Alcingeria Volume Two Chapter Ten: Fortifying Stavon

The group warns the residents of the oncoming vampire attack on Stavon. How will they protect Stavon against a vampire assault with no more than seventy people?

Chapter Ten Fortifying Stavon:

Monday July 19^th 1690

We were lead down the hall. We came to a room at the end. The girl knocked on the door.

            “Come in.” A man’s voice called.

The girl opened the door and let us in. The room looked to be a study. It had a window on the back wall and bookshelves as well as loose volumes were plentiful. There was a desk in front of the window, stacks of parchment and books were piled on it. The girl closed the door. The mayor looked to be about forty. He had brown hair and green eyes. He carried himself with respect, but something about him told me that he wasn’t uptight or arrogant. He turned to us with a smile.

            “I see you’ve met my daughter. Hello, I’m Mayor Alfred Kennick. What can I do for you?” He asked kindly.

            “Mr. Mayor, we have urgent news.” Don began.

            “Urgent? Well let’s hear it.” Mayor Alfred encouraged.

            “We have reason to believe that vampires will attack Stavon sometime tonight.” Don told him.

The mayor’s eyes widened in worry.

            “Do you have any evidence to support this claim?” He asked.

Don and Robert took turns explaining about the vampire mafia, Ignacio, what happened at Dunford, and why we believed they’d be coming here.

            “So you see, we believe that the vampire mafia is going to attempt to take over Yutsa.” Robert added.

            “I am familiar with what happened in Valgate. I heard that the vampire mafia had attempted to attack Queen Yuka’s castle, but they were fended off. Correct?” Mayor Alfred asked.

            “Yes, they were.” Robert said with a nod.

It didn’t seem like Mayor Alfred knew about the machine guns, or the war that Queen Yuka was going to start.

            “From what I hear, there hasn’t been any reports of the vampire mafia’s activity since last week, at least not until last night.” Mayor Alfred said.

            “Yes, but like we said. The vampire mafia tried killing Queen Yuka through a frontal assault on the castle. After that failed, they weren’t seen or heard from for a week. Then they attacked Dunford. The town is overrun by vampires. Since Stavon is the closest village to Dunford, we believe that they will attack tonight.” Robert restated.

Mayor Alfred looked skeptical, but he nodded.

            “I believe you. I have heard of vampire attacks before, but I have never heard of an entire town taken over by them. A catastrophe of that scale doesn’t just happen randomly. Dunford has guards, quality ones at that. I’ve seen them fight, they are quite skilled as well as devoted to protecting the people of the town. A successful attack like the one last night would have required careful planning and strategic positioning. Whoever organized the attack knew what he was doing.” Mayor Alfred said solemnly.

            “We know who the leader of the vampire mafia is. His name is Ignacio.” Don added.

            “Do you know what he looks like?” Mayor Alfred asked, grabbing a feather pen and parchment.

Mayor Alfred dipped the pen in ink as Robert nodded and gave a description of Ignacio. Mayor Alfred wrote everything down. After Robert was done, Mayor Alfred wrote something extra and rolled it up, tying it with a red ribbon and stamping it with what must have been the mayor’s seal.

            “Edna!” The mayor called.

The girl who led us in opened the door.

            “Yes, father?” She asked.

            “Send this to the courier. Have him take this letter to Semera. Tell him to give it to the mayor.” He instructed.

“Yes, father.” Edna replied.

She took the letter and walked out the door.

            “I wrote down your description of this ‘Ignacio’. I also wrote instructions for the mayor of Semera to make copies of the letter and send them all over Yutsa. Thanks to you, our chances of apprehending Ignacio have risen signifigantly.” Mayor Alfred thanked us.

We all nodded in acknowledgement.

            “You’ve had dealings with vampires in the past, correct?” Mayor Alfred asked.

Robert nodded.

            “Do you know of any weaknesses they have?” Mayor Alfred asked.

            “Yes. Silver creates a protective barrier around it that keeps vampires back, however they are able to push through with some effort. From a distance, silver weakens them. When in contact with it, they are severely burned. Holy water and garlic also burn vampires. Wooden stakes kill vampires, however the stake is destroyed with the vampire it is staked with.” Robert explained.

            “I’m relieved. Thanks to you, we know how to kill them. Now, to the task at hand.” Mayor Alfred announced.

            “We need to fortify the village in any way we can.” Robert said, taking charge.

            “Indeed, but what I can’t understand is why the vampire mafia would want to conquer a small village like ours.” Mayor Alfred sighed.

I then had an idea.

            “Perhaps it’s because of your mine. If they are going to try and conquer Yutsa, they will need metal to manufacture weapons. A small village like this that has a mine is too good an opportunity to pass up.” I speculated.

            “I think you’re right. Our mines do yield a significant amount of ore. Iron, copper, nickel, you name it.” Mayor Alfred added.

            “Fortifying the village will be difficult.” Erin said, getting us back on track.

            “Yes, we should start by reinforcing the fence around the village.” I suggested.

            “A fine idea, but if there were enough vampires to capture Dunford, wouldn’t they plow straight through a reinforced fence?” Mayor Alfred asked.

I had an idea. I knew that reinforcing the fence was a smart move.

            “It’s not a matter of how we reinforce it, it’s what we use.” I said with a grin.

            “What are you proposing?” Mayor Alfred asked.

            “Your mines, do they yield silver?” I asked.

The mayor nodded and shrugged.

            “Yes, occasionally the miners find a vein of silver.” The mayor said this slowly, smiling as he realized where I was going with it.

            “Redmond, you’re a genius!” Stella exclaimed.

            “We will put silver on top of the fence!” Macalister announced.

            “Would that really work?” Mayor Alfred asked.

            “Do you really want to argue with him?” Don asked, grinning and coking his head to the side.

The mayor laughed heartily, enlightened to hear that we had a chance.

            “I’ll give the necessary orders now, we need to begin preparations right away.” Mayor Alfred declared.

He beckoned us to follow him. We climbed the flights of stairs to the top floor, where there was a balcony. There was a man standing just inside the balcony, he held a long brass horn. The mayor nodded to him and the man with the horn stepped onto the balcony. He played one long high pitched note. One by one people came out of their houses and turned their attention to the balcony. The mayor stepped out to address the people. All sixty of them.

            “People of Stavon! I have received credible word that there will be a vampire attack tonight. You have no doubt heard by now that Dunford has been overrun by vampires and is no doubt captured. To those of you who didn’t know about the existence of vampires, you might be blindsided by this. You may not even believe it, but I assure you that it is true. Vampires exist and within hours they will be on our doorstep. We must take precautions and make preparations if we are to survive.” Mayor Alfred said with authority.

I remember Ignacio telling us that if humans found out that vampires exist, it would cause panic and chaos. Then again, it would be pretty hard to capture an entire province subtly. I guess Ignacio kept the secret for as long as his plan required him to.

While I was lost in thought, the people below were murmuring and looking to each other in panic.

            “Fear not. These people who stand behind me have had dealings with vampires in the past and they know how to incapacitate as well as kill them.” Mayor Alfred assured them, outstretching a hand to us.

We all looked to Robert. He nodded and walked up to the mayor’s balcony.

            “Hello everyone, my name is Robert Lowell. Like mayor Alfred said, my friends and I know how to deal with vampires. We came here to warn and prepare you for the incoming attack. The group we suspect will be attacking tonight is called the vampire mafia, lead by a man named Ignacio. As you might guess, he’s a vampire. Anyhow, sunlight burns them, so they won’t be here until sundown. We have until then to prepare. The others and I have come up with a plan. It’s not much, but it’s the best we have. I need all of you to bring anything silver that you have here to the mayor’s residence. It can be food trays, jewelry, anything. We’ll need the raw ore as well, so anything the mine has brought up will be needed!” Robert said assertively.

There was a murmur of unrest in the crowd. I could feel their confidence slowly growing.

            “The next step is reinforcing the fence around the village!” Robert shouted.

The villagers shouted with him, thrusting their fists into the air.

            “We need every able body to get to work on the fence and take up arms behind it. We’re going to need wooden stakes, and lots of them!” Robert yelled down to the people.

Men, boys and some women shouted in approval.

            “Can we do this?” Robert shouted.

            “We can do this!” The people shouted back.

They erupted into applause and cheers. Robert stepped off the balcony and the people walked off to gather silver like they were told.

            “Incredible, you’re a born leader!” Mayor Alfred praised.

Robert smiled and nodded. We walked downstairs after a few minutes to see that the villagers were carrying various silver items. Miners brought boxes of silver ore. More and more people brought in silver. After about ten minutes they stopped coming in. The guards from before also gave us back our weapons.

            “Will this be enough?” Mayor Alfred asked.

            “It should be.” Don said with a nod.

I looked over it all. It wasn’t a whole lot. I figured that if we spread it out evenly, it may be able to do its job.

            “Excellent. I don’t know what we’d have done without the lot of you, thank you all so much.” Mayor Alfred said with a smile.

            “Don’t go thanking us yet.” Robert said with a chuckle.

            “Anyhow, we should join the villagers. They’re probably getting to work on the fence.” Erin noted.

            “You go, I’ll stay and manage things here.” Mayor Alfred suggested.

            We nodded and walked outside. We saw that everyone was getting busy. There were already people starting work on the fence. There were also people beginning to fashion wooden stakes out of chair legs, wooden boards and even sticks. I saw some people going over the fence to cut down wood from the forest beyond the village. They brought it back for use on the fence, but also for stakes.

            “Okay, what are we all going to do to help?” Robert asked.

            “I’ll help bring wood over from the forest.” Tabatha offered.

            “Okay, but don’t use your magic. We don’t know how these people will react.” Don warned.

Tabatha sighed, her rich brown eyes looked to the ground.

            “Yeah, I know. I just… I hate being restricted like this…” She groaned.

Don bent over and slipped a finger beneath her chin, lifting her lips to his.

            “Just try, okay?” He asked.

Tabatha grinned and nodded, walking off to help the villagers in the forest.

            “Okay, I’ll help make the stakes.” Erin said as she walked off.

            “I’ll help her!” Stella said eagerly, chasing after her friend.

            “I’ll go to the fence and see what I can do to assist.” Robert said with determination.

            “I will go carry wood.” Macalister said.

            “You could split a log with your bare hands.” Don said with a laugh.

Macalister let out a menacing chuckle as he cracked his knuckles, waking towards the fence.

            “I guess I’ll help with the fence.” Don said, walking over.

            “Guess it’s just you an’ me pal.” Walden said.

I jumped upon hearing his voice. He hadn’t spoken since we entered the village.

            “Do you have your invisibility spell on?” I asked.

            “You know it. Only you and the others can see or hear me.” He said with a nod.

            “So, what do you want to do?” I asked.

Walden thought for a moment. I looked around. The fence had plenty of people working on it. The people getting wood from the forest looked like they had enough man (and woman) power. I noticed that no one had carried the silver from the mayor’s house to the fence.

            “We could grab the silver from the mayor’s house and bring it to the fence.” I suggested.

            “I can’t really help you ‘cause someone’s gonna scream if they see a dinner plate floating in the air. I guess I can still yell at ya if ya start slackin’ off.” Walden said.

I laughed and walked back to the mayor’s house. There were already a few people inside. A young man turned to me.

            “You, do you think you can help us get this silver to the fence?” He asked.

            “I was just going to do that.” I told him.

            “Great, thanks.” He said with a grin.

            The other people and I grabbed dinner plates, silver ore, candle holders and anything else that was made of silver. We walked outside and distributed it among the workers at the fence. They kept it nearby so they could fasten it to the fence when they were done reinforcing it. It didn’t take long at all. When I was just about done, I saw a man standing across grassy plain. He stood there, looking at the village. He must have been a traveler. I shrugged and kept going. When the villagers and I finished bringing the silver to the fence, we all met back at the mayor’s residence.

            “Okay, now we need a weapon stockpile so when the workers are done outside, they can come in here to grab something to fight with.” The young man said.

            “The only thing that will kill a vampire is a wooden stake. Anything else will only slow it down.” I said.

            “You’ve dealt with vampires before?” Asked a woman.

I nodded.

            “Charles here once killed a vampire, he nearly lost his arm in the process.” The woman said, gesturing to the young man.

            “I still have use of it, but if it takes too much weight or is jerked the wrong way…” Charles said with a grimace.

Just then, the mayor walked up behind us.

            “I’ve just told the people making the stakes to bring them here when they’re done.” He said.

            “That’s good, but we’ll need more than stakes if we’re going to win tonight. If we can use muskets to pick off the vampires from a distance, the force of their initial attack won’t be as strong.” Charles added.

            “Good thinking Charles, I’ll send a messenger to the people telling them to bring any spare weapons they have and put them here.” The mayor said as he walked outside.

He came back in about a minute later. Five minutes later people came in one by one carrying muskets and flintlocks, along with flasks of gunpowder and extra bullets. In all I counted twenty muskets and five flintlocks. About a third of the people would be fighting with firearms. The rest of us would have to use stakes.

 

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Author's Note

Please tell me what you think!