V: Marching Orders

[UTasteSoSo]

Yves carried his bulk into the Inn once Roderigo had attended the horses. He surveyed the room and it's two occupants. Finally settling on a table where the two men could sit while they planned their inquest. 

 

"Tell me what went on when last you were here with... them, Roderigo. Perhaps we might sort an plan of action."

 

Do you know either of these two?" He asked of Roderigo. "Or do we proceed to make some inquiries and see who notices?" 

 

Yves was no sleuth but he thought that if either of these two had ever hosted any portion of the conspiracy or were pawns of the group themselves. It might be likely that asking after them would generate some attention. 

[Scarecrow71]

As you start to speak, Roderigo looks about the room and puts a finger to his lips, as if he's motioning for you to not speak too much.  He lets his eyes get wide, as if he isn't himself or if he's possessed, his expression going nearly lifeless.  He just shakes his head at your questions, sitting there without moving.

 

After several moments of sitting there, Roderigo in complete silence, you realize that you are not in fact alone in the tavern.  As if by magic or some other form of malicious deviltry, figures begin randomly popping up at the tables, as if out of thin air.  It doesn't take you too long to realize who these random figures are - they are the vampires who had only recently wished to kill you as part of their sick dinner party.  One of the figures even appears at the table you are seated at, and when the rush of surprise wears off you can see that it is Lady Amisa, your sire, who sits with you.  She smiles and laughs, pointing at both Roderigo and you.

 

"Plan!  The two of you?  I should have known this near-mortal would betray us.  We all should have!"

 

And as you start to get your wits about you, you hear another familiar voice coming from behind you.  You turn, and you see none other than Claudius Giovanni sitting at the table just behind yours, looking none the worse for wear, and carrying the same smile on his face that Amisa has on hers.

 

"Yes, tell me of this plan," he says coolly.  "Come and sit with me so that we may discuss like civilized folk whatever business you have with the Conspiracy of Isaac this night."

[UTasteSoSo]

Yves did nothing to hide his surprise as the duo came to them without so much as whisper. He was genuinely shocked as he was simply not yet used to dealing with the likes of Kindred and Cainites. Still they had found exactly what they had come for. Now it was time to sell it. 

 

"Lord Giovanni. Lady Amisa." He says in greeting as he takes a seat with his Sire and Claudius. " I suppose I should not be surprised that you found me before I could even begin to look for you. It seems you have brought my plan to conclusion already, my lord. I used this one to bring me to places that you all might be in hopes of reuniting." He says 'this one' about Roderigo, in a way that suggests contempt. "I am sure my death was all but certain when last we saw one another. Pitting your dinner guests against that host was as much a slaughter as your feast was to be. Fortunately I have more sense that most of your late guests."

 

Yves looks at Lady Amisa allowing himself to remember just how lovely he thought she was just a two nights prior. "I am glad to be able to see you again, My lady."

[Scarecrow71]

Claudius and Amisa both laugh when you make mention of using Roderigo as if he were a slave or some object to be played with.

 

"Come now," Amisa states, that soothing echo in her voice.  "We were here, listening to you talk to him as your equal, trying to plot against us.  Don't deny it, Childe.  Your silvered tongue is but one of many reasons you were chosen."

 

They both laugh again, and then Claudius makes a motion towards the bartender who rushes off to some unseen room, a look of fear in his eyes.

 

"Ah, mortals.  They do so delight me.  But enough small talk.  Let's get down to why you are really here.  And why are you really here?  I am sure it is to bring down me, and your Sire Amisa, and all the rest of the conspirators, is it not?  Repay us for the games we played and the situation we put you in at the dinner party, yes?  Get your revenge?  Ah, but don't you feel that hunger in you now?  Aren't you now no more monster than we?"

 

Amisa slides her chair closer to yours, all but sitting in your lap as she coos into your ear.

 

"My Childe, so much to learn, so many things to do.  And now we have given you the gifts that allow you to do them all.  Why would you be so angry with us?"

[UTasteSoSo]

"Oh, should I not be angry then? You culled me from the herd like so much cattle to be toyed with and devoured, and then when it was no longer time to play you threw me in front of damnable Hardestadt to be fodder for that meat grinder. So yes I am indeed angry but I will not allow that to cloud my vision." he let that sit for a pregnant moment and allowed his visible ire to settle. "That all being said I am left with little choice but to find you all so I might do whatever it is our...kind do. I have nothing. No real knowledge of what this is, save for the little I have pried from Roderigo." He smiled for a moment only, "I will say though that forcing my will upon him was not nearly as vile as I thought it might be and perhaps even a bit enjoyable. Having been on the other end of that same treatment so recently I was... surprised at that reevaluation." he once again directed that at Amisa with smile. 

 

"I know that coming to find you all would put me in mortal danger but to be hunted down by Hardestat did not see to be a better choice. That being true I cannot return to my home so with nothing more to lose except this life I have been so graciously given I am here now. I am certain that you feel little or no pity in my situation nor any remorse for your participation in taking everything I know from me, but I am hopeful that I might appeal to you regardless."

 

Yves stopped and would have taken a deep breathe had he still the need, "Lady Amisa, you made me what I am and as such you are my sire. It might not have been a choice you would have made under differing circumstances but it is the simple truth of the matter. Assuming you do not take back what was given here in this Inn tonight, I would implore you to help me. I have so many questions have so very few answers."

[Scarecrow71]

Amisa's eyes narrow as you mention prying information from Roderigo, and you can tell by the look on her face that she is not happy with your words.

 

"If you wish to have my help, you must start by being honest with us.  As our Lord here said, we heard every word of your conversation with Roderigo before we made ourselves known.  You have pried nothing from him but the lies you now tell us!"

 

Roderigo hangs his head, a look of shame on his face.  Claudius clasps his hand on the back of Roderigo's neck, holding the man in place.

 

"Mortals mean nothing to us except as food," Claudius says, obvious anger in his voice.  "Why do you use him as a device for lying instead of what he is truly here for?  Why try to secretly plot with him against us and then try to hide this and ask for our help?"

 

He lets Roderigo go and shoves him out of his chair to the floor.

 

"Go to your room!" Claudius shouts at Roderigo.  "Let us be alone with the Neonate so that we may have real conversation!"

 

Roderigo picks himself up off the floor and shuffles off to the stairs and up to a room, quickly and quietly.

 

"Now," Amisa says, her soothing voice returning.  "You have questions, we have answers.  If you are truthful, we shall answer.  If you lie again, we shall leave you to figure this out yourself.  Which shall it be?"

[UTasteSoSo]

Yves made the very mortal pretense of sighing before he continued, "The only fabrication is that of my prying information from him. What he gave me was of his free will, thought at his master's urging. In truth if not for Roderigo's word Hardestat would have killed me in Lord Claudius's manse. Be it pity or some thought that I might be useful, I do not know. Though, I am grateful for it." He allowed that to settled before he continued once more. "Instead, your enemy took me prisoner and interrogated me about your dinner. He was less than pleased to find out that I was simply a meal and not full of your secrets." 

 

"Nothing else I have said has been false. I do indeed need answers and I hope to find them here. My only other option was to die as Hardestat's prisoner. Staked somewhere to watch a final sunrise by his own words. No, I did not lie about anything else, though I omitted much in the presence of Hardestat's man." 

 

"Your enemy sent me here to die, truth be told. He told me that I might live if I were willing to attempt to insinuate myself with you all. He gave me his man and sent us on our way. I suppose he gave me Roderigo is some vain hope that I would somehow not only comply but see success, but in truth he believes me worthless, expendable, and so should you all kill me then it is no real loss at all." 

 

"I do not care about his agenda, nor do I understand your own. I just want my answers so I might decide how to go about rebuilding my life, whatever that might be."

[Scarecrow71]

Claudius Giovanni stares at you hard for a few moments, and you are sure your newfound unlife is about to end.  However, after making you rather uncomfortable for far longer than you would have liked, his lips turn to a smile, and he extends his arms as if he were welcoming you to hug him.

 

"You see, that wasn't so hard, was it?  The truth is always the best option, Childe."

 

His eyes seem to scan the room and never leave your face, as if he's able to see in all directions at once.  And as he does this, Lady Amisa...well, slithers is probably the best word you could ever come up with here...both towards and away from you at the same time.  She is both on your lap and on the other side of the table, as if her presence can be felt all around you.

 

"Now, my dear," Amisa coos, "you keep saying you have questions and that we have answers.  And yet you've asked nothing of us.  Have you truly nothing to ask?  Or do you simply enjoy teasing with no promise of delivery?"

[UTasteSoSo]

Yves did his best not to squrim under the scrutiny. He knew better than to believe he was safe but the immediate danger might have passed for now. 

 

"I have only the barest understanding of our condition. I have experienced the danger of fire and sunlight but I understand so little. What makes you and I different from Lord Claudius or Bajazet? How do we find the safety needed to slumber as we do and then go about taking what we need to survive from those around us? I have learned a little of what I am now capable of but what that truly means is beyond me as of yet. I am a newborn once more and trying to make sense of the world around me for a second time."

 

Yves was sincere in his desire for understanding. He wanted the questions answered and had three more for each he asked ready for his sire. He had deep seated anger within him for what they had done to him but he was willing to set that aside to assuage his curiosity and more importantly so he might learn how to live this new life. 

[Scarecrow71]

Amisa and Claudius both laugh at your questions, not out of spite or of condescension, but rather of a parent looking over their child and telling them about the world.  When they both calm down, Amisa stands up, over you, and begins to speak to you as if you were in fact that child.

 

"We are all the same, you and I and Claudius.  Borne now unto immortality, a thirst for the blood of mortals, predators at the top of the food chain with no equal among men.  But what you ask about differences is on another level, one that cannot be fully explained.  Age and experience and the gifts we possess are what makes us different.  Think of a peasant farmer and a blacksmith.  Both are men, both are hard-working, both have families.  But the skills they possess and the experiences they have had make them different from one another.  This is the same for us.

 

"As to your question of slumber, that is something you need to figure out for yourself.  How did you sleep at night when you were mortal knowing the full dangers of wild animals running about in the woods just outside the city?  How did you manage to survive knowing that criminals could take your life at any moment?"

 

She sits back down, this time her face looking very much like she is irritated or thinking on something very deep and meaningful.

 

"Some things we can teach you, but others we cannot.  Some things you will just know, others you must learn.  It is no different for us than it is for mortals; it is simply the nature of what we may learn that becomes different."

[UTasteSoSo]

Yves was not pleased with the level of answers. They felt much like receiving a question in reply than a clear, definitive answer. It was much like the conversations they had had at the feast. He finally asked the question he had been avoiding.

 

"What no am I now to do?"

 

This was the first time he allowed any real emotion to enter his voice. This question was of a deeper variety that wished for a deeper answer. Yves had only given real thought to his immediate survival since his turning but now he had to think about the future. His life was surely forfeit should Hardestat come back in to the picture. He seemed wholly incapable of executing that fiend's wishes as Amisa and Claudius were simply overwhelming and e did not know if they would accept him into their fold either. He could not go home, not yet anyway. So there was a very real question of what he should do. A question that he simply did not have the answer for.