I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 56 - There Wolf

"Okay, so this went from more complicated to shit storm!" Harrowheart hissed, ready to burst with swear words and steam. They were heading out of the grove, down the path toward the secret speakeasy and the hidden statue.

Still Evangeline prayed that Harrowheart would be able to keep it more together a little bit longer. "I am sorry!" she tried to say, looking all around to judge who could possibly hear them. " I thought that would go differently."

"So Meta wasn't much help?" Valerian asked, though she couldn't quite discern if he was mocking her or asking sincerely.

She shook her head. "No. No, I felt nothing."

"Meta? Who's Meta?" Harrowheart asked.

"Her god," Sigismund answered.

"No, he is not my god. He just... really really wants to be apparently," Evangeline argued.

"I've known plenty of someone's like that before," Harrowheart sniffed, finally slowing and quieting down, as they passed a cleric pulling a hand cart. They were close now to the secret entrance. "The only answer for them is a good punch across the face. Though I suppose it's not very effective against a god."

"Yeah, I would suppose not," Evangeline said dryly.

"I apologize as well," Hagor added.

"What have you got to be sorry about, you barely said anything?" Harrowheart snapped.

"That's his point," Evangeline said, giving him warning eyes that if he wanted to keep his secret, secret he should keep his mouth shut.

"Is it the Kish's companion thing?" Artmond predictably said.

"Kish's companion?" Harrowheart asked over the chorus's of hushes from the group.

"Never mind, it's not relevant to this situation," Evangeline covered, as another figure passed them on the trail, this one holding a compress to their eye. She lowered her voice, so they wouldn't hear as they passed. "What we need to figure out now is what are we going to do to get the sun-gem and I guess we're going to have to go with Valerian's plan."

"No, it's fine," Harrowheart growled. "I'm just going to give the damn thing back and tell the High Cleric of Ashor I can't do it. I don't want anything more to do with this whole situation--"

"But what about our collars?" Artmond asked, "I thought that was the reason we needed the sun-gem, so she could use it to cut our collars off."

"I also needed it to fix the damn statue, and I was considering your payment helping me achieve that, but just forget it—--"

"Shhhh!" Valerian hissed, throwing out his arm to stop Evangeline from moving forward, which stopped the whole party since she had been leading the way except for Harrowheart. The orcess kept moving a few more steps until she realized she was alone and stopped looking back confused, then forward alarmed.

Valerian's face was deadly serious.

General Skill: Perception. Failure.

"What is it?" Evangeline whispered, knowing Valerian's vampiric hearing would pick up her breathy words.

It was Harrowheart who answered. "The entrance to the speakeasy is open."

Sure enough, when the rogues moved up closer, crouching along the ground, they could see that a large gap in the stone stood black and foreboding. Even though there was no one else in Evangeline's perception, she pulled on Harrowheart's arm. The orcess obeyed the unspoken command and squatted down as well.

"I smell wolves," Hagor said, his fingers tracing a clear paw print in the mud.

"Wolves?" Evangeline repeated, trying to puzzle that out. "Would creatures like that invade an inhabited area like this?"

"There is a minor pact of peace on the grove generated by the trees," Hagor said. "You all must of sensed it when we entered. Predatory animals will do no harm here unless provoked into it or unwell."

"And the thinking creatures?" Evangeline asked.

Hagor shrugged a single shoulder. "Thinking creatures don't always let nature influence them. But in my opinion, these were probably made my druids and/or their familiars."

"Shit, I need to get in there," Harrowheart said as she pushed off the ground to charge into the mouth of the cave.

"Follow her, she's our only chance to get separated," Sigismund ordered.

Of course it wasn't true, but Evangeline wanted to follow anyway. She had no idea what was happening inside, she had never found this in the game.

Sounds of glass breaking and growls echoed down the short hallway into the cave.

While Harrowheart had charged in, she almost immediately slowed way down, walking carefully along one wall, trying to peer ahead.

Evangeline managed to reach her, setting a hand on her shoulder and pressing a finger to her lips before the orcess could react and give their position away. Instead, Harrowheart's eyes widened briefly, then she nodded and let Evangeline and Valerian go first. The vampire took point, then slipped his fingers into Evangeline's, as she gestured into turn for the others to wait there, before his darkness enveloped them all.

Letting him lead her blindly forward, she squatted down when he indicated to. Leaning forward the tiniest bit, her face emerged from the darkness just enough for her to see clearly.

The speakeasy was a disheveled mess. Tables shoved around, chairs broken, the bar itself was split in half and there were wolves everywhere. The few people inside were freaked out, pinned against walls or cowering behind the broken furniture. The bartender stood behind his broken bar looking pissed as he stared down a slighter man in ranger's coif covering his hair. What little skin he showed had the whirling tattoos of a druid. One of the wolves leaned against his leg.

"That's the source of the trouble," Valerian whispered.

"The druid?"

"He's not just a druid, he's the vampire the black letter was for."

"How do you know?"

"I can smell it."

Evangeline wrinkled her own nose, but she only smelled sweat stink of the patrons fear and the musty smell of the wolves.

"And I'm asking you, very politely, where the hell did the orc bitch hide the statue!?" the vampire druid shouted.

To be continued...

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