Albrecht von Wulfhard, "Főnixkarom"

[RedDrake]

/Ger/ - A bit yes, but more comical.

*In my eyes he is still an angry child.*

/Lat/ - Yes I am and...

*And my armor has been found. *

/Lat/ - Something like that. Are you able to fix it master smith?

*That is the decisive question.*

/Lat/ - It was forged from the finest materials.
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"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

-/Ger/ Isn't he though?...

*The old man - as much as a mere mortal can be "old" in the eyes of centuries-old Albrecht - does not seem to need to calm down to shift from outrage to business in a split second. He now completely ignores Tristan and turns his full attention to the customer.*

-/Lat/ Ahaa, so you are that German duke who wishes to have his armour re-...

*He already managed to find the heavily damaged armour fastened to Albrecht's saddle, now stepping closer with the lamp to take an expert's look at it.*

-/Lat/ ...paired. Let me take a look. Pah! Blood and thunder, what happened to this piece? Have you dropped it into a volcano?
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[RedDrake]

*I simply nod.*

/Ger/ - I couldn’t agree with you more Tristan.

*Only the living ones have the real charm. We, the undead, are extremely happy if we can keep a flicker from it. Eternal beauty, what a humbug! Nothing lasts forever. Hopefully that includes even my sufferings. At least the moon goddess finally shows her beautiful face. Good evening Lady Luna, I cannot howl right now, but I’ve never forgotten your silvery beauty!

If only… I could feel again that anxiety, that spiritual wholeness when staring to her face in a clear stary night. If only. I had to find my path that leads to my salvation. But for now, it seems I have to deal with an earthly body, the sturdy old smith. Hello, banality.

But it seems… He is truly a bold man and his little act makes me smile a bit. I reply to Tristan quickly*

/Ger/ - He truly is an interesting man.

*Now it is smith’s turn. I turn to him.*

/Lat/ - And you don’t have to speak it, master Smith! I told your people I want to speak with you, and here we are! My name is Fürst Albrect von Wulfhard and I’ve heard that you’re the best smith here.

*I wait a little for him to calm down.*

/Lat/ - And I’ve been told that you want to speak with every of your client personally, that is what I’m here for.
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"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

-/Ger/ Well, Sire...

*Says Tristan while riding up the hill.*

-/Ger/ One could never deny her charms, but...

*Now outside her Presence, as well as her hearing distance, he forms a smirk.*

-/Ger/ I think it's more magic than nature, if you catch my meaning.

*At the guild master's house, no response comes at first, presumably due to the old man being asleep. At Albrecht's discretion, he may try and wake him up again with words, but after a while, an oil lamp can be seen lit inside and a grumbling series of Hungarian words heard.
Then the door opens.
The man before Albrecht is rather short, his skin charred by the sun. He's perhaps in his early sixties, yet, his muscles are quite impressive all the same, despite the moderately amusing nightgown he's currently wearing, complete with a cap. He holds the lamp in his left hand and a stick in his right, though it quickly becomes obvious he's not actually leaning on it.*

-/Lat/ For the love of God, you people!

*He wails towards the high heavens as he runs his sharp, dark gaze through Albrecht like a bolt of lightning.*

-/Lat/ If you must wake me up in the dead of night, can't you at least speak a civilized tongue?!

*His gaze momentarily snaps to Tristan, accusingly narrowing into a line.*

-/Lat/ I told you I speak no freaky-deaky Teutonic!

*The musician's lips press into a thin line as he blushes slightly and stutters to his lord in a rather ashamed tone.*

-/Ger/ I... I'm sorry, Sire, I forgot to tell...
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[RedDrake]

*I expected nothing less than the master of the Guild. Who else would be the best blacksmith? With that said it is time for our departure. I smile gently to the lady. Yes, I have my own tasks and will not make a secret of it. *

/Ger/ - We’ll meet again this night, milady!

*Toreadors, always the stage actors. But for the sake of our success I really do hope that she is the charming witch who’ll seduce out the information from the men. Speaking of witches, in the eyes of the common folk lady Sophia is the true witch. Ginger hair, dark and mystical and truly a beautiful woman. I wonder what she’ll tell to Anselm. I need to know that. But enough of that, let’s ride to the blacksmith.*

/Ger/ - Have you seen any woman like her before?

*Let’s hear our bard’s true impression about lady Euphemia. After that we ride steadily. I’m not happy that all the buildings are in the dark, no light means that we have to wake up the blacksmith. So be it!

During our ride I spend a little time to examine the buildings but really nothing interesting, a warder maybe find this fascinating, but I’ve already seen similar cities. I only hope that the workshop is well-equipped. *

/Ger/ - Well my friend, you said that this smith is a bold-man and wanted to speak with me personally. His wish is now being fulfilled. But accompany me, who knows maybe he has a gorgeous daughter.

*With a faint smiley, as custom and my position dictates, I’ll begin knocking heavily on the door, and ready announce myself and my titles.*

/Ger/ - Grüss Gott! I’m Lord Albrect von Wulfhard, and I’m looking for the master of the guild!
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"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

*Since the town of Buda is situated on top of a hill, its walls are to be entirely bypassed by those going for the island on the river below. Nevertheless, chances for an ambush are slim at best, as the area between them are relatively scarcely covered with vegetation and densely populated by serfs and unguilded craftsmen.
The one sought after by Albrecht is not one of them. In fact, he's Master of the Blacksmiths Guild.
Though it's not exactly audible mid-trot, it's written all over Euphemia that she sighs theatrically.
She shouts back.*

-/Ger/ Very well, m'lord! Thank you, m'lord! The same to you, whatever it is you're doing you've so eloquently held back from us!

*She also blows a kiss. What a tryhard, says the face of Tristan. That said, the undead Presence does have an effect on him.
The pair rides up the light slope leading to town. Though initially resistant, all it takes for the guards to open the gate is a stern look from Albrecht. They feel, they know he's not to be trifled with.
The city of Buda is not unlike those Albrecht has seen in the Empire; large, crowded with tall buildings and entirely filthy. This one might be less so than your average German town, but that just might be because of its status and importance.
Making quite a clanking noise while riding through the relatively empty, cobbled streets, Albrecht and Tristan soon come upon a sizable house with a large side-building sporting its own chimney. It could very well be the master's workshop. However, guildsmen live by strict work regulations in most cities, including a ban on "unfair" nighttime labour.
In this spirit, all lights are off despite the "early" night. Damn those talkative werewolves...*

-/Ger/ So this is it, Sire. Do you wish me to, uhm, wake him up, or you'd go and talk to him yourself?
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[RedDrake]

*Sablepaw was our ragabash. She saved the argument with her speech. Interesting and a perfect relief.*

/Ger/ - Let us ride!

*That trio will have a long way to go and so does our troupe. Of course I’ll accompany the ladies and Ernst, but as I have expected, there is no ambush. I’ll accompany them to the point where we reach the city walls, maybe a little bit further, but we’re past the point where we can be ambushed.*
/Ger/ - Lady Euphemia, we’ve safely reached the sanction of the city walls. Expecting an ambush from outside forces is no longer a possibility. The court is near, I’d like to wish all of you the most luck in all of your attempts to shred light to our current situation.

*I smile formally.*

/Ger/ - Come Tristan, we’ve our own task at hand!
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"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[RedDrake]

*So I've volunteered to lead the delegation. From now on, no lonely kindred will leave our camp. We’ll move like packs. I nod, the Komtur can count on me.*
/Ger/ - Ah, certainly. Lord Hirschler will be well-protected, but not with the Hungarians. Auf wiedersehen mein Freund.

*I wonder what exactly Lady Sophia knows or remembers. But now I’m to collect our party. The first one is Ernst, hmm..*
<Thank you my loyal friend. Report me when they move, I’ll head out from the camp soon.>

*I know that Sablepaw will have many question, unless the Wyld have altered her too much. We’ll see.
Now for the troupe, I call for some pages.*

/Ger/ - Please inform Ernst the merchant, Lord Friderich, Lady Reginleif and Lady Eufemia, that by the order of the Komtur, we’re to visit Prince Vencel’s court and start our investigation about our attackers and their presence would be greatly appreciated.. We’ll leave within an hour.

And tell the servitors to prepare our horses too!

<Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer>

*After that I call for my servants, my old friend Tristan should accompany me.
Now for the garous, they may want to speak privately. So following L’argent’s guidance I take a little walk outside the camp, near to the place they’re hiding in the umbra. (I’ll not cross the gauntlet, they’ll come.)*

Continued
_________________
"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

-/Ger/ Very well.

*He says, already moving outside.*

-/Ger/ I know who'll be the strongest pillar of this delegation now.

*When the two "Ventrue" exit the tent, all eyes are set upon them in humble obedience, before the preparations continue with redoubled effort. Anselm re-equips his iron gauntlets and places a hand on Albrecht's shoulder.*

-/Ger/ I will leave it up to you to select who to take to Vencel's court, but be sure to have Ernst amongst them. He has performed admirably on the field of diplomacy. Oh, and leave the Hungarians here. Their godless fury is best directed elsewhere.

*With a slight frown, he moves on towards Sophia's carriage, hoping to find the vampire there.
And this is when L'Argent's voice appears in his master's head.*

<Phoenix Claw. The two Garou. They are lurking on the edge of the camp in the Spirit World, waiting for something. Or someone.>
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[RedDrake]

<Interesting choice.>
*But I have to see that my anger ruled my decisions this time. Such a nostalgic feeling. After long decades of calmness now I reacted as someone with actual feelings. The last night has broken the power of the vitae!*
/Ger/ - Looking from this direction you’re quite right my friend!

*I nod. So he’ll speak with Lady Sophia and the lupines. This is to be expected.*
/Ger/ - No, that’d be all. Although, I want to mention that I’m planning visiting the city too, I’m in a dire need of a good armorer.
<The question is, what would the two garou say to him? Or Sophia, that’s the real deal.>
_________________
"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

*Anselm listens to Albrecht's answer calmly, nodding every now and then, but otherwise making no interruptions. He folds his arms in front of his chest piece and finally replies.*

-/Ger/ The "Summer Queen". Hmm. We need to learn more about this alleged threat. It is a good thing Sophia made the oath. And it is also a good thing you haven't. One of us is more than enough for this entanglement in this chaotic game, and it's best not be one of the Ventrue.

*He sighs, inhaling again for his undead vocal cords to function properly. Yet, his voice has grown noticeably quieter.*

-/Ger/ Of course they cannot be trusted. For the moment being, we need to concentrate on the Fiend problem. Once the heretics are ash, we will turn our attention to the tiny pagans, but if it's all possible, I'd very much like to avoid a war on two fronts. Let us see what they will tell the Lasombra lady out of their own volition. And then, perhaps, we'll see what they will tell without it.

*The shadow of a smile. Really.*

-/Ger/ Was there anything else you wished to bring up? I myself will speak to Sophia and the Lupines again while a select few Kindred ride into the city to gather more information. As you know, my friend, I'm a believer of firm and decisive action.
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[RedDrake]

<Oh, I've nearly forgotten their pride in this matter.>
*The Ventrue are very proud of their achievements in the Kingdom of Hungary. Of course, right now they're the least evil in these cursed lands. The Fiends and the Usurper Tremere, I hope they'll kill each for the greater glory! But the fact remains: The Fiends dominate Transylvania and they try to reconquer their once-lost domain.*
/Ger/ - We'll celebrate their extinction!

*I wish from the bottom of my heart that we'd succeed. However, my mind tells me that this won't go that smoothly.
And we have our current problems.*
/Ger/ - I agree, as Rome wasn't built in a day, this cooperation needs also time to strengthen.

*But it seems Anselm is not giving time to think every single matter through, now we're speaking about the faeries.*
/Ger/ - They wanted protection mainly against the Summer Queen and against everybody, we, the kindred, were mentioned. They were under the impression that all of us were lupines.

*That's an important detail.*
/Ger/ - They offered their wisdom, their knowledge about their kind, and offered an artifact for each "oathtaker" after the Queen is defeated.

*That was the deal they were talking about.*
/Ger/ - My opinion is that they cannot be trusted. They've betrayed their lord, pulled us in into their politics, and refused to clear their names. They're traitors.

*I know that this was not the question, but I had to add this.*
/Ger/ - That is the case my friend. I regret being that badly wounded; otherwise you'd have no problem interrogating them directly.
_________________
"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

*Slightly frowning, Anselm replies with the pride all too typical of his kind.*

-/Ger/ As long as we have a say in it, these lands are not Fiend-lands. And when Lord Jürgen triumphs, neither will be Transylvania and Lithuania. Those horrors will be wiped off the map of Europe, so that they can crawl deep into their cursed soil if they wish to exist. Remember, brother: today, the Holy Land, tomorrow, the East!

*He places the new candle - a finely-made, expensive beeswax one - on his makeshift table, but does not resume writing. He stands up and leans against the desk with both hands, looking at Albrecht.*

-/Ger/ The pagan "prophet" of the duo, the one howling the oath seems to have thought it an agreement mainly between itself and me. Perhaps I should keep them closer - or remind them that you enjoy my full confidence. Regardless, it'll take some time to get used to each other. And the slightest slip on either side could be disastrous. But answer me this: the "fair folk". You say they offered an oath of their own. What was it they offered in exchange for protection? What was it that you refused, but the Lasombra and the Lupines did not?
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[RedDrake]

*The slight gesture change in the Komtur's expression is priceless.*
/Ger/ - It seems the old truth is still a truth: The land of the Fiends will never know peace; their cursed lands will always drink up the blood of the fallen.
<The land of traitors, where that Kupala whispers his hidden song to the Fiends and the Shadowlords are powerless, instead of trying to clean up their own mess, they try take over other territories.
How shameful!>

*I stare to heart of the small candle flame and watch how these flames dance. I see the current prince in this flame. Vencel's kingdom is as flickering as this small light. Extinguishing it is child-play. *
/Ger/ - Indeed grave news, my friend. I agree with you, that we cannot be sure that the Prince would be able to handle a Fiend.

*But killing a Fiend is much more manageable than the faeries. And oh yes, the lupines and my disguise.*
/Ger/ - Well, the lupines, my experiences were controversial. We can call that a success that against a powerful common enemy they fought side-by-side with us. They are strong and their claws are deadly, as their reputation suggests, but they weren't the just-throw-in-everything-for-the-fight types. But I have to add, that Telaron was definitely out of their league, but judging from the fact that they've easily defeated a Zulo, I think we can expect their help against the Fiends and other monsters.

*The garou secrets will stay garou secrets.*
/Ger/ - However, we must be very cautious. I don't think they'll ever accept us, our kind, and here comes the main problem: our chain of command. Of course I did not expect them to do so, but they'll only follow orders whatever they like to follow. This faerie-oath issue is a clear proof of that.

<I should check Sophia if she has arrived back to the camp.>
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"Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust.
From ashes you've come
And to ash you'll return!
AMEN!"
(Angel Dust Andersen)

[Freiherr von Rosen]

*Although the Komtur clearly had the idea of continuing his letter while listening to Albrecht, he doesn't endure for long. Putting the quill down, he slowly gazes up when the story really becomes peculiar.
Then he folds his fingers.
Then he cracks his bones.
Then he presses his lips into a thin line.
When the "Ventrue" finishes recounting his tale, Anselm simply nods. He fills his lungs with air so that he can speak, but only after exhaling in a troubled fashion.*

-/Ger/ This is quite bad. There is more - much more - going on in this place than I've previously suspected. Indeed, our attention has been too lax on the "peaceful" backwater that is Western Hungary.

*He ponders for a moment, before lighting another candle.*

-/Ger/ We've stormed the Prince's estate and much as I expected, the earlier attack seems to have been a ruse, planning to make us jump at each other's throats. There's a heretical cult working in town, a cult that is very likely led by one of the accursed Fiends, judging from its activities and... shock troops. We'll have to deal with this problem and the Fae. For the sake of all that is good, I never thought they had warriors that could nearly destroy you.

*The Komtur rolls his eyes, clearly worried by this turn of events.*

-/Ger/ What of the Lupines? How well have you managed to cooperate and fight together? I'd very much like to know every detail, if possible. We might have made a historical pact, but we must also tread carefully. Very carefully.
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