Author's Notes: Hey everyone sorry if I kept you waiting for an update so here we go. As always Games Workshop owns everything.
To Karl's immense relief they were able to leave the ruins of the cursed city without further incident. He was given the task of driving the carriage while Wilhelmina watched the vampire. Because of the vampire Karl had assumed that they would be traveling at night but Wilhelmina insisted that such a course of action would be too likely attract suspicion from any who might see them and so they traveled by day, much to Helena's discomfort though they kept the curtains drawn at all times. Karl was of the opinion that a black coach drawn by black horses and with the curtains drawn at all time was likely to look suspicious to anyone who saw it be it day or night but Wilhelmina did not look like she was in the mood to argue about such points so Karl kept his mouth shut.
Then there was the question of supplies. While he and Wilhelmina had lost most of their provisions they would be able to acquire more when they reached more civilized parts of the Empire and in the meantime Karl could hunt for more and they could forage for edible plants and their path crossed a number of streams and rivers, so they did not need to fear running out of water. Helena, on the other hand, had special...needs. The body that Karl had brought along had soon begun to rot and had to be disposed of. At first they had tried feeding her with blood from the animals that Karl hunted but it quickly became apparent that not only was that blood not to the vampire's taste but it also provided far less nourishment than human blood. This raised the question of how to feed her, they were both certain that Marx would be very annoyed with them if they had to tell him that after all the effort that they had done to find the vampire they had let it starve on the way home.
Karl could not feed her, he was no longer human and his blood would likely taste just as foul to the vampire as the animal blood. In the end there was only one option and the task of feeding the vampire fell to Wilhelmina. She was far from thrilled at the prospect and held out as long as she could and it was only when Karl reminded her how Marx would react if they came back sans vampire that she reluctantly agreed to it. As vampires could control people that they fed from Wilhelmina would not permit Helena to bite her. Instead, she would cut her palm and let the blood pool in her cupped hands and then have the vampire lap it up, all the while having Karl near at hand ready to strike if the vampire were to attempt to bite or otherwise attack the young wizard. Fortunately the vampire did not need to feed every day, much to Wilhelmina's relief.
In order to reduce suspicion once they got far enough away from the ruins of the city that started seeing people again they made sure to travel only during the day despite the discomfort it caused to the vampire. They would travel with all of the curtains drawn, in Wilhelmina's opinion this had the added advantage that the vampire could not escape from the coach while they traveled. If they came across a tavern or an inn as the sun was going down they would rent a room. They had found clothing appropriate for traveling noble women in the baggage on the coach and Wilhelmina and Helena had donned them while Karl took on the role of servant/bodyguard. They would take a room for the women and Karl would stay in the stables with the coach and the horses, at least that was what everyone else thought. He would rest there for several hours, once he was certain that everyone was asleep he would slip into the room. Once inside he and Wilhelmina would take turns resting while the other watched the vampire. These vigils were silent affairs, Helena was still clearly afraid of Karl and kept her distance from him as much as the room would allow.
At other times though the vampire seemed to be deep in thought about something other than Karl. Helena would get a look on her face as if she were considering something she could not quite grasp. Karl could guess at what she was thinking as he had had the same look on his own face after his first job for Marx, when the wizard had explained that he would be working for him for the remainder of his life. He did not know how long that would be, since becoming a werewolf he had not been sick and the injuries that he had sustained had all regenerated so it would seem he would not die from disease or wounds, though he assumed that if he were killed he would stay dead. As to age he was not sure, Marx had not been sure either. According to the wizard the few scholars who studied werewolf lore were uncertain about their lifespan. Some said that they were immortal while others said that they lived no longer than humans. Whichever was true Karl was bound to Marx for however long he lived and if he was immortal he would serve those that came after Marx, first Wilhelmina and then whomever she trained and so on.
While he may not know if he was immortal or not the vampire had no such uncertainty. She was facing the possibility of centuries of service to her human masters and was clearly still coming to terms with this. Karl felt no sympathy for the creature; its kind had inflicted untold horrors on the people of the Empire and other lands, it was only right that it help to undo some of the damage its kind had done by serving those it had helped harm. He felt tempted to tell the creature this but ultimately did not, he had no desire to speak to it and it clearly had no desire to talk to him and so their journey continued in silence.
Eventually they drew near Altdorf, where they were to meet Marx. In her eagerness to get back to him Wilhelmina ordered Karl to drive on after sundown, in doing so they entered the city shortly before the gates closed for the night. Once inside the city she gave Karl a series of directions for him to follow which took them into a district of the city inhabited mostly by burghers and their families. She directed him to a house which was indistinguishable from any of the others and they pulled into an alley behind the house. There they dismounted the carriage and Karl handed the horses off to a groom, Karl thought that it was the same one who had fetched him before. The back door of the house was opened by a well-dressed Halfling who bowed to Wilhelmina.
"Greetings my lady, the Master is waiting for you upstairs." Wilhelmina nodded in acknowledgement and headed towards the stairs, followed by Helena and Karl. At the head of the stairs Wilhelmina went to the left and knocked on one of the doors.
"Enter." Came a voice from within, a voice Karl recognized as Marx. At his command Wilhelmina opened the door and the three of them went in.
It was a large room with one side dominated by a large fireplace in which a massive fire burned. The other three sides all sported bookshelves which were filled with more books then Karl believed it was possible for a person to read in their lifetime. Before the fireplace was a large desk at which Marx sat, he seemed to be engrossed in a letter that he was reading and did not at first acknowledge them as they entered. At last he set the letter down and poured himself a glass of wine and looked up to regard them.
"Wilhelmina, Karl, it is good to see you back again." He turned to look directly at Helena, who had hung back as much as possible and was unwilling to meet his gaze. "Ah, I see you successfully retrieved the vampire, very good. I trust you two did not have too much difficulty with the task." Karl thought the man was making light of all that they had been through but restrained himself from the urge to tell the man so. An action he was happy that he had taken when Marx turned his attention fully on the vampire and his eyes and voice grew markedly harder and colder.
"What happened, how were you discovered?" At his tone the vampire was visibly fighting the urge to shrink back further.
"I don't know." Marx arched an eyebrow at her and she began again. "I don't know, Master. I took all of the precautions that you and your apprentice instructed me to take. I do not know how my sisters' suspicions were aroused."
"Former sisters," Marx corrected her, his tone losing some of its coldness; "Well, I was certain that you would be found out eventually. Though I will admit that I had hoped that it would not be so soon. Well, what is done is done and we cannot change what has happened. Hopefully they will damage their various networks and they search for any allies of yours." He turned his head to regard a clock that stood against a wall between two of the bookshelves.
"Dear me, look at the time." He turned to look at Karl and Wilhelmina again; "You two must be exhausted. I have had rooms prepared for you, go and get some sleep, we will talk more in the morning." Helena looked at them all for a moment and then seemed to gather herself.
"Master, now that we are here might not this be removed," she said, fingering the necklace gingerly. The coldness returned to Marx's voice.
"No, I think not vampire. I think it will stay just where it is for now. It will come of when I say it comes off and not before, do not bring the subject up again." The vampire shrank back, clearly cowed.
Marx took up a small silver bell from the table and rang it. Almost at once the Halfling servant appeared, Karl guessed that he had been standing just outside of the door waiting for such a summons.
"Escort my apprentice and her escort to their rooms. Then take the vampire to the cellars." As he said the last part his voice took on a tone of distain and the look on the servant's face mirrored it. Helena's face took on an uneasy look.
"What is in the cellars?"
"Your dinner, or rather breakfast." Marx replied; "Dieter the Deft, a rather disreputable individual in the professions of housebreaking and raping, I assumed you would be hungry so I took the liberty of acquiring him from his haunts. Once you have finished Henry will show you to your quarters. One more thing," He said as they were all turning to leave. "I have no sympathy for such a man and his kind are not missed. However, if too many disappear questions get asked, so if at all possible restrain yourself from killing him. The longer you can make him last the longer I will not have to obtain a replacement."
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope you liked this chapter. I have been playing around with a few ideas for what comes next, any suggestions? Do you want him to do another job for Marx or go off on his own and do you think he should be immortal or not? One last thing, do you think my writing has changed in the last couple of chapters? Please let me know in the reviews. next time please pray for persecuted Christians and all others who suffer persecution, the sick, the homeless and runaways, victims of human trafficking, those who suffer, Gail Berry, a friend of the family suffering from mental deterioration and all others who suffer from physical and mental degeneration and all who need prayer. Bye and may Jesus bless you.