- [The Castle Safe Room] -

A gentle warmth fills the small bedroom, creating a stark contrast to the unyielding frost that perpetually grips the rest of the castle come day or night. The faint glow of candlelight flickers across walls adorned with faded portraits, casting fleeting mirages that shiver in tandem with the crackling hearth. The air carries a scent of lavender and sage, an attempt to soothe the tumultuous spirit of a guest within.

Sanftes, the fairy, lies tangled in the sheets — as applicable as can be, given her size — her wings twitching with restless energy. She mutters incessantly, her voice a dissonant whisper, speaking of rats and the walls closing in. Her eyes are red, wide, and haunted — searching for something unseen.

The elven priestess Azalea sits at the bedside, her brow furrowed with concern. Her fingers brush against the ornate vial she holds, filled with a shimmering herbal potion she got from Hwa-Young, the witch. She tries to coax Sanftes to drink, her voice a soft melody. "This will help. Just have a sip."

The thought of getting a witch of all things to help her make someone better is so odd and out of place in her mind on one hand, but on the other hand, Azalea feels like she’s adjusted quite well to this new life.

It’s very different from how things used to be.

Beside her, Agnis, the knight, shifts her weight, long ears twitching with unease. She leans closer, her armored finger resting gently on Sanftes' shoulder as she does her best to be reassuring. "Come on. You’re safe. Take it easy."

The fairy's muttering continues, unbroken. Agnis exchanges a glance with Azalea, frustration seeping into her posture. They’ve tried everything they know — potions, light magic, endless reassurances. Nothing works. The fairy has cracked.

Master Inkume assumed she just needs some time to ‘mellow out’, as he phrased it. He asked them to look after her until she was ready to go home of her own volition.

The room itself is a cocoon of coziness. Azalea doesn’t come here often anymore, but it still feels safe to her. Plush rugs cover the stone floor, muffling footsteps. The bed is draped in soft linens, a contrast to the cold hardness of the castle fortress it’s inside. Wooden beams crisscross the low ceiling, adding to the sense of enclosure and comfort. But none of these creature comforts help calm Sanftes, who seems to remain trapped in her own mind.

Agnis stands up, her determination a palpable force. “I'm going to find the Vampire Lord,” she announces, her voice a mix of resignation and hope. “It sounds crazy, but maybe she needs a shock to her system?” guesses the knight. “Like a bucket of cold water,” explains Agnis. Azalea shrugs but nods along. “Maybe if he bites her again? Perhaps that will break through the madness.”

“Oooh,” Azalea nods, her eyes following Agnis to the door. "Be careful," she murmurs, though the words feel hollow. The castle leaves them alone, as do the monsters. Azalea isn’t sure why or how, but the monsters simply ignore them at worst or interact with them here and there at best.

She’s had quite a few engaging conversations with some phantoms now and then.

Agnis steps into the corridor, the warmth of the room slipping away as the chill of the castle envelops her.

Azalea looks back down at the fairy.

“There’s nowhere to go. It already ate us,” she says, looking at Azalea with wide, unblinking eyes. “The rats… they can smell it.”

The priestess crosses her arms. “You realize you’re talking like a deranged woman?” she asks, with no sense of irony to her voice.

But the fairy just clutches herself and keeps rocking below the sheets, muttering.

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- [The Vampire Lord’s Castle’s Mine] -

Dust hangs thick in the air, swirling through the underground expanse with every clash of steel and stone. The mines pulse with feverish energy, lit by the dim glow of scattered crystals of many colors embedded within the cavern walls. Shadows flicker across the jagged rock, cast by the flickering torchlight carried by the adventurers who have dared to enter this domain.

They came for treasure — rare gems and artifacts rumored to lie deep within the bowels of the Vampire Lord's territory. The promise of wealth lured them, a siren's call too tempting to resist. But now, they find themselves locked in ferocious combat against the relentless hordes of kobolds and stone golems, servants of the dark lord.

The underground air is cool yet charged with the heat of battle. Echoes of shouted commands and the clatter of weapons against stone fill the space. “They just keep coming!” one adventurer yells, wiping sweat from his brow with a bloodied hand.

“Hold the line!” another responds, gritting her teeth as she parries a kobold's attack.

The raid of adventurers presses on, their determination a palpable force. They’re some twenty bodies strong. They've managed to cut through waves of the Vampire Lord's minions, inching ever closer to their prize. There’s rumors of a secret boss monster hidden down here somewhere with incredible loot.

The underground mine, the cavern, stretches wide, a sprawling labyrinth of tunnels and bridges suspended over a dark chasm. Stalactites hang ominously from the ceiling, threatening to drop at any moment. The air is thick with the scent of sweat, stone, and something acrid — magic unbound.

The bridges are the focus of the battle, acting as natural chokepoints between the groups of adventurers and the mine’s inhabitants.

But then a new presence emerges from the shadows.

Skeleton mages glide into view, their bony forms draped in tattered robes. Old tomes are clutched in their skeletal hands and pulse with dark energy, their pages flipping of their own accord.

One adventurer, eyes wide with horror, points towards the mages. “There’s more of them! We’ve gotta fall back!”

But it’s too late. The skeleton mages begin their incantations, voices a chilling whisper that echoes through the cavern. Arcane symbols blaze in the air, channeling eldritch power through the magical crystals that line the walls — an ancient conduit of destruction.

Suddenly, a surge of black energy erupts, tearing through the cavern with a deafening roar. The bridges, once sturdy paths across the abyss, shatter beneath the assault, their remains swallowed by the void below.

The adventurers on the bridges scream, their cries lost to the depths as they plummet.

The survivors stand frozen for a moment, disbelief etched across their faces. The battle, which had seemed in their favor, is now decided.

“Damn it,” one mutters, eyes fixed on the empty space where their comrades once stood. “FALL BACK!” yells a man as a barrage of spells blasts after them.

The mines have claimed another victory, the Vampire Lord’s defenses holding strong against those who dared to challenge his dominion.

~ [Skeleton Mage] ~

A Skeleton Mage.

The wisest of all skeletons, skeleton mages are capable multidisciplinary casters who have been reanimated to perform their craft in the service of the dark powers of the world. Unlike normal skeleton fighters who work in mindless swarm tactics, skeleton mages retain a significant portion of their former intellect and have been seen setting intricate traps and ambushes and even performing complicated magical rituals.

Given that magical ability inherently comes from the soul, it is unknown where these undead draw their power from — the theory, of course, being that their mortal souls remain shackled inside of their fleshless bodies.

However, the implications of this are grim to consider, as either these men and women have returned from the grave with a hatred toward the living they no longer belong to, or they are instead trapped as prisoners inside of their own possessed remains.

The skeleton mages of the Vampire Lord are carrying unusual equipment, granting them considerable boons in power: [Spidersilk Mage Garments] [Ancient Library-Borrowed Tome of Forbidden Magic] [Magical Resonating Crystal] [Toxic Mana Potions] [Astral Starmaps] Type: Undead {Reanimated} Rank: D → A+ Common Drop: Skeleton Fragments Rare Drop: Floating Skull Minion

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- [Vampire Lord Inkume] -

The corridor outside the library feels cool and still, untouched by the sun's warmth. A faint aroma of old parchment and leather drifts from the library doors, mingling with the scent of the damp stone that forms the castle's bones.

Vampire Lord Inkume steps into the corridor, his movements soft and measured as he carefully looks around to make sure the coast is clear. In his hand, he cradles a new acquisition — a book on understanding emotions, with a title that makes him wince.

‘Your Feelings: An Incubusses’ Guide on Understanding What’s Inside You’.

He tucks it beneath his cloak, an embarrassing secret too precious to reveal. His mind is a messy whirl of curiosity and odd things lately, the desire to understand what’s going on warring with the fear of exposure and not being perceived as the super-cool Vampire Lord.

It’s pretty lame.

But there’s so much stuff going on lately with everyone, with Snatch, Bark, Fi-Fi and all of the others that he — horrific Vampire Lord or not — feels a little overwhelmed at times as flashbacks of that awkward man he once was return to the forefront of his mind. A little extra reading might help him resolve these issues. He barely secured a date by the tips of his fingers in his last life, and now there’s a swarm of interested people hounding after him, and he’s not really sure what to do with this. One would think his years of reading trashy novels would have prepared him for this day, but it’s definitely different in reality when you’re stuck in the center of it all.

A loud noise comes from around the bend as a blur of shapes blasts out through the air.

Fi-Fi, the skeletal maid, rides on the back of Hwa-Young's broom, her bony fingers clasping tightly to the handle. Her bones shimmer faintly in the dim light, polished to a gleam. The witch, Hwa-Young, guides the broom with ease, her straight hair trailing behind her and fluttering into the skeleton’s face.

Fi-Fi's voice rings out, cheerful yet carrying a note of frustration as she waves excitedly. "Master!” calls the skeleton. “There’s a rat problem in the castle!"

Inkume blinks, masking his surprise with a nod. “Uh…I see," he replies, his tone more confident than he feels as he processes what he’s just heard. Rats? Again? Didn’t he just chase them out of the blood cellar a week ago?

Hwa-Young glances over her shoulder, her gaze thoughtful. "We’ve been trying to track them down, but they’re crafty little things,” says the witch, talking through the magical skull held in her hand. Fi-Fi looks at it and then up at her. “…What?” asks Hwa-Young as Fi-Fi crosses her arms.

"I’ll look into it now," Inkume offers, shifting slightly to ensure the book remains hidden. The last thing he needs is for them to see it and ask questions he isn't prepared to answer.

Fi-Fi leans forward on the broom, her skeletal form somehow managing to convey exasperation. “I’d appreciate that, Master. They’re making a mess of the kitchens,” she explains.

“Anyway, we’re going to go chase some adventurers around and throw things at them!” says Fi-Fi excitedly, showing him a collection of random junk she’s swiped on the way, including a few living objects who got caught in the mix.

“They will see only the shadow of death before they are struck down like dogs,” says Hwa-Young, tightening a fist as Fi-Fi waves an ornamental candelabra behind her.

“Nice, nice,” says Inkume. “I’m glad you two are getting along,” he says, waving a hand to them as they take off into the air, laughing as they fly off.

“Oh, did you get my no-?” asks Fi-Fi, screeching as she’s cut off as they shoot off down the corridor.

“THERE!” yells Hwa-Young, pointing out of a series of windows at some adventurers crossing a large, open-air bridge outside who she locks onto.

Saved by good fortune, Inkume watches them glide away, their conversation a murmur of determination and camaraderie. It’s nice to see someone getting alone here. Maybe he can get the others to mellow out a little too, like the two of them?

Inkume takes a breath, composing himself before he turns to address the matter of the rats.

— Truly, this is a task for the almighty, powerful, and horrific Vampire Lord, and not for his maid and servant staff.

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The narrow confines within the walls of the castle are a maze of darkness and dust. Barely a sliver of light filters through the cracks. As a rat, Vampire Lord Inkume finds this floor-bound vantage point rather unusual. The castle does look a lot bigger this way. He wonders if this is how fairies feel.

He thought it would be smart to be a rat, blend in with the crowds, and see where it takes him. He’s spent the last hour weaving through groups of adventurers, following the occasional scurrying, secretive silhouette from one corner of the castle to the next.

The air is thick with the musty smell of aged wood and stone.

Inkume navigates the labyrinthine passages, his mission clear: to discover the source of the infestation plaguing his domain. Apparently they have rats, which, well, considering that this is an evil vampire castle doesn’t actually seem like a real problem? Like, he feels like this is a place rats just kind of hang out. It seems like a good deal for them.

Honestly, he’s not sure he cares that much himself, apart from them raiding his blood cellar that one time. But Snatch and Fi-Fi seem bothered by them, so that means more to him than his own indifference to the matter. At this point, he knows it’s best to listen to them. Doing so has yet to lead him wrong thus far.

He scurries along, whiskers twitching, when a sudden presence looms ahead.

Agnis, the knight, stands poised and vigilant, her armor gleaming despite the dimness. Her expression is one of focus, though her ears twitch with the slightest sound as she looks around herself.

“Agnis?” he asks. What is she doing all the way out here in this remote wing of the castle?

With a small leap, Inkume reveals himself, a calculated risk in this diminutive form. But the reaction is unexpected.

Agnis lets out a startled scream, her instincts taking over. Her powerful leg, filled essentially with the blood of a rabbit, lashes out, smashing into the brick wall with a force that echoes like thunder just past him. Inkume, dodging out of the way by sheer happenstance alone, holds his hands out the side on her leg — it looks like he caught it and diverted her strike like an expert. But the truth is, he just lucked out once more.

The impact shatters the silence.

“You surprised me,” she says, staring at him, frozen, as bricks and dust crumble behind him.

“Yeah, I noticed,” replies Inkume dryly, finding himself still holding her ankle.

Does he let go?

He wants to let go of it.

But he’s been holding onto it for too long now. It’s weird if he lets go. It’s too late now for him to let go of her leg without it seeming like he just didn’t know what to do with it — which is the truth — but she doesn’t need to know that. But what the hell else is he supposed to do with a handful of ankles without seeming like a creep?

‘Matthew, please’, prays Inkume silently in his mind to his patron protector.

The two of them stare at each other. “...I was looking for you,” says the knight quietly, still standing on one leg as he holds the other one straight out next to him. How does it always end up like this?

Fuck. He has to go all in. It’s the only way.

Yanking on her outstretched leg, he suddenly pulls her forward. The knight falls toward him, letting out a surprised yelp as he catches her below her shoulder in a waiting arm against his chest. Her metal armor strikes his body, her helmet looking up toward him.

“You found me,” replies the Vampire Lord, as she looks up through her slit visor. He smiles. “It's unusual though,” starts Inkume, lifting her chin a little higher with his other hand as he looks into her eyes. He has to do it. He has to say it with a straight face. He must be strong. “— For a rabbit to chase the hunter.”

Spew. Ugh. He’s actually going to vomit.

Agnis slumps a little lower. “I… I uh… there’s,” she starts, her voice faltering below her helmet as they stare at each other. “…a fairy…” says Agnis.

The knight falls quiet, just staring at him as if waiting for him to do something more about the moment between them.

But then she catches herself. “What is this?!” she asks, finding new strength in voice and footing as she abruptly gets up and away from him. “Magic?” asks Agnis accusingly in a sharp voice, stepping back from him. She lifts a hand, the other one holding her helmet. “Are you manipulating my thoughts?! Stay out of my head!”

Inkume shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replies in all sincerity and in a placid tone to accompany it. “Maybe you should go lie d -”

Bricks crumble behind him as the wall collapses in, falling away to reveal a hidden passage teeming with life.

An unending wave of rats spills forth, a living tide that surges into the open. Inkume watches, a mixture of horror and fascination coursing through him.

Agnis stumbles back, eyes wide with shock. "What the hell?!" she exclaims, struggling to comprehend the sudden deluge as she kicks away swarthes of them, only to eventually find herself losing ground.

She lets out a wild shriek, thinking she’s about to get swarmed, and jumps toward him, having no safer harbor at the moment.

[Lightweight, Baby] Passive Ability • No matter what a fair maiden of any race weighs, you can effortlessly carry her back to your dark lair to devour whole, as being seen as struggling to do so would inspire strength in your enemies.

Inkume, amid the chaos, holding the grown adult in full plate armor in his arms, stares around himself as the rats divert around him. Although many stop and fawn for a time before rejoining the swarm to escape the room.

He hadn't anticipated this, not the sheer magnitude of the many. That is a lot of rats.

Agnis, half regaining her composure after a moment of shock, looks at him. “Beast. Your bleak aura has once again filled my senses with an illusion,” she says. “Cease using your foul powers to manipulate my mind, or I’ll put you to your rightful grave,” warns the knight.

Inkume stares. “…So you’re not afraid of rats?” he asks, looking at the armored person cradled in his arms above the sea of scurrying bodies.

“I am a trained, ordained knight of the Holy Church. I am frightful only of greater terrors in this world than a lesser evil like you could ever comprehend,” she explains, the metal thurible on her waist swinging loosely, stained with old incense.

“Got it,” he replies, setting her down but not managing as her arms lock around his neck.

“I think I hurt my ankle a moment ago,” she says quickly. “You may continue to render me aid for now,” says Agnis, her legs decisively not making contact with the floor. “And I shall use it as a judgement of your character.”

He did this to himself.

It’s his fault for biting her and getting her involved. Agnis has the bug now, just like everyone else. He can tell. It’s in her eyes.

Wait, no.

— It’s Cvet’s fault, that boy. He brought her here. He should have him killed immediately.

Wait… no, that’s not a good idea. Azalea likes Cvet.

…Inkume stares blankly into the open wall for a while.

Of course!

He has to have Azalea killed, then Cvet. It’s so obvious!

Wait… no, no, wait. That doesn’t sound right. What? What the fuck? What the hell is he thinking?

Inkume shakes his head, looking down at the ‘wounded’ knight in his arms. “Okay,” he says, stepping in through the broken wall. “Let’s find out what these rats are taking issue with,” says the Vampire Lord, walking into a large, chewed-through passageway made by thousands of teeth and little claws.