Part 31: Update XXXI - Vampires: Masters of Seduction

Update XXXI - Vampires: Masters of Seduction

Take two of this update brought to you by my ability to somehow press a few keys by accident and suddenly have the WIP text file, roughly 80% done with the update, completely disappear. Man, I'm a genius. I still don't get why the "Move To Recycle Bin" option exists in Notepad++. Note to self - reactivate recycle bin. Not that I'll do it, but at least I'll be able to say that I recognized the problem.



Anyway, last time, Tarius got fucking killed. Suffice it to say that shit has gotten real, and will continue to get even more real as time goes on. Now, it's time to search through Wahnfried's mansion.



On the way there, we run into more vampires. They go down without much of a fight, now that we don't have the boss-level Serena throwing spells and shit. When we beat them, they explode like the other ones before them, which causes Grandy to get curious.



What's the deal with these creatures anyway? On Castle Düsterburg we ran into vampires we could not defeat with our weapons!
Those were either vampires sired by Wahnfried, or very old and powerful vampires. These here are only lesser vampires...
They fall apart in a sea of flames and land in the hells of the Dark God they revere so much!
I assume these vampires were sired by one of Wahnfried's envoys as some sort of cannon fodder in case his plans in Düsterburg failed.

The vampire lore in this game seems to take quite a few pages out of the WoD playbook, but that might be only because it's one of the few vampire lore interpretations I understand to a decent degree. This seems to be describing the concept of generations, with vampires getting weaker as they get sired by younger vampires, all going back to some progenitor - I guess that would be the Dark God?



As we continue to explore the courtyard, we stumble across this suspicious setup.

A grave... the typical hideout for a vampire.
I'm sure you're right, but we're on a different trail right now!



And this trail leads us to the mansion itself.



Inside we find Sol! Sol Ae... ei... Sol Aeiou.

Away with that blade or you'll taste ours! What are you doing here anyway, sir Ai... Eu... umm... sir Sol?
I have a date with destiny...

Dude, no. You're not super-evil badass Wahnfried or demigod badass Malthur. You don't get lines like that. When your random ass puts one of those out, then it just sounds corny as shit.

If you keep talking like that, you'll get it! This is a matter of life and death, so out with it!
You have the manners of a farmer, good sir, but you seems your heart is in the right spot...
Nonsense! My heart is on the left, just like with every other human being!
He's talking about the "proper" spot, Grandy!
I see your dark companion has removed his mask. Not that it matters, since I already recognized him the first time we met. Greetings, Malthur, son of the unspeakable.

Have I made a reference to Hastur before? I think I have. Hm.

Your reputation precedes you as well, sir Aeinur...
But there is no time to exchange pleasantries. Have you seen a woman, light brown hair, about thirty years old?
Indeed. She came storming in here while I was still busy with the welcoming committee...
Do you know where she went?
Sorry, but I was too busy to be distracted by the lady's allures...
Oh well, we'll find her anyway. She must have hidden somewhere here in this house.
Don't you want to join us? We could use another sword arm.
Sorry, but I must decline. One of those creatures wounded my arm and I have to take care of that.
As you wish. Until the next time we meet!

Alright, time to explore this place.



In the next room, we find two coffins...



...but it turns out they're empty. Oh well.




We run into some more vampires next and deal with them somewhat handily. However...



Hey, one of the two didn't explode!
She must be one of Wahnfried's offspring! We have to find her coffin if we want to make sure she won't cause problems for us again.

One quick backtrack...



...oh hey, what a surprise.

Uahh! There she is!
Come on, Grandy! Grab your hammer and finish her off!
Wouldn't you rather do this? I have no experience in these matters...
Then it's about time you start!
If you wish, I can hold the stake for you... or your hand, if you prefer.
Thanks, but I think I can manage without handholding.

In the original text, Malthur suggests that he could hold the hammer, not the stake. That doesn't really make sense to me - the guy with the hammer is doing the work, not doing the holding.



And then we stake the shit out of her. Good thing we brought that stuff along. Now, let's see where that door in the other room leads.



The door is locked!
Not only that... I feel that there's a powerful spell over this door. We can't go further here!

Well, bollocks. Let's see if there's something else around here that lets us through that door.



Here, we find a painting ("definitely Wahnfried's taste"), some wood we could make into stakes (but we can't have them blessed right now because the church is closed at night and there's an endless supply right in the church, so eh), and a kitchen knife. That comes into our inventory as a dagger. The weakest weapon in the game. Why is this here. I've got nothing.



In this room, there's nothing much interesting, except an amulet we find in the broken cupboard. What kind of amulet?



KA-CHING! The magic amulet that halves all MP costs! Just the thing we need, now that Libra picked up all these useful spells and the guy carrying the other one died before I remembered to take it off of him like I did with Dankwart's equipment. Whoops.




More bats and shit. Not a big deal.



Coffin! I wonder what's in here...



OH SHIT.



Surprise! Xelram is hiding out here as well! Now, you'd think we'd be in for a tough boss fight...



...but nope, he gets the fuck out after about thirty seconds of us beating on him.



However, in his flight, he knocks open that locked door and doesn't close it behind himself - being a bat and all.



And inside we suddenly find that Sol guy again!

Holy smokes! Xelram and Sol!



And then Sol just cuts Xelram's fucking head off!



And then Sol just blows Xelram's fucking head up!



There you are. I didn't hear you coming. Please exuse me for a moment... after all, we don't want him to grow a new head!

And then Sol just blows Xelram's fucking body up too!

Impressive performance. Now how about you tell us what's going on here?
An old score I had to settle with Xelram. I was on the way to Düsterburg when I learned that he was hiding with his lord and master here in Königsberg. That saved me a lot of time.
What was that stuff with which you pulverized him?
That? Sarabian fire! Very rare... very expensive... and very powerful against vampires!
That's just the stuff! Where can you get that?
Not at all outside of Sarabia. The Sarabians are very careful with ensuring that no potential enemies get their hands on it.
But you can have the rest of mine, I don't need them anymore.
Really? That's very generous of you!

With that, we get ten vials of Sarabian fire. Now, this stuff can indeed be used to deal big damage to vampires, but there's something more important we can do with this...

I'll be returning to my homeland of Tirat and will be rebuilding my life. The time of fighting is over for me. Fare well.
Umm... Sol?
Yes?
What can we do with this stuff?
All sorts of things. For instance, you could use it as a thrown weapon. Especially against vampires - they can't stand the stuff. However, it's also very good for poisoning a vampire's refuge.
How that?
Just throw a vial into their coffin. A vampire is bound to his homeland. If he wishes to travel, he is forced to carry around a large amount of homeland soil in which he can rest. Normally, his supply is limited, so it's often useful to make his coffins and boxes filled with soil unusable for him. If you manage to destroy all his resting places, he has no more refuge and will die horribly.

This soil part of the vampiric lore incorporated into this game was actually made up by Bram Stoker, which I find kind of interesting. The "vampires are bound to their home soil, literally" part sounds just like something that could come out of old folklore.

Hmm... what do you think, Malthur? Is Wahnfried from Königsberg?
He has terrorized this area before, that much is certain...
You'll know it when you find one of his coffins - when soil is inside, then he's a traveller.

I wonder if some smart vampire went and carried soil around in his coffins even though he was still at home, just to lead hunters on a wild goose chase and eventually trap them somehow.

So ration those vials well. Who knows how many coffins your friend hid in this city.

And Sol leaves. That will be the last time we'll see him. I have no idea who the fuck he is supposed to be. Apparently he's some sort of big deal?

That man knows his stuff! We could have needed a guy like him.
Why? I knew everything he told us already.
What? And why did you never tell us about any of this?
It wasn't pertinent and nobody asked about it.

Welp, he's got a point.



Now, let's see what's over here...



...why hello there!

How can that be? How did you get through the door?
Well, I guess Xelram forgot to lock it... and that cost him his head.
I do not expect any mercy from you! If the Dark Father wishes me to join him at his side, then so it shall be!
Well, I can't provide the "Dark Father", but I can give you the "Dark Son"...



My dearest...

I love this guy.

It really is you! The son of the LORD!
Please forgive me that I did not recognize you earlier under your hood and in the dark of the night!
Quit your whining, woman! I have renounced the Dark God many generations ago!
And my entire lifetime I have disdained the worms winding at his feet in the mud of the earth! But if you want to believe the hollow promises of his prophets, then you are truly beyond help! A place at his side? HAH!
You will be thrown into the deepest abyss, where you will waste away with broken bones until the end of time!
The fact that you're young and pretty will hardly be an advantage. I know a few particularly repulsive demons...
...that won't pass on the chance to pay an occasional visit to enjoy your wonderful body!

I don't know... I certainly would pass on the chance to fuck a woman that just fell from the earth all the way down to the deepest depths of hell, to the point where she should probably be more viable as a drink than an actual human being. I'd say that Malthur was being metaphorical about the whole "thrown into the abyss" thing, but the broken bones seem to indicate that yes, this does involve a very, very deep fall. I'm thinking more I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream here - a sentient puddle of liquidized human remains flopping about hell for all eternity. But who am I to argue with the son of the Dark God himself, I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.

You have betrayed our father! YOUR FATHER! Your fate!
I am the one that makes my fate!
And I have decided that I will use the time I have remaining to repent for the thousands of souls I have sacrificed for HIM...
We don't have all that much time, Malthur! I'm sure this woman knows where we can find Wahnfried.
You have the choice, Serena: Either you talk, or Malthur will give you a little preview of the pain that awaits you.
NO, GRANDY! I have heard of the powers of this man! You can't allow him to get his hands on me!
Allow? I'll ASK him to do it!
But I don't know anything! I'm a victim of the bloodsucker myself!
I see, this is going nowhere. Malthur, if you would please whip out that brain melter of yours...
With the greatest pleasure.

You know, I'm starting to get the feeling Grandy and Malthur are having some sort of bonding experience here over causing Serena extreme amounts of pain.

NO! Please, spare me! I can't endure pain!
Except when you're the one causing it, right?
PLEASE... I'll tell you everything...
Phew... I was scared we'd actually have to do it.

You know, Grandy, you could probably pursue a career in acting after this is all done.

Alright, then out with it: Where is Wahnfried hiding?
I can't be certain...
Are you starting over with this?
No, sir Grandy... it was my task to find a refuge here in Königsberg for Duke Wahnfried, in case things in Düsterburg went wrong. I'll...



SURPRISE! Wahnfried flies in like he doesn't even give a shit!

Now we've got him!
Wrong, you worm!



More magic shit!

WHAT IS THAT?
A MAGIC BARRIER!

Wahnfried floats down to Serena and grabs her head. This can't be good...

Did I hear that right, my dear? You wanted to tell these miserable maggots where my refuge is?
No, master... I'd never do that! I'm your most loyal servant, you know that!
I believed to know it, but I'm starting to doubt it!
MASTER! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! YOU KNOW I CAN'T ENDURE ANY PAIN!
Don't worry, my little dove... I'm not going to hurt you...
HOLY SMOKES! What is he planning?
She's turning her head.



Oooh, nasty.

Oh, Grandy, this really isn't your day. First your friend bites the dust, and now this traitor as well.
You'd best give up before I take out your wife next!

And he changes into a bat and flies out the window again.



He's always one step ahead of us, kills people right in front of our eyes, and all we can do is watch!
We don't have a chance against him. He's simply better than us!
I disagree!
That magic barrier cost him an incredible amount of power. I felt him getting weaker all the time. His captain is dead and he lost one of his agents. We've got him cornered!
All he can do is try to intimidate us in an attempt to lower our morale, otherwise he would have annihilated us right here!
...do you really think so?

Well, nothing much we can do here anymore, although there are some coffins laying around. Let's see...



Look, there's some soil laying on the floor of the coffin!
Excellent. That means he's relying on these coffins to stay alive. If we can find them and destroy them, we've got him.
Then let's get going!



Boom! We do the same to the other three coffins here, but there's something else a bit off...

Look here - you can clearly see that there was a coffin standing here before!

Here was another coffin.

And another coffin! That seems to have been all of them - so we know that Wahnfried had three coffins with soil brought away.
I'm certain he hid the somewhere around town.
But how can we find out where?
Serena mentioned that she was responsible for Wahnfried's refuges - maybe there's some sort of clue we can find...

That's about all we can do at this mansion, so it's time to leave.



We can't just leave Tarius laying there in that house!
Let's get him to the church. The priests will look after him.



And the sun rises on Königsberg. DAWN OF THE THIRD DAY --- ROUGHLY 40 HOURS REMAINING, I GUESS.

Next time, we'll start our search for the missing coffins, deal with bureaucracy, continue some sidequests and get into trouble!