Knights Apocalyptica

A week later, and a week before Hallows Eve, a detachment of the Pendragon Pack arrived back to the Kingdom—to Erec’s great relief and joy, Enide was one of the people along for the ride—she made short order of crashing in his dorm with him, and making herself at home; apparently, this part of the Pendragons was tasked with staying a couple of weeks.

She’d be here for Hallows Eve; a tradition in which they had no basis for out in her pack, but a tradition in which she rapidly was looking forward to.

“So we go in costumes,” Enide confirmed, leaning in on the living space couch, her eyes glittering as she looked at Garin.

“Yeah, sure do. In fact, it’s a tradition for couples to pick a costume set together and go in pairs,” Garin said.

“Oh, hell yeah. Anything we want?”

“As long as you can make a costume for it.”

“Hmm.” Enide tapped her chin and looked at Erec, “What did you go as last year?”

“I didn’t.” He said, arms folded. Still not sure about this plan. Garin planned to take them to a tavern down in the Thirteenth Cavern—a public cavern known for its massive Hollows Eve celebrations. They decorated the whole place every year to attract as much holiday commerce as possible. And things often got a little out of hand. It was one thing to go to the Hollow's Eve parties and gatherings in noble circles, but an entirely different thing to go to parties like this.

It spelled out trouble, and as much as Boldwick practically pressured him to take it easy with his over-training, this didn’t seem the most relaxing pass time.

“I didn’t exactly make it a habit to go out much, and at that time, I was trying to figure out how to get a piece of loaner Armor together for the trials next year to be a Knight. I still don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Come on, Erec. It’s just Hallows Eve; what kind of trouble can we get into?”

Erec raised a hand, set to begin counting off the various ways this party could go bad or had gone bad in the past. Throw enough costumed people together in an overcrowded tavern flush with alcohol—and what kind of recipe was that for? Then, introduce the tradition of ‘tricks’ that Hallows Eve was known for… It was a wonder the Royal Family hadn’t banned this particular tradition long ago for all of the historical trouble it had caused the Kingdom.

Just as he was about to begin to make his points, the door to the dorm room slammed open, Colin waltzed in with an unhappy expression, followed by a woman with a shock of red hair. Alexandra, his betrothed and the last member of their little Hollows Eve group.

“Sorry we’re late. Colin kept telling me how much he missed me and was starved for attention. So I couldn’t help but give my Colly-Wolly the personal attention he had been sorely missing with his new weekend job.” At this, she winked at Erec.

“We did nothing of the sort. She insisted she needed to put on makeup before seeing the girls, wasting my precious time.” Colin argued.

“Awww, no need to lie to them. They know us, isn’t that right?”

“They know that every word out of your mouth is an exaggeration,” Colin said with a deep sigh before entering the room and collapsing on the couch next to Erec. He pinched his nose. “She wants to go as salt and pepper. Commoners spices.”

“Cute!” Olivia said, with a small clap and a smile—she sat in a lone chair at the end of the dorm; next to her was Garin’s new animal, the little coyote pup that Boldwick had given him. They hadn’t picked a name yet for the little creature. They’d tried a couple out but had yet to settle on anything. For now, it went by pup.

The pup had taken quite a shine to Olivia; she came second to Garin, of course, but it was already quite protective of her.

“It is not cute. It is absurd. We might as well put on face paint and rainbow wigs and label ourselves as clowns.”

“…Clowns?” Enide scrunched her eyebrows. “That sounds cool. Erec, should we go as Clowns?”

“No.”

“Face paint and colorful wigs! Do you have any other better ideas?” She insisted, moving closer to him and grabbing his attention.

He, in fact, did not. And without answering here, he felt the dooming sensation in his gut that he would end up having to paint his face and wear ridiculous clothing to this tavern. “Scientists.”

Olivia tilted her head, “Oh, like the Bio-Cavern researchers?”

“Sure,” Erec said; the idea of the white coats and professional clothing seemed a bit more dignified than clowns.

“Come on, tin can, not very original with your new business, isn’t it? Too on the nose.” Colin scoffed.

“He has a point,” Garin agreed and then stood up, “Well, Liv and I already know what we’ll be dressed as—I’ll leave the details for your costumes to you. Just make sure you pick something, okay? I doubt anywhere in the Thirteenth Cavern will have us if we’re not at least dressed up. And remember, this is for fun. Don’t take it so seriously… Speaking of which, let’s go over our options for bar hopping.” Garin grinned, pulling out a map of the Thirteenth Cavern with a wide grin.

Bar hopping? I thought it was just a single tavern.

Like that, the six of them planned out Hollows Eve. Leaving only several days to prepare for the festivities.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - —

“Well, we look good,” Enide said, admiring her outfit in the mirror next to Erec; in the end, she had relented on the desire to go as a clown and chose a different costume, which felt a little too on the nose. With Olivia’s help, though, she’d been able to put together a matching set of barbarian clothing.

Erec adjusted the tufts of fur on his shoulder and played with the leather straps; he looked like he had run out of one of those old-world stories, the type with vi-kings, those odd ones that even today people speak of as the epitome of uncivilized behavior and rudeness; they sailed around on boats and raided.

Some of the wastelanders Erec had heard tales of from the Pendragons were pretty much the spiritual successor to these historical relics.

Erec played with the axe on his back, his new gift from Boldwick; the flawless silver weapon looked at odds with the grungy, wild look of the fur and leather costume he wore. Where there was fur and leather. A large part of these costumes was the vast display of skin and muscle they were meant to show off. In his case, it revealed his impressive physique and more than a few war scars earned over the past few months.

Erec was grateful for his axe. Considering they were going into uncomfortable territory, he welcomed it as a companion. His axe was safe, with or without Armor, but nothing made him feel more secure.

Enide snuggled into his side; she had as much of a wild look as she had less fur and leather covering her, and she showed just as much skin as Erec. However, in her case, she’d also chosen to use black body paint to make lines and an overall mystical aesthetic. They weren’t glyph tattoos but looked something like a cousin to them; at her sides were his old hatchets, which he’d retired. Not that they weren’t effective weapons, but they just began to pale in comparison to his axe and the strength he could put behind each swing of the bigger weapons.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Looks like we’re about to steal from those spoiled nobles.”

“Something like that.” Erec agreed and then rolled his shoulders, “Shall we get on with it?”

“Lead the way, my barbarian Knight.”

Erec led the way from their room to the common hall of his Manor. All of his friends had stayed there overnight, and when they eventually made their way back home from the Hallows Eve celebrations, they’d be crashing here tonight as well.

Knowing the city, the Academy had given the Initiates Hallows Eve and the day after off; they often scheduled holidays to be free or did their own events to celebrate. Yule had the dance, and the feast had a Knight-wide gathering where all the orders dined together in a grand celebration of comradery. On Hollows Eve, though, they preferred to let their Knights wander outward and celebrate in their own way. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The first to filter in was Colin and Alexandra.

Colin… He was wearing a large cloak, beneath which was fine noble clothing; his hair was streaked with white and dark eyeshadow on his eyes; as he scowled, Erec saw the most critical part of his costume. Fangs. Alexandra stood next to him, her mischievous eyes alight as she took in Enide and Erec; on her back were tiny bat wings, along with a wispy black dress, and she, too, had the fangs, along with streaks of fake blood running down her face.

“Vampires.” Enide snapped, her eyes wide, “Whoa, you guys have them too, huh? I thought they were just a Vega story.”

“Yes, vampires. From the old books. A very traditional and refined costume, suitable to the tastes of my picky and stubborn fiance.” Alexandra confirmed and then did a twirl, the half-see-through black strands of her dress dancing through the air.

“Aren’t you afraid you’re going to piss them off, though, going around dressed like that?” Enide asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?”

“…Vampires are real—“ she stopped and then took in everyone else’s expression. “—or so they say, in Vega.”

Of course, that sparked a quick discussion with them. Enide revealed the stories of bodies missing blood in Vega. Every few months, a corpse would turn up in an alleyway, drained. The problem had been ongoing for around thirty years in the city. In the end, Erec wasn’t entirely convinced of the existence of vampires of all things but did find the prospect a bit odd; it made him take a different look at the city, the vampire of Vega, yet another oddity to the already supremely strange place.

The discussion bought time for the last of their companions, and when Garin and Olivia arrived, they were dressed in elaborate animal costumes: that of a dog and a cat. Complete with ears, tails, and chosen tufts of fur, and in Olivia’s case, sleek black fabric that complimented her figure and did a pretty decent job of letting her blend into the shadows, should she wish.

With all of them gathered together, it didn’t take long for Garin to take the lead, get them out of the Manor, and head to the party.

The journey didn’t take long, but as they went through the Seventh Cavern, Erec could see all of the decorations. Orange balls with lights in them in place of Pumpkins were reserved for more wealthy households this time of year. Biocaverns could not produce enough crops to meet the demand.

Children were already going around, decked out in their little costumes. Erec and Enide got more than their fair share of attention on the way to the lift; their little group didn’t take long to arrive.

The lifts were busy, people hopping on and off, stopping on every floor. Even the auxiliary lifts would be filled with crowds tonight. It was like this every Hollow’s Eve.

But as the lift rose from the seventh floor, more and more people got on, and the gears of the elevators slowly began grinding as they brought them upward. The elevators ground to a halt on every floor to collect more people, arriving at the destination for most: the Thirteenth Cavern.

The first thing that hit them as they rose up was the fog. The entrance to the Thirteenth Cavern lift was absolutely filled with fog. Dim gas streetlights that marked some of the cavern's tell-tale decor stood out, casting the carefully curated street with an eerie and distinctly Hollows Eve vibe that made this Cavern the ideal place for the season.

Garin led the way off the elevator, cutting through the crowd of milling costume people with an expert's ease; looking closely, one could see an outfit of every sort. Distinct ones of past Kings—some dressed as Rift monsters—others from professions around the caverns.

More frequently than he imagined, Erec saw the garish and flashy colors that he had grown used to on the streets of Vega. Word of the city's fashion and culture had spread even to the commoners, making for a popular choice tonight.

Cutting through the main thick entrance led to a wonderland of Hollows Eve delights; machines sat on every corner, playing spooky music or animations meant to scare. Of course, though, with Erec’s perception and training, he managed to spot the upcoming spooks far before they happened; the actors, too, weren’t quite enough to scare him.

Compared to some of the things in the wasteland, the imaginations of men kind of fell short.

Still, he had to admit, as they passed fake cobwebs and a woman stirring a cauldron and cackling madly next to a sign that said, ‘WITCHES BREW - 10 DENARII,’ there was a charm to this place.

“Crazy,” Enide said, shaking her head. “They do this every year?”

“Some of them spend most of the year planning out how to capitalize best, throwing smaller events throughout the month to lead up to the big night.” Garin said, stopping briefly at the witch’s stand to pick up a set of glasses of said ‘brews’ to pass out.

Erec took a sip of his. A green apple liquor—which fit the bright green colorations. Better than wine, in his opinion.

They drifted along the street for a good while, observing the costumes and crowd, passing a few ‘haunted houses’ which lined the street. Tonight, the only things open were places to get scared and to get drunk. So it wasn’t long until they made it to the first bar for the night: Haunt.

— - ☢ - — - ☼ - —

Erec sat in the back of the ‘bar,’ which turned out to be a lot closer to a nightclub, similar to that of Vega than he’d expected; it turned out Garin had taken the funds and time to go ahead and book a private booth for them in the back of the place, which was good. Every other open table was filled with people; even back here, Erec could smell the booze as music played and people danced. But, overall, his impression of Haunt was that he disliked.

With too many people, he couldn’t examine everything that was going on. He felt on edge as he sat waiting in his booth; eyes constantly going over the costumes, confirming no real monsters were in their midst.

A silly thing. But his mind kept tugging at the uncertainty.

There was, every now and again, a classic Hollows Eve song—along with Vega music, made for this type of thing. Fascination was the name of the game, and considering Vega had perfected this type of dancing environment, places like this were well and truly pleased with all of the music they could siphon off and add to their repertoire to party.

Garin, Olivia, Enide, and Alexandra were all out there, mixed on the dance floor of ghosts and haunts, and had been for the last half-hour of the night.

“It reeks,” Colin said, frowning as he watched the people move, “And the magic is thick in the air; I dislike such sloppy spellwork. It clouds my vision.”

“Spellwork?” Erec asked, perking up. He was trying to ready himself mentally for when Enide came and dragged him out there with her.

“Surely you feel it. The fog. The atmosphere. The lack of inhibition.”

“You’re just describing a party.”

“No—they are doing it with glyph work; you can feel the enchantments. It’s not illegal levels of manipulation, but it’s present. To get you to relax in order to drink more and to dance. But the magic is sloppy, and too much energy is being wasted.”

It was odd to think about, but as Erec examined his emotions… He did feel it, that unease. Fury was pushing back against the manipulation, and that is what was setting him on edge. Without Colin, he couldn’t have pinpointed the exact why.

…He looked out at the crowd.

Someone at the bar. Staring at him, they wore a black mask. As Erec met their gaze, they didn’t look away. Staring.

“Colin? Do you see that?”

Colin turned his scowl towards the stranger in dark clothes. “Yes. Boring costume. Black mask and robe; awful and plain. What is that even supposed to be, ‘freighting shadow figure?’ very low effort.”

“Yes, and they keep looking at us.”

Colin paused.

“Yes, they are staring. Did you anger someone?” Colin asked.

No. As Erec got another drink, he sat back there, talked to his friend, and let them go to the dance floor. He didn’t feel particularly social today after all of Robin’s lessons. Boldwick had told him to relax, and this, to him, was as relaxing as a night out like this could be. He’d made it point to avoid talking to anyone or to get involved in anything.

“Ah, they’re coming over to pick a fight,” Colin said, as the figure in the black mask moved towards them—Erec couldn’t help but notice they didn’t come alone. Three other men were approaching as well, flanking the black figure. All of them were in a mixture of costumes; all of them looked strong. At least, that’s what his intuition told him.

“Why us?” Erec said, standing up and rolling his shoulders.

“You have a way of attracting danger and attention; it’s one of your more questionable qualities.”

Erec scanned the dance floor; his friends and girlfriend were busy having fun.

Fine. Whatever these people wanted, he and Colin would solve it; there was no need to ruin the night of everyone else. And just in case it got dangerous… Erec shifted his axe on his back, happy to have his loyal tool on him.