Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » the vampire corpse (1x1 with the_strigoi)

The town was least busy at night, and Neil knew it. Ever since he died, he found himself needing less sleep so he usually explored at night or played his guitar. But tonight was different. For some reason he found himself sitting on the roof of an inn, almost as if he was subconsciously waiting for someone.maybe he had told someone he'd meet them tonight and he'd just forgotten. But whatever the reason he sat there on top of the inn, waiting.

Carried aloft on the cool evening wind came the sound of hooves and the clatter of wagon wheels. A modest coach, tastefully decorated with ornaments that stopped just short of ostentatious, and a purple curtain skirting each side, bound carefully with small cords of red rope. The vehicle wasn't meant for many. It was rather small, personal, only drawn by a single horse, which was a dark black in color. Its tack and harness were likewise black, held together by bronze. The driver, sitting atop the front end, held the reigns with hands shrouded in cloth. Indeed, so thoroughly covered was the driver by his loose clothing and hood that not an inch of him could be seen, not even if one were to look at him from right beside the carriage.

While not overly-glamorous, the approaching carriage did appear that it was quite expensive, as it possessed glass windows, held into the door and side-panels with criss-crossing iron lattice-work, and while the interior was shielded from view by more purple satin, a golden light shone dimly from between the gaps.

As it trundled along the cobblestone street, the driver wordlessly beckoned for the animal to slow its pace, bringing it to a feather-soft stop directly in front of the inn on top of which the dead man sat. The driver lowered himself from his seat at the front of the carriage, and moved to open the door. Doing so revealed a red, cushioned interior. From within this ornamental box stepped a rather imposing figure, a young man, late twenties, tall, with a fierce face. Charcoal black hair fell to his shoulders, brushed straight. Stone gray eyes coolly reflected what light there was. His pale, porcelain-white skin nearly shone under the moonlight. He was dressed well, in hand-made clothing woven from premium fabrics that seemed to exude a sense of smoothness in the light thrown off by the inner space of the carriage behind him. His trousers were black, as were his boots. His torso was clad in a scholarly robe of sorts, purple in color, with black trim. His clothing was bound about his middle with a leather belt. All of it was topped off by his maroon traveling cape.

His appearance seethed subtly of power, wealth, knowledge, and something more ominous. He was someone with enough intelligence to gain the power that he had, and evidently felt he deserved to show it. With a soft tone of voice, this man thanked the driver, who then closed the carriage door and reclaimed his seat at the front of the vehicle before flicking the reigns and driving off, out of sight, the more ominous individual turning and moving forward toward the Inn's front door.

Neil silently moved forward to the edge of Tue roof so he could get a good look at the man that stepped out of the carriage. "Now what's a man of what looks the nobility doing stopping at an inn like this? Is he a tax collector?" Neil said to himself, instinctively pulling his hood down so normal people couldn't see the right side of his face, which was scarred and marked him as an undead.

This individual raised a slender hand, curled it to a fist, and rapped firmly upon the front door with his knuckles. He waited patiently until the door opened from within, casting a golden shaft of firelight across the ground and illuminating the colors of his clothing. Beyond the threshold of the door stood a beautiful young hostess. She beckoned him in, and he did so, offering his thanks an a rather charming smile. The door was closed behind him, his shadow and the light from within both snuffed out as it latched. The became quiet again.

"I better get back inside. Who knows who the heck that guy is and what he wants." Neil walked over to the small wooden trapdoor he had climbed through to get onto the roof in the first place and fell into the attic. Closing the trapdoor quietly, Neil opened the door to the attic and slowly went down the stairs and walked to a place on the stairs that lead to the downstairs of the inn where he could look downstairs but people downstairs wouldn't be able to see him unless they tried very hard to find him. Looming down, he could see the noble looking man with the beautiful hostess. "Is he really here for a room? Or is he here for something else? Better continue to watch over the situation."

The room downstairs was lively. The evenings were the busiest part of the day. Travelers would come in their search for a place to stay for the night. Laborers would come in to eat. In fact, such was the clamor of drinking, laughter, and conversation, that not a word exchanged between the man and the hostess could be heard, though both of them could be seen speaking by a large wooden counter, bathed in firelight radiating from the enormous fireplace built into one of the room's walls, and shrouded in a faint layer of murky gray smoke wafting from the kitchen.

The man smiled and said something inaudible, which coaxed a laugh from the attractive young woman, before she turned and disappeared through a darkened doorway, seemingly with the intent to fetch something he had asked for. Alone again, this man found a suitable seat in a dim corner of the room, nearly out of the dead man's sight.

Neil angrily hit his fist on the banister. "Well, I guess I've got no choice." Neil went downstairs and pulled up a seat in front of the man and began to make conversation. "Hello. You new in town too?"

He seemed taken slightly aback for a brief moment, but it was gone quickly, and his mood softened, a gentle smile working its way onto his face. Somehow, strangely he made the simple expression seem..ominous.

"Yes. You could say that. Before we continue, however, might I ask you your name?"

He placed his hands before himself on top of the table, meshing his fingers smoothly together.

"Neil. What's yours?" Neil returned the question. He had to learn as much about this man as possible if he was to discover what his plan was if he even had one.

The man sat wordlessly for a long moment, seemingly reading Neil's appearance. His eyes were..strange. They seemed to burn with an invisible power, even through the layer of smoky air between them. Finally, he spoke again.
"Mihai Korzha. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

At that moment, the hostess returned from the back room and, after scanning the room for him, waded through the tide of patrons to reach the two of them at their table. She placed a bottle of wine on the table, closest to Mihai, along with a glass. It was an old bottle, with a dusty, yellowed label. Mihai smiled thankfully at her, a gesture she returned before leaving to tend to other business. He turned his attention back to Neil.

"Would I be correct in the assumption that you wish something of me? Why else would you so abruptly appear and ply me with questions?"

"No, I guess I'm just curious. You seem to be a rather unique individual. Not to mention someone who rides up in a luxurious looking carriage dressed like a member of some form of nobility and settles down in a normal inn as opposed to one more suited to him is a bit odd, wouldn't you say? Then again I've seen people that look like you before. I have a guess as to what you are but I'm afraid it might offend you. May I make a guess?" Neil was obviously curious about who this man was and why he was here. He also felt no reason to hide the fact that he was on the roof when the man arrived.

The bottle of wine had been courteously uncorked by the hostess before she'd delivered it. Mihai chuckled as he picked up the bottle, and tipped an amount of vermillion liquid into his glass. "Curiosity is well enough, but can lead to trouble. For example, your observations seem so far to be strictly about my personal wealth. Such observations are commonly made by people in lines of work most would consider..dishonest. You might do well to consider that, the next time you avail yourself of another bystander."

Mihai replaced the bottle, gently grasped the stem of the wine glass, and brought it to his face, swirling the red liquid beneath his nose to sample the bouquet as if it were a delicate flower.

"I apologize. I did not mean to scold you. Please, proceed."

"Well, its been a while since I've seen one but I'm quite sure that you're a unique part of the vampire race. Am I wrong?" Neil looked at him, seriousness in his eyes and part of the scar on his face showing.

Mihai took another pause to take a slow, deliberate taste of his beverage, setting the glass gently back down on top of the table once done. He put his elbows up in front of him, meshing his hands together by interlacing his fingers. He rested his chin upon this perch.

"Once again, your observations are astute. What I am presently questioning is what these observations have to do with absolutely anything. Am I supposed to be impressed?"

He seemed mildly smug in his tone. The hostess happened to pass by their little corner of the room once again. He beckoned her over, asking to bring another glass for his 'guest'.

"I don't expect you to be. If you are you are. If not then it doesn't matter. I just wanted to see if I was right in saying that another technical dead man walked these streets besides me. That and I would like to know where you're headed, and if I may accompany you." Neil leaned back in his chair but didn't take his eyes off of this man. He didn't really sense anything evil from him. But considering the circumstances he felt he needed to keep an eye on him.

A clean crystal glass was placed on the table in front of Neil. Mihai smiled at the hostess and sent her on her way. He picked up the bottle and poured an amount of wine into Neil's glass.

"And what, exactly, would I gain from allowing a complete stranger to follow me around for a reason they appear so far reluctant to explain..? You must understand, from my perspective, you come across as rather crass."

"The world is a dangerous place. Never know what you're going to run into." Neil began to explain. "And I've always believed there's strength in numbers." Neil took the glass and began to drink a little bit. Technically he was too young but he felt that he had no one to tell him he couldn't so he drank.

Mihai scoffed quietly,leaning his head against a raised hand.
"If that is truly why you wish to accompany me, then your presence would be even less welcome. If I couldn't look after myself, would I be dressed in finery such as this? I may look like a snobbish, out-of-touch noble, but any money that's mine is mine because I earned it, not received it through inheritance. And I wouldn't be able to do that if I wasn't a very intelligent person."

There was a long pause, in which Mihai's gaze almost seemed to burn into Neil with their scrutiny.

"...So... Why don't you simply come out with it and give me the real reason you wish to enjoy the company of an exceedingly dangerous stranger..? Someone after you, maybe? Questing for some sort of MacGuffin, perhaps?"

Neil leaned back in his chair. "No... I guess I'm just bored. Traveling alone is such a drag if you do it forever. And that's not how I want to spend an undead eternity. Having someone to talk to or just he around would he nice."

Mihai lifted his glass to take another sip of wine before speaking again.

"We all have desires. Yours isn't unreasonable. Unfortunately, my company isn't free. What have you to offer that would make your company worth my time..?"