Grandpa looked at the vampire and asked, "And who might you be? Part of her adventuring group perhaps?"
"He is not." I said.
"Ah, an unknown entity, then. You mind explaining yourself?" Grandpa asked.
"I am simply this dungeons manager. I try to make sure the adventurers make it out alive. Unharmed is never on the table, but alive is something I strive for. Typically I'm more of an unseen kind of entity, but she was cut badly so I had to move." The vampire said.
My mother was stroking my hair lightly. "I appreciate your attempt to help my daughter."
"Not a problem Ma'am. If you'll excuse me, I have to check on the rest of them. I also have another group in the upper levels who didn't bring anyone who can see traps, apparently. I will be very busy for a bit." He bowed and faded into a wall.
"Let's take her to Phintias' home." Grandma said.
My father picked me up and Grandma moved us all to Phintias' house. Mom and Grandma went back to get the party I'd been with out. My aunt looked concerned as soon as she looked at me.
"Oh, Alyssa! What happened to you?" Aunt Lucretia asked.
"There was a sharp spot in the pitfall. The thread feels strange in my skin." I said.
"Would you like me to remove the thread? It's no longer necessary." Uncle Phintias asked.
"Sure." I said. "There may be a coven living there."
Phintias raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? How interesting. Vampires in a dungeon, never heard of that before."
"I should have been leading, to keep an eye out for traps." I said. Mentally kicking myself.
"It's not really your fault, Aly, you know to be cautious. You have always been a cautious child." Aunt Lucretia said.
"Indeed, you can't be responsible for idiots simple as that." Uncle Phintias said.
It took around twenty minutes for Mom and Grandma to get back. Grandma informed me that Craig apologized for setting of a trap, and they asked if I could join them on their next adventure when I recovered. It was surprising to me that they wanted me at all. I said I'd definitely consider it.
They chatted and gave hugs before heading home, allowing me to stay with my Aunt and Uncle still. I stayed at their house, recovering for a few days, and then headed out. I sold off all the things I collected from the dungeon, then I returned to that dungeon. I made sure to go down enough floors that light wouldn't touch them, and nothing would bother me.
I made myself comfortable, setting out a spare cushion. Then I set a coin pouch before me. "Hey. I assume you're watching, I am not going any deeper, so I'd appreciate it if you come out and chat with me. I'd like to thank you, anyway." I spoke clearly to the room.
He stepped out. "Your mother is terrifying. I felt she could erase me at the drop of a hat."
I laughed softly. "My Mother can not. But my Grandmother could. She is an Archfey, and my Grandfather was a bag demon. You said I lost you money, so I wanted to return the sum to you. My family doesn't lack funds." I picked up the coin pouch and offered it to him. "How would you like me to thank you?"
"I didn't act for thanks, or repayment. I just didn't want you to die, simple right?" He said.
"I am also a fey. If I don't repay you then I owe you, and that's terrifying. Don't you know?" I asked.
"Alright, alright. I'll take the repayment to ease your mind." He said, accepting it.
I grinned and said, "Good. Would you like to be friends?"
"Friends? I'm a vampire inside a dungeon, people don't tend to want to be friends." He said.
"So? I'm a vampire, too. My aunt told me we all have a similar scent to us, so you should be able to tell that I am." I said. ".. I am not great at making friends, though."
"Again, vampire in a dungeon. Besides the coven, I don't really have social experience." He said.
"Oh.. well. What's it like being in a coven?" I asked.
He sat down. "Pfft. Nothing but in fighting and power struggles. Every day you think your group could get cleaned out of the coven. Other days a really powerful adventurer comes in and slaughters a bunch of people." Sarcastically, he added, "Its great."
I patted his leg gently. "My uncle Phintias was part of a coven a long, long time ago. He's the only one still alive. He's older than dirt by now. He doesn't really talk much of his past.. I can relate to the anxiety of adventurers potentially killing you. It's why I came South."
"At least your part Fey. You can partially hide what you are. Not that I have any idea how you came into existence. I'm glad you came South, though, this is nice." He said.
"My vampire father slept with my Celadrin mother and made me. Well, me and my siblings. I have three older half siblings, too, that are fully vampires." I shrugged. "My Father's line are vampires that were born."
"Huh. Must be nice, I was just a farmer in the wrong place at the wrong time." He said.
"Do you hate it?" I asked.
"No, I wouldnt say I hate it, just...I'm not in a great place, I guess." He said.
"Too bad I can't share cake or sweets with you. It always cheers up my oldest brother and Mom." I poofed up my cheeks. "I should have borrowed my Uncle's artifact, but he's very protective of it.. My aunt Nia is a druid, so I've done some gardening. Do you miss farming?"
"I do very much. The feel of the earth breaking and giving way to a till. The yeild of a hard season. It was rewarding." He said.
I could see the memories behind his eyes. "Back home there is a cave where a powerful man named Isarial built a city. My Mom called her spirit friends and they created a way to grow crops underground. Hearthstone Town is a really good place, unless you're a bad person. Then it kills ya."
"What qualifies you as a good person? I fed on sleeping adventures, but it was to survive. I have killed out of thirst. I can't consider myself a good person." He said.
I thought it over. "Isarial kills people that annoys him, but he can enter unharmed. But a slaver that tried to kidnap me when I was a toddler burned to death." I shrugged. "I don't know what qualifies a person to be good. And I could be wrong, but I don't think you're a bad person. Other wise you could hurt me."
"With your family? I very much doubt I'd even consider hurting you." He said. "Are you offering to take me to this place?"
I shrugged. "If it's something you're interested in, I can do it." I lowered my voice to nearly inaudible, "If you lack it, I can help you walk in the sun."
His eyes widened. "How..? If you say umbrella.."
Again, nearly inaudible, I said, "It's a simple matter of feeding you. Because of my father's bloodline I am immune to the sun and running water."
"If that is true.. then we have a bit of a problem." He said. "Before I started stitching you up, I harvested a little for the coven. Wr can't let them use it."
I smiled. "It's fine. They can have it. You know how you were fed to give you reason again? It's like that. It has to be permission based to gain the ability."
"Oh, well, that's reassuring." He said.
"My aunt can shape shift, but the family who raised her couldn't because she wouldn't give them the ability." I told him. "We're high vampire lords."
"I am most assuredly not." He said. "I will certainly not turn down the ability to walk in the sun again."
"Well, that may mean my aunt can command you then. Cause she can command lesser undead. If they keep track of what's going on in here like you do, I can't give it to you here." I said.
"It's been quite a few years since I left this dungeon. But I think I am ok with moving on." He said.
"Will your coven come after you?" I asked.
"A few of them maybe." He said.
"Well, that's OK. Cause if I ask my Uncle or Grandma will handle it." I smiled.
"It must be nice to have so many reliable people in your life." He said.
"It's cause I'm the baby." I admitted.
He laughed. "Well, shall we head out? I know a few shortcuts."
"Sure." I said cheerfully. "Oh, my name is Alyssa Acheron, by the way."
"I'm Liam." He said.
"Oh, you're right, by the way. Celedran's have the ability to know when traps are nearby, so I did know where they were, my range is just shorter than my Mom's cause I'm only part." I explained.
"Cheated the entire time. Oh well, it's fine." He said.
"It's daylight still, I believe." I said. "Just for a few more hours."
"Well then, we can use my passages to get near the entrances. We should arrive there by the time it becomes dark." He said.
I nodded. I understood I shouldn't be doing this, and that I shouldn't be trusting him. I knew, but he'd helped me for no good reason. So I would do the same. "Oh, my dad doesn't like vampires. He had a lot of bad experiences with them when he was young." I told him, cleaning up the stuff I'd put down.
"Your dad? The natural born vampire?" He asked. "Well, if he was in a coven I guess I can understand it."
"Well, many tried to kill him. He also doesn't agree with Vampires feeding on people." I shrugged. "He even asked all of us to not do it, though my Uncle's family does."
"That sounds fun for family gatherings." Liam said.
"Oh, Dad is afraid of Uncle Phintias. So he says nothing." I shrugged.
He put an arm through the wall, "And why is he afraid of him precisely? I am beginning to feel it is unsafe if I go with you."
I smiled, "Oh, do you know the feeling of being helpless while looking into a bears eyes?"
"An owl bears eyes, yes. It'd snuck onto the farm one night." He said.
"This region is known for Spotted Lions, yeah? Uncle Phintias can be like looking one in the eyes." I said. "You really don't have to worry. As long as you don't hurt his kids or my Aunt, you're fine."
"So everyone else is fair game except for family. Fair enough." He said.
"Mhm. Uncle doesn't care much bout anything. He's a really great father, though. And a really nice Uncle." I smiled.
"Think I'd rather just keep myself to myself in that situation." He said.
I laughed. "I think my Leonin Brother in Law would like you. He's personable."
"You have a very interesting family." He said.
"Yeah, we're all weirdos." I said. "Isarial is a hero to my Dad. He hunted my Dad down when he was just four years old and convince Dad to go with him. Dad's been really happy ever since. And he rescued my Grandpa from being a bag demon, well, he alerted my Grandma to it so she could restore him. Can you believe he is a hundred sixty-ish year old human now?"
"What would even his quality of life be at that age?" He asked.
"Hmm. He was the blonde man that was with my parents and grandma." I said. "So it's fine."
"He does not look a hundred and sixty." He said.
I nodded. "Yeah. Thats true. He's an amazing musician. I learned from him and my Mom. We all did. I have fifteen siblings."
"You have more brother's and sisters than the coven has people." He said.
"I have nieces and nephews, too." I said.
"Goodness, your family will rule the world one day." Liam said.
I giggled, "Oh, if I am annoying you, please say so. I haven't had friends before." I said.
"Are you kidding me? This is the longest conversation I've had not involving betting or a beating." Liam said.
I smiled and said, "I don't really have much to talk about besides my family. I am not even twenty years old yet."
He stared for a moment. "That's incredible. You're so young, and yet you got so far in the dungeon on your first go. Impressive."
I blushed a little and said, "Well, we'd have gotten further if I'd kept leading."
"I'm sure. That's why I bet on you." Liam said.
"Can you believe the adventurers invited me back to their group? Brock wanted to make me leave originally. He didn't want a vampire around." I said.
"That's the standard reaction, I'd say. I guess I am not the only one I've impressed." He said.
I shrugged. "Well, it's not like I can help having been born a vampire."
"No, I can't say you could." Liam agreed. "Best to just make due with what the gods have given."
We reached the entrance just at the time he'd indicated we would. I smiled at him and said, "Has your coven master forbade leaving? If so, I will need to give you my blood before bringing you out."
"Yes, but why?" Liam asked.
"Try it." I said, gesturing.
He made the attempt, only to be repressed from doing so. "That is... mighty inconvenient."
"Here." I said, pulling him away from the entrance and moving my shirt out of the way. My faced turned pink, "You have my permission to feed and grow stronger."
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say anything ceremonial or not." He sort of whispered. Then said, "I accept this offering."
He bit into my shoulder, placing his hands on my arms. After a moment, he let got of me, though he seemed hesitant to do so. His veins started looking very red, and he seemed a little out of breath.
"It feels like I am on fire.. but it's ok." He said. After a some time, it faded, and he was able to recover, "That was interesting. I think I'm good. I think it's over.. I.. I feel good."
"Try going out now." I said.
"Ok, let's give it a shot." He said. He was indeed able to do so. "I.. I've recently discovered I was imprisoned, and now I am free. This has been a very emotional day."
"Well, let's get moving, because technically I have broken many vampire laws by doing this." I grinned, walking past him. I understood that I would be weakened from feeding him, and I felt it.
"Alright. I have no idea where we're going." He said.
"For now, away. Is there any place you'd like to go?" I asked.
"No, no where in particular." He said. "I was one of three conversions in my village. Everyone else is dead."
"If you're coven masters follows, I'll just give him money to make him leave you." I said after we'd walked for a while. "Could be they are a low level vampire, too."
"Entirely possible. I have never gotten to the hierarchy of our coven." He said.
I shrugged and said, "I suppose I could introduce you to my Uncle Phintias. He expressed some interest in your coven."
"Umm.. ok.." He said. "Feel like I'm going to not walk out of whatever family gathering I walk into."
"Think so? I'll probably have to let you feed again. My Dad had to feed Aunt Nia a few times to allow her to not have a vampires typical weaknesses." I said. "Then again, it would probably be good if I get to know you before making you stronger, huh?"
"That would be the very pragmatic thing to do. I believe you have me by the short hairs, here. Without your blood, I'm little better than a slave." He said.
"Does that upset you?" I asked. "I won't command you."
"I literally couldn't tell you no if you did. But thank you for the reassurance." Liam said.
Giving him a worried look, I said, "I haven't pressured you, have I?"
He looked at me, "Yes, you have pressured me into freedom. Oh no."
"You don't have to stay around me, by the way. I don't want you to feel forced." I said. "Also, thank you for showing restraint."
"And I thought I had low self esteem. You're fun to be around. You're ok." Liam said.
I smiled a little. "Most find me gloomy."
"What in the world is their definition of gloomy? Sunshine and rain bows?" He asked.
I paused. Looking down at a trap. "This isn't in a good place. Wonder who put it here." I looked around, paying attention to the scents around us. Just some animals, and an old goblin-ish smell.
"No idea. Terrible place for it." He said.
I dismantled it pretty easily, then we continued walking on. "Do you like being a vampire?"
"I don't know, I haven't really gotten to experience it, besides the feeding." He said.
"If you want to be human again, that can be arranged." I said. "But you'll have to stay my, friend, ok?"
"I think I'd like to stay a vampire for a little while." He said. "And don't worry, this friendship has only just begun."
I smiled. We walked through the night into daytime. It was the first time he'd seen sunlight in a long while, but it was uncomfortable for him. We had to shelter him for a bit before continuing. I made myself some food, and allowed him to feed on me again that night.
He wiped his mouth, "You know, you taste as good as the sun feels, and then it starts burning me. But thats besides the point."
I felt my cheeks redden, even with having just fed him. "I wonder if it's my celestial part that burns."
He laughed and said, "That's possible, it's like the polar opposite of me."
"Are you comfortable? I know how much it hurts to be hungry." I said. Because of the vampires metabolism, food didn't fill me up as much, though a combination of blood and food did. So raw animal diet worked really well for me, but I liked it cooked.
"I'm something of an anomaly on that front. Pain is extremely dulled for me. Always has been." He said.
"If you keep yourself hungry, you'll be weak. My Father used to be weak like a vampire spawn because he didn't feed adequately." I said. "It wouldn't be safe for me to feed you properly on my blood, because it does weaken me temporarily, but we can catch some goblins, if they are savage."
"Well, I'm sure we'll find something. I am sure the world is still full of creatures." He said.
"Probably. Wanna bathe? I remember seeing a pond over there." I said pointing.
"Oh, a good bath would be nice. Since it's a pond I won't have to worry about the running water part too much." He said.
I nodded and led him to it. "I can wash your clothes for you." I said, giving him a soap sheet and a towel. "We can relax some, long enough for your clothes to dry. Or you can walk in my night gown." I giggled.
He laughed, "No, I believe I could wait."
"I only have a night gown to pretend to sleep.. I guess I could fix it into a shirt for you. Maybe make some pants out of my blanket." I commented as he took the soap and towel.
"Anybody ever tell you you're cute? You give away things very easily. Trust me I can wait." He said.
"Well, Mom said you gotta treasure friends. And no, aside from my family, no one has. I have been called a pet monster, though." I said.
"A pet monster? Did you slap the person immediately?" He asked. "Or maybe threw them into the ocean?"
"No. There is no point." I said. "It won't change their minds, or make me feel better."
"Well, what does make you feel better?" He asked.
I started thinking on that. I blinked after a moment, then opened my bag and showed him a fluffy stuffed bunny my mom had made for me. "This."
He looked at it closely. "That is some fine stitch work there."
"My Mom's the best. I've had this since I was little. Wanna feel? It's soft and fluffy." I grinned.
He pet the rabbit's head. "Yes. This is soft. How old is this again?"
"Around sixteen years old." I said.
"That's even more impressive. Most things like this fall apart after a few years." He said.
"I take care if it well. I named it bun bun when I was little." I said.
"I wish I had something from my childhood. But nothing managed to get that far." He said.
I put away my stuffed bunny and said, "You have knowledge from your childhood."
"Bits and pieces." He said.
"Hmm. Well, give me your clothes and take your bath. When we reach town in a few days you can have a warm bath." I said.
He mostly obeyed, handing me over his clothing, minus his underwear. He then went to wash up, while I went around some foliage to wash his clothes. Then I started a fire to dry his clothes quickly. When he joined me at the fire, I went to take a bath myself. I had spare clothes, so didn't need to wash them.
"That feels a little better." He commented, when I joined him again.
"Awesome. I'm glad." I smiled.
"So what's the plan? We keep walking, or we stay here for a while?" He asked.
"I figured we can keep going once your clothes are dry. But if you want to rest, that's fine, we can stay for a while." I said.
He fiddled with a ring he was wearing, and pulled out a pen and paper. "Well, we can rest for a bit. I enjoy drawing in my free time, and this is a lovely sceen."
I nodded. Getting a hammock out of my bag and climbing a tree behind him to secure it. Once I hopped out of the tree, I got my blanket and into the hammock and started swinging. It was a relaxing thing for me to do.
After a couple of hours he stopped and put away his things. "Alright, that's a good enough sketch, I can finish later."
"Would you like to swing with me a moment?" I asked.
"Sure, why not." He would awkwardly climbed in, and seated himself. "So, how do I swing?"
I showed him, swinging my legs to make us begin to rock back and forth. The closeness of our bodies didn't bother me a bit. Nor did he seem to mind. "What do you think?" I asked.
"I like the feel of the wind on my face." He started copying my movements. "It's soothing in a way."
I smiled broadly, "I'm glad, then."
"If we are not careful, we may end up on the ground, though." He said with an evil grin.
I laughed, and stretched my arms over the back of the hammock, mid swing, while tucking in my legs, and leaning back to make the hammock flip. He dropped off the back, with a yelp.
Immediately, he sat up and said, "Well, that wasn't fair."
I was still laughing. It'd spilled me off, as well, though I was able to catch myself with my hands and do a cartwheel. I gave him an affectionate hug and asked, "Are you alright?"
His face reddened. "Yes, I'm fine, it was just a little spill. But I will have my revenge eventually."
I let him go, and said, "Wanna swing again, or?" He swiftly got up, jumped in the hammock and started swinging. I started lightly pushing him. "Are you really ok it was a decent drop?"
"If I was that easy to hurt, I'd be even deader by now." He said.
"That could be arranged." Someone said from nearby.
"That was cringy. I can't believe I heard something that cringy aloud." I said.
"Hand us what you've got." A man said.
"Fellas, fellas, why don't we settle this more peacefully?" Liam said, stopping swinging.
One of the men grabbed me, "Sure, it can end peacefully, with you're pretty girl in my bed and you're valuables our pockets."
"You reek of piss. No thanks." I quipped.
He hopped out of the hammock, and said, "Now, fellas, that was the worst idea you could have had." He cooked his head. "You see there, that's my prey." He hooked a finger in his mouth, showing off his fangs. "Now, you let her go, or I'll have to turn every last one of ya into a mindless husks."
I could hear the man's heartbeat pick up, he let go and stumbled back. One of them cursed, another stammered about a monster, and then the ran in different directions. I looked at Liam, non-judgmentally.
"Well, that worked better than I thought it would. I honestly didn't know how that would turn out." Liam said.
I examined my arm where the man had grabbed me. It was slightly purple. "Tou're letting them go?"
"Currently. But, if they are anything like adventurers, they will likely come back." Liam said.
"Bandits are cowards." I shrugged. "They are just desperate people who made bad decisions and got drunk on the power of it. I suppose we should head onto town."
"Sounds like a fine idea. It's been a few years since I've been in a town." He said.
"I'll be sure to feed you, if you stick around. It'll help you blend in." I said.
"Well, I appreciate that." Liam replied. "He didn't hurt you, did he? I am terrified to bring you back injured."
I showed him, "Just a little bruise. It's fine."
"Oh, well, that's fine. A little bruise will heal up in no time." Liam said.
"Yup." I said, getting the hammock down. "Thanks for defending me, though I can fight fine."
"I've seen you fight, remember? I was just hoping to end the fight without having to drain them." He said.
"I wouldn't have judged you for doing so if you did. Speaking of, what happens to a person you drain? Do they just die?" I asked.
"Yes, they just die." Liam said.
"My Aunt said if we did that, they'd turn into Nulls." I said.
"I have no idea what a null is." Liam said, dressing himself.
"It's a stronger and faster zombie." I said.
"Well, unless we tie fresh meat at an end of a stick and make them race for it, I doubt we'd know how much faster it is." Liam said.
I shrugged. "I should tell my Uncle you said I was prey."
"Please don't." He said.
"I shouldn't?" I asked, pretending to be naive.
"No, no you shouldn't, unless you want this friendship to be over very quickly. Because I will be dead." Liam said.
We started heading to town, since I'd packed everything back away. "I won't purposely put you in danger."
"That's appreciated. I will try not to put you in danger either." Liam said.
"I didn't scar, by the way." I said, changing the subject.
"Oh? That was a pretty severe wound, I am surprised you had no scarring from it." Liam commented.
I nodded. "If it healed naturally it would have scarred. But blood helped there not be any. Uncle enjoyed removing the thread, by the way."
"He enjoyed it? That's concerning." He said.
"Well, you know how some people can be obsessive about how things are? It's kinda like that for Phintias. Like fixing a stitch on a shirt." I shrugged.
"Hm. Interesting." Liam said.
I smiled at him. "Guess I could have compared it to laying down the line work before painting a drawing."
"I definitely feel like that's a more relatable comparison." He said.
"Guess so." I said. We walked for the rest of the night, and for a good portion of the day. Rather than true discomfort, he was just fatigued. Still, I let him feed off me again. I could eat literally anything, he couldn't. Not really. Animals weren't as filling, and even though I was a vampire, I was also fey, so I was much more filling. And I didn't mind it.
We'd made really good time making our way to the city my uncle had resettled in. I followed him as he checked out shops and bought himself a few outfits and such, then we booked a room at an Inn. We relaxed in the room after I sent a cat to bring my Aunt a message on where I was and that I'd like my Uncle to meet Liam.
"What all animals can you control? And what can you make them do?" Liam asked.
"Hm? Oh, my aunt taught me. I am not as powerful as she is, but I can tell cats and smaller animals to do simple things for me. I have never tried it, but I am supposed to be able to control lesser undead, ghasts and lesser than that." I shrugged. "Are you hungry?"
"Getting there. I am trying to not feed on you so much, but I am getting a little peckish." He said.
"I don't mind it. I'd rather you keep control of yourself, so I am fine with feeding you." I said.