Chapter 4

• *Erolzwald*
• Lord Ascelius and ten Ancillai fighters announced their presence at the south gate entrance.
• “No offence meant,” The guard that was scheduled stepped forward, “may I see your credentials, sir?” The guard asked, following procedure when a vampire should want to enter the territory.
• Slipping his hand into his pocket, Lord Ascelius provided the crest of the emperor. Not saying a word the guard nodded his head as he glanced over the clipboard. “Alpha Zevar has been waiting for you, Please follow me.” The guard turned and led the way.
• Breaking the silence, “After everything that had happened we did not want to take any chances.” The guard waited to see if the registered vampires would reply.
• Lord Ascelius could detect the lingering hint of blood still in the air. It was clear the event that brought disaster to the capital happened not even two months ago. Motioning his eyes back and forth at the citizens, their eyes held sadness and many of them had even shown hopelessness, ready for the grim reaper to claim them and take them back to the motherland.
• Off to the side, seven families had wagons filled with their belongings. Bitterness was written over their faces. Lord Ascelius could not help but notice the handle of a sword sticking out of a blanket. Each wagon had similar weapons. Lord Ascelius stared at the weapons as he strolled by them.
• Lord Ascelius could not refrain from noticing how none of them bowed, giving them the respect their titles earned them. The glares told each of the vampires that the people did not care if they were being rude or not.
• Frowning, “I am sorry your lordship, I would have offered an autoride, but as you can see things are not as they should be, we are still cleaning up the mess from the battle of alpha’s.” The guard told Lord Ascelius.
• Growling, “what happened here?” Lord Ascelius asked.
• The soldier recalled the account of Coldfurgus attacking the alpha of the other kingdoms because they would not do as he wanted. The other kingdoms challenged his authority by reminding the dead Alpha King that there were laws and treaties that he had to follow. With a great deal of sorrow in his tone, he continued to tell the vampire lord how the Alpha King treated the people like his personal slave and if anyone should stand up to him, he would kill them for merely wanting fairness.
• As he continued to study the area, “So what you are telling me is that Alpha Zevar of Unnash is stepping in as the Alpha King while everything is being cleaned up. Was there a challenge for the position of Alpha King?” Lord Ascelius asked, knowing that Alpha Zevar had already told him briefly what happened.
• The guard stopped walking, “No one will challenge Finja Longarm, they are the reason we are free of Coldfurgus and the bloodline. With the assistance of the other alpha’s, we will not have to worry about being mistreated.”
• Lord Ascelius studied the guard, he held his head high as he spoke of the Longarms, “who are the Longarm’s?”
• The warrior smiled from ear to ear with great pride, “The greatest warriors that Erolzwald has,” The guard frowned, “though they are travelling to Unnash to complete the burial ritual. The man of the house lost his life in the battle along with many other great warriors.” The soldier began walking again. “If things go well the Longarm family will be back before everything is closed down for the winter season.”
• One of the Ancillae spoke up, “by any chance would the Longarm you speak of be Rimvan?” His face was flat, lacking emotions.
• The soldier glanced back, “the one and only!”
• The Ancillae that had asked the question told Lord Ascelius that Rimvan was a nobody with no riches, his name had been spoken by a few of the nomadic vampires. Not only was it rumoured of his fighting style, his military strategies were something they had not seen before.
• They all strolled silently, as the vampires took in the calamity. The further they followed the guard to the castle the more depressing the situation became. The hardest hit locations were the closest to the heart of Erolzwald. Like the other families that had left, they spotted another 11 families leaving the territory.
• In the distance the castle was in view, with citizens scouted out of the way to allow the group to continue moving in the direction the soldier was taking them. At the castle gate, it had already been opened with the guard letting them all know that Alpha Zevar was in his office.
• Spread walking through the halls, the guard led the vampires to an office door, rapped on the door and waited three seconds before he opened the door. Sitting behind the desk was Alpha Zevar nearby was his beta. Motioning with his hands he asked the vampires to enter the office.
• “You may go back to your post!” Alpha Zevar had dismissed the guard.
• Once all of the vampires had entered the office and the door was closed, Alpha Zevar introduced himself to the group along with Beta Morris. One at a time each of the vampires introduced themselves to the alpha, Damillin, Sieden, Norrix, Melantha, Valinia, Astaroth, Nodin, Nelo, Theron, and Julius. After the introductions had been completed the alpha began speaking about what had happened and what they were doing.
• The first thing that Lord Ascelius noticed was how red the office was. Looking Alpha Zevar up and down, Lord Ascelius concluded that the office decor was not his doing but the late Alpha King's choice. Everything in the office showed off how much power and wealth one owned. This office was designed to impress and intimidate the visitors at the same time.
• “What new news is there for you to tell me?” Lord Ascelius asked as he sat in the chair across from the alpha.
• Though Alpha Zevar had increased the security detail, they have found two more vampire attacks. Damillin spoke up stating he wanted to see the bodies and the locations they had been found. With the nod of his head, Beta Morris agreed that he would take Damillin to the spots after the meeting.
• Alpha Zevar continued to speak about the issues with their power sources, something that had caught Lord Ascelius' attention. “How long has this issue been going on?”
• Beta Morris sighed, “close to 14 days, each time we fix it a few days later we have to go back and fix the issue.”
• Lord Ascelius motioned to Sieden, “I want you to investigate the location.” Lord Ascelius gave the order.
• Lord Ascelius explained to the alpha that this tactic is an old way unregistered vampires use before they would attack small towns. Leaving them defenceless and unable to call for additional assistance. Lord Ascelius brought his attention to Norrix, Melantha, Valinia, Astaroth, Nodin, Nelo, Theron and Julius, giving them the instructions that they were to survey the land and hunt for all the vampires.
• Alpha Zevar looked in the direction of Beta Morris, “As far as I know alpha, there are no registered vampires in the capital. Registered vampire comes here once in a while, but it is a night stay and then they are gone before the rising sun.”
• Lord Ascelius directed his attention to the alpha, “so what you are saying is that to your knowledge there should be no vampires at Erolzwald.” Lord Ascelius glanced over at Damillin, “this will make things a bit easier!”
• Standing up Lord Ascelius and the Ancillae were getting ready to leave the office, bowing to the alpha with respect.
• “I will take you to the morgue where the bodies are being stored.” Beta Morris stood up slowly. Damillin and Sieden had a raised brow, noticing their stares, “I am still recovering from my injuries. The doctor gave me the okay to resume my duties; they are just restricted to light duties.” With a bow, Beta Morris exited out of the office following the group of vampires.
• ***
• Alpha Zevar and Lord Ascelius worked for three days conducting an inquiry into the situation of Erolzwald. With each passing day, Lord Ascelius became more irate at the information they had found. Not only was it cause to get the emperor involved, but if Coldfurgus had been alive he would face charges of treason.
• Lord Ascelius had used the alpha’s office to call Emperor Baldwin, leaving a detailed message of his finding. “The research that has been conducted has indeed indicated an unregistered vampire is behind the activity. The individuals behind the hostility have continuously tampered with the power sources of Erolzwald on a continuous basis. I recommend that a unit be sent to aid in dealing with this situation as we do not know how many unregistered vampires we are dealing with.”
• Motioning his head towards the door. There had been three raps on the door, opening the door, a runner walked in, apologizing to Lord Ascelius who mentioned he was looking for the alpha.
• With the telecommunicator still in Lord Ascelius' hand, the runner informed Lord Ascelius that they had found another vampire attack on the east side of the capital. Lord Ascelius placed the receiver back on the holder. With a nod of his head, “take me to the scene!”
• Lord Ascelius did not want to jump to conclusions but he was starting to believe that the situation was a lot bigger than what they were seeing.
• Getting outside of the castle, many were speaking about how there was another victim. Some had their hands covered over their mouths in utter shock. While others said that they were going to pack everything they needed and they were going to leave the capital as many other families had already done.
• The runner steered Lord Ascelius to the East side of Erolzwald. On the outer side of the wall, they approached the scene, everyone moved out of Lord Ascelius' way. Some glared at him as if pleading for him to do something more while others blamed him for one more attack.
• As Lord Ascelius had requested, the body was left as it was found, with a white sheet placed over the body to be respectful to the dead man. Muttering, “The body is at least two metres away from the wall.” He glanced to the other side. “With one mile away from the homestead.” Crouching down near the body, he noticed several footprints he could only assume were those of the soldiers and the people who found the body.
• Lifting the sheet, Lord Ascelius sighed, as he had suspected, it was a vampire attack. Studying the area, Lord Ascelius studied the area more, “no privacy!” He muttered, lowering his head he examined how the body was left. “Did anyone move the body?”
• “No sir! How he is, this is how we found him?” A guard had answered Lord Ascelius' question.
• "The body was staged!" Muttering, “The killer is 300 hundred years old or older.” Lord Ascelius studied the fingers of the dead male.
• The fingernails were clear of any blood, or evidence that would give way to who the killer was. Muttering again, “he was attacked from behind, which means the killer was stalking his prey.” Covering the nude body. “He was one of the guards that were on patrol last night.” Lord Ascelius was standing up, turning around; he was trying to figure out if the male was killed here or dropped off.
• “Sir?” A junior soldier was trying to get Lord Ascelius' attention, “would you like me to give you the list of all the night shift patrol or give it to Alpha Zevar?”
• Lord Ascelius thought about it, “the alpha, he is going to need this information.”
• Studying the moist soil, Lord Ascelius directed his attention to the north of Erolzwald. Searching for any evidence to point what direction the vampires were coming from. Pointing to the five foot wall, “how sturdy is the wall?”
• “Sturdy enough sir, we walk on it all the time during patrols!” A warrior answered the question promptly.
• Lord Ascelius only nodded his head. Motioning his feet towards the wall, heading north. With all the movement, any footprints would be difficult to distinguish from the people and the killer. All he could smell were humans and shifters. Any hint of another vampire would be masked now with the other odours.
• The further Lord Ascelius got from the scene the more he could hear himself think. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned his head, noticing that there was a warrior following him, “there are only trees to the north, west and south sides of Erolzwald, correct?”
• “That would be correct sir.” The warrior tried to keep his composure, Lord Ascelius noticed how upset the warrior was.
• For an hour they continued to walk in silence as they both searched for anything that would indicate where the feral vampires were coming from. As Lord Ascelius neared the river he found several footprints. Looking over to the warrior that was following him, “how often do patrols come in this location?”
• The warrior thought about it, “to my knowledge no one patrols this far away from Erolzwald’s border.”
• “What is your name, soldier?” Lord Ascelius asked as he was still kneeling.
• Giving his rank, ”Lieutenant Ardan, sir!” He replied. Gazing at the footprints, “Do you figure they came from the trees? Climbed the wall and did what they did?”
• Crouching to the ground, Lord Ascelius studied the terrain. “Eight separate prints … male … each of them weighing over 150 to 200 pounds.” He stood up and brought his attention to the soldier. “Lieutenant Aradan, these prints are fresh, less than a day old. They also have no scent which means I can’t tell if this is human, shifter or vampire.” Lord Ascelius stood up, following the tracks to a small opening in the wall. “At least now I have an idea of how they are getting in without being noticed.” Muttering more to himself as he studied the canopy that surrounded them. “There are at least eight different sets, all leading into Erolzwald. Which means they are using a different location to get out or they have yet to leave.” Lord Ascelius directed his attention to the Lieutenant, “How often are the walls patrolled and maintenance checks completed?”
• Lieutenant Ardan opened and closed his mouth several times. “About a month ago, but those that did the patrol are the soldiers that are imprisoned, and I am not sure if Alpha Zevar has ordered one.”
• Understanding the Lieutenants position, any information the young man had was useful. Sighing, Lord Ascelius went through the crack in the wall to see what was on the other side. The worst hit from the battle was this section,
• Lieutenant Ardan cursed under his breath, “this would be the ideal place for the vampires to enter and exit. Alpha Zevar deemed this location unsafe for anyone to wander. Until the emergency climbers go from one building to the next, cleaning up the mess.”
• The two males carefully manoeuvred around the rubble and partially ruined building. At the same time, they kept their ears and eyes alert. Without saying a word to each other, Lord Ascelius used hand signals to indicate to the Lieutenant that he could hear movement. Without being told, Lieutenant Ardan pulled out his blade.
• The hairs on the back of the Lieutenant’s neck started to stand up. Crouching down closer to the ground, he waited. Only when he would move did they hear the sound of footsteps crunching the debris around their feet. From behind him, Lieutenant Ardan could sense something ready to attack him. Placing his body in a position of defence, he closed his eyes as he started to meditate and think about what he was going to do.
• In five seconds, the Lieutenant was motioning his body as an unregistered vampire was attacking him from behind. With no hesitation at all, he was able to take down his attacker. Cutting the vampire's head off with one single swing.
• Lord Ascelius was not as lucky, with four unregistered vampires attacking him. One of the unregistered vampires hissed at him calling him a race traitor. Each of the four unregistered vampires taking their turns attacking Lord Ascelius.
• Eveninging the odds, the Lieutenant went to Lord Ascelius' aid. With the scrap under their feet, it did prove to be difficult, the Lieutenant gathered his footing and was able to use his training to take down one of the attacking vampires. With only three vampires bombarding Lord Ascelius, he was capable of killing one of them. Even with Lord Ascelius' injuries, he continued to fight with the Lieutenant’s support.
• With all of the activity, the Lieutenant lost his balance with the rubble under his foot, falling to his back. Not missing the opportunity, the unregistered vampire pounced on him. With his hands around his attacker's neck, Lieutenant Ardan had to use his strength to keep the unregistered vampire's teeth from piercing his skin. After ripping the head off of Lord Ascelius' opponent, he directed his attention to the young man who was struggling to stay alive. Pulling the unregistered vampire off, Lord Ascelius snapped its neck, followed by the lieutenant cutting its head off.
• Lord Ascelius placed out his hand, offering to help the young man up. “We need to get back to the castle and let Alpha Zevar know what we have found.” Lieutenant Ardan muttered out loud.
• “Lead the way!” Lord Ascelius did not argue with the young man. “I will be getting the Ancillae here once we get back!”
• Guiding Lord Ascelius back to the castle, “do you think my father would have been proud of me?”
• Lord Ascelius thought that this question was odd but answered it regardless. “You stood your ground, showing that you have some skills.”
• Lord Ascelius could hear the mixture of anger and depression in the young man's voice. “My father was one of Rimvan’s elites. Father was training me to be recruited into the ranks. Unfortunately I lost my parents in the battle of alpha’s. I want to follow in my fathers footsteps and become the elite that he was!” Lieutenant Ardan declared.
• Patting the man on the shoulder, “you are on the right path to becoming a great warrior.”