Footsteps echoed through the halls as a lieutenant of the Sankotho guard ran through the halls. His breath was coming in quick and sharp and he had a scroll in his hands. It was bad news all around and the governor had to know what had happened just the night before. He came to a stop just outside the governor's door and gave it a swift knock. There was a rustling inside until the door was opened by an older portly man. He had a long powdered wig on and the elegant frilly fashion of nobility. A sword clanged at his hip, a mark of his status in the Republic of Sankotho. He looked at the lieutenant with a frown before he stepped to the side, a silent gesture for the man to enter his office.

The lieutenant gave a swift nod before he quickly stepped into the office, brandishing the scroll to the governor as he did so. “Sir, there was an attack on the town of port Proya two nights ago. I'm afraid to say it's grim news.” The governor's frown deepened on his face as he snatched the scroll from the lieutenant and stepped over to his desk to take a seat.

He used a letter opener and broke the seal that marked it was official military information before he unrolled the scroll and began reading it quickly. His frown only deepened as he read more and more, a scowl bringing his brow down and his eyebrows together. “This was two nights ago?” He asked. The lieutenant nodded grimly.

“Yes sir,” he said, tucking his hands behind his back in a parade rest as he continued to deliver the news. “Everyone in the port was killed, all except for the children. They were taken.”

“I can read.” The governor bellowed angrily at the man before he rolled the scroll up and slammed it on his desk. Those damn vampires have been terrorizing the Sankotho area for a month now but they never took prisoners like this before. He paused a moment as he stroked his chin, pondering on what could be done. Once the attack happened, a ship was sent out to track the vampire's ship and had been on their tail for the last two days. They only waited on the word to attack and retrieve the children. Some would say it wasn't a hard choice but vampires could be pesky things. They didn't like sunlight but fights with vampires usually took place below deck during the day. It was not uncommon for the vampires to clear their ships of intruders, wait for the sun to set, then counter attack and sink the navy ships. It really came down to if the governor wanted to risk his ships and men for a bunch of kids that may or may not be alive.

The lieutenant waited impatiently at the foot of his desk, still in parade rest. He was ready to go give the word and hoped beyond hope that the word was to retrieve the children and slaughter all those vile demons while they slept but everyone knew how much of a risk it was to attack vampires, especially vampires that had just fed recently. Eventually the governor sat forward and pulled a piece of paper from one of the drawers in his desk. He pulled his quill from a bottle of ink sitting just to the side of him and began writing.

“I'm giving the orders to retrieve the children and burn the ship and all those hellions in it.” He signed the note, slipped it into an envelope before he stamped it with his own wax seal. He held it out for the other man to take, giving it a shake when he felt the man wasn't taking it fast enough. “Get those children back and make sure those demons are returned to hell.”

“Sir!” The lieutenant said with a salute before he took the note and ran from the office to deliver the news. The governor sat back in his chair and stroked his chin again. He hoped he didn't just sentence a whole crew to their deaths and he hoped beyond hope that those kids were still alive.

Ayita sat in the corner of the room, chained to the other children as she swayed from side to side with the sway of the ship. Most of the crying had come to a stop the day before after the children had been in the hands of the vampires for awhile. There was no talking, only a slight sniffle every now and then from one or two children who were still refusing to let the tears end. Much like Ayita, most of the other children just sat quietly and stared off into the distance as if they were dreaming of being somewhere else, anywhere else. A few of the children had been grabbed and dragged out of the room the night before and they knew that it was only a matter of time before it was their turn before a vampire grabbed them and took them off to their death. She only hoped that when it came to her turn, it was over quickly and she wasn't left suffering at the hands of the vampires as they fed on her. She could still hear the cries of the children they had dragged off. It echoed in her head like background music she couldn't bring to an end.

It was only when the door opened to expose the harsh moonlight did the children stir from their daze. A vampire stepped into the room. He was lean and pale, his blood red eyes scanning the children quickly. His pointed ears protruded from the side of his head and his pointed nose twitched as if he was sniffing the air for a scent. Eventually those dark red eyes settled on someone and Ayita's heart stopped when her milk chocolate orbs locked on those deep crimson ones. He smiled, teeth of vicious sharpness glinting in the light as he reached out to grab her. His long bony fingers coiled around the chains on her wrist and she cried out, trying to pull as far from him as she could. Her attempts were futile, of course, as the vampire unlocked her chains and grabbed harshly at her wrist. She called out in pain as she felt the bones in her wrist give a harsh snap before the vampire ripped her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder in one swift move. She kicked and punched. She bit and clawed but no matter what she did, no matter how much she screamed, she couldn't get free from his grip. He strolled casually as if he wasn't holding onto a squirming child and made his way towards the captain's quarters.

Ayita could hear more screaming from the room she came from as another vampire snatched another child, a boy this time, and carried him off into the dark below deck. She wasn't sure why she was being carried to a different area of the ship but it didn't make a difference to her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she screamed and screamed, trying everything she could think of to get the man to release her. He just continued walking, he even began to whistle as if he was simply taking a stroll through the park.

They eventually approached the door to the captain's quarters and the vampire opened them to expose a lavish area with a large bed to one side, a huge wooden desk in the center, and a bay window area that showed the sea outside of the ship. A dark silhouette of a man sat in a plush chair just behind the desk and because of the bright moonlight from outside the window, Ayita couldn't get a good look at his facial features. He sat leaning back, his legs spread wide and his head resting against the back of his hand with his elbow pressed on the chair's armrest. She could see the glint of his red eyes before the vampire who had her unceremoniously dropped her onto the bed.

“As ordered Captain.” the man said before he took a turn and left the room, closing the door behind him. Ayita's breath came in harsh gasps as the man stood from the chair. His form was unnaturally slender and he stood taller than any mortal man she had ever seen. His arms were far longer than they should have been, extending to almost his knees, and his shoulders were broad and pointed. She could see sharp claws at the end of his long, bony fingers and when he spoke, his voice was coarse and quiet like he had been smoking every day of his life.

“Do not fear, child. I have chosen you. You, out of all the rest.” He stepped forward and Ayita finally got a look at his face. It was horrid. He had a pointed nose like a bat, his nostrils flaring with each breath he took. His mouth was too large for his face and his teeth were sharp and plentiful, like a shark's. His eyes were black except for the blood red irises that bore into her very soul. His ears, much like the other vampires, were pointed and extended too far from the sides of his head. His skin was a sickly gray color and looked slack like it was just a suit he was wearing instead of his actual skin. When he reached out for her, she could smell something horrid from his hand, like rotted blood.

She screamed and scrambled to the other side of the bed, trying to get away from him but before she could even put her feet on the ground on the other side, the vampire was there before her, his teeth glinting in the moonlight in a vicious, hungry smile.

“You should be grateful child. I chose you.” Before she even knew he had moved, his fingers were coiled tightly around her neck and he was easily lifting her off the bed by that grip. She squirmed, her voice cut off from the tight grip he had her on throat. She was finding it difficult to get air through that grip and she gasped harshly, clawing at his arm to make him let go. Her nails scrapped along old, saggy skin that peeled away from him like slouchy muck. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled for her life.

He used his thumb to push against her jaw and forced her head to tilt to the side. Her neck was exposed to him now and she could feel the hunger radiate off him in waves. His mouth opened and his jaw lowered like a serpent unhinging its jaw to consume something much larger than itself. Two long, sickening fangs extended from his gums and with a hiss of hunger, he dug those fangs into her neck. She screamed out in agony as fire began to burn there before is spread along her body, coursing through her viens with each beat of her heart. She could hear the sickening slurp as he fed from her and her body convulsed under his grip. Her hands dropped from his arm and she fell limp, her body twitching harshly.

The world around began to darken, the tears eventually coming to a stop as she felt her heart begin to slow. Despite the heat that was burning her innards, she felt cold, so very cold. Her hands and feet grew numb and soon that numbness extended to every part of her except for where his fangs were embedded into her neck. There it still burned like hellfire. Was this what it was like to die? Everything was just so cold. The world grew black and even the fiery touch of the vampire faded away into nothing.

The next day, the Navy ship boarded and attacked the vampires. Ayita sat on the bed in the captain's quarters, staring out of the bay window at the sunlight that danced along the waves. She was naked and the two holes from the vampire's bite the previous night were gone. Her long black curls flowed around her head in a bundled mess. Her dark skin was sickly pale and her eyes were dull as they stared out at the sea. She didn't move when the sounds of violence began. She could hear the cries of battle below as the navy seamen began to fight the vampires. She could hear the breaking of the wood deck as men used pry boards to rip the deck open and expose the vampires below to the sunlight. She could even hear the familiar voice of the captain as he engaged in the battle below. None of it broke her gaze from the sea. She simply sat there and stared ahead as if nothing in the world could pull her from her daze.

Eventually the sounds of battle died down and the doors to the captain's quarters were busted open. Navy men ran into the room and began searching for anything that might be of a threat, one running up to examine Ayita but even then, she did not look away from the sea.

“God,” the man said as he grabbed the sheets from the bed and wrapped them around her. “She's just a child.” He picked her up, peering down at her in concern before he turned and carried her through the threshold of the captain's quarters.

Ayita's heels clicked on the wood of the deck as she stepped out into the sunlight, raising a hand to block out the majority of its brightness as she allowed her eyes to adjust. It had been almost twenty years since the day the Navy pulled her from that vampire ship. Her long black curls were done up in braids and dreads to keep them out of her face. She wore a long coat with a multitude of buttons along the front. Pants were tucked into thick leather boots and she had multiple belts around her waist, each with its own sword latched to it. She had long decorative earrings that tinkled lightly as she walked and had many necklaces and chokers around her neck. She had a scar that branched up from her eyebrow along with a few other scars and small pockmarks from battles in her past.

Her brown eyes gazed out at the sea and she took a deep breath before letting it out loudly in a happy sigh. “Another wonderful day to hunt vampires and seek treasure.” She said as she made her way to the quarter deck. They were docked at the Tenio Isles, where the drinks were pleasant and the weather even more so, a small group of islands in the Imbala Sea just off the shores of the Xaegosti republic. They were having a nice little vacation and spending their won rewards from their previous vampire hunt just the week before but it was time to get things going. Gold doesn't last forever.

“Rise and shine boys!” Ayita called out as she walked over to the main mast, giving the bell that hung there a mighty ring. “It's time to get a move on.” She kept ringing the bell until she saw some movement of her crew as they crawled their way out of the bowels of the ship. “I hear there's a vampire ship just a week's sail from here! If we move fast enough, we might even get to loot them before the Navy shows up! Come on, get a move on!” She finally stopped ringing the bell as more and more of the crew showed their faces.

She stepped up on the quarter deck and leaned against the wheel as she watched her groggy crew members stretch and wake up. It was time to get moving and get some treasure.

Nils stood at the edge of the Tenio docks, his boots propped up on a battered crate, arms crossed as he watched the Maiden's Lullaby pull away from the pier. Bastards, he thought. He should've been on that ship... Hell — he was on that ship, until Captain Riley lost his patience; or as Nils would've put it, gave up on his ambitions. All because the good captain didn’t like him suggesting they actually do something other than smuggling crates of rum. Had they not already been docked in the port town, Riley might well've had Nils tossed overboard. Luckily for Nils, he was marooned in one of the most pleasant corners of the know world: Sun-kissed Xaegosti; where beautiful women, delightful food, and breathtaking, ancient architecture were all abundant. Though for the past few days he'd licked his wounds by playing the tourist for a little while, he couldn't help but get hot under the collar as he watched his best chance at finding the hoard drift away. Worst of all, they knew nearly everything he did, and he didn't have a boat, so the idea of them using all of his hard work, and him not getting a single silver coin to his name, was a possibility he couldn't bare the though of. He quickly sobered from the thought, smirking as he wondered how long it would be before Captain Riley realise his coin-purse was full of Xaegosti beach pebbles, and not two-months of pay. Hopefully, it'd be long enough for Nils to find his way off the island.

Nils and Riley been on the hunt for Cazaban's treasure for close to two years now. Sure, they hadn't gotten remotely close, but things were slowly piecing together. Day by day, Nils' confidence had redoubled. He'd find Cazaban's hoard, and he'd become the most respected and wealthy adventurer from Skaldvarr to Elqirza. That'd been the ultimate goal ever since he'd stepped board on a ship nine years ago, at the tender age of sixteen. The Maiden's Lullaby hadn't been the first, second, or third ship he'd pursued his aspiration from; nor was it the first that'd left him on a foreign island without as much as a good-bye. He'd worked many a job on many a ship, with his dreams of finding the hoard always superceding any other responsibility, which was seldom appreciated by his captains. He'd been a deckhand, a navigator, even once a chef (though that particular tenure ended very quickly due to a ship-wide case of food poisoning). He always ended up on his feet in the end — he had a way of talking himself out of trouble.

Nils sighed. The process would have to start again. No matter how many times he'd been knocked down, his tunnel vision had never deviated. Cazaban. The name lingered in his mind like a ghost; whispered among thieves, sung by troubadors in taverns, but no one ever knew what had become of the treasure the infamous vampire lord left behind. Untold riches, they said. Enough to buy kingdoms. Enough to settle scores. Nils had his own reasons, beyond just that of wealth, to take an interest in the matter — personal reasons. But, hell, the coin was damn good incentive on its own.

It'd been nearly twenty years now since Cazaban had came to his end; the legendary vampire-prince who'd brought every major power in the region to their knees. Not only had he cultivated an empire of brigands and swashbucklers, but he'd otherthrown the island realm of Morgorad, declaring himself its ruler. For all intents and purposes, he'd been the most powerful man in the world. Until Cazaban, the Khoralis Basin had been an untamed body of water, like it was now; a huge inland sea that was perfectly equidistant between a handful of empires and kingdoms, the most important region for trade in the entire world. Cazaban hadn't sought to crush trade between nations, but to control it, and he made damn sure he had a slice of every single proverbial pie that passed through his waters. He ruled through fear and intimidation, treating those who failed to conform to his rules with complete, unabridged ruthlessness. During his reign, he'd been responsible for death of tens of thousands of innocents; it was said that, during the many uprisings in Morgorad, he'd nearly halved the nation's populace. Eventually, for his tyranny, he was assassinated. Many had tried to pick up the pieces of his empire, but with his death, the cult of personality crumbled into ash. Now, as it was before Cazaban, the Khoralis Basin was ungoverned by any single power. Instead, it was frequented by many dozens of separate pirates; but ones that couldn't quite hold entire kingdoms to ransom. After the vampire-prince had died, thousands began to search for his riches. He'd accumulated an inordinate amount of wealth, and none of it was found. Evenutally, people gave up, lost interest, and reasoned that it was forever lost to the tides. Nils felt differently, and he'd spent the last decade of his life aggregating every single piece of information he could find on its whereabouts.

Having been lost in his own head for a few minutes, he realised that his former ship had now disappeared from view. He glanced around the harbour, hoping for some kind of opportunity to emerge. He was good at sniffing them out, and in a busy port like this, there was sure to be something. He hopped to his feet and began his saunter around, quietly seeking out a free ticket off Tenio.

After a while, he slowed to observe an interaction between two men at the beginning of a pier. The first was a tall, dark-skinned man, with thick hair, and tattoos covering every inch of his body. He had the look of a real swashbuckler — scars on top of scars, and towered over the smaller, older, bald gentleman, who, though appearing rather scrawny, had an equal measure of scars upon him.

"Where's Sotiriani?!," the taller man said, his voice incredibly deep.

"He - uh, he couldn't make it," the bald man replied.

"Couldn't make it?!"

"Think he lost his nerve," the smaller man replied. "Suppose after he realised that we actually go looking for trouble, the chances he'd have to actually fight a leech went up. I think he thought he was just coming along as insurance."

Ah, a leech - slang for the vampire corsairs that roamed the seas. These people were sailors, and by the sounds of it, they'd lost a member of crew to good old yellowbelly-fever.

"She's a beauty," Nils said with a sigh, approaching the two gentlemen with a glint in his eye as he looked over at the ship afront them, whose bell was ringing. "What I'd do to taste the sea breeze on her back."

The two men exchanged a look with eachother, perhaps a little mistrusting of Nils' angle.

Nils had begun his gambit. Yes, there was every chance these two men would take no interest in him, shoo him away, and that'd be that. But equally, there was a chance they might, in their desperation of being a crewmember short, test the waters; entertain the possibility that Nils was the answer to their questions. Of course, whatever they needed, Nils was — or at least he would pretend to be. Opportunity rarely comes to those who tell the truth all of the time, after all, sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. Or just keep faking it until it's made for you.

"You ever seen action, kid?," the older sailor asked. "We need an extra pair of hands to man the stakes, so to speak."

"As a matter of fact I have," he said, without any need to lie. Most ships in the Basin had a small team of dedicated vampire slayers, and those that didn't were pushing their luck. Nils had worked this station once before, though admittedly, he'd only been involved in a handful of scrapes with vampires — not on the level of these two gents, clearly.

"You lookin' to get off this rock?," the taller man said.

Nils grinned, and nodded his head curtly.

"Tell Ayita that Sotiriani flaked, but we've got a replacement," the larger man said to his comrade, before returning his focus to Nils. "Get your stuff and get on board. We're leaving any minute."

The Bloody Revenge was quite the ship. It's hull was painted a dark red with dark wood trim. She had seven cannons on each side and the figurehead to the ship was a skeleton figure holding a lantern out as if to guide lost souls. Her sails were black and the railings along her sides were painted black as well. She was intricately carved, perhaps previously belonging to nobility at one point, so intricately that it was easy to spot the places were the wood had been replaced perhaps from damage or from wear. Lanterns were placed strategically throughout the ship and it had plenty of room for the whole crew. Below deck, one would find a large storage area full to the brim with preserves and water. There were even an area with bunks for the crew, though not nearly enough for the number of men that served upon on her. To make up for the lack of sleeping quarters, there were hammocks strewn about for the men to sleep in.

A rather lavish kitchen was set out in the back of the boat with a large cooking area. Along the wall of the kitchen were cages full of live fowl. They clucked, cooed, and pecked at the cage they were in and just next to them were a large selection of fresh fruits. By this time, it was learned that Scurvy was caused by the lack of vitamins and many seafarers made sure to have a decent selection of citrus and other fruits that would last awhile without rotting. And just behind the kitchen were barrels and barrels of liquor. Vampire hunting was not an easy task. Death, blood, and pain was part of their livelihoods, so Ayita was sure to keep a constant flow of liquor for her men, all with the understanding that none were to get so drunk they were unruly or an annoyance. For any that found themselves getting to that state, a brig was located at the bottom deck.

There were loud shouts as men scurried about the deck, pulling sails and getting the ship ready to sail. There was a long plank that led to the deck of the ship from the dock. The two men got their things together and began the trek onto the ship. Orders were shouted and the anchor began to rise from the water. The bald man strolled over to the quarter deck, approaching Ayita who watched her crew get the ship ready to sail. They shared a few words before Ayita locked her eyes on Nils. A frown formed on her face at the sight of him before she began a stroll towards him, her crew hurrying around her like bees in a hive.

Hair multicolored hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and her swords clanked against her side as she approached. She stopped in front of him, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side. Her brown eyes scanned him from head to toe and she sighed. “So, you're our new recruit, eh?” She strolled around him, eyeing him down as she did so. “No weapons,” she pulled his clothes this way and that, examining his skin for any real signs of past battles, “No real battle scars.” She came to stand in front of him again, crossing her eyes tightly across her chest as her brown eyes locked on his own. “What do you hope to do here, die?” She could hear a snicker or two from her men around her and her head whipped around to glare at them. “Am I speaking to you? Don't you have things to do?” The men quickly picked up their pace and scurried off. She gave a shake of her head before she turned back to address Nils.

“Look, I don't know what my men told you to get you to join but this isn't some cruise. We hunt vampires and treasure on this ship. Every single one of these men around me have seen the blood of war and survived to tell about it. Each with their own scars and stories to tell. What can you give me? Or are you just a lamb to be fed to the lions?” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before she gave a shake of her head. Of course Ayita had spare weapons and they needed the men.

She looked past him to lock her eyes on the larger man who just gave her a strong shrug as he went about sorting his things and heading below deck. She let out a deep groan as the calls came from her men that the ropes were coming up and the anchor clicked into its place. She locked her eyes on Nils before threw her hands up in the air. “Fine, fine. But if you die, it's your own fault. Follow me. Let's at least get your armed.” She turned from Nils, shaking her head as she did so. This man was going to get himself killed and Ayita would just have to find someone else to take his place.

She grumbled to herself as she stepped below deck and heading all the way to the cargo hold. Men scurried every which way, the calls for dispatcher sounding as the ship began to rock against the dock. Ayita flowed through the crowd like she water, uncaring if Nils kept up with her or not. Eventually she opened a door to a spare room and stepped inside. Within the room were racks and racks of weapons from swords, daggers, even a spear or two. There were flintlocks on the corner and blunderbuss just next to them. Along the walls were ammo of all kinds, even a few bombs or two as well. She quickly got to work on searching through the items before she pulled out a cutlass and a dagger. She turned to face Nils with weapons in hand. She was going to at least make sure he would be armed, even if he was going to die the first time they even encountered vampires.