The Accursed Arrival

Before long, we arrived at the cemetery. Not a single body nor soul could be seen in view. I hopped off the horse and offered Lucia's saber back. She resheathed her blade and reloaded her gun. I took out my rifle from its leather scabbard and made sure that the cartridge was fully loaded. I counted five bullets as I readied the gun. I looked back at Lucia as she prepared. Taking out her sword only a minute later, she held her gun in her right hand with her saber in her left.

"Here's the plan Lucia. I have a belief that the shapeshifter has already infiltrated the crypt and has either wiped the floor clean of any people we were to confide with. I don't know how large are the rooms within the crypt so the best idea is to lure the shifter outside where we can have a better advantage. I suggest for you to wait outside and flank the creature while I am the main aggressor."

She gave a quick nod and moved closer to the crypt entrance. "Please be careful Icarus." She said a little concerned, but with her attention retained.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on dying with our first mission." I got my trigger finger ready as I slowly went down the stairs.

Torches filled the halls of the crypt as it was dimly lit. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw a trail of blood that led towards a narrow hallway. I began to slowly follow it, a mushy sound became more apparent the more I followed. At the end of the hallway, I discovered a room. Inside I saw two corpses lying, completely indescribable of their facial features. In the corner, I heard a creature gnawing on something. Chomps of bones and flesh could be heard now. I aimed my rifle at the corner as I began to see a man with short, messy brown hair in a shiphand's uniform eating at a deceased man's arm. The creature quickly turned around as I saw myself as the beast. The complexion was the same, but the disturbing thing was the eye color. Blood red with a sinister composure of its gaze. It chilled me how perfectly this creature mimicked me. No other man would have a blood-red iris.

I fired at the shapeshifter's head as the bullet merely dented its skull. A piercing howl resonated and echoed through the crypts as I quickly cut my losses and began to run for the exit. I began running back up the stairs as I heard the panting of the creature behind me. The frequent sound of steps made me believe that it was running on all fours. I eventually made it out as I was quickly pounced on by the creature.

Laying on top of me I turned my back to the ground. I saw the rabid creature's gaze as the drool dripped from its maw, extending much further than what my jaw could. Lucia fired a bullet right at the creature's head as the silver round went through its skull to the other side. However, the shifter was undeterred.

I quickly kicked the beast off as I threw my rifle to the side and picked up my silver longsword. Holding it solely on my left hand, I began preparing to cast a spell with my right. The shifter screeched as it began to charge at me. Shouting the word: "Ignis!". I cast a firebolt in my left hand as I launched it towards the beast.

The flames of the bolt made its human guise unmask itself. The shapeshifter ended up turning into a bipedal hunched wooden monster. It appeared to be a human-sized wicker man however, under its wooden body, a bloody flesh mass could be viewed. I quickly began readying another firebolt as I shouted to Lucia.

"Ready some fire spells, we need to remove its wooden skin."

She quickly put away her pistol and similarly readied her spells as me. Before long, we both shouted 'ignis' and launched a few more firebolts at the creature's way. The wood began to burn off rapidly as the shapeshifter remained dazed. Unable to move, it screeched in agony as the fires burned.

Before long, the fires quelled and all that remained was a flesh monster with no distinguishable face. Four flaps opened on its head as it screeched in my direction before tendrils arose from its body. Launching at me, I readied my longsword with two hands and began to cut them as they went my way. Lucia quickly stood next to me to assist in fending them off as I quickly backstepped and pleaded.

"Lucia, fend me off for a few seconds, I have a plan!"

"Right!" She shouted in an excited tone. Keeping her tempo she was able to fend off the tendrils with a lone saber.

As for myself, I held my hand towards my silver blade and chanted the word: "Fulgar!" as lightning began to bless my longsword. I waited for a chance where Lucia just chopped off a tendril as I began to make my dash towards my monster. A 15-meter dash proved to feel much longer as tendrils began to approach me. I stopped where I was and planted my feet to land a clean strike on one of the tendrils. The electrifying quality of the blade connected with the tendril as the lightning shock shot through to the rest of the creature's body. The flesh monster began to palpate uncontrollably as I quickly continued my dash and put all my weight into a horizontal slash to its neck. The blade worked wonders as it sliced through the neck like butter as it was finally decapitated.

The creature flopped to the ground as the flesh began to disintegrate to the ground. Only a pool of blood remained where it fell as I looked towards Lucia.

"I've never heard of such a creature like this. We need to document its kind for the Church."

She gave a nod as she went back towards the horse and picked up her bag. She came back with a notebook and pen while saying out loud what she was writing: "A shapeshifter whose true form consists of wood for its shell with a red flesh mass hiding under it. The wood is susceptible to flames and the flesh susceptible to lightning incantations."

Lucia paused before looking towards me. "Anything else you saw that I didn't? And what should we call this creature since we will be the first one documenting it?"

"I saw it eating the flesh of humans, so I suppose a fitting name for such would be 'Woodland Vampire'. Although, I'm not one for creativity."

Lucia shook her head and offered a smile to me. "I love the name Icarus. I'm just surprised we came across a creature they never taught us. Do you think we'll be credited for this discovery?"

I shrugged as I looked at the pool of blood. "Maybe so, if we do get credit. We may get a promotion. My curiosity is how strong this creature was. It seemed we dealt with it quite easily."

Lucia waved it off as she smirked. "Maybe we are ahead of our league. Or rather it is just beginner's luck. I mean you said yourself that death is not biased. Either it was luck or skill."

I nodded as I remounted the horse and looked towards Lucia. "Whatever the case may be, let's head back to the tavern and tell them what we saw."

Lucia joined me on the horse as she wrapped her arms around my waist. "Let's celebrate a little bit when we return, alright?" I looked back as she gave a bright smile towards me. A part of me was glad that she wasn't scared on her first mission, although when will that realization come that the job of an inquisitor is not a game.