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Prologue: William Croaker


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1100 AD; Ipswich, Kingdom of England.

William sat writing at a desk, the sparsely appointed rooms given to him by his sire were barely lit by the single taper on the corner of his desk. He had been sent to Ipswich months ago by his sire in order to learn of the ways of their kind. At least that's what Sir Bristol had told him, though he had the feeling that his sire had become bored of him.

A quiet knock at the door was followed by the entrance of his ghoul caretaker Bertrand. Bertrand was old and was well-learned in the ways of his Cainite masters. In fact William had learned most of what he knew about the traditions and lore from the ghoul. Bertrand hobbled over slowly despite the great strength that William knew ghouls to possess. He set the package on the side of the desk before addressing William.

"Your sire sent this with a message saying that you should prepare yourself to attend a mortal party this evening. The master should be arriving anytime now to take you with him. Is there anything the young master wishes before I leave to prepare for his coming?"

Assuming William has no further orders, Bertrand leaves him to prepare for the party that evening. The package contains a set of fine new clothes and a short note from his sire.

"Greetings my childe,

I hope this greeting finds you well. I have sent you a small gift of a fine new set of clothes. Be sure to have one of your wonderful stories ready as well. The Lady Staunton is a great admirer of tales.

Regards, Sir Bristol of Ipswich."
 
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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

Still not quite used to having a servant William simply looks at the man and says "Thank you Bertrand. That will be all." before looking at the package. Seeing the note William starts preparing for the party.
 
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The new outfit was perfectly-sized for William as though he had been to a tailor to get it fitted himself. He wasn't quite used to the silk and lace that made up a large part of the outfit but perhaps he could grow used to it. Just as he finished preparing William heard the sounds hooves pulling a carriage arrive. Not long after the sound of the heavy manor door creaking open filled the house.

It wasn't long before his sire opened the door to his room and stepped inside dressed in similar finery to William. The thin man moved gracefully as he swept the door shut and smiled at his childe. William felt the familiar feeling as he saw his sire, the feeling of the blood bond that he knew happened from feeding off another Cainite's vitae. His sire indicated that William should continue with his preparations as he began to speak.

"It's good to see you again William, hopefully Bertrand has taught you well in the ways of our kind. Tomorrow night we return to London but tonight I have a final test prepared for you. The Lord Staunton has something of great need to me and hopefully you will be able to help impress upon him that I should receive this...item. We should be the only Cainites present at the party so we must be on our best behaviour. Have you already fed this evening, I made sure to arrive early on so that we might take care of the unpleasant necessities.
 
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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

Making a small bow at his sire William answers him eagerly: "It's good to see you, too, sir. I took care of...feeding...already amongst other necessities. I know how you like to be prepared. I'm having difficulties choosing the story, though. On one side, I have this story about some beggars I've been itching to tell, but I'm not sure if this is the audience for it. On the other side, I have this story about farmer's wife and a young knight I'm sure the audience would appreciate, but I just don't think it's very good. Which do you think I should choose?"
 
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Sir Bristol's hand goes to the gold-handled rapier at his side, a habit William recognizes as his sire's way of thinking. Sir Bristol expertly shadow fences for a few moments with his eyes closed. A few minutes later his eyes open as he puts the sword away and he smiles almost sadly.

"I'm loathe to say it but you should aim to please your audience. Personally I would much rather hear what you consider the better of the two stories. However your audience this evening is one of the more boorish nobles in the area and the other canaille in attendance shall be equally boorish. Not to mention it wouldn't do for either of us to be too distracted by the better of the two stories, now would it."
 

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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

"As you say, sire. I think I'll look through my notes one more time." William hurriedly digs through the papers on his desk, quickly finding the ones he's looking for and starts reading them.
 
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Williams sire nods and turns to head down stairs with William lagging slightly behind as he reads his notes. Downstairs Bertrand bows to each of them as he hands them their cloaks. Exiting the manor house they make their way to a waiting carriage and get inside.

Sir Bristol allows William to continue going over his notes as they ride through the small town of Ipswich. Instead busying himself with the rapier as he normally does when thinking or bored. As can be expected very few of the humans were about in the dusk hours, though the taverns and inns seem fairly well-lit.
 

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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

Spending the ride reading his notes and barely paying attention to anything else, William finishes just in time for the arrival, carefully folding the notes and hiding them into his pocket. Looking outside, he all but stares at the manor as the coach stops, still slightly nervous at the thought of performing in front of such an audience, despite the much nobler blood that now flows through his veins.
 
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"There is no need to be nervous, William. You are simply telling a story to some worthless cattle in order to distract them from myself. A poor performance would probably serve to keep these noble lackwits far more entranced than even I hope."

Bristol spoke as he alit from the carriage, and took a few steps forward to wait for William to follow, continuing as soon as he does so.

"If all goes according to plan, we journey to London tomorrow. There I will release you to do as you wish with the rest of your time. Not a moment to soon I must say, I was becoming bored with you."

He grabbed the knocker above the door and gave it tow solid taps as he said the last bit.
 

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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

William takes a moment to compose himself before following his sire to the door, his face now much calmer, though there's still a hint of anxiety in his face, as always before performing in front of an audience greater than one.
 
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The sounds of a vibrant minstrel reach William's ears as the door swings open. The servant girl upon noticing Sir Bristol quickly opens the door fully and stands meekly to the side where she waits to take their cloaks. Bristol elegantly steps into the entry way and handing his cloak off smiles warmly at the young girl, who can't help but return the smile with a blush. Taking William's cloak the girl remains meek but her eyes wander after Bristol as he makes his way down the hall to the main chamber.

Continuing down the hall after his sire, William can't help but notice the many hunting trophies along the walls. Entering into the main chamber the trophies continue, with the main centerpiece being a magnificent boar's head above the roaring fireplace. The dozen nobles in the room all turn their heads and bow as Sir Bristol and guest are announced. Sir William seems disturbed as he looks across the room and following his sire's eyes, William can see why.

One of the other guests seems to be one of their fellow Cainites, though William isn't quite sure how he just naturally knows this. Judging from his appearance the Cainite has gypsy blood, though he doesn't seem to be dressed like the nobles or William. Recovering from his momentary shock Bristol indicates for William to follow as he makes his way toward the other Cainite, greeting the other nobles elegantly as he does so.
 

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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

Following his sire William does his best to imitate him without appearing to do so William's eyes linger on the gypsy. Something about him makes the hair on William's neck stand out and he realizes the gypsy to be a fellow cainite, if words such as fellow can be applied to them. The young vampire follows Sir Bristol to this mysterious cainite, making small bows to the nobles he hasn't been introduced to yet. As William gets closer, he finds it hard to keep his eyes from the gypsy vampire, but he manages not to stare, if only barely, until stopping near him.
 
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As William moves forward bowing and being introduced to the nobles by Sir Bristol as he comes to each of them. Finally he is introduced to the host and his wife, the Lord and Lady Staunton, as his latest find who should be able to provide a wonderful story for their entertainment. As William bows his head to them he suddenly feels an intrusion in his mind.

Confused at first by the images that seem to come to him, he finally realizes that it's his sire trying to communicate his wishes. The images show him talking to the other Cainite and trying to discern what he is doing at the gathering. While Sir Bristol remains seemingly in deep conversation with their hosts, William makes his way over to the gypsy to do what he believes his sire wishes.

The Gypsy Cainite smiles almost devilishly as William walks up to him and softly says.

"You're fortune told good sir?"

As he asks this he pulls a deck of gaudy tarot cards from what seems like thin air and begins to shuffle them.
 

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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

"Why not?" William replies quietly, opening his hands in front of him and taking a good look at the gypsy, trying to see anything unusual.
 
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Re: Prologue: William Croaker

The gypsy smiles slyly as he lays the first card on the table beside them, a depiction of a priest with a rose on his clothing. Directly above that he places the king of swords a rose also on his clothing.

"This represents you, you are probably educated or a man of high social standing and this is your master I believe. Now to see what is in your near future."

Across the pair representing William and his sire he places a picture of a tower being destroyed and above those three a magician is lain.

"Perhaps some failure or catastrophe is due to come your way this night. It probably has to with the trickster or magician there. Finally we shall see your distant future."

The next two cards go off to the side of those already on the table: a priestess with a crescent moon on her clothing and a queen feeding a wolf in a glade. Above those sits the wheel of fortune and the devil.

"These must represent future allies or friends and your fates must lie with the devil. So what do you think of your future my good sir?"

The gypsy smiles at William as he finishes, an unmistakable hint of malice in his voice. His accent suggests that he has spent considerable time in England.

Meanwhile the party continues on around them with very little attention being paid to the reading of William's future. Though William's sire is paying close attention from where he stands speaking with the host.
 
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