"I will never leave you, master." You grip his hand as he spends the last of his life-force calming the feral vampires.
Taking advantage of the moment, you rise to your feet, shrugging off the intense burning pain and exerting your control over your men. It is a hard struggle to say the least, but after a long period of quiet, the growls and snarls turn back to civilized groaning. Instinctively they stay hidden in their dark shelters, but you know that they have returned to you. Maybe it was the dizziness, but you think you saw your master give a last smile of pride and approval before he disintegrated into ash and flew away in the breeze, leaving behind his possessions.
You fall back on your knees, trying in vain to keep yourself upright, but taking control once more had completely worn you out. You kneel over where your master had faded away, praying to God to keep his soul. You knew that him and all the damned in this world were destined for Hell, but you try anyway. It's been years since you've last prayed. In fact, the last time you prayed for a savior Count Olaf was the one who arrived and gave you immortality. You start to question your own immortality after seeing one of the great undead lords finally die.
You take into account his possessions:
Ceremonial Dagger. Masterwork Plate Armor. Olaf Heirloom Rings. Olaf Sigil. Journal. Soon after, you fall into unconsciousness. You remember nothing afterwards, until you wake up in bed, in a dark room lit with candles. Three figures stand before you. It takes a while for you to remember who they are, but it comes to you after a time. The one to your left is Malachi, Olaf's third-in-command and the trainer of his barracks. The one in the middle is Jorin, his steward, who takes care of his lands and makes sure all taxes are paid and an offering of human blood is given to the higher ranking vampires. The lower ranking ones are content to feed on chicken and goat blood; human blood is only given to them when they win battles, allowing them to feast on hapless villagers caught in their wake. The final one on the right is an elderly man, one you recognize as a mortal. He is Father Joseph, your old tutor from the monastery.
"What are you doing here?" you ask him, your voice quiet and weak.
"You may have abandoned God, Sorina, but neither Him nor I have abandoned you. Word has traveled to me that you were attacked, and I came as soon as I could to help you."
"But the Monastery is days away! How long have I been asleep?"
"Two weeks." He gives you a warm smile. "I am amazed by your fortitude, my girl."
"And I'm amazed by your bravery. An elderly man walking through a castle of vampires."
"An elderly man of God, my girl. My skills have not dulled with age. But," he says, showing a silver cross on his belt, "it never hurts to be prepared." The other two vampires hiss. You shield your eyes from it.
Malachi shoves Father Joseph away. "My master, forgive me for letting this old bloodsack from disturbing your rest. Let me send him to God right now!"
"Stay your hand, Malachi. I will not have him harmed." You put a hand on your lieutenant's. "Tell me, what has happened since I arrived?"
"The warlord has attacked Lord Dalas' villages. He has given up on us after they killed our master." You can see the grief on his face. "Forgive me, Sorina. I should have been there. They attacked the castle but I should have known it was a decoy. I felt it, Sorina, I felt him die. I had to take command of all the forces in the castle in a moments notice, as you did. Your men faithfully brought you back safely."
Jorin the steward steps forward. "We are all glad to see you alive, master, but the serfs are unhappy and frightened. Their master and protector is dead, and they have no protection against Wilhelm's horde. All the vampires are gathered in Castle Olaf, awaiting your commands. You have to reassure your serfs of your capabilities as a leader!"
"I can offer them aid from the monastery, if you'd like, my girl," Father Joseph offers. "We have food and clothing, and we can help rebuild."
"The vampires would view you as weak, my master, accepting help from godly men. I suggest you reinforce the villages with vampire guards. That will remove any thought of running away or rebelling," says Malachi.
"Of course, you have other matters of urgency, my master, such as preparing against Baron Wilhelm. If you'd like to focus on raising and training your army, you could of course leave the issue of the peasants with me." Jorin readies his quill and his ledger.
You:
...accept help from the monastery. The villagers will be given food and tools to rebuild their villages and re-till their fields. However, your vampire soldiers will see you as weak.
...reinforce your villages with vampire enforcers. The villagers will find you oppressive and be even more unhappy, but they will have no chance to rebel and desert your towns.
...leave it to your steward and focus on taking down Wilhelm. You will have a good headstart in raising and training an army while Wilhelm is losing forces to Lord Dalas, but there is a 50% chance of Jorin doing a good job. if he fails, some villagers may rebel or desert.
((Hi, Prophet.
And thanks!))
Author
Topic: Noble Blood (TSG) (Read 6781 times)