My fame as a vampire slayer grew quickly. As I was walking through the street, I was approached by a hooded figure who beckoned me to him. The man led me towards a small hut at the end of the road. Although unaware of the man’s intentions, I followed him into the dwelling. I was surprised to find the village elder awaiting me inside. With him was the retired hunter, Thixel Ngospumac. The two old men told me about how, in their youth, they had also hunted vampires. They taught me how to correctly identify a vampire from a regular man. Then, they gave me a list of people whom they strongly suspected were vampires, and asked me to put an end to them.
I decided to accept their task, and left my hamlet, Merchantseal, as a vampire hunter.
I decided that my first target would the be vampire who went by the name of Mones Kullecit, who resided in Sunkrasps a hamlet neighbouring Merchantseal. Eventually, I found the vampire in a cottage to the northeast of the hamlet. Chanting the incantation taught to me by the old hunter, I revealed the man’s true form; that of a vampire.
The villagers immediately swarmed over him. I also attacked him, and when I came in for the final swipe, he had already been greatly weakened. Within moments, his head was at my feet.
My next target was Ustres Crestedcomets, a vampire who hid in the hamlet called Reinmansion.
I found Ustres in a small house on the outskirts of the village. I charged at him, together with the rest of the villagers, but the vampire simply dodged us and counter-striked. A villager fell at the spot.
The vampire suddenly turned towards me and struck at my knee, fracturing it. The pain was excruciating. I fell to my knees and crawled to the corner of the building in desperation. The fighting continued, but it was plain that the few peasants that remained alive were doomed. As I laid there, awaiting my imminent death, I realised that I was lying in a pool of the vampire’s blood. I suddenly remembered an old tale from my childhood, about a man who had drunk the blood of a vampire, only to become one himself. Glancing at the vampire, swiftly killing off the last few peasants, I made what must have been the craziest decision of my life. I scooped up a handful of blood and drank it.
Suddenly, the pain in my leg receded and I felt stronger and faster. I realised that I was no longer panting for breath, indeed I was not breathing at all. I got up and swung my sword at the vampire once more. To my surprise Ustres did not dodge it in time as he had avoided my other attempts, and I slashed my sword across his arm, tearing it. For a moment, I noticed a look of shock in Ustres’ eyes, but it quickly turned to hate as he struck me, tearing my right arm, making me drop the sword. Thrusting my shield at him, I picked up my sword again, amazed at the fact that I felt no pain even though my arm was torn open. A few slashes later, and Ustres was dead, just as those who had come before him.
I stared at the corpse beneath my feet. I suddenly became aware of the blood covering my the corpse and was overcome by a great desire to feed. Kneeling down, I drank all the blood I could find, and filled all my pouches and waterskins with it. Then I stopped, horrified at my actions. What had I done? What had I become?
I had become that which I hunted. I had become a vampire.
I turned, and fled the village, never to return.