The City of Barcola

["One of the first problems King Matthew I had to deal with while colonizing the region were the many followers of nature who lived in there. These powerful magical beings ruled and fought between each other for the control of the many forests, rivers and grasslands of Istria. Some of the peasants even started to worship said creatures, and some of these cults survived, hidden in Istrian society. I

t took three generations of nobles for the knights of Istria to properly conquer the territory. That´s why the coat of arms of many noble houses of Istria depict their founder defeating one of these beings." Early Chronicles of the Kingdoms of the North]

["For the Rite of Light, the followers of nature are beings created by the Supreme Light, God, as a result of the creation of plants, animals and landscapes. In the beginning of time, they rebelled against God since to mankind was given the right to rule the Earth." Royal Encyclopedia]

After arriving near the city, we quickly found your merchant wagon.

I was already wearing a shirt, just to be clear. Me and Baldwin managed to get into the city and reach the wagons quite easily, without been seen for the most part.

We proceed to explain what had happened to Jack, Baldwin´s Father.

-"What a irresponsible thing to do!" Said Baldwin´s mother, Vittoria. "Do you know how much I worried!"

She was filled with tears, thinking that her son was dead.

-"Sorry, mom."

-"Sorry, lady Vittoria."

We both were submitted to a scolding.

-"You could be dead in the middle of the forest, given to the animals to eat, and wouldn´t see your face ever again! How could I live with such a pain in my heart, as to not even be allowed to bury my son!"

-"I´m surprised that you two managed to survive. Say, did you make a difference in the fight against the assassins, or did Reynauld do all the job?" Said Jack.

-"I-I fought one of them, with all my might and bravery, but Reynauld did give the final hit!" Replied Baldwin.

-"So, Reynauld did the job."

-"No sir, Baldwin did put on a fight against the assassin that got him. It was simply that the one who fought me first was weaker, so I managed to defeat her and help Baldwin in his fight."

-"Heh, like I would believe that. The assassins were aiming for royal envoys, not a bunch of snails. I know Baldwin better than you Reynauld, I know what he is capable of." He got a serious expression on his face. "Now leave, I wanna talk to him in particular."

Since the caravan already reached the city, almost all of the merchants left the wagons. Almost everyone, except Caroline.

I went to the second wagon, so as to get my backpack, and was greeted by her.

-"Hello, Reynauld." She entered the wagon. "Could you talk with me for a minute?"

-"Sure. What do you want?"

-"Well, first of all, everything that you two did."

I told her everything that happened.

-"So, what do you plan on doing right now?"

-"Well, the master probably won´t accept me here anymore. I didn´t complete my task, that is, to stay near the wagons and protect the merchants. Instead, I went with his son on a crazy mission."

-"Do you know what happened after you two left the wagons?"

-"No."

-"We were ambushed by the assassins. They killed some of the guards and took the thief with them. He is probably dead right now."

-"!"

So, we failed? The royal envoys didn´t reach the Duke, well besides that mage we fought on the river. They must be searching for her in the moment.

-"However, the plan of the assassins were to kill us all. The didn´t, because 'someone' attacked them from behind. And, as I thought, the attackers were you two."

-"Huh."

-"I´m thankful for your deed. You two saved us from death."

-"Baldwin had the idea. He deserves your gratitude more than me."

-"Since Jack had to pay the merchants for not protecting them, he must have nothing to give in reward."

-"I disobeyed the orders, I´m not eligible to be rewarded for anything."

-"By Jack, but by me is another thing. Were do you plan to sleep after leaving?"

-"I don´t know, some random tavern out there?"

-"Do you have any money?"

-"I think I have some coins." That Alexander had put on my backpack.

-"Well, I know a inn in this city which offers some discounts for the merchants of my family. I could get you a discount there."

-"That would be most helpful."

-"It´s set then."

I pick my backpack and went with Caroline to the Inn that she recommended.

The City of Barcola was like a medieval city. Most of the building were made of wood, but the ones that seemed from the government were made of stone. The city walls were really high, and extended for a great distance. Despite covering a great area, most of the houses and shops had multiple floors, and some different families or shops seemed to share the same building.

The main streets were large and connected the main gates with the residence of the Duke, a mighty castle in the middle of the city. The further you walked from the main streets, the more narrow the streets were.

This design though would probably make it easier for bandits and the like to do mischievous deeds in the city.

The Inn was a tall building which seemed to have foundations in stone and the upper floors made of brick. We entered it, and were greeted by a warm and mostly empty room, filled only with a table and some chairs for the customers to talk with the attendant.

Caroline went to the old man near the table and managed to get a room for me.

In my backpack, I had a total of 50 copper coins. The rent was 15 copper coins for each night. I think I need to get more soon.

The old man guided me to my room, on the third floor. I paid him, and he gave me the keys.

-"I will go my way then. I will probably stay in the city for a while, so if you ever need me, you can search for me in the market or in my room, number 2 on the second floor."

-"Thank you for everything."

-"It was nothing."

She went away, and I entered the room.

It had a bed, some wooden tables, chairs and a wardrobe.

I laid in the bed, looking to the city by the nearest window.

The sky was a mixture of gray and light blue.

It was already afternoon.

The post effects of the Blood Rage were gone.

My vampirism had reached 60%.

~*~

#Effects#

Insomnia 3

Hidden Fangs 3

Albino Skin 3

Clear Hearing 3

Enhanced Smell 1

Enhanced Vision 2

Night Vision 2

~*~

I could hear the neighbors talking. Something about the prices of fish or something.

Alongside these effects, I think vampirism was slowly changing my personality. I was feeling more bold… more courageous.

Now that I think of it, I was thinking about living the life of a guard as long as I could. It seems my sense of accommodation was taking place again. Good thing that this option is no more viable.

But… what I am going to do next?

Purpose. My vampiric powers are making me stronger. The words of the priest came into my mind again: "...you could be saving another life with that skill of yours...". The witch… she is probably in danger. Since she is the only one who survived, the assassins must be thinking that she killed their companions.

Although we managed to save the caravan, it seems we messed up her life instead.

Maybe I have the potential to defeat these assassins?

Thats it! I must help the witch to reach the Duke. This will be my purpose, for now. She is probably going to enter the city by the same gate that I and Baldwin sneaked through. And the assassins… might be coming from the way the caravan came? Or did they turned back to chase us? Maybe they are already in here in this city…

I don´t know, but for now on I must act as if they were already in here. It´s the most secure option.

>Change in Narrator<

The light of the torches didn´t helped the guards on the walls to notice us climbing it.

Untouched, unseen, our black robes moved like shadows between the different buildings of the city.

One group went for the castle.

Another for each gate.

The search group didn´t arrived yet, so these were the only areas we could cover for now.

The last option was to deal with them inside the city, and sadly that was the case. I had already prepared a headquarters for us, and some citizens were loyal to our cause in this mission. We had small, but effective web of informants roaming around the streets.

Only one, she, had managed to escape. What to expect? She was a student in the Royal Magic Academy of Istria. However, the corpses that we found were not defeated by magic. Worst of it, it was defeated by a vampire.

Is he an ally of the King? If so, what an evil ally to have. How many lives does the Royal Spies must sacrifice to quench the thirsty of such an animal?

At least, he is not a secret anymore, hiding behind the palace walls. It will be a good rumor to spread about, when this is finally done.

However, if he is a third party in this conflict… or even just a vampire running around the kingdom, it must be exterminated without delay. He must be waiting for the civil war to trigger, so he can increase his power or even take hold of the crown for himself!

I open the book and do a quick research.

["The many vampire organizations divide themselves in various manners, but for the vampire hunter, there are three types of vampires to look out:

The first, and weaker one, are the thralls. They were given the curse of blood from their superiors, and as such don´t have much power given to them. They usually are given to the animalistic thinking's of the curse, but retain their human intellect nonetheless. These are the ones who usually harass villages and cities, working for their masters in simple deeds.

The second are know as the night guards. They were given the curse of blood by an direct vampire. Like sons, they retain some of the powers, if not all of them, from their father, and assume high ranking positions in vampire organization. They are a though enemy to even the strongest of the vampire hunters.

The third ones are the vampires itself. A mortal cursed by some deity or by his malign deeds. The origins of them are still not really know. These are the founders of the vampiric bloodlines, and their curse differ from each other. That´s why, when fighting thralls, vampire hunters must always be prepared for every kind of ability he might have retained from his bloodline."

An Guide for the Vampire Hunters]

He probably defeated them in physical combat.

He must have some kind of superior strength or speed.

As such, I must prepare a special party to defeat him. A battle tested warrior or a powerful mage.

This thrall could be a fine target even for me.

>End of the Change<