Inside Man

A Chapter by Eddie Davis

After his escape from the clutches of the Necromancer's Guild, Sir Alvis tells King Haroldris and his companions about the plans that the Guild has for Northmarch

51.

Inside Man

An hour later, Aurei had the Ducal Guard’s breakfast finished, and she hurried the food over to them, while Zeatt and Rori (who had reported to Aurei as she had been ordered to do) followed with food for the Royal couple and Sir Alvis.

They were all assembled in the drawing room of the Master bedroom, when Aurei finally joined them, out of breath from her frenzied early morning.

“Why are we meeting in here instead of the Great Hall?” She asked as she squeezed into the room.

“Safety, Duchess; I don’t suspect any spies would expect a meeting to be held here.” Sir Alvis replied.

“They wouldn’t be able to fit in here if they were spying on us.” She commented, weaving through the crowd.

Present were Thorm, Lute, Siris, Vinth, King Haroldris, and Eioldth, Pectros, Neal, Zeatt, Rori, Sir Alvis and Eleazar.

They were seated everywhere, on stools, chairs from other rooms and divans. Across the room, Eleazar sat at the head of a Méridienne next to Neal. She purposely crossed the room, her eyes glowing slightly red as she came to stop in front of the two men with her arms on her hips.

“Move.” She said, with a hint of annoyance. Neal jumped to his feet and moved quickly to another chair. Eleazar also began moving.

“Not you!” She pushed him back down on the Méridienne and plopped down next to him, reclining back against his chest.

He quickly leaned in and said softly, “Uh, Aurei, I don’t know if we-“

“Shut up, and give me your hand.” She whispered and he knew it was wise to obey. Taking his hand she rested it on her stomach and entwined her arm in his as she surveyed the reactions in the room with a challenging look.

“Well, I’ll be an ugly goblin!” Thorm exclaimed, grinning at them, but Siris, seated with Lute close by, swatted him on the head and gave him a non-verbal rebuke. The reactions were a mixture of surprise and amusement, but all seemed pleased at her not-so subtle silent announcement of her relationship with Eleazar. For his part, Eleazar blushed at everyone’s glance, but still put his other arm around her waist, thrilled with her nearness.

“Okay”, Alvis said, ending Eleazar’s awkwardness by turning everyone’s eyes upon him, “Are we all here?”

“Except Aeric and Alis.” Aurei replied.

“We can fill them in later. Time, I fear, is not on our side. I’ll get straight to the point. A short time ago, Neal asked me why we weren’t having this meeting at the church, where we knew we wouldn’t have any Vampire spying on us. The answer to that question is because I would find the church very uncomfortable.”

“Why?” Siris asked, “Is it because you were nearly a Death Knight?”

“No”, Alvis said somberly, “It’s because I am a Vampire.”

Everyone in the room’s mouth fell open, except for the royal couple and Zeatt.

“Vampire?!” Thorm exclaimed.

“Yes, or more accurately, a Vampire Minion.”

“What in blazes is that?” The Dwarf asked.

“I’ll explain that in a minute. For now please know that I am NOT undead. I am as alive as all of you and I have no desire to drink blood. I was made like this, as are all those turned into Death Knights, in order to control me, to assist in turning me into a Death Knight.”

“A Death Knight did that to you?” Aurei asked, greatly concerned.

“No, one of Soric Potollis’ Vampire Lords did the job. There are 12 of them, four serving each of Soric’s Lich Lieutenants.”

“Perhaps you should give them more information on how you came to know this.” Zeatt suggested, having obviously already heard the tale.

Sir Alvis nodded, leaning against a table.

“When I was taken by Thantes to the Necromancer’s Guild’s hidden complex near Aeropolis-“

“Thantus!” Aurei interrupted, “The Death Knight?”

“No, no, not Thantus, but Thantes, with an ‘es’. The guild favors names that are variations of words for death. Thantes was one of the lesser wizards of Abbadox, the Death Knight. When he took me from Abbadox as a gift to Soric, I was brought to a Senatorial manor about 50 miles outside of Aeropolis. It did not have even the slightest hint that it was a stronghold for the Necromancer’s Guild. It was light and beautiful, with wonderful fountains and gardens. Hundreds of servants worked all around in the vineyard picking grapes. It was the last place you would expect to find as the hidden headquarters of the Necromancer’s Guild.”

“But it was?” Thorm asked.

“Oh yes, it was indeed. The Senator was Karlos Sanyala and he-“

“What?!” Rori interrupted, “Who did you say the Senator was?!”

“Karlos Sanyala; he was - and is, I imagine- a high ranking member of the Necromancer’s Guild.”

“That’s my father’s name!” She stammered, “But he can’t be a member of the Guild… I would have known!”

For a few minutes, Alvis spoke with the young Sorceress, comparing a description of the man he knew to be Karlos to her memory of her father. The girl was horrified to realize it was him. “He went to church! When I was in the Guild, I never heard from him or saw him! Surely he would have known I was there! I used my own name! Why didn’t he try to… to get me out of it?” She began crying; the pedestal she’d put her father on, now having shattered. Zeatt comforted her while Alvis spoke privately to her for a few moments, giving Aurei a chance to talk to Eleazar.

“How’d it go with the King and Sir Alvis?” She whispered.

“Amazingly well. I confessed everything and told them I needed to step down from my position and they wouldn’t allow me.”

“You told them EVERYTHING?”

“No, not detailed information and nothing embarrassing to you. I just said you were struggling with a problem. But the Queen was there too and apparently she and your Aunt saw us asleep in your room.”

“Yes, I know; Aunt Zeatt and I had an argument about that.”

“Oh no.”

“It turned out okay. She told me more about Ssinssrigg-Chath and how bad it really gets. She said that none of my Mother’s family ever went through it, but some Drow women went almost crazy when they experienced it. She told me a rather wild story too. Laz, it can last a year or longer. That scares me.”

“Scares you? It scares me even more!”

She hit him lightly, giving him a smirk at his humor, just as Sir Alvis continued his discussion.

“I am very sorry to hear about Rori’s father. How horrible that must be, but that is what the Necromancer’s Guild does; it tears up families and communities. Getting back to my tale; I found that they were very concerned about hiding their location. Secrecy was of the utmost importance when it came to their base of operations. They brought me there, though, assuming that I was lost to ‘the world of the living.’”

“This senatorial estate is only a temporary base for them. I learned that they have finished setting up a permanent base of operations in the Nofesylvis Mountains.”

“Where is that, Sir?” Neal asked.

“Nofesylvia is the name of the region; with the Nofesylvis range of mountains the key geographic feature. The region is to the northeast of Aeropolis, across the Mare Arctia Sea. It would be due east of Northmarch, probably 1000 miles on the eastern shore of the sea. It is a mountainous, rugged area and the Guild has control of a large valley with a castle overlooking it. All the residents of this valley live in terror of the Guild. The area is outside of the realm of the Southern Empire and is totally ruled by the Necromancer’s Guild. It is heavily protected with undead, Wyverns and, I am told several large Dragons that are pets of Soric.”

“Lovely place.” Aurei murmured.

“The Guild has been shifting their base to this region, but they still have feelers all over the world. With the Southern Empire now under their control, they will fear very little.”

“So what are their plans?” Eleazar asked.

“Not what we were led to believe. For many years they have made the nations think that an undead army was being formed to invade various regions. They do indeed have many undead troops, but their plan of conquest is much more complex then a land invasion. This is a ruse they’ve maintained for years. It is designed to make them seem shadowy and powerful. It also forces each government to focus time and resources on a military type of defense against a perceived invasion force. To help drive this fear, they try purposeless raids on various places, such as Westmark experienced last summer and fall. Another fear tactic is to plant a few low level Necromancers in a population to reanimate small numbers of dead. This creates the illusion that they are creating their armies at the various places where they plan to invade. But this too is simply a ruse to generate fear and keep terrified people unaware of their real plans.”

“What they are now in the process of doing is a silent invasion of the Southern Kingdom and the client states. You have to understand the Hierarchy of the Necromancer’s Guild. Soric Potollis is the leader of the Guild and he is indeed the same Soric as the man who ordered Yesh to be killed. In form he looks almost as if he was alive, but he is an Archlich. I fear some demonic force has possessed him, for his power is very great and he radiates evil stronger than I have ever felt before. I am certain that we would not be strong enough to destroy him, though perhaps we could neutralize the evil that possesses him.”

“Did you speak to him?” Pectros asked.

“He spoke to me, while I was being transformed into a Minion. His voice is almost hypnotic. I don’t remember the exact words he spoke to me, but they were effective, as I gave up hope of salvation upon hearing him."

"Soric has 12 Death Knights that serve as sort of generals and thugs for him. One of the twelve was killed by Aurei with the Light of Yesh. This event did not go unnoticed by the Guild, Duchess, and you are one marked for death by them.”

“Terrific; wait until they hear about ol’ Thantus.”

“I’m sure they will know about that very soon. There is another Death Knight that was destroyed last month by the Swordmasters of the Prince of Laayam, so there are, today, 9 remaining. Soric has three lieutenants, all of them Liches. Four Vampire Lords serve each of the Lich lieutenants, for a total of 12 of them. Aurei’s use of the Light of Yesh, unknowingly, killed one of them at the same time the Death Knight was destroyed. Another Vampire Lord was killed, I learned, during the civil war in Aeropolis, by St. Kinnis himself. I’ll tell you more about these Vampire Lords in a moment, but there are 10 remaining.”

“Each Vampire Lord has 3 ‘lesser’ Vampire lieutenants. Then there are the Vampire Minions. There are 240 of the greater Vampire Minions and 480 lesser Vampire Minions serving each Lich lieutenant of Soric, and an unknown number of Ghouls, Ghasts, Zombies, Wrights, Wights, Spectres and ghosts.”

“So there are over 2100 Vampire Minions?” Aurei asked, alarmed.

“Yes, though I’m sure the number varies.”

“And you are one of these Minions?” Siris verified.

“Yes; I am one of the lesser Minions. Allow me now to explain about the Greater Vampires and their use by The Guild.”

Sir Alvis took a deep breath and continued.

“The Vampire Lords are the Greater Vampires. They are more powerful than the ‘regular’ or ‘lesser’ Vampires. The main difference between them and the lesser sort is that they have the ability to make Minions of those they bite, but do not kill. If they do kill them with their bite, the victim becomes a ‘regular’ vampire after he or she dies. But a Minion is a person bitten by a Vampire Lord, but not killed by them. The lesser Minions, such as me, often times do not realize they are even Minions. They have an aversion to sunlight, but can go out in it. They feel as if they have the flu when they do so, sweat and are very weak, but that is all. They eat normally; they don’t sleep in coffins or anything like that. Holy symbols can be worn by them, though holy water will burn them slightly and going into a sanctified place such as a church will affect them the same way that direct sunlight does. Lesser Vampire Minions can be killed by normal means, too. In fact, there is very little difference between a Minion and a normal person. Except that whenever a Vampire Lord telepathically calls them, they immediately do his bidding. They will be able to tell others around them that they hear a voice in their head calling them to do something, but they cannot resist.”

“What about the greater Minions?” Siris asked.

“They are Minions bitten twice -but not killed- by a Vampire Lord. They still live, but they crave blood, though they don’t have to have it to live. They are in pain in direct sunlight or in a sanctified place and cannot function in either place, though they do not die from exposure to them. They have fangs like a Vampire and must avoid garlic, mirrors and holy symbols. They are very weak in daylight hours, though they don’t have to sleep during this time. Usually they do, however. At night they are slightly stronger than an average human, though they cannot change form. They too can be killed by normal means. When a Minion is killed, if the body isn’t decapitated following death, they will rise as lesser Vampires, still under the Vampire Lord’s control.”

"So these Minions are part of the Necromancer’s Guild’s plan to infiltrate the whole world?” Aurei inquired.

“Yes. Their real plan is to send Vampire Lords out around the world, usually mixed in with small, seemingly pointless attacks by the Guild. The Lords can change their shape to a bat, wolf, fog-like mist, rat, or any humanoid shape from a Pixie to an Ogre. They will usually take an animal form, bite a person and then escape. The bite will heal after a few days with no other effect. Or so it seems. In truth, a Minion is a different creature. They are like Vampires in that they are immune to sickness and disease and do not age. Vampire Lords will plant seeds in various places by creating small handfuls of Minions; most don’t even know they are Minions. Then, when the Guild wants to control that specific area, they simply call their Minions and they must respond to their master’s call.”

“Most Minions are like me; lesser Minions - as we seem normal and can better infiltrate society. Vampire Lords usually try to make Lesser Minions of only the more important people in an area who control things. You see how effective it would be, if, say, a town the size of Westmark had, for example, four or five Minions who did not know they were Minions, living here and serving as leaders in the community. When the time came, the Vampire Lord would call them and would soon gain control of that area. Greater Minions know what they are and cannot resist their master, even when he doesn’t call them. They are the guardians of their Lord’s coffins during daylight hours. They have duties like that.”

“So you can be controlled by your Vampire Lord?” Eleazar asked, concerned.

“Yes, that is why I wanted to have this meeting immediately. It is believed that when their specific Vampire Lord is killed, his Minions cannot be ordered by another Lord. They are free of the control of other Vampires. My Lord is Varnlov Impattius and if he was destroyed, his control over me would be broken. When he finds out about the destruction of Thantus, he will no doubt try to summon me.”

“Why did they let you in on all their plans?” Aurei wondered.

“Arrogance on their part; they knew I’d submit to the will of Thantus and become one of the Death Knights.”

“Do you think they are trying to create Minions here?”

“Most definitely; in fact I recalled a conversation that Thantus had with some of the lesser Vampires that served the Vampire Lord who was coming here. This Lord’s focus was to be ‘the Elves’ in Westmark. That meant you, Duchess, Sir Eleazar, Matron Zeatt, Queen Eioldth while she and the King are still here, and probably Aeric and Alis.”

“Oh!” Lute suddenly bellowed and stood up, looking alarmed, “I just thought of something!”

“What?” Alvis asked.

“Aeric was bitten by a rat during the battle with the Snow Golems, and later that same day, Alis had a weird encounter. She saw a baby in the snow and went over to it, picked it up, and it bit her. It seemed to change form into a large hairless rat and ran away. We thought it might have been a Wererat.”

Alvis shook his head, “No, I’d say both were the same Vampire Lord.”

“I had a bat try to bite me, too, but it failed.” Zeatt added.

“Thank Heavens for that. There are no cures for the Minion status, I fear, though death of the Vampire Lord will end the slave status of the Minion.”

“Aeric and Alis aren’t here now; could the Vampire Lord have summoned them?” Aurei asked Alvis.

“Perhaps; Vampire Lords have to return to their coffins each day, as do the three ‘regular’ Vampire lieutenants that travel with them. I imagine the vampire that the Queen and Matron Zeatt encountered last night was one of these lieutenants. That means that the Vampire Lord has set up his coffin somewhere nearby.”

“How near?” Eleazar pressed.

“They can be some miles off, but never further than a couple of hours walk, so they can retreat to it if they are made to turn gaseous.”

“So somewhere in town he has hidden his coffin?” Aurei shivered at the thought.

“Yes, though with the number of Paladins here, I’d suspect he’d favor somewhere a distance from town. Are there any old cemeteries here?”

“Not here in town, no.” Aurei answered, “They were all dug up and any bodies not decayed were burnt, about 30 years ago, when the Guild started spreading across the world.”

“So where would be the nearest cemetery?”

Aurei looked over at Pectros and Neal, and the three of them thought for a moment.

“You know, Duttontun had a cemetery that was never dug up, because it was so old, the bodies would long ago have rotted, so they figured the Necromancer’s Guild wouldn’t be able to reanimate anything there.”

“No, they probably couldn’t, but are there any crypts or family mausoleums there?”

“Several large ones, but they are empty.” Pectros replied, “We checked them out right after our problems in Thurgood.”

“I’ll bet they are being used now, by the Vampire Lord and his lieutenants. I suspect he probably already knows about me, and called Aeric and Alis to him, as well as any other townsperson whom he bit yesterday. He’ll use them as guards.”

“Will they be bitten again or killed to make them full-fledged vampires?”

“I don’t know, Duchess, but I’d say the longer they are there, the more danger they’ll be in.”

“They could just still be out on patrol.” Neal countered.

“Possibly, but I’d recommend we pay a visit to the Duttontun cemetery during the daylight hours and see for ourselves.”

“It would take the rest of the day to get there on horseback in this snow.” Pectros proclaimed.

“But we have an airship.” Queen Eioldth stated and immediately they began formulating a plan.

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