Touch of Fate

Randolph swept towards the boy angrily, "What's this about your sister? What happened?"

"T-The cow, M-Martha." Will stammered, terror and guilt warring in his features. "She was giving birth, and Tillie wanted to be there. S-She asked me to go, but I…I couldn't, not while it was still out there."

He choked back a sob, "Hic…She went by herself, even though it was dark. I waited for her to come back, but she was taking so long. I couldn't take it anymore, so I went to look for her and then I saw it coming out of the barn."

The boy's face went pale as he started talking in hushed tones. "I saw it, the same demon I saw by the lake. It had Tillie in its mouth. It saw me, a-and I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, I-I could only watch as took Tillie and flew away."

He looked up at the adults surrounding him, profound despair torturing his features. "The demon got my sister and I couldn't stop it." Tears started streaming down his face.

Mike glanced over at Randolph, expecting him to do something to comfort his son, but saw the man's face twisted in worry and indecision. He was constantly tensing as if to burst into action, but seemed to remain frozen.

Morris was the one to break the silence. "You said this 'demon' carried your sister while flying away?" He frowned as if in deep contemplation.

The crying boy nodded in response.

"What did the demon look like?"

"It was big, the size of…..the size of a big horse. It was walking all hunched over, using its wings as a second set of legs. I think it was hairy, but I'm not sure. I couldn't look away from those horrible red eyes…." Will trailed off into silence.

Mike suddenly had a thought, "You said you've seen this thing before. Where was it?"

"There's a cave north of the fishing pier, in the side of the ridge. It's hard to see unless you are right next to it. I saw it coming out of there."

"You can't take what he says seriously." Randolph spoke up finally. "Will has always been a big liar, talking about seeing fairies and spirits every time he comes back from playing in the woods. The thing is, he's the only one who ever 'sees' them."

Will seemed to shrink under his father's dismissal of his claims. Frankly, Randolph's attitude was starting to piss Mike off. He was just about to start verbally attacking the man when Morris broke in.

"I have a couple of ideas about what this creature could be, but I'm not sure. If my guess is right, the girl could still be alive, but it would only be a matter of time for that to change. Will claims to have witnessed the creature leaving a cave near the lake, has anyone else seen it?"

The adults in the common room shuffled around nervously, but no one spoke.

"Fine, then Will's story is the only lead we have, and the only chance we have of saving the girl. Mike and I will handle the creature, but we will need someone to guide us to this cave. Does anyone know where it is?"

Once again silence reigned in the common room, until Will's quiet voice broke in. "I do. I'll take you there." He stood while wiping his tears. Morris smiled sadly and nodded.

"Hold on. If you are taking Will, I'm going to." Randolph announced, determination evident in his face. "I can't let strangers be the ones to save my girl."

"Alright, is there anyone else brave enough to step forward?" Mike asked the crowd in a soft voice that nevertheless seemed to permeate the room.

His only answer was silence. No one was willing to meet his gaze, but most had the decency to look guilty about it.

He shook his head before turning to the other three. "Let' go. The sooner we can save her the better."

The group left the inn. Will took the lead, directing them towards the northeastern shore of the small Clearwater Lake. Randolph followed closely behind him, tension and worry evident the way he held his shoulders.

When they finally exited the town and had been traveling awhile, Morris held Mike back a bit, opening the distance between them and the other two.

Before Mike could ask him about it, Morris spoke in a hushed tone. "You should know, that if I am right about the creature's identity, we probably won't be a match for it."

"What do you mean?"

Morris glanced at the pair ahead of them before continuing. "I think the creature might be a vargul. There are a couple of possibilities based on Will's description, but based on its behavior this one fits best. Newly converted ones tend to run afoul of local human populations, as they have a tendency to prey upon livestock. They are fond of eating the inner organs of mammalian creatures, and will often spend a great deal of time hunting around isolated farming communities. Eventually, they will start eating humanoids, which will cause them to evolve."

When he heard the name for the monster, he couldn't help but picture a massive angry looking seagull. "So what's this vargul thing like?"

"Varguls are actually a type of lesser vampire. They are said to arise from newly converted vampires who are unable to control their more bestial side. They take on the form of a giant, vaguely humanoid bat, which would match Will's description."

There was a lot for Mike to process in that statement. [I guess vampires exist in this world too. I shouldn't be surprised about it, after all they are a staple of fantasy literature.]

"So, what? Do we need to find some garlic? Trap it outside until dawn, so it can be destroyed by the sun? Drive a wooden stake through its heart?"

Morris looked at Mike in confusion. "What? No. Vampires are nocturnal, so they are less active during the day, but that hardly means they will be destroyed by sunlight. I suppose stabbing it in the heart with a piece of wood could help, but there should be easier ways to do it. I don't even know what garlic has to do with anything."

Mike shook his head. "Never mind. What can you tell me about this vargul?"

"Well, much like other kinds of vampires they tend to have superhuman strength, agility, and endurance. They have fantastic night vision, and a sense of smell that few dogs could match. Their regenerative abilities are frankly top of the line, and anything short of fatal injuries will heal in short order. Thankfully, varguls lack most of the vampire's magical abilities, and are not known for being particularly intelligent. Although, they make up for it with a tough hide, capable of repelling most weapons, a fear inducing gaze they use to paralyze their prey, and a mild form of magic resistance which renders most low rank magic ineffective."

"That sounds horrifying. Why are we trying to fight it in its lair, at night no less?"

"To be honest, even newborn varguls are high Tier 2 monsters that would require at least a party of Rank 5 adventurers to subdue. The only reason I think we stand a chance at all, is that they have one major weakness."

Mike motioned him to go on, already suspecting that his bardic compatriot was merely pausing for dramatic effect.

"Their weakness is fire. All vampires are more vulnerable to fire for some unknown reason. Vargul's are supposedly even more vulnerable, to the point that fire mages like yourself could be considered their natural enemy."

"So let me get this straight. Your plan to stop this inhumanly powerful monster that usually requires teams of veteran adventurers to subdue relies entirely on my ability to properly wield my fire magic? Magic, I might add, I've only used once in an actual combat situation."

Morris finally broke into a grin. "More or less." He chuckled a bit at Mike's subsequent glare. "You seem to be pretty lucky, so I figure it should work out alright."

He returned to his serious expression again. "Besides, if it proves too strong for us, we can always give up on the girl, report in to the Adventurer's Guild about the threat, and let them deal with it properly."

Mike nodded in response, but felt deeply uncomfortable with the idea of abandoning a small child to such a monster.

"I hope you two are done whispering among yourselves, because Will says we are getting close." Randolph called from up ahead.

"Alright, where is this cave, son?" He continued once Mike and Morris had caught up.

"It's just up ahead. In the side of that ridge." The boy said while pointing.

Mike squinted, but couldn't see the cave in the dim moonlight, but the portion of the ridge line indicated did look a bit strange.

Morris nodded and drew his sword before motioning to Mike to do likewise. "Alright the two of you stay behind us. We'll get the monster's attention while you look for an opportunity to save the girl."

He turned to Mike, "When we get in there, I'll take the front line, keep it occupied, while you blast it with as much fire as you can muster. Agreed?"

Although he was a little unhappy with Morris taking the more dangerous role, Mike understood the strategy of the plan and nodded his assent.

With Morris leading the way and Mike providing light in the form of a small ball of fire he discovered he could maintain without too much effort, the group entered into the dark cave.