TVC II Chapter 8 - Stealth and Subterfuge

[Get of W'soran]

Nicoletto looked to Elanor, again that slight hesitation as he turned his attention on the Lahmian, but he swiftly turned to Canaris as the mortal spoke.

"You flatter me Colonel, I am a simple purveyor of my homeland's martial arts." he replied humbly although he never lost his easy smile.

He turned his attention back to Elanor and inclined his head. "Of course my Lady, I would be honoured if you could join us."

 

[TMS]

"Just make sure that she does not take up any of my time for tutoring" Helena said with a scoff, crossing her arms. She wouldn't let anyone get in the way of her attaining her promised rank within the family.

"Or him, for that matter" she continued, with a look and a nod towards Igor.

"There you are in silence again" she said to him. "I am certain you would just love to get a glimpse of my fencing."

 

[the hidden one]

Igor had been caught up in thought about the fencing master's attitude toward throwing metal dust into an opponent's eyes when Helena accosted him.

If I respond, this will be horrible. I would however like to see her fence with the tilean.

 

[Get of W'soran]

Nicoletto set his glass down on the table.

"There's plenty of time my dear." he said to Helena "It's the one resource our kind have in abundance off after all."

Standing the Tilean grabbed his sheathed rapier and tucked it into his sword belt.

"Now please excuse me, I am not one for sitting around speaking once business is concluded. I will ready the Salle d'armes, Helena please join me when you are ready and, of course, all are welcome. The majority of my home is open to you, if you require anything during the night please ask Giovanni or any of the servants you see throughout the estate."

He smiled at the Council Members "And if anything comes to mind in regards to the Council's business in Altdorf, say...some need that was forgotten then just seek me out and I'll have it arranged."

Nicoletto clicked his heels together and give slight bow of his head, wearing an amused grin as he strode towards the exit, the last remaining vampiric servant swiftly pulling the door open for his master.

The Lahmian paused at the doorway to look back "Oh my apologies, one last thing. Most of you probably sensed the magic Giovanni cast earlier, they are protective wards for your own safety. I highly recommend that anyone without a pulse should not attempt to leave the manor or else the consequences could be...severe."

With a nod he turned down the corridor and out of sight.

 

[TMS]

Helena would waste no time in beginning her training. She got out of her seat and demanded that the servants brought her equipment chest to the training hall, while she herself left for it right away after serving another round of sour looks to the others. The chewed piece of meat was left on the table.

 

[Bounce]

Elanor decided to follow Helena out of the hall. She really hoped the Tilean vampire would make her look like the child she was. This should be eminently amusing she thought with a wide grin. Although she was also beginning to wonder if the man was looking at her funny?

 

[Simon von Carstein]

The Colonel finished his wine and placed his cup back down on the table. "Drink up captain." he said "I don't want to miss this."

Captain Vorbeck nodded hastily draining his cup and throwing down a mostly eaten chicken leg. He got to his feet. "Will it be safe for us to walk around unsupervised sir? He did say there was magic about."

"It'll be safe enough for us Captain unless we die of course." Colonel Canaris replied "It was designed to deal with their own kind after all."

The Captain nodded "That made sense." he thought as he fell in behind the Colonel and the two followed after Helena.

 

[TMS]

Helena hadn't made it far down the hall before she noticed that she was being followed. Looking behind her she saw first Elanor and then the two humans further back. Helena stopped to look at Elanor as she drew closer.

"And where do you think you are going?" she said, giving an annoyed look at the woman. "This is supposed to be my time for mentoring, you are going to have to wait for your own turn."

Colonel Canaris and Vorbeck had now gotten close enough to also warrant Helena's attention.

"That holds for you two as well. Go somewhere else!" she said sharply, extending her arm to point in the opposite direction to where they were heading.

 

[Bounce]

Elanor merely smiled at Helena's insolent demands. "And miss out on watching you flounder around like a chicken with its head cut off? I think not. Our host said I could come and I think I shall. Perhaps after he has finished whipping your sorry behind, I can have a turn" she said sweetly.

 

[TMS]

"Nicoletto was just being courteous, you wench" Helena replied with an attempted smile like the one Elanor gave her, but she couldn't quite turn her frown upside down. Helena had identified Elanor for the petty provoker that she was and wouldn't let herself be affected by the feeble attempts at mocking.

"Now go away. Nicoletto has no interest in one such as you" she repeated to Elanor, narrowing her eyes. This woman had a seductive air about her that Helena hadn't failed to notice but she knew that such cheap ploys would never work on members of the von Carstein family or their confidants.

 

[The Dread King]

"Ah, good," the necromancer murmured quietly as he heard that Nicoletto would be venturing with them. He seemed capable enough, at least, and able to pacify Helena, which would be a crucial skill to deploy in the upcoming stealth mission, Morturion expected. He felt distinctly uncomfortable at the thought of being imprisoned within a single house in the heart of the empire, and was somewhat alarmed to hear that, for the council, this was the case.

Still, he reflected, if Nicoletto's words are to be trusted, as I am not of the vampyre, I will still be able to make my escape should the situation justify it. But hopefully, it will not come to that.

He noticed with curiosity that the assorted council members were taking an interest in Helena's fencing practice. Hoping against hope that this would not descend into farce, Morturion followed the group of vampires out of the hall, intent on witnessing what he reckoned could be a valuable assessment of his comrades' abilities.

Realising that Helena had somehow already managed to start a commotion in the corridor, Morturion desperately tried to think of a way to defuse the situation once more, moaning internally, Oh, here we go again. "Helena", he said in a curt, formal tone as he approached her with a brisk step, "we agreed at the carriages not to hide things from each other, for the sake of builsding the trust and coordination required for our imminent raid of the amethyst college. Therefore, it is imperative that Elanor and others present here are allowed to witness your fencing abilities, is it not? " Morturion raised an eyebrow after saying this.

After a brief pause made for effect, he continued, "Besides, I am sure none of us here would want to actually interfere with this training session, would we, Elanor?" The necromancer's voice was strangely strained and sympathetic at the same time. He knew that Elanor's wit might just have provoked a volcanic reaction from Helena and so was discouraging it, but at the same time, he secretly appreciated the reprimanding Helena had been given by the Lahmian, and somewhat wished he could join in the verbal assault, although his sensibilities and fear of vampiric tantrums restrained him in this pursuit.

Oh, the bottomless woes of responsibility, the wizard mused to himself.

 

[the hidden one]

Igor, following the rest of the council, smiled to himself at the ruckus.

Helena will need to be pacified if we are to do anything with on this mission. Hopefully, I can observe the fencing master more closely. It will be good to know something of what he is capable of.

 

[TMS]

Helena was not surprised to see that Morturion and the others were ganging up on her again, but now she knew the cause of it. She glared angrily between both Elanor and Morturion as she was piecing the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind.

"So, you are already under this woman's seductive spell. Aren't you?!" she growled at Morturion. "You are pathetic!"

Helena had seen this type of manipulation used before to terrible effect. Even if her own family and their trusted allies were immune to it they could still all come to ruin through the outside rabble that had been let into the fold. Such was the power of the Lahmians.

Noticing that Igor was lurking somewhere behind Morturion and the others, Helena cast him a hard gaze.

"Don't think I can't see you!" she snapped at him, before converting her look into one of contempt at the man's ragged appearance. "It's obvious to see that you could be swayed into doing anything at the mere notion of a woman's companionship!"

 

[Bounce]

Elanor had the good graciousness to look deeply wounded by Helena's cutting remarks. Although on the inside she was quite enjoying the verbal sparring. She didn't fear Helena in the least which could potentially be a concern but surely the little girl wouldn't try anything here and now.

"Of course I would never dare to intervene in your fencing session. I just like to watch you know." she said with a slight purr and a knowing look. "I don't need to rely on magic to make others realise that I am right. They can see it all on their own. Calm yourself Helena. There is no need for this pettiness. No one is ganging up on you. You are just perhaps suffering from some slight hysteria. Not too surprising at your old age. She added sweetly, addressing Helena as if she was just caught stealing cookies from the jar.

 

[TMS]

Helena was swift to react to Elanor's latest pouring of not-so-subtle insults. Despite her promise to herself Helena found Elanor's soft-spoken and belittling remarks utterly aggravating and beyond her self control. She stepped in close to the woman, stopping just in front of her. There were more than a head's length in height difference between them but Helena had never been intimidated by size. She fixed her gaze upwards to Elanor's eyes and tensed her entire body, arms straight down with her fists and teeth clenched, fangs bared.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" she snarled. "I am your elder and you'd do well to remember it!"

 

[Bounce]

Elanor looked down at Helena. Was she attempting to be intimidating? Elanor reached out and tousled Helena's hair.
"You're cute when you're mad. But being adorable won't get you respect, honey. You best me in a duel then you might get some respect. Right now you are all talk and no play."

 

[TMS]

Helena stared blankly at Elanor for a moment, quite surprised at what was happening. The upstart would not relent in her disrespectful ways. This would have to be settled harshly and without discretion.

"Why, you-!" Helena began, gritting her teeth as she swatted Elanor's hand out of her hair. Helena wasn't far from the idea of leaping at the woman right this instant but if the lass wanted a duel then that's what she would get, and Helena knew they happened to be in just the place to have it set.

"Fine! You'll get your duel! Nicoletto will be pleased to see me put you in your place!" she barked before turning around and storming off to the training hall.

 

[the hidden one]

Igor was greatly amused by the turn of events. The prospect of a duel was an exciting one.

More than the fencer, it will be good to see what Helena and Elanor are capable of. It does not hurt that Helena will most likely be trounced.

 

[Get of W'soran]

Nicoletto waved away the mortal men-at-arms who had helped him rearrange the large room, they had pulled all the equipment off the main part of the floor so that it was now largely empty.

Racks of weapons, some harmless foils whilst others sharp and battle ready were placed along the walls. There were blades of all descriptions from daggers to great two-handed blades as well as shields, axes, maces and staves.

A handful of seats were also placed next to each other at one side of the room for any who wished to watch the night's training.

"What is taking them?" Nicoletto muttered to himself in Tilean as he unbuckled his sword belt and hung it on one of the hooks near the door, he then proceeded to lift from a weapon wrack a huge weapon almost as tall as the Lahmian himself.

Moving to the centre of the room he began moving through the weapon's solo practice forms, the huge blade moving in large circular motions as the vampire began to warm up.

 

[TMS]

The doors to the training hall were unceremoniously thrown open as Helena strode into the room, fuming. She came to a stop some distance away from the fencing master as he was weaving a flourish with the greatsword.

"Nicoletto!" she shouted, too upset for proper courteous speaking to her old friend. "That dreadful woman you've let into this house has shown me great disrespect and even had the nerve to challenge me to a duel. And by uncle Vlad's memory, a duel is what I'll give her! Ready our weapons!"

 

[The Dread King]

Morturion laughed in amusement as Helena laid her accusation against him. "I've been celibate for over 1000 years," he stated. "I hardly think this would be the time or place where I would choose to break this tradition. So no, I am not in anyone's thrall." As the situation progressed, things seemed to get worse as the word 'duel' was thrown about the corridor. The necromancer readied himself for an outbreak of chaotic violence, only to be mildly pleased as the troubling matter of a duel between Helena and Elanor was not avoided permanently, but at least, postponed. Let's hope Nicoletto has something up his sleeve to stop this madness, Morturion mused as he followed Helena into the training hall, before taking a seat to observe the fencing that was about to ensue. If my earlier ruminations on the roles of the, ah, 'mentor' of Helena are correct, he's employed to deal with this kind of fiasco. In that case, he should be able to clear it up, and if he doesn't, it will only reflect badly on him and his claim to competence. Mind you, mentoring Helena is clearly a task fraught with immense difficulty, so his failure to restrain the Von Carstein would not be particularly surprising.

The wizard's inner thoughts were concealed by his somewhat more optimistic outward expressions. "Don't you want to train a bit before you duel, Helena?" he asked. "It's always good to warm up, after all." This was fairly simple advice by normal standards, but it was possibly the most benevolent thing Morturion had brought himself to say to a vampire such as Helena in years, maybe even decades. But of course, its aim was not to express courtesy.

No, it was but a last attempt to avert the imminent duel and the inevitable accompaniment of woe for all in its vicinity.

 

[Bounce]

Elanor sauntered into the training room after Helena. Seeing Nicoletto waving his large sword around made her heart flutter slightly. Impressive. Then she turned to the weapon racks. A nice assortment were laid out before her and she spent a moment weighing up which to take. She was tempted to go for a mace and smash Helena's doll like face into even smaller pieces but eventually decided to go for a serviceable bastard sword that wouldn't require too much tactical skill to wield. She then walked down to the other side of the open floor.

"What are the rules, Master Nicoletto?" Elanor inquired.

 

[Get of W'soran]

Nicoletto stared at the Council Members wondering what in the night's name had happened in the few short minutes since he'd left the parlor and promptly decided that the Council was an ill-functioning gathering of murderous monsters.

So basically an average group of vampires.

With a slight shrug the Lahmian kept the greatsword in hand with the point planted on the ground.

"A duel you say?" he asked "How wonderful! A time honoured tradition of nobility and we shall, of course, treat it as such."

Clasping his empty hand behind his back the vampire looked at the two "I am sure you are both experienced enough, since you wish to take part in a duel, that we may dispense with the training tools. You may pick any sharp weapon of your own choosing from amongst my collection on the wracks here."

"The rules will be simple. There will be no use of magic, there will be no attempts made at fatal blows or I shall step in. Points will be awarded as follows, one for drawing blood, on the arms, hands, torso or legs, one point for forcing your opponent out of the ring, two points for drawing blood from the neck or face and three points for disarming. The first to 3 points will be declared the victor." Nicoletto paused to allow everyone to take the information in before continuing "You will both stop once either of you has been disarmed. You will also stop any time I call for it. Causing grievous wounds will be an automatic forfeit, duels are a matter of grace and skill not mindless hacking."

As the vampire spoke the mortal Necromancer Giovanni entered the room. "And Mr Giovanni will heal any injuries." Nicoletto said waving towards the man.

"When you are ready take center position in the hall, salute, face your opponent and then take ten steps back each. I will call a beginning to the match when you are both ready."

 

[TMS]

"No, I don't need to warm up" Helena hissed at Morturion, annoyed by his question despite the friendlier-than-usual look on his face. As if she had any circulation that could generate heat!

Hearing Nicoletto explain the rules, she made her way over to the side of the room where her requested chest had been placed. She removed her lucky charm from around her neck and placed it gently inside the chest. She doubted that the charm had regenerated any of the mysterious power it stored so soon after the previous incident, but it would be a waste to let it activate again during the same night, especially in a situation that was supposed to be non-fatal.

Moving over to the weapon racks next, Helena considered her options. In the chest she had stowed an arming sword that was ready to serve but since Nicoletto had insisted on using his arsenal it would have to pass. Helena had the fleeting idea of choosing one of the greatswords in order to bash some manners into the upstart Elanor but she decided against it. It was not suitable for a duel where the intent was to not kill one another, and she doubted that any of the swords on display had handles fit for her hands anyway. She instead settled for a long-bladed rapier, with a slender enough grip to suit Helena's needs. It would be the perfect weapon for puncturing the insolent ego of her opponent, and she would leave her other hand free to claw at Elanor's pretty face if she got close enough.

Helena made her way to the center of the room where Elanor was already waiting. With the two facing each other, Helena gave a brief salute with lingering anger still etched on her features, after which she turned around and began the ten paces back.

 

[the hidden one]

Igor was now rapt with anticipation of the forthcoming duel.

Even if Helena wins, which admittedly, has a more than ideal chance of occurring, then Helena will be roughed up enough to have hopefully realize she needs more training. Now that I express this theory, I realize it has no chance of actually happening. She will only become more insufferable. Of greater interest is the choice in weapons. Igor doubted that he would he would use any of the weapons available by choice, but Helena's was not surprising. Her delusions of majesty would leave her with no choice other than an elegant rapier of course.