Monsters

by Viktor Zólyomi

  As I stepped in front of him with his chain in my hand, he arose from his throne.

  `Greetings... Young one... My chain...?' he asked, getting straight to the point.

  `Here.' I said, and I tossed the chain in front of his feet.

  He looked down, but did not bow down to get it. He just reached out his hand, and the chain flew into it. Magic... Pfeh.

  `Good... job... young one... Good... job...'

  `I'm so glad you're happy, you pile of bones! Now give me my reward and let's get this over with!'

  `Of course... young one... I see... you could... use... some new... armor... anyway...' he said.

  `Shut the fuck up! You have no idea what I went through! Do not mock me!'

  `Easy... young one... Follow...' he said, and he slowly began to walk towards a door on my right. I went after him.

  In the other room, there was an armor stand with a suit of black armor on it. At first it seemed like leather armor, but as I approached I could see that the chest armor was actually made of some kind of metal.

  `Here... young one... Your reward... Wear it... proudly...'

  I looked at him, but he didn't look like he was about to leave. I frowned at him, and I dropped the cloak I took from the merchants earlier. I slipped into that black suit of armor. The chest armor came on me easily. It was very flexible, despite being made of metal. The leggings and the boots were likewise flexible. It was easy to walk in them. But the armor was just a chest armor, it left much of my upper back, my shoulders, and my arms unprotected. I wondered what kind of protection it could offer at all, being as thin as it was.

  `Alright, what's the deal with this armor?'

  `It is... very... powerful...'

  `It doesn't look like it.'

  `It's not... supposed to... It's meant... to be... easy... to move in...'

  That it was. It was very comfortable, and it wasn't even the least bit tight. But it did seem no more than clothing.

  `You don't say... So why don't I just stay naked if that's all it can do?'

  `By all means... young one... but if I... were you... I'd wear... this... armor...'

  `What makes it so good?'

  `Watch...' he said, and he raised his right arm. He pointed at me, and some kind of magical projectile was fired at me. It came so sudden that I didn't even try to jump aside. But before the missile could have hit me, a bright sphere was lit up around me and the projectile just vanished.

  `What the fuck was that?'

  `The armor... generates... a magical shield... around you... It protects you... It can be pierced... but only by powerful magics... and powerful attacks... The armor... patches itself when damaged... Just like your wounds... close up by themselves... If the shield... wears off... in time it will... come back... like it was...'

  `That's not bad.' I said to him. `It reminds me of my old armor.'

  `So... you like... the armor...? Good... Now... the cloak...'

  He reached out his hand towards me and a black sash appeared in it.

  `Take it...' he said. I took it in my hand.

  `A sash? You said, cloak...'

  `You may... wear it... as a sash... That way... you can move... more easily... Cloaks can... restrict... movement... When... you need its magics... unfold... the sash... and wear it... as the cloak... that it is... Try it...'

  I examined the sash and saw that indeed it could be unfolded into something. I unfolded it and I held a black hooded cloak in my hands. It was very thin. Far too thin to be of any use. I placed it around my shoulders.

  `Stylish.' I told him. `But it's ridiculously thin. What good is it?'

  `It protects you... against that... which is the bane... of all vampires... even you... Fire...'

  `Fire?'

  `Yes... Wrap yourself... in it... and not even the dragon's breath... can harm you...'

  `That's not bad.' I said, and I folded the cloak back into a sash, and wrapped it around my waist. `Now, if we are done, I'll be leaving.'

  `There is... one more thing... Step closer...'

  I stepped in front of him, and he reached towards me with his left arm. He reached under my hair, and touched the back of my neck.

  `What are you doing?'

  `Don't worry... Young one... This will... not hurt...'

  Then his eyes flashed brightly, and I felt an extreme heat on my skin where he touched my neck. Then it faded in a moment. He pulled his hand back.

  `What did you do to me?' I asked, and I touched the back of my neck. I felt something there. Like a fresh tattoo...

  `I gave you... a magic tattoo of power...'

  `A what?'

  `Magic tattoo of power... An insignia... filled with... magical power... It is charged... with a very powerful spell... All you must do... to use that spell... is focus... on the tattoo... and it will take effect... It's all... a matter... of concentration...'

  `Concentration, yes, yes, I heard all that before. What does the spell do?'

  `It is... the most... powerful... anti-paralysis... spell... ever conceived...'

  `Anti-paralysis?'

  `Yes... As a vampire... you are immune... to all instant death spells... and to most... paralysis spells... However... some paralysis spells... can still affect you... This tattoo... will save you... if you are ever paralyzed... Use it wisely... There is only one charge... of the spell...'

  `I'll remember that.'

  `Good... Remember also... that you are not invincible... I gifted you these items... to aid you... to make you even more formidable... and thereby... even more interesting... but do not forget your limits... young one...'

  `Trust me, I know my limits well enough...'

  `If you... say so... young one... Now... our deal... is done... I wish you well... Know... that my home... is always open to you... Do come back... sometime... I may even... have more... tasks for you... in time... With ample reward... of course...'

  `Work for you? Again? Not in your life! Or... unlife. Or whatever.' I told him, and I turned my back on him and slowly walked out of his lair.

  The hunter

  On the southern shore of Lake Yeren, Kh'Tal, present day (1 year, 3 months, and 20 days before Twilightfall)

  Five months passed since then. Since I left Belwor's crypt with my reward. I must admit, he gave me a fine piece of armor, it has come in handy more than once. But what did I have to go through for it? It's all his fault that those bastards did what they did to me. One day, I will get him back for it. One day, I will kick his sorry undead ass! Yes. One day, I will... For now, I shall let him be. There will be opportunities, I am certain. But he's a powerful magician, so I must be cautious, and better not be hasty.

  If anything good came of my business with that son of a bitch besides the armor, it's that I got to know myself better. I got to know my vampire abilities better. In the time since past, I've learned even more.

  It's all so strange. I knew so little of vampires before I came here. I knew they were strong and healed fast. I did not know that they could grow vicious razor-sharp claws on their fingers at will and strike with them like let's say a panther or tiger can. I knew that sunlight and beheading could kill a vampire, but I thought there were other means as well. Belwor claimed that I was much stronger than other vampires, that I need not fear sunlight, but that fire could still harm me. Yes, fire can wound me greatly, I've learned that when one of my victims stuck a burning torch in my face. It can weaken me terribly, but it still can't kill me. The story of the wooden stake and the garlic is total bullshit. As is the idiotic tale that vampires have no reflection in the mirror. I see myself perfectly in the water of the lake just in front of me. I see my still elven features, I see my pale skin, my long dark hair, the armor I received from that son of a bitch Belwor... I must admit, if I knew not what I am, I, too, would be fooled into thinking, that I am staring at the image of a night elf.

  Ironic, that I would turn into such a creature. I always loathed night elves, and always despised black magic. In the end
, black magic saved me from dying, and it turned me into a creature that looks like a night elf. Anyone would be fooled by my appearance. Especially now that I wear this black armor. It makes me look like a night elf assassin, come to think of it. I wonder what Jason would think if he saw me now?

  But I like this armor. It has done me great service. I have fought many fierce creatures, dangerous magical beasts in the past five months. While I am very strong now and I guess I count as a dangerous magical beast myself, most of those creatures were challenging to kill. Then again, that's why I enjoyed hunting them in the first place...

  It took me a while to realize what I had left to do in life. Before I met Belwor, all I did was explore Kh'Tal, and kept feeding at a minimum, so as to kill as sparsely as possible. When those four cursed thieves did what they did to me, and I took my vengeance upon them, things changed. I started to see things differently. First of all, I understood what I am now. It's like Jason said before I left Aurach's castle. I am a predator. I must hunt prey and feed on them to survive, like any other predator does. I finally understood that. I slowly accepted that this means I must feed daily, keep myself well fed and strong, so that something like what occurred in that wooden shack five months ago would not happen again. That I would not be caught off guard and weakened again. Since then, I don't pretend like I was still a wood elf. No. Since then, I live like a vampire does, like a predator does.

  I accepted all of it, I no longer have any reservations of being in such a role. Why? If I could answer that... Was it the shock of what they did to me? Was it the realization that I instinctively killed two people who tried to help me? Or was it seeing the thieves die a slow and painful death, was it that I enjoyed seeing them die like that? Was it all of this together? I don't know. I'm inclined to think that it was more because of the death of those two merchants than anything else, but honestly, I do not truly know. Whatever it was, I know the turning point was that incident five months ago.

  Weeks passed, and I just kept going. I continued to explore Kh'Tal, feeding on any prey unfortunate enough to get in my way. Slowly I realized that there was nothing really worthwhile about this life. It all felt meaningless. Then I started searching for a meaning. I slowly realized that as a vampire, I had just one thing left of my old life, the life I used to love. And that is, that as a predator, I was a hunter.

  Yes. I became something entirely different from what I used to be before coming to this world. But I was still a hunter, just like pretty much all my life. This was all I had left. I realized, that there was only one way I could bring some kind of meaning into my life. And that is to simply live for what I have left. To live for the hunt.

  Of course, there was no point in hunting the kind of game I used to hunt while I was a wood elf. I had become a powerful vampire, wild animals were no challenge, and I had no reason to hunt them. Their blood was not satisfactory enough. Then I remembered all the strange beasts I had seen in Kh'Tal, many of which I chose to avoid at the time because I felt they were too dangerous. I was thinking, that to hunt such powerful and dangerous beasts, to test myself against them, to hunt them for the sake of coming to know myself through the hunt, is something I could see as meaningful.

  So, I hunted them. I sought challenge after challenge, beast after beast, prey after prey. I've enjoyed hunting them. Sometimes they wounded me greatly, brought me to the brink of death, but I still enjoyed the hunt. I finally found a meaning in my life again, through a form of hunting I never practiced or even desired to practice while I was a wood elf. And now, I am content with my new life. I've accepted what I am, and grown to like it. If my people could see me now, they'd call me a monster. Indeed, that's what I've become. But it can't be undone, and then why is it bad that I've come to like what I am? They may judge me, but I care not. Not any more. I am no longer one of them, no matter how much I'd have liked to be. And I have accepted it by now. A monster I may be, but I'd rather be a monster with a meaning in life, than live a life with no meaning whatsoever.

  *

  I don't know how long I've been standing here, just staring at my reflection in the water, and thinking of what I am. But I know that someone's watching me. A man, I think. He's been watching me for some time now. He's not far. He's alone. It's almost like he is stalking me.

  Finally, he is approaching. He comes towards the lake and doesn't even try to be hidden from sight. I turn towards him.

  He is an elderly man. His hair is mostly black, in some parts gray. He is wearing a wizard robe with a strange symbol on the chest: a dragon's claw holding a glowing orb. Interesting...

  He stops about fifteen feet away. He looks at me with a very strange look in his eye. Like he is troubled, and confused, not knowing what to say, how to react. I think he knows what I am. Perhaps through his magic he can sense it.

  He finally opens his mouth and speaks to me.

  `Where did you get that?' he asks, slowly, pointing towards me.

  `Get what?' I ask, surprised.

  `The amulet!' he says, sounding shocked.

  `This?' I ask, touching the amulet Jason had given me.

  `Yes... What else? Are you wearing any other amulets? Perhaps an invisible one? Or one so small that I cannot see it from here? Bah! Of course that one! Give it to me! I need it... I must have it...' he says, sounding like some raving madman.

  `It was a gift from someone dear to me. I can't give it away.'

  `I'm not asking! You will give it to me!' he shouts, and he points his hand towards me. Without hesitation, I jump into the water, just barely avoiding some kind of magical projectile that he fired at me.

  He rushes close to the edge of the water and searches for me, trying to spot me. In the water, I transform into my mist form...

  A very powerful thing, this shapeshifting ability. I learned how to become mist about a month after that unpleasant business with Belwor. I learned that he wasn't lying about the power of this form, I was indeed invulnerable like this. But I could also not attack like this.

  Still, this shape comes in handy. Right now, I slowly leave the water in the shape of this mist. The wizard does not seem to notice the bubbling of the water near the edge, nor does he see how a strange mist accumulates behind him.

  He doesn't see me transforming back to my normal shape. He looks for me in the water still.

  `Damn! Now I have to go find her. I hate to swim...' he says, and he turns around like he is about to leave.

  He freezes in place as he sees me just inches away. I smile at him.

  `Looking for me?' I ask, and I forcefully push him in the chest. He is too slow to react, and he falls far into the water, at least fifteen feet from the shore. He moves his arms and legs around chaotically, desperately trying to stay on the surface of the water. Like someone who forgot how to swim, or even float in the water.

  `You... you... will regret that...' he says.

  I jump after him. His eyes go wide as I land beside him, and grab him. I push his head beneath the water. The water bubbles above him intensely, and he is desperately trying to get loose. Idiot. He's only going to run out of air faster if he screams into the water like this... Poor sod. Come to think of it, I never fed on a mage before. Unless if I count Jason. He does have some mage skills, after all. But this wizard has the appearance of a powerful wizard. He may be a moron, but his blood must taste well...

  I believe I never fed on someone beneath the water. Always a first time...

  I push him low and lean after him. Under the surface of the water, his stare meets mine, and as I lean closer with my mouth open, his eyes go wide and he screams more intensely, making the water bubble even more. I reach closer, but before I could bite his neck, he pulls a wand from his belt and desperately aims it at me. He activates it, and something that seems like lightning emits from it. I feel something painfully shaking my entire body, and I see lightning crackle all over me, and all over the wizard as well.

  I remember that once and old mage told me that water could magnify t
he effects of lightning based spells. He said something like that water could conduct the power of lightning. Or something like that. This wizard is either a complete idiot, or he was really desperate when he fired that wand. He used that spell, when he had to know that he, too, would suffer its effects.

  Shaking with all the pain of that magical attack, I release him and float to the surface. Ignoring the pain, I swim out of the lake as swiftly as I can. Once on the shore, I cringe from the pain and feel that my whole body is shaking. Were I not a vampire, I'd probably be dead by now.

  I look back at the wizard. He is still floating in the water, lightning crackles around him, and he seems to be in great pain. He's gasping for air, and waving his wand around insanely.

  A minute passes, and slowly the lighting fades away. The pain in my body is also beginning to dissipate. I stand up, and look towards the mage, ready to fight him again. He is on the surface of the water, breathing fast and looking towards the shore.

  `Damn creatures of the night...' he mutters to himself. Then he notices me, and stares at me with a look of disbelief.

  `How did you survive that?' he asks. The he adds: `You know what? Keep the amulet! I'm out of here...'

  He waves his hands and he vanishes from the water without a trace. He teleported away, or whatever it's called...

  Suspiciously I glance around, thinking that perhaps he was trying to fool me. Yet, he doesn't come. He indeed fled the scene. What a coward... A pity. I would have liked to know what the blood of a powerful mage tastes like.

  `This place used to be so calm, so tranquil. Damn this stupid wizard...' I speak to myself, shaking my head.

  A strange symbol that mage had on the chest of his robe. A dragon's claw holding a glowing orb. A dragon's claw...

  Now that I think about it... I have spent the past months seeking and hunting dangerous creatures, magical beasts. I can say that I hunted many kinds of critters, but surely I can't say that I've done it all, no. There is certainly one particularly worthwhile creature that I have not had the chance to hunt before... A dragon...