Private Tales Verhandeln

[Heike Eisen]

Heike started wrapping a cloth around the head of the third torch. No one else, and Szesh would have had an excellent view of the city from his vantage in the sky. The horse and its rider could have come in earlier in the day, this was true, but Heike reckoned that then she would have seen it.

I will check the horse.

"Very well. Stay vigilant," she said. Once she got these make-do torches fashioned, then they could be off to the Mine. And it was fortunate that Szesh could get them there quickly--with the coming of dusk and night not so far behind it, they didn't have much time before the Slaughterns had free rein on the city.

* * * * *​

The horse did not flee from Szesh, its training at least in this regard holding fast. Its gaze would alternate once Szesh got close. It looked at Szesh. Then it would glance back at the Silver and Gold Inn. Then back at Szesh.

Within the saddle bags were some supplies commonly found for travel: flint and steel, dried rations, an empty but spare waterskin, a small sewing kit, cloth rags, a handaxe, other things. There was a utility knife as well, whose sheath bore the blue and white crest of Gothia--Reikhurst's longtime rival kingdom to the north.

"What brings you to Reikhurst, friend?" said a man to Szesh.

A young man who stood alongside a young woman in the shaded doorway of the Silver and Gold Inn. They both had fair skin and appeared to be regular humans. They did not have the yellow eyes of the Slaughterns, and the young woman's right hand was clasped lovingly in the young man's left--no claws on either.

They both smiled amiably. Showing no teeth.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh looked up with a start at the voice and quickly replaced the utility knife that he had been examining. So much for staying vigilant, he had not noticed them coming to the door. Had they been there the whole time? No... no he would have seen them surely. He must have been distracted by searching the horse... but their footfalls would have been quiet indeed to not catch his ear.

"Is this your horse?" he asked, loud enough for them to hear but still trying not to spook the horse. They didn't seem to be perturbed that he had been robbing them, and they didn't seem the least bit alarmed by his appearance.

Everything about them, in fact, seemed quite ordinary and friendly, and he didn't trust them at all. It wasn't lost on him that they stayed in the shade, vampires being heavy on his mind. They did not look like Heike, no claws or yellow eyes or corpse-like skin, but Szesh had heard of vampires that dwelled among humans.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Jahn and Juliet Mulder quite enjoyed Reikhurst after their Lord and progenitor had struck a deal for their clan to relocate here. A city of vampires, taken from the grasp of humans years ago. None need worry about satiation for survival's sake--that orb, that beautiful red orb owned by the King, took care of that. So no worries about that, no. But for sport? For fun? Yes. Yes, indeed.

Is this your horse?

"No," said Jahn.

"Not ours," said Juliet.

"It's rider is no longer with us," said Jahn.

They both smiled.

"Just a friendly word of warning, stranger, but..." said Juliet.

"...it would be wise to leave here before sunset," said Jahn.

Juliet tilted her head coquettishly. Said, "Unless you'd like to come in, and stay with us for the night."

And both of them retreated back into the Inn, disappearing from the doorway.

* * * * *​

Heike stood. Collected up the improvised torches. With any luck, the Mine would prove to be an unpopular place for the Slaughterns to hunker down during the day, or the light of the torches within it might keep them wary and reclusive.

But, if they wanted a fight, Heike was more than willing to give them one. The time had not yet come for Reikhurst's full avenging, the battle to reclaim the city, but Heike would relish a small taste of it.

Torches in hand, she stepped out from Maria's old home.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

The continued calm and friendly attitude of the couple unnerved him. He disliked the singsong way they completed each others thoughts, the odd smiles, the all but outright admission of devouring the horse’s rider.

He did not answer them, but he made sure they were well within the inn before continuing to loot the saddle bags. The knife and handaxe he slipped into his belt, and he gathered up the flint and steel, the waterskin, and the scant rations. There was also a good bit of rope tied to the saddle, and he wrapped this like a bandolier about his chest. It never hurt to have a good piece of rope.

He kept regular watch over his back as he returned to the home to meet Heike. The sun had dipped low enough for her, it seemed. ”Vampires in the inn,” he said matter-of-factly.

He offered her the hatchet along with the flint and steel. ”Now we can both create fire.” He kept looking back to the inn now that it was dusk, sure that every time he turned around might be the moment the pair came charging from the door.

”Which way to the mines?”

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike met Szesh outside shortly after stepping out, with him maintaining a steady vigilance over his shoulder as he came back from Harbor Road. She was a touch perturbed, but did not think so much of it until he spoke. Vampires in the inn. Her brow narrowed and she glanced past him for a moment at the Silver and Gold in the distance. The filth were watching them. Of course they were. They occupied Reikhurst not outright, but by discreet means.

But getting distracted and bogged down while night was falling would be a mistake. As much as she wanted to tear apart the monsters who destroyed her home, such vindication would have to wait.

"Their time will come." Heike smiled with a spiteful anger. "And mayhap it will come by your own fire, Szesh."

With the mention of fire, Szesh proffered the hatchet and the flint and steel. Heike gave a nod and took the hatchet and settled it into her belt up to the axehead; her elongated claws made it dangerous and unwieldy for her to try to use it properly as a weapon, but it might retain usefulness in another regard. The flint and steel she could hold and use by pinching with thumbs and forefingers, so this would be good should something happen to her primary torch. She pocketed these.

Which way to the mines?

Heike turned and pointed. "There to the southwest, and close to the walls. The surface structure of the mine is small, but it stands apart from other buildings in a plaza. It will be easy to see from the air."

Whence the gold used in the insignia's forging was procured, there it shall be laid to rest. This until Reikhurst was retaken, and the Order of the Golden Blade could be reestablished. That battle was coming, for Heike held it as her sworn duty. But for now, this final honor for a fallen comrade.

Heike held out her arm. Two warriors, taking flight and returning to the fight once more.

"Shall we, then?"

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh flared his nostrils at the thought of roasting more vampires. Given how terribly his flames had injured Heike, he remembered with a pinch of remorse, their enemies would go up like tinder.

If Szesh’s face could have smiled, he would have. It was a good feeling to be working together again. He hadn’t known if he’d be fighting against Heike when he flew here, and his relief was palpable. He took her hand gently and held her tight to his side. His wings stretched out, catching the faintest reflections of the deep purple clouds, and he could hear the hooves of the horse as it took a step away, the most it had reacted this whole time.

The pair bolted into the sky and after a few powerful strokes they soared smoothly over rooftops. They gained elevation gradually, but stayed low enough to avoid undue attention.

Szesh could see shadows moving below them. They flickered across windows and in between buildings. More and more often he thought he saw figures on the streets, but after a second glance they were gone. Reikhurst seemed to be waking up, or perhaps he was slipping deeper into a nightmare.

The small mine was obvious from the air, as Heike had promised. He let her go quickly after landing and blew on the torches to light them. There had been no shadows here, but he did not trust them to stay away without the fire. He handed one to Heike, and undid the leather cover on his hammer’s head, drawing the heavy weapon out. Perhaps it was time to become more familiar with it.

 

[Heike Eisen]

That sensation of flight once again. It was a strange one, and matched inadequately by the great leaps Heike could perform with an expenditure of blood. Her hair and her coat whipped around as they had during the flight to the wizard's tower for the Catalyst bounty, the feel of the wind like the gusts of a storm. And still Heike marveled at how Draconians and other flying beings could get used to so incredible a thing as flight--that for them it was a pedestrian as a wagon ride.

Those figures.

Heike saw them too. Fleeting glimpses. Heads dipping back behind the cover of corners, disappearing back into buildings. Eyes watching from windows. The filthy vampires were becoming emboldened by the retreat of the sun, and at least some small portion of them knew of Szesh and Heike's presence in the city, even if they did not know where exactly they were going.

When the day finally came for Reikhurst to be purged, for its destroyers to themselves be destroyed...Heike simply could not wait. But she must. To rally the survivors and assemble the force necessary for the task, she must.

And there. The Old Gold Mine. The grass around it in the clearing, once meticulously maintained, had grown wild; weeds as well had taken root, only increasing the disorderly state into which the original source of Reikhurst's wealth, the heritage site known to all citizens, had fallen.

Heike found her footing once they touched ground, and she scanned the area. Houses and buildings in various states of disrepair to their right, front, and back, the mighty walls reconstructed by the Sixteenth King to their left where the grounds of the Mine ended. Watchful eyes perhaps were upon them, but none of the Slaughterns had stepped out to confront them. Yet.

Heike accepted the lit torch. Made sure to hold her arm out to keep a healthy distance between the flame and the rest of her body.

"We need not go too far down into the Mine," she said. "The majority of the remaining gold is deep within, but there are some nearly depleted veins closer to the surface. It is at one of these that I shall put my comrade's insignia."

And it was then that she took notice of the hammer. The particular design. Who it had belonged to.

She shared a victorious smile with Szesh. "'Tis good that such a fine weapon will be turned toward a better purpose."

With that, Heike proceeded through the grass. The aboveground structure of the Mine was one of sculpted marble, encasing the pulley system for extracting the ore and the ladder down into the shaft. Atop the structure was a statue of a Knight of the Golden Blade...a statue whose arms had been broken off. Heike's brow quivered at the sight. Damnable vampires. Absolutely damnable.

Heike entered the aboveground structure. Stood at the precipice of the wide hole delving down into the depths of Reikhurst--a thirty-five foot drop.

And she jumped down into the darkness. Landed with an echoing WHOP down in the shaft, a beacon of orange light in the black and cavernous Mine.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh did feel some relief that they needn’t travel too far into the mines. Heike was right that he and his kind oft took their flight for granted. It was so central to their being that it hardly merited second thoughts. The other side of the coin, however, was how disquieting it was to have that flight removed. He would not be able to fly through the mines, and the sky would be barred from him by heavy stone and earth. It was akin to shackling the legs of a gladiator, and telling him to face a lion.

He looked down at the hammer at Heike's comment, and gave it a few lazy spins to get a feel for the weight. He had not used it much, he had not needed to so far, and he was still the slightest bit uneasy at its magical properties. Heike was right, though, it had been finely crafted and would serve them well.

Szesh stooped into the mine's entrance and peered into the darkness with a dryness in his mouth. The dim glow of Heike's torch seemed very far away, so far into the depths. He sighed, and followed after her. His landing was not as graceful as hers. He couldn't open his wings in the narrow shaft to slow his descent so instead he braced himself clumsily against the walls, scraping down to a loud and heavy thud peppered with falling pebbles and dirt.

He raised his torch and squinted ahead. The mineshaft was large and had clearly been excavated long ago. He could stand relatively comfortably, which was surprising. He couldn't see any gold, though, not here.

"Shall I lead?" he asked, but did not wait for a reply before stepped past Heike. He did not want to worry about burning her if they should meet enemies in the passages ahead.

 

[Heike Eisen]

The central chamber of the shaft was large and round in shape. The firelight of their torches reflected dully off of the dirt and rock of the walls, the overwhelming palette of orange and brown like a desert sunrise confined within the comparatively cramped space of a cavern. No eyes peered at them from the edges of the dark, from the number of tunnels which branched off from the central chamber. But a nearly imperceptible haze, like an early morning mist hovering above a still lake, hung in the air of the central chamber and said tunnels.

Heike didn't like it. Not that she liked much of Reikhurst's current state to begin with. But it was stark evidence that those other kinds of vampires, those she was unfamiliar with outside of her nights of observation of the city, had been down here. Or very likely were still down here.

Shall I lead?

"Please. I will watch behind," she said, falling in at his back and backpedaling as he moved ahead. "Take one of the passages that does not go further down. Either will be sufficient."

Of these, tunnels which were level in depth with the central chamber, there were two:

One to the east. This one peculiar in a way unique among the other tunnel entrances. Someone had installed a curtain of hanging beads from the first wooden support strut, and just beyond the curtain and visible through the gaps in the beads was a pilfered rug, clean and free of dirt and dust.

The other tunnel was to the northwest. And this way appeared as though the haze of the mine shaft gradually thickened into a manner of fog, for the light of Heike and Szesh's torches quit at its cloudy bluish-white edge.

Nothing moved in either tunnel, nor was there any sound from either--aside from their own footfalls and the crackling of their torches.

The choice was Szesh's.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Neither option appealed to him. The tunnel to the east bore clear signs of habitation, albeit curious signs at that. Beaded curtains? A rug? He had not known vampires to care about their interior designs, but then again he didn't know much about vampires at all outside of the odd ghost story and what Heike herself had told him. The tunnel to the west, while apparently abandoned, held an air of doom within that fog.

Deciding that he would rather be able to see his enemy, Szesh moved for the eastern tunnel. Though his bare feet stepped softly, the central cavern amplified and echoed. Each shuffle of dirt and each gasping flicker of their torches were made louder.

He felt a great tension, and his arms practically vibrated in anticipation of needing to strike quickly. His wings instinctively wanted to flare out, to make ready an escape, but he denied them and tucked them tight. They would do him no good down here. In his chest he felt heat, and his mouth was dry, as his body prepared its ultimate defense.

Szesh pushed the beads aside with the head of the hammer, and when he was convinced that no curse or poison lay upon them, he slid beneath them.

 

[Heike Eisen]

The rattling of the beads made Heike glance forward. She made a quizzical--almost agitated--face, and spoke in a wry tone, "Now who would go and do something like that?"

She passed through the curtain as well, keeping vigilance to their rear and periodically looking around Szesh and ahead. There was more than just the rug and the installed curtain of beads--table and chair, cabinet, some loose items on old supply crates. Someone was definitely dwelling here. And they needn't wait long to find out who.

As the first corner of the tunnel quickly came up, a bed--an actual bed--was against the tunnel wall. A gaunt man, young man as it so happened since he could barely claim the few hairs on his chin, lay upon it. He slept on top of the single sheet, his clothes simple and worn. His lips were parted just enough that a tiny line of drool ran down to his jaw.

"What...in the King's name..." Heike said, flatly. This was certainly not what she was expecting. She checked back over her shoulder and the around the corner from which they had come and then looked back to the sleeping gaunt man. "We should check him for fangs. There are strains of vampires who appear very human otherwise."

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Stealth had never been his strong suit. Even now his scales reflected the torchlight like a silver mirror, and it was difficult to move around the modest furniture without shoving it aside. The young man must have been in a very deep sleep indeed.

Heike's curiosity was warranted. Beads and rugs didn't seem like the sort of decorations vampires would go for, not that he had any idea what the undead preferred for their aesthetic. This didn't seem very sinister, and the man was the furthest thing from threatening in appearance.

He hummed a low, grumbling confirmation of Heike's suggestion. It would not do to be caught off guard, not here. He moved forwards and positioned a large hand to hover a foot above the man's chest. If he was a vampire, he wasn't going to react well to having his mouth poked and prodded.

"Ready?" He asked as quietly as he could, more of a hiss than a whisper. When he was certain she was, he pushed a heavy arm on the man's neck and shoulders, pinning him where he lay. He made sure not to crush him, nor upset his breathing too much. If he was not a vampire then his death would not be forgiven by the undead knight. Szesh was not always level headed, but he learned quickly.

"Still." He commanded firmly to the young man.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Ready?

Heike nodded. Moved into position next to Szesh and close to the strange man sleeping soundly in the oddly placed bed. It was such an peculiar thing. Heike remained focused on the task at hand, yes, but the peculiarity of it all gnawed at the back of her mind. Quite fair to say that this was perhaps the last thing she expected to see coming down into the Old Mine.

Szesh pinned the man. His eyes popped open, as they do when one is abruptly jostled awake. Heike held her torch back and with her free hand slapped her palm down on the man's mouth--muffling a startled shriek--and then spread it open with the flats of her thumb and pointer finger. No fangs. He was human. And the man did indeed Still when Szesh commanded him to, his flailing protestations ceasing immediately.

This, yes, but also the very sight of Heike. Szesh's massive Draconian form was something naturally terrifying when roused from sleep in such a manner, but for some reason, when the man's eyes snapped over to Heike, he went from merely being still to being incredibly calm and assured.

"Oh, My Lady, I'm terribly sorry for thrashing so," he said. "Have you brought this Draconian here to be joined into the fold?"

Heike's head recoiled backward, as if some kind of foul smell had assault her nostrils. She regarded the gaunt man with a disdainful puzzlement, and said sardonically, "I beg your pardon...?"

"Yes, yes, we can begin right away, My Lady," the gaunt man said, rather enthused by the prospect. "Which strain shall he become? Mistweaver? Mulder? Or, might I be so bold to say, mayhap yours, My Lady?"

Heike glanced slowly to her side, to Szesh, only the slight rustle of her shawl and coat as she did. Her brow firmly narrowed in consternation from the man and his words. She looked to see if Szesh held that same level of disdainful puzzlement that she did.

Last thing she expected. Quite fair to say, and no mistake.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh held firm to the man until he lay still, but when his tone became quiet and his words subservient, he met Heike’s gaze, though it would be difficult to tell. His face was not equipped to offer much in the way of expression, but within he turned the strange man’s words over in his head.

Even to his limited experience with the supernatural the man’s position became clear. He was clearly not hostile, and so Szesh slowly lifted his hand from his chest. He remained ready to slam it back down if needed, but being assured that the man was, in fact, human had calmed his nerves.

He must serve the vampires. Any vampire, apparently. Perhaps it was not such a leap, after all. Powerful men had peons, they had slaughtered many of those in the tower, why should monsters be any different?

If they played along perhaps he would lead them where they needed to go. Then again, it might be safer to just kill him and not risk exposure. In any case, he looked like he would do anything Heike asked.

”Tell him,” he said to Heike, starting the bluff. ”Tell him what you want.”

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike could hardly believe what she was hearing, and her disgust began to boil like potted water held over a campfire. The man was...wretched, in the truest sense of the word. A near literal lap dog for the vampires occupying Reikhurst.

The man looked to Heike expectantly (eagerly, even) when Szesh said his bluff. And it took Heike a second to catch on. She was bound by her Oath of Truth, but it was widely understood that the obligation did not extend to telling one's enemies the truth when directly questioned--such would infringe on other Oaths and knightly duties. And here was an enemy of Reikhurst, no noble Monster Hunter nor concerned townsfolk, no man of good character to whom her Oath would oblige her to speak the full truth.

Still, though, Heike did not outright lie.

"What is your name?" she snapped at him.

Unfazed, as if completely used to this sort of treatment, the man said, "Gregory, my lady. Gregory Ehrmantraut."

Heike's eyes widened. She recognized the last name. "You're Reikhurstan."

Gregory nodded vigorously, "Yes! Yes, My Lady, it is my pl--"

Heike slapped him. Hard. A strong backhand raking across his cheek, whipping his head to one side of the meager, and she glowered down at him, this pathetic man openly indulgent in his treason. "Get up," she snarled.

"Oh yes, yes, yes, My Lady," Gregory said, rising up and off of the bed and standing in a servile manner with shoulders slouched and head bowed. "I do apologize if I have displeased--"

"I and the Draconian are here to the remaining veins of gold in this tunnel," Heike said. "Are there any vampires further in?"

Gregory thought. "No, I do not believe so. Most of the Lords and Ladies that I serve have bedded elsewhere for the day. There are others elsewhere in the mine, My Lady, if you would like to meet--"

"No," Heike said, curtly. "Walk. Ahead of us. Go."

"Yes, My Lady."

And thus Gregory started along, going further down the tunnel away from his makeshift quarters. Heike a couple of steps behind him. She cast a half-hearted glance up to Szesh, but couldn't look him in the eyes. Her face was flushed, the blood of others giving her pallid skin a reddening hue. She was angry--furious--with Gregory, yes, but she was also incredibly embarrassed that Szesh was present for this. What if he had encountered Gregory before he had encountered her, and that was his first impression? What would he think of Reikhurst and its people? Heike was appalled to be associated with a man like Gregory even through mundane civic commonality.

"He does not..." represent my people, those words left on Heike's tongue and unsaid to Szesh. In their stead, a low and restrained growl rumbling in her throat.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh tensed when Heike struck the man. It was completed unexpected, and at first he couldn't make sense of it. Heike had tried to kill him for murdering a civilian, but now she struck a human with her vampiric strength. It must be part of the role, he figured, but the contempt in her voice was very, very convincing.

It took him a few minutes of walking behind Heike to come to understand. Her commitment to Reikhurst had followed her after death. What a spineless worm this man must appear to her. Szesh thought it just as likely this man had found a way to survive where all others failed, but he did seem to enjoy his role a little too much. He wondered, had he been in Heike's place, how he would have dealt with the man. Thinking back on what he had already tried to do to those in the Shattered City gave him his answer.

Szesh did not fully understand what Heike's broken comment meant, but he did recognize the frustration. He gave a slow nod, an affirmation that whatever she was feeling was acceptable. Would killing this man when they were finished make her feel better? He'd let her decide that, although his desire to do something just to make her feel better did strike him as new. No... not new. A very old feeling. Probably the same one that had driven him to come here in the first place.

The tunnels were, as expected, a claustrophobic disaster. Was it possible that the ceiling was growing lower as they progressed, or was his neck just tiring from stooping down for so long? The stone walls cast echoes of their footsteps and made it impossible to tell if someone were approaching, and he checked behind them every few seconds. The sooner they were done with this ants' nest the better.

 

[Heike Eisen]

There was but one prescription for treason: the gallows. It was one crime to which compelled service was not a justifiable sentence by Reikhurstan custom. A shame, then, that Heike had no gallows and no witnessing public, but in lieu of that other means of execution were acceptable. Gregory would live out his brief usefulness here in the mine, and then the appropriate justice would be carried out.

Heike appreciated the nod. Szesh knew. He understood. One did not take up arms for one's people and endure the sight of a traitor to those very people lightly--exile or no.

Heike as well took notice of the cramped confines of the mine, seeing how Szesh and his wings--even drawn in and folded--could only just get by. Hell's fury, it must be horrific for him. Heike's marvel at the ability of flight was likely similar in magnitude to the unpleasantness for a being like Szesh to be trapped down in the earth like this, without the sky above and the freedom to simply lift off and fly free stolen away by the depths of Arethil. He carried himself well, as Heike had complete faith that he would. However he felt within his heart, it remained true that courage had no place with apprehension, trepidation, or true fear.

Fortunately for Szesh, the narrow tunnel opened up as they came to a hollowed out chamber. Large struts supported the ceiling, and much gold had been mined from this chamber, and by the light of their torches the glimmer on the far walls revealed that there was yet still some which remained.

Gregory pointed dutifully, "There it is, My Lady. The gold that you seek."

Heike took the insignia of the unknown knight out of her pocket. Then said to Szesh, "I will be only a moment. But if he tries anything, execute him."

Gregory, as of yet unfazed, bowed his head and readily stepped beside Szesh and said to Heike, "You have my complete devotion, My Lady."

Heike grimaced, deigned not to reply to that, and stepped toward the thin gold veins along the far wall and knelt down respectfully as she laid the insignia to rest.

Gregory held his hands in front of himself. Looked up at Szesh. And, projecting his way of thinking onto the Draconian, said, "Ah, you are a lucky one to serve her. I have yet to gain a true patron among the Slaughterns or the Mistweavers. Perhaps the Mulders will be my fortune. How did you do it, if you'd not mind my asking?"

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh observed in silence (per usual) as Heike laid the fallen knight's sigil to rest. The gold cast a friendly shine across the cavern, and one could almost imagine the warm flames to be coming from all around. He much preferred it here, in the larger space. Maybe if he imagined it was night and the dark ceiling above was a starless sky? He tried. It did not work.

He turned to look at Gregory when he spoke, and he felt a great distaste for the boy. What a sad and spineless creature, to submit himself to masters who let him live in squalor. To bend at every whim of a sadistic host of night creatures. Szesh had lived in meager barracks, he had followed orders, but that was different, he told himself. There had been honor in what they'd done, what they were protecting. This... this man served out of fear, selfishness, or a misplaced adoration for his captors.

But the worm had been useful, and Szesh did not think it prudent to end the charade just yet. Oddly enough, the answer to Gregory's inquiry came quite readily. "I killed for her." If his face could allow it, he would have almost appeared amused. "Offered her a meal. A... sacrifice." What irony there was now in thinking of Heike's true reaction to his "gift." Of course, anything so loathed by Heike would likely be adored by others of her kind.

A pause, then another uncharacteristic bout of cleverness. "I know only Slaughterns. What are Mistweavers and Mulders?"

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike spoke some quiet words over the insignia.

Meanwhile, Gregory tapped his chin and drew in a realizing breath. "Ahhh...'tis a shame then. I do not think that I would have the stomach for that myself."

Oh no. Goodness no. He was quite fine with luring people to his Masters, with passing along information to his Masters that might lead to such, with advising his Masters on who may have set their sights on Reikhurst and could do with a good killing, but to do so himself? No, no. He would endeavor to find some other way.

Heike heard Szesh's question for Gregory, and she purposely delayed her return to them--spoke a few more words for the unknown knight. It was genius. The servile man, the shame of the whole Ehrmantraut family, was positively certain that Heike was part of the occupying Slaughterns and that Szesh was akin to him. He thought he was in the company of allies.

And Gregory obliged him. "They are also part of King Jürgen's host. The Mistweavers bring spies and finesse, and the Mulders, oh, they're more recent--they will make great beasts to serve our King and protect him once the time for the Ritual comes."

Heike went silent. Her back was to the two of them, but her eyes widened unseen with a certain intensity.

"Strong Draconian warriors such as yourself will be a great boon for that day," Gregory added amiably.

Heike slowly stood up. Saying her last words over the insignia, "You stayed true."

And cast a glance back over her shoulder. To Szesh. Simultaneously in it, a look that suggested Szesh keep going, and as well a look that demanded Gregory meet with his end.

* * * * *​

Back in the central chamber of the shaft, a cloud of mist floated down. Coalesced into a human form.

Helgen, the stoic right-hand man to the Lord of the Mistweavers herself, looked toward the beaded curtain. He had hard eyes, the mass and height of an orc, and a disturbingly quiet demeanor. He wore the finery of a noble--armor did not lend itself well to being mistweaved. He was the type of man who followed his orders without question, and with brutal efficiency.

And right now, he needed to summon the wretch Gregory.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Of course you could not, you waterboned smoothflesh. Szesh's contempt for Gregory was only confirmed by his admission of spinelessness, and while his verbal capabilities were constrained by physiology his mental insults ran deep. The irony of feeling "better than" whilst being an outcast himself was, this time, forgotten. Heike's continual adherence to honor was more of an inspiration than he realized. It planted the idea that, perhaps, he alone were responsible for his own.

Regardless, Gregory was deplorable, and Szesh had no qualms whatsoever about exploiting him for as long as he was useful, and extinguishing him not a moment later.

He did not know who King Jürgen was, but judging from the look Heike gave him he was important, as was this "ritual" Gregory spoke of. They needed more information, but would Gregory grow suspicious if they did not already know about the ritual? Szesh's creativity was beginning to run out, but he knew Gregory would never break under threat of pain or violence. He was too loyal and had too much misplaced pride in his servitude.

A thought. Pride... that could be used. Perhaps he could not break Gregory's bones, but pride resisted insult just as fiercely. He sighed, and tasted the stagnant air. At least if his gamble didn't work Heike could probably just demand he reveal everything.

"Strong warriors, yes. But... no stomach for blood... I'm surprised they trust you with knowledge of the ritual."

 

[Heike Eisen]

Gregory bowed his head in a gesture of humility. Scratched the back of his neck.

"Yes, you would be right, friend." He sighed. "My work comes in all the little things that contribute to the preparation for that fateful day. I hear what my Lords and Ladies discuss, but..." Then with an acute glance to Heike before looking back to Szesh, "...you needn't fret about me! Though there are things that have been spoken in my lowly presence, they are all secrets that I will vigorously keep, and speak of seldomly and only in good company."

Heike started to walk back toward Szesh and Gregory. She had half a mind to outright demand, or perhaps try to force, the answer of when this supposed Ritual was to take place. But such was a one way path with no return, and Gregory would certainly become aware--however slowly--that he was not in "good company" if she did so. This was a battlefield of sorts, one of clever words instead of drawn swords, and one that their enemy had no idea he was even fighting. The strategy of using the sycophant's own misconception about herself and Szesh had not been exhausted just yet.

Heike gave a knowing look to Szesh. Then regarded Gregory. Placed a hand on her hip. Said, "Surely there must be a use for you when the day comes."

Gregory's eyes alighted with hope, almost childlike in manner. "Do you say true, My Lady? Is there such a place for one such as myself? I could maintain the arms of your Draconian, or perhaps bring you succor if King Jürgen has not allowed you to touch the Bloodstone. For your matronage, I would devote myself to whatever you deem fitting."

Not quite the answer Heike was fishing for--one that featured more of a spilling of information rather than a yellow-bellied offering of service. Or perhaps it was. The Bloodstone Heike knew about from her infiltration into the Monster Hunter Academy, but the confirmed fact that there was some amount of internal strife or politicking within the False King's host was something.

Or perhaps Szesh could try Gregory from a different angle.

* * * * *​

Helgen stood at the foot of the wretch's bed.

And saw that it was empty.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

He wondered how Heike felt about Gregory offering his unconditional servitude. She maintained their ruse well enough, but Szesh thought her could detect her hints of struggle.

The boy wasn't letting things slip, or not quick enough. What was the Bloodstone? Why did it matter? He was not accustomed to this battle of words, but it had gone relatively well so far.

"Do you want one who changes masters so quickly?" he asked in pretend question to Heike, stepped around in two long strides to stand beside her, facing the young man. "Maybe he knows nothing... lies to gain favor." He needed to rile Gregory, make him prove what he knew by spilling it.

Honestly, he didn't like the sound of any of it. Bloodstones and rituals, and clearly some violence to be had if Gregory thought Szesh would be useful. He hoped against hope that all of their foes would be this easy to fool, but somehow he doubted that very much.

The caverns felt cold. Had they always been so? He hadn't noticed until now, but their torchlight seemed to flicker amidst a nonexistent wind.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike cupped her chin in the crook of her thumb and forefinger, a gesture of consideration, as she spoke in a musing way on Szesh's words. "He does seem quite...ready to pledge his loyalty on any self-serving whim."

It pained Heike greatly to keep the act up. Though it did not breach the letter nor even the spirit of her Oaths, and in fact was well supported by them, to be in such miserable and appalling company was taxing. She could act with her body, her hands, but she did not know how well she was doing with her eyes. She didn't know if her loathing for the wretch was as clear in them as an irate maiden glowering down at some unworthy suitor from a glass window.

Gregory's eyes widened. He placed his hand over his heart in a disgustingly earnest way and pleaded to Szesh, "My friend..." to Heike, "My Lady. Please, if you would, simply hear me out. I seek only the opportunity to live out my days, that is all. The Kingdom of Reikhurst could not provide that, for it was weak, and crushed within a single night by the might of King Jürgen's magnificent host!"

Heike bristled. Shifted her eyes from Gregory to Szesh here as an intense, spiraling anger ignited in them. Almost in a beseeching manner of "Stop me," this look to Szesh. If she looked upon Gregory's meek, mewling countenance directly in that moment she would not be able to stop herself from executing him on the spot.

Gregory, oblivious, continued, "My Lords and Ladies of the host are strong, and their rule is secure. To such prosperous might and security I will gladly and humbly submit myself. My loyalty will be here. To King Jürgen and to you, My Lady. But, to you first, My Lady, if you would but allow me to bend the knee to you. If King Jürgen has shut you out, then I can be your eyes and your ears. Men and women like myself are invisible members of the court, and all the happenings of the court that I know, you can know too..." A respectful, butler-esque bow, "...My Lady."

Heike still hadn't looked at him.

Still her eyes were locked on Szesh. Her fury was manifest, and the stabilizing sight of Szesh--a fellow warrior and friend--was the only thing keeping her from launching into action she saw as only right and just for an absolutely reprehensible traitor like Gregory. She was as the fabled sword, dangling from a single hair, this hair poised to snap and the sword to fall upon the wretch at a moment's notice--despite whatever he may know.

"Szesh..." she said, her voice strained and on edge.

* * * * *​

Helgen started walking down the tunnel from the wretch's bed.

Ahead. Faintly and distantly. It sound like the wretch. Talking. Too bad if another vampire wanted him for something. The wretch was called upon by an authority that would overrule them.

Szesh

 

[Szesh]

Szesh could see the cracks forming in Heike's facade like a frozen lake too thin to bear the weight of Gregory's treachery. He could see the fissures spreading outwards, creaking in protest as the ice yearned to cave inwards just as she yearned to avenge her fallen idols. Hesitation was death on the ice.

He stepped with surprising lightness to come between man and vampire, rounding on Gregory with a small but imposing flare of his wings. They reflected his torchlight and added shadow to his already intimidating figure, but more importantly hid the louse from Heike's view, and her claws. "Proof," he snarled, a disgust he did not need to feign, "Or be crushed for wasting time."

It would be so easy, too easy to get any real satisfaction from. Like swatting a mosquito, more irksome chore than anything. Much to Gregory's detriment, the pair did not have time for him to snoop around on their behalf. Szesh, for one, hoped never to return to these mines if he could help it, and the sooner Heike's business here was concluded the better.

The mines grew colder, and the torches flickered as though being drawn by sourceless wind towards the cavern entrance. Inky eyes looked invisibly to the doorway, and although they saw only darkness, Szesh could feel something wrong approaching.

"Quickly," he rumbled. Gregory would think the word meant for him, but Heike may hear the trepidation in the reptilian voice, and know it for a warning.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Szesh completely obscured the sight of the obsequious man. Killing him, in a sense--if even for a small and blissful moment before Gregory would inevitably start to talk again. A thin wisp of breath, what little air lingered without purpose in Heike's lungs, she let out in a silent sigh. She wished dearly that Gregory had no value whatsoever. Perhaps that was true. Perhaps he was simply wasting their time--just a mewling thing who would declare the blue sky to be yellow, or conjure any other manner of falsehood, if it would please those whose favor he sought. But duty was scarcely easy to uphold, and if Gregory did in fact have something locked in that traitor's skull of his, then a small stay of execution would do.

Szesh pressed him.

Oblivious to Szesh's tone and dismissive of the outright threat, still believing this to apparently be a polite and cordial conversation, Gregory said, "My friend, I am to Our Lady the listening bird as you are to her the fierce warrior."

He called around Szesh. "Apologies, My Lady, if King Jürgen has made you a pariah."

Then, looked to Szesh again and spoke in manner that addressed both of them, "But the Ritual, our deliverance, does approach, and approach it does this very year. I have overheard enough clues to know with a fair certainty; it is in fact one of King Jürgen's great lamentings that the rising of the Great Ones Drakormir and Neha was so ill-timed this year, coming much too early. Oh it would have been the perfect distraction. But, I digress: what day is more noteworthy than the day which marks the sixth year of Reikhurst's sacking? It is no well-kept secret that six is a number of power to the Bloodstone. And I--"

A footstep.

By the tunnel leading out of the chamber and back toward Gregory's makeshift quarters in the mine.

Heike snapped a glance toward the sound.

And, at the edge of the firelight of their torches, stood Helgen. His hard eyes watching them, her and Szesh and Gregory alike. He had on his belt a brutal hooked knife. Which, strangely, given the hostile look in his gaze, he pulled from his belt and tossed to the ground.

"A Draconian," he said flatly. "And a Knight of the Golden Blade."

Heike, more than ready to unleash some anger, snarled, "A disgusting vampire."

Helgen turned to one side. Raised his hand toward them. And gave two curt, inviting waves of his fingers.

Szesh