Debriefing: Viatorus' Engagement Ceremony / A Controlled Observation of Nexus Influence

[votivescholars]

"Does he have to be here?"

"Yes."

"Is he alone?"

"Yes… Any more questions?"

"No."

"Good... Shall we begin?"

The day was already bright enough to be noon, though the sun had only recently risen. The sounds of chirping birds floated through the open window on a cool breeze that carried the scent of flowers in bloom. The curtains were only partially drawn on one side of Vercor's study, giving the room a sense of gradually descending into gloom. However, it was in the sunlight that three of them sat on chairs that were about as comfortable as they looked, but ornate. Vercor approved of balancing the aesthetics and comfort of the things around him to reflect how they balanced in life. Unfortunately this often made for furniture that kept people on edge. It was only through regular use that they had become accustomed to it.

"What did you find out about Harrowheart?" Stathis' question was immediate. He shifted in his seat impatiently, eyes fixed on Lieselotte.

"I think we should leave Harrowheart until last." Lieselotte turned to her husband. "I am not the only one who learned about him. We should discuss the people who are not so much of a concern first. To get that out of the way."

Vercor thought for a moment and then nodded his approval, much to Stathis' irritation. The patron sat back into his seat with an unhappy huff while Vercor sat forward. "We will start with Ms. Costas. She's the scientist Viatorus intends to help set up a research centre with, isn't she?"

Lieselotte nodded. "She is. From a world of science, space travel and rebellious robots, I understand." Her brow raised in intrigue as she explained this to them. "Her people have been displaced for quite some time now. Considering that I'm impressed she was as well dressed and mannered as she was."

He tilted his head. "And what did you make of her? What kind of person is my son planning to get into business with?"

"She didn't look like a woman of business. I have no doubt Isidor will have full control over the project on a business scale. Ms. Costas doesn't look like she'd fight for it even if she had any desire to. She seemed sweet, and harmless," Lieselotte added when she spotted Stathis' brow furrowing. "Oraskis got along well with her."

"Oraskis gets along well with everyone," Stathis pointed out.

"Oraskis gets along well with good people," Vercor corrected. "Did either of you talk to her?"

Stathis shook his head.

"No," Lieselotte replied. "She stayed out in the garden for most of the evening. I think she was doing her best not to be impolite or embarrassing. In that regard she showed wisdom and intelligence. She looked like she was out of her depth, but dealing with it gracefully. Or quietly, at least. She was respectful. She even left an offering at the altar."

"I wish she had stayed out of my laboratory," a voice from the corner spoke up. A pale hand of jewelled fingers waved through the air dismissively. "But that was more your son than her."

Vercor frowned over at the vampire. "Do you know if she took anything?"

"She didn't even touch anything. I suspect she has the curiosity of a plank," Mislav told him with a disdainful bite to the last word. 

"You're just sulking because she got to see what you were up to." Stathis' lips twitched with unspoken additions to his comment. He turned back to his brother. "She seemed like a nice girl. Like Lieselotte said: Harmless. Maybe a bit shy. Stuck with her own crowd, but that's no issue for us. If anything it spares us any problems." 

When no other comments came, Vercor drew in a deep breath and nodded. "The..." He half-gestured to help him choose his words, but the cringing suggested he was having difficulty finding the ones he wanted. "... couple, then. The captain and the mage." He shifted in his seat. "What do people make of them?"

"I don't trust the mage," Stathis said right off the bat. 

Lieselotte frowned disapprovingly. "Stathis, you're too suspicious."

"He's right to be," Mislav piped up. "Suspicion keeps you alive."

Stathis' brow furrowed and he shifted uncomfortably, glancing over once to the vampire before trying to explain. "He spent far too long talking to the priestesses."

"Ah." Vercor nodded in understanding. "So are you suspicious of the mage, or of the priest and priestesses?"

His brother scowled. "All of them."

Vercor continued to nod, watching his thumb rub a knuckle in a thoughtfully distant motion. "He was asking about our goddesses. The Priest told me that he sought 'personal guidance' for communing with Hecate."

Stathis frowned and glanced at Lieselotte. "Why would he do that? Our gods aren't his. Can they even hear him where he's from?"

"He's a mage, and a curious one at that," she pointed out, tilting her head and looking from one Durant brother to the other. "Why wouldn't he seek out Hecate? It means he's open to other cultures and methods, and accepts the risks of doing that."

"Or he doesn't understand the risks," Mislav suggested.

"Or he doesn't understand the risks," she agreed, only to turn back to her brother-in-law. "But that doesn't make him suspicious." She looked to her husband. "He's proactive."

Vercor rumbled and nodded. "He is. His introduction was purposeful and informative."

A small smile pulled at Lieselotte's mouth. She's sure he appreciated that.

"I still don't trust him," Stathis told them.

Mislav frowned, bemused. "You don't have to trust him. You just have to decide whether or not he is a threat, patron."

Stathis was so close to scowling at that point. It was with an irritated huff that he turned to Vercor again. "We should keep an eye on him."

Husband and wife shared a glance before Vercor nodded at Stathis. "In the same way we keep an eye on all the people we deal with. Now. Thoughts on the captain?"

"He's polite, and considerate," Lieselotte said with a bit of thought. "I don't think this was his preferred environment. He was being as careful as his partner to act properly, but mister Caelus is more comfortable with it. It was hard to tell what he's really like with him being so careful..."

"Perhaps," Mislav interrupted, "if you managed to peel his eyes off of his companion you would get to know him better... Or at all."

"I don't think that was an issue," Lieselotte replied, only to hesitate when he caught a glimpse of her husband. "Not for me, but I didn't talk to both of them at once... Oraskis seemed to take a shine to him."

"Maybe Oraskis should be here," Mislav muttered.

Vercor turned a stern eye on the vampire. "Our discretion is for your sake."

An undignified snort came from Mislav as he rolled his eyes and slouched further into his chair. "You think the Seer doesn't know about the family vampire? Really..."

With his lips thinned in the smallest show of annoyance, Vercor turned to his wife and brother. Again he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "And... Ixis Naugus." He hid a groan behind a sigh. "Sorcerer supreme."

Stathis and Lieselotte exchanged looks before both turning to Vercor. 

"One to watch," Stathis said with certainty. This time Lieselotte nodded in agreement.

That was the answer he was expecting, so Vercor nodded in return. "One to watch..."  After a brief pause he continued, "Ms. Weatherhill."

Nobody immediately spoke up, prompting Vercor to raise an eyebrow. Only then did Lieselotte tip her head to one side, affecting a shrug. "She was... fine. She made a few faux pas, but not many. She was very excited, enthusiastic. I think she might have made a few of the older women uneasy, but no more than expected."

When Vercor looked to Stathis the patron shrugged and grunted his agreement. It looks like neither of them heard or saw too much of Harrowheart's guest. A good sign, surely, considering the concerns around the death knight and all those who associate with him. With no more information forthcoming, Vercor took a slow breath and turned to his wife.

"And Harrowheart," he said, finally coming to the person on everyone's mind.

Lieselotte dipped her head as she gathered her thoughts and when she raised it again she lifted her chin high. "Harrowheart is loyal to Viatorus and Isidor. Deeply loyal. Even if he grows to be loyal to us I believe he will always put them first as they ask him to, not as we would wish him to. He is their friend, their protector, and he will protect them." The fire in her voice fades again. "But he appeared to genuinely like me. I was kinder and warmer than he must have expected. I would even say he was eager for my approval." She looked from Vercor to Stathis. "For approval from the three of us."

With a frown, Stathis nodded at Vercor. "He didn't so much as greet either of us."

"He's intimidated by you," she told him gently. "But he wants very much to make a good impression on you both."

"And so der Drache's legend continues," Mislav purred in the corner with a wide, unabashed smile.

Vercor didn't give him even the smallest reaction. "Is this loyalty and eagerness an issue or an advantage?"

"An advantage." Lieselotte let her gaze wander to the window. "He knows where he stands. He knows he is separate from the living, and that he is different. He understands that on a level even some of the living don't. He never gave me the impression that he thought he was, or could be, one of us, living or Durant. At heart he is a boy desperately seeking parents who are proud of him. In the flesh he is an undead warrior, and he knows it. He is like a lion raised in captivity; A creature who is affectionate until you give him a reason to be a wild animal again."

Stathis raised an eyebrow and looked sceptically between them. "And this is a good thing?"

Like Lieselotte, Vercor was looking thoughtful, eyes glazed over. "As long as we know what turns him from boy to beast..."

Lieselotte turned to him and nodded. "Then we know where our boundaries are. We know where we stand and how far he will go for us."

In this husband and wife understood each other. It gave Vercor a lot to think about, but now they could begin to apply a more specific structure to their interactions with the death knight. Of all the guests he was the biggest potential threat, and also the most frequent presence in their children's lives. 

"Do you think that is wise?" Mislav had straightened while they talked, fixing them with a sharp, unblinking stare. "He is a person in his own right, and he might be naïve but he's not a complete fool. The day he feels manipulated will be a dangerous one. The undead have long memories and an eternity to carry out their revenge."

"And you're saying he would take revenge if he felt offended?" Stathis asked. The vampire had the patron's full attention.

Mislav's gaze flickered to the older brother. "I am saying that you should not provoke a wrath you do not know intimately." Leaning forward in his seat, coming closer to the sharp line of sunlight that separated him, he looked back to Vercor and the men locked eyes in a supernaturally intense gaze. "You have the opportunity to make a powerful immortal ally that could stand by this family for generations to come... Or make an enemy whose ferocity might tear it apart." His voice lowered and he sat back into the darkness. "Tread carefully, Archon."

Silence fell on the room, allowing it to be filled yet again by the distant chirping of birds and gentle breeze. Vercor rubbed his chin, staring into the distance, mulling quietly over this information. The others watched him patiently, waiting for his decision on issues that remained unspoken, the conversation half-voiced, like a code only they could decipher.

Eventually Vercor lowered his hand and faced them properly. "We will make careful efforts to build relations with Harrowheart." Catching Stathis' eye he added, "With due caution." He sat back into his chair. "Loyalty and strength are hard to come by. Whether it is for myself or Viatorus we should encourage it. Each day we find ourselves with unique opportunities. We must not waste them. Not a single one." He looked between them. "Any other questions or comments?"

They shook their heads. The Archon had spoken. To question his final decision would be incredibly improper. So they didn't. Not even now, in such an unusual situation. They would trust him, as they always did, and face the consequences together. But for now they parted ways, readying themselves for the work ahead.

Mislav was the last one to leave. He walked in the safety of the shadow to where Vercor stared out the window, taking in the sunlight. "You made the right decision, Archon."

"Making allies of lich-made constructs from other worlds." Without looking at Mislav he inhaled slowly and his exhale was an unhappy sigh. "It's not a safe bet. It's not conventional."

A low laugh came from the shadow. "And since when has Vercor Durant ever done things the safe way?" The vampire tilted his head, amused. "As I recall you made your mark by breaking convention. By breaking the rules as we knew them."

Vercor said nothing and then silence made Mislav smile all the more.

"I have seen enough Archons come and go," he reassured him as he started towards the door. "The decision was a good one. You were right."

"The Archon's decision is always correct."

Mislav chuckled and nodded his head. "Quite so." He bowed low. "A pleasure talking with you, Archon."

Vercor tipped his head in return and the door closed behind the vampire with a final click.