Halvor Conspiracies

"It's good to have you back here sir. But I'm afraid you missed both Ingrid and Audrey. They left with their Aunt Mary just moments ago." said a man armed with a sword as Yosef stepped off his carriage in front of the Palace in Vestis.

"Aunt Mary? What are they doing with her?"

"Something about court training is what I understand."

"Court training? I've always found it to be a useless skill, although my position has never been anything but that of a commander. Wait for me here Keener. I've got something to write and then will be out shortly."

"Are we going somewhere sir?"

"Assume we're going nowhere."

"Understood sir!"

As Yosef returned from writing a letter of gratitude to Count Derreres, he was met by another soldier leaning against one of the columns outside the front entrance.

"Oh Captain Yosef, guess you got lucky."

"I'm sorry? Lucky?"

"Yeah, that spear should have killed you but you're a lot tougher than that am I right?"

"I have a question soldier. How would you rate me?"

"So the great captain Yosef want to know my rating of him? Well I don't know about me personally, but as for everyone else they may pretend that you're a great leader and all, but nobody likes you really."

Yosef had a visible look of irritation of his face.

"Is that so? That sounds like something Count Mevis would say..." he grumbled.

"Since it's count Mevis we're talking about, I'd probably be inclined to agree with him."

The soldier then wore a face of shock as blood spilt from his heart and onto the stone porch. Yosef pulled the silver dagger out of him and wiped it cleanly as the body fell to the ground. Keener ran up to the general and looked down at the dead body with a puzzled look.

"You see what happens when you tell me nobody likes me Keener? This kind of stuff happens. Here deliver this to Count Derreres and arrange for that body to be removed." he told the butler at the foot of the stairs.

"You really should learn to control that temper of yours sir!" Keener said insistently.

"Indeed I should. Come let us enter the carriage."

"Can I ask where we're going again?"

"To Makindak."

"But that's-"

"Yeah, now shut up and let's keep quiet about this."

The two of them rode in the carriage towards the south. The southern region of Halvor was rocky as the terrain grew taller and taller on either side of the carriage. If the sun was out it would have cast long shadows on the path which made it difficult for things to grow on it, but on this particular trip it was night of course. Vampires had a keen sense of vision which made it a simple task for them to move in the dark. Eventually Yosef broke the silence.

"The Narcainan family has waned over the years hasn't it?"

"I'm guessing you don't have much faith in King Cliff's offspring do you?"

"And why should I? And why should anyone?"

"You wouldn't argue the fact that our late king was a great leader, would you?"

"No. I would not. Many doubted him at first and many tried to stage a coup. All of them failed thanks to his insight to create a network of allies spread across the entire region of Halvor. No matter what they tried to do, and no matter who they sent, Cliff was always able to obtain the tools he needed and to spy out his most formidable enemies right under their own noses."

"The network of Cliff was it? I've heard the stories before. So they must be true if you're telling me about it."

"Indeed. I don't know what he was thinking putting me in the position as his commander. I have too much sentiment and not enough diplomatic prowess. It makes it impossible for me convince the other nobles on what they should be doing and it makes me act too hastily at times."

"I think King Cliff knew what he was doing when he made you the commander just like I believe he knew what he was doing when he didn't name a specific successor but rather left it up for debate so that the one with the most qualities would be picked."

"So do you have faith in them?"

"I do! If our king had faith in them then it stands to reason that I should do the same!"

"Thank Keener. I knew I could call you a comrade. Driver! Stop the carriage please!"

The driver obeyed and Yosef motioned Keener to step off.

"You can go now sir, we will not be coming back this way."

The driver nodded and took off leaving them in the middle of nowhere.

"Illuminare Pathare"

Suddenly a glowing path appeared before them.

"What is-"

"This will lead us to one of the warehouses in Cliff's network. We'll get the supplies we'll need and some horses. Once we have those we can make our way to Makindak without anyone following us."

"So someone was following us?"

"Has been since we left the palace. They probably think we're still in the carriage. Since the mountains make it hard to follow someone without being noticed, they should not have seen us get off if they did not wish to be seen."

"And if they did?"

"I'll sense them and I'll end their life."

Keener let out a chuckle. He then began to hum a song that made Yosef grit his teeth. Keener then began singing it:

He's a cold a ruthless warrior

who has women and men in awe

he can snap your neck

with his icy breath

if it's silver hair you saw

then you best be on your way

to stay away from the devil

you'd be foolish to cross swords

with the silver-haired vampire lord-

"SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" Yosef shouted knocking Keener in the head.

"Ouch! It's a good song!"

"I hate it! I would have killed the one who made it up, but nobody wants to expose him!"

"It was actually a she..."

"A she? Now that I can work with. That narrows it down for me."

As the two walked along the path they were led into a thicket and as they went deeper they found a house approximately 10 meters tall with a barn the size of the house alongside it. There was a well and behind the house was a cobblestone path that led to a garden behind the house. As they approached the door it suddenly opened and out walked a man with black hair wearing a black cloak and peasant clothes underneath. The man looked up surprised.

"Yosef? What brings you here, who's this and can he be trusted?"

"Apologies, I would have sent a raven, but there was no time. As for Keener here, do you think I'm stupid enough to show an enemy one of these places?"

"Fine. Your answers are sufficient. Take what you need, I'll be with you shortly."

Yosef bowed then let the man pass by them. The man then walked into the thicket away from the beaten path. The man dragged as he walked as Keener noticed, and since Keener thought to consider the man as a trustworthy ally he sought to see what the man's troubles might be and whether or not he could be of any help to the man.

"You go ahead without me," Keener told Yosef. "I'll be with you in a moment.

Yosef gave an acknowledging glance the went walking towards the barn. Keener then followed the man until he stopped at a stone grave among a graveyard in a clearing. The man knelt down clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Keener approached the man and he looked up.

"A friend of yours?" Keener inquired.

"My son. They pinned him in a parish a couple of weeks back. He was a part of the party that went out to Ivayla, and thought he was strong enough to stay behind and hunt for leftovers. I know it was his own fault but still... I can't forgive the humans who did this... who took my son, and who dedicate their lives to hunting us down, to wiping out our species..."

"My apologies sir. I meant no discourse by my assumption."

"None taken. Tell me your name soldier."

"It's Keener sir. And yours?"

"Benerin. Yosef must have a high opinion of you let you know about this place."

"He's my captain sir, so it would be foolish of me not to try my best to earn his confidence!"

"Well said. I assume you know this already, but Cliff had many enemies, however, since he was a brilliant politician, he was able to shrink that list exponentially. Yosef has always been his right hand, but he is not a politician, and so his list of enemies has naturally always been longer than that of Cliff's."

"I had no idea there were so many people against him."

"But it's thanks to his military prowess we've been able to remain in the shadows for as long as we have. He was the one who came up with the idea of domains protected by concealment spells like this one here. Had it not been for him our race would have been worn much thinner by the humans. They get more clever and more cocky each year. Cliff's death was mere draw of luck. The current program they have for teaching vampire hunters is quite refined so I've heard, and every year they add more members to their ranks."

"So the humans keep getting more dangerous? If Yosef's been wise enough to keep us out of harm's way for this long then how come there are so many against him?"

"It's because he doesn't trust his own kind, and because he is loyal to Cliff, and Cliff alone. Yosef is a force to be reckoned with, a force that any one of the counts would jump at the chance immediately if they were given way in which they could bring him to their side. Even now, Yosef remains loyal to Cliff. That's why he's here I assume. He has a score to settle."

"Forgive me, it's been a pleasure talking to you, but I really must get back to helping commander Yosef gather necessary supplies."

"Indeed you should. Make haste, Yosef can only wait for so long before he loses his patience. I know I don't need to say this to you, but beware should you ever annoy or provoke Yosef. He isn't the kind to forgive even the most trivial incident."

"I shall take my leave now."

Keener bowed then ran off to the barn where he found Yosef inside packing some suspicious items into a bag.

"Wait a minute. Silver arrows? Just who are we after Commander?!"

"Trust me, we'll need them."

"Do you mean to say that-"

"It's not very bright of you, to give me a reason to doubt you this late into the game Keener."

"I'm not about to see you turn on our own sir! Not when it's the humans, who are our real enemies!"

Keener then tried to pull the arrows away from him but then had a knife held to his throat.

"Are you stupid? When have I ever stopped fighting the humans? You're right, they are our enemy, but you would be a fool if you were to assume that danger wouldn't also come from the inside. Do you think our late king would fall so easily to the likes of them? You would do good to remember that the humans never had a prayer against him so his enemy was never the humans. He was in a position of power and thus gave him access to knowledge those on the inside knew that he had and feared what he would do with it. This network was not built for a war against the humans but for another enemy altogether. Do you understand soldier?"

"Yes sir. I can see I made a mistake. What sort of reprimands would you want from me to show my remorse?"

"Help me deal out justice. There's a job left unfinished. Not everyone has been wronged like I have. Not everyone can say that their most trusted comrade was taken from them without warning and without a just reason for doing so. I've never been fond of men with a personal score to settle, but now that I find myself in their shoes, in the same position, I understand. Don't you have any family back home, or someone you love?"

"No sir. Would it be rude of me to ask the same?"

"I never had any need for love, not the romantic kind at least. I had my king to thank for that, but now he's gone and so is my tenderness with it. I won't let his life go unavenged, and I won't let what he's built up to this point fall, not now or ever. I have a long way to go to make it so that all the right pieces are in place to continue what King Cliff started, and the first step towards that is to eliminate those that would oppose him, his ideals, and his legacy."

"I see, so this isn't just about revenge is it?"

"It was supposed to be, but with your questioning my intentions, I suppose you've forced me to turn it into something more noble than I intended it to be. Well done Keener. I suppose I will keep you around for a bit longer."

"Were you planning on getting rid of me?"

"Heh."

Yosef gave Keener a knowing smile that said everything Keener needed to know. Keener asked no more questions after that. Yosef packed the bags onto horses, gave his gratitude to Benerin then set off with Keener to their next destination where a truth would be revealed that would lead Yosef to the person he was looking for and who he would swiftly kill and eliminate all loose threads connected to that person.