Journey West 17: Town in Shadow

    *Back on Aesperia*

    “Well,” says Viana looking at Betty’s map, “from here there are about four safe roads to go by, one though goes straight to a Magnus Town, it’s the safest and most directly west road, another loops back around to the last town so that’s no good seeing as y’all wanna go west, there is this other one that around the Magnus Town but ya wont find another town on it for about another hundred miles; which given we need supplies I’d say we should do a closer stop before taking that road, yeppers this here fourth road goes up to this here mountain.”

    She points at a mountain that is not too far off, at least visually, “and there is a lake up there, and where’s there’s a lake there is a town. Its like an unwritten golden rule for Aesperia.”

    Rhulan says, “I fly up and check on that.”

   Rhulan soars straight up and out of sight, after a few minutes she comes back down, “She’s right, there is a town by the lake. There also appears to be a large castle sticking out of the other end of the lake.”

   “Well that aint right,” says Viana, “I did a job in that town a year back going after a bandit gang. It’s a small town, the gang even rounded up all the town’s folk when I went there and tried to hold them hostage. Simple peaceful folk, like some peace-niks’ colony or something. Weren’t no castle when I went there, castles aint really the thing o’folks out this way ya’know.”

    “Maybe some noble up north has a secluded hide-a-away there now.” suggests Cata, “I’ve seen weirder, castles on small islands all to themselves, that mountain top is like an island in the desert after all.”

    “Or,” interjects Gold Wolf, “it’s a Magnus stronghold.”

   “No,” says Rhulan, “After a quick bit of thought on the matter I’d say it wouldn’t be logical to have a strong hold there. There is only one thin winding road in and out of the mountain top, the other side is steep. The Magnus Empire doesn’t appear to have flying machines of any kind from what I’ve seen so far and nothing looked military or any sort of landing platform. I’d say the noble retreat actually makes the most since. But at any rate it is further than it looks if we want to get there by nightfall we’d better get moving.”

    ******

    The sun has just set as the party nears the entrance to the small town; unknown and out of their sight as they go up the semi-steep path to them a lone winged figure swoops down from the sky into the town. Not a moment before they reach the short stone wall of the town do they hear the sounds of a woman screaming, a man yelling, and a high pitched monstrous shriek. They run into the town, not paying any attention to the empty streets and darkened windows to the center of the town.

    “What the hell is that thing?” says Rhulan much to everyone’s surprise as they come into view of the commotion.

    At the very center the sorts of the screams is a woman tied to an altar as an older man with a pitchfork tries to fend off a humanoid bat creature.

   “Fool,” hisses the bat, “this girl is the chosen sacrifice for the master; would you doom your entire village to his wrath just to save this one girl?”

    “Back monster!”, yells the man stabbing futely towards the quick bat creature, “she is my daughter! The only family I have left, I’d fight Rhulan herself to protect her!”

    Everyone in the party looks at Rhulan who just shrugs and says, “one thousand years later and I’m the boogeyman…great.”

   “Any who,” says Rhulan, “Yo, bat freak! Over here!”

   The bat looks in their direction, “More fools come to the slaughter?” it hisses with a laugh.

   “My what beautiful sacrifices you’ll make, especially the broad with the big tits in black leather.”

   It flies into the air and lunges down at them. In the blink of an eye Rhulan leaps into the air and punches the monster square in the center of its face sending it flying through the air in a wide arc. It lands just before the lake in a small crater.

   *ki, kuh, gi, kwa, gwa…* it sputters as its body twitches.

   Surprisingly though its able to right its self and fly off across the lake towards the castle.

    “Thank the goddess,” says the man in tears, “truly you adventurers are a blessing come to save us.”

    Windows begin to light up as people emerge from their houses, some of them clearly in prayer and thanking the goddess above for this blessing of powerful heroes, hunters, or adventurers depending on who is overheard speaking amongst the crowd. One fair heighted and rotund man in nice clothes walks out from amongst the crowd.

   “I am the mayor,” he says but stops when he sees Viana, “by the goddess you are Viana aren’t you? Yes I’d recognize the savior of our time anywhere, especially in our town, it truly must be the work of the goddess herself that you have come again in our darkest hour, and brought such powerful allies with you.”

    He looks over the group, “my I’d never seen anyone deliver such a strong punch, and from a woman at that.” He practically laughs.

   “I am ashamed,” he continues, “that no one else would try to help that poor woman, but our poor town has been under a curse for over four months now. Yes, not too long after you were here Miss Viana this castle appeared on the other side of the lake. Just over night, a black fog with red lightning, we thought it was the end of the world…we might as well have been right. Monsters came out of the castle, they call themselves vampires, bat ones, pale zombie like ones, some look just like people, but their master is the most monstrous one of all.”

    The towns people practically shudder as he talks on, “I dare not even say his name, he’s some…dragon like thing, or snake like I suppose, he turns into this dragon monster that spits acid and can crush a house in one blow.”

    He bows his head and takes off his hat, placing it over his chest, “they kill anyone who tries to leave the village looking for help. I…don’t know how they know when we leave; but luck is on our side they don’t know I guess when someone new arrives.”

    His smile is short lived, “every night with the exception of one night a month we are forced to leave out one glass of blood per person in the town. On the one night they have one of their vampires leave a white arrow above someone’s door. It means that someone in the house is to be sacrificed. This last time though, there was a note tied to the arrow naming the specific person.”

   “Yeah,” interrupts the father, “and no one did a thing to help my daughter!”

   “Like you did anything to help my brother!” shoots back another man in the crowd he has to be held back by his friend. The father of the girl goes silent with a face of shame.

   “Its insane,” says the mayor, “blood every night, a person a month, we are growing weaker by the day, and before too long we will run out of people. They are culling us like cattle. No doubt they intend to slaughter us all. If only we’d known before now.”

   “Known nothing,” shoots the man who had spoken up before, “they’d have killed us all if we fought them, now we’re as weak as newborns, there isn’t enough food or water left in town to survive another five months, let alone how long it’d take for them to…cull us.”

   “Be silent!” yells Rhulan, her voice shaking the windows.

   In a calmer voice she says, “I am trying to contemplate this scenario. It’s not exactly a new one, but a vampire…there are no vampires on Aesperia.”

    She thinks for a moment before saying, “Well, there is one I know of at least, but he doesn’t fit the description; and most certainly has never acted like this before. It is our duty to investigate this matter.”

   She looks around at the party who all nod, Hollia even says, “Yes, an unknown evil as descended upon this poor town. It’s our duty as adventurers to seek out and destroy this evil.”

   Rhulan smiles then says, “It’s decided then.”

   As the party heads out of the town to the road going around the lake she turns and announces, “Citizens of this mountain top village go to your homes and rest assured that by the dawn’s light the monsters plaguing you will be no more!”

   “Nice sentiment,” says Gold Wolf to Rhulan, “but I’d say they look more confused than happy, maybe Viana should have been making that announcement. They clearly thought she was in charge.”

   “Redundant,” says Rhulan, “One can not expect praise every time, besides we have a task to focus on.”

   “A task with no pay,” says Gold Wolf, “and these people have no supplies,”

   “Uncle,” Hollia says in a scolding tone, “These people are in need, its our duty to help them.”

   “Noisy beasts!” says a hissing voice from behind some rocks, “If they wished to sneak up on the castle they failed.”

   A purple flash of smoke, from which a pale man with slicked back black hair wearing black leather emerges.

   Hollia draws her staff, Betty and Viana draw their guns, Cata and Rhulan draw their swords, and Gold Wolf creates golden spheres of energy in his palms.

   “Uhhh, okaaay,” says the vampire, “Well I have great and terrible magical powers!”

   Purple flames fwoosh out and dance upon his hands.

   “Now go back to the village,” he demands.

  Rhulan steps forward, her sword out, “Come now vampire, you said you have great and terrible magical powers; so I want to test them against mine.”

   “Your funeral,” he says she he thrusts his hands forward, a great blast of purple flames shooting forth as he laughs.

   A Laugh cut short as he sees the fire not engulfing the woman before him but rather spiraling onto her blade and vanishing.

   “I…huh?” he says in disbelief, even more so that he can’t stop the spell, he is stuck in place as she casually walks towards him.

   Right before the vampire, time seems to stand still as Rhulan flings her blade down, somehow stopping the vampire’s spell and with another fling; faster than even his inhuman speed can keep up with she slices his head off. The vampire’s body flops to the ground and then bursts into flames.

   “Was roasting its body really necessary?” asks Gold Wolf.

   “No,” says Rhulan, “I didn’t do that. It’s clearly the kind of vampire whose body destroys its self upon death.”

   They put their weapons away; but it’s not long before another threat tries to bar their way. This time three vampires, however they are very different from the one they just faced, these three are white, with long ears, bald heads, long fingers with fingernails, and wearing long red and purple robes.

   “We,” they say in unison, “are Nosferatu mages, we are vastly more powerful than that Moroii you must have barely just beaten.”

   Rhulan puts her hands on her hips and laughs so loud its actually startling to her companions.

   “Nosferatu?” she says, “as in undead, curse type vampires? You have no idea what you’re up against.”

   She gestures behind her saying, “Betty, Hollia, I do believe this fight is yours. For before us are creatures that are essentially blood sucking zombies, harmed by sunlight and holy magic.”

   Hollia and Betty exchange looks and step forward as Rhulan says, “Pathetic little vampires, before you stands a white sorceress practiced in the holy arts and an angel. You don’t stand a chance.”

   As the vampires group together in a huddle, their hands out facing each chanting a spell creating a black and purple orb between them Hollia aims her staff and chants under her breath a spell creating a white orb before her. Betty extends her wings and glows with a golden aura, a sight that takes Gold Wolf and Viana back a few steps.

   Just as the Nosferatu launch their attack Hollia yells out, “Exorcism Sphere!” and Betty extends her wings out their whole length as a brilliant light shoots forward. The two energies merge. Betty’s light twists into Hollia’s sphere which becomes a large golden sphere. In this same instance Lin Lin unleashes a Devastation Beam into the swirling mass of energy which then explodes and become a great golden beam that consumes the dark orb as a fire may consume a moth and then washes over the vampires with no resistance.

   When the light vanishes the land is un-damaged, except where the vampires stood now sits huddled on the ground their empty robes hiding white ash inside them.

   “Did we just do a combo spell Miss Betty?” asks Hollia.

   “I…” says Betty, “I guess.”

   “Sacred Beam.” says Rhulan walking up to them, “impressive; it’s a holy attack spell usually only seen performed by high level Celestials and Angels.”

    This battle does not go unseen; a grey skinned man with white hair with silver eyes and long silver fingernails watches out the castle window and sees the golden blast on the road.

    “Interesting,” says the man in his thick none-specific European accent.

    It’s not long till the party comes across a small guard station; where a man similar to the first man they encountered steps out. Before the man can utter a word a series of (*ti, ti, ti*) is heard as Viana opens fire on him.

   “Not letting y’all hog all the fun” she says as she shoots at the vampire. However her bullets pass right through it, leaving small green gas holes and streams out the other side.

   *ha, ha, ha, ha, ha* laughs the vampire in an over the top deep voice.

   “I am a Strigoi, not so easily killed as that child Moroi you faced at guard station one!”

   Its body ripples and distorts into a green gas cloud that takes the form of its face, “I am immortal, as indestructible as the wind!”

   “Wind Slicer!” yells Cata as a blue arc flies through the air from a swing of her sword.

   It strikes the Strigoi with a bright blue flash, and bolts of electricity shooting through out its form.

   “H…how!” it screams as it dissipates.

   “Huh,” says Rhulan, “well, we’ll have to make a note that electricity is apparently very effective against the green gassy ones.”

   Cata shrugs as she looks at Viana with a smile, “Lucky us.”

   Viana shakes her head as she puts her guns away, “yep, lucky.”

   “Um,” starts Betty remembering that she has an electric gun, but decides instead to shrug and continue walking as the others don’t seem to be continuing this conversation.

   The Strigoi’s gas form and imminent death were also noticed by the man with the grey skin in the regal gothic Victorian clothes as he heads down the elevator to ground, “and there,” says the man, “goes the third guard station. It would seem the mistress was right about placing so many along the road here. I wander if they are truly tiring out the local would be heroes before they reach the castle.”

    Its not long after this that the party comes across another guard station this one guarded by another Moroii, one with black pants, red button up shirt, black open leather jacket, and wielding a katana. Everyone in the party who has fought before looks back at Gold Wolf.

    “Seriously?” says Gold Wolf, “We really are actually doing this? This everyone takes a turn fighting these things bit?”

    He walks forward, the Moroii swings his sword in the air saying, “ha! I am the most powerful of the guards! The final guard!...you…hold up!”

    Gold Wolf marches undaunted right up to the Moroii who swings his sword only for it to be shattered and flung from the Moroii’s hands by Gold Wolf simply back handing it.”

    *urk* is all now that can escape the Moroii’s throat as Gold Wolf lifts the vampire up by the throat.

    “If we are done playing,” says Gold Wolf as he throws the vampire across the lake to land in a pile of dust billowing up from the impact crater on the other side, “can we start to take this seriously and just deal with these ridicules blood suckers?”

    It is as the unfortunate Moroii said; he was indeed the last guard station before the castle gates. The large black iron gates with gargoyles adorning the wall on either side of it stands before them now; a wall that goes into the hill sides. Before them beyond the gate is the massive castle, easily forty stories up. It does not look like any normal castle any of them has ever seen before, it appears to be made of laced metal rather than stone or wood, gothic style lattices, and demonic and macabre themed decorations strewn about almost at random. It is indeed a structure that looks to be pulled from some over the top horror themed amusement park. The gate is easy enough to just push open. The court yard is as expected, dead black plants, black grasses, statues of various monsters. Its obvious to anyone this castle was designed to be intimidating.

    “Well, well, well, look at this.” says a grey skinned man with white hair and dressed in gothic European nobleman’s attire, “It would seem our scouts did a poor job on this world. I had heard this was a post apocalyptic mutant infested world with small remnant of near-humans barely getting by on the fringes of the wilderness.”

    “Alien vampires?” asks Betty.

    “Or from some other Earth,” says Gold Wolf.

   “Great,” says Rhulan, “what is this now, the cross-roads of realities?”

  The man continues, “I have watched your group make its way up the mountain, dispatching each and every guard with little effort. I had not thought to encounter…a group like yours since I thankfully was ordered here away from my post on Jenna.”

   He indicates them with a wave of his hand, “your group certainly looks to have come out of a video game doesn’t it. Let’s see we have the spiky haired Japanese anime character, a pair of Otaku attention grabbing furree girls, a pirate girl in a…mo…mo-ey…well however that M.O.E. word is supposed to be pronounced. A man of my station and heritage can hardly be expected to keep tabs on every Japanese sub-cultural term. I take it then the dragon is the mascot, which means its probably a lot more dangerous than it looks…it doesn’t turn into a space ship does it?”

   He smiles, “and you two up front must be the main heroines, what with the matching yet opposite color schemes, I wander who is player one and player two.”

   “What is wrong with this guy?” asks Hollia more to herself but speaking out loud.

   “He said he was on Jenna,” says Betty, “it’s a world that is actually a playground, a virtual world created by higher beings, but it’s so complex that physical beings can also go there. It’s all about heroes, and villains, and monsters, it’s a total cliché.”

   Although Hollia amongst the others in this group has never seen a video game she is aware of table top grid map fantasy games students would play back in Stratalia, combine that with golem and crystal illusion training grounds and she has a basic idea of what they mean.”

   “This is not a game!” announced Rhulan stepping forward.

   “Oh I know,” says the man, “We were certain after Jenna to scan for other such worlds, seems pointless to go someplace where you can’t even drink the people’s blood…damned bio…photon…how ever that was explained world. Yet here I am once again standing before a group of adventurers like I was some last boss.”

    “Hardly,” says Rhulan, “if you were you would have told us your name by now and droned on about your master world dominating plan.”

   “Hmm,” says the man, “My apologies, you are clearly a woman of noble stock given your demeanor. I am Count Fontaine, the vampire. To be honest we do have a world dominating plot; however we will need to scout this world out a little better. That village was easy enough to take over, yet your group has practically slaughtered our men. I however will not be so easy to dispatch.”

    “Um,” says Hollia, “Miss Rhulan didn’t the mayor say the vampire was a dragon?”

   “hmm,” says Rhulan before she speaks to Count Fontaine, “vampire, are you the dragon we heard about? We were told the leader of these vampires was a dragon like creature.”

   “Oh, him,” says Count Fontaine in a slightly annoyed tone, “that would be Danagan, yes he is technically in charge of this operation. He’s at the heart of the castle, but you’ll have to get passed me just to get in there; and we have many traps, mazes, and powerful creatures with-in.”

   Rhulan starts to walk towards Count Fontaine.

   “Not so fast!” he says, “I am not so weak as those others you shouldn’t take me lightly.”

   He aims his hand at her, “for instance I can do this!”

   His silver nails extend at incredible speed, Rhulan makes no effort to guard herself, and before Hollia or anyone else can run forth to help her they see Rhulan stop walking as the nails meet her breast. As frightening as this might be from behind, from in front its another story which the rest of the party can read of Count Fontaine’s startled expression. For he sees his nails stopped at her skin and clothes by a wavy blue light covering her skin.

   “My defense aura,” announced Rhulan, “is all the protection I need from such a weak attack.”

   “Weak!” yells Count Fontaine, “try …uh…”

    The skin of his fingers starts to bleed as Rhulan continues to walk forward, like a juggernaut splintering his nails and pushing them back against his hand. In a gesture of utter disdain for Count Fontaine Rhulan grabs the nails before her and snaps them like twigs blocking her path before tossing them to the ground like refuse.

    “I can do more than that!” shouts Fontaine as he drops the nails from his hand and grows new ones which he spreads around Rhulan rather than directly at her. As sparks of electricity shoot from his nails; he laughs and smiles as the bolts streak across her body. His laughter and smile are short lived however as she continues to walk. In a swift move nearly faster than even his vampiric gaze could see she spins into the air. Count Fontaine cries out in pain as his nails are ripped from his body and those in the air are sliced and splintered. He could see her hands and even her cape shattering his silver nails. She comes down from her spin and grabs Count Fontaine by the throat.

    She whispers into his ear, “I am Rhulan the Sorceress, ex empress of this entire world. I am going to let you live just so you can tell this mistress of yours that if I ever see another of your ilk on my world again I will trace them back to her and destroy her and demolish what ever kingdom or empire she has.”

   She tosses Count Fontaine to the side like a rag doll, sending him rolling in the dirt.

   “Now,” says Rhulan aiming her hand at the castle, “as I don’t feel like climbing through some castle your boss, this dragon vampire thing, has two choices. He can either die by my blade or die buried in the rubble of his castle. Mystic Destroyer!”

    She summons the purple beam of energy known as the Mystic Destroyer, a thinner one handed version than that she used on Ravana. It’s enough however to blast apart several of higher towers and roof of the castle.

    “Huh,” says Hollia surprising the others as to how laid back she is about this, “I never thought about that. Instead of following some unknown boss enemy into his trap laden castle and fight him on his own turf in some special room, if you have the power you could just blast apart his castle from the outside cutting it down like a tree.”

    “Um,” starts Gold Wolf, who is cut off by a loud roaring sound, a sound not unlike that made by a dragon as a winged creature erupts from the top of the castle.

    The creature is smaller than they expected, no larger than a raptor, its dragon like wings are wide, and if not for the cobra like head and long python like tail with four blades around its rounded tip they could easily have mistaken it for a Drake.

    Rhulan summons a Fire Sphere, yelling out its name of course “Fire Sphere!” as she tosses into the air with incredible speed.

   *ka-boom*

   It hits the dragon creature, which *hisses* and *roars* as flames dance around his wing forcing it to come down, stopping its self just enough not to crash. Up close they can see that its head despite the cobra neck and hood is more like that of a Saurian Raptor. The beast shifts its body upon landing to that of a humanoid. Its body is still covered in green scales and its hairless head sports snake eyes and a fang filled mouth.

  “Kind of looks like an Amazonian Gillman.” states Hollia in a tone showing absolutely no concern, something that enrages the creature.

   “Insolent little mammal bitch!” it screams, “I am Lord Danagan. I am a Doh-Rong, an ancient species of vampires. I myself am over two hundred million years old, I am power incarnate, I am strength, and I have fed upon the blood of your people. It has given me strength and power. Power enough, yesss, after I feast on all of you I will have power enough to return to my proper world, the real world, and destroy that mammal usurper Litmet.”

   Count Fontaine gets up on his elbows and spits out some blood into the dirt as he watches Rhulan summon a sword from a black portal before her hand.

   “A sword,” says Rhulan, “is the most appropriate weapon for slaying an evil dragon according to tradition.”

   “You dare!?” hisses Danagan, “with as much blood as I have drank of your…”

   *thwack*

   With a single quick swing Rhulan decapitates Danagan. His body falls to the ground lifeless.

   “Really?” says Rhulan genuinely surprised.

   She walks over and taps Danagan’s body with her foot.

   “Well,” says Rhulan returning her sword, “that was anti-climatic.”

   She floats just off the ground, her toes pointed to the earth. She floats over to Count Fontaine, “if that is all as strong as the vampires of your world can get…even if it was as stupidly old as it claimed to be for a vampire then you really should heed my warning.”

   As she rejoins the group she says, “we really should do something about this castle full of undead monsters.”

   “Allow me please Miss Rhulan,” says Hollia.

   “Sure,” says Rhulan. Rhulan stands back with an interested expression; an expression one expects to see from an instructor testing her student, which raises the curiosity of the rest of the group; especially Gold Wolf.

    Hollia raises her staff above her head, holding it with both hands out horizontally. The staff glow with a green misty light as she prays. She closes her eyes and says, “In the name of Sylphia Goddess of the wind. I Holly-Lia unseal and invoke thy great power. By all that dwells in the air I beg forgiveness for this act. For I awaken the rage of the goddess and call her power upon the land.”

     Gold Wolf is deeply alarmed as Hollia floats in the air, a green misty aura surrounding her body. Her eyes glow green and her mouth moves, she does not speak words however, instead what sounds like the whistling of the wind in a rhythmic song like pattern is to be heard instead.

   Hollia shouts at the end of it, “Supreme Goddess Wind!”

   What happens next can be seen from the streets of the town on the other side of the lake. For in the dead of night beneath the moon’s light a massive cyclone of green magical wind appears. In the darkness its mystical light gives an eerie impression. The wind near the party does not change, the wind does not suck into the cyclone; yet everything beneath it is sucked into the air, pulled to the top of the cyclone. It moves as Hollia gestures, destroying the entire castle. It moves through it as easily as though the castle were made of match sticks. Every Vampire Bat Beast Shifter, Nosferatu, Moroii, Strigoii, and various monstrous bestial vampires brought with them from various lands and worlds are destroyed. They are helpless against the power Hollia summoned. For all their vampiric powers and might they might as well have been Blue Blobs.

    As Hollia floats to the ground Rhulan catches her. She is exhausted from using such a high level spell, her physical strength and spiritual strength both exhausted. Lin Lin licks Hollia’s face.

    “Its okay Lin Lin,” says Rhulan, “All Hollia needs is a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast in the morning. She did a good job for her first full scale use of this spell.”

    Rhulan’s smile visibly reinsures Lin Lin, the others in the party not so much. At least not Gold Wolf.

   “Wow,” says Viana looking at the demolished building and the two bodies lying on the ground, “I don’t think any of us were really needed for this job.”

   “Any one of us could have taken these things out,” growls Gold Wolf as they turn, his eyes staring daggers at the back of Rhulan as she carries Hollia in her arms; her black against her white looking to Gold Wolf like a groom taking his bride over the threshold.

    The party is well received in the town and given a place to rest for the night; they take turns keeping an eye out in case any of the vampires survived. It’s another story entirely for Count Fontaine.

    “Damn over powered magic using witches.” Curses Count Fontaine as he digs out the entrance to underground facility beneath the castle.

    “Master,” says a Moroii scientist as Count Fontaine opens the hatch, “what…what happened to the castle?”

    “Prepare the emergency transporter we’re getting the hell out of here.” says Count Fontaine.

    The scientists need only see the carnage above to know not to question the order as the few survivors who had been below in this facility prepare to depart through the gateway. Count Fontaine sets the self destruct for the escape facility before he too heads through the portal gate.

   ******

   Las Angeles, the city of Litmet; the next day after the reports have been filed and word sent from San Diego the city whose labs were connected to the vampire beachhead castle project. Count Fontaine finds himself kneeling this day before Litmet who sits upon her throne. She is now in her human form her pale skin offset by her long jet black hair and black silk dress. Standing Beside her is King Rick, a middle aged looking man with short brown hair and wearing a black exoskeleton like armor; complete with a broad sword on his hip.

   “So,” says Litmet upon hearing his oral report and holding up a file that was sitting on her arm rest, “after so many months of feeding on this one little desert town; complete with what we were told were super-strong humans with equally super-strong and delicious blood that augments our own abilities you finally were met with some resistance from the local authorities or…how did you put it; some wandering group of…adventures was it. I see you did take the precaution of preventing these people from leaving the town to get help. We do have the drained remains of some of those town’s people here in your San Diego labs being tested for potential vampire conversion of a living specimen….I understand their biology is resistant to the process. So now…now…you tell me a group that didn’t even know you were there, just passing through like hitch hikers not only defeated each and every guard you posted, beat you, but that they also killed Danagan and how’d you put it, utterly destroyed the castle we so painstakingly built and transported to that world.”

    Count Fontaine is drawn to something odd; Litmet’s expression is one of deep thought. His curiosity is interrupted as she says, “dismissed.”

    After he leaves she turns to Rick, “It seems we may need to have a word with that man Peter Jones, it would seem his reports about this…Aesperia are a bit lacking.”

   She hands Rick another folder that was hidden at her side on the throne. He thumbs through it.

  He says aloud as he thumbs through it, “Pirates, small towns, super-strong humans, various humanoid monsters and other mutant beasts, primitive societies on the edges of the wilderness.”

   “Perhaps,” says Litmet thinking out loud, “its all camouflage, wouldn’t be the first society to be all tree hugging yet have serious tech underground…”

    She *growls*, “I under-estimated this world. Have our scientists examine the specimens closer…tell them to look for signs of technological enhancement; anything, and go deep.”

    As Rick leaves she thinks, “Rhulan the sorceress, I will have to have my spies look into this one.”