Fable - Ask The Baron of Stonewatch

[Christian Vide]

"Y-yes master. I would do anything if it meant pleasing you. Everything I am, my body, my heart, my soul, everything is yours and yours alone. Should the gods themselves turn on you, and we be left alone to them by all others, I would remain beside you through all of it. There are no words in all the earthly languages to express what I would do and endure for you. And even if you decide I am inadequate, and that my life is no longer beneficial to you, I would gladly end it with my own two hands. And I would make it as long and as painful a death as you'd desire for me. I am yours, in everything that I am, and I am happy for it."

"Good girl... My good little Keia... The Family cannot touch you, they cannot make you betray me. When we've finished, The Family will draw its dying breath, but for now we make this a bastion, an impregnable fortress where nothing living, dead or otherwise can come or go without my consent."
He he brought the blade of the knife to her mouth so she could lick it clean before setting it beside their makeshift bed.

"You should also research elements of vampirism for our Soul Bound Soldiers. Specifically what intrigues me is the loyalty and bond of a vampire spawn to the one that created them. A supernatural siring that makes the spawn incapable of disobedience... I want such obedience in my warriors in addition to any other traits we are able to integrate into our Soulbound project."
And he was going to do some research of his own into the subject.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"Good girl... My good little Keia... The Family cannot touch you, they cannot make you betray me. When we've finished, The Family will draw its dying breath, but for now we make this a bastion, an impregnable fortress where nothing living, dead or otherwise can come or go without my consent."
He he brought the blade of the knife to her mouth so she could lick it clean before setting it beside their makeshift bed.

She obediently began to lick the blade clean of their fluids, white and watery alike, in a manner as obedient as a dog would be to it's master. Happy to be of service, of any kind to her master, she made doubly sure that it was clean as possible. Of course, if he so desired, she'd lick the evidence of their copulation from the floorboards and flagstones. Her pledge of loyalty and obedience was not, in any way, an exaggeration.

"You should also research elements of vampirism for our Soul Bound Soldiers. Specifically what intrigues me is the loyalty and bond of a vampire spawn to the one that created them. A supernatural siring that makes the spawn incapable of disobedience... I want such obedience in my warriors in addition to any other traits we are able to integrate into our Soulbound project."
And he was going to do some research of his own into the subject.

"Yes master. We may need to find ourselves a vampire first, but I will do everything I can to bring you sufficient results." She told him, "Master? If I indeed require a vampire to conduct such experiments and tests, do I have your permission to send out a beast or two to capture one?"

 

[Christian Vide]

"Yes master. We may need to find ourselves a vampire first, but I will do everything I can to bring you sufficient results." She told him, "Master? If I indeed require a vampire to conduct such experiments and tests, do I have your permission to send out a beast or two to capture one?"

He was thoughtful for a moment considering his options. There were a few different approaches to this topic but he quickly decided on one.
"Hmmmm... Yes. Collect a few different samples of vampires at their various stages."
He knew a lot about vampires already, being one of the few assassins on the market with the skill to eliminate one. Their strengths and weaknesses, while not always consistent across all strains, were subjects he was very familiar with, but some of their lesser known or less practical abilities were still a mystery.
The chance to cut one open would be invaluable.

He slid his fingers along her sweat soaked skin, the tips gliding along her skin and up her mounds.
He then glided his fingers back down her body, over her wet spot and then up the inside of her thighs. He leans down and kissed the soft bare skin towards the base of her upper thigh and his breath was on her crotch before his tongue found it next.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He was thoughtful for a moment considering his options. There were a few different approaches to this topic but he quickly decided on one.
"Hmmmm... Yes. Collect a few different samples of vampires at their various stages."
He knew a lot about vampires already, being one of the few assassins on the market with the skill to eliminate one. Their strengths and weaknesses, while not always consistent across all strains, were subjects he was very familiar with, but some of their lesser known or less practical abilities were still a mystery.
The chance to cut one open would be invaluable.

"Yes master. I won't fail you." She swears earnestly.

He slid his fingers along her sweat soaked skin, the tips gliding along her skin and up her mounds.
He then glided his fingers back down her body, over her wet spot and then up the inside of her thighs. He leans down and kissed the soft bare skin towards the base of her upper thigh and his breath was on her crotch before his tongue found it next.

His actions earned a great deal of thanks, moans and other such sounds of pleasure and gratitude from his slave. She dutifully kept herself open for him, and when their continued game was done, she laid where he left her, and moved only when given permission.

 

[Christian Vide]

When they were finished the sun had gone down. Bruce belted on his trousers and put on his shirt without buttoning it.
He sat down at his desk and sorted through some of his papers, the various documents of statecraft and politics that he now found as his new battlefield.
"Get up and get dressed. The night is still young."
He lit a candle and set up his quill and bottle of ink.

"How are the prisoners doing lately? Heard any interesting pleadings? Any interesting but informative failures?"

 

[Keia Merrenia]

When they were finished the sun had gone down. Bruce belted on his trousers and put on his shirt without buttoning it.
He sat down at his desk and sorted through some of his papers, the various documents of statecraft and politics that he now found as his new battlefield.
"Get up and get dressed. The night is still young."
He lit a candle and set up his quill and bottle of ink.

She, despite being drunk on euphoria, did as he instructed, getting up off the floor and putting on her garments. She was a little sad that she was told to wear something that wasn't her collar or some form of restraint like a chain or cuffs, but the reason came to be known to her.

"How are the prisoners doing lately? Heard any interesting pleadings? Any interesting but informative failures?"

"The prisoners are as loud as ever, especially the women. The men we rescued from them have been immensely helpful, and have proven to be quite useful in keeping them in line. Most of the women have been demanding a proper trial, but lucky enough the men found a solution for that too. I must say that they would make excellent soldiers once the secret is cracked." She informed him, "as for failures, nothing new. I've been managing to keep them alive for longer periods, but in the end they still end up dead. I have a few notes on what I think might be the problem but I wanted to get something more definitive before I shared it with you. Since I really don't want to bother you with nothing."

 

[Christian Vide]

"The prisoners are as loud as ever, especially the women. The men we rescued from them have been immensely helpful, and have proven to be quite useful in keeping them in line. Most of the women have been demanding a proper trial, but lucky enough the men found a solution for that too. I must say that they would make excellent soldiers once the secret is cracked." She informed him, "as for failures, nothing new. I've been managing to keep them alive for longer periods, but in the end they still end up dead. I have a few notes on what I think might be the problem but I wanted to get something more definitive before I shared it with you. Since I really don't want to bother you with nothing."

He nodded, "I see. Go ahead and bother me with nothing, I want to know the theories and how they turn out, details like this are useful science for our goals."
He scribbled down some notes.
"When I was with the family I watched them train the orphans, I learned the process of destroying the soul and leaving only a husk and a killer behind. A little digging and I found the notes from the beginning stages of the training program, archives from when the family was first being formed. I learned all the ways that program failed before getting to where it succeeded."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He nodded, "I see. Go ahead and bother me with nothing, I want to know the theories and how they turn out, details like this are useful science for our goals."
He scribbled down some notes.
"When I was with the family I watched them train the orphans, I learned the process of destroying the soul and leaving only a husk and a killer behind. A little digging and I found the notes from the beginning stages of the training program, archives from when the family was first being formed. I learned all the ways that program failed before getting to where it succeeded."

She nodded and began, "Well, most of those I've attempted to separate from their souls died within a few hours. But one, who was asleep when I did the operation, lived almost a full day afterwards. This you already know, I told you about it a few months ago, and I've continued to see if sleep can help lengthen their lives when the soul is separated from the body. So far it has only increased their lives by no more than a day afterwards. But I have noticed that it's significantly easier to remove the soul when they are asleep, and there is a lot less resistance to overcome. So I have a theory that I'm going to be testing soon, I just need to gather the right ingredients and learn the right spells, then I'll be good to begin."

 

[Christian Vide]

"Well, most of those I've attempted to separate from their souls died within a few hours. But one, who was asleep when I did the operation, lived almost a full day afterwards. This you already know, I told you about it a few months ago, and I've continued to see if sleep can help lengthen their lives when the soul is separated from the body. So far it has only increased their lives by no more than a day afterwards. But I have noticed that it's significantly easier to remove the soul when they are asleep, and there is a lot less resistance to overcome. So I have a theory that I'm going to be testing soon, I just need to gather the right ingredients and learn the right spells, then I'll be good to begin."

"Good, keep me appraised and let me know if you need anything. Our village is beginning to flourish but we should also be prepared for every eventuality. The living guards are proving adequate for now in dealing with keeping the peace and handling bandits and most monster attacks. They think I'm paranoid, but I'm even making contingency plans for incase a dragon were to move into our borders. Anything that an assassin could use to their advantage to somehow gain entry I'm puzzling out and accounting for."
He turned to her, "If we remain on guard we can keep what we have, and even grow beyond it. We should only rest when we cannot go on. Once we've realized all we set out to do, then we can sit upon our mountain in safety and looked out on all we've accomplished."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"Good, keep me appraised and let me know if you need anything. Our village is beginning to flourish but we should also be prepared for every eventuality. The living guards are proving adequate for now in dealing with keeping the peace and handling bandits and most monster attacks. They think I'm paranoid, but I'm even making contingency plans for incase a dragon were to move into our borders. Anything that an assassin could use to their advantage to somehow gain entry I'm puzzling out and accounting for."
He turned to her, "If we remain on guard we can keep what we have, and even grow beyond it. We should only rest when we cannot go on. Once we've realized all we set out to do, then we can sit upon our mountain in safety and looked out on all we've accomplished."

She smiled wistfully at the thought. Building something grand from what they'd been given. She knew full well that this might involve attacking the Kinniger Duchy, which she still considered incredibly foolish, but if that could be avoided, then it certainly sounded like a good idea.

It would be foolish because the Duke now knew of The Family, and who it was they were after, even more he knew where he was. And that information could prove catastrophic if released, and attacking the Kinniger Duchy would bring both the vampire slaying legions of men bred for war and nothing else alongside the practiced killers of The Family. Two titans seeking their destruction was less than ideal.

But even so, it was not her place to say. But still the grand ideas of growing beyond this point and sitting secure in an impenetrable citadel and living in Watchful peace was more than appealing.

"Yes master. I'll get back to work at once."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"Good, keep me appraised and let me know if you need anything. Our village is beginning to flourish but we should also be prepared for every eventuality. The living guards are proving adequate for now in dealing with keeping the peace and handling bandits and most monster attacks. They think I'm paranoid, but I'm even making contingency plans for incase a dragon were to move into our borders. Anything that an assassin could use to their advantage to somehow gain entry I'm puzzling out and accounting for."
He turned to her, "If we remain on guard we can keep what we have, and even grow beyond it. We should only rest when we cannot go on. Once we've realized all we set out to do, then we can sit upon our mountain in safety and looked out on all we've accomplished."

(I boob ya snoot C=< )

 

[Christian Vide]

He nodded and went back to his work. It was a matter of funding and delegating labor, hiring the appropriate skilled craftsmen and drawing up proper blueprints to build what he desired to his exact specifications.
Up to this point he had personally redesigned the keep and it's defensive walls. He also had plans of renovating all of the houses in the village and creating another wall around them as well.

These plans he'd carefully drawn up and worked out the minutest details. As a master of his trade he created his fortress so that even he couldn't sneak in, even he couldn't scale the walls even using his best equipment, alone or in a group no assassin or spy could infiltrate his bastion save through the front gate with a special invitation.
Servants and guards and advisors were required to live in the castle, lessoning the possibility of an unobserved inflow of impersonatable personnel. Once their soul bound were completed they could remove the liability of living servants and soldiers altogether. Eventually they will have to figure out a way to be entirely self sufficient, because as it was they still relied on the farms and fields to provide food.

He beckoned her over to sit on his lap. "Don't go to work just yet, you can stay with me for a while."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He beckoned her over to sit on his lap. "Don't go to work just yet, you can stay with me for a while."

She smiled happily. And she came over as bidden and sat lightly on his thighs. Leaning against him and with her head on his chest she brought her eyes to see the plans he'd laid out. She'd seen them once or twice, she wasn't sure if she was supposed to so she didn't speak of them for fear of overstepping her bounds, but she had a few ideas that might help with the defensive capabilities of such a citadel.

Well, half-ideas, she was thinking that perhaps he'd allow her to start a school of some kind in the castle, to teach young children the same art that she has learned, the art of necromancy and it's sibling arts. It could also be that they could be made into soulbounds too so that obedience was guaranteed. She on her own was a formidable opponent when she had her power reserves full, but ultimately vulnerable, she usually needed something or someone to back her up to be safe, be it her master or one of her creatures. But imagine say... Twenty more of her. That would truly be a nigh unbeatable force.

And on top of that, she had ideas for anti-siege weapons. Ballista like weapons that fired explosive ammunition, which would have to be enchanted to explode on impact of course.

But she was a little partial to the idea of a school, and she figured now was a good time to present the idea as a possibility once she got the soulbound experiments to work out.

"Master. What if once I get the soulbound experiments to succeed, I start training more necromancers?"

 

[Christian Vide]

"Hmmmm..."
It was an interesting idea, a single necromancer can make an army, many necromancers can create a horde.
He looked down at her leaned against his bare chest.
"Once the Soul Bound are complete and brining in such students won't create a security risk... Creating undead in crisis is useful, but simple skeletons and zombies are relatively weak against a prepared army or slightly organized bandit invasion. What's something you can teach them to raise that's more versatile and effective while still being mass producible."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

"Hmmmm..."
It was an interesting idea, a single necromancer can make an army, many necromancers can create a horde.
He looked down at her leaned against his bare chest.
"Once the Soul Bound are complete and brining in such students won't create a security risk... Creating undead in crisis is useful, but simple skeletons and zombies are relatively weak against a prepared army or slightly organized bandit invasion. What's something you can teach them to raise that's more versatile and effective while still being mass producible."

She adjusted herself so she might look at him while she spoke, "well, more creatures for one, which are significantly more dangerous than common zombies. And on top of that, they can continue to creat more soulbound, which would make it a great deal easier to make them more numerous. Consider this. If for some reason we were to go to war there is only so many soulbound soldiers I can make in so much time, but give me ten more who know the procedure and you'll have a significantly larger army of people very difficult to kill. That and you'll have more magically minded people who can conduct such experiments instead of having to rely on me for all of them. That and I'm not exactly useless in a battle, so neither would they be. It just seems to me that they'd be very advantageous to have.

 

[Christian Vide]

"well, more creatures for one, which are significantly more dangerous than common zombies. And on top of that, they can continue to creat more soulbound, which would make it a great deal easier to make them more numerous. Consider this. If for some reason we were to go to war there is only so many soulbound soldiers I can make in so much time, but give me ten more who know the procedure and you'll have a significantly larger army of people very difficult to kill. That and you'll have more magically minded people who can conduct such experiments instead of having to rely on me for all of them. That and I'm not exactly useless in a battle, so neither would they be. It just seems to me that they'd be very advantageous to have.

He nodded as he absently played with her collar.
"Hmmm... Like an assembly line, I like that idea. Perhaps you could teach them to create something smaller than your centipedes, something that requires less effort but produces an effective undead fighter under our command. I doubt that there will be enough time in the midst of battle to assemble all the bones required to create anything very large."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He nodded as he absently played with her collar.
"Hmmm... Like an assembly line, I like that idea. Perhaps you could teach them to create something smaller than your centipedes, something that requires less effort but produces an effective undead fighter under our command. I doubt that there will be enough time in the midst of battle to assemble all the bones required to create anything very large."

She nodded, pulling her hair aside to leave his hand unobstructed. "True. But after battles are over such things can be assembled. On the spot necromancy can't produce much more than the skeletons and zombies you wish to surpass. It would be between battles that such creatures would be created. But yes, something smaller would likely be a little more practical."

He'd practically be able to see the gears in her head turning. She was cooking up ideas.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

Christian Vide

 

[Christian Vide]

(Sorry for the delay, unreliable reception and couldn't really think of anything to say.)

Christian nodded in agreement and strong arms were wrapped around her shoulders and waist.
He sighed slightly as he took in the scent of her hair.
"Seems we've lots of work to do. How much of it can you do without moving from my lap?"
His voice was low and close. The sensation of her skin against his wasn't an unpleasant one, he found it difficult to want to release her.

 

[Keia Merrenia]

(Sorry for the delay, unreliable reception and couldn't really think of anything to say.)

(No worries)

Christian nodded in agreement and strong arms were wrapped around her shoulders and waist.
He sighed slightly as he took in the scent of her hair.
"Seems we've lots of work to do. How much of it can you do without moving from my lap?"
His voice was low and close. The sensation of her skin against his wasn't an unpleasant one, he found it difficult to want to release her.

She shuddered, "Well the planning can easily be done from here, as well as predicting what problems we'll have and how we might counter them. But other than that I'm afraid I'll have to get up to do it."

She kissed his cheek and said, "But It can wait for a little bit if you would rather I stay here, master."

 

[Christian Vide]

He gently redirected her chin and kissed her on the lips.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we've rested enough. It's time to get back to work, the sun only marks the start of a new day and there is still much to do before then."
He leans back in his chair with a sigh and takes his arms off of her.
"Go and continue your research, I'll be working from my end. Remember to bore me with the details next time you report."

 

[Keia Merrenia]

He gently redirected her chin and kissed her on the lips.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I think we've rested enough. It's time to get back to work, the sun only marks the start of a new day and there is still much to do before then."

She moaned softly at the kiss and listened sadly to his words. "I suppose that much is true."

He leans back in his chair with a sigh and takes his arms off of her.
"Go and continue your research, I'll be working from my end. Remember to bore me with the details next time you report."

"Yes master!" She said with enthusiasm, leaping to her feet and giving him a subservient bow. "I will not fail you."

She scurried off back to her tower to conduct her experiments, conjure plans and put them into action.

 

[Christian Vide]

He watched her go before turning back to his desk and his piles of work. He felt like he was getting a bit ambitious with his goals, but he recognized necessity which might be the only mistress he truly served. Necessity drove him, the necessity to survive mostly, but also the need to defeat his enemies, to somehow do the right thing for once in his life...

He didn't even really know why he needed to do these things. Simply having a safe haven that cannot be infiltrated, an impenetrable bastion in which he could sit safely and untouched... Quietly... Essentially waiting for an assassin with an unusual imagination to find the one weakness he didn't think about, exploit it, and kill him.

He made a note. He just realized he hadn't done anything against magical infiltration yet. Wards against scrying, teleportation, invisibility measures, magically enhanced speed or senses. It would be best if they could cause a rift over the castle and village to create a magical void, but that would interfere with Keia's work and their magical soldiers.

The difficulty with magic were the thousands of loopholes and unknown magics and spells in the world. It would be close to impossible to counter all of them.
And when his defenses are cracked open and he is laid bare he'll be in this keep, like a minotaur in a maze, master of the maze yet trapped with his killers...
He looked at his calloused hands... He remembered that sense of satisfaction he got from repairing roofs and fences, from cutting firewood and running errands for the quiet people in a quiet village... Running and hiding your identity was almost safer than holing up in this glorified turtle shell...

Christian Vide came to the surface after a long disappearance... An assassin that was trying to regain a heart, suppressing for now the less tortured persona of Bruce.
Christian closed his eyes as the last hints of emotion fled his being... The Phantom Rose opened those eyes again.
He refused to be a hermit here... He had to find a balance or leave it all entirely with his slave in tow. With his skills he could easily escape the Duke should he come after them, the family was more persistent but he wasn't worried even should the two join forces, he could run indefinitely and Keia would learn as well...

Again Christian rose to the surface. A conflict... What did he really want? What did he want to do? What could he do? Running wasn't living, hiding in here was like waiting for death, and death wasn't an option.

_________________________________________

He got little done that night but he picked up the pace quickly. Bruce was a mere persona again and he didn't allow to lose himself in it again, right now it was dangerous for any one of his personas to dominate lest he make a dangerous mistake.