Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

Mercenaries (I)

Both Cluasde and Fangorm were holed up in their respective mansions, though that didn't mean they were sitting idly by. They had organized recruitment in their respective territories, albeit with strict security measures.

Everybody had to be thoroughly inspected before being brought in. Then, they would be inspected again between the first barrier and the second, even the recruiters themselves. They didn't want even a fly to sneak in without their approval. Everything was ready to start recruiting.

Once past inspection, it would be the high vampires who would decide who was suitable to follow them. The most important attribute was the mentality, the rest could be trained. They needed obedient subordinates.

However, although a couple of days apart, both suffered a strange setback. The recruiters and recruits, who already had to be there, were late. First, they got impatient. Then, they cursed them and promised punishment. Finally, they began to worry.

Both vampires acted the same. Lesser vampires were sent to investigate what was going on, but none of them returned. They didn't feel that their subordinates had died, as their bond remained. They didn't understand what was happening, but they were scared.

When the vampires got in touch a few days later with each other, they discovered that something similar had also happened to the other. At that moment, they panicked.

Krovledi listened to the story of her subordinates with a frown. Pokmu's death had been another blow, the worst of all. Not only was he stronger than the first two, but he was leading and supervising several important projects for her.

"When I find out who's the culprit, they'll regret having been born," she threatened after cutting off contact with her children.

However, no matter how much anger and frustration she accumulated, there was nothing she could do about it. The vampiress suspected that one of her siblings was the culprit, although she didn't know which one, or how they could have hurt her so much.

In fact, they had a pact not to touch the high vampires, though none expected the others to honor it if the opportunity arose.

"What if several have allied against me?" she asked herself, and panicked for a moment.

She wasn't afraid of anyone, except for her father. Krovledi had complete confidence that she could at least escape from any of her siblings, if they weren't the ones who needed to escape from her. However, if there were more than one, the situation would be different. Therefore, she took one of her most precious treasures, a necklace that she tied around her neck. It held a red stone the size of a fist.

Normally, she would put it dipped in blood, to restore or maintain its power, but now the time had come to use it. She couldn't risk it.

After her preparations, she used the portal to go to Cluasde's mansion. She wanted to see in person what was happening.

Lulorha, a muscular one meter 90 tall mercenary, threw the vampire into the room and closed the door. Like the rest of those who were already inside, he was bound hand and foot, as well as gagged.

She then picked up the huge axe that she had left by the door, and looked at the two who stood guard, about to say something to them.

"We know boss. No one enters until the client comes," one of them spoke first.

She smiled, although her smile was rather scary. It was hard to read the buffalo-woman's expression for someone not used to her race.

"Good guy. I see you have learned it. Let's hope you can also learn to drink someday. Ha, ha," she laughed.

They were there on duty because they had been the first to lose consciousness the night before, totally drunk. It meant that they had lost the bet with their opponents, and had been forced to take that watch shift.

They looked away, embarrassed, as the mercenary woman walked away with a loud laugh.

They were a group of about fifty, who until recently had been under the command of the Count Fangorm. However, something had happened, something unknown. Suddenly, their contract had been terminated, without warning and for no apparent reason.

The only thing the mercenaries knew was that their clients had been nervous for days, but not why, since they couldn't know that the count's siblings had died. So, they had found themselves jobless, and not quite sure where to go.

While they were gathered in a tavern discussing what to do, a woman with her face covered had approached them. She had paid them for information on the count and his kin, which they had been more than willing to reveal. They felt betrayed.

When the woman had proposed hiring them, they had accepted without hesitation. She wasn't only solving their immediate problem, but they could get revenge on their previous clients. Their mission was to catch all the vampires that came out of the mansion, or kill them if it wasn't possible. Their new client had even paid in advance.

The only strange thing about all this was that, in addition, they had to watch another room. They had to make sure no one entered.

They soon deduced that their client had placed some kind of gate there, which made them curious as to who she was. An artifact capable of creating something like that in such a short time wasn't something available to everyone. However, they were professionals, and they were careful not to renege on their contract, no matter how curious they were.

In a neighboring county, that of countess Cluasde, something similar had happened a few days before.

"Damn it, have you seen what your great-grandfather has done? Couldn't he have left without messing it up one last time? Without breaking the balance again?" a huge black dragon growled.

"You know how he was. Nonetheless, he was also wise, he sure had his reasons," a celestial dragoness answered wistfully.

"Yeah, of course..., but now all the complaints will target me," he continued, protesting.

"Tell them it was his doing. We dragons won't intervene if they want to punish him however they want for breaching the contract," she suggested.

"How are they going to punish him if he's dead?" he complained, unable to overcome his irritation.

"Exactly," she smiled, if that fearsome grin could be called a smile.

"Oh... It's not a bad idea... You're a genius!", he praised, as his mood improved suddenly.

She didn't say anything, just sighed silently. She was sure that, if her partner hadn't been carried away as always by his anger, he would have thought of that simple solution himself.

Still, being grumpy was part of his charm, at least from a dragon's point of view. Without a doubt, in that aspect, she was an exception, as her deceased great-grandfather had been. Despite that, he had been highly recognized and respected among his kin.

In fact, she was too, though she wasn't fully aware of it. Not only was she easily approachable, but her advice always had calm reflection behind it. That is often scarce, but in few races as much as in dragons.