out a small cone of force. Unlike my Fire Bomb, it did not push me back. I could even do air push-ups without having my hands on the ground, which I found amusing. I then aimed to mimic Lesser Sun with Telekinesis by aiming my staff into my hand and charging for a few seconds. The blast sent out a wide conical burst of force. It even grazed the ceiling of the chamber as it reached its end. So, I decided to name it Lesser Push.

Lastly, Telekinesis had no effect on grabbing intangible things such as Fire, Water, or sand. Well, regarding sand, Telekinesis did help keep it stable while casting, manipulating its shape, and the most valuable ability, levitating blobs of hardened sand and dirt high above the ground—which I found exceedingly challenging to perform quickly.

By the hour past midnight, I found myself quickly casting air-shattering bursts of Telekinesis with hand magics, small cones with sight magics, grabbing and throwing small slabs with hand magics, and creating controlled wide-ranging waves of force with my staff that shredded through earthly boulders I had created to spar with.

As I retired to my room to sleep for the first time in days, Recall Memory revealed the wares Isaac had within his wagon. Seeing those items made me worried; the more I worried, the more Recall Memory continued to replay such imagery.

I breathed deeply and pushed myself to fall asleep. I was not worried about my safety—I had seven fully grown arachnids loitering in the arachnid lair. Any unfortunate person who chooses to enter my domain will be torn apart.

So, what was it that I was worried about? I awoke at a very early hour the following morning with a sickening feeling of anxiety within my gut as I finally put the clues together—

PAIN

Dagon is going to attack Layondo and his lair...

I realized.

PAIN

Well... shit.