So, in the end, it turned out that only the feeder gave any information that was actually useful. The knight, the one from Astopol, seemed only to have frustration for the late arrival of Dansila's guards, which, while understandable, still irritated him. The other two were similarly useless, and the vampire was still a rampaging monster. But the numbers matched up, even if the disappearance of his men didn't. Nodding at Aresia, he turned his sabre point to the rest of them instead, the volatile balls of energy fading away.
"The rest of you will be coming with me then. Don't attempt to run, and don't attempt to attack."
With that, he approached the vampire, gestured Charlotte to get out of the way, before bringing his hand around the magenta-haired monster's neck and breaking it. Instantly, Raela's body went slack, her eyes rolling to the back of her head, before the captain slung her body over his shoulder.
"Well, let's get moving, shall we?"
~❆~
As the night wore on, Araki and Charlotte spent their time in a cozy, single-person holding cell, a small space with a pot for them to relieve themselves with and a narrow, wooden bed raised a foot off the ground, with a cotton mattress. The barred windows shed moonlight into their otherwise dark cells, and the arrangement overall wasn't unnecessarily uncomfortable. The captain had told them that someone would meet with them in the morning.
Raela, however, received much heavier sanctions on her freedom. Chained to a wall in a room with no windows and only a single, thick door, she was fed just enough blood to allow her to recover from her wounds and stay lucid. Her clothing was still in tatters, and all she had was the sound of small things scampering about on the stone floors.
Elthrad was released only an hour after he had been let in, with the only information recorded being the address of his Inn. The person who authorized his release was unknown, but that would hardly be what was on his mind as he left the guardhouse. It was clear from the shouts and the stomping of feet and the mobilization of guards that something was wrong, that there was a much greater issue than what had just transpired.
And, overhead, in the light of the moon, an airship rose up from the landing field of Cykes, heading on a supply run to Illiserev.
~❆~
The clouds were thick in the morning, a biting chill in the air. The news had spread early that day, of a vampire attack orchestrated by the 'heroes' of the Rift-Beast attack. One of their own had been a monster, and had killed what amounted to 21 different individuals, scattered across the city. Memorials, with delicate, heartfelt paintings and bouquets of off-season flowers were popping up around Cykes, as the students remembered with tears and burned with anger. Conspiracy theories were flying about, from how the heroes had slain the rift-beast simply to preserve the 'food', or how the vampire had actually been brought in by Astopol, to change the stance Dansila had on the remnants of Talze Utera. Regardless, Lucius Courtright, Fion Seyour, and Escellar Aruivantes were said to have started meetings to reinforce city defenses, as well as increase the frequency of patrols and reinforce communication channels. After all, amongst the dead were the members of the nighttime patrol from last night, and it became clear that peace had led to complacency.
The training fields of Tamamo's Gardens were filled with grunts and shouts of guards and volunteers, banding together to fight for a peace of mind that was so utterly lost in a single night.
More worrisome, however, was the amount of missing persons cases that were streaming in ever since daybreak. It numbered at 58 at the moment, and the numbers only climbed as the clock ticked away. They had all been young women, ranging from 14 to 25, and the remaining members of the Sidosa Board had began communications with the brass of Astopol, bringing in the expertise of the monster hunters to weigh in on the incident.
It was the first attack of such scale to the capital of Cykes since the end of the Talentless Strife, and it was clear that it had a lasting impact. There was a current of sorrow and regret, but under that, was an undercurrent of hatred and helplessness. Fights broke out on the streets from misunderstandings and misplaced words, and tensions were high throughout the maze-like city.
And, as the city smoldered, the snow began to fall, flakes of white melting away as they struck the ground.
~❆~
The clink of chains, and the stumbling of feet. Still malnourished and exhausted, but thankfully in control of herself once more, Raela was manhandled by two guards, hands and feet bound together by thick steel chains and dressed in bloodstained rags. Pulled into another room, this time completely devoid of any objects, yet decidedly cleaner than the chamber she was placed in before, the vampire was tossed in there unceremoniously, and left to await her fate. Like the other two nations, Dansila did not have any laws pertaining to the rights of the races of Talze Utera, and it was obvious from the faces of those guards that, if not for orders from higher up, they would gladly pump her full of drugs and drag every little secret she had out of her, before executing her.
But for now, she was forced to wait in empty room, illumination runes giving out a stark, white light.
To wait and wait and wait and wait and…
After countless minutes? Hours? Days? the door opened once more, and a figure dressed in red appeared, her yellow eyes staring with no disgust or revulsion. With a slight bow, she removed her red hat and took a disc-shaped flask that had been lying on the top of her hat.
Taking the object in her hand, she tossed it over to Raela.
The smell of human blood seeped from the stopper.
~❆~
It was loud. Loud enough that, even in sleep induced by blood loss, Alexa and Ashe were roused from their sleep.
It was warm. Warm enough that, even in the grasp of winter, sweat rolled down their face, and their nightclothes clung to their body.
It was a room, filled with others the same age and gender as them, chained to the walls and each other, bite marks clear on their exposed necks.
It was a snowy morning, the touch of ice foreign in the sauna-like heat of this room.