It was nearly midnight.
For three days Azzerad had been preparing the ritual that Bektaten had resurrect him with. For three days he had been gathering materials and rehearsing the precise incantations needed to bring back Claudius with sanity intact. For three days he had to stay in this wretched village known as Belisarius. Now, however, it was time to begin the ritual. As he stood over the grave of his old friend he looked back toward the village. The graveyard was on the outskirts of the village and he could see the small collection of houses and shops from here. He was fairly sure that they had become aware of his presence, but that didn't matter now.
As he looked back at the coffin he had dug up, he was hit with a pang of self doubt. Claudius was more than just a friend, he had been a mentor. If he got something wrong in the ritual, his friends once prestigious mind would be ripped asunder and he would be lost forever. But now was not the time for such thoughts and so he picked up a thick, leather bound grimoire, and spoke in a long dead language.
Gawfy's armor Klanked as he made his way to the graveyard. Someone, or much rather somthing has been disturbing the peace around These coastal crags. Dead bodies turning up. He continued on his way as the wind swept up his cape. The people of Belisarius payed him to do his job, so do his job he shall. He came upon the graveyard large in side and opened the rusted metal gate as the metal screamed. He then took a step in.
Azzerad immediately went silent. The hair on his neck stood up as he put the book down and sniffed the air. Something new could be detected over the smell of earth, something distinctly human. He could pick up the very faint sound of a human heart beating. That didn't worry him, what did was that the heartbeat was only slightly elevated. If it was some local investigating the area they would have been terrified. That meant it was far more likely to be some form of hunter.
Well he was glad that the ritual hadn't reached its critical point. Still this was quite annoying. He growled as he put down the book. Now all he had to do was wait.
The soil seemed to Vibrate, almost like a hum as he walked over it, Something was amiss. The twisting Narrows that where the broken cobblestone path seemed to Lead closer and closer to the edge of the land, below where the jagged rocks and vicious waves. Gawfy took a sip of his flask as he strolled on the resting place of those who had gone. Gawfy stopped as he noticed the full moon lit up the pathway as a hole in the overcast above had allowed it so. Dried mud on the same path. Who, or what ever they where afraid of was close.
The hunter was close now. He could hear metal impact cobblestone as the man walked. All that blocked Azzerad from seeing him was an ancient crypt. He could have simply vanished into the night and waited for the hunter to give up. He could have snuck up and broken the fragile human's neck. All of these would have been practical solutions and yet... It had been so long since he had used the Soulkeeper and this would allow him to brush up on his dueling skills. The man finally came into view.
"Hello mortal, I'd imagine you're here to kill me, correct?" Azzerad growled in a tone that implied the murderous intent was reciprocated.
You must have a guilty conscious. He said as he put his flask away. He stepped toward the man as he looked at him. Defined cheekbones and old skin, Defiantly a vampire. You know most other vampires Keep their appearances up and dont skulk around grave yards. He said as a retort.
The hell is a vampire doing out of his cave, castle or where ever you reside?
The comments seemed tailor-made to annoy Azzerad. "Tell me, do you feel guilt upon eating an animal?" he replied, hand moving to his sword. "My business is my own human, or has my species been denied the right to go outside as well?" He said, venom in every word. "If you're here because of the dead villagers then it was indeed I who fed upon them. If you are here to kill me then you may try, if not..." He removed Soulkeeper from its scabbard, "Then RUN."
No i dont feel guilt when i eat an animal, And you would be a fool to equate the two, an animal cant tell you its hopes and aspirations for its life, Besides you dont need to kill people when you attack them. He said said as he pulled out his weapon. Enough talk. he said as a wave a metal washed over his head in a shape of a dog. Lets dance old man. he said as he took a wide stance.
Azzerads mind quickly started to evaluate the hunter in search of information. The weapon he wielded was truly impressive, though Azzerad would describe it has a hunk of metal rather than a sword. Yet despite its impressive size, an obvious weakness presented itself. Even the mightiest of humans would have trouble wielding such an enormous weapon with any modicum of speed. He could use finesse and quickness to his advantage.
"Well then since I'm feeling generous today you may have the first swing," Azzerad said, spreading out his arms as if to welcome the attack.
Gawfy was already rushing up to him as the vampire spoke. As he got close he brought his sword over his head with his right arm and supplemented the gravity by bringing its wight down as hard as he could where The man was standing.
The lack of hesitance from the hunter certainly surprised him, but the method of attack did not. Rather than attempting to block the attack head on, Azzerad swiftly redirected the attack with his own blade to land harmlessly to his left, before striking at the hunters neck with his pommel.
He felt the pommel of the mans sword hit against his armored neck. Seemingly unfazed he twisted and pulled his sword from the ground in a quick motion knocking up dirt and stone at the mans face as he swung.
Now that was surprising. Normally such a strike with his augmented strength would stagger most mortals. That armor must have been something truly resilient. He quickly jumped back, giving his opponent a wide breadth. He hadn't managed to dodge the whole attack, and as a consequence had a newly formed gash on his cheek. Time to use something more unorthodox, he thought. He altered his grip so that he was holding the sword by the blade.
"Come on then!" He said, his stance lending itself more to wielding a warhammer rather than any blade.
After Swinging the sword in its wide arc and seeing the man with a mild gash on his face he was surprised. He dug into one of his satchels as the man taunted him. Instead of rising him he drew the fuses on his improvised explosives and Threw them at the man.
There had been many advances to technology since he last had roamed the realms. This thought entered his mind as the curious little items exploded all around him. Yet despite the considerable noise and flash of the explosives, the shrapnel bounced harmlessly off of his armor.
"Resorting to parlor tricks already?" He jeered, his gash already knitting itself back together.
Gotta know what works and what doesnt. he retorted back as he hefted his sword back on his shoulder and took a crouching stance. Nice cheek, But can you heal back from being smashed into mush? He said as he rocketed forward swinging in a wide 180 degree arc.
That was the opening he'd been looking for. Rolling under the large swing, he swung his weapon by the blade hilt first into the side of the hunters left ankle. At worst it would merely sweep his foe off of his feet but more likely than not it would break the bone if it impacted.
As Gawfy felt his swing miss he kept the momentum of the swing going while adding more force and lowering his swing making it faster than the first swing. He saw the man make a swing but he would take any hit he could dish out.
Azzerads attack hit home, but not without consequence. Azzerad saw the swing half a second before it hit. He wasn't going to be able to avoid it, that much was certain, but he could at least minimize the damage. As the blade impacted, he moved with the swing, allowing him to take another step back to assess the situation. His armor had only retained a small dent from the impact.
He felt as his ankle break as he swung his blade into his opponent sending him sliding back as his armor cushioned the blow. It Hurt to put weight on the foot but he did so anyway as he took another stance. That usually kills em dead He said aloud.
Azzerad smirked at the comment. Oh, how little the human knew of death. This conflict, however, was growing tiresome. There was still a ritual to complete and he could not waste the entire night sparring with mortals playing hero. He extended his hand and felt the blood in the hunter's body. He started by blocking the flow of blood to the human's arms.
Gawfy felt his arms drop to his sides as they stopped responding. He then adopted a death grip on his sword. I take it you are a magic user? He said as he jumped back.
Azzerad grinned rather condescendingly, his arm still outstretched. "I couldn't possibly know where you would get that sort of idea." His grin then dropped. "Listen, boy, I could have killed you before you even saw my face. As humorous as this has been I must be getting on with my work, so I'll give you a choice. Either you surrender and I give you a swift beheading or I start bursting the veins in your body, and you die a slow and agonizing death."
You drive a hard bargain. He said as he took a knee to catch his breath. You are a real nasty son of a whore you know that? He said with Venom in his voice. Im going to give you a choice. You can leave and never come back, or force me to use my trump card. He said as he stood up.
Azzerad took a brief moment to ponder what such a trump card could possibly be. His senses could not detect that the boy was lying so this could actually be a gamble. He still favored his odds against what a mortal would consider a winning hand.
"Cute" and with that he began by popping the femoral artery in his left leg. "I'd give you five minutes maximum."
He felt his leg shoot in pain and with that he let himself get thrown over the edge. He Let out a scream ,but not of fear or pain but of anger. The rivets that adorned his armor punched through his flesh with a nasty tear and crackles of bone. One more wave of Steel washed over his head, changing the shape of the dog to that of a wolf. His yell then Modulated to that of a wolf's Howl. His eyes Now Glaring through the helm at the only living thing standing. With Paranormal Speed he charged with his sword held in front of him as the Cobblestone Rended From out under his feet.
Azzerad was taken aback by the sudden change of pace. He heard what sounded like metal pushing through flesh as the helmet changed. The armor must have had some form of magical properties that allowed him to keep fighting. Many of his colleagues in the Cabal would have been fascinated by such a discovery, yet Azzerad was only angered. Well he wasn't the only one who had hidden weapons.
The spirits inside Soulkeeper were constantly pleading to be set free. Now they would have another opportunity to do so. Suddenly hundreds of ghostly figures screamed as they rocketed out of their prison, they swarmed the living being in front of them in a fit of insane rage.
Those screams had no effect as he begun swinging at the malformed beings. Every chop being faster than the last, Cleaving straight through the Spirits leaving behind fatal wounds even to those not of the material world. While he did this he did not stop moving towards the vampire. Soon he was upon him swinging another Overhead strike. This one being leagues faster and more powerful.
Azzerad briefly remembered the feeling of fear as the armored man... no, creature, charged forward. He also pondered how his more magically inclined allies would have killed to know how a sword could kill ghosts, but then again they seemed very liberal in their application of murder. All this only took milliseconds to process as his brain was now working overtime. Despite the significant power increase, he was still relying on the same tactics to carry the day. Azzerad would have to switch up his tactics. He practically flew to his left, jumping out of sight as the spirits obstructed the berzerkers view. As soon as he landed he immediately pressed against a larger crypt, hoping the ruse would work.
Bringing it down as hard as he could he Smashed the earth the man was just standing on kicking up dirt and years old grime. He Did not feel the crumpling of armor. he did not think too breifly on it as more spirits Came forth and occupied his attention. Like a whirlwind of death he hacked and slashed all that remained leaving the graveyard silent save for his harsh breathing. After they had been slain Gawfy stood there moving his head back and forth looking and listening for any signs of movement.
It had worked. He listened carefully to the hunter's movements, and as he did so he could pick up his heart beating erratically. The armor allowed him to continue the fight, but he was still bleeding out. All he needed to do was outlast his hunter, then he could finally resurrect his friend and leave this place behind. He quickly began to fly towards the sky, and out of reach of the hunter.
The Vampire was right he was still bleeding out, but not for long. Inside his body the armor was replacing the missing femoral artery with metal. Gawfy just stood looking at the vampire waiting for an opportune moment to strike.