Erik stood in front of everyone in a crowded room. A wall of weapons was at his back as he looked down at a map. He pulled out a pen and started drawing.
“We are here and most of the draugr sightings are in this area,” Erik drew a circle around their place and a line to where the sightings were. “What we need to do is find an isolated one and attack it. Our goal is to capture, not to kill.”
“Capturing a powerful undead…that can’t be easy,” Keiko said.
He replied, “You’re right. That’s why we need make sure it’s alone. With our numbers, we could easily kill a draugr; however, we need to keep a captured one from running and have to stop it from using its magic. They can have shape shifting, curses, fire breath, and even weather control.”
Haru asked, “How do people normally deal with them?”
“They don’t. Draugr don’t leave their crypts often, so they’re usually not a problem,” Erik answered.
“Still, they’re undead. They should be weak to fire.”
Keiko wondered, “Do you have fire magic?”
“I do,” Haru nodded.
“Fire might be too effective,” Erik pointed out. “We need to interrogate the draugr. If its body is turned to ash, we can’t do that.”
“I can call in my demon servant if I have to,” Keiko stated.
Hisa said, “Then what can I do?”
“You can use your fox fire and fight with a weapon. Pick one from the wall behind me,” Erik replied. “Us vampires will fight with weapons ourselves.”
The kitsune ran over and grabbed a massive two-handed sword. Hisa’s arm strained, struggling to even lift it up.
“Maybe you should try this instead?” the vampire grabbed a spear and handed it to her.
“No way!” Hisa scoffed. “Cutting weapons are better against undead than thrusting weapons, right?”
Erik said, “They are, so why not this?”
He pulled out a two-handed axe and handed it to her. Hisa took it and gave it a practice swing. She went spinning like a top. Erik jumped down to the floor.
“Get down!”
Everyone dropped as Hisa spun the axe over their heads.
“Someone help me! I can’t stop!” she shouted.
“Let go of the axe,” Keiko said.
Hisa did. The weapon went flying into a wall, crashing through it. Debris and rubble fell down as the axe embedded itself in a tv in the next room. Erik jumped up, grabbed a spear, and forced it into her hands.
He ordered, “You. Are. Using. This. No. Arguing.”
Night fell, and a blanket of darkness covered the world. The group crept through the city. Any noise could give them away, not just to their enemies but to normal people as well. Erik and Hisa both had polearms, with Erik having a two-handed axe. That alone could easily draw others’ attention, much less the swords Beauregard and Lenora were carrying.
“Hold on a cotton picking minute!” fear blasted through Beauregard.
Haru asked, “What is it? Did you see something?”
“He didn’t see anything,” Erik answered. “He’s interrupted us for something stupid.”
Beauregard objected, “It ain’t stupid, master Erik. Are there any female draugr?”
“Most draugr are undead warriors, and most warriors are men,” the older vampire told him. “But shieldmaidens did exist. They were rare but I met a few myself, so there are some female draugr.”
“This could be bad. I can’t hit a woman,” Beauregard said.
Erik replied, “Then use your sword.”
“But master Erik…”
Before he could say another word, Erik’s fist slammed into him. Beauregard crashed into a stone wall on the other side of the road.
“You damn idiot!” Erik spoke. “You’re fighting undead! If it’s a woman, throw your bastardized chivalry in the toilet where it belongs.”
“Umm, master Erik,” Lenora was worried. “Will I have to fight too?”
“I wouldn’t bring you along if you didn’t.”
“But I can’t fight. I’m a proper lady,” she stated.
Erik went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and suplexed her into the concrete sidewalk.
“You’re a fucking vampire! Do lionesses worry about fighting because they’re proper ladies?”
He stood up and groaned, “I swear to fucking Odin. If I have to have this conversation with you idiots one more time…”
“Erik,” Keiko said. “We should probably get out of here.”
“What do you mean?”
She pointed. Lights were turning on in houses. Erik slapped his forehead.
“Dammit! My shouting woke people up! I swear, if it weren’t for me, those idiots would be dead and I’d have a lot less trouble…never mind, let’s get out of here before anyone comes outside.”
The ocean was a black abyss with the moon shining over it. Waves battered the shore, spraying water onto the group. A chill wind ran through the air and over them.
“This place is creepy at night,” Keiko stated.
Haru said, “I can sense it, the presence of magic.”
“You can sense magic?” Hisa smiled. “That’s awesome!”
“Not tonight. It’s suffocating,” he told them. “I’m not even trying to sense it, and I can feel it crushing me.”
Erik grit his teeth, “A lot of spells must have been cast here, possibly ones with long-term effects on the area. Even if we win, this city might be permanently damaged.”
Keiko spoke, “Hang on, Haru, why couldn’t you sense it earlier today?”
“Some spells are stronger at night, or they might be casting powerful spells right now,” Haru explained.
Water parted and a man walked out of the sea. He was the size of an ox with wet hair and blue skin. His face was decayed. The foul smell of rot permeated the air. There was a suit of mail on his body. A helmet hung across his head while his long-nailed hands grasped a rusty sword and a rotting shield.
“You’ve arrived sooner than I expected, draugr,” Erik said.
The walking corpse took another step forward and stopped, still in the water.
“Don’t think I couldn’t smell you, vampire. Your kind reeks of blood,” it stated.
Erik replied, “Then you came in response to me?”
“Yes,” the draugr smiled. “You must be here to join me, vampire, to make humanity submit to us.”
“I have no interest in that. Submission of humanity means submission of my homeland.”
It cringed, “And you’re still loyal to a place ruled by humans?”
“My friend’s legacy is there,” Erik said. “Besides, I helped it quite a bit. It’s not something I’m willing to see destroyed.”
“Then leave now. You have no business here,” the draugr spat.
“But I do have business. You’re coming with us.”
“And why should I do that?” it asked.
Erik answered, “Because if you don’t, we’ll make you.”
“Go ahead and try,” the draugr laughed. “I’m here in the water! I can just go deeper, and I have an advantage in the sea.”
“You will come over to us,” the vampire replied.
It said, “You can’t make me. Nothing you say or do will get me to come onto land to face you.”
Erik reached inside his mind and pulled out the worst insult he could possibly think of, “I bet a troll used you as a woman.”
“You absolute fucking cunt!” the draugr charged. “I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Ved'ma Story 