Somehow, the state of the world didn't surprise the Death Knight as he strode across the earth with his companions. Without the sun, very little grew. Vegetation could not sustain prey animals, which meant that predators and humans alike suffered. Which led to the quality of blood suffering. An illiterate farmer could have connected these dots. And yet Dragan had once heard some among his peers desire the world in the exact state of eternal night it was in now. Frankly, he hoped those fools had burned when they suffered their final deaths.

Still, it was good to see that humanity survived in some form despite these setbacks. And enough to have organized settlements, at that. Once their mission was complete, there would be much work to do to shepherd what remained of Man to thrive in this new world. Hopefully, his companions would be able to see the need for such, if only to ensure a steady supply of quality blood for the...less charitably inclined vampires.

As Giselle began to approach the settlement, Dragan voluntarily hung back, staying relatively out of sight as he allowed his peer to do the talking. Despite the fact that he was also an adept speaker, the Death Knight's current appearance wasn't quite suited to reassure frightened villagers that they meant no harm. Best to have a softer face represent the group for the moment. Dragan planted the head of his warhammer into the ground before removing his helmet, if only to have a less terrifying visage.

Luna of course did not demand Fra attend to their journey, and allowed her to stay at the cathedral. Regardless of her brief attempts at lifting up the timid thrall, Fra seemed resolute in her desire to be alone -perhaps even forgotten. Luna gave her farewell and bid her first thrall to keep safe.

Though they had triumphed over the paladin in the end, the loss of Ilena had settled a caution in Luna that she had not felt since waking from the coffin. As measly as the stalking beasts seemed during their journey to the village, she couldn't help but wonder if the things here were of a considerably stronger nature than when she last walked the earth. Still, if a ramshackle village of mortals could persist, then surely the beasts were still only mere beasts.

The state of the world was disheartening, albeit only slightly unexpected. With the condition that Alavaris was in, it seemed fitting that the human realm was similarly decayed. Humanity needed, she felt, their guidance and protection, now more than ever. She only hoped that their strength as vampires would be welcomed as a source of hope, and not resented as monsters like ages before.

As much as she wished to speak on behalf of the group -never mind her enrapturing power- to no doubt skittish and wary humans, Luna made no complaint to Giselle's first approach. Folding her hands together, she watched and listened patiently. A wandering thought drifted into her mind; there was a time when her priesthood was well-known, and the traditional practice of treading the earth barefoot normal, but Luna wondered now if such practices or memories persisted in what remained of human civilization. She cast her eyes down.

Though she no longer suffered from the aches and bruises of long journeys, her attire, never mind her comrade's attires, surely would alert the otherwise drab villagers. She only hoped that Giselle was tact enough to dissuade such fears.

While their loss was a severe one, there was no further time to dwell upon it. Nor was there any reason to deny Fra's request to remain at the cathedral. It would be a shame for such a place to remain in a state of disrepair, after all. Indeed, in as much as things could be in order after the seeming loss of one of their number, Aleksiya felt now was the best time to move on and begin to cast a wider net. To deepen their understanding of the state of the world.

While her heart was somewhat heavy, it was hard not to be amused by the sight of ragged beasts in the dark, prowling as if they had spotted their next prey item. Even in her weakened state, such creatures were nothing compared to her power, let alone the power of all of their number.

She almost considered declaring that she would give them a little fear, before deciding it was best not to drill that understanding into them quite yet.

Not until they had a more stable supply of higher-quality blood.

Until they understood humanity's state in this world.

Speaking of which, the dead beasts were far more intriguing then the live ones. Twisted canine-cervine abominations, antlered wolf-like beasts with limbs far too long for their bodies. Beyond was the only light for quite some time, atop a tall building surrounded by somewhat less impressive structures.

Shameful. Humans were beneath her, certainly, but humans were still capable of far more then this. It was shameful to see such ramshackle housing. Aleksiya's dismayed expression was easily read.

She had once commissioned resplendent works of art from humans. Her home was built by human architects. Her lands, indeed, were filled with similar structures.

Thus this place was a sad sight in her eyes.

On the other hand, it meant places where humans lived, where more suitable blood could be obtained, still existed.

When Giselle strode forward to ask the villagers questions, Aleksiya improvised swiftly, clinging to her arm and putting on a somewhat frightened expression.

It wasn't a ruse she necessarily intended to keep up, but for the moment the presence of a frightened child seemed likely to disarm them.

@Psyker Landshark@Asuras@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@Click This

Location: Human Village
@Psyker Landshark@Asuras@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Pyromania99

---

With Fra being allowed to stay, the thrall would bid them all farewell and to safely return.

Akyasha’s gorebats chittered in response, swiftly leaving the cleric and setting out to scout they town, likely to return shortly as they disappeared beyond one of the buildings. So Giselle would be the first to encounter the humans of this darkened, new world they found themselves in. The humans in question?

A group of about five men wearing worn and old vests over black shirts and comfortable looking trousers, though it was clean and well kept if some were frayed and old. Most were sporting disheveled, unkempt hair and a few hadn’t shaved in awhile. A few were carrying silver lanterns on their hips, while one was carrying a torch and a few scraggly looking vegetables. Upon hearing the voice of someone unfamiliar all five immediately jumped in fright, quickly scrambling a few feet away from the source of the voice.

They were standing around what seemed to be a small storage, or perhaps, what functioned as some sort of forward lookout post. It was nothing more than a shack with a desk, a chair, and what seemed to be a large bell on top of its doorway with a string that could easily let it ring. The area was about as well illuminated as one could hope for, enough for everyone to see Giselle and each other, but not much beyond the lantern hanging on the ruined wall which meant Dragan and Akyasha were as of yet not seen immediately by them.

“Gods Lass don’t scare a man like that.” One would gruffly reply.

“Traveler? Are you mad? How’d you survive out there?”

“And with a kid…have you lost your senses?”

“...but doesn’t something seem a bit off about them?”

The mood turned a bit tense, as the five men stared down Giselle, one glancing over towards Luna.

“...what’s your name Lass. What are you doing here? Where you from?”

“You don’t think they’re…demons…do you?” One whispered.

“I don’t think a demon would wait before killing us.” Another replied, glancing to Aleksiya. “...was your…village destroyed? We don’t have much here, but as long as you don’t cause trouble no one will mind you bein’ here. Save Julene, maybe. Poor lass works herself to death trying to keep us safe…”

One of Akyasha’s Gorebats returned at the end of the conversation, chittering quietly in reply.

“Woman. Near river. Undead. Sea.”

The second would return moments later.

“Beast-men. Forest. Smells like one of us…this way…”

Location:
Pirates End
@crimson Paladin

---

How foolish, choosing to die rather than to live. I suppose, you could keep sleeping, but on the other hand…your crew is being awfully…insensitive right now. On your feet, captain. I command thee as your benefactor, wake…up.

All at once, your existence came back into being.

Ripped from whatever afterlife that had awaited the undead in this cold, lightless world your senses would suddenly snap back into reality as though you had been in a long, deep slumber. Instead of some bed or ornate bed, however, Captain Fellborn found himself dangling over the precipice of a chasm, where below angry waves crashed along the shoreline, his head and right arm, reaching for it while the rest of his body was precariously inches from rolling off into the stormy sea below. He could see a veritable ship graveyard. Wooden planks, old masts and parts of old ships extending out into the roiling sea below creating a traversable, if precarious maze of ships.

As he’d right himself, he’d realize he was in the corpse of a ship. The stern of some old, weathered ship precariously having been perched on a rocky cliffside, the bow long since fallen into the rocky, watery grave below. Though in the old days, much trade was conducted with airships and machines of flight, ocean frigates such as these never had gone completely away for multiple reasons. Piracy, money, or a whole plethora of reasons.

The inside of the ship was rotten and weary, severe water damage having eaten away many of the planks, the salty sea air tainting and deteriorating the wood even further as he’d get to his feet, the wooden carcass creaking in a strong breeze. Whatever had once furnished this place, was long since looted and taken aside from old chests, chairs, and a desk that was cut in half.

The only notable presence was that of another person.

A blind folded woman in a maids uniform. Long violet hair tied in twintails hung from her shoulder as she’d be leaning idly against the desk, arms folded, gazing at Captain Fellborn from under the blindfold with some manner of seeming derision.

“On your feet. And careful. I don’t fancy fishing your corpse out of the ocean a second time. Those paladins really didn’t want anyone finding you, putting your corpse in a metal coffin and tossing you to the bottom of the oceans…” A neutral, but serious tone of voice came from the woman as she’d tap one of her fingers lightly against her arm.

“Captain Fellborn, do you know why you are once more among the mostly living? My mistress demands it.” She’d answer before he would have a moment to. “Make no mistake, this isn’t a charity we have a request to make of you, and in return, we shall see to it that you are compensated accordingly.”

Captain Argus Fellborn

This was the end.

After all the years of sailing, plundering, and occasionally contributing to the vampire cause, the tale of the Red Tide was finally drawing to a close. His weapons were broken, and the hilt of a blessed sword stuck out of his chest, pinning him to a tree trunk like a proclamation.

He could've fled, sacrificed his skeletal minions to get back to the ship and cast off. There were too many of them to defeat- the Paladins had come anticipating a battle with an entire pirate crew, and after he slipped away the first time, they weren't taking any chances. There was no shame in fleeing a hopeless battle to fight another day. After all, pirates that did no appreciate the importance of discretion did not last long.

Perhaps it didn't need to have been the end. Perhaps could have stayed ahead of them forever if his will to survive at any cost had held out. Instead, he had opted to conclude his tale of piracy and adventure on his terms, by going down swinging. After breaking both his halberd and cutlass, after firing every pistol he had, after putting up the fight of his unlife, he found himself immobilized by a very well-executed impalement straight through the heart and all the way into into a tree behind him.

With the last of his strength, he floored the attacking paladin with a right hook, but was unable to muster the might to free himself. There was no questioning that this was a fatal blow. As his vampiric vitality faded, Captain Fellborn looked out at the Silent Swordbill off the coast, its anchor rising out of the water, and gave a pained, faint smile as the pirate accepted his end.

---

Any drowsiness that Argus may have had upon awakening quickly dissipated as he realized his predicament and scrambled up to safety. As he rose to his feet after pulling himself away from immediate danger, he strained to make sense of what was going on.

He was on a ship or rather, a shipwreck, nestled on a cliff. Far beneath him was a great graveyard of ships stretching out into the ocean. The decayed wreck creaked as he got up, giving Argus some uncertainty as to how stable it was. How did he get up here? For that matter, how did this ship get up here? Was Silent Swordbill one of the wrecks resting down there?

It was at this point that he realized that he was not alone here. A strange woman, dressed in maid's attire and sporting a blindfold over her eye sockets, leaned against a broken desk, directly facing the pirate. She wasn't anyone he could ever recall seeing before- he'd remember someone like her? Was she one of the maid-knights that serve Princess Giselle, maybe? If she was able to see beneath that blindfold, he'd think she was staring at him.

The woman spoke, revealing that she had pulled Argus out of the ocean, which the paladins had opted to make his final resting place. He let out a light chuckle at the mention of his fate- for the paladins to have taken such efforts to dispose of him rather than tossing his lifeless body in the hole he had just finished digging, he had clearly left an impression on them. Equally amusing was that it seemed they had evidently interred him with his hat.

Next, the woman told him that it was her mistress, whoever that was, that returned him to the land of the living. She stated that she had a task for him to complete, and would compensate him accordingly. Even with her promise of payment, he didn't think he'd have much of a choice. Just by his efforts of pulling himself to his feet, he was able to tell that his power and strength were a shadow of what they once were. Of course, even if it wasn't the case, even if he was at his peak, he would not be so foolish to challenged someone that possessed the power to pull him from the abyss (in more ways than one) and restore him to undeath.

Perhaps he was even a little bit grateful for being given another chance, even if they clearly had an agenda.

"I appreciate the second shot at undeath, lass, and I'm not so foolish to decline your offer, but might you enlighten me with some answers?" He asked, adjusting his attire. "What has become of the world since my death? Are the paladins still hunting us, or were we victorious? Where may I obtain fresh blood to mend my parched body?"

"And finally, who is your mistress? You must know that a one of Ichor's pups, I cannot go against Her." His words were not conveying defiance, but rather weakness.

@Rune_Alchemist

He knew the signs of poverty, both from his time as a paladin and as a prospective lord, making his way in the world. These villagers were in dire straits. Frankly, it was a small miracle that mankind had even survived however many decades or centuries it had been since the sun's light faded away. Even as Akyasha's gorebats returned to report in, Dragan frowned as he set his helmet down atop the haft of his buried hammer, his armored form stepping into the torchlight and into view of the villagers.

The villagers would have to know of his presence sooner or later. Best to rip the bandage off before they could be accused of hiding the truth.

"Peace, please." The Death Knight held his unarmed hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "We mean no harm and have no intention to stay. We are travelers, passing through. I realize that my...appearance may suggest otherwise, but I swear that I have no intention to prey on the weak and the desperate."

A woman near a river with some undead? Well, the only person from this village that would leave it to fight anything seemed to be that blacksmith girl. And beastmen coming this way? How delightful! Is what she would say, but with how fast her baby came back, they must have been really close. "Alright, you will lead the way towards the woman." Akyasha said to the one that mentioned the woman by the river, "And you stay near and come let me know if things get too terrible here. But first..."

The Cleric approached Giselle and whispered in her ear. "It would seem there are beastmen approaching this location from the forest and I must leave it all to you all. I believe that blacksmith girl is fighting some undead nearby. I want to make sure she doesn't end up useless." Akyasha said with no small amount of curiosity coating her words. With that, she backed away from the talks letting Giselle do the rest. Back away from the villagers, she just nodded at the Gorebat that would lead her to the woman by the river. Hopefully, it was this blacksmith girl and if not, it would help ingratiated the village with them.

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Giselle suppressed a frown when Aleksiya attached herself to her arm like a lost, frightened child. For one, she felt it was beneath her peer to act in such a way, even now, and more importantly, it meant that she had to quickly change the narrative of any explanation that she might have to give, or otherwise limit her options.

It was too late, though. The white-haired vampire held up her free hand in both a wave and a placating gesture, before quickly affecting a slightly apologetic expression upon hearing one of the men’s complaints. Privately, she questioned his awareness. She had, after all, made more than enough effort to make herself known to not startle any of these humans.

“Hardly. My name is Giselle,” she offered, deciding against giving Aleksiya a name for the moment. “And yes. My home was destroyed, as were my companions’. We’ve traveled a long way to find someplace safe.” This was all true. In a manner of speaking… but still completely true.

The undead princess would have continued the conversation along these lines when she caught Dragan and Akyasha approach from her periphery. That was not part of the plan, but she rolled with it. As Dragan engaged the men in conversation, she was approached by the cleric, with some… complications. She frowned, both at the news, and for the men as well. It would look bad if they had just arrived and brought trouble for these villagers if they were meant to get anything out of the interaction.

“…Sorry, I’ve bad news. One of our other companions keeps overwatch on the road… they’ve spotted beastmen approaching and a girl fighting off undead... perhaps one of yours? We may have to prepare for a fight. If you have an alarum, I would raise it.”

Location: Human Village
@Psyker Landshark@Asuras@VitaVitaAR@Click This

---

“...I don’t trust them. What kinda people even travel these days? Maybe if there was another village close by, but we haven’t heard anything from the other places in what feels like months.” One of the men rebuffed the group, the appearance of Akyasha and Dragan making them feel just a bit uncomfortable from the looks of things.

“Beastmen? Are you certain?” The one that seemed to be more receptive to them silenced the other man with a glare. “They’ve been attacking so frequently lately, barely five lantern-lightings ago did they attack last.”

“Do we sound the alarm?”

“If we do and they aren’t attacking anything nearby will definitely hear it.”

“We’ve no reason to trust you, but you’ve also no reason to lie.” He’d say, shaking his head. “We live in strange times, since the last age and the sun fell. I won’t question it. If you’ve got your reasons then we won’t get in your way.” He’d reach for the bell, pulling on it loudly and cleanly, a resonant, melodic clang echoing through the village. The other men quickly gathered their things, running deeper into the village.

“You’re welcome to stay at my place to wait them out.” The man said, just as the sound of several more bells rang through the small village. The gorebat tha Akyasha had left behind, landed on Giselle’s head, uncaring for the humans' rather startled reaction upon seeing it.

It seemed to be trying to pull Giselle towards the direction of the forest.

Location: Human Village
@Pyromania99

---

Akyasha swiftly left the group, heading towards where her gorebat was leading her much to the startled humans who seemed to be growing more wary that this group of travelers were all both well dressed as well as somewhat large in number than what they were used to seeing. Still, she’d run down what served as the main street, running past some startled villagers who had as of yet been alerted to the newcomers as well as past the old buildings that served as the peoples homes.

As Akyasha approached, she couldn’t yet hear the sound of fighting, but she could see both the water as well as the human in question.

A strong, somewhat severe looking woman was going around dressed in a thick dress, apron, and gauntlets with long, slightly messy blond hair and a well maintained chestplate. She was walking calmly not far from the river, a silver lantern hanging from her hip that seemed to cast light much further than one would think from the small amount of light it contained.

Akyasha would find this light uncomfortable as she approached.

Had her gorebats gotten things wrong? There was definitely a woman here, a ways off from the village near the water but there were no undead just yet. Thankfully, she had more than her eyes to see here. She was no necromancer, but as a cleric of Ichor she could definitely feel the familiar sense that every undead gave off for a vampire…and it was coming from the river.

Beyond what the human could likely see immediately, Akyasha could see drowned corpses slowly climbing onto the shore, not quite having made it all the way out of the water yet.

Location:
Pirates End
@crimson Paladin

---

“Says the one who hardly paid her any mind during your first unlife.” The maid replied curtly, the ship creaking as a rough sea breeze battered its frame. “But you’re in luck. The Violet Witch has no desire to go against Ichor. If anything, you should be on your knees groveling your pathetic thank yous for her infinite mercy.” Despite the maids harsh words, she’d pull a vial of sanguine colored fluid from her dress, tossing it in Argus' direction.

A vial of blood.

“A vial. My own, if you're curious. It should get you back on your feet, for now.” The maid walked past, away from the desk and out towards the black skies, towards the battered coast below. “You can see for yourself, or are your eyes worse than mine? Everyone lost in that war. Vampires. The Paladins. The earth, gods, devils…all fell, and all we can do is just…survive.” Her mouth curled into a frown, hands balling into a fist, speaking just low enough that Argus could not hear her entirely above the wind and creaking of the ship.

She turned her gaze towards Argus.

“What we want from you is simple. We would like you to…claim an artifact that has recently come into possession of your vampiric brethren and acquire it for us. I can not say much other than it is a blade of great power. Its blade mimics the waves of the oceans and if used correctly can be used to both take life from a divine being…and return it to one. It has lost most of its power, but it still has its uses. I could take it myself…but my lady has instructed discretion and hopes that we could have a…continued relationship, Captain Fellborn. Should you accept, we will support you in what ways that we can, and as a show of good faith I will assist you in escorting you to a village not terribly far from here where you will no doubt meet your brethren.”

That silver light wad an annoyance, but that didnt matter too much to her. It was uncomfortable for the moment but no more than that. She approached, letting her voice be heard. "Fair Maiden, pardon my intrusion. Would you kinda step away from the water before some water geist or ghoul gobbles you up?" The Cleric mentioned as she walked in closer.

"Shine your light at the water there if you don't believe me"
Her approach went so far as the woman didnt take an immediate defensive againat her nor the light burned her. "The dead crawl ashore." She gave a small smile as she reached down and grabbed a rock almost hand sized and threw it at thr head ofone of the dead crawling up.

Captain Argus Fellborn

"The Violet Witch herself, you say? All the cutting words in all the languages of the world cannot sink the flattery, nay, the honor of being returned to undeath by her grace," he assessed, as he looked down upon the vial she had given him.

The state of the world, as described by the maid, was a sad thing. This pitiful, broken world was not a place for a pirate. There would be no great trade and treasure fleets to plunder. There would be no infrastructure through which to carry myths of ghost ships far and wide. And even if there were, would such tales frighten someone who grew up in such a dark, broken world? And just how strong would they be? Had this dark new world made humans tougher and more resilient, or were they broken and struggling to survive on the scraps of the old world's rotting carcass?

Whatever the state, the tenets of Ichor would guide him. Despite what this maid was suggesting, Captain Fellborn took Ichor's commandments quite seriously in his career as a pirate.

"Aye, I accept your terms. Obtain the god-slaying blade, deliver it to you, and be discreet." Argus spoke, before taking the vial and imbibing the blood. He needed his strength back, and he needed his thirst slaked. "Lead the way, lass, but first...do you truly believe my brethren may get in the way?"

@Rune_Alchemist

Beastmen? The villagers were simply going to wait them out? Dragan supposed it made sense if the villagers were as defenseless as they seemed. But to simply cower in the face of annihilation and pray it passed them by was distasteful to him. But he wouldn't get these people killed just because he deemed it best. The world had passed him by for what seemed like centuries. He would have to learn much more of it before he could come to a final decision. The armored vampire reached to place his helmet back on and heft his hammer up, offering the villagers a brief nod.

"Ordinarily, I would protest. I am not one to sit and wait for the enemy to approach first. But this is your village. If your ways have kept you all alive this long, I would be remiss to suggest otherwise and risk your lives without due cause. In any case, lead on, then. Should they attack, I will aid in your defense. I trust I'll receive no argument in that regard, yes?"

Dragan glanced back towards his companions for a moment, taking special notice of the gorebat upon Giselle's head. He paused. It was acting rather strangely, wasn't it?

"Is there an issue?" He asked Giselle, curious.

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Giselle simply let the men talk amongst themselves, only pausing to give a perfunctory nod when she was questioned for a confirmation. Some of the other humans in the group seemed fairly paranoid, but she was not going to judge. From what little she had seen of this era so far, paranoia was what kept you alive.

Perhaps that meant something as the man she had been talking to was marginally more trusting, but that gave her and her peers an easier job re-integrating into this world. Regardless, it seemed the concern over her announcement had won out, as he rang the alarm. The white-haired vampire opened her mouth to respond to his rather generous offer when one of Akyasha’s little gorebats alighted atop her head. She frowned for a moment, given the startled reactions the already paranoid humans gave, but she decided to affect an awkward, reassuring smile, as if this were a silly thing that happened often.

At Dragan’s prompting, she shook her head, before answering.

“Your offer is appreciated, and I’m sure some of my friends will accept your generosity, but it seems one of our companions is still in need of assistance. I will return once I’m assured that everything is safe.” Giving the former paladin a shrug, she stepped in the direction of the forest, waiting to see what the creature wanted. She was slightly apprehensive of being split from the group now, but she at least trusted the cleric and her familiars to not get her into too much trouble.

“Alright, alright. Let’s see what you want now, shall we?”

Location:
Human Village
@Psyker Landshark@Asuras@VitaVitaAR

---

“I…wouldn’t recommend it.” The man replied dourly. “Julene might carry around that blade but she’s still no match for the beastmen…” he frowned, shaking his head. “Alright, follow me.” He’d glance a little worriedly towards Giselle but wouldn’t press the issue as he’d lead Dragan, Luna, and Aleksiya back towards his home.

Perhaps, thankfully to the vampire's sensibilities it was one of the well kept war era buildings that had maintained a good bit of its structure, even with the rough repairs made to it. A number of other people had also decided to use it as a shelter but upon entering he’d immediately move to barricade the door and any remaining windows that hadn’t been yet. A number of other people would help, pushing heavy metal boxes into place near the doors and tying them securely to the wall near the door. While the windows were covered with metal grates.

A number of other residents seemed startled at the sight of the three newcomers, but their pale faces didn’t linger on them. They seemed human enough, so they had other worries to think about right now.

“Alright…” The man sighed, turning to the newcomers. “Guess I should introduce myself properly, eh? Giles Fillaine At your service.” A man with short blond hair, a somewhat dirty vest but clearly he at least tried to make himself look presentable. “I suppose you could call me a bit of the leader here.” He’d turn to one of the people, ask briefly about how much food they had in the cellar before turning towards the Vampires. “Normally the beastmen will go away after awhile if they can’t find any food.”

Location:
Forest of Beasts
@Click This

---

The Gorebat chittered, still lightly pulling on Giselle’s head like it was pulling on a horse's bridle. She’d pass by a few ruined houses with people clamoring inside at the sounds of the bells, shutting the entrances tightly behind them and what could only be described as the sound of people frantically trying to cover and bar the doors.

As she’d come to the treeline, curiously she’d notice the last ‘row’ of houses or so were completely unoccupied, but she could smell what was clearly something burned coming from within. In fact, a number of the unoccupied houses seemed charred and like they had gone through a terrible fire. A number of barrels were seemingly strategically placed near the doorways or in exposed areas in the houses.

More interestingly though, was the beastmen in question. Unlike the sickly creatures of Alavaris, these weren’t little more than shambling corpses. In the darkness she could see them approaching the village, some moving at a more relaxed, languid pace. Others, seemingly eager to have potential prey.

Their appearance would immediately stand out to Giselle. They, for the most part looked some manner of human. Some had grown horns, elongated hands and claws. Some had grown leathery, wing like flaps on their arms and leathery skin. Some were crawling around on all fours, mouths contorted into a muzzle with antlers growing from atop their heads - were these the same creatures that had been slain near the pillar?

Regardless, from what Giselle could tell there were at least a pack of twenty of these creatures…and it was increasingly clear, these weren’t simple, mindless beastmen. Well, they were, but Giselle would know almost immediately from both their sight, and her experience with her vampiric brethren.

These beasts were the result of vampiric magic twisting humans into beasts and beasts into more human like forms. A bit like when a vampire skilled in summoning took aspects of various animals in order to fight…which meant, there was a good chance something vampire related laid in the forest.

The creatures hadn’t seen her yet, so she could retreat or get the drop on the animals.

Location:
Human Village, River
@Pyromania99

---

Before Akyasha could even approach, the woman had already unsheathed her blade and had almost taken off the vampires head in a swift, deadly strike.

“...Woman. I don’t know you. You’re not from the village.” The woman didn’t lower her blade as Akyasha explained both herself and the undead that were crawling out of the river. “You don’t think I don’t know about them? Why do you think I’m standing here? Because I like long walks by a corpse covered river?” She’d grumble, the rock Akyasha picked up sailing through the air, hitting one of the waterlogged undead square in the head, knocking it clean off.

“Damn it they’re-” It was about this time the villages bells were rung. Several melodic, but quick rings. Only a few. Enough to alert the people in the village and hopefully no one else. “The beastmen too!? Guh, well fine. Woman, I don’t know who you are but you best leave! I’ll deal with you after!”

She’d pull a mechanical contraption from her dress. A crossbow! With some sort of…sphere tied to the end of the bolt. She’d pull the trigger, the bolt, sailing through the air and slamming into one of the undead…and immediately exploding in what Akyasha could only figure was some sort of holy, explosive fury that put her on edge. Whatever caused that to explode would be dangerous for even the vampires.

“Don’t just stand there redhead, move outta the way!” She’d load another bolt into the weapon. “Or if you want to make yourself useful, there’s barrels filled with oil placed near the treeline in the abandoned houses! The beastmen loathe fire! I can handle these shambling corpses!”

Location:
Pirates End
@crimson Paladin

---

“Truthfully, we do not know.” The maid replied as Argus downed the blood. It tasted…odd. It was filling and certainly would return strength to him, but normally human blood would taste slightly sweet and a bit warm to a vampire and somewhat pungent. This maids though…cold, and slightly tangy. “But we do not care to find out, thus discretion is desired in this matter. It would not do to come into conflict with the Vampires, especially if one thinks this blade could be used to harm Ichor, for that is not our intent with it.”

The Maid gripped seemingly thin air, a spear of excellent quality popping into existence with a twirl. After giving it an experimental swing, she turned her head back towards Argus.

“For the duration of our relationship,” She’d say, nodding. “Cynthia. That is my name. Now, let us get to business Captain Fellborn.”

The path out of the creaking ship was simple enough. A small ledge that had gone mostly unnoticed on the right side of the ship. Cynthia led Argus down the winding, twisting, rocky path, the baleful wind and seawater battering the shore. It was a wonder with such a furious ocean roiling beneath them the graveyard of ships below had yet to sink. Yet, when they reached the bottom of the cliff Cynthia walked onto the rotten, waterlogged pieces of wood without a care.

“We’ll have to traverse this graveyard,” Cynthia began. “Not for long, mind you, and don’t wander off. The things that live further out into the ocean are beyond our current capabilities.” It was the tail end of her words, Argus could feel it. There was something here familiar to him, but he couldn’t quite place it. Out there, far in the ocean. Something would be calling to him.

“And captain? Stay Alert. Your old crew has taken care of itself while you’ve slept. It seems they’ve come to greet us.” Climbing out of the sea, onto the rotten planks of wood were skeletal remains, infested with seaweeds, debris and refuse from the wrecks around them, brandishing worn swords, axes, and even a few useless waterlogged pistols.

Cynthia was quick into combat, running towards the first of the skeletal creatures.

Undead Princess, de Farry

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Despite the man’s protestations, Giselle dismissed his concern with a word of appreciation before she followed the tugging gorebat, with some mild annoyance at the way it tugged upon her hair as if it were guiding her like mere cattle. Even if she was without her land and subjects now, she still had the pride of a sovereign princess that had ruled for a thousand years… and that was a treatment that was more than beneath her.

She flicked at the small creature with her index finger. “Enough of that. Shoo. Lead me properly.”

Giselle waited for a few moments for the bat to make its moves before continuing on, examining the state of the village as she passed the houses on the street. Given the danger the era and the beasts clearly presented, it wasn’t all too surprising that the rows of buildings and houses on the outskirts of the village bordering the forest were damaged or burned. More curious were the barrels placed in obvious chokepoints or strategic places. She wondered what was held within the barrels; were they just to act as barriers, they would have been augmented with other materials such as overturned tables , for example.

Once past the village proper, she found the beastmen in question. And rather curious beastmen these were. They looked suspiciously like the dead creatures that her group had encountered not too much earlier. Upon further examination, it was clear the twenty of them were in fact creations of vampiric origin… which was a rather curious thing, when it came to what else resided in that blackened forest. Would she discover a friend or foe lurking within the dead woods? Whoever they were, Giselle did not have a high opinion of whoever created such monstrosities. In her lands, she would never have tolerated such grotesque twisting of the human form, nor such corruption of wildlife and fauna. Those that created such things outside of her territory she might not have touched, but it was an open secret that she looked down on those that preyed overmuch on humans or engaged in the more intolerable experiments into vampiric magic.

Giselle did not have much trouble making the decision to exterminate this group herself. While she still remained quite weak from her recent reawakening, she still remained confident in being able to take this group. Unholstering her revolver, she unloaded six carefully aimed shots into the group. Even in this state, it was child’s play to create the illusion that the shots had been fired from the window one of one of the houses in the village. Giving the creatures a moment to respond as such, she emerged from the trees behind them with her new silver sword to fall upon the stragglers before engaging the main body of beasts.

"Well met, then." The armored vampire nodded politely to Giles. "I am Dragan. My companions can choose whether or not to introduce themselves at their discretion."

He set his hammer down on the floor and began moving to help the villagers shove the metal boxes into place. Next to a rabble of malnourished humans, the strength of a slightly-less malnourished vampire would prove to be a boon, as Dragan's strength easily helped set several more crates. As he worked, Dragan called over towards the apparent village headman.

"Master Giles," He grunted as another barricade went up into place. "I don't suppose you'd care to enlighten us as to how many beastmen tend to arrive in these raiding parties? Should we drive these off, will they return in force, or be sufficiently dissuaded from further assaults?"

Captain Argus Fellborn

Under normal circumstances, Argus would be pleased to see what little remained of his crew. However, it was clear by their menacing advance that they were not here to return to his command. Nay, these mindless corpses were looking for a fight. No doubt his death had caused his hold over them to slip away. Argus would need to rectify that.

"Mutiny, is it?" he shouted to the drenched skeletons. "You lot have forgotten your place- allow me to correct that! And Miss Cynthia- be careful to not damage them too gravely!"

Drawing upon the strength that had been returned to him upon drinking the vial of blood, Captain Fellborn channeled his powers of necromancy, attempting to reassert his control over the skeletons. He might not be able to control all of them in his current state, but just a few would be enough to turn the tide- and secure him a weapon without a fight.

"Strike your colors and submit, you rotted sea-dogs!" He focused on one skeleton in particular, brandishing a rusty sword. "You! Your captain has need of your weapon. Hand it over!"

@Rune_Alchemist

Akyasha hadn't even flinched when threatened with a beheading, rather, she took an interest in the crossbow the woman had. "What an interesting weapon you have there." Akyasha mentioned before looking properly at the woman. "It should be fine. I have allies I'm traveling with, if they can't handle these beastmen then, well, I probably wouldn't be traveling with them." Akyasha looked back towards the undead crawling out of the river, picking up another rock, taking another head off with it. "And you can just call me, Akyasha." There should be no need to hide her name as of now. "Let me assist in this little Undead problem of yours, Miss...?" The Vampire dragged out, asking the woman's name.

My, this facade was quite bothersome, wasn't it? Aleksiya wondered why she had even adopted it in the first place. Perhaps it had made it somewhat easier to get in, but now that they were there, it was frankly more frustrating then ever to maintain. Stepping away from her companions, the small vampire ran her fingers through her lengthy hair.

It was time to drop it.

"Aleksiya," she introduced herself, "Aleksiya Ravennart. I'm quite pleased to be meeting the one in charge around here."

Smiling pleasantly, she dropped into a curtsy. Certainly, someone with this level of authority would not have been of important political consideration prior to her death, but in this scenario it was important to speak with him. Aside from that matter, merely because he wouldn't have been an important political figure didn't mean that he wasn't completely beneath any consideration. There was no-one in this world who was not beneath her save for those who stood as her compatriots(at least, some of them) and Ichor above her. But consideration to those beneath her made everything run smoother, prevented reckless abuse of the undeserving, and made it far easier to enjoy herself.

And in this situation, it could only lead them to more blood. Frankly, Aleksiya would have liked to take a new thrall as well, but that would have to wait for a good opportunity.

There was that other matter she'd have to attend to, as well...

But first, the most immediate concerns. Dragan had the right idea, certainly. Their first major human contact with any organization, as woefully shabby as their surroundings were, was in clear need of assistance. Simply waiting out these beasts was merely surviving rather than thriving, and while surviving was the first step that didn't mean that they could not be assisted in doing better.

"These beastmen," she continued, "Do you know where they come from? I'm certain I've seen their remains on the way here. What are their numbers like? Their strength? I'm curious, to say the least."

@Rune_Alchemist@Asuras@Psyker Landshark

Luna was soft smiles and dainty strides as she followed the others into the village, quiet for the time being. Shabby homes and drab colors weren't much to look at, and her demeanor was all the former priestess could offer to the downtrodden and grim -perhaps more enthralling and amicable than her companion's appearances. Once inside the barricaded building, Luna found herself a squeaky chair to sit down upon. To keep up an air of normalcy, she refrained from moving anything heavy, and maintained her dainty appearance as a lithe young woman. Dragan would break no such illusions whilst helping, to which Luna giggled quietly to herself, watching the others work.

"Luna Emeraltide," she introduced after Aleksiya. With crossed legs and folded hands, she patiently awaited the others' questions before adding on:

"As well, how many times you've braved a direct fight against any?" she asked, "And... how many losses you have incurred."