Castlevania: Of Darkness and Light

Acts Of Kindness

*edited 2/12/24*

I traveled the road as it roved its way onward, following its curves and winds through the fields and open wilderness with only eagles soaring above watching me roam on. Walking beneath the great blue sky lightened my spirits as excitement stirred in my heart and my gait light without a sore in my footsteps. For the first time since awakening beneath the moonlight I had direction to go and a location in mind. I still didn't have any clue where I was , or how to get to Castle Dracula, but walking the open road with my staff in hand and my pack chock-full of important items, I felt like a real adventurer.

Nobody else traveled the road I walked, at least not at the moment. Periodically I would look ahead or behind to see if someone would appear, but nobody did, so I kept walking in hopes I would find someone who could explain where in the world I am. Though I grieved the death of the farmers and my thoughts about them never left my mind, I couldn't allow myself to give in to despair. Avenge them by living another day and focusing on the path in front of you. I focused solely on reaching my objective point and finding my person of interest. The rest I'll worry about later.

It was midday when I saw another person on the road, well two people actually. I walked up to them in friendly greeting. "Good day! Do you know how to get to Castle Dracula?" They stared at me as if I were a demon and chased me off cursing. "Jeez what's your problem!?" I snapped at them, continuing on. "Freaks."

The next person I saw was a man driving a cart. "Excuse me. Could you tell me the way to Castle Dracula?"

 "Why the hell would you wanna go there?" He snarled suspiciously. 

"I feel like I'm supposed to go there." He looked at me strangely before cracking the reins and driving off. "Wow...humans are jerks..." I murmured, cocking my head at the sound of a horse whinnying from clifftops on the left side of the road. It wasn't the only sound, the clamoring of voices could be heard from a distance, in the very same direction.

"Probably a couple of horseback riders out on the trail. Do I really want to talk to more jerkasses?" I wondered before figuring it out. "I should, I have no idea where I am, maybe I'll skip the creepy ass vampire castle and ask where's the closest town is instead." Yeah, good idea. I'll go and talk to them, finally figure out where I am.

The only problem; the clifftops were tall and steep, nearly impossible for someone to hike up on two feet.

I was too desperate to pass this opportunity up. I diverted from the road and headed west to the cliffs, using my staff as a walking stick. It wasn't an easy hike up, the cliffs were extremely steep and I needed to use the stick for leverage to keep from tumbling back down. More than I few times my balance shifted and I quickly supported myself again. The sound of voices grew louder the further I went up.

Still I climbed onward, crawling onto my hands and knees when the cliffs became practically vertical. I could smell what was over its edge, smoke, fire, human sweat, earthy scent of horse manure, and the sharp sour tang of.....alcohol? All of them strong enough they prickled my nose. The hill leveled out on the very top, giving me a good overlook of the scene below. I lay on my belly with my chin propped on my knuckles and my pack beside me.

At the foot of the ring of steep clifftops lay a single horse cart next to an emerging fire.
"A campout." I realized. Maybe they can help me if I ask nicely without talking about vampire castles. Who knows, they could point me to a town with someone who would be generous enough to show me the way.

 "The fuck are you looking at?"Something forcefully rolled me onto my back. I screamed when a hand grabbed hold of my shoulder and pushed me against the ground. "Back off or I'll blast you to bits with this thing!" I held my staff against my body and pushed against my ambusher.