When roads meet (closed)

OOC

Name: Thorvald Grelson
Age: 29
Height: 1.75m
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Green

Wears typical Viking clothing and carries a shield, a war axe and battle axe along with a dagger and various other odds and ends to help on his journey.

Has the image of a crow tatooed on the left hand side of his neck and wears a talisman to Thor around his neck

Strengths: He is just a normal human with the life-long love for battle that a true-born son of a Viking Raider would have. He is proficient with all and any weapons that can be found in the normal Northern arsenal, but excels at the axe.

Weakness: Can be a bit hot headed and willful, also has a thing for a woman with big breasts

IC

It had been a long month at sea when Thorvald landed with his kinsmen on the shores of Skör, his home village. As they off loaded their loot, an unseasonal wind and storm cloud cover came rushing in from nowhere, drowning out the weak sun and washing everybody in a torrent of fine drops of water.

It was only when everybody looked around to see if any of their loved ones was gone, that they realized that there stood a giant of a man in their midst.

"Thorvald, son of Grel."

The voice boomed, yet sighed in the wind as well, thunder rumbled in the ominous clouds and a wide berth was given to this stranger. He looked around, the piercing blue eyes settled on Thorvald as Thorvald stepped forward, the loot that he had brought with him forgotten on the ship.

"Thorvald, I bid you to find the stones of Kelt. You are deemed worthy and will do so on command of all the gods you hold dear and bend a knee to."

Eyes turned to Thorvald, who could not find anything to say, which was just as well.

"You shall find the stones of Kelt and deliver it to the temple of the gods here in Skör, I shall be waiting."

The thunder and lighting which accompanied these words made it very clear that there was not any option nor discussion, that Thorvald was charged by the gods themselves to walk this road.

That was two days ago

Thorvald shouldered his backpack and shield, making sure that his weapons was easy accessible and eyed the dark forest which surrounded the trail he was following. Then he squared his shoulders and walked into the shadows cast by the heavy tree canopy.

OOC

Angela Bloodgem

How Angela became a vampire will be reveled in the story. But with her love of sex, gothic style, skill with weapons and hedonistic thirst for blood, there really was only one career option open for her: vampire assassin.

Special abilities:
Blood Drain: can suck blood from a living victim to regain strength
Children of the Night: can command the lesser creatures of the world such as rats, and bats
Dominate: can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. The ability has a range of 30 feet. Works only on the weak minded.
Create Spawn: A humanoid slain by her energy/blood drain rises as a vampire spawn. She does not like to do this …
Alternate Form: can assume the shape of a bat, dire bat and gaseous form.
Fast Healing and Resistances to cold and electricity.
Can climb sheer surfaces.

Her quest: Find a dragon slayer. A religious order called Chosen Ones of Purity lost one of their pet dragons right in their sacred grove. Angela will be hired to find the murderer and kill him.

Character Flaw: She is uncertain how to deal with never dying (eternal life) without a soul.

IC

2 Monks meet a Vampire

As the monks walked, they kept to the narrow path which ran along the steep cliffs above the crashing waves of the ocean. The heavy overcast sky and roar of the powerful waves that broke across the rocks far below gave the monks a sense of the strength of the storm that had pasted earlier in the day. Everything around them was gray ... just different shades of gray. From the almost black gray of the wet rocks, to the lighter gray of the cold forest. The landscape was mono-colored in gray with the exception of the Monks. They were dressed in bright yellow robes. The older monk also wore the purple sash denoting his higher status of church, Honorary Prelate Deacon of the Chosen Ones of Purity.

Bhak Watty, was the senior Monk. They were on a journey that began 20 days ago to a town named Skalafellon. The two monks had not spoken for hours until Bhak spoke.

“Walking has several purposes,” Bhak explained all of a sudden. “For personal and inner growth. The grueling cold, the rain and snow and hail. Walking helps with detachment for the world … in order to go within yourself” he told the younger man.

“I understand, master” the other answered. The two continued in silence.

“What are your thoughts” Bhak Watty asked 30 minutes later.

“I have never met a … draugr before” the younger man said. The fear could be heard in his voice.

“They do not like being called that. And don’t use Aptrgangr (again walkers) they really hate that. Vampire is the more accepted term these days” The older monk instructed

“Yes master” The young man replied

“It is natural to fear them … Vampires are almost impossible to kill and they enjoy drink our blood. But the god of purity placed us upon this quest and he is watching over us. So there is nothing to fear.” Bhak pointed out.

“But Master … the god of purity only spoke to you. Is he watching over me too?” The man asked.

“Our God selected me and I chose you. Therefore you are also protected.” Bhak explained.

“But if that is the case … are you not in some small way in control of the god of purity by selecting who he is to protect?” The man asked.

“Ahh I understand your logic and thoughts on this subject … but you forget that the god has the choice of not selecting me. He is ultimately making all decisions by making a single choice. It is a gift, I wish I possessed.” Honorary Prelate Deacon clarified.

“Did you know ... that I have dedicated this journey to Mirsoth Warmheart.” Bhak asked the younger man to change the subject.

“Mirsoth was a wonderful dragon … under appreciated if I may say so. She helped open many opportunities for the Church.” The young man said with sadness in his voice.

“I can’t agree more” Bhak agree. “Look we are almost to Skalafellon. The person we seek is known to hang out in The Pub of the Twin Ravens." he stated

Thorvald

The trail itself was now little more than a faint outline, here in the shadows of the forest it was easy to lose your way. But the son of Grel was a seasoned warrior and he had tracked through forests darker than these. He knew what to look out for, he knew how to read tracks in the gloom. It was also much easier to track dangers in the forest, sounds was the most important, that and your instincts.

The day passed by swiftly, he halted his march and found a big enough clearing for a small fire and after eating, he rolled into his traveling cloak and slept for a few hours. Sunrise found him finishing his breakfast, moments later he was on his way again, the steady pace he set for himself eating the miles of travel at a steady pace.

His goal the long-forgotten Missionary.

Angela

Angela Bloodgem sat in the darkest corner of The Pub of the Twin Ravens. She took another sip from her half empty clay tankard and stared down at her stew plate. The food at the pub was not known for its taste. The place, located in the village of Skalafellon, was well off the more traveled routes and the visitors to it were mainly fishmen or travelers moving through the area. These visitors were not looking for a fine meal, only something to sustain them. Angela pushed the cubes of her stew meat into a series of neat rows. Then not happy with the arrangement, she scattered them with a frown on her face … meticulously she restacked the meat cubes one by one, until she had built a small pyramid on her plate.

“You’re depressed and hungry” She whispered to herself. Angela was a vampire, and although they could eat any kind of food just like humans and enjoy the taste, they only received true nourishment from drawing blood from living things. The most nourishing meal would be to suck on human blood, but elves, dwarfs, and even orcs and goblins could be consumed with pleasure just less nourishment.

Thinking about the taste of human blood, made Angela hungrier. However, she had rules about when she could enjoy that kind of “meal”. Angela stuck her fork into the top piece of meat of the pyramid and brought it to her full kissable lips and started to eat.

Angela was depressed about her life as a vampire. It was unnatural. What was the point? She had no soul and if she ever was killed … she would not be going to heaven or hell. She would just stop being. There was no goal for her, she could be good or evil and it made no difference. She just existed to exist. Her piercing dark green eyes looked up from her food. “A life like this … for eternity … how depressing!” She thought to herself as she looked around the dark and smoky pub.

She pushed back her long silky black hair. Her face was strikingly beautiful and oh so sexy in a dark and sultry way. Her elegantly face was atop a voluptuous and ravishing figure, soft and sexy. Her heavy over flowing breasts were held captive by a black corset, exquisitely crafted. There was a gap of exposed skin at her waist before her small leather skirt began. Another section of bare and smooth legs before her long, above her knees black leather boots began. Her hands were also covered in long elbow length gloves. Draped over the back of her chair, was her fur lined long black cloak.

She was a unique beauty; beautiful face, heavy breasts on a slim body, fit and lusty. Men went wild when they saw her. They drooled in excitement, but they also sensed something dangerous about her. Hardened warriors with seemly no fear of death would stare at her all night, but never approach her or talk with her.

As she continued to think about her situation, two monks in strikingly bright yellow robes walked into the pub. They glanced around the pub as if looking for someone. Then they approached the bartender. Angela turned up her hearing and listened carefully to their questions. They were asking about her. The Bartender pointed in her direction.

Angela casually moved her free hand on to her eating knife just in case. Then she stabbed another chuck of meat with her fork and ate it. The men arrived at her table. The older man spoke.

“Angela Bloodgem, I’m Deacon Bhak Watty and this acolyte Hans Furrer of the order of Chosen Ones of Purity, may we join you?” The senior man asked.

Angela motioned for the two men to sit. The younger man’s hands were shaking as he pulled out his chair. They knew what she was. They knew she was a vampire. She looked harder at the younger man, whose eyes could not get above her exposed cleavage. The man was scare to death of her, but also still strongly sexually attracted to her. It was a situation she had seen before but continued find curiously interesting.

“Angela, we wish to hire you. Recently, a man named Nicklas Linge went mad and killed a dragon in our order. It was a great tragedy for the order.” Bhak explained.

“What was the dragon’s name?” Angela asked. Surprised looks appeared on both men’s faces. Neither of them had thought she cared about other living creatures.

“Mirsoth Warmheart” The younger man, Acolyte Hans, answered.

“Always a shame when a dragon is killed.” Angela observed with a touch of sadness in her voice. “Why do you need me to find this killer? Certainly your order can find one man and punish him.”

“We are not fighters, Angela. We are simple monks. This man, Nicklas Linge, is very skilled. As you are aware … to kill an adult dragon is very difficult.” The deacon explained.

“Why me? There are other skilled people you could hire. I would have thought “my kind” is a bit too unholy for you.” Angela pointed out.

The deacon nodded in agreement with her “normally I would agree … but your reputation is strangely honorable. And if I may speak bluntly … sometimes it is useful to use the right tool for the right situation.”

“You are not speaking bluntly, deacon” Angela pointed out “but I understand your meaning. You are hiring an evil to kill something more evil. Either way it turns out, I kill him or he kills me, it is good for you. Less evil in the world.”

The deacon nodded in respect at Angela reasoning.

“Payment?” Angela asked.

The deacon smiled as he pulled out a small sack of gold “This is half, you get the other half when the job is done.” He explained as he slid the sack over to Angela. Then he reached into his robe and quickly pulled out a knife, grabbed the Acolyte arm and thrust the dagger against Acolyte Hans side.

“And you may have Hans … as nourishment and a sign of how important this task is to our order.” The deacon explained.

“What … master …no!!” the young man stammered … struggling to free himself.

Angela voice became very low and her eyes bore into the young man fear filled face. “You are MINE” she said in a low commanding voice. The man completely relaxed and stopped struggling. Angela had used her vampire ability to crush the man’s will. It only worked on weaker minds. The acolyte had one. He was now under her control.

“Thank you, deacon; you may take the knife away. He is under my control.” Angela said smiling. “I think we have a deal” She added as she grabbed the sack of gold and stood up.

The deacon nodded as well and put his knife away. He was surprised that the acolyte did nothing to save himself. He just sat there. Deacon Bhak Watty did one last thing, he handed her a small scroll.

“The last known location of the killer … and directions to our temple for the second half of the payment.” The Deacon explained. He had not wanted to feed the young Acolyte to the vampire, but it was a necessary when dealing with the undead monsters. The young man had served his god well … and would be rewarded in heaven. The Deacon turned and left the pub, not looking back.

Thorvald

He camped that night next to a small, clear brook. He refilled his waterskins and cooked dried fish with wild roots and berries, seasoning it with herbs. It was a good meal and when he rolled into his cloak, it was late into the night.

There was no warning, but warrior instinct woke him up. Animals hardly ever came prowling so close, especially in a bountiful place like the forest. That meant that what woke him was more likely to not be wildlife. As he lay there, he readied his axe, the slight sounds of movement told him that there was two. From the smell it seemed like they were in more need of a bath than himself.

They edged closer to him, clearly under the influence that he was asleep and easy to subdue. He waited and suddenly rolled from his cloak, axe at the ready and swinging.

He dragged the corpses of the three men away after he had gone through them, taking what he could use and storing it. After clearing out his camp area, he decided that it was best to move on, the wild life might just want a bite of him as well.

A smiling vampire!

Angela wrapped in her Gothic long black, fur lined cloak moved through dark and gloomy forest north of the town of Skalafellon. Strangely she had a big glowing smile on her face. Her thought were back in her room at The Pub of the Twin Ravens less than an hour ago. She had just finished licking her lips clean from the young Acolyte’s essence. She had sucked his cock dry. His gasps and moans of pleasure had pleased her as he shot great spurts of cum in her mouth. They had fucked before the cock sucking and now lay together for a short while. He, of course, was full of questions.

“Why didn’t you kill me … drain my blood?” He asked

“Because not too long ago, I was a human just like you.” She explained “and I also enjoy shocking people out of their preconceived ideas about vampires … I loved seeing that look of shock on your face! It was epic!” She laughed.

Hans held Angela tighter in her bed “Why did you release me from the mind control spell?”

“Because sex from an unwilling partner is not nearly as good as from a willing one.” She said.

“But I might have tried to escape … or hurt you” Hans reasoned.

“Sometimes if you want something … you need to take some risks.” Angela answered. It was the same thing she had said to him earlier to get him to have sex with her.

Hans smiled at her “I’m glad you talked me into doing this. I have to say, that was the best sex of my life. Not only because of your beauty but also because of the danger involved.”

“I know” Angela agreed.

Angela thoughts snapped back to the present. She had heard something in the forest ahead of her. Something or someones were waiting for her. It was most likely bandits. They had seen a lone woman and thought to acquire some easy gold.

Her thought momentarily of the bigger picture. The world seemed to be divided, split into those who were troublemakers and earn gold by acts of evil and others who earned it via honest hard work.

Her moment of distraction cost her. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of an arrow as it flew at her. She dodged but not quite fast enough and the back half of the arrow was now sticking out of her right shoulder. Without thinking, she ran, instinctively moving toward her attackers. Two men leap out to meet her with swords drawn. Her own sword was out as well and as their swords clashed the bandit suddenly realized the strength of a vampire. She brushed aside their weapons as if they were held by young boys. Her blade cut deeply into the first man’s leg, crippling him. He fell over and grabbed his leg. The other man took her blade in the side, right through his lungs. Before she pulled her sword out of him, she grabbed a throwing dagger from her long boot and threw it with speed and precision. The dagger found the arrow shooting man’s head, right between his two eyes. Angela sank her teeth into the man with the lung wound and drained the life from him in less than a minute. Then she drained the man with the dagger in his head. Finally, she walked over to the man with the cut leg.

“Mercy … PLEASEEE” he screamed as he tried to defend himself.

Angela just laughed “I will show you the same mercy you were going to show me” She answered. She grabbing his arms and crushed them as he screamed in pain. Then she sank her teeth into his neck and ended his life.

She searched the bodies for valuable and found nothing worth taking. She pulled the arrow out of her shoulder. It hurt like hell, but as a vampire, Angela would heal amazingly quickly. In the morning there would be no sign of this injury. Had the arrow head been made of silver or magically enhanced it would have taken much longer. But as it was the arrow wound was almost like a bug bite.

“A good fuck, a nice dinner … what more could a girl ask for?” Angela said to herself. Her smile replaced by an even bigger smile as she continued to move north through the dark forest.

Two days later, Angela stood before an old monastery. The weather which had been a cold slow rain had turned worse, with snow mixed in. The place was old and looked about ready to fall down. But it was better than nothing. She decided it might be a good place to spend the night.

Thorvald

The rain was pouring down, the road slippery and wet, sucking at his deerskin boots and slowing his pace. He would make better time in the woods, but in this kind of downpour it would be easy to miss the road which turned towards the old monastery.

As it was he almost did miss the road, since it was not used as much the dirt was still hard packed and the rocks used to pave it still kept the mud mostly in check. He followed the road, glad that he had made it. From here it was a short trek to the main road which would take him to his destination.

He entered the crumbling building and trudged wearily deeper into it's interior to find a dry space. As he rounded a corner, he found the dry space, and a fire burning. With one fluid motion he dumped his gear, his battle axe came up and he was ready.

Cautiously he scanned the room, it was huge and he could feel eyes on him, since the fire did not provide enough light, he stayed just outside of the archway, ready for any attack.

"Who claims this fire?"

Angela had heard the man approaching and observed him from the rafters of the old monastery. He was a big man with light brown hair and startling green eyes. His eye color almost seemed magical, and made him sexy as hell. He wore typical Viking clothing, large fur coverings here and there, a shield, a war axe and battle axe. The shield lay on the ground along with his backpack. The battle axe was in his hand and ready for use.

From the way the man stood and his actions, Angela would also describe him as "grizzled". Not in his appearance but in his actions. There was a hardness in his eyes and a toughness that made her feel; this man had killed lots of people.

Several thoughts flooded Angela’s mind “Was he a thief? A killer? A rapist? Did he pray on the weak or …was he just a big Oaf?” One last thought went through Angela’s mind “he is at least a polite killer or oaf … asking about whose fire was burning.”

He was a mystery and she did not have the information or time to solve it. She decided it was best to just to scare him off. Angela jumped down from the rafters. A fall that could have caused a broken leg in a normal human, but was nothing for a vampire.

“The fire is mine” Angela said as she opened her mouth wide enough to bare her fangs to him. In the fire light, he would have no trouble seeing her fangs. But just in case, she also took control of the local rats in the old building and ordered them to enter the room and face the man. In seconds there were at least 50 big rats all around Angela looking at the man.

Angela did not trust most men, and with good cause. Most humans feared vampires and she had been the subject of many misdeeds by them. From lies, tricks, elaborate schemes to trap her and numerous attempts to kill her, she had learned it was best to stay away from humans. Human of coarse felt the same way, so even the smallest indiscretion by Angela, like her comment about how she liked the taste of the blood rare steak, revealed in their minds the permanent unforgivable rotten core that lurked inside all vampires.

Thorvald

When the figure dropped from the rafters he already knew something was up. Then this female vampire bared her fangs at him and seemed to call rats to protect her. He knew that it would be a long, hard and bitter battle between the two of them if he should attack. He knew of these type of draugr and knew how dangerous they were.

But he sure as Hel weren't going back into that downpour now that he had reached this way point of his journey. He tightened his grip on the axe and rolled his shoulders, "Your fangs do not scare me draugr, nor does your pets. I will NOT go back into that pouring rain."

Angela piercing dark green eyes looked straight into this strange Viking man’s bright green eyes. She was trying to size up him and the situation as a whole. He did not move and she realized he was doing the same thing. He was clearly a brave man.

“He is probably not an oaf” Angela said quietly to herself.

“What?” The man asked over the pounding rain.

“I’m not talking to you!” Angela replied with a bit of anger.

“Who were you talking to?” He asked looking around for someone else.

“Myself” Angela replied with a bit of self-loathing. She took a deep breath and sighed. She released all the rats and they scurried off in all sorts of directions. “I have been alone for too long. I’m starting to talk to myself” She thought. Maybe she should take a chance and allow this Viking to share her fire.

“Ok, here are the rules. I don’t know what kind of asshole you are. So I don’t want you getting close to me. I’m going to draw a circle in the dirt on this floor. You are not allowed to go inside it.” She explained. The circle should give her enough warning for her to react to anything he might try.

Her safety established, she now needed him to talk to her. “Also I want you to answer 5 of my questions … in detail and truthfully. I will do the same for you, if you care to ask me questions. Do you agree to my rules? She asked.

Thorvald

Well rules or no, he didn't want to go outside and sharing a fire with the undead...well there was better ways to spend an evening like this. So she wanted answers and didn't want him to go near her...

He could live with that, if he awoke the next morning. Some times draugr were even more treacherous than the beasts of the wild or other humans for that matter. He lowered his axe, but his hands never left the hilt, the blade ready to snap up in a heartbeat.

And she was not bad-looking, sure she was dead and now walked around drinking blood, but she wasn't ugly. "Alright then. Yes those rules works for me. Now what are the other four questions you had?"

Angela grabbed her stuff and pulled it away from the fire. As she did this she growled at the man. “You are a fucking asshole with a side order of prick!!” She was mad at him for his comment about using up one of her questions establishing the rules for the night's discussion. She drew a large circle around herself and her supplies.

“Ok … don’t cross the circle. And try to provide longer answers than one word. Asshole!!” She told him “I’m not wasting a question on your name. I will just call you Asshole until you tell me otherwise. My name is Angela. So what is your story? Why are you in this place?” She asked him. She realized he might think that had been two questions and so she quickly clarified. “And that was one question … the second part was just to clarify what I meant by what is your story.”

Thorvald

He gave a small grin for having gotten under her skin, he was still cautious, but with the fire between them, he lowered his axe, resting the butt on the ground and rested his forearms on the flat of the head, still that blade could come up in an instant.

"My name is not Asshole, but since you want to use it, you can. My story is my own, but as you have most likely have gathered, I am a Nord. I will tell you that I am traveling on a quest given to me by a god and my goal lies to the East. Since this Missionary is the last cover before the main road, this is where I came. The rain just hastened my movement to the shelter."

Angela looked at the man and smiled.

“Well” She said and paused. “That was a better effort than I thought you would make.” She complimented him. “A quest given to you by a god that does not happen every day.” She observed. “But let me provide you a warning. The gods are assholes. What kind of powerful being would want lesser creatures worshiping them? I mean, think about it. I’m a powerful being compared to … say an ant. I believe an ant would determine I was some kind of god. Even if I was helping the ants get along and make themselves better. I would not need the ants worshiped me. I just would not really care. I would just hope they improved themselves.” Angela concluded.

“I know what you are thinking … gods and the whole good verse evil thing. Gods need souls and whether they end up in hell or heaven is important. Vampires end up in neither place. We have no souls and can live forever. We are NOT important to the gods. So that is why I think they are all assholes!” Angela said firmly. Her piercing dark green eyes locked on to his. This lasted for a moment and then her face lightened.

“You are a Nord. I never would have guessed." she said mockingly "I have always liked Nords; enthusiastic warriors, merchants and blacksmiths! They are skilled in all manner of warfare, while remaining bound by honor, a nice combination. Nords are also superior at sea, and benefit from trade and raiding as a result. You look like the "ocean going" type. Where are a few of the places you have been? I have been alive for a few hundred years … I might have visited some of them” Angela asked the man.

Thorvald Grelson

For a few moments he was not sure if she was mocking him, or if she was being serious. This draugr was far from what he was told and what he have met on his travels. He tilted his head to the side as he though about it and then decided to tell her since that would technically be her second question.

"To you perhaps the decision of not having to worship a higher being comes easy. You have not seen nor felt the halls of Valhalla."

He grinned, "Now I may not have seen these hallowed halls, but in every battle you can feel it. A song of the Valkyr, calling you to your rightful place...yes, you may think of the gods as demeaning as you wish. I will not argue that with you, it is your decision to believe what you wish."

He sucked on his teeth and then continued, "Since I was old enough to sail my father took me with him. I am one of those warriors you have mentioned and I have been to Northmania, land of the Rus, Lombardland and I have traveled to Jorvik to battle the Englishmen."

He drew a gourd from his cloak and lifted the stopper, taking a swig of the mead he carried with him.

Angela was pretty happy as the man started to open up a little bit. She was enjoying talking to him. She actually found him to be interesting. She even thought he was sexy, in a rugged sort of way. Nevertheless, she did not trust him. She had known too many men like him that once she dropped her guard would try to kill her. However, trust was not required for an interesting conversation, so she continued asking him questions.

“Land of the Rus … I lived there for a while. Fun place if you like rain … lots of rain.” Angela said as her eyes looked off in the distance trying to remember the place. “Did you happen to stop at the small hamlet of Sandfell? It is next to old battle ground of Grjota. Oops … that is not a question” Angela clarified.

“I’ll answer, yes” The Viking man said with a nod.

“Well among those blackened rooftops, and worn stone walls, the main attraction of the hamlet is a pub called “The Drab Bachelor” ... do you know of it?" She asked

“I do” he said.

“There was a wise centaur named Olestag Treerunner that had made the place his home. The poor horseman had difficulty staying focused and paying attention, super hyperactive. I have never seen anything like it. He was a great laugh to talk to, but with a horse body, he was running around all the time. Always got distracted by the first thing he saw. It was dangerous, 1000 lbs of horse running around in those narrow streets. He fought in some battle and was struck by some spell gone wrong. Anyhow, that centaur was a friend of mine ... full of knowledge, once you got him to stand still for a few minutes.”

The Viking man looked at her and said “Yes … I ran into him. Literally … he galloped through me and my patrol as we entered the hamlet!”

Angela burst out in laughter “Old Olestag … still around after all these years, still causing problems. That is good to hear.”

Angela asked if he had tried their Cloudberry, one of her favorite drinks at the hamlet, the muscle soup, another one of her favorite, and some of other unique characters that had lived there. After he answered them, Angela said to the man “I think you have been more than fair in answering my questions. I think that was well over 5. I thank you for the conversation.” She said to him. “Is there anything you wish to know about me?” she asked him.

He found that he liked her company a bit more than he should, well of course she wasn't trying to kill him yet and that alone was enough to let his guard down a little bit.

"Well since you have gear with you and have not claimed this place as your own, I can guess that you are a traveler as well. So what does a dra...no wait I shall call you draugr no more...what sends a vampyr out into the world on travels? And why are you so much different than the other vampyr? The only other two I've met wanted to kill me and my men and drink our blood."

“My name is Angela.” She reminded him, but she did not say it with malice. She was starting to like this guy, if only a little bit. She still did not truth him.

“To answer your question takes some explanation. I was an expensive bedwarmer, when I was a human. I have always loved sex and the bedfellow job was great. I learned storytelling, singing and dance, lots of stuff. As an expensive concubine, I also was taught how to use all the more common weapons and many forms of self-defense. It was important in case my lover was ever attacked, I could defend him. So when I became a vampire I already had skill with weapons. I also had a great thirst for blood. So I needed to pick a new job which required me to kill people. It took a while, but I finally figured out I could become a vampire assassin.

I’m hired to kill people and thus I also get to feed myself.” She said proud at how she had combined her talents and needs into an elegant solution.

“I’m on an assignment right now. I need to find some scumbag that killed a church’s dragon. The guy sounds like a real low life.” Angela explained

"As to your other question … I have met only a few vampires and I cannot speak for how they act. For myself, I once was human and those memories are still with me. I have chosen to limit my feeding to people that attack me, evil people, and people that are going to die anyhow. I think there is no reason to waste all that delicious blood, it might as well fill my belly.” Angela purred in pleasure.

“Bad people I can kill whenever I like. Sick or dying people, I only do it when their quality of life is poor and there is no hope of recovery. To tell you the truth, I get attacked by so many people that I’m feeding all the time.” Angela said as she smiled.

“Any other questions?” she asked.

He arched an eyebrow, a concubine, that was something strange, since his people never had this, the idea of it was strange and exotic. He slipped his sleeping roll from his shoulder as well as his pack with supplies, he would need to hunt soon to fill his dwindling meat supply.

"I have no other questions, feel free to ask me something if you wish to know more."

He sat down and took out some of his supplies, "I would offer you something to eat, but I guess goat cheese and bread is not really part of your diet."

“I can eat anything, but I only get nourishment from blood. So please keep your food. I’ll go to sleep if you don’t mind.” She explained and closed her eyes. Vampires are not affected by cold, so she did not need to cover up or get under a blanket. She knew the Nordic man would be look at her as the light from the small fire danced over her body.

She wondered what he thought. The young priest she had bedded before the start of this trip … had lusted over her so much that he overcame his fear of her. Would this man do the same thing? Would her black full and sexy hair drive him wild? Her face with its classic lines and noble look do it? Or how about her big full breasts and slim and sexy waist? It was amazing what men would do to have sex with her.

These thoughts made her think about him. He was a nice looking man. Actually he was better than that, he was handsome. He had a nice personality … when he stopped being an asshole. He still had not told her his name. But he still was a catch. What would she do to bed him? He could kill her. He was a skilled warrior and if he decapitated her that would end her undead life.

She did not answer her own question. “It is all for naught” she thought. The man knew she was an undead monster that was only interested in sucking his blood. So what was the point of answering dumb "what if" questions about a possible relationship. That was not going to happen.

With that thought she fell asleep until morning.

Thorvald

He looked at her as she lay down to sleep, in fact if she was not a vampire, he would most likely have tried anything to get her to lie down next to him...OK it wasn't really the fact that she was a vampire. He actually respected her for some strange reason. It was not visible things, it was more the way she carried herself, the way she slightly cocked her head when listening, the well cared for look of her equipment and clothing. Yeah she was a shieldmaiden of note. One who could stand with him in a wall and keep her own.

He finished his meal and threw open his bedroll, it was good to have a fire, but he knew it would die down and with the way the rain was coming down, it could become a rather cold evening. He grinned as he glanced at Angela, pity she was cold as well, those breasts... he shook the thought from his mind and lay down, weapons in hand and mind idling. Sleep of the survivor, you slept like this to stay alive in the wild and that is what he did.

The next morning it was still raining when he opened his eyes, he got up and went about his morning business, gauging the clouds with the eyes of a sailor and went back inside. It looked like the rain was passing, time enough to break the fast and then get underway. He crouched down next to his furs and started to roll them up.

Angela had not slept all that well. Her brain had gotten in a loop which went something like this “I just met this guy … and all of a sudden, he is embedded in my brain. He inspires my body and now when I’m to be sleeping he’s stuck in my head, all warm and delicious and very, very tempting. I keep thinking about him, even as I try not to think about him. What the hell am I going to do ... I just met this guy?”

As the Nordic man got up and started to get ready to return to the road in the morning. Angela watched him with her eyes only slightly open. She studied him. She was totally conflicted about him. Part of her wanted to join him, the other part knew that decision would end badly. He would try to kill her, or she him. She felt like she was on some kind of decision cliff and she was trying to decide to jump or not. Finally she sighed. She had decided to jump … because one thing about jumping, you'll always land somewhere else. Maybe this was a way to get out of her depression. She opened her eyes fully and stood up. The man’s head turned to watch her as she adjusting her black corset to hold her heavy breasts into position. Then she pulled on her gothic long black, fur lined cloak covered up her sexy figure.

“Hey Nordic Guy, mind if I travel with you for a while?" she asked hopeful. "Same rules apply; we’ll stay out of sword or axe reach of each other. MMMM ...But who will lead, and who will follow? Crap …that is not going to work. What about we pack our large melee weapons, my swords and your axe, away? That way we can be closer to each other and there will be no surprises?” Angela suggested

He of course looked as she adjusted herself, it was quite a sight, then when she started to speak, he looked up at her. Still busy chewing on the piece of bread and dried meat, he took his time and took a drink of mead.

"Problem is that even if you did not kill me last night and I proved that I have no need to kill you, it still doesn't mean that I would want to be unarmed when it comes to you."

He shrugged apologetically, "I just don't see how I can not view every dark corner as a place for you to make me your next meal. Disarming myself?" He shook his head, "Not really going to happen. How about we stay armed and moved horizontal to each other and if one feels the urge to do something or to move into a direction, we can talk about it. No leading needed."

Angela thought about it a few seconds, and then she nodded “Ok … I agree”. They packed up and headed out after thirty minutes. The weather improved some as the rain stopped, but a thick layer of overcast clouds remained. Angela did not like direct sunlight however indirect light was not a problem. They made good time, but Angela had wanted to talk to the Nordic man, in their present traveling arrangement that was not possible.

“Well, maybe when we stop for lunch …” She thought. That also did not happened as the man continued to travel through lunch. He just chewed on some jerky and a chuck of cheese and kept moving. He was a focused person she could tell that, driven. As the light started to fade later in the day, Angela came across footprints in the still soft ground, lots of footprints. The prints were irregular, but t heavy. It looked like bandits to her, but she was not certain. She looked up and saw Nordic man in the light forest. The man was looking at the ground and had seen the prints as well. The prints were headed towards an isolated farmhouse in the distance.

Angela motioned with her hand, that she was headed towards the farm house to investigate. The Nordic man nodded. She was not sure if that was an “ok” nodded or a “don’t do it” node. She really didn’t care, she was going to investigate. If there was a chance bandits had the house surrounded, the farmer was going to need help.

She move quietly through the forest and came closer to the rambling old farmhouse. There were two dead plow horses in the corral, arrows sticking out of their flanks. She could see men had surrounded the house, their backs to her, crouching behind rocks and trees.

Angela concluded that the farmer and family were still alive, and held up in the single-story farmhouse. The house had a thatched roof and stone walls. The bandits would not wait forever to kill the family. They would soon be catching the roof on fire, and burning the people out.

She wanted to make certain these people were bandits and evil. So she moved closer to the nearest one, pulled out her dagger and grabbed him from behind. One of her hands going over his mouth, the other placing the knife against his throat “Don’t move” she whispered. He did not. She turned him to look into her eyes as she crushed his will power. Then she released him.

“What are you doing here” She asked quietly.

“Robbing this family … we also want to capture and rape the women.” He answered way too loud. she should have ordered him to be quiet.

That was enough for her. She sank her teeth into his neck. He let out a small gasp of pain as she drained him of all his blood. “Oops” she giggled evilly as his body fell to the ground dead. She looked and saw few of the other bandits had heard him and were looking at her.

When they came across the tracks, he knew what had to be done. Keep moving along. That was how things worked in this life. The people here were not of his kin and there for not his problem. But Angela proved that in her dead chest still beat a heart as she showed that she wanted to follow the tracks to the farm. He nodded, he understood that she wanted to go and after walking along the whole day without pestering him, nor complaining or trying to order him about, he had grown slightly fond of her.

He shucked his gear in a brush, keeping his shield and axe. He moved just slightly behind Angela (not to look at her ass...maybe...) until she reached the last of the bandits. He slipped away to her left, keeping the attackers under observation and making sure that he could cover Angela as well.

“Robbing this family … we also want to capture and rape the women.”

The words carried clearly to where he knelt behind a bush and he knew that the others have heard it. There was a soft cry and then the sound of something feeding on something wet. Oh he knew exactly what happened. She must have censored one of the bandits and asked him what they were doing. Then she ate her meal.

He peeked through the bush and saw that the three bandits in front of him was looking into Angela's direction. Now was the moment. He jumped to his feet and rushed through the bush at the three bandits...they never stood a chance. With a grin he met the next attack, locking the attacking blade with his axe and drawing the bandit close.

"SEIER!"

Using his shield he shoved the bandit backwards, reversed the blade and opened the man's throat. At the ready, he stalked towards more of the attackers