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Role Playing Games => Vampire The Masquerade => Drakilian's Games => Side Quests => Topic started by: Drakilian on October 04, 2015, 08:44:43 pm
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1199, April 1rst, 2:43 AM,
Balgrad,
Domain of Heldric Haikans, Emissary of Michael's Chosen
Having recently returned to Balgrad, Heldric has begun pulling strings with the reluctant aid of Julian in order to have city workers begin a massive excavation project - officially to expand the already existing catacombs below the city's cathedral, but mostly to create a proper, defensible haven and give the city's Nosferatu a proper warren.
As the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese (Heldric sometimes wonders if this decision was based on some gentle influence by the Patriarch of Constantinople) and budding capital of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom, Heldric often finds himself astonished that such a great city could have been assigned to him. It is his responsibility to keep it safe.
However, when a letter comes calling from the very man who granted him the right to protect Balgrad, its aim to pull him away - well, Heldric might begin to wonder what option he has to refuse.
For on the 1rst of April, the year 1199, Heldric finds a dark-feathered raven waiting for him in his hidden haven, a bound and sealed letter at its feet, intelligent black eyes staring expectantly.
Reaching for the letter, recognizing Radu's seal and breaking it - Heldric reads over its contents.
My Dearest Friend,
There is an abandoned tower that lies deep within the Transylvanian alps, I am interested in claiming it as a fortress haven in case of emergency, however the mortal men and ghouls I have already sent have failed to return. I have chosen to tell you this because I trust in your ability to handle this matter discreetly and efficiently. You are a skilled individual, Heldric, and I would like to see those skills utilized.
I generously offer you a reasonable boon of your choice in return for you personally securing this tower for myself in whatever manner you find fitting. I hope you consider my offer, should you accept I will send Tiberiu to serve as your guide.
May your city prosper,
Count Radu Bistri, Prince of Bistritz.
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Heldric knows he has no real say in the matter but he would aid his benefactor either way, the path says to take care of your allies so that they in turn aid you.
He quickly gathers some writing supplies and pens a short note.
Count Radu,
Thank you for your wishes, the city is indeed prospering and I have lately begun work to further the dream. I trust you are doing well and progressing the dream as well as always.
I would be honoured to perform this task for you, I will await your guide then accomplish the task efficiently.
Heldric, Prince of Balgrad
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The Raven takes the note from Heldric and flies off towards Bistritz.
1199, April 2nd, 10:42 AM
Balgrad,
Domain of Heldric Haikans, Emissary of Michael's Chosen
Waking the next morning, Heldric finds another letter waiting for him, seemingly having been delivered by the same (very tired) bird - though this time the bird leaves before a reply can be written.
Breaking open the seal, he reads:
My Dearest Friend,
Thank you for accepting my proposal! Tiberius will be by Balgrad within four nights, I hope to see you by the abandoned tower soon. You may name the area after you secure it if you so wish, a petty thing but one I should like for you to enjoy.
Travel safely,
Count Radu Bistri, Prince of Bistritz
Is there anything Heldric should like to do in the few nights he has before Tiberius' arrival?
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Heldric notes the time he will be away and prepares orders to be carried out in his absence, ensuring the works go ahead as he desires if things take longer than expected.
He does not like using weapons however he ensures Andreas has some armour to wear, he was getting too injured before. Somthing like chainmail covered in silk to muffle the sound slightly.
Finally he checks with his contacts in the shadows of the city for any rumours of the areas he is heading too.
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Heldric puts in an order for chainmail from one of the city's smithies - even gets Andreas' terrible body measured for it and everything - but it'll be a while before the suit is finished.
Normally the measurements wouldn't be so necessary as all that save for the fact that Andreas' measurements were... not exactly those of a well-proportionned human being. Still, Heldric acquires his servant (in addition to the future properly fitted chainmail) an especially large suit of mail that, while more cumbersome than a properly fitted suit, works well enough for his purposes.
The silk to cover the chainmail (for both suits) also runs up Heldric a sizeable bill, but one that he can afford to pay now that he's getting proceeds from the salt mines.
Heldric's contacts unfortunately have never heard of the place he refers to - mostly because Heldric doesn't actually know anything about it save that it's "an abandonned tower in the transylvanian mountains". Strange that Radu would be so withholding. Perhaps there's a little more going on than Heldric is being told?
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Heldric readies to leave, warning Andreas and Mr. whitey to be prepared. One ambush setting his bed on fire is more than enough. He assumes there is a lot that he isn't being told however he has aleady agreed and has little choice in the matter now.
"I really need a human ghoul to act during the day" he mutters as he awaits his guides arrival.
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1199, April 6th, 1:42 AM
Balgrad,
Domain of Heldric Haikans, Emissary of Michael's Chosen
Having made preparations and informing Julius again that he would be leaving the city shortly, Heldric is prepared for Tiberius' arrival. Some two hours past midnight Mr.Whitey tells Heldric that one of Andreas' animal companions saw the man approaching Balgraad, riding a carriage led by four nightmarishly powerful black horses.
Heldric is there, waiting at the gates (with the mortals having been sent away) when the savage, red-eyed gangrel arrives.
"Good evening Prince Heldric", he calls from his seat.
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Heldric nods in return "Good evening." He replies.
He heads right or the carriage door, scanning his surroundings just incase he is being carefully watched from any shadows "We should set out right away unless you have other business here, I cannot be away from the city too long." He adds, waving his companions to the carriage.
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Tiberius returns Heldric's greeting with perfect courtesy.
"The tower is over two week's travel from here, i'm afraid there is little to do in that regard. If you would like I could request Radu use his own influence to help protect your city in your absence."
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"Thankyou but that should not be necessary as I have made arrangements which should be adequate." he replies.
Once all of his companions are loaded in he heads inside himself pausing only to speak once more "Then let us be underway!"
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1199, April 20th, 2:34 AM
The Transylvanian Alps,
Unclaimed domain.
It's been two weeks since Heldric and Tiberius departed for the abandoned tower within the transylvanian alps decreed by Radu to be one of his hidden fortresses. They have been well-supplied with the blood of beasts summoned by Tiberius, though only Tiberius has been satisfied with the diet.
The 15th night has so far proven to be almost unbearably cold. Even for Heldric and Andreas, normally immune to cold temperatures, the cold is a source of discomfort. To Mr. Whitey, it is almost fatal - were it not for the vitae running through the lizard's veins or the warmth he got from huddling with the ghoul animals he might not be alive now. Compounded with the unfortunate fact that a snowstorm has been raging for the past three days while showing little sign of improvement, and it has all made for a rather unpleasant trip.
After several hours travel, Tiberius pulls the wagon to a stop.
"We're just about here."
The gangrel point to an overgrown, barely visible path that leads up what appears to be a treacherous cliffside - though Heldric cannot see the top through the raging storm.
"You'll find it up that path."
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Heldric does his best to check the wether prospects, hoping or a break in the snow before communicating with the others "This cold in unnatural, why have a tower here in the first place?" He wonders aloud "Unless this cold is a defence of some sort..." He turns to their guide "do you sence an unnatural force behind this?"
While waiting for an answer he also quickly checks with Mr. Whitey if he wants to come or stay huddled in the carriage for a slight warmth.
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The beastmaster scratches at the back of his neck idly - a nervous twitch no doubt, the dead don't itch.
"It's a bit late in the season for a storm like this but it's happened before. Might be something's up there causing it, but I wouldn't know what would be capable of it.
It's possible the mortals the count sent were killed by a storm like this, you should be careful on your way up. As for why the tower is here? No idea. It doesn't guard an important pass and it's on an isolated cliffside, it's very, very defensible - but little else. Honestly I wonder how Radu even knew to find the place."
Checking in with Mr. Whitey, Heldric is reassured by the beast that as long as they find shelter shortly, he can manage. Though being cold-blooded, Heldric knows the thing will not last long without some sort of fire...
Of course, Andreas has already called a small army of furry little critters to surround and bath mr.whitey is a sea of body heat. Perhaps it will suffice till they can find shelter in the tower.
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Heldric sighs audibly, this was already heading in a direction he didn't like and he just felt in his, now cold, bones that it would get worse.
"Then time we started" he looks over to Andreas and Mr. Whitey "We move as quickly as possible, Andreas take the lead and ensure we have a path in the snow. When we reach the tower is needs be I will make a fire there but I am planning on being inside it making things easier."
He quickly salvages some spare cloth and bits of wooden items tht will burn if needed, fully aware he has no tinder box and hates fire anyway then signals their departure, cloaking his group (cloak the gathering)
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Tiberius nods his head towards Heldric.
"You may send for me at any time when you require a guide back down the mountains. Just call any nearby bird to carry the message."
With that, the beastmaster turns and moves on back down the path.
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one hour later
It's been an incredibly treacherous climb up the path - twice wind nearly blew Heldric straight off the side of the mountain, and once Andreas slipped and slid down to the edge of the cliffside, surviving only due to luck and his absurd upper-body strength.
Finally, the looming outline of the tower is visible through the storm some 30 meters away. Mr. Whitey - carried by Andreas so that he doesn't have to drag himself through the snow - purrs in satisfaction at the sight of shelter.
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Heldric nods to himself. There was definitely somthing strange going on here but there was no way he could turn back easily, he would not only be abandoning somthing he said he would do for an ally but he might even make an enemy out of a very powerful man. Survival means thinking long term too, get the powerful one onside even if it means a smaller risk now.
"We move quickly, I will try and keep us cloaked but I doubt anything could see us through this storm anyway." He keeps to himself that if somthing is controlling the storm then they probably know of their presence already.
He signals onward, carefully trying to observe his surroundings as they approach the tower and look for an entrance.
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Pushing through the storm while maintaining his cloaking is difficult, often his concentration comes near its breaking point - but Heldric manages well enough, given the surprisingly short distance he was from the tower.
Coming closer he sees that the tower is not whole - a large hole has been torn out of the top of the tower. Heldric wonders what could have possibly done this - a tower with walls this thick would require days of heavy siege in order to break open a hole that large - unless its remote location (seemingly prone to terrible snowstorms) resulted in the deterioration of the tower's condition.
He might have to get a closer look at the hole once he is inside. No doubt Radu will want it plugged up once it has been secured, though that shouldn't be Heldric's responsibility by that point.
Coming to the door of the tower, Heldric might be surprised to see that it hangs off a single hinge, open, having seemingly been broken down.
Nothing, so far as he can see, has stirred to attack him.
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He pauses for a second, but only a second. Somthing powerful came through here. He glances at Andreas briefly considering if he was about to run into a potence user.
"Let's get inside. Somthing already opened the door so be very careful while we enter."
Assuming nothing bad happens instantly as they enter Heldric plans to pull the broken door too, just to block out the worst of the storm.
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Andreas gets inside and sets Mr.Whitey down. Heldric follows him in soon thereafter.
Before he can do so, a gust of cold wind blows in and violently slams the door shut, throwing the area into complete and total darkness as the very mild moonlight visible through the storm is cut off.
Activating his gleam of red eyes, Heldric examines what he can see of the first floor of the tower with some apprehension.
A stairwell leads up to the second floor, winding up clockwise along the walls, built narrow enough that right-handed invaders would be forced up with their unshielded side open to attack, moving alone. It also leads down to what appears to be a basement.
A skilled, well armoured lone defender on this staircase might be able to hold back an army if he had to.
An empty doorway (the door is nearby on the ground, broken off its hinges) leads to a room that looks something like a barracks. Chests filled with clothes have been flung about, there's evidence of burn damage and splintered wood fills the area from broken beds. Plenty of kindling for a fire, at least; and there's no doubt some tinder and flint elsewhere in the tower.
A pile of ashes interspersed with bits of charred human bone dominate the center of this room. The castle's defenders, perhaps?
Another door leads to a room holding a few comfortable seats and tables, relatively untouched by whatever destruction befell this place. Heldric even spots a few playing cards strewn about the place, along with a few mugs containing some extremely foul-smelling beer.
What look to be old, dried blood stains bits of the floor here and there.
Andreas growls something out, Mr.Whitey translates it for Heldric.
Abandoned tower my cold, dead ass.
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"Whatever it was before, it is that now. Assume we fight whatever smashed it's way in here and killed all the defenders." He says trying to sound resolute, knowing his companions know him well enough to read "prepare to flee if needed, survival comes first" between the lines.
He looks at the barracks, then the stairs "How is the cold taking you both? We have the means of a fire here if needed." he doesn't Disguise his look of disgust as he says it, he tries not to fear fire but relying on an open flame is a different matter.
He keeps an eye upwards, just Incase.
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Andreas shrugs, naturally as unaffected as Heldric is.
Mr. Whitey, however, notes his discomfort.
The stone floor does little to help him preserve his meagre bodyheat.
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Heldric sighs, his pet comes before stealth. He quickly heads into the barracks planning on making a small pile of burnable wood (In a large clear space so it cannot spread) with some strips of cloth against the tinder for easy lighting. He gets everything ready so that he can light a spark on the cloth then walk quickly away without looking back as the cloth and tinder lights the rest. (Burns a will if needed to avoid crazy).
if the flame takes and the small fire starts up he immediately signals Andreas to follow him up the stairs and Mr. Whitey to follow if called for (Cloak the gathering still in place)
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After no small amount of effort Heldric eventually manages to spark a flame for Mr.Whitey to warm himself by.
Cursing, the Nosferatu quickly backs away once the fire takes hold of the wood, turning his eyes away from the hot, burning flame.
His beloved crocodile taken care of, Heldric starts moving up the stairs with Andreas in tow.
It's a lot colder up here, possibly because of the hole higher up in the tower that lets the cold in.
Upstairs Heldric finds evidence of a kitchen where a collection of blood-rusted knives lie next to a similarly blood rusted pot. The stench of rotted food and the dead is partially way-layed by the freezing cold temperatures in the room.
Along with the kitchen, Heldric finds another lounge - though not nearly so untouched as the last one. This room as a smattering of ashes spread about , and more broken furniture. There are also what appear to be 3-4 bedrooms here. Far more private affairs than the barracks up top.
Wind blows down from the top floor.
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Heldric signals for Andreas and he to do quick checks of the rooms first. Heldric approaching the doors Silently first then signalling Andreas to open them and look inside if he hears nothing.
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Each of the rooms are empty (Heldric having already taken a cursory look through most of them).
The beds are much finer than the barracks downstairs, the rooms larger than the space allowed to the inhabitants of the lower level. Heldric assumes that this is where the owners or commanders of the tower slept, whereas the lower level was for the guards.
There are some personal effects here and there, but nothing Heldric can use to identify anyone who used to live here.
Andreas growls and shakes his head at the rather ominous warnings left behind here. The tower has been gutted, and where the hell was the team Radu sent here?
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Heldric sighs audibly "Andreas prepare for combat as we reach the upper floor. Use blood if you want just before we get there, survival always comes first and we can feed later." he turns, ensures they are replaced, at least until Andreas is himself and fails at Stealth, and heads for the stairs up, he pauses to convey that he is preparing himself (2 blood for Dex and 2 for Str, grow protean claw spikes) then heads up stealthily, even is Andreas gives himself away he could stay hidden and ambush an attacker.
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Andreas clenches his fists, growls and flexes, the veins visible across his pale body standing out like hard cords, before he relaxes the tension. Heldric gathers that he was just easing the blood absorbed by his muscles just now.
He nods to Heldric.
A cold breeze blows down from above, shifting the memory of hair across Heldric's face. At the top of the stairs he notes the elegantly carved, ornate door that swings open, seemingly unharmed. It gives Heldric some hope that the damage upstairs might not be so bad.
The third floor of the tower is a single room, and Heldric is forced to stop cold in shock as he is proven irrevocably wrong.
Andreas chokes a little in surprise.
The hole in the tower was much bigger than Heldric thought.
About 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 3 feet thick, the force of the blast that ripped through the tower must have been tremendous. Scorched and warped, blackened stone lines the edges of the hole. Heldric knows very well that he would not want to have been up against whatever the hell did this.
The room is covered in snow and slick ice, and the floor leans somewhat towards the hole, Heldric has to carefully move about so as not to lose his balance.
A magnificent oak desk occupies the left half of the room, torn paper from what appear to be old manuscripts littering its surface. Its been split down the middle, its two halves pushing its contents into the bottom of the V formed by its body.
Several bookcases are strewn about as well, though Heldric notes a distinct lack of books.
Various other scorch marks litter the room, along with a few other holes in the wall - though none that penetrate the wall entirely.
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Heldric very carefully looks out through the hole and checks everything including the walls and ceiling for clues as to what happened other than somthing resiculously powerful assaulting the tower and annihilating the occupants.
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The holes in the walls contain nothing of note. The bookcases contain no books, the floor is covered in snow and wind blows in from the hole. It seems as if Heldric isn't going to get anything out of this.
Moving to the desk in order to exhaust his final option and look through the thing more extensively, Heldric is very thrown off to hear something moving under there... is that... whimpering?
Whatever it is can't know he's here, he's cloaked. Perhaps a survivor from the expedition Radu sent?
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Heldric very very slowly and carefully approaches at an angle, trying to increase his view without getting too close. Should he be forced too he will close the distance signalling Andreas to be prepared to smash whatever it is clean out of the building if it attacks.
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Crouching down, Heldric sees a terrified looking man huddled underneath the broken desk, his shallow, quiet breaths steaming in the air.
He whimpers again, Heldric realizes this is the sound that alerted him to his presence.
Listening very closely, Heldric notes that he speaks almost imperceptibly, words coming from his mouth as the barest whispers.
"please, please leave me alone"
All of a sudden his head snaps around to look directly at Heldric. His face contorts into a horrified grimace and he wails.
Could he somehow see Heldric?
"Noooo! Please no!"
He struggles to slide himself under the desk.
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Heldric is taken aback for a second, clearly this person just saw through his cloak without breaking it. He was about to mumble that it had never happened before until he remembered the undead things the monks summoned "Going to have to work on this, twice in under a few years is too often." He mumbles as he reaches for the man to stop him getting away.
"Hold stil, I have questions for you." He says as he signals Andreas to block the other side of the desk.
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The man screams when Heldric starts speaking, and scrambles all the harder when he feels Heldric's hand.
His eyes widen tremendously at the sight of the deformed Nosferatu.
Andreas looks perplexed at the man's reaction. Heldric understands his blood-brother's confusion - the man clearly is reacting as if he'd just seen Heldric. If it wasn't Heldric he was talking to, then...?
The man slips under the desk but can't escape Heldric's iron-hard grip on his leg. He drags and pulls as hard as possible, screaming his throat raw.
"NO, NO NOT LIKE THE OTHERS, OH GOD PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!"
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With the though of the dead not being affected by his invisibility and the man's seemingly just seeing him somthing occurs to Heldric. The ghost from the mirror, she was able to be seen by some and not others and was very dangerous.
"Stand by Andreas, I must test somthing" he pulls out the helm and slips it on, planning to scan the room as quickly as possible
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Heldric releases the man to Andreas - and he dives straight for the hole in the wall!
Andreas moves faster than him and grasps at his leg, trying to stop him from jumping to his death.
"No, no please no oh god no!"
Shrieking, he turns and writhes helplessly in Andreas' iron grip. He shrieks and scratches at Andreas, trying to force the man to let him go. All his efforts get him is a solid smack across the face that knocks him unconscious and may or may not result in permanent brain damage.
Heldric, turning to look at Andreas, sees his blood-brother shrug, as if to say "he was annoying."
Putting on the helmet, Heldric's mind is instantly invaded by a bloody host of eager whispers, urging him towards madness.
He hears a long, falling whistle, and turns to face the source.
"That's one hell of a trick you've got there, vampire."
The aged man is dressed in what look like a noble's comfortable nightclothes. He sits in a chair, his legs crossed, by a complete version of the great oaken desk in the tower room.
What's particularly impressive about him, however, is the large patch of charred flesh on his chest. The way he died? It's rather distracting.
The room appears to be empty of other spirits.
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Heldric would normally say somthing to Andreas but the man WAS annoying, and Heldric had touched him so he wouldn't last the week even if he got away alive. Best they used him for food before they left.
With the vision of the spirit arriving and the oncoming threat of madness Heldric decides to move things along quickly "Well as fellow unread it is easier to talk with you this way, though I assume you could make yourself seen and heard if I wasn't wearing it. My name is Heldric, Prince of a city a few weeks from here." he glances round the vision of the room "So I assume you rolled here before whatever destroyed half the place came?"
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"Poor fellow, they really couldn't handle the fact that this place was filled with ghosts. Just their bad luck that they triggered the alarms too.
What a funny expression. Yes, I "rolled" here, I suppose, before the traitors came and killed us all."
Us? So there are more of them?
The man's voice is subdued and idle, as if he has little interest in what's actually happening but is so bored with everything else that he keeps paying attention regardless.
"Fellow undead, you say? Nothing fellow about you, you're still alive, in a way. I assure you I am very much dead. You're just another one of those filthy bloodsuckers. Do you have any idea how revolting you even appeared to be until you put on that helm? Now you look quite fearsome, really. A more uneducated wraith might even fear you."
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"Ah this helm, it is useful but has it's drawbacks, from a rather powerful wraith general in the shadowlands so of course it would have drawbacks." He glances around at the area again while thinking over the insults, nothing new to a nosferatu but they can be turned back once you have heard them often enough "Oh appearances matter to ghosts? How shallow." With clear condensation in his tone before going back to a normal one "So you are a powerful educated wraith that simply sits here scaring the occasional human that turn up to die or go mad? That sounds... Boring."
He goes to lift the helm off his head before remembering why he was here in the first place "Ah yes, another Prince is interested in claiming this place and will probably be sending others to repare and occupy it. Those of my kind who can control and capture ghosts will be sent so you might want to clear out before they come."
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The wraith listen's to Heldric, and at the end of his dialogue bursts into a fit of undignified giggles.
"Oh my, you have no idea where or what you're doing, do you?"
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Heldric doesn't like playing with words or lying etc. He is also getting uncomfortable about wearing this helm longer so goes with honesty.
"None, I was sent here to find out why the others vanished and what was going on but it was clear from the start that somthing was suspicious." he fiddles with the helm a little "So what IS going on here?"
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"Well, my soon-to-be eternal companion, you are standing in what used to be the last bastion of the mortal mages of House Tremere. We were wiped out a few short weeks ago by our former brothers and sisters. The destruction you marvel at, by the way, was not caused by the Tremere - the only ones capable of such power were too afraid to come to our tower and deal with us themselves, they sent children to do it. The destruction is the result of our fighting.
We could have held indefinitely, had Tremere and his Council not stripped the protective enchantments cast over the stones of the tower."
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Heldric takes the time needed to think through the implications of what the wraith had said
"So you were the betrayed mages and lost your final stand here." he stops to think again "So, why are you still here? Are you bound to the tower or an object here or staying for revenge?" somthing then clicks in his head "And why would I become your eternal companion?"
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The mage shrugs,
"It is the nature of the dead to haunt the places of their destruction. i'm not the only one here, just the only one in this room."
The dead mage raises an eyebrow, "Why, they're coming to kill you at this very moment. Hurtling through the air on stone wings ripped at by the freezing winds of the permanent storm Tremere placed on this area; warping their way through space to the edge of the warded grounds. You triggered a good many alarms when you stepped through that door, I do not doubt."
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Heldric swears to himself "So I get sent here and now I have to fight off whatever is coming for me. I don't suppose you could tell me what turned up last time someone triggered the alarm and how many?" He glances at the man "In a way you'd be getting revenge by helping me."
He calls out to Andreas "Andreas, prepare for battle and stay as still as you can. I will try and keep you hidden until you engage. "Mr. White should luckily still be cloaked too" he thinks to himself.
He turns back to the ghost "Is there anything here that would aid in our fight if you or the other ghosts could not?"
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"Last time? Mercurius sent a dozen or so younglings and a battalion of gargoyles. The poor mortals were all killed quite summarily, except for that clever little fellow you've got over there.
Ha! Revenge, oh my blood-thirsty friend, if I could have revenge I would have had it when they tore down this tower and sent lightning through my heart. I'm practically powerless now."
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"You say 'practically powerless' what CAN you do" Heldric asks while turning to look out of the hole "I wonder if we would have time to retreat before they got here" he mumbles to himself.
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The ghost raises an eyebrow, "Retreat to where, exactly? No, i'm afraid all I can offer you is a perfect knowledge of this tower's layout and remaining magical defenses, as well as access to secret tunnels underneath the tower that lead to a fairy kingdom filled with gold and spiced blood wine sprinkled with gold dust. Well, okay, maybe that last part is a lie. There really are tunnels underneath the tower though. Mostly for storage. They extend some ways through the mountain, though there is no exit or entrance save the one in the tower. You might find them of some use."
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Heldric sighs "It's better than staying here to battle them, survival comes first afterall." He glances at the hole in the wall again as if assessing his time until a battle.
"Ok what are the useable defences and how to we get to the tunnels?"
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The ghost leans back into his chair and plops his feet onto the broken desk. Clearly the formalities of the living have little application to the mage.
"Well, most of us were killed when the Tremere attacked, and most of the defences were stripped from the tower's walls by Tremere's council. Any notable defenses we did have remaining we used up, so whatever you work with will have to be... improvised. I believe two of my apprentices were killed before they could make use of all their charms. Search the second-floor bedroom for an hourglass marked with the symbol for ice, carved in the third Prime Angel's preferred tools. Breaking it and spreading the sand over a large area will slow time for all within save you. Breaking it and blowing all of the sand onto a single enemy will freeze them in time. Both effects last exactly one hour and no more.
Another of my apprentices possessed a gift from myself - a skull made of True Glass, carved to smile in the twentieth way and bearing the marks of seven thousand blows from seven hammers forged from purest silver. Pour your enemy's blood onto the indentation made from the blows and smash it against any surface, for it will then turn as brittle and fragile as simple glass, and they shall feel each of the seven thousand blows strike them at once, their strength conserved in the enchanted glass of the skull.
I had entrusted that last one to an apprentice for safekeeping. I had intended to use it on the head of my "great house". Understandably this did not work out too well."
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"Those do sound useful, though if you had those types of weapons and lost so completely I do not wish to remain here long. We can fetch those quickly, but then how do we enter the tunnels?"
He then relays the instructions to Andreas to begin fetching the furthest artifact first.
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Andreas sets off to search for the described items in the second floor - though Heldric doubts he knows what "True glass" or "Smiling in the twentieth way" or "the third prime angel's preferred tools" or "the symbol for ice" are. Mostly because none of these things are, to Heldric's knowledge, actual things. Possibly some obscure arcane methods having to do with whatever way these mages worked their magic.
"The tunnels are no great secret, the only reason I bring them up is that they get somewhat confusing and should give you more of a chance of escape - or at the very least, you'll be able to avoid the Tremere down there. There's a trapdoor in the basement marked with the - now useless - protective symbols of force and fire."
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"Well that will do, survival comes first and I have no desire to fight." He begins heading down to help find the artifacts before planning to go right to the basement, he pauses though "Unless you want to come along?" He does not really like the idea of ghosts but someone knowing the way through the tunnels might be helpful.
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The ghost shrugs.
"Sure, why not. If you keep the helm on a little longer you might even meet the other residents here. Though I'll warn you that they are not so sane as I am. The deaths of my apprentices were not as... clean, let us say."
-
Heldric shrugs and begins heading down to the second floor with the helm still on to see who else is around.
-
Descending to the second floor, Heldric finds Andreas curled up into a ball in one of the rooms they'd previously searched, his eyes closed furiously shut. He soon sees that the reason for it is a molten mass of spectre that appears to be whispering something or another into his ear. Immediately Heldric recalls Andreas' phobia of ghosts (he'd been given away in Krakow).
"Oh come now, that's just rude! We cannot treat our guests so unkindly as this can we Tristan? Get off of him now, shoo!"
The archmagus makes a flipping motion and his dead apprentice falls back on its partially intact arm, sliding away from Andreas.
"Had his bones turned to liquid and his blood boiled, poor boy melted like candle wax."
-
"Andreas, get up!" Heldric orders, he is loath to use orders on Andreas but this is a Time that needs the extra command to overcome the fear "Ignore the ghosts, they will be kept in check." He adds forcefully, hoping his visage is enough to trick the less learned of the ghosts in the area.
"We are collecting the mentioned artifacts then leaving in the tunnels as fast as possible, so the faster we do, the faster you are free of the ghosts."
He then sets about finding the artifacts himself "That is indeed an unfortunate death, it would even greatly inconvenience me to have that happen, I'm not sure I could heal internal combustion." He adds to the mage who appears to still have abilities, against other ghosts at least.
-
Stopping with his shaking, Andreas uncurls his boy to reveal that he was clenching to himself a strange, perfectly crystalline glass skull with a slight indentation near the top, its teeth curved into a most unsettling smile.
"I feel as if few are not inconvenienced by internal combustion. Ah, wonderful, he has the skull! Now, where did that other fool leave the hourglass, hmm? "
The ghostly sage moves away into another room to search for the thing while Andreas hands Heldric the skull.
-
"Thankyou Andreas, and do not worry, the ghost will not bother us for a while now." He carefully stashes the skull within his clothing and waits to see where the wraith returns from.
-
Putting the skull away into a pack Heldric's attention is grabbed by the ghost mage's exclamation - "Come in here, i've found it! Don't dally now, they'll be here rather soon."
-
"Come Andreas" he pauses again "Run and Fetch Mr. Whitey as quickly as you can then come this way, the ghost didn't go that way but enemies are coming so be fast."
He then heads in the direction of the wraith himself.
-
Andreas eagerly hurries down the stairs, not wanting to stay up here any longer.
The wraith is waiting in the next room, standing on top of a ornate bed that's been caved in.
"Hidden inside the mattress. Fool apprentice, you can't hide your weapons inside of other things. Takes too long to use them in emergencies. Better to take the risk and leave them out in the open, really - at least you can grab them there, and few know the nature of our weapons anyway. Grab it quickly, the storm's gotten stronger. They're reaffirming their enchantments on the place to keep anyone inside from flying away."
-
Heldric doesn't waste time and immediatly digs around to find the second artifact "How far is the tunnel entrance from here?" he asks while the searches
-
Not having the time for any particular amount of subtelty, Heldric simply rips open the mattress - following the sage's instructions - and finds the timepiece within.
"Not far, now hurry!"
The sage makes his way down the stairs with urgency, and Heldric feels compelled to follow. On reaching the ground floor thunder sets the tower shaking, frightening Mr.Whitey (who had come to Heldric on his re-appearance).
"Come now, lightning shouldn't normally strike in snow storms, this is magic at work!"
As he moves down into the basement Heldric is stuck by the subdued but still-present stench of rotting corpses. It is prohibitively cold down here, which would explain why the stench is so closely contained, but also great discomfit to Mr.Whitey. The sage, seeing Heldric's worry, tut tuts - "I'll keep him warm, don't you worry. I am no so helpless as all that. Here now, the entrance to the tunnels are under the bodies on that mound over there."
The mound in question is a small pile of bodies that Heldric can only assume were the chantry's mortal servants and guards before the attack - and are now the chantry's spectres and ghosts. The dead here do not react to Heldric's passage or fearsome presence, but simply wait and stare dully at their surroundings. Images of a defeated past more than souls, really.
Andreas moves the bodies aside with great squeamishness, revealing a trapdoor frozen with blood that he struggles briefly to rip open. It's then that Heldric hears a loud crash coming from upstairs.
The sage frowns.
"It seems they're here. Good luck."
-
Heldric immediatly moves to enter, casting cloak the gathering on all his allies to try and hide them for long enough, he sends them down first before finally closing the trapdoor behind him. Before closing it he pauses and looks at the bodies, then quickly props up a couple so that when the door closes, they will fall back on top of it to obscure it again. He then rushes to the front to follow the ghost's instructions through the tunnels.
"Andreas, if you hear the trapdoor opened or destroyed behind us, try and see if there are supports you can bring down behind us!" He adds quietly before again ensuring they are all cloaked.
OOC: edited for a small obscuring of the door, it won't do much but I can see him trying it. Also he doesn't carry two bags of lamp oil, trip wire and flint trigger mechanisms around with him at all times sadly...
-
OOC: Sadly XD
As Heldric sets up his cover-up, cloaking himself in the process, he manages a voice upstairs issue a quiet command. It is a miracle of circumstance that he manages to catch it, a woman saying - "I want every room in this tower torn apart, kill whomever you find and burn the body. Why the hell Etrius doesn't just let us tear it down is beyond me."
A vibrant hum and a sort of cracking sound accompanies the woman.
"Vidam, make sure Mercurius knows what's happening, have him send in the rest of the stone soldiers if we need them."
"Of course, Lady Epistatia," someone answers obediently.
Heldric slides into the tunnel, and carefully lowers the door shut.
"Oh that's not a good one," The sage says to himself.
-
Heldric heads down the tunnel and waits for the group to be a short distance away, at least far enough for voices not to carry easily and asks "so who is that and just how dangerous will they be? Oh and Adreas, be very ready to collapse the tunnel behind us as we move, survival comes first."
-
"One of Goratrix's apprentices. Near as I can tell, he's the vicious bastard responsible for turning House Tremere into what you are undoubtedly familiar with now. He and Tremere and some of the other council members were afraid that the old magic was losing its power, and with it their immortality spells had begun to fail. So they took measures. Tremere loosed his mages to find whatever means of assuring their immortality possible, and Goratrix found vampirism, though how he turned himself and Tremere and all the others without getting turned by a vampire is far beyond my ken. He's a bastard, but he's a brilliant one, i'll give him that.
Now his apprentices, they're right bitches every one of them, and Epistatia is likely the worst. Sent on imprisonment and capture missions mostly because she can always use the souls for her experiments - literally, she's more than dabbled in necromancy, and was expelled from the house for it long ago. Guess Goratrix took her back in when they went undead themselves."
While the sage drones on nervously - and indeed it is nervously, for he is fidgeting and it is obvious why; such a woman could prove a danger to the ghostly man even in death. How loathe old instincts such as survival are to leave even those who have already failed it - while he drones on Andreas raises an eyebrow at Heldric's orders, and makes a booming gesture around his hands.
"He says you don't think that'll be a little loud?", Mr.Whitey rumbles.
-
"If we haven't made it far enough down branches or twists and turns before they come for us, noise will be the least of our worries. Obviously if we are far enough away to probably prevent immediate chase then we won't collapse it." He pauses "Attract some animals like rats, they are smart enough to get a command to make a lot of noise and run down a tunnel if they see somthing following us. A different direction from us obviously."
Heldric is quite for a moment while he listens, details of the Tremere will be useful to his kind once he spreads it through their networks and he tries to commit it all to memory "So they became vampires through their old magic, did they want this curse that badly or did they not understand all of the implications..." He mumbles before trying to sound confident again "So other than running away down here are their any magical defences or do we just flee the mountain? Obviously I am fine with either, survival is first and I do not wish to battle whoever killed you."
-
The dead man scoffs,
"As if she could match me! I was old before she was even initiated into the arts! No, Etrius himself killed me, bringing me down on what I suspect were Tremere's orders. He's Tremere's favorite you know, always was his favourite of his seven apprentices."
Then in a short breath and largely muttering to himself,
"Well, eight."
Andreas sends a chittering sound echoing down the tunnels below the tower and Heldric hears the enthusiastic reply of the tiny four-legged diseased vermin as they gather up around him, reminding him far too much of himself when he had been living in that disgustingly filthy cave out in the middle of nowhere.
"There is no way out of the mountain through here, i'm afraid. Deemed too much of a security risk. The only way out is through that front door, unless you would care to dig."
-
Heldric sighs "So we are simply hiding until we think it is safe, yourself included if there is a necromancer present. She is no Capadocian but I think neither of us wish to run into her right now".
Heldric continues on, letting Andreas and Mr. Whitey deal with the vermin for now. He thinks about how he will be reporting this is he survives "You sent me into the middle of a Death Trap battle between mage-vampires" wasn't going to cut it.
He sighs aloud "Well I am learning a lot while here at least, how long down hide here before they leave, or do we just wait a couple of days then check?" he asks, already expecting the trapdoor to cracks open any second.
-
The sage nods.
"I suppose we just work our way deeper into the tunnels, hope they don't find us."
The thud of impossibly heavy footsteps are heard coming from above.
-
Heldric instantly stops making any noise and hand signals for them to continue as deep as possible into the tunnel. Running away from a probably impossible battle against seasoned enemies who came ready to battle powerful mages is not only his personal preference but also what his path demands. Survival first...
-
The little party moves lower into the mountain, followed by a little gathering of rats. It isn't long before Heldric hears the sound of the trapdoor being splintered open.
He comes across several intersections, the sage informs him that each leads off into various different storerooms that either hold alchemical reagents, food, weapons or were meant to hold some of the chantry's guardians (most or all likely destroyed by now).
The pursuers are easily heard, obviously several extremely large, extremely unsubtle servitors of the tremere.
-
Heldric whispers "Send the rats making noise down towards those side tunnels, hope there are some guardians left to fight with our enemies."
He glances around as they move "Everyone look for some we points or struts in the tunnel, if we see one, quietly weaken it more, our enemies are huge and heavy so will bring down the weakened tunnel." he looks at the sage "No Pit-falls? Or anything we could use as a trap in the alchemical reagents?"
-
The sage puts a hand to his ghostly beard, "Unless you count the highly volatile explosive materials, I wouldn't think so."
-
"those would be perfect, some of those might do serious damage to our pursuers. Are there any we can get too without being cornered?"
-
The ghost looks at him with some surprise, "Oh, I was not aware you were adept in the handling and use of extremely volatile alchemical reagents! Perfect then, let me just lead you to one of our more delicately stocked rooms, since you are so obviously skilled in their usage...".
Heldric cannot tell if the old man is being sarcastic or not.
-
Heldric immediatly assumes sarcasm after some thought since he is a nosferatu "I don't need to know a lot, I just need to move a small pile. Of them into the corridor and cover them with a cloth." He grumbles
-
"I really should have emphasized how volatile the materials were. We would never touch them directly, only handle them telekinetically and with special suits. You could always just lure the big bastards into the rooms you know?"
-
Heldric Pauses "THAT volatile? Ok point out the way to the rooms with the most volatile and dangerous rooms and I'll have Andreas lure them with the rats" once close Heldric directs Andreas to send the rats in with with the simple commands of "make noise there" and others with the commands "Hide there, when things much bigger than you enter, push things off ledges at them" with the hopes that if their massive stomping doesn't trigger anything that the rats might start a chain reaction.
-
Andreas critters away at the little horse of rats, and they move away into the tunnels. The three of them move their way deeper in then, moving along constantly.
Heldric notes a horrible stench beginning to trickle into his realm of perception, and the ghost starts talking again, while Heldric spends a willpower point to resist the helm's madness.
"Demonic energies here. These tunnels weren't carved out by us you know, the whole place was a Nephandii Hive. They were dedicated worshippers of the great demonic entity Kupala. The Order burned this place to the ground in a terrible war a few thousand years ago and cleansed the place, but their horrid resonance still hangs around at the lower levels of the hive. Surprised they - woah!"
The mountain shakes briefly, and dust falls down around Heldric and company. A ment later a loud boom comes crashing down through the tunnels that lead upwards.
-
"Somthing nasty enough to even give ME a sensation of smell is definitely still lingering." he listens to the boom "That sounds powerful enough, time we checked the damage, if we got blocked in I will need to remove the helm to avoid madness"
-
The ghost looks at him askance, "What do you mean?"
(Assuming Heldric informs the ghost of his disability), "Interesting. Perhaps the stench is spiritual in nature. Or maybe it's because you're wearing the helmet and your senses are attuned with the spirit world."
The ghost wrinkles his nose,
"I can assure you it's much worse now than when I was still among the living."
The arch-mage's spirit nods along with the rest of what Heldric says, "Sounds fine to me. Up then?"
-
Heldric nods, leftover demonic energy this strong is not a nice thing to hang around for any length of time "Up, and relatively quickly. There is a risk we face someone investigating the explosion but let us hope they do not care for their own creations."
Heldric begins walking quickly upwards, doing his best to keep a eye and ear open for potential threats.
-
Keeping himself obfuscated (along with the rest of his crew), Heldric makes it back up without any issue. He does find his fears confirmed, however, when he sees the path he'd taken up blocked by a sizeable cave-in.
"It seems the explosion was bigger than expected", the ghost hums to himself,
"The shock must have caused the cave-in. Probably more than one, in fact. Are you strong enough to clear the way?"
-
Heldric eyes it up then turns to Andreas "what do you think? I'd help but you'd be doing the heaviest lifting." he tests moving some rocks out of the way to see if it is stable.
-
Andreas shrugs, and steps up to and begins clearing the rubble, flinging aside massive stones and frighteningly large boulders like an angry child might fling their toys.
"Quite the strongman you've got there", the ghost says, impressed.
"Has to be as strong as some of the golems we used to have guarding the chantry. Before Etrius and the rest of the council smashed them apart and ripped the enchantments from our walls, at least. How'd you come across him?"
-
"Simply put, Andreas is my brother." He pauses but decides to add a little detail "Not by birth, but brother by blood now and strength is not his only ability by far." He watches Andreas work for a few moments "so how likely is it that we will encounter mages on the other side of this pile, or would they consider investigating that explosion themselves beneath them?"
-
"Quite a devoted brother", the archmagus mutters.
"If i'd asked my brother to follow me on a journey to a cold mountaintop to investigate dead ruins he'd tell me to go Fark myself. If I asked him to destroy the supports to the tunnels we dwelt in and then set off a massive explosion he'd tell me to doubly Fark myself. We weren't that close though."
At the mention of mages - "Ha! As if those blood suckers could be called mages! Hedge magic, trickery, their talents are limited to ritual and discipline. A True Mage would strip the flesh from their unholy bones and set this mountain ablaze. The council members may have felled me but the weaklings here can barely qualify as apprentices."
The mage take a small break from his boasting, "though I will admit that in this diminished state, they might pose some small threat. In any case, it is beyond likely that they are now investigating the basement. Hopefully you killed enough with that little ruse that we have some hope of escape."
It's while he's speaking that Heldric hears Andreas almost dance back from the rocks, dropping a massive piece of stone that sets the ceiling above them raining down dust. It seems Andreas' cowardly sense for the undead trumps Heldric's functioning sense granted by the helm. The room has grown considerably colder (quite the achievement given they're in the frozen tunnels under the mountain) and a little breeze starts to flow through the previously dead air. The ghost frowns.
"It would seem our necromantress has decided to exercise her personal strengths in this search."
-
Heldric sighs "So now the spirits come for us too, hopefully this helm is useful, and if you have any abilities against other spirits you may want to employ them too as if we are underwhelmed that necromancer will likely target you. I believe cannot shield us from their eyes as I can mortals."
"Andreas, we need a path, the faster we have one, the faster we can escape from here at speed. I will attempt to keep the spirits at bay once we move" he then mumbles, let us see what use this helm is..."
-
The first of Lady Epistatia's dead things pass through the walls before Heldric finishes instructing Andreas to clear the way. He sees the first ghost as it appears, passing through the rock as if it were air, it's will and spirit bound by the necromantress' power.
Heldric's presence seems to stop the wave of dead like a wall. Confusion runs among the spirits, and then fear.
Heldric may have no idea who the Penitent general is, but these spirits certainly seem to recognize his aspect. Even being the recent dead that they are, it would seem such a powerful spectre commands influence.
-
Heldric walks towards them slowly, hoping to push them back by sheer fear of his presence. He does not speak incase he gives the game away. He also hopes Andreas resumes digging...
-
Heldric's approach sets the spirits inti a sense of unease. Most of them shy away from him and look as if they wish to either flee or defer to him. Most.
One of the spirits, either too far bound by it's enchantments or seeing through the helm's nature, heads right for Heldric, ghostly hands outstretched.for a second Heldric falters - there is nothing he can do to actually stop this ghost, and if it touches him it's game over...
An itch starts at the back of Heldric's neck, and he gets most uncomfortably cold. He hears the archmage's voice, but now in his head.
Alright now leech, open your mouth, we're going to scream.
-
Heldric has nothing else to go on wo opens his mouth and spreads his arms in what he hopes is a dramatic and menacing manner.
He also thinks very hard at the voice "Leech? You know that is the least original insult?"
-
"It was that or ugly. I picked the kinder one."
Out of Heldric's opened mouth erupts a high, piercing wail that hurts him just about as much as it hurts everyone around him. And hurt them it does.
From the edge of his periphery, slightly obscured by his own helmet, Heldric sees mr.Whitey begin thrashing about as the high pitch burns the albino's sense of hearing. Andreas fares little better, forced to curl into a ball and holding his arms tight against his ears. Were he mortal Heldric feels as if his ears would bleed from the damage. As is he feels his eardrums explode and it is an act of will that keeps him from curling up like Andreas in front of the ghosts. Though he doubts it would have mattered.
However badly it had affected his companions, the ghosts suffer from it sevenfold. The one which had come closest to Heldric takes off screaming, clutching his hands to his ears, and seems to grow paler. Bits of him tear off and fade away, reminding Heldric of Father Kazimierz' obvliviation by Seelie. The others follow it soon after.
In his head, as he spends a minute amount of blood to repair his ears, he hears the archmage chuckling - "hahaha, still got it!"
-
"Effective." he says, heading over to Mr. Whitey to give him a blood point for healing, Andreas can heal himself. "and ugly would be an understatement not an insult, I know my on visage".
He let's Andreas heal then announces "While the necromancer works out what is happening let's move quickly." He indicates for Andreas to resume clearing the way and assists with the smaller rocks.
-
Mr.Whitey eagerly laps up the blood, shuddering as he does so. Andreas resumes work, though he now appears to regard Heldric with that same scared suspicion he would regard the other ghosts with.
He really has to wonder at the fact that he never knew about this phobia of ghosts his blood-brother had.
"Hideous? Heart-wrenching? Horrific? Vomit-inducing? Reminiscent of incest gone terribly wrong?" The ghost keeps on rattling off increasingly worse descriptors of Heldric's appearance while Andreas works.
-
Heldric ignores the mage for the time being and instead concentrates on Andreas, he really is overreacting about the spirits, he is dead himself afterall.
"Andreas, why are you so afraid of ghosts?" He asks as they work
-
Andreas stops his work for a second. He closes his eyes and shudders, then lets out a guttural snarl that mr.whitey rapidly interprets - "They're the ones so horrible that even hell wouldn't take them."
-
Heldric really has nothing to reply to that as they work but after a few moments he says "Andreas, we are dead too but still here, not all undead are the completely horrible ones"
-
"The visual result of a mating between a gorilla and a giraffe - i'm sure you don't know what those are so let me describe them...."
Andreas shakes his head, makes a motion directing attention to his chest and then pushes his palm against it. Mr. Whitey rumbles - "He says that your souls never left your bodies. They never had the chance to pass on. They were twisted, broken, corrupted, polluted, chained to and made one with a beast. But they never left. He says that you can feel it too, he knows. The memories of humanity that still linger with what's left of your souls. Love. Lust. Rage. Pain. Pleasure."
Mr.Whitey's next rumbles are a little meaningless, just him shivering in the cold.
"Ambition"
A small pause, then Andreas grunts and gets back to work, Mr.Whitey finishing his thoughts.
"He asks why you think your masters pick you depending on how you were as humans instead of just molding you to their will? You can't know anything you did not know as mortals. When you're turned, your minds are frozen as surely as your bodies."
-
"the soul is not frozen though and can change, this would change the mind. This should be known well to nosferatu, look at those who cannot handle the change the curse causes." he glances down remembering his own horrific changes "Some are changed slightly at first but their mind twists becoming corrupt and sadistic later, I can surely believe the reverse is possible for us." he glances around pretending to ignore the mage.
"The spirits are maybe less lucky, if they were an ass in life it seems they would be an ass in death too".
-
"- while the other is a very long-necked animal covered in an assortment of yellow fur with dark brown spots, with a head much like a camel's. Speaking of camels..."
Andreas heaves aside a boulder with a grunt, tossing it aside and making the tunnels shake with it's impact. Heldric sees that the tunnel passes onto the otherside, the way has been cleared.
"So you see, you do not smell of the camel itself, though you certainly have its lumps, but rather the spit of the camel, widely touted..."
Andreas squints through and looks to Heldric, a few trembles and gestures being translated by Mr.whitey: "He says perhaps we should talk later. The devil-mistress is there."
Looking through with some urgency Heldric's dark-sight reveals an exceedingly ugly woman dressed in the decorative ornate robes of the stereotypical magi, an engraved knife is strapped to her side and a collection of spirits stand by her.
A second more's examination leads Heldric to recognize that the woman is not physically present - he is viewing her largely through the spirit world. Which means that maybe the helm...?
-
"Ah, so her spirit is here but not her body." He says aloud. He steps behind a rock before cloaking just incase it worked then steps out towards her, careful to keep a reasonable running distance between them just incase she... Flys at him with ghost hands... Or whatever else she can do.
"So you mean to block me passage?" He asks, trying to sound confident
-
To Heldric's great surprise, the Tremere drops to her knees and bows to him!
"General Liahm, I could not know you were here. My apologies, what business does the Laughing Lady have with this fallen chantry?"
The arch mage stops his seemingly endless stream of insults (it had moved on to descriptions of the grandiose insults Indian gods would use to call others ugly) to give Heldric a little bit of information - "Well now here's an interesting situation. Liahm is the general of the Penitent legion, right hand of the Laughing Lady, one of the death lords of Stygia and the Penitents. Like one of your vampire clans but for ghosts. She lays claim to all those who died mad, or due to their madness."
-
Heldric is very thankful for both the.helm.and.the information. He also feels that the insults, despite not really affecting him gave fair cause for his plan.
"The Laughing Lady has laid claim to the previous arch-mage here. His madness at the end of his life exacerbated by his manner of death means he is hers. He measly needed so help crossing over. As for the tower, I am letting some of the Vampires use it as the Lady has plans for it in the future and they are in her debt. They will also ensure the mages cannot return if that worries you."
-
Lady Epistatia's projection is seemingly given pause. Heldric notes the tense response to his statement, the bunched muscles and the great seeming discomfort.
"I apologize, Penitent general, but we have to kill the vampires in your service. If they have spent any amount of time here they know things they should not, and can use that information to harm us. It is a matter between the clans, I hope you understand."
-
Heldric tries to think of a way out desperately, while also trying to seem confident and composed "As you conduct yourself properly in my presence I can allow this, a few vampires are expendable. Wait for us in the tower and I let you do as you will with them."
-
Epistatia's bows again with relief, her ethereal head scraping the tunnel floor.
"Thank you lord General."
The woman's projection vanishes.
"You could have just offered to wipe the minds of your "servants", you know. She's terrified of you. Probably thinks you'll pull this whole area through the veil if she displeases you", the archmage's says.
-
"How would I know that? Anyway, with her abilities could she see through my obsfucation?" Heldric asks as they begin walking again "Should I be able to get close to her then I can show that no matter how powerful a mage they are, they are still mortal."
-
"Her? Maybe. I don't know how powerful your stealth capabilities are, nor do I know how skilled she is at divination."
Heldric feels a mental shrug roll over him.
"I was one of the few mages to ever look extensively into vampiric powers and what I learnt was almost exclusively of the Tremere clan's perverted blood magicks. You likely know more than me."
-
Heldric sighs "Well we can Bluff a bit more then turn to fighting if needed. I'd rather just run away but we have little choice in this situation.
-
Andreas widens the hole in the wall so that they can all pass through comfortably.
"If she's not waiting up there personally you might get away with your magicks. I doubt the gargoyles will be able to see through your cloaking."
-
"Then that is what we try first. I will recast right before we emerge and can hope she is not there herself so we can leave quickly and peaceably. Will the warning go off again alerting them to us as we exit?"" Heldric replies, using cloak the gathering again, re-casting it immediatly after each time Andreas breaks his cover.
-
The archmage shrugs, "maybe? I cannt see magical weaving anymore, couldn't tell you."
-
Heldric sighs audibly "Then we try and sneak out, if we are detected or it looks like we can be seen once we exit I will try and talk out way out usuong your plan to claim I will wipe their memories of this place. Failing that, everyone try and buy me a few seconds."
He keeps heading forward (once very close to exiting he plans to expend a will to ensure a powerful cloak the gathering over the party.)
-
Heldric's cloak encompasses his comrades, and they set off under cover of blood magic.
They make it back to trapdoor that'll let Heldric up until the Chantry's basement. Thanking every God that might exist, Heldric finds that the door to the basement has been left open, so he won't have to break his cloak to open it.
Poking his head slowly out from the floor he sees nothing special - looking through the bodies and their gaps he sees the frozen, bloody walls and a small host of inhumanly massive, intimidating, monstrous statues.
Oh wait. Shit.
"I hope for your sake those things can't see you", the archmage's voice sounds in Heldric's head.
8 gargoyles - 9-10 foot tall twisted monstrous creatures carved from stone weighing several tons each, sporting large wings that shouldn't be able to carry them, and large muscles that shouldn't be able to support them.
They stand still as the statues they are, but Heldric has heard tales of the mythical strength and undying loyalty of High clan Tremere's slave bloodline, and dangerous as Andreas is, he doubts the man would be able to defeat 8 himself in single combat. Not without near monstrous speed.
"There's a decent chance they won't see you, but if the apprentice or one of her companions is watching... Be careful here, bloodsucker.
The sandglass you have? Whoever has it can smash it any time against the ground to give themselves a minute of free action, everyone around will be frozen in time. Keep it in hand, and keep in mind you will not be able to save your comrades if you use it to escape."
-
Heldric carefully moves back down a aways and hands Andreas the hourglass "if things go wrong and a fight ensues, smash this on the ground so the sand scatters. Once that happens you have spare time in which to destroy our enemies. It will last a minute, so for that minute burn blood and do all the damage you can targeting the leaders and strongest first."
He then pauses then asks the mage in his head "What if he smashed it then simply carried us out? Andreas is easily capable of doing so?"
-
"You heard her when she came in didn't you? They have someone who can teleport people back and forth, he's likely the one who brought these gargoyles here. Mercurius to be specific - in fact, I remember him. He was a hell of mage back in the day. Still learning but a prodigious correspondence student, he would have eventually made an excellent master.
Anyway, Mercurius won't be able to breach the wards that the council placed in this area to prevent teleportation - likely specifically to prevent escape from the tower by any mages who might come by. Which means that he must be back at Ceoris providing reinforcements. That means they have a telepath who can communicate with Mercurius from here, likely an apprentice of his who uses the blood and some ritual to communicate over this distance."
The ghost can be surprisingly insightful when he isn't insulting Heldric.
"So a diviner/necromancer, a telepath, and possibly some other mages present. The second time goes back to normal, the diviner finds you, the telepath tells the gargoyles and then they attack. If you make it out of the tower and escape, Mercurius shows up and the gargoyles take to the skies to search for you. I don't like those odds."
Then, after a second, "not to mention the hourglass has a bit of a limited range. I could have probably started with that huh?"
Insightful yet still delightfully dense.
-
"That would have been helpful yes. So we have to bluff our way out and Andreas does the fighting if we get stuck." Heldric sighs again "Survival comes first so why am in a situation like this again." He prepares to head out "Andreas, trigger the hourglass if fighting starts or I tell you. Target any mages first and get them dead or torpored before tearing the gargoyles apart, if only you had Gangrel claws as well."
He Tripple checks their cloak then begins heading out of the trapdoor.
-
Once everyone is out and halfway across the room one of the gargoyles by the door moves.
Everyone freezes in place immediately as the lumbering giant takes a few steps, the ground shaking as it takes its place directly in front of the exit to the room.
Well then.
-
"I was dealing with the master, not the servant. Blocking my path is a very foolish thing to do." Heldric announces in his best arrogant and dramatic voice.
-
Heldric speaks up, and bathe sound of his voice breaks his cloak - and that of his comrades.
The gargoyles see nothing but the man they were ordered to kill. Heldric practically see the order telepathically sent to the gargoyles, noting that they loosen up and lean back, prepared to leap on him and his company.
He hears something shatter.
The gargoyles jump.
Everything happens too fast for Heldric's eyes to track. Andreas is less than a blur, and the only time Heldric notices him is when the vampire's path happens to move in front of his field of vision - he cannot track him otherwise.
The results of his vicious strength are plain, however. A gargoyle's wings disappear, another's head is ripped off, another's lower jaw reappears with the fangs firmly embedded in the eyes, cracks and fissures appear all across ground where the gargoyles are beaten horribly into submission. When time gets back to normal, Heldric sees Andreas sitting, back against a wall seemingly exhausted. The gargoyles have all literally been torn limb from limb, it will take weeks or even months to put them back together and revive them from their torpor. However, noting the fang marks left on some of the bodies, Heldric doubts some will ever manage to recover from this.
The fiendishly strong vampire's mouth is soaked with blood, an impressive accomplishment given that vampires do not bleed.
The archmage curses softly.
"If I'd had something like him when the council came... Maybe I'd have at least killed Goratrix, instead of just wounding him with that final blast."
-
Held roc finally smiles "Andreas, as always you are invaluable!" He signals the group "Now we move quickly, the mages will be after us and there should be at least a few more guards!" He takes a moment to cast cloak the gathering again as he begins heading for the door.
-
Before Heldric gets to the door, it's blown off its hinges by a blast of energy. Two mages stand behind the door, one wreathed in flames the other crackling with lightning!
-
Heldric is forced to hope his cloak helps as he grows his claws in his preferred manner, two large spikes out of each fist designed for punching. He then burns blood for strength and Dexterity and moves to flank to the side of the one with the lightning.
As he moves he hopes the others know to avoid the flames or in Andreas case, to throw a gargoyle at him.
He keeps his eye on the mages and if they they look like they are able to see him or about to attack he will try and Dodge the attacks before striking at the lightning mage.
-
Heldric catches the confusion in the eyes of both mages, and is filled with relief when he realizes neither of them can see him.
"Be careful!" the archmage shouts into Heldric's ear - "They'll just burn the whole room!"
The relief is not obviously not long lived.
Andreas is the first to break his cloak, letting out a chillingly wild battlecry and grabbing the attention of both mages. As the two magi prepare their magical assault, Andreas moves quickly as he can, taking up the bodies of the two more intact gargoyes and immediately blocking the door with them both. For a moment Andreas holds without consequence, only jerk his hands back with a hiss as the stone vampires glow red hot with the heat of the fire behind them.
The two bodies blocking the entrance are then blown back directly into Andreas, launching the Nosferatu directly across the room and into a pile of frozen dead bodies. His flesh and those of the dead sizzles under the heat of the gargoyles.
The lightning mage's attention turns towards Heldric's general area. A crackle sounds as he gathers power around himself and Heldric begins to move in an attempt to dodge or attack when he notices a white blur dart through the door way - Mr Whitey!
The pet crocodile slams into the lightning mage, throwing off his spell (which blasts apart a bit of the wall insulating the basement). The mage falls flat against the stairs and screams in pain as Mr.Whitey seizes his ankle in his terribly powerful jaws, Heldric almost winces at the sound of the small bones in his feet breaking.
He also keeps careful note of the fact that each contact Mr Whitey has with the lightning mage blasts him with a bit of energy - the back of his hide where he first tackled the mage is burnt through to the skin and the skin around his teeth right now is turning black as the mage's very proximity burns him.
(Giving Heldric a chance to review his actions - he had a terrible, terrible intiative roll so he's gone last this round, haha)
-
The Lightning mage is downed for the moment and the fire mage is standing, that means he has to do somthing about him. But the man is on fire. Heldric tries not to fear fire, almost trains in it at times but fire is... Very scary and he does not want to touch it at all.
He has his claws but while punching the fire mage might do great damage, it might also put him on fire and going mad due to fire is not useful here.
He grabs the nearest long spikes object, preferably a discarded spear but anything would do, even the arm of a fallen gargoyle. He attempts to use the weapon to run the fire mage through with a near point blank throw, letting go right before impact and leaping back in hopes of avoiding the fire or heat. Even if it doesn't impale the Mage, Heldric has been boosting strength so the impact should do damage.
-
Being completely invisible to the mages (being the only one to have not broken his cloak, Heldric picks up a gargoyle's heavy stone arm and charges the fire mage, swinging the thing like a hard club and smashing the mage full on in the face! Using his blood to take advantage of his potence, Heldric's blow slams the vampire's head against the hard stone wall in the stairway, fazing him.
Heldric notes that despite his proximity, he feels no heat coming off the fire mage - though the lightning mage besides him is a completely different matter, the few hairs remaining on his body standing on end.
Heldric quickly hits again with the arm, caving in a portion of the vampire's skull - and jumps back in fear when the fire suddenly takes on a life of it's own, heat starts rising off the vampire's body and begins to consume him!
Excellent work there! You broke his concentration, he is failing to keep the spell under control.
While Heldric's attacks themselves would not have been enough to kill or even significantly injure the mage, the sound of his screams and the blackening of his flesh assure him that the fire likely will.
The mage who currently blazes with energy notes the plight of his companion even from his position on the floor and utters a word of power, waving his hand towards the fire mage and extinguishing the flames instantly. He then reaches down to where Mr. Whitey is in the process of consuming his foot and seizes the albino by the snout. For a second it looks like the albino will try to release his foot to escape but once the hand seizes Mr.Whitey he locks into place and shakes violently as massive amounts of energy course through his body. While he cannot smell it, Heldric notices the smoke rising from Mr.Whitey's twitching body and the steady blackening of his normally white flesh as the pet begins to be cooked alive.
He also notes the look of intense pain on the lightning mage's face as the energy he sends pouring through Mr.Whitey's body locks the crocodile's jaw with terrible force on his leg.
The fire mage just stays curled up in a ball, terrified, eyes closed and muttering to himself. Heldric notes the symptoms of rotshreck - the vampire had succumbed to the Red Fear.
From the back of the room come two loud thumps as Andreas throws off the bodies of the two gargoyles that kept him locked down to the ground.
-
"Andreas, assist us quickly!" He calls out as he gives up the pretence of stealth, the mage is burning Mr. Whitey from the inside out.
He immediatly closes in and accepting he is going to get hurt he takes the risk, he burns blood for strength and stamina then uses his Gangrel claws and punches the Mage in the heart as hard as he can. Survival requires this mage gets knocked into torpor at the least.
-
Heldric burns blood for Potence and jabs at the lightning mage - only hit solid stone, bruising the bones in his knuckle in the process! His eyes were misdirected by the blinding aura of crackling energy surrounding the mage, and given the slightest bit of time to react, the Tremere struggles wildly - releasing Mr.Whitey and loosing his leg when the crocodile falls limp - in an attempt to run up the stairs, his ruined leg dragging behind him. Striking at him again Heldric finds his blow resisted by an invisible shield that seems to protect the Mage - but it is not enough to stop his supernaturally enhanced strength, and his claws break through the shield and slam into the Tremere's side, pinning him to the stair.
He cries out in pain and fear, "Dammit! Fight back you fool!"
Andreas stumbles a bit getting up and then leaps across the room and through the doorway, clearing the whole distance in a single bound and landing by slamming a fist into the fire mage's head, exploding it like a raw, wet watermelon.
"I surrender, I surrender!" the lightning mage screams.
-
Heldric keeps his claws in place, pinning the man. A bad move would mean immediate evisceration, normally not so bad for a vampire but with gangrel claws...
"So then, you try to kill us, you hurt my friends then you try to beg for your own life once you are defeated? You have 2 seconds to begin telling me why I should let you live and keep it short, if you are still talking after 15 seconds I kill you anyway." he pauses just for a moment then says "ONE"
He thinks to himself that they need to get out of here but killing for reasons other than survival is not good and he would rather not make more enemies right now.
-
In response to Heldric's proposition, the mage utters a single word of power.
The Nosferatu is flung back, his head smacking against the roof of the staircase before Andreas leaps up into the air to catch him. The attack was not without cost, as Heldric's claws tear into the mage on the way out, but he regained partial freedom in doing so.
Another word of power and the mage floats himself out of the staircase and onto the ground floor of the tower - abandoning the fire mage (who, having had his head exploded by Andreas, will not be doing much anytime soon).
-
Heldric mutters to himself "Never trust them!" As he burns blood for healing. "Andreas, quickly feed and heal then we head up!" He announces reasonably loudly.
He then uses vanish from the mind's eye and heads up the stairs quickly and silently, he knows the Mage cannot see him coming now. He plans to catch up as quickly as possible now and this time he is tearing the mages jaw off first.
-
"Now that's a clever one!" the archmage says in Heldric's head, with a bit of admiration in his tone towards the lightning mage.
"I didn't take you for the merciful kind leech. After you killed the madman up there and all."
-
Heldric thinks hard as he moves silently to find the fleeing mage "I chose to follow a path that does not like killing other than for necessity. Now killing him has become one so I will do so and feed off his corpse"
Heldric moves as quickly as he can while remaining silent.
-
Heldric moves to follow the man but Andreas quite certainly leaves him in the dust - the brutish vampire's potent muscles carrying him literal leaps and bounds ahead of Heldric with every step in pursuit of the lightning mage. Heldric hears a grunt as Andreas catches up to the mage upstairs and is flung back in much the same way he'd been thrown. Hidden, Heldric manages to get onto the first floor without incident. He sees the mage has made it to the doorway exiting the tower (it still hangs off broken hinges) and is about to step outside when Heldric finally reaches him.
The man throws himself to the ground to avoid a vicious swipe by Heldric that leaves deep gouges in the heavy oaken door - no doubt warned by the telepath, as the archmage suggested.
The man begins a casting while on the ground, presumably intending to flood the room with energy and send Heldric flying back so that he may escape again. He never finishes the incantation, his throat ripped open by Heldric's claws.
Making good on his word, Heldric takes the time to rip the destroyed mage's lower jaw from his head - he does it revealed as he is from his obfuscate, standing right in plain view in front of the doorway. No one attacks him as he does this, and he then retreats back into the safety of the tower with Andreas. Mr.Whitey doesn't come up the stairs, likely still passed out.
A low whistle sounds in his head, "If it's intimidation you were going for, well, you certainly got it."
-
"Once you have to kill, you ensure it ends the fight." He looks around "Andreas, we have to leave quickly! Fetch me. Whitey and I can feed him!" He then feeds on the nearest corpse with blood, if that happens to be the jawless mage then so be it, but he pulls it into cover this time.
-
Dragging the mage into the room with himself Heldric feeds off his dead body, greatly enjoying the man's potent vampiric blood. For a second he feels some bit of regret at the fact that the Tremere wasn't alive before he could be eaten. There isn't much blood to be drunk either, the mage having spent most of it fighting Heldric and his retinue.
He senses the arch mage's pleasure as he rides Heldric's skin - "Damn but that's good! Is that how all blood tastes to you?", he exclaims, incredulous.
-
"That is the good side and yes it always taste good, better than this even. However this is only the good side, you would appreciate the beast gnawing at your soul as the hunger feels like it is killing you less."
He drinks what he can then feeds Mr. Whitey and Andreas, they had used a lot of blood too.
"As soon as we are ready we move out quickly, we might get bushed but we head down the way we came up as fast as we dare in the storm."
-
"Well if it's all this good to you I guess I can see the appeal", the ghost says appreciatively.
"It's a nasty thing to be sure. I can feel it lurking beneath your skin. I'd hate to have to tangle with it. Doesn't feel like it likes me."
Andreas comes back up with Mr-Whitey, who is quickly revived by Heldric. The crocodile weakly nuzzles Heldric's hand as it eagerly laps up his blood.
"I don't think running into the storm is an option, Heldric. Not while the seer still lives. They'll tell Mercurius where you are and once you're out of range of these wards it's all over.
She's probably called for more help already. They couldn't have anticipated what your friend there did to those Gargoyles. As long as you can at least incapacitate her and lose her tail before help comes, you might be able to escape.
Elsewhise, it'll be an excellent last stand."
-
Heldric swears in each of the languages he speaks under his breath "So are they in the tower still?" he finishes ensuring that Mr.Whitey and Andreas are ready.
"Then let us head up the tower and see what else remains, I am unsure if it would work on a seer but I will clock us anyway, and Andreas, please bring along a shield or two, I greatly dislike their magic." he uses clock the gathering once Andreas picks up a corpse or two.
-
Heldric can feel the archmage searching the tower.
"It seems they're still here. Stupid of them. They would have been safer outside in the anonymity granted by the storm, comfort over reason I suppose."
There's some bit of happiness in his voice when he says the next part - "how appropriate. The room I died in."
-
Heldric also picks up a reasonable sized chunk of gargoyle gorse then heads up with the others, stopping well short of the door to the room they are waiting in, he thinks hard as he prepares a test "Any chance of them being talkative rather than fighting? Or more definitive locations in the room?"
-
"I would doubt it. The Tremere were most unforgiving of failure even when they were mortal. Now that they're more expendable and their souls have been twisted by that thing you've got in you, I doubt it's gotten any better."
-
Held rid sighs then passes a message onto mr. Whitey and Andreas via the eyes so as to not break what cover they had "I will throw this gargoyle inside, charge in after and Attack immediatly."
He then heads to the door, burns a blood for str. And when he sees Andreas and Mr. Whitey ready he waits a few seconds then suddenly steps forward and hurls it inside as hard as he can.
-
He throws the gargoyle inside... And nothing happens.
"You overestimate their forces!" the archmage exclaims.
"Nobody on this floor."
Through the helm, however, Heldric feels a stirring.
"Nobody alive anyway."
-
Heldric swears again "Everyone move quickly, more things are coming." He then ,ears the way running upstairs to outside the room the people ARE in.
-
The sound of chains clanking captures Heldric's attention as he makes his way to the stairwell.
Through the helm he sees a ghostly warrior in torn up armour, his death wounds visible through the holes rent in the metal. Chains lead from his back to upstairs, presumably where the necromantress lies in wait.
"Oh that's not a good one. You see how the skin is tight against the skull? The archaic designs on the armour? The dried up, rusty blood? This is an old wraith."
It looks to Heldric and bows its head respectfully.
"General Liahm."
-
Heldric gives thanks for the helm once more "Chained one, does the necromancer wish to send you against me?" he replies, attempting to sound dignified.
-
He nods.
"I have been ordered to delay you until reinforcements arrive or until I am destroyed."
Both his hands rest on a long two-handed claymore, it's heavy point planted in the ground.
He raises that sword with one hand and faces the tip towards Heldric.
"I ask that my destruction be swift, general."
In Heldric's head - "well, he's in for a wonderful surprise. You can't touch him, and he's significantly more experienced in the use of wraithly powers than me."
A moment's silence then and he seems to reach a conclusion.
"Go upstairs. I'll delay him. Take out that necromantress quick or we're both done for."
-
Heldric nods to the old wraith "I believe there is a better way for us both. You showed the proper respect so I will be merciful." he moves to the side in order to lead the old wraith away from the stairs a little.
Then he thinks hard "Then I will try and bypass him, we will take out the necromancer swiftly".
(Ooc: so lost track of blood points here so let me know when I am getting low...)
He burns two blood for Dex and communicates via the eyes for Andreas to be ready to get by as fast as possible with Mr. Whitey the moment an opening appears. He does the same and the second he sees an opening he Sprints for it.
-
As Heldric moves to the side he feels a weight fall off his soul. Looking to the side he sees the archmage's standing where he's been.
The old wraith's eyes narrow, "What is this? You do not do me the honour of destroying me yourself?"
The archmage's speaks for Heldric then - "The general's business is with your mistress, yours is with me."
Ethereal fire begins to take life around the archmage's ghostly hands, "I'd suggest you don't split your attention."
The wraith gives a harrumph,
"Very well, perhaps you will consider me a worthy opponent when this young thing has been destroyed."
The ghostly warrior rushes the archmage's and Heldric dashes up the stairs with Andreas and mr-whitey in tow.
On reaching the entrance to the third room, Heldric comes once again across that door - the one that still seems to be in astonishingly good condition. Andreas seems to be getting ready to ram the door.
-
Heldric does not want to waste time, the wraith downstairs would be a very bad opponent to find attacking their rear. He signals Andreas on, the moment the door is smashed he expects Andreas to be blasted back, hopefully using a gargoyle shield protects him.
Either way Heldric prepares to charge in clocked with Mr. Whitey to attack as fast as possible. He cloaks them all again and ensures his claws are still out and ready, burning one more blood for Dex and one for Str.
-
Andreas roars and hits the door with all his might, bringing his fists down into the finely carved, ornate wood with terrible force.
Nothing happens.
For a second Andreas is confused, and he hits again. And again. And again. The wood remains unmarked and undamaged by the Nosferatu's furious assault - though Heldric notes that the stone around the edge of the door has weakened.
Downstairs Heldric hears the archmage cry out in pain as the wraith Epistatia summoned begins to win their exchange.
The door (hinges and all) finally breaks free of the wall and falls down undamaged.
The necromantress stands at the end of the room, right by the hole in the tower. Next to her is a slim looking Tremere sitting down with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, seemingly in deep meditation.
With a roar, Andreas charges the woman - and with a swip of her hand he's thrown directly out of the hole in the tower, into the raging snowstorm.
-
Heldric walks inside and throws the piece of gargoyle he is holding at the sitting mage. Mr. Whitey should still be cloaked and hopefully getting into position to do something.
Carefully beginning to cross the distance towards them as he observes the effect, hopefully they can't swipe him out the window too.
-
The thrown gargoyle torso is stopped midair by another telekinetic catch by the woman - again, the man does not react.
"Stay back!" She screams in a shrill, panicked voice.
"Or follow your friend out the tower!"
-
Heldric slows but still moves slowly forward "Our intent all along was to leave the tower, the ones who started fighting were you. Release the wraith my servant is fighting downstairs and I will let you all leave alive."
He casts vanish from the minds eye overhimself using a willpower then steps to the side to see if she tracks him
-
The woman's face sets itself in frustration and she suddenly glows with eldritch fire - which she throws onto the ground around her, melting the snow (which puts out the fire).
-
Heldric immediatly charges the man, avoiding her. She was clearly protecting herself but she can't see him. It is the telepathic mage he needs dead and he isn't moving.
He circles then goes for the sitting mage from the opposite side from her, attacking with his claws at the man's head and jaw to prevent him using those words of power.
-
The woman speaks a word of power and stomps on the sludgy, melted water. The water rises and forms a flowing wall of water that covers every approach save that from the hole in the tower - treacherous enough and considering her telekinetic abilities basically suicide anyway.
Heldric tries to rush through the flowing wall - and fails terrifically, bouncing off the wall of water, not physically repelled but stopped as his own will isn't strong enough to get him through.
-
Heldric tries to force his way through again but failing what working he knows he has to edge around the open gap, he ensures he is still cloaked before attempting it and moves extremely carefully while watching for signs of her moving to attack.
-
Lady Epistatia prepares another spell from within the wall, lightning and flames taking to life around her arms and building up for a terrible attack.
In a desperate bid for survival, Heldric rushes the wall once more - and plows through! The strength of his need to live rips through the protective wards surrounding the mage. In a fit of panic the sorceress sends her spell thundering into Heldric - trying to fling the Nosferatu out of the wall but failing when the vampire stands his ground. The heat from the flame burns Heldric's clothing and blackens his chest. His arms jerk about when the Lightning strikes the water and courses through him - no doubt the room smells of well-cooked flesh, though he counts himself blessed by his lack of senses.
He seized the lady by the throat, sinking his claws into her neck. She reaches up and struggles to free herself from his grasp, Heldric obliges by jerking his arm back and ripping open her throat.
She gasps and stumbles back into the wall, where Heldric reaches to the base of her skull and destroys both part of her brain stem and her spine. Unable to move and rendered unconscious from the pain, she collapses.
The wall of water collapses.
-
Heldric pauses only for a moment before turning to the sitting mage "All you had to do was tell us to leave and grant safe passage. But no, you tried to slaughter us like cattle for a destroyed towers 'Secrets' we couldn't care less about. Well this is the result."
He sets on the sitting mage as he had the others, claws into his jaw and skull to prevent him speaking and moving until he is unconcious or in a torpor.
-
The mage doesn't fight back for a second, sending the whole scene back to his sire till the moment of his incapacitation.
Heldric hears a stumbling movement and turns swiftly, extending his claws outward and dropping to a defensive stance. A look assures him as to what it is.
The archmage is making his way up the stairwell, his arm over the shoulder of the wraith who challenged them both at the doorway. Spectral blood lines the stairwell behind him. His left leg has been severed just above the knee, his body is covered in a myriad of painful-looking cuts; part of his scalp has been removed and his right eye appears to have been gouged out of his head, the knife that did the deed still solidly embedded in his skull.
"You took your Farking time!" The archmage spits out, ectoplasmic spittle spraying from his mouth as he speaks.
The wraith supporting him is in much better condition, though injured nonetheless - all the hair on his head has been burned away and a hole was melted through the armour and into his stomach, a bit of the ghostly blood leaking through there. His sword hangs on his back, blooded by the archmage's blood.
"The baron has fought well, you should be pleased that he was in time to save your life," he says softly.
-
Heldric sighs again and relaxes, had he been mortal and not horribly deformed it would look as if he was a man spent of energy and fatigued to the bone. All he wanted was to survive and now this is getting even more complicated. He answers the old mage first
"She was by far the strongest of them and had several defensive spells prepared to prevent me getting near to her." He glances out the hole in the wall "I was also without aid here as Andreas was sent through that hole, you never mentioned her telekinesis."
He then sizes up the old wraith "Old one, I fear you were tricked by the witch (He indicates her with his hand) as well as bound. I am not who you think I am, I mearly have his visage and certain powers for a time due to a gift he gave. You should be free and unbound now though, as I will be giving her the final death."
With that he makes up his mind. "kill only to survive" his path said. Survival now meant defeating mages and gargoyles and whatever other horrors were sent his way due to this rediculous errand and he would need to be stronger quickly if he was to have any chance.
He walks over to the woman and drains her of her blood, every last drop, steeling his will against the onslaught her mind and beast would surely unleash against him for this forbidden act.
-
Having spent the majority of his remaining blood healing himself so as to be capable of movement, Heldric feels a terrible thirst forming at the back of his throat as he speaks. He feels himself succumbing to the Beast even as he turns to feed his thirst. He hears the old wraith answer him, but the words mean nothing. The archmage says something as well, it sounds like a warning - but warnings be damned. He hungers.
Falling to his knees Heldric takes the woman into his arms and lifts her ruined neck to his lips. He pulls them back, baring his fangs, and let's then sink into her cold flesh.
Pure, unbridled ecstasy. Her blood burns with sorcery and its power guns in his veins, a much more pleasant tingle than the last Tremere. He feels dizzy with pleasure even as he contemplates his own sire's blood - yes, her blood isn't as good as his, he decides, but the sheer quantity that he is given leave to imbibe almost overwhelms him.
He's so unused to taste, after all, that this one instance - where the pleasure is born of godly magic and not physical taste - is a pleasure that could so easily lead him to distraction.
He drains her of her blood. Then he takes more.
The heart ruptures and Heldric begins to claw at the essence of her soul. Immediately as he feeds, he feels alarmed. The heart's blood tests on his tongue and he knows he is outmatched - but it is too late to stop now.
He gains blurs, flashes of her life snapping on and out of his mind - she was the daughter of a roman senator. Her embrace was in 1022 - surprisingly young, and weaker than she might be because of it, for all her potent blood.
She was the first to be embraced after the ritual - wait, what?
The Ritual
The details of the event surge into Heldric's mind.
Yes, The Ritual. The rumours are true, you see, we were not made immortal. We were not given the Curse. We took it.
Heldric sees Epistatia, still a mortal mage, a powerful necromantress with a thousand souls bound to her in chains not unlike the ones Heldric saw wrapped around the old wraith. Many of the souls are those of ghosts she has herself killed, one a rival who she had killed for interfering with her experiments. Her master, Goratrix
A thousand lances of pain drive themselves deep into Heldric's mind at the name
saved her from execution, had her banished from House Tremere. In return, she continued to serve him, bound by no House or it's foolish rules.
I captured those two
Heldric sees Epistatia chaining the two vampirss - he knows them instinctively as Tzimisce - blowing them apart with astounding mortal magics, collecting their bodies for her master.
He went off to the Astral realm then, and he sought guidance. Something there told him what to do - he claims otherwise but I was there. I know.
He whispered poison into Tremere's ears. He and the other six, Meerlinda, Etrius, the Council of Seven and the leader of High House Tremere. They turned each other with poisons my master made from their blood, and they became the first eight Tremere. I was the ninth.
Goratrix
A terrible moan escapes Heldric's lips through his grip on her neck
Turned his eldest apprentice as soon as the ritual was complete.
And she was powerless.
They all were. The turning took away all their powers. Residual enchantments and power kept them alive while they researched their new strengths, the dreaded Thaumaturgy of the clan.
It was weak compared to their old powers. A thousand times weaker, a sad imitation - but better than nothing.
Epistatia, with her thousand chained souls - for she still commanded them all - would capture other magi and bring them before the council to be turned. One of House Tremere's most trusted servants.
Then she was there at the sundering - one chantry had escaped them. One of Tremere's own apprentices headed it, and equal to Etrius and the others, and now their betters in their weakness.
Tremere would have had him turned, but he was too powerful. The council joined together and combined their powers to rip the magicks away from his tower. Her thousand souls were ripped to pieces by his magicks, all but one - a single wraith, her first binding, a gift from her master. The first gargoyle, Tremere's own creation, plucked from the sky, his wings torn from him. Goratrix
Heldric releases Epistatia and reaches up to his ears, clutching his head even as the grip of his fangs tightens
Nearly annihilated in a blast of fire. Etrius striking him down. No chances. No gamble. Had he lived he could have lead to the destruction of the weakened clan.
Octavius, the eighth archmage of House Tremere.
The idle thought comes to Heldric with some surprise - so that's his name. The archmage had never mentionned it before.
He also notes something strange - there seem to be large gaps in her memory - Heldric realizes that she is suffering from a worsening amnesia. He gets the feeling it comes as a result of trauma - the source of feels fairly obvious.
The thought feels like the last he'll have. As he learned Epistatia's story he can tell she learned his as well. The confidence in her voice as she grabs hold of his soul is terrifying.
A delightful little dream, Heldric. You're wrong, however. You've learned secrets that this house would kill for. And from me, you've learned secrets the House would die for.
I wonder who I'll kill first in my new body? Your sire?
Or will it be Brutus, your seneschal?
I suppose we'll
Her voice is silenced.
A new voice enters the fray - no, two.
Damn foolish of you Heldric, I warned you didn't I? She may be young but Epistatia lived a long time as a mortal, and her will is as strong as the chains with which she binds Sicilan here. Did you know Goratrix got it for her? A gift he took from a poor Priest of the Chorus who tried to kill him for being a terribly evil bastard. Tore the man to pieces, though his brother came in and saved him before he could die. Remarkable story there really.
Anyway, just lay back and enjoy. We'll handle the rest of this for you. You've really done enough.
-
Heldric does just that, he clearly was not a match for Epistatia's mental Attack but the old mage and possible the wraith were helping him so now there was a chance.
-
Heldric passes out.
When he awakens, he feels odd - a bit like he's drunk the blood of an inebriated mortal. Not quite himself, still in control but... Different.
Something screams within him, with as much rage and frustration and hatred as his Beast - so much so that for a second he believes it IS his Beast.
He's freezing cold, and the first thing he does is burn blood to keep warm so that he can move his frozen limbs. He appears to have been transported to the base of the mountain - it seems the wraith's have moved him to safety. His fears are assuaged when he sees Andreas next to him, a big hole in his chest, looking like he was flattened by a giant.
"We found him impaled on a splintered tree trunk at the base of the cliff",
The wraith - Sicilan, he now knows, sits before him. A ghostly chain leads out of Heldric's chest and is wrapped around him.
"Are you well?"
-
He takes a moment to think through everything that happened the past few moments before answering slowly and carefully "I do believe so, I am changed but thanks to yourself and Octavius the damage is much lessened. He glances around before also checking if he is still wearing the helm "Where is the old Mage anyway, was he still bound to the tower?"
Heldric test his limbs and tries to stand, heading over to Andreas to feed him a few blood points. As he does he suddenly looks around him "Where is Mr. Whitey?"
-
"We took him lower down, it was getting too taxing to keep him warm", the archmage's voice answers from within Heldric.
"I'll be riding your skin for a while, it's a bit difficult to walk until my leg regenerates. The rage coming off you from Epistatia is feeding me pretty well."
Andreas wakes with a gasp, clutching his chest (even as it regenerates). It doesn't regenerate entirely, telling Heldric the extent of the damage - it'll take over a week for Andreas to recover from that fall and his burns.
-
Heldric smiles his usual fanged monstrosity, finally a little happier with events. "Exelent, then we can retreat from here quickly. Once Andreas recovers enough we will immediatly move out and cover as much distance as possible before their next attack comes"
He turns back to Andreas "Time to move brother, you fought well but it will take time to heal those wounds even with my... Improved provision for you. We can discuss details once we.are.safe."
He stands and checks his limbs are still warm enough while waiting for Andreas to signal his preparedness to head down the mountain. While he waits he thinks at the mage "Make sure she knows it is you, that should ensure her rage burns even stronger." catching himself a moment later he remembers he is going to have to keep a tight reign on his thoughts just incase she has a stronger affect on his mind than he thinks.
-
The old wraith looks up at the tower.
"You should go ahead. Some of the Tremere have just reached the tower. They'll be casting their magicks outward, looking for you. I will divert their attention, for a time, until one of their necromancers destroys me."
Heldric is still wearing the helm, he realizes. Though he feels more resilient to the madness within it he probably shouldn't wear it much longer - he already feels weak from his exertions.
-
"You don't believe we can escape otherwise? I would loath to loose you to destruction and I have ways to make us unseen."
He looks at Andrea's injuries "I will remove my helm now and may be unable to communicate with you freely however if you believe my abilities to be enough to escape their gaze or if you distract them long enough return to me immediatly and escape as well."
He then pulls the helm off and begins down to warmer areas, helping Andreas if he needs it. He also casts cloak the gathering over them all.
-
"If I told you yes, would you believe me?", the old wraith says in reply.
-
"I do not know what kind of Master Epistatia was but I choose to trust your judgement on issues you know more than I. You are bound to me and I command you to protect me. How you do it is up to you but I prefere you survive if at all possible. Should you truly believe sacrificing yourself to be the only way then you can do so otherwise I expect to see you again."
He pauses then adds softly "Or if you wish for nothing more than your own destruction to gain release I won't prevent you."
He then continues on, the old wraith had suffered much and deserved a choice. Giving him that choice also meant that if he survived and returned he would be more loyal.
-
A moment's pause then.
"I would break these chains," Sicilan says quietly.
-
Heldric keeps moving and helping Andreas (unless talking is being counted as a free action and not speeding up the impending doom).
"I would not be opposed to setting you free should you help us escape here. Remember it was my intent when I killed her, not accidently taking over your binding. Of course, you surviving and helping work out how exactly to break the chains that bind you would be necessary for that."
He thinks at the Archmage "Do you think I am being stupid and wasting a valuable puppet?"
-
"He would kill you if you denied him, I think.
Not directly, of course, but you do not possess the finesse and magical control of Epistatia. He would find a way to betray you eventually, or destroy himself."
Then a pause, "also, I'd likely help him", he says softly.
"The man has earned his freedom, leech."
"There are things I need to make sure of.. I have been bound too long. I will stall the Tremere and meet you at the base of the mountain."
Sicilan begins steadily making his way back up the treacherous slope.
-
Heldric lets the old wraith go, he has said enough.
He thinks to Octavius "Well we shall see what comes from it, he cleared helped save my life so I won't deny him his decision now. We need to concentrate on our escape now either way."
Heldric does just that and works on getting down as quickly as poswivel, via where mr. Whitey was waiting.
-
Heldric makes it down to a sheltered cave where the wraiths left Mr.Whitey by a fire. After the usual enthusiastic greetings they resume their travels. They make it to another shelter before daybreak, and Sicilan rejoins the in the afternoon.
Another three days pass before they make it out of the snowy protective circle fashioned around the tower. Another four days before they run into Tiberiu and his carriage.
The Gangrel appears to be surprised at Heldric's presence, and both his and Andreas' barely healed wounds (there wasn't much blood to be found in the way down the mountain."
"Hail Heldric! What are you doing here?"
-
"Heading back now of course, we have seen and done enough to report back a complete synopsis of this entire farce. Did you not expect my return?"
Heldric keeps an eye out around him, there was always the possibility that this was a trap meant to kill him off afterall.
-
Tiberiu swings off his carriage seat.
"I was expecting you at the tower, I came to bring you back at Radu's order. Clan Tremere contacted him laying claim to the tower. Our messengers did not reach you?"
The archmage laughs, "he's not too bad at covering his ass is he?"
-
Heldric simply sighs And thinks back "He wouldn't be so powerful if he didn't plan well" then out loud "Sadly no, no messengers reach me through the battalion of gargoyles and the Tremere Assult squad send to kill me. A lift back would be appreciated though, I just had to do what amounts to declaring war on house Tremere under Radu's name so I'll need to rest for a while."
-
Tiberiu narrows his eyes - "You mean clan Tremere?"
Don't underestimate the information you've gained Heldric. The Tremere have taken lengthy steps to assure their secrets are well hidden. As you can personally attest.
"As for declaring war... Inevitable. The Tremere are already at war with Master Radu. It's a shame we could not anticipate the events at the tower.
He gestures to the back of the carriage.
"A legion of gargoyles you say? Sounds like a fine story."
-
"Well that is good, I'd rather not have Radu mad at me as well as some psychotic clan." He heads over and begins climbing in and talking in a very grumpy tone "As for stories, well, I assume it was clan Tremere, first a large number of gargoyles Attack us, we barely defeat a few of them thanks to Andrea's strength and their own stupidity then some psychotic vampires came in wielding lightning and Fire. They blew Andreas right off the mountain which was lucky as it got him safely away. I spent more than half my time in the tower hiding in some catacombs, got burnt and electrocuted and barely got away alive thanks to my Obsfucate. Not exactly a worth story is it?" Heldric sits down hard then looks at Tiberiu.
He talks again in a less grump tone "Sorry, I have nearly died more times than I can count in the past few days and came away with nothing worth showing for it except these injuries (He indicates himself and Andreas) and A strong desire never to run I to any of them again."
-
After a moment Tiberiu grunts and nods.
"Your clan's reputation for subtlety is well earned. Radu will no doubt reward you well for this, if only to preserve his good name. Let's get you home."
-
Heldric simply nods and begins to rest before adding one last thing "Passing somewhere near a food source would be a blessing too, we came away with barely any blood and I do not wish to run lower."
He signals to Andreas and Mr. whitey that explanation time will come later and trusts the Archmage and wraith will note his current evasiveness no not push him to speak aloud yet.
-
"Of course. There's a wooded patch of mountain lower down the hill, we can call beasts there until we come across a way town."
-
"Thankyou, that will be perfect." he replies before leaning back and testing his new ability to see spirits/the spirit world and communicate with them without the helm.
(burning will to ensure no botching)
-
Finding them active he assesses his surroundings before speaking to the mage and wraith very quietly. He turns toward Andreas as he does just incase he is overheard "Well we all survived though badly injured so that is somthing, once we report the situation to Count Radu we with have to head back to the city and ensure all is well while we make plans for our next move, what are your thoughts on our next plans?" he passes a message via Mr. Whitey to Andreas that he is not the real intended audience and that he should just rest, then looks directly at the old wraith, trusting one who had been around that long would understand what was going on.
-
"What're you looking at me for lad?" Sicilan says, not getting it at all.
"He's testing out his new powers - one one he got from Epistatia", the archmage says. Being able to read Heldric's mind while skin-riding him helps, it seems.
Sounds good to me, Andreas answers in rumbles.
"Oh, yes, well, sounds good to me I suppose."
-
Heldric smiles inwardly "Well that helps, I am trying not to give them away to our 'Driver' there. But if you can read my mind and pass a message to Scilian for me that would help as I can hear his responses now. He came back which means for now he chose to live... Well not be destroyed. I Have to report in and see to my city but what are his wishes, I did say I would free him if he chose it and was able to help instruct me on how." he thinks hard to the old mage.
-
He hesitates before answering.
"I believe I know one who could break the chains placed on me, an old companion of mine. I would request a year to search for him.
I would return to you afterwards. As thanks for my freedom, I would help your cause if I judged it a noble one. My old companion likely does not need me any more."
-
"Then you have your year, I won't try to control or summon you in that time. And as for my cause, I further the dream, building a truly great and lasting world. Well in my case currently building a great, prosperous and lasting city where our kind and the mortals can both live in prosperity through the generations!" he gets impassioned enough in his thoughts of the Dream that it shows on his face and body language. He quickly and carefully brings it back under control.
-
Sicilan takes a moment then. He nods, gratitude showing on his face.
"Then I shall come back one day, and I would hear more of your dream Heldric. Thank you."
Sicilan leaves then.
A wise choice. He'll never forget what you've done for him.
Then, something alien screams out from deep within the depths of Heldric's mind - YOU FOOL! Do you have any idea how dangerous that wraith is? He makes your giant brute look like a child! He will never serve you as he would have!
-
And he will never seek to betray or have me destroyed as he did you. Do you not yet realize that his hatred of his bond to you let me reach and devour you? he sends back before doing all he can to slam mental wards down on his mind and soul.
-
Epistatia fights back viciously, but the archmage helps Heldric push her back down and soon he hears nothing more of her voice - though her displeasure spoils what good mood he might be in.
-
"She is going to be a bother for a long time isn't she..." he thinks half to himself and half to the old mage before settling in to rest for the journey.
Ooc: good place to leave it unless there is anything else you want to cover?
-
Heldric and his small retinue make it back to Balgrad in another 3 days, he is finally able to replenish his failing reserves of blood and heal his and Andreas' wounds by drinking from travellers and their beasts of burden, much to both of their reliefs. Tiberiu, having sent a message to Count Radu a few days before, telling Heldric to expect a message back by the time they reached Balgrad.
Brutus waits for Heldric almost at the gates, having received advance warning of his arrival.
"Hail Heldric!"
-
"Hail Brutus!" He calls back in kind, dismounting to be able to talk easier "How goes the city and yourself?" He asks,either he was just eager to see him or somthing important had happened.
-
"Goratrix is here."
Brutus says this with a friendly smile and a pat on the shoulder, then, in a hushed voice - "We cannot let Tiberiu know about it, pretend nothing is wrong.
The words barely make it to Heldric - all sound seems to fade from the world. He stumbles in place and almost falls to his knees.
Inside him, Heldric feels Epistatia shrinks back into the recesses of his mind.
Ah shit the archmage says, rather plainly.
-
Heldric cannot speak for a moment then just stammers "I have to run." With fear watched into his features, Brutus would likely not need any further explanation about Heldrics intent, he never would have seen him show any signs of fear never mind abject terror.
-
"Haha! An excellent caricature Heldric!", Brutus says, slapping the Nosferatu on the back with extreme force and practically dragging him inside through the city gates (Opened by the guards at the door), waving Tiberiu away.
"You can't Heldric. He knows exactly how to find you, says there's a blood link between the two of you. He's been waiting here for almost a week. Says if you refuse to talk to him he'll burn the city to the ground. You have a Dream Heldric. More than that, you have a duty. You can't run."
The old Brujah looks at Heldric a moment longer, searching the Nosferatu's eyes.
"What's got you so scared all of a sudden Heldric? I've never seen you like this."
Then the Brujah's eyes widen, "Holy hell! Who have you been eating?"
It would seem Brutus possesses Auspex.
-
Heldric shudders but can't even find the strength to fight back, especially knowing that the blood link is like a homing beacon "G... His favoured servant. The mission I went on was a trap, we fended off an army and their mages but I used too much blood by the end and the beast took over... She lives and I know what is to come, it is burned into my mind..."
-
Brutus hesitates - "Heldric, I'm not sure who Goratrix is, he just said that you'd know the name - but power flows off him in waves - how did you manage to hold down his apprentice?
I know it's you. You're not that badly changed, your aura is still your own."
Okay, I think I see where he's going with this.
-
"G.. He is Clan Tremere, When I... Finished his apprentice we bound her so but memories... I saw what he did to his own apprentice clearly. If he kills me run." Heldric slums down lost in thoughts of his phobia
-
But how could Goratrix know of the "we"? You even still have Sicilan's chain wrapped around you, that old sorcery of his...
"You had help then? Perhaps... perhaps Goratrix does not know he has lost his apprentice. Perhaps he has come here to confirm the full extent of her death, yes?
Meet with him Heldric. But do not meet as yourself. Meet him as the apprentice."
He's a wiley old bird this one, isn't he? I'll draw Epistatia to the fore, loosen her bindings a bit, let you assume her personality and memories more easily. I'm guessing she'll be so scared of him that she'll just try and retreat back into you.
I'll have to stay away lest he notice me, the bastard would skin me alive... or well, dead.
Heldric can feel Epistatia recoil at the thought
-
Heldric tries instead to run, he tries for several seconds to boost his dexterity with blood and leave his city far behind. Then he realizes he hadn't moved and inch, his body still wasn't obeying him properly due to the fear "Then I have no choice, we will try"
Outloud he responds "Brutus I can try but even hearing his name is difficult after what I went through. Should I survive I will do all in my power to repay you, not all would have responded as you just did. Take me there, I will prepare on the way."
He then tries to let Brutus lead him to Goratrix
"Begin before my faculties fail me further at the thought of facing him, if it does not work by the time we are there then flee."
-
"Oh lad, if you think you're scared..."
Heldric finds himself pushed forward by Brutus and the archmage both, with Andreas trailing behind with Mr-Whitey. Heldric's distraction has led him to leave both undisguised to mortal view, though he is lucky in that the city seems to almost be empty - not a soul stirs the air in the streets.
Heldric's haven in the city's underground has not yet undergone extensive development, but the guild workers have installed a hidden entrance to the underground excavations, where a humbly furnished room that serves as Heldric's temporary haven waits.
Normally the underground would be filled with the sound of ongoing construction, but now... Nothing.
Heldric descends further onward, his erstwhile companions leaving him with good wishes. He almost turns back then, knowing what he knows, but he feels a reassuring hand on his shoulder - Andreas.
His blood brother has been through everything with him, the good, the bad and the horrible. He would be here now.
Heldric turns his head - and freezes in place
There, seated on the lid of Heldric's coffin, surrounded by the bodies of the dead guild workers, is Goratrix.
(http://www.inthenameofgoth.com/edadoscura/johannes.jpg)
The once archmage of High House Tremere looks at Heldric, his face inscrutable.
"Who are you?"
A loaded question if Heldric ever heard one.
-
Heldric summons up all the memory and personality he can manage from the chained soul within him. Epistatia's knowledge might be the only thing that can save him, so long as he doesn't break down in fear.
He drops to his knee as she had done when she first met him. He speaks carefully, she was afraid of him and would be now so the fear would be ok he hopes "This body was a Nosferatu named Heldric, he attempted to devour my soul at the tower but failed, my will was too strong for him so I took it."
He is glad o be bowing, he doesn't have to meet Goratrix's gaze
-
Goratrix smiles, and reaches out - a finger twitching towards Andreas. Mr.Whitey flies out of his grip and slams into a wall, the sound of the dry scales smacking against a wall and cratering the thing. The air around Mr-Whitey then solidifies into an opaque prism that locks him in place against the wall.
Andreas tries to leap towards Goratrix but is stopped in midair.
Andreas tries to roar but finds that he cannot even make the animal sounds he is so accustomed to making. His skin starts to tear itself off his body I n tiny patches, in less than 6 heartbeats he has been skinned completely.
In a minute all of his muscles have been torn off his body in tiny chunks. In two minutes his organs have all been dismantled and his blood hangs in a fine mist over the two vampires.
The bones splinter and break off shortly afterwards. The one bit of Andreas' body that remains untouched is his heart, the thing hanging at the center of a cloud of Andreas' organs, frozen in midair - disgustingly picturesque.
Heldric hasn't moved. Epistatia won't let him protest.
Goratrix doesn't say anything for a long while, seemingly just admiring his handiwork.
"There is... Opportunity in this."
-
Heldric leaves it a moment recalling how she had addressed him before steeling himself not to even twitch at the outrage just performed on Andreas. Abject terror helps.
"What would you have me do?" He simply asks, throwing Radu under the bus might help save him but his path was never to betray allies and it had already suffered...
-
"How much of Heldric's memories have you recovered?"
Goratrix moves through Andreas' remains, heading straight towards Heldric.
-
"A reasonable amount, though they are fragmented given time I can recover much more." he begins, keeping his eyes down "That one was his bloodbonded retainer, still bonded to me now. Heldric was proficient in Obfuscation and was a follower of 'the dream', trying to emulate Constantinople here."
He can feel the fear building as Goratrix gets closer but couldn't move now if he wanted.
-
"I feel much of him still alive in you. I would purge it but his memories might still be useful. You will have to live with them for now. Where is the Wraith?"
-
"He is hunting a remnant, It seems that the souls of some the mages survived in the tower. They aided in my defeat there. Once he has finished his tasks he will return." He pauses "Much of him survived but his will is of no consiquence compared to mine, I will just use it as a source of knowledge for now then bind it."
-
Goratrix nods.
Something in his face softens. The kindness on it ignites more terror in Heldric than anything Goratrix has done until now.
The mage's hand brushes against Heldric's cheek and it is only Epistatia's epic will that keeps him from reeling back screaming.
"I shall have to find you a new body when you are done with this one. It displeases me."
He pulls his hand back then, and continues.
"You will spy on Radu for me. If House Goratrix requires it then you shall house its members in this city. Find out what you can about this Michael... I keep on hearing his name, he might be worth seeking out."
Of course, Heldric knows the meaning behind the words - and feels a chill at the thought.
He wants to kill Michael. Devour him like all the other Methuselahs the Tremere have been hunting down. Surely Michael could stand against them, especially with the help of the Dracon, but...
It is best not to tempt fate, yes?
Then another thought pops unbidden into Heldric's mind - House Goratrix?
House Goratrix?
-
a schism in the tremere?
Pops into his head briefly before being pushed back aside by the fear of the situation at hand "Of course, I shall do all you command, though I shall be glad to leave this body behind once finished my tasks."
He has no choose but to keep his position, at least in this moment Epistatia's will is aligned with his in fear of Goratrix, likely she knows if her utter failure was revealed that he would find some way to drag her out and turtle her for centuries...
-
"Good. I trust you can deal with the situation accordingly?"
All of a sudden it seems as if Goratrix's attention has gone elsewhere.
-
"Of course" Heldric replies, trying to sound confident over the sheer fear, but then again Goratrix being who he was probably heard fear in the voice of everyone who worked for him anyway.
-
"Good."
Goratrix snaps his fingers and the cloud of Andreas' remains closes back in around the heart - and to Heldric's great surprise reforms almost exactly back into Andreas - the only sign that he hasn't been healed being the broken marks on his skin and the empty look in his eyes.
Opaque mists spring into life around Andreas and a second prism forms around him, much like Mr.Whitey.
"They'll be stuck like that for a while, enjoy the sights."
Goratrix then winks out of existence.
Heldric collapses, shivering. He feels Epistatia retreat back into him like a wounded animal.
-
Heldric doesn't move for several minutes, maybe torpor would be a good plan for a few centuries... But the longer Goratrix is not there the more like his old self he becomes. After maybe 5 minutes he gets slowly to his feet to examine the strange prisms surrounding Andreas and Mr. Whitey to learn what he could from them before heading back out to find Brutus, ensuring his normal demenour to be back in place incase Radu's suspicious spy... Ahem, carriage driver, had come around to see what the fuss was about.
-
The prisms are difficult to see through (the opaque surface), they also seem to be filled and not hollow. Andreas is completely enclosed, Mr.Whitey's snout is exposed to the air - enough for him to not suffocate, at least.
-
He doesn't want to touch them too much yet, he can't be sure what would help or hurt them more. He pats mr. Whiteys nose gently then heads for the door.
-
Heldric finds his way outside, where he is immediately accosted by Brutus and the archmage.
"Heldric! What happened? Are you okay, where's Andreas? Your pet lizard?"
Is he gone? I feel like he is but I can't be sure, I do not dare check.
-
Heldric smiles then remembers he is moving about the city and takes a moment to alter his appearance to his 'appearing in town' face.
"I am well but shaken, he is indeed gone. Andreas and Mr. Whitey are... You should see for yourselves, needles to say let us not make an enemy of him." He waves them inside after him to show the prisms incase they have knowledge of them.
"What happened to Tiberius?"
-
Ugh. These things are infuriating. I have no idea how they came up with such a powerful enchantment but the stuff is indestructible, the space there is just... Frozen solid. Not cold though, like it should be.. If I had my old skills I could undo the bindings holding the magic in place but sadly I am currently unable. It's a short lived spell, however.
He didn't kill either of them, even left Whitey space to breathe. Probably intended for you to deal with them yourself.
"I'm not sure what it could be. I'll get some of the remaining guild workers to try and break up the stuff, it should be pretty fragile considering the hollow interior."
-
"Don't worry for now, what I could gather indicates that the spell is short lived so will disperse on t's own. For now let us celebrate my return and make sure the city is as it should be, I have learned much that can be of use to us!"
"study it while it remains, you still have your intellect so might learn much from the terrifying things, for now I will tend to my city.
Heldric nods and waves Brutus out with him "So how is the city, now that we can attend to more mundane matters?"
-
"The guilds will be asking questions, the workers Goratrix killed..."
Brutus goes on for a while, and Heldric and the Brujah both get back to the business of administering Balgrad.
It would take 4 days for Andreas and Mr.Whitey to be released from their prisons, and another two weeks for Andreas to recover from Goratrix dismantling him.
Reminders of Goratrix' influence still come by every few weeks in the form of gargoyles, spirits, and various other unsavoury servants - though never the man himself - much to the Nosferatu's relief.
Six months after that terrible might, Heldric feels something deep within his soul crack - and then snap. Muttering a simple spell and looking through the spirit world, Heldric sees that Sicilan's chain has snapped.
Epistatia speaks then.
He'll feel it you know. He fashionned that chain himself. He'll know it was broken.
-
Then we will have a proper excuse for him, like We sent him spying on Michael but he was discovered. he pauses I will keep thinking incase he returns, I'd advise you do to if we are to be spared his ire.
Heldric also decides that it is time he spoke to his sire, he prepares an u disturbed night and gathers the materials for contacting Malechite via his new ritual.
-
The ritual goes off without a hitch. Within minutes, Heldric has contacted Maleki.
Heldric? Is that you?
How... How are you contacting me?
-
"Sire, there have been many developments these pasts months I must share with you and ask for your counsel on. I hope I managed to contact you at a good time to talk?"
Presuming thr answer is affirmative he explains.
"Things with my city have been progressing well however six months ago Count Radu sent me on a mission, playing down its significance to that of a scouting mission of an abandoned tower he wanted to use. It turned out to be a recently destroyed stronghold of one of the last mages to refuse to join clan Tremere. Needless to say it was a trap and we were attacked by Tremere mages and their gargoyles. We defeated them and I took many of their secrets with me, including this ritual to enable me to contact you, but complications arose as we fled. Goratrix, one of the strongest in the clan sought me out in my own city and has forced me to aid his servants in recompense for my actions. I killed his favoured childe, though he thinks she still lives, should he learn the truth I do not doubt that this entire city shall turn to dust."
He then waits, this would be a lot of information to absorb even without mentioning exactly how he killed Epistatia
-
Malachite pauses for a long while.
"Prepare yourself. I shall be there shortly."
-
"Thankyou Sire, but be vigilant here. I now know that Goratrix has been devouring every powerful ancient he can find and has become exceptionally powerful himself, I believe he might be targeting Michael next."
-
Another pause then.
"Alright. Let's talk about Goratrix."
Spinning around in surprise Heldric finds Malachite and a hooded man with blood-red prayer beads threaded in through his hands, the edge of his hood gilded in gold, the rest of the robe a dark red.
The unknown man is kneeling.
"I've shrouded the room, no one should be able to spy on us. Pay no mind to Hassan. Mortal mage, one of Michael's servants, which he has been good enough to lend me in this personal matter.
I would have him give me your memories of the event, that I might understand just what happened."
-
"That would expedite things sire"
Heldric says as he bows to malachite, it means all the secrets will come out however if we wants to survive his sore might be his best option.
-
Hassan gets up and moves between Sire and Childe then. His hood opens up to reveal a dark-skinned man with sharp features, startling blue eyes and red lines tatooed around the contours of his face.
He lays a hand in Heldric's forehead and then on Maleki's. Heldric starts as he finds himself reading Radu's letter once more.
He feels Malachite's responses to his adventures - misgivings toward Radu, pride and amazement at the triumphs against the gargoyles and the mages, at Heldric's clever maneuerings within the maze, appreciation for his bluffs and his gambits, intense interest in Octavius - he seems to linger at Octavius' every word - or is it Hassan doing that? Heldric can't quite tell, but he gets the feeling the mage's interest has been captured by the presence of the ghostly ex-archmage.
Then the scenes begin switching - Heldric is initially confused - he sees a terrible dead warrior who radiates power telling him he would not interfere. He sees near of his gargoyles go down in a deadly exchange with a brutish Nosferatu....
Oh. These are Epistatia's memories.
Heldric also senses Maleki's confusion, and then his subsequent horror as he realizes what has happened.
The scene switches to Sicilan, and their first confrontation with him. Of the beginning of the archmage's battle with him. Then running up the stairs, Andreas smashing down the door.
She then sees the two Nosferatu and the albino ghoul, having broken through without killing Sicilan. Dread fills Soul as she realizes she has not prepared any enchantments for use - she had never expected to find enemies here, much less such incredibly competent ones.
The big one charges her and she flings him out through the hole Octavius had blasted open in his final gambit for Goratrix's life
Which the fool failed.
The other hangs back cautiously. She sees the helm on him and recognizes the power that it holds - and curses herself for being fooled by such a simple glamour.
She summons fire to melt the ground around her and sees the Nosferatu disappear. Casting another curse she raises a wall of water around herself, smiling contentedly when he slams into it without effect.
She summons to herself her final two killing spells, augmenting them and preparing to burn everything j the room - when he hits the wall again and flies through, claws flailing. In a panic she releases the spells - to little effect, as he still lived, and feels darkness overtake her as his claws rip into her flesh.
Heldric feels Maleki's pity - though for who he is not sure - as Heldric's beast takes him and Eoistatia dies to his fangs.
The meeting with Goratrix is pure horror to relive, and a terrible fury creeps into the air as Malachite sees the indignation suffered by his favoured childe at the monster's hands.
When all is said and done, Malachite looks at Heldric with pity in his eyes.
"You've made a terrible mistake childe, but there is much we have learned about the Tremere with this. I am... Not sure whether you have earned punishment or reward for your actions, so I shall settle with protecting you from Goratrix. Hassan will ward your haven so that it cannot be penetrated by transportation magicks. If Goratrix ever sends any of his servants into the city, inform me.
Hassan will learn everything he can of the Tremere from Octavius and report to Michael. The Patriarch has nothing to fear from this fool."
-
Heldric nods "Thankyou sire, the wards will be of great help and I shall of course contact you instantly if needed." He pauses for a moment then let's out a small smile "And in return for how he treated Andreas I have shared his secrets with his enemies, I'm sure Octavius will not mind helping either!" His tone returns to a more somber one "Despite the circumstances and terrible cost I have grown more powerful and will use these abilities to further the dream here"
-
Malachite looks around then, "Say, is that old wraith here? The one you stole with her soul?"
-
"I sent him to be released from his bindings, it was not my intent to bind him and if I forced him against his will it would surely lead him to resent and betray be as he did Epistatia. Had she had his loyalty, I never would have made it to her." He looks as if he is considering somthing "he has been gone several months now and the chain has just broken. Should he keep his word then he shall be returning soon by his own volition to aid me."
He looks to his Sire "Do you believe I made the correct choice in this."
-
The old Nosferatu thinks a second before replying.
"No. You should have killed her and been done with it."
Then he gives Heldric a knowing look - he knows that wasn't what the childe had asked.
"As for Sicilan? Yes. The wraith would have betrayed you when you needed him most, it is best to earn loyalty, not create slaves. If the opposite were true I would have enslaved you from birth, as would all sires their childer. We do not because it kills the growth of the mind, to be treated and kept in that manner."
Maleki pauses again.
"Be careful when Sicilan returns. Someone broke his chains, after all, and he might be as indebted to them as he is to you."
-
"I will be careful, He mentioned about it being an old friend so I am guessing a mage or capadocian, I have very limited knowledge about it however. Hopefully his old friends wishes do not conflict with mine however his actions did not appear those of a devious soul."
He looks down to the ground for a moment, Goratrix inspired fear but Malachite was his sire and greatly respected as well as feared
"It am sorry this has caused you trouble, once the beast took over whatever plans I thought I had became irrelevant along with my sanity, I will be stronger in further."
-
"You made much more of a mistake than you might realize. The bindings that hold Epistatia in place were made by that archmage and Sicilan. If you ever lose those two she'll shake loose and take you over - even more so than she already has. They own you Heldric. Perhaps it hasn't occurred to Sicilan, the wraith seems to honourable for that, but Octavius? He must have planned for it the second he saw what was happening between you two. The old ghost is too clever by far, and he's like to use you in his vendetta against House Tremere."
-
Heldric nods sadly
"It will be difficult however all I can do now is proceed cautiously. If I were to flee now my dream would never be realized and I fear they would find me anyway so I will continue to fight for it while keeping other things at bay as best as I can." he grins a little "The old mage I never trusted however he has saved me at least once and so long as his revenge does not interfere with my plans I am inclined to help him, Goratrix is not someone I want to survive in this world, even If I am no match for him myself."
He pauses for a moment
"Talking of enemies, has there been any rumours of our hunters since the one Gutka destroyed in the mines?"
-
"Rumours of rumours, nothing more. Do you intend to keep on ruling your city so openly? Brutus would make a good puppet scapegoat, he's old enough to command respect and proud enough to beat the risk."
-
"I had only intended to rule openly for a few more years, I have been putting puppets in place throughout the city in powerful positions however putting Brutus as the face of the city would be preferable to wearing the target myself. I will work on moving him into that position soon as I ghoul some of the guilds leadership."
This talk has been of great use to Heldric but he is unsure if his Sire wants more of him or if this visit was purely in responce to his information "Sire, is there anything you require of me now?"
-
Malachite takes a second to think about that, "I suppose so. There is going to be a fourth crusade. You will be my representative in Venice a year from now, along with some other children of prominent Constantinople elders. Perhaps your fellow princes might come as well - Basilio will no doubt send his two childer there, if he manages to forgive Anton. Sandor also has some vested interests in the proceedings. I will send you more explicit instructions as the conference approaches. Bring Steepleton with you, the madman has developped terrific ties with the Tremere and will likely be sent to the meeting by both Radu and Etrius. How he'll deal with those conflicting loyalties will be interesting but for now he's worth having as a friend."
-
the fourth crusade, and in only a year? Things were moving quickly
Heldric nods "I shall prepare now so that my puppets are all in place and Brutus is in good control of the city by then. As for Steeple, he is indeed mad but as with many of his kind, his madness hides a form of intelligence or instinct many do not possess. I have cultivated a friendship with him so I shall be sure to continue it, I may even be able to learn more about my new... Abilities from him."
-
"Good. Hassan has finished questioning Octavius. If you ever need me contact me again, if need be i'll send your brothers and sisters to help you."
Hassan walks back in, joined by the spectre of Octavius, and bows briefly to Heldric. He then places a hand on Malachite's shoulder and they both disappear.
"Terrible business there, that mage. Don't know what you bloodsuckers did to him but the man's got an absurdly weak will. Much, much weaker than what he'd need to advance to the point he has.
-
"What do you mean, surely his will should be strong to do the magic he does? Or do you mean he is subservient?" Heldric asks
-
"I mean there's a poison in his soul. Obviously he once had to have a strong will, otherwise he'd have never made it this far. Maybe he was once a talented apprentice, an adept of whatever Tradition he was a part of, but now? His mind came close to mine when he looked through my memories and I could feel how soft he was. He's been broken, but not by torture or mental domination or anything like that - his mind is filled with a sort of love and loyalty... it's an incredible mental binding, i've never seen anything like it.
Mages can't be bound to anyone else the way he is. It kills the mind, erodes the will, weakens our control. He retains his talents but he'll never become any more powerful than he is now. He'll just weaken and slowly dry up, shrivel and die when his powers leave him. Or he'll go out in an explosion of magical energy when he tries to wield powers he isn't able to control anymore. Either way, his life is a death sentence. I can't approve of it."
-
"It must be somthing Michael can use, though I have never heard of it myself. I am assuming that Ghouling a mage would have a similar effect to it, meaning they could never be stronger in their powers than the moment you ghouled them."
Heldric looks around then sighs "We have much to do now, we must further our plans to ghoul some of the guild leaders and begin setting up Brutus for a more permanent position here along with our other allies. That is presuming you are staying around for a time, I doubt you will find many better chances at Vengance than with me?"
-
"I doubt I'll find anyone who can even see me other than you. Unless they're a necromancer. Always unsavoury types, those ones. Would rather bind a ghost than just have a pleasant little chat!"
-
"Then you are welcome to stay for now, your knowledge can be useful, especially with keepinG my bindings in place."
Heldric heads outside to begin preparations.
-
Octavius follows him out.
"You mentionned ghouling someone. What is that? Does it have to do with you giving your blood to others? As far as I know all that does is get them addicted. Fills them with an unreasonable vigor and all."
-
"It does a lot more than that, it gives a bond between the two first. Several feedings will make the recipient mortal completly bound and fully willing to follow whatever orders they are given, they also normally always act in the best wishes of their master. Secondly it gives them power and longevity, the ghouled mortal won't age or die so long as they get a supply of vitae. Finally they continue to grow stronger the longer they are bound, learning versions of the abilities we use ourselves.I have heard of ancient ghouls well over 1000 years old who hold immense power."
-
Octavius takes a second to think that all through, "At that point why not become vampires themselves? A thousand year old one should easily be able to force another to embrace him."
-
"Some do come to be embraced by their sires and become favoured childer however they could never force their own master to do it as the bond is too strong, equally it prevents them from turning to another to be embraced as that would be a betrayal. Acting against a full bond is nearly impossible, while I am sure there are exceptions I'd say they are few."
After a short pause he continues "I would say it is how Goratrix commands those who follow him, but why the interest?"
-
"I know unfortunately little about vampirism. You must understand, I had very little opportunity to examine my turned house members, and those I did examine knew next to nothing of their condition. For the longest time I thought your curse was a disease!"
-
"Many still think that, some even manage pd to infect their blood. I also carry a terrible disease however it is unrelated, it was just an unfortunate side effect which means any human I touch will probably die within a couple of weeks. As for your knowledge, you are dead now but will probably get to learn a lot about vampirism over the next few weeks as you observe!"
-
"...You should probably get that looked at. The whole "kill anyone you touch in a week" thing. Seriously."
-
"...You should probably get that looked at. The whole "kill anyone you touch in a week" thing. Seriously."
"I considered it but it it a rather special curse and would take someone truely impressive to do anything about. I can still probably ghoul people though and have them use blood to heal the effects until their body adapts to it"
-
"Too bad I don't have my powers available to me anymore. I could have destroyed the contagion easily. Though I'd have probably killed you too.
You know I was trying to find a cure for vampirism before I was killed? I was examining the bindings of the curse, it is a truly terrible one. Whoever cast it had to be the most powerful mage to ever live. I realized it would be centuries before I could grow that strong, so I got to work on a curse of my own to seek out and annihilate Tremere's bloodline. Might be why they worked so hard to destroy me before the end of it. They took all my research too, though I can't fathom why, they cannot use enlightened magic anymore."
-
"Cain's curse came from God himself is what is told. Those closer to Cain's bloodline become exponentially more powerful, should you have met an antideluvian at the peak of your powers you would have been an ant before them and they are only the 3Rd generation." Heldric pauses "They were once mages and their... Powers are very unlike normal Vampires abilities, perhaps they plan to attempt to make their own blood magic version of it?"
-
"It might be a bit presumptuous to say that God himself would lay a curse down on Caine, yes? How many of your so-called methuselah have been worshipped as gods? How do you know that Caine himself was not created by an even older vampire who he thought was god? Or that a mage of unparalleled power created him, and he found a way to tap into the power of the curse laid upon him?
Our spheres of power encompass all of known and unknown creation, we can mold reality to our will. A grand archmage, who has mastered every sphere and possesses the force of will beyond mortal ken necessary to master the spheres of creation, could theoretically rival this so-called God. It is the goal of every mage to become something like this, our path is one of Ascension."
-
"The mage abilities do seem impressive, I can see how they would be useful but sadly I believe my curse negates the ability to use them even if I knew how. Otherwise your old friends would be far more powerful than they already are." He grins openly, showing his deformed features in a horrific way "Whatever they sought when they took in the curse upon themselves, they got more than they bargained for with the beast that comes too and lost their original powers. As for those worshipped as Gods, many have been though Cain himself could probably rival those grandarchmages you all hoped to become so if it was a mage who made the curse he would have to be greater still wouldn't he?"
Heldric shakes his head "I must admit this is getting a bit much for me to discuss today, while I am sure there are those who have searched extensively into our curse, I am not one."
-
"You should be more interested in the reality of your existence. It is good to know what you are. If that is impossible then it is at least good to wonder," Octavius chides.
Before the ghost can further can further chastise Heldric for his seeming lack of interest, there is a bright flash of light and a puff of smoke as Sicilan pops into existence.
-
Heldric almost startles, almost. He had enough of being surprised by thongs appearing before him today to be used to it for a time "Your return was quick, we only just had time to finish our discussions on your chain being broken." he says amicably enough
-
"A friend brought me here. Not the one I was looking for, but they called a momentary truce for me. Don't I feel special."
Sicilan then kneels and plants his ghostly sword in front of the ground with Heldric.
"As long as I see your path to be honourable, I shall follow you gladly for freeing me, Heldric of Balgrad."
-
Heldric smiles happily before remembering just how horrid that can look. At least one thing was going his way today "Rise Scilian, I shall be grateful for your support in furthering the dream. There is a lot to do in the coming days and years so I may ask many favours of you but mainly your company will be appreciated."
-
Sicilan's head darts up.
"I apologize for this but," the wraith bursts into a cloud of ephemera that speeds away into the beginnings of Heldric's Haven. Octavius looks at Sicilan and then whatever had hit him registers on his face as well.
"I'll be joining him!" The archmage sprints away as well.
Soon Heldric realizes why. He hears a voice that sends a thousand paralyzing needles stabbing into his spine.
"What happened?"
-
Of course it couldnt have continued well...
Heldric immediatly bows his head as he tries to locate the source of the voice "The chain binding the old wraith to me was broken, though I retain control over it." He pauses, reasoning, reasoning, reasoning then he remembers Michael "I have been trying to get closer to Michael through this one, Hedric's, sire and the chain binding him was seen as somthing I could not take near his haven, it might be he feared it could be used against him or to get past his wards in a manner I can't fathom"
Hoping that news of a powerful methuselah will distract he keeps his head down.
-
"How do you retain control? How close have you gotten to Michael? I cannot stay for long, hurry now."
Goratrix apparates in front of Heldric, and the Nosferatu can tell right away that the Tremere Council member is not here in person.
"We were in the middle of a meeting regarding something... big. Bigger than Michael even. This is a personal project for me, however, and I cannot afford to take too long here."
-
Heldric immediatly kneels regardless of it being an apparition "of course, a mix of tricks and threats, he is still highly attached to certain things and holds himself to a code. Threatening those is enough to keep him on line for now, threat of you personally binding him again was enough for him to readily agree to whatever I commanded. As for Michal I haven't gotten close yet, I have found that he has several younger methuselah with him and one nearly as powerful as himself that stays with him at most times. They will be one of the most dangerous enemies you have faced directly, even approaching their haven is said to be nearly impossible for enemies. I will continue getting closer through this one's Sire though he warned it may take years to gather trust."
Heldric stops, hoping it is enough, the elders often thought in terms of decades so it may buy him time.
-
"Good, good, there will be a rich harvest when I burn Constantinople. Keep me informed, and be careful with the wraith."
Goratrix' apparition vanishes.
-
Heldric gives it a moment then says "Of course." Just incase he was still listening. He then carefully goes about the area doing non-revealing tasks for a few minutes before finally heading to his haven to see where the wraiths had hidden.
-
Sicilan and Octavius are both chatting in Heldric's private Haven when he appears. Something or another about buxom wraith maidens.
They both fall silent on his entrance.
"How did it go... Heldric."
-
"I bought myself time, maybe a lot of time but obviously never enough. He believes I am infiltrating Constantinople on his behalf now, hopefully meaning he will not contact me for some years at least."
He pauses to look around "This haven will be a grand start to my dream here once it is finished and it is shielded to some extent so he should not be able to teleport here himself now, I cannot tell if he can project himself here or spy on me though." He looks at the two of them again in a searching kind of way before seeming to come to a conclusion "You both seemed to know he was coming and fled from my side, next time warn me before you flee, just make sure you flee to safety and keep far away. I have him thinking I am keeping you in line with threats and other things but I do not want him anywhere near either of you, survival comes first and meeting Goratrix does not lead to survival."
He then nods as if to indicate his decision on the matter complete.
-
"He bought that? Must have been distracted," Octavius says.
-
"He was, said he was in a meeting about somthing really big" he pauses "Said it was bigger than Michael or Constantinople, barely stayed long enough to listen to me. I think this bodes badly but I will pass on the information to his enemies just in case" the last bit he says with a grin
-
"I thought Michael was as big a deal as it got for you leeches?"
-
"I wouldn't say that, he is indeed a big deal and very powerful but not nearly on the level of an Anti-deluvian. He is also a big deal in regards to his dream and Constantinople, his dream lead to the basis of my own, a great and lasting civilization. However I cannot fathom how you mortal magic users think, especially those desperate enough to become like us."
-
"So what you're saying is, they're going after an antediluvian?"
-
"That is one guess, there are other things of great power in the world too, demonic forces for one and they are strong in this part of the world, that is another option." Heldric pauses for a moment "unless it is simply more of a clan type or thing like declaring war on the Lasombre or some such political Motive. As I said I am bad at guessing motives with so little to go on. We're there any 'great plans' in place you knew about before being killed, you boast the mages were a great power themselves so maybe they are trying to finish somthing from before."
-
"Great plans? The last thing Tremere had the house mages doing before he turned them all was locate ancient vampires sleeping in their dens. I know now that he was doing so because he sought to devour them."
-
"Then your guess is as good as mine for now, should they be after another antideluvian we are probably all doomed either Way. Should they gain it's power too, they could probably conquer the world. Should it wake first, then it might be even worse." he looks at the mage for a moment "Some of them were reputebly close to Goratrix in personality, one or two were much, much worse."
-
End Sidequest