In hindsight I should've heeded the Angel of Death's advice and headed to the city first, but in that moment of time I was too desperate to save Alucard's life. I wasn't fully trusting of her either, I believed she meant it when warned she'd return in three days to collect his soul, but I also feared she had other intentions. She's the grim reaper after all, who's to say she's not trying to lead me astray by having me travel into town in the opposite direction?
Nothing good ever happened in Targoviste.
My skin prickled beneath my cloak as I sensed the presence of magic the closer I walked towards the fortress, before I heard them aiming their attacks from the cover of the forest. "I'm not your enemy." I armed my glowing staff and summoned a fireball in my left hand. "I came to you for help!" The magicians lowered their spells and their leader approached threateningly from the cover. "Who are you?"
"Just a fellow magician." I stood firm and tall, despite being scared to the bone. The magicians were robed in blood orange cloaks emblazed with a gold runic symbol on their chests. Something struck familiar about the symbol, but I was too focused on not getting myself hexed . Their leader glared fiercely. "How did you come to learn magic? You are not of our clan."
"I learned it myself, self taught." I responded. "Are you gonna lower your wards, honest to God I'm not your enemy."
"You wield Speaker magic!" Barked on of the guards.
"Well the books I learned from contained Speakers spells, otherwise I'm not affiliated with them." That was a lie, but my gut warned not to reveal the truth. My staff glowed with a low thrumming in my hands. The head guard glanced at his magicians and nodded. "Come along." I followed the surrounding guards to a great fortress, armed with sentries and jagged spires. The place felt lousy with magic. I held my staff firmly as the ominous iron gate opened, feeling like a prisoner entering a dungeon.
You're doing this for Alucard. I kept repeating to myself. For Alucard.
I wasn't lead into the fortress, rather a small barrack in the inner courtyard. Orange robed Whisperers practiced their magic, stopping momentarily to watch me with sour eyes. A young girl watched in fascination before being rapped in the shoulder by her instructor. "Pay attention."
Definitely not Speakers, I kept my staff close, not letting it go even when asked to take a seat. What I presumed to be the Elder took her seat in front of me, an icy eyed woman in her sixties with black scars marring her face and an amulet at her chest with the symbol of an angel.
"You're a brave one to venture to our stronghold so boldly." She commented in a leathery voice. "I'm Alethia, the head of the Targovistan Whisperer hold. Why have you come seeking us, young warlock?"
I took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "My friend is dying." I explained. "He was attacked by a Plaguemaster while protecting me. We were able to destroy it, but the monster bit him before it was killed. I was told the Whisperers of Targoviste had the only antidote that could save him. Please, you have to help me. He has done everything for me and I can't let him die. I love him. I love him and he doesn't realize I do."
The Whisperers cast their eyes on me intrigued, but it was Alethia who spoke. "Such a powerful force, love. I am sorry young warlock, your friend is as good as dead. A Plaguemaster's bite is always fatal and there is no antidote. I'd return home and spend your remaining time with him. He deserves to know your love for him before he dies."
"There is an antidote, or at least an ingredient to create one." I persisted. "You have Panacea dust, with that I can create a cure, it's the only hope I have of saving his life."
I heard a murmur run through the Whisperers court. "Who told you we possessed Panacea dust?" Alethia's eyes glinted. "A reliable source." I said curtly. "Please, I'm willing to pay whatever coin for it, and I have things to trade."
"We do carry Panacea dust." Alethia confirmed, nearly causing me to jump out of my seat. "But it is not for sale." She raised her brow with. "However, we could exchange a portion of it for an equal trade. "
"Name what you want and I'll give it !" I slammed my hand on the table, preparing to trade the old scrolls from the library. "We've got enough of spell scrolls." Alethia waved them away. "The only thing equal to the Panacea is your staff."
I clutched the weapon to my chest like a child's doll. "I can't."
"You want to save your beloved don't you?" Alethia persisted. "The staff is the only payment we'll accept." "I can't give away my staff." I said. "It's part of me. It's the only possession I have." "What's more important? A magic staff can be replaced, but a loved one cannot." Alethia asked.
Love is a powerful thing, but instinct is stronger. For a moment I considered giving away the only thing I had to my name if it meant saving Alucard's life, then my sense kicked in. "What would you do with my staff ? It's magic doesn't work in anyone else's hands but mine, unless you're desperate for a good walking stick or something to discipline your subordinates with."
Alethia's conniving stare made me rise from my seat. "I should go. You're right, I should be there for him until his time's come."
I forced the guards from the door with a earth spell. "Later!" I ran like hell through the courtyard, pursued by the Whisperers and their dark magic attacks. "Jeez you guys really know how to host someone!" I struck my staff on the ground and and stunned them with divine light before clouding the area with mist. I made a beeline for the gate and ran out speeding into the woods before it clanged shut. Shouts clamored through the forest.
"Find her!"
"She couldn't have gotten far!"
"Bring her back alive!"
I almost screamed when small hands clutched my cloak. It was the young girl, she put her finger her lips and tugged at my sleeves, leading me around the guards through the forest. "She wouldn't have given you the Panacea dust even if you traded your staff." She whispered. I felt her shove something in my pocket. "You're her, I know it. The grownups can't sense it, but I can because I'm a child. He does to, he was screaming worse than normal when you walked through the gate, maybe you can save him."
"I have no idea who you're talking about." I whispered confused. "I'm not an errant hero , I've got my own friend to save, if I return to him without the Panacea, he'll die."
"If you save him, you can save your own friend too." The girl said before darting into the bush. "Hurry! You're close to the city. My clan won't go there because it's damned, so you'll be safe until you return."
"Thank you." I murmured, pulling the hood over my eyes and setting down the hill with my staff, coming onto a dirt road leading directly into town.
What mess had I gotten myself into?
There were no guards at the city gate, it wouldn't have shocked me if the place was completely abandoned. Targoviste was a shell of its former glory. This once vibrant city now in utter ruins, but unlike the decimated towns I came across in my new life, the victims weren't innocent.
"This is Ground Zero." I murmured passing across its rotting bridge." Where it all began." It was here in, this very city where religious zealots executed Lisa Tepes, Alucard's mother, and brought down a reign of literal Hell from his enraged father that spread across Wallachia, and almost the world had not Alucard stopped him. The beginning of a bloody reign of terror continuing to this day despite Dracula's end.
"I remember being here." It dawned on me while passing through the dusty streets, gazing at the ruins homes and crumbling towers. "In another life." I remembered what it looked like before demons laid fiery waste to the city, and I remembered watching it go down in literal Hellfire. I was here. Like my brethren( I can't remember what they looked like, only they were bright) I felt no sympathy for its destruction. The citizens had a chance to leave and they didn't. They stayed put and celebrated her death! We shared our Boss's fury and turned our backs too. Nobody was innocent here.
Memory brought me to the very spot where an innocent life was killed. Burnt remnants of the pyre remained, cobblestones stained with soot. I could smell the lingering smoke even after two years. You didn't deserve this. If only they saw past fear and superstition, you could've changed the world. She wanted to heal people and improve lives through modern medicine, but she never got the chance. I thought of the knowledge lost with her death, of everything she left behind in the infirmary.
Not lost, I have it now. I'm taking up her mantle and learning from everything she left behind. I've already helped quite a lot. I swore I felt Lisa's shade beside me, observing the desolate scene as I did. I promise I'll keep your knowledge alive, and use it to save your son.
I jerked my head at the sound of scampering feet. A little boy in rags watched me in curious awe. I knelt down to his level after the initial surprise of seeing another person. "Hello. Where did you come from?" The boy inched closer to me, cautious before running off.
"Hey wait!" I followed him into what was once a main square. A mix of emotions swelled within me seeing an encampment of presumably survivors. They set up tents around the main well, using it to clean their ragged clothes, cook meager meals, and disgustingly enough, set up latrines close to their living quarters. (I bet all the coins in my pocket that dysentery was a common affliction in this town)
"I didn't know there were still people here." I slowly paced through. I thought Dracula's army wiped out the entire city! Survival did them no favors. Everyone appeared downtrodden and disheveled. Hope waned in their eyes, and in few, completely gone.
"Please let me keep some grain!" I heard a woman cry out.
"You know the law." The confronting guard growled. "Every citizen must pay their tribute."
"I barely have enough for my children!" The woman pleaded. "I'm sure the royal family will understand if there is one less tribute is used to fill the mouths of their people."
"Your grain will help the royal family regain stability and safety of our city." The guard persisted. "Quit being selfish."
"How is it selfish to feed my family!?" The woman cried.
The guard lost his patience and forcefully grabbed the grain sack away from her. "Hey!" I rapped him on the shoulder with my staff. "Leave her alone!"
The guard twisted around and glared. "You dare assault a royal guard?"
" Royal guard, is that what they're calling brigands for hire now?" I pointed my staff in his face. "Off with you, this lady needs food more than your superior does." He slashed at me with his sword, but a quick thwack in the noggin knocked him to ground bleeding .
"Shit, I didn't mean to do that. Sometimes I forget just how hard this thing hits!" I turned around to the woman. "It's all right, take your grain and feed your family. You don't have to worry about bullies." The woman stared horrified and hurried off. So much for gratitude, at least her family won't go hungry tonight.
"You there, drop your weapon now!" A woman angrily approach with four guards. She had the air of a boss, and she walked like it too. I stood firm and held my staff tall. "Are you the one in charge?"
"I am." She responded icily. "My name is Zamfir. I'm the Captain of the Guard and protector of this city."
"Good." I said relieved. " Higher management. There was an issue with one of your guards." I pointed to the downed guard groaning unconscious. "This unfortunate fellow took it upon himself to abuse his power and forcefully apprehend a poor woman's food, so I confronted the guy and when he had the idiot idea to pull his weapon out on me.." I swiped my staff in the air.
" How dare you attack one of my soldiers." Zamfir glowered.
"Only in self defense. Don't worry. I didn't kill him. I just knocked him out cold." The guard groaned when I nudged him with my staff. "See?" I was not making a good impression.
"I'm sorry, honestly I didn't mean to incapacitate him but he had no right to steal a starving woman's food away. He made up some bullshit about tribute to the royal family. The last of royal family perished long before Dracula attacked."
Something kinetic flashed in Zamfir's eyes. "The royal family slumbers deep within the catacombs until it's time to reawaken." She replied tersely. "And it's not bullshit. Each citizen must give tribute to the rulers for the safekeeping of our city. It is my job to protect my people and save our ancestral home by raising it from the ashes."
Zamfir jabbed her fingers at me. "You have no right in meddling with the great work, outsider. I suggest you turn around and leave before I decide you're too dangerous to be left alone."
Is that a threat Lady? If I wasn't on an urgent mission, I'd set her straight immediately.
"You seriously think you're helping?" I swept my arm at the surrounding decay. "Look at this place! The city's in ruins. The people here are sick and starving, children are scrounging off scraps like dogs and I'm sure most of them are living in the streets like them. You wanna save your city and bring it back to its former glory? Start by helping its people! Give them food! Give them the things they need."
"The nobility needs food to sustain its people."
"What the nobility can digest won't sour in the belly of its subjects." I countered. " Why don't you get help? There's a Whisperer fortress not far from here. Maybe they can give you food, healing herbs and protection spells. I even heard they have Panacea dust that'll cure any ailment."
Zamfir's eyes flashed. "We will not associate with those Devil worshippers." She snapped her fingers and pointed at me. "Take her away!" Her guards zeroed in on me.
"Big mistake." I raised my staff alight and felt the glow of my runes, but it was another elemental attack that backed them away. "That's enough from you!" Sypha defended me. "Leave this woman alone! She's only stating what I've already said."
"She assaulted one of my guards." Zamfir growled. "Only because he attacked her first, she's got a right to defend herself." Sypha countered, giving a quick wink at me. I couldn't help smiling, I never expected to see her here.
Zamfir didn't relent. "I accepted your help because we are on the same side, and you proved a powerful ally against the legions of the night." Her eyes flashed at me in a way that made me wonder if she had a few screws loose. "You are an outsider who sauntered into my city claiming things you have no understanding of and interfering with our efforts to restore our home."
"She's not an outsider." Trevor appeared and stood beside us. "She's with us." He cocked his eye at me. "About time you showed up, I was worried you'd been eaten alive by some corpse-eating demon, but I see you've still managed to get yourself in trouble." Trevor patted my shoulder. "We'll take care of this. She won't meddle in your great affairs anymore."
"No. I won't." I lowered my chest. Trevor nodded, addressing the guards. "Nothing else to see here. Get your friend a bandage and move on." He nudged me. "Let's go."
I followed the duo back to a more preserved part of town into an abandoned house where they set up their bed. "Thank you for saving my butt back there. I was seriously worried I had to crack some skulls."
"Don't mention it kid, but for the next time try not to be a hero if you know it's more trouble than it's worth." Trevor laughed. "You've still got fire."
"Yes. It's best to stay away from Zamfir and her affairs. Between the three of us I suspect she's not all right in the head."
"Yeah, I noticed." I agreed. "That'll be easy to do because I don't have any business with her."
" That's a good thing. " Sypha smiled. "I never imagined seeing you again. Here of all places!"
"Same!" I chuckled. "Though I knew in my gut we'd meet again."
"What brings you too this rundown shithole of a city?" Trevor asked. My mirth swept away remembering the urgency of my quest.
I sighed, sitting down in a chair as I explained my predicament without dropping names. I knew they were understanding, I saw the sympathy in their eyes when I told my story, but I didn't want to deter them by telling who I was aiming to save. Alucard had a fearsome reputation not everyone had the kindness to look past.
"Let me get this all straight." Trevor crossed his arms. "You, want to infiltrate a fortress of powerful sorcerers to steal the rarest medicine in the world that most likely doesn't exist. All to save the love of your life who took a bite from a Plaguemaster to save your pretty face. A Plaguemaster's bite, which I remind you, is 100% fatal with no known antidote."
"Well when you put it that way it does sound ridiculously impossible." I shrugged.
"It is." Trevor growled. "And there's no way a plucky adventurer like you could get into a Whisperer's stronghold without losing a limb or worse."
"I have to try." I persisted. "I can't just let him die if there's a chance of saving him." I made the staff glow in my hand. "It's not as if I'm incapable of standing my ground. I'm stronger than you think. I've fought and destroyed countless night creatures, I've stood before a bloodthirsty vampire, and I've gained favor of Angel of Death herself . I am more powerful than you believe me to be." My staff glowed brightly in emphasis.
"Just because you have a magic staff doesn't make you an all powerful fucking wizard." Trevor warned.
"You're right, it doesn't, but I have much more up my sleeve than parlor tricks." I took my staff and walked out. "I'm wasting my time trying to prove myself to you. If you think I'm just a plucky wide eyed adventurer innocent of the world, fine! He needs me!"
Sypha ran after me. "Wait!" She gripped my shoulder and stared desperately in my eyes. "Nobody's saying you're not a powerful magician. Even if you are the strongest in the world, you don't stand a chance against a guild of Whisperers by yourself. You'll end up killed and your loved one will die regardless."
"She's right." Trevor agreed, losing the harshness of his voice. "Don't do this alone. Get help." I shrugged my arm away. "Who would help me?"
"Who in the right mind would?" Trevor quipped. Him and Sypha exchanged glances. "Luckily neither of us are in the right mind." My eyes widened and I nearly cried. "You would help me get the Panacea dust?"
"Steal it from under their noses and raise some hell, why not?" Trevor laughed.
"It's time someone fought against them. Those cold hearted traitors have abused their magic for too long." Sypha agreed. "And it'll be good to help someone who appreciates us."
"I can't thank you enough." I couldn't help the tears running down my eyes. "Save it for when you've got the Panacea, kid." Trevor remarked. "I'm not a kid, I'm hundreds of years old."
"Oh, you're a joker too!" Trevor laughed. " This is gonna be fun."
"I don't think she is joking Trevor." Sypha noticed the runes under my sleeves.