• A small group of figures watched the sun set from the safety of their cave hideout. They seemed to be waiting for something, watching for something. None of them made sound or movement as the sun made its decent from the heavens. They continued staring for sometime after the sun dipped beneath the horizon, their heads moving in unison as the full moon came into view. After several minutes passed and the full figure of the moon dominated the sky the ragged figures exited the cave one by one.
    There were four people in total in the group. The leader of the group, a male named Fireraven, had long black flowing hair, icy blue eyes and the same fair skin as the rest of them. The two in the center had dark red hair, with faded freckles upon their face. The taller of those two was a male named Brend, his sister was a slighter shorter female who went by Enya. The last one to follow was a tall, sluggish male who always had a sorrowful look in his eyes that was accented by their dark blue color and normal watery look. His name was Deirdra. They had been on the move now for about a week now traveling by night, hiding out in caves and underground passages by night. Their goal for the night was to make it to the nearby town of Glastenbury to feast and be merry amongst the town's nightlife.
    Within hours the ragged looking group made their way into the torch, oil lamp and candlelit scene. The town was a small port city on the southern coastal region of what many were beginning to call Britain. The town itself was well lit for a small community almost every doorway seemed to have a lamp or candle of some sort, and many of the streets had fairly tall oil lamps along the roadside. The buildings themselves consisted of a small grouping of near seaside shack like wooden apartments, several larger houses all with lavish decorations that obviously belonged to wealthy merchant families, and there was a strip that divided in several directions that housed pubs, small store fronts and other recreational places. Their first order of business for the night was to be the pub to find a ship out to Spain. After that they would need to eat and be on board the ship before dawn.
    Walking with stoic stolidness the group passed through the town and directly to the dock. They never once stopped to talk with anyone as the walked, keeping their distance from the few peasants who were walking the streets. The procession ended about two rows of buildings from the wharf, in front of a building with the words, Dragon's Eye Pub. As they stopped they looked at one another briefly before nervously entering the crowded bar. There were people from all levels of the local society here. In one section in the northeast part of the tavern were the wealthy merchants, the highest class in this small town, peasants crowded the southern half of the pub, while in the northwest was a mingling of outlanders and those slightly more wealthy than the peasant class. No one seemed to take notice as they entered and took a seat in the northwestern section.
    For several minutes they scoped out and listened to various conversations from a far. Each member of the group carefully looked for anything that indicated that a ship may be headed to Spain, eventually a man spouted off a Spanish port that Deirdra recognized. He immediately gave Fireraven a look and nodded in the man's general area as to not cause suspicion. After listening for a bit he motioned for the others to stay put as he rose and made his way over to the captain of the ship in question. “I couldn't help but overhear that your ship is about to set sail to Corunna. I need safe passage there along with three others. We're self sufficient and can pay. Do you have room?”
    The drunken captain perked up a bit and sloshed his mug full of lager as he spoke in reply, “Eh? The Nemoy has room for ye' and ye' mates.” He hiccuped spilling some of his drink on the table. “It will cost yeh though. Forty pieces of gold is my price take it or leave it.” He smiled up at Fireraven laughing merrily hoping to make a small fortune from the needy traveler.
    “I can manage that.” He slipped his hand into pants, removed a small satchel and threw it on the table. “You will find that amount to be sufficient and then some. One thing though. We are heading to Spain to see a renowned doctor named Alexander. My friends and I have contracted a mysterious ailment that prevents us from being in sunlight without becoming very badly burnt. Do not wake us or call us to deck during light hours.” He stared directly into the captains eyes. “Does this bother you captain?”
    “Call me Captain Farrell and ye' ailment is not a problem to me! You can load up in the lower deck tonight if it be best suiting ye'. She should be an easy enough ship to find. We set sail at sunrise” He said, taking periodic gulps of his beer in between words.
    “I shall have my comrades load up immediately. I will see you again soon.” Fireraven bowed to Farrell and made his way out of the pub. The others followed immediate suit and they took to the alleys discussing their plans.
    As they were making their way through the alley ways of the town a low flame caught the eye of Fireraven. He pushed the others out of the way and jumped backwards as an eery diamond sword encircled by flames ripped past where they had been moments before. Enya, Brend and Deirdra all darted behind Fireraven as their cloaked assailant, they recognized as the immortal Bajif, prepared to for another attack. Never being one to back down Fireraven took a defensive stance and was soon frantically dodging the sword swipes. After some time of this the man switched his target towards Deirdra aiming for his neck. Moments before the blade touched the skin Fireraven appeared in between the two and grabbed the arm, barely halting the blade's movement. Angered the man began trying to wriggle his arm free. Slowly but surely he managed to pull Fireraven towards him; however, the other three quickly rushed to their leader's aid.
    The two sides strained for a short period of time, neither side making significant headway. Suddenly, Fireraven's jaw flew open and made for the man's neck. His abnormally long canines sank into the man's neck and he slowly lowered his arm and the flames surrounding it dimmed. As abruptly it had all happened a second, armored figure appeared on horse back. The four vampires scattered at the site of the god, becoming nothing more than shadows as they vanished into the shroud of the night. Aries dismounted and picked up the struggling immortal to set him on his horse. “You really need to give these youths a chance to prove themselves. After all they are seeking to regain their humanity.” The god chuckled as the immortal glared at him angrily. He had vowed to protect human kind from all predators, and nothing not even those who did so unwillingly would be spared.