Adrian had brought the two women into the church. Lysithea sat on one of the benches, huddled over with her arms wrapped around her person. She was staring into the cracked stone floor. 

The small church of Light which was built on top of the haunted crypt was rundown and old. The pillars were broken, cracked and shattered. The benches were made of hard stone. 

The altar placed in front of a large and shallow pool of glittering holy water was the only thing left clean and pristine, everything else almost seemed cursed. Scorch marks and deep cuts from large and sharp claws decorated the walls and floor. Some light from the evening sun penetrated through small cracks in the ceiling above.

The large and only chamber was lit up by soft handle light, bright and vivid. By the far right corner there were bedrolls strewn out and broken men and women lay on top of them, whimpering and moaning in pain. They were bandaged and given treatment for heavy wounds and sickness by the nuns who moved around with rushed steps, forever busy tending to them. Their work seemed futile however as the broken men and women were inches from death’s door.

The head priestess sat beside Yria who had placed herself on one of the bedrolls which had been brought out for the sick and homeless. Her body had finally stopped trembling and the dark haired priestess wearing tattered and dirty, velvet red robes placed her hands gently on Yria’s. 

Lysithea rubbed her arms, trying to stem off the cold which always seemed to cling to the place. Adrian sat down next to her and pulled down his blue hood. He moved a hand through his messy black hair, trying to make the curls behave. He then scratched his clean shaven chin and placed his arms on his knees, leaning forward.

"It's alright now. You're safe." He said, in a hushed tone. Lysithea glanced towards him before staring into the floor again.

"I'm not-... not afraid." 

"No?" Adrian looked towards her, tilting his head. "Then why the stutter?"

"It is chronic, I have-... have had it since I was little." She curled a string of her hair around her fingers, the same curl that the vampire had played with. 

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright." She gave him a gentle smile, her head cocked to the side as she looked him in the eyes. "You couldn't have-... have known and it's kind of you to care so much for a-... a stranger. Thank you."

Adrian gave her a smile in turn, placing a hand over hers as it had come to rest on her lap. 

"It's in our teaching. Shahermerites should always care about bringing peace and safety to others. Although… I like to imagine it's in my nature too, at least a little.” 

"I think so. Kindness is-... is hard to hide."

"But easy to fake." 

They both looked at each other and Adrian slowly let go of her hand. He began to stare towards the holy pool, still bent over his knees, arms resting against them. 

"The night creature, did he scare you?"

Lysithea remained silent for quite some time. Musing the question in her head, twirling the curl of blond hair around her finger. The dark skinned man got out of his seat and crouched down in front of her. 

"Do you mind if I…?" He gestured towards her face. She stared at him in surprise but slowly shook her head. He gently took a hold of her chin and lifted her face, turned it from side to side and then down so he could look her deep in the eyes.

She felt her cheeks blush, turning crimson at his intense stare, her eyes trembling; darting between his. He then slowly let her go and got up to place himself on the bench beside her again.

"Nothing… good." He nodded and unclasped a large book from his back, hidden behind his blue cloak. He opened it up and flicked through the pages. She leaned carefully towards him so that she could sneak a peek at what he was reading, following his finger as he traced it over one particular page. 

"Nothing?"

"Mhm. A vampire can enthral their victim. It's important to try and catch it early. They can see through their thralls eyes, hear what they hear. They're good spies." 

Adrian lifted his head and as he read the words from his book out loud he waved his hands in front of her face, flexing his fingers. She could feel a strong tension over the back of her head and placed a hand on its surface. 

"What-... what was that?"

"A mind cleansing spell. I'm not an expert on spotting these things, so it's for the best I try and clean up whatever might have been left there." He closed the book and tied the leather strap before hiding it behind his back again, sheathing it like someone would a sword. 

"Do you feel any different?"

Lysithea slowly shook her head. "No, should-... should I?"

Adrian smiled. "No. It means I was right, he hasn't done anything to you."

"You seem-... seem to know a lot about these vampires."

"A bit. There are a lot of his kind around here. After all, it's important to be prepared, just in case."

She opened her mouth to ask more questions but her train of thought was interrupted by the loud noise of the crypt doors being slammed open. She could feel the tension in the air as everyone's attention fell upon the gaping darkness which had been hidden behind them. 

Adrian flew up from his seat and Lysithea did the same. She flinched at the burst of heat which emerged from his hands and gazed down at his fingers which had burst into purple fire in preparation to cast a powerful spell. 

They quickly sizzled out as they both spotted Evander and Cadman. In Between them they dragged Marcus, whose face was covered in drying blood which had been pouring down from a large wound on his head.

The echoes of the walking dead and spirits followed them as they emerged, Evander attempting to push the heavy doors closed with his foot.

Lysithea was the first one to move, rushing forward to aid. At first she closed the gates to the crypt, pushing them with both hands, gritting her teeth as she used all her strength to do so. The hinges screeched, as if in pain.

She then hurried towards Marcus, but kept to the side, allowing the paladins to place the broken man against one of the pillars before she sat down on her knees in front of him. 

"Marcus! You're-... you're alive." She gasped, and without a moment's hesitation she pulled a small box out from her white bag and opened it up. Inside lay medical equipment. Needle and thread, bandages and ointments, alcohol and rags. She swiftly uncorked the bottle of clear liquid and dabbed it over one of the clean pieces of cloth which she then used to clean his face with; in an attempt to find the wound from which the blood came. 

"We found him at the bottom. Unconscious. The undead came once we reached the final staircase." Cadmun explained, his voice booming and stern. "We didn't have the time to check for any wounds or broken bones."

Evander stretched his back, and despite his armour a loud crack from his spine could be heard and he sighed out, relieved. "Shaher. I'm really not meant to carry bodies like this. Especially not when they wear a full plate."

"I'm glad to see you both safe." Adrian strode up to his companions and patted Evander on the shoulder as he gave Cadmun a thankful nod. "No other survivors?" 

"None." Cadmun stated, and as he walked past he uncorked a flask which had been sitting on his hip. He pulled it beneath the water of the pool, filling it up to the brim before closing it back up and tying it back against his belt.

"Only this guy and a bloodbath. Three killed, hearts pulled out. It looked like a clean cut, the thing must have had some kind of precise weapon, maybe a sharp dagger."

"Claws." Lysithea blurted out as she bit the thread off her needle, as her work of sewing up the wound just past Marcus' hairline was finished. 

"He-... he had claws on his gloves." She gazed up at Evander who had pulled off his helmet; holding it under his arm. He had a sun-kissed face, blond messy hair and a pair of bright blue eyes which met her own and he gave her a confident smile, snapping his fingers. 

"Or claws." He nodded and returned his attention to Adrian. "How's the bite victim?"

Adrian gestured behind his shoulder and Evander tilted his torso to the side so he could look past his companion at Yria who still sat, leaning against the wall, on her bedroll. 

"Good, good. All in all a fine day's work, don't you think?" Evander smirked and Adrian gave him a slight frown and deep sigh. Cadmun joined them, his helmet expressionless. 

"Three people died, Evander."

"Yes, but we could hardly do anything about that now could we? We had no clue it was happening."

"We need to get back down there and retrieve their bodies. They deserve a proper burial." Cadmun's voice echoed inside his helmet and he turned on his heels, marching back down into the crypt. 

"I'll join you this time." Adrian announced and hurried after.

Evander let out a sigh, and pulled his hand through his blond unkempt hair. 

"Always so much running." He looked down at Lysithea who slowly got up on her feet. 

"You stay out of trouble now missy. Take a day or two before doing anything. These things can really strain someone's sanity, you know?" He walked away and put his helmet back on his head - spinning around he snapped his fingers towards her and despite her not being able to see it, the clicking of his tongue was enough of a clue to the fact that behind his helmet he winked towards her. 

"And stay close, yeah? So I can buy you and your friends a drink." He then turned and almost bounced down the stairs, singing to himself.