literature

Guul'Zaroth - Interlude 2

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The old mansion on the hill, over-looking the town of Vaulkin, had seemingly grown decades more dilapidated in a single evening. Furniture was turned on its side, most of the books had been rattled off the shelves and everything else was in a state of disarray. The dozen or so of Foerster's experiments that remained had taken to shuffling about aimlessly, unsure of what to do with themselves. The marginally more intelligent servants had already been cut down as they attempted to impede passage of the royal soldiers who now scoured the interior.

A squad of men searched the rooms one by one, searching every possible corner for traces of their quarry. Their investigation would not go uninterrupted however as an eminent guest slipped in the front door. Count Gotz Von Orlov appeared with eight of his own soldiers at his back, cloaked in dark green jackets and silver armour, the colours of Orlov's own banner. They bore his crest proudly on their breasts with an impression of the cunning rat pictured in the centre. Their helms were sleek and tapered down to a pointed nose guard with wide slits for the eyes. Their arms consisted of long stilettos tucked into their jackets and light crossbows worn in full view.

At Orlov's side was his personal assassin, a slightly more burned than usual Gutterwink, wearing no such regalia as his master's soldiers. The normally grey, descicated skin of his tall, sleek body had been scorched to a dark charcoal along large swaths. His face remained largely untouched and his left half seemed to suffer most of the damage.

The Count walked with his back perfectly straight and his long clawed hands tucked into the arch of his spine. He marched into the lobby of the manor and sneered at the first of Methuselah's soldiers he encountered.

The red cloaked officer removed the winged helmet from his head and bowed to Orlov as he approached. "Count Orlov," he said respectfully.

"Captain, I do hope there is a good reason that you've devoted so much of your search team to this single manor."

The officer nodded. "Yes my lord. Early inquiries have revealed that a girl matching Princess Laurelei's description was thought to have been in the vicinity of this building. Other reports state she was accompanied by a young necronom male and what has been described as a large, man-shaped boar of some kind, both armed. We cannot yet verify if Princess Laurelei was here at any time. But our men have found something of interest."

One of Orlov's brows lifted ever so slightly and he donned a thin frown. "Man-shaped boar?" he thought to himself before returning his attention to the soldier. "Go on."

"In the basement, we found the manor's owner. Injured and babbling but still alive. There are signs of conflict and what looks like some kind of ritual."

"Show me," said the count.

Through the halls of the dusty manor and past the scattered bodies of once again dead abominations, the soldier lead Orlov and his men to the stone laboratory in the basement. There, four more soldiers in obsidian plate and red cloaks surrounded a motionless man. He lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling through cracked spectacles. His clothes were stained with the spatters of blood and streamed down from his lips and nose. Yet still he smiled from ear to ear and spoke in mixed nonsense, mumbles and the occasional coherent but contextless phrase.

"...It was here, it spoke, it lived. So close, close, close, close," said the man.

Orlov's eyes trailed toward the soldier who appeared to be in charge. "Who is this madman?"

"Dr.Samuel Foerster. Called the Stitcher by the townspeople and mostly considered a harmless local eccentric."

Orlov's lip turned up, revealing his curved fangs. "This is what we're devoting our workforce to? Why are we wasting time with this wretch? Put him out of his misery and let us move on."

"We have orders to bring anyone who might know something back to castle Umbra for questioning."

"You've just received new orders. Kill him now and divert your search elsewhere. My men have come to relieve you and take over investigation of this manor."

"With respect, Count Orlov, we don't take orders from you. Our command comes directly from King Methuselah himself."

Orlov remained silent for a long moment, emotionless and completely still until his eyes settled on the broken figure in the middle of the room. He locked eyes with the Stitcher and smiled broadly. "Very well, but you won't learn anything about the Princess from this man." Orlov's eyes flickered for a brief instant and Foerster went quiet. "That should mitigate any threat this lunatic may represent." Then, he turned on his heel and gestured for his men to follow. "The manor is yours, search it well."

Once Orlov and his men were outside and several paces from the door, he peered at them over his shoulder. "It has become abundantly clear that the princess isn't here any longer. The only way she could have slipped away without any of our patrols noticing is through the Drowned Forest. With that in mind, I want the quickest of you to send word to Baron Yezhov. He is to capture her if at all possible."

One of Orlov's men separated from the group, bowed deeply and then vanished in a swirl of his green cloak. What remained was a single bat, beating its wings and taking to the sky.

"I must return to Castle Golodomor immediately. I'll be expecting a visit from Count Lockheart any day now. In the meantime, I have orders for the lot of you. Gutterwink, circle around the forest and to the North side. I want the rest of you to scout overhead and keep Gutterink abreast of our target's location and likely exit point. If she slips past Yezhov, I want to know how and where. Presuming you all perform you duties appropriately, she will be in our grasp the moment she steps into the open."

His men dispersed quickly, all save one, halted by Orlov's hand on his shoulder. "I want you to go to Castle Golodomor and ready a messenger to the Jester's Keep. I must contact Count Vader about the fate of a certain General."
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