The cellars of Castle Bloodrose, to some major degree, very not different from the cellars one could find in other homes and castles. The fact that these were underground locations became more and more undeniably as things became colder, damper, darker and more and more discomforting in general the further down one went. What complicated matters was the fact that many of the lower levels had been built, abandoned, reopened, haphazardly maintained, abandoned again, stripped and rebuilt several times over the last few centuries. At first glance they were a maze, but if one possessed enough knowledge one could see the political roadmap of old times in them as the state of things and the kind of equipment left down here changed considerably from place to place. Much of it was just discarded furniture and household stuff probably none would ever use again but everyone had been too lazy or oblivious to get rid off properly, but there were also torture instruments and prison cells with only a moderate layer of rust on them that could be put back into action.
It wasn't as if Andri would have to worry about those things anymore. The cold grasp of death was a thing of the past for him -- and so were concerns like a cold or wet environment or bad air. He didn't breathe anymore, but was much more of a shade that had decided to come down here for a meeting. None had installed ghost-repelling magic down here, so he was pretty much free to go and leave as he desired at this point. He was waiting in one of the more empty rooms, having seated himself in a large, dilapidated sofa that most likely would have collapsed instantly if he had not turned weightless. The only source of light here was he himself, a dim, fluctuating and eerie white glow.
Rebecca trotted down to the bowels of Castle Bloodrose, a look of sorrow on her face. Things had gone very badly that day, and she needed to talk with a friend, even one who was an enemy in days long, long past. The lich tread softly, following a faint glow to an old storeroom. There he was, just sitting there on some ancient furniture, with a look of anticipation on his face.
“It does me good to see you, Andri, and all the more with today’s events.” She took a seat opposite him, on a threadworn and ratty old chair. “I hate to use the term ‘grave matter’, given our current states, but it’s the only thing that describes what has happened. The Bloodroses have turned, not only on each other, but on innocents. Acts that even Lorelai Von’Strauss and Medusa would never have dared condone, much less commit. I… I fear for us, Andri. I truly do.” What was left of Rebecca’s face twitched nervously, as she began to think of her home under siege. “I know we had hoped to just talk, but I need your advice. You were the hunter with the courage to work with witches. I trust you more than anyone, even Alexina. What shall I do?”
If Andri had still been able to let air flow through his lungs he would have let go of a sigh at this point. He had not been anywhere near Seren’s Folly and Castle Bloodrose for years, and now that he had come back it seemed that things were falling apart. There was some degree of despair in Rebecca’s voice that he had not heard before, indicating that the situation was indeed severe. “What has happened ?” was his first reaction. “Please don’t be afraid of being less abstract. I need to know what is going on above our heads.” Given that they were located in the very basement of the Castle this could be taken quite literally. “I haven’t been here for quite a while, so I guess my information is pretty outdated.”
“The worst kind of black magic,” Rebecca said with a shudder. Coming from a necromancer, the words were absolutely damning. “Five witches conspired to sack a village. No adults survived, and the town was razed. What’s worse, they invaded the church where the children were being hidden. Demon’s blood was used to desecrate every inch of the building, as well as the holy relics. They’ll never hold power for miracles again.” Rebecca would have broken down in tears, had she still had the requisite parts. “They killed a little girl, stealing her life force to restore their own youth, and would have done the same to the rest, had Alexina not intervened. I was with her. So much pain, so much torment, and all so a few witches could live fifteen years more.”
“They did what ?” it shot out of Andri’s mouth. “They have fallen completely mad, haven’t they ?” the ghostly man added, shaking his head and starting to support it with his left hand. “This is bound to invoke the attention of every hunter in the region. Even if they don’t know who’s the culprit they might try to give this place a visit rather soon than later. Or do some other acts of revenge.” He remembered the advice he had given his son once, that he should not go to Seren’s Folly. Now hopefully he would have sticked to that advice, given that things were bound to get more ugly. “This will make everybody’s life considerably harder I think. Including ours, possibly. So… what could and should we do about this ?”
“That’s the rub. There are things we could do, yes.” Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t know if you’ve revealed yourself to Alexina, but you might still have some influence with her and the other elders. As for me, well, I have some of Lorelai’s old tomes. The magic of Hell, and instructions on calling some of her… friends.” The lich quivered like a leaf. “You helped me stop the war, all those years ago. You know how I abhor violence and vengeance. But these witches, what they’ve done… do they deserve death? Is there a point where it is wrong not to seek retribution for true evil?”
“Maybe I sound a little superficial at this point, but I think we should not focus too much on what we think these witches deserve or not. This is a concern, yes, but what we think becomes rather pointless the moment a bunch of hunters shows up at the doorstep of this castle and goes on a rampage. Or they encounter one of the supply lines and do the same thing. If what you’ve described is true then there is hardly any argument against such an act of revenge. Or much more defense one should say at this point as this would be the next logical step if I were still alive and a hunter. What if those witches run out of ritualistic benefits and have to do it again ? Even if not, even if Alexina had them already executed herself…the ordinary humans out there don’t know that. I can throw myself into the equation and try to speak with Alexina, but some internal chit-chat or even spilling some witchblood on that decapitation machine next door won’t help. We need a strong signal that the people out there can see.”
“I think I understand what you’re saying,” Rebecca responded. “We need to keep the hunters from turning this into an all-out war, and the best way I can think of to do that is to give them names of the individuals responsible. Limit their targets.” She grinned, which looked truly eerie on her features. “Unless I miss my guess, my identity would serve as evidence enough that I know what I speak of, and I believe that the Witch’s Paradise is still open in Seren’s Folly. You can talk to Alexina, try to keep her from going after the hunters.”
“I think that names alone would not be enough. People need pictures in order to know how the ones they should search for look. Nobody is going to ask everybody who’s suspected to be a witch for her name before trying to kill her.” Andri stopped talking for a moment, thinking while staring at the wall as if it was a transparent thing to look through. “Which brings us to the next piece of the puzzle: What’s Alexina’s stance on the matter ? What does she currently intend to do in order to stop this from happening again ? Or does she actually care about ? We need to clarify this first I think.”
“Well, if you’re talking about what she did to them, she ordered them to go exterminate another nearby coven. ‘Come back victorious or not at all’ was her general sentiment.” Rebecca rolled out a creak in her shoulders, and the sound of bone against bone could faintly be heard. “But what if they do succeed? Is she going to just send them out until they’re used up? Will they have proven their obedience to her satisfaction? That, I cannot answer for you.”
“We will have to monitor this. Also we should find out what other coven she ordered them to strike against -- just in case they come back all too successful and managed to exterminate a bunch of other witches. It surprises me that Alexina finds starting a witch war to be an acceptable cost to dispose of insubordinate members of her own coven. I will talk to her, or at least I’ll try to get an appointment. Does she know I even exist ?”
“I… I think she knows, or at least she suspects. She’s never been sensitive to ghosts and souls, not like me, anyway. But she’s always been a sharp one.” There was no sign of emotion from Rebecca as she idly drummed her fingers on the chair. “I can get us an audience with her, and if she has trouble seeing you, well, there are always spells for that. Meet me tomorrow morning, in the castle hall, and we’ll see what is to be done about this."
“Alright. I think I know where that is. Let’s hope there won’t be too many witches trying to intercept me. Or just trying to keep me busy with nonsensical small talk…” Having said this, the dim glow that had an eerie resemblance to a human body seemed to fade away, into the next wall.
Shadow Dragon
Spike