Three full months had passed since the pair had departed Malek's Bastion. In that time the two vampires had fed, slept, and pondered on how to defeat the Guardian of the Circle. Unfortunately, neither could come up with any leads or ideas for their next move. Eventually, they decided to visit Ariel to see if she could tell them anything.
And so it was, at midnight on the first day of spring, Kain and Seras entered the clearing where the Pillars of Nosgoth stood.
As soon as the pair stood on the dais, Ariel faded into view. “Ah, so the Lord and Lady return empty handed,” She said. “Does the Sarafan elude you?”
Kain nodded. “Even knowing his reputation, we were unprepared for the viciousness of his attacks, or the difficulty in fighting him.”
Seras snorted. “Not to mention the fact that we were starved after going through his bloody castle!”
“We were forced to withdraw,” said Kain, folding his arms, “and have spent the last three months trying to find a way to destroy him.”
“I see,” said Ariel. “And judging by your presence here, I can only surmise that you have reached a dead end?” Both Vampires nodded. “Very well; go east of Malek's Bastion. The Oracle shall give you aid.” With that, she vanished.
Seras raised an eyebrow. “The Oracle?”
Kain glanced at her. “The Oracle of Nosgoth is a powerful seer with the ability to foretell the future. If anyone can tell us how to defeat Malek, he can.”
Seras shrugged. “Well, we don’t have any other leads, so why not?”
Kain nodded, and, as one, the vampires changed to bat form and flew off.
The swarm of bats touched down in a snow-covered field and reformed into the two figures. As soon as she was back to normal, Seras looked around.
Though spring had officially set in, the snow on these mountains had not melted; indeed, it seemed that it never will. Roughly ten meters behind them was the cave they used to escape Malek. Beyond that was the top-heavy plateau where his fortress stood. A look to the east revealed a path that twisted around the rocks and out of sight.
The vampires glanced at each other and then made their way down the path.
Later, after about an hour of cutting down trees and bandits, the duo came upon a large lake. Large hunks of ice floated through the freezing water. On the far side of the lake, a cave was clearly visible, and around a bend to the east were signs of civilization.
Seras crossed her arms as she regarded the lake. ‘This isn’t going to be easy.’ she thought.
“Seras!”
Her train of thought broken by Kain’s voice, she looked around, eventually spotting on a hill overlooking the lake.
“What is it?” she asked as she joined him. He simply pointed into the distance.
Looking in the direction of the native vampire’s finger, Seras merely goggled at the sight of the massive, craggy mountain ahead of them. Silhouetted in moonlight and easily dwarfing the surrounding peaks, she was absolutely puzzled at how she could miss it.
“High upon the face of these cliffs,” said Kain, “and hidden amongst the complex network of caves, the underground sanctity of the wise Oracle of Nosgoth lay sleeping. Given what is below us, perhaps it is time to brave the winds and seek out this Oracle from the vantage point of the heavens.”
“Maybe…” murmured Seras.
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(Posted Sat, 16 May 2009 20:10)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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