The sun was setting.

Geis growled, his hackles up. He was lost. Some residual energy of nature and peace had attracted him to this place but, now, he was even more lost. Time-bleached bones stuck up haphazardly and the vegetation seemed... unnatural. As if it were belonged with the dead. The loremaster shivered, pulling his cloak more tightly around him.

It was about then a hand grasped his foot.

Howling, he brought he grabbed onto the hand about to break it... when he realized it was nothing more than bone. He sighed, relieved, no doubt he had walked into it. It had been a while since he had remembered he was the least graceful of his clan, this was a good a place as any to learn some-

The hand tightened and Geis realized he hadn't walked into it. It had walked into him.

With a roar of desperation, he brought his hands onto the bony protrusion hard, shattering it and scrambling away. What... what was this? What sort of magic would make the bones themselves rise... with something approaching horror he realized that the sun had set.

And the bones were rising.

Yes, yes…Give me your blood, pathetic human…

She then let the human fall to the ground, and she lifted a hand to run the back of it against her bloodied mouth. The bloody part about being a vampire was by far her favourite part. The epitome of her hatred was of the holy things and garlic that kept her from living freely, along with the cursed sun. Thus was the reason she was inside at the moment, the floor of which was already starting to stain with the small puddle of blood streaming from the dead man’s neck. Lowering down so she was kneeling beside the fallen man, the female vampire smirked softly, her fangs visible as she did so, wiping the bloodied back of her hand against the human’s bare torso.

Once her hand was clean, Lorelei stood back up and glanced around, looking for a window. She spotted one that she had covered beforehand, having feared the bright sunlight that streamed in during the day. Now that she studied it, however, she noted that there was hardly any light coming from it, and so she grinned, knowing that now she would be able to go out and find some more victims.

Walking briskly to where her bed lay, Lorelei quickly fixed her clothing, rolling her eyes slightly as she remembered the drunken man trying to get her naked. Truly pathetic he was, trying to get her in bed when all she wanted was his blood. Well, then again, that was her strategy; it was quite easy to kill humans, especially men, if they were drunk and easily seduced. They would think she was a simple lass wanting a night with them, so she would take them up to her room, where she knew the curtains were safely covering her windows and where it would be most safe to take her prey. Then, while they went on in their drunken lust, she would bite them and take as much blood as she pleased, letting them fall to the ground and die. She would do this for as long as she could manage without being caught, only to move onto the next place when it was obvious that she was a danger to the city. That was all just a nuisance to her; she hated going to different places, just to hide.

Once her clothes were on her body properly, Lorelei quickly pulled her cloak out from underneath her bed and made sure there was nothing living inside of it before she pulled it over her back and shoulders. She tied the string in front of her throat securely so the cloak stayed on her, and then she pulled the dark hood up and over her long brown hair, allowing it to shadow her face and brown eyes. She shifted with the material for a couple more moments before she reached underneath the bed again, this time to pull out her weapon: a longsword. She fastened it around her waist before turning and facing the man on the floor.

Grimacing, Lorelei walked over and began to kick the man towards where her cot was. She kicked and kicked, only stopping once the body was well-hidden underneath the furniture. She then fixed the blankets and covers, making sure they were made well and hanging over the sides properly before she straightened up, heading out of the room she was currently staying at and out of the inn, now heading towards one of her favourite places: Dori’ba. It was a nice place to go, even though the dead there came up only at night, which was the only safe time for her to step out into the open.

With a heavy sigh, Lorelei clutched her cloak and made sure it was around her good before she began to walk towards the place, the setting sun not able to touch her bare skin through the protective material she wore over herself.

She soon arrived at the Land of the Dead, and she was glad to see that the sun was down a considerable amount. Only a couple more minutes to pass before she could let her hood down and relax. The place was quiet as ever with the same still air as Lorelei looked about, her eyes slightly narrowed as she did so. A chilly breeze swept past, toying with her cloak and making her grip the material tighter, just to make sure she was still safe from destruction from the sun.

Just then, her eyes snapped open wider and her head quickly turned in the direction of where a loud roar sounded. Wait – a roar? Someone else was here? Well, they were quite stupid, especially if they were coming to mess with the dead. She herself was one with the dead, since she had died before to become a vampire. She had suffered exactly what all of these humans were suffering from under her reign; she had been bitten by a vampire not too long ago and had died from the blood loss, only to rise again as she was now. However, as far as she was concerned, she was quite content with her new body, and was eager to continue killing humans.

Pulling her cloak in tighter, Lorelei narrowed her eyes and quickly made her way towards where the roar had sounded, her steps light and careful on the ground as she rushed. As she moved, the sun finally set, and Lorelei grinned. Perhaps she had found her first victim that night? Perhaps.

Geis panted, finally finding terra firma. He was on what he supposed was the only stone outcropping in this infernal land. He was positive- but not absolutely sure- that no skeletons were capable of coming through the ground here. Not through two or three meters of solid stone anyways. If they could, he'd rather a quick, painless death. Not that any death would be painless in this pace. He had spotted a relatively fresh corpse... apparently those who fell into eternal slumber... were woken at the dawning of each night. He shuddered. It was a fate worth than death.

To be awake... forever... damned for no reason other than curiosity. It was a monstrous fate. One that he did not intend to succumb to. He'd either survive until morning or make it out of this cursed lands... no matter what he took. Even if he died moving one step out of the boundary, it would be worth it.

He shuddered again. At least here he had earned some respite. His wounds so far had been slight, but he knew it would not last. They had sheer numbers... and an endless craving for the souls and bodies of the living. He knew- he could feel it. A chill wind cut through the plains, somehow making it way through the heavy woolen cloak he had picked up and his own proper fur that had resisted the chill of the northern lands.

Geis counted his blessings. At least he had the light of the moon and the stars to go by. It wasn't much, but he could- ever since he had been a small child- able to pierce the darkness with eyesight that was almost supernatural. It had been one of the few reasons he had been spared death as an infant. Looking at his current plight, he wondered if it would not have been a blessing to have been thrown away back then.

He heard the clickety clack of bones on rocks and spun around, unnerved at how some of them were so old they had no scent. He tore off his cloak- he *knew* the temperature was fine, something otherworldly was trying to make him feel cold. With a careful toss, the cloak settled over the one of the scrambling skeletons that tried to make its way towards him. Darting forwards he grabbed the bundle, his task made easier by his bulky cloak and smashed it up and down, up and down.

He heard more clickety clacks and groaned. This was too slow! If only he had a hammer... or a club of some sort. His breathing stilled. A club? He could fashion a club. He was a boneworker and here was a graveyard full of... he reached into his cloak and deftly grabbed a fragile femur from the ancient skeleton. By now, it was so injured as to almost be powerless.

He tore the femur away, menacing the other skeletons who were coming near with it. They continued: he rather thought they would. With a growl, he moved forwards, swinging the bone in a tight arc. Some of the creatures had self preservation instincts and moved back a step, but he snapped the forearm of at least one skeleton that hadn't been fast enough. It continued onwards- like the rest of its brethren.

It was about then that Geis noticed another, powerful presence. He smelled blood, living or dead he couldn't tell. He also smelled lust- most of it recent. He didn't know if how it had managed to get through this forsaken lands unharmed but knew that if he wished for any chance of surviving he would need its help.

"HELP!" He roared in common, unable to think of a more eloquent plea. "HELP!"

She soon arrived at the scene, but what she saw practically disgusted her. Was this creature a lupine? If so, he looked more-so like a pup-ine or something of the sort. Or perhaps he was stunted? The very image of this creature forced Lorelei to hold back her laughs for a while; at least until she was away. Well…maybe the image and thoughts and everything was too funny…

Without truly meaning to, Lorelei began to giggle out of the humour of it all. It only lasted for a couple moments, and once she regained her composure and straightened back up, she had a light smile on her face, her eyes narrowed in amusement. She wished she could have just stayed and watched the frail lupine meet his demise from the zombies, but, alas, she just could not resist that cry for help.

This was when she began to ponder her actions. Well, she could easily just leave and let him die there, or she could help him out and then kill him herself afterwards. She was not sure if he would be vampire-material, though, being so small and all. The only thing he would get were laughs and jests, just for being so small.

With a small groan, Lorelei reached down to her waist and grasped the hilt of her longsword. She quickly rushed forward and, while unsheathing her sword, swung it at the zombies. Some of them jumped back, but not all survived wounds; some of them fell to the ground, crumpled up in a heap of bones while the others just suffered a missing arm or something.

“Get back, you idiot!” Lorelei hissed as she turned to briefly face the lupine. ”You’re an idiot coming here in the first place!” she added, scowling as she lifted her blade in front of her, eyeing the zombies as they started coming nearer. Occasionally, she glanced around, but only to make sure none were trying to circle around them.

”Surely you can take care of some? You just need to keep them at bay until the light comes,” Lorelei explained, frustration apparent in her tone. However, she feared that if she stayed out too long when daylight came, she, too, would crumble and die. She would have to find a loophole, then; she had been an idiot herself in coming to this pathetic creature’s rescue.

He felt the scent come closer before he heard the giggles. For a moment the lupine despaired- would she just leave him hear to rot and die? Let his soul travel these tortured plains for all eternity? Apparently not, he heard the sharp and distinctive Zing of metal on metal as a sword escaped it's sheathe and clove directly into the rotting remnants of a particularly well-preserved corpse.

“Get back, you idiot!”

He bristled at the word 'idiot' which, he had come to learn, meant one of limited mental capacity but didn't deny it. If he had been smart about it, he wouldn't be here at all. His chastisement was earned a hundred times over. Maybe a thousand times over. If he got out of here alive, he resolved to study those fur-head things called 'maps' and figure out what stories applied to wear. He had heard of this place before, of course... but had always thought it of nothing more than a story.

”You’re an idiot coming here in the first place!”

'Oi,' he thought as he kicked out in front of himself, damaging a bone creature whose structure seemed like an amalgamation of many more, 'there was no need for the second 'idiot'.' If escape were so easy and so routine he would have tried for it long ago. But he kept quiet, blocking yet another bony arm with his femur- and watched as the bone splintered and gave way. He growled, grabbing the skeleton's neck and before it had a chance to react, pried apart it's ribcage in a massive exertion of effort.

To the skeleton's credit it got right back up, apparently not overly inconvenienced. Besides him, the sword lady seemed to be exerting some sort of control over the creatures keeping them at bay. No... maybe it wasn't control, just some vestigial fear that the bodies kept of weapons that she wielded.

”Surely you can take care of some? You just need to keep them at bay until the light comes.”

"That is hours away!" The lupine finally said, growling as he did so. "I cannot possibly last that long- nor can you." He quieted, now sombre as he watched the encroaching army of darkness. "I apologize... I may have just brought you hear to your doom."

Lorelei kept her blade up, occasionally swinging it out to make more of the bloody skeletons crumble to the ground. Her brown eyes were narrowed as she kept a watchful eye on the undead beings, still throwing the occasional brief glance towards the shrimp lupine as she did so, just to make sure he would actually survive. If he did, well, she would owe him some credit or something.

Lorelei rolled her eyes, almost scowling, wishing the other creature would have just stayed silent. He had been doing a pretty good job at it, until he obviously decided to comment on the apparent time.

"Well, you know, if you would shut up and just get yourself out of the mess you put yourself in, maybe you'll start to worry less." Lorelei sighed heavily, her eyes drifting up towards where she saw a huge amount of skeletons marching slowly in their direction.

'Damnit," Lorelei sneered underneath her breath, quickly turning towards the lupine. "How fast can you run? Surely one of your size can prove to be a decent runner, aye?" she inquired. Yes, she was planning on getting away from this place. The male was correct; if they stayed there and tried to fend off these persistent creatures until daybreak, she was postive they would not get far. Well, at least, not him.

"Heh, no worries about me. I cannot die from the boney hands of these skeletons," Lorelei said with a smirk. She then glanced around them, once more making sure they were not trapped before she motioned for the other to take that direction and run, ready to bay these creatures until he was at least a good distance away before she followed after him.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get going, or I'll leave you for dead meat!" she hissed, turning her back to him so she could slash once again at a new round of skeletons, holding her sword up to block some attacks and to keep them back.

He felt his companion's rising irritation and was almost surprised- clearly she didn't fear these... creatures at all. It was... surprising. At least to him: she wore no armor, her weapons were of simple make and design- only her startling powerful blows betrayed training of any kind, in short, he didn't see how she'd survive this mess either. But she exuded confidence: this was not a fur-head in the throes of a deathmatch or even close to that.

He shattered another bony protrusion and started hunting for another. These skeletons were awfully fragile, but there were just so *many*. If this kept up, the dust made from the shattered bones would blind him before they landed a hit- and yet that in of itself would be enough to incapacitate him.

She asked him how fast he could run- and he tried to gauge his stamina. He wasn't sure, it had been a long day after all. And he wasn't a warrior, this dance of death wasn't something he was used to. But still, she was right, if they were to have any chance it would be now, before every corpse in this graveyard awoke. He could feel it in the air- there were being more foul than these simple, luckless travelers that had been transformed into the living dead. Soldiers who would only rise at the witching hour.

He didn't want to be there when they arrived.

Yes, he would run. She had threatened him but it had no meaning, he was already moving. The world slowed to a crawl as he sped up, his nightvision compensating for the lack of sunlight. Clouds were moving in- soon even the starlight would be gone and he'd be plunged into true night. He had to escape before that happened. He had to.