Holier Than Thou

[Emora Deen]

Tenele lowered the hood on her head after the snow had stopped falling. She adjusted the brown gloves on her hands, but they were still cold. It had been a horrible blizzard earlier, and she thought they might not make it to their destination in the time they had assumed they would… Thankfully the weather had finally chosen to favor them, but the cold had not.

She wore a knee length coat that was held closed by a leather corset with three buckles and straps down the left front side. The corset had a leather strap that attached to the sheath of her sword. The coat was a forest green and trimmed in speckled brown and gray fur on the sleeves, bottom edge, and hood. She had brown leather boots pulled up over her brown pants, and under the coat she wore a simple white tunic shirt. She had her bag slung over her shoulder, trudging through the nearly knee high snow. Her silver hair was pulled back behind her head in several braids looped together and fashioned up with a brown clip.

The forest was beautiful with the snow, and utterly peaceful, albeit at little to peaceful for her tastes. The trees were lovely, flocked in snow. She peered through the brush and around, but saw no sign of life save their own. So far they hadn’t managed to get attacked by any of the bandits or anarchists they’d been warned about, so she felt that was some sort of mild victory.

“We should nearly be there, right?” she called behind her, as she’d wondered a head of them in her thoughts.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad walked easily through the deep snow. He was wearing black pants and knee-high boots, a dark red tunic, and a heavy black fur cloak that hung open to his ankles. He watched in amusement as their servant, Mylo, scrambled in the white mess to keep up with Tenele. The blonde-headed young man's clothes were in disarray and he was half-dragging his backpack as he scurried along. The kid was a mess, but he'd kept up with them the entire trip so far. Vlad knew there must be some reason Sinead chose him....or maybe he was just the only one willing. To his credit, the boy was VERY willing. Despite constantly falling down snowdrifts and losing his boots in the snow, along with other catastrophes, the boy seemed generally enthusiastic and high-spirited about their trek.

Vlad was just waiting for the kid to snap.

A sound from the woods to their left drew the vampire's attention. A moment later, an arrow flew out from the trees and struck the snow next to Mylo. The boy yelped, attempted to run forward, and immediately tripped, flailing the arm that was holding his backpack. Another arrow flew out and would have gotten the kid in the chest, but the backpack took the heat for him.

"Attack," Vlad called almost boredly, hauling the flailing boy up out of the snow with one hand as he took up a protective position next to Tenele.

These raids were becoming less and less rare as they came closer to the Border. He and Tenele were accustomed to dealing with such petty adversaries, but it was a small miracle the boy was still alive. Some ridiculous coincidence always seemed to save him.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele sighed , trying to pinpoint the direction of the arrows. She caught the man swinging around from behind the tree and preparing to fire again. She threw herself to the side, the arrow going right through where she’d been standing. She looked up at Vlad with a little bit of relief, before she scurried to her feet and up behind a tree. She put her hand on the hilt of her sword and tilted her head so she could peek around the tree.

“How many of them?” she asked. He question was answered by an arrow coming from the opposite direction of first ones. It slammed into the tree next to her head. She was moving to role away when another struck her in the arm, going through and into the tree behind her. “Ahhh!” She let go of the hilt of her sword before she got it completely drawn and grabbed the arrow shaft, pulling as she pulled her arm to get it unlogged from the tree. Great… She’d made it all this way without getting even a scratch.

Why didn’t she have their servant’s uncanny luck? He was going to get to prove how good or bad his luck was, because now they were shooting arrows at them.

Then, men dropped from the trees, having been waiting on them, or maybe some cue, and suddenly it seemed they were surrounded by a dozen or so bandits. “Great…” she muttered as she put a hand on the arrow shaft where it went through her arm. “Looks like you won’t be bored after all Vlad…”

She slid her hand up the shaft and pressed her thumb hard against wood, snapping it off. Then she put her hand on the broken end and pushed as the rabble closed in on them, sending the shaft completely through her arm so that it fell on the snow at her feet. She stepped back over to his side, reaching down for the hilt of her sword and drawing it from the sheath.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad was fighting some of the men with a sword, more out of boredom than real necessity. Sword work was something he'd used as a human, but he really didn't tend to depend on it in his undead life. When he caught the scent of Tenele's blood in the air, however, playtime was over and dangerous anger kicked in.

"Lie on the ground, kid," he ordered, smacking Mylo flat to the snowy ground where he'd be a more difficult target.

He looked at the woods darkly. The snipers were beyond his patience now, and unlike their previous adversaries, at least one of these guys seemed to know how to shoot. "Can you handle things here?" he called to Tenele as he threw his sword down and clocked one of the men hard enough to snap his neck. He wasn't sure about leaving her in center stage alone when he could smell she was hurt.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele looked at him and smiled as she twirled her sword down and behind her, catching one of the attackers as he ran up behind her. “Of course,” she told him. Sure, her arm was hurt, but it wasn’t life threatening and she could handle the numb pain burning through it. She dropped the bag she’d had one her shoulder and let it slip to the snow where she could move more easily.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad turned his focus to the woods and teleported out to where the snipers were firing. He took them out one by one, snapping their necks with enough force that he could have easily twisted them off if he'd taken the time to bother. There was very little that annoyed him more than archers. In a matter of moments, four men lay dead on both sides of where they'd been walking. Vlad walked over one of the men's bodies like he was a log on the ground as he returned to where Tenele was fighting.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was fighting off two, concentrating on them to the point she didn’t see the two come up from behind. She had blocked their movements with relative ease, they weren’t exactly trained killers or anything. Before she knew what had happened a large arm found its way around her neck, putting a thick bladed knife to her throat. “Drop it,” he told her sternly, and Tenele still had half a mind to hold on to her weapon.

“Drop it,” he advised, tugging her back against him while he pressed the knife menacingly against her throat. She knew he probably wouldn’t mind slitting her throat, and she wasn’t exactly worried since Vlad could pop over and take him out.

She relinquished her grip on her sword and it fell to the snow. “What about the wimp?” one asked.

“Leave him, he ain’t no harm...”

“Where did the other guy go?”

“Ran off?” one asked.

“Probably.”

“What a shame,” the one behind her sneered. “He left you all alone.”

Tenele found herself flat on her back in the snow within a second after those words left his lips. His knife was still at her throat and his heavy weight pinning her down. She through dirt in his face and punched him hard enough to break his nose, while his free hand was trying to get a handle on her flailing arms.

Tenele wasn’t exactly worried, since it was only a matter of time before Vlad or Stalker helped her out.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad teleported back to Tenele's location just as Stalker was bounding back from a soldier he'd engaged a few feet away. There was was a silent communication between them as Vlad pulled Tenele's attacker up by the collar of his shirt and then held him out like a pinata for the hellhound to pounce on. The vampire ignored the man's plight as Stalker tore into him. He turned his attention instead to the man who had been conspiring with the one who pinned Tenele.

"It looks like your friend accidentally fell down on my fiance," he told the man with a deceptively casual smile, his ruby eyes glowing.

"We didn't mean nothing....w...we just needed the money!" the man stammered tensely.

"Well," Vlad said, walking up to the man, "You win some and you lose some." He extended his long claws and ripped them across the man's neck before kicking him in the chest. He flew to the ground, gurgling.

Vlad turned and knelt next to Tenele while Stalker played with his food. "How's your arm?" he asked her as he took note of the source of the blood he was smelling.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele sat up, looking at her arm and then at him. She frowned. “I’m fine I think. I’ll just wrap it or something,” she told him as she shifted to her knees in the snow. “Thanks,” she told him as she stood up, trying to push off some of the snow that was clinging to her clothing.

“How are you Mylo?” she asked with a soft smile, stepping over the last body to have hit the ground as she went for her bag, digging through it for the bandages.

[Soran Nightblade]

Mylo was lying in an awkward pose in the snow as Tenele called out to him. He looked fairly startled by the battle, but not to the point of fear. He was getting pretty used to these things at this point. "Lady Tenele, your arm!" he exclaimed as he scrambled up onto all fours next to her.

Stalk had a similar reaction, trotting back to her side and sticking his huge snout in the way of her rummaging in order to sniff her wound.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele shook her head with a forced smile. “Its fine,” she told them as she set the bandaging down in her lap and reached to her waist. She began to unbuckle the corset around her middle, and when she was done she slipped the coat off her shoulders and looked at the dark bloody stain that had spread across the sleeve of her cotton shirt. She frowned and rolled the sleeve up to examine the damage the arrow had made.

It had gone clean through to the other side, the flesh was jagged and torn. It could probably use stitching… actually it could definitely use stitching, but she’d get some at the Abbey. The arm would be sore, the muscles torn, but it was of course nothing life threatening. She leaned forward into the snow and rubbed cold snow on it, washing it.

Tenele started to wrap the bandage around her arm, trying to use both hands by behind her bad arm up to help hold the cloth.

“Damn Archers…” she muttered. “So, as I was saying… How much further?” She looked up to Vlad as she fiddled with the bandage, waiting for his reply. She wanted to work fast, the cold air chilled her skin now that her coat was off.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad nudged Mylo out of the way in order to kneel in front of Tenele. "We should be within a mile. For there to be action this close to the Abbey, the area must be in as much trouble as Queeny suspected," he said as he took the bandage calmly from her fingers mid-wrap and took over the bandaging. "I have two hands," he argued in anticipation of any protest she might offer. His hands moved gently as they continued the wrapping and then fastened the end securely.

"Mylo, you're in charge of carrying," Vlad smirked as he helped Tenele back to her feet and stayed close to her. "We can reach the Abbey within the hour."

The boy didn't seem surprised at his assigned task after this long on the road with Vlad. He heaved up the heavy pack along with Tenele's bag without complaint and followed close behind them. Stalker trotted up several yards ahead of them, scouting their path as they moved.

[Emora Deen]

She smiled at him as he finished fastening her bandage. Then she rolled the sleeve down as they walked, slipping her arm back through her coat sleeve and fastening the latches on the leather corset around her waist. “And hour,” she mused.

She wondered how many injured there would be, and if there was a good amount of protection already… Or were they the people’s only hope?

“He doesn’t have to carry my pack too,” she told Vlad as she glanced back to Mylo. "I'm fine."

[Soran Nightblade]

Mylo started to obediently return the pack, but Vlad glowered at him. "I'll feed you to stalker," he warned.

Mylo nervously retracted his arm with the bag, trying to decide who to obey. "Mr. Dracul," he started nervously. He was a good kid.

Vlad rolled his eyes and took the heavier pack off the boy's shoulder, leaving him with Tenele's. "Keep moving, lunchmeat," he snorted in response to the boy's grateful stare.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele smiled softly as she glanced back to the forest. Vlad could be nice when he wanted to be. She fiddled with the ring on her finger as she walked along side him, her mind going to other thing. Things like dresses and flowers, and how to fix her hair. However, inevitably it went back to work.

“So the people of Hepian, and its surrounding towns have either been slaughtered, hidden away in the abbey, or turned to murderous thieves and deviants… Wonderful. Not only do we have the Arken army to contend with, but our own people. I heard, before we parted ways with the army that the Arken’s have brought in blood thirsty barbarians on loan from the Outerlands… before the revolution.” She glanced to Vlad and smirked. “They drink the blood of their enemies, and eat them, but are not vampires. They think it gives them the wisdom of their foes.”