Breaking Providence (Original Fantasy)

Coming down the stairs, Marcus stretches his arms over his head, groaning as he clasps his hands together and stretches. He’s not quite sore… but he feels like he should be. They’ve been going at it for days now. Sometimes with Beth, sometimes not… but it’s been nice, truth be told. To just take a load off. Relax. And fuck their cares away.
 
Except, Marcus still wants that damn meeting with the Baroness. It’s ever-present in the back of his mind. He needs to talk to her, to find out what she might know about his circumstances. One way or another, he’s intending to get an audience with Camilla. And truth be told, he’s reaching the limits of his patience, even with Erised, Angelina, Roka-Ra, and Beth all doing their level best to distract him.
 
Having left the first three up in his room to sleep off the morning’s festivities, Marcus arrives downstairs still feeling quite… energized. Beth is behind the bar of course, serving her customers. The patrons are as dour and quiet as ever. The Barony of Thornswood’s citizenry are… certainly a unique bunch, but they aren’t bad sorts. Once again, Marcus has been taught not to judge a book by its cover. The men and women that live in the shadow of Baroness Bloodstone’s Castle are good people.
 
Moving to the bar, Marcus smiles as Beth almost immediately puts a drink in front of him, eyeing him with a knowing, amused look.
 
“Sleep well?”
 
Grinning, Marcus shrugs his shoulders.
 
“Like a babe. You?”
 
Beth just giggles and nods her head. It’s a polite fiction, to be fair. Seeing as they’d shared a bed with one another the night before. Beth had merely departed early in the morning, while Marcus and the others were just getting started on some morning fun. Of course, from the look that the brunette was giving him, Marcus thought he might be invited into the back for some one-on-one fun in just a second…
 
However, before that can happen, before Marcus can so much as take another sip of his drink, a hand falls on the half-orc’s shoulder, drawing his attention away.
 
“Ho there, friend!”
 
Blinking, Marcus turns and finds himself looking at a man he’s never met before. His first instinct is one of panic. Was this man from the Church? Except… Marcus has to admit, the guy has something of a foreign quality to him. Perhaps it’s the thick accent, but Marcus doesn’t think Empire Common is the man’s first language.
 
Glancing at the hand on his shoulder, Marcus frowns, not wanting to be too adversarial… but at the same time, not sure what to make of this guy in the slightest.
 
“Hey. What can I do for you?”
 
Maybe he’s a messenger from the Baroness?
 
“Ah! It is not only what you can do for me, but what we can do for EACH OTHER, friend! You are the Destined Hero, yes? Savior of the Holy Empire!”
 
For a moment, he considers denying it. But what would be the point, other than to piss the strange man off? Better to just be honest, Marcus supposed.
 
“… Yeah, that’s me. What about it?”
 
He’s tense now, still not sure whether this guy is here to pick a fight with him, or sent to pick him up to meet with the Baroness, or something else. Still, he wasn’t going to find out by flying off the handle. And so Marcus waits, anticipating answers one way or another. To his credit though, the stranger doesn’t attack upon confirmation at least. Instead, he flashes Marcus a pleased grin.
 
“Wonderful! When I heard you were in town, I didn’t dare to hope the rumors were true but… ah, this is good. This is very good.”
 
Glancing around, the man leans in closer.
 
“Hero… you are here for the same reason as we, yes? The Vampire?”
 
Wait, what? Marcus opens his mouth… and then closes it again. What the hell was a Vampire? At the same time though… he didn’t necessarily want to broadcast his ignorance.
 
“… Might be.”
 
Unfortunately, it seems that his skill at deception is still abysmally low. He might be one of the strongest people in the entire Holy Empire, but he’s… well, he’s about as sneaky and subtle as a hammer, isn’t he? The strange man lifts an eyebrow and Marcus sighs, shaking his head.
 
“What’s a Vampire?”
 
Surprise flits across the stranger’s face, but clears up with rapid swiftness.
 
“Ah… odd, but I begin to understand. You are likely here hunting the creature without knowing what it truly is. That is… laudable, albeit also unthinkingly foolish.”
 
Marcus flushes, not really understanding. Luckily for him, his new ‘friend’ is eager to explain.
 
“Me and my cohort hail from far to the East of here, young Hero. From outside of the Holy Empire’s borders. We are Vampire Hunters, you see. It is our sworn duty to destroy Vampires, wherever we find them.”
 
Marcus’ eyes widen in surprise at that. He didn’t know the Holy Empire allowed foreigners to enter its borders. Though admittedly, there wasn’t much likelihood of it happening. To the south and west were the wildlands, filled with orcs and other Dark Races that the Holy Empire had displaced more and more over the years. Whatever lay past them… Marcus couldn’t say.
 
Meanwhile, to the North were the snowy hills and then the mountains. He didn’t know what lay past them either. And to the East? To the Holy Empire’s East lay a vast desert. Marcus was vaguely aware that there were other realms and kingdoms across said desert, but from what he knew as an orphan growing up in the Capital, travelers from the other side of the desert were few and far in between. Not least of which because the Holy Empire discouraged granting anyone access for whatever reason.
 
“I can see your surprise. But seeing as you do not know what a Vampire is, I imagine that surprise is more because of my origins than my profession. Yes, I come from outside of your Empire. Across the sands. As for how me and mine arrived in this place… we followed the Vampire back here. Luckily, she did not cover her tracks well. Even luckier, her actions in cutting off her lands from the rest of your Empire have made her border with the desert more… permeable.”
 
… Well shit. Marcus’ jaw clenches and this time he’s the one who looks around for a moment. At seeing he was busy talking with this stranger, Beth had moved on and was helping other patrons. No one else was paying them much mind either, or so it seemed. Even still…
 
“You’re saying the Baroness is a… Vampire? What even is that?”
 
The other man nods, smiling wider now.
 
“Yes. A Vampire, young Hero, is a monster plain and simple. They are immortal creatures of the night who live on the blood of the living. They survive by enslaving a local populace and turning them into their herd, their thralls. This one… has gathered a larger herd than we are used to. Usually it is one single town… but to have control of an entire region as this one does… hm, though I suppose it makes sense. Your Church of the Most Holy Light has not taught the dangers of vampires?”
 
Marcus just shakes his head, having never heard the word before today. Was Camilla actually a Vampire? An immortal bloodsucker, if this man was to be believed? Or was he simply barking up the wrong tree?
 
“… They were more interested in warning us against demons than anything else…”
 
The words come out in a mutter without Marcus really thinking about them. Meanwhile, the man’s eyes widen at that, and he rears back for a second, blinking in surprise.
 
“Demons? I do not understand. Warn you about what?”
 
Looking at the foreign man, Marcus thinks back to everything he was told about demons growing up. Then, he thinks to his own personal interactions with demons since his Awakening. In the end… he’s forced to acknowledge that Erised and Sepia, for all their flaws, were not monsters or inherently evil. They were just normal people who made mistakes from time to time, same as everyone else.
 
With a loud sigh, Marcus smiles a rueful smile.
 
“Honestly? Couldn’t tell you, really. But… what about this Vampire then? If the Baroness is a Vampire… you’re here to kill her?”
 
The Vampire Hunter’s face becomes deadly serious as he nods.
 
“Aye, that is the plan Hero. Suffer not the Vampire to live. They are monsters one and all, and if they were allowed to propagate and multiply, they would one day blanket this world in darkness, and turn us all into their chattel.”
 
That sounded bad. No, more than bad… that sounded like something Marcus had to stop. And worst of all, he didn’t THINK that the other man was lying either. Maybe just… misinformed? Light, Marcus hoped he was misinformed. It definitely sounded like he believed what he was saying though, which put the Dark General Camilla in a new, even more sinister light than before. What was it Sepia had said? Tread lightly, because Camilla apparently wasn’t as sane as Sepia was.
 
… Yeah. This was-
 
“It’s a shame, really. All of these people…”
 
Blinking, Marcus looks over to see the Vampire Hunter looking around somewhat wistfully. Suddenly feeling far less befuddled and as though his focus is sharpening to a point, Marcus leans in.
 
“What do you mean?”
 
Looking back to him, the foreign man shakes his head.
 
“It is as I told you, young Hero. They are the Vampire’s herd… her thralls, one and all. After we’ve staked the Baroness, every person within her lands will need to be put to the sword. It is fortunate in a way that wherever a Vampire goes, they make it very clear what is and is not their territory.”
 
Marcus’ jaw clenches, his eyes narrowing.
 
“What are you saying?”
 
“Suffer not the Vampire to live. This is our chief vow. Suffer not the Vampire to spread, this is our second commitment. We cannot say which of these poor people she’s fed upon, Hero. And any who she’s fed upon, if they die within a month of her feeding, will rise again as a Vampire Fledgling themselves. It is not enough to kill the Vampire. We must cleanse this place of her presence as well.”
 
His eyes widen at that revelation. Camilla was one thing. He was already torn about her, because on the one hand, he needed the information she had. But on the other hand, if the man was right and she was a monster, Marcus would likely help to put her down. But killing everyone she MIGHT have come into contact with because they MIGHT turn into vampires?!
 
“Can’t you just wait the month?! So long as no one dies, isn’t it fine?!”
 
Looking at him almost like one would look at an ignorant child, the Vampire Hunter shakes his head.
 
“Once we kill the Baroness, my comrades and I will have neither the time nor the inclination to stay here for a month. Not only will your Empire begin moving in again and likely find fault with us for being foreigners meddling in their Nobility’s affairs, but our work is never done. We have already spent the last three months infiltrating this region and preparing for the final phase. Once you and I have killed the Baroness, my fellow hunters are positioned in each of this region’s seven villages. I shall send them a signal, and they will begin the cleansing. It shall be done within three days, after which we will depart.”
 
Marcus opens his mouth, mind racing and heart pounding in his chest. He can’t… he doesn’t… all those people. But what does he do? How does he stop a massacre from happening when he’s only one man and can only be in one place at a time? What does he say in this moment, to convince this Vampire Hunter that he’s both on his side… and that he needs to stand down and NOT immediately kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent peasants?
 
In the end, Marcus never quite figures out what he’s going to say. He doesn’t get the chance. Before he can formulate a response, the doors suddenly open, and a knight in full black armor steps into the tavern.
 
“Marcus the Destined Hero. The Baroness has received your message and will see you now.”
 
The voice that emits from the visor of the knight is unearthly and inhuman, causing Marcus to swallow hard, even as the Vampire Hunter at his side freezes up… and then curses under his breath. Marcus looks over just in time to see the other man pull a crossbow out of his coat and fire it point blank into Marcus’ chest. Armorless, the half-orc looks down to see the wicked-looking bolt bury itself six inches deep into his green flesh, piercing his heart directly.
 
That shouldn’t have been possible. Even without his armor, Marcus was tough. Very tough. But the bolt is an unfeeling object and doesn’t care. Immediately, Marcus activates Dark Power. Immediately, he feels a surge of strength overtake the sudden weakness in his extremities. It’s not an actual fix though. He’s still bleeding internally and externally. His heart is still pumping blood out at a prodigious rate.
 
That said, it’s enough for Marcus to reach out and grab the Vampire Hunter’s wrist, the other man’s eyes widening in surprise as he tries to aim the crossbow at the next nearest ‘threat’… Beth.
 
C-CRUNCH!
 
A cry of pain rips free of the foreign man’s lips as Marcus breaks his wrist right then and there, saving the brunette innkeeper. Then, he rips the Vampire Hunter off of his barstool, stumbling free himself as well into the middle of the tavern.
 
“D-Damn it all. Should never have involved a fucking local. Should have known better, should have known the Vampire would have her claws in you already.”
 
Hah. Marcus goes to speak, but all that pours out of his mouth is blood. Talking is out of the question, at the moment. Still, fighting apparently isn’t. With Dark Power coursing through his veins, he punches the man in the chest, sending him skidding back. Blow like that? It should have sent him flying. But either Marcus is getting weaker fast, or the man’s leather coat is armored. Either way, the Vampire Hunter reaches down to his belt with his good hand and Marcus realizes he probably shouldn’t have put distance between them.
 
Too late to cry about it now though. With a grunt, more blood pouring from his mouth, Marcus prepares for a desperate charge forward… only for the armored knightly figure that had started all of this to suddenly appear at the Vampire Hunter’s side.
 
To his credit, the man doesn’t fail to pull free the thing from his belt. He lifts up some strange stone, and it glows brightly with daylight. After so long with only artificial lighting like torches, Marcus is momentary blinded.
 
“Take that, Vampire! Take-urk!”
 
However… the armored figure is not. When Marcus’ vision clears again, the Baroness’ man has cut the Vampire Hunter’s head free from his shoulders. The sight fills Marcus with a sense of grim satisfaction… even as his legs give out under him and he drops to his knees.
 
“Marcus!”
 
Beth’s voice reaches his ears, sounding like she’s so very far away. And yet… he’s pretty sure her hands grab him before he can fall, holding him upright. It’s hard… but he forces the words out through the blood, even though he knows he shouldn’t be speaking.
 
“O-Others… tell… him… others. Planning to slaughter… the towns.”
 
“Marcus! Marcus, stay awake!”
 
But his vision is already going dark. The last thing Marcus hears as the blackness takes him, is clomping steps, the Baroness’ man likely approaching. And then. Nothing.

-x-X-x-

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