Revenge of the Sorcerer King

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Chapter 34

Oberon

We rode in silence the last few minutes before the bandit village. Thanks to our sack of information, we knew there were roughly two hundred people that were able to fight, with another hundred or so that were basically non-combatants. 

As we rounded a bend in the trail, the village came into sight. Made mostly from wood, there appeared to be only a few buildings, inside an encirclement of wooden walls. There was only one tower and the gates were currently open, in expectation of their new spoils from the hunt. 

As we pulled up to the gate, the snitch gave the signal that would allow us into the village. Laughter, cheering, cat-calling, and a large manner of other sounds assaulted us as we came into the village. There was an orgy or something of equal depravity happening to one side of the village. I felt that an attack wouldn’t even bother them they appeared to be so into it. 

“Slaves,” Alessa hissed looking towards the human cesspit. 

“Probably. They would be plenty happy to die given the conditions they are living in. Don’t try to spare them if it means putting yourself at risk,” I said gripping her shoulder tightly. 

“I know. Its just I was so close to being one of those,” she said growling in reply. 

“Then take it out on the perpetrators,” I said.

We came to what appeared to be the central bonfire. A man was sitting on a throne made from furs and animal bones. He looked well-groomed and didn’t quite seemed to fit in with the setting. I guess old habits did die hard.

The man was tall, almost a giant of a man, at over two meters. Brown hair neatly trimmed, and a thin beard rested on his head. Mainly, he had much better teeth compared to the rest of the people in the camp. When we came to a stop next to the fire, he stood up and took us in. 

“Who’s wearing the armor? Jess? Fred? Come on. You know I get any spoils first. Those are the rules,” the leader said with a nonchalant gesture to hand over the goods. 

“Jess? Fred? I’m afraid they are currently buried about an hour that way,” I said pointing roughly towards the town.

“Son of a bitch! Who the hell are you!?” the leader demanded as he drew his sword.

“Just the guy you tried to rob. You really should learn to pick your targets,” I said as I leisurely drew my own blade.

“You think I’m afraid of you just because you have some shiny armor on?! I’ve killed knights with equal or more armor while they were on horseback. You don’t scare me,” the leader growled.

“It’s a good thing I’m no knight,” I said pulling off my helmet. The green flames coming from my eye sockets grew lighting the area around my head. My new flesh was tight around my skull, making a rather ghastly image. 

“Lich! Fire spells! Hurry!” the leader shouted backing away. 

“If you insist,” I said raising my hand. I formed the magic missile spell but substituted the aspect with fire. The purple blades formed, the were wreathed in fire. It was a rather nice display as I could control twelve of them. I selected the people I felt would most likely give us trouble then launched my spell with a causal gesture. 

A second later, screams filled the night air. The flaming blades sliced through the bandits with blood and limbs flying everywhere. Their levels were in the range of what Helena said as they couldn’t put up a fight. The leader fell back, a puddle forming under him. After I’d killed nearly half of the bandits in the village, I formed a fist, causing the blades to stop where they were. 

“That was rather underwhelming,” I said looking over to Helena and Alessa. 

“They aren’t exactly the best of the bunch,” Helena said kicking a corpse that was next to her. 

“What should we do with the rest?” I asked looking at the rest of the bandits that were huddled in groups. While I didn’t feel it necessary to kill them all. Still, I didn’t like the idea of leaving behind any seeds that might come back to haunt me. I couldn’t really think of any reason to spare them. 

“Food?” Helena asked.

“Can you really eat all those?” I asked laughing.

“Probably about half give or take a few,” Helena said as she looked around counting. 

“I could take a few,” Alessa said. 

“Come on girls. You’re scaring them,” I said laughing.

“Please! Spare me!” the leader cried slamming his head into the ground. “Kill or do whatever you want with the rest!” 

“Trash,” I said scowling at the man. I looked around until I found the perfect person. I pointed at the person. “You. Kill him and I’ll let you live.” The man fell back then rushed to his feet and charged the leader without a moment’s hesitation. He leveled his sword aiming for the leader’s stomach. 

The leader reacted throwing a roundhouse kick sending the man flying several meters. He rolled a dozen times and came to a stop. The man groaned but didn’t get up. “Pathetic,” Helena said. I flicked my finger and one of the flaming blades stabbed the man through his chest. He screamed for a solid minute before he died. 

“Let’s see. You two,” I said pointing at another two men. “Your turn.” 

They backed away scared of both me and their leader. I sighed and flicked my wrist. The blade shot towards them, they turned and ran but couldn’t outrun my magic. The blades tore through their backs and pinned them to the ground. 

“Are you going to keep this up?” Helena asked.

“I don’t know. Its kind of fun. You four. Go.”

The four men looked at each other then nodded. They tightened their grip on their weapons then charged the leader. The leader roared out a battle cry and braced himself. He was skilled. As the four men reached him, he was able to twist and maneuver his sword skillfully enough to repel or deflect all the incoming attacks. He even managed to cause one of the men to stab one of the other men charging. 

“Can I have him?” Alessa asked suddenly. I looked towards her and saw she was drooling slightly. I was really starting to get worried about the girl. 

I thought about it as I tapped my sword against my shoulder. Alessa did need actually skilled people to command. Even if there is a bit of level difference, I was sure that the leader would prefer becoming one of her servants to death. 

“What’s your name?” I asked looking at the leader. 

“Saruis.”

“Well. Saruis. You’ve been given a chance to live. How about that?”

“Live? Why?” Saruis asked nervously. 

“Because this girl has taken a liking to you. So… you get to serve her for the rest of your life. Or until she gets bored with you,” I explained. “You have thirty seconds to decide.”

Alessa

Ever since I became a vampire, I was having a hard time controlling myself. While we were in town, I would find it almost impossible not to follow men that I found attractive. I find myself thinking about how to make them my own. Not as a lover, but as a belonging. What I wanted to know was whether that was part of the vampire me, or the original me. 

I could admit that when I was fleeing from town to town, the thought had crossed my mind about making others into slaves for the hardship they caused me. Maybe now that I had power, it was leaking out more. Which resulted in me asking Oberon if I could have the leader of the bandits, Saruis. I almost didn’t care whether it was as an undead or a servant. I just wanted to make such a powerful man my own. 

“I’ll treat you good. Big changes are coming to the world,” I said. Its only been a month or so, but I knew that Oberon was going to rock this world to its foundations. We’ve already encountered three gods. I doubt he’s done either. 

Saruis collapsed to his knees. He looked around at the others in his village. Most were looking to him to see what he would do. They likely thought if he accepted then they might be allowed to live as well. I wasn’t sure how Oberon would deal with them, but I didn’t think life was in the cards for them. 

“Twenty seconds,” Oberon called. “Ten seconds.” I could smell the fear rolling off Saruis. It was almost intoxicating. It took all I had not to charge him and sink my teeth into his neck. “Five. Four. Three...”

“Alright! I’ll do it,” Saruis said throwing away his sword. 

“Excellent. Helena is there any you want?” Oberon asked.

“No. My family is already quite large. We don’t need any useless children,” Helena answered crossing her arms. 

“Very well… I almost forgot. Ted you want any of them?” Oberon asked looking towards the wagon. 

“Maybe a few corpses,” Ted called back. 

“Then its done,” Oberon said then his tone shifted as he chanted a spell. His dozen flaming swords replicated until there were almost a hundred of them. The screaming and yelling returned as everyone but Saruis tried to flee, but their own walls hindered them. The noise didn’t last long. 

“Monsters…” Saruis breathed. 

“Worse. Undead,” Oberon said laughing. “Alessa. Make it quick.”

I nodded then walked up to the kneeling Saruis. “Don’t worry. It only hurts a little.” He lowered his head, but I could see the defiant gaze he had. I couldn’t allow that, now could I? I kneeled next to him then without a pause bit down. I could dampen the pain if I wanted to but felt he needed it. 

I lost myself for a minute but managed to come back to my senses before I completely drained him. It would be a waste to make him into a ghoul. I placed my hands on his shoulders and leaned his head back so I could look into his eyes. Pink energy filled his pupil before it sank into him. 

“At your service, my Lady,” Saruis said with a strange grin.