NPF Avatars IV, Chapter XIV: Attacking the Darkness
 

It was unnerving for the NPFers to be plunging into the depths of a Temple and not being beset by wandering monsters. The shadows parted before the lights of the NPFers, and flowed back hungrily in their wake, comfortable in the dim lights native to the Temple. You could almost hear whispers in the dark, at the edge of hearing.

Eventually the maddeningly empty labyrinth gave way to a grand door. Shadow crawled slowly over it, as if seeking a way in. It looks suspiciously like the kind of big impressive door that has some nasty monster behind it.

Entering it anyway, as was typical for their ilk, the NPFers found a room set out like a noble's sitting room. The strange, eye twisting nature of the Temple seemed gone here, as if it was isolated from the rest. Crimson dominated, red as blood. Candles dotted every surface, making the place the brightest place they'd seen in the Shadow Temple. Wineglasses were set around a small table, though they were empty. The room's only inhabitant didn't drink... wine.

The ceiling was a vault of stars, the bright silver disc of the full moon set at the center. Opposite the NPFers a fireplace crackled merrily. Over it was set a monstrous wolf's head, something more cunning than animal instinct still glinting in its dead eyes. It's jaws were invitingly open, teeth glinting almost silver from the moonlight.

It dulled suddenly, the false stars and moon obscured by dark, dense cloud. The colour of the room was richer in only the light of fire, fadining into velevety darkness where the light didn't reach. From the darkest corner of the room, they heard a slow creak. It founded like a coffin opening.

This was because, in the darkest corner of the room, there was a coffin opening.

Greenish mist poured out, billowing in on itself to reveal a figure garbed immaculately in black. This figure was talle and pale and his eyes were cruel. His smile showed his teeth, notably two pearly white fangs. He was unmistakably a vampire. He even had a cape.

"I am Count Vladula Nostat Lescard Aludalv Drafuratu and I velcome you to my home." He said playfully, somehow condescending at the same time, "I have not had... company for some time."

"Why couldn't you just be dead like everything else?" Arhra said impatiently.

"Safety I have in here." ze undead replied, "Vhile I can not get out, the shadows of the Caryatid, they can not get in. A prison vurks both vays. Here you have come, but no further vill you go."

"Wait a moment..." Arhra said slowly, "Vampires don't really have much to do with darkness." She disdained the logic that darkness = spooky = undead.

"In her vizdom, our dread miztress decided to find a uze for the pzychic contamination on the element of Shadow." the vampire replied in his somewhat patchy accent.

"So wait... does that mean you're basically what a vampire would be if a vampire was designed by rabid vampire fans?" Arhra said awkwardly.

He clapped mockingly. "Oh, so ve do have a bright one here. Enough talk! Ze children of ze night, come!"

Bats came from somewhere, descending upon the NPFers. Count Vladula seemed content to stand and watch, a slight sneer on his face.

OOC: Details on the vampiric jerk can be found here. The fight's a Can of Spam.

I just grinned, and hurled the fireball I was maintaining at him, the fireball looking like a comet at it streaked at him. I didn't see if it hit or not, as I was quickly launching fire spells at the bats in rapid sucession, though each attack wasn't that powerful.

Mauve grumbled to herself, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Nobody could hear exactly what she said, but the words "stupid," "fangirls," "werewolves," and "frikkin' Van Helsing" were rather clear.

Still grumbling, she made her way slowly towards the back of the room. Bats continued to bombard her, but she kept calling down small volleys of lightning around her to keep them at bay.

"So let me get this straight," Mauve said, leaning up against the fireplace once she had reached that area. Her hand shot out and slashed at a bat with her knife. "You don't like the shadows. And quite honestly, I don't blame you. Creepy as hell, those things are. But what I'm wondering-- If you don't get away from me RIGHT NOW, you stupid bat, I swear I'll... Yeah, you'd BETTER run!!-- what I'm wondering is what exactly would keep the shadows out." Another volley of lightning and some muted curses from the mage as a particularly bold bat rammed into her hat and tried to pull it off.

"Anyway, it's probalbly something uber magical. But I'm thinking it might have something to do with this particularly nice source of light." Her hand reached towards the fireplace, and a basketball-sized orb of water hovered above the flames.

"Now look, Vlad or Vlac or whatever, we really don't have a lot of time to dink around in a vampire fight. Just let us go on our merry way and we'll leave you alone. And I won't put out your fire, plunging your little prison into darkness and rendering you into Shadow-Food."

Vladula simply sidestepped as Flare launched a fireball at him, adding insult to injury by using it to light a cigarette as it passed. In this modern day and age, vampires smoke for some reason!

He puffed reflectively, knocking Arhra aside as she leapt at him then blurred forwards, appearing in front of Flare and socking her in the gut. Stepping back from his foe, he turned to face Mauve as she threatened his fireplace.

The vampire chuckled condescendingly, breaking off for a moment to turn into mist. A split second later, a pouncing Arhra passed harmlessly through the gas and crashed harmfully into a table.

Vladula reformed closer to Mauve. "Vunderful." he said lightly, "Just vunderful. I think I vill keep you around, for you are the funny one, no?" It didn't look like putting out fireplaces was going to get anyone eaten by shadows. "I vill make you a counteroffer. Look into my eyes." he said, aiming to transfix her with his gaze as he approached.

It was probable that he wanted to suck her blood.

"Oh great, bats. I hate bats! Damn flying rodents."

They descended upon where Hawk stood in great numbers, but Hawk didn't move. He had leanred a trick to deal with bats, the Earth Temple had been full of them. With a quick upwards gesture of his wings, the air around Hawk began shooting upwards, a circular gale of rushing air extending about three feet in diameter around Hawk, forming a sort of wall. The "wall" itself was only around a foot wide, but any bats that flew into it suddenly found themselves flung ceiling-ward.

That's the bats taken care of, now for the vampire. Damnit, if only I was still human, I'd stake him in a heartbeat. Ha, vampire, stake, heartbeat. Ha, I crack me up. But let's see now, no hands to speak of so staking is out, no sunlight so that's a no-no. I doubt anyone's got holy water with them, although I wouldn't put it past Mauve to carry some of that, but there again most people these days don't carry anti-vampire protection at all, everyone's too busy worrying about imminent zombie attack rather than vampires. Now if this was still the 1800s then that's a different matter... (His thoughts began to drift somewhat at this point) ...I wonder if this is the kind of vamp that dusts itself when it dies. I like those kinds of vamps, no mess, no clean up, no expensive dry cleaning bills. Yep, Self-Dusting vampires are always the way to go-

Hey did he just turn into mist?! Who does he think he is, Dracula?!!

A plan suddenly occured to him. "Hey, somebody make him go all misty again and I'll blow him away. Literally."

It was simple, but quite elegant in its simplicity.

His punch landed on my armored torso, but it still knocked me back a few steps. "Nice jab." I said, then grabbing my spear, I launched myself at him, intent on imbedding my spear through his chest and hopefully his heart.

"Don't look in his eyes, Mauve! He'll probably take you to dinner and a movie and compliment your beautiful spellcasting and violent tendencies before taking you home like a gentleman! And he'll probably suck your blood, too!"

Phil got some confused stares. "What? I've been here the whole time. I've just been quiet 'cause I'm full of food."

"Hearing" Hawk's plan, Phil yelled, "●Summon: Holy Water Hose!" producing a green, rubber, garden hose full of holes wound in his hands, which Phil swung at Vladula.

"Well, I thought the whole fire extinguishing thing was a good idea," Mauve said with a depressed sigh, still staring at the fireplace. "Oh well. I tried."

Then came the whole "look into my eyes" dealie. Mauve grimaced, taking a step backwards and avoiding looking at his face.

"Look pal, I don't date smokers," she said. "And quite honestly, I really don't cope well with blood loss. Besides, I don't particuarly care for undeads of any type."

She took another step backwards, wondering if it would be worth it to set his coffin on fire.

Fenris decided he would be completely ineffective against the creatures, so he dove in and stabbed some bats in a sufficiently vague manner.

Nikose scratched his head at the bats that were flying around him- and then the darkness around him solidified, and the bats had a hard time reaching him. He smiled a bit and said, "Well, for once I feel right at home." He proceeded to move his new dome of darkness forward, towards the vampire. "Hey, Mister, your pets are hurting my friends. Make 'em stop, or I'll have to." He said in a happy, casual way.

Also, Nikose's hat had gone missing in the darkness, letting his long brown hair fall everywhere.