Chapter I: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The party of hunters walked through the lonely land, passing many deserted remains of towns that had been sacked by creatures of the night. A crescent moon shone in the sky, barely lighting the way for them. Surprisingly, no attacks had been made on the group as they traversed the rough terrain. Carlos led them in the front, holding his crossbow in one of his hands just in case there was a surprise attack. He was leading them towards a quiet town, Tuefelsdorf, to bring them to the Cathedral for healing and possible coercion.

A wolf howled ominously in the night, making Carlos shudder a bit. It was better that they were in a group now, though, as creatures would think twice about taking them on. Carlos looked back at the shaken group. Many were wounded or disturbed by the recent events; it was apparent that they needed medical attention.

"We should be arriving soon," he announced to them, pointing ahead at the city that was looming in the distance. It was very dark and hardly a light was on, but very clearly you could see a large, ruined cathedral in the middle of the town. That was their destination.

They were passing a hillock when suddenly lightning flashed and smashed into the earth near them. Once the smoke cleared away from the strike, a figure could be seen. He was wearing a black nobleman's outfit with a crimson-red cape over it. His face was pale, he had a black, trimmed beard, and his short grey and black hair was pushed back. He was holding a glimmering long-sword in his right hand. The man smiled, showing fangs.

"Fancy seeing a party of hunters here," he said, grinning devilishly. "A very interesting group here. I'm surprised the exiled Vampire has chosen to sink so low."

He laughed in his deep and loud voice. Carlos peered at the Vampire in fear.

"No...It can't be..." he said slowly, realizing who the Vampire was. "Count Dracula?"

"Indeed, it is I," Dracula replied, walking towards them dragging his sword behind him. "I've been watching you all with much interest. It amuses me that hunters such as you think that you can stop my reign."

"You are behind all of this?" Carlos asked incredulously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Dracula chuckled. "I have finally awakened from my slumber and now my only wish is to dye the land red with blood."

"I cannot allow that to happen!" Carlos said, aiming his crossbow at the Vampire's head. "Back down now!"

Dracula raised his sword vertically and held it in a defensive stance.

"Not a chance," he replied. "None of you will even be able to touch me..."

"Kill him!" Carlos yelled at his group, pulling the trigger on his crossbow to send a volley of bolts at the Vampire, hoping to strike him vitally...

((OOC: Note: Dracula is very, VERY quick and very, VERY powerful...))

Vlad followed the group through the rugged terrain until the reached the high path that they would follow. Since the battle many hours ago, Vlad's ankle had more or less healed up and the swelling had gone down considerably. An eerie feeling seemed to come upon him as he walked this dark gloomy path. In both his hands, his lancer was held tightly. This uneasiness only increased when they got to the top of a hill and thunder rumbled in the near distance. A flash of lightning illuminated the weary travelers, wounded and exhausted, in a menacing light.

The approach of the vampire was made known to the entire group just after the lightning's flash. Vlad turned toward the area of impact. His eyes grew wide and his skin grew pale upon seeing who approached them. His teeth gritted and his eyes narrowed with wrath, seeing this demons features. Images of the past, morbid and fell passed through his mind, seeming real for a few moments.

Vlad suddenly lifted his Lancer and aimed down the side. The others in the group, surprised, looked at him. Vlad screamed into the night, one could not help but wonder why, until he spoke.

"IT'S YOU... BASTARD, HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR FUCKING FACE TO ME!" Vlad yelled with rage.

The other comrades seemed to stop breathing, all was quiet. Upon the face of the Count Dracula, a hideous grin formed. He obviously remembered Vlad from that fateful day years ago.

"You killed my family... you killed my neighbors... you killed my town! I should have killed you when you stood before him. It seems now I have my chance... I'll blow your dead fucking brains all over this path, and pray to God that your soul rots in hell for eternity!" Vlad yelled.

He cocked his Lancer and continued to aim, his index finger finding its way to the trigger. His eyes flashed with wrath as he watched his ultimate foe stand casually before him.

Dracula lifted his sword and deflected each bolt with his sword, causing them to fly aside harmlessely. Carlos gasped. It would be pointless to fight him like this. They were no match for him. Suddenly Vlad spoke up, ending the deadly stalemate between them, speaking words of hatred towards the Count.

The Count laughed scornfully at Vlad's anger. This one should be interesting to fight, he thought to himself. I've never seen a hatred so kindled by grief. He pointed his sword at Vlad and grinned devilishly.

"Pitiful," he said to the man, chuckling. "The tempers of a human are quite easily provoked, as it is expected of such weaklings. You claim to say that I have slain your family, though I cannot quite remember that event, you see. I have been through so many hunts that each face becomes nothing more than a delicious memory."

He stroked his beard once with his free hand and suddenly had a look of conclusion.

"Ah, yes," he said slowly. "I remember you, boy; you were too pathetic to stand before me, weren't you? You just let your town burn for the sake of your own life. I didn't know such cruelty existed! I was beginning to think humans were one of the more noble races, though stupid. I'm sure you heard the screams of terror as I plunged my sword through each of their hearts, painting the ground with blood. It was quite a good catch, I'll have you know. I love easy prey that doesn't fight back."

Dracula looked over at the man with a grin. He hoped this would light the man's fuse. He was craving for a duel.

Unlike many in the group, having sustained no injuries and being relatively unfatigued, Ivan had no need of medical assistance and no overtly medical reason to travel with the group; However, beside the points that given that travelling with the group fitted nicely with his own personal goals and that one of its other members happened to be a long lost childhood friend, seeing as he'd only just arrived in the country, and it had already since been his intention to travel further onwards, and as he knew full well that it would be wiser to travel with a group of hunters than to travel alone, it was only logical to travel as one of its members towards the destination suggested by Carlos.

Ivan traveled along the edge of the path, to the left of the group, always keeping a keen eye out for anything that may choose to ambush them or take them by surprise; Though strangely, despite the ominous countryside and the circumstances of their first meeting, their journey had been uneventful to-date.

Ivan looked instinctively in its direction when a Wolf's howl pierced the air from some distant point, but remained otherwise unphased, not a foregoing the inexplicable unease he had already been feeling about the entire area for some time now.

Carlos pointed ahead. "We should be arriving soon."

Not a moment later, with a piercing crash of thunder and flash of lightning, a sole Vampire made its presence known to the entire group. Ivan stopped in his tracks, and watched, not saying a word; Most of the group appeared to be doing the same.

Some short dialogue ensued, and Ivan listened tentatively, keeping a keen eye out for any movement the vampire may choose to make, or any movement a member of the group may make for that matter.

"Kill him!"

Carlos fired a round of bolts at the vampire, Ivan watching as the vampire reflected each bolt with the utmost ease.

The remainder of the group continued to watch silently, except for one; Vlad, rage building in his expression and body language, screamed into the night and began yelling at the vampire. Ivan, still watching, slowly reached towards his rifle, resting one hand just beside the strap, the other, beside his waist, ready to aim and fire without hesitation.

"You killed my family... you killed my neighbors... you killed my town! I should have killed you when you stood before him. It seems now I have my chance... I'll blow your dead fucking brains all over this path, and pray to God that your soul rots in hell for eternity!"

Ivan heard and recognised the extremely quiet yet distinctive sound as, aiming directly at the vampire, Vlad cocked his Lancer and tightened his grip around its trigger. Quickly side-stepping to stand directly beside Vlad, Ivan raised his rifle, aimed directly at the vampire and wrapped his finger tightly around its trigger, preparing to fire in synchronisity if so called for.

Though perhaps the first time they'd seen each other in a number of years, regardless of what was to happen, Vlad and Ivan were of the same town, they suffered the same fate as survivors of its history and Ivan saw Vlad as a comrade, and he intended to act accordingly.

Staring directly at the vampire with a hardened expression, Ivan said nothing to it.

"Pitiful.. The tempers of a human are quite easily provoked, as it is expected of such weaklings. You claim to say that I have slain your family, though I cannot quite remember that event, you see. I have been through so many hunts that each face becomes nothing more than a delicious memory.. Ah, yes. I remember you, boy; you were too pathetic to stand before me, weren't you? You just let your town burn for the sake of your own life. I didn't know such cruelty existed! I was beginning to think humans were one of the more noble races, though stupid. I'm sure you heard the screams of terror as I plunged my sword through each of their hearts, painting the ground with blood. It was quite a good catch, I'll have you know. I love easy prey that doesn't fight back."

In his native tongue, Ivan spoke quickly and calmly to Vlad, quietly enough to reach his ears but that of none other. "Whatever you do, I am with you, but do not act hastily; We must not underestimate our foe. We both lost those close to us on that day, and our vengeance shares the same thirst, but if we allow our feelings to cloud our professionalism, our vengeance will be lost."

Vlad's eyes glanced momentarily to his comrade who joined it. It was none other than his childhood friend, Ivan. He heard his words and grudgingly accepted them. After all, killing Dracula was the one thing that would bring peace back into Vlad's life... destroying that demon was a job that had to be done, either directly from his own hands or his comrades. He would worry about being happy once he was burned and thrown into a pit.

"Ivan, it is our duties to rid the world of this fiend, and now is the day to do it. So help me god... I will bury this chainsaw into his gut and shove my crucifix into his face."

Vlad couldn't help but laugh at what he was saying. It was more of a grim chuckle. He looked back to Dracula and gave him a smirk. It seemed that his rage had gone down... or rather was driven inside himself. His Lancer was still aimed directly at their foes face and the finger that lay on the trigger never shook nor hesitated. Vlad had calmed himself down.

"Oi, Dracula, have you ever fought off two angry Russians before?" Vlad asked with a smirk.

At this, the Count's face when from cocky to an almost puzzled expression. His broadsword was hefted back into a defensive position. Their duel would begin.

(Back In The United States)

*Phone Ringing*

A lonely telephone booth on the dark and empty sidewalk rings and rings leaving echoes around the dark street

Salvatore "Another job?"

He walks into the open phone booth and stands waiting for the phone to stop

The payphone rings again for the second time only this time Salvatore picks it up

Salvatore "Hello?"

? "Go to the docks and look for a brown enevelope that is in a rusted out mail box, it will contain further instructions"

Salvatore "Anything else"

The phone goes off the hook and Salvatore hangs it up and starts to leave the phone booth

"I wonder how this will work"

After a hour of walking to the docks Salvatore reaches the commercial docks where only one ship is docked and start to load passengers

"I hope its Miami"

Salvatore looks around and sees a mail box with some rusted holes in it, he opens it and sees a brown enevelope with a foreign language written on it

"Ummmmm what is this"

A old women walks up to Salvatore and pokes him in the back

Old Women "Its Hungarian"

Salvatore "Hungarian? What does it read?"

Old Woman "Go to the old lands of Romania where the devil sleeps"

Salvatore "Thank you"

He opens the enevelope quickly and shuffles everything out of it, first thing is a boat ticket to Eastern Europe, details of the target who,band a blank photo

He looks at the photo very closely

"What am I going to kill the damn air"

Salvatore starts heading on the boat and waits to arrive at his targets destination

Emris, stood frozen before him was the darkest, foulest creature he knew of... Dracula. Emris's blood boiled in rage as he stared into the eyes of him. Emris cracked his whip, Dracula had dodged the first volley of arrows and saw Emris's whip, "You... how do you have that weapon?" Emris glared at Dracula, "The weapon was given to me by my adopted father,and you will pay for all the deaths you have caused."

Dracula smiled, "I will look forward to killing you and destroying that damn whip." Dracula was gone moment later, Emris stood still whip ready for whatever.

The Count smiled as he saw all these people lined up to fight him. This would be an easy catch for him. Almost too easy. Suddenly the smile disappeared. This would be no fun, he thought to himself. They are not ready to fight me. They will go without much of a fight. I think I will leave them be for a while and see how far they get. Maybe they will turn out to be a worthy enemy.

He suddenly sheathed his sword and smiled pleasantly.

"This is very, very sudden for me," he said with a mocking grin. "I am afraid that I would be able to destroy you all with the flick of a finger because of your weakness. I will give you time to get better, and change into warriors."

He turned his back to them and started to walk off. He could hear them talk in confused voices. He grinned to himself and held up his hand.

"Don't even bother looking for me after," he said to them in a plain voice. "Your searches will be fruitless. When the time is right, I will find you myself. Farewell, my friends!"

Lightning flashed down between the group and the vampire and he disappeared, leaving no traces of his appearance behind. Carlos shouldered his crossbow with a disappointed look on his face.

"We will get that bastard someday," he said to his group members, "someday. I swear it on the graves of all the people he has slain."

Ivan remained ready for a few moments after the vampire made his exit, keeping eyes and ears ready – He couldn't be certain that the vampire had gone any more than he could be certain of the nature of his arrival in the first place, and it wouldn't be the first time he'd been privvy to a faux retreat.

"We will get that bastard someday, someday. I swear it on the graves of all the people he has slain."

Nodding in agreement to Carlos, Ivan reslung his rifle, no longer on edge, but remaining alert. "And on the lives of our fallen comrades, to the honour of our friends and family, and to the dignity of our fellow human beings, I too, swear to it."

Carlos walked over to Vlad and knelt down, putting a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"We will kill him," he said to him, his eyes full of confidence. "You will get your revenge, I swear it. But for now we must persevere until the coward decides to fight us man to man."

He stood back up and started to walk away from the scene. He turned and looked at everyone.

"We should leave this place now before we attract any other attention," he said to them. "The Cathedral is near. Once we get there I will let you all tend to your wounds. After that, I have a deal I want to do with you all, but I will not discuss it until we make it to safety."

Carlos turned and started to walk towards the town in the direction of the great, ruined Cathedral that he called home.

Carlos led the company into the town of Tuefelsdorf, passing through the empty, dead streets. None of the houses were lit up with light, as it was very late, and the whole place was as silent and joyful as a graveyard. They walked a few blocks through the town until they made it to the Cathedral.

The Cathedral was easily the tallest structure in the town, towering over even the highest building here. The stained glass window in the front of the church, depicting a biblical scene, was cracked like a broken mirror and distorted. There were crumbled stair that led up to the two huge, wooden doors into the Cathedral.

"We are finally here," Carlos said to them. "Home."

He walked forward, beckoning them to come with him despite the eerie appearance of the building. He noticed someone sleeping on the ground with a bottle of rum in his hand by the building. He sighed.

"You all go inside," he said to the others, "I have some trash to kick out."

The others opened the doors to the Cathedral, walking into a dimly lit room that had various electronic devices spread out in the room that was once the auditorium. Pews were littered with notes and supplies and the pulpit was replaced with a large mechanical device that had a screen with binary running across it. A man, wearing a labcoat and strange goggles over his eyes, stood up to the noise of them coming in. He was a short and skinny fellow, looking like he had just come out of grade school.

"Welcome to the Cathedral!" he said, walking towards them. "You must be Carlos's new friends! Come in! Make yourself at home! We have a variety of medical supplies in here, so don't be shy!"

He lifted the goggled from his eyes and let them rest on his forehead. He smiled.

"My name is Nicu Corneliu, and it's very nice to meet such a nice group as this!"

-----------

Carlos walked towards the man sitting outside, who he assumed to be a bum, and kicked him lightly in the side.

"Alright, fellow," he said, prodding him with his foot. "Get up, now. I don't want you sleeping on the front porch of my building! What do you think you are doing here?"

Carlos kept a hand on his sword. This guy seemed to be easily provoked, and that blade looked menacing. He caught the picture and studied it closely. It seemed to depict the appearance of a vampire in a mirror: nothing. Carlos looked up and tossed the picture back at the man.

"I think you should come inside the Cathedral and have a little talk," he said to him, turning around and starting to walk towards the doors. "I think that our business would interest a man like you. You may find this...person you are searching for if you trust us for a while."

Carlos let go of his sword and turned back.

"Are you interested? We here at the Cathedral happen to profess in things such as that mysterious picture of yours."

"I am Carlos and it's my very good pleasure to meet you," Carlos said, slightly disregarding the man's last words. "Shall we go in?"

They both entered and were greeted by Nicu. He shook the hand of Salvatore and smiled at Carlos.

"You've brought quite the crowd in this time!" he said to Carlos happily. "I'm glad you told me to stock up on medical supplies or else your friends would probably be in trouble! I helped treat you're friend Irene and she should be waking up any minute now. She will need some time to heal....but I think her 'other' attributes may speed up the process."

Carlos nodded in understanding.

"Salvatore, this is a man I would like you to meet," Carlos said. "His name is Nicu; the scientist. I think he can help you with your picture problem."

Carlos tossed the picture over to Nicu. Nicu analyzed it quickly and then came to a conclusion.

"I believe that we can get more hints as to where this is after I run it through some tests on my newly made technological computing device. It will likely take a few weeks or so, so you're welcome to stay around here if you like."

Nicu nodded and went off to go study the picture and get some clues. Carlos looked at Salvatore and turned to go off and tend his wounds.

"Make yourself at home," he said as he walked away. "If you need any medical supplies, just grab something laying around."

Carlos took a seat on a pew and started to stitch up some cuts with a suture kit. Once he finished he would gather all these people together and inform them of the Dark Symphony. He believed that his audience tonight would be very interested to hear what he would say. For now, they would need to tend to their wounds. Carlos would give their speech once he deemed the time was fit...