The vampire Wilfort was over a hundred years old, they heard. He was slow, they were told. All they had to do was blitz him.
But as Godrick and Clancy engage the vampire, they discover that's far from the truth. Wilfort has vigor in him like a man only a quarter his age.
The esteemed vampire fights with a long thin sword, flashing through the air with brilliant and deadly grace. He flys through the room, exchanging blow after blow with Godrick. The grizzled blond Adventurer is using all four blades against Wilfort and can barely keep himself defended from the vampire's dizzying onslaught of strikes.
Wilfort leaps back and prepares a magical spell. Instantly, sharp pillars of ice begin to burst from the ground. Godrick weaves around them effortlessly, but the pressure is on. One small mistake could spell disaster.
Clancy scuttles past an icy spike, spitting a ball of projectile foam at the vampire. Wilfort is ready for the attack, using his advantageous ice magic to freeze the ball of foam in midair. It lands hard on the ground and shatters, completely ineffective.
"FOAM BAD!" Clancy clicks, paranoid. The mighty crab is keeping his distance - he'd just get in Godrick's way as of right now. Clancy could barely fit through the entryway as is.
Wilfort and Godrick exchange a number of blows, and at the last second, a burst of magic causes Godrick to veer unexpectedly to the left. As he does, Wilfort spots a brief opening, and thrusts with all the might he can muster.
Godrick parries the attack at the last second, but his sword is knocked out of his hand. It goes flying to the other side of the room. Now Godrick is down to three weapons. He catches one sword out of the air as it falls, holding two in one hand.
"Got some pep in your step, old man," Godrick taunts. "Thought you'd go down easier."
Wilfort raises his sword up, holding it straight up like he is saluting. He stares down Godrick with his one good eye - the other long gone and covered in a black patch.
"Your mistake for assuming vampires succumb to the same pities of old age as a human. I was an old man when they turned me, but on that day I became stronger than I'd ever been when I was alive."
Godrick lowers his posture, adapting an aggressive stance. He'd tried his default moves on Wilfort, what his clan refers to as the 'Asura Dance'. But for an opponent like this who can match his speed, the Asura Dance wasn't effective. So he would trade speed for power. It's time for the Tiger Dance.
Godrick sheathes one of his swords, wielding just one in each hand. His low stance is feral and calculating. He's ready to strike in a moment's notice.
"Oy, Clancy," Godrick hollers. "You get your secret technique ready, yeah? Count to thirty and do it! That's all the time I'll need."
Clancy clicks expectantly. "SECRET TECH!" The big crab starts counting down from thirty out loud.
Wilfort analyzes the situation carefully. 'A secret technique in thirty seconds? Is this some kind of trick?' the vampire thinks to himself. Before he can process the situation fully, Godrick vaults through the air, his swords bearing down like fangs.
Wilfort wisely sidesteps the attack and attempts to sweep his blade at Godrick's side. The powerful blade-dancer pivots on one foot, sliding around and finding himself at Wilfort's flank. He unleashes a barrage of fast and furious blows. Each strike is significantly stronger than before, and the vampire's strength is pushed to its limit just to block and parry the fearsome blows. Wilfort quickly loses ground and finds himself against the stone walls of the tower. He presses his hand to the wall and large icicles begin to dart out from the stone.
Godrick pays them no mind. Just fifteen seconds remaining. He dances through the barreling ice blades and presses both his swords into Wilfort in unison. It's close, but the vampire narrowly escapes by leaping over the blades and landing back safely in the center of the room.
Clancy is still counting down. 'What's going to happen when he finishes?' Wilfort wonders. His attention is split between the crab and the man. In ten seconds, there would be an attack from the crab. Something powerful, by the sounds of it. He needed to deal with Godrick immediately.
Godrick rushes the vampire, both of his blades moving in tandem like thrashing claws. Five seconds.
Wilfort blocks, stepping back but careful not to lose too much ground. Godrick slinks behind him, pinning the vampire between he and Clancy. In this position, Wilfort can't keep an eye on them both.
Three seconds. Wilfort unleashes a blast of ice at Godrick and creates a wall, isolating him off. That should buy some time.
One second. Wilfort's head whips to Clancy. He's ready for whatever the crab might throw at him.
"COUNTDOWN COMPLETE!" Clancy bellows, raising his claws into the air. Wilfort watches with great intensity. Whatever this crab was about to do, he would catch it.
But Clancy doesn't do a thing other than pose valiantly. Wilfort's eyes narrow. What was the meaning of this? What is the technique?
Suddenly, Wilfort stumbles forward. Two blades pass through him from behind and bury themselves in his torso. He coughs, blood splattering out of his mouth. He turns his head. 'How?' Wilfort asks himself. Godrick is still so far away, behind a wall of ice.
And then Wilfort realizes the error of his ways. He'd been distracted by the crab, and hadn't considered Godrick would throw his swords in a last-ditch effort to land an attack. And it worked.
Wilfort falls to his knees, blood seeping out of him.
"Was there a secret technique at all?" he laughs, looking at the crab that rapidly approaches. He couldn't believe it - a vampire of his caliber being done in by the petty trick of a talking crab.
"CRAB DISTRACTION! SECRET TECH!"
Clancy scuttles up to Wilfort and blasts his face with foam. The elder vampire screams in agony as the foam burns through him and cleanses the vampiric energy. In moments, all that is left is a feeble old man, one so weak and withered he looks like he could turn to dust in a moment.
"Don't think we'll be resurrecting this fellow," Godrick says, collecting himself. It was an intense battle, he was happy to be alive.
Clancy agrees. The human doesn't look strong enough to survive. The vampire power within him was likely the only thing that kept him going.
"Right then, now there's some treasure around here, I suppose," Godrick says, ripping his blades free from the withered corpse. "What say you, mate? Any idea what we're looking for?"
Clancy skitters over the body, moving with purpose toward the back of the room. He smacks a table aside in the back of the room and points with his claw at a small trapdoor.
"CAN'T FIT. TREASURE THERE!"
Godrick finishes collecting his blades and steps over to the trapdoor. "Good eye, mate. Guess I'll give her a look."