When the group entered town, people were running rampant down the streets in mass crowds. Towns people left and right fled their homes as various men and women ushered people to safer parts of Dalharst. Many ran toward the church of Faelira and a stronghold in hopes of shelter.
Jex pulled on his reins to slow his steed then yelled toward a fleeting villager. "What's going on?!"
"It's a vampire! He's intruding our homes and taking people captive! He will eat us if we aren't careful!" the villager announced and turned running for his life.
"You know, Nimer, I really hate it when you're right," Ray murmured with a sigh.
Nimer appeared unamused, "We need to hurry and find that vampire. These people are in mortal danger. He'll devour the whole town if we don't stop him."
A bloody scream from down the way turned all heads to the south as bats came swarming out of an open door of one of the residential homes. A woman and who they assumed to be her husband came running out of the door, arms flailing and tripping over each other into the muddy streets. Moments later emerged the vampire, his cloak flaring behind him.
"I love when things are convenient," Nimer smirked.
All four of them darted down the street, mud spraying behind them. They acted carefully, weaving through the masses of town's people who flocked in the opposite direction. A few heads turned with curiosity watching the group move toward the danger and not away from it. Most eyes settled on Canin, a few souls getting even more afraid at the sight of a large, charging wolf bounding in their direction. They screamed and ducked for more cover, not being very mindful of each other and running into other civilians.
Breaking through the mass, Nimer pulled back hard on his reins, causing his horse to rear up. He yelled a command to his steed and he thrusted forward, his front hooves driving straight into the vampire's back and knocking him prone. Nimer and the other's quickly dismounted, all weapons in hand. They circled around him, Jex and Nimer holding blades in the vampire's face, Ray with an arrow aimed at his head, and Canin with his teeth bared, growling fiercely.
The vampire brought his hands up in his own defense. He seemed to comply with their threats for the moment. "Well, look who it is. It's rude to point weapons in someone's face, don't you think, hm?"
"And it's not rude to intrude on others' properties?" Nimer asked.
"A guy's got to feed himself you know," the monster mused with a grin. "Are you angry about your friend?"
"He is not our friend. He's just another soul we are trying to save from the likes of you," Canin answered in a threatening growl. "You turned him knowing it would give him more power if he were to awaken."
"Ha!" laughed the vampire. "He did it to himself. You only have him to blame."
Ray wrinkled her lips in suspicion and pulled back tighter on her bow string. "That doesn't sound quite true coming from you. Who knows, you could have pressured him into doing it for all we know."
"Perceptive," the vampire mused, snickers rolling off his tongue. "I may have helped him, oh you know, come in touch with his true feelings. He craves power…Don't you?"
"I could do without," Jex answered.
The crazed lunatic laughed. "How about I make you a deal? I leave you alone if you give me that silver sword there boy."
Jex's hand immediately went for the handle of the silver blade he had strapped to his belt. He remembered what Nimer had said about it. That's when the epiphany hit.
"You're after the shards, aren't you? You're part of the Ravathor cult," Jex accused.
"Bingo," the vampire answered in a sing-song voice and quickly pulled his cloak over his body. In an instant he transformed into a small, fuzzy bat and hovered over them. His wings flapped vigorously and he flew overhead. Once in mid air, he transformed once again back into human like form and landed crouched in the mud.
"Zinlar said many good, intriguing things about the three of you in his last meeting," the vampire blabbered on. He drew his crude blade from its small sheathe attached to his belt.
"Zinlar!" Nimer growled, "That settles it. You are working for the cult!"
The vampire's glowing red eyes grew wide with a primitive desire till they cycled to a glowing violet. "Yes, now it makes sense doesn't it? Do you even realize how much power that one shard has given him? Ravathor must awaken, and that means I must obtain more shards! I shall give them to him!"
With a swing of his hand, he threw the blade towards the four and it sliced through the air with inhuman speed and precision. Purple sparks smothered the blade and purple lightning sprayed from the blade, surrounding it like a spiderweb.
"Look out!" Ray yelled and all four of them spread out.
The blade hit the wall with a thunk and the purple lightning fizzled out.
The group looked around at each other nervously, Ray to Nimer especially, being the only one who knew this was his greatest weakness.
"We'll have to play this smart," Nimer said. "If we work together, we can take him on. Don't let his dark magic hit you. Surround him from all sides. Ray, keep a distance. Jex, strike him when ready. Canin and I will get in for closer combat."
The others nodded in response. Nimer quickly helped get Rin off of Canin's back and lay him against the house behind them. He turned to the vampire with a menacing glint in his eyes.
"Now!" he yelled.
Jex, Nimer, and Canin all took off toward the vampire, Ray staying behind. She aimed, the wooden frame of her bow creaking. She tugged hard on the bowstring, knocking an arrow she pulled from her quiver. She released and the arrow went splitting through the air and hit the vampire square in the shoulder, but it only slowed him a little.
He dodged an incoming attack from Nimer, who sliced the air wildly with his blades. The vampire moved like a cobra, with grace, dodging nimbly. He withdrew two more crude blades and held both of them up, blocking Nimer's attack.
It was enough to distract him for Canin to drive his long teeth into the vampire's leg causing him to yowl. Canin pulled hard, bringing the vampire's feet out from underneath him. Canin clamped his teeth tighter and a loud crunch could be heard. The vampire's leg was most definitely broken.
The monster tried his best to pull away but did not succeed. He instead whirled around with his blade, driving the blade into Canin's thick muzzle. The wolf yelped and let go of the vampire's leg, blood gushing from his wound.
"That should teach you to bite me!" the vampire spat.
Suddenly a large blade struck him across the back and discharge sprayed from his mouth. The vampire toppled forward. He froze a long second before turning around and seeing Jex standing there, blade in hand. The tip was covered in the beast's blood and it trickled down, dotting the muddy earth below. Nimer took this opportunity to lunge at him with his cutlass, driving it deep into the vampire's flesh. He turned it sharply to the side, digging the curved blade deeper into his arm.
The fanged face beast let out an exasperated cry then grabbed Nimer's blade. "Don't think Zinlar didn't tell me your little secret!" He grinned and dark magic sprayed from his palm traveling down Nimer's blade and smothered his arm.
Nimer yelled, his arm going numb from the pain, but he refused to go down. He simply dropped his weapon to avoid getting shocked further and stepped backwards. His arm and coat looked scorched from the attack and it fell limply to his side.
"Nimer!" Ray cried, worried for the effects that would follow.
"Curses," Nimer breathed. "Jex! Now!"
The Vampire barely turned before the farm boy as he lunged forwards with a mighty drive, shoving the stake into the vampire's chest and all three stood back as the weapon took its effect on the monster. The vampire's vision started to double and fringe gray on the side. He brought a shaking hand to the stake in his chest, and he feebly tried to grab the stake and remove it with no luck. Blood instantly bubbled up from the beast's chest and his words were drowned by a mouth full of blood.
"This is not…the last you've seen of our cult…May Ravathor awaken and Mykatha take your souls and you never, EVER return to the mortal plane. Curse you…Curse you all!" The vampire's body crumbled, large cracks forming in his skin. He soon withered and fell into a pile of dust in the middle of the street.
The group stood there, heavy breaths spilling from their mouths. They approached what was left of the vampire. Nimer knelt down and rummaged through the clothing that was left behind to see if he left anything that might be of use or a clue as to where Zinlar and his goons were hiding. Sure enough, after sliding his hand into the pocket of the trousers, he withdrew three shiny, red shards that glistened in the light of the moon.
He pocketed them quickly. A low rumble of voices behind them drew his and the other's attention. It was broken by a slow clap then soon an applause. They all turned to meet the crowd of town's people walking toward them. The town's people praised them for their bravery, some even offering them shelter and wealth.
One man stood more forward than the rest. He was an older man with wispy silver hair that looked very messy for the time of night. He was dressed in a nightgown and fuzzy slippers that were now coated in mud. He approached Jex first, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Well done boy, all of you, thank you, thank you!" The man congratulated them. "Thanks to you Dalharst is safe from that vampire fiend."
A smile met Jex's face and he laughed a little under his breath. "It was nothing really. Just hunting a bounty."
The man placed his hands on his hips and chuckled. "First one?"
Jex nodded. "First one, indeed!"
"Well, I'll have to reward you and your friends handsomely for this one. You see, I'm the mayor of this town. That vampire has been terrorizing us for a good while. We are more than glad he is gone," the man said and scratched his chin. "How about I show you to my house and help get you and your friends cleaned up."
"That would be great," Jex said. "Isn't that right everyone?"
His friends nodded their heads weirdly, the exhaustion of the day settling into their bones and bodies.
"Splendid! Please follow me," Picking up their still sleeping companion, the five of them were paraded through the crowd and were led to stay the rest of the night in a warm, comforting home.