Finally the start of the Albion arc :) The next chapters after this will see me trying to put the spotlight away from Raziel and more on the other characters: Louise and Wardes, Fouquet and Tabitha, and Wales himself. After this chapter, Raziel will hopefully be relegated to POV to expand more on Wales and the royalists.
Oh, and before any of you go anal about me not having Louise and Raziel dungeon'd for Mott's killing: The results of the killing won't take effect immediately. Butterfly effect is key here: Mott was low key, but his position is valuable to anyone who wants freedom to deliver messages without getting too many stares. His death opens up opportunities for later on, particularly with the war on Albion and the Reconquista uprising. So I'm not going to completely diverge from canon the very next chapter. Patience is a virtue, as they say.
That and I made it kinda clear in the past chapters that nobility are much more stab-happy than in canon. Louise doesn't act shocked when Guiche thought his brother wanted to kill him, for example, and slavery was mentioned by Siesta back as early as chapter two or three. Nobility dying is shocking, but most of them care more about who gets the new empty position and wealth that Mott left behind. That was more of the case back in the actual 1500's-1700's.
Oh, and I'll be taking elements and characters from both the Tabitha side-stories and the Karin side-stories. So we're gonna see creatures like Minotaurs, Vampires, Bird-people, Experimental Undead (This one in particular since Undead have a high connection to Dark Souls) etc etc. You'll see the effects of this at the middle of this chapter.
Lastly, I'll be doing my best to make my pace faster compared to before. If I don't then I'm never going to get past the battle of Saxe-Gotha, let alone to the Romalia arc. This might result in the story having lesser words or moving through events faster, but its better than the story not moving at all.
News of Count Mott's death spread quickly. Despite it being only three days since the 'massacre', there were already various impossible rumors that had spread even up to the capital city: An attack by Elves, mercenaries attacking his house either for profit or revenge, a political assassination and many others were the most frequent suggestions as to what exactly happened the night of the killings. The sheer amount of dead bodies, along with all the burnt corpses, made all of the nobility assume that the ones who had attacked were a well coordinated group of Mages. After all, what commoner could kill a Mage and his personal guards?
The servants said nothing; most of them either having fled the during the attack itself or being gibbering messes by the time the authorities arrived the next day. All of the ones that had remained either refused to say anything for fear of reprisals or were too traumatized by the attack, muttering things about 'One who wielded crystal and fire in his hands'. The knights who had interrogated them had deemed their testimonies to be unreliable due to the conflicting statements and outright absurd mumblings that they kept mentioning.
Investigations were planned, but eventually postponed due to many factors - The news that Reconquista had cornered the Albion royal family, the Princess' upcoming marriage to Germania's emperor, sightings of Elves near the borders, another war between two slighted nobles in the Tristanian country side, the escape of the thief Fouqet from the capital prison. Already many were linking the last event and the Count's death, claiming that the thief's escape was too close to the Count's time of death to be a coincidence.
Finding out that the Count had kept slaves and mutated creatures in his lower floors certainly didn't help things. Already there were was a split: Those who had claimed that his prior actions mattered little and that they should keep investigating, and the ones who claimed that his actions made him a heretic against Brimir and unworthy of their time.
There were talks that the opposition for the investigation was due to the fact that they would be incriminated as well: Buying slaves was hard, so one man by himself couldn't do it effectively. Given the number of creatures and the large cells located in the basement, it was estimated that he had to have had at least more than thirty slaves at the very least. To get such a high amount he would have had to trade with the other nobility and, whether they knew it or not, they would be charged with aiding and abetting slavery as well due to indirectly/directly selling lives. Such was justice in the world of Halkeginia.
As of right now, three days later, the investigations had ceased to a halt. Nobility being murdered might have roused suspensions and talks amongst the commoners, but the upper echelon knew better: Things like this happened all the time. Granted, Mott's case was hard to pin down due to his low position in the grand scheme of things, but given that there were already half a dozen nobles trying to get his position, many of them assumed that he was simply assassinated not for his slavery and experiments but rather because they coveted his position.
The Count's death was a footnote, much like the many nobles that had been killed before him.
Louise yawned and rubbed her eyes wearily, looking up at the still gray sky. It was early, far earlier than she was used to waking up on, and the sun hadn't even graced them by appearing over the horizon. Trying to stave off her exhaustion, she focused instead on adjusting her horse's saddle for the sixth time that day. She was likely aware that she had fixed it more times than was necessary, but she needed something to keep her animated.
Her eyes glanced over her right ring finger. The ruby of water, the ring that the princess had given to her when they had first talk and was asked to keep secret from everyone. This was to be her 'seal' in order to prove to prince Wales that she had been sent by the royal family and was not a simple spy. According to the princess, the water ruby would react with the wind ruby of the royal family and would prove that they were genuine allies rather than turncoats.
Now all she needed to do was wait for the Viscount.
Tending to his own horse, Raziel gave a barely suppressed frown as his hands confusedly handled the horses reins. They were supposed to leave early for a town called 'La Rochelle' and continue on to Albion from there. According to Siesta, Albion was a flying continent and so they had to fly there using a ship. He sighed: Flying continents made little sense to him, but flying to a destination rather than using one of these 'horse' creatures certainly made more sense to him. Although he did wonder briefly how a ship was supposed to fly. Perhaps there would be giant crows carrying it?
Siesta and the others were fine. The headmaster didn't even question their appearance before he gave them their jobs back, no questions asked. The ones who were...unable to function as servants were given transportation either back to their families or other domicile's. He, his master and Kirche weren't even questioned on their involvement. He couldn't tell if it was because he didn't want to find out about their involvement or if it was because he was aware of his master's mission and didn't want her to be impeded. In either case, their involvement was kept secret.
The young Undead winced as an uncomfortable itch overtook his right eye. Ever since he had been blinded, the wound refused to heal beyond a snails pace and he had to make do with only using his left eye to see, along with losing his depth perception in the process. As of right now he had to make do with covering his ravaged eye with a medical eye-patch and wait till his regeneration restored it. Usually water magic would be used to heal it, but how does one heal a corpse? He winced. The eye wasn't pretty to look at when he saw his reflection in the mirror.
"Valliere, where is this guide who will be taking us?" Guiche called out for the third time that day, already straddling his own horse eagerly, "Is it truly wise to keep the princess waiting for longer than necessary?"
Oh yes, and apparently Guiche was going with them as well. Raziel turned to the blond earth Mage before turning back to his horse. Supposedly his master had spilled the details of his mission to them while they were still drunk and before he had arrived to kick them out of the room. She claimed not to remember that and that she would never say anything of the princesses secret despite being under the influence of alcohol, but Guiche's presence said it all. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had admitted to her involvement with the crown and the only way to keep her schoolmate quiet was to let him join.
"He'll be here when he gets here," Louise answered back icily, making sure not to turn to look at him, "If you want to leave right now then there's nothing stopping you from doing so. Your involvement in this task is bad enough as it is," Why oh why had she not kept her temptation at bay and refuse to drink? Her mother would be so ashamed of her: Losing her sensibilities after one glass of wine.
"Ah, you wound me Valliere," Guiche deadpanned back, looking back down at his side at the new rapier he had bought. It was likely that he wouldn't use it, but his father had always told him that it was better safe than sorry. Besides, the sword made him look much more dangerous and competent...not that he wasn't dangerous and competent anyway. Now he also looked the part in addition to having the traits.
Raziel bent down and examined the sword at his side. Unlike Derflinger, the crystalline sword was too unconventional and the edges were too erratic for any singular sheath to hold: He had to make do with the sheath belt that his master had decided to buy for him the day prior. Granted there was no covering the crystal blade itself beyond a small ringlet keeping the hilt attached to the belt, so he had to be careful lest he wanted the exposed edge to pierce his legs when he jumped.
He quickly found his hands leaving the horses saddle and moving to check for Derflinger. The talking sword still had his place on his back, although now he had to make do with sharing with a quiver full of arrows and the bow that his master had also decided to buy for him. Some would have found him carrying two swords, a quiver full of arrows along with a matching wooden bow to be a tad overcompensating, but he actually found it light. Usually he would have crossbow bolts on his back as well, but crossbows were slightly more expensive and his master didn't want to bother considering his eye injury. The bow was just a safety measure.
Despite his recent additions to weaponry, however, his master had refused to buy him any new armor during their preparations, only telling him "You're going to destroy it the first chance you get" before shutting down any complaints he might have had about her refusal. He snorted and grabbed at the bow; if she wanted to make him less effective at protecting her, then that was fine by him. He wouldn't be the one to blame if she got injured.
His master had not bought anything for herself, save for two vials of (expensive) medicine and three bottles of wine. The princess had apparently given her some compensation and, though he didn't find out till yesterday, the thief Fouquet also had a bounty of fifteen thousand ecu's on her. Splitting it between Kirche and Tabitha, his master had a total of seven thousand in currency: five thousand from the split bounty and two thousand from what the princess had given to her for preparation funds. Usually that was enough two buy two decent sized estates, although she thought little of that right now.
The bow in his hand felt light, much lighter than the greatbows he was used to wielding back during his journey on Lordran. Carefully aiming for one of the loose bricks on the wall, he let the arrow fly and frowned as the arrow bounced off a few feet to the right of his target. The runes were much more effective compared to his first days here, but they apparently weren't built for being used by those with crippling injuries. Using a bow with only one eye meant he wasn't very accurate unless he decided to aim for much longer, leaving himself open to attack.
"You missed," His master commented cheekily. Raziel rolled his eyes and went to retrieve the arrow. Ever since they'd come back from the Count's estate, she had gone from simply ignoring him to heaping criticism at every little thing he did: Whether it be laundry, his now temporarily missing eye, the fact that he disobeyed her or any other thing she could comment about. He'd tried to keep himself calm, though there were the rare times that he bit back that the only reason he didn't follow her was because he didn't think she was worthy of following.
That got him a smack with a whip, although it didn't actually hurt him beyond a light sting.
He grabbed the arrow from its place on the wall and looked down at the runes again. The memories he received from the Count's estate...remembering it was hard. Memories are called memories because individuals are capable of remembering them at a simple thought. But the memories stored in these runes, they were already foggy by the time he had time to sit down and think on it.
Essentially, its like being present in an event once and then being unable to recall it except for a few sparse details. He remembered some things: Being called Manus, Seath attacking him, some snake-men, and then attacking Seath again. But how these events were chained to one another, he could only guess. It was how his memory worked: He knew all of his friends were dead, but for the most part the details of those deaths eluded him. He knew Rhea was dead despite his rescue of her, but how she came to permanently Hollow was a mystery to him.
A gust of wind blew past his cheeks, causing an annoying chill to spread through him. Whatever the runes were, they were causing changes to him. His unnaturally white hair had traces of brown and the length of said hair had reached below his neck; both of which should have been impossible since his physical form was an illusion caused by Humanity. His true form, the hollowed and rotted corpse, should have been incapable of growth. He shook his head and scratched at the eye-patch again. Damn annoying thing itched.
The rest of the time waiting was spent in silence. There was one incident where Guiche's mole, Verdandi, had tried to nibble off his master's finger in order to grab some so-called important ring, but an explosion from his master's spell was enough to send said mole flying and Guiche to complain about his Familiar being abused. Soon after the sound of large wings had interrupted their discussion and they were forced to look up.
Above them, the ragtag group found a creature with the body, tail and back legs of a lion but the heads, wings and talons of an eagle. Raziel raised an eyebrow at the creature; odd, he had never seen one of those things before. The closest he had ever seen to one was the Oolacile guardian, but even that was more lion than eagle. Looking closer, they could see a figure riding atop the creature's back.
"Is...Is that who I think it is!?" For whatever reason, Guiche was pointing his rose wand up nervously at the figure riding on the creature's back. Raziel found his hands going for Derflinger; was this an attack?
"Jean-Jacques!" Or not, considering that his master had all but tackled the man once the creature he was riding landed. The man she had tackled was young; possibly no older than early adulthood, although the long silver hair and beard added a few years to him. The uniform he worse was also concealing, consisting of a dark blue coat, a matching wide brimmed hat, a gray tunic, white pants and dark boots. Odd, he seemed to be rather well-dressed for a guide. And the creature was far too large that one would need a significant amount of money to keep it fed and healthy.
"Ah, my Louise," The man smiled, his lips curling into a smile as the younger girl encircled her arms around him, "It has been a long time, hasn't it my dear? I'm honored that you would still remember me."
"Of course, how could I ever forget?" Louise beamed, although she had actually mostly forgotten about him until the princess mentioned him the week prior, "News of your exploits has reached far and wide, Viscount. I had thought that you would be the one to forget about me."
"Ah, how could I ever forget my-" And that was when Raziel found himself tuning out. He didn't need to hear his master making kissy faces at the older male, especially since he cared little for her romantic and personal life. He turned back to Guiche and found the earth Mage still gawking at the new arrival, his mouth opening and closing as trying form words but being unable to.
"How could you act so nonchalant!? Do you know who that is!?" Guiche pointed at the flirting male frantically, although Raziel just shrugged in response, "That's Jean-Jacques Francis, Viscount of Wardes! He's the leader of the Griffon Knights, the organization that's considered to be the best of Tristain's standing army." He still found no reason to be so shocked, "Even more, he is said to be trained under even Karin 'The Heavy Wind' herself! Can you imagine that!? His Runic name is the 'Lighting', as is befitting of his position and power."
Raziel rolled his eyes and started mounting his horse. Gods knew that riding this thing was harder than moving fast in Blighttown, but his master had refused to allow him to simply run along with their transportation - She didn't want him to slow them down.
"Jean-Jacques, we must hurry," Louise removed himself from the embrace and gestured to the horse, "We must take care not to be seen by any of the students. This mission is of utmost importance, is it not?"
"Ah, of course," He smiled in agreement, although his grip on Louise remained ironclad. Louise wondered briefly why before she found herself being pushed up onto her fiance's Griffon, "Come, we will ride together to La Rochelle. You are already carrying all your packs with you, I trust?" She found herself nodding. He turned back to Raziel and Guiche, "I trust you will have no problems catching up with the Griffon?" Guiche nodded enthusiastically, answering for the both of them.
"Good, let us leave then!" Louise squeaked as the Griffon rose to the air, but she felt no fear. Jean-Jacques was with her now and he would protect her, better than her Familiar who thought murdering Count's to rescue commoner maids was a wise course of action. Brimir above, she still didn't know how none of them had immediately gotten executed for treason. She knew that noble assassinations and fratricide were disturbingly common among the lesser nobility, but this was kind of ridiculous.
"Are you comfortable, Louise?" Wardes chuckled at her nervous nod and pulled her closer to him, "Come then, there is no need to be shy. You and I are betrothed and it would hardly be proper manners if I let my fiancee fall to her death. Stick close to me and don't be afraid. Close your eyes if you can't take it, but hold on tight. We don't want you to fall. Do you understand?"
Louise nodded meekly and leaned back, letting the larger male take the lead as she vaguely heard the sounds of galloping horses below her. She was so tired, and the warmth and wind around her was so relaxing. Perhaps she could rest her eyes for a minute, just until they arrived at the next town over. It would do for her to be unfocused and exhausted when things mattered, after all.
As she drifted off to sleep, the last thing that passed her mind was that maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.
They were being followed.
Raziel looked behind them before quickly turning forward on his horse again. He wasn't hallucinating: They were being followed by the pair ever since they rested at that small village - The journey had taken two days so far, and they hadn't stopped save to eat or to rest. He couldn't make out their gender: The cloaks and clothes that they wore were too thick and not an inch of their skin could be seen, despite the sweltering heat of the sun around them.
"I still can't believe Valliere's fiance is the captain of the Griffon Knights," Guiche droned again for the umpteenth time, "I mean, I understand that she comes from the prestigious line of the Valliere's, but the Viscount is famous for earning his way to the top of the knights rather than it being because of his family's position. To think he would be content with being engaged to the 'Zero' of all people rather than from somebody from another noble house."
Raziel paid him no heed, still doing his best to take subtle glances at the people following them. He had dealt with stalkers before: Many of the invaders he had fought against seemed to take pleasure in abusing the Chameleon sorcery and turning into various items in order to instill paranoia. He had fought off a dueling pair that had stalked him through the darkroot basin, turning into trees to try and confuse him. Unfortunately for them, Pyromancy had the added effect of burning down trees when uncontrolled. Heh, he still remembered how one of them tore off the disguise and jumped off the cliff like his arse was on fire...oh wait, his arse was on fire. That explained the screams.
"Truly, he is a humble and great man..." And a liar. Raziel looked up at the Griffon flying in front of them. Though it was harder to see due to his impaired vision, he still managed to see the barest traces of a liar in him: His smile was fake, for one thing, and the joviality in his voice was forced to a degree. Although what he was lying about he didn't know- No wait, he knew exactly what he was lying about: He was lying about being happy that he was being married to his bratty master. That was exactly it. After all, who could stomach his master's temper and demanding attitude? It didn't surprise him that the Viscount had lied.
"Regardless, I wonder what this mission is about," Guiche continued, completely oblivious to the pair following them or the fact that Raziel wasn't listening to him at all, "Valliere refused to say anything when she was drunk and she absolutely refuses to talk about it now that she's sober. I tell you, that girl is truly a fickle and unable to be honest with herself. I'm surprised her family hasn't disowned her yet." He continued, somehow ignoring the irony in his statement.
Raziel wondered why exactly Guiche was talking so casually to him. While he didn't hate him, he could hardly call the blond fop a friend or even a friendly acquaintance: Siesta was a friend; Kirche and even Tabitha was a friendly acquaintance; that blue dragon was prey; the princess was the one who had sent them on this damn task; and his master was the brat who thought she knew about sacrifice and death. Guiche was someone who had attempted to fire Siesta and assault him over a perceived slight, but he had honestly dealt with so much worse - Patches and Chester immediately came to mind - that he found it hard to keep a grudge.
That didn't exactly mean that he liked the guy, though.
"I do now know. Master has said nothing," He looked behind him again and scowled as he saw the horses still following them. They had come across a forked path earlier while Guiche was rambling about how great Wardes was and, following the Viscount, they had taken the right path. There was no doubt about it: They were being followed. There was even a brief period where the Viscount had gone faster and the two of them were forced to rush forward, and (as expected) the two following them had sped up in order to catch up and only stopped when they slowed down.
Whoever they were, it was likely that they didn't think any of them had caught on. Guiche continued ramble - something about regaling Montmorency with tales of heroics after they came back - and the Viscount was likely too high up to see them. Raziel re-adjusted his position on the saddle and resisted the urge to turn around and attack them. It would do little to attack them now.
"Ah, here were are!" Guiche pointed forward towards the next settlement, "There, the port city of La Rochelle! This is your first time coming here, is not?" He nodded, "Ah, then I trust that this will be a great sight for you!"
A great sight indeed. Raziel stared at the settlement, entranced by its features. Most of the villages and even the capital they had passed were well-built, but there was a theme of simplicity and boredom among them. The port town, however, was completely made out of stone. It wasn't an exaggeration: He could see two large boulders one the entrance's side and the settlement was located between a gorge on the mountain, meaning that the buildings were literally carved into the mountain itself. There were a few buildings made of wood here and there, but for the most part the town was stone.
Wait, he was getting distracted. He quickly turned back and cursed as he could no longer see the two figures or their horses. It was either he had been wrong or they had taken the chance to hide - Either was a possibility, all things considered. He shook his head and placed a hand on the crystalline sword. He had no idea how much longer it would last, but it was stronger than Derflinger was. He might have needed it in case they got attacked.
Entering the town was done smoothly, and Raziel was honestly pleased to find that no one had attacked them or attempted to rob them: It must've been the Griffon leading them from up above, along with the cloak that Guiche worse. Nobility may have been rich, but rarely anyone wanted to fight against a person capable of bending the elements to their will.
"We stop here," Wardes called out as the Griffon landed on one of the more open spaces in the town. Raziel could see that his master was asleep...or maybe she had fainted. He couldn't recall, although she supposedly had a problem with riding creatures that soared in the sky, "I'll rent us two rooms at the Inn: One for Louise and I and the other for the two of you. I trust this is acceptable?"
"Of course, Viscount!" Guiche answered for the two of them again. He had learned rather quickly that the student was a fan of the Griffon knights.
Wardes vision lingered on Raziel before he carried the sleeping Louise inside. He had heard rumors about his fiancee summoning a human Familiar, but he hadn't expected the two of them to act so...stand-offish to one another. Every stop they had taken, neither of the two teens had even deigned to gaze at one another before they were once again on the move. When he had asked her about the summoning day itself, she would simply clam up and say that the summoning was defective or that she regrets every day past it.
It was simple enough. That meant there would be no trouble for him.
"How have you been, Louise?" Wardes smiled and raised the glass of wine up, his fiancee smiling in response and copying his gesture, "I must admit, I regret not being able to see you for the past ten years. Life has been...troubling for me and my family and the Griffon knights kept me busy that I never re-established contact with your family. How are they?"
"They're fine, Jean-Jacques," She took a sip of her fruit juice diluted wine before continuing, "Mother and father are both busy right now, both consulting with the crown regarding various matters and keeping up on the upkeep of the estate. Honored sister Eleanor is on the Academia, doing her best with her research and projects. And big sis Catt...she's still at home, although I heard from the last letter that her illness had gotten slightly better. I wish I could visit her..." She admitted hesitantly.
While she usually had no problem discussing her sister with anyone, she felt some slight hesitation when talking to her fiancee. Cattleya was originally stated to be the one who the Viscount would marry, which made more sense since the age gap between the two was a mere two years against the ten she and the Viscount shared. Unfortunately, her illness had taken hold not long after she had reached fourteen and, despite Wardes insistence that he didn't mind it, the engagement was quickly cancelled and Louise was the one who had been given honor of marrying him.
And while she felt affection for Jean-Jacques, she couldn't help the slight guilt she felt when she thought of her sister. It was like she stole happiness from her.
"Your kindness hasn't changed at all," He laughed at the blush that tinged her cheeks. Geez, he always knew which buttons to push for her, "I suppose I haven't told you what happened to my family, have I?"
"...I know they're all dead," She started off slowly, "The details elude me, but I heard something about an attack by a rival family?"
"That's the official story," He nodded solemnly, "In truth, I don't know exactly what happened. I was out on a training expedition with your mother and when I came back all of my family was dead. My father, my brothers, even my nieces and nephews. I saw their bodies...I was barely able to recognize them. They had been injured to such an extent that it was hard to tell who was who. The only one I recognized was my father, his head was...hanging from the ceiling. It was impaled on the mantle, like someone thought it was amusing."
"Brimir above..." She gulped down her wine and hurriedly grabbed for another serving. She needed something to keep her distracted, "I'm sorry, I...I didn't know. All I was told was that they had been killed and that you were the only survivor. I could never...I'm so sorry for-"
"Louise, please, you have nothing to apologize for," He interrupted her with a solemn expression, "The story after that is the same as you had heard: I was the only survivor of my family and I worked to ensure that my family name isn't forgotten. It took ten years, but I at least like to think that I redeemed my family in the eyes of the nobility. Some of the older families look at me with disdain in their eyes, but I care little for their trappings."
"You have done more than enough, Jean-Jaques," She was surprised to find herself reaching for his hand. He said nothing as her smaller hand took hold of his, "I've been labeled as a 'Zero' at school by my peers, and even my own family when I was younger. But among them all, you never looked down at me. Even when big sis Catt got sick, you always visited her till your own family perished and you even worked to restore your family name. You did more than most."
"...Thank you for the kind words," He swilled the wine glass with his free hand, "Up to now, I never understood what the culprits were aiming for. If they wanted wealth, why did they kill my nieces and nephews? They were barely five years of age, and the youngest was only two. Killing them served no purpose, and yet I found them dead in their beds and their cribs. The vault was untouched, and the only thing I noticed were missing were a few of my mother's research notes."
"Research notes?" She asked back carefully.
"Yes...but that is a story for another time," He gave a gentle smile and drank his final glass, "I'll be retiring to bed now, if it's alright with you. You'll forgive me if this room only has one bed. I assumed-"
"Its alright," Louise shook her head and giggled, "We slept together on the same bed when I was younger, did we not? I don't mind it if we share again. I've done it with big sis Catt until I had to leave for the magic academy."
Wardes nodded wearily and turned off the lamp. Sleep would be good for them, especially considering the mission at hand.
Daphne looked at her twin sister and smiled, receiving a nod in return from her. It was rare for the two of them to get deployed, even more as a pair considering their...circumstances. Vampires were hardly ever looked at fondly considering their condition and general reputation: Even a single ghoul they create is capable of razing an entire village to the ground in next to no time flat. Many feared them even above the Elves themselves, as at least the pointy eared devils didn't require the feeding on blood to function...as far as they knew, anyway.
There was also their firstborn magic. Unlike the elemental system of the nobles, the magic of the firstborns/spirits was given to a rare few: Using a magic that took from nature itself - Willing plants to come to life, conjuring lightning from the air, taking stone and shaping it with but the flick of a finger. These were the abilities those who had been blessed by the spirits were capable of.
But a vampire's greatest weapon was deception. Unlike nobles, Vampire's required no foci to cast and were visually indistinguishable from a human, save for some odd traits like immortality or the aversion to fire - And even then, immortality was impossible to spot without spending an inordinate amount of time with them and aversion to fire could be easily explained by the dislike of being burned in general.
Helping them with this was their innate 'Charm' magic. Vampires easily made people feel at ease and calm without even trying to, regardless of their appearance or personality. Victims who had survived a Vampire's assault described it as being held under a spell, as if their body felt naturally drawn to them and their mind was relaxed. Those of a scientific mind would have suggested that they either manipulated the hormones in the body in order to draw up arousal and affection or that they used some kind of pheromone that made the person fall under their whims. In either case, nobody alive could resist a Vampire's charm unless they knew what to expect beforehand.
"Are you sure that its them?" Amethyst looked over the two males sitting on the small table, each nursing a drink in their hand. The young woman (at least in appearance) removed the last of her cloak before hiding it in her pack, "They seem a bit young to be the thieves we've been sent to re-capture. Perhaps he was mistaken?"
"No, they're the only ones that match the description: A male earth Mage and a young companion," Daphne replied, though she could understand her sister's hesitation. Ever since their old taskmaster had died, the new one who had taken his place...left much to be desired. He was young and hotheaded, not to mention more than a little sexist, and things only got worse when he found out about their Vampirism. Already this had been the fifth mission where they had been given barely any info before being sent on their way.
Really, the only thing they knew was the the thief was supposedly a male and that his companion was young. The guard who had managed to eavesdrop on parts of their conversation also mentioned that they would be heading to Albion in order to steal the Founder's music box, which would no doubt be easier considering the royal family was in dire straits now that they had lost the war against Reconquista.
Amethyst put the last of her covering clothing in her pack before looking up at their 'targets: One was a blond with a handsome face, a noble based on the cloak that he openly wore around him. The other also appeared to be a teen, although the brown streaked white hair and eyepatch made it hard to determine how old he was supposed to be exactly. In either case, the noble was the only male earth Mage they had seen all day. While the details given to them were usually sparse, they also tended to be correct under most circumstances.
"Do you remember what we have to do?" Daphne asked.
"Of course," Amethyst nodded, "We use our 'Charm' to separate them into the two rooms that we bought. After that we'll ask them for information on who employed them and whether they can contact them again. Once we get all our information, we drain them of enough blood so that they lose consciousness but not enough to kill them. We need to bring them back to the capital for further interrogation and then imprisonment."
Daphne smiled. It was the norm for their assignments: Their previous taskmaster had specifically given them either reconnaissance or capture jobs in order for them to keep to their 'No killing unless absolutely necessary' rule intact. Right now they had to make sure that they only took enough blood that was necessary. It had been a while since they had 'fed' and knocking them out by taking their blood had the double purpose of allowing them a few more days before they had to feed again. They just had to make sure to stay calm and not let temptation overtake them.
"Alright, lets do this quickly."
At the table, Raziel gulped down his third mug of ale quickly before lowering the empty cup back on the table. At his side, Guiche was already nursing his fourth glass of wine and getting rather tipsy, if the reddened face and incoherent ramblings was any indication. Sighing, Raziel poured another full cup of ale and drank it down in one gulp, ignoring the fact that doing so was rather pointless all thing considered.
It was ineffective, although he had no doubt that that would be the case. The Undead didn't get drunk; corpses had very little enough as it was and the lack of blood and other hormones meant that they felt very little from drinking whatever they could unless it was the Estus drink. There was also the fact that Undead never had to release fluids or other fecal matter, so he could only assume that any fluids or food that he ingested were disposed of some other way. Maybe they were burnt by Pyromancy or something.
That and there were theories that the Darksign stopped the effects of alcohol for some one reason or another. Although unconfirmed - seeing as those branded with the darksign had much more important things to worry about - it was also generally assumed that all Undead were sterile, if they were even capable of having intercourse to begin with. Another reason why the Undead were hunted down: Those who believed that the Darksign was a disease thought that they would eventually infect everyone, therefore leading to a world where nothing is born and nothing ever dies. Stagnation and decay being the only things left.
"Heh, and Montmorency goes up to me last night and tells me that she wants to break up with me," Guiche slurred, although Raziel was barely paying attention at this point, "So I tell her 'You know what? I'm going to prove I'm a hero come tomorrow and then you'll see that we're made for each other!'" He grabbed the bottle and glared as he suddenly realized that it was empty, "And then you know what she says? She tells me that I'm gonna kill myself doing something stupid and that she won't even bother visiting my funeral. How cruel!"
Gods above, why was he even here? He thought to grab for another drink before deciding better of it. No matter how many times he tried, he wasn't going to get drunk, buzzed, tipsy or any other type of sloshed. His master and the Viscount were up above, talking about abyss knew what. The only reason he was even here and not upstairs in the room was because Guiche had invited him to drink and hadn't taken no for an answer. He was curious to see if alcohol affected him, but that was soon answered after his second cup and the lack of taste the ale had on him.
"Why do you argue with her?" He was going to bite the proverbial dagger and actually humor the blond noble, "Do you not love her?"
"Heh, guess you've never been in love?" The smug sense of superiority in Guiche's voice was obvious, "Listen, I'm a male. When I see charming girls, do you honestly think that I can keep my instincts suppressed? No, that is what makes us human!" For some reason, some of the other male patrons in the bar raised a cup at his loud announcement, "She acts like that, but what am I supposed to do? I'm not a Golem that she can call and dismiss on command! I'm a human being, damn it! Its not like I can help it!"
Raziel was glad that he had left Derflinger in the room, else he was sure that the talking sword would be doing his best to talk over the irate noble. One talking idiot was bad enough; he didn't need two that tried to compete with one another.
"Excuse me, may we perhaps join you?"
Guiche looked up from his glass and immediately felt himself become awestruck. It was either he was seeing double, or there were a couple of attractive women asking to join them- No, calling them attractive would've been an insult. They had an inhuman beauty about them that caused him to immediately feel attracted to them. Huh, he often found himself falling for the charms of women, but this was different. He wanted more.
"Of-Of course!" Guiche stuttered out, nearly spilling his cup of wine in his enthusiasm. Raziel looked at Guiche warily before turning back to the pair, "My acquaintance and I were simply enjoying our drinks...and-and we would be happy- No, we would be delighted if you decided to join us!" Okay...Guiche was acting kind of odd. Even when he apologizing to his master he seemed more confident.
The pair introduced themselves as Daphne and Amethyst before sitting down across from them. Raziel took note of their somewhat odd appearance: Pale skin, almost as pale as his, and red eyes that were a shade darker than his masters. Their hair was dark, and ended in pointed intervals at just below their neck. Beautiful if one asked the right person, but useless to a being who was incapable of feeling sexual arousal and attraction. Although he could see where Guiche's eyes were staring at. It wasn't as if their attire left much to the imagination. He had to question the logic of a black dress that exposed ones back till just above the buttocks.
If he had to guess, he would've assumed them to be in their late teens or early adulthood; no older than the Viscount was. Twins as well, given that they looked and dressed exactly the same.
"We're sorry for bothering you," Amethyst was the first to talk, "My sister and I were lost and we were hoping to find someone friendly to sit with till nighttime came."
"Its...its not a problem..." Guiche was smitten. He didn't care if he had only know this girl for a couple of minutes, he was utterly lovestruck. He thought that princess Henrietta was the epitome of beauty, but he was wrong. He didn't care about the drinks, he didn't care if he looked stupid, and even Montmorency was slowly drifting to the back of his mind. He wanted to have her all for himself.
Raziel looked at his drinking partner neutrally, "It seems your words ring true," He had never seen Guiche this way. The earth Mage always had a veneer confidence and being suave, able to defuse a situation with his words and expressions. Now he looked like a panting dog, his entire face red and his eyes blatantly looking at Amethyst's chest. Did drunkenness impede one to the point that they regressed to baser instincts like this?
"Nice to meet you," Daphne said from across him. He looked at her briefly before nodding. Guiche's reddening was getting worse and he could see the beginnings of blood trickling down his nose, "Um...what's your name?" She asked hesitantly. Odd, his companion seemed to be affected well enough, but he was ignoring the charm magic like it wasn't even there. Even if he...didn't prefer the fairer sex, the magic still should have worked on him. They had fed on women before, after all.
"Guiche!" The lovestruck student stretched a hand out to Amethyst. Supposedly it was to shake her hand, but it went a little to close to her chest for comfort. The woman accepted it with an innocent smile regardless.
"My name is Raziel," He mimicked Guiche's gesture, although he had maintained a decent distance from the woman's chest. Daphne smiled and accepted the gesture before she suddenly shivered. Odd, his skin felt way colder than normal. She took her hand back and forced herself to keep smiling. Vampires were naturally more sensitive to body warmth compared to humans due to their need to feed on blood, but his arm felt eerily cold for some reason.
"So what brings you two here?" She asked, doing her best to ignore the fact that the suspected earth thief's companion was acting way too oddly considering their charm magic. Did he know they were sent to capture them? No, that was impossible. They had made sure to cover themselves up from the sunlight that no one would be able to tell if they were male or female to begin with. And even then, suspicion should have been quickly disregarded in favor of attraction or arousal. Unless he felt like his life was in danger he should have fallen under the charm's effects.
"Oh, we were going to Albion for- oof!" Guiche was unable to complete his sentence before Raziel stepped on his foot from under the table, throwing the playboy a stern look in the process. While he cared little for the princess' whims, he was not going to be the one to explain why exactly everyone in the bar knew where the four of them were heading. Their relationship was already bad enough and he didn't want to make things worse.
"Albion? How interesting," Amethyst mouthed something to her sister before turning back to Guiche, "Um, I know this may sound untoward, but could you please escort me up to my room? I'm afraid I don't know this inn very well and I'll need help arranging my things."
"Of course, my lady!" Guiche ignored Raziel's attempt to hold him back and quickly linked arms with the older woman, grinning from ear to ear as many thoughts filtered into his head. Raziel watched them go with a slight frown before he poured another serving of ale from the bottle. He just hoped Guiche wasn't going to reveal anything that he didn't need to. His master would find some way to blame him, and attempting to get drunk would at least pass the time.
"Mister Raziel?" Daphne spoke out again, "Um, I know this may be rude to ask, but could I ask you to escort me to my room as well?"
Raziel resisted the urge to sigh before nodding his head, doing his best to ignore the fact that some of the other bar patrons were glaring at him. Evidently they had felt jealous about him attracting the attention of the female, though he had no idea as to why exactly they cared so much. They were glaring at Guiche as well, although the wannabe hero obviously didn't pay attention to them considering his drunken and lecherous state.
"Lead the way," Daphne waited momentarily before it became obvious that he was going to make no attempt to link his arm in hers. Truly odd. Was the Charm magic not taking hold? The other bar patrons were already staring at her, so it must've been a success. Even when they didn't mean to, Vampires naturally put people at ease since their 'Charm' was always active. When deliberately trying to deceive someone, however, even the most hardy soldier would fall prey to the Vampire's charms. His ignoring of it was...troubling.
Raziel looked around the small room absentmindedly. Apart from the small table containing some kitchenware and the bed off to the corner, the place was completely barren. He walked over to the lamp on the wall before raising a match to light the wick. The damn place was just too dark, and he hated being kept in the dark for too long. It reminded him too much of the Tomb of the Giants.
"Mr. Raziel," Daphne called out, "We're alone now, so...do you mind if I ask you some questions?" She needed to interrogate him for information and, failing that, knock him out via blood draining in order to drag him back to the capital. No doubt her sister was already gaining all the information the thief had. She had to do her part and ensure that the mission was a success.
"I apologize, but I must get back to my room," He had to get Guiche before the damn fool made things worse for all of them. He was already a blabbermouth when he was sober, so he dreaded to imagine what he would say now that his lips had been loosened by alcohol.
Daphne was completely silent as he walked past her. She didn't understand. Why was the magic not working? Only those who had firstborn magics themselves were capable of resisting the natural allure. Well, either that or corpses, but the Vampire hadn't exactly tried deceiving a corpse yet. The corpses she had seen under Cobias' command were simply puppets animated by water magic; beings that weren't truly alive to begin with. There was something naturally...off about them that made them incapable of actually acting like a human.
She had no choice. She needed to knock him out and interrogate him by force later on. Taking a deep breath and making sure to keep herself calmed, she forcefully encircled her arms around his neck and bit down.
Her teeth pierced through the skin and began the process of absorbing blood. Two minutes of slow absorption should've enough to-
"Guh!" The Vampire immediately removed her mouth from his skin and vomited out the blood. The grayish black liquid stained the wooden floor of the room, causing her to shiver as she felt the aftertaste. It was wrong. He was wrong. Even with the quick contact she could tell that he had just barely any blood on him, what blood remained tasted rotten and disgusting. He was supposed to be dead, there was no way around it, and yet he wasn't.
Raziel backed up quickly and slammed his back against the wooden wall. Daphne grunted in pain at the sudden contact and he slammed into the wall again, this time successfully dislodging her grip from him.
He collapsed into the floor in a crumpled heap and placed a hand against his neck, trying to ignore the pain that threatened to envelope him. What in the abyss did she do? It felt like the Estus liquid had been siphoned out of his body. He stood up weakly and tried to grab for the knife on the table. He was an idiot for leaving his weapons back at his room. He needed to be more careful.
Daphne shook of her dizziness and began trying to cast a spell. A sleep inducing fog would work, but it was a last resort since it would have affected everyone inside the inn. She really didn't have much of a choice this time- Shit, he wasn't falling asleep!
Raziel grabbed for the knife clumsily and charged back at his attacker's position. She barely had time to dodge before he lodged the food instrument against the wall. She noted uncomfortably that the blade had gone all the way into the wooden surface. It would've impaled her right on the neck if she chose to hesitate for even a single second.
She scrambled away before casting another spell, this time a massive gust of wind that pinned him into the wall. The Undead struggled briefly against the buffeting winds before he felt anger bubble within him. If she wanted to play with the elements, then he would oblige.
Daphne flinched as she suddenly felt the area around her burn hotly. Trusting her instincts, she moved to the left quickly and barely avoid the pillar of fire that sprang up from under her. Despite the intense heat she felt, the fire stayed in its position before disappearing in a flash. She gaped at the lightly scorched wooden floor before turning back to face him.
Something was wrong. The fire he created didn't spread, and yet it was more fierce than even some of the square class fire Mages he had fought. She took a ragged breath and debated on which spell to cast next. Vampire's weren't as weak to fire as people loved to exaggerate, but the fire he had used had barely even made contact with her and she already felt pain.
What in the abyss was this woman? She had no foci and yet she was casting spells that were stronger than the Mages he'd seen in the school. He stood up weakly and grabbed the knife from the wall with his left hand, making sure to keep his Flame stable. He didn't have much uses left. Best to kill her quickly before they attracted any more attention.
Raziel charged forward and moved his hand in an arc: Fire whip. A basic spell, but the power spoke for itself. She backed away and ducked under the Flames. Spirits above, the heat was too intense.
No matter for it then - She was going to have to use more lethal force. Another quick spell cast before Raziel electricity surge around him, "What-" A bolt of lightning slammed into his midsection, forcing him back against the opposite wall. Not wasting the chance, Daphne ran forward before pinning him against the wall.
"Stop struggling! I do not wish to fight you!" His hands were pinned. He growled and struggled against her hold, but she refused to budge, "Please, we were ordered to take you alive. Don't force my hand and we can end this peacefully."
Her grip was strong, and the way she kept him pinned to the wall made it obvious that she stronger than her thin physique indicated. An Undead? No, Undead weren't capable of magic like the one she used.
He needed to find a way to escape. Guiche was in danger and most likely his master as well. He was right; someone had been observing them, likely because they knew of their looked away from her and did his best to keep his expression neutral
He only had one chance at this, and he didn't even know if it would work, "I surrender. But please, look me in the eye and tell me that no harm will befall us." He turned back to her and urged her to come closer. Without the Flame in his hand, he wouldn't be able to project the fire for too long.
"I promise-" A burst of flame interrupted her. Her grip on him loosened as she felt the fire eat away at her skin. Not letting her recover, Raziel tacked her onto the floor and stabbed the knife into her neck - She was still alive, given that her struggles hadn't ceased at all despite the blade penetrating her body.
"Who are you?" She didn't answer. Raziel grabbed at her exposed neck with his right. The Vampire flinched as the burning skin made contact with hers, "Why did you attack us? How did you know of my master's mission?"
"Master? So you really are..." She winced and stifled a yell as the heat on his palm intensified. So she was right: He was an Undead, a puppet controlled by water magic. They were told that the earth Mage thief was capable, but to be able to replicate what only the Spirit's could do...it was unbelievable. She opened her mouth, trying to form a coherent reply. She was beginning to feel lightheaded.
The door to the room opened with a loud crash. Raziel tore his gaze off the Vampire and turned to look at the new arrival, "Let go of my sister!" Amethyst demanded, bounding into the room quickly before slamming the door behind her. Guiche was with her as well, although he was barely conscious against the Vampire's grip. She must have drained him already, like the other one attempted to do to him.
"She attacked me," He replied.
"Let go of her, or I'll kill your friend," She took a dagger and placed it against the unconscious noble's neck. Raziel's remaining eye narrowed at her hand - It was shaking, and the dagger was barely touching his skin at all. It was either she wasn't used to taking life or she was and yet she was still uncomfortable with the idea of it.
"Tell me why you attacked us," He stood up slowly, making sure that his hold on the other Vampire's neck remained ironclad. He wasn't stupid; he saw her panicking when she saw the fire. He didn't doubt that if he let go for even a second then she would be able to overpower him.
"Its a misunderstanding," Amethyst replied, the dagger she was holding lowering from Guiche's neck, "I've talked to your friend and he told me that he had no idea what I was talking about. I think we've made a large mistake and we should talk this over," Raziel remained skeptical, "Please, I just want my sister to be safe. If you wish for us to leave, then we will do so. Just stop hurting her."
Raziel observed her carefully before he slowly let go of Daphne's neck. She wasn't lying, and her hesitance in trying to kill Guiche spoke volumes about her sincerity. Amethyst smiled in relief before pushing Guiche to him. The Undead caught him before throwing him onto the floor haphazardly. He would wake up sooner or later.
"Now, I guess we should explain?" Raziel only gave an annoyed nod.
"Where are you going?" Fouquet turned back to the small bluenette. They'd arrived in La Rochelle in only a day - That wind dragon of hers was fast - but they were forced to wait for an extra day. Their orders had told them to hire a band of mercenaries in order to distract someone, although who exactly they were was unknown to the both of them.
"Doing my part," She grabbed for the sack of coins and shook it carefully. Inside was two thousand Ecu in coins, along with the details of whoever they were supposed to attack or keep distracted, "Our employer told us that we need to hire some mercenaries in order to distract some kind of group. He didn't tell me who they were or why they're so important, so don't ask me."
"..." Tabitha nodded mutely before turning back to her book. The thief sighed before making for the door to leave. Despite the fact that they were partnered with one another, the young Chevalier seemed content to ignore her unless it was absolutely necessary. While she could deal with that, and she honestly found it relieving since it allowed her some privacy, there was something else that bothered her.
The paranoia and suspicion. Every time she had to leave the room, every time she went off to take a walk or even just to go to the bathroom, the girl would ask her where she was going and refusing to budge unless she explained exactly what she was about to do; like she was going to stab her in the back the first chance she got.
Although considering she had tried to kill her before, Fouquet couldn't exactly blame her.
"Oh, and pack your things," She turned back to look at her, "Once we pay them, we're going to have to leave immediately unless you want to get trapped in a fight that has nothing to do with us. Your dragon's at the port, right?" Another subtle nod, "Good. Change into the clothes that we were given. We need to look the part once we get to Albion, and we only have one chance at this."
Tabitha watched her leave before standing up from her bed and opening the satchel: Inside was set of male servant clothing, although slightly more refined than normal. She stripped out of her traveling clothes before changing into the male clothing. The plan was for Fouquet to pose as a traveling Aristocrat and she to be her manservant. While she didn't exactly understand the logic behind it considering Newcastle's current besieged status, she wasn't going to question it either. No doubt that man made the plan as inconvenient as possible in order to entertain himself.
The inn was large. She could've sworn that she made out Guiche on the floor below them, but she chose not to sate her curiosity. She had a mission and she had to focus, not wonder why her schoolmate was in La Rochelle.
Downstairs, Fouquet looked around briefly before making her way to the largest table she could find. There were at least a dozen males sitting on the giant round table, all drinking various assortments of alcohol and laughing merrily at some sort of violent or sexual conquest their comrade just finished recalling. The perfect people for the job: Idiots who thought too highly of themselves.
"Hey, lookie here boys!" The biggest one there, a brute with plate armor that she presumed to be the leader, pointed at her, "Hey there, lady! Wanna join us for a drink? We promise, you'll have a good time." The other males raised their beers and ales, laughing rowdily at their captain's bold offer.
She reached into her cloak and pulled out her wand. The guffaws immediately stopped. Some of them were Mages themselves, but fighting against another Mage was usually more trouble than it was worth, "No thank you, though it is kind of you to offer," She gave a forced smile, "I have an offer: Two thousand Ecu up front, and double that at the listed location provided you manage to succeed. The job's details are listed inside the parchment inside. Do you accept?"
The captain grabbed for the coin sack before jiggling it slowly. Warily, he opened it and gaped at the large amount of gold coins, "You're saying we get double the amount if we complete the task inside?" She nodded in affirmation. He rubbed his scruffy beard briefly before taking one last gulp of beer, "You have a deal then. When do we have to do it?"
"Right now."
"Vampires!?" Guiche yelled out in shock before he clamped his mouth shut, "Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight: You two are Vampires that have been working in secret for the crown for the past 30 years? And you've been sent here on some kind of secret mission in order to capture someone because they plan to steal from Albion's newcastle treasury?"
"Nn, that's right, although its more like 34 years" Daphne nodded. She'd finally managed to dislodge the knife from her neck, but there were still traces of burnt flesh along her pale skin. Raziel refused to apologize - not that they had demanded an apology in the first place - considering she attacked him first, "We were told that the culprit was a male thief and his companion, and you two were the only ones that matched the description. We saw you casting during the last stop in town and we assumed it to be you. You were the only earth Mage to pass by and the timing was too close for it to be coincidental."
Apparently the reason their fight hadn't elicited more reactions was because the room they were in was currently enchanted with a silence spell; a specialty of the inn, as Daphne noted. He was just glad that his Pyromancy could be controlled to stop the fire from spreading beyond its target area, or else they would have both burned to death in the confined space. And he still had no idea where that next bonfire was since he had killed that Pisaca.
Although he had to admit that the Vampire's healing was impressive. Beyond the reddish skin, there was absolutely no sign of injury from her. Most people would have had their face melted off when they took a Combustion spell at point blank range.
"A thief!? Me!? Never!" Guiche denied vehemently, waving his rose wand dramatically, "I am a proud member of the house Gramont and a student in the Tristain magic academy. The idea that I would be a thief- Well, frankly its absurd! I would never lower myself to stealing from hard-working nobles," No, he was just content to steal the affection of females. Raziel rolled his eyes at the dramatic denial. A simple 'No, its not me,' would have sufficed.
"Gramont?" Daphne repeated, "Um, this may be rude to ask, but could you perhaps be related to sir. Rancis? You remind me of him."
"Rancis? You knew of my father?" Guiche asked back curiously.
"Father? Oh yes, I suppose that makes sense," Daphne giggled, though it sounded strained due to the pain in her throat, "Yes, he was part of the group that saved me and my sister when were younger. He, Mr. Barkus, Mr. Centurion and Ms. Karin. We haven't talked to them recently, but my sister and I miss them dearly. They were our closest friends back then."
Karin? Could that be...No, no. Karin was a common enough name. And he was sure that his father would have mentioned if he knew the 'Heavy Wind' in his youth, "Then I suppose it is destiny that we would meet today, dear maiden's!" Despite the charm magic no longer being actively used, Vampires still had a tendency to put people at ease. Guiche wasn't aware of it, but he was still being manipulated, albeit not on purpose.
"I suppose it is, but we have little time for pleasantries," Amethyst interrupted, "We were told by our taskmaster that the infamous thief Fouquet of the crumbling earth was to steal from newcastle's vault and-"
"Wait, did you say Fouquet?" Raziel interrupted. She nodded in reply, "You...have made a mistake: Fouquet is female."
"""What?""" All three occupants in the room intoned at the same time. Guiche was the first to get his bearings, "No, that's impossible. The news and even the town criers called Fouquet a male thief. Why would they lie?" Although he could already hazard a guess as to why. Most older nobles would have found the idea of being outwitted by the fairer sex to be embarrassing to their reputations. But surely they wouldn't lie to the extent that no one would know, right?
"I would not know," He shrugged nonchalantly, "Regardless, I remember what I saw. My master and I were there, along with Tabitha and Kirche, when we captured her. I believe that you know the thief as Miss. Longueville?"
"Miss. Longueville? She's Fouquet?" First vampires working for the crown, now earth Mage thief secretary's. What was the world coming to? "We all assumed that the headmaster had simply fired her for one reason or another. But to think she was Fouquet...well, its simply unbelievable."
Daphne and Amethyst looked at one another and frowned. It was either their taskmaster had set them up to fail from the start or he was no more aware than Guiche was about Fouquet's true identity. Either way, it didn't bode well for them. Their mission hadn't changed, but now they had no idea if the thief wasn't already in Albion to begin with. They'd wasted nearly a day tracking the pair.
"Forgive me, my fair maidens, but I must...get something to drink from below," He stood up from floor and made his way to the door. He needed something to calm himself: Vampires working for the crown, Vampires that had befriended his father 34 years prior, the academy's secretary being some kind of undercover thief in disguise. It was more than he could take in one sitting.
The atmosphere in the room became eerily quiet as Guiche left the room. Raziel looked away from the two Vampire's, unwilling to make eye-contact. Maybe he should leave already. It wasn't as if he had anything to talk about. He at least had gotten his weapons back from their shared room, although Derflinger was unnaturally quiet for some reason, He reasoned that the sword must have been 'sleeping' considering the late hour.
"Mister Raziel?" Daphne called out. Raziel turned back to her, although his expression remained neutral, "Are you..." She stopped. What was she supposed to say? 'Are you a corpse that's been re-animated by water magic'? Yeah, that would go over real well.
"I am an Undead, if that is what you are curious about," She nearly jumped at the blunt reply, "I suppose it is alright to tell you. You already tried to drain my body of blood. You could have killed me as well, but you were holding back. I trust that this is because you were told to bring your target back alive?"
She nodded at the guess, "That wasn't blood. Blood tastes different, and the one I took from you tasted...wrong in a way that I can't explain," She shuddered as she recalled the taste of the 'blood' she had taken from him, "You also weren't affected by the 'Charm' magic." Amethyst added for her sister.
"It is likely due to this," He pulled down his white tunic and revealed the branded circle at the bottom of his neck, "Undead are branded by the Darksign and it is what keeps us animated: Blood and other bodily fluids are also absent, save for the Estus drink. This means we are unaffected by things that would cause us to become intoxicated or aroused. Perhaps this is why I was unaffected."
"What is that?" Amethyst reached out a hand to touch the mark, but Raziel backed away from her, "I'm sorry, I was simply curious. None of the Undead my sister and I have seen had that mark on them. Most of them were also incapable of speech, save for the rare cases. They were simply puppets made from water magic. Tell me, how did your master create you?"
"My master didn't create me," He replied, somewhat annoyed at the implication, "Anybody can become an Undead, provided that death takes them and the Darksign chooses to curse them. We retain our memories from before our death, so I would appreciate not being called a puppet." He failed to mention how he didn't remember his own memories, although that was due to a rare case. He had to have been someone at some point before the Asylum.
"You keep your memories?" Daphne wondered aloud, "Odd, according to research its stated that using spirit artifacts or water magic in order to restore someone to life does nothing but simply make a another spirit inhabit the body. Your case is...different from what we have encountered before," Her eyes switched over to his right hand, "The magic you use is unique as well; similar to the magic of the firstborns. Can you-"
"Big trouble!" Guiche slammed the door open before closing it behind him hurriedly, "A bunch of mercenaries just held the Inn hostage and they're refusing to let anyone out! We need to do something!"
"What about master?" He grabbed for his discarded weapons before slinging them on his back. His Pyromancy was mostly used up due to their fight earlier, so he would have to hope that there weren't too many of them at once.
"They're already downstairs, so we need to hurry up and help them now!"
Raziel looked at the two Vampires and they nodded in return. They understood what he was trying to say: They would have to cooperate in order to get out of here.
Now before anyone gets on my case again: Daphne and Amethyst are NOT OC's. Daphne is a supporting character from from the Karin side-stories and she, along with her sister Amethyst, were recruited into Tristain's black ops at the end of the second side novel. Despite the somewhat cliche 'Vampires who don't kill' premise, they're actually interesting because they're frigging Vampire's who work for the crown. You'd think these two would appear at some point in the main story or someone would tell Henrietta, but they never come up despite the story potential. So I'm using them now.
So yeah, I replaced the Wardes duel from canon for a brief skirmish with a Vampire. This also provides a link to Karin and the Valliere's in general because Karin actually befriended Daphne and is supposed to be aware of their position in Tristain's secrets.
Anyway, time to answer some reviews before I update next week:
Mr. Black 64 - Because you have to take divergence and butterfly effect into account. Raziel's a penniless foreigner, so what do you think is gonna happen if he kills a noble and the fourth son of a famed general? The Gramont's are gonna want blood, and Raziel was gonna get his arse executed considering how weakened he was. And that's assuming none of the other nobles get paranoid and kill him on the spot right there. Louise might get herself thrown out of the family. And if not, the Valliere's look weak and traitorous because they don't expel the daughter who owned the Familiar who killed the fourth son of a famous general. The smallest things can utterly derail a fic, and I didn't want to write a story where Louise is executed and Raziel dies four chapters in because there are no bonfires. Even injuring him leads to panic and hysteria.
Although you do have a point about Montmorency. I generally dislike the first six chapters since I made no effort to combine the two worlds yet.
Keeper of all lore - Read the chapter again: There's an entire paragraph explaining why he isn't panicking more that his stuff his gone.
Strogg Grunt - I'm not thinking of romance yet. I'll put a moment here and there, but for the most part its more about the world and the development of the characters. Siesta's the only person he could call a friend in Halk, so of course his interactions with her are more friendly and close compared to the students.
Primal Chaos - Because he doesn't know that. No one told him that bonfires are made of Undead bones or that he could do it himself. I've also shown time and time again that Undead bodies are stronger than normal: He gets smacked around and he never breaks his bones, let alone get dismembered. And really, would Louise or anybody else let him use the obviously rusted sword to hack off his limb if he ever decided to try it? Because something tells me that he'd be unsuccessful considering how hardy his body is shown to be. That and he's not a sociopath - There's a difference between using a limb to block an attack out of desperation and hacking off said limb on the off chance that it can come back.
BloodTrinity - She was trying to rationalize that she was dreaming rather than that the bodies were real. I thought I made that clear during the chapter.
ArkT - I wanted to switch, but again there was little point to extending the arc further: The chapter was already at 13k words with all the stuff cut out. I would've had to split it in two if I included Siesta's, Kirche's, and the maid's POV's.
Not exactly. In lore, anyone from the richest noble to the lowest bandit can learn Pyromancies/Miracles/Morcery. On the other hand, ZNT lore dictates that only those with specific genes can learn their magic. So it essentially boils down to - Dark Soul arts can be learned by anyone after being taught/self-trained, while Halkegninia magic is only usable by those who have the right genes. There's nothing to indicate that the arts from Dark Souls require specific genes, so anyone can use it if they work hard enough; its just stupidly hard without being taught second-hand that most people wouldn't even bother. Even Mott took years.
Madlink - Check spacebattles. Also, I didn't cut away anything - They were already at the school at the beginning of the segment. Siesta only recalled that she was in a cart and that she had seen her friends, but she was recalling it only.
Nephilim209 - Thanks for the long review, but I'm not going to be reading Hill of Swords: I'd rather finish this fic without going to the process of "Is my fic as good as *insert fic here*". I want to finish this without the temptation of aping segments from the obviously better fic, so I'm not going to check that out or the other 'Juggernauts' of the crossover archive. I already have a general plan for this arc anyway. The only thing I'm having problems with is it is the Dragons Raiment thing.