The company came to a halt a few dozen yards from the bridge. The vampire hunter's caster, Alex, brought the sun shield to life above the company again.

Tad projected to Jack, "What do you think? There is a void creature in him, or he is one. I can't tell from here. I don't think just any vampire could have taken Synethaes without her getting back to us. I can still sense the magical bond with her, so she isn't destroyed," Tad paused a moment, "yet. "

"Kid, this is going to be a tough fight. There are many vampires on that side, even without the void creature. Can you get us out of here? " asked Jack.

Tad thought about this. He could probably get the gate open if he prayed for it, but how would they hold back the vampires while they fled through it without bringing them along. "I don't know if that would be safe. I think we can --"

The vampire in the center of the bridge tried to enter Tad's mind. The vampire was trying to take control of him. Tad countered it with some effort. Tad thought of his friends, "Jack, can you block that for the others? "

The vampire spoke loudly after he failed to enter Tad's soulspace and mind. Its voice carried clearly and was augmented with some magic, "Which one of you is bound to this one? " he threw Synethaes to the side, her body sliding across the roadway, hitting the edge of the bridge's parapet. She hit hard enough that a capstone on top came loose and fell off into the moving waters below.

"Jack, keep the shield up. I have to try and save her," said Tad as he stepped forward, taking his hat off and handing it to Nico.

"Hey, you can't go out there. I can feel the power coming off that one. He is not a simple vampire, " said Nico in a hushed tone.

The vampire laughed loudly, and Tad could feel the sound of it in his chest. The horde of vampires on the other side of the bridge blocking their passage chortled and howled with glee. Their mouths distended, and their faces contorted in a gruesome parody of life. The vampire on the bridge stopped, and he spoke again, "No little beastkin, I am not a simple vampire. I am Niles, ruler of this realm and this city. I can't have you making off with my dinner guests. My subjects wouldn't be happy with that, would they? " Then he waved offhandedly at the feral vampires above and behind him, who howled and screeched louder.

Tad was certain Synethaes had said this was the vampire he needed to get the answers from, but she had also said the coven would be trying to keep to the shadows and not be noticed. This whole thing was definitely being noticed, and why was it not trying to destroy the feral vampires?

Tad walked slowly, trying to gather his thought and put a plan together.

"Kid, don't go out there. Stay behind the line. He is stronger than he looks, " projected Jack.

Tad sent a mental nod. His Sense, Powerful Beings ability, had been going crazy for the last few moments, and he was almost overwhelmed by the rotten egg feeling of the void on this vampire. Tad wasn't sure yet if it was possessed or was just a void creature. He had made a promise to protect Synethaes. Or well, perhaps his curse had done that. Either way, he was bound. He wasn't too happy about that promise at the moment and resolved to remove this curse from his family lineage as soon as he got out of this.

Yohan was standing up front now with his men. Tad nodded to him as he passed, "Hold the line here. If you run, you will die. Keep them on the bridge if you can. Don't let them get behind you. " Tad estimated the bridge was thirty feet wide. He had an inkling of a plan. He walked out from under the sun shield.

He stopped once he had stepped a few feet onto the bridge. "Synethaes is bound to me. We came here seeking answers to a question. If you can provide them, I think we could come to an agreement about you leaving here intact. " Tad was bluffing, but there was little benefit to showing weakness when facing such a creature.

The vampire laughed. It was deep, guttural, and sounded like one of the evilest laughs he had ever heard. This vampire could give a greater demon a lesson on the evil creepy part of its existence.

"You amuse me, human, " Niles again looked at Synethaes lying in a crumpled form. Tad could see her neck was ripped open, and she looked very pale, and no blood dripped from her wounds. Drained was all Tad could figure. "What question would one such as yourself have for Niles the King of all you survey? "

Tad nodded and said calmly, calmer than he felt at that moment, "I am looking for a way to cure vampirism. "

There was a long silence, and Niles laughed again, "Ha, you come to the king of the dead to ask how to preserve life? What idiocy is this?" Niles looked behind Tad at the company of vampire hunters, "I grow tired of these words, my subjects wish to feed." Niles transformed and launched himself as he grew in size directly at Tad. It was so fast, much faster than anything he had seen before from a vampire. Others might have thought the vampire teleported to him; it was so quick.

Tad projected to his staff Galadinidú, "SHIELD!" The deep white of the staff's full shield sprung up around Tad as the raking claws slammed into it, pushing Tad back several feet on the paved stone surface of the bridge. Niles looked like a giant twisted angel with fangs and wings of a gargoyle and long clawed hands and feet. It was hammering and slashing at the almost solid white shield from the staff. Tad pushed more energia into the staff as the pounding blows drove the shield and Tad back, the stones below him started to crack. Tad felt like a rusty nail in the deck of an old barge as the vampire's blows drove him into the very bridge.

The impacts were not without damage to the vampire, Niles claws melted, and his arms burned when they contacted the shield, but just as fast as the damage was done, the creature regenerated to smash and slash Tad's shield again and again.

Oh shit, thought Tad, this creature was way too powerful. Tad heard the feral creatures beyond the bridge scream and howl as they made their way across the bridge in leaps, bounds, and flight to attack the men under the sun shield behind him. Those creatures were slowly dropping from the sky at the speed of feathers compared to Niles's lighting fast slashing and hammering of the shield.

Galadinidú spoke in Tad's mind, "I am at half mana. Do you wish to smite this creature of darkness? "

Tad shook his head. He didn't think he could drop the shield and smite the vampire before it cut him in half with those claws. Think, think, think, he couldn't push the shield out farther, or it might break. He needed to keep it concentrated. He couldn't move as fast as the vampire, who was still striking the shield at a rate that would be several times faster than Tad could counter the blows even with every shield trick of soulmancy he knew. Crap, he felt the stone under him start to buckle as his shield went from white to grey.

The pounding was relentless, and the vampire's hundreds of followers were pushing across the bridge, splitting to both sides of Tad as he tried to hold off the vampire king.

"We have less than a quarter mana left," stated Galadinidú matter, a factly like it was talking about the sun was up, or water was wet. Tad really wished the staff would show some emotion when Tad was getting his ass handed to him. Just a little bit would be enough.

Tad was getting low on mana as well. The vampire's blows were speeding up like it sensed the shield from the staff was about to buckle.

"Can't you use the mana from the amulet? " asked Tad in panic.

"No, it is tuned to the gate. It would take several minutes for me to absorb enough to be helpful. Would you like to smite this creature of darkness? " asked Galadinidú again.

The pressure of the shield being hammered dropped Tad to his knees as he held the staff in front of him. He sighed, resigning himself to the inevitable as he pushed most of his mana into the staff. He dropped his head and prayed for hope, " Niucrelath, Goddess of the Moon, a creature of evil stands in my way and wishes to steal the night from thee. I seek your aid to defeat it. " He repeated this phrase that had sprung into his mind as if from some other person, " Niucrelath, Goddess of the Moon and sister to the sun, a creature of evil stands in my way and wishes to steal the night from thee. I seek your aid to defeat it so I might show your glory to all."

"Shield mana will be consumed in four heartbeats, " projected Galadinidú. Tad took another breath. This was it then.

A presence filled his mind, "You are learning, my young champion. " Massive ammounts mana flowed into Tad, more mana than he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt like he would burst at the seams, like a waterskin left in the sun, he pushed it into his staff. He looked up at the Vampire King Niles, it was swinging now in rage as the creature felt the power filling Tad.

Tad stood back up, and his shield moved out a foot, then another foot as it solidified. The vampire king backed a step, still swinging, then he stopped and howled at the moon. "NO, this can't be. The gods have been cast down!"

"Would you like to use the Hammer of the Gods? " asked Galadinidú, still with a deadpan voice.

Tad nodded, then gave the vampire a smirky smile speaking loudly, "Yes." Then Tad pushed as much mana as he could into his staff, becoming a bit dizzy with the drain of so much at once.

The glow around Galadinidú shot straight up into the sky, blinding everything on the bridge and this side of the town. The was a burst of light high in the sky where the clouds became visible for a heartbeat, then the light shot straight back down, striking right where Niles was standing as the creature turned to flee. It was too late. The bolt had the shape of a giant hammer of light striking head down. Tad heard the crack of thunder and a boom as if lightning had struck right next to him. Half def and blinking his eyes, he slowly saw the carnage the hammer had brought as his vision cleared. The impact cloud of mana Tad saw released was almost a complete circle from where the hammer had struck.

The vampires behind him and on the bridge were crushed into the stone. They looked like puddles of sausage before being placed in the sleeve. Only Niles was still intact on the bridge. Tad looked behind him, and none of the living people in the sun shield were hurt. Was the shield still intact? How is that? He thought he understood why. Tad looked beyond the bridge where several vampires slunk and flew off into the night's gloom. Most of them were wrecked on or around the bridge. Tad looked at Niles, who still had his physical shape that lay in the middle of the cracked stone pathway. The Vampire King was starting to twitch.

Tad activated his Torque, dismissed his shield, then stepped forward, reached down, and grabbed Niles by the clawed arm.

Niles's eyes snapped open just as the Torque's power took them to the Artificer's workshop.

"Leana, HOLD HIM!," shouted Tad as he appeared next to the metal table with the vampire lying on its surface.

Leana's face turned toward him, and she flicked her hand. A multicolored aura of magic sprung up around Niles, pinning him to the table. The vampire king spent a few seconds trying to break free, then it changed form to smoke and tried to escape. Tad watched the energia of several types play their way through the aura binding the vampire to the table.

Leana spoke quietly, "Why do you bring these things to the workshop, Thaddius? Did I misplace my trust in you? "

Tad shook his head, taking another breath and backing away from the vampire on the table. "No, Leana, I didn't know for sure that would work. I was out of options, I just hit it with the biggest strike of magic I've ever seen, and all it did was knock it unconscious for a few moments. "

Leana didn't look pleased, "I can not hold these creatures indefinitely. You will need to remove them as soon as possible. "

Them? Tad reached out again towards the vampire with his soulmancy. He felt it there. Another void worm, this one was stronger than the last one. Was it making Niles stronger? Tad attacked it, triggering his Hold soulmancy Creatures projecting it through Galadinidú at the void worm. He wasn't going to try and draw it into his soulspace this time. He intended to use the staff to hold it. He felt it battling against his will, the creature was much stronger than the last one, and Jack wasn't around if this didn't work. Tad drew on it, pulling it, tugging it as it tried to escape and stay in the vampire's mind. The creature tried to retreat deeper into the vampire. The vampire didn't have a soul, and the creature couldn't keep hold of its mind the way it would have with a living creature. Galadinidú pulled it out like a string from a tattered cloak. Tad moved the end of the staff away from the vampire who had stopped struggling on the table and was watching Tad as he held the ball of the void worm energia away from it, off the floor several feet.

Galadinidú spoke again, "Would you like to smite this creature of darkness? " asked the staff.

"Yes, Galadinidú, I think it is time," said Tad. The staff struck forward like a spear of light, puncturing the void creature and exploding the void energia outward. A flash of light and a concussion of power reverberated through the workshop up to the top and back down several times like the echo of a cavern. The reverberation became dimmer each time.

When it was quiet again, Tad looked at the Vampire on the table again. Tad could feel the malice in it and see it in its eyes. He didn't know if Niles had willfully taken that void worm into it or not, but this vampire wasn't leaving that table.

Niles tried briefly to enter Tad's mind, which Tad flicked away with barely a thought. The energy of his goddess still suffused him, and this creature's feeble attempt at charming his mind was like a flee on the back of an elephant.

"Leana, hold him here. I'll be back in a moment, " said Tad as he willed himself back to the bridge where he had left. He hadn't been gone long, but when he appeared, he saw the soldiers were already running their enchanted blades through each of the puddles of goo. Tad saw Nico and Lamruil over arguing with Yohan near a pile of wrecked red velvet and goo that Tad could only think was Synethaes.

"You can't run her through. Tad has a binding to this vampire, " shouted Nico at the soldier.

Yohan spoke calmly, "It is evil and will kill again. It can't be allowed to walk Shofa. It is my sworn duty to dispatch all threats. " He pulled his arm back to stab his glowing sword through the wrecked mass of undead flesh. There was a puff, and Nico was standing directly behind the soldier with a glowing green dagger at the mail coif around his throat. Lamruil had drawn an arrow and had it pointing at the knight as a soft glow took form over the arrow. Nico would only need to nick the night to kill him with those fang daggers.

"If you finish that strike, you will follow it into the abyss," whispered Nico into the helmeted ear of the soldier.

Watching the group, the other soldiers on the bridge, started rushing toward their commander, with swords drawn to defend him.

Tad shouted, smashing his staff's end into the bridge channeling a huge boom of sound. Everyone froze.

"Put down the weapons! We are not enemies. I will remove the vampire from this place. Your oath will not be violated. " Tad waited for them to stop moving, walked forward, placed his hand on the velvet of the now destroyed dress and what might have been a mangled foot, and willed the Torque to take him and Synethaes to the workshop.

Tad looked down. The pile of flesh and bones that was Synethaes looked disgusting and smelled just as bad.

"You don't intend me to hold her as well, do you? " asked Leana from across the workshop.

Tad sighed. He had willed himself to appear in front of the open coffin and what remained of Synethaes to appear in the open coffin. Tad heard a sloshing as the remains hit the empty bottom of the coffin.

"No, I am hoping this will work. We will see, " said Tad. He still felt the magic promise he had made her binding his soul. He was fairly certain she still existed in there somewhere.

Tad was fairly certain he would have been fine if she had perished. He had promised to protect her. He had done his best. If she still perished, perhaps the magic bond between them wouldn't destroy him. He needed to talk to the Librarians about that one.

He walked over to the first of the two blood pods and carried it back over, he willed his gauntlet to become sharp on one edge, and he cut the end off the tapered part of the pod and held it as the many quarts of blood drained out of it across the crushed body of the vampire and filling the bottom of the coffin for a few inches. He thought he saw it being absorbed. He could see the necrotic energia working across the blood. He went back and repeated the process with the second pod. The vampire's flesh was floating in blood now.

Tad projected to Kettle, "Do you see this?"

"Yes, getting a good image from that far away is hard. Is that Synethaes? " asked Kettle.

Tad nodded, "She was crushed. How long did it take to revive her the first time? "

"It was almost twenty-four hours the last time. She isn't a dry mummy. Her healing might be faster this time," said Kettle.

Tad nodded again and pulled the lid closed on the coffin. The lid was not terribly heavy. Tad didn't think it was made of stone. It had a carving of a construct on it and the old image of his goddess. He would have to update that at some point soon. She no longer looked like a naga.

"Leana, how long can you hold our good friend Niles now?" asked Tad.

"Oh him? I can hold him here indefinitely. That creature you killed was making it very strong before. It is fine. Are you going away again? " asked Leana.

"Just for a few hours. I need to make sure my friends don't kill all the vampire hunters. I told them I'd escort them out of the city. I will be back shortly, " said Tad. Tad had many questions for Yohan still, and he wanted to meet this king, whoever he was, in short, Tad was looking for allies and trading partners. He had a mammoth task to grow a city that literally was going to spring from the desert, and he needed to make connections here. He willed himself back to find his friends in a group in the middle of the bridge facing a group of fifty vampire hunters in some sort of standoff.

Tad sighed again. He looked at the vampire hunters, Yohan was in front again with two others. There were several magic lights floating on the bridge, making the whole thing glow in the graying gloom of predawn.

Tad touched Zanna's shoulder as he passed giving her a slight smile, then turned back to the Vampire hunters. "Everything is fine. Please put your swords and arrows away. We are not enemies here," said Tad loudly to both groups.

One of the helmeted soldiers was leaning in and whispering to Yohan. Tad could feel their anxiety and anger at his team. Jack was standing in front of his friends, glowing softly. The Unicorn was probably the only reason the vampire hunters hadn't attacked.

Yohan took his helmet off again, "Where did you take that Master Vampire? Your willingness to make deals and converse with these creatures brings forth harsh memories of thralls who have murdered many thousands of my people to appease vampires. " Yohan's tone made the request sound like a command. Tad could feel the anger from him.

"I have them both trapped in a planar pocket, held by a powerful magic force. They will not be able to harm anyone again," said Tad. He was being careful here. He knew they would demand some evidence of the vampire's destruction or more. He knew he would.

"What guarantees do we have that what you say is true? Now that the danger is passed and the sun rises, are we to fear a blade in the back from thralls? " asked Yohan. The men behind him murmured in agreement with their commander.

Tad walked over and retrieved his hat from Nico, placing it on his head. He stepped forward to the leader of the vampire hunters. He had his staff in his hand, and he tapped the ground as it started to glow. The light grew till the magic lights on the bridge looked like fire flys in comparison.

Tad spoke in what he hoped was a regal voice, "I am Thaddius Rockgrip Champion and Paladin of the goddess Gweleth of the Sun and Niucrelath of the Moon. You saw her power conveyed through me and know that if she had found evil in your hearts, your fate would have been the same as those she felled. I promised you that I would safely see you out of this city. Before we part, you will see the truth of my statement and know that if you want it, a friendship with my people. "

Yohan looked at him for a few moments measuring the words he had heard. Then he nodded, "I, Count Yohan Eiluaard the Third of the Kingdom of Liaha, The Greatest kingdom on all of Shofa, accepts your offer of friendship in the spirit in which it was given, and I offer ours in return. " He held out his hand, and Tad walked forward and grasped his forearm in the grip of friendship.

***