Private Tales The Vampire Citadel

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

Things were none too calm in Kinniger Castle. The Duke, Duke Remmond Kinniger, was stressing out furiously over the issue that plagued him and his people. In the north lay an old fortress, once believed to be abandoned, was suddenly well-maintained and strong. But the worst part was its inhabitants, vampires, a huge coven of them.

Duke Remmond was unwilling to send troops after such dangerous opponents, but he was also unwilling to not address the problem directly. So he set up a bounty, a promise of pay for any number of mercenaries who were willing to face the issue. The bounty was hefty, most certainly not an amount parted with lightly.

Duke Remmond's son, Sir Eberwolf Kinniger, was adamant in his involvement, to keep the mercenaries honest and to observe the threat to determine exactly how much of a threat they were.

 

[Mila Litwin]

Outside the castle's keep, Mila Litwin strolled into the surrounding area, having just completed some side-job. A simple enough affair, one of the local farmers tasked with sending a carriage of their monthly grain supplies to the Duke needed escort and protection for their carriage. It seemed like a simple enough affair and an easy way to earn a quick buck, and exactly as predicted, it was. The carriage made it's way into the keep, and Mila soon after split off after receiving due payment to find her next job, which, surprisingly enough, wasn't that far off.

One of the various local notices caught her eye;

"ADVENTURERS REQUIRED;
HIGH RISK;
HIGH PAY OFF;
CONTACT DUKE REMMOND OF CASTLE KINNIGER"

The words high pay caught her eye immediately, and for the most part, she was already a close enough distance away. If nothing else, it was worth at the very least inquiring about, and best case, well, she'd be getting rich off a Duke's treasury. Seemed to be a good deal to her, either way, and she planned to pursue it, atleast for now.

Moments later, after an inquiry of a few locals of the outlying town to find directions to the actual keep itself, she managed to source her way to the exterior, and two evidently bored looking guardsmen on watch. They both donned heavy plate, helmets, and wielded long, spear-like weapons. Mila simply regarded them both with a quiet huff;

"Need a word with the Duke. The job he posted. I wish to inquire." her words echo'd with simple bluntless, and an evidently foreign accent, with a glance both of the guards way;

"Right. Inside, first door on your right, follow the hall, and up the stairs." One responded, and with a quick nod his way, Mila made her way inside, following the directions, and evidently barging into the room the Duke, and his son, resided.

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

The guards were not the only ones that she would see, just the only bored ones. All of the guards around the keep were in full plate and carried halberds, most spoke with an accent that wasn't very common (German accent), and all were alert. With the threat of vampires being constant they were always ready to face attack.

She wasn't bothered as it was obvious what she was and why she was there. The guards who were posted at the door to the main audience chamber opened the doors for her as they were expected to. Inside she'd find several other mercenaries gathered, all of them were hardened in some way, and all unique, some carried ranged weapons, others melee, some both. There beside the Duke was a tall man in white armour, he carried no shield and a long sword. His armour was probably made by elves, and was thence more protective and light.

The man wasn't unattractive but he had several scars that he had received when he was younger, which probably wrote him off as over eager and aggressive. One had cut across his cheek from the corner of his mouth to the middle of his cheek, it had to be stitched together to let him talk normally.

The Duke wore equipment that resembled that of his men. But he didn't waste any time. "I see we have another mercenary to join us. Come in, I will fill you in on the details."

 

[Mila Litwin]

The new arrival simply offered a nod in response to the Duke's words. Her gaze scanning over him momentarily, examining each of his features- they gave away he was a man with atleast some notable past, judging by the scars, at the very least, albeit, she didn't think much else past that, before trotting further into the room, and taking her place beside one of the various other mercenaries gathered. A relatively frail looking man, clad in basic chainmail with a sword at his side- evidently under-prepared, and for the most part, he didn't even look like he could swing his weapon, nevermind hunt vampires, albeit, once more, she made no comment of it.

"Something about vampires is what the sign said, yeah, I already figured out that much." Mila finally piped up in response to the Duke, her own accent evidently foreign in origin, and rather rough. It was evident she wasn't a native to the continent. Idly bobbing her head along with her own words, arms crossing, her gaze started scanning around the room in idle observation, not once making eye-contact as her next inquiry came out;

"I'm interested in joining whatever- party- you're organizing here, but, I got a few questions I need to ask you first, if that's all good." She didn't wait for a response, simply getting right to it, and cutting off any words that may have come out in that time, "-so, just a few basic things. You said vampires on the bounty, but more specifics than that would be nice. How many, in specific? Do you know if their capable of magic, or anything of the sort? Or where they're based? Have you sent scouts to atleast /investigate/ the area yet?" a huff followed her words, and she offered herself brief respite to catch a breath, "-and how much is the pay?"

 

[Sir Eberwolf Kinniger]

"All of those questions will be answered, it's your job to find out that information I'm hiring you as scouts and spies, and if possible as guerilla or non-traditional soldiers. You will be going in to find out how many, what they are capable of and if possible to kill some of them off. The pay is seven hundred fifty coins initially, pus one hundred fifty gold for each confirmed vampire kill, prove this by bringing their heads or just their jaw. You will be going in, observing, causing trouble and reporting back so that we can get a good idea of how to approach them. As for how long it will take, it may take months, so I'm adding another two hundred and fifty coins per every two weeks spent. You will be accompanied by my son, Sir Eberwolf, and he will be there to keep the peace between you and act as a commanding officer if the need arises."