"It never happens in East Port, my good Cleric," Princess Cauladra corrected The Bronze Man, "While our corner of The Realm is relatively active due our status as a port and trading center, we are also relatively quiet. Neither pirates nor privateers attack us, storms are infrequent and dangers are far and few in between. From whence the vampires came I do not know. But it will be good to put our backs to them once and for all."
"Then East Port is a rare place to grow and learn without having to worry of troubles. Asylum isn't much different in that regard," The bronze man replied.
"Asylum?" The princess raised an eyebrow, "I have heard tales of this land but I have never visited it. Tell me, Grand Cleric, is it true what they say of your land? That you serve as the sole Guardian of Asylum? That Asylum is a refuge for all regardless of their alignment? That The Lord of The North Wind himself walks its streets by day? And that his father, Io, walks its streets by night?"
"Mmmhm. Asylum can only be found by those who wish to start over in life. As for the Lord of the North Wind, he does wander Asylum and Alyson quite frequently saw him as a child. Io, has too many duties to bother with Asylum since his domain is the Realm entire and beyond." Lazheros pulled out his holy symbol of Bahamut and began to mutter in draconic.
Spirit guardians appeared and surrounded Princess Cauladra. They looked like miniature dragons, all seven of them.
The Elven Princess stared at the spirit guardians before she reached her hand out to touch one of them. "Are these fairy dragons which you have summoned, Grand Cleric?"
"They are Spirit Guardians that represent an aspect of the platinum dragon. It is what I chose for them to look like. Any vampire that comes near you, they will defend and attack." He told her.
"Thank you, Grand Cleric," Princess Cauladra seemed a little concerned, "But do these guardians which you have summoned to my aid mean that you plan to abandon me?"
*****
"Oh boy, lady. Thanks." Quake said sheepishly, "Right, we've got some vamp hunting to do."
The alchemist put on his goggles and surveyed the cavern, "This place has been here a long time. I see no evidence of vamps here but that doesn't mean they haven't passed through."
The rest of the gnomes fanned out by twos using hand signals when each area was clear. They set a series of flash bombs designed to go off in the presence of undead just in case.
A screech from a swarm of bats came blasting out the darkness of the cavern followed by a half dozen vampires. Sir Gonagle and his kin took up defensive positions armed with crossbows, while Quake readied her net gun and fired it over the opening.
Curses and screeches came from the vamps caught in the net. They were almost free of it until the gnomes unloaded their weapons on them.
******
The platinum knight held up his hand suddenly and motioned two of the slayers to scout out a potential sighting. Suddenly a handful of vamps came out fangs and claws swinging. Madeous brought his greats word up and in one fluid motion smited the closest vamp leaving only ash behind. The other two vampires closed in on the slayers and met the business end of multiple wooden stakes.
"Only three vampires." One of the slayers said.
"Usually there are more," Another added.
Just then one of the smaller homes exploded with vampires. At least a dozen more.
"You just had to open your big mouth didn't you!" A third slayer grumbled.
The platinum knight charged head on towards the vampires and took three down with a great cleave of his sword.
*****
"Prince Birch, where would you suggest that the hunters set up?" Maxim said quietly surveying the area.
"You can use the main courtyard as your staging area," Prince Birch replied, "Once you are setup, the Clerics and Paladins I have summoned should arrive. They can bless our weapons and then we can begin our hunt throughout the palace in earnest."
Maxim pointed out the areas around the main gates, and side passages for his men set up ambushes.
Finally the clerics and paladins came at the request of their prince. The clerics came and blessed the entire crew and set about laying down protection circles at the main gates of the courtyard and palace gates.
Irzen bore the suspicious eyes of both the Clerics and Paladins with grace as they blessed his weapons. After the Clerics and Paladins paired off, the Swordsman began to lead his team as they began to spread out in an effort to flush out the vampires and drive them into the ambush points.
Maxim took notice of the swordsman contempt towards the holy warriors and walked over, "Not a fan of the Ones up top? Neither am I, however, its better to believe in something than nothing at all."
"Maxim, methinks they are not a fan of me more than I am not a fan of them!" Irzen replied with an evil grin, "The breach between Surface Elves and Dark Elves has never been sealed. Their anointing me as a "temporary" holy warrior must chafe them quite a bit. Still, I agree with you. It is better to believe in something than nothing at all."
Maxim nodded, "That too. They weren't exactly thrilled to see a bunch of humans with our strange flying ship either."
The Swordsman drew forth Evenflow, "And it's good to have a friend to watch your back."
Irzen spied something in the gloom right behind Maxim, "Look out!" The Swordsman shoved Maxim aside just as a vampire stepped forward to try and bite him. The only thing the vampire received for its trouble was a vorpal sword that sliced its head from its shoulders.
The Swordsman stretched his hand out to Maxim, "Are you alright?"
******
"There's food and drink and I have a small library if you're interested in my cabin." Captain Lion walked the perimeter of his ship.
"A library?" Serna beamed from ear to ear, "Thank you, Captain Lion. I'm quite full from dinner but I would love to see your library. I love to read."
Captain Lion walked the shield maiden to the door of his cabin and opened it for her. To the left was the library or rather a series of shelves containing the history of where he came from, the crew and his journey's across the Fire Sea. He himself sat down in a plush chair next to a table keeping his attention to both her and the open door to the outside.
Serna took one of the books about the history of nineteenth century Earth and began to read it in earnest. After a few minutes, she looked up at Captain Lion and asked, "Where are the dragons and elves and dwarves on your world? There is mention of Humans aplenty but not one word about the others."
"Elves and dragons are little more than fairy tales of myth and legend on Earth. As for dwarves, well, my dear there are some humans born incapable of looking like normal people. It's called dwarfism, or little people as they like to be called." He stood up from his chair and reached up on the higher shelves. There he pulled a photo album down for her to look through.
"No Elves? No dragons? No REAL dwarves?" Serna shook her head in disbelief, "You must come from a very sad and boring world, Captain Lion. I can see why you came to The Realm. No doubt to spruce up your life. Hey! How did you come to The Realm anyway?"
"True magic is frowned upon and feared by many who don't want to understand it. My wife and I had become wary of our time on Earth since the days of the vampire slayer waned and the threat of a great world war was on the horizon. So, we took a leap of faith and hoped that Lady Luck would allow us to find safe haven elsewhere. On this ship's maiden voyage we sailed through the clouds and came out to a world with three moons and two suns. Although I am told there are four suns." He sat back down in his chair.
"AAAAWWWW!" Serna sadly shook her head, "That's a shame. I'm sorry that your world has no true magic. And I'm sorrier still that you and your wife felt compelled to flee your homeworld. But you are right about one thing. The Realm does have three moons and four suns. Back where I am from, in Deeping Dale, we see them all the time. Have you ever been to Deeping Dale? It's very nice. Also, how do you and your wife like Asylum? Was that the first place you found when you came to the Realm? Or did you wander anywhere else before that?"
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