Alcingeria Volume Two chapter Twelve: Evacuation To Semera

After the loss at Stavon, the remaining villagers are evacuated to the human stronghold of Semera.

Chapter Twelve Evacuation To Semera:

Monday July 19^th 1690

Robert ran through the village shouting at the top of his lungs. All of us helped him get everyone together. Some were in their houses, some were wandering about the village. It didn’t take long, there were less than sixty people to evacuate. I looked over to the advancing vampire horde. They were in no hurry. They knew they had won. They marched in formation, like a proper army.

We all waved the villagers out of their houses and off of the streets. We all retreated through the rear of the village. Everyone ran as fast as they could. Luckily no one fell behind. Everyone hastily escaped the village, we didn’t stop until Stavon was nearly out of sight. We all sat down, out of breath and exhausted.

            “Is everyone here?” Robert asked.

He looked around. His gaze shifted to all of us. We all looked to each other, everyone appeared to be accounted for…

            “Where’s Stella?” Robert gasped.

            “Stella!?” Erin exclaimed, looking around.

There was no answer.

            “That must mean…” Robert trailed off.

            “Ignacio has her.” I finished.

There was a moment of silence, none of us knew what to do. Ignacio had Stella, what did he plan to do to her?

            “They… had a whole… second wave…” Mayor Alfred panted.

            “This group, what did you say they were called?” Asked a woman I recognized from the hospital.

            “The vampire mafia.” Mayor Alfred answered.

            “They’re well orchestrated, they know what they’re doing.” Charles remarked.

            “There’s Ignacio for you.” Don added.

            “So does anyone know where we are?” I asked.

            “Yeah, we gotta get to the next village and warn ‘em! They vampire mafia’ll be movin’ on!” Walden panicked.

I heard Erin chuckle.

            “Luckily for us, I grabbed a map before heading out with you all, we’re East of Stavon. If we continue East until we hit the Kestrel River then head North, we should reach Semera before dawn.” She told us.

            “The Kestrel River… That river flows straight though Semera, right?” A woman asked.

            “It does, have you been there?” Erin asked.

            “Oh many times. I have a sister there, you see.” She replied.

            “I’ve been there too, the river is big, clean and great for fishing!” A man chimed in.

            “Then it’s settled, we’ll take refuge in Semera, get reinforcements and take back Stavon, and your friend.” Mayor Alfred agreed.

And so we all set out for the Kestrel River.

 

***

 

Monday July 19^th 1690

It was a few hours (maintaining a steady walking pace) before we came upon the Kestrel River. It looked to be at least five hundred meters across and several kilometers long. The water was clear blue and clean. A few kilometers to the North was Semera, a large walled city that had several spires surpassing the height of the wall.

            “So this is the Kestrel River.” Tabatha said in awe.

            “It’s beautiful!” Erin exclaimed.

            “And so big...” One of the villagers trailed off.

            “Now, now, let’s not forget why we’re here.” Mayor Alfred reasoned.

            “Right, I suggest we take a short rest by the river before going into the city.” Robert proposed.

Everyone was in agreement. After all, we had been travelling for the last few hours. We situated ourselves on the riverbank. I took a drink from the river, it was cold and crisp. Many others took a drink as well. We sat and rested for another half hour before Robert got up again.

            “Okay, are we ready?” He asked.

Everyone nodded and got back up. We prepared for the journey to Semera.

It wasn’t a punishing walk, an hour, maybe even less. We finally arrived at the large white gates of Semera.

            “Finally! My feet are killing me!” Tabatha moaned.

            “Halt!” One of the guards called.

We did as we were told.

            “You’re an awfully big group, what brings you to Semera?” He asked.

Mayor Alfred stepped forward.

            “I am the mayor of Stavon, Alfred Kennick. Our village was taken over, many of my villagers died in the attack. We’ve come to seek refuge behind your walls and to request help in taking our village back.” He explained.

The guards looked at him skeptically.

            “Taken over? By who?” One of them asked.

Mayor Alfred looked sheepish.

            “By… Um… By Vampires.” He stuttered.

All the guards looked to each other. Instead of laughing, they spoke intently to each other.

            “Didn’t Allan say that the report that came in from Stavon earlier had something strange on it?” One of them asked.

            “Indeed, it said to watch out for a man with black hair that speaks in a strange accent, stands a little under six feet tall and looks to be about seventeen with a pale skin tone. The report also said that the man has red eyes.” His friend replied.

            “Red eyes? I thought that was a joke!” One of the other guards shouted.

            “It wasn’t.” Mayor Alfred gruffly interjected.

            “Perhaps they should speak to Allan themselves.” One of the guards before us suggested.

            “Very well, he should be on the Eastern wall. Renaldo, take the mayor to see him.” Ordered the one that appeared to be second in command.

            “Yes, sir!” Renaldo said with a salute.

            “If I may, I’d like to bring along Robert Lowell here. He has valuable information that Allan will want to hear.” Mayor Alfred added.

            “Very well, bring Robert too.” The second in command ordered.

The guard named Renaldo took Robert and the mayor to see Allan.

            “So… What do we do with them, sir?” Asked one of the guards.

            “We keep them here until Renaldo gets back with Robert and the mayor.” The second in command responded.

            “Relax, we’re not going anywhere.” Don joked.

We stayed where we were for ten minutes. At long last, Renaldo, a man with orange hair, caramel eyes and tan skin, Robert and Mayor Alfred returned.

The orange haired man didn’t look to be all that strong. He didn’t look frail, but he definitely doesn’t do any heavy lifting. A sword in a sheath hung not at his side, but across his back. He also walked differently than other men. He took careful, yet fluent strides. He was light on his feet, he moved quickly, too.

            “Hello everyone, I’m Captain Allan Drei.” The orange haired man introduced himself.

He then turned to the guards, who looked to be awaiting his words.

            “Men, these people are telling the truth. We received a letter from mayor Alfred ealier today.” He explained.

            “But… The letter said that the man in question had red eyes!” One of the men exclaimed.

Allan nodded in understanding.

            “I wouldn’t have believed it either… Except I know the man, Ignacio. I ran into him over a month ago while doing my rounds on Yutsa’s Northern border. He was feeding on someone, a young woman. At first I couldn’t believe what I saw, I stood dumbfounded. The woman he was feeding on was unconscious. I probably could have saved her, but I was too shocked…” Allan’s voice wavered towards the end. He looked away, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

            “What happened next?” Tabatha asked.

            “Ignacio heard me. He attacked me and I barely fought him off. Heck, if it wasn’t for a wounded deer laying nearby, I probably wouldn’t have.” Allan admitted.

            “Sounds like you got pretty lucky.” I remarked.

            “No kidding.” He chuckled.

            “B-but sir! You never mentioned anything about that before!” Renaldo objected.

            “And I had good reason. No one would’ve believed me, I would’ve lost my credibility as an officer of the guard.” He shot back.

Allan straightened up, regaining his composure.

            “But Allan, why did you go out alone that day?” Robert asked.

            “I always do. I’m the finest swordsman the guard has to offer. Plus I’m better fighting alone than in a group. I’m more than capable of handling myself.” Came his confident response.

            “And on an unrelated note, why do you carry your sword on your back? Shouldn’t it be at your hip?” Tabatha asked.

Allan chuckled, quickly reaching back and drawing his sword in one fluent motion. He swung it in front of him once and sheathed it once more. His weapon had barely been drawn two seconds.

            “Having your sword on your back makes it easy to unsheathe and cut down your opponent, this is very important in my fighting discipline. As are speed, agility and efficiency.” He explained.

Everyone gave approving nods and murmurs.

            “Anyhow, now that we’ve verified your story, we can file you lot under ‘refugee’.” The second in command announced.

            “’File’?” Macalister asked.

            “Indeed. Most larger cities document everyone who passes through, however some don’t. Since we’re classifying you all as refugees, you’ll be provided with three meals a day at no charge at the guard’s barracks, which is also where you’ll be staying.” Allan explained.

I was tired. It was dark already and I was exhausted from the battle at Stavon.

            “That sounds great, thanks a lot!” I said gratefully.

            “How can we ever repay you?” Asked one of the men from Stavon.

Allan chuckled and shook his head.

            “It’s the duty of the guard not only to fend off threats, but also to help people, regardless of race or gender.” He stated proudly.

            “Really?” Tabatha asked happily.

            “Well, except for witches and warlocks!” Allan said, throwing his head back in a belly laugh.

His men joined him, their deep laughter echoed through the night.

Author's Note

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