“So often as kids we’re told of the hags who lay curses that enchant and ensorcel the weak and vulnerable, only to feast on them later. We’re taught of the cruel vjesci, the vengeful dybbuk, and even the lindwyrms of the depths below, each and every one of them waiting to curse us and devour our souls. The faerie tales always tell of the monsters that spread curses like plague; it’s little wonder we so-often forget that the most common curse of all stems from a caster with a little too much knowledge and far too much spite.”
-Steliana Văduva, wise-woman and baroness of Mlaştinia
She couldn’t stop bouncing her leg. Valentina had, for the last week, gone from anticipating this to be a day-long mission at most to gradually realizing that things would be far more complicated than she cared to admit. Esmé had mentioned it briefly in passing, but the vampiress had assumed the Grand Dowager Empress to be overstating the opposition’s abilities; unfortunately, it was the opposite if anything. The smugglers they’d been trying to hunt all week weren’t only skilled but were also alarmingly well-informed and had demonstrated a remarkable ability to act on that information.
Esmé’s looking glass struggled to scry them, the image becoming distorted and fogged over wide areas, while Valentina’s own blood leeches constantly found themselves being misled and drawn to false paths and red-herrings; it was enough to pull her hair out as is, and yet each and every hour they wasted had a nagging thought continue to grow at the back of the archduchess’ mind: would Dahlia, that precious, lovable, nervous-wreck of a girl still be waiting for her by the time she returned? Her mind insisted that she would be fine, that the girl had lived over two decades without her and she could live a week longer without worry, but something in her gut made her uneasy. She remembered the girl’s fear, her hesitance to be left alone and the faint scent of anxiety that clung to her like a haunting miasma. Valentina didn’t care what her mind said, she wanted to return to the girl’s side days ago. At least now she would soon get to make that a reality.
Yes, it had taken days of searching through the woods, wetlands, meadows, and swamps of the southern Haugen March, and the vampiress had arrived on the opposite end slathered in mud, sweat, and blood. Finally though, the search had come to a close, though not without complications of its own.
“Hou the fuck did no a single ane know whit they were smugglin? Hou were they sae well organizit yet ilka know fuck aw?!”
The vampiress sighed, though she understood Esmé’s pain. Still, the maenad’s bitching was growing more grating by the minute and Valentina was moments away from snapping.
“I don’t know, Esmé. Fucking hell, I didn’t know a hundred times before and I sure as hell don’t know now. Go ask a snail about it; see if it knows something.”
“Yeah, well fuck ye tae. The lil pricks niver tell me anythin… You’re takin this ower casually thouch Val, shit’s fuckit.”
Again the vampiress felt her eye twitch, “I know! You think I don’t know that? Mercenaries and smugglers don’t just slip through the cracks. They must’ve at least passed through the foothills of Dinții Diavolului and there’s no way ordinary smugglers make it through the passages there and still be this organized on the opposite side. They’re clearly getting help somehow.”
The Dowager Empress actually paused a moment to consider the point, calming somewhat as she did. “Ye thinkin it wis aidit by the Vasilievs?”
“What? No. Fuck no. Aeneas is a prick but if he wanted something done, he’d send out his devils for it. This isn’t how he’d operate; the man’s got too much self respect. Now, one of his higher nobility, I could maybe see it, but the north of his grand duchy has too many positive ties to the northern front. I could be overlooking or underestimating something, but
I just don’t see it.”
“But ye still think they got help beyond juist bein hirit,” Esmé prodded, though it was hardly a question.
The Archduchess nodded, “I’m nearly certain. The smugglers had cargo, and not just some light-weight illicit substances. And if that one guy is to be believed, a previous group slipped through the cracks with eggs and crates of animals; there’s just no way they managed that with their cargo intact and without us catching them.”
Esmé went silent then, clearly lost in her own thoughts and it let Valentina return to hers. The revelation that multiple smuggling operations had already occurred without being caught was perhaps even more frustrating than the current batch of smugglers managing to remain on the run for as long as they had. According to one —Herbert, if the man was to be believed— this particular smuggling job was both exclusive and limited. Few were offered the privilege to do the job and, once complete, those previously employed were paid handsomely, sworn to secrecy, and never hired for the same job again. The whole thing reeked of something larger and the Archduchess was fairly certain that the previous smugglers she and Esmé had caught were distractions for the actual operations like this one. The scale of it all was absurd.
Insight from the goods they were smuggling hardly helped either. Tightly packed bags of herbs, minerals, and alchemical reagents, all in bulk and with no recipe or obvious ratios to follow. Additionally, other than a few choice ingredients of a more exotic or magical nature, the entire batch of goods was almost… standard. Prohibitively expensive in the quantities being delivered, and unique enough to clearly be for some kind of purpose but… still, Valentina couldn’t even begin to guess. And that aimlessness only led her back to her thoughts from earlier.
Her leg started bouncing again.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake Val, stop wi the fidgettin!” Esmé practically screamed it, her own prickliness becoming more apparent grain-by-grain. “I can’t fuckin focus oot here! Leuk, gin we’ve lost aw o our current leads i the field then I say we call it quits. I droppit everyone we capturit back at the capital, sae I can return an try tae wrin some more information oot o thaim wi a bit more time. As for the ingredients…”
Valentina sighed but nodded: “I’ll have Avery send a list and samples over to Starukov; we can hope she notices or discovers something. Otherwise, all I can do is keep my eyes peeled on the rest of the Grand Duchy. If they’ve already succeeded in smuggling other items in then there ought to be signs of it. Hunting it down will take time though, so…”
Another sigh, this time shared by both women at the same time.
“For now we wait?”
“Yeah, for now we wait.”
The maenad nodded and began stretching, limbering up for no reason whatsoever. The way Valentina understood it, Esmé hadn’t even flexed a fraction of her power in years; the small jaunts they did to teleport should have registered as about as much effort as snapping kindling. The old-hag always did have a more performative side though. After a few more stretches, those marbled eyes finally shifted, flickering to focus on her and the vampiress could almost swear that the weight of her gaze was a near-physical thing.
“Well Val? Want me tae juist send ye tae Viaţăvár’s gates?”
She almost said yes. In the back of her mind, she knew she should have been back to the castle days ago, handling the ever-growing pile of paperwork and bureaucracy that her own assistants couldn’t do on their own. The bureaucracy kept growing like a hydra, never ending and only returning twice as horrid after each minor victory, and Valentina knew she needed to return to it. The fact that she publicly assaulted a duke and his son was destined to have consequences too, only adding to the pile of work in need of her care. Every single logical part of her told her to return, have a bath, and then get to work.
Valentina was never one to fully listen to pure logic however, and there was something else that had been screaming at the back of her mind for days. Oh, it was far more irrational, and yet the vampiress found that it had an indelible effect on her psyche all the same: she promised to return for Dahlia and, by the gods, she would stand by her word.
“Actually… Hey Esmé, have you ever visited the Liontáriou’s barony?”
~~~~~
It was late when the Archduchess stepped out from the fissure Esmé formed, and Valentina found herself appreciative of that fact. Though the sky was still brighter than where she had been mere moments earlier, the town she found herself in was draped in the gentle hues of twilight, with most roads empty and feeling oddly liminal. It was only the occasional open window or lone commoner wandering about that witnessed the spectacle of magic, as well as her absolutely dishevelled appearance, though the vampiress was certain that rumours of ‘the mystery woman’ would spread in the days that followed. Glancing about, she tried to get her bearings of the place, though admittedly found herself at a loss.
The Liontáriou’s were, beyond a contracted bloodline of the burning lion, a family made wealthy from their possession of a light-quartz mine; something made evident in the glowing crystal lampposts lining the streets. Unfortunately, those posts were the only thing that suggested that the barony possessed any wealth and, even there, their suffering finances showed. What was once a quarry-town now found itself surrounded by struggling crops and a horrifically positioned tannery. Roads that might have once been bustling were reduced to pot-hole-ridden dirt paths, and crystals in lamps that once glowed with a pure radiant light now flickered, dim and ill-maintained in the generations since their first installation. The whole place felt one step from death’s door, and Valentina found herself genuinely impressed with the families that had remained and toughed it out rather than jumping ship as conditions grew worse.
She was, however, not visiting the township for sight-seeing. It didn’t take long until she found her way to the largest buildings of the place, both were old though one more-so than the other, however neither was what the Archduchess had hoped for. Two churches, of Piruqsiiji and Venustaluna both and, while the god of cultivation wasn’t much of a surprise, the Archduchess couldn’t stop from wrinkling her nose at the church of magic. Venustaluna was fine themselves but their clergy… suffice it to say that it rankled to see their influence even in this relative backwater. As an added issue, the vampiress hadn’t a clue where else to look for the barony’s manor and, although releasing her blood-leeches was an option, she’d rather not do so amidst a town of civilians and cause a panic. The sanguine constructs were not for the faint of heart and —without her direct supervision— somewhat excitable besides. No, barring more desperate matters, other less convenient avenues would need to be used. The woman sighed and accepted her fate.
“I know you’ve been following me. I was originally hoping you’d just leave after a grain passed but, if you’re going to linger regardless, I may as well make use of you. Come on out, would you?”
A moment passed, then another, and Valentina was beginning to think her little follower would never budge but then… a shuffle, a hesitant step, and finally a young woman cautiously poked her head around the nearby cobbled wall.
“Come on now, the sun’s set and I’d prefer to hurry before the chill sets in. I’m not going to bite; I’m hardly in the mood for it.”
For some reason, that failed to receive the release of tension she wanted, but still the commoner spoke up.
“Uhm, I’m sorry ma’am, but we don’t have a tavern or nothing if that’s what you’re looking for?”
The Archduchess felt herself relax the moment she realised the woman didn’t recognise her. Commoners were poorly educated, true, and were especially uninvolved with nobility and politics, but Valentina knew enough about her own reputation to fear what would happen if the young woman made the connection. Not letting her concerns show however, she softened her face into a smile, being careful not to let her canines be too evident.
“Thanks love, I appreciate your help but that’s not what I’m looking for. You see I’m… well, just consider me something of a messenger for the Baron but I’ve never been here before. Could you point me to where I need to go?”
The lady’s eyes went wide at that and a small part of the vampiress delighted in her slight flush, but Valentina set that part of her aside; there was no room for it at the moment and, if the woman’s nervous and shifting reaction was anything to go by, there was more wrong than the town’s poor economy.
“Oh, ma’am, uh— My Lady? I’m sorry, I never was taught much about nobles and such, but I’d avoid the manor if you can. There’s no sense in getting wrapped up in all the dark magic going about.”
If before Valentina was interested, now she was fully alert: “Dark magic?”
“Aye, at least that’s how I’ve heard it. Ever since the Baron’s family came back from the city, a curse has fallen on anyone who approaches. I only know most of the workers there in passing but, one of them —Elena’s her name, she works in the kitchen— she’s my friend see, and she’s been deathly ill. Just kept getting worse day after day, and she’s not the only one. Last I heard, everyone in the manor has taken ill but the Baron himself. Maids are bed ridden and I heard a bunch of the guards were coughing blood and bleeding from all sorts of awful places. The place just isn’t safe. It’s not right!”
“And this… curse, it’s affected everyone but the Baron?”
The woman nodded rapidly, clearly a mix of terrified and enthralled by the idea. “Yes, exactly! All the people working there fell ill and even the lady of the house and her daughter have been locked away in a room. I’ve only heard rumours myself but Elena says she thinks it’s the daughter’s fault. Apparently she caused a scene at her debut: angered the Duke and such. All the guards agreed it happened and said the curse started soon after. I’d bet rubies to piglets that the Baron was spared because he’s the only one who didn’t go against the Duke.”
Valentina listened closely to the woman, though found herself growing distracted as time went on. Regardless of the friend she might have, it was growing increasingly clear that she didn’t actually know anything, and there was no telling what the truth of the matter really was. That lack of clarity didn’t do anything to dispel the Archduchess’ concerns though.
“I appreciate your advice and warning but, unfortunately, I’ll still have to take the risk. Would you still give me directions to the manor? Perhaps I can help with this curse and, if not, I’ll bring message of it to someone who could. How does that sound?”
Again the lady looked delighted and perhaps a tad too elated to be receiving the vampiress’ attention, but hearing that the curse might be lifted only made her more eager to help. In less than half a grain, Valentina found herself quickly leaving the town behind as she rushed to the Liontáriou estate.
The Baron’s home was well removed from the town he governed and, were she someone less capable, Valentina was certain it would have taken hours of wandering the dirt road in the dark until finding the place. Luckily for her, she was practically made for hunts in the dark and didn’t slow her pace for a moment. Only a knuckle passed before she arrived, greeted by a large gate and even larger garden. It was there, in the distance, that the manor loomed like a sleeping beast. Valentina’s eyes skimmed the place, searching for the anticipated guards on the grounds or the occasional movement of a servant passing by a window, yet there was nothing. Crystal lamps remained active, but did little other than highlight the vacancy of guards at their post, meanwhile the interior of the manor was hardly lit at all barring the intermittent flicker of what looked like an oil lamp or candle in the occasional window. It was, altogether, unusually inactive, even after considering the reduced staffing expected of a house with poor finances. At first, the vampiress even thought that the Estate itself was largely empty but, as she strained her senses, quickly found herself mistaken.
Moans, whimpers, and all the sounds one would come to expect of an infirmary rather than a home echoed out from the building. The voices were soft —nothing so overt as screams into the night— but it was all Valentina’s bloodline needed to begin the hunt: all that remained was a bit of time and a moment's focus. A wick passed and she could make out the sound of wheezing breathing from half a dozen rooms. Another wick followed and the vampiress heard whispered prayers, and muffled cries.
Scent told a worse story.
The manor was rancid, practically radiating the scent of blood, infection, and fever. It spanned the whole building, concentrated in some rooms certainly, but it had been long enough now that the scent permeated the building like a miasma. Standing apart in its extreme though, all her senses drew her attention to one wing of the building in particular, far worse than anywhere else in the manor, and the vampiress felt the sinking feeling in her chest only grow.
Without wasting any more time, Valentina once again let her blood leeches crawl out through a set of cuts, writhing out from beneath her skin and plopping on the ground, slick as if freshly born. The pseudo-creatures were bound to her magic, requiring no verbal commands, and within moments over a dozen of the things quietly slithered toward the manor, chasing down scents from up close rather than the vague impression Valentina had at the gate. Splitting them up to locate Dahlia was smarter than the Archduchess just running about aimlessly —she knew that— but even still she found herself growing impatient. It was largely due to that impatience that she even remembered to look for signs of a curse and, more to help distract herself than anything else, channeled mana to her eyes and looked at the ambient mana surrounding her.
Quite frankly, she had anticipated nothing remarkable and yet what she saw…
There was no curse, of that at least she was certain. Valentina was all too familiar with curses to not recognize the marks they left behind, and yet what she saw instead implied something else entirely. The whole estate was flooded in magic, with mana swirling in massive clouds and shimmering streams, and nowhere was it more dense than the manor itself. Slowly a picture was beginning to form and, in that clarity, the Archduchess found her concern only mounting further. Mana sight lacked any clarity on what kind of magic was being cast, but seeing how streams of mana passed from room to room, interlacing each location of a whimpering servant or coughing guard together in a massive web, it was clear there was intent behind it all.
It was as one of her leeches returned, crawling up her leg to deliver scents and gesture to where it found them that the Archduchess found herself growing all the more weary. All the scents from before were present and amplified to a nauseating degree. Festering wounds and medicinal balms mixed together into a horrific cocktail only made worse by the presence of the one scent she had longed for throughout the last week. Whatever had happened, Dahlia was at the centre of those smells and, as the vampiress looked to where her blood leech pointed, she suddenly found herself only growing more nervous. Because there, in a side room on the eastern wing, where scents grew strongest, the mana that flowed through the manor gathered and writhed like a boiling lake.
Seeing that, Valentina immediately began approaching though she hadn’t a clue what she was getting herself into or how Dahlia was involved in it all. She could only pray that, whatever was happening, she wasn’t already too late.