Elendria’s POV

Trash. That was the best way to describe the help the worthless cunt that attacked Sean brought. Even my rusty swordplay was more than enough to take care of these thralls. Nobody was truly sure, but the thralls of vampires always lost skill levels. Even if they hadn’t, Sean had ensured that I was untouchable. Slaying their leader had made them lose what little sanity they retained, then he went and summoned sunlight in the night! An unbelievable feat for someone who has only studied magic for days.

Of the thralls, I spared none. There was no need. The lowest rung of whatever vampires called society, they wouldn’t have any information of value. Their devotion, no. Obsession. Their obsession with their vampire would lead them to death before giving up a lair.

Though I did have to hand it to the vampire, her plan was nearly flawless. Disarm the camp by claiming to be an injured child, it would pull at the heartstrings of nearly any race. I don’t know what tipped Sean off, but I had immediately seen through her illusions. Instead of slaughtering from the rear while her thralls drew the attention of the caravan, she was forced to attack too soon. Judging from the sounds coming from the other side of the camp, she had probably emptied her stable in the attack. No doubt she would use the slaves to fill any losses she sustained.

Finally having run out of enemies, I went back and did what I had seen Sean do. He took the spare time to ensure the vampire’s death, and so I went back and stabbed each body in the head. I was down to the last one when my sword disappeared. Spinning to look back at the camp, I panicked. “SEAN!!!!!” I screamed when I saw him lying on the ground, dashing through the camp to his side.

I ran my hands over him, finally calming when he took a breath. “Easy there Elendria, he’s fine. Just his first time going through mana exhaustion I would say.” Carrigan spoke, though he kept his distance. Wise of him, I was strung tighter than an archer’s bowstring.

“How did you fare?” I asked, after several calming breaths.

“We were hard pressed, and might have been overwhelmed had it not been for Sean. That light spell of his was just in time, then he gave Bribis a bit of an enchantment that finally let us gain the advantage.”

“Survivors?”

“We lost a few, though most are just flesh wounds. Two of the enemy are still alive, and shackled.”

“I’ll want to talk with them.” I snarled, standing up and facing the wizard.

“Easy there. No rush, we’re going to wait for Sean anyway. See if he catches anything with his unique point of view.”

“Very well. If it is just mana exhaustion, he should be back up in about two hours.” I replied. “I would rather leave him here if that’s ok?”

“Go right ahead.” He said, before turning and walking away to check on the rest of the camp. As I was making sure he was comfortable, the rest of the slaves joined us.

“Is the master going to be ok?”

“He’ll be fine.” I answered. “It’s just mana exhaustion. Go ahead and help the others secure the camp, but stay in groups of three. If you see anyone coming from outside the camp, sound the alarm.”

“Yes ma’am!” They all chorused before heading out to follow orders. It had only been a few days under Sean’s rule, but I noticed that the slaves were much better behaved. Not that I blamed them, life was much better without our previous master and his lecherous guards, may they rot in whatever hell awaits them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sean’s POV

Darkness. It was cool, relaxing, but I felt something was off. What was I doing? THE VAMPIRE! I strained to move my limbs, but they were held immobile. A form of light was on each arm, and one was holding my legs as I found myself on a table.

“Relax hero, there are things we need for you to suffer through first.” One of the beings said, and I heard a shuffling above me. I craned my neck backward, to see my former master flanked by all his guards.

“You’ve been naughty Sean. Slitting my throat. But I forgive you. In fact, I even have a present for you, to ensure your throat won’t be slit in the middle of the night.” With a mad grin, he stepped forward and I saw the slave collar in his hands. This one was like the one Elendria wore, and it had no lock that I could pick! Terror gave me insane strength, but I was no match for what had to be the blasted deities of this world holding me down. As the cold metal slipped around my neck, the guards all started chuckling.

“Lower him down.” The master ordered before looking directly at me. “Don’t struggle, slave.” As my table fell down into a shallow box, he started chuckling. It came with a distinctive gurgle, and as he threw back his head in laughter blood gushed forth from his neck, splattering over me. Far too much blood. No single body could hold that much, but it didn’t matter. The guards joined in, each lifting an eye patch and adding their own blood to my pit. “Tell us, Sean. How would your wife and child see you now? You’ve spilled so much blood, rivers of it! How much more until YOU become the monster under the bed? Would they even recognize you? Do you think your little girl will run to your arms? Or will she choose the clone?” No matter how I strained, my muscles just wouldn’t obey me. As the blood filled my vision, the bonds holding me broke.

“NOOOOO!!” I screamed, bolting upright. A mage dagger was in my hand, and I heaved breaths as I wildly slashed in front of me.

“SEAN!” I eventually heard Elendria’s terrified voice, and it broke through whatever I was going through. I slowed my flailing, stopping as I recognized the camp. Elendria was in front of me, though far enough away that my dagger wouldn’t reach her. I looked around slowly, seeing everyone staring at me.

“Sorry everyone.” I said, letting the dagger disappear. “I’m ok now. I don’t really know what came over me.”

“It’s ok.” Elendria said, sliding down beside me. She gently wiped the tears that were running from my eyes. “What happened?”

“I dreamed, things, were holding me down as what’s his name slid a new slave collar around my neck. Then they lowered me into a box and were having me drown in his and his guards’ blood.”

“Shhh, it’s ok now. We know they are dead. Dead and gone to whatever hell awaits them, and they can never come back.” She slid her toned arms around me and rocked me a bit, helping calm me down just a bit more.

“What happened?” I asked. “Last I knew, I was casting a spell, and it just, stopped.”

“Idiot master.” She whispered. “Not only did you use all your mana and enter mana exhaustion, but you had a spell backfire at the same time. I’m honestly surprised that you could cast that dagger spell and not shriek like a banshee from the pain.”

“Well, when you feel like you just escaped drowning after being enslaved again you tend to ignore a bit of pain. Not that it helps now.”

“Mmhmm.”

“So, care to explain this mana exhaustion for the new mage?”

“Fine. I’m sure you’ve felt the exhaustion when your mana gets low? Well, if you push past that warning you run the risk of knocking yourself out. Mana exhaustion can’t be resisted, and most mages who fall into it during combat don’t live to tell the tale, so you had best be far more careful in the future. You will remain unconscious until your mana has fully restored, while your mana recovery rate is halved.”

“So I’ve been out for two and a half hours?”

“Yes.” She answered. “There have been no more assaults, though Bribis is looking antsy. I was able to convince him to wait for you, but you had best hurry and see what he is wanting to do.”

I gently disentangled myself from Elendria, though she stuck close as I walked over to where Bribis was standing in front of two chained thralls. “Sean, good to see you on your feet. We need a few things from these fellows, and yourself as well. Could you tell us what notification you got when you killed the vampire.”

“You killed our mistress? I’ll swallow your soul you bastard!” One of them yelled before a backhand from a guard shut him up. While they did that, I looked over things I had missed in the heat of battle.

Battle notifications:

You have slain a Dark Queen Nosferatu lvl 32!

Level up x4!

New spells acquired!

Solar mage dagger

Solar mage blade

Solar sphere

Piercing solar missile

New skill acquired!

Minor elemental imbue!

“What’s a Dark Queen Nosferatu?” I asked. “Is that a second tier monster?”

“What did you call it?” Bribis asked in a scared voice. “Dark Queen?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That means there isn’t much time. There’s a nest, and we have to take it out!”

“Slow down there! What are you talking about?”

“There’s no time!”

“If you want to live, yes there is!” I yelled back at the agitated gnome. “Now, what’s the big deal about a dark queen?”

“It means.” Elendria interrupted, “That she not only has her own stable of thralls, but she has a consort and is capable of making soldiers. Any who discover such a nest must leave notice of its location and try and take it down unless there are soldiers nearby that you may notify. Failure to do so is an enslavable offense.”

“Bastards! Though our mistress is dead, we shall never betray her line!” The same thrall said, only for me to swiftly blast him in the forehead with a solar missile.

“Whoah! What the hell was that for!” Bribis shouted at me. “You can’t-.”

“I just did.” I interrupted him. “He wasn’t going to tell us anything anyway, and would waste time. I assume that when the queen doesn’t return, the nest will go on alert. There probably isn’t enough time for them to flee tonight, so they will have to bunker down for the day to come.”

“Now.” I squatted down in front of the remaining thrall, who was trembling in fear. “Would you like to meet your mistress soon?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” He asked in a shaky voice.

“Your mistress. Would you like to meet her soon?”

“O-o-of course.” He answered. “But how are you going to reunite us?”

“Why, we’ll be killing you.” Everyone around me sucked in a breath at my proclamation, but didn’t make any move to stop me.

“What do you mean, kill me? What if I give you information?”

“Oh, are you going to give us the information willingly before we torture you?” I asked in a fake surprised voice.

“Yes! YES! There’s a cabin about a half mile away! I can show you! It’s due east of the campsite! Just let me go free!”

“Pity.” I said, standing back up.

“What do you mean, pity?” Bribis asked, looking at me weirdly. “He told us where the nest is! We should let him go.”

“Absolutely not.” I said, swinging my arm horizontally. “Thralls are supposedly so devoted they will go to the grave for their mistress, and yet he’s spilling his secrets already? Bullshit. That cabin is obviously a deathtrap. Besides, is there any way to reverse a thrall?”

“Well, I don’t know, but they might in the capital!”

“Sure, they might. And we would need to cage him for a month while we traveled, hoping he doesn’t somehow break free and kill us in our sleep. Sunlight hurts him, so we have to modify a wagon. Nope. We’ll just have to backtrack them to their lair, though I will give this one an option I guess.”

“I’ld rather die.” He snarled, much different than what he was a few seconds ago.

“Oh, you’re going to die, the question is how painfully.” I dropped to my knees again, and got right in his face. Speaking darkly, I gave him a choice. “Here’s how it works. Tell us how to get to the lair, and I will make sure you die swiftly. A missile to the forehead, just like your buddy. Lie, or refuse, and you die slowly.”

“Hahahahaha! And just how do you think I’m going to die so slowly? You who refuses to torture people?”

“Oh, I’m not against torture. It’s just that where I’m from, we know that torture doesn’t work. The tortured just tell you what you want to hear. But we do know how to make death slow, and I’ve had a really bad day. See, you’re allergic to the sun, right? So what we will do is bind you and leave you crucified by the side of the road. Then we just have to wait for the sun to rise. Oh.” I paused as the horror filled his face. “Wait, that’ll still be too swift. No, we’ll have to crucify you upside down, so that you burn from the feet down. That’ll keep you alive for a bit. I’m sure if we put you close enough to the grass, that’ll shield you from most of the sun too.” I got a thoughtful look on my face, as if I were truly contemplating this. “That could keep you alive for at least half a day. Imagine that. Burning slowly, for half a day. Unable to die, unable to flee. Knowing your fate is sealed, but unable to change it.”

“Quick death, GIVE ME A QUICK DEATH PLEASE!” He turned to Bribis, drawing blood from his shackles as he struggled to reach him, imploring him to stop the psycho calmly sitting next to him. “Go to the clearing with the cabin, but don’t enter! The cabin is full of ghouls! Walk widdershins to the far eastern side, and follow the path! Take the third left, and follow it down into the gulley! The nest is at the end of the gully I swear upon my mistress! Just let me die swiftly! I DON’T WANT TO BURNNNNNNN!”

As the thrall was trying to reach for Bribis, I summoned a mage blade despite the pain and beheaded him. “Well, that worked better than I thought it would.” I groaned, holding my aching head as I stood up.

“What the fuck was that!” Bribis shouted, grabbing my shirt before I could finish standing. “You don’t just threaten someone with a death like that!”

“Listen!” I snarled, getting in his face. “I did what I had to in order to get the information in a timely manner! If we tried torture, it would take hours before he broke and the nest would be prepared for us! As of right now we have a slim chance to get in there before they get ready for us and kill them! But to do that I had to threaten him with something so horrifying that it would override his love for his mistress!”

“Let it go, Bribis.” Carrigan said, gently placing a hand on Bribis’ shoulder. “Sean’s right. Even now we are at a disadvantage, but we have a slim hope of survival. Gather your best guards, and leave the rest here to defend the others. A small strike force is better. If we fail to return before noon, assume we are dead and make for the nearest city. Leave a warning carved into a sign post, and send back someone to avenge us. Though the nest will likely be long gone by then.” Turning, he started rummaging in his pack for some supplies.

“We’ll be having words after this.” The gnome promised, and I simply nodded.

“Elendria, have the slaves help out the guards, but they are to remain behind.”

“I’m going with you.” She said, and I simply nodded.

“I expected nothing less. Thanks.” That done, I dropped four points each into wisdom and intelligence, and looked over my new spells. I had a feeling that the most useful would be solar sphere.

Solar sphere (1/50)

Journeyman

Your knowledge of light ensured that your spell encompasses not only the visible spectrum, but the infrared and ultraviolet as well. Though not as complete as the entire electromagnetic spectrum, it is far closer to true sunlight than that summoned by normal mages. It is close enough that it will weaken most undead, and can kill the incorporeal and weakest of undead.