Considering you don't trust wizards anyway, you might well check out the ones that are already here. You're going to just be on your guard as usual. You figure while you're at it, you can look into trying to find out what happened to Lisa and if she's still around.

You ask the apothecary where the temple is since it isn't exactly a place you ever visited when you used to come to the city and your memory is still hazy on where everything is again.

You head to the temple and while you remain hooded as usual, you still draw a little attention from people who are close enough to get a better look at you. Fortunately, you're strange enough looking that nobody gets hostile.

When you get to the temple, you don't even get very far since two of its members stop you just inside the entrance.

"And just where do you think you're going, you…what the hell are you anyway? Damn you're cold, step back." a man with a goatee asks.
"Yeah, I was hoping you guys could help me with this." You say.
"Maybe we should tell Elder Flynn about this, Travis." The other one says.
"The Elder is in meditation and can't be disturbed for a week, you know that! Still, this is something he might find interesting. Tell me, how did you come to be this way?" Travis asks.

You give a brief rundown on what happened, when you mention Ral by name the pair of them seems more interested in that, than what happened to you.

"Wait, you're telling me that YOU killed Ral?" Travis asks.
"I helped…oh shit…he wasn't secretly a Dorna worshipper was he?" you ask.
"No true follower of Dorna would do it in secret! He was an infidel as far as I know. Though honestly, I'm not too familiar with the man, Elder Flynn apparently knows him quite well and all I know about that is they're not fond of each other. So…he's dead huh?"
"Yes."
"Okay, this is something Elder Flynn would definitely want to know about. Unfortunately as I said, he's in meditation and can't be disturbed at all. You could come back then. I'm sure the Elder would be able to help."
"Well…I guess I can wait a little longer. So I just come back here in a week?"
"Yes, in a week."
"Okay then."

You turn to leave and look back to see Travis and his buddy whispering about something. Probably about you no doubt.

Still, at least they didn't try to do anything bad to you or anything, though that's still a possibility you suppose.

The only thing to do now is wait, but you're going to have to find something to do in the meantime. You could go back home, but you honestly don't feel like making that trek again, not to mention after spending so much time in Ral's house, you aren't exactly itching to go back so soon.

You have more than enough money so you figure you'll just find an inn to stay at.

You stay at a place called the Baroness. (Named after the current ruler no doubt) The innkeeper is a bit wary of you, but after giving him a few extra coins for a room he no longer has a problem with you. (Other than telling you to stand back from him)

You spend a couple days not doing much of anything important except information gathering. It's difficult to eavesdrop on conversations (let alone trying to strike up one) with your new condition, but you do manage to at least figure out some basics on the underworld situation.

Apparently along with there being a new ruler, the Ebony Claw Syndicate has a greater monopoly on all criminal activity in the city. There are still independents as such things can never be completely wiped out, but the Thieves' Guild was completely destroyed along with any other minor organized rivals

Last time you remember, Lisa said she was thinking about joining them. At the time you hoped she wouldn't, but given the situation now, you suppose if she has, it's better that she picked the winning side. Of course this is all still assuming she's alive or even still in the city.

You can't be sure of any of this, but since you have time to kill and not much else going on, you seek out Ebony Claw members to question. Not exactly something most do, but then you don't have much to lose and at this point you'd wager that you're a much better than average fighter than you used to be if it comes to that.

You head to a place called the Poisoned Blade Inn, which even before they took over the entire underworld was a known Ebony Claw hang out.

As soon as you enter, it's almost like the Dorna Temple all over again, because you gain everyone's attention, mainly because you don't even bother covering yourself with a hood like you normally do.

"Well…this is an unusual sight."
"Looks like the Dornans have been experimenting again."
"Did it just get colder in here?"
"Hey, pale man! You lost?"
"Careful, he looks like he might have magic about him."
"Yeah, well he ain't the only one."

Several obvious ECS members are already converging on your position.

"Not here for trouble, just looking for the most direct way of getting answers. Does anyone here know a woman named Lisa? She'd be around my age." You say holding up your hands. The ECS members do not put down their guard just because you are though.

"Even if any of us did know such a woman, what makes you think we'd tell you?" the most aggressive ECS member says.
"Look, if you haven't heard of her, fine, I made a mistake and I'll just go."
"Oh you made a mistake alright just by walking in this place and the only place you're going is the sewers after we dump your body!"

The man suddenly grabs your arm and attempts to pull you towards him in order to stab you, but as soon as he grabs your arm he pulls his hand back. You draw your weapon and everyone steps back a bit.

"SHIT! This guy is fucking freezing!" the man exclaims.
"He's a sorcerer! Quick, shoot him before he unleashes more frost magic!" another shouts.

Soon another man with a partially shaved head and a huge black claw tattooed on the shaved part appears from the back of the crowd.

"Alright, alright, everyone fucking settle down. Obviously the man didn't come here to fight, he wants information, but that's going to cost. I trust you have some coin?"
"Yeah, hope you don't mind it cold." You say and toss a small pouch of coins at him, which he catches.
"Fine with me, you bought yourself an audience. Come with me into my office."

You follow the man as the rest of them get out of your way. His "office" is really just a more secluded table towards the back, but it serves its purpose. The pair of you sit down and you learn the man's name is Mantis.

"Geez, you really do give off the cold. Not sensing that you're a sorcerer though. You look human…curse perhaps?" Mantis asks.
"Something like that, getting it taken care of." You respond.
"Well good luck with that iceman. In any case we're not here to talk about your condition, you were asking about a woman named Lisa. Now for some reason you came to a know Ebony Claw location to ask us specifically. So what makes you think we might know this woman? And a better description would help."

You give a physical description of her based on what you remember of what she looked like. It's almost a little concerning that you've almost forgotten what she looks like, but you believe your description has sufficed and it's your additional information that you think that she may have joined the Ebony Claw Syndicate that gets attention.

"Hmm, I see. So you're looking for your long lost girlfriend? Is that it? You sure she just didn't want any more to do with you? It happens you know."
"I'm fairly certain that isn't the case. We were on good terms before our…separation which wasn't either of our faults. Look I already know she could have very well moved on or even be dead. If that's the case, then I'll just deal with it, but one of the last things she was talking about was possibly joining you guys. I didn't think it was a good idea, but if she did join and she's still part of your organization, then I'd just like to know so if I have to ask every EC member, then that's what I'll do until I get confirmation."
"Well, From what you've told me, she doesn't sound like ECS material, but then maybe she got lucky and blew the right person…(Sigh) Look, I can ask around, but I can't make any promises. Our organization is fucking huge you understand and I couldn't even tell you every member in this city, let alone anywhere else. Shit, for all I know she might be a higher rank than me because I'm nowhere near the top of the food chain. And if that's the case then I can't just be giving away her location and I'm also not doing this for free."
"I just paid you."
"Yeah, you paid for an audience with me. Now you're going to pay for me to ask around about your ex. However, I'm not going to ask you for money. I want you to perform a task for me."
"A task?"
"Yeah. If I'm going to potentially be giving information out one of our members to a stranger, I want to see just how dedicated you are about this. Now you look like you'd be able to handle yourself in a fight. You came in here by yourself after all."
"You want me to go rob a bank or steal something?"
"Pfft. The syndicate has no need to be involved in such petty activities to supplement our income. The Blue Dream trade is thriving and whores and gambling are too. No, what needs to be done is something a lot more violent. You familiar with Karn?"
"The God of warriors?"
"Combat, strength, all that related shit. Well their priests are starting to become a pain in the ass by encroaching on our territory."
"I wasn't aware the Karnites were into drugs, whores and gambling."
"They aren't, but they're in the business of faith and that's a problem to the Temple of Fel. Not long ago, a Karnites broke all the limbs of one of Fel's faithful. This can't go unpunished. I want you to go kill the asshole and bring me back the ring he wears on his hand as proof."

You always heard rumors that the Ebony Claw Syndicate were more than just a criminal organization and the reasons why they were so powerful were due to their ties to the God of shadows. Looks like this confirms such things.

"Okay. So why send me? The syndicate has loads of assassins I'd wager. In fact don't the followers of Fel specialize in that sort of thing?" You say.
"And you'd be right, but we just got finished with a full blown war with the Thieves Guild and the other petty organizations. We're really not looking to get into another one so soon without rebuilding a bit. As for the Fels themselves, well apparently it's not high on their priority list, but you can bet that if it did get taken care of, those involved would find favor with the temple." Mantis says with a smile.

Obviously Mantis wants to use you to advance his own petty ambitions.
"In any case, you're not affiliated with us and you're not a follower of Fel. If you purposely start a fight with a Karnite and kill him then it has the added bonus of not being attached to either of us." Mantis continues.
"Wait, you want me to just kill this guy out in the open?" you ask.
"You're not too familiar with the Karnite faith are you? Issue a personal challenge and it's all perfectly fine. Hell, even the city watch isn't going to do shit about it. Other Karnites themselves won't even retaliate, as they'll see it as an honorable challenge from a lone challenger. Though to be on the safe side, I'd try to make it seem like a natural challenge. I dunno, bump into him on the street and pick a fight or something."
"What about the ring? Won't they be upset about me taking a holy item?"
"Eh, well they probably won't be happy about it, however you'd be taking a trophy and if someone wasn't strong enough to keep it, then in their eyes they don't deserve it. In fact, they may even ask if you want to join them…but obviously I wouldn't advise that."

You refuse the job

You aren't having any part in possibly getting caught up in some faction war. This Mantis guy doesn't seem reliable on if he can give you any useful information anyway.

"Thank you for your time, but I'm going to have to pass." You say.
"Fine by me, but let me tell you this. Don't come back here again for any reason. If fact I'd advise you not to ask the Syndicate for any help on this matter again. This was a one-time offer. Now leave." Mantis remarks.

You leave the Poison Blade Inn no closer to finding Lisa. You know Mantis warned you, but given that he admitted that even he didn't know every EC member, you toy with the idea of just simply asking elsewhere.

You spend most of the week at various gambling halls, brothels, seedy taverns and fighting arenas. Most of which are run by the Syndicate, but you don't find Lisa and the few people that are talkative enough have never heard of her. Eventually you start getting enough suspicious looks in the crowds that even you think you should stop while you're ahead.

In any case, you've got another task, which is curing your condition. You eventually return to the Dornan temple hoping that their elder can help.

This time however, you're stopped before you even get inside.

"Hey! I've seen you before!" a female voice says, as you're about to open the door.

You turn around and see a young female Dornan priestess in the usual blue and purple robes.

"Yeah, you're that pale guy that was talking to Travis and Mathias last week. I remember being surprised that Travis didn't throw you out immediately. You here to see him? Because he hasn't been around since that time, him or Mathias in fact. We've sort of been wondering where he is, well not really for our sake since it's been peaceful without him, but Elder Flynn isn't going to like him being gone for so long since Travis was supposed to unofficially be in charge while he was in meditation."
"Wait, your Elder, he isn't STILL in meditation is he?"
"Yeah, but it should only be a couple days before he's done. Did you need to see him?"
"Yeah, Travis told me to come back in a week so I could see him to possibly cure my condition."

The female priestess looks at you a bit before replying.

"Hmm, yes I have noticed that you're giving off a small cold draft along with your pale skin. Uh…I probably shouldn't do this, but um…you MIGHT not want to meet Elder Flynn." She says.
"Why not?" you ask.
"Well…don't get me wrong I'm a dedicated worshipper of Dorna and all her wisdom and mysteries of magic yet to be uncovered, but Elder Flynn is a bit on the radical side of uncovering some mysteries and acquiring knowledge."
"Meaning?"
"Well, meaning that you might find yourself entranced, on a table getting chopped up to see what exactly is causing this condition and how best that it can be harnessed. I mean it's also completely possible that won't happen, but I figured you should at least know the risk since I'm sure Travis didn't tell you."

You take your hand off the door and sigh in defeat.

"Great." You say.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did this happen to you anyway?"

Since you don't have anything better to do now and she was kind enough to warn you, you go ahead and tell her. Heather as you learn her name listens intently to your story.

"Ral huh? I wonder if that explains why Travis and Mathias lit out of here so quickly." Heather says.
"What do you mean?" you ask.
"Well you told them that Ral was dead meaning nobody is guarding that house anymore. The pair of them probably went over to loot the place of whatever magic they could find."
"Oh shit. I wasn't thinking. Fuck! They've probably completely stripped the place by now!"
"What difference would it make to you? You don't use magic."
"No, but I AM still using that house as a residence and that's all my stuff now! Not to mention I was planning on selling some of that shit over time. I gotta get over there!"
"Well hold on, you can't just face them alone! At least let me go with you so they don't turn you into a jackalope or something!"
"Fine, but keep up!"

You soon make your way out of Holgard and back to your house. You never thought you'd consider it your house, but hell after all the shit you put up with there and killing Ral for it, you feel you're entitled to it more than two asshole wizard priests just looting the place.

Heather tells you that you'd get there faster if you let her cast a haste spell on the pair of you. You're a little reluctant at first given your past with wizards, but eventually you give in and by the end of the day, you're back at your house. You see that the front door is wide open.

"I'm going to murder the pair of these thieves." You say (The irony isn't lost on you given your past)
"H…hey wait! You can't just kill them!"
"The hell I can't, I killed one wizard already and I doubt if these two are more powerful than Ral."
"Maybe not, but there's two of them and besides all that, they might be assholes but they're still my Dornan brothers! I understand your anger, but I'm not going to just stand by and let you kill them. Look let me just go in first and talk to them."

You don't like this at all, but you've rather not have to fight three wizards so you relent.

"Fine."

Heather goes in and you follow. Though you don't get very far inside when you see blood all over the floor. You then see a body.

"Mathias!" Heather shouts and goes over to him. You look at Mathias' body and see a couple of chunks bitten from his body along with several quills in him.

"Shit, I can't believe I forgot he was still here." You say.
"Who's still here?!" Heather exclaims.
"Spikey."
"Who's that?"
"My pet manticore."
"Wait. You have a pet manticore?
"Sure, doesn't everyone?"
"How the hell do you forget something like that?"
"It's been a busy week and I've had a couple of more important things on my mind. Also I thought I left him outside, though maybe I did and he wandered in when your people broke in. I hope these assholes didn't hurt him." You say and follow the other trail of blood leading to the lab door, which is open.

You look around the lab and see some equipment knocked over along with some quills embedded in various places. You see another body on the floor though this one is almost completely eaten and it's mostly just bones now. You imagine that this is probably Travis.

Spikey (who is a little larger than when you last saw him) is here gnawing on one of these bones and sees you. He growls a bit at first, but then comes up to you. And you cautiously give him a pet.

"Have you actually gotten bigger already? And what are these things?" you say and also notice little nubs on his back that weren't there before.
"Those are the beginnings of wings." Heather remarks.

Spikey sees her and immediately raises his tail up until you start to try to calm him down.

"Heather you can't just sneak up like that! He's not that friendly around strangers!" you shout.
"Obviously, but I'm not fussed." Heather remarks and then waves her hands a bit and she goes up to Spikey and pets him who is suddenly very friendly towards her.
"Hmm, apparently your buddies didn't think of that."
"Might've caught Travis off guard, if he was looting this place he probably wasn't focusing on anything else. Then I imagine Mathias panicked since he's always been prone to do that and tried to run away which didn't work of course."
"Not that I'm complaining, but you don't seem too concerned about your fellow priests like you were a moment ago."
"Well, Travis I never gave a shit about. Matthias was okay, but he didn't exactly have the strongest of backbone. If he did, he might still be alive. Plus how they died was on them. I mean it isn't like you killed them in cold blood. They were looting your home and your guard creature killed them because they weren't wise enough to assess the dangers before hand. I can accept that."
"Very pragmatic of you."
"Dorna does teach us the virtues of pragmatism. Speaking of which, I have pragmatic proposition for you."
"Okay…"

Heather asks if she can look through Ral's stuff and take some of it. She explains that in exchange for doing so, she can try to look into your condition personally and try to figure out how to reverse it.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" you ask.
"You don't I suppose. All I can give you is my word and hopefully my actions today have given you something to judge my character. I may be a worshipper of Dorna, but I'm not a fanatic like the Elder. Also, there is no point in telling him about his old acquaintance Ral being dead. Not when I can come here and use the knowledge found here myself." Heather remarks.
"Ah, so do you plan to usurp your Elder?"
"I didn't say that, but one never knows about the future. In any case, your condition is intriguing enough for me to try to look into. I promise I won't attempt anything too invasive unless you agree to it."
"How chivalrous of you. (Sigh) Yeah, I guess I'll trust you, for now at least. What about your Dornan brothers?"
"I'll just say I haven't seen them and have no idea where they are. I might warn you however that other Dornan members have probably seen you given that you've been around and inside the temple. A few of them might have even seen you speaking with Travis. Might be best if you lay low for awhile and not even go to Holgard."
"You might be right, but I can't promise anything. I'm sort of looking for someone there…but then they might be dead or gone anyway. Yeah I guess I can stay out of sight and make other arrangements."

Heather and you come to an agreement and she proceeds to look through the lab. She actually doesn't take much, just a few books that you have no use for anyway. She says that she'll be back as soon as she can and next time she comes by she'll look into your condition.

In the meantime you spend time at your home not really doing much of anything except a lot of contemplation. You think about how you probably won't ever see Lisa again, but you also think about your family and how they might be doing. Did Annah survive? Where is your sister and what is she doing right now? Is she okay?

All of these people that were once important in your life are just not around anymore and you doubt if you'll ever see them again either. Even if you weren't in the condition you're in now, you couldn't return home with how you left it anyway.

You don't actually expect Heather to return or if she does she'll return with a group of other wizards to end you, which you barely even care about at this point, but she eventually does return and it's alone.

She subjects you to a few minor tests that she can think of to do and even gives you a few potions to drink. You agree to it mainly because you don't have much to lose. None of the potions work however save for a couple actually making you sick and causing you to vomit.

"Apologies, but I can't think of anything else to do that isn't more invasive." Heather remarks.
"It's fine. It's fine. Ugh. Maybe…maybe we can do that another day though. Not feeling too well right now. Take whatever you like from the lab, I'm sure there's more shit you could find useful. I'm not going to Holgard to sell any of it any time soon."
"You sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm just going to lay down for awhile. Remember to lock the door on your way out."

Heather's a little surprised by your permissiveness given that you were ready to kill two of her fellow priests for being here not long ago, but your consent is what makes all the difference. That and the fact that you're still feeling a little depressed about things on top of not feeling well physically.

You get into bed and sleep, when you wake up. You find a note with a bottle next to it on a nearby table. It's from Heather telling you that the contents should make you feel better since it's a healing potion of sorts. You down the liquid and it starts to work.

Heather also says she isn't sure when the next time she'll be back, but she'll try to make it as soon as she can.

Well it seems like you can trust this Heather at least along with her being someone that can actually help you or try to, which means it's a start.

Who knows if any of this will help or change things though.

You time passes...

Year 25

"I've looked through ALL of Ral's writings along with researching various tomes we have at the temple and I can't figure out exactly WHAT he did to you. I mean I can guess what he did, but even if I'm right, I still have no idea how to reverse it." Heather remarks.

You know Heather's done more than you ever expected from her, but you can't help but feel frustrated by all this. If your condition wasn't getting worse, it probably would be tolerable, but it is getting worse. Not so much for you in terms of life and death directly, but you're starting to effect things in a wider area.

At this point your home is freezing to most (or at least to Heather when she visits) and frost covers everything you come in contact with now. You don't even have to touch it for long.

Even Spikey makes his home outside the house rather than inside, though it's just as well since he's huge now.

Which is leading to the other issue and that's the fact your icy home is starting to look very out of place compared to the rest of the surrounding landscape. Granted you're isolated from most major population centers, but there is Dert. Dert is close enough that it's only going to take a few of the more adventurous young folks to go wandering from that backwards village and bring back tales of an "Ice Castle" with a manticore guarding it. (Fortunately Spikey has never wandered towards Dert and his hunting grounds are mainly elsewhere.)

Heather herself has been trying to keep your presence a secret since apparently Elder Flynn has been sensing a minor growth in magical energy in the area. So far he assumes it's Ral just working on something, but Heather stresses that if he finds out the truth, he'll definitely be heading to your home.

Heather is also stressed out due to the fact that she's been keeping all this from her comrades and on top of everything else, there's the beginning of religious faction war going on in Holgard.

Since she's out of any ideas that you might find acceptable, she suggests the last thing she can think of and that's that you leave and head north. She believes your condition is exaggerated by the warmer climate. (Even more so now due to it being a hotter summer than usual) While you've sort of guessed that to some extent, she thinks that if you were just constantly living in a colder environment, your condition would even out and you might not attract as much attention.

"So…what then? I'm supposed to just go live on a mountain top somewhere?" you say.
"No, I'm just saying that you could probably live some place colder and your condition not be as much of a problem. You'd at least blend in a bit better. As it stands now, you're starting to attract a lot of attention and you were previously pretty isolated before. Not to mention you've got a big ass manticore wandering around nearby. You stay here and you're probably going to have groups of hired adventurers beating down your door." Heather remarks.
"You just want me to leave because you're worried about your own ass."
"Damn right I am! I mean I'm risking every time I come here, every time I lie to Elder Flynn. You realize how much my stomach is in knots about this? And you know what? Fuck you. I've been helping you out trying to figure out how to cure you! I've tried potions, spells, salves, rituals and even prayers to Dorna on your behalf!"
"You've also been helping yourself to magical shit I have."
"So? It's been mutually beneficial, but now it's starting to get risky to a point of where I'm no longer comfortable."
"Alright, I get it. I get it. But I'm just not too keen on this idea that I'm supposed to just pick up and leave."
"Well, I dunno any other solutions. I mean when was the last time you went to Holgard and didn't start drawing a crowd? Didn't you say that the guards actually prevented you from entering last time? You said you had to sneak in and then you soon got run out of there. I mean it's only going to be a matter of time that you start drawing the attention of someone you aren't going to be able to deal with."
"Your boss is really getting that suspicious huh?"
"Elder Flynn is a concern of course, but it might actually be lucky for you that there's religious strife going on in Holgard right now. But I was talking in general. Look, we've gotten along for a while now, and maybe if circumstances were different I'd say stick around longer, but…"

Heather turns away from you a bit and exhales. In fact she starts to sniffle a bit.

"What? Wait a minute…no…really? You never gave any indication! Hell, we've never even kissed! Though I suppose given my condition that might cause problems. That's why you never acted on it" you say.
"Oh trust me, there's ways we could have gotten around that aspect. A simple protection of cold would have done that. It's just… it could never really work okay? And yeah initially I was helping you because it was beneficial to me personally, but I did genuinely want to help because you seemed like an okay guy that was in a bad situation. Even with you telling me tales of your shady past, there was always a charm about you." Heather remarks wiping her eyes a bit.
"If I ever run into my sister again, I'm sure she'll be amused to hear that some of her charisma finally wore off on me. Well if it makes you feel any better, I've had more than my fair share of thoughts about you as well."
"I'm sure."
"I don't mean just the dirty ones though, I mean I figured even if you were only helping for the magic knowledge and items, it still was nice that someone was helping me."
"Sort of wish you were only thinking of me in a dirty way, it would make this a lot easier. (Sigh) I shouldn't have said anything."
"I wish you have said something sooner, I mean now what am I supposed to do? Just leave, knowing all this?"
"If you do have feelings for me like you say then I beg you to leave because you'll just make it harder for me in the long run. I know it's selfish to put myself first, but it is what it is."
"Okay, I'm not mad because I get it, but I don't see why WE can't just leave together. I mean you could continue trying to figure out how to cure me and you could probably start up another Dorna church up north and convert barbarian tribes or something. "
"Heh, nice idea. Tempting even, but no. My life is here."

You're getting frustrated at this point.

"What are you fucking this Elder Flynn or something?"
"What? No! He's like a hundred years old and I don't have daddy issues!"
"Well what's really keeping you here then?"
"Look, maybe an infidel like you can't understand, but my temple is also my family and with all the trouble going on right now, I'm not going to just abandon them."
"Haven't you been hording knowledge and the shit you get from me?"
"Yeah, well it's a complicated family relationship."
"Guess I can't relate much…(sigh) Okay, fine. I'll leave, but only because you did try to help me, I'm a sucker for a pretty face and the fact I don't really have any other ties here and it'll make things easier for you."

You start to get ready to pack, but Heather stops you.

"Hold on a second. You don't need to leave right this minute." She says and makes a few little hand gestures causing a brief blue glow around her.

Then she kisses you. It doesn't feel as good as you remember the last time you did this with Lisa. Even the good stuff is dulled, but what the hell, you'll take it.

You and Heather get to it and you have a rather interesting time going about your intimacy. Heather's spell is working, but it's obvious she's still feeling some mild…well the word isn't exactly discomfort, but let's just say she has never pleasured herself with an icicle in the past so it's a cool sensation down there for her.

However she's a trooper and you must be doing something right because by the time you're done she's covered in frost. No, that's not a euphemism either; she's literally covered in frost.

(In fact if this was all taking place in a modern setting, there could be a whole joke about "The Iceman Cometh")

You on the other hand were sort of hoping that experience while pleasant enough would maybe raise your body temperature a little, but no, you're still as cold as ever.

After a moment of basking in frosty bliss, Heather brushes herself off and gets dressed.

"I hope that you can somehow find a way to cure yourself, but whether you do or not, take care okay?"

With those last words she gives you one more kiss and leaves you alone.

This experience has arguably been the best thing that's happened to you since you woke up in your condition. Of course maybe you're just sort of feeling that way due to the fact that you haven't exactly been with anyone in a long damn time.

Part of you wants to just go to her temple, but going to Holgard isn't going to do anything but cause problems for her and you, so you'll wait. You know she'll be back. You figure Heather will probably come back here in a couple days to see if you're still around and to potentially look for any items she may have missed. When she comes back, you'll make every effort to convince her to come with you.

So you wait. A week passes, then a month, then two months…

By this time, you're still laboring under the delusion that she's going to come back and mainly subsisting on frozen berries, fruit and roots that you don't go too far to collect from your home.

In the meantime Spikey, being an apex predator in the area has steadily over the past few years been depleting most of the wildlife. He was also supplementing this with the many bandit groups that make their homes in the woods at times. However, even bandits eventually get wise to the fact that it might not be the best idea to have a hideout where many of their fellows are disappearing at an alarming rate.

If his attention wasn't in the direction of Dert before it is now.

You however don't really know any of this until you get a knock on the door one night. Thinking that it's Heather, you spring from your chair, and open it.

And you're met by a woman, one you even know, but not Heather.

"…Isabella?" you say upon seeing her.

Isabella frowns as you just stare at her naked body in surprise.

"Glad you remember what my tits look like." She says.
"…Apologies, but I really wasn't expecting you. I thought another…nevermind, what are you doing here?" you ask.
"I'm here to speak to Ral…what the hell happened to you? You're as pale as I am and you're giving off some serious cold. This whole house is, given the frost and ice in the area. What the hell IS Ral doing in there?"
"Well…"
"Look, no offense, but I'm not in the mood to speak to his magic slave. I want you to go bring his ass out of his lab to come speak to me right now. I mean I thought we had an understanding at least that if we HAD to be neighbors he wouldn't fuck things up for me. Now I got a bunch of dead people in Dert due to his escaped manticore or pet or experiment or whatever the fuck. I told him that backwards dung heap of a hamlet was MY ongoing food source and was not to be messed with."
"Wait, Spikey attacked Dert?"
"Spikey? That its name? Real original. But yeah it was a damn blood bath there. Hell, I could smell it even from my crypt. The beast killed ten people. I would have tracked it down easily, but considering its scent was also leading in this direction, I'd pay Ral a visit first since I was sure this was all his fault. And judging from what I'm seeing, I was right. So get his ass out here!"
"That's going to be a problem given that he's dead."
"Dead? Bullshit."
"I'm serious. He's been dead for like two years now."

Now Isabella is the one showing some surprise. The fact that she is surprised means you must have really caught he off guard. You remember that Ral and her had a relationship in the past. From some of her brief sad expression, she perhaps didn't have complete loathing for him.

Isabella looks down a bit and closes her eyes before speaking again.

"(Sigh) Damn. Didn't think I'd still feel something for the bastard, but I guess you never know until it happens. I guess this means you're no longer a magic slave and you're in fact responsible for this mess then. How? You're no wizard. And how did you kill Ral anyway?" Isabella asks.
"I didn't kill Ral, he just died of natural causes in his bed." You quickly say.
"Hah! Nice try, but you're lying. Look, I don't care if you killed him, if he'd made me a slave I'd have killed him too."
"Well, I had help and it wasn't easy."
"I'm sure. So what's with the eternal winter here?"
"Ral's last gift to me."

You give a quick explanation of events of your condition to Isabella who listens to everything.

"So…it was this Heather was the one you were waiting for then?" Isabella asks.
"Yeah, but well…that's a long story." You say with a sigh.
"Let me guess you fell for your nurse."
"She wasn't a nurse, she was a priestess."
"Nurse, priestess, whore, doesn't matter. Your circumstance is as old as time. You fell for the one taking care of you when nobody else would. It happens a lot, but I think your case its just desperation."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you've been waiting for this girl for two months you said. It's obvious she isn't coming back."
"She could just be busy! There's a religious war going on in Holgard right now! You know, we made love the last time I saw her!"
"And? That probably was just a goodbye pity fuck. Look, I didn't see how you two interacted and I'm only getting some of what you're telling me, so I'm not going to say this girl didn't have feelings for you, but its obvious she cares more about herself or at least her own life."
"You don't know shit!" you snap.
"Okay, look, whatever. I actually don't care that much, but we still need to settle this issue with your pet manticore along with your snowman condition because both of them are going to fuck up my shit. The manticore can be settled easily since I can just kill the beast and be done with it. But you are a whole other problem."
"Wait a minute you can't just kill my pet! And why the hell am I a problem, I don't even go near Dert."
"Yeah, but your aura might. I mean from what little you've told me, your condition is getting worse and if that's the case, the last thing I need is for it to freeze over Dert and cause all the peasants there to pick up and leave due to failed crops. It's bad enough some are already talking about leaving due to the manticore attack. Others are even talking about hiring adventurers. Last thing I need is a group of fortune seekers stomping around the area and stumbling on my place of rest."
"I'm sure you'd be able to handle them."
"That's not the damn point, my point is I like things peaceful and they can't be, if there are certain elements in the area fucking everything up! So the way I see it, is you got two choices. You either leave, or I cure you."

Once again Isabella has given you a little surprise.

"What? You can cure me? How?!" you ask.
"Invite me in and I'll show you." Isabella responds with a smile.
"Uh…no…things aren't quite bad enough for me to want to commit suicide."
"Who said I was going to kill you? I'd make you into a vampire."
"Wait. Why? Would that work?"
"Sure. The transformation process practically gives you a clean slate. I'd be very surprised if it didn't work. As for why…well let's just say why not?"
"…I feel like there's a catch…"
"Well of course there's a catch, I don't just offer the gift to anyone. I'd require you to help me around the crypt as it were."

And there it is.

"A slave. You want me to be your slave." You say.
"You wouldn't be a slave, you'd be my…companion. You think your few years of no meaningful intimacy are bad? Come back when you've had a century or so of it. I just felt a pang of loss over a man that I practically loathed for decades. Now I know I'm moving in quick on you, but when you've been as solitary as I have, you tend to not let social rules dictate your actions. I'm offering not only a cure for your condition and immortality, but also a chance for you not to worry about having to be alone ever again. You can't say you aren't tempted. I still remember that night we had years ago. Look, I'll be back in a couple nights. If you're still here, then I'll know you've accepted my offer. If you're gone, I know you haven't. And when I say I'll be back in a couple nights, you can bet that I'll mean it." Isabella says and leaves.

And once again you're left alone with a big decision. You knew you were going to have to make one soon, but these events haven't definitely given you more to think about.

You stay and accept the offer

It's not a perfect solution, in fact it might very well be worse, but you see no other option. Maybe you just don't even care anymore. Ever since you left Teckleville, you've been confined somehow. Ral did it directly with the geas, then even in death he did it with this condition he forced upon you. Now it would appear Isabella is planning to do the same. She claims that you'll be her companion, but you really don't get the impression that you'll be equal. Not really. Hell, maybe in some twisted way you want someone else giving the orders and that's why you're going to do this.

But it doesn't matter; you just can't deal with being like this any longer. At least this way you'll have someone on your side on a regular basis. Of course maybe you're just deluding yourself and hoping for something that isn't there. Just like you did when you waited for Heather. Again, it doesn't matter, you're going to go through with this plan because it's the easiest way out.

So you wait, and in the next two nights, you hear a knock on the door. You open it and as expected it's her.

"Well, given that you're here, I'd say that means you've decided to take me up on my offer. I have to say, this pleases me and you will soon see just how lucky you are that I chose you. Now, if you'll just invite me in, we can get to this, or you can step out here, if you prefer. Up to you." Isabella says.
"Might as well come in. My home is your home now."
"Indeed, but I'm sure you realize that we'll be living at my superior home…however I suppose this isn't a bad place to use as a surface dwelling of sorts. Always was curious about what it looked like inside. Though I'm guessing there wasn't frost all over the place." Isabella remarks as she enters and gives a brief glance around before turning to you.

"So…are you ready to ascend a higher form of existence?" Isabella asks.
"Um…yes…but I just have a question." You say.
"Of course. I can answer all your concerns about this process."
"It's actually about Spikey."
"Oh?"
"Well I was wondering what was going to happen with him."
"What did you want to happen to him?"
"Well considering I'm going along with all this, I'd like to request that you not kill him. I mean as a vampire couldn't you just charm the beast to not attack Dert?"
"That doesn't work forever. The beast could shake off the effects when it's out in the wild at any time. I can't be expected to keep up on it and before you volunteer to do it, you aren't going to have the time either. Even if we managed to keep the beast from attacking the village, there's still the issue that he's probably killing all the wildlife in the area, which could actually have worse effects in the long run. He really doesn't belong here."
"Is there nothing that can be done? I mean I get that you don't have an attachment to him, but he did save my life once."
"Hmm, I can see that you're more attached to this animal than I thought…very well I suppose I understand. There's another solution, but you're going to have to still be prepared to say goodbye to him."
"Why?"
"Because we'll take him some place else to live that's why. We can make a trip out of it or something I suppose."
"Okay, I guess that's reasonable. Thanks."
"Well I am the reasonable one. So, you ready?"
"I guess as much as I'm going to be, now you're sure this is going to work?"
"I have no doubt that it won't, now come to me and let me warm you up."

Isabella's statement is more of a turn of a phrase considering her own undead ass is as cold as a grave, but then she probably is still warmer than you are.

You approach Isabella who embraces you in her arms. She doesn't flinch from your icy body and instead kisses you on your lips. You wish you weren't so numb that you could actually enjoy this bit.

Eventually she stops kissing you and her mouth roams a bit lower and to the side. This is it.

You feel a sharp sensation enter your neck (which doesn't cause you pain) followed by a draining one. Isabella herself is having a mildly difficult time sucking your blood, which is probably a little slushy due to your frosty condition, but she's getting through it.

Soon light headiness follows and then you're starting to lose consciousness altogether.

Just before you do though, Isabella stops feeding on you and then quickly bites herself on the wrist. Using the open wound, she pours some of her blood into your own mouth and a metallic taste hits your tongue and eventually slides down your throat.

"You just made the best decision in your mortal life… now experience ascension." Isabella remarks and then kisses you on the mouth again before finishing you off.

Everything goes dark.

You don't know how much time passes, but when you wake up, you're feeling quite different. You're not breathing, and you're hungry. You're still cold, but now it's changed. You're no longer a walking glacier.

It worked, but now what? And where are you?

You look around and find that you're no longer in your home. You're lying on a stone floor for one thing. There's no light, but you aren't finding that to be a problem since now you have some sort of night vision.

You also see two human figures shackled to the walls. They're both naked and have their heads hanging down. You sense that they're still alive, but they aren't struggling so you can only assume they're either so demoralized that don't have the desire, or they're under control in some way.

"Good, right on time for you to be awake. So, how do you feel? Hungry I suspect. Well you can have one of those two on the wall, Don't completely drain them though, I like to keep them around awhile, saves me from having to go out as often…though with you around now, I guess I hopefully won't have to do that anymore at all." Isabella remarks while standing in an entryway.

You don't say anything; you just slowly get up as you're still feeling a little strange. Isabella goes over to help you.

"Here, I got you. Let's get you over to the food, you'll feel much better I think after you eat. Don't worry, it's a very basic process, and I'll guide you through it, then afterwards we can do some other things that are also very basic. I'm sure that will be fun for the both of us."

Isabella guides you over to the human wretch that's chained up and tells you where to bite so you don't just kill the person right away. She's right of course, it is all very easy. Hell, you don't even hesitate with doing it. Why you don't is probably a combination of several factors. If anything you feel like you're in a daze right now and Isabella is taking the lead. While its entirely possible that she's got some sort of control over you, it's more along the lines that you're just perfectly willing to let her take the lead.

She promised exactly what she said, she cured you. Why be ungrateful or defiant? Why fight what is now your nature, which is to feed on other living beings' blood? You ultimately chose this, so you might as well embrace it.

If this makes you completely "evil" now, you really don't give a shit. You were dancing on the edge of it anyway, and that didn't even work out very well. Maybe now that you've completely crossed over, maybe things will start going a lot better for you.

The fact that you and Isabella soon have a round of passionate bloody vampire sex soon after you're done feeding can only mean things are in fact improving for you…

Right?

You time passes...

Year 26

It's amazing how things can be going fairly well for you, and you'll still find shit to be dissatisfied about.

What might be worse is the new nature of you "confinement." It's another gilded cage. (Or fancy crypt in this case.) While not much is ever demanded of you, Isabella definitely is treating you less than equal as you have to clean the crypt

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 kept clean and isn't the slaughterhouse that one would expect it to be.
She still cleans of course, but you're doing most of it now. It's really boring especially since you had to do this to a lesser degree at Ral's and at least there, you were able to let it go for a week at times. Not to mention it's fucking impossible to "clean" a vast underground crypt in the first place.

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 that, which is sort of plus, since that's one of two major things that break up the monotony.

You initially would lure a citizen of Dert back to the crypt, but in time you started wandering a bit more and realized with all the bandits making hideouts in forest, you might as well give yourself a bit more of a challenge.

Sometimes you will boldly face a group of them. The poor dumb bastards never realize they don't have a chance and you proceed to tear them apart, satisfying your own hunger and leaving only one or two alive to bring back to Isabella.

The second major thing would be your routine intimacy with Isabella. It's a little odd, mainly because you've got mixed feelings on the emotional side of things. Isabella is very comfortable with the physical aspect, but in a lot of ways she's still pretty distant. Makes a bit hard for you to return serious affection when you aren't sure if you're just there as a dick for her to use when she's in the mood.

While you don't really have any real complaints about that aspect that might make this bit of "captivity" worse since it's really difficult to complain when you're getting quality sex thrown in your direction on a regular basis.

But since you're not totally whipped, you're going to complain anyway. Not to mention you just need more to occupy your time. There has to be more than just feeding and fucking, especially since you're supposed to be immortal now.

Though you'd be lying if you weren't worried, she IS vastly more powerful than you after all and can easily subvert your free will if she so desired. (She never has though)

You wait for one of the rare moments that she isn't in her private garden to speak with her since even after a year she still doesn't allow you in there.

"Oh, hello. Have you been waiting out here for me the whole time?" Isabella asks.
"Sort of. Oh I brought back dinner. A couple of children from Dert this time. I know it's risky since it causes more hysteria in the locals when kids go missing, but I was very careful and I figured you deserved something special." You answer.
"Mmm, you're always so doting. Well, with your news and the fact I finally got my deathshade growing properly, I'm in a good mood tonight, so we can do that thing you always want to do to me after I eat."
"Uh, yeah that's something to look forward to, but I was actually here to speak to you about something that's been on my mind lately."
"Oh, okay then."
"Now I'm already prepared for you to say no, but I want to make my argument clear…"
"Okay, so what is it?"
"Don't get mad…"
"If you don't hurry up and get to your point, I guarantee I'm going to start getting mad. Just fucking say it already!"
"Okay! I want more freedom."
"I see…"
"Now hold on, I don't mean I want to leave you! I just…agh…I need more out of life, or unlife as it were."
"More? You have all you need. A home, a nearby food source, a beautiful companion by your side. I mean I'm not sure I understand."
"And that's all great. Really it is. Probably better than I ever could have stumbled upon. It's like…well okay here's a good example. You have that garden. That garden that you love to spend all, occupying your free time when you have it. I mean you don't even let me in there, so I'm assuming it's something pretty special to you. I guess I'm saying I need my own garden. Not literally of course."
"Hmmm, I understand what you're saying…I suppose I have just taken your happiness for granted."
"Don't get me wrong, I am happy, I just need something more to do and no offense, but cleaning this crypt isn't it."
"Hah, well I figured. I'd hoped that you would have developed a bit of an obsession for it like I somewhat did, but I imagine your servitude to Ral might have dampened that. Okay, so you're basically saying you want a hobby, fine. But I wasn't exactly stopping you from getting one. So what did you have in mind exactly?"

Well so far this is going better than you thought, though Isabella's question brings up the fact that perhaps you haven't thought this entirely through.

"I'm…I'm not exactly sure…I was sort of expecting you to be against it. Okay, well anyway I've been killing bandits in the forests. Lots of them actually." You say.
"I figured you must have found some other food source since you didn't often eat here. So you have a bit of the bloodlust do you? That can happen with new vampires. As long as you don't massacre Dert, I don't care what you do." Isabella responds.
"I'm thinking I'd like to go to Holgard once in awhile."
"You haven't before? Again, I assumed when you weren't feeding much here, you might be nipping off to Holgard to eat."
"I sort of wasn't sure if you wanted me to go that far."
"Sheesh, do I really come off of that controlling? Holgard isn't that far. It's not like you're a lowly human anymore that is going to take forever and a day to walk there. With your speed, you could go there and be back before dawn. Hell, if you really needed to, it wouldn't bother me if you stayed there for a few nights. Get it all out of your system. If culling a few extra humans to satisfy your bloodlust is what you need to do, well Holgard couldn't be a better place to do it. It's a crime-ridden city where murder occurs daily. You'd fit right in and never arouse suspicion."
"True, but it's not just the killing, it's I used to be a rogue before all this happened...and I've been thinking on those days I do miss them."
"So…what then? You want to go to Holgard to be a common thief?"
"Well when you say it like that, it doesn't sound as impressive. It's more like I just wonder if my desire for it is still there or am I just missing something from a simpler time I guess."
"Weren't you doing it during your time with Ral? I know he didn't keep you on that short of a leash."
"Yes, but I was so miserable that I don't think I ever really enjoyed it most of the time. About the only time I did, was when I was training…um…another…"

Isabella's eyebrow raises as you stop yourself from mentioning Lisa. You quickly change up the conversation a bit.

"My point is, I haven't really gotten to enjoy doing it since I left Teckleville. Actually even before that, since I started enjoying it less after my sister left. However, I feel like I should give it one more go to see if it really was something I liked doing, or maybe I just liked doing it with someone who was also interested in it."
"You actually may find such petty thievery much too easy now. After all you have powers that you didn't have before."
"Perhaps, but I also can't just break into any old house either not being invited and all."
"True, but that can be easily gotten around if you can charm the owner into letting you in. There are also public buildings of course like shops. In any case, if this is something you want to pursue, I'm not going to deny you your eccentricities. We all have our interests. I believe this may be left over longings for your old human life, which is natural for new vampires as well. I also think you'll get bored eventually, but I leave you to work through it. Anyway, was that it?"
"Um, yeah basically."
"Good, now I'm going to feed on these children you got me, and then we can do that other things. Fairly certain you aren't going to go anywhere tonight."

Well she's right about that.

The next night you make your way to Holgard and it's true, thanks to your supernatural speed you get there fairly quickly, you don't even catch the attention of the guards outside the gate.

You haven't been here in so long; you never thought you'd actually miss it. Hasn't really changed at all though there is one thing you're noticing and that's the fact the streets are practically empty. Its not even that late, usually there's still more activity than this. You see the watch patrolling around, but they're in groups much larger than you remember. They also tend to eye you very suspiciously.

Granted you're here for trouble, but you decide that it probably isn't the best idea if you start off by murdering several Holgard Watchmen so you start avoiding said groups.

It occurs to you that something here has changed drastically. Last time you heard any news of this place was Heather and she told you there was a war brewing between the religious factions. Maybe things have gotten worse?

In any case you decide to eat first and head to the lower class districts where there are less patrols and probably easier to get a quick meal.

You roam the streets, but it looks like even the lower elements have tried to set up some sort of safety plan during this uncertain time. Bums and the like are lingering together. Whores are as well and even performing their trade in groups. The worst part is instead of the Watch, there are Ebony Claw Syndicate members patrolling around and they're probably even more diligent since some of the ECS are also Fel followers.

You soon realize that you're probably going to have to just enter a tavern and just lure someone away and get them in private or just risk the attention and wipe out a small group as quick as possible. Actually you're keener on the second idea since you're getting a bit impatient with how inconvenient this has been.

Just as you're turning a corner a man in a green robe literally runs into you. It's enough to cause you to stagger since you weren't paying attention, as you were lost in thought.

The man himself is on the ground. He looks scared, but strangely not because of you. He keeps looking around.

"By Yag, you're a pale one. Wait… you a vampire?" the man asks.
"Well there's no point in me lying since you're going to be my food soon." You respond.
"Yeah? Well we that follow Yag all know that eventually we can't beat the odds forever. In fact tonight the odds were REALLY against me. Didn't see it ending like this though, certainly wasn't in the temple betting pool, hah! However I'd suggest you do it quickly before the Dornans get here. They see you and they'll use you for spell components, that is if the Joachimites don't get here first and just burn your undead ass."

The Yagite priest continues to look around, waiting for what you're going to do, but it was always obvious.

"Well guess I better follow your advice and make this quick then." You say and pick up the man and bite his neck. He makes little resistance other than gasping out some last prayer to Yag.

You haven't been eating long when you're interrupted. The Yag priest wasn't kidding when he said someone would be here soon.

"Yagite scum, you'll pay for…wha…?" a female voice says.

You look in the direction of the voice and snarl at being disturbed. You see a woman dressed in purple and blue robes and a couple of other members of her temple behind her.

"Vampire!" one of them shouts and begins to cast something and you leap into action.

"No, wait!" the female member says and backs away, but you and her subordinates aren't listening. You head towards the acolyte that was attempting to cast a spell.

After you easily put your fist through his chest, you feel flames at your back, which the other acolyte has cast at you. The flames hurt, but it isn't nearly enough to save him, you're just too quick and you rip out his throat. You savior the quick taste of blood before turning towards your last foe.

"Stop! Stop! It's me!" the woman continues to shout as she puts a shield up and that's when your bloodlust subsides long enough to finally recognize who she is.

It's Heather.

You certainly didn't expect to run into her on your first night here. In the back of your head, you sort of had a concern that maybe if you ever did, it would stir up complicated feelings about her.

However, at this moment the only thing you're feeling is the desire to slash her open and drink her dry…

You stop your attack

It takes everything within you, but you stop completely. Heather may not have been your girlfriend or even a friend in the traditional sense, but she was trying to help you once and her company however brief did comfort during that time.

You can't just forget all that.

"Shit. Heather. Apologies. I…well as you can see, I've undergone a transformation since we last spoke." You say.
"What the hell happened? Are you…I mean you're really a…" Heather starts to say.
"Vampire? Yes. I found a cure to my other condition after all."
"But…how? I mean not only how did you know, how did you find a vampire that would do it without killing you outright?"
"Let's just say, fate sometimes finds a way of finding you and when it does, embrace it."
"Okay, but I mean this is a severe change and irreversible."
"It's better than that cold condition I had. I don't think you really know how unbearable that got."
"No, I suppose I never truly did. So…is this better then?"
"For the most part, I mean I can never see the sun again, but then I never was a day person to begin with. Oh and I have to drink blood from others to survive."
"You have to kill them too?"
"The two normally go hand in hand, but considering the types I'm often killing around here, I don't think anyone is going to miss them."
"Well, I'm certainly going to miss my two acolytes."
"Apologies."
"You said that before. Doesn't change the fact that they're dead. "
"Well, my new condition gets a little intense sometimes. I get in this mode and I just…well you saw what happened. Though I stopped myself for you. That's the important thing right?"
"I…guess. Maybe I should go. I'm going to somehow explain how I got two members killed hunting one pathetic Yagite. Nevermind, take care I guess."

Heather backs off slowly from you, still keeping her shield up and her eyes on you the whole time.

You almost want to stop her, but you realize that maybe this is for the best that she reacted in this way. Not wishing to attract any excessive attention with all the bodies around, you take your leave and head back home without bothering to engage in whatever roguish endeavors you originally were intending.

As you make your way back home, you feel somewhat weird about the situation with Heather. You feel like it should be over and done with, but you can't stop thinking about her.

Why? Are you trying to hang on to some sort of "humanity?" Are you thinking about what could have been if things had been different? Do you think there still could be?

You quickly dismiss all of these thoughts mainly because it's stupidly suicidal to begin with. Isabella is your mate now and you really don't have many complaints about her. She's been more than understanding and helpful even if you don't feel exactly "close" to her sometimes.

Speaking of which, when you arrive back home, Isabella soon comes to greet you. It would seem Isabella decided to wait up for you for a change. You weren't expecting her to.

"Well that was quick. I at least expected you to stay out until dawn. Did you have fun stealing items and whatever else?" Isabella remarks.
"I didn't bother. I mostly ate and then got out of there." You answer.
"What happened?"
"Just ran into a bit of unexpected resistance. Nothing I couldn't handle though. The religious factions in Holgard are practically having open battle in the streets, so it's making things a bit more chaotic than usual. Even the Joachimites have formed mobs to burn what they consider the unholy. Exciting though."
"Hm, interesting. So does this mean you're not going back?"
"Eh, not sure yet. I think I need to reassess."
"Well whatever you like dear. Come now, let's lay together."

The next few days you stay away from Holgard and go back to hunting bandits and wanderers outside. During this time you think about how it's probably silly of you to avoid Holgard just because of Heather. Holgard is a big city and while its certainly possible to run into her again, you're confident that you don't have any real feelings for her.

It was just a brief bit of emotion brought on by your surprise to see her. Judging by her own reaction she's probably never going to want to be near you if she can help it.

Of course this does bring up the question of how you'll react exactly if you DO see her again. You doubt if you'll kill her though.

A week passes and you're back in Holgard. This time though, you decide to engage in some thievery rather than hunting. That was of course one of the things you were wondering if you'd be interested in doing again.

You spend a few hours breaking into some jewelry stores with relative ease. Seems Isabella was right that you aren't getting the same thrill from it like you used to. It's just a little too easy and you suppose it's just not the same as hunting down something and drinking its blood.

Still, no point in discarding what you've got now. You've never known Isabella to wear jewelry (or anything else for that matter) but maybe she'll appreciate the pretties all the same.

As you're sneaking back out of one of the stores, a familiar voice calls to you.

"Got anything pretty for me in there? Gotta say, didn't expect to find you ripping off some trinket store." Heather remarks standing nearby.
"Wha…Heather? What the hell are you doing here? Are you following me?" you ask.
"Well somewhat. I've actually been looking for you for the past several days since I wanted to apologize for being so stand offish with you. "
"Oh. It's fine, completely understandable." You say getting ready to move on.
"I've been casting detect undead regularly since that night just to apologize. I'm guessing since you haven't back to the city for a while, our reunion was unexpected for you as well. Are you really okay? I mean sincerely?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Just in a bit of a hurry, I just robbed this store and the rogue in me likes to leave the scene of a crime as soon as possible."
"Oh, right! Yeah, makes sense. Well can I come with you? I really would like to catch up with you. So much has happened and I besides how I acted last time, I sort of want to apologize for how we parted before that too."

Part of you really wants to say "No." and just take off. A very small part of you feels like you should just kill her to avoid complications.

However the largest part of you is the one that actually wants to talk with her like an idiot.

Guess which one you follow?

"Uh, okay fine. Just let's go some place secluded." You say.

You waste no time leaving the area and soon you and Heather are in some empty non-descript dark alley.

"Not exactly what I had in mind. I figured we'd go to one of the neutral taverns and talk." Heather says.
"I don't like crowds, besides any petty thugs that stumble upon us are going to be up shit's creek if they start trouble."
"I guess you got that one right, though I'd be more concerned with the ECS patrols given their Fel connections, but again I suppose we could take them. Anyway, how have you been?"

Heather asks you in more detail about your vampirism, but you're somewhat hazy on the details of the hows and whys. (And you certainly don't mention Isabella) You get the impression Heather knows you're hiding something, but decides not to press the issue, probably not wishing to potentially anger you.

Instead of interrogating you all night long, she decides to talk about herself and what she's been up to since you parted ways.

Heather goes on to say that she's risen in rank at her temple and is practically second in command only to Elder Flynn himself. Though whenever she mentions him you don't get a tone of fondness.

"Far be it from me to pry, but I get the strong impression you don't like Elder Flynn anymore." You say.
"I…I don't dislike him. It's just…ugh. He's been too passive in this war of the faith! He keeps wanting to play defensively when we should be going more on the attack! Dorna is the strongest goddess of all and while our temple may be one of the smallest in this city, we make up in quality! I'd put any of ours against ten Felians! And the temple of Fel are arguably our only true competition here mainly because there are so many." Heather remarks.
"What about the rest of the factions?"
"Not even worth speaking of. The Yagites are practically finished here. The brainless followers of Karn will eventually follow. The Joachimites would be more of a challenge, but again, they only have numbers on their side and not even to the extent that the Felians have. They would fall as well. I believe we could crush all other factions and make a separate peace with the temple of Fel. It's not ideal, but at least it would cut the competition down in the long run."

You always detected a bit of ambition in Heather even back when you were trading magic items for her help before. It would appear she's only gotten more so.

"Well, sounds like you've got your hands full." You say.
"Yes, I do and I don't get adequate help to perform the tasks I really need to do. Bah, anyway, I don't mean to unload my troubles on to you. I'm not even sure why I am. I guess it's the act of a desperate woman." Heather remarks.
"Okay, you'll have to explain that one a little more."
" I suppose, I was hoping assuming you're willing of course that you might help me."
"Help you do what exactly?"
"Take down a rival faction."
"What, all by ourselves?"
"I think we could do it! With your vampire powers and my magic abilities, I know for a fact that we could probably take out the Yagites or even Karnites!"
"I dunno…this whole thing really isn't my concern."
"Well, you like blood right? I mean you'd practically be bathing in it. And given what I saw of you with my acolytes, you definitely like killing. Unless you're seriously telling me you like easily stealing from shops more."
"Can't deny that. I do like killing and I do like blood. It's just..."
"For the love of Dorna! You can't help me in the same way I tried to help you in the past? Have you forgotten so quickly of all the risks I took?" Heather says with a raised voice.

She then realizes that she may have overstepped a boundary when your attitude becomes less cordial.

"No, I haven't forgotten. I also haven't forgotten of how you just left me to save your own ass when things were getting too risky for you. I even suggested that we run away together, but no. Your faith was more important and that's what you chose. Now, you're seriously getting pissed at me for not wanting to get involved in your personal war that I don't really give a shit about? I think YOU forget that you're addressing a vampire. One who is close enough to drain you dry before you could even utter a single incantation to defend yourself right now. I haven't even used my powers of suggestion on you to make you into my puppet and have you do what I want before ultimately disposing of you. And if I chose to do so, there would be no way for you to stop me. So don't forget THAT."

Your firm reminder of who you are to Heather causes her to back off a bit. She even looks a bit embarrassed.

"You're right of course…I just…I know…"

Heather immediately brandishes a small dagger.

"What the hell are you doing?" you ask fully prepared to defend yourself.
"I want to prove that my feelings for you, haven't gone away. I've always thought fondly of our intimacy together that day. I've always felt saddened as well. Always wondering what might have been. I never dreamed that we could have another chance. But now with you back, maybe I thought we could try again. It won't be easy, but I'm willing to take that step. I offer myself to you once again. You may do whatever you will to me. Ravish me here in this alley like a common whore, drink my blood until you've had your fill, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I trust you. Perhaps then, when you've had your way with me, you may find that part of you still has feelings for me as well. If you didn't, you wouldn't have spared me at all." Heather says and cuts her arm.

She then thrusts the bleeding limb at you. Tempting you like this, is very risky on her part since it's likely to just cause you to go into a feeding frenzy and kill her outright.

However, perhaps she was right about you still having some feelings for her because you keep yourself in check and only take a little of her blood. Heather winces a bit, but when your mouth soon moves to her own she is enjoying it.

You waste no time in turning her around and lifting up her robe and having your way roughly with her against the nearby wall.

As you thrust inside her, you whisper in her ear.

"Do you really desire my help?"
"Yes. Do with me, as you like. Just help me crush my enemies in Dorna's name."
"I'll help you crush your enemies, but the only name you'll be praising tonight is going to be mine."

You can sense her excitement, her fear, her tension, everything. Something about all this is really doing it for you as well. You're totally dominating her and that's even more exhilarating than just killing someone and drinking their blood. This isn't even like having sex with Isabella either. This is something new you're experiencing and you're going to enjoy the hell out of it.

You keep Heather quite during your intimacy by putting your hand over her mouth. Her stifled squeaks and your own reserved grunts are the only sound until your time is done with her.

Heather takes a moment to catch her breath. She's probably never quite been treated that way before.

"That was…uh…(whew) I…"
"A glimpse of things to come. Now, I'll be back tomorrow night and we can continue with your plans. I'm sure you'll find me again." You respond.

You leave Heather in the alley to collect herself and head home feeling a bit more positive about your trip to Holgard this time.

When you get home Isabella is in her garden, you decide not to disturb her and get some early rest. You figure you're going to have to save your strength for what you've gotten yourself into.

You time passes...

Year 27

This religious war has been the most fun you've had in a long time.

While you've mostly been taking advantage of the chaos that the city has been plaguing the city again, you have also been working along side Heather in her efforts to take down the other religious factions.

Heather isn't supposed to be engaging the other factions as much as she's doing, since Elder Flynn was still against being so aggressive. However, she's been openly arguing with him and convincing others members to follow her lead on this strategy. Since she's a respected voice within her group, Elder Flynn has relented a bit.

It's mostly been directed towards the Yagites since she wants to make a concentrated effort on one group, but occasionally others are fought as well.

However, she's been keeping all dealings with you as close to the vest as possible. Whenever you work with her, it's always just her and there are no other Dornans helping. You aren't sure why, but then you've never bothered to ask.

In any case, you're just in this for the killing and fucking Heather mostly.

Right now, you're in the process of attacking the main temple of Yag. Their numbers have dwindled to a point where an attack wouldn't be suicidal. Pathetically easy in fact as you face little resistance and soon leave Heather behind to "sweep up" the acolytes that pose no real challenge.

You burst into the inner sanctum of Yag's temple. Several followers busily attempt to call forth incantations in order to stop you, but the most damage one does is summon forth a bunch of butterflies to flutter in your face.

The winds of their "luck magic" are blowing the wrong way constantly. Yag either isn't listening, doesn't give a shit or is finding it all pretty amusing. Either way, the advantage is yours.

You rip into three members and then two more before you're half way across the room. The Yagite high priest is busily rolling dice on his altar (which resembles more of a craps table) Every now and then he looks up at you, but continues to roll his dice, cursing the entire time.

Eventually you reach him and just as you grab him he manages to roll one last time. You both see the results and its snake eyes.

"Looks like you lose." You say.
"We've been losing for quite some time now. Tried to bet big, but it's all come to this. Such is the way of Yag." The high priest says
"You Yagites are very odd, you certainly don't want to die, but the few that I have ever spoken with always have a resigned fate when the time comes."
"Well there's no point in fighting fate son. When your numbers don't come up, there's nothing that can be done about it. We had a good run here in Holgard, but I guess the odds were more against us than we thought. I got one question for you though. What the hell do you have against us? We don't hunt vampires. We don't hunt anything. I'd think you'd be after the Joachimites more than us…or are we just an easier target? You the Dornans pet vampire or what? You know those assholes will eventually dispose of you too."
"I'm nobody's fucking pet!" you snap and start to crush the high priest's windpipe.

Heather walks in and you turn to look at her.

"Don't kill him yet, I need to interrogate him first!" Heather shouts.

You drop the high priest to the floor. He coughs a bit and then begins to struggle to laugh.

"What's so fucking funny?" you ask.
"Yeah, sure. You're nobody's pet." The high priest laughs.

This small act of disrespect is enough for you to kick him in the face, putting your foot partially through it killing him instantly.

"What the fuck!? I told you I wanted him alive to interrogate! The Yagites might be broken by this, but they could have hideouts still in the city somewhere! He probably could have revealed other information as well!" Heather scolds.
"Heather, I think you're forgetting who you're talking to again." You remark.
"Yeah, I know who I'm talking to, and YOU'RE supposed to be following my lead on these matters!"
"I did."

You suddenly grab Heather, lift her robe up and bend her over the altar. Doesn't take long before you've established your dominance again. It's a common routine for the pair of you at this point. You both enjoy it.

After you're done, you're ready to move on, but of course Heather isn't done with you yet.

"Where are you going?" Heather asks.
"I helped you wipe out this temple and I fucked you. My job is done for the night."
"Well, you don't need to leave so damn quickly. I want to make plans for our next major endeavor."
"Fine, but make it quick and we probably shouldn't stick around in a temple full of dead priests."

You and Heather take your leave of the temple and find a secluded spot to talk about your next moves. Or at least Heather is, you're just listening.

"Okay, I think our next move should focus on the Joachimites." Heather remarks.
"I figured you'd say the Karnite since they're few in number." You say.
"I would, but I believe the Felians are in the process of wiping them out. No need to get in their way and no need to waste time on something someone else is doing anyway. Joachimites are a big problem though and I figure you being a vampire and all, you'd enjoy taking them out all the more."
"I'm actually indifferent. All these mortals are just blood bags to me. Whether they have some irrational hate for me or not is irrelevant since I'm killing them anyway."
"Well I suppose that's one way to look at it. Um, it might take awhile for me to call on your help though on this. I need to talk this over with my brothers and sisters and get them on board with this too. Elder Flynn was eventually fine with wiping out the Yagites, might be harder to convince him about the Joachim fanatics though."
"Sure, whatever. I'll just be stalking the streets like I normally do. Maybe I'll bump into a Joachimite from time to time to give us less to worry about in future battles with them."
"Yeah about that, I was sort of wondering if you could take a break from the city for awhile. Like maybe a few months or so."
"Excuse me?"
"Our relationship is getting a bit harder to hide from the rest of my brethren."
"So, what difference does it make? I thought you lot weren't supernatural hating fanatics."
"We aren't, but you don't understand. If they knew I had a vampire helping me, it would cause unnecessary complications."
"Oh come on, I can't imagine that your people don't know at all about me already."
"They don't actually. If they did, I probably would have been confronted already, especially by Elder Flynn. He'd be asking WHY I had not been sharing you with the rest as a valuable resource."
"Resource?"
"Yes resource. To most of them, you wouldn't be looked upon as an individual, but rather a weapon to be used to the fullest degree."
"Well isn't that what you're sort of doing?"
"I am not! Our relationship is more than that! Or at least I thought it was, do you feel differently?"
"I'm not getting into this again." You say.
"Well maybe we should, because lately I feel like you don't appreciate ALL the risks I take to keep us together! This is like when I was visiting you during your cold curse all over again!"

And this was something you were trying to avoid. Heather has an uncanny knack of turning everything around to make it all about herself and be overly dramatic about it as well.

While Heather goes into a tirade about how much she's sacrificing for your relationship, you don't even bother sticking around, you just leave. You don't have to listen to this, because you've heard it all before, and at this point you're sort of wondering WHY you're still putting up with it.

You guess you have enough fondness for Heather that you don't want to kill her, but you're starting to get the real impression that she's not really relationship material either. Sure she's masochistic enough to put up with your own power trip bullshit, but you could probably just charm some random mortal if you really wanted to do that with significantly less hassle.

And it's apparent she feeds off of it in some weird way. Maybe she's a vampire too in her own fashion.

In any case, you head back home. You start to think maybe you haven't been appreciating Isabella as much as you should be. Sure, she's a bit condescending at times when she disapproves of something you've done, but she's centuries old. Of course she's going to be like that.

If anything she's very tolerant of you. In fact she's helped you more than Heather ever has and unlike Heather she can keep up the pace in the bedroom.

Why the hell have you even been cheating on her again?

Because you're an idiot that still doesn't know what the hell you want. Makes sense you suppose. Your life has been fairly off track ever since you left Teckleville and you've been fumbling around ever since.

That changes after tonight. You're going to go home and reaffirm your dedication to Isabella. Especially since you also realize that despite having been with her for a couple years, you still don't know much about her own past.

Well at least you thought you were. Isabella as it turned out had other plans.

As soon as you walk into the crypt you find Isabella waiting for you to tell you that you're leaving.

"You're kicking me out?!" you exclaim.
"Considering that it's almost dawn, you'll be able to stay here until tomorrow night, but as soon as the sun goes down, I want you out of here." Isabella says.
"But can't we talk about this?!"
"No. You've had MORE than enough time to talk about what's going on with you, yet you've chosen to try to hide your actions. It's obvious that you have some human whore on the side. Mind you, I didn't even care at first…even assumed you'd probably stray from time to time. Most likely fucking your prey before you killed them. However I've detected the same familiar scent on you for months now. Obviously it's same the woman."
"Wait, you knew?"
"Of course I knew. I'm not an idiot. Or did you not notice that I stopped sharing the bed with you months ago?"
"I just figured you were really into your garden."
"Hm, well if you had any concern, you would have known I was sleeping in there. In any case, I figured I'd still give you some time to either confess or even better, eventually get bored enough to kill her, but given I can still smell the stench of her on you even tonight, I'm guessing you haven't done that."
"Isabella, you're so damn aloof towards me that I don't even know if you care whether I'm here or not most of the time. I mean if we didn't fuck, we might as well just be cryptmates. You never talk to me about yourself, and I'm not mind reader, I mean if I had known that me seeing Heather was…"
"Heather? Is that its name then? Tell me, what exactly is so special about this woman that she's gotten so much of your attention?"

You explain as short as possible of your odd long-term relationship with Heather. To Isabella's credit, she listens without anger and doesn't interrupt.

"I see. Well, I suppose then it does make a little more sense. Here I was thinking it was some random pretty face, however I'm somewhat relieved to hear that there was at least some deeper reasoning behind it all. Perhaps this is the woman for you after all." Isabella says.
"What? No! In fact I was just coming over here to reaffirm my love for you! Heather isn't the one for me!" you remark.
"Isn't she? Seems like you've been spending more time helping her in her tasks than what would be normal. You obviously have fondness for this girl. And you're right, you don't really know me that well at all. Perhaps some of that is my fault. Decades of being alone tend to make one reclusive even to those that you have feelings for, but as I said, I was always here and you could have made the effort."
"But I'm making it now! I love you!"
"No. No you don't. You had a fight with your girlfriend because she's demanding something that you don't want to do so you're going for the easy way out, by falling back on me. Well, that's not how relationships work. You sometimes have to do shit you don't want to do rather than running off at the first sign of trouble."

Isabella approaches you with a smile and touches your face.

"Now maybe it IS a case that you don't love this Heather and have decided that she isn't for you, but in any case you don't love me and I don't really love you either. I was just lonely and liked you well enough that I thought you might fulfill that gap and you did, for a while at least. You're a free vampire and I've told you all the basics of what this life is like. Anything else, you'll have to figure out yourself. Take care okay?"

Isabella, without another word turns to leave you. You decide to make a last ditch effort and put your hand on her shoulder. She spins around so quick that you're on the floor from a punch to the face before you realize it.

"What the fuck!? I was just going to kiss you!" you exclaim holding your face in pain.
"And I told you it was over and I meant it. This isn't going to be one of those rewritten happy endings in a children's fairy tale where the man kisses the girl and everything is all better again." Isabella says.
"Obviously not…shit…"

As Isabella leaves you on the floor to ponder your misguided judgment of how she really feels about you, you also ponder what you're going to do when you get up tomorrow night. It's too much to think about right now so you just go to bed.

The next night, you gather your meager belongings and leave the crypt as quickly as you can. No sign of Isabella, you assume she's in her garden, but you don't want to be around for her to see you again anyway.

You aren't sure where to go. Your first instinct is to just go to Holgard. Heather told you not to, but why the hell do you really need to listen to her for? Actually you still haven't sorted out all your feelings about that relationship yet either.

Isabella might have had it right in that you were just running away from Heather because you didn't want to do what she said. Maybe you could talk with her though. Sure, she's a bit dramatic at times, but she's usually willing to listen. She has taken risks for you, so that is worth considering.

Of course part of you just wants to say "fuck it" and leave this area entirely. Seems like nothing good has come of it ever since you left Teckleville.

You go to Holgard

You might as well go back to Holgard and stay there until you figure out your next major move. No real reason to leave considering the plentiful food source. You can probably make a home in one of the tombs in their graveyard in the meantime.

Not to mention you're loathed to leave just because Heather doesn't want you around for a while. You can't believe the nerve of her. She's pretty annoying at times, if she were anyone else, you wouldn't be putting up with it, but since you are, Isabella might have been correct in thinking you must have stronger attachment to her than you even let on.

In any case, you make your way back to Holgard and kill a few whores before ultimately fixing up a suitable tomb for yourself.

Over the course of a few weeks you take the opportunity to hunt down a few Joachimites that are stupid enough to wander in smaller groups just so you don't have to deal with as many of the fanatics in the future.

You aren't terribly surprised when you eventually get a visit from Heather.

"Hello? You awake? I know you're in here." You hear Heather say as she steps inside the tomb.
"Yeah, now I'm awake! Close the fucking door, you're letting the daylight in!" you shout from inside your stone coffin.

When you hear the door close, you slide the slab open and sit up.

"What the hell do you want? I'm trying to get some rest, you couldn't have come around night instead of the middle of the fucking day?" you say.
"You probably wouldn't have been home, what with you massacring Joachimites and all." Heather says.
"Probably not. Let me guess, you're here to bitch at me for being here at all."
"Well, I sort of know that would be pointless since you obviously aren't going to listen. In fact I sort of figured after our last talk, you'd be here more often anyway. So are you living in the city now? I thought you lived somewhere outside of it."
"Yeah, things have changed since our last talk, so I'm living here now. You mad about that too?"

Heather shakes her head and sighs.

"Stop being an asshole for a moment, I'm trying to tell you that I don't care. I realize that I shouldn't have tried to tell you what to do. I apologize. I'm just really stressed about everything on my mind lately."
"Hm, well I guess you did have your reasons. Honestly though, I don't understand why you haven't just killed the old bastard yet. I mean that IS what your end game ultimately is right? Take over the temple along with having it be one of the two remaining religions in this city?"
"Yes…but I really don't like it. Elder Flynn has been like a father to me. I mean in the eyes of Dorna, he basically IS my father in some ways. I really didn't want it to come to this, but his path to not the right one for the future of our temple. Dorna is a goddess that deserves more attention and respect. We won't get that if we remain as we are."
"Well not everyone has the ability to be a wizard, let alone the discipline or talent."
"True, but that doesn't mean the non-magical people can't pay their respects. Dorna is also a goddess of knowledge. It's very sad that so many are content on remaining ignorant."
"The fools have got to have their fun."
"Be that as it may. Deposing Elder Flynn is not going to be easy. I really need to make sure I have everyone on my side in the temple first and I do mean everyone. Best way to do that is convince them that my way is working and honestly your recent activity has been helping rather than hurting."
"Well of course it is, I'm killing the opposition."
"Yes, but I had feared that it might cause unwanted attention before I had time to organize and talk to my brethren first. However, most of them haven't needed much convincing. I think wiping out the Yagites has caused a domino effect and many are willing to follow my plans."
"What about Elder Flynn?"
"Well that's the other thing. He's been in meditation for a week now. Granted he's been known to disappear like that anyway, but the fact that he's withdrawn for so long during this time is strange. Though it's another reason why your actions haven't bothered me. Elder Flynn hasn't been focusing on outside activities."
"So why not kill him now? Sounds like you've got this already wrapped up."
"Again, not so simple. Plus, he's in meditation, which means he's currently got magic shields and such around him. He'd also be at his most powerful since he's been storing up energy."
"I dunno, I think you're hesitating and overthinking this shit. I say the longer you wait, the worse the harder it's going to be."
"I know…that's why I want you to help when the time comes."
"Me? You're the one with all the magic friends and defenses!"
"You've already had experience killing one powerful wizard right?"
"Yes, but that was sheer luck when I really think about it. And I had help."
"And you'll have even more help when the time comes. I'll still be there, along with the rest of the temple!"

Heather approaches closer and leans into your chest while staring into your eyes.

"Please I just really need your direct support on this. I know we've been having our problems lately, and I know you've been going above and beyond. But I really feel like we have something special. If I didn't believe we did, I would have never given myself so willingly to you. I feel like your strength and ruthlessness of what needs to be done will make me less likely to waver in this task."

You look at Heather and see the hopeful desperation in her eyes. You also see her dedication to you. You suppose it is true. Despite all your problems, the pair of you do have a lovers bond and you could do worse than Heather. (And you don't just think that because Isabella isn't in your life anymore)

"Okay, I'll help you directly on this, but if we're going to do this, it needs to be done as soon as possible. I'm ready to go now and do it for example." You say.
"Oh no, not right now. I still should organize more." Heather remarks.
"Look Heather, the old bastard needs to die if you really want to take over. That's all there is to it. You have to put your sentimentality aside. Now I've already agreed to help, but you NEED to play your part."
"I will! I will! I just really need to set things in motion and solidify alliances. Give me at least a couple days, okay? Whether everything is good or not, we'll go through it."
"Very well. So, where are attacking tonight? I assume you've got a group of Joachimite fanatics in mind."
"Hm, maybe you should save your strength and just relax with a good meal. In fact maybe you should have little magic with your meal, then afterwards you can satisfy your other appetites. "

Heather cuts herself for you and you indulge in her blood without another word. After you've had enough, you proceed to take her up on her other offer.

The next few nights are uneventful for you and you go for easier prey since you keep in mind of what you're going to be up against soon. You just hope Heather actually goes through with it and doesn't come back to you in saying something like "Um…I think we need to wait some more…"

She shows up after three days have passed.

"There you are, glad to see it only took you one extra day." You say.
"There were some complications." Heather remarks nervously.
"Hm…you seem very nervous. I do hope you aren't going to tell me you need more time."
"No, tonight is the night. I've managed to convince most of my brethren to side with me either directly or at least look the other way. Elder Flynn himself has finally left his meditation. He's not going to go down without a fight, but I believe we'll be able to take him."
"That's good to hear, but you still seem really nervous."
"Of course I'm nervous! This is a winner take all gamble and on top of never facing someone so powerful, I'm also facing a man I used to respect. (Sigh) Well like you said, best to just get it over with, stand still."
"What for?"
"I'm going to cast protective magic on you. You might be supernatural, but if you go in without any protection, Elder Flynn is going to just incinerate you with a beam of light."
"Oh. Well okay, anything that will help then."

Heather mumbles some prayers to Dorna and casts something over you and you're bathed in some sort of blue light temporarily. It lasts a few seconds and then disappears. After casting the spell, Heather seems a bit calmer.

"Okay, that should do it. How do you feel?"
"I don't feel any different, is it working?"
"Yes, if you felt something then something would be wrong. Okay, let's go do this dark task. We're going back to the temple. Those that are in on the plan will be there, along with Elder Flynn."
"Nothing like killing a man in his own home, let's go."

You and Heather make haste to the temple of Dorna and when you arrive a group of young acolytes stand around outside. One of them approaches Heather.

"Sister, you're here. All of us here are ready to follow your lead. Those that do not wish to take part have left and will not stand in your way." The young priest says.
"Understandable. This is grim business. There will be no retribution upon them afterwards." Heather remarks.
"Understood…is this the vampire?" the priest says looking at you a bit anxiously. Before you can say anything Heather speaks quickly.
"Yes, and he's already been informed and will help us."
"Very well, Elder Flynn is in the summoning chamber. I believe he's engrossed in an experiment of some sort. He doesn't know or suspect anything."
"Good, then I guess the best thing to do would be to just rush in there and take him by surprise."

You, Heather and all her little friends enter the temple. Heather takes lead and after walking down a few corridors you all come to a solid ornate double door.

"Okay, this is it." Heather remarks and exhales.
"Let's do it." You say and open up the doors.

At this point you take the lead. Your hope is that you'll be so quick that this will be over before anyone realizes it.

You see an old man at a bunch of tables with various alchemy equipment on them at the far end of the room. You're already half way across it before he turns around.

Then just as you get almost within range of him, you suddenly freeze in place with a wave of his hand.

At this moment you'd say "Shit!" but you can't speak either.

You think that at least Heather and the rest will come in to help you, but after a few seconds of no sounds of shouting or orders, you realize this situation is even worse. Elder Flynn is noticing that you're realizing that too.

"What's wrong vampire? Have you finally realized that you've been played like a like a cheap lute? I knew Sister Heather's ambitions long ago. While she did her best to try to keep things secret from me, she should have known that Dorna favors the most knowledgable and wise and in this case, that's me."

Elder Flynn waves his hand a bit more and after a few moments you see out of the corner of your eye, Heather levitating slightly off the floor and then being slowly placed back on it. She's frozen as well.

"The rest of you hanging about the door over there can leave. You've played your part, get back to your studies or whatever tasks you need to do. And close the door too." Flynn remarks and you soon hear the sound of the doors close behind you.

Now it's just the three of you alone. Elder Flynn walks over to Heather.

"I looked upon you as a daughter, do you know that? Even though I knew you sought to one day replace me, I had hoped that you would at least be smart about it. Such a waste. You are going to severely pay for your treachery girl. I can't describe just how much, but you'll soon experience it for yourself."

Elder Flynn then walks over to you.

"You on the other hand I suppose are an unwitting pawn in all this. Barely more intelligent than a zombie servant. Fitting, considering you're little better than one. Vampires are always such slaves to their base needs and yours have lead you to this fate. Take solace in the fact that you won't have to see your little girlfriend suffer, but I will be using your ashes in an interesting spell I have in store for her."

You want to attack, yell, bite, scream, and rip apart Flynn, but all your anger is impotent in your current frozen state.

Then it's gone when Flynn casts a strong beam of light which incinerates you quickly, though not quick enough for you not to feel the pain before you die.