Kurik was the last watch of the night. Suddenly, his God appeared to him on the shore of that small island in the Great Swamp. Pandios walked towards Kurik, saying,
"Take heart my Son, for thou art embarking on a splendid journey which hath many rewards! I am pleased with thee and embrace thee as mine own child.". Kurik, overcome with joy, gladly held out his arms and accepted the divine kiss of his God, not once, not twice, but thrice. Surely he was especially blessed to receive such reward in a holy trinity! His eyelids were heavy, and he lay down to rest under the loving eyes of his deity.
When he awoke he was covered in earth. He opened his mouth to scream and it filled with dirt. Frantically Kurik dug his fingernails into the moist soil and pushed it out of his way. Feeling a breeze across his fingers he worked harder and within moments pushed his head out into the air. As he pulled himself out of the ground he saw a dark, cloaked figure sitting nearby. The figure was similar to the ones he had seen in his vision of Count Hazendel's disappearance, and it appeared to be regarding him. Though he could not say why, Kurik felt somehow that the figure was silently mocking him.
"I see my pet has finally awoken." It said.
"I am no one's pet!" Kurik replied angrily, "And who are you to make such a presumption?".
"I am Blaesing." It replied, "And I am your maker.".
"Pandios is my maker!" said Kurik, "And I'll not have you blaspheming his name.". To emphasize his point he openly fingered the scimitar at his waist. Unfortunately he had left his battle axe behind at the campsite. Wherever that was in relation to where he now stood.
"I should rephrase. Pandios is the maker of what you were. I am the maker of what you now are." Blaesing replied. "You see, you are no longer human, just as I am no longer human.". He pulled down the hood that covered his face.
Kurik stared at Blaesing, at his pale complexion, at the glow of his skin from the light of the corpse candles which illuminated the graveyard in which they both stood. Slowly, he began to understand.
"You have made me into an undead abomination like yourself!" Kurik whispered furiously. "You have made me into a vampire!".
Blaesing laughed. "What a delight!" he cried. "I just knew that taking a holy man into the fold would bring me more enjoyment than I have experienced in centuries! Just wait until I tell Absalom & Harrow about you! If you perform well, perhaps after a few years we can make the Dim Triad into the Dim Quartet!".
Kurik was not amused. Slowly he began to pull his mace out of its back sheath. It made a satisfying sound.
Blaesing chuckled. "You have better weapons now holy man. You only have to learn of your new powers. And of your new weaknesses.". He grimaced distastefully at the last. "But you will not learn these things if you unmake me. I am the only one whom you can trust to teach you truthfully. Any vampire who did not make you will automatically set out to entrap you. I wish merely to enslave you.". He smiled seductively, implying his meaning.
What was left of Kurik's soul blanched, but outwardly he showed no sign of his disgust. "Obviously you don't know of me." He said in a strong, steady voice. "I am Sir Kurik Steadfast, and I have dedicated my life to eradicating creatures such as you are!". He wore a self-deprecating look on his face. "Creatures such as I am now! Knowledge of how to survive this pathetic excuse for an existence is not as important to me as sending you to the eternal afterlife torment you deserve for putting me through this living torment.".
Blaesing obviously did not expect this answer. "But you need me!" he cried, "I am the only one who can teach you!". Hurriedly he began to move his hands in magical patterns but Kurik had the initiative. Quickly the paladin flipped the mace around and with a lightning thrust stuck its wooden shaft into Blaesing's heart.
"You have made me, and in return I have unmade you!" sneered Kurik as he saw Blaesing's form slump to the ground. With amazing rapidity, the lifeless husk mouldered and rotted before Kurik's eyes. As it turned to dust he suddenly realized that what Blaesing said was true. He did need to know how to survive in his new form. But could he? He was sworn against creatures such as himself. How could he lift a hand against them knowing he was one as well? Should he not destroy himself? The dilemma wracked his brain and he cried out to Pandios for help. No answer came. Fingers of light began to brighten the eastern horizon and Kurik winced as it approached him. Hurriedly he got back into the grave in which he had lain, and covered himself with earth. He sent his thoughts out to Pandios, begging for aid. Again there was no response. For more than a day he tried, growing weaker by the hour. He knew that he should drink blood of some passing creature (he could not bear to think of drinking a human's blood) to sustain himself but could not bring himself to the task. Finally, after torturous silence, there was a reply. Pandios' voice sounded distant, but He was there.
"I doth apologize for Mine delay in responding to thy pleas." He said, "But I hath trouble piercing the veil between the living and the undead. I know what thou art and how thou camest to be such a creature. Know that I am not pleased yet I am not angered with thee. It doth pain me to see thee in such a state, yet as I ponder I come to see that this form couldst be of use in thy quest. It is of the highest importance that Acerak be defeated. His scheme is both evil and deadly, and couldst result in an end to the living humanoid races. He must be stopped and destroyed at all costs! In thy present form thou mightest be better suited to such a task. Knowest thou that I wilt release thee from thy torment and bestow upon thee the ultimate reward once this task is complete."
Kurik felt awash in love and devotion. He knew that he must endure his disgust at his present form in order to complete his quest. An ultimate reward spoke for itself.
"There art things which thou must know in order to survive in thy present form. I will explain these to thee that thou mightest better complete thy task." Pandios continued. "Firstly, there is the issue of thy magical abilities."
For many hours Kurik listened to his God and learned what he needed to know in order to survive, and to better his previous abilities. Finally, Pandios finished his discourse.
"There is one last thing my Son." He said, "I doth not desire for any to know of thy current state of being. While I am not ashamed of thee, I fear that word of thy state couldst cause others to fear thee, and make thy task more difficult. It wouldst also cast fear and suspicion on thy Pandion Knighted brethren, and they wouldst be severely hindered in performing Mine works. I command thee not to disclose in any fashion what hath become of thee to any living creature.".
Kurik vowed within to follow the wishes of Pandios. After a final goodbye he rose again from the earth in which he lay, noting the twilight's departure as night fell. Following Pandios' divine directives, he opened an empty belt pouch and filled it full of earth from his grave. Then he left the graveyard and followed a path to come to a marketplace of bizarre nature. There he purchased a large supply of magically preserved blood (a human/animal mix) with which he could sustain himself for the next few months, if necessary. Kurik hoped that it wouldn't come to that. He wanted to obey Pandios, but did not know how long he could survive the knowledge that he was an abomination of creation.
Lastly he headed away from the marketplace, and towards the main gate of this strange town. He had to find his companions, although what he would tell them of his experiences, he did not know.