They rose at once when they saw him. Instead of coming straight to him they approached slowly. A few feet away they leaned forward and sniffed the air.
Jo nodded and stepped closer, looking him up and down.
“What happened to you?”
Harry glanced down.
His armor was in rough shape. The chainmail shirt hung crooked where dozens of links had been torn open. The leather straps on his bracers were scuffed and half cut through. The greaves were gouged and dented.
“The flayed demon…” he said.
He was distracted as he looked into his inventory.
Harry reached in and pulled out the dull blue orb and the gold bracelet and held them out to Stan.
“Here. I got these.”
Stan grinned, took them, and started muttering through the motions of a spell.
“Here this too.”
Harry pulled a stack of coins from inventory, split it quickly, and handed a share to each of them.
Stan tilted his head toward the orb.
“This’n’s dead. Only works on one of them wardens.”
He put the orb into his inventory and started another spell over the bracelet.
System, how much experience did we get for that chamber?
:: System: You received 800 XP. It would have been higher if you had engaged all enemies.
:: Class: Vampire Level 3 (5,581/9,000)
I did. And don’t start with me.
“Boss?”
Harry’s attention snapped back to Stan. The tone caught him. Worried.
Stan now held the bracelet dangling from the tip of a dagger.
“What is it?” Harry asked.
Stan frowned, “It's cursed. Identify says it’s The Red Seed.”
“Cursed?”
Jo leaned closer. “What does it do?”
Stan glanced up at her. “Locks the soul of a fiend in the gems.”
Harry had been slowly reaching out to touch it but jerked his hand back.
“Is it still in there?”
Stan shrugged. “Don’t know.”
Jo folded her arms. “What do we do with it?”
Harry looked at Stan. “Can we destroy it?”
Stan lifted the dagger closer to his face and studied the bracelet.
“Mayhap. I’ll hang onta it. See what me and Olly can figure, yeah?”
Harry nodded. “Be careful… don’t put it on.”
Stan gave him a flat look.
“Yeah, boss. Don’t put on the cursed bracelet. I’ll try an’ remember.”
Harry grinned and raised his hands. “Alright, alright.”
Jo leaned in and studied the bracelet where it hung from the dagger tip. After a moment she shrugged and straightened. “What now?”
Harry glanced between them. “Has anyone gotten new quests?”
“Not yet…” Jo started but cut off as her voice trailed away.
The quests appeared in Harry’s vision.
:: Quest Available: Escape the Chambers of Attrition.
:: Rather than face the 3rd Chamber, you may abandon the dungeon and leave it unfinished.
:: All party members must accept this quest to open the exit portal.
:: Reward: +1 to any stat. Choose one ability to level up. Each party member receives 200 gold
:: Accept Escape? (Y/N)
:: Quest Available: 3rd Chamber: Select one party member to enter 3rd Chamber.
:: Reward: Bonus XP to all party members. Level up one random ability. Gain access to the 4th Chamber.
:: Accept 3rd Chamber? (Y/N)
A moment of quiet passed as everyone read.
Jo snorted softly. “I think the dungeon is getting desperate.”
Harry bared his teeth. “Good.”
He looked between them.
“I’m taking the 3rd Chamber quest.”
They both nodded.
Stan pointed at his armor. “Boss, maybe swap your armor.”
Harry looked down. He was still wearing the damaged set.
“Right.”
He used wardrobe to switch outfits.
They were right about taking Inventory. I’d be naked by now without the repair.
:: System: Most individuals with a UI take it eventually. It is very versatile.
Jo looked him up and down again. “How’s your health and power?”
Harry checked his meters.
H: 74 | V: 69 | TM: 66%
He held up one hand and rocked it side to side. “Not great. But if this stays consistent there’ll be venomstalkers.”
Jo grinned. “Ha. A feast just waiting for you.”
“That’s the hope.”
Harry walked to the first portal on the right. The gray surface had deepened into a shimmering purple.
“Wish me luck.”
He stepped through.
After the usual moment of disorientation Harry found himself standing in a small clearing surrounded by trees.
A narrow path cut through the woods heading away from him. North, he assumed. Though there was no real way to tell. Above his head there was still no sky. Just empty space and the same diffuse white light filling everything.
System, if this dungeon is determined to kill me, why doesn’t it put everything right here at the entrance to attack as soon as I step in.
:: System: That has been discussed. Consensus is that the Dungeon Aspect is constrained by its own protocols.
You aren’t sure?
:: System: Negative. These are unusual circumstances. While you have faced increased threat levels and at times objectively unfair situations, it has allowed for a deeper study and analysis of the Dungeon Aspect.
I’m glad I could be of help.
:: System: Duly noted.
Harry looked around.
The woods were scattered oaks and pines. The ground between them lay mostly flat, the leaf litter thin and dry with little underbrush.
He let Blood Sense stretch outward.
Five threads showed a short distance away.
Three more sat at the very edge of his range.
System, you see exactly what I see, right?
:: System: Affirmative.
Do those close ones look like venomstalkers to you?
:: System: The threads are very similar to those seen previously. However, do not make assumptions. You have seen a very small sample of life forms through the lens of Blood Sense. For example, while venomstalkers are very distinct from humans and both are distinct from spider shepherds, there are a host of creatures that will be almost indistinguishable from one another.
That’s… a very good point. Thank you.
Harry adjusted the shield strapped to his left arm, put the sword he was carrying into inventory, and drew a spear.
What do you think, sneak attack or draw them into a running fight?
:: System: Your current skill set lends itself to stealth and surprise.
Harry pulled up his status screen.
My Shadow Manipulation and the abilities that hide my body heat and smell are always on. Can I change that?
:: System: Affirmative. You may change the default state at any time. Shall I do so now?
No. But I’ve been thinking. When we get out of here, I don’t want everyone who sees me knowing I’m… knowing what I am. Will those raise red flags?
:: System: From context I assume you mean will those abilities raise suspicion. Not necessarily. Many classes possess similar skills. However, if someone already suspects your true nature, those abilities could be seen as further evidence.
Alright. Remind me when we get out of here to think about changing them.
:: System: Duly noted. One other point you should consider is that the Vampire class is exceedingly rare. Without clear indicators, it is improbable that it would be the first assumption.
Right. So no biting people in the middle of the street.
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry moved cautiously into the woods, keeping off the path. He circled wide to the right, working his way toward the cluster of five threads.
Even moving slowly it didn’t take long.
He crouched behind a tree and leaned around the trunk.
The first creature came into view.
Harry smiled.
It was indeed a venomstalker.
The five of them formed a loose ring around another small clearing. The path he had avoided led straight into it and continued out the other side.
The one in front of him appeared relaxed, facing the clearing with its back toward Harry.
It rested with its wolf belly on the ground. The spider legs were folded up and tucked partly along the sides. The snake head swayed slowly back and forth, the tongue flickering out to taste the air.
Harry bared his teeth in a feral grin.
I have a bad idea.
He slipped the spear back into his inventory and eased out from behind the tree, placing each step as lightly as he could.
When he was close enough to reach out and touch it, Harry boosted his speed and strength to thirty percent. No vitae.
He coiled and launched himself forward.
Harry landed straddling the wolf body with a heavy thud. A gust of air burst from the creature. He clamped both hands around the sides of the snake head, dragged it close, and drove his fangs deep into the neck.
It had been some time since he’d used Drain on a living creature and he’d forgotten the ecstasy of it.
Instinct and the gnawing hunger took over.
The heartbeat became the center of his world. Each pulse traveled up his fangs and sent a wave of pleasure through him.
The venomstalker tried to push itself up. The effort lasted only a moment before the strength ran out and the body sagged back to the ground.
Images came. Fast and vivid. But all of them were the same. The same clearing, the same trees, the same path. Waiting. Always waiting. Days or years, there was no difference. For a brief moment another memory flashed by, a sudden weight on its back and everything growing dim. But it switched back to the waiting, bouncing from one memory to the next.
Harry kept feeding.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he was vaguely aware of the other four starting to move toward him.
The rhythm of the prey’s heart slowed.
It beat weakly one last time and stopped.
With an almost sensual pull his fangs slid free.
Harry’s attention snapped to his left.
Another venomstalker stepped around a tree on that side.
It froze in its tracks. The snake head shot high, eyes locking on him.
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The pause lasted only a second.
It rushed forward, snapping its head down, jaws wide.
Harry was already moving.
He rose and sprang backward, watching the strike come in slow motion.
The bite missed.
Harry turned and ran straight away through the trees.
Behind him the four threads surged into motion as they joined the chase.
He glanced at his meters.
H: 134 .. 133 .. | V: 129 | TM: 36%
System, can you mark this spot on the map? I want to come back for the venom.
:: System: Affirmative.
As he ran, Harry pulled his spear back out of inventory.
He had just started looking for a place to turn and spring an ambush when he saw four more threads appear at the edge of his Blood Sense.
But these four were running away, heading the same direction he was.
Harry skidded to a halt and stepped behind a large oak.
The four chasing him kept coming.
The four in front continued moving away. A heartbeat later their threads disappeared.
Harry tightened his grip on the spear and watched the four oncoming venomstalkers through Blood Sense.
When they were almost on top of him he stepped out from behind the tree, leveled the spear, and charged.
The lead stalker leapt for his head. The branches overhead blocked it from their usual high jump.
Harry drove the spear forward, aiming for the center of its chest.
The creature came with the snake head stretched out on the end of its long neck.
The spear point bit deep into the wolf chest with a jarring shock that ran up the shaft and into his arms. At the same moment the snake’s fangs sank into his shoulder.
Harry ignored the bite.
Using the snake’s momentum he swung the spear and the impaled body hard to his right. The fangs tore free from his shoulder as the body whipped away, smashing into another stalker charging from that side.
A third came in from his left, neck extended.
Its fangs sank into his leg.
Harry slammed his shield down across the creature’s neck, knocking the fangs loose. He wrenched the spear free from the stalker squirming on the end of it and took off running back the way he had come.
The venom from the two bites spread through him.
The heat was familiar.
Welcome.
Behind him three venomstalkers turned and gave chase. The one he had speared stayed where it was.
Harry pushed speed again, putting distance between them, looking for another spot to attack once more.
When the stalkers began to lag behind he felt more threads appear in front of him at the edge of his Blood Sense.
Three of them.
Again moving the same direction he was, away from the fight.
“Wait… are those…”
Harry stumbled.
Distracted, he caught his foot on a root and went down hard.
Behind him the three venomstalkers closed the distance fast.
The three ahead kept moving away.
A moment later their threads vanished from his Blood Sense.
He tried to stand but felt a sudden sense of vertigo. The world was out of balance.
System, are those the same threads in front and back? Are we in a loop?
:: System: Apparently, yes.
Harry got to his knees, pushed himself upright, and closed his eyes. Tried to steady himself.
Just as the world stopped spinning something slammed into his back.
The venomstalker hit him like a thrown log. Its weight drove him off his feet and its fangs sank deep into the side of his neck.
Harry hit the ground hard. His spear flew from his hand.
The other two stalkers closed from the sides.
One clamped its jaws into his shoulder.
The other bit high into his thigh.
Dammit.
Harry tried to push himself up. The stalker attached to his shoulder dragged him back down.
Fine.
:: Skill [Frenzy]: Successful (Active, Cost: 5 vitae)
:: Frenzy: 45 second duration (+13 St, +13 Ag, -7 Will, -5 Pres, -5 Int)
Power flooded his muscles, heat and strength crashing through him like a wave. The pain from the bites vanished. The vertigo vanished with it. His vision snapped tight and the world went red and sharp and very simple.
Three heartbeats. All in easy reach.
His fangs slid free and his hands curled into claws.
Harry snarled.
He twisted and drove his shoulder and elbow hard into the venomstalker on his back. The sudden movement tore the fangs of all three creatures free as he rolled.
Harry’s hand closed around the snake head of the one that had been on his back. He jerked it close, sank his fangs deep into the neck, and ripped downward.
The throat tore open in a geyser of blood.
The other two were instantly back on him. One clamped down again on his leg while the other snapped at his arm.
Harry slashed at the one lunging for his arm. His claws raked across its face, carving deep furrows through hide and scale. One eye burst under the blow and the creature reeled away.
The body of the one clamped to his leg was beside him, spider legs splayed wide.
Harry drove a fist straight into its ribs.
Bone crunched under the impact.
The stalker released his leg and tried to scramble away.
Harry followed.
His claws raked across the crushed ribs, tearing fur and flesh. Two spider legs ripped free from their sockets and flew away.
The creature tried to retreat, pushing off with the two legs remaining on that side. Harry could smell its fear. Taste its panic.
The long snake neck stretched away from him. The jaws hung open. A thin, keening sound spilled from its throat.
Harry scrambled to his feet, growled, and launched himself on top of it.
Both hands clamped around the snake neck.
He drove his knee down into the ribs.
Again.
And again.
Bone gave way under the blows. Ribs collapsed. Flesh tore. Something inside burst.
The creature’s side split open.
Blood and entrails poured out.
One more.
Harry’s head jerked around.
Where?
He could feel it. Sense it. Moving away as fast as it could.
Harry surged to his feet and charged after it.
The chase was effortless. The gap closed without thought. His body knew exactly how to move, how fast it needed to go.
The creature ahead was hurt.
Its heartbeat thundered in his ears, loud and ragged and terrified.
Harry came down on it from behind, driving it into the ground with his full weight. The impact shuddered through both of them.
The prey screamed, a thin, broken sound.
Harry’s hand closed around the neck before the cry finished.
He yanked it back.
And bit down.
With each heartbeat the blood surged up through his fangs.
Warm. Thick. Alive.
The images came. Flashing and scattered. The same waiting. The same sense of timelessness. One flash of motion. Of speed. The ground blurring beneath it. Back to the clearing and the waiting.
Harry groaned low in his throat as he drank. His shoulders dropped. The tight coil in his chest that had been there for days began to loosen.
:: Skill [Frenzy] has ended.
The euphoria lessened, but only marginally. He continued to feed.
As the prey’s hammering heart began to slow, Harry tightened his grip on the head, unwilling to let it end yet.
Give me more.
But the rhythm faltered.
One last weak beat trembled against his fangs.
Nothing.
Harry held there for a moment longer before the body went slack beneath him.
He released it and rolled onto his back.
Above him stretched the empty sky.
His own heart thundered in his chest, strong and wild and very alive.
Harry was not sure how long he lay there.
At last he checked his meters.
V: 184 | TM: 8%
Long enough for any excess health to bleed away.
It worries me how good that felt.
:: System: It will be easier to control as you continue to raise your skill and Willpower.
I’m more worried about temptation than control.
Harry pushed himself to his feet and made his way back to the site of the fight.
One of the bodies was ruined. Organs and entrails spilled out across the ground and a wide pool of blood soaked into the soil around it.
The other one, the venomstalker whose throat he had torn open, lay several paces away. That one was in much better shape.
Harry knelt beside it, leaned down, and bit into the neck near the base and used Drain.
Twenty five Vitae and health.
The images came with it, but they were wrong.
Distorted. Fragments that jumped and stuttered.
System, are the images broken because it’s already dead?
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry checked his meters.
H: 135 .. 134 .. | V: 209 | TM: 0%
That should be enough.
“Serva Sanguinem.”
:: Spell [Blood Leech]: Successful (Active, Cost: 10 vitae)
The small black void opened on the ground and a leech crawled out.
It was about the same size as the Vampiric Leech, but its color was different. A much brighter red.
Harry scooped it up and set it on the exposed skin of his arm.
He held his arm up and watched closely as it attached itself and began to drain health.
All he felt was a faint tug when it started.
If he had not been looking for it he would not have noticed.
When it finished feeding the leech released its grip and began to fall away from his arm.
Harry caught it.
He weighed it in his hand. Fat and squishy, just like the other.
Beautiful. One healing potion, made to order.
He dropped it into inventory.
He tracked down the venomstalker he had speared.
It had bled out at some point.
Harry knelt beside the body and bit into the neck, used Drain.
The blood that answered him was weak.
Only five health and Vitae.
Not enough to use for anything.
The memories came with it, broken and stuttering fragments that slipped away almost as soon as they appeared.
Harry wiped his mouth and reached into his inventory for his surgical tools.
Working carefully, he cut into the snake head and removed the fangs and venom sac.
After that he had to use the mark System had made on his map to locate the first one he had drained back at the clearing.
When he found it, he opened the head again, removed the venom sac, and added it to his inventory.
That brought his total back up to four.
Harry studied his Blood Sense.
The three threads he had seen to the north at the edge of his range were still there.
He started in that direction.
As he drew closer it became obvious they were not venomstalkers.
The threads were stronger. Heavier.
Hexapumas.
:: System: It seems likely.
Harry angled away, trying to slip past them.
The trees thinned and ended. He stepped out onto a narrow stretch of grass that stopped at a sharp drop.
Below, the river ran through the deep gorge.
Harry glanced to his right.
The river and the tree line stretched away until both vanished into the distance.
Another loop?
:: System: Almost certainly.
I’d ask what the hell, but you’d just say it’s magic.
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry looked left.
There was the same broken wooden bridge.
At least here there were no wide gaps in the planks.
At the foot of the bridge on this side three shapes lay in the grass.
Large.
Black and gray.
Hexapumas.
The largest one was about the size of a horse. The other two were only slightly smaller.
They lounged comfortably, long tails flicking lazily.
Any suggestions?
:: System: You could try drawing them into the woods and circle back to race across the bridge. It seems unlikely to hold their weight.
The last time I tried something like that, it did not end well.
:: System: If you can approach close enough, you can attempt to use Mesmerize.
How much Vitae would that take?
:: System: For multiple targets, all of whom are higher level than you, the Vitae cost will likely be somewhere in the range of thirty five to forty five.
Even if it doesn’t work.
:: System: Affirmative.
Dammit.
Harry slipped back into the trees and circled wide through the woods until he could approach in front of the clearing.
He checked the straps of his shield, pulled his spear from inventory, and moved to the edge of the trees.
Even before he stepped out of the shade he could see all three pairs of eyes fixed on him.
The two smaller pumas, about the size of large ponies, were male.
The larger one was female.
Harry studied her a moment.
He was certain it was the mother cat he had helped before.
He stepped slowly out into the open.
The spear rested across his body in both hands, but he did not take a fighting stance. He stood upright, shoulders loose.
“Nice kitty. You remember me, right?”
Both males surged to their feet.
They yowled, backs arching, claws sliding out.
The female hissed.
Both males dropped low at the sound.
She rose slowly and took a step toward Harry.
Harry matched her with half a step of his own, angled slightly to one side rather than directly at her.
One of the males arched up again and yowled.
The female turned and cuffed him across the head.
The blow sent him tumbling across the grass.
Dammit… I don’t think I could make it back into the woods if she springs.
The puma turned back to face him, locking eyes. Her nose twitched and her long tongue came out and wiped across her mouth.
Vampires are immortal right?
:: System: Affirmative… usually.
That’s not funny.
Harry slid the spear into his inventory.
He held his hands out in front of him, palms down, and took another slow step forward, again at a slight angle.
“Hi there… pss pss pss… good kitty.”
The female answered with a low, rumbling growl. Her tail swished slowly from side to side as she closed the distance between them, each step careful and deliberate.
Harry held his ground and waited.
His palms itched. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
She stopped a pace in front of him and stretched her head forward to sniff.
Then she stepped closer and bumped her head into him.
The force of it almost knocked him off his feet.
Harry lifted one hand slowly and scratched along the side of her cheek, working his fingers back behind her ear.
“Hey there, mama… where are your cubs… are these them? They sure grew up fast.”
The hexapuma folded down onto the grass in front of him.
Her front legs stretched out on either side of him while the middle and rear legs folded beneath her body.
Even lying down like that, her head was almost level with his.
Harry raised his other hand and scratched her with both.
The two males watched for a moment before turning away toward the bridge.
One lay down onto its side.
The other sat and began grooming itself.
After a few minutes the hexapuma rose.
She bumped Harry once more with her head, hard enough to stagger him, then turned and walked away with a flick of her tail.
She did not return to the foot of the bridge.
Instead she moved about twenty feet away, folded down into the grass, and lifted one enormous paw to gnaw between the toes.
The two males wandered over and flopped down beside her.
Harry began edging toward the bridge.
Both males lifted their heads and watched him closely, but neither moved.
Harry reached the bridge and stepped onto the first plank.
He glanced back.
The mother cat looked up and met his eyes for a moment. She lowered her gaze and began licking one paw, dragging it slowly over her face.
Harry turned and started across. Careful to avoid any planks that looked on the verge of breaking.
The boards creaked under his weight.
The moment he stepped out over the water a wave of nausea and weakness washed through him.
He stopped and gripped the railing until the feeling steadied. He continued on.
Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.
Harry looked down between the spaced planks.
The river raged past beneath him.
Don’t look down again. Don’t look down again.
He forced himself forward.
The weakness faded as soon as he was fully past the river.
Harry stepped onto solid ground and straightened.
Ahead lay another stretch of forest.
About twenty feet in front of him, standing alone in front of the trees, was another portal already shimmering purple.
He looked back, but from this side he could only just glimpse the hexapumas across the river. He waved anyway.
With a shrug he turned, walked to the portal, and stepped through.
***
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