Vignette 23 - Mercie the Vampire Slayer, Part 1 of 3

On a rather pleasant afternoon, a gazebo in one of the larger gardens of Askr Castle was currently playing host to the latest gathering of one of the many activity groups established among members of the Order of Heroes. In this case, it was the tea club, made up of various Heroes from various realms who had in common the notion that nothing could beat relaxing with a nice cup of tea (edible treats optional). The group in question consisted of Realm-IV's L'Arachel, princess of the theocracy of Rausten and the one who established the club (partly as an expansion of the one she formed back home); Realm-I's Celica (from its present, heiress to the throne of Zofia on the continent of Valentia) and Maribelle (from its future, one of the few aristocrats counting themselves among the elite team known as the Shepherds); Céline of Realm-XI, crown princess of Firene and one of the newest members in the club; Realm-VI's Soleil (from its further future, and whose father Laslow was actually Realm-I's Inigo-long story...); and Realm-X's Mercedes (a student of Garreg Mach Officer's Academy, specifically of the Blue Lion house), acting as that realm's 'representative' for today, as there were a decent number of tea-drinkers among that group of Heroes, to the point where they decided on 'shifts' as club members. The group was engaged in pleasant conversation as Mercedes shifted the subject with her next set of words.

"Oh, Lady L'Arachel," the blonde heiress to House Bartels began, "I meant to ask you about this the other day. While chatting with your bodyguard, Dozla, during a march, he mentioned something about the two of you engaging in some manner of 'monster hunting' in the lead-up to the War of the Stones. Is that true?"

The green-haired princess of Rausten grinned a bit as she nodded her head. "Indeed it is, my good woman," she replied as she took a sip of her tea.

"What kind of creatures of nightmare are we talking?" Soleil asked. "And don't skimp on the details."

"These weren't just your run-of-the-mill horrors," L'Arachel elaborated. "These were the vanguard of the Demon King of our realm's distant past. Any one of the types among their ranks would have you reeling with fright-the mauthe doogs, the baels and their elders (not for the arachnophobic), the giant axe-wielding cyclopes, and to say nothing of the various forms of walking dead that were the basic grunts..."

"Thank the Divine Dragon we're discussing this while it's still daylight," Céline said with a mild shudder.

"Curiously, what brought this up?" L'Arachel asked Mercedes.

"Well, believe it or not, it's another detail we share in common," Mercedes answered before helping herself to a scone.

"I do remember one of your classmates telling us about the creatures you've gone up against," Celica stated.

"Yes, the so-called 'demonic beasts', as they were," Maribelle added.

"Oh, no, I'm not referring to those," Mercedes clarified. "You see, on my mother's side of the family, multiple generations have hunted down a very particular kind of monster, one that I doubt any of you here have run into in your respective worlds."

"Which kind of monster, specifically?" L'Arachel asked.

"Vampires," Mercedes answered nonchalantly.

Hearing this caused the other six to stare at Mercedes, wide-eyed with astonishment, some with their teacups halfway to their lips when she'd said the word.

"...Vampires," Celica repeated flatly.

"That is what I said," Mercedes said with a nod.

"As in, with the fangs, and the blood-drinking, and the turning into bats-" Céline rattled off.

"The very same," Mercedes confirmed.

"And they're actually real?" L'Arachel probed further.

"Indeed they are," Mercedes said in turn. "In fact, we actually dealt with an infestation of them at the monastery well before any of us were first summoned to Askr."

The other six ladies, still wide-eyed, gave each other a brief look before facing Mercedes again, all now beset by a mutual, some would say morbid, curiosity. "Do tell..." Maribelle implored, those not Mercedes nodding affirmatively in conjunction.

"Certainly," Mercedes said as she refilled her cup while beginning her tale...

Realm-X, Garreg Mach Monastery, 'then'...

The month that followed the grand ball at Garreg Mach was a stark contrast in terms of mood. It had begun when a mission to rescue some missing students from a group of demonic beasts in the ruins of an old chapel near the bottom of the monastery had led to the death of Jeralt at the hands of Kronya, an assassin working for 'Those Who Slither in the Dark' who had posed as another missing student, Monica von Ochs; she had fled in the brief chaos that followed, with search teams sent by the Church of Seiros to track her movements. Jeralt's twin children, son Byron and daughter Byleth, both harboring the power and consciousness of the entity Sothis, mourned in their own respective ways and tried to soldier on, given support by the students under their guidance and the staff they worked with, especially Archbishop Rhea (in spite of their growing mistrust of her) and their fellow mercenaries (as well as former professional rivals), the twins Shez and his sister Shayla (both of whom also harboring the power and consciousness of another entity, the strange and mysterious Arval). At one point during the month, an astonishing discovery had been made within the chapel ruins by an investigative unit of the Knights:

A girl who appeared to be the real Monica von Ochs, found barely alive in a long box, strangely full of soil.

Though wary due to the prior experience with Kronya, after it had been determined that the girl was, in fact, the genuine article, she was nursed back to health in the monastery's infirmary. Though she recovered and was able to move about again, as well as opted to resume her education at the Officer's Academy, how she did so proved to be quite strange to the staff and students. For one thing, she asked to be enrolled in any and all classes that were conducted during the evenings; as a result, nobody saw her at all during the day. Whenever she ate in the dining hall, her meals were almost strictly red meat dishes-the juicier, the better, in her words; curiously, she avoided anything even remotely seasoned with garlic. There was the matter of her supposedly being seen by guards on night watch, wandering about the monastery...and appearing to almost be one with the shadows. Lastly, she could not be found attending services in the main cathedral of the monastery whatsoever. To those in charge, all these could be explained away...however, for one Mercedes von Bartels (nee von Martritz), these behaviors proved to be very, very suspect.

Mercedes wouldn't get the chance to present her concerns/theories until stranger events began occurring. Church and academy leadership were notified of a series of disappearances of random individuals from some of the local villages near the monastery. When those same individuals turned up a couple of days later...they were very weak and pale, with no explanation. The ball of weirdness got really rolling when two Church soldiers were found at their posts in the same condition. They were immediately brought to the infirmary, where presently Professors Manuela and Hanneman were examining them. Rhea, Seteth, and two of the top knights, Katherine and Alois, were present to hear the two magic-users' findings.

"In all my time practicing medicine, rare is the instance where I can say, without a doubt...that this is a new one on me," Manuela stated.

"What can you tell us about their condition?" Rhea asked.

"Not much beyond that it is definitely similar to what befell those townspeople who vanished the other week," Hanneman answered as he held up the arm of one of the soldiers. "Extremely pale complexion, significant loss of vitality..."

"Not to mention, a substantial decrease in their bloodflow, almost as if they were drained of it," Manuela added as she pointed to a certain area on the other bedridden soldier. "What really puzzles me are the two holes on the neck, which almost look like bite marks from some animal."

"What kind of animal is what we're unsure of," Hanneman said. "No insect or spider makes anything that precise."

"Maybe some new virulent terror created by the group Solon and Kronya were a part of?" Alois posed.

Both professors shook their heads. "We tested for anything resembling the magic they used, and turned up nothing," Hanneman confirmed.

It was at that moment that a knock was heard at the infirmary door. "Whoever's there, you'll need to come back later, we're in the middle of something at the moment," Katherine said to shoo away the visitors.

"It's all right, Katherine," Rhea said on recognizing said visitors, "let them in."

The visitors, as it turned out, were Byron and Byleth, who offered a polite bow to Rhea as they entered, followed by Mercedes.

"Is there a reason Miss Bartels is with you?" Seteth asked them, arching a curious eyebrow.

"Mercedes is actually the reason we're here," Byron answered.

"She says she may be able to offer some insight into what's going on," Byleth added, before nodding to the Blue Lion student.

Mercedes returned the nod as she stepped forward to address the combined Church and academic leadership of Garreg Mach. "If I might get a look at the patients for a moment, Professor Manuela? Professor Hanneman?" she asked.

The two professors looked to one another briefly before nodding in response as Mercedes then stepped up to one of the beds. She gave the soldier on it a cursory examination, before removing a small bottle of pure water from her pocket, opening it, and pouring a couple of drops onto the two holes on the man's neck. Those not Mercedes found their eyes widening in surprise as they saw the holes appear to burn away while the soldier hissed in pain. For Mercedes, she narrowed her eyebrows as she faced the others. "This definitely confirms it-I'm sorry to say this, Lady Rhea, but it appears that Garreg Mach...has a vampire problem."

A few jaws dropped on hearing this, none more so than Alois's. "V-v-vampire?" he uttered mildly fearfully and inquisitively, given how he, like another student in Lysithea of the Golden Deer house, had a fear of ghosts and most things that went bump in the night. "As-as in, that sort of creature that rises from its grave, and sucks the blood of the living...in order to prolong its own unholy existence?!"

Seteth, on the other hand, remained skeptical. "You cannot be serious."

It was a sentiment echoed by Hanneman. "Young lady, demonic beasts aside, our present understanding of science and magic doesn't admit to such a fanciful creature."

Mercedes wasn't so easily deterred. "And no offense, Professor Hanneman, but our, as you describe, 'present understanding' is utter pish-posh in the face of an evil such as this." She looked down at the soldier briefly. "These two lost a significant amount of blood, correct?"

"Well, yes," Manuela answered.

Mercedes then looked to Katherine and Alois. "Was any of it seen spilled about these two when they were found?"

Katherine and Alois looked to one another briefly before the former replied, "Not even a single droplet."

Mercedes then faced Hanneman again. "Now, how can our present understanding explain that?" Hanneman moved to respond, only to realize that for once, he didn't have an answer. "Thought so."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this sort of thing," Byron noted.

"Yes, you could say it's sort of a...family business," Mercedes said in turn. "On the maternal side of my family, specifically. You see, before my mother married the late Baron Martritz, she was the daughter of the head of a minor but well-reknowned house in Faerghus, a Professor Abram von Helsing."

The name caught the surprise of both Manuela and Hanneman instantly. "Wait, the Professor von Helsing?" an awestruck Hanneman asked.

"Er...is he that famous?" Byleth asked in turn.

"He certainly is," Hanneman affirmed. "The man's one of the most well-known metaphysicians and philosophers on the continent."

"Also one of the most well-regarded medical doctors," Manuela added, "knowing more about obscure diseases than anyone else. In fact, we used one of his discoveries to cure that 'hate plague' of Solon's that struck Remire Village." She then regarded Mercedes. "And you're saying you're his granddaughter?"

"It is indeed the truth," Mercedes stated. "Before we became part of House Bartels, my mother and I stayed with him. I even learned all about the trade from him before I attended the Fhirdiad Royal School of Sorcery. The trade being...vampire hunting." She then faced Rhea before continuing. "Lady Rhea, we'll need to put the monastery on alert. I have knowledge of means by which we can protect the students and civilians within our walls, for make no mistake-come nightfall, the foul thing who did this to these two soldiers will return, to suck on the life-fluid of its next victim...until it has drained them of every last drop. And if they die a victim of this unspeakable creature..." At that moment, an eerie shadow seemed to cover her face as she spoke in an ominous near-whisper. "...they will become one themselves."

The group found themselves confused slightly by the last few words, given the way in which Mercedes had spoken them. "Become what?" Byron asked.

"They will become one themselves," Mercedes repeated, in the same tone of voice but clear enough to be understood.

"Miss Bartels, if this is as serious as you say it is," Rhea began to ask, "what can we do to protect our people from this...fiend, for lack of a better term?"

"Professor Hanneman?" Mercedes asked the monocle-wearing crestologist, "among your books, do you have anything on the occult?"

"Er, yes, I do," he confirmed.

"Anything on folklore from pre-Church times?"

"Sorry to say, no."

"A copy of The Theory and the Theology of the Evil Undead?"

"No."

"How about Nosferatu?"

"Actually, I do have that one-give me a moment." With that, Hanneman quickly made his way to his office, and soon returned with the book in question. "In fact, I just got it in the monastery's usual delivery rounds today."

"If I may see it for a moment?" Mercedes asked, before Hanneman handed her the book, which she then proceeded to flip through until coming to a certain page. "Ah, here's one protection method-'The creature is repelled by garlic. Its purifying effect is anathemic to the tainted soul of the vampire.'" She closed the book before addressing the others. "Therefore, we will need to decorate the monastery with strings of garlic; the greenhouse should be fine, due to the garlic growing there already. I believe we should have enough cloves in the dining hall's kitchen and storerooms to serve our purposes."

In the hours that followed, every effort was made to drape strings of garlic cloves on all the vital areas of the monastery-the dormitories, the stables, the entrance hall and knights' hall, the staff offices and classrooms, even the training grounds. As Mercedes noted, the greenhouse was left alone, as was the cathedral due to its status as hallowed ground. Alois, given how superstitious he was, even took to wearing a garland of garlic around his neck at all times. Dorothea of the Black Eagles and Hilda of the Golden Deer wound up going through more perfume than they'd ever worn in their lives, just to avoid the scent.

-X-

"Hold on-you all actually decorated an entire monastery with garlic?" Celica asked in a slightly disbelieving tone.

"Oh, yes, nearly everyone chipped in to help," Mercedes replied. "Within the walls of Garreg Mach, Lady Rhea's words are taken as gospel." Mercedes giggled a bit as she continued. "The whole place reeked of garlic even in the weeks following our dealing with the vampires. But I'm getting ahead of myself..."

-X-

Finding themselves effectively 'locked' out of the monastery due to the garlic, the 'mystery' vampire (who'd been out secretly bolstering their forces at the time) knew they had to get a bit creative if they wanted to regain their access. Thus, through their hypnotic ability (bolstered by their strong will), they were able to send a lackey they hadn't turned onto the grounds to carry out a simple order: remove the garlic strands. That lackey would be the man known as Pallardo, a notorious thief and con man infamous throughout Fódlan (who surprisingly had a weak will). Pallardo made his way under the cover of night into the administrative offices on the second floor above the entrance hall of the grounds, and was soon removing the garlic from Manuela's quarters. It was while he had at least a couple of lengths around his shoulders that a bit of...curiosity got the better of him upon seeing the sleeping visage of Manuela; giving in to that curiosity, he slowly, quietly lifted the sheets off her bed, a sneaky chuckle escaping his lips. That chuckle proved to be his undoing, for suddenly he found himself dropping the sheets...as he faced the pointed end of Manuela's sword, a nervous sweat trickling down his face.

"You know, being a famous opera star, I've encountered my fair share of celebrity-stalkers," a glaring Manuela stated, a sleep mask resting above her eyes. "Being in a position like that, I've learned to always be aware of my surroundings, as well as to be prepared for anything that could happen. Still, as far as stalkers go...you were quite sloppy. GUARDS!" At her shouting, two Church soldiers entered Manuela's quarters and apprehended Pallardo.

Outside, from their position, Pallardo's undead master shook their head resignedly. "*Sigh* Pallardo, you idiot..."

Pallardo, called a 'filthy degenerate' by one of the guards, was soon enough dragged to a holding cell on the monastery grounds. "I didn't see anything! I didn't see anything!" he shouted with all the denial he could muster. As soon as his cell door closed, a more lecherous look appeared on his face. "I saw everything," he said with a dismissive handwave and a raspy, slightly-perverse chuckle.

Back with the vampire, they decided to change tactics and employ someone-perhaps a couple of someones-on the inside of the monastery grounds this time. Reaching out with their hypnotic voice, they stirred awake both Caspar of the Black Eagles and Raphael of the Golden Deer. The two students, now in a trance, were commanded to exit their dorm rooms...though not without complications, after they accidentally walked into the closets of their respective rooms due to said order being simply to open the door. Once outside, the mystery vampire gave them a new command.

"Now...walk to the dorm entrance," they ordered. Caspar and Raphael complied, walking stiltedly towards the entrance in question. "Look out for that-" the vampire attempted to warn, only to watch, dumbfounded, as Caspar and Raphael tripped on an object in their path. "-barrel." The vampire rolled their eyes a little before resuming their control of the two students. "Stand up, both of you." Both complied. "Walk to the dorm entrance." Unfortunately, Caspar was facing said entrance while Raphael was facing the opposite direction; thus, when both walked, they immediately bumped into each other and fell back down. "*Ugh*," the vampire uttered as they gave themselves a facepalm. The vampire then took a couple of deep breaths and counted slowly to ten before trying again. "All right-both of you, stand up and face the dorm entrance." Caspar and Raphael complied. "Now, exit the dorm." The two then walked through the doorway at the same time, only to get stuck in the space. "Oh, for the love of-step back from the entrance." The two squeezed out as they complied. "Now, exit the dorm, single-file." The two did as ordered. "Much better. Now-go around and collect all the garlic strands, and do so quietly. Once finished, go back to sleep." At that order, both Caspar and Raphael went to carry it out, beginning with removing the garlic decorating the dorms. "*Sigh* Why is good help so hard to find these days...?" the vampire muttered to themselves.

Hours later, as morning fell upon the monastery, those who lived within its walls, while getting ready for the day, found themselves gobsmacked by an unusual sight that greeted them near the main door of the entrance hall:

An enormous pile of garlic, with Caspar and Raphael, still in their sleep clothes, snoozing on top of it.

"...Well, there's something you don't see every day," Claude, house leader of the Golden Deer, stated as he rubbed his head absent-mindedly.

Shez and Shayla gave each other a brief look before then trading looks with the others. "So...who's gonna wake them up?" Shayla asked.

It was another Golden Deer student (and #1 Jeralt fangirl) Leonie who stepped up. "Caspar should be easy enough, but Raphael's a pretty heavy sleeper. So, we'll need to take the delicate approach in order to get them both up at the same time..." With that, she pulled out from somewhere on her person a metal triangle with its stick and began clanging it, causing the others (startled by the sudden ringing) to cover their ears; if some weren't fully awake then, they certainly were now, especially when it came to one Linhardt von Hevring of the Black Eagles, much to his chagrin. "UP AND AT 'EM! ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BREAKFAST BUFFET IN THE DINING HALL! GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT...!" Leonie shouted as loudly as she could.

The words 'all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet' were enough to cause both Caspar and Raphael to bolt upright and wide awake. "Who-what-where-how-?!" both briskly uttered, until they both realized they were being stared at by a lot of people.

"Uh, morning, guys," Caspar greeted with a hint of confusion.

Raphael then looked at their present surroundings before confusion came upon him as well. "...Why am I on top of a mountain of garlic?"

Shamir, one of the mercenary knights on the Church's payroll, stepped forward to question the two boys. "You really don't know what happened?" the green-jacketed sniper asked, her face impassive as usual. "Somehow, the two of you, in the middle of the night, managed to collect all the garlic we decorated the monastery grounds with."

Both students' eyes widened as they looked at the pile beneath them. "We seriously did all this?" Caspar asked in turn, he and Raphael pointing to each other.

Byron and Byleth looked to one another, exchanged a mutual nod, and looked to Seteth and the rest of the church and academy leadership. "We believe they didn't do this on purpose," Byron affirmed.

"Neither has been known to sleepwalk," Byleth added, "and even if they did, they wouldn't deliberately set out to take down all the garlic in their unconscious state."

"Which can only mean..." Mercedes put forward, "someone or something controlled them from afar."

"We'll deliberate on this later," Seteth stated as he then looked over the mix of students and staff. "In the meantime, I believe everyone should go get your breakfast before your classes start. Let's not let this little oddity distract us from our regularly-scheduled school day." He then turned and headed off to get the custodial staff to gather the garlic up and return it to the kitchens.

A few of the students, as they dispersed, said a few other things to Caspar and Raphael before going any further. "Uh, guys, could you do us a favor?" Ignatz of the Golden Deer asked.

"Sure, what is it?" Raphael replied inquisitively.

"You might want to shower and get changed before you join us in the dining hall," Ingrid of the Blue Lions answered while waving her hand in front of her nose. "No offense, but you smell like a batch of my mother's home-baked bialys."

A beatific look then appeared on Raphael's face on hearing that. "Mmm-bialys..."

End of Part 1 of 3.