Year 25

How the hell do you keep a vast underground crypt clean?

Answer: You don't.

One thing you never knew about vampires is how they can become obsessed with the smallest details. Probably has to do with the enhanced senses. Isabella apparently is a neat freak and due to this quirk she spent most of her time rearranging, cleaning, and generally tidying up her home. An impossible task of course, but that didn't stop her from trying.

Even the room where she keeps the blood "donors" is clean. Doesn't look like the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be.

Unfortunately due to being at her beck and call that means you get to help her or at least do most of it now. As one would expect, it takes up most of your time. You think between her and Ral, you've done more housework than thievery.

About the only thing you don't have to take care of is her underground garden, which is her own personal project that she spends a lot of time on. In fact, with you around now she doesn't even have to leave it to get food much anymore. She just has you do it.

She also has you doing her. You can't be sure if it's true affection she has for you or just her basic needs that she wants satisfied. It feels like the latter most of the time, but there are moments where it seems to be more. It's just a weird situation altogether and while you'd hate to admit it, its one of the better things about being in servitude to Isabella rather than Ral.

Meanwhile you've got a project of your own in the form of Lisa. You spend whatever free time you have with her. Making sure she's provided with nourishment and drink. Usually you just steal food from the farms in Dert along with drawing water from their well, but occasionally you get something different from Holgard and try to mix things up. (You never thought your thievery would ever be used primarily for food!)

Lisa's reactions to everything are very "neutral." That's of course mainly due to the perpetual trance she's in. She is always polite and docile, and never really doing too much on her own, not that she would have much to do anyway considering she's mostly relegated to her single room. (That you've also taken time to furnish)

Isabella says that in time, you'll be able to get her to behave more like a "normal" person, but the fact is, she'll always be acting according to how you want her to act. Much like a puppet. It's all pretty frustrating.

There's also a part of you that is starting to wonder about what you're doing. Are you doing this because you love Lisa? Are you doing this out of some sense of guilt? Or are you doing this just to pass the time?

At this point you don't know anymore. It can't be out of a sense of "humanity" because other than Lisa, you've adjusted fairly well to the whole snatching up people and drinking their blood until they die thing.

You wonder if maybe you should turn Lisa into a ghoul, since apparently she'd have a lot more free will, while still remaining dedicated to you.

You stare at Lisa who sits quietly in her chair staring in such a way that it almost makes you think that somewhere within her head, there's a part of her that's still the free willed Lisa and she's screaming to get out. Would transforming her really be any worse than she is now? It wouldn't be perfect, but at least she'd be able to do more things on her own without you needing to tend to her constantly.

"I figured you'd be in here." Isabella remarks upon entering the room.
"I finished cleaning for today…or did you need something else?" you answer.
"Not right now and surprisingly my garden doesn't need tending to at this moment. I'm just checking up on you I suppose. Did I interrupt a potential moment of bliss between you and your pet?"
"What?"
"Oh come on, you don't need to deny anything. It's not like I care. I'm hardly jealous of that."
"…no! No! I don't do that with her!"
"What seriously? I figured you were just really quiet about it. Or maybe on the occasions you took her deeper into the catacombs, you were fucking her in one of the more secluded spots there. Guess that explains why you keep her clothed."
"I sometimes take her for walks because I believe she needs a change of scenery every once in awhile. And I'm not having sex with her, because I'm not a rapist. She's under a trance."
"So are all the folks we keep here to take blood from, except we're ultimately killing them. You don't seem to have a problem with that."
"It's…it's just different."
"I suppose it is…but not really. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd last this long with her, but I guess your feelings were stronger for her than I thought…or maybe you're just doing this to prove some point to yourself. Either way, I can already tell that you're starting to realize the futility of your plan."
"I want to make her into a ghoul."

Isabella looks at you and just shakes her head.

"I knew it would come to this. Look, if you really do have any lingering feelings for Lisa, you'll just kill her now and be done with it." Isabella remarks.
"What's wrong with making her a ghoul? You mentioned before that it would stop her from aging any more and she'd still be under my influence. Are you just afraid that if I take this step, it will just bring her closer to me and further from you?"
"Oh you, and your assumptions. Trust me, if I really felt remotely intimidated by either of you in any way, you'd both be dead. However, if you really want my thoughts on this, you turn her into a ghoul and I guarantee it will only make you appreciate me all the more."
"Well what exactly is so bad about turning her into a ghoul? You've never gone into detail."
"First of all, you're probably still not powerful enough to do it even with my magnificent blood in your body, though I suppose you could try anyway. Second of all, I've made a ghoul before and while it's true they make good servants who are completely dedicated to you, there's enough drawbacks that I don't understand why any vampire would bother…unless they're really desperate for ego stroking I suppose."
"Okay, so what then…she'll fawn all over me?"
"Yes, and while that might sound enticing at first, I promise that you'll get sick of it. At least YOU would at any rate. You've never struck me as the time that needs constant reassurance of how amazing you are."
"I dunno, it might still be nice to hear once in awhile."
"Well, if you want to hear how amazing you are, I guess we can go back to my room. I promise, I'll make it sound authentic."

You don't want to, but you actually actual laugh at Isabella's remark causing her to smile.

"Okay, see that right there is a good example of why you shouldn't even bother with this plan. You know you like it here with me." Isabella remarks.
"Maybe I'm trying the best out of my bad situation. We're not exactly equals in this relationship you know." You say.
"Oh and you and Lisa would be? You and I are a much closer if we're going to go that route. You're so far above her right now it's comparing a rot grub to a human. Speaking of rot grubs, that's the third thing you might want to know about when creating a ghoul."
"What?"
"For whatever reason and nobody I know has ever figured this out. Ghouls develop disgusting habit and quirks."
"Drinking blood doesn't already qualify?"
"I'm sure to some it would, but how about eating bugs, dead bodies or even shit? You really want Lisa to kiss you with that mouth after she's been chowing down on a rotting corpse?"
"Well can't I tell her not to do that?"
"You can try, but short of keeping her confined, that's just doomed to failure. As obedient as they are, some urges are just too powerful. And that's just the eating habits. I haven't even gotten to the weird social habits because if allowed to go out and interact with the rest of the world, ghouls tend to lack the subtlety that vampires do…well most vampires anyway. You turn her into a ghoul and you better keep a CLOSE eye on her. Otherwise she's going to go wandering into Dert and probably expose herself to all the little peasant children. I'm sure that won't attract attention at all."

Isabella's made a real good case against the whole ghoulification process. Though you're still wondering if she isn't just exaggerating so you won't try it. You spend time hovering over Lisa anyway; you think you could manage to keep her from doing anything weird.

Part of you wants to do it just to prove Isabella wrong, but then is that a good excuse for doing it at all? Your original intent is so you could stop Lisa from getting any older and giving her a bit of free will.

You don't do it

Other than the obvious, Isabella hasn't really lied to you. She might be manipulative, but if she's even telling some of the truth about what Lisa will become as a ghoul, it probably isn't worth it.

Would the Lisa you once knew really want to become something like that? Would she even want to become a vampire for that matter?

The thing is, you don't even really know. As the years have gone by, you realize that you didn't know her excessively well. You had some good times with her and she was a distraction from being under Ral's thumb, but did you really love her?

No. You were just hanging on to a memory of the past and in her current trance state, that memory continues to fade as you watch her get older and continue to behave like some emotionless golem.

The real Lisa wanted to live an adventure. This isn't an adventure and this isn't life.

Isabella's right, you do have more in common with her. Arguably, you even know her better despite the fact that Isabella still hasn't really told you much about her own past (which must be extensive).

This realization still causes you to feel sadness. You really thought that if you just hung on to Lisa, that maybe your situation would work itself out, but it isn't. This is your life or unlife as it were.

You put your face in your hands and try not to weep, but you fail. Isabella attempts to comfort you by putting an arm around you, but you eventually pull away.

"Oh dear…I can see this didn't go the way I planned at all. (Sigh) Very well…I see what needs to be done. You need to go. I release you." Isabella says.
"What?" you answer.
"You heard me. I release you. You're not happy here and you never will be. You're also always going to be resentful towards me on some level. Guess I should have known, but spending decades being detached from humanity sort of makes one become less aware of certain social niceties."
"What about Lisa?"
"Oh yes, her. Well I'm sure you do realize that she still can't leave here. Can't do anything about that. However, I'm correct in assuming that you no longer feel the same way about her anymore?"
"Yes…but…"
"I'll make it quick. Just go."
"Thank you."

You give one last look at Lisa and briefly think about giving her a goodbye hug or even a kiss, but it would be a meaningless gesture to someone who is in no state of mind to appreciate it anyway. And even if she were, she most likely wouldn't want anything to do with you.

You take your leave of Isabella's home and don't look back. (Fortunately it's night time right now)

As sad as you are about what happened with Lisa, you now feel a great weight lifted off of you. Namely the ball and chain of slavery. First Ral and then Isabella. For the first time since you left your home, you're actually free. Truly free. It's a little surreal.

Since you're lacking in any other ideas at the moment and need some time to think, you head to the closest place that you can think of where you can find reasonable dwellings and can feed easily, Holgard.

When you arrive, you head to the graveyard. Many times in your past visits to Holgard, you've found temporary places to stay any time you got stuck here before the sunrise. While it probably would be just as easy to stay at an inn, you suppose your years with Isabella have caused you to appreciate the solitude of a crypt.

You find yourself an older one that doesn't look like it gets too much visitation and after a few adjustments, you make a space for yourself.

What will you do with yourself now? What DO vampires do to pass the time? It can't all just be drinking blood obviously. Isabella had her garden (and cleaning until you showed up) Your concerns aren't so much in the present you suppose, but the future since you've got a long one ahead of you.

Your previous profession of thievery seems all rather pointless now. You don't need money to live anymore and you don't even get that much of a thrill out of it like you once did, of course most of your roguish skills were being used to steal for Lisa, so it hasn't been for your original reasons for a long time anyway.

All of this also has had you wondering how your family is doing, and if they're all okay. You imagine your parents really wouldn't want anything to do with you now, so there's no point in visiting them even you weren't facing mob justice there (And as a vampire, you can't imagine the folks in Teckleville would be any friendlier towards you, though you suppose you'd be able to handle them easier now).

You like to think your sister would still speak with you though. She'd probably find it all very fascinating, which you suppose it is in some ways.

For a while you think you can go back to your "old life." Pick up where you left off, or rather what you originally wanted to do in the first place after you left Teckleville.

This works, but only temporarily.

Part of you would stay in Holgard and just go about a simple existence of feeding on unlucky souls and possibly burglarizing a store just to pass the time. It isn't like you're exactly unhappy doing that, but after a few months you realize it isn't so much the monotony of your life that's bothering you, but rather the area.

First, Holgard is currently undergoing a "holy war" of sorts between its various religious factions. While it's making things chaotic enough for you go unnoticed, you can't help but get a little concerned when the Church of Joachim starts talking about forming groups to hunt down evil supernatural elements that are corrupting the city as part of their crusade to prove they are what's best for Holgard.

Second (and somewhat more importantly) Holgard used to be a sort of "escape" from Ral and later Isabella. You used to be able to put it out of your mind that you were under someone else's command for a little while.

Now? Holgard just feels like you haven't "moved on" from your shackles. Or at least not moved on enough. While you've never been a wanderer like your sister and maybe it's a combination of your previous experiences, along with being a vampire, but you feel the urge to travel. You don't know where, but you have to get out of this city. Maybe even find something else to do.

Holgard always has trade ships leaving its harbor going to various locations. You sneak aboard one in the middle of night and hide yourself in one of them. You think this one is going to the Delantium Kingdom, but it might be going to some place you've never heard of, you don't really care as long as you're away from this area.

Never been aboard a ship before, so this will be a new experience too. You imagine you'll get hungry on the journey, but as far as you know there's enough crew on the ship that you'll be able to get by. Just have to be stealthy about it, but then that isn't really a problem anymore.

You still don't know exactly what you're going to do with the rest of your undead life, but your days as a common rogue are over.