RP:Vampire Allies, Part 1

Part of the Thy Kingdom Come Arc

Summary: Hildegarde visits Vailkrin, hoping to secure more allies for her fight, though unsure where to go. Pilar happens upon her, and suggests she visit Larewen. Before they go, however, a strange red knight causes a disturbance.

Vailkrin Plaza

Hildegarde had carefully laid her plans with Tristram and decided that such a plan would only remain between her, the Governor and - the Sun Tzu of Hollow – the multi-talented Lady Josleen. With her plans laid and an agreement settled, the knight had rested for a few more days before finally taking her leave of Gualon. The knight had elected to go to where her previous ally – and now unknown state of alliance – could be found. The City of Vampires was an unusual one. It was permanently dark, there was danger on every corner and street and yet it appeared to be so civilised. Finely wrought lamps, finely wrought streets… a beautiful fountain that spouted only blood. It was dark, yet beautiful. The knight had arrived on the back of her couatl companion; sitting on one of those wrought iron benches with Kenway’s head smothering her lap. “Kasyr has abdicated his throne,” she murmured thoughtfully to the couatl, who held his half of the conversation within the confines of Hildegarde’s mind, “meaning that our ally in Vailkrin is likely gone. But he still remains in the castle. At least until some successor comes to light. We can stay there, I think, though one would not like to presume.”

Pilar, dressed in her fighting gear, was almost unrecognizable to those who were used to her frilly dresses. Her hair was up in a ponytail, as usual, but gone was the flower that was usually pinned just above her ear. In place of a blouse, she wore a tunic of worn leather. Leggings made of cotton, with a layer of chainmail atop them, replaced her stockings. Upon her feet were leather boots, enchanted to let her walk atop snow whenever she turned invisible. She had returned from a bout of training with her friend and master-by-choice, and was aiming to grab a little pick-me-up; a bottle from the local Blood Bank. As she approached the plaza, however, she soon spotted none other than Hildegarde. She was surprised to find her here, of all places, but was glad to see her couatl, Kenway, by her side and in better health. She approached the Steward. "La- ... Hildegarde." She still felt so weird calling Hilde by her name, with no title. She was still but a lowly peasant, after all, no one of any importance. "It's good to see you. And you, too, Kenway." She patted the couatl's head affectionately before turning her attention back to the Silver. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

Hildegarde did not attempt to restrain Kenway as he turned his head at the familiar voice; forked tongue flickering forth as his serpentine eyes closed into thin slits that would denote contentedness. ~Miss Pilar,~ the couatl greeted fondly, ~did you retain my feather?~ he asked of her. His saurian companion offered a smile in Pilar’s direction too, “Hail, Pilar. It is good to see you, too, and on much better terms than our last meeting,” she said with a fondness similar to that of Kenway’s. “But we are here in Vailkrin to search for more allies and strength for my cause. I… Well, Kasyr was an ally of Frostmaw. But what with him abdicating the throne, I am not sure who is the power in Vailkrin these days. I never did learn much of vampire politics,” she confessed. “But I am learned in armour and weapons… What you are wearing, you wear like a woman who is ready for a fight. Although I would suggest an alteration, if you would not deem it improper of me?”

Pilar smiled at Kenway. "Of course I did. It's too beautiful to get rid of." She listened to Hildegarde's explanation, and was about to make a suggestion when Hildegarde pointed out her choice of wardrobe. She looked down at herself. "Oh... of course you may. These are just some old pieces I borrowed." From bandits. Who her friend had killed. She didn't like to think about it like that, though. She preferred to think of it as recycling.

The realm of Hollow was not without its cursed creatures, many lived here in fact, and this one had simply returned. At one time, the name Kasyr may have sparked from the dark fae beneath it all, but now, nothing changed in those madness-filled golden eyes. The creature was a mass of churning, twisting black, like a vipers’ nest, the shifting, faint glow like multi-color jewels laid just beneath that coiled, and shifting mass. The creature that was Corruption settled firmly into the shadows just yards from the conversing females. A low, whispering and those random, distant glints, like stars showing ever so briefly, the only hint. The tentacles bunched over the hidden body before the creature begat a servant. In true form, like Nicholas, the former Knight of Wrath, a ruby Knight slowly emerged. It was a flawless copy of the fallen human, save for the crimson armor and those red eyes, wrong eyes. The sentient doppelganger moved from the confines of the darkness to pause, watching, head canted animal-like at the little gathering. It didn’t speak, serving merely as the eyes for it’s ‘master’ for the time being.

Hildegarde nodded as Pilar said it was quite all right to make a suggestion I regards to her armour. “If I were you, I would invest in some legwear that does not reveal the chainmail. Not to say, wear the chainmail underneath the cloth and nothing else, that’d be dangerous and uncomfortable. But layered chainmail. A layer of leather, then chainmail, then leather again. Your enemy is none the wiser and you are doubly protected,” she suggested, knowing full well she had leather much like that back home. Back in Frostmaw. She wouldn’t be seeing that for a while anyway, which her now glum face is indicative of. There were many undead and eldritch creatures here in Vailkrin… and while the knight cannot shake the feeling of being watched, she isn’t about to go off poking in the dark when she’s certain it’s only her natural wariness and uncertainty of this gruesome city that has set her so on edge. But instincts are mighty things; a gut feeling ought to never be ignored.

Pilar took Hildegarde's suggestion to heart. After all, the woman was a warrior, and obviously knew more than the young vampire did. She saw Hilde's face take on a more melancholy cast, and frowned. She hadn't been too happy, either, as of late, and though misery generally loved company, Pilar would never like seeing someone else down in the dumps. "Thank you... and, if I can make a suggestion of my own... Perhaps you should seek out Lady Larewen. She is... interested in making House Dragana more powerful. She might be willing to help, though I do not know her price." While Pilar would have loved to think that her benefactor would help for the sake of doing the right thing, she knew better than that. "I can show you to our home, if you... like..." A chill ran down Pilar's spine, and she looked around the plaza. She was used to the city's bad vibes, but there was a new sensation, an unpleasant sensation, pulling at her mind.

The ‘knight’ watched silently and took several paces towards the grouping, and then veered to their left with the sight of a less-bothersome looking prey. The vampire was trailing a human, and oddly, the ruby armored knight followed, lazily, arrogantly, trailed by the churning mass from the shadows that thankfully ran rampant through the town of Vailkrin. This was were recently the rumors had begun to spread, a creature devouring all manner of beings, leaving in its wake only gristle and bone. The duo of Hildegarde and Pilar are forgotten by the Corruption, if for now in lieu of a more delicious elective… Food.

Hildegarde smiled at the familiar name. She had met this Larewen before. “I have met Larewen before, but as you can probably tell, I am quite unfamiliar with Vailkrin. All besides the castle there,” she gestured towards the steep rock face. That was where Kasyr could shelter her for a time. “But yes, I would like that,” she is aware Larewen will have a price, but she is certain that what she can offer will sway the vampire. “Are there many in your House? I would like them to be present if possible. No one should be in the dark when discussing matters of politics,” she said gently, her sole eye firmly upon Pilar. The clanking of armour, however, is nothing new and the knight can only assume that this red knight is of the city guard on a patrol.

Pilar was still antsy about this mysterious knight, but with Hilde around, she felt well protected. She thought about Hildegarde's question. How many were there in her House? She wasn't actually sure. She'd only just learned of Laezila's membership in the House, after all. "I'm not sure. I do not see many people around the house, and I normally keep to my room, anyway. I can think of only a few off the top of my head. Lady Larewen, Lady Laezila, myself..." She trailed off. There were others, but their status was in flux, and she wasn't sure if she could count them as part of the House anymore. "I can try and arrange a meeting with Lady Larewen, if you like."

The Knight of Wrath, closed another step on the vampire, and the whole of that strange trio, human, vampire, knight turned a darkened corner. The Corruption followed, twisting, shifting. Not quite out of earshot, but perhaps out of sight. The vampire made to lunge for his meal, only to be jerked back by a gauntlet covered hand. The Wrath-servant cackled, impaling his victim on a ruby-jewel like sword. The blade pierced his victim’s back and yet did not erupt from the front. Slowly the gurgled scream of the Vampire muffled, as the human girl wailed, cowering, cringing into the wall as she witnessed the ‘devouring’ of Wrath. The blade, the knight, turned to ruby slime which invaded the stab-wound and blossomed within the vampire until his eyes, turned into pools of pure unadultured crimson. The Manic Grin showed sharp fangs and he lunged for the human prey, “It wants peace, little morsel… Let your lips silence.” The corrupted vampire almost hissed, strange and lyrical in sound. Corruption watched on, a voyeur from the shadows, complete with golden-iridescent eyes… Mad eyes. The Vampire, turned Wrath, made to tear into the little human’s throat, into her body, his own turning more and more like the red creature that had invaded it, and begun to devour it from within. No Doubt Coreliant would be amused to see what came to pass upon the Knight who betrayed his former Ascendi Master, and Kasyr... The former lord of this city, one might wonder what he might think of the former ally, protégé turned monster.

Hildegarde had already risen from her seat as Pilar thought carefully about who had joined the house. Of course, the knight would have loved to have left there and then; to find her good friend Laezila and get ready to liberate her people from the tyranny of Balgruuf. Yet she cannot, for the smell of blood permeated the air; the muffled wail of someone in distress reached her sharp saurian hearing and sent her sprinting off after the woman and the knight adorned in red. Kenway is slithering after her, his feathers splaying out in a gesture that would indicate he was bigging himself up and was an animal ready to do harm towards an aggressor. The knight comes upon the scene before the human girl can be harmed; leaping between the girl and the lunging vampire. If the vampire does not avert his course, his fangs would be meeting saurian flesh and the blood that was lethal to his kind. “Leave her be!”

Pilar caught the scent of blood and sound of terror as well, and as Hildegarde and Kenway rush off, she debates whether she REALLY wanted to get involved in whatever fresh hell this was. Rolling her head back with a groan, she took off after the duo. She turned the corner to find the vampire mid-flight towards the knight, and while she was dealing with that, Pilar rushed to the human girl's aid. She knelt by the cowering young woman and put her arms protectively around her. "Shh, shh, you are safe now," she murmured, eyes on Hilde and the vampire.

Jarith remained steadfast in the shadows, a silent, churning voyeur. The Vampire had no self preservation remaining, e was in fact, no more, merely a shell, a form only that with the sinking of fangs into that Saurian body would growl and gnash teeth against scale-dusted flesh before his body tore, shredding apart and into he distended, morphed ruby of Wrath's Knight. The creature became that knight again, for moments, heartbeats before it took steps back, towards it's master. The tendrils of black coiled around it's form, but did not envelope the 'Knight' yet, not as it spoke in the broken Syntax and the voice of it's last owner, Nicholas. " Soon, my master hopes to taste you, soon. " The shell of that vampire was little more than a bloody, husk of flesh, disgusting, complete with fangs only as i draped like a cloth against the Saurian knight, Hildegarde. Those golden, mad eyes shown over the shoulder of the Red knight , baring a partially revealed face, emotionless, handsome, youthful and corrupted as it molded back into the writhing tendrils of black, becoming disembodied eyes from beside the fallen Knight of wrath's shoulder.

Hildegarde would not scream for the likes of this cretin. When fangs met flesh, the knight only growled with discomfort and pain; her hands shifting so that the shaft of her halberd settled against the gut of the vampire so she could shove the body away from hers rather than have it slump against her. “I doubt your master can stomach me,” she hissed in reply. “Begone, creature!”

Pilar hugged the young human girl, a hand going to her mouth as the vampire's body fell apart. Eyes flashed between knight and knight, and she murmured something in her native tongue, a tone of awe in her voice as she looked at Hildegarde.

Jarith Did not respond, nor did the Red mouthpiece. Instead, Those tendrils curled, bunched and with a gasp from the 'Knight of Wrath', from his 'servant' The Corruption Devoured his creation once more. Those golden eyes watched his strange new opponent with a curious light in the madness, intrigued perhaps. Then, with the twisting of those ichorous black arms they too vanished, along with the taint of evil that had permeated the area around them. Another time perhaps, but this was not over.

Hildegarde watched in silence as the creature disappeared with his companion in tow. Only once she was sure the thing was gone, did she turn on her heel to look at Pilar and the human girl. With a quick motion, her halberd is tossed towards Kenway who catches it expertly in his jaws. “Ladies,” the knight said gently and respectfully, extending both hands to the pair to help them into an upright position.

Pilar took Hildegarde's hand in her own, with an arm still around the girl, who took Hildegarde's other hand. Pilar got to her feet, helping the girl along. Once they were both standing, she dropped her arm from the girl, though continued holding Hilde's hand just a fraction of a second longer than absolutely necessary. She looked at the girl. "Are you alright?"

Hildegarde offered Pilar’s hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance before turning her focus to the shaking girl. Tears still streamed down her face, though she no longer wailed nor warbled with distress. “M’lady, we must get you to safety. Do you live here, in Vailkrin?” the knight asked the girl, who nodded numbly. “Y-Yes,” she answered in a terrified voice, eliciting a gentle smile from the knight. “Well, we will walk you home. I am Hildegarde. This,” she gestures to the smaller woman, “is Pilar. Kenway over there looks awfully frightening, but he’s a big softie, really,” she assured the girl who had already begun to stare at the couatl with wide and frightened eyes. “We’ll keep you safe.”

Pilar nodded in affirmation of Hildegarde's promise. She dipped her head as she was introduced, and added, "He is really very sweet." The girl looked at Pilar, almost catching a glimpse of those fangs, but only nodded numbly. "O-Okay... I-I-I live down H-Hemlock Way..." she murmured. Pilar was reminded of herself. So nervous and scared of everything. How a mere human girl had come to live in Vailkrin, she had no idea. Pilar took the girl's hand. "Like Hildegarde said. You are safe."

Hildegarde nodded as the girl said Hemlock Way, glancing towards Pilar in a silent sign of not knowing the way. “Hemlock Way it is,” she said gently, catching her halberd effortlessly as Kenway tossed it back her way. ~Miss Pilar is far too kind,~ he told the scholarly vampire. With Pilar surely leading the way, the knight and illusionist safely escort the nervous girl home. The knight spends a few moments at the doorway, explaining to the other residents that the girl had been attacked and may need some care; that they should alert the city guard if possible and gave a brief description of the man she had seen. With the door closed and the girl safely indoors, the knight turned around and finally touched the bleeding wound upon her cheek. Those fangs had torn into her, but it wasn’t as bad as some of her old scars and injuries. “I think it’s safe to say neither of us expected that tonight.”

Pilar did indeed know the way, and kept her grip on the girl's hand the entire time they walked. She allowed Hildegarde to give a report to the family, opting to stay back. The sight of another vampire would probably not go over too well. Pilar looked at Hildegarde's wound, glad that it wasn't worse. "No... But since we are this far along, I can take you the rest of the way to the House. I do not know if Lady Larewen will be home, but at least you will know the way, yes?" Pilar led the way eastward, out of the city and into the dark forest. The path was well-worn, and the smart traveler would stick to it, lest they fall prey to the forest's beasts.

Continued here