Negotiating their way up the stairway, The Wolves pressed themselves against the left side of the spiral staircase. Cid, who was at the front of the group poked his head out and cautiously examined the floor before waving the others to keep going. The room was used for storage, with crates and barrels filling much of the room.

“I’m surprised they haven’t torn into these yet,” Silvius said quietly.

“Give them time,” Benkin said. “If they didn’t appreciate what little they have, they’d ruin what more they stole.”

Maeryn slowly opened the door way leading into the second room, with Benkin standing nearby. Moving in, they found a room with a large fireplace and three cots unfolded and had ruffled sheets resting on top of them. A bear skin rug draped the wooden flooring and three racks where suits of armor would be kept in storage were empty as they stood next to the beds. I think we have more armored friends nearby, Cid gestured to the others.

Oh, don’t I just feel lucky, Jeanne replied.

Do you think they’re upstairs? Benkin asked.

If they aren’t, then I’d be surprised, Cid replied.

Maeryn walked up to the foot of the stairway leading to the final floor and after taking a moment to listen, she gestured, There’s three up above.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, loosening their joints, and steeling themselves for the coming fight. They moved up the stairs slowly, spotting the two remaining knights standing at attention, the tips of their longswords touching the floor and sporting the same armor as now fully dead their comrade floors below. As they stood there, their chests moved slowly as they drew labored breaths.

In the middle sat the older of the two brothers, sitting on a large wooden chair. The size of his head was larger than a normal person, by half Jeanne estimated, with black hair was thick with oil and flat, with a streak of grey running along the left side of his head. His eyes gave off a greenish hue as he looked at The Wolves with disinterested eyes. His fingers were long and gnarled, the flesh mostly gone with his bleached white skin the only thing covering his bones.

His mouth a partially opened, revealing a set of pointed teeth behind his cracked lips as he began to smile. “Welcome to my home,” Ollen said, lifting both hands above his shoulders and towards his guests, “I hope you found the new décor to your liking.”

“It’s not exactly our particular taste, if I’ll be honest,” Cid said.

“It’s fucking repulsing,” Jeanne said, glaring at the Kolville.

“I’d figured you’d say that,” Ollen said, methodically wrapping his fingers around the arms of his chair before rising from his seat. “But I figured you’re all not here to speak of home decorations and other idle chatter.”

“What gave you that impression?” Gabriel said, gripping her spear tightly.

“Call it hunch,” Ollen replied. “But, let’s not keep the inevitable waiting any longer,” he said before standing squared before them and opening his hands and his fingers cracking and reforming, the bone piercing through the skin of his finger tips with sharpened claws emerging.

“Oh wonderful,” Jeanne heard Silvius say under his breath as he readied his crossbow.

Benkin rushed towards the Kolville, swinging his blade twice, the vampire dodging the blows with ease. “You’ll need to do better than that, bladesman,” Ollen said.

The vampire screamed as Cid landed a slash along his side. “The same can be side for you,” he said to the vampire.

Before Ollen could reply, a crossbolt from Silvius struck the fiend in the shoulder, forcing him back from Cid and Benkin. Kveldulf lunged towards Ollen impaling the vampire with the point of his spear and through the other side. Ollen swiped at Kveldulf with one arrow from Maeryn landing in his shoulder, throwing away from Kel and another landing in one of the undead knight’s torso, arresting their against Kveldulf.

Gabriel landed a blow into the leg of the undead knight, who screamed in pain before she twisted and pulled her weapon out. Jeanne reached out with her hand and lightening flowed from her fingers, striking the two undead knights and Ollen withstanding the assault as he raised his arms and absorbed the damage. Leonidas flung a ball of emerald fire towards the undead knight attacking Kveldulf and the warrior screamed as the fire immolated its flesh underneath its armor.

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Ollen rushed towards Kveldulf his claws moving past the chainmail and into the warrior’s flesh. Kveldulf a scream as before headbutting the vampire’s face. The vampire stumbled back, wiping the blood from his nose, and smiled. “Spirited, I like that.”

Hypatia wove a song with her blades, filling her friends with fire as the fought continued, as Kveldulf dodged a strike from the undead knight and Benkin caught the blade in side and the other struck him. As he tried retaliate, the undead knight dodged his attacks and gained distance between itself and Benkin. Jeanne spotted Ollen’s wounds begin to slowly heal up as the fight wore on. “Aw shit,” she said, “he’s regenerating!”

“Did you think this would be a simple fight?” Ollen said to her.

Cid slashed across Ollen’s chest with his rapier, the vampire wincing in pain as he glared at the Felidan. Silvius fired a crossbolt at the undead knight attacking Benkin, who deflect the projectile with their helm while Kveldulf entered in a berserker rage, roaring towards Ollen and charging him. The vampire frozen in fear as Kveldulf landed the the blade of his halberd into the vampire’s arm shattering it.

Maeryn landed an arrow into the torso of the undead knight attacking Benkin, causing the fiend to fall to one knee, using its sword to keep itself from falling to the ground. Gabriel landed a deep blow into the other undead knight, causing the warrior to stumble in its stance. Jeanne pointed two fingers towards the knight attacking Benkin and said, “Get away from my friend you bastard!” as she fired on bolt of energy towards the knight causing it to fall and the other two striking Ollen who was beginning to appear winded.

Leonidas threw another emerald ball of fire that severely damaged both Ollen and the undead knight trying to put out the flames. Ollen, unaware of Hypatia swinging her blades and causing the undead knight to shake and unable to move before it tried to swing at Gabriel, tried to put the flames out before they consumed him. As they swung their longsword it cut deep into her armor, lacerating the skin and causing blood to start pouring out, her screaming in pain as Benkin landed a terrible strike against the knight’s shoulder.

While Ollen was giving himself a moment to heal his wounds and rebuild his arm, Cid slashed his front and cut deeply into his flesh. Wine dark blood began pouring out of the wounds. Silvius landed a well-aimed shot into the torso of the remaining undead knight, forcing them to wobble on their feet and barely keep their balance. Kveldulf place flurry of strikes into Ollen’s body, forcing the vampire to retreat from where he stood as The Wolves pushed their attack.

Maeryn loosed two arrows, one striking the undead knight down to the ground, its armor now deathly still, and the other deep into Ollen’s flesh. Jeanne swung her war hammer at Ollen’s head who dodged, slashing through her gambeson and across her stomach with one hand and gripping his side with one hand as he tried to make distance between him and The Wolves. With her blades in hand, Hypatia rushed past, jumped into the air and sunk the full length on both her blades behind each of Ollen’s collarbones.

He fell to the ground screaming in pain and writhing on the floor violently. Jeanne, her arm wrapped around her wounds, walked over and grabbed one of the blades and twisted it, causing Ollen to cry out. “Where is your brother?” she demanded.

“I have several,” he said, “You’ll need to be—”

Jeanne twisted the blade again. “The other one you’ve been murdering people with.”

“He’s far away from here, you peasant whore,” he said, black blood began seep out of his mouth. “Him and our family will be far from your reach.”

“They’re not your family, and I will find your brother, and I will rip his heart out and feed it to him,” Jeanne said with gritted teeth.

“You tell yourself that, you mewling quim, you speak like you’re something far more than you are,” Ollen said to Jeanne. “But you’re weak, weak when you were shit out of your mother, weak when you were spooking travelers on road, weak like your sister when we had our way with her.”

Jeanne’s lips began disappearing, her brows tightened together as the vampire spoke.

“We found her alone on her way to town, like some little fawn moving through the forest. We followed her for a mile or so, never suspecting we were around, and Osbert, the youngest, he rushes out, pins her down, and as she’s trying to fight him off, he,” before he finished, he sent his right hand towards Jeanne’s face, claws extended.

She caught the hand and in one motion bent the limb backwards. “She … had a name,” Jeanne growled. “And it’ll be the last thing you’ll ever hear,” she said as her summoned her rock scale over her fists and forearms before she roared, “This is for Sabine, you bastard!” Jeanne began striking Ollen with great fury, she such force she could feel the bone succumb to the pressure of her fists.

She didn’t recognize the damage she was inflicting until Kveldulf and Benkin rushed to pull her off of him. “Jeanne, that’s enough!” Kveldulf shouted.

“I want his head!” she bellowed.

“We can’t identify him if you turn his head into mush,” Cid said.

Jeanne wrested herself free from Kveldulf and Benkin. “You want he was saying, about Sabine!” she growled.

“I know, Jeanne,” he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “And we’re that much closer to getting her the justice she deserves. But she isn’t the only victim, and we have to make sure Cyneswith and those two men aren’t forced to stay behind bars anymore than they have to.”

Jeanne said nothing, turning her head back towards Ollen. “He’s starting to regenerate again,” she said in a weak voice.

“Doctor, could you take care of that?” Cid asked.

“Right,” Leonidas said, pulling out one of Hypatia’s blades and getting to work. “You don’t mind, do you?” he asked her.

Hypatia shook her head, “Oh no, by all means,” she said approvingly.

“Once you’re done with that, can you give Jeanne, Ben, Gab, and Kel a look over for their wounds?” Cid followed.

“Should be finished with this shortly,” Leonidas said.

“Come on,” Cid said, “let’s move to another spot to rest up.”