Chapter V: Regroup with the General

Geordan’s eyes widen as he saw his companion’s appearance under her helm, the captain is indeed a Shakirian, an Imperial native who dwells in the land south of the Empire, which has been colonized by the Empire long ago up until now. They’re common traits is that they have that tan skin, with a distinguished eye colors between ruby, dark brownish tint and a dark-yellowish glow. But in her case, she has that blue eye which can be the most common thing in the Empire and Skyreach.

“She’s a half-Imperial?” Geordan’s thought as he stares at the captain.

“What? Is there something on my face?” asked by Amaya as she looked back at him brows raised.

“U-Uh, no… Well, let us be o-off then, Captain,” nervously replied by Geordan as he turned his gaze back.

“No. I said you can just call me Amaya. I owe you that much since risked your life to aid me and help me realize this tragedy,” said by Amaya with a very serious and chivalrous expression.

“I-I… Umm… Alright? I guess…” an unsured reply by Geordan. Amaya then wipe and sheathed her sword and gestures Geordan to examine the area and surroundings.

“We are at the upper quarters of the staff, let’s see if there’s still someone here before proceeding,” said by Amaya as opened the door beside her. They scoured every rooms in that corridor but unfortunately, they all just saw the mess caused by the creatures’ presence and some unlucky soldier and civilians who has been mangled, missing with limbs like their arms, legs and some even rip to shreds in half.

“This is a bloodbath…” said by Geordan as he looked at Amaya.

“Are you alright, cap-- I mean Amaya?” said by Geordan as he remembered to address her that way.

“No… Not until we discover how in the world this happen. During our patrols in the last few days, we never saw any presence or signs of this creatures. More likely we really never expected them knowing that this place is very impregnable enough…. We lacked the vigilance for this to happen…” explained by Amaya with anger and sadness. As they were about to proceed, they heard some movement just outside the room they are in.

“That noise… death hounds!” said by Amaya. There were three of them and as they saw the two of them, the leading hound howls as it charges through followed by the two hounds.

“Awoooohh!” as they howl, charging to the one nearest which is Geordan. The leading death hound lunges to him with its very sharp and demonic-looking fangs.

“CRAAASSHHH!” as Geordan manage block its attack and launching it back to its group but the other manage to run past.

“They’re fast!” as Geordan backs away.

“SCRRUUNNCHH!” even though Geordan managed to avoid the first hound, the one following it managed swipe it’s claws to Geordan’s right leg.

“Dang it! There’s another one!” as he yells. Amaya then swiftly slice through the hound that attacked Geordan and it stumble with a wound to its face.

“SWIINNGG!” Amaya finishes it off stabbing it by the gut and pressed it to make sure the deed is done.

“SPLAATT!” as the gore flushes to the dead hound. The other prepares to attack again but now to Amaya, as they gallop. Amaya managed to back away immediately by side stepping the first hound that came to her and charges to the other one who is also at full-speed to her.

“Hyaaaaahh!” as Amaya charges through and manage to do a first strike to the hound charging to her.

“SWIIING!” as her sword strikes through the hound’s sides, while Geordan dispatches the first hound that Amaya avoided and then,

“SLAAASH!” its head splits from its body.

“Haaa… Glad that’s over,” sighed by Geordan as he still feels the sting on his leg.

“We must hurry, more of them will come and will overrun us!” said by Amaya as she leads Geordan out the room and head to the stairs at the opposite end of the corridor.

“There, looks like there is a fighting going downstairs,” Amaya points to the stairs.

“I hope it’s one of the soldiers.” she said as she hopes there are some of the Imperial soldier survived.

Amaya hurriedly descend the stairs while Geordan followed her to support her rear. As they descend to the ground level which seems to be the west prison block were prisoners are being kept. Most of the prison cell are empty or filled with prisoners who were devoured and killed by the creatures.

“By the Gods! Are we too late?” said by Amaya as she saw the surrounding.

“No, look beyond there, a group of Imperials are being attacked!” said by Geordan as point out the fight beyond cell block further. Flesh-skeletons! An undead that reanimated from a fallen creature, and right now some of them looked the prisoners who dwells in this prison block.

“Reanimated corpses! Which means…” paused by Geordan as he looked back to Amaya.

“This is a work of a forbidden art… It must have been one of those vampires!” said by Amaya as she tries to regroup with her men.

“A-Amaya, wait! Bah! Here she goes again.” sighed by Geordan as he followed Amaya. The group of Imperial soldiers are consisting of three people, one of them which very familiar.

“Ser Havard!” called by Amaya to the soldier who is fighting-off the undead.

“Captain! Thank the Gods you are still alive!” relieved by the soldier who is Ser Havard. “Lieutenant, watch out!” yelled by the other soldier who shielded Ser Havard from the corpses’ gnaw!

“Accckkk!” cried out by the soldier as his sword-arm got chewed on by the attacking undead. The flesh-corpses’ teeth sink deeply to the poor man’s arm and as he is unable to struggle free from it.

“Gaaaaghhh! Help me!” as he shouts to his comrades but unfortunately the other flesh-skeletons and undead prisoners swarmed him rendering him to his death.

“N-No, By the Gods! We have to help him!” said by Ser Harvard as he saw one of his got devoured by the mob of undead.

“It’s too late, Ser Havard, we need to go now and regroup with the General!” said by Amaya as she approaches Ser Havard. Due to most of the undead being occupied by the poor soldier’s demise, they’ve got a room to advance and struggle past the few undead that remains.

“Move, move!” call out by Geordan to the people on front of him, he stayed at the rear to prevent the few undead stragglers in pursuing them. As the group flees towards the direction of where the great hall is,

“Ser Geordan, are you well behind there?” said by Amaya to see if his new found comrade is still with them.

“Yes, Captain, you don’t need to worry. I’ll keep watch on the back,” he replied with a slight reassuring smile to the captain.

“Well now, it seems that you have been fond with our friend here, eh, Captain?” banter by Ser Havard to the captain.

“W-Well, I owe him my life, Lieutenant. He proves to be a very invaluable companion to me so far, that is all and no more.” she reasons as she looked forward avoiding more embarrassment.

“Haha… Yeah, you give me too much credit, Captain.” said by Geordan in his mind. As they move out and proceeds to the great hall, along the way they were able to fend-off some flesh-skeletons and undead prisoners, luckily it was not as many as earlier.

“We are almost at the great hall. Be prepared everyone,” said by Ser Havard as he leads the group forward.

“Fortunately, we haven’t managed to encounter some of the vampires who raised those other undead creatures, but judging the situation they must be doing the conjuration here… Be on your guard.”

As they approach the brass double-door to the great hall, they all suddenly felt a very ominous and wicked presence, making tremble in fear and unable to proceed.

“W-W-What manner of evil… I-Is this?!” shaking voice of Ser Havard as he tries to open the brass door.

“This presence… the sense of danger and terror that I have never felt before, this can only mean?” in Geordan’s thoughts as he realized the danger, they are in.

“Behind us!” screamed by Geordan to snap the senses back to the group. When they turned back at Geordan, they saw him as he unsheathes his sword against the being who is most likely the source of the dreaded feeling they felt earlier.

“A vampire!” screamed by the soldier with them. The creature who appeared before them is indeed a vampire, it has a pale-white of a skin, its fangs shows as he grins at them. It also dons a unique yet eerie clothing, a dark coat-like vestment with a dark plating. The vampire appears to be an elf, male one, he still retains the handsome, yet cruel-looking face. His eyes are dark as the night with a crimson-red cornea.

“Hehehe… It seems we have another batch of fools who will soon be added to our undead horde!” laughed by the vampire as the dark forces around him gathers as he is about to do some sinister magic.

“Noctis Suffocant!” as the vampire grasp his hand that is covered with a dark glow of energy. The soldier suddenly struggles breathing as he was like choked by an invisible grip.

“Ack! W-What… Urk…! Help… me!” as the soldier got pulled from his position to the vampire.

He got caught on the vampire’s spell, as he flew off directly to its grasp. The vampire then holds the soldier by the neck with his bare hands, his long nails sink in to the neck of the soldier making him bleed to death.

“I offer your blood to the bloody moon with me as the vessel!” said the vampire as he bites the soldier’s neck, draining him lifeless. It happened so fast as they are in shock on what they have witnessed. Ser Hadvar trembles as he saw one of his men killed again by the hands of these creatures of the darkness, while Captain Amaya gripped her sword and prepared herself to a hopeless struggle against the creature, and all of a sudden, Geordan charges straight to the vampire with his shield raised.

“Go! I will cover your escape!” as he fearlessly braced himself for a duel with the vampire.

“Kyahaha! Reckless fool!” said by the vampire as he stands ready for Geordan’s assault.

“Y-You fool! Get out of there now!” shouted by Amaya as she plans follow Geordan but was halted by Ser Havar.

“No! Berin, he’s right. We have to go now…” explained by Ser Havar as he dragged the captain into great hall.

“Nooooo!”, Amaya cried as the double-door closes leaving Geordan behind.

“Here goes nothing!” Geordan thought as he dashed in with a swift thrust aiming the vampire’s body.

“Useless!” the vampire maneuvering sideways evading Geordan’s attack.

Geordan follows-up with a tackle using his shield, “THUUUD!” as the vampire was knockback a bit.

“What a pitiful struggle!” he declares as he punched Geordan through his raised shield. Geordan rails back as he stumbles from the vampire’s fist.

“These vampires really do possess superhuman-strength!” he realizes as he was staggered from the vampire’s heavy blow.

“I need to be cautious; I can’t fight this creature with brute force alone.”

“Hehehe… What now? Is that all you can do, worm?” smirked by the vampire as he provokes Geordan.

“Well then, I guess I have to show how an Imperial knight do serious combat!” said by Geordan, he readies himself in a battle stance, the Imperial-style sword and shield training, where he bends down and raised his shield covering his front with his sword at his right-hand forming an arc as he is preparing for an upward-arc slash.

“Ho? You still planning to fight me head-on? Then come meet your doom!” said by the vampire as his left-hand glows with dark energy, he’s preparing another dark magic to attack Geordan. As they engage each other, Geordan charges in at full-speed towards the vampire who fires a bolt of darkness at Geordan but he managed to block it since his charging while his shield is raised. The vampire kept firing dark bolts at him, he managed block all of them but some of them grazed him by his hair and exposed arms and legs until finally he’s within range for an attack.

“Grrr! You won’t be able to overpower me!” the vampire said as he charges his hands with dark pulse of energy.

“You’re dead!” as he unleashes a burst of dark beam at Geordan but in his surprise, Geordan’s attempt for a slash was only a feint for his real intention was to deflect the incoming attack.

“BOOOOM!” as Geordan manages to deflect the hands of the vampire before it could release its magic attack at him.

“W-Why you!” curses by the vampire as his spell was fired above them blasting the ceiling. As the vampire looked back to Geordan, all of a sudden, Geordan stab his neck. The sword sinks deep as it pierced through at the back of his throat, blood gushes out as Geordan pulls back. The vampire now on its knees, can’t speak as he coughs blood that spurts out directly from his neck. Geordan runs back as he avoids the debris that fell down from the ceiling because of the vampire’s magical bolt that struck it.

“Hah… Good riddance to you,” said by Geordan as he glanced back to the pile of debris that fell on the defeated vampire. After that, he rushes back to the great hall in hopes of reuniting with the Imperial forces, but as he opens the double-door, another predicament appeared. The remaining Imperial soldiers and knights are engaged with a group of five vampires and their pack of death hounds and gargoyles flying about, blocking the way to the entrance of Skyhold.

“It’s all-out war here…” said by Geordan as he surveys the great hall. He searches for Amaya and Ser Havard; they are with the general by the guillotine as they fortify there position as if their making a last stand. As Geordan approaches them, he saw a lone gargoyle at their rear over their heads. He rushes to them as the gargoyle prepares to strike them unaware.

“Amaya, look out!” shouted by Geordan as he jumps and sinks his sword on the gargoyle’s back.

“Scraaaagghhh!” cried by the gargoyle as it was the one who was caught off-guard instead. Geordan pressed his sword deep into the gargoyle’s back and was able cut one of its muscular wings. He held his sword with his two hands and cleave the beast by its back up to its shoulder. “SLAAASSHH!” the creature was cut in half.

“Hah… Ugh… Are you people alright?” as he sways his sword to remove the gargoyle’s gore.

“By the Gods, you’re alive!” said by Ser Havard as he was relieved to see Geordan.

“Thank the Gods above and below! You were able to get away with the other vampire?” asked by Captain Amaya as she taps Geordan’s shoulder.

“I just got lucky, but setting that aside, what’s the situation here?” said by Geordan as he catches his breath.

“Well, as you can see, the opposition has the main entrance blocked. Fortunately, we managed to evacuate some unarmed people and the wounded but we can’t do anymore because the route to the servant’s entrance have been overrun by the undead and flesh-skeletons. We just hope that the last group who evacuated managed to escape successfully, we were completely cut-off from them and the only plan we have right now is to force our way out by the main gate,” as explained by Ser Havard.

“I see… We need to move then; we don’t have much time,” said by Geordan.

“Hmph… So, you’re the prisoner that I’ve been hearing about from these two,” said by the man who is behind Ser Havard.

“I am General Gladios Tullium the commanding officer of the Imperial army here. A pleasure to meet you and you have my gratitude in aiding my men,” said none other by the general himself to Geordan.