Summoned!

[Pervy]

At least she wasn't Shadowed (hah!) on her way back. Although that left her all the more time to think.. she had a monumental task ahead of her and only the .. weakened feeling.. daylight as her ally. Few people she could trust, or rather, few people she'd want to involve. First step would be to hit the silvermines, cutting Garus off from his supply and perhaps dealing with a servant of his during this...
She was pretty sure he'd use up resources guarding and clearing the mines after that.. not mostly his resources, mostly, but still. This was about thinning him out and attacking priority points.. she didn't believe the mine as important, which was why she wanted to believe him it was. She was also certain he'd clear the thing up again.. if he had wanted it burrowed and closed off, he'd done that years ago.

She read the note.. and then asked the fisherman.. "So is there a library.. also, do you know the rough schedule of the mines? Or anyone who does? I want to know when there's no workers and.. only potentially Garus' guards there.. Oh.. and know a smith that .. disagrees with the lord of the land as much as you do, if given a chance to?

I could also use some bolts.."
She mused, deciding to question the one (not counting werebat) she could properly trust.. although the merchant-man seemed reliable too, admittedly, his butler did not after all..

 

[Aenon]

The old fisherman looked surprised by the question.

"Library? Eh..library..." he offered, looking away a bit startled (?)

"There is one, actually. The old library...it was a gift from a wizard to our small city, back in the good days...but it has been under lock for years now." he sighed.

"The key should be with the old bookworm, Henry. You can probably borrow the key for a mug of beer or two..."

"There is a smith, but he got the sickness. His apprentice is doing most the work these days however..." he nodded, giving some further instructions.

"Bolts? You are into sewing? I guess you can buy some cloth in the market..." he mused.

"You plan to attack the mines? Well, the poor fellows only return at night to eat and sleep, that much everyone knows. With the first light, they drag their feet back to work..."

 

[Pervy]

"Wait, you'd abandon the library? Geesh... also what..err.. money do you use here?"
That was a problem.

As was hitting the mines at night.. oh well. "Alright, guess I'll find Henry at the bar... and good to know about the smiths son.. and bolts as in big pointy shooty things.. oh also, I figure you wont mind me.. retailoring one of your daughters dresses, no? Great.."

And with that, Cyra went upstairs, and made herself a perfect mask and cloth outfit.. she would be Garus' fear, if everyone could tell it was her after all.. she would be.. THE SILVER AVENGER!
(too lazy to photoshop now, imagine a zorro mask and a hood to hide her uniqueish hair and little more? )

Then, she'd go visit this henry character.. a library unvisited, likely also had some maps to plan things ..she'd do planning and prepare today, strike at the mine after nightfall... likely when Garus had someone there to watch. The vampire seemed to be cautious, which was good for her, as it ment he had things left to be cautious about...

For now, undisguised, she went to meet Henry, lacking money, to cajole the key out of him..

(18 persuasion!)

 

[Aenon]

The old fisherman gave Cyra 12 copper pieces, explaining that he didn't really have much as savings. It should be enough for a couple of drinks though. He did have some complains about the retailoring of his daughter's dresses, but if Cyra tried to persuade him that it was needed for her cause, he would give in with some hesitation.

The outfit Cyra made was perfect...except that she had to choose a short dress to avoid compromising her combat ability...and except not finding any panties to go with it...and ok there was no mirror large enough to notice the details, but it should probably be perfect!

Henry was easy enough to find. He was drinking in the 'Drunken Wizard', that was close to the old library. He was the only person in the tavern - after all it was too early for drinking. Even the tavern owner didn't seem to be there, however a closer inspection would reveal that there were noises coming from the trapdoor behind the bar - he was probably busy doing something in the cellar.

Henry himself was staring at the wall drinking some wine from the tankard. His gaze was lifeless, but not with the same soul-lessness that the others around the city had. He didn't seem to notice Cyra as she approached his table.

 

[Pervy]

Cyra felt bad accepting the charity, but she had little choice.. at least she could pick up some cheap fabric rather than apropriate one of the dresses for that gold. She briefly fought the urge to peek at the tavern owner downstairs, because.. well she was herself.

"Oh hello.. damn this place is empty huh... soo.. can you tell me the best drink around here?"

She asked, but quickly removed herself from the contact with the unhappy town inhabitant.. but not without subtly leaning over and patting his shoulders. "Oh don't look so down, I'm sure things will get better. I think I'll come back later, when there's more going on."

She then left to the library.

(Just lifting the key off of him after distracting him, 21 sleight of hand.)
(Moving to the library to look for a map or two I can use to get an idea of the layout of the land and mines, .. need 52 investigation rolls until a 20. I know you can't take 20 in the fifth so I guess I'll do it that way.
What time is it after those?)

 

[Aenon]

"Ugh..." the drunk man argued back, probably not in the mood to reply.

It seemed that he wasn't really responding to whatever Cyra said or did, even if he looked a bit annoyed in his drunkness. Picking the key from his pocket was easy enough, but not without a minor accident of her hand touching something sausage shaped through the fabric...

She immediately had some dirty thoughts...like how good of a cover up would be to give a helping hand to the drunk man, and steal the key safer...yes she was an expert in blowjobs, and she hadn't had any practice for a while now...after all the poor man probably had a sad story to keep drinking like that...actually since he drunk so much, maybe his cum had alcohol in it too? One wouldn't know without a taste...!

However, she finally did manage to pull her hand away with some effort. It seemed that the devil auction mark was still somewhat influencing her?

 

[Aenon]

Soon, Cyra dound herself inside the old and dusty library. There were books all over the place...now, where should she start looking? Maybe a book of a miner, or a travelling sage...now where would those be...?

It seemed the best solution would be to take it slow, and investigate every book...!

Hmm...this section had cooking books...'How to make the perfect pretzel~ by Master Chef Mordrog'...now this looked interesting...maybe she should take a peek...who knows when she would ever find a book like that again...

Why is there a scroll hidden behind those books? Maybe a magical scroll or something? No, just a receipe...the title is missing, but it looks like some kind of alchemical concoction...wonder what would happen if someone actually produced the potion...maybe something amazing?

Onwards! This blueish leather bound tome sure looked suspicious! 'Rovana the Reaver's Lewd Reavings, by Marnia'. Wait, who left their panties in the first page? In any case, it turned to be a fantasy story about a perverted captain and a perverted crew...and it smells suspiciously of rum....

The owl looked suspiciously alive-like....maybe it was actually a familiar of an evil wizard? However if it was acting dead, it was acting dead very good. There was something shining...it was wearing an old key around it's neck, hanging from a dirty string like an amulet. A key that opened a lock, one could guess!

'Basic Spells for Apprentices'. Sounds boring...but there is actually something hidden inside! An old note...'Hey, meet me tonight at the tavern's basement...I have something big waiting for you, my little slut!' Hmm...the lewd notes from one apprentice to an other...one could imagine...hmmm....

Boring...boring...hmm...this looked a bit interesting, a story about a dream-world where some whores got pulled inside...weird, there were some pages missing...

A detailed book filled with drawings of naked people...anatomical something something...wouldn't it be better if they were drawn having sex instead? Such drawing talent went to waste...Wizards are not fun, are they...

Damn, speaking of sex what happened after Rovana's crew almost got stolen away from the Dreadmaws? Maybe she should read a bit more on that...just a bit more...maybe there was a secret message in that book...perhaps...

~~~
Finally, after having found one hidden wooden dildo, instructions about summoning a tentacle monster, on how to safely have sex with a succubus, and a weird twenty sided dice that Cyra found in a corner, she finally found something suspicious! There seemed to be some kind of trapdoor on the floor, between two bookcases at the far end of the library! It was well hidden, but well, when Cyra had pulled one of the books in the neighbouring bookcases, it had opened itself...there were some dark stairs leading down.

Sadly, there were no credible maps anywhere she had looked so far.

 

[Pervy]

Cyra shook the strange lewd desires off, before forcing herself to the library. He problems couldn't be solved by sucking cock! (Most likely)

There were a lot of books around. That in itself wasn't too suprising, alright, but geesh, how did wizards do this? "Uh pretzels! Love those. I'll just borrow it if those silly people don't want it.."
She hesitated, pondering.. perhaps she should check out a book on the history of the libraries abandomnent.. but then who'd have wrote it?

"Oh secret recipe, I kinda want to know what it is..
Oh and that book seems pretty blue.. hmnn what else is there.. da ba di da ba da.." She whistled.

"Oh hey, owl key.. hooh.. well until I find a lock that needs opening.." She mused, giggling a little at the apprentice notes, with a slight blush, before peeking back and flipping through the Pirate story. She'd always liked those kinda. "Heh. I wonder if this Dreadmaw chick was written to be a dark version of Rovana, but that seems a bit lazy. Plus why do it? Just so that the side-characters could overcome someone like the captain they set sail with, when Rovana's clearly the most interesting character? I like her approach to things..."
She shrugged and put the book back, before noticing another tome behind that. "Armies and Conquests?.. eh, who'd be interested in that?"

Cyra threw the strange dice.. and rolled a 17 whilest investigating the dice.. that seemed pretty good. ".. right enough time wasting. Gotta learn about the castle. And the mines.. and.."
She sighed.. this was all a little overwhelming. She didn't know what she was dealing with, and those soulless folks worried her far more than she wanted to admit.. information was the problem. She didn't know what Garus was doing, or how he was doing it, or how to stop it, and.. whilest she could charge in and see what'd happen.. what was the alternative? Eliminate the merchant-lords father and every last infected person. Stir them into a witch-hunt, deny Garus of his human resources, strike when he's exposed. It's the most efficent course of attack..
No. Being afraid?... she shook her head.

"Evil folks should fear me, not vice versa!.. ugh.. where are the maps.. did someone remove them intentional.. wait the floor looks weird.."
She noted, approaching the secret door.. perhaps it was time to use the owl-key and check out what was down there. She propably wouldn't have even noticed it, without her dark-vision eyes. "Fingers crossed for secret tunnel leading to friendly werebat hideout. I could use some manpower."
She enthused.

 

[Aenon]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has been a while now since Cyra arrived in this strange realm.

Her investigations had revealed the story of this place, and she had found some allies who could help her fix the whole mess. Not very capable, or very reliable allies, but allies nontheless.

Long time ago, the mayor of Orden performed a secret ritual to the place were the castle now stands, following the instructions of a book.
This had caused a different plane to overlap with this plane, and Lord Garus, along with his minions and the monsters of darkness that lurked in the forest had appeared.

Garus took control of the city through force, and killed all those who could oppose him. Or at least most of them.

Then Lord Garus sought to reinforce his strength. Using magic to steal the souls of the townsfolk and imbue them on the silver armors, he them the ability to fight better. He also sought to create spawn, abducting promising maidens and turning them to his brides...with limited success.

The problem was, that for whatever reason, the vampire seemed to be weaker than the legends would suggest. His control over his spawn was more limited than he could have hoped.

They were 9 'brides':
Alice, the Mayor's daughter who was still resisting Garus influence, and was kept locked in his castle.
Eliza and Mirian, two sisters, daughters of a merchant who had fallen for their hate towards the city, but also being rebellious towards their master
Luiza, daughter of the Bloodhawk family, who was somehow procuring selling the things the people of the city needed...for a high price.
One daughter of a local noble, who was killed by Cyra
Jade, the fisherman's daughter
The Blacksmith's daughter who was only spared of been turned to a vampire in order to keep producing more armors for Garus's army
An actress, and the next hear her lover, Tianka, who had been trying to get her back.


Luiza, Eliza and Mirian had been looking for a way to get rid of Garus, even if their own hearts weren't so pure either. (After dealing with Cyra however, they started having second thoughts about their actions.)

Cyra had also encountered other people who could be considered possible allies. Henry, a theurge who had been brooding over the murder of his family and the disappearance of his beloved arcane mentor, Leanora, the previously mentioned mentor who had been turned into a ghost and is currently silently residing in Cyra's body, after a deal they made.

~~~~
Finally it was time for dealing with Garus.

When Cyra was finished with her negotiations with Eliza and Mirian, once she left the Cage, she would regroup with Tianka who would give her back the items she had been safekeeping.

"Yes, the entrance they were talking about is through the window I had mentioned before. I can tell you how the layout of the castle is, but there are some places I haven't been in. I could come along...but I am not sure it would be safe, no matter how little control Garus has over me. Perhaps I should try and cause a distraction or something..." she offered.

"But please, if you see my girlfriend, Aldera, try not to hurt her. She is a shapeshifter like me, so I can't tell you what she looks like...but she has a scar on her hand, it had been caused when she was young and it will stay there in any form she takes."

Leanora, the ghost had some advice to offer too.

"I can help you, but I won't be able to do anything during the battle. Perhaps I could cast an invisibility spell on you beforehand, but I don't know if the vampire could see through that." she suggested.

"There is a good chance that the amulet the mayor had, and now is in Garus's hands, is the anchor that is keeping the planes together. I could be wrong...but if it isn't that, it would still be something important."

The only one who was silent was the All-Seeing-Eye...it was still blinking lazily, looking around and across the gloomy side-alleys.

 

[Pervy]

Cyra had takent he time to aquire a more fitting armarment, not perfect, but closer to what she prefered, the .. demonstrational armors of the hell auction had been suprisingly protective, or perhaps that was a part of her new body, but... worriesf or later.
"How about you come along, and be ready to retreat and back off if we get in trouble. Just.. don't let Garus see you and it should be fine, you are good at that."
Cyra nodded.

"Aldera.. is that the one vampiress I couldn't put a name to? Anyway, no problem.. I hope. I don't want to kill them but.. well if Garus commands them to attack me, I might be unable to deal with them without force."
She nodded.

"Actually, Leanora, perhaps you could help me in another way. I could use a distraction, and there's still the hunter-girl we met in the forest. If she could launch a false assault..hmnn perhaps with you.."
She nodded to her bard-companion. "Disguised as me, and then get out, that might keep Garus' eye from me long enough to have a proper talk with the mayor-girl.. also, obviously we are going to attack at dawn, when a true vampire is the weakest and .. well.. there is a chance that one of the three let's call them cage-brides is gonna stab me in the back but.. little I can do about that if it happens. Keep an eye on Jade and Henry, they're all innocent as is.. but I really need to get this whole soul-stealing shut down, the rest we'll see."
She declared, and prepared to head out towards the castle now! No matter how you looked at it, stealing the souls of the villagers to power armors had to be stopped first. Then she could see about sorting out Garus and this mess.. especially considering there were more, perhaps slightly less nasty quasi-vampires waiting to take his place, potentially..

 

[Aenon]

"So, find the hunter girl and do a distraction...ok I can do that. I think. Try to stay alive in the meanwhile..." the ghost said, and Cyra felt a chill as the spirit left her body. "Uh...I can see why ghosts possess people. Your body is so comfortable." she mumbled before disappearing.

Tianka looked at the departing ghost curiously.

"That has to be the easiest exorcism, ever...if it counts." she mused. "Fine, lets do it like that then. I don't know if that would fool him, but it is worth a try, perhaps."

The trip towards the castle felt longer than the last time. Part of it was because Tianka wasn't in the mood for constant chatting,, but a bigger part was that there were more armor patrols that needed to be avoided.

"Sometimes, I feel like the castle itself is watching me when I do these trips." she whispered, looking across the chasm, at the massive castle that was barely visible by the twilight.

"See that tall tower? That's where the mayor's daughter is held. The entire tower is off limits." she pointed.

This time, they wouldn't follow the path to the bridge. Climbing down the cliff, and up from the other side...but with rope already in place, it wasn't a hard task. Finally, they arrived on the other side.

Tianka pointed at a dark window around 50ft high on the black wall. Once upon a time it was secured with iron bars, but now only their edges were in place.

"I can't turn to mist, or a bat, so I have to do it the old way." she whispered, pulling a rope out of her backpack. Without explaining what she was doing, she started casting a spell in lowered voice, and soon the rope started going upwards by itself. It went all the way up, stopping few feet just above the window.

Arcana DC 12/Perception DC 20: Rope Trick

~~~

Soon, Cyra would find herself inside the castle. They were in a bedroom, richly decorated but covered in a thick layer of dust. The first rays of the sun went through the window, casting their shadows on the wall.

"Guest room." Tianka whispered.

"Garus spends most of his time in his study. But if he knows we are here, he will be waiting downstairs, in the main hall, sitting on his throne."

"But if he is...resting, he will be in his crypt." she said, explaining how to go to each of those locations. The castle was very similar to the ones Cyra was used to, but perhaps meant for a smaller number of inhabitants.

Currently they were inside the main building of the castle. From here Cyra could easily reach the main hall downstairs, or even Garus' study, on the floor above.

To enter the crypt, she would have to go on the inner courtyard of the castle, and inside the building that looked like a chapel. There was the entrance that led down.

To go to the castle where the mayor's daughter was held, Cyra would have to either go through the courtyard and enter through the main entrance of the tower, or walk around the patrol walkway on the outer wall of the castle, as it was connected with both the tower and the castle.

The problem was, that the courtyard was visible from Garus' study, and on the walls there were animated armors standing guard. On top of that, it was very possible to encounter armor guard patrols in the dark hallways of the castle - which could be avoided if one was careful and patient enough.

[Perception to notice patrols, stealth to avoid be seen. If Tianka is with you, you roll with advantage, otherwise she can disguise herself as you and leave. You can also use spells or other abilities to your advantage if you can explain how they could help.]

 

[Pervy]

Cyra took the comfortable body bit as a compliment. Thinking about it, wasn't she a devil, crafted from soul-stuff of hell?.. best not to think about it too much.

"Fool a master of illusion? Doubtful, but it will distract everyone not Garus and I am still confident I can stand my own against him in combat."
Partly because someone had to believe in her.

Welp, time to climb into the lions den either way.

"Hard guess, there's a dozen of those armors guarding his crypt at all times, plus gargoyles.. off to the tower I go."
She nodded.

The plan was simple, first, send Tianka back in her-disguise. then, try her best to sneak as close to the tower as she could... along the walls, she could avoid-push-off any armor, she felt like, but Garus attention..? Not this early, ideally..

So she'd make her way out along towards the tower, only to, when, and if an armor caught her, flip it off, and jump forwards, whilest also whispering: "Misty Step."

(perception: 18. Stealth: 11
Feel like no explanation needed as to how short-range teleport can help get around an armor or three. I am propably gonna have to rush the last bit to the tower, which I am not a fan of, trying to only use up one misty step and not fight, if hard comes to hard, well.. tell me how it goes!)

 

[Aenon]

Cyra went through the castle's corridors, before arriving at a reinforced wooden door. It was barred from the inside, so it was easy enough to open it.

Behind this door was the eastern section of the castle's wall, which was connected to the tower. The walkway was perhaps a bit shorter than Cyra would have hoped - wide enough for lines of three to safely walk around. Besides the shadows of the twilight, and the slight curves of the wall itself, there was no good place for hiding that wouldn't involve climbing off the side of the wall.

Luckily, the same went for the armor knights. There was only one, right in the middle of the wall. However it wasn't patroling - it was standing there unmoving, staring attentively below the wall.

Sneaking past him looked hard enough. But, perhaps with nothing really to lose, Cyra decided to give it a try. Worst case she would alert the vampire of her wherabouts...

Cyra tieptoed behind the armor's back. She could certainly hear herself doing more noise than she could have hoped for. She wasn't terribly loud, but certainly louder than planned. Her new armor wasn't helping either. Steel boots were good for butt kicking, and keeping all of your toes intact, but not as good for sneaking about.

Finally after what seemed like hours of tip-toeing, Cyra found herself having moved past the armor. Was it really possible that it wouldn't have noticed her? Or perhaps it was some kind of trap? She had heard before that it was relatively easy to avoid the armor patrols...

In any case, she found herself arriving at the tower, without having raised any alarms yet. Probably.

Before her was a second barricaded door. This time however, it was barricaded from the other side.

It seemed there were only two obvious ways in - breaking the door, or using the ring to make it open itself...

(If Cyra uses the ring)
The ring vibrates for a few seconds, and Cyra can hear the sound of the wooden bar on the other side of the door, to slide off and fall down.

[-2 charges, 1 for the bar and 1 for the arcane lock]

Cyra would then find herself in what, once upon a time, was an armory. Probably for the soldiers who would patrol the walls. However, all that remained now were dusty shelves, and empty weapon stands. The room was relatively small, and on the other side there was an open door, leading to narrow staircaise that coiled around a central pillar, going both up and down. The door was slightly tilted, in a way that it would help defenders attack those coming from below, while giving those who were on this floor and wanted to go up the disadvantage of having to stick their head out to see upstairs.

Of course, the same was true for Cyra.

Still, no matter how she would tackle this minor inconvinience, luckily there would be no ambush waiting for her. No, everything went pretty well, so far.

The question however was, should she now go upstairs, or downstairs?

 

[Pervy]

Why did you always sound the loudest when you were walking about. What was that heartbeat, did she even need that? Also, breathing.. let's hold our breath, she hadn't tried out of principle, but.. well, her body was somewhat of a mysterium to her as well, she wasn't a full devil, that much was for sure and.. this way seemed way longer than expected..

Still, it seemed the armor was singularly focused on it's guarding duties, not what was going on behind it. That's what you get for employing soul-drained armor servants. Her evil castle would have way more devoted guardians.

She could not risk breaking down the door, and she had this nifty ring with an unknown number of further uses.. this seemed like a good opportunity for one.

Well, things seemed to go well enough with the ring, and her path continued onwards into the castle's fortifications. If she remembered right, the mayors daughter was upstairs. making sure to pull the unlocked door close behind her, she cautiously advanced up the stairs..

 

[Aenon]

The stairs went on and on, with possible danger behind every turn. Luckily however, nothing was waiting to ambush Cyra as she was going up the long flight of stairs.

Finally, she reached in front of yet an other sturdy wooden door. This one wasn't meant to withstand siege, it was outfitted with a lock...but most importanly, it wasn't even closed - surprisingly, it was open ajar.

Spoiler: Should Cyra peek inside

Should Cyra peek inside, she would find a bedroom that could only belong to a noble lady. There was a canopy bed, in a deep burgoundy red, an end table made out of some dark wood. On the other side of the room there was also a small study and a chair, occupied by a liethe figure...

Noticing that someone was approaching, the woman turned around, looking surpised.

"Who are you?" she demanded "A new of Garus's minions?" she said with annoyed look.

"I have nothing to tell to the likes of you. Begone!" she waved her hand dismissively.

Still, Cyra would notice that while her words and her actions displayed anger, her eyes betrayed unwillingness, as she kept looking away from her...

 

[Pervy]

Cyra poked into the room-space, mumbling to herself. "Huh I guess the ward is magical. Huh?"
She glanced over to the majorial daughter accusations.

"Nay, fair maiden, thou art wrong. Send upon the calling of the most holy, this humble knight hath come to shatter thine shackles!"
She declared, raising a hand dramatically.

"I shall beseech thine aid to learn all of the weaknesses of this fiend in the flesh, then bring him upon the lights judgement! I shall thus refuse your rebuke and may my chivalry forgive me."
She made sure to bow, extra drammatically.

"Forgive mine lack of manners fair maiden. The name and promise I hath taken shall be recorded in the tomes of Knowledge as Lady Cyra, Bane of the Dark, Slayer of Tyrants and uh.. Scourge of hells gates itself! Fear not, fair maiden, I hath arrived to rescue thee!"
She approached and.. ooh this would lay it on extra thick! She'd step forwards, kneel down before whom she presumed the Mayors daughter, and try to take her hand for a brief kiss. "Please, fair maiden, I presume thou art the mayors descended, bestow me with thine name and wisdom, I beseech thee!"

 

[Aenon]

Cyra's antics seemed to have an effect. The maiden looked astonished, freezing in place.

She didn't answer for a while. She opened her mouth, then she closed it, as if she had changed her mind.

With only traces of the original surprise remaining, what remained on her face was...struggle.

Finally, a tear of blood trailed down her face.

"...No...I can't...I can't..." she cried, kneeling down and hugging Cyra's leg, and putting her head on it.

"I....sorry, fair knight...I am not her..." she sniffed "The evil lord forced me to take her place..."

"...I was to lead you to an ambush, I....sorry...I almost...."

Spoiler

"...please forgive me, holy knight..." she pleaded, looking at Cyra with a very different face than last time.

"Please...please...save us.... The evil fiend...I know not where he is, but you should not go into the Crypts!" she pleaded, still filling Cyra's armor with bloody tears.

 

[Pervy]

"Hark! What is this foul deception, this despoilment of mine trust! I was told I ought to seek the first cursed's aid, yet my heart already bloomed in suspicion at my trials ease and knowing that thine blood carried the might of illusions. But who sought to betray me?"
She exclaimed, whilest thinking pfewww holy shit I almost forgot that they can use illusions I really need to poke things with a stick or something...
".. Rise and tell me thine name, child. Thou confession lessens thine crime."
She nodded, prodding the crying creature up by her chin and with a kind smile,.. that one wasn't played. She ought to get a handkerchief to dry all the crying ladies tears, that would be super cool.. "I knoweth of a total of six of the nine. I guess thou are a seventh and one more is within the castles confine.
Then again, looking over at the curtains, they seemed expensive enough, and the vampiress at her feet was too busy hugging her knee.. With a swift, practiced cut of her blade she tore of a part of the curtain off, folding it and handing it to the vampiress. (16 untrained slight of hand, 11 deception if anyone looks!)
"Shhh.. 'tis fine." She smiled, putting a comforting arm around the sad thing. "I beseech the, cease thine tears, they cut deeper than any trickery could."
She declared, before, just .. enjoying to go with the holy knight act, rather than the holy magic using vagabond for a while, she scooped up the vampiress, not like she could blame anyone for deception, eh? She was a rebel, this was just her resuming her mask of noble breeding. She'd discarded this long ago. Why actually.. fear of becoming like her family, really.. Wait why was she afraid, she dispatched of every last one of those insane dumbasses... she could act however she wanted!

For example, picking up the vampiress, before carrying the sad bloodsucker to the bed.. to wrap her up in a blanket, whilest drying her tears with her 'handkerchief'. (19 strength, rawr!)
"Take example of me, who neither worries nor dreads the fiend I shall face. There's no doubt upon the purity of the light, could I face your fiend alone I would strike him down, but I still require aid in ensuring the beast is forced to fight as ne'er he has, fairly against the blade of the just. To that end I request of thee, ..."
Fucks sake speaking like this was exhausting. No wonder the honor-code type went a bit bonkers after a while.. but it was kind of nice being.. well, a holy knight. She'd always been that, yes, but perhaps she should start doing it more out of her own choice than out of defiance of evil..
"Where is thine first sister, or was all of this a deception in the first place? I cannot challenge Garus if my might is expended upon the abominable warriors he creates."
She encouraged her blanket-rolled vampiress, before raising a finger.

"Nay.. let me guess. I hath fought evil long enough to understand a mind so twisted.."
This was not technically untrue, that, and a healthy dose of luck had helped her overcome her enemies after all..
"If the most deadly and defended place for me to tread upon is the crypts, then this is where Garus would lock away anyone or anything he dreads me finding, be this true?"
She guessed. Why put the one thing you were afraid of, your own first-created pet, anywhere but at the nastiest place to get to.. Well, that was one idea or...

"Actually.." She pondered. Garus knew she was coming. And her attacks so far were designed to put dread into his heart. If this was not the first generation, that meant Garus illusions were even stronger.

"Be not weighted down by mine questioning." She nodded. That was the sollution. She'd been too set in the classical vampire hunter mindset and avoided the study. But why. A vampire that could use illusions and was cowardly enough to hide behind armies of armors. The last thing she'd find in Garus study would be himself. "I believe the light has shown me a path without burdening thou further."
She nodded and.. she couldn't resist. It was a bit mean pretending to be this.. nice with the vampiress. No one was this nice, after all, eh?

Still, she gave her vampire-roll an encouraging smile, and an apologetic bow, leaning close to her, warm hand placed upon cooler cheek. "If thou wantst to aid me, just do one thing. Believe not that I care about a maiden's heart so little that betraying my trust would make a difference whence thou shed tears.
Send me off with thine smile, or not at all."
Shiit I hope she doesn't take this too serious I can't spend all day here comforting a sad vampireblob..
".. I mean it. What knight would I be to walk out from a lady in tears in her bedroom."
Then again, in for a copper.. she mused, hooking a foot under the nearest chair and pulling it over, definitly un-knightly, seeming intent on sitting besides the bed. "You'll have to accept mine forgiveness. Else I can't leave."
That last bit was accompanied by the tiniest of shrugs and had more the relaxed voice of Cyra as she spoke normally with it.. still she'd made up her plan. Wait why was her plan to wait until the sad vampire stopped being sad? Eh.. She could kick Garus ass tomorrow if need be, really..

 

[Aenon]

"I am sorry...I couldn't resist, until your kindness helped me break free from the fiends evil spell!" she explained, as Cyra managed to comfort her and wipe her tears away. Luckily she didn't seem to notice Cyra's slight vandalism.

"I am Aldera! I am but a street performer, abducted and....against my will!" she sighed emotionally, letting the paladiness to cover her and move her to the large bed.

There, she sat up, looking at Cyra from within the makeshift 'blankets' with her large black eyes, like a lost puppy who found someone to feed it.

"Oh...you are right, holy knight!" she perked up, when Cyra explained her theory. "Indeed, he asked me to lead you to the Crypts. There his armor general awaits, along with his army!" she nodded.

"And it is there, where his coffin rests! So to finish him, you would have to go there, even should I fail to decieve you and even had you killed him once! But as for the one whose form I took..."

"...when he brought me here to take her place, he said to her something about inviting her to a romantic dinner. To honor the memory of her father. She wasn't willing, but he used some magic, different from the one he used on me..." she recalled, biting the edge of the cloth that was covering her.

"I....you can't go because I am sad?" she asked, slightly tearing up again "...but..." she stayed silent for a few moments.

She then took a deep breath.

"You are so nice...I don't deserve this...but I will do as you ask." she said, with some difficulty "Then go. I will smile for you, most kind paladin. But..."

"You will have to promise, that you will come back alive. Don't make me cry for your death at the end of the story, you promise?" she asked, slightly sniffing and looking at the side.

"I don't want...you to die because of me. Otherwise, I will be sad and you will have to stay here..." she gave Cyra a determined look. The threat made little sense, but it seemed she would really see it through if she had to...

 

[Pervy]

She was, admittedly, a slight bit suspicious of the kindness-story. "Street performer and good with illusions huh? *ahem* Thou say? I do believe that outside of these walls of stone I have met thine bretheren and companion, an elf with a voice that made mine heart bleed, and I mean not entirely metaphorically."
She mused.

"I was not given missive to deliver, but I shall say they miss you verily.

Worry not. If I act fast and decisive, I shall put to ashes the wicked creature before he can flee to his resting place. For ignite but a single candle-light, and the darkness must surely disappear."
She sure hoped. She could take Garus. She could take an armor or two. But not back to back.

Cyra smiled back to the sad vampiress, putting a hand on her shoulder. Hey, being holy was kind of nice. Not that she could know, she was just a rebel against evil in devils skin. But it was fun to pretend for her. Perhaps she'd keep pretending just a little longer...
"Upon my chosen name as Cyra Darkbane, I tell thee nay to worry."
She grinned, just a little. "Death hath so far failed to halt me. Neither do I intend on staying. I've got .."
Well there was the fox and.. humnn.. oh book girl! And the orcblood she'd defeated.. oh and that asshole tree, she had a score to settle with that one... and the feeling of her drow-gifted collar..

"I've got people to return to. They'd propably kill me if I were to die here.."
She nodded. Best way to counter weird nonsense threats was more nonsense..

Either way, she nodded to the vampiress, encouraging her to: "Rest here a little."
As she decided to make her way out, downstairs. thinking it through, if Garus was so fond of illusions, he'd make sure she could never find the mayor's daughter reliably. She still wondered if one of the vampire-daughters had betrayed her on that front, but it was too late now.
Still, she had a decent idea of the kind of man she was dealing with, and if he could use illusions stronger than the vampire she'd seen so far, chances were she could make even someone unwilling look like him, and vice versa.


She'd make her way down the stairs, and towards the vampires study, half-loud mumbling: "I challenge thou.. nah.. too simple. By the light, what fiend stands before me.. nah... Die monster, you don't belong in this world! .. too campy. I challenge thee, wicked creature, let my light purify thine tainted soul.. uuh I like that one.."