Chereads / Druid Tales and Lumberjack Spells / Chapter 18 - A note for the King

Chapter 18 - A note for the King

Thus far Hadorix power had grown rapidly. He could not imagine how much more it would grow once he finally found the full inheritance of the spider. Hadorix decided to try a new approach. The vampires had left him alone for a full week. Clearly, they were unsure what could kill him after his last battle. The vampires had only brought Zed out once. Upon seeing his gear, the vampire he was to face, resigned and left the pit. No one desired to offend or annoy Hadorix and Hadorix is the only way a slave could have obtained the robes of a vampire lord.

Such notoriety pleased yet annoyed Hadorix. It pleased him that he would not be bothered, it annoyed him as he was unable to leave the cells. While contemplating this, he decided it would be wise to eliminate his status as a prisoner. Hadorix chuckled when he considered this, as he could only think of one way to do that. He continued to read the tome of the spider. He would sleep through the night and enact his plan the following day after Maximus brought him his breakfast.

After breakfast, Hadorix shapeshifted into a wolf spider. In spider form, he became the size of a fingernail. Inky shrank to match his size and he and Inky climbed on the shoulders of Maximus and Maximus began to walk out of the prison. Hadorix took note of the prisoners they passed. This information may prove useful one day. Within a brief period, Maximus took the duo to the surface. While he did not know Hadorix plan, he would aid him however he could. Once at the surface, Hadorix dismissed Maximus. From the vantage point Hadorix had on Maximus shoulder, he could see a general layout of the buildings nearby. He began to move toward the palace. In spider form this would take weeks. This was something Hadorix had not considered. Spiders moved far slower than humans.

He spoke to Inky, "I want to go to the palace way over there to the left. Is there a way to travel faster as a spider?"

The spider queen spoke, "We can shoot out a bit of web, jump in the air and let it catch the breeze. The wind will take us where it pleases."

Hadorix figured this would be worth a shot. So, he did as Inky said. The breeze caught his web, and they were moving toward the palace. They travelled by wind part of the way and by crawling the rest. The trip took 3 days, but finally the pair had made it to the palace doors. They waited for someone to open the doors and come in or out. After half a day, finally a servant left to gather supplies. Hadorix and Inky climbed onto the back of the servant's shoes. When the servant entered the palace again, they would be going in with them. The servants travelled through the vast marketplace. Many varieties of blood were on sale as well as many forms of weapons or armor. The servant gathered several blood packs and went back to the palace. Once inside, Hadorix and Inky continued to ride on the servant's shoes. They intended to listen in on any conversations in the hopes of discovering the direction to the Kings rooms.

It did not take long before the servant met up with others to talk.

Servant 1, "Did you hear that vampires are not fighting in the pit anymore?"

Servant 2, "I heard that the blood wasn't worth it right now. Not since a new combatant killed Cato."

Servant 3, "Shhhush Linda, you know that the king will send you to the pits if he hears you mention that. He has eyes and ears everywhere in the palace."

Servant 1, "Your right, I better get going, I have to take these blood packs to the kings chambers before he wakes. If I do not, I will be in the pit…"

Hadorix and Inky were already on Servant 1's shoes. They continued their ride, all the way to the Kings coffin. The king slept in a coffin to help block the noise from servants entering to clean and ensue he had an ample supply of blood when he woke.

Hadorix and Inky stepped off the shoes of the servant when she entered the room. They crawled over and hid in the corner of the room until she finished her chores and left. Once she left, Hadorix shifted back into human form and locked the door. He desired complete privacy for what was to come.

Hadorix summoned one of the fangs of the spider and quietly moved toward the coffin. He lifted the lid gently and sliced the Kings head off. You see the king had 2 Death Knights guarding the door to his room. Never in a million years would he have imagined that anyone could make it into his room. As such he slept the sleep of death that only a vampire could. Only blood could wake him before he desired to be awoken. Hadorix fell to the floor and began to convulse as the light left the king's body.

· Lifespan increased 1,000 years.

· All stats increased by 50.

· Congratulations, Assassin subclass has reached level 4.

· Gained Vampire Kings soul.

Hadorix began to look through the coffin. Inside he found 5 rings. Hadorix grabbed them and put one on. A new menu opened in his vison. It said, warehouse inventory. Apparently, this ring was a portable warehouse. Hadorix became ecstatic. He would be able to store all the loot. He had originally assumed he would have to leave the Kings items that he could not wear as only the items he had equipped or in his pockets would stay on his spider body. Hadorix placed the rest of the rings in his pockets. He then began moving the rest of the gear into his new warehouse. Only the fangs were placed in his pockets.

· Gained fangs of the vampire King.

· Gained portable warehouse.

· Gained Unidentified rings

· Quest received, escape the hunt for the Kings killer. "You have successfully assassinated the King of the vampires. Every vamp and Deathknight in the city will be out for your blood. You must successfully flee the area without getting captured. To fail, is to court death."

· Quest reward, location of the spider's lair.

Hadorix was not yet done. He went to the desk in the king's room and began to write a letter for the king's successor. The letter said:

"I have slain your King and his Heir. I will leave a follow up letter with the successor in 1 months' time with my demands. If they are met, the successor will live. If they are ignored, the successor will die, and I will negotiate with the next in line. This will continue until my demands are met. "

Hadorix then went around the room, he placed all the furniture and items into his new warehouse. When he completed his task, all that remained was the letter on the ground. He then went back to the door and unlocked it and shapeshifted back into a spider. He and Inky crawled back to the side of the doorway.

No sooner had Hadorix moved than the door burst open. All present in the city had felt their telepathic bond with the King severed. The vampires knew this could only mean one thing; the king was dead.

The Death Knight guards entered the room with swords drawn. They were around the size of Hadorix in heavy black plate mail. The front of which bore a single fang in red. For weapons they carried vicious maces and kite shields. A great arsenal could be seen on their legs and sides, they carried throwing knives, axes, daggers, and a long sword. This was a foe prepared to attack any type of creature. Looking in the visor of their helmets one could barely recognize the skeletal face within. The bright blue fiery eyes would strike fear in any opponent. Hadorix and Inky climbed on the back of the boot of the second one that entered. The Death Knights read the note and ran to the cells. Everyone in the town knew who had killed Cato. While the Death Knights did not believe this could be possible, they knew they had to investigate. Hadorix moved to the back of the Death Knights boot and enjoyed the ride.

Upon arriving at the cells, they proceeded to run directly to the cell of Hadorix. Finding it to be empty, they turned to find Maximus, the guard would know the prisoner's whereabouts. Hadorix choose this moment to shapeshift back into a human, at the same time he summoned the fangs of the spider. He reached around the head of the one he had been riding and stabbed straight into the eye socket. The death knight instantly crumbled to the ground. The second death knight turned around to face Hadorix. Before the death knight could make a full turn, Hadorix had already thrown his dagger at his eye socket. He collapsed in a pile of bones as well. Hadorix collapsed to the ground and began to convulse. A bright blue light left the skeletons of the death knights.

· Strength + 15

· Constitution +15

· Absorbed Kings guard Death Knights, Ice affinity +10.

· Absorbed Kings guard Death Knights, gained immunity to disease.

Hadorix quickly placed all the items they had equipped into his warehouse. The only portion of their bodies that remained were their femurs. He picked them up and placed them in his warehouse. He also grabbed all his gear from his cell and placed it inside the warehouse. He left the warehouse open and spoke to Zed.

"Zed, I am leaving this place. If you want to come with me, enter the warehouse."

Zed did not bother to respond. Maximus had left his cell open since Hadorix had befriended him. Zed exited the cell and entered the warehouse.

Maximus rounded the corner at that point. He was entirely unaware of what was going on in the city. His only connection to the vampire king was monetary, he had no clue when he died. He did however hear the Death Knights entering the area of the cells and the sound of their armor hitting the ground. Upon seeing Maximus, Hadorix spoke.

"Maximus, I have killed the king of the vampires. The royal guard has just entered to kill me. They failed but more will be coming. If they find my cell empty, you will be punished. You swore to aid me, enter the warehouse. We will talk when we are free of this place."

Maximus asked to retrieve his things. He and Hadorix ran to Maximus's rooms. To Hadorix surprise, he found his old gear inside Maximus's room. Hadorix reopened the warehouse and he and Maximus put everything Maximus had in his rooms inside, then Maximus himself climbed in. Hadorix closed the door and shapeshifted back into a spider. He and Inky crawled up the bars to the cell, moving toward the dark hallway and Inky's nest. The trip took most of the day. Vampires and various undead entered the area of the cells constantly looking for any sign of Hadorix or Maximus.

What remained of the royal family were scared senseless. They dared not be alone in a room. The royal guards accompanied them everywhere. Though this brought them little comfort, after all even the kings royal guards were missing. It was not yet certain who would succeed the king.