Vae Victis Chapter 16 (Patreon)

The Meeting

Something had disturbed the jungle more than the earthquakes that had plagued Ish Vimza of late. He knew that something was wrong the moment he saw the dead juvenile ferrorn. There was no monster capable or stupid enough to attack a ferrorn, at least not in the outer ring. Which would mean that one of the inner ring monsters had probably moved its territory, and that was troublesome. He couldn’t identify which one though, as he didn’t recognize the wounds. He knelt next to the corpse and took a closer look, whispering a silent prayer to the Old Tree for the life that had been robbed of the chance to contribute to the cycle. The juvenile had been drained of blood, and had two of its claws removed. That was curious, but some of those monsters in the inner ring were old and strange, the red plague twisted them in ways that couldn’t be predicted.

His camp was in the outer ring precisely because there were no monsters capable of threatening him. Because he could rest and study his findings in peace. A grown ferrorn was equal to a warrior in the Fourth Investment, and was a ruler in the outer ring of the jungle, but it was nothing compared to the monsters that lurked deeper in the blight.

He had to deal with it, the juvenile’s mother would be enraged, perhaps enough to attack his camp. And that was not something that he needed. He had research material stored there, artifacts recovered from the ruins of the Ancient Ones. Some were fragile enough that he couldn’t risk a ferrorn coming up on them, after all this time the artifacts were heavily infused with the Source, they would draw a rampaging ferrorn straight to them.

A roar echoed through the jungle, and he turned in the direction it came from, recognizing the [Terror Grasp] of a mature ferrorn female. Had it found the culprit? He wasn’t prepared. He was strong, but some of the old monsters that still lurked near the plague curtain were beyond even him. Though, he doubted that something truly dangerous would move so far out, they fed on the rampant Source near the curtain. He gathered himself and moved as light, blurring through the jungle. Perhaps he could deal with both monsters at the same time, spare himself the trouble of hunting them down separately.

He arrived to something completely unexpected. An elf woman running away from a female ferrorn. Slight red coloration of the animal’s hide told him that it had been touched by the blight, if not fully corrupted. The elf had a strange brown hair, and darker tawny skin unlike any elf he had ever seen, wearing clothes that he couldn’t quite place. She moved with fluidity and grace of an old elf, but she was slow, barely as fast as someone in their First Investment.

Injured? There was no way that anyone that weak would ever dare to come to this wretched place, it would be suicide. Nor was there any reason for her to be here in the first place. Was she a mage then? Or some other type that didn’t rely on speed? Had someone discovered that he was here, and sent spies or assassins. If she was an assassin, he had to question the sanity of whoever sent her, and she did not seem like a capable spy. She wasn’t going to escape it, she had to know that. Why isn’t she wearing her mask then? He thought to himself.

He watched the monster chase her, and then she turned her head, making her hair swing around. Revealed under the light cast by the errant moons, he saw her clearly. He blinked as details became noticeable; round and small ears, differently shaped, different eyes and facial features. She resembled an elf, but now he could tell that her body was fuller and wider.

He saw the ferrorn catch up to her, saw her stumble as an infected root gave way beneath her weight. Saw her attack with a strange weapon, catching the ferrorn on the snout, and barely managing to make a cut. The ferrorn cut her stomach open in retaliation. It roared again, its [Terror Grasp] freezing the stranger as it went in for a kill.

He weighed his options. She was a stranger in this place, a presence that didn’t belong. And he was intrigued enough to want an answer.

He made a decision.

* * *

I woke up alert, a pounding in my ears and in my chest. Feed, kill, drain. The thirst was threatening to overwhelm me, to take over my mind and turn me into a mindless murder machine that cared only for blood. I could smell it, everywhere around me. I glanced down and saw my split stomach was trying to close. At night, it would’ve already done so, but the sun’s light shone above. My body expended all of its strength to attempt to close it, but that left me ravenous. The thirst, weakened by the sun, was raging inside of me, trying to heal and failing as it was suppressed. There was also a strange itching feeling inside the wound that I couldn’t quite place. Regardless, even if it was night, I would’ve fallen to the thirst. An adult vampire might’ve been able to shrug off such a wound, but I was still a fledgling who had barely gotten the reins on my thirst. A strange smell assaulted my nostrils, and it made the thirst pound. I glanced up and saw—I remembered—a strange… man? He was standing above me, a couple of steps away. Nine tails fanned out behind him, black with fiery tips, his hair was shoulder length and black. On top of his head, he had… where those fox ears? That nearly made me forget about the thirst. His eyes were silted, orange, and they were studying me. His features resembled a human, but they were wrong, his nose was longer, more pointed and it stuck out forward more, his skin was pale blue, almost gray, and his mouth wider. He looked… tasty. Drain him, kill him, feed on him.

I shook my head, trying to push the thirstback, but I felt weak.

“You heal fast,” the man said. And before I could even attempt to try and dissect why I understood him, the thirst grew again, fighting for survival.

I hissed and launched myself forward. The man blinked as I flew by him and landed on the dead monster. I sunk my teeth in its throat and drank. Blood fell on my tongue and I released a moan of pleasure without meaning to. My entire body shivered at the taste of it. The blood was still warm, which meant that I hadn’t been unconscious for long. But the blood… It was the most savory blood I have ever drank, so powerful. Almost as powerful as what I felt that day when I was turned, when my sire shared his blood with me. Its memories flashed through my mind, but I could barely comprehend them as I struggled with keeping the reins on the thirst.

“Ooookkaay then,” I heard behind me.

I didn’t react, all I could think about was the blood going down my throat. My chest pulsed, the thirst calmed, and I could feel it going back to sleep after what seemed like hours. Eventually, I felt satiated enough to pull myself together and lift off the corpse. The wound on my stomach closed, and I felt all my other wounds heal too, all save for the one inflicted by silver around my neck. The blood was filled with life, with power, it helped a vampire restore themselves. But this… I had never heard about it doing something like this. Healing me all but completely shouldn’t have happened. I felt filled with power, almost as if it was nighttime, as if I was ten times stronger than I usually was. But, already I could feel the sensation being drained away.

Mask of the Drainer — No Investment; Fourth Carving

I heard the echo inside my head, snapping me out of my reverie. I stood and turned around, suddenly very conscious of the way I must look. Blood that I could feel dripping down my chin, my torn clothes soaked in it, again. I didn’t let my thoughts show though, instead I studied the… man? In the same way that he was studying me.

“That is some skill,” he said. I was too shocked to respond. He thought that me drinking blood, or at least healing fast was a skill. After a moment, he tilted his head and continued. “Was it a nice… meal?”

“You speak Spanish?” I managed to say, too shocked to say anything else.

He tilted his head, one of his ears twitched. “Is that a language?” He asked me.

“Yes?” I frowned.

He narrowed his eyes, then started to walk around me, studying me, his eyes going up and down. I kept myself facing him, my hand reaching for the knife at my waist, I didn’t know where my glaive was. He saw me reaching and the side of his mouth curled up. The thirst was subdued again, but even without it pulsing in my veins, I could tell that he was dangerous. The dead beast was proof enough of it.

“You are not an elf, are you?” He asked after a few seconds of studying me.

I narrowed my eyes, but didn’t answer. An elf?

“No, you are not,” he said when I didn’t answer. “Not a Tsu-elf either. What are you? Your clothes are styled in a manner I have not seen before. You speak of a different language, in a world where all speak one.”

I hadn’t really given it much thought. But now that he mentioned it, what happened with the plaques the first time I went in my inner room. The way that I understood the message in the ruin. The way that I understood him now too. Saia had mentioned signs of magic in me. It had to have something to do with all of this.

“Oh,” he stopped, then blinked as if something had occurred to him. “You are an Exemplar. Well, this changes things.”

I pushed past my fear, if he hadn’t attacked me so far, at least there was a chance that he wasn’t hostile from the start. This was what I wanted, to find people and some answers. This was an opportunity, and I had to play it right. “I don’t know what an Exemplar is.”

His eyes refocused on me, then after a moment of thinking he spoke. “An Exemplar is a person who the Grand Spell brought over to this world, to Kirios, in advance of their world. Meaning, you.”

I blinked. The Grand Spell, was he talking about the Last Intent? The message did say that it was a spell. Then something he said registered.

“In advance of my world?” I asked.

He looked at me, then sighed. “We should move back to my camp, the jungle is dangerous. I’ll give you your answers there.”

I paused, debating whether or not that was a good idea. Ultimately, I had no choice, I was a stranger in a strange land and had already realized that there was danger here that I couldn’t face, not even at night. My goal had always been to find civilization, people that I could talk to. I nodded my head, agreeing to his offer.

I found my glaive, secured it, then followed the strange man through the jungle. We both stayed silent as we walked, both keeping an eye on the jungle. I took a moment to study him from behind, his nine fox-like tails were bunched up and trailing behind him, gently swaying as he walked. The ears on top of his head were constantly on a swivel, probably on the look out for any danger.

I glanced at my wrist, Saia had remained silent, which I was grateful for. I didn’t want to reveal too much to a stranger. But also, when I was injured, I felt a strange sensation that worried me. I hoped that Saia was good, but I couldn’t ask her in front of the man. I marshaled my thoughts and followed after him, looking forward to some answers.