Stathis raised a hand for silence, Hakara and Yeros immediately stopping. Semari squirmed up close, pushing up next to Stathis and peeking around the corner. Compared to the empty, barren hallways they’d been moving along, for what seemed like miles, this area was maintained. A bored-looking man in fancy clothing was clearly on guard, although not obviously armed.

Semari whispered at her. ‘He’s not breathing. Reckon he’s a vamp?’

Stathis checked the hilt of her sword – it was gleaming, a sparkling mote of sunlight in the low light. ‘I think so.’

‘Cool. Always wanted to try this.’

Before Stathis could stop her, Semari had stepped out around the corner, and was walking towards them, waving in greeting. ‘Hey, I’m looking for directions. There a way out anywhere nearby? Got, like, a little lost.’

They smiled, fangs gleaming. ‘Oh, I think you’re very lost.’ They stepped forward, mouth opening to bite as they tried to grab Semari, who dodged around, coming up behind them and grabbing their head, giving it a sharp twist. Their neck snapped, and they dropped to the floor.

She turned back to Stathis. ‘Huh, that was easy. I thought vampires were meant to be, like tough or something?’ He flapped and gargled, head slowly spinning back around as he stood up behind Semari. Without turning, she kicked backwards, slamming him into the wall before spinning, unleashing a series of punches, obliterating parts of his body into mush. As he started to regenerate, Stathis moved closer, drawing her blade, the edge now sparkling with sunlight, and stabbing him through the heart. His body started to disintegrate, turning to ash, as she cut again, blade slicing through his skin with ease.

‘Hey, that’s not fair! He just healed whatever I did to him, how come you can actually hurt them?’

‘Magical sword, remember? Although I’m impressed that you can even hurt them with your fists. Vampires are meant to be pretty tough.’

‘Didn’t seem that tough. Except for healing, I guess that was annoying. Wonder how often I’d have to bash him before he died. Um, again, I guess. Properly. You know what I mean.’

Yeros answered. ‘They can heal from virtually any attack, save those of divine empowerment. Or acid, although that takes a long time, or fire. Wood through the heart doesn’t seem to do much, but that may have been inaccurate archery, it didn’t seem the best time to experiment. I personally find fire is the easiest.’

Hakara knelt, scooping up some of the dust into a bag, arcane energy flickering over her skin in a protective aura. ‘They are charged with power from the negative energy plane, that allows them to withstand grievous wounds. But energy such as that of the sun, or from a holy blade, severs that connection, allowing them to be permanently slain. They are less persistent than some other forms of undead, but are less obviously rotted than some of their kin. And, of course, can spread their curse to others, although at cost to themselves.’

‘You are quite the scholar, Hakara. An impressive summary.’

‘Thank you, Master Yeros. Their dust can be used for a number of magical purposes.’

Stathis shrugged. ‘Hey, you don’t need to justify yourselves to us to collect dead monster bits. So, we’re going to kick this door in, there’s probably going to be vampires on the other side, got anything to help with that?’

‘I think the area may be too constrained for my ice storm. Although I can attempt to constrain them?’

‘Anything to stop them moving. Semari, I don’t think you can kill them, so just try and smash them down, and I’ll finish them off. Hakara, stay back, I don’t want you getting torn apart.’

‘Stathis and myself will lead the assault, and try to draw their attention.’ His own blade shone with a faint blue tinge, bearing some magic of its own. ‘Allow me to offer a quick blessing upon ourselves, to ward away harm from forces of darkness. If you would but close your eyes for a moment?’

He began to pray, an incredibly generic promise to bring harm to those that harmed others, interspersed with snatches of old languages to make it seem more impressive. As he did so, he gestured at Stathis. She whispered a prayer of her own, too quietly to be heard, a faint aura of power settling upon them. It wasn’t much, but it would help provide some resistance against the vampires.

‘Now that we are warded, shall we begin?’ He flicked his sword, leaving an afterimage trailing behind it. ‘Stathis, if you would do the honours?’

She moved to the door, took a deep breath, then slammed it open and charged through, Yeros close behind. The place on the other side was furnished like a gentleman’s club, with expensive rugs on the floor, well-stuffed coaches to lounge on, the scents of tobacco and wine in the air. A finely-dressed figure rose from one of the couchesas their face contorted into a hiss, shifting to reveal savage fangs. Stathis and Yeros both attacked, Stathis’ sword glowing with divine fire as she channelled her own power. As she sliced through fresh, the vampire’s flesh burst into flame. He screamed in pain before Semari jumped at them with a flying kick, knocking him to the ground and then pinning him down, pummelling his face with blows. It seemed almost a mercy to finish him, his body attempting to regenerate the damage but failing to keep up with Semari’s strikes.

But his scream hadn’t gone unnoticed, as several other vampires roused themselves from rest, still dressed for celebration. One of them still had dried blood on their face, eyes glowing hypnotically as they stared at Stathis. She felt a power trying to ensnare her will but easily brushed it aside and skewered them, flesh and muscle hissing into ash as she attacked.

‘Duck please!’

Stathis just about had time to react as Hakara shouted from behind her. She threw herself under a table as cold blasted out, everything suddenly coated in a surface of sparkling slick rime. Stathis stood up, being careful to keep her balance but taking another opportunistic stab. Then the vampire charged, claws raking, pain slicing along Stathis’ arm and chest. The wound was icy-cold as her lifeforce was drained away. Another saw Hakara as she ducked back around the door, growling and moving towards her.

Stathis tried to disengage as best she could, unable to deflect a fist in time, a hard blow striking her shoulder. She managed a glancing strike on the vampire targeting Hakara before Semari tackled them to the ground, swiftly twisting their limbs, wrenching limbs out of sockets as she grappled them, keeping them out of action for a moment. The pinned vampire slowly stood, strong and tough enough that even Semari’s attempts to break its limbs were unsuccessful, running backwards into a wall to try and knock her off.

There was a gurgle of pain from behind Stathis. She spun to see her original attacker lunge for her, the tip of a blade penetrating their chest as Yeros thrust at them. With a grimace, the vampire stepped forward, blade sliding back out of them, wound already healing. Two more vampires emerged from a side-room, blinking as though just having awoken, before joining the fray.

Stathis tried to fend the vampires off, her blade able to stop them healing. Despite their strength, they fought without much skill, unused to anyone fighting back, and especially unused to anyone that fought like Semari, a swift blur of fists and feet, knocking them over or smashing them back, keeping them off-balance and separated, even without being able to permanently harm them.

But they were tough, hard to pin down, and at least skilled enough to back off as their wounds healed, leaping over the furniture that Stathis and Yeros had to move around. Stathis and Yeros moved back-to-back, Stathis speaking.

‘Cover for me, I’m going to do something flashy.’

He held his blade high in a dramatic posture, running his hand along it while shouting something in a strange language. As he did that, Stathis cast a spell herself, thrusting her sword forward. Light started to fill the room; not the thin, pale glow of a witchlight, but that of sunlight, strong, bright, and cleansing. The nearest vampire started to hiss in pain, covering their eyes and giving Stathis a clear stab, skewering it through the heart. The others started to retreat, one too slow, Yeros and Semari working together to knock it over, Yeros stabbing and slicing it, before Stathis could approach and finish it.

By then, the others had retreated from the room. The ice was now melting, the slick, wet chill almost worse than solid ice, sticky and slippery.

‘Everyone OK? Hakara, did any of them get to you?’

‘No, Stathis. Thank you.’

‘Don’t worry about it. That blast of ice was great, don’t think they were expecting that.’ She approached the door they had fled through – on the other side was a massive air-shaft, a huge cylinder reaching up and down, and impossible to follow without using her wings.

Back in the main chamber, Semari had a handful of sloppy grey paste and was offering it to Hakara. ‘You want this? Big manky.’

‘I think I have enough for my needs. And that is rather… sticky-looking. I think it is rather easier to carry when dry.’

‘Fair enough.’ Semari balled up the vampire-paste and threw it at the wall. It splatted there, slowly winding its way down in a long, dirty smear. ‘Anything else here?’ Stathis’ conjuration of sunlight was still present, the ice melting like a sunny morning, soaking into the fine rugs.

Semari spoke. ‘I heard noises through there.’ She pointed at another door, still closed. ‘Want me to check it out? If I start yelling, you can come stab stuff?’

‘Sure, sounds like a plan. Yeros, Hakara, you ready?’

Yeros flicked his blade with a finger, making the steel ring. ‘Ever ready to protect the innocent and vanquish the forces of darkness!’

Semari ran at the door, kicking it open and charged through. Stathis caught a glimpse of a darkened bedchamber, dominated by a giant 4-poster bed, shapes just visible beneath the covers before the door swung shut with a crash.

Hakara gave it another push, holding it open for Stathis and Yeros to pass through. This had all the air of a classy boudoir, a closet full of fancy gentleman’s clothing, an open chest full of fancy jewellery. The bed was huge, large enough for four people to comfortably sleep in, with curtains to partition it off from the room. The sheets outlined a humanoid shape, black hair fanning out onto linen pillows. Everyone else moved into position as Semari gripped the sheet, then yanked it back.

A young woman was revealed, pale white flesh on display, her neck marked by barely-scabbed over wounds. A cuff around her ankle was connected by a heavy chain to the bedpost, as her eyes fluttered, slowly awakening. She squeaked when she saw them, snatching at the bedsheets to pull them back up to cover herself. Her long, black hair shook, as she looked at them in shock.

‘Thank the heavens! I thought I was going to be devoured here, prey for those monstrous creatures.’ She reached up and grabbed Semari in a sudden hug, dragging her in, holding her close.

Stathis approached. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine now, we’ll get you out of here. Are you injured?’

‘I can walk, if someone were to sever this.’ She shook her leg, rattling the chain. Stathis patted her on the shoulder, trying to calm her – her skin felt chilled, likely from shock and blood-loss.

It took all of them working together, with blade and spell, to cut through the thick wooden bedpost and lift the other end of the chain off. As they did so, the woman introduced herself. Her name was Aimodia, and she had been dragged down here by the vampires as prey, although they hadn’t yet done more than lightly bite her and claw her throat. She had come here on a pilgrimage, but then she had been kidnapped. She didn’t know how long ago, or where this place was.

Fortunately, amongst the suits and frock coats were a few dresses and cloaks. Aimodia was able to dress herself, although the chain clanked with every step, requiring winding around her arm to carry. Semari was eying up the jewellery, poking through it and setting aside the biggest pieces – it looked a decent haul, if they could find a buyer. As they continued to strip the place, Yeros comforted Aimodia. Without travelling packs, they were limited in how much they could carry, but the jewellery was mostly small and easy to carry.

That done, Stathis searched the rest of the place – there didn’t seem to be any particularly distinctive decorations or anything personal, aside from the clothing and jewellery. With that done, they left, pockets bursting with jewellery. Aimodia seemed to have attached herself to Yeros, staying close to him, her black cloak making her seem to vanish from sight whenever she passed through deep shadows.

All the warning they had was a hissing, scraping sound, as a shape dropped from above them, in front of Stathis. A strike knocked her off-balance, sending her staggering backwards.

‘You would disrespect the master? You shall die the final death!’

They lunged for Aimodia, their assault suddenly slowing as arrows thudded into their chest and halted their charge, giving Aimodia time to scurry behind Yeros. Another arrow struck home, even as the vampire’s wounds healed. Stathis lunged forward, drawing and striking in a single motion, light suddenly flaring in the hallway from her blade, as she cleaved through an arm. With all of them, it didn’t take long, strikes hammering home through undead flesh, before the creature’s body disintegrated into dust.

Parth stepped out of the shadows, bow nocked and ready again, fully material. She retrieved her arrows from the dust. ‘Returned to the earth.’

‘Find anything else? Any idea where Janaxia’s gone?’ Parth shook her head. ‘Well, she’s probably having more fun than we are. Let’s keep moving. Aimodia, stay close.’

After that, they returned to travelling the tunnels, seeking an exit. It took some time twisting through ancient catacombs and tunnels, but they eventually came to an area Yeros claimed to recognise, as he strode to the front, confidently leading the way, coming to a tunnel heading upwards. At the end was a metal door which he unlocked, leading them into the basement beneath the chapterhouse.

‘Well, that was unexpected. We defeated some thralls, but not the master that created them. But we have struck a great blow for the light today!’ Yeros paused, as though expecting a cheer. Instead, Semari was passing Parth a handful of the jewellery for appraisal. She looked through it all with a critical eye, winnowing the paste gems and fake gold from the real. The real turned out to be a disappointingly small pile, but even the fakes were probably worth something. Stathis fished out a bracelet, scarlet gem set into silver. It might salve Janaxia’s feelings if she found out she’d been used as bait, and she was always happier after receiving gifts.

‘Well, that’s a few nights drinking, at least.’

Yeros coughed. ‘I do believe a tithe to your patron order is expected? Both for costs incurred, and spiritual advancements, so you don’t become too attached to physical things?’

‘That can be from your share. This was your job, after all. And you seem to have it pretty nice here, not hurting for money, are you?’

‘Stathis! I am shocked, shocked and wounded at such behaviour. Call it a tenth, and that should be sufficient.’

‘You don’t get a share, a twentieth to this place, and we finish the job.’

He placed a hand on his heart. ‘Oh, to see you warped thus by the world! You used to be such a perfect knight! A fifteenth, and you help train the apprentices.’

‘Deal.’ They shook, as Parth finished counting. ‘And Parth can do the numbers. Just in case you were thinking of pulling something there.’

He looked shocked. ‘I assure you, that I would behave with nothing less than the propinquity of my position!’

‘Whatever. But that’s all your getting, at least from this. The master might have some better stuff, vampires normally go all in on the fancy jewellery and clothing. When Janaxia shows up again, we’ll find out from her what’s going on. Assuming she got with the vampires, rather than someone normal.’

Parth spoke. ‘Chill of the grave, the warmth of flesh.’

‘Yeah, you’re right. She probably got picked up by the vampires, she’d just their type. Hopefully she’s having fun, at least.’

Semari nodded. ‘Guess she’s into biting and stuff. And something else probably has her soul already, so, like, she can’t lose that. Although she might make them minions.’

‘I don’t think she’s really the “minions” type. Too much work, she’d rather just be fawned over. Having to actually organise things isn’t really her speed. Anyway, can we get out of here? I’d rather be in some actual sunlight!’