A Line of Work Ch. 03

The woman and men took the reins of the three horses and led them into a reasonably sized encampment that must have contained at least 150 people. The only light came from campfires and candles. A small group of kids were playing tag around the area. The adults each performed a task of sorts for their own personal interest or to help the camp. A few diverted their attention to Arvad and Raisel, but returned to their task as if they already knew the duo was coming.

"We are the Valukar Tribe of vampires. We were headed towards a haven for our kind, which we travel to every year. Yet we have a problem with one of our kind. A vampire by the name of Vulg has gone wild, turning into a rabid beast unbefitting of our kind. He performed a taboo act, which was feeding on the blood of the forbidden. When a vampire feeds on the forbidden, he undergoes a savage transformation, losing all vestments of his former life. He basically turns into a wild, feral animal. The forbidden's blood tastes delicious, and once a vampire tastes it, they cannot help but feed and feed until the transformation takes part. My request for you, Arvad Eversoul, is to kill Vulg. Don't worry, we will pay you appropriately."

Arvad placed his hands on his sides as he dismounted from the horse, "Well, as long as if you pay me, I don't mind. Should I do this, will you assure me you can keep my charge safe until I return? If not..."

"Should you manage to succeed, keeping your charge safe will hardly be enough to pay you. So of course."

"Wait a second, you're going to leave me here?" Asked Raisel. She was worried, as she had not known that these people were vampires until they revealed themselves in conversation.

Raisel wasn't sure if she was supposed to be scared or calm. However, it would be a lie if she said that she wasn't interested in the vampire tribes. From what she read in books, there was very little information on them. Only that each tribe held a small amount of members, and each fought for their own. Though one of the larger tribes was recognized and allied to the Elves of the Forests for an unknown reason. All other tribes, and vampires in general, were despised by most races and hunted. That didn't mean that some vampires couldn't be kind, or that some members of the other races couldn't be amiable and friendly towards vampires. Raisel wanted to be one of those people.

"Oh you'll be fine, I'm sure you'll have fun here while I'm risking my life. I'll most likely be hunted for once, instead of hunting. I'm looking forward to this..." Arvad let out a grim smile.

"I will accompany you to act as a guide. As I have yet to make your acquaintance, call me Veria." The vampiric woman named Veria formed a toothy smile, revealing deadly, grim fangs.

-

"So how does your people survive? I mean, practically every race is hostile towards your kind." Raisel asked with the sole purpose of learning about the mysterious vampires, the Valukar tribe in particular.

The group of vampires who had brought Arvad and herself into the camp began showing her around. They knew that Raisel meant no harm, nor did she have any malicious intent. In fact, Raisel's friendly and angelic demeanor, it melted the vampire's frigidness and soon they began speaking in a normal conversation.

"Nots as if every single being dislikes us. There're some we're in contact with fer trade and other services. We eat animals, drinkin' their blood. Whenever we're attacked by bandits or whatnot, we'll drinks their blood too."

Raisel wasn't surprised by the man's words. She knew vampires had such morbid tastes. It seemed that despite being a form of undead, they still ate animal flesh. It was also apparent to her that they ate plants, though for taste only. She learned that plants didn't give them a 'full' feeling, and thus only ate sparingly of the most delicious of plants, like berries. Meat was abundant, however.

Currently, venison was being roasted over a spit on a nearby campfire. The Valukar's definitely didn't have the fanciest arrangement for anything, especially not for cooking. While their appliances were makeshift, they somehow managed to perfect their cooking ability with such handicaps. Tenderly cooked meat wafted by her nose, with a multitude of spices used to accentuate the flavor. They used a special type of wood whose smoke also added to the flavor.

She continued to speak to the male vampire, which she learned his name to be Votl, as they sat down to partake of the dinner being served. Votl seemed equally interested in Raisel, especially in the fact that she was an Elf. Raisel explained that she was not a full Elf, but a Half-Elf.

"My mother is human, and my father was an Elf. Half-breed species are not especially well loved in the human lands, I've learned that much. So thanks to my looks, I generally keep the facade that I am a full Elf." Raisel bit down on the venison, she found the taste to be quite palatable and delectable. After swallowing, she immediately took another, quick bite before talking again. "So in a way, I'm like you. Though to a much lesser degree, as you have to face danger in every day in order to survive. I am very much impressed."

Votl nodded his head as continued his meal.

"Ah, my I ask another question? What are these forbidden ones? And why is it forbidden to partake of their blood for vampires?" Raisel wanted to know this, as she was very much clueless to the situation Arvad was in.

Votl tilted his head, pondering his thoughts before replying, "While we do not know why th' blood of the forbidden is poisonous t'us, we know that is has a sweet taste and smells like flowers, it is... Addicting. The forbidden ones that we despise are like wild animals, and some are. Were-humans and changelings that change into animal form unwillingly are these forbidden ones. Not to be mistaken for magical shape shifting, changelings're despicable creatures who've lost all sanity and turned into beasts."

"Vulg was a dear friend of mine." Another male vampire then spoke, Raisel noticed that this vampire was not human, but an Elf. He seemed to have charcoal grey skin, Raisel had to guess that this elf was a Drow at some point. "I do not know when he first fed on the forbidden, nor have I remembered our tribe coming into contact with a forbidden at all. Whenever he fell down to a feral level, he was keeping this addiction a secret. Once a vampire feeds on the forbidden, its sanity decreases to such an extent that any feelings forged for one another, is erased... And that is only on the first feed. I will kill each and every changeling I come across, they are nothing but a blight in this world." The Drow vampire rambled off, cursing the forbidden changelings several times until he fell into a grumpy stupor.

Another vampire joined in, this time an elderly human male. "The feral vampires, once they undergo the full transformation, do not only receive insanity, they also undergo a slight physical metamorphosis. Their nails grow into keen claws and talons. Their fangs are noticeably longer and sharper. It receives no weakness when it goes out into the sun, though it still prefers the dark. Their movements are more animalistic, as they abandon their bipedal gait in favor of walking on all fours. Depending on how much forbidden blood it has fed one, its strength and speed will increase exponentially. Even then, a feral vampire is not stupid, it is only insane, it is quite smart in actuality. It needs to be smart in order to stalk its prey. For your sake girl, you had better hope that man is skilled himself. Or he will die without even noticing its presence."

Just what are you going up against, Arvad? Is this foe even in your dimension?

-

I could just kill the damn thing so damn easily, if I can bloody find it.

That phrase just raced through Arvad Eversoul's head as he and Veria stealthily combed the woods for the elusive and dangerous feral vampire.

Due to her animalistic, vampire instincts, Veria easily tread lightly across the ground as if walking through a field of glass. Arvad, thanks to his extensive experience in covert jobs from his mercenary work, also gained a decent knowledge on how to moved at any pace quietly and quickly.

They did this, as it was entirely possibly that the feral vampire, Vulg, could be watching them from anywhere. It was his territory now, his playing field. It is true that Veria and her tribe, the Valukars, has been living in this forest for quite sometime, they had yet to go this far out. Nor did they want to due the threat of the feral vampire that had been turned feral only a month ago. Normally a tribe of vampires would only stay in one place for two or three weeks, at the most, yet the Valukar had been living in the Heretic's Forest for approximately two months now. They would have left long ago, but Vulg had turned feral, and it was the duty of a vampire tribe to put down any feral vampires that originated from them. Several sorties into this section of the woods had resulted in the deaths of two of their comrades. Before Arvad had arrived, they deliberated over the plan of seeking help from a professional. The problem is that who would want to help the despised vampire tribes? Even if they found a man, of any race, that was amiable towards them, it was highly unlikely they would be skilled enough to kill such a powerful feral vampire. Yet that was when Arvad arrived, a mercenary of many rumors, and while he didn't resemble any of them, they knew at once it was him and he would help.

The two remained quite, not talking even once since they had set out an hour ago. As they trekked through the woods, Arvad raised his arm, and an owl perched on it. Veria looked at the display curiously, wondering what the mercenary was saying as he whispered words into the Owl's ear. Soon, he stretched out his arm, and the owl, quiet as a shadow, took off.

Veria gesticulated to Arvad to meet congregate at a thick tree nearby. At this time, darkness completely enveloped the forest and the area around it. It was now the best setting possible for a vampire to fight in. The two met up and began to speak in hushed voices.

"And you're sure he is around here? Man, he definitely does not want to show himself." Said Arvad in a calm voice.

Veria, while keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, said, "Very, this is where our comrade, Vehr died not too long ago. Also, there have been reports outside of this forest of humans dying in here."

"Tell me more about this Vulg. How much of the forbidden blood has he drank? This directly correlates to his strength and abilities as a feral vampire." It seemed Arvad wanted to know every bit of his opponent's abilities, so as to be prepared as possible.

Veria compiled some information within her brain before answering, "I do not know when he first drank of the forbidden blood, but I know it has been some time. Signs of his addiction appeared two months before he turned, it seems he has staved off the transformation far longer than any vampire before. Also, he was the patriarch of our tribe."

"...That's news to me. I wish you had told me this before." The patriarch of a vampire tribe was undoubtedly the strongest vampire in each tribe, it could be a patriarch or a matriarch, all it needed was a strong mind, dedicated to the tribe's values, and generally unparalleled strength compared to the other vampires of the tribe. Veria saw a funereal face on Arvad.

"I apologize... We were worried that if you knew the strength of the vampire who had turned feral, you would not accept. I beg that you do not give up now." Said Veria honestly.

"Oh don't worry, I don't take jobs half-assed. Once I take one, I see it all the way through, provided the payment is sincere and idoneous." Arvad changed from his grim look, to a more upbeat and excited look. "However, it would be best to save this job for tomorrow. As it is night, and it is the best possible situation for the feral vampire to eliminate the both of us. Daytime would obviously impair his abilities."

"Ah, no... We can't do that." Said Veria, frantically.

Arvad tilted his head, "Why not? My logic is sound. Horo, my Nightshade Owl from before, informed me that there is the definite presence of a feral vampire around here. So he will still be around tomorrow morn. Would it not be best to head back now and eliminate the threat tomorrow?" He was clearly baffled, though he while he looked confused, he was apparently interested in what Veria had to say, unbeknownst to her.

Veria hesitated at first, "...I... Want to save him from his condition. The patriarch... No, Vulg, I want him cured. And the only way to do that is to kill him. The sooner we do that, the better. Can I not convince you to continue on and defeat him, tonight? It is said that a feral vampire's spirit will only be free if he is slain under the moon's shroud. I will do... Anything." She ended note with a partial smile, a smile meant to induce unethical thoughts in a male, or sometimes a female.

Arvad Eversoul, being a man of the ladies, usually willingly, had no resistance against her smile. He let out a 'why not' expression. It had been a week since that tryst with the courtesan in Alduin, why not with a vivacious vampire vixen? He could cross that off his bucket list, under the 'To do, literally' section.

Whispering a muffle spell, which covered a small area around the tree they were next to, Arvad relaxed himself next to the tree. Veria moaned as Arvad, right off the bat, fondled her ample bust. In this darkness, he couldn't see what size they were, but they felt reasonably large enough to barely fit his hands, with enough flesh squishing out from between his fingers.

"I sorry, but I'm a bit vocal. Even your muffle spell wouldn't handle it. So I'll promise to do my best with what I've got." Apologized Veria as she pulled out her breasts from his clothing. She let out a siren's laugh as Arvad simply shrugged and removed enough of his clothing for his erect member to appear.

Veria smirked as she teased the head of his cock with the tips of her nipples. She squeezed them together for visual stimulation as she stared straight into Arvad's eyes. Veria wrapped her lips around his shaft and gave it several deep and wet bobs, lubricating the member.

Upon seeing it wet with Veria's saliva, Arvad took control of his shaft at the base, playfully smacking against Veria's cheeks. She took it in lustful stride.

As Arvad was too busy to notice, Veria reluctantly began to please Arvad. She did not want to do this; she figured that he was the type of guy to only respond to this sort of stimulation. She was desperate for Arvad to continue on that night in search of Vulg. In any case, she put on a licentious facade in order to please Arvad. It was not that she hated sex or sexual acts in general, quite the opposite in fact, she did not like doing this in order to gain her desires. It made her feel like the whores of brothels, in their case, money; in Veria's case, Arvad Everoul's cooperation.

She smiled as she teased Arvad skillfully, touching every pleasure point around his cock and balls, though not long enough in order to bring the mercenary any closer to orgasm. Removing Arvad's hand, Veria swiped her tongue across the head, licking around the sensitive flesh she proceeded to finally take definite action. Determined she had teased him enough, Veria figured that the plan now was to get him off as quickly as possible.

Due to her saliva's lubrication, Veria was able to wrap her breasts around Arvad's thick shaft. She heard the mercenary moan in pleasure, pleased with her actions. She shook each of her breasts in opposite directions, providing Arvad with two senses of stimulation. She squeezed her breasts down on the quivering shaft tightly, and as she did this, Arvad pulled on the nipples, firmly. Unintentionally, Veria let out a dampened moan, one reserved for those who actually enjoyed the sex with the partner they were engaging in.

Veria lifted her breasts upward, sliding along the shaft's length, giving off the pleasurable friction directly to Arvad's mind. Arvad's cock-head pushed out from the top of Veria's breasts every so often. Noticing that would be a good place to increase the pleasure Arvad was currently receiving, Veria licked the head each time it appeared, sometimes sucking on the head as well.

Arvad himself was greatly enjoying the attention, he hadn't expected such an opportunity to relieve himself of this tension would come so soon, and especially to such a pretty woman, and a vampire at that. He had dealings with vampires before, though rarely, and because of that rarity, he had never had the pleasure of engaging in a sexual act with one before. He noticed that the fangs that were generally present in vampires seemed to extend, like a cat's claws.

He shouldn't last that much longer, believed Veria as she continued to please Arvad. She could feel that he was on the brink of orgasm, though it seemed as if he needed one final push. Removing her breasts, Veria stroked the shaft several times before replacing the hand with her mouth. In one swift movement, Veria practically swallowed the cock, as she could feel the head hit the back of her throat. She managed to suppress her gag reflex as she continued to pleasure Arvad in this position with her lips, throat, and tongue. Licking the length of the shaft, that her tongue could reach, Veria touched every centimeter possible. She hummed softly, giving off weird vibrations that rippled almost rippled through Arvad's very essence. And soon, thanks to all this stimulation, Arvad could not resist his climax.

Determined not to swallow his seed, Veria removed her mouth immediately once she felt he semen rushing to the tip of his head. Once free of the sultry mouth, Arvad's cock unleashed its seed onto Veria's breasts, coating the infinitely soft flesh and nipples. Thanks to his not partaking of orgasms for longer than usual, Arvad let out more of his seed than usual, far more than he had with the arousing Kala. He stared down at the sight of his seed dripping off her savory nipples. A little bit of the sticky, white seed pooled in the vampire's busty cleavage, eventually seeping down.

"Now then, let's continue our search." Arvad said with closed eyes and open smile."

-

"What kind of Elf are you? Other than my kin, I have roughly no knowledge about the other Elven races." Asked the Drow, Dark Elf, vampire to Raisel. She had learned his name to be Vounei.

Seeing no need to keep this information hidden, Raisel answered, "My father was a High Elf, and so I am half High Elf myself. In fact, I am traveling to the High Mountains myself, along with Arvad, in order to find out about my father's kinsmen."

"How... Admirable, especially from such a pretty young thing like you." Vounei complimented Raisel with a weak smile.

The two had continued their conversation since dinner, each asking questions about one another: some, like Vounei's previous question, about each other in particular; and others about each person's race in general. Eventually, Raisel was unwittingly led into an undisclosed area, where conflict soon rose.

"Hmm, we're alone here. Now, how about you let me taste your blood?" Asked Vounei directly to Raisel. She hesitated at his question, as if pondering his sanity. Vounei then got more hostile, "I'm not asking nicely... You will let me drink some, or if needed, all of your blood. I have always wanted to taste High Elven blood... My people's blood is disgusting, it tastes like liquefied marrow. Forest Elf blood tastes so... So wild! So out there! Desert Elf blood, tastes... A bit salty and dry." Vounei became increasingly unstable as he described the taste and texture of the Elven blood he had tasted before, Raisel was right to question his sanity. "The blood of those Sea Elves, I... Should have some more of that, it felt so good on my skin... And what does High Elven blood taste like? Smell like? Feel like? Is it sweet? Sour? Perhaps I should bottle some to take with. Give me your blood! Let... Me... Bleed... You..."