Something More...

[SpookyLean 880]

 

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Something More . . .

A retelling of events from Artyom Vladov's point of view

10th of The Grand Harvest, 1666

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The Vodnik

 

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Quote

“A waterborne parasite of unknown origin, they first started appearing after a large wave ravaged a coastal village near Flotsam. Riders reported that its inhabitants had risen up once again, calling help that the Undead have returned. A contingent of clerics were sent by the local governor to deal with the threat, only to witness the clerics back away in a hurry as their holy spells did little to stop them. It was only after the soldiers moved in to hack the corpses into pieces, did they reveal the parasite writhing among the rotting heart. They call the parasite Vodnik, or evil water spirit in the Ruskan tongue.”

3

 

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Part I

 

Duchy of Adria, Belvitz.

 

It was around mid-day and everyone had come to the tavern to rest and enjoy the remainder of the daylight. Artyom was dancing in the middle of the tavern with Anya Ivanovich as Lazslo strummed his lute for the crowd. Today felt special, everyone Artyom knew in Belvitz was here; Maxim, Maya, Ros, Azaerya, Hugh, Erik, Broos, Vladan, Caleb and even the duke himself, John Sarkozic. Cups were clinking and people cheering along to Lazslo’s music was all he heard in there. “You should loosen up some more, Artyom. Dancing should free your spirit!” said Lady Ivanovich to Artyom. He wasn’t much of a dancer himself, he thought he’d entertain the Lady Ivanovich for a while. “I’ll get bett-” “Help! Help!” A sharp cry for help screamed from down the street. “Seems like somethin’ is going on...” Ros spoke from near the entrance of the tavern. Artyom’s gaze jumped between faces as all of them turned to one of concern. Belvitz was a quiet town and rarely ever was there a situation in this quiet town.

 

As everyone began to stand up, Ros and Azaerya were already making their way outside. "I best get to my husband! Laszlo! Where are you?," worriedly said Lady Ivanovich to Artyom. "Uh yes. I’m going to investigate the commotion." Artyom moves as he grabbed his coat thrown over the stool behind him. Coming down the steps of the exit still putting on his coat, Artyom looked to Caleb as he sprung out of his smithy's doors with an aurum blade. "They be sayin' it’s monsters!" he shouted as he ran towards the river trying to catch up to the crowd. Artyom recognized the blade, he had one laying around his manor somewhere. Perhaps he'll need it. "I can stop by my house to pick it up.. Just incase." He followed the crowd from behind before taking a detour to his house to pick up his blade. The blade was aged but it’ll certainly cut down anything that comes his way. On his way over to where everyone was, the first thing he heard was the man from earlier. “It’s in the river by that cave over there!”

 

Artyom glanced to where the man was pointing, there was indeed a cave there but it’s been there for a while now. The man was speaking to an Imperial soldier who happen to be in Adria and saw the commotion. “I suppose I’ll go investigate what’s in it” The soldier said. “I’ll take you there, sir. Have your blade ready they’ve killed already and I don’t think they ain’t goin’ to do it again.” Artyom watched as they paddled their boat over to the cave where they stopped and stepped out. They were on the other side of the river and too far to hear from where Artyom was standing. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to go in...” Caleb said, watching next to him. Though Artyom’s attention was on Caleb’s aurum blade. “That’s a unique sword, Crider.” Caleb raised his blade up to Artyom, “It’s for monster huntin’! Been collectin’ some dust in my shop for a while now.” The Vladov hadn’t heard of a blade used for monsters. He looked to his waist at the aurum blade, “I didn’t know that..”

 

Part II

“ARgh!” A voice shouted from across the river. Someone was struggling with something beneath the water. Splashes of water jumped all around and then a pool of blood began to form where the man once stood. The Imperial soldier looked around and still trying to save the man from beneath. Eventually the soldier shouted to where Artyom and the crowd had gathered. “Something has grabbed him from below! We have to go into the cave!” Artyom sighed to himself, all hope of not getting involved diminishing. “I guess we’re going in...” He looked to his left and right until Hugh spoke up, “Someone has to stay and protect these pretty ladies... I’ll stay.” Hugh took a single step back standing next to Maya, Anya and another lady wondering what was going on here. “Right,” he sighed to himself making his way down to the docks. No boat was nearby and the only other way was by the bridge and would take longer than just swimming. “Guess I’m swimmin’..” he closes his eyes and dives head first into the river, swimming across. “Are we going inside?” asked Azearya. “No.” replied Ros.

 

I’m going to get myself killed thought Artyom as he got closer and closer to the cave.

 

Darkness... The cave smelled of rotten corpses and of fish. Dead fish. “Disgusting..” he muttered to himself as proceeded into the depths of the cave. Just ahead he saw the Imperial soldier holding a torch and fighting the strange creature. A vodnik. He stood there with his aurum sword drawn but before he could even lift his blade the soldier cut down the vodnik. He brought down his blade to the creature’s head where the parasite attached itself. “Was it only you that arrived, boy?” he asked Artyom. He kept his sword raised, keeping an eye out for anymore vodniks. “No, we’re here as well,” a voice spoke from behind Artyom. It was Vladan, Erik and Duke John Sarkozic. “Good. Arms at the ready there’s more coming!” replied the Imperial soldier. The soldier guessed right and the area was completely filled with vodniks. Six of them stood in a crescent shape, swinging their arms at the five men. The Imperial soldier growled and charge at the vodniks. Artyom stood there astonished by the bravery of this man. Seeing no point of just standing there and letting the man get overwhelmed by the vodniks, Artyom raised his blade and began to charge closely behind him at the vodniks. The pair quickly took down two vodniks single-handedly, blood spurting out of the corpses. Soon after the two slew two vodniks the pair were joined by the others. Nothing but blood and guts riddled the cave and the aroma of rotten decomposing flesh.

 

A sharp cry emits from further down the cave. “We’ve ran into a nest of them it seems..” Artyom yelled, pointing his sword at the direction of the screams. It wasn’t long before the five were met with another group of vodniks. Only it seemed if he had blinked his eyes before they were there again. “How many more...” Artyom panted, exhausted from the vodniks barrage of bodies against the men. “We almost got them...” grunted the Imperial soldier. A vodnik threw itself at Artyom biting its teeth in the air in front of him. He couldn’t keep it up any longer, he was exhausted from the endless amount of vodnik waves it seemed.

 

Part III

“Yaaaaaaah!” echoed from behind the group of men fending off the overwhelming amount of vodniks. A child armed with a slingshot and aurum balls for ammunition. The child fell from above, sticking his landing, he quickly rose and fired in rapid succession at the vodniks. The aurum balls flew directly above Artyom’s head, hitting the one in front of him on the head. The vodnik was completely dazed by the hit, enabling Artyom to tackle the vodnik with his blade and impale it to the ground. The vodnik shrieked at Artyom, attempting to swing it’s sharp claws at him. “Stab at the parasite!” screamed one of the men. Artyom quickly retracted his blade from the vodnik’s chest, stabbing at the parasite that looked more like a tumor to him. The vodniks outstretched hands fell flat on the stone floor, falling dead. Artyom dropped to his knees exhausted. He lifted his arm up to his brow, wiping the sweat thats built over the fight. The boy walked ahead of the group with his slingshot in hand and pointed deeper into the cave.  “Come on now, we still have one more area below,” The soldier bellowed as he pulls out the blade from vodnik’s corpse. “We don’t want them coming back.” Artyom stared at the darkness in silence, exhaling deeply.

 

“Get up, Vladov. We must ensure the safety of Belvitz and its people.” ordered John Sarkozic, placing his hand on his shoulder. “Of course, your grace. I was just catching my breath for a moment..” Artyom picked himself up, using his blade as a post to help lift himself. “Thank you,” bowing his head to the kid. The kid’s facial features smiled back at Artyom, giving him a brisk nod.

 

Part IV

As the six proceeded deeper down the cave, there was a giant lake in the center with floating corpses about in the pitch black waters. “Villagers...” whispered Vladan as he lit his torch. The six stood there by the edge of the lake. The room was completely empty and something felt off. There was no signs of any vodniks or life but something wasn’t right. Yet the smell of vodnik was still lingering in the area, very heavily. “Stay close,” Vladan barks, pointing his blade at the water. Something was moving beneath it and it was fast. The Vladov stood there and watched as more waves in the water began to appear. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Eight vodniks at the most hidden underneath the dark pool. Water erupted upwards from the lake only a few feet from where Artyom stood. Three vodniks appeared from beneath the lake, screeching at the group.

 

The vodniks were quick and ferocious with their attack on the men of Renatus giving them barely any time to prepare. Erik was the first to engage the vodniks who rushed them, clotheslining one. Artyom watched as Erik ruthlessly choked the creature by the neck, holding it down. The creature squirmed on the floor until it’s head just bursted with blood and brains covering Erik’s face. Again the men were engaged in combat with the monsters, slicing limb after limb off the corpses of the vodniks only to have them rise up and fight once more. Being distracted, two monsters began to corner Artyom as he inched back against the wall. His gaze shifting between the vodniks and the men of fighting their own battles. One of them lurched forward onto Artyom, pinning him to the ground. He kept his blade upwards, impaling it before it can get close to devour the Vladov. Artyom struggled to keep his blade up against the air, trying as hard he could to keep the distance between the vodnik’s mouth and himself. “I’m pinned!” he shouted to Vladan and Erik as they as well fought their own fights.

 

Gr-gr-k-k-grk! All Artyom saw was red now... Was this death. Can this be the final moments of my life...? He thought as he felt a warmness flow onto his body. First his face then his torso.. This can’t be it he thought there was so much in life to experience for him and he wasn’t ready to accept his fate just yet. Not till he’s made a name for himself in the realm. Throwing his shoulders up from the ground with the sudden adrenaline running through his veins. Artyom shouted at the creature, finding the strength to push himself from being pinned and overpowered it with little resistance. The blood cleared from his visage only to find the two creatures had already been slain by John Sarkozic and the warmness he felt was the blood of the vodnik’s that had him pinned. “Get up!” he offered his hand to Artyom. “We still have a few more to kill before you go off dying!” he shouted to him as he pulled him up to his feet. “Yes, your grace.” Artyom replied, wiping his face of vodnik blood and guts.

 

Just as Artyom was getting ready to fight the remainder of the vodniks he heard a man shouting at the top of his lungs. There was only one man that could be that loud and vulgar, and that was Broos Wellis. “Getcha arses a fuckin’ ploughin’ ya fuckin’ bags of flesh!” Broos shouted as he rushed down the cave only to fall on his rear end from a ledge up above. Luckily he wasn’t alone either, close behind him followed Azaerya, more carefully making her way down to the group. “The **** have you guys woken up?!” She’s scream at the group, yet not looking at them but behind them. Artyom swiftly turned to look at what Azaerya was looking at only to be met with the biggest of the vodniks break out into a painful screech. This one wasn’t like the others, it was fat, taller and... stronger. “Make this monster into ashes!” Broos shouted to Azaerya as he charged at the vodnik only to be smacked aside quite easily by it. It sent Broos off his two feet and flying towards the rocks piled up against the stone wall. This was turning bad and the chances of getting out were getting smaller. Artyom kept his sword up at the beast, inching back until he hit the stone wall. There was no escape. “If we don’t make it... It was an honor fighting with you all,” said the imperial soldier. Artyom wasn’t focused on anything said but figuring out how the group will manage to make themselves out of this place. His gaze jumped around frantically until he stopped on Azaerya, standing dead center in front of the vodnik, her gaze staring at the monster. Artyom stared at her until a flame began to emit from where her mouth was and realized what she was doing. “Get down!” yelled Vladan. Artyom didn't wait a second and dived directly into the lake. A stream of fire flew directly to the vodnik, engulfing it in flames. The explosion shaked the entire cave and made a deafen boom, destroying anything that stood near it. Or so he thought.

 

Part V

Finally was it over. seems so. Artyom thought to himself. He started to swim to the surface and began to make his way to where Broos was last at. “Broos? Erik? ....Anyone?” he shouted in the empty cave now lit with the burning corpse of the giant vodnik. “Argh... my back.” Broos groaned further from where he was last at, throwing the melted shield to the side. Other then his injured peg leg, Broos only lost a little bit of hair, which was remarkable due what the blast did to the shield. “Where is everyone else...?” asked Broos. Artyom shrugged, “I’ve only found you so far.” He then turned to the lake, scanning the lake for the rest. He saw bubbles floating up to the surface of the water until Vladan jumped out from beneath gasping for air. From there he was followed by everyone else all spread among the area. “I thought you al-” Artyom was interrupted by a stone falling from the ceiling. He looked up to the ceiling with cracks that were quite visible, signaling that the cave was starting to collapse on them. “Let’s go!” Artyom shouted to the rest as he ran to Broos, throwing his arm around his shoulders, helping him along in the escape.

 

The fighting was over for Artyom Vladov and the men and now it was time to return home. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw the sunlight, it felt as if they were down there for decades. Artyom dragged his friend Broos along the cave as they climbed up and out to the sunlight. Finally they’ve escaped the hell they’ve went into. None of the men and women who delved into the cave had died but they’ll certainly never forget that they saw down there. Artyom will certainly never forget.

 

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OOC INFO/CREDITS

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Event Curator - Sseanie

 

Artyom Vladov - SpookyLean

Anya Ivanovich - Devvy

Azaerya - Numirya

Broos Wellis - ___Jacko_

Caleb Crider - Abeam1

Erik Torberg - RedfaceKilla

Imperial Soldier - BigMacMoMo

John Sarkozic - VonGrool

Hugh - Pbuh

Robert von Gilead ‘the Child’ - Hero_Prodigy

Ros - Ternate/Architecus

Vladan Valek - Kid_Mackin

[devvy 1348]

Anya would cheer, "Never a dull day in Adria!"

[BigMacMoMo 214]

Philip de Honneur, the Imperial Soldier, thinks warmly of these memories of fighting the evil beasts within the caves.

[osumanduas 1442]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

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