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So the night wore on. Even through his most concentrated and devoted efforts, Karasuman was unable to master any of the complex (at least he thought so) techniques that Olrox was attempting to teach him. By the time day broke, Karasuman was exhausted as well as suffering from the multiple scourgings he had received. As sunrise progressed, Olrox acknowledged the futility of his efforts and dismissed his charge to his respective cell in the quarter's dungeon for the remainder of the day. For once, Karasuman was more than willing to obey this command, albeit tomorrow would be a repeat of today, "but maybe after I sleep I'll feel better." He thought, praying he was correct.
Karasuman eventually managed to stagger back to his nondescript, barren cell block. When he lay down on the plank bed, he immediately drifted into the kind of sleep only the dead have experienced. Overall, that became the daily routine, and Karasuman hated every moment of his existence, which to any sympathetic onlooker, would be perfectly understandable. More than once, he considered suicide. Unlike some of Dracula's other minions, he lacked immortality and longed to be removed from the current phase of his life. Unfortunately, there was no feasible way to carry out such an act without attracting undue attention. Despite his efforts to veil his stress and deteriorating physical condition, his suffering did not go unnoticed, and was pointed out by a rather unlikely candidate.
As Olrox was meandering through his quarters, supervising some of the other goings-on in his portion of the castle, Death materialized in front of him, blocking his path. "Olrox," Death rasped, "we must talk." "I have nothing to say to you, my friend." Olrox replied in his usual, patronizing tone before transforming into mist so he could be left alone. "You're aware that I can follow you anywhere you try to go." Death stated, hoping Olrox would be sensible enough not to waste his energy. Surprisingly, the technique succeeded. Olrox floated down to his coworker and proceeded to shift back to his vampire form, "Do hurry this along." Olrox said in as polite a voice as he could muster.
Death cleared his throat, "In addition to my regular duties, I've taken note of the current condition of your charge, something you obviously have not bothered to do recently." Death paused, waiting for the other to give input as well. Olrox glared at him, clearly disinterested, "Go on." "Very well then, I'll be blunt. Karasuman is going to die and has even become suicidal. Despite my power, there is little I can do to prevent it. For a bat or raven to expire is one thing, but a demon is another! Should that unfortunate incident occur, Dracula will have both our hides!" "Well, what do you suggest?" "Let him become Stoladark's problem." "You would really trust him?!" "Neither of us have a choice." It took Olrox a brief moment to absorb the information before he officially confirmed the suggestion. "Very well, I'll see that Karasuman is sent to Stoladark." "You had better." Death hissed ominously before vaporizing. Olrox was perspicacious enough not to ignore Death, no matter how much contempt he held him in, and as much as he loathed admitting it, this was a problem that needed to be amended immediately. Despite these revelations, he was tired and mentally determined to wait until the subsequent night.
Karasuman stood at the front of his cell, gripping the bars which served as a door, avidly searching for something to stave off his importunate boredom. He was knocked out of his reverie when one of the Bloody Zombie guards rapped his knuckles with the flat of its sword. "If you wanted me to move, you could have just said so." Karasuman mumbled while rubbing the injured hand. But he learned very early that there was nothing to be gained from dwelling on such injustices. It did as much good as yelling when one has a severe headache and happened so often that he found himself beginning to tolerate it. With a sigh, Karsuman lay down on his makeshift bed and pulled the covers up around him. It was quite uncomfortable, but he was too drained to care. Tomorrow would be better, he hoped.
That next morning, Karasuman awoke in the usual manner, one of the Bloody Zombies hit the bars of his cell until it saw movement. He sat up, shaking the remainder of his weariness off with little difficulty. When he officially came to his senses, he took note of the Vahalla Knight positioned on the other side of the bars. "Good, you're awake," The rider began, ignoring that the action had been forced. "Lord Olrox has ordered me to take you to see Stoladark today." "Oh. Who's that?" "Some crazy vampire that lives in the Alchemy Laboratory," the monster answered while a Bloody Zombie unlocked the door. "I'm glad it's you who's going and not me. Climb onto the back of my horse."
'What back?' Karasuman thought. Frankly, the idea of riding on such a beast disgusted him, "I think I'll walk." He finally responded while punctuating the statement by standing up, albeit unsteadily. The knight gave a half-hearted laugh, "You look like you'd be able to," he added sarcastically before being hit with a pang of compassion, "Come on. I'll help you up." He said more gently than before. With minimal effort, the monster managed to help Karasuman onto the back of his horse before kicking the front half of the equine into action. Despite the number of time he had seen them, Karasuman always marveled at the speed the two-legged beasts possessed.
Within a matter of minutes, the horse was skillfully guided to the door that led to Stoladark's room. Karasuman was let off and given a final set of instructions. "He's been told you're coming. Just knock on the door." The knight prepared to depart, but added one last thing before speeding off "oh, and good luck child." The demon was left alone in front of the presumably locked door. He hesitated to knock as had been told, but the action was unnecessary, as handle was turned from the inside. Karasuman took a step back, getting into a defensive position he had learned earlier, half-expecting to encounter a creature more revolting than Granfaloon to emerge.
Thankfully, it was a misplaced fear. Stoladark was quite normal, almost human-like in appearance, the demon was even reluctant to believe that this new acquaintance was indeed a vampire. "Well, he certainly was in a hurry," Stoladark said cheerfully while watching the Vahalla Knight disappear. "I'm at a loss as to why, but I suppose that's not important," he paused to look at his new patient. "You must be Karasuman, come in and sit down on the bed." The prospect of going back to sleep was very appealing, Karasuman happily took the suggestion. "Hmmm." Stoladark mused while the demon made himself comfortable, "what did Olrox do to you?" he finished after giving Karasuman a quick perusal. "Do you really want to know?" he answered.
"No, I suppose not." Stoladark said with a huff, "anyway, you look tired. Go ahead and get some sleep, I'll wake you when there's a need." A cryptic answer, but Stoladark had been dead on, Karasuman was far too exhausted to care. It could always be sorted out later.
So the night wore on. Even through his most concentrated and devoted efforts, Karasuman was unable to master any of the complex (at least he thought so) techniques that Olrox was attempting to teach him. By the time day broke, Karasuman was exhausted as well as suffering from the multiple scourgings he had received. As sunrise progressed, Olrox acknowledged the futility of his efforts and dismissed his charge to his respective cell in the quarter's dungeon for the remainder of the day. For once, Karasuman was more than willing to obey this command, albeit tomorrow would be a repeat of today, "but maybe after I sleep I'll feel better." He thought, praying he was correct.
Karasuman eventually managed to stagger back to his nondescript, barren cell block. When he lay down on the plank bed, he immediately drifted into the kind of sleep only the dead have experienced. Overall, that became the daily routine, and Karasuman hated every moment of his existence, which to any sympathetic onlooker, would be perfectly understandable. More than once, he considered suicide. Unlike some of Dracula's other minions, he lacked immortality and longed to be removed from the current phase of his life. Unfortunately, there was no feasible way to carry out such an act without attracting undue attention. Despite his efforts to veil his stress and deteriorating physical condition, his suffering did not go unnoticed, and was pointed out by a rather unlikely candidate.
As Olrox was meandering through his quarters, supervising some of the other goings-on in his portion of the castle, Death materialized in front of him, blocking his path. "Olrox," Death rasped, "we must talk." "I have nothing to say to you, my friend." Olrox replied in his usual, patronizing tone before transforming into mist so he could be left alone. "You're aware that I can follow you anywhere you try to go." Death stated, hoping Olrox would be sensible enough not to waste his energy. Surprisingly, the technique succeeded. Olrox floated down to his coworker and proceeded to shift back to his vampire form, "Do hurry this along." Olrox said in as polite a voice as he could muster.
Death cleared his throat, "In addition to my regular duties, I've taken note of the current condition of your charge, something you obviously have not bothered to do recently." Death paused, waiting for the other to give input as well. Olrox glared at him, clearly disinterested, "Go on." "Very well then, I'll be blunt. Karasuman is going to die and has even become suicidal. Despite my power, there is little I can do to prevent it. For a bat or raven to expire is one thing, but a demon is another! Should that unfortunate incident occur, Dracula will have both our hides!" "Well, what do you suggest?" "Let him become Stoladark's problem." "You would really trust him?!" "Neither of us have a choice." It took Olrox a brief moment to absorb the information before he officially confirmed the suggestion. "Very well, I'll see that Karasuman is sent to Stoladark." "You had better." Death hissed ominously before vaporizing. Olrox was perspicacious enough not to ignore Death, no matter how much contempt he held him in, and as much as he loathed admitting it, this was a problem that needed to be amended immediately. Despite these revelations, he was tired and mentally determined to wait until the subsequent night.
Karasuman stood at the front of his cell, gripping the bars which served as a door, avidly searching for something to stave off his importunate boredom. He was knocked out of his reverie when one of the Bloody Zombie guards rapped his knuckles with the flat of its sword. "If you wanted me to move, you could have just said so." Karasuman mumbled while rubbing the injured hand. But he learned very early that there was nothing to be gained from dwelling on such injustices. It did as much good as yelling when one has a severe headache and happened so often that he found himself beginning to tolerate it. With a sigh, Karsuman lay down on his makeshift bed and pulled the covers up around him. It was quite uncomfortable, but he was too drained to care. Tomorrow would be better, he hoped.
That next morning, Karasuman awoke in the usual manner, one of the Bloody Zombies hit the bars of his cell until it saw movement. He sat up, shaking the remainder of his weariness off with little difficulty. When he officially came to his senses, he took note of the Vahalla Knight positioned on the other side of the bars. "Good, you're awake," The rider began, ignoring that the action had been forced. "Lord Olrox has ordered me to take you to see Stoladark today." "Oh. Who's that?" "Some crazy vampire that lives in the Alchemy Laboratory," the monster answered while a Bloody Zombie unlocked the door. "I'm glad it's you who's going and not me. Climb onto the back of my horse."
'What back?' Karasuman thought. Frankly, the idea of riding on such a beast disgusted him, "I think I'll walk." He finally responded while punctuating the statement by standing up, albeit unsteadily. The knight gave a half-hearted laugh, "You look like you'd be able to," he added sarcastically before being hit with a pang of compassion, "Come on. I'll help you up." He said more gently than before. With minimal effort, the monster managed to help Karasuman onto the back of his horse before kicking the front half of the equine into action. Despite the number of time he had seen them, Karasuman always marveled at the speed the two-legged beasts possessed.
Within a matter of minutes, the horse was skillfully guided to the door that led to Stoladark's room. Karasuman was let off and given a final set of instructions. "He's been told you're coming. Just knock on the door." The knight prepared to depart, but added one last thing before speeding off "oh, and good luck child." The demon was left alone in front of the presumably locked door. He hesitated to knock as had been told, but the action was unnecessary, as handle was turned from the inside. Karasuman took a step back, getting into a defensive position he had learned earlier, half-expecting to encounter a creature more revolting than Granfaloon to emerge.
Thankfully, it was a misplaced fear. Stoladark was quite normal, almost human-like in appearance, the demon was even reluctant to believe that this new acquaintance was indeed a vampire. "Well, he certainly was in a hurry," Stoladark said cheerfully while watching the Vahalla Knight disappear. "I'm at a loss as to why, but I suppose that's not important," he paused to look at his new patient. "You must be Karasuman, come in and sit down on the bed." The prospect of going back to sleep was very appealing, Karasuman happily took the suggestion. "Hmmm." Stoladark mused while the demon made himself comfortable, "what did Olrox do to you?" he finished after giving Karasuman a quick perusal. "Do you really want to know?" he answered.
"No, I suppose not." Stoladark said with a huff, "anyway, you look tired. Go ahead and get some sleep, I'll wake you when there's a need." A cryptic answer, but Stoladark had been dead on, Karasuman was far too exhausted to care. It could always be sorted out later.