The Bloodlust of Genevieve

by Phoenix73182

Based off the Warhammer series of books, we follow a vampire and her shadowy companion as she faces those things which haunt her rest. A Witchfinder knows more than he is letting on and she is pursued by the Vatruvians who want more than justice.

Die Blutsinneslust von Genevieve

OR the blood lust of Genevieve

The moonlight shown faintly in the woods barely illuminating the path that she ran down trying to get as far away from him as possible. She stopped to listen and only heard her heavy breathing. The cool evening air blew through her blonde hair making it stick to her sweaty pale skin. Shadows moved quickly over the leaves of the trees that surrounded her like cage bars. She wouldn't be safe until she got out of the woods and found someone to take her back to town. It was a good thing she could count fast or she would have never been able to run away from that monster. She started to run again, but she never saw it coming. She couldn't have even if she had her sight.

Blood ran down the side of her hot sweaty face making it look like she was crying crimson tears. Her head wound knocked her out and the man carried her back into the blackness that he came from. The trees seemed to swallow them as he walked back deeper into the woods.

Genevieve sat in a tree watching the night sky slowly engulf the remainder of the day. She had just woken from her slumber in a nearby cave, ready to get moving towards Altdorf. Her eyes sparkled as they caught the now shining full moon.

She was on her way to find yet another meaningless life to lead. She hadn't been to Altdorf in many years, so another visit there seemed reasonable. She was a property owner there anyway. After she had seen her parents die, she took the deeds to the land with her on her travels. If she ever needed a place to go back to, there was always Altdorf waiting for her to return.

She was more than sure that the land that her parents owned, was now "owned" by another family, but that wouldn't be a problem. She had documentation from 2 centuries ago that would throw the scum from her land. All she needed to do was go to the town hall and present her papers and the land would be hers once more. Genevieve smiled at the moon. She was excited and depressed at the thought of going back there; sure those memories would flood her once again.

The smile faded from her face as she remembered the fate of her family. All she could see was blood. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she climbed from the tree to the hard ground below. She walked back to the well-used local road and mounted her horse Shadowmiere.

She sat there, thinking of the horrible deaths that she had witnessed as a child. Her Mothers screams, her Father lying there with dead unseeing eyes...

Her fog of memories lifted as she heard the faint sound of wagon wheels rolling over the caked, hard ground. She knew that using this road would have her encounter others, but didn't expect many to be out after dark when the bodies where found near the town of Lagen. It was probably some fool merchant that was traveling to Altdorf also. It was only a half night ride from here.

Genevieve picked up her cloak, wrapping it around her small body. Even for it being late spring, the nights were still tinged with winter's chilly bite. Genevieve mounted the horse and at a slow trot, started to backtrack towards the sound of the traveling humans.

"Daddy, I don't know what is so important that you have to make me go to Altdorf at this time of night. Didn't you hear what happened to a merchant outside of town?" The girls Father said nothing but kept his nose in the pages of the parchment that were delivered to their home only 20 minutes before. He kept reading them over and over, not believing what he was reading.

"Now dearest," he said to his daughter without looking up, "Daddy has some important business that is urgent in Altdorf, and since your Mother is away visiting your Aunt Annabelle, I have no choice but to bring you with me."

"Well, DADDY, if you didn't sell our old house and dismiss my Maid Servant, maybe you wouldn't HAVE to bring me along!" She pouted her red lips at him, crossed her arms, and then stared out the window at the night sky.

Her Father didn't care about her hissy fits regarding the money he no longer had. All he cared about was getting his reputation back as Chief of Royal Affairs in Altdorf.

A Royal Banquet had gone very sour about 3 months ago when a Lady and Lord from a neighboring City Town arrived. The Lady was allergic to seafood and he was told to make a special duck dish for her and her husband. The chef wasn't told exactly why he had to make the special dish, had no duck, so made the main course with white fish for her instead. Thankfully, the Lady was prone to taking only small bites of food because of her allergy, tasted the fish, spat it back out, therefore only having a mild reaction. The Chef was hung the next morning and as for him, he was stripped of his title, his land and his dignity. He was forced to sell the house to the now owners of the land for only a small fraction of it's 100,000 gold coin cost to build. That's when he had to fire the servants and buy the house in Lagen.

He read the last page of the papers in his hand, rubbed his weary eyes and looked out of the carriage. He found himself lucky to have been able to pay one of the stable hands in town to drive him and his daughter to Altdorf on such sort notice. Although Lagen wasn't seeing much business as of late, so anyone would have taken the 200 gold coins to drive him.

He was worried that he was receiving the papers too late to get his old job back. The Lord wrote them over a week ago himself, asking to have his services back. Some servants that were working in the kitchen during the unfortunate event finally had come forward in his defense after the new Chief of Royal Affairs was found to be raping the youngest Maid Servant 2 weeks prior and then killed the dog of the head stable hand after it was trying to defend the same girl from him in the barn. All the servants cried out to the Lord of Altdorf to have him return because he was so good to them all.

"Driver stop here, I must relieve myself in the woods," he called out of the window. The driver slowly stopped the carriage at the side of the dirt road.

The ex-Chief let himself out of the carriage, turning back towards the door, "Dear, would you hand me the hand lamp under the seat?" His daughter picked the small carrying lamp out, handing it to him with a sour look on her face. "Don't expect a Lady like me to use the woods as a toilet. I won't do something so despicable."

He just ignored her comments, lit the lamp with some quick fire sticks that he acquired from an apprentice mage in town, and walked into the woods where no one would see or hear him emptying his bowls.

"This is so ridiculous, I don't see why you are lowering yourself down to a peasant. You are a great man that needn't be forced to use the woods as a toilet. Do you hear me DADDY," his Daughter mumbled to herself, yelling the last part out of the window of the cab.

"Hush child," yelled the driver, "a traveler on a horse is coming from up the road. Don't make a fool of your Father."

She quieted herself, then looked out the window on her side of the cab. She saw no one coming, but thought that she could hear the faint sound of a horse. "It must be a bandit you stupid peasant! Where is the dagger that I brought with me?!"

"Be quiet girl, or I'll slit your throat right here and now! Or perhaps I'll let the bandit do it to you after I sell you to him for 50 gold." She shut up and sat still in the carriage, trying not even to move a finger. No one ever talked to her like that in Altdorf and she wasn't about to see if he was bluffing, not with her father out in the woods.

Slowly she could hear the hooves of the horse coming closer to her, then the sound of a sword being drawn. The driver must have been armed this whole time and her Father said nothing about it to her. She would need to have words with Father when they were alone in Altdorf.

"Good Evening dear sir, it is good to see that you are from Altdorf," said the voice of a girl, referring to the seals on the carriage doors. "I have been terribly lost in the woods for several days, only now finding the road. Which direction is the fair city in?"

"Why, you need only to turn your horse around and you will be headed in the correct direction my Lady."

"Might I ask who you are driving for? I don't see anyone in your carriage."

"Chief of Royal Affairs, Geoffrey du Giovanni and his Daughter, Elizabeth du Giovanni," Elizabeth said, sticking her head out of the window of the cab.

The girl dismounted her horse, curtseying before the carriage, "My name is Genevieve D'aubigne. I am traveling to Altdorf to reclaim my family's land. Perhaps if you would not mind, my Lady, if I could travel beside you? I am afraid that if I travel alone, I might be killed for my horse and monies."

Geoffrey emerged from the woods with the small lantern in his hand. "I over heard you my dear as I came back to the carriage. I would never leave a woman to travel alone at this time of night."

"Thank you my Lord, I will not be a bother to you. If I might request, and it isn't bold of me to do so, that I might tie my horse behind the carriage and ride with you inside?"

"That isn't too bold miss. Please climb inside. Me and my driver will see to your horse." Geoffrey helped Genevieve into the cab of the carriage, then turned to take the reins of the horse that she was riding. He gently led the horse to the back of the carriage and tied it to the bar for attaching wagons and carts. He returned to the cab, finding that his daughter was showing off her bracelets to the obviously poor girl now riding with them.

"This pink sapphire one Daddy got me in the Capital City for my Birthday. He told me it cost 1,200 gold to buy from an antique dealer. Doesn't it match my red hair just fine?" She put the bracelet up to her red ringlets, letting the faint light from the lanterns hanging outside the cab sparkle off the gems.

"Perhaps I'll let you two girls chat for awhile without me being old and out of fashion. I'll sit with the driver for a spell."

The old man shut the door and climbed up into the seat next to the driver, leaving Genevieve alone with Elizabeth. The stupid red hair girl rambled on about her clothes and jewels as Genevieve sniffed Elizabeth's outstretched pale arm. Genevieve took off the cloak that hid her face and clothes, sliding over to the seat next to the girl.

Genevieve slid her hands over the creamy white skin of Elizabeth's neck, feeling the blood pump through the arteries. Genevieve's teeth extended, her loins throbbed with excitement. She passed her fingers in the air, casting a spell that would muffle the sound in the carriage.

Genevieve took the girls hand again in hers, gently biting down on the veins in the girls wrist. The blood dribbled out of the wound as she lustily licked it. Elizabeth let out a moan and her eyes glazed over. She now belonged to Genevieve.

Geoffrey sat at the front of the wagon with the driver watching the world go by him. He was tired of listening to his daughter and was more than happy to pawn her off on the strange girl. He could hear the chatter faintly from the carriage; most likely his daughter was going on about her clothes and jewels. She loved to show off to the servants back in Altdorf. He always got complaints from the kitchen staff and finally had to tell his daughter that he would have to set up guards at the kitchen if she didn't stop harassing the Maid Servants.

He wished that his wife hadn't passed away so soon after his title was stripped of him. He didn't have the heart to tell his own daughter what had happened to his dear wife. His daughter was staying with his friend, Lord Isaac of the Justice Court. His wife and himself were on their way to Lagen to find a suitable home to buy. He had nothing other than a donkey and a small merchant's cart to travel with. Geoffrey rode the donkey and his wife sat in the cart. Bandits found it funny that two well dressed, clean people of the castle would be traveling by such poor means.

They were taken by surprise with this unfortunate event in their travels. Geoffrey had armed himself with his sword, using his child hood fencing skills to kill two out of the three criminals. The last man seeing the thrust of the sword kill the leader of the trio, lunged at Geoffrey's wife with a dagger, stabbing her multiple times in the chest before he could even withdraw his sword from the fallen man at his feet.

With a fit of rage, he tore apart the man that had just murdered his wife; the strangers' body draining all over Geoffrey. Covered in blood of a now dead man, he gently picked up his wife's still body. When he arrived in Lagen with his poor wife now deceased, the priests of The Holy Order of Drakenguard, gave her the burial rites that insured her soul going to the next plane.

Geoffrey blinked his eyes, realizing that the driver was talking to him, asking him a question... "Do you want me to stay with you in Altdorf sir?"

"Yes...Yes, I think that would be a good idea to do so. I'm not sure if I'm going to need another diver right away or not."

"Very well sir. I just ask that I'm home again by the end of the week so as my wife doesn't scold me."

Geoffrey didn't answer, for he had drifted of into a deep, much needed sleep.

Genevieve sucked the blood from the stupid girl, slowly enjoying the sweet taste of her virgin blood, the hot substance dripping down her chin onto the girls' dress and face. She closed her eyes in ecstasy, enjoying the feeling of it running down her throat.

"Are you not finished yet, blood sucker?"

"No, I am not. I haven't feed in days because I was waiting for you to return... go play with the driver if you need to be occupied!"

"Since when do you give me orders? I can take your life just as easily blood sucker, don't you forget that."

Genevieve hissed at the darkness, then moments later heard a body fall to the road. "We are finished here Genevieve. If you do not wish to be filled with silver, then I suggest getting your horse and letting us be gone to Altdorf now."

She scowled, throwing the lifeless body of the girl from her lap, then exited the moving cab with a short leap. Her horse waited for her by the road, already untied. She smiled at the shadows, knowing that he was already gone. Mounting her horse, she found a note on the saddle:

I will meet you in Altdorf.

Meet me at the Cloven Hoof

midnight tomorrow.

VALDESE

Genevieve smiled, being glad that the assassin had returned to venture with her to Altdorf.

She encountered no other travelers as she came within a half mile of Altdorf; No bandits or vagrants loitering either. Things were very quiet. As she approached the city walls, only the patrol was about as usual. She was questioned at the gate where she showed the guard that she owned land in the city walls and was granted entrance. "Thank you sir, it has been a long journey for me. Which direction do I need to travel to come to the nearest Inn?"

"Follow the main road down to where it comes to a fork and you will find the Cross Roads Inn. I wouldn't recommend it for a young woman though."

"Don't mind me sir, I can hold my own around men of the lower class. How do you think I got to Altdorf with a full purse and the deed to my land?" She smiled a toothy grin at the guard and nudged her horse to walk, leading him in the direction of the city stables.

The roads were eerily quiet, the only sound coming from the hooves of her horse. Light flickered on to the cobblestone streets from brightly burning torches attached to the stone wall that surrounds the city. She could smell the iron in the air, the metal taste in her mouth of every sleeping citizen and criminal of Altdorf.

Smiling, she stopped her horse in front of the stables, dismounting him gracefully like she had done hundreds of other times. A small bell was next to the locked office door. She looked into a makeshift window cut from the side of the stables, seeing several armed men, a few sleeping on mounds of hay. Turning back to the office, she rang the bell, trying not to have it sound out loud.

One of the armed men walked over to the window and stated the price to leave the horse in the stables. "If you are a resident of Altdorf, or plan on being one, there is a monthly fee of 50 gold for board and protection. You must provide your own feed and riding gear."

" I will be staying for an extended time here in Altdorf and wish to pay for three months up front. All I ask is that I receive a receipt for the payment from the management."

"That is no problem miss. Just let me get the ledger for your information." He returned moments later with a large leather bound book, ink and a pen. "I just need you to...," he flipped through the pages trying to locate the last entry that had been made, "print your information here. I will note that you have paid for three months. When you come by to pick up your horse during daylight hours, you will be able to pick up a receipt. Oh, and put down your horses name and any special markings to identify him and the sort."

Genevieve quickly filled in the required data, paid the man, then left to get to the Inn. While walking she checked her pocket watch and the sky many times, seeing that the time was now 4:30am. The sun would be starting to rise shortly and she needed to be in her soft bed. The consequences of not being in a dark room would definitely make her week very bad. A vampire learns after their first run in with severe burns, not to push their luck with the sun ever again. As she approached the stoop of the Inn, the first hints of daylight started to emerge on the horizon. She had made it to Altdorf just in the nick of time.

Opening the door to the Inn triggered a bell attached to the top of the door, startling the night front desk boy and waking him from the fantasy world of the book that he was reading. "Would miss like a room?"

"Very much sir. Preferably one without any windows. I'll pay extra if you need to give me a rug to hang over a window. I'm very grumpy if there is any speck of light when I'm sleeping."

"That wouldn't be a problem miss, we have some rooms without windows on the top floor available. Breakfast isn't served here, only lunch, dinner, ale and wine. Lunch starts at noon, the bar closes at 3:ooam. No loitering in the lobby. For 3 copper we have a public bath for ladies on the first floor at the end of the hall. 1 copper for soap and towels. You do your own turn down service for extended stays. 5 gold for the night or 25 gold for the week all payable in advance. No room service."

"I'll be staying only the night." She placed 20 gold on the guest book, looking directly into his eyes, "and you don't need me to sign." Her eyes bore into his mind, manipulating him to do what she wanted. This was the finest gift her Dark Father had given her.

"I'll show you to your room miss, right this way." He led her up a set of stone stairs to the third floor. Unhooking a large key ring from his belt, removing the key, he let her into the room at the farthest end of the hallway. "Check out time for you will be 5:00pm. Return the key to whoever is at the front desk, or if there is no one there, leave it with James tending bar."

"How about I give you an extra days rent to keep the room until nightfall?" She handed him another 20 gold and shut the door in his face, locking the bolt behind her.

"That won't be a problem Miss," the boy said through the door, sliding the key under it. "You'll need that if you leave your belongings here. I wouldn't even trust my own Mother in this forsaken place. Sleep well."

"Thanks for the heads up boy, but you have no idea who I am," she said smiling in the dark room, "No idea at all..."

Genevieve stripped down to her naked body, folded her clothes next to the bed, and then laid her self down to sleep the day away.

The sun had totally set by the time Genevieve had awakened from her slumber. She lay in bed, letting the warmth of the blankets let her slip into daydreams about the night that had come to greet her. It was her time to wreak havoc on those that now "owned" the land that had rightfully been hers for centuries. She was thinking of all the wonderful things that she would do to the people, if there were any there. She would be a glutton this night for sure.

Stretching her arms, she flung aside the cotton sheet that was on her and swung her legs off the bed. As she proceeded to get dressed there was a knock at the door. Irritably, with only her pants on, she threw open the door, boiling anger in her eyes, "What is it that you want," she yelled coming face to face with the one person she thought she would never have to deal with again.

"I heard stories about people coming up dead and thought that you might be here. You did leave quite the trail to follow. Although I do commend you on sucking the life out of only the girl when you ran into that party traveling by carriage." The tall man forced his way into the room, removing his large black hat. He stood inside the doorway stroking the quail feather that adorned the rim, with his leather-covered hand. "I thought only the living needed to sleep...," Genevieve punched him in the left side of his face knocking him onto the floor. He smiled up at her with his dark eyes, putting a gloved finger to his lip to discover it bleeding. "My, the flies get bigger every year, don't they?"

"What do you want Witchfinder! You are wasting my time and making me very mad..."She glared down at him with red hot eyes, breathing heavy with rage.

"So, this is the welcome that I get for trying to ask for your help once more Genevieve." The man picked himself off the dirty floor and dusted himself off, "You're lucky that I was put in your charge. You are too beautiful to kill as long as you behave. Another string of bodies like that and I'll be forced to pump your body so full of silver, I'll be selling your body parts to jewelers by the ounce. Now listen to me you undead wench, the Vatruvians have a bulletin out for your arrest and I wouldn't be drawing attention to myself if I were you."

The ire lifted from her gaze, now replaced with a tinge of fear. She knew that this day would come. She couldn't hide forever from them. They had many Hunters that could find anyone if they needed to. Her crimes were unpaid and she needed a way out of this soon. "What is it that you need help with then. I have things to do before I meet someone this evening." She picked up her shirt and put it on, then pulled up the only chair in the room and sat down.

"I have a deed to do for Lord Et'sul and I need to speak with Valdese on the matter. I know that you favor each others company, so don't tell me otherwise woman."

"I meet with him tonight. In exchange though, you must help get the Vatruvians off my ass, that is, if you speak the truth on that matter. Have they sent their Hunters after me yet?"

"I will help you out with that as soon as I know that I will be speaking with Valdese this evening. Tell me the time and place, I will be there if you want me to or not. You also need to remind him that his kind can not touch me. I promise it will be more painful for him if he does."

"The Cloven Hoof around midnight. Don't be late or I'll make sure those seals don't work and he can have some fun with the likes of you."

He bowed to Genevieve, replaced his hat onto his head, and then strolled out of the door to her room.

Genevieve got up from her chair and slammed the door closed almost breaking it off the hinges. She put on the rest of her clothing and boots, then running down the stairs to get to her family property to claim it before midnight struck.

Geoffrey woke with a start, sat up quickly to realize that he wasn't in the carriage and his daughter wasn't complaining to him. He then noticed that he had been sleeping on a couch in someone's home. He looked around the room to see a large fireplace, two well-worn chairs and a coffee table. There were some flowers in a vase on the table. What is going on...

"Thank Imelia, you're finally awake. Let me go fetch my husband." The short thin woman turned back around and exited the room, returning after a short period with a man twice her height and stacked with as much muscle as an ox.

"Good to see you're awake. I am Kiv, one of the night patrols for the main road. My three men and myself found your carriage. I'm going to be straight with you my friend; we found your driver and the young woman dead when we got there. The driver seemed to have died of fright and it looks like your daughter was taken by one of the night stalkers. We had to cremate the bodies here in Altdorf as soon as possible in case they turned. I found documentation on you from the Lord. One of my men has already rode to see him to tell him what has happened. Since you have gained your senses, I have to deliver you to the castle at once my Lord."

Geoffrey was as cold and immovable as stone. He couldn't think, he couldn't speak. He had lost the only things in this world that mattered to him in such a short span. There was no way of telling who the night stalker was... That's when he realized it. The girl that they had picked up. The soldier told him nothing of the girl. What was her name...If only I could remember it...

"Genevieve. Genevieve D'aubigne. I have documentation that states that this land and everything on it, belongs to my family and me. I expect that you will be out of here before sun rise." She stood on the stoop of the small house, holding out the papers for the gentleman that looked to be in his early twenties to read.

"How will I find another home on such short notice Miss. D'aubigne, I have no where else to go." The gangly looking man started to sob, tears streaked down his face. "Couldn't you please give me more time to at least find another house or some place to rent?"

She of course, was impatient and wanted her due respect in regards to reclaiming her land from this buffoon. "How about this. I'm feeling generous tonight. I'll give you 500 gold for you troubles in exchange of you getting what you can carry and getting out before sunrise. Can you deal with that?"

The man wiped the tears from his face and gave Genevieve a large smile. "Yes, I can deal with that. I'll get dressed and be out of here in an hour." He ran back inside, not even bothering to close the door behind him.

Humans were so easily bought with the mounds of gold she looted from her victims. She then admired the newly acquired bracelets from her latest victim. "Actually my dear, I would say they go with my pale skin quite nicely." She turned from the door and headed to the Cloven Hoof to await Valdese and the wretched Witchfinder.

The large black clock over the fireplace at the Cloven Hoof claimed it was 11:12 PM, but Genevieve knew that it was more like 11:45 PM. The owner had set the clock back to make his patrons think that they had more time to drink than they actually did. He made more money this way, keeping people an extra thirty minutes every night. It was unbelievably crowded, more so than she ever remembered it being.

Several men had joined her at the table, buying her glasses of watered down red wine, only to be told with the end of a blade that she would take the drink and the present company would leave. She had about a half dozen glasses in her belly, which equaled out to only around three glasses of actual wine. Glancing at the clock across the room she saw that is was exactly midnight now. Looking back towards to door, Valdese had arrived already and was sitting next to her at the table. He wore a black cloak and a ceramic mask.

"Always here on time. The only reason I let you stay around," Valdese said looking into the sea of strangers. "It's a shame that you let yourself be fooled by humans so easily. What does the Witchfinder want of me this time?"

"You will have to ask him that yourself. He has always set his watch by this blasted clock, and will be 30 minutes late as usual. It sounds though, that he may have an important assassination to carry out. May be worth sticking around for. I have acquired my land and housing. The stupid man that lived there should be gone by now. I'm sure that he is patronizing an Inn by now. I was hoping for a small family that you and I could have fun with."

"Never do we find such luck. As for our business, I assume that you have a game plan for this town all set? I have never known you not to smell the air when entering a town or even a city."

"I would press that you take this job that the Witchfinder has for you. I am being tracked as we speak. Your kind isn't welcome in this realm. I would hate to see a beautiful working relationship cut short because of my forthcomings."

"You, my dear, never learn that I know things long before you do. It is about time that you finally realized this. A small setback that will be over come. Although, I shall not be involved. I don't play with those that don't want to have my company. I'll seek out the Witchfinder, you're on your own until you hear otherwise."

A loud noise, that reached even over the large crowd made Genevieve turn her head long enough for Valdese to slip through the shadows and out of the Pub. Cursing Valdese under her breath, she picked up her cloak and headed for the door also. There was no point in staying in the grimy presence of the towns' most upstanding citizens. The night air was cool as she stepped out onto the streets. She looked up at the stars like she did anytime she came into her element, then proceeded towards her newly acquired house.

Valdese stood in an alleyway looking out into the crowds, blending into the shadows, melding with them, for he was made of the very essence of shadow. As a drunken man stumbled by, Valdese slipped out of the alley into the mans shadow. With speed that of a blinking eye, he was in the shadow of the Witchfinder.

The Witchfinder turned down the street that led to the Cloven Hoof, only to find Valdese in his cloak standing in his way. "Why do you seek me out Witchfinder? It better be worth my time to hear what you have to say, or I'll leave now and take my chances with the night walker."

"I have a room nearby that we can talk. Follow me and you won't be disappointed." The man turned and Valdese slipped back into the shadows, watching his every move from a safe distance. He distrusted everyone, even his own people to some extent. Genevieve wasn't even someone that he would trust in any situation. He knew how she felt about him, but she kept him around, knowing that he was her best ally.

The Witchfinder walked up the stairs of an unmarked building with Valdese trailing him now again in his own shadow. Going through the front door with the man he sees that it is an Inn, like the many others on this street, yet there is something that doesn't feel right to him. It was just an Inn; no Pub attached to bring in extra money. He followed him up the stairs, readying himself for an attack in case this was a plot to kill one of the last people of the shadows. He didn't travel to this God forsaken realm to die because of some scum human.

"This is my room." The Witchfinder unlocked the door and opened it, letting himself into the dark chamber first. He lit a single oil lamp, then sat down in the chair next to his small wooden desk.

"I would have thought that a person of you stature would be living some place with silk and beautiful rugs, not a place that a rat wouldn't even take shelter in," Valdese stated returning to his cloaked form, gliding towards the only window to look down onto the street. "So, what is the matter of this meeting, you still haven't told me that yet."

"As you know, I am Noll, Witchfinder from the town Alessia. I have been given orders by Lord Et'sul to dispose of the Lord of our neighboring town of Milban. He has been threatening our Town now for three months, demanding that we pay him for letting our merchants pass through his town with protection granted on his land. He then started to jail, kill and rob our merchants. My Lord knows about what you do and wanted to employ your special skills. I have a contract here that he would like you to consider." A white scroll tied with a red ribbon, sealed with a red wax seal of his Lord emerged from his coat and handed it to Valdese. Valdese broke the seal and read the letter:

I would address this letter to you personally, but my informant wouldn't give me your name. I was told that you are the very best at what you do, and wish to offer the following terms of service to you. I want the Lord of Milban dead by any means necessary. If anyone interferes with your task, kill him or her also. I want his people to know the wrath that has been unleashed upon them.

If you find anything that catches your eye, take it. Loot as much gold, jewels and art as you can carry back with you. I am not interested in the money that I might gain from this. Strike as much fear into them as you possibly can. Hold nothing back. Take what you want. I will give you sanctuary here in Alessia if you need it. You will discuss any other terms with Noll at this time. If you do not wish to loot anything from the Lords manor, then we can come to some agreement for payment at this time through Noll.

With much gratitude, Lord Et'sul

Behind his mask, Valdese grinned with much delight. "I will not loot anything, for, there is nothing there that would be of any value to me."

"So, then you wish to discuss terms of payment from the Lord than?"

"I do not need your petty money. What I want, I have been granted. I will do this job and take the payment in the form of souls. That is all I wish to take. You may tell your Lord that he will find that the next Town over will have many dead bodies in the morning. I bid you adu, for I must take my leave." Noll merely blinked and Valdese was gone, heading towards the Town of Milban to carry out the task at hand.

Genevieve sat in the cemetery adjacent to the cities main temple. She had found a intricately detailed head stone of Imelia casting a daemon to hell and was now perched on the side of it sipping whiskey that she had found in the cupboard of the house. She hated being alone. She liked the companionship of Valdese, even if he did cheat at cards every time they played. She missed him in a sick twisted, massacring people for fun way.

She figured that he was off starting some new war by killing off an important official again. This was a common enough thing. He started one major war, her finding this out after knowing him for some time of course. He liked to boast about his deeds, but never told her how he did it. "You'll find out if you stick around long enough without me killing you my dear," is all he ever said.

Genevieve only witnessed his skills once with a guard in some town she couldn't remember the name of. He took on his cloaked form and merely touched the man. Minutes later he turned pale, and fell to his knees; all the while trying to kick us out of someone's private residence after breaking in. He hadn't gotten more than a few feet inside the living quarters on the first floor before Valdese had descended upon him. Luckily he didn't alert anyone else, thinking we were only petty thieves. Little did the guard know that all the family members were dead upstairs, their blood drained from their bodies.

Good times, good times... She took another drink from the bottle, not feeling any affect from the whiskey, even though half the bottle was in her gut by now. She held her hand up towards the full moon, letting the light reflect off the jewelry that she had looted from the dead girl in the carriage.

Genevieve's heart raced, she sat up straight, the bottle falling to the ground and spilling. "What became of the old man... Valdese never said anything about killing him... oh shit... I'm more than fucked now! I'll have to get some information on what happened... or leave town.. FUCK! The Vatruvians are going to know I'm here for sure now!"

She knew that if Valdese didn't kill the old man also, she was sure to be found by one of the Hunters now, more than ever. She was more than dead now. She wasn't going to exist anymore if one of them found her. Gathering her things, she bolted back to the house. She was going to do something she hadn't tried to do in twelve years; Go out into the daylight. She was going to have to store the stolen things under a floorboard in the house, or get rid of them all together.

Genevieve raced into the door, grabbed her cloak, looking for a piece of ancient parchment that contained detailed instructions on a ritual that would allow her to change into a rat for a period of time, of which, she wasn't even sure was going to work. She had no ingredients, she was sure of that. Breaking into the local Mage Ware Shop would only bring more attention to her. She looked at the ingredient list, then hurriedly ripped everything out of the kitchen cabinets.

Genevieve looked fiverishly throughout the house, finding ingredients slowly. Most of the oils she found, but, most of the other items she couldn't locate. Wait, I didn't check the cellar yet... Going outside, she located the double doors to the root cellar . The rustly hindges gave her some trouble, but she was able to get them open. Stepping into the unlit room, her vampiric vision allowed her to see the items contained in the musty room. No wonder the man that was living here was gangly, he was an aspiring mage. Thank the Dark Gods for small blessings! She had everything that she needed, including the pots and a small fire pit right there in the cellar. She put some wood in the pit and ran back into the house to gather the rest of the things that she needed. There was hope for her yet and this made her left eyebrow twitch with excitement.

Valdese watched from the shadows as Genevieve prepared for the ritual that would allow her to turn into a rat so she could look for the old man. He wasn't standing there long before she turned to face him suddenly, "So, you've come to laugh at my predicament as usual Valdese."

"Perhaps. Or maybe I've come to cut you a deal. I knew that I left him alive. I have a favor I need to ask of you, which means I'll take care of the old man if you do it. I have other tasks that interest me much more than your petty problems, so I can't possibly take care of this myself. I followed you to this town only because there is a man here that I need information from. You have a talent for attracting the attention of men. You will find this man in town tomorrow, during the afternoon no less, so you will need that potion of yours. He will be wearing a black leather outfit and carrying a large sword on his back. He will have a tattoo on his left palm of this seal," handing a picture to Genevieve, she recognizes the seal for Astaroth, the twenty ninth Goetian spirit.

" 'He answereth trulie to matters present, past, and to come, and also of all secrets'.1 If this man can summon a daemon, surely he will see through any treachery."

"Yes, he is expecting someone to arrive looking to seek him out, but, he doesn't know what for. He may have the spirit and abilities to summon a daemon, that doesn't give him the power to read minds my dear. You just have to get him to this house. That is the only favor that I ask you to do. No matter how you have to get him here, he needs to be here by nightfall tomorrow. If you fail to get him here, I will get the information wherever he may be, after I destroy you of course. Don't think I would forget about you would I?"

"I will get him here Valdese. You know that I always get what I want in the end, even from you."

Valdese sneered under his mask at her. "Keep to our pact or the Vatruvians will be the least of your worries," he slipped back into the shadows and left the house.

Genevieve was alone again, busying herself with finishing setting up the root cellar for the ritual. "This man I seek seems interesting. Perhaps I will have some fun tomorrow before Valdese returns." She was afraid of no mortal man; she just acted like she was fearful to give Valdese a power trip. He could do nothing to her; she was undead with no soul. Not even he could kill her with ease.

Valdese slipped into the room, a single candle illuminating the interior throwing dancing shadows everywhere. The room was bare of decorations. Only a simple dark cherry desk was positioned in the middle of the room with a soot gray stone fireplace to it's right. The floor was made of black marble, making it impossible to see any shadows thrown upon it. A man in a long black cloak walked into the room through the adjacent doorway ignoring Valdese's presence, walking to stand in front of the fire in the hearth. The flames were blue, dancing on top of a single piece of a split log that did not burn from the fire.

After warming his hands slightly, he glided to the desk and sat down. The man looked up from his desk and removed his hood revealing a ghostly form. The mans skin and hair were pure white, quite the opposite of his seemingly soulless black eyes. Valdese approached the man, handing him a small piece of paper.

The man, upon reading the paper, signed his name flamboyantly across the page, handing it back to Valdese to return to his other work. Walking away from the desk, Valdese crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the fireplace. He lingered there momentarily to make sure that the entirety of it was destroyed in the fire. Returning to his shadow form, he quickly exited the room.

In the far left corner, in the darkest part, a mask materialized from the floor. The Observer Shadow Daemon slipped out of the door the cloaked man at the desk had entered, gliding swiftly to the High Tower of the Wraith. This small group was the Lords of the Shadows. Overseeing everything, all missions were known by them and an "Observer" would follow the Shadow Daemon that was on a mission to gain knowledge of the success or failure.

Walking into the room at the top of the tower, the Observer instantly came to his cloaked form and bowed to the 5 cloaked figures sitting around a table covered in papers. "Valdese has orders my Lords."

"Proceed with your objective," said one of the Lords, not looking up from signing papers, "Failure on either part is not tolerated. Do not even bother to return here if you both fail, I will send out my most trusted to make sure that you don't last the hour after."

"Yes my Lord. Duly noted." The Observer stood, saluted the preoccupied Lords, leaving to follow Valdese.

Valdese stood in his chambers with the many weapons that he had just taken out of storage in the armory. All were useful to him, but some were better suited for other missions. He wanted to leave carnage in his wake this time, killing all that stood in his way. He chose a pair of narrow bladed, short daggers. They resembled ice picks, or large needles. He would use these blades to stab his prey in the back of the head at the base of the skull, killing with minimal blood, making it look like the victims died without reason.

Sliding the blades into hidden sheathed in his long flowing, ever changing cloak, he vanished into the shadows and left the building with the unnatural speed of his kind, heading towards the already dead citizens of Milban.

Noll returned to the Cloven Hoof to have a round of grog before he had to return to the Witch Hunter General to report back. He had nothing to report of course, he never found the Vampire that he was after. The other Witch Hunters figured that after the death of his sister, Noll had lost his sense of justice for the world instead of gaining it.

"Another round bartender...this time give me a clean mug please...," he sighed as he put the silver piece on the counter for the grubby fat bartender to retrieve. He was going no where in his career, all of his family was deceased and his fiancée left him several months after his sister was killed, causing him to have nothing to live for anymore. "I wasn't even moving in rank when I did care," he mumbled into his new foaming mug of gut rot, now so drunk he didn't know if he was thinking his words or talking them. Without even touching his new mug of grog, he almost fell off the stool that he sat on and made his way out into the street, stumbling over his own feet.

The sound of his name and the faint clip clop of hooves behind him made Noll turn, then fall towards the man that was addressing him. "Noll, what have you done to yourself this time," a soothing low voice asked of no one, dismounting his horse. "Noll, can you stand," the Witch Hunter asked of his friend, removing his large black hat and putting it onto the saddle of his steed.

"Shure I caaan shtand," Noll replied, attempting to stand on his legs, only to have them buckled beneath him causing him to fall to the hard paving stones once more. The man walked over, grabbing one of Noll's arms and without any effort, tossed Noll over his shoulder then, like a sac of feed, put Noll onto his horse to escort him back to the barracks that he knew Noll was staying.

"You know my friend, that vile substance will not erase the memories from you. I wish that you would renew your faith in most holy Sigmar, over turning to the bottle to relieve your mind troubles." Noll answered the man with a loud snore, startling the animal he was slung over slightly. The man shook his head and continued down the street, hoping that his friends' worries would end.

Valdese entered the town of Milban shortly before dusk. Standing at the highest point he could find just outside of the sleeping town, he observed how many buildings there were, the amount of Guards that were on patrol, the Guards not on patrol and those Guards that were not doing their duty too well by sleeping. He planned out his attack in his mind perfectly, then he began by slipping into the shadows of a near by pear tree. Slinking into the first house that he came to, he materialized for a moment, only long enough to lightly touch each slumbering human in the household. Mere touch alone allowed Valdese, and all his kind, the power to remove a persons soul and imbue themselves with it. He now gained all the memories and power that the soul had trapped within it. Grinning wickedly to himself, he flew through the shadows to move on to the next set of houses.

The sun just rose over the horizon when we drifted out of the last house. Looking to the sun, he inhaled the faint smell of death that was in the air, invigorating him with blood lust. Taking a step back into the shadows, he waited briefly for the first guard to walk by as he unsheathed his daggers and continued the carnage that no battlefield would taste.

Slipping into the guards shadow, he materialized behind the man so quickly that he didn't even have time to feel Valdese behind him before he was laying on the ground dead, stabbed in the back of the head at the base of his skull, killing him instantly. Valdese continued jumping from shadow to shadow, killing every guard in the same manner. He now stood with his cloak billowing around him, changing shape from long and flowing to a tight body suit, before the gates of the Lords house. He entered by way of a shadow that reached under the doorway. Moving from room to room, he took into himself the soul of every servant, killing with his blades anyone that was already awake attending to the morning rounds.

Valdese entered one room only to find that it was empty of the person whom should have been occupying the bed. The Lords daughter was not at home, perhaps she was off visiting in another town? He didn't care. She was of no threat to him with her lack of presence. Leaving the room he returned to his path leading at the end, to the master suite and the man that was going to face the worst death that he could think up, while removing his scissor daggers from his cloak, smiling behind the mask all the while.

Lillith stirred uncomfortably in the velvet seat that she lay upon. She was home sick and tired beyond that of any peasant working in the fields all day. Shifting herself into a sitting position, she opened the drapes on the carriage window seeing that the sun was starting to rise. Grasping hold of a string attached to a bell near the driver, she rang for him to stop. Slowly they came to a halt and she climbed out of the cab, stretching her limbs and yawning. "How long before we arrive in town James?"

The driver descended his post, cracking his back loudly. "We should be there before they stop serving breakfast in the mess hall I'll say." He smiled warmly at Lillith as his stomach growled loudly, seemingly trying to outdo his cracking back.

"Do not worry James, even if we arrive after breakfast is served, we will not let you starve."

"Are we there already," another voiced sounded from inside the cab of the carriage. "No Luke, we aren't there yet, go back to sleep." Lillith rolled her eyes at her escort, knowing that whenever they stopped, the questions started. Walking back to the cab, she climbed back in and shut the door. James then climbed back to his seat and with a sound of the whip they were on their way back to Milban.

"Juliet... go back to sleep...," Lord Jacquard mumbled, rolling over in the enormous bed he lay in. He felt the touch on the back of his neck again and opened his eyes slightly only to see the person that was touching him, wasn't his wife. Waking with a start, pushing himself as far back from the intruder as possible, only to bump into sleeping form of his wife. "GUARDS," he yelled with his booming baritone voice. "This intrusion will not be tolerated," he stated facing the black cloaked figure before him. Slowly he reached behind him, knowing that his wife always kept a small dagger under her pillow. The figure in front of him reached into a pocket in his flowing cloak and removed a small intricately designed silver and gold dagger, turning it over in his hands as if he never seen the item before.

"Is this what you seek, my LORD?" The cloaked figure started to laugh, freezing the blood in Lord Jacquard's veins. He could sense now what the man was, a creature touched by the Lords of Chaos. "There is no use calling for any help, every human in this Town is dead. Now I do believe that a ghost town has no living persons in it, so I must rectify this quickly." With a flick of his wrist the cloaked man released a throwing knife at the Lord so quickly that he didn't even see the man in front of him move. The dagger slammed into the Lords left shoulder with such force that it stuck into his flesh up to the hilt, even from being thrown from such a short distance.

"If you are here to kill me assassin, please leave my sleeping wife be. You have business with me, not her!" Lord Jacquard backed even further towards his wife, trying to shield her as best he could. He reached back and gently put his right hand onto her back, only to realize, his wife wasn't breathing. His face twisted into that of a soldier ready to kill the man that just cut down his kinsman, bringing his hand back to connect an uppercut to the cloaked mans masked face, only to realize that he had no hand to do so. Looking at his arm in horror, his mouth opened to scream only to find it wouldn't open due to the knife shoved through the bottom of his jaw.

"Now, here we shall have a bit of fun," the cloaked man whispered into the Lords ear as he leaned forward and pulled the dagger from his head. With a flick of his wrist, he slashed across the Lords face, blinding him; then cutting open his gut in an X pattern, causing his intestines to spill out onto the lace bedding. The Lord doubled over with a groan as he clutched his face with one hand and his stomach with the other fell over in agony, choking on his own blood. With a slight movement of his hand once more, the Lord's throat was slashed so deeply that it was held on only by the fact that the spine wasn't severed. Valdese then wiped his blades off on the bedding and disappeared into the shadows to return to the Tower of the Wraith to report back.

1 Pseudomonarchia daemonum - Johann Wier (1583) (quoted)

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