The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 135 - Deceivers and False Adventurers (Patreon)

Alexios closed his eyes and cocked his head to the side as he listened to the dying screams of the aspirant. To his ears, the sounds were more enchanting than the most beautiful music sung by a bard. Even the final gurgling made his heart sing, and a smile spread across his face.

Opening his eyes once more, he watched as his thrall Maia slurped down blood from the young man’s neck. The body twitched slightly as she drained the last of the life-giving fluid from him. For all intents and purposes, the aspirant was already dead.

This was how vampires should feed. Not the ridiculous rationing that the Bloodveil Empire imposed on his kind. Humans were little more than cattle, and it sickened him how they were allowed to live free-range across the mountains.

He licked his lips as he glanced over at the young woman he’d drained a short time ago. She’d truly been beautiful, and he would have preferred to turn her to become one of his thralls. However, for his plan to work, he could leave no survivors behind.

Lifting a silver pin, he inspected the symbol of the Hippogriff emblazoned on it. Though the group he’d ambushed had only been aspirants in the guild, they had been surprisingly difficult to subdue. Regardless, no mere aspirants could stand against a trio of powerful vampires.

Alexios turned to Daphne, his other thrall, and motioned at the still twitching body. “Please, my dear,” he said, keeping his voice smooth as silk. “Do drink your fill.”

The woman licked her plump lips and then opened her mouth to bare her fangs. With supernatural swiftness, she flashed across the room and sank her sharp teeth into the man’s neck. She gulped down his fresh blood hungrily, as she eyed Alexios with dark eyes.

Before feeding on the aspirants, they had played with them for hours. Now, they knew their names, their relationships at the guild, and more importantly, they knew everything about Piper and her group. Frustratingly, the captives hadn’t provided any information about the adventurers he encountered in the valley, but they must be staying at the guild’s mountain villa.

Alexios had been granted a unique opportunity to weaken one of the greatest threats to the Pale Crusade in the region. Granted, his plan risked angering his master, Erebus. The great brute of a man had ordered him to travel to the town to learn everything he could about the aspirants who had foiled him—not infiltrate the most powerful guild in the area.

However, such simple orders were an insult to his cunning intellect. The guild’s villa would be a goldmine to the Pale Crusade if he could successfully weaken it. He’d also ordered the clerk at the Aspirant’s Guild to lure Piper into an ambush. Regardless of what Erebus had said, the girl and her companions needed to die after humiliating him in the valley.

Maia pulled away from her victim and licked the blood from her lips. “Thank you, Master. You are most generous to us.”

He waved at her dismissively. “Think nothing of it. I always ensure that my thralls are taken care of.”

Without another word, Maia returned to feeding. Thanks to vampires unique physiology, a pair of them could drain a grown man dry. The blood gained from such a feeding would last weeks, sometimes longer. In the past, this had been instrumental in his species' survival, as it had been difficult to capture wild humans to feed on.

However, over the millennia, humans had congregated into vast cities, which provided a steady supply of food. And because humans were such easy prey now, he enjoyed snacking on fresh victims daily. Sometimes, he would devour an entire family, which annoyed Erebus to no end.

If it were up to his master, he would never be allowed to have any fun. The beastly man, with a ridiculous burlap sack hiding his face, always wanted them to strike from the shadows.

Alexios thought all the subterfuge was silly. No human town could stand against the might of an undead host. He doubted that Helidros would hold out for more than a day once the siege began. The thought of tearing down the walls filled him with exquisite excitement. What followed would be the loveliest orgy of violence.

Daphne finished feeding and straightened up. Crimson blood had dribbled down the front of her dress, making her even more attractive. He couldn’t wait to get her alone somewhere in the near future.

The dark-haired woman held up a guild pin and giggled. “Look at me. I’m an aspirant with the Silver Hippogriffs.” She paused and chewed on her lower lip. “Please, please let me feed on some of them tonight.”

“We really should try to keep a low profile…”

“Not even one little human?” she whispered in a sultry tone. “Don’t you want me to be happy?”

With a laugh, he shook his head. “Why is it always so difficult to say no to you? I suppose there’s no harm in culling a couple of the adventurers after we arrive tonight.”

Maia gave a wicked grin. “I do so love the taste of adventurers. Their blood is so flavorful.”

Alexios gazed at his thralls with open admiration. When he’d first encountered the sisters, they’d been a moderately famous duo of adventurers helping to protect Helidros. He’d been so taken with the beautiful women that he’d disguised himself as a human to seduce them.

The sisters had foolishly rebuffed him, and Maia had even slapped him when he proposed that all three of them retire to his room at the inn. However, after he’d defeated and turned them, they had become completely enamored with him.

As all women should.

Reaching up to touch his perfect face, he felt his excitement wilt. While the man he was planning to masquerade as wasn’t unattractive, no face could compare to the one he’d meticulously crafted with his illusions over the centuries.

Still, Erebus had ordered him to learn everything he could about the aspirants and adventurers who had slipped their trap in the valley. And he would obey the stupid bully, at least until he could supplant the man as the leader of the Pale Crusade in this region.

Turning away from his thralls, he prepared himself to endure the horror of changing his face. To remove one as handsome as himself would make the world a lesser place. However, sacrifices must be made.

With a sigh, he started to cast his spell. He just hoped his harem would find the will to go on without being able to gaze at his perfect countenance every day.

****

Eirini strode down the street, the fury building in her chest until it felt like it would explode and scorch the nearby buildings. Not since she’d been an aspirant many years ago had she been this humiliated. She would not allow what had just happened to stand.

Her foolish employer, Charis, wished to avoid angering the orichalcum adventurer any further. Normally, anyone with the girl’s amount of power would have slain them all for the affront of attacking her. Yet she had allowed them to live without even extracting a ransom. That was exactly why she suspected the girl had faked her rank.

Not only had the young woman prevented a legally sanctioned party from pressing the citizens into slavery, but she’d had to gall to impersonate an adventurer. She must be hunted down and punished.

Reaching the square at the center of town, she angled across the flagstones, avoiding the largest of the slushy puddles. Dark clouds had blown in once again, and large snowflakes floated down from the sky. One landed on her cheek, the icy sting making her scowl deepen.

Eirini lengthened her strides and soon arrived at a three-story marble building. The stone façade flowed and twisted to depict great battles against the giants and monsters that once inhabited these hills.

Without slowing, she pushed open the double doors and strode inside. Everything in the Adventurer’s Guild reeked of money, from the finely crafted hardwood tables to the golden sconces holding glowing gems.

Today, she ignored the opulence on display and strode up to the counter. A woman dressed in a silk dress watched her approach, her lips twitching up into the ghost of a smile.

“Greetings, Eirini,” the woman said. “What may I do for you today?”

“I wish to report a false adventurer working against the Emperor.”

The woman’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “Those are grave charges. What has occurred?”

“A young woman intervened to stop a legally sanctioned slaving party.” Eirini took a deep breath before continuing. “And she presented herself as an orichalcum adventurer. I take it none are working in this area?”

The clerk walked over to a massive tome and cracked it open. The spine creaked, and the pages rustled as she flipped through them. After several minutes had passed, she shook her head. “As is required by law, no orichalcum adventures have announced their entry into the city. Thus, you must be correct, and a false adventurer is working here.”

Eirini smiled smugly. There was only one punishment for faking such an important rank. The young girl would be sentenced to death. And if the Emperor was merciful, she’d be the one to deliver the killing blow.

The clerk gently closed the tome. “I will immediately post a quest to hunt down this woman. A bounty of five gold pieces will be granted to the group who brings her head to the guild. However, by imperial law, you must provide at least one witness besides yourself to what occurred.”

Her grin grew at that news. She knew exactly who to use as a witness against the girl who had humiliated her. She couldn’t wait to see the woman’s expression when she learned her protector was a false adventurer.

“Thank you,” Eirini said, inclining her head slightly. “I’ll return soon with the witness.”

“No, thank you for bringing such an egregious crime to our attention. Should another group slay the false adventurer, you will, of course, receive a finder’s fee.”

Eirini spun on her heel and strode to the exit of the Adventurer’s Guild. As she did, another adventurer by the name of Athena, holding a shepherd’s crook and leading three sheep, strode into the building.

She gave the woman a wide berth, as Athena’s power was almost legendary among those living in Helidros. The adventurer had almost single-handedly driven off an undead incursion the previous winter.

Striding out through the doors, she wrinkled her nose at the layer of slush covering the stones. Someday, she’d save enough money to move to the southern coast. She’d heard that winter didn’t exist there, and she could spend the rest of her days bathing in the warm sunlight.

Leaving the town square, she entered the warren of streets leading away from the Adventurer’s Guild. Several times, she had to dart around carts laden with salted meat and other provisions being brought in for the coming long winter.

Before long, she reached the inn where she’d fought a battle only hours earlier. From inside she could hear the buzz of conversation and raucous laughter. The suspicion that some of the laughter was likely directed at her made fouled her mood even further.

Kicking open the door, she watched with barely concealed glee as those nearest the entrance tumbled from their stools. At the sight of her, their faces drained of color. Luckily for them, she wasn’t here to enslave anyone.

She had another purpose now.

At her arrival, the barmaid had frozen in the act of pouring a drink from a clay pitcher. The woman was so intent on watching her approach that the amber beer overflowed the cup and pooled on the table. Only when the customer cried out as the liquid poured into his lap did she hastily lift the pitcher.

“What… what do you want?” Alkmini asked in a wavering voice. “This place is under the adventurer’s protection.”

Eirini grabbed another patron’s mug and sipped the wine. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Alkmini said, her voice gaining in strength. “Do you really want to risk angering her?”

Eirini took another sip. This was going to be such a delicious reveal; she wished she could do it twice. “Would it surprise you to know there are no orichalcum adventurers in town?”

“Th-there isn’t?” Alkmini stuttered. The realization of what Eirini had said slowly dawned on her, and she sagged against the table. “Please don’t make me a slave…”

“My employer doesn’t want to risk raiding this place a second time. The man is a fool, but I can’t change his mind. However, if you want to keep your miserable life, you’re going to do exactly what I say.”

“Anything,” Alkmini said quickly. “What… do you need me to do?”

Eirini pressed a garnet stone into Alkmini’s hand. “There is a single spell stored in here to contact me. The second she returns, I want you to use this gem to call upon me. Is that understood?”

The barmaid bobbed her head up and down, her eyes wide like a doe’s. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” Eirini drained her cup. “I need you to come to the Adventurer’s Guild to bear witness against the girl. The next time she shows up in town, every adventurer in town will be seeking her head.”