The Story of the Stave - Part One

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I was hoping someone would tell me! though I sort of get the idea of a vampire like being.

 

When Melfdale saw Callain dive, he knew that there was only one way to keep the stave out of the hands of what had been their companion. He threw himself to the ground and fired his bow, the arrow's fletching barely skimming the stones. It struck the stave and sent it skittering away from Callain's outstretched hand, up against Iliith'Hen's motionless form. Callain howled in rage and leaped at Melfdale, who was barely able to roll aside in time. The elf bought himself a few extra seconds by dodging behind one of the columns.

Kibrani abandoned her pack and lantern to race to Iliith'Hen. He was beginning to groan and stir, but the shadow creature was bearing down and would be upon him before he could defend himself. She drew her long knife from the sheath on her thigh and stood over the elf, nudging the stave closer to his hand with his foot.

The thing continued to press forward, and Kibrani lunged out with a swipe that would have disemboweled a living creature. Her knife passed through the shadows as through air but her hand came out of the creature training tendrils of lightning that wrapped around her wrist and probed the hilt of her weapon almost gently. "'Rani..." The sound might have been ignored as nothing more than a gust of air if it was repeated, more urgently. "'Rani!" Another bolt of lightning shot forth and stabbed Kibrani in the chest. "Why did you come after me? There's nothing you can do..." The lightnings retracted and Kibrani stumbled. "Take the stave and get out. I can manage without it better than you." The thing vanished.

It was too much for Kibrani to figure out, so she ignored it and ran to Melfdale. He was striped with cuts from Callain's swords and claws, but had not sustained any serious wounds. She slammed the hilt of her weapon into the back of Callain's head as he tried to bite the elf. "Enough!" she shouted. "Do you want to die right here or pay your debt to us?"

 

Callain spun after recovering from the blow to the head. His demonic eyes searched for the host of the hit, and there it stood, almost arrogantly, hands on hips. It had the face and body of a young woman, yet callain longed to rip it apart. As a human he had killed, and even mutilated, men, but never had he even considered hurting a woman. This piece of his human character came back to him, and he realised that he was no longer what he used to be. He was now just a instrument of evil. A Vampyre.

In that moment he knew the deserved it. His life had always been comprised of killing, not for himself, but for other people. Now he knew that he no longer wanted to serve others, yet now he was forced to. "I will pay my debt." he said simply, knowing it was the only thing he could do to at least attempt the path of redemption...

 

Kibrani's shoulders slumped as she sheathed her knife. "I'm glad," she said, trying to smile. "I'd rather have your sword at my side than at my back. Let's tend their wounds, and decide what we do from here after some food and rest."

There was no way of telling the time of day when they all awoke. Kibrani seemed too worn to speak, so Melfdale took charge. "We can do what the shadow creature said - take the stave and leave. Or we could press forward, after the answers we seek. They all seem to be in the same place, even those to the questions we didn't know we were asking." He looked at Callain.

"Forward, or course," Iliith'Hen said immediately. "There's nothing to be gained by going backwards."

The group forced some energy into their motions as they adjusted their packs. As they passed through the archway...

 

Callain padded forward, his blood red eyes scanning the area as one would in midday. For the rest they stumbled on, constantly scraping the walls as the lantern light flickered. The light from the stave had left the group once again in total darkness.

As his eyes swept from side to side, Callain settled his sight on a young woman, lying naked but for a simple white robe, on a stone altar.

She did not move, she did not blink, she just remained perfectly still...

(OoC, sorry its a bit short, but no-one was replying and I thought it needed a litle reviving, someone please continue)

 

At Callain's hiss, Kibrani darted over to the altar. Peering at the woman's face, she said "It's not Joyani, but I think I recognize her as one of the girls who was taken earlier. So if she's still alive..." She didn't dare finish her thought aloud, but the others could still feel the hope in her voice.

"What's this?" Melfdale picked up a silver coin that was placed on the girl's forehead. It was very worn but he could still see the elaborate knot design on its face. Drawing a sharp breath, he studied the knotted belt that closed her robe. Realizing that the two patterns were identical, he drew a dagger and slashed the belt. The girl's body arched, then she fell back to the altar in a deep but natural sleep.

At the same time, from somewhere ahead of them an anguished cry echoed through the chambers.