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Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.

Macbeth, William Shakespeare.

It was a freezing cold day. Then again, it was always cold in Cumbria but today it seemed colder.

Stane shivered and pulled his cloak around him tighter as he stared out of the grand balcony in the Throne Room.

He heard a shuffling wheezing noise behind him and asked sternly, "Well, what is it, Mortdecan?"

He did not need to turn, to know it was the chief scout master, one of Stane's old minions since his time as a simple wizard.

Since then, the once human Mortdecan had evolved into a rather grotesque being of scale and fang, which made his spying and scouting skills invaluable. All thanks to Stane's growing expertise in dark magic.

The thing bowed deeply and wheezed, "My liege, I have word from Lorinthia. My spies report that the Lord and the Lady are well and together still."

Stane sighed deeply. "Of course they are. After the Black Knight was destroyed, I did not hold much hope. I knew they would rally together. But I had hoped the Bloodstone would do some damage."

He stepped back into the room to sit on the throne. "Now then, Mortedecan, tell me more."

The thing wheezed, "My liege, I do not think the Bloodstone has worked. Because -"

They both jumped as a deep serpentine hiss echoed in the dusty room. The walls began to shake and Stane shook his head with irritation.

Then a portal of darkness opened in the middle of the room, like a tear in the very fabric of space. It made no sound as it opened and the Serpent slithered out, hissing loudly.

Mortdecan bowed so low that his horns nearly touched the floor. Stane merely yawned. He knew he was being disrespectful but he didn't care. He was starting to get annoyed with the Serpent's mysterious disappearances.

"Good morning Serpent, so nice of you to make an appearance."

The Serpent lowered its giant diamond-shaped scaly head and blinked slowly at him, its triangular, ruby red eyes studying him. It then opened its mouth, exposing large pointed fangs and a forked tongue and surprising for a snake, rows of tiny teeth lining the back of its mouth.

Stane got the distinct impression that it was laughing at him.

Stane... it hissed lazily, not only is your scout master's information wrong... it is also very old.

Stane watched as it slithered over the floor to menacingly circle the hapless Mortdecan.

"Master, I can assure you, I came to you as soon as I heard!" wheezed the spymaster, trembling violently as the Serpent locked eyes with him, ruby red glowing orbs gazing demonically into the spymaster's hooded eyes.

The Serpent stuck its forked tongue out and flicked it at the spymaster.

You think! It enunciated strongly with a loud hiss, You think that the Bloodstone did not work!

The spymaster nodded timidly and the Serpent began to sway in front of him, lightly swinging from side to side.

And you tell us this now! The Serpent suddenly lunged forward and the spymaster fell backwards in fear. NOW!

You fool... hissed the Serpent as it made a wide coil around the spymaster with its huge grey slithering body. The Bloodstone did not work because it was destroyed!

This startled Stane. He sat up. "What do you mean, it was destroyed! No earthly blade can pierce it!"

The Serpent turned its massive head back towards him. It hissed slowly,

That is just it... it was pierced by the blade polished by a stone from the cosmos. A famous blade, formerly in the custody of the King of Carinthia. And now in the custody of your Lord Stark, gifted to him by the King for his services.

Stane flushed then, realizing he had completely forgotten this. "Oh! That is how..."

That is how they had also defeated that foolish woman apprentice of yours... Morganna..." completed the Serpent with a sneer.

"But! Surely," sputtered Stane, "surely the stone did something!"

The Serpent blinked slowly and hissed thoughtfully, It did perform as expected, it weakened Stark and heightened his insecurities. So he reacted by lashing out at the girl.

"So", asked Stane curiously, "did Stark rally his strength in the end and destroy it?"

He scowled as the Serpent threw its head back and laughed jeeringly.

No, Stane! Your knight remained a fool to the end. He would have listened to the stone. It was the girl who realized its power and saved him! The waif from the water!

Then the Serpent hissed slowly and bared its fangs. Virginia is ... a force to be reckoned with. I always felt she was the stronger of the two and I have been proved right.

Its tongue lightly licked its fangs and it closed its eyes lightly. She will make a good disciple. So much raw untamed power and the brains to use it! And once she is trained, I will resurrect my Queeeenn...

Stane, however, was upset over the loss of the Bloodstone. "Another stone destroyed. Yet another. And my Black Knight is gone! And all for naught!"

The Serpent chuckled evilly and Stane snapped at him, "What is so funny, Serpent? Do you know the trouble and effort involved to get the Black Knight! To resurrect Stark's old friend! The amount of magic involved and the sacrifices!"

Then he pushed himself back against the throne as suddenly the Serpent was right in his face, blowing cold air onto him. Stane swallowed hard as he stared into its malevolent eyes, gleaming red at him in their scaly grey rims. Being so close, he could even see a faint jagged cut across one scaly rim.

The Serpent hissed out slowly, Calm down, Stane... or I shall have to calm you down...

Stane nodded in fear and the Serpent continued, If I recall correctly, I am the one who created the Bloodstone, infusing it with my malice and my hate, so I have also spent time and effort... and to resurrect the Knight, I am the one who actually pulled the dead one from the depths of the Abyss... I am the true Master here, so do not dare lose your temper with me!

It huffed another blast of cold air onto his face, chilling him to the bone. Then the Serpent turned and slithered back towards the scout master.

Stane took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air. He wiped away the thin ice that had formed on his face. He hated it when the Serpent came close to him and did that.

Stand up creature! Do you have any more useless tidbits to convey?! Or are you quite finished?

The scoutmaster slowly stood and whispered faintly, "They are engaged to be married... by next spring. I saw the engagement ceremony myself."

Stane slammed his fist down hard on the arm rest of the throne. "Consarn it!"

Without looking at him, the Serpent lazily asked, still swaying gently before the scout master, What is the matter, Stane? Don't you like engagements?

"We are no closer to capturing the girl or the knight! The Black Knight has failed, the Bloodstone failed and they will not be driven apart!"

He huffed as he saw the Serpent circle the scoutmaster, eyes fixated on the poor thing, who was shivering violently. The

Serpent lowered its head and poised itself stiffly, body still swaying lightly. Then it began to lick its fangs and Stane grimaced because he knew what was going to happen.

The Serpent blew a fog of thick, cold smoke onto the scoutmaster, who coughed and moved about blindly, trying to get out. Then it opened its giant jaws and lunged for the man's feet, biting him hard.

Mortdecan screamed loudly as the Serpent chewed on him slowly. Stane closed his eyes, feeling nauseous as the sound of bones cracking and flesh being chewed, joined the screams and filled the Throne room. Finally the screaming stopped and he opened his eyes, just to see the scoutmaster's bloodied head disappear into the Serpent's mouth.

Stane still felt ill because the Serpent was licking its bloodied fangs and lips contentedly, all the while making slurping noises.

He pinched his nose hard. "Must you, Serpent, must you eat one of my minions every week?"

The Serpent let out a loud burp, spraying the floor with a fine mist of bone and blood. Pray tell, Stane, what use do you have for a scoutmaster? When I can tell you everything, you need to know.

Stane sighed loudly, feeling the need to get some answers. "Alright, what do we know?"

He started counting off the points. "One, we sent a powerful undead creature to kidnap the girl, which was defeated. Two, the Bloodstone was supposed to drive them apart and the girl would leave Stark. That did not happen either! Three, Stark and the girl are closer than ever! What is more, the would-be-Queen of Cumbria has no intentions of returning to her kingdom! So, all-seeing, all knowing Master from the Depths of the Abyss, what do we do next?"

The Serpent was silent and still. It closed its eyes and began to hiss slowly, like steam escaping from a pot.

Stane muttered to himself, "I suppose we could send a small army of soldiers, perhaps even another Mugermatch or two... surely they aren't that powerful... or maybe something else from the Abyss, another member of the Dark Legion, to capture Stark and the girl... bring them here..."

Then the Serpent whispered malevolently, There is no need for an army, Stane. The girl will come to us. I see it all.

Stane opened his mouth to argue but then he saw the Necklace of Summac glow around the Serpent's neck, an orb of dark orange. The Serpent kept the Necklace with him at all times. It had managed to cloak the jewel's appearance on its body with a spell, so that it was visible only when the Serpent willed it so.

It bent its head and tenderly flicked its tongue at the glowing orb. The Necklace reminded me of a very human emotion: guilt. Something that my future disciple has plenty of. Something that we use to our advantage.

Stane was confused. "Guilt!" He exclaimed. "Pray tell, what is she guilty of?"

The Serpent let out a long rasping sigh of annoyance, that he knew was directed at him.

Stane, do you remember what is was like to be human? Do you remember what is was like to feel a sense of guilt towards something or someone who you were responsible for but failed?

Stane tightened his jaw. "Yes Serpent, I do remember such emotions. But my point is, what does guilt have to do with Virginia?"

The Serpent lowered itself to its belly and slowly slithered around the room.

She has a lot of humanity and this is her home. No matter how far Virginia runs from Cumbria, it remains there in the back of her mind. She may have escaped but what about those she left behind?

Stane gasped with understanding. He grinned slowly. "I see...We should show Virginia how her subjects are suffering?"

Now you have caught on, Stane... after all, Virginia may not want the throne but ... these are her people, are they not? She needs to feel guilty for what has happened to them. She needs to feel as if she can stop it. And so she must face us. Virginia must face her fears.

"And what of the Knight?" As soon as Stane asked this, he realized it was a stupid question.

The Serpent thought so too, because it actually began to move with laughter, its grey body wriggling wildly on the floor.

"Alright Serpent, there's no need to laugh quite so! I know that Lord Stark will accompany Virginia."

The Serpent finally ceased its raspy laugh and rose from the floor. It blinked its eyes lazily at Stane. The Knight and the Lady are our prey but they are no ordinary prey. They are wolves and to hunt a wolf, we must draw it out... All we need to do is bait them here. With a convenient lure.

The red eyes dilated and gleamed with an unholy light. We line the trap, the wolves comes down the mountain and then... it snapped its jaws loudly.

"And then?" inquired Stane softly.

And then I have my disciple and you have your knight. Whether in pieces or as a whole. The Serpent snorted with glee.

Then it refocused on him. So Stane, snap to it. You have work to do. Find a lure from the people of Cumbria. A good one.

It hissed. Someone who knows young Virginia. And who knew her mother. We must show the Iron Knight and the Lady of Fire... just how bad things are in Cumbria.

Stane nodded and stood, excited to get to work. "I shall do so immediately. I shall line up some candidates and choose the best one."

He walked to the doorway and then stopped and turned back, a question on his lips.

The Serpent had regally draped itself around the throne and was gently humming to the glowing necklace around its neck. Its mighty head lay on its coiled grey body, eyes closed. Its tongue flickered out and it hissed slowly, As for me, I shall go to the Abyss and find us a hunting party.

"A hunting party?"

Yes... it opened one eye lazily, we can't send the bait alone to Lorinthia... we want to send a message... we need to show them just what they will be up against...

Then it hissed softly to itself, The Bonehunters should do...