sanquin

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Zara was surprised to suddenly hear Kevin's voice, as she had thought he was sleeping already. Or maybe she had woken him up. There wasn't much she could do about that though, as being more silent was almost impossible. So she just replied with a quick "Night" back and soon after fell asleep.

The next morning Zara woke up a little late at 8 am, though not because she was fully rested. In fact, she barely knew what 'well rested' felt like, as for some reason she always woke up still feeling tired. Though that usually passed after an hour or so. Maybe a side-effect of the virus or something. She poked her head around the sheet to see that Kevin had already gotten up and left. No surprise there. He did seem like an early bird for some reason. Time for the usual morning routine, then. First, clothes of course. Once dressed the woman headed for the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, together with possibly a sandwich of some kind. It depended on what they had. If there was no meat to put on said sandwich, she wasn't interested. As she arrived in the kitchen she still looked half-dead, making the label 'vampire' seem very fitting for her at the moment.

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

I was planning on a time skip soon after they arrive at the next town. As I don't think it would be fun to play out every single level they gain. Maybe skip to where they get to level 30 or something. Which is basically a 4~5 day skip. I also want to do this because mmo's generally don't get really fun until later levels. And at level 30 others might have gotten to level 20~24 giving them a chance to do a dungeon. :)

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Alakai looked at the item, scratching his head as he did. "I don't know...it can still be pretty useful. In the game the item would become useless around level 25 to 30. But as we've found out fighting isn't exactly the same here. Three goblins to fight for you for a while is a lot more dangerous here. And since we're aiming for as high a level as possible, as fast as possible, I think the extra help is more useful. I'll just keep it for now and see about selling it or not later." They had plenty of other things to sell already. With any luck some people in the city were already would be selling things as well. Like shoes and headgear they could use. As they didn't have either yet, apart from the starter shoes without armour on them.

Once they were outside of the cave Alakai summoned Khronos, and quickly got on. Kali seemed to have enjoyed riding him a lot, but it was still his mount. And at least for the moment, he didn't want to miss any opportunity to ride his tiger himself. It was too much fun. Though she could also take the reigns every now and then. And around level 25 they would hopefully have enough for her to buy something as well. The first mounts she could buy were horses though. Tiger mounts, and other such exotic creatures, didn't appear until after level 50 normally.

Once Kali was sitting behind him, he took off into the direction of the ant hills. Or at least, he thought it was the right direction. Following the path was easy enough, but now they were traversing the wilds. So it was hard to find your way around without a map and compass. All he had to go off was landmarks and the like, that he remembered from the game. "You know, the first thing we should buy in town once we get back is a map and compass!" He commented, his voice a little louder to counteract the wind rushing by. "First the anthills though! I think I'll be able to reach level 20 today, which means I'll get my first taunt skill! And you should be able to get level 18 I think!" After today they would most likely have at least a 3 to 5 level head start on most other players.

There were always players like him that were rushed ahead of everyone else, though he wasn't bothered with them. They were usually the people starting up guilds and eventually reaching the top of the playerbase with their guilds. Something that would keep them busy enough. What Alakai was worried about was the pvpers. No doubt there were also players that loved pvp, and with anything you wanted to do taking hours of travel time in this world, some of them might resort to pvp instead. Dying might not be permanent for players, but Alakai still didn't like the idea of doing so at all. The two of them being a team, and certainly a few levels ahead of the pvpers, put his mind at ease a little.

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Take your time. :) Thanks for notifying me though!

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Zara had obviously already finished hanging up the makeshift barrier way before Kevin decided to show up. Though she stayed there a bit longer with the door open to be sure that he was able to find it. That worry proved to be unfounded as the man entered not too long after. Apparently he ate just about as fast as she did, even if their choice of meal was a bit different. Instead, the man asked for the bathroom. "Oh, right, it's the door at the start of this hallway. They decided to put the living rooms in the same hall as the bathrooms for easy access. "Just put your bedroll or whatever anywhere on the ground. I'll try not to wake you once I go to bed as well."

Once Kevin looked like he didn't need her any more Zara headed outside again. Unlike him she did go to every door, seeing who was there and if there were any familiar people. Kids were still kept away from her. An unneeded precaution, but an understandable one. They knew what she was, and no one wanted any chance of their kids being bitten. Or worse. Still, the adults were friendly enough with her. And the few acquaintances that were still there were friendly with her. Lastly the woman headed outside for some fresh air to go with one last smoke for the day. Then she returned to her bedroom to get a good night's rest as well.

If Kevin was still awake the reason for her wanting some privacy soon became clear. As the night light on her desk cast a nice shadowy display of her dressing down to just her panties before getting into bed. No lady would just undress in front of a man after all. And though Zara was hardly a proper lady, she still considered herself to kind of be one. She quietly got into her bed, turned the light off, and got to sleep as well. There was still a long and no doubt hard road ahead of them no doubt.

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

"Guess I'll go hang up a sheet in the room in the mean time. I'd like to have a little privacy at least." She spoke, deciding she should finish her smoke as well, sucking it back with haste. She wasn't about to go to bed just yet, since it had only just gotten dark outside. But she did want to have a look around the base, see what had changed and meet some people she knew if they were still there. The people in here were probably the only ones apart from Kevin that didn't want to pump her full of bullet holes right away. So it was best to take advantage of that and socialize at least a little bit. They probably wouldn't have the chance to do so in the near future after all.

Zara pointed to the door they had entered through. "The kitchen's out that door, then the first one on the left." She told Kevin, finishing her cigarette and standing up a moment later. "Oh, and you can find the bedroom through the hall, then take a right at the end, and finally the door at the end of the hallway." She added, realising that even though the base wasn't too big, it was still hard to know which door you had to take.

Zara then headed to the bedroom herself. Upon opening the door she immediately noticed that it hadn't been touched at all, apart from getting cleaned once in a while. The posters of rock bands were still there. Her bed was still the same as always, apart from having clean sheets. And the heavy chain with a collar and cuffs attached to it was also still anchored into the ground. That brought back a few unwanted memories. Sometimes they had to tie her down in her room, when she was having one of her outbursts again. Though it was better than being locked in a cell or being killed outright at least. The woman turned on the USB music player, smiling a little bit at the nostalgic sounds coming from it. Then she opened her backpack, taking the tarp she had taken with her out, and started tying it to whatever it could be tied to to shield her bed from sight. Kevin would just have to make do with whatever sleeping gear he had with him, though he was probably already used to that.

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Geoffrey decided not to take the man up on his offer. This wasn't the time or place. Families lived here and all that. Plus Kevin hadn't done anything bad so far. So no need to become enemies right away, even if he didn't like him. "Are the boys going to start a dick measuring contest now?" Zara pitched in, finding the way the conversation was going a bit immature. She opened her beer as well, deciding that if the two of them were going to go at each other she might as well sit back and enjoy the show. "Shut up, brat..." Geoffrey replied, finally opening his beer as well. "I'll get you two some supplies... Some bullets and a first aid kit sound good?" Zara nodded, as she puffed out some smoke. Though the man immediately got up after that, deciding that he still had things to do before having dinner. "We only have one room free at the moment. So you two will have to share. I'm sure you can still find your way around here so help yourself. As for me, I'm going back to the lab. Stop by for some blood samples later will ya, Zara?" Zara nodded once again, and the man left with one last glance towards Kevin.

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Geoffrey led them through a few hallways. Here and there they'd encounter someone dressed in military clothing, and in two rooms they passed there were also women. This bunker seemed more like a shelter for several families than anything else. Though that wasn't it's true purpose. Eventually they arrived at what looked to be some kind of lounge. There were some couches, a music player, a TV, and even a small fridge. Geoffrey opened the fridge and took out three beers, tossing Zara and Kevin one as well. "So, have a seat and tell me what the fuck's going on. You're not the type to move from your safe spot Zara..."

The woman caught the beer and sat down in one of the couches. And since there was an ashtray on the table close to it, she decided this was a good time for a smoke as well. Heck, it was only the second one of the day so she had actually been smoking less today. "Kevin, you want one too I presume. Just uh...buy me a pack whenever you get the chance next time." She spoke, tossing him the half-pack that she had promised for their bet earlier that day. The last thing she wanted was for him to get all nervous and twitchy every time she had a smoke while they were travelling.

"Talk ya brat, don't ignore me." Geoffrey grumbled, not too keen on Zara's smoking habits, though not telling her to stop either. "Fine fine..." Zara sighed, quickly lighting her cigarette before speaking. "The short of it is that some private company wants to study me to find a cure or something. Kevin here's the one that came to get me." Geoffrey frowned, glancing at Kevin for a moment. "And you actually trust them?" The woman shook her head. "Of course not. But the pay is too tempting to pass it up before even seeing what this is about." Once again the man glanced towards Kevin. "You realize that if you get her killed I'll hunt you down, right?"

Elder Tale. (Sanquin / EveIris)

Once both were done, Alakai put the fire out and scattered the charcoal a little. It might not make much of a difference, but this way he felt it would have less of an impact on it's surroundings. Plus it would leave less traces that they were even there. Maybe an unneeded precaution, but they couldn't know for sure in this strange land full of magic and game mechanics. The way to the cave at the back of the village was clear. They had killed at least 75% of the village by now, and the place looked rather empty. Maybe the other normal goblins that were still left hid themselves or something. Though the chief clearly hadn't done so. As soon as they entered a booming voice spoke to them. And at the back a goblin, at least one and a half times as big as the others slowly got up from the ground.

Kali asked if he was ready, and he just gave a grin of excitement back. The knowledge of being able to respawn had put his mind at ease, and because of that a goblin village chief like this didn't exactly scare him any more. Their enemy being two levels below them helped a lot as well, though. Since they had been able to take on the spiders, which were equal to or slightly above their level.

Alakai charged right ahead knowing that if he didn't do so, the chief would come to them anyway. And the cave was large enough for him to dodge and move around as much as he wanted. He started off with a normal kick to the chief's legs. Though it had already grabbed it's large wooden club, and blocked the attack. "Puny hooman, Krunk crush!" The creature bellowed, taking a step back and swinging it's large club at Alakai. In turn, the man dodged to the side, and started attacking once again. This would be a rather easy fight it seemed. At least compared to the spider boss they had fought the day before.

The Vanquishing of the Vampire Plague (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

Zara took note of Kevin's weariness, finding his reaction understandable but unneeded. The guards here were just that, guards. Sure, they had been trained by a military guy, but the clothes were just what they had available in the bunker. The woman walked towards the guard, impatiently crossing her arms. "Well? Open it already. We'd like to go in." The man frowned, looking the two over once again. "The boss told me to just let you two in, but...no funny business." "Funny business? You must be new here." She replied, though left it at that. The guard went back into the small building, and a moment later the large garage doors opened. Behind it was a ramp leading down into the ground, with another, sturdier metal door that was also slowly opening now.

Zara walked towards it and entered. Though as soon as she took a step inside, a wooden baseball bat came swinging from the left side. She quickly raised her left arm at the same time, cracking the bat as it hit her. Though rather than raising her guard, she turned to her assailant and grabbed him, pulling him out from behind the wall. "The fuck Geoffrey! Three years and this is how you greet me?!" She sounded quite angry at this point. Though the man retaliated without hesitation. "Shut it ya little rat! Three years and not a word from you!" The man looked to be in his early- to mid-forties, with long messy dark hair and a pair of prescription glasses. His white lab coat was a little cliché, but it was obvious this man was a scientist of some kind.

Geoffrey swung at Zara, hitting her square in the cheek. Though the woman barely flinched, and returned the favour right away. She, in turn, sent the man tumbling to the ground. "What do you expect when you greet me like this every fuckin' time I come here?! We're staying for the night, so deal with it!" The man grumbled, getting up and rubbing his cheek. "Fine, you can stay the night. The hell are you all the way out here for anyway? And who's the though guy behind you? Got a boyfriend now or something?" Zara seemed to calm down again, putting her hands in her pockets. "I'll tell you about it over a drink. You still drink, right?" The man nodded, then motioned for the two to follow him. Zara turned to Kevin, seeing that that little display just now hadn't helped him being on edge. "Calm down, Kevin. They won't try to harm us. Geoffrey and I just have a history."