Saving Cleric Anderson... Again

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 24, Post Number 584

-Haunted Castle, evening-

Wearing her usual outfit of white Steel Matron T-shirt under Azure Armor with black skirt and white tennis shoes, Victoria also carried her Silver Dagger in case there were werewolves who needed to be stabbed to death or ghosts who decided that getting in her face was a good idea. In her backpack were the Bandolier and the Crown of Persephone in case she or her partners needed healing on the fly. Victoria had been hired by the Order of Lightbringers to help out Cleric Amberlin and Knight Minerva Anderson, who were here to rescue Serena Anderson from herself... again. According to the Order, Serena had charged into Haunted Castle by herself to purify it after one too many charges of being a beneficiary of nepotism were leveled at her. Victoria recalled that Serena's family was a big deal in the Order of Lightbringers since she was descended from a particularly powerful Order cleric who made history centuries ago in a crusade to cleanse The Cursed Lands of evil.

Despite needing to prepare for the mission to Sin, Victoria owed the Order a favor after they gifted her with a Silver Dagger that saved her life during a job in Lycan Woods. Her Re-Equip weapon was knocked away and the dagger was the closest weapon she had at hand, but it was all she needed to stab a werewolf to death and save herself from becoming a late-night snack for the others. Amusingly enough, Victoria had been gifted the Silver Dagger as a reward for saving Serena from the Haunted Guild after the cleric rushed off to purify it by herself. Whether it was by fate or by coincidence, now she was carrying that weapon on her quest to save Serena a second time. Hopefully after this mission Serena would learn to dial it down a bit and not rush off headlong into danger just to prove herself.

Victoria paused in front of the Haunted Castle and saw that it was a formidable structure in terms of size and appearance. It was a stone structure of a typical medieval style that was built to last; it had a few barely noticeable dents from where some party tried to attack it with siege weapons and failed to do any real damage. The damage was so insignificant that the lord or lady of the castle probably laughed about it while sipping wine from the comfort of their favorite chair. She then wondered how many Jewels it cost to build Haunted Castle... probably a lot more than she would ever make in her career. Victoria's eyes drifted down from the walls to the wooden double doors of the castle and saw a short pink-haired mage in white and a taller strawberry blonde or redhead wearing silver armor and red-and-white clothing.

"Hey Amberlin! Who's your partner?" Victoria asked the short pink-haired mage who was full of cheer... and powerful support spells. Amberlin noticed Victoria and waved to her enthusiastically. The taller mage had a lukewarm reaction to the brunette's arrival and barely moved her head to look at Victoria. Victoria was concerned that this was going to be one of those jobs where she was treated like a no-name scrub who could not even tie her shoelaces without help. Well, at least the pay was good.

"Oh, you haven't met Minerva before, have you? She's Minerva Anderson, an Order Knight who's a rising star in the Order! Some say that she's gonna make it to the top faster than anyone before her!" Amberlin introduced her taller companion, who still did not take much interest in Victoria other than as a curiosity. Whatever. Victoria had not risked her life time and time again and worked to become almost as strong as the exalted Wizard Saints just to be looked down on. Victoria had her pride and if Minerva did not want to be friendly with her, the brunette was not going to beg for her attention. Minerva would soon get a chance to see why the brunette was the second-strongest mage in Sabertooth.

"Minerva Anderson? Is she related to Serena Anderson?" Victoria asked Amberlin. The mighty Minerva herself deigned to answer the question.

"Serena's my younger sister." Minerva answered with an economy of words. Victoria's ability to see the truth told her that Minerva was not lying. Now that the relationship had been established, it was time for Victoria to learn some specifics about Serena's reason for charging off to another haunted place.

"What happened this time?" Victoria asked succinctly. Minerva took a deep breath and began her reply.

"You see, my sister's sensitive to people accusing us of getting special treatment because we're the descendants of a female cleric who was a once-in-a-generation magical prodigy and who accompanied Thomas Beckit on his quest to rid The Cursed Lands of all the servants of darkness. She can't stand it. Every time she achieves a success rumors start to fly that it only happened because Father Morris saw that she got access to the best teachers that only advanced clerics get to study under and got special lessons that only the advanced clerics get. Critics say that we're getting everything handed to us because of our family name instead of "earning" the privileges we get." Minerva started the explanation with a fair bit of animosity on her voice. Judging from how she spoke, Minerva sounded bitter that she was also accused of benefiting from connections. Victoria kept quiet and let her continue talking.

"I get accused of it too. I can ignore most of the cheap talk because my results speak for themselves, but Serena can't. It eats at her and if it gets bad enough, she vows to cleanse a place of evil by herself and charges off to do it. Once some mage had to save her from the Haunted Guild after she vowed to cleanse it and got in way over her head." Minerva finished giving some backstory for Victoria's benefit. The brunette was miffed that the Knight did not realize that Serena's rescuer was standing right in front of her, but she got a glimpse of what it was like to be the beneficiary of networking. Victoria was a beneficiary of it herself since Sabertooth helped her get a lot of good-paying work and protected her from the uncertainties of a Guildless life, but she had never seen any downside to it. Compared to being a street kid having to eat from trash cans and sleep in dirty back alleys or wherever she could call home, being part of a famous Legal guild was the high life.

[Post Word Count: 1,108]
[Total Word Count: 1,108/12,500]

Victoria had thought that being part of an exclusive network was a good thing. After being out on the streets for so long without reliable access to basic resources that others had taken for granted, Victoria had taken well to the life of a guild mage. She had access to food that was safe to eat, a reasonable degree of physical protection from her enemies, a place to live that was not in need of frequent patching, and a pipeline to work that paid well. While she was not the scion of a bloodline known for super-powerful magic or the daughter of a family with influence that reached all across Earthland, Sabertooth had accepted Victoria without any reservations because she had requested to join them. Considering everything she had gained since joining Sabertooth, what more could a mage from the streets want?

Then she had heard Minerva talk with the kind of authority that came from experience and reconsidered how beneficial being part of an exclusive network really was.

Victoria had heard Minerva talk about the price she and Serena were having to pay for having the last name of Anderson. While they had gotten access to dedicated tutors and extra lessons in powerful spells that were normally reserved for advanced clerics, Minerva and Serena paid for those boons in having to endure endless gossip about how they had not "earned" those privileges and that they only gotten them because they were Father Morris' favorites. From the sound of it, the Andersons had to constantly prove that they could accomplish things despite their last name and not because of it. She was sure that the sisters were the subject of even more unsavory rumors, but she had heard enough from Minerva to conclude that the grass was not always greener on the other side. It also proved that holy orders were not immune to politics or water cooler talk.

"Yeah, I can see why Serena would get mad and do what she does. I mean, constantly having your achievements put down just because of your last name gets pretty old fast. It's almost like they can't wait to see you two fail so that they can sit back and laugh and claim that they were right about you only getting so far 'cause of special favors." Victoria said to Minerva. Hearing a voice from the other side kind of made Victoria appreciate how she was not from a famous family. She did not have her successes chalked up to being part of a "good old mages" club or special favors from said club. Everything she had accomplished was because of her own effort, the efforts of all of her teammates, and more than a little luck.

"I don't blame Serena for being mad, but now we have to rescue Serena from another mess she's gotten herself into. You see, Haunted Castle's just that, haunted. It's home to vampires, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, anything that goes bump in the night." Minerva explained to Victoria in a way that was not condescending. The brunette had gathered from the name of the place that it was not going to be sunshine and lollipops. It was not called "Haunted Castle" because it was a brightly colored castle that was home to talking unicorns and pegasi who sang syrupy songs and went on magical adventures. It was a place of evil where many shady things had gone down and a place where many shady things continued to go down. She was pretty sure that human sacrifice was part of the "castle of darkness" package.

"Haunted Castle's a lot worse than the Haunted Guild, Victoria. I wouldn't take it lightly just because you're with us." Amberlin politely warned the Sabertooth mage.

"What about that big mansion?" Victoria inquired in all seriousness. Amberlin looked towards her with blue eyes expressing concern and her hands clasped together.

"This place is worse than that mansion. This time we won't have a zombie cat to guide us around and spot ghosts before they strike, so we're gonna have to be careful. Many people enter but few leave." Amberlin answered seriously. Victoria did not say anything more. If an Order Cleric was telling the brunette to be careful, the latter could rest assured that it was not an empty warning to sound dramatic.

"Man, I miss Umbra." Victoria said to no one in particular. The zombie cat that accompanied her and Amberlin through the manor behaved much like a living cat... if living cats had blood-red eyes and had patches of skin missing from decomposition. Victoria learned that the cat's name was Umbra and that he had belonged to the mansion's previous owners before their untimely demise. Umbra could detect ghosts with his senses and make them visible to humans with a flash of his eyes, an ability which made Victoria and Amberlin's job a lot easier because ghosts could not sneak up on them if Umbra revealed them first. Despite his creepy appearance Victoria was sad to see the zombie cat go when he left this world to rejoin the freed souls of his owners and their staff.

"C'mon, we'd better get going. Serena might need our help and we don't have all night to help her." Minerva urged her companions to quit standing around and get moving. Drawing a silver broadsword, Minerva entered the castle first, followed by Victoria wielding her Silver Dagger and Amberlin bringing her own Silver Dagger out. The wooden door closed behind them with a grim finality and the doorknob clicked back into place.

-Inside Haunted Castle-

"Oh look, candlelight. How romantic." Victoria dryly commented on the numerous brass candelabras hanging above their heads and the flickering light the dancing flames on the candles contained within small glass globes put out. Beneath their feet was a red carpet with gold borders. The candlelight was beautiful, but it was also a sign that their arrival was expected. Minerva was quick to comment with words to that effect.

"That means that the owner of the castle's expecting us. We'd better be really careful. The welcoming committee could come our way at any moment." Minerva said to Amberlin and Victoria before adding a warning to stay alert. The trio stood in a defensive triangular formation with their backs to each other so that if the welcoming committee was made up of ghosts the trio could not be easily ambushed from behind.

[Post Word Count: 1,072]
[Total Word Count: 2,180/12,500]

-Inside Haunted Castle, the foyer-

The trio stood in a defensive formation for about three minutes until Minerva determined that they were not going to be ambushed by angry ghosts... yet. Once that was determined Victoria took a closer look at the area they were standing in. It was a foyer decorated with oil paintings of farming scenes and the occasional tapestry bearing a coat of arms that she could not even pretend to recognize. There was not just one coat of arms, but about six different coats of arms with all sorts of symbols. One of them was a brown tapestry hanging directly in front of the trio.

On the brown tapestry was a black shield with red swords crossed diagonally down and below it was a motto woven in a strange lettering style and woven in a language she did not recognize, but it looked fancy. The words were located in a scroll below the black shield.

"NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT"

"Huh... what does that mean?" Victoria asked Amberlin. pointing towards the phrase with her left hand to direct her partner's attention. The pink-haired mage took a closer look at it and soon came up with an answer for the inquisitive brunette.

"No one provokes me with impunity." Amberlin responded.

"Hmmm... I can't even pretend to recognize who it belongs to. Musta been a coat of arms that belonged a former master of the castle." Victoria surmised with a statement of the obvious. Amberlin nodded in agreement. Minerva simply shrugged her shoulders and pointed her sword down the hallway just to the right of the tapestry.

"We don't have time for art appreciation or history. We need to get going and save my sister." Minerva pointedly reminded the pair before setting out down the hall to their right with or without them. Victoria could understand them needing to focus on their task, but walking off and leaving them like she did was a bit of a childish move. The brunette tried to be understanding and chalked it up to the stress of Minerva having to rescue her younger sister and fend off rumors of special treatment, but she was a bit miffed considering that not even ten minutes ago Minerva was all but saying that the trio needed to work together to survive the Haunted Castle. Victoria took a deep breath and followed closely behind Amberlin with Silver Dagger in hand.

The trio walked down the hallway in an echelon formation with Minerva in the middle, Amberlin to the left, and Victoria to the right. While walking down the hallway Victoria looked to the right and saw more pictures of farming scenes like a farmer cutting wheat with a scythe, a farm boy watching over a herd of sheep in a field of grass, and a woman sitting on a wooden stool in a barn and milking a Holstein cow. Victoria did not understand the preoccupation with the rustic life that the castle's owner seemed to have, but it was the only subject of the paintings that were hanging on the walls. The paintings were all oil paintings that were perfect down to the last detail, suggesting that a master painter was commissioned to paint the scenes. The brunette wondered what the castle's owner had spent to commission paintings so detailed that she could almost see the individual stalks of wheat the farmer was cutting with his scythe.

Victoria's art appreciation was interrupted when Minerva stopped in the middle of the hall. Amberlin and Victoria followed suit and listened for a whispered explanation of what Minerva had seen to make her halt so suddenly.

"I thought I saw a ghost over by that stairwell." Minerva whispered to them. Victoria was underwhelmed by the reason. A rising star of the Order of Lightbringers was hesitating on account of a single ghost? Victoria kept quiet and soon observed that there was more than one ghost up ahead... there were at least eight lined up in front of the stairwell almost like they were actually waiting to walk up the stone stairs. That was curious behavior... perhaps Victoria's Order colleagues could explain why the ghosts were behaving like that instead of approaching the trio with violent intent.

"I wonder where they're going?" Amberlin inquired.

"No idea, but we'll find out soon enough. I say we follow them." Victoria suggested to the Order mages. Minerva nodded.

"I agree. Let's wait until they're gone, then follow them. There's gotta be more to their behavior than them being stuck in a loop from their mortal lives." Minerva seconded the idea. Victoria was almost floored that the haughty knight had agreed with her on anything, let alone the suggestion she had just made. Maybe there was more to Minerva than just proving to her critics that she did not need special connections to be an effective knight. At any rate, the trio waited until all of the ghosts had "walked" up the stairs before standing up.

"Follow them!" Minerva commanded her teammates before trotting ahead of them. Amberlin and Victoria hustled to keep up with the knight, who strode ahead without regard as to whether her teammates were actually behind her or not. Victoria kept the snark to herself and did her best to keep up.

-On the second floor-

The intrepid trio had made their way up the stairs to find themselves at the intersection of two hallways that were lit by overhead chandeliers. The hallway to the left was lined with suits of armor on pedestals and had more tapestries with coats of arms hanging on the wall. To the right was a hallway that had still more paintings of rustic life hanging on the wall. Minerva quickly crouched to the ground a few inches from the stairwell. Amberlin and Victoria followed suit.

"Werewolves." Minerva whispered calmly, pointing down the hallway to the left with her free hand. Victoria looked to where the knight was pointing and could see four bulky figures patrolling the hallway and occasionally pausing to sniff the air. Victoria was pretty sure that they were about to get into a fight because there was no way the trio could sneak past creatures with sensitive noses. Her right hand gripped the handle of the Silver Dagger tightly. Soon the werewolves growled and began walking in their direction with claws out.

"Well, we tried to be sneaky, but it looks like it's time to fight." Victoria commented as the beasts approached. Minerva stood up and Victoria followed suit, summoning her Submachine Gun to her left hand for a ranged option. it only held twenty rounds that were expended quickly, but in close range that did not really matter. She could give one werewolf lead poisoning before stabbing another one to death with the Silver Dagger. The only issue was that the Submachine Gun would break what little stealth the trio enjoyed, but that would not be much of a concern with four werewolves heading their way and the possibility of more waiting nearby.

[Post Word Count: 1,172]
[Total Word Count: 3,352/12,500]

Victoria aimed her Submachine Gun at the leading werewolf with her left hand and waited for the command to open fire. She did not know what Minerva could be waiting on... the werewolves were about 50 meters away and were closing fast. The lycanthropes were eying the trio as a late-night snack, so sneaking by them was a laughable impossibility. If the trio wanted to get through this unscathed, they had better take out the werewolves now before the shaggy enemies could get close enough to use their speed and strength to literally rip the mages apart.

What in Earthland was Minerva waiting on? Was she deliberately waiting for them to get close before attacking?

"Steady." Minerva said to Amberlin and Victoria. The brunette was not sure what the Order knight was waiting on. Maybe she expected a werewolf in a tuxedo to run up with an engraved invitation resting on a silver platter. Maybe Minerva wanted all the wolves to be together before she went into action and singlehandedly slaughtered them all just to prove how capable a fighter she was. Victoria hoped that the knight would get her act together and give a command before the wolves got close enough to rip their faces off.

"Steady." Minerva repeated. The enemies had now closed in to 25 meters and were still approaching. If the mages were going to fight, they had better do it now.

"NOW!" Minerva gave the call to action. She leaped right into Victoria's line of fire, causing the brunette to dispel her ranged weapon to avoid a friendly fire incident. Victoria cursed under her breath while Minerva began cleaving the werewolves apart with her sword with their surprised howls as a grim sort of musical accompaniment. The lead werewolf was already dead on the floor with a missing head and the second werewolf had lost its left arm to Minerva's gleaming blade; while the second and third werewolves struggled against the Order knight the fourth ran around Minerva and raced towards Amberlin and Victoria with its eyes on the pink-haired mage.

"I've got this one." Victoria told Amberlin. The brunette stepped in front of the pink-haired cleric and brought out her Submachine Gun, then jammed it against the beast's head and pulled the trigger. The Submachine Gun chattered as its rounds ripped into the beast's skull. It fell to the ground with blood from numerous head wounds oozing out of its skull and onto the dusty wooden floor.

Victoria dispelled the empty Submachine Gun and awaited the attack of the next werewolf, but by the time the weapon vanished Minerva had killed the last two enemies and was glaring at her in anger.

"You weren't supposed to use guns, you idiot! Now they know we're here!" Minerva chastised Victoria. The brunette frowned. She was not going to take Minerva's shit, not after she had saved Amberlin from the wolf who had broken away from the others.

"We never had the element of surprise, not when those wolves howled when you attacked!" Victoria angrily shot back at Minerva. Minerva might be used to badmouthing Order members whenever she felt like it and getting away scot-free, but Victoria was not going to put up with it. She had come here as a favor to the Order and to Serena and she was not going to be verbally abused by some jackass with something to prove.

"You need to get your head out of your ass or get out of here. This isn't the place for amateurs." Minerva counseled Victoria. The brunette noticed that Minerva did not even bother with an apology of any sort, not even a half-assed one. The brunette scoffed at the "advice."

"That's rich. You're the idiot who jumped in front of a live weapon without giving me a warning first." Victoria shot back in an effort to punch a hole in Minerva's flimsy "amateurs" argument. Minerva glared at Victoria for a moment and Victoria glared back. The knight was clearly not used to someone standing up to her, let alone giving her the same grief she gave others so freely.

"Guys, please stop arguing. Let's just get going!" Amberlin pleaded with the two angry women. The two continued to stare at each other before Victoria turned away from Minerva and faced Amberlin.

"OK. I'm ready when you guys are." Victoria said to the pink-haired mage and Minerva. She would chalk the argument up to Minerva being stressed and let it go, but Victoria was not going to be someone's punching bag. She had spent enough years on the streets of Capital Crocus being someone's punching bag and she had long ago tired of the role.

"Let's get going." Minerva said calmly before strolling past the dead werewolves like she was on a walk through the park.. She again set off without so much as waiting for her colleagues, something which annoyed Victoria to no end. She stifled her annoyance for the greater good and followed behind Amberlin to keep up with their self-appointed "leader." The trio walked all the way down the empty hallway that was big enough to accommodate two people walking side-by-side until they came across a bend to the right, where they heard the sound of heavy breathing from around the corner.

"Sounds like more werewolves. Get ready... and no guns this time." Minerva surmised to Amberlin and Victoria, who had finally caught up to her after struggling to keep up. Victoria caught the warning and begrudgingly obeyed it. The brunette theorized that Minerva did not want Victoria to steal the spotlight with her arsenal of long-range weaponry. Whatever.

"OK." Victoria reluctantly agreed to comply with the directive. She had a few other spells on hand, so while the Submachine Gun was handy, it would not make or break the brunette's fighting ability. She still had Derringer Shot, Shockwave Punch, Taser Spark, and a few other spells that could make up for her not being able to use her arsenal of guns. If all else failed she still had the Silver Dagger with which to stab werewolves to death and give ghosts a hard time.

After waiting a few tense seconds Minerva silently rushed forward and engaged a werewolf at point-blank range with her sword. Victoria followed and stopped a second lycanthrope from rushing Minerva by stabbing it in the right shoulder and drawing its attention to her.

"Over here, fuzzball!" Victoria challenged it to one-on-one combat... not that she actually expected it to oblige her and go for a duel. It did not because it and a friend hurried towards her with murder on their minds. Victoria raised her left hand and focused the Taser Spark onto the fingertips of her left index and middle fingers, then fired the Taser Spark at the second werewolf. The spark hit it in the chest and caused it to howl before falling on the ground and convulsing, cutting down her opposition to just the werewolf she had stabbed.

"Come on, Big Guy!" Victoria taunted it. It lunged at her and Victoria ducked under it, bringing the Silver Dagger down into its right thigh for a quick stab. It growled and reached for her shoulders, but Victoria withdrew the dagger and stabbed it in the center of the chest, causing it to reel backwards and right into Minerva's waiting sword. One stab through the back later and the werewolf was lying on the floor, where Minerva decapitated it to make certain that it was absolutely dead.

"Is that all of them?" Victoria asked Minerva.

"For now." The knight answered, wiping off her sword on the dead werewolf's back. Victoria rolled over the wolf and retrieved her Silver Dagger. She then waited for Minerva to determine the trio's next course of action.

[Post Word Count; 1,298]
[Total Word Count: 4,650/12,500]

After dispatching the trio of werewolves who lurked around the bend Minerva, Victoria, and Amberlin were debating their next move. They obviously needed to get to the top of the castle, but what was stopping them was not knowing what stood between them and Serena. They did not know whether they would be facing zombies, werewolves, vampires, or something new altogether and that was what was holding them up. Minerva had appointed herself leader and was advocating a fast-moving approach that involved plowing through the opposition before it could organize in sufficient numbers to stop the trio. Victoria could not help but to wonder where the same person who had stressed the importance of teamwork almost thirty minutes ago had gone.

Pushing through the opposition before it could muster its strength would be a good idea... if there were more than three of them. Victoria's firepower was a force multiplier because her Grenade Launcher could hit multiple targets at once with either explosive or Tear Gas rounds, but since Minerva seemed bent on prohibiting the Sabertooth mage from using it, that option was currently not available to the trio. Victoria's cynical view of the matter was that the prohibition was not about stealth, but about giving Minerva a chance to show off her skills to the outsider. Whatever. As long as Serena was rescued and she got paid for this.

"We need to get going and push through them while we can. We've already beaten back their first line of defense." Minerva urged the trio. Amberlin did not share the Knight's enthusiasm and advocated a more cautious approach to the rescue, one that was not lightning fast but would make sure the rescuers got there more or less intact. The pink-haired Cleric was struggling to hold her ground against her more forceful colleague, but she was making a good effort by employing logic.

"I don't think that we should be reckless, Minerva. There's only three of us. Besides, I'm pretty sure that the rest of the castle's inhabitants already know we're here. Whether they can smell us or see anything inside the castle when they want to, they know we're here. That's why I suggest that we stick together, clear out each floor as we go, and move as a team." Amberlin tried to make her case for an approach that did not involve plowing through the castle's defenders at breakneck speed. Minerva was not having it.

"Even if they can see us, if we move fast enough they won't be able to react to us fast enough for it to matter!" Minerva argued. Victoria did not like standing around while waiting for someone to finally make a decision. She wanted someone to decide what they did one way or another.

"But if we just charge in we won't have a clear way out if things go bad! We need to stick together and clear out each floor before moving on!" Amberlin argued. Again Minerva was not listening.

"We don't have all night to stand here and debate. I'm going ahead." Minerva said before rushing off down the hallway. Victoria clenched her teeth. She was really starting to dislike this Order Knight with the intensity of a burning sun.

"Damn it, I hate when she does that." Victoria complained.

"Me too." Amberlin said softly. Victoria could see that the smaller cleric felt like her opinion had been brushed aside by Minerva without it even getting a fair hearing. She also gave the impression that she felt like she had been thrown aside because she was not a Knight. The brunette tried her best to encourage Amberlin to keep going.

"C'mon Amberlin. If Minerva won't stick with you, then I will." Victoria assured the pink-haired cleric. More than once Victoria had experienced the feeling of being thrown aside and no one giving a damn about what she thought or how she felt. It was not a pleasant feeling.

"Thanks, Victoria. Let's catch up with Minerva while we still can." Amberlin said softly before hurrying off to follow the reckless Knight. Victoria hurried to catch up with the cleric, who could move fast despite her small size. Maybe Amberlin had to be fast to keep up with Minerva, who talked a big game but did not seem to value teamwork all that much.

-On the second floor-

Victoria and Amberlin hurried up the wooden stairs to find Minerva 100 meters away fighting a horde of zombies dressed in rotting maid and butler attire. They had gotten here just in time to save her from herself. Since she was still not allowed to use her guns, Victoria would just have to make do with her spells.

Ahead of them Minerva ducked and weaved through a gaggle of fifteen walking corpses while occasionally killing one with an attack that targeted the skull. Amberlin gasped and pointed right. The brunette saw a small group of seven walking corpses approaching from the hallway to their right. Victoria set down the dagger and focused gray magic into her hands, then pushed forward with them palms-out and used a Claymore Burst to riddle the zombies with steel ball bearings.

Three of them had fallen with holes punched through their foreheads, but the other four were still able to keep moving towards the pair. Amberlin stretched both arms out in front of her, closed her eyes, and muttered an incantation as a circle of golden light formed around her feet. She then opened them and pushed forward with both hands, firing a beam of holy light that enveloped and disintegrated the four remaining zombies.

"Nice." Victoria commented laconically. The pair then turned back to Minerva, who was still fighting the horde that had been whittled down to ten thanks to her speed and skill. There was no denying that Minerva was good, but she really needed to work on teamwork. Then again, Victoria herself could stand to improve her own teamwork. She tended to work alone because of her magic and her temperament, but working with Gaia, Itori, and Sarah had highlighted the benefits of working with at least one other person.

The brunette would have to think on her own time. Right now a new group of zombies was shuffling towards Minerva, who was too busy with the current batch to notice them. Amberlin pointed to them and Victoria took notice of the fifteen-strong group.

"Time to earn my pay." Victoria commented.

[Post Word Count: 1,074]
[Total Word Count: 5,724/12,500]

After uttering a one-liner the brunette hurried into action to save Minerva from the new wave of well-dressed walking corpses. She hurried past Minerva as the latter stabbed a corpse through the forehead and stood in front of the approaching zombies, who ignored the knight to focus on the Sabertooth mage. Victoria held her hands out in front of her focused gray magic into her hands, then pushed forward and released a Claymore Burst. The steel ball bearings shot forth in a fan pattern and took down four of the zombies with headshots, but the rest had sustained non-lethal wounds to the torso and shoulders and continued to advance on the brunette.

Victoria brought up her right hand in the shape of a gun, aimed it at the head of a female zombie with a missing left eye and missing left ear, then fired a Derringer spell shot at its forehead. The magic bullet punched through and dropped it to the floor, but its rotting companions continued to shamble towards her. The brunette next brought both hands up and formed them into a gun, then focused magic onto her fingertips and fired a Hand Cannon spell at the forehead of a decomposing butler missing both eyes and his left arm. The Hand Cannon shot punched through its skull and made it stop in place before falling forward after being shoved out of the way by another zombie butler.

Amberlin leaped in front of Victoria and brought both hands up in the same stance as the spell she had used earlier. A golden circle of light formed around her feet as she closed her eyes and repeated the chant from before. Once the spell was ready Amberlin fired the beam of Holy light that reduced the zombies to clouds of ash that drifted to the floor.

"Thanks." Victoria thanked the small pink-haired mage for the assistance.

"No problem. Now let's help Minerva!" Amberlin said. As if on cue the sounds of fighting behind them had stopped and Minerva stood proudly over the bodies of the dispatched zombies.

"I don't need any help!" Minerva said proudly, wiping off her bloody sword on the body of a vanquished corpse. Victoria took a deep breath to keep from saying something rash. Minerva was such a show-off.

"We need to keep going. I sensed Serena's signature down the hallway to the right of the staircase. Follow me!" Minerva ordered before bolting past the dead zombies and disappearing around the corner. Victoria groaned and clenched her teeth. Not this again.

"Stop... doing that!" Victoria complained aloud before returning to where she had set down her Silver Dagger and picked it up. She then ran down the hall after Minerva while Amberlin trailed the brunette. This was going to be a long night.

-Down the hallway, second floor-

Victoria had followed Minerva into the hallway to the right and expected another barren expanse of mansion, but this one was different from the preceding hallway because it was decorated. The ceiling was hung with the same brass candelabras from the first floor and more masterfully made paintings hung on the walls. Victoria looked at the paintings while waiting for the shorter Amberlin to catch up and noticed that instead of pastoral scenes, these paintings had the common theme of guests attending a feast.

One gold-framed painting that drew the brunette's attention had men and women in formal clothing seated at a long rectangular table set with an immaculate white tablecloth on top and plates made of fine silver with bundles of silverware set next to the plates. On the table were placed platters of food such as venison, pork, game birds, bunches of grapes, squash, and other food items. The dinner guests looked happy to be there; they were talking amongst themselves about subjects that were left to the viewer's imagination. It looked like a festive gathering of upper-class people with a feast that cost a lot to put together... Victoria wondered how much all that food would cost in the real world.

Victoria turned from the painting and found Amberlin standing beside her. When had she caught up with the brunette?

"Oh hey Amberlin! I was waiting for you!" Victoria greeted the mage. Amberlin silently pointed towards Minerva, who was facing a staircase and already starting to climb it. Victoria cursed silently and darted away from the painting with Amberlin following close behind. As she hurried past the rest of the fine artwork the Sabertooth mage found herself wishing that Minerva would slow down and let the pair catch up so that they could at least pretend to be a team.

-On the third floor-

Victoria and Amberlin had caught up to Minerva on the third floor. They had expected to have to chase her down yet again, but this time the knight had managed to stay in place for more than five seconds. That was good because the routine of chasing the knight who ran around the manor like an overly caffeinated squirrel was getting both exhausting and old.

The trio was standing in a grand banquet hall that featured larger versions of the tapestries that had decorated the foyer on the first floor festooning the walls. On the ceilings were golden candelabras with actual candles burning in them. To their right was the banquet hall itself.

It was impressively large with a suitably grand wooden rectangular table that dominated the room. It was handcrafted and made of a rare wood; judging from the dark color, it looked like mahogany. The table was covered with an immaculate white tablecloth and covered with fine silver plates. Seated at the head of the table was a single gray-haired individual who wore a black tuxedo and a golden monocle over his left eye. On his hands were white gloves.

In his gloved right hand was a silver goblet from which he calmly sipped as he eyed the guests.

"Welcome! Please, do come in!" The man bade them. As if compelled by a force they could not resist, the trio put away their weapons and walked towards him until they stopped 25 meters away. What was going on here?

"I am Henry Capella, the castellan of this castle! What brings you three ladies here?" The man introduced himself before asking their business. Minerva pointed her right index finger at him.

"Stop playing games with us! I know that you've got my sister here!" Minerva shouted. Henry closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Oh, do you mean that brown-haired brat who came here with the intent of purifying this place all by herself? Is she your sister?" Henry asked with mock concern.

"Yes, and I want her back right now!" Minerva replied. Henry chuckled again before putting down the goblet and raising his right hand. Victoria did not like this situation. Henry was way too calm for an old man facing down an Order Knight, an Order Cleric, and Sabertooth's second-strongest mage. He snapped his fingers and moments later a small army of three dozen vampires in maid and butler attired suddenly appeared and surrounded the trio before they could blink.

"You and your friends are bold, young one. But you are in no position to make demands of me. I am the lord of this castle and I am in control here." Henry said calmly but firmly. The vampires looked hungry and ready to rip the trio to shreds on their master's command. Victoria was not liking this situation at all.

[Post Word Count: 1,250]
[Total Word Count: 6,974/12,500]

The situation was tense as the trio waited for Henry Capella to give the order that would end their lives in a flood of fangs and claws. Victoria looked into the eyes of a waiting vampire maid and saw that the "eyes" were little more than small black voids that bored into her own eyes. She did not like staring into the face of something that only saw her as a meal on legs. Henry snapped his fingers again and the Sabertooth mage feared that the end was near, but to her surprise and relief the three dozen vampire servants backed off, allowing the trio to breathe a little.

"Now that I have sufficiently demonstrated my mastery over this castle, I have a simple offer for you. Should you accept, there is a chance that you may be reunited with that brown-haired brat." The vampire lord offered to the trio while looking at their faces to gauge their individual responses.

"We don't make deals with vamp-mmmph!" Minerva started to express defiance before Amberlin interrupted with a hand clamped over Minerva's mouth. Victoria smiled a bit at the sight. It was about time that someone finally shut that arrogant knight up.

"What's the offer?" Amberlin asked warily. The pink-haired mage was certain that she should not be bartering with a vampire lord, but she was also certain that three mages against thirty-six vampires at close range was not a fight that could be won. Instead of fighting a losing battle and either being ripped to bloody shreds or being turned into a vampire herself, Amberlin opted to gamble and see what Henry Capella wanted. Victoria did not object because the trio had a better chance of survival that way. Victoria's Silver Dagger was worthless against vampires since they did not take extra damage from silver like werewolves did and Amberlin would not have time to cast any Holy magic before being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

"I have a simple offer. You see, I am more than a little bored with my collection of books and find myself in need of other entertainment. If you three provide me what I am after, I will release that brat unharmed and still human. I will also let you three leave unharmed and still human." Henry offered to the trio. Amberlin kept her hand clamped over Minerva's mouth and the brunette grabbed the knight's arm to keep her from waving the longsword around. Minerva was not happy about what was going on and struggled against them, but Amberlin and Victoria kept her from ruining the tenuous peace that was prevailing.

"What kind of entertainment?" Amberlin asked warily. Henry gave a smile.

"I want to see a good fight in my personal arena. But do not worry. I do not expect you to fight against the young woman you want to rescue. I also do not expect you to fight each other. I find those storylines to be rather... trite." Henry told the trio exactly what he wanted. Victoria looked into his eyes and used her special ability to detect lies by reading a person's body language. She learned that he was being truthful when he stated what he wanted from them. Either Henry was a master of deception or Victoria had expected a lie only to be confronted by the truth and she did not know how to respond to it. Either way reading a vampire lord's body language was a new experience for the brunette... she could only hope that she had not read him incorrectly.

Minerva continued to struggle against her "teammates" while Amberlin and Victoria listened and tried to decide what they should do. The vampire servants kept their eyes focused on the trio and waited for the command to end their lives. Amberlin and Victoria looked at each other while Minerva made muffled protests and tried to get her sword arm free.

"Well? I am waiting." Henry reminded the pair that they did not have all night to make a decision.

"What do you say, Amberlin? Wanna go for it?" Victoria asked the pink-haired mage.

"I don't like it, but we really don't have much choice, do we?" Amberlin answered the question with a rhetorical question that highlighted how little choice in the matter the trio really had. Victoria looked at the vampires for a moment and then looked back at Amberlin.

"You have a point." Victoria conceded without further argument. Amberlin turned away from Victoria and towards the vampire lord, who had taken his silver goblet into his right hand and was sipping from it while waiting. He set the goblet down and looked the pink-haired cleric in the eyes.

"Well? Do you have an answer for me?" He asked Amberlin.

"We'll... we'll fight in your arena." Amberlin answered. Henry clapped his gloved hands together and smiled in satisfaction.

"Excellent!" He proclaimed happily. He snapped his fingers and the vampire servants disappeared just as suddenly as they had arrived minutes ago. None of the trio liked their sudden disappearance... where did they all go? Minerva took advantage of the lapse in concentration by Amberlin and Victoria to break free from their grasp.

"What have you two done?!" She asked the pair with an expression of sheer anger. Amberlin looked down at the ground. Victoria met Minerva head-on.

"Given us a fighting chance, that's what! There was no way that we were gonna win that fight, not with so many vampires surrounding us!" Victoria snapped. She was really not in the mood for Minerva's shit right now. It was bad enough that Amberlin had to barter for their lives with the vampire lord who was holding Serena hostage, but now Minerva was trying to second-guess them. The brunette was not in the mood for some glory seeker trying to talk them into a fight that was nearly impossible to win.

"By making a deal with a vampire lord to fight for his entertainment? Are you two out of your minds?" Minerva continued to rage against her "teammates" while Henry looked on in amusement. If this kept up, Minerva and Victoria would be fighting right here instead of in the arena.

"Well excuse us, Miss Perfect! I'm sure you could have killed all those vampires in your sleep! I'm so sorry that we got in your way!" Victoria retorted. Amberlin looked up and gained enough courage to stand up to the knight who had been berating them.

"What did you want us to do? Those vampires would have been all over us before we could blink! At least if we fight in the arena we'll have a better chance of survival!" Amberlin finally spoke up. Minerva turned her glare on Amberlin and Victoria stepped between them. The brunette was not going to stand for the pink-haired mage to be bullied, not when she had given up a lot of face to save their lives.

"Let's just save it for the arena, OK?" Victoria asked the knight. She was tired of Minerva's superiority complex, but she was willing to set the animosity aside if it meant that the trio could save Serena and get out of here alive. Minerva glared at Victoria for a moment before turning her head the other way.

"FINE." Minerva snapped in a way that suggested the animosity had only been sidelined, not fully laid to rest.

[Post Word Count: 1,228]
[Total Word Count: 8,202/12,500]

"As entertained as I am by your animated conversation, we made a bargain. If you ladies are through bickering, the arena awaits." Henry took advantage of the temporary cessation of hostilities to remind the trio of the bargain. All three mages looked towards their host and nodded their acceptance. Victoria took the initiative to speak for the trio.

"OK, how do we get to the arena?" She asked the vampire lord. He closed his eyes and smiled. He then snapped his fingers and sheets of inky darkness enveloped the dining hall, then the ground began to shift. Moments later the sheets of darkness vanished and the trio found themselves standing in the middle of a circular arena with a sandy floor. Henry Capella was not kidding when he said that he was in absolute control of the castle. He snapped his fingers yet again and appeared on the right side of the arena in a stone seat with red cushions that resembled a medieval throne.

An awestruck Victoria took a moment to further look at her surroundings. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was the spectator seating area.

The arena was circular with ten-foot-high stone walls separating the fighters from the audience, which sat on stone benches that circled around the arena and resembled those in ancient amphitheaters. The same tapestries that dominated the dining hall were hanging around the walls of the audience seating area as if lending a little splendor to a place that was dedicated to bloodshed. Speaking of the audience, Victoria saw that the same butler and maid vampires who had surrounded them near Henry Capella's table now began to take their seats and got ready to watch the fight. The only exceptions were a maid and a butler who were flanking the vampire lord's seat. They must have been his favorite servants entrusted with the task of keeping his silver goblet full because in the maid's hands was a silver platter upon which sat a dark green bottle of wine.

Victoria's eyes turned from him to the arena, which had a sandy floor and two iron gates; one iron gate was placed in the east and the other placed in the west. The brunette examined the floor and saw several dried bloodstains that were left over from previous fights and had not been quite erased by the cleaners. The stone wall to their left had a lengthy bloodstain that started with the victim in a standing position and ended at the base of the wall, suggesting that they had slumped against the wall and slid down it while succumbing to the fatal wound. That was not a cheerful sight, but nothing about fighting for one's life in front of an audience was fun. In addition to fighting for their own lives, the trio would also have to fight for the life of Minerva's sister Serena.

No pressure there.

Henry Capella stood up and the other vampires followed suit. The trio turned to face the vampire lord and he began to speak to the audience and to the mages with a calm voice that carried across the entire arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have gathered here tonight to observe a most interesting fight. Standing before you are three young women who endeavor to save a cleric of an order devoted to wiping us out." Henry "introduced" the trio to the three dozen vampires who had surrounded them earlier... as if they really needed an introduction. Henry continued to drone on about how the pleasure of hosting this fight night was his and how the stakes would guarantee a good fight from the participants. Even though there was a ten-foot-high wall and a ten-foot-drop protecting them from the audience, it was still an unnerving sight to see so many pairs of empty black pits staring intently at them. If Henry's teleportation power was anything to go by, such meager distances did not offer enough protection for the humans, but at this point the trio would take what they could get... or at least Victoria and Amberlin would. Minerva was a special kind of... different, for lack of a better term.

Minerva was still fuming about not being allowed to speak during the negotiations and was spoiling for a fight. Victoria let the knight fume because she was likely stressed about what was happening and was trying to convince herself that she had what it took to win the fight they were about to engage in. The audience latched onto Minerva's fury and were drawn by it; judging from some comments, they saw the knight's bellicose demeanor as a refreshing change from the abject terror that previous contestants had demonstrated. The brunette was sure that Minerva would attack the audience if given half a chance, but she would be better off saving that aggression for whatever enemies would be pouring out of the gates. Meanwhile Victoria put away her Silver Dagger and armed herself with her trusty Light Machine Gun, which prompted comments from the audience.

Since stealth was no longer a concern, Victoria thought it perfectly reasonable to use her best weapon. However, she would have to be careful about friendly fire because Minerva did not communicate very well and tended to jump into the line of fire. In theory that problem could be solved by simply facing the opposite gate and shooting whatever emerged from it, but Minerva seemed to want to fight everything by herself and would likely get in her way. Victoria would just have to adapt to the situation, but she could not help but to get the impression that Minerva deliberately got in the way so that Victoria would have to stop shooting, thus giving the knight a chance to show off at the brunette's expense. That was so annoying that there were no polite words to describe how the Sabertooth mage felt about it.

The vampire lord finally finished his lengthy speech of dedication and sat down to get ready to watch the matches. The audience did the same and the gates swung to the side to disgorge a small army of undead humans dressed in maid and butler attire. The trio formed up in a triangular formation and stood back-to-back with Amberlin and Minerva covering the eastern gate while Victoria covered the western gate.

[Post Word Count: 1,056]
[Total Word Count: 9,258/12,500]

Victoria could hear the sounds of Amberlin and Minerva taking care of business behind her while she dealt with the threat in front of them with her Light Machine Gun. She had downed three zombies but had at least two dozen more to take care of before this threat was ended. Henry looked almost bored as the trio cleaned house with their magic and weapons... he seemed more interested in his silver goblet than he did the fighting going on in the arena. Some of the audience also appeared to be bored and yawned wide enough that the brunette could easily see their fangs. She wondered if that was a warning to the trio to make things interesting before the vampires decided to jump down and attack them to alleviate their boredom.

Victoria brought down another three zombies but was not killing them fast enough. She dispelled the Light Machine Gun and focused gray magic into her hands for a Claymore Burst. Once the spell was ready and six of the zombies were close enough for the spell to be used to its best effect she pushed outward and fired a burst of steel ball bearings that hit all of them in the head and punched through, killing the zombies instantly. With that display of power the bored vampires began to take notice of the brunette, which may or may not have been a good thing.

The brunette followed up on that display with a bit of showmanship with her Derringer spell. She aimed at the forehead of a maid who was missing her right arm below the elbow and fired, taking her down with a shot that made her fall onto her right side. Victoria then joined both hands for a Hand Cannon and aimed at the forehead of a male zombie missing the left side of his face. She fired and brought him down in a single shot, causing him to crumple to the floor in a heap.

Victoria was about to work the audience more when Mighty Minerva swooped in and obliterated the rest of the zombies with a single blast of Holy magic from her left hand. The brunette frowned because she was getting on a roll and had the attention of the crowd, a thing which might be their key to getting out of here alive. In the interest of teamwork, Victoria kept quiet and watched Minerva saunter back to Amberlin's side with a smug look on her face. It was clear that the knight believed that she had just saved their lives. It was also clear that Minerva believed Victoria to be an inept mage who had only gotten this far due to luck instead of talent.

Henry looked mildly interested as surveyed the scene of ash piles where Holy magic had been used and corpses where Victoria had done her work. He put down the silver goblet, stood up, and announced the next wave of enemies the trio would have to fight.

"I apologize for that less-than-stellar spectacle. Perhaps this next match will be of better quality." Henry apologized to the audience for the fairly dull zombie fight. The two gates opened again and the trio heard howling burst out of the corridors. Victoria knew what was coming next... werewolves!

Victoria brought out her Light Machine Gun again and aimed it down the dark corridor in front of her to be ready for the onslaught that was heading their way. She held it steady and waited until the first werewolf bounded into sight, then opened fire. The first wolf went down in a hail of lead, but its packmates sprinted past it on all fours and split into one team of four and another team of five that ran on both sides of Victoria in an effort to surround the brunette. She was going to have to step up her game if she wanted to get through this fight.

Victoria aimed at one of the wolves from the team of four and sprayed rounds in its direction, landing a few hits to the but not killing it. Its packmates charged Victoria and she aimed and fired at another one from the hip but missed because the target was too fast. She dropped the weapon and drew her Silver Dagger for the hand-to-hand combat that was about to happen.

The wounded werewolf took the lead and Victoria stood her ground, letting it swipe at her head and ducking under it, She stabbed it once in the ribcage and it howled in agony. She withdrew the blade and hurried away from the attacks of its fellows as they took the opportunity to close in while she was busy. The brunette ducked under another swipe but was hit in the back by a second forceful swipe and staggered forward into the waiting arms of a third werewolf. Its strong hands seized the backs of her arms and tried to draw her in for a bite, but the quick-thinking mage flipped the Silver Dagger point-down and plunged the silver blade into the top of its skull, punching through just enough to bring it down with an ear-splitting howl of agony.

Victoria was abruptly dropped onto her feet and stumbled back two steps, righting herself just in time to avoid being seized by a waiting werewolf. She rolled forward on her right shoulder and hurried to Amberlin, who had just dusted a werewolf with a Holy beam of light the diameter of a pencil. After that sequence of events the audience took interest in the spectacle; Victoria briefly glanced to her left and noticed that more of them had somehow arrived between the zombie fight and the arrival of the lycanthropes. She turned back to the situation and exchanged some words with Amberlin.

"How's it going, Amberlin?" Victoria asked the pink-haired cleric.

"Other than fighting for our lives and trying to stay out of Minerva's way, not too bad." Amberlin answered with a degree of sarcasm that made the brunette laugh. The cleric's left hand glowed gold and she issued a command.

"DUCK!" Amberlin suddenly ordered. Victoria took a knee and Amberlin fired the beam attack directly into the skull of a werewolf bounding towards Victoria. While on her knee the brunette saw Minerva cut a werewolf in half at the hip with a single two-handed slash, then spin around and kick a second one in between the legs before gracefully spinning to its right side and decapitating it while it was on its knees in pain. Behind her were two werewolves that had already fallen to her sword; one had been decapitated and the other was missing an arm and both legs in addition to showing a stab wound in the forehead. As arrogant as Minerva was, the Sabertooth mage could not deny that the knight had the skill to back up her arrogance.

Victoria stood up and saw a werewolf coming towards her with two of its fellow following close behind. The brunette put her hands together in the shape of a gun, then focused golden energy onto her fingertips until a golden ball formed. She then fired a Beam Cannon that punched through the chest of all three lycanthropes and dropped them to the ground with cauterized holes in their chests. Some of the vampires marveled at the hole the Beam Cannon made in the wall... even Henry Capella raised an eyebrow when he noticed what the spell could do.

"Nice shot." Amberlin complimented the brunette.

"Thanks, but we've still got a few werewolves left before we can break out the champagne." Victoria replied as she and Amberlin faced down the remaining wolves on their side. Behind them Minerva was clearly having the time of her life... the pair could hear taunts and laughter as the knight did her thing and wolves howled in pain with each stroke of her sword. It would be best for them to leave Minerva to her work and deal with their opponents together. If the lycanthropes could fight as a team, so could the cleric and the Sabertooth mage.

[Post Word Count: 1,350]
[Total Word Count: 10,608/12,500]

Amberlin and Victoria fended off the remaining lycanthropes with their spells until Minerva finished the ones behind them, then the knight leaped into action to finish off the remaining werewolves. Since Minerva was so quick and so good at the job, the two just stood by and let her have at it because they would just get in her way. Once the last of the werewolves fell from being cut in half at the waist a clearly amused Henry rose from his seat and congratulated the trio on their hard-won victory over the werewolf pack.

"Well done, ladies! You three have put on quite the show for us tonight!" Henry complimented the trio as the crowd sat silently and stared at them. Victoria had a feeling that this was not over yet, that he had another group of beasts ready to storm into the arena. That feeling turned out to be right when the gates swung open for the third time.

"But there is one last challenge for you to surmount! Defeat these adversaries and your friend will be returned to you!" He told them as bellowing sounded from deep within the tunnels. The audience heard them and palpable excitement began to build up. Victoria broke away from Amberlin to grab her Light Machine Gun and Silver Dagger because she had a feeling that she would need both weapons to survive what was coming next. Even Minerva backed away from the gate to regroup beside Amberlin and Victoria. The Sabertooth mage's feeling was confirmed when squat pink-looking things with giant mouths and horns came storming out of the tunnels and charged towards the mages with bull-like bellows that announced their presence.

There were four of them on each side and the thundering sound of their feet sounded a lot like a charging bull, furthering their comparison to the animal.

"BULL DEMONS!" Amberlin shouted. Victoria aimed her Light Machine Gun at the first one to clear the west tunnel and opened fire, hitting it numerous times and drawing blood but not inflicting lethal damage. Instead she only pissed it off because it homed in on her and charged with the speed and force of its namesake animal. Victoria stepped aside at the last moment, but its right horn clipped the barrel of her weapon and snatched it from her hands. Moments later a second Bull Demon plowed into her left side and sent her flying a good ten meters with the force of its charge; she landed on the ground and rolled an additional five meters before coming to a stop.

"VICTORIA!" Amberlin shouted as the crowd above them cheered. She raised her right hand and fired a ball of golden energy that the offending demon caught in its mouth, turning it to ash on impact. The pink-haired mage then hurried to the brunette's side as Victoria lay on the sand with what felt like a nasty bruise on her left side and maybe bruised ribs.

"I'm not dead yet, Amberlin. Let's deal with these demons before I get treatment." Victoria insisted as she slowly sat up and formed her fingers into the shape of a gun, then prepared a Beam Cannon to use on the nearest enemy. She got her chance when one charged her with mouth wide open. Victoria aimed for where its brain would be and fired, hitting it in the top of the skull and bringing it down face-first onto the ground, where it slid until it brushed against her feet. The brunette shrieked and the spectators laughed at her.

"That was close!" Victoria commented while Amberlin helped her to her feet before another demon could come towards them. Minerva was busy keeping the six beasts occupied with a mix of impeccably timed dodges and sword strokes that drew blood. The audience was enthralled by the knight's skill and watched her every move with rapt interest; even Henry Capella was glued to his seat and held the silver goblet to his lips as if to drink from it.

"Dude, they're totally digging Minerva right now. Just look at her go!" Victoria commented to her pink-haired companion and pointed to the west side of the arena. Surrounded by Bull Demons moving in a circle, Minerva vaulted over the charge of one bull and righted herself in mid-air, landing on the head of another with her sword pointed down, stabbing it through the brain and finishing the display by rolling off of its back like she just had went down a children's slide. How did the knight make it all look so easy? Victoria heard bellowing as two bulls on the outside of the circle broke off and moved towards her and Amberlin.

"Look alive, we've got two heading our way!" Victoria warned Amberlin. Amberlin was way ahead of her and was already about to finish a spell while the brunette tried to think of one to use. Her weapons were not strong enough to inflict one-hit kills on them. Her Beam Cannon spell worked wonders against the thick hides of the demons, but she was afraid that the beam would punch through the target and hit Minerva.

Amberlin put her glowing hands in front of her and pushed outward, firing a beam of energy that hit a charging demon in the mouth and made it bellow loudly before being reduced to ash. The second one kept coming towards them and Victoria decided to gamble on not hitting Minerva. She raised her hands and formed them into the shape of a gun, then prepared a Beam Cannon and aimed it at the demon. Victoria held her hands steady for a moment, then fired and hit it directly between the eyes, narrowly missing Minerva's head as she withdrew her sword from the Bull Demon she had killed earlier.

"Shit." Victoria muttered as Minerva glared daggers at her before returning to the fight.

"You cut it kinda close there, don't you think?" Amberlin tried to sugarcoat Victoria's mistake. The brunette could not help but to agree with the cleric's assessment.

"Yeah." Victoria replied meekly as Minerva continued to beat down the remaining Bull Demons, of which there were only two. The duo had done their part by dealing with the two enemies who broke away from the herd and now The brunette did not dare try to aid Minerva by attacking the demons with a spell, a weapon, or even a rock... if she had one to throw. The Sabertooth mage was probably in for a tongue-lashing when the fighting was over and Serena had been returned to them.

"Do you wanna stay out of this one?" Amberlin asked Victoria. One demon was left standing, but it would not be standing for long once Minerva got through with it.

"Yeah. Let's let her work in peace." She answered. Minerva sidestepped the charge and chased the bull, leaping into the air and bringing her sword down in a stab through its head. It bellowed and fell face-first onto the floor. The audience was stunned, as was Henry Capella, who set aside his goblet with an expression of genuine surprise.

After two tense minutes he finally stood up and spoke.

"Well done, ladies!" He congratulated them with sincerity. The spectators began to cheer wildly for the performance the trio had put on. Victoria was floored by that... earlier they had wanted to tear the mages to shreds, but now the vampires were cheering for them. What was going on here?

[Post Word Count: 1,247]
[Total Word Count: 11,855/12,500]

-Back in the Dining Hall-

"Well done, ladies! You performed well beyond my expectations!" Henry complimented the trio on their fighting prowess while they stood in the same dining hall in which they had found him earlier. His loyal staff flanked him and lined the walls of the hall in case the trio tried to make a move against him, but the trio was not in the mood for further fighting unless it absolutely could not be avoided. Victoria's left side was hurting badly and needed treatment, treatment she had been promised by Amberlin once they got to the Order of Lightbringers headquarters all the way at Holy Castle.

"You have entertained me quite thoroughly with tonight's spectacle. Since you upheld your end of the bargain, I shall uphold my end. Your friend will be delivered to you safe and sound." Henry told them. Victoria looked at his face and saw that he was being truthful. A set of double doors opened about 50 meters behind him and out walked Serena Anderson, who was frightened but otherwise none the worse for wear. Serena ran past Henry and embraced Minerva, who in turn embraced her younger sister. Amberlin carefully checked Serena's neck for signs of having been bitten by a vampire and found none.

"Now go in peace. That is what I promised... and I always keep my promises." Henry bade them farewell with an assurance that no harm would come to them. The quartet wordlessly left the dining hall of vampires behind and went down the stairs. All four of them could not wait to leave the Haunted Castle and get home.

-Outside Holy Castle, thirty minutes later-

It had taken the quartet thirty minutes to return home; half of that was spent retracing their steps from the third floor to the first and the other half was spent waiting for the Order mages to regenerate enough magic power to use a teleportation spell to take all four of them to Holy Castle. Victoria did not argue with it because they were out of the Cursed Lands and back in a place where there were no zombies, no werewolves, no demons, and no vampires. The quartet stood in the warmth of the rising sun and were just glad to be alive.

"We made it through that nightmare. Which reminds me..." Minerva glared at her younger sister, who visibly wilted. The brunette felt the air suddenly grow cold as the mood palpably shifted from joy to anger.

"Don't EVER run off like that again, Serena! I had to take a lot of criticism and call in a few favors from other members of the Order just to be able to put together this rescue mission! I might not be able to do this again for a very long time, so don't waste this!" Minerva lectured Serena. Amberlin put an arm around the chastised Serena and guided her into Holy Castle, leaving only Victoria and Minerva standing outside. Minerva turned her gaze onto Victoria and the brunette prepared to be verbally beaten into the ground on which they stood.

"I don't appreciate nearly being hit by that beam attack of yours, Victoria. If it had been just a few inches to the right, I would have probably gotten a hole in the head." Minerva said to Victoria while glaring at her. The brunette was not happy with that outcome either, but she was also not happy about how Minerva made it sound like it was all Victoria's fault. For the sake of a working relationship with the knight Victoria would eat the blame for that blunder... Serena had been rescued and everyone had made it home alive. Minerva then dropped the glare and her facial expression softened to one of gratitude.

"What I do appreciate is you coming to help us rescue Serena on such short notice. I may have sold you short earlier. I was also rude to you and I'm sorry about that." Minerva thanked Victoria for taking the job and seeing it through despite the obstacles and Minerva's dismissive attitude towards the Sabertooth mage. Victoria let her animosity over being shouldered with all the blame for the friendly fire incident that nearly happened fade and instead focused on the fact that the knight had praised her in addition to doling out criticism. The brunette decided to let bygones be bygones because she liked Amberlin's company and the Order paid well.

"It's no problem. Stuff happens. Now go see about your sister, Minerva." Victoria urged the knight, clutching her left side. She was hurting badly and that was with the Azure Armor on. If she had not been wearing the armor her left side would have probably been caved in from the sheer force of the Bull Demon's charge.

"You might wanna get that treated, Victoria. We can do that for you in the Order infirmary." Minerva offered. Victoria waved it off and was about to walk off into the sunrise when her left side picked that moment to ache again; the pain made her wobble and almost fall to the ground. The brunette faltered and Minerva rushed to her side to offer some much-needed support.

"Let's just go to the infirmary already." Minerva offered medical assistance again.

"OK." Victoria accepted the offer this time. The bandits were just now stirring from their slumber and she needed to be in good shape to fight them if they accosted her on the way home. Maybe a visit to the infirmary would get her back into fighting shape.

Together the pair turned and slowly made their way to the large double doors of the Order of Lightbringers headquarters so that Victoria could get medical treatment before she made the return trip to Sabertooth Guild Hall. This adventure would make a good story to tell over drinks.

Victoria was glad that this adventure was over. Once she got back to Sabertooth Guild Hall she would need to turn around and get ready for the mission to Sin, which was in less than a full day's time. Victoria was tired and wanted to sleep, but she could sleep on her own time.

She needed to put Alexander Kerwes in the dirt first.

[Post Word Count: 1,058]
[Total Word Count: 12,913/12,500]