Chapter 13 Chapter 12 No Escape

The vampire was chasing her neck with its fangs, and Danica was too busy fending off the rampage to focus on landing properly.She tucked her elbow under the vampire's chin, pushed as hard as she could, and twisted so that Thobex was beneath her.At the force of the impact, they flew apart, with a crackling sound that sounded like a thick twig breaking. The vampire didn't even feel dizzy from the fall, and was forced to his feet quickly by Rufo's orders and lunged at Danica, but Thobex staggered, then looked around, as if confused. The sun shines on it. Danica let out a cry of pain as she tried to get to her feet, only to find her ankle shattered, the bones exposed through the skin.Painful with every movement, the tenacious monk rose to his feet on one good knee, then lunged forward, clutching the vampire's ankle with both hands.

All she wanted was to escape, but now it was Thobicus who wanted to escape, back to the dark safety of the library.Danica didn't want that to happen.She could see the pain in its expression, and she knew from tales she had heard as a child that the sun would strip the skin from its bones.Even in his agony, and in the face of the dire problem before him, the monk was sensible enough to understand that destroying Thobex now would be a good thing, making the necessary journey back to cleanse the library much easier. Danica clung to it like a pit bull.Thobix punched her on the head, kicked and screamed.One of Danica's eyes was swollen and closed.She heard the sound of cartilage snapping as her nose shattered, and the pain in her ankle was undiminished, even intensified to the point where she had to struggle to stay sane.

But the next moment, she fell into the cold mud, her body was covered with her own blood, and her hands were empty.She vaguely heard the fading scream of the retreating vampire. Thobicus ran straight to the front door of the library.Every muscle quivered with tension and sunburn, a weak and pathetic creature.It dragged its body and fell against the wooden barrier, but was blocked.It staggered back, tripping in the dust.It could see the hole Danica had kicked in the door earlier, and the cold darkness behind that beckoned to it. A patch of skin above the vampire's right eye had melted and hung down, obscuring vision.It rushed towards the door again, but it wobbled violently halfway, missed its target, and slammed into the stone wall heavily.

"How could you do this to me?" it tried to call, but it was no louder than a whisper. "how come?" The embattled vampire staggered along the wall, trying to reach the edge of the library, to the side of the building.He knew there was a tunnel somewhere to the south, a dark, cold tunnel. But not enough time to find the way.Thobex knew he was doomed, doomed by his own weakness and Rufo's hideous lies. The sun was directly shining on the back of the building, the vampire who was about to round the corner suddenly stopped, and then slumped against the stone wall.Where should I go?Thobicus struggled to clear his thoughts, transcending the pain for a moment, allowing himself to remember the tomb.

Cold and dark. To get there, however, it is necessary to cross the sunny side of the library courtyard.The fallen headmaster could hardly imagine the excruciating pain he had to face, but he also knew that to stay where he was was to die. With a shriek of defiance, Thobicus dragged himself around the corner and charged at full speed toward the mausoleum.The fire of the sun licked every inch of its body and burned directly into its heart, bringing pain that could not imagine its existence.But there it was, somehow tumbling through the heavy doors of the mausoleum, feeling the coolness of the stone floor against his burned cheeks.It crouched and crawled to the rear corner, opened the catacombs belonging to Dean Avery, dragged the fat corpse away with strength from nowhere, and then crawled in to take Avery's place.

Shaking with pain, the vampire curled up into a ball and closed his eyes.Thobicus needed sleep to recover his strength and to contemplate his folly and fate.Zirkan Rufo lied to it. It has lost its way to the god Denir. ※※※ When Danica regained consciousness, the shadows were long and slanted.She realized immediately that she had lost a lot of blood, and she scrunched up her face as she mustered up the courage to look down at her injuries, her feet were swollen and bruised, the edges of the bones piercing the skin with sharp edges, thickly covered with dried blood , a tendon was torn off and hung outside.

How could she move?But at the same time, the shadow is getting longer and longer, how can she continue to stay here?Using the focus gained through years of rigorous training, and the willpower that had guided her throughout her life, the monk barely managed to stand on that leg.Waves of dizziness washed over her, and she worried that changing her position would cause more blood to drain from the wound. She hopped a step east, approaching the main walkway that left the library.Then she fell face down again in the dust. Danica breathed hard, forcing air into her lungs to keep from passing out again—by ​​gods, she must not pass out again! —she ripped off the bottom of her blouse and bent over to repair her broken ankle.She found a twig nearby and jammed it between her teeth so she could bite hard as she tied the wound tight, then she managed to push the bone back into place a little.

She was sweating profusely when she turned back toward the trail, but she said Yindo, her prayer, and set off, crawling at first, then jumping, faster and faster, away from the darkness. The library was out of sight, but whatever comfort that brought her, the red sunset framing the mountains behind her was singing the opposite tune.She knew Rufo would come after her, the reward that the scumbag had been longing for ever since he first laid eyes on her. Danica knew the area well, and although it would be much harder to walk through the dense woods, she stayed away from the main road and continued straight east, knowing that she would return to this road again, perhaps in the morning, after she hid in the Deep in the forest, after spending the night hiding from Rufo.She found a path through the scrubland that a ranger or druid might have used, and the path was slightly easier.Then, as the starlight fell on her, her heart beat with hope, as three figures walked along the path, heading for the library.Danica recognized the attire of the Cult of Oghma, and almost shouted at the priests with delight.

She wrinkled her face in wonder, noticing that one of them was walking backwards, with her head fully turned on her shoulders.Danica's breath vanished in an instant, and so did her hope.The stiff gait of the three dead men was clearly visible, and for the moment she thought it was over, because they must have found her. Danica leaned heavily against a tree trunk, knowing she couldn't fight them off.There were only ten feet between them. five feet. She made a feeble attack, hitting a zombie in the shoulder, but the zombie only staggered a foot to the side before continuing on, right past Danica!

Danica didn't understand why, but she didn't want to question her good luck either.She looked back only once at the departed monsters, and then began to move again, wondering if the whole world had fallen under this darkness. After sunset and twilight, she was still moving.The darkness grew deeper, and the nocturnal birds began to sing.She found an empty hollow and collapsed into it, unable to hold on, and could only hope that she was alive when the first rays of the sun stretched across the Radiant Plains.There was still some remnants of a hard snowdrift that had been blown together in one place, and Danica felt a little more comfortable wrapping the icy snow around her ankles.She dug a V-shaped hollow in the snowdrift, planted her feet on it, and lay down, reciting Yindo, trying to survive the night.

After a time she heard music, not ominous but cheerful, which she soon recognized as a caravan bawdy song.After a moment of confusion, Danica remembered what season it was, and how traders often came from Kara Radon to supply the library after a long winter. So the whole world didn't fall, she knew that.not yet.So she began to hold out hope. Danica lay back and closed her eyes.She needs sleep. But after a while, she realized that she couldn't let herself fall asleep because she had a bigger picture to think about.She couldn't stay here and let the merchant caravan pass by.She couldn't let these unsuspecting people walk into Rufo's lair, and what was worse, it seemed to her that Rufo would probably find the caravan tonight in pursuit of her! Before Danica knew what she was doing, she was on her feet and moved again, stumbling through the scrubland.She saw the campfire almost immediately, and approached it directly. Before reaching it, she stumbled and, unable to stand up again, could only crawl forward, dizziness and nausea overwhelming her. "Come out!" a man yelled from the edge of the camp as Danica tumbled out of the last bush.She saw a sword flash as the man jumped at her, and he apparently thought she was a thief, or even some kind of wild animal. The next thing Danica realized was that she was sitting beside a canvas-roofed carriage, her wounded leg held up in front of her, and an elderly woman tending to the wound.Several men, including merchants and their guards, surrounded her. They all looked very worried, and not one of them bit his lips tightly. The older woman moved the ankle slightly, and Danica cried out in pain, and the woman turned to her companions, nodding heavily. "You have to..." Danica began, struggling to speak. "You must flee." "Relax, girl." One of the men tried to reassure her. "You are safe now." "Run," Danica said again. "Run away!" The men looked at each other, each shrugging in bewilderment. "To Kaladon," Danica urged. "Escape from here—" "Relax, girl," the same man interrupted her. "It's a priest!" a hopeful cry came from the side of the camp. "A Priest of Oghma!" Hopeful smiles spread across the faces of Danica's caretakers, but Danica's face grew even paler. "Run away!" she screamed, and she wrenched her foot out of the old woman's grip and leaned back against the wagon, pushing her shoulders up its side with difficulty until she could stand again. The same man spoke again to reassure her. But he was the first to die, thrown over a tall carriage and slammed into the trunk of a tall tree with a broken neck. In a blink of an eye, the camp was in chaos.Two priests of Oghma and a horde of zombies who have thrown themselves into darkness are now ordered to kill. The merchants fought valiantly, knowing the cost of defeat, and many zombies were hacked in half.But three vampires—including their master—cut in on their ranks, tearing at them and ripping them apart. Several merchants fled screaming into the night. The three defended themselves, surrounding Danica and the older woman who refused to leave the wounded monk behind. Zirkan Rufo faced the trio.Danica fell into a semi-comatose state, expecting a big fight, but for some reason, amidst the chaos of the camp, the group of men stood calmly. Then she knew that Rufo was speaking to them, soothing them with a web of words, invading their minds with its will, making them see things that weren't real. "He's lying!" Danica screamed. "Block your ears and hearts! Deny him! Oh God, any god, let these evils manifest by your light!" She had no idea where this sudden burst of strength had come from, nor where she had found the strength to yell at these three unfortunate men, but, although they died shortly afterwards in Zirkan Rufo Beneath the terrible hands of God, they did not yield to the darkness.They heed Danica's words, discover the power of faith, and reject Rufo. The fight was still raging, and a ferocious blow from a man - with a silver-encrusted sword - hit Rufo, and that's when the old woman beside Danica suddenly screamed and clung to the wagon. . Danica looked over there and saw one of the other two vampires striding closer, grinning with her fangs bared, and its eyes were on Danica. "You're not allowed to touch her!" the old woman yelled, and out of nowhere she pulled out a stick—it looked like the handle of a whipper—and hit the vampire's head with it.The monster looked at the old woman in bewilderment, and she raised the stick again.Its hand snapped out and grabbed her throat.Danica looked away, but couldn't stop the sound of bones breaking. Then the vampire was facing her, mad and obscene. Danica hit it in the mouth with her fist. It seemed surprised, but barely hurt. Danica punched it again, strength returning with anger.She looked at the old woman who was dead and lying on the ground, who had just helped her, and then her hand swung out vigorously, once and twice, hitting the vampire's throat respectively.Its trachea collapsed under these blows, and no air could pass through it. But vampires don't breathe. Danica hit it several more times, and it finally caught her hand and held her firmly.She was in the hands of the vampires, and Rufo was still fighting, and there was nothing she could do. A white light flashed in front of her, and unexpectedly, the vampire backed away, and it took a moment for Danica to realize that it was wrestling with a scratching and biting squirrel. Danica pushed the carriage away and jumped out, thinking only of saving Percival. The vampire tore the rodent away from him, throwing Percival aside just as Danica jumped up and bumped him, throwing him to the ground.They rolled in a full circle, Danica resting her good foot on the vampire's belly and kicking as hard as she could while turning. She heard a crack, a branch snapping as it flew up and down the vampire's head. When the world finally stopped spinning for poor Danica, she was quite thankful that unpredictability, in this moment, saved her life, as the vampire, impaled in the chest by the broken branch, was kicking wildly. , twisting, but in vain. She was also relieved to see Percival climbing frantically towards the same tree, apparently unhurt. Suddenly, Danica was jerked to her feet, and an angry Zirkan Rufo was grabbing her tightly.She looked at its exposed forearm and saw that its wound had healed, only the patch of skin that had been exposed to the sun in front of the broken door was still red. "You'll never run away again!" Rufo said firmly, and Danica shuddered.She was out of strength and out of breath.This battle is over. The remaining vampire walked up to Rufo.He looked at the branch, where his companion was paralyzed, a vicious expression swept over his facial features. It snarled at Danica, and slowly moved towards her.Danica was surprised how easily Zirkan Rufo stopped the angry vampire.Rufo raised only one hand, and the vampire took a step back, snarling and yelling, helpless. "This prey belongs to me," Rufo reminded him. The vampire looked at his companion again. "If I let it out of the tree, it will come back and join us," he reasoned suddenly, and according to legend, it was true. "Leave it alone!" Rufo said as the vampire made his way to the entangled monster.The vampire looked back at his master in surprise. "It disobeyed my orders," Rufo explained. "It could kill Danica, or take her for itself. Just let it eat its way there." Danica noticed that the pale features of the lesser vampire were clouded first by suspicion, then by malice.In that moment, the depraved Priest of Oghma hated Rufo with all his heart, and desperately wanted to slit Rufo's throat.But that resentment soon melted into obedience, and the lower vampires withdrew. "We've lost a lot," he said, and Danica wondered if he had changed the subject first. Rufo scoffed at that. "They're just zombies," he replied. "I'll be back tomorrow night to get them moving again, and the guys who protect this guy." He shook Danica hard, sending a pain up his ankle. "What about Diatan?" the vampire asked, looking at the tree. Rufo paused for a moment. "It failed." Rufo decided. "Leave it to the sun." In the eyes of the Oghma vampire, it was a waste.But it has come to the conclusion that this is the rule, the path it has chosen.So that's it. Rufo looked at Danica, his face now peaceful. "You need to sleep," he whispered.Danica didn't just hear the words, she felt them, and felt that it was a good thing to fall into a deep sleep. She shook her head vigorously, knowing that she had to fight Rufo to the last moment without letting up. Rufo stared at her, wondering where the inner strength was coming from. Danica spits in his face. Rufo hit her hard before he realized what he was doing, and Danica, exhausted and weakened by blood loss, collapsed to the ground.The angry vampire grabbed her by the hair and started dragging her, telling the lesser vampire to gather the rest of the zombies and follow them back to the library. Before Rufo was even out of camp, however, the remaining part of it tugged at it, reminding him of his feelings for Danica.It bent down and gently hugged her in its arms, clinging to it, although its cold body couldn't give her any warmth.In the moonlight it saw her white neck glowing, tempted it to feast, tempted it to drink the man's blood, and it was the strongest action Zirkan Rufo had ever taken, denying himself that pleasure, Because it knew Danica couldn't take it, and if it sucked her blood now, she would die, and it would lose her forever. High in the trees above the scene of the massacre, Percival watched the unholy procession slowly leave.The squirrel knew where they were going, so it fled along the branches into the night, looking for someone who hadn't fallen for Zirkan Rufo.