000
Noch am Ende der Zeit
Werd' ich bei dir sein...
001
It was still early morning when Weisz gathered herself in her room of the castle. Castle's master, Krieger, went to sleep in his crypt – she made sure he did it and laid properly in his stone coffin, not sitting on the bones-littered floor beside it as he was prone to do. After seeing to that she had a few hours for herself – a few hours to lose heavy human form and rest.
But now those hours were over. Weisz looked herself over, making sure her dress was in proper shape and condition, nodded to her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall – the reflection nodded back approvingly – and disappeared into the fog that swept itself under the door out of the room.
New day of work was about to begin.
002
She appeared in the middle of the kitchen, startling Traveller, who, dressed in his usual worn-out camouflage clothing, was sitting in the corner with a coffee mug in one hand and a cigarette in another.
"Whoa!?" he barely managed not to spit out coffee. "You can do that?"
"I can" Weisz smiled. "Also I thought the kitchen was my territory…"
"Er… nobody told me?" Traveller blinker several times before saying anything else. "I can leave if it's off limits, really… I'm just used to kitchens being a common space, at least as far as drinks are concerned."
"You're lucky I don't mind company…"
"Morning, Weisz!" growled Ruprecht, coming into the room – he was wearing his usual attire, helmet included, and carried a large backpack.
"Morning, helmet guy!" Traveller waved at him, smiling.
"Ugh…" Ruprecht groaned, putting the backpack on the floor and taking off the helmet, revealing a rough-shaped face half-covered by a bushy black beard. "Here's all you asked for, Weisz. May I have some coffee too?"
"Wait…" Traveller was baffled. "He can do that?"
"Ruprecht I don't remember you asking for a coffee before…" Weisz said.
"Well…" Ruprecht sat down. "If the camo guy can have it why can't I?"
"Camo guy?" Traveller smiled. "I like it."
“You want coffee – make it yourself” Weisz said, and while Ruprecht was busying himself with preparing a drink, she opened the backpack that was standing on the floor and began pulling it’s contents out – those were mostly groceries, rather usual, but one plastic bag made Traveller curious. It looked dirty and extremely un-appetising – and when Weisz opened it to look inside, there was an obvious rotten stench.
“I hope that’s not for me…” Traveller said.
“Don’t worry” Weisz closed the bad. “It’s for master Krieger.”
“Krieger?” Traveller the eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“You guys…” Traveller shook his head. “Are a fun bunch, you know that? Maid that pops up out of the mist in the middle of the room… Her master who’s a vampire but not the usual kind of a vampire but dresses like he’s in the vampire movie still… and that guy, who’s a…” he glanced at Ruprecht. “A bear.”
“It’s a beard” Ruprecht, stroked his thick dark facial hair. “Unlike your… disaster.”
“Also, mister Traveller” Weisz zipped up the now empty backpack. “Just so you know: this is my castle and I will haunt it in any manner I want.”
Traveller shrugged, took a sip of coffee, a drag of his cigarette, then looked at the two.
“I get it, I do, I’m sorry!” he said.
“...”
“Is asking for breakfast too much?”
“It is okay,” Weisz smiled. “Are scrambled eggs fine?”
“Just what I need!”
“Ruprecht?”
“Uh-huh!”
003
They almost finished breakfast – well, Ruprecht almost finished it, Traveller was long done with his eggs and was sitting there with another cigarette in his mouth – when the bell rang. To the sound of it, Weisz without saying a word dissipated into the fog.
“Can she not do that?” Traveller said with a voice devoid of any emotion. It looked like he was already used to the eccentricities of the castle’s inhabitants – at least to some of it.
“Morning courier had arrived…” Ruprecht finally finished his eggs and put the fork down. “Not my business, really… You smoke too much.”
“Are you afraid it’ll kill me? Or damage your health?” Traveller replied with a snark.
“Not really. Just saying.”
Traveller just shrugged and blew out a cloud of smoke.
“You are a fun bunch, aren’t you…” he repeated. “I’m not saying I don’t like it – it’s just… unusual.”
“What are?”
“Oddities… Apparitions… Ghosts… We’re individualists by our nature. Even the vampires – we call them ‘kings’ or ‘queens of oddities’, but actually they’re the biggest loners of us all. Yes, one may have a servant or two living with them – but to go so far… to create something bigger… fascinating. And frightening.”
“Frightening how?”
“Combined arms…”
“And legs?”
“Very funny” Traveller chuckled. “What I mean is – from the earliest of times generals knew that the strength of a hundred archers and a hundred spearmen could be greater than two hundreds spearmen. When used properly, of course. When they support each other, when they cover for each other’s weaknesses and multiply their strengths… And then you add the cavalry to the mix and go on your merry way conquering the known world all the way to India.”
“Are you implying…”
“No…” Traveller scratched the back of his head. “I don’t think so at least. Krieger doesn’t look like someone who would want to burden himself with an empire. What I’m saying though is that someone who look from the outside might think differently… Someone who maybe doesn’t know our old vampire good enough. Or just don’t trust vampires on principle.”
“Inq…” Ruprecht didn’t finish because the door to the kitchen opened, letting in Weisz with a pile of papers in her hands.
“Could someone….” she started. Ruprecht jumped from his seat to help her hold the papers but she moved them away. “I’ll manage this don’t worry. I need someone to go pick up a box of naga eggs and deliver them to… the address is on the paper here.”
“I’ll go” Traveller rose from his seat.
“You sure?” Ruprecht asked. “I can deal with this.”
"The old vampire has a garage so impressive I can't resist but to volunteer" Traveller smiled.
"Alright” Weisz finally found a place to put the papers down. “Just, please, pick something inconspicuous."
"Don't worry” Traveller waved it off “I might be eyeing that Silver Ghost but I'm not bold enough to drive that thing through the streets."
“Then go… now, both of you” Weisz shooed them out. “I need to concentrate on cooking… and the reports.”
“You know the way to the garage?” Ruprecht asked when the kitchen door closed behind them.
“No idea.”
“I’ll be your maid then. If you’d follow me please…”
“Just don’t turn into the fog or I won’t be able to find my way back… This castle’s a labyrinth.”
004
When they left, Weisz looked around, hummed something under her nose, sifted through the stack of the reports on the table, then twice, then put them into the air, – a swirl of mist kept them afloat and following her at the eye height, – took the knife and began preparing the meal, periodically distracting herself to read from the papers and decide what to do about it next.
Cut onions, carrots and peppers were fried in melted lard just long enough for the mixture to become translucent. Then in went very generous amounts of salt and pepper, followed by the bits of beef and bacon. She cooked it all for about half an hour, stirring the mix and reading...
Triple sightings of strygoi… High probability of the inquisition involvement… Specialists networks may ask for consultation – relay to master Krieger.
Water, she put on fire previously finally begun boiling – just in time for her to add it to the mix. But not before adding even more hot paprika. Now it needed an hour - an hour and a half more time to cook, so she could read some more...
Cobold activity around Fessenheim… Noted… Better not get involved and leave it for the specialists to sort out…
Then she added some pork, let it cook a bit, then added tomatoes. More water, more spice, more chilly pepper – and another hour and a half of cooking it on fire...
Harpy asserting her dominance over the birds of prey at the zoo… Amusing. Sent Ruprecht to extract the harpy and deliver her to the Traders – let them get the naughty birb somewhere less populous…
She had to call for Ruprecht – but that didn’t take long. After that she boiled some potatoes, drained the water and set those aside for now...
News about the vampire at Highgate cemetery appeared again... High probability of it being inspired by the inquisition… Relay to master Krieger.
Several more minutes passed and the meal was almost prepared. Weisz had just mix in the boiled potatoes and it was ready to be eaten. There still was more reading to be done though.
Ruprecht came back – few scratches but nothing serious. Sent him immediately to transfer the family of Polish zwergs to Norway.
That trip should’ve taken even him the best part of an hour. That should be enough time for her to finish with the reports and for Traveller to come back too. Then they all could share a meal together, as it should be eaten.
Reports were quite distressing – there were more and more information of different vampire subspecies being restless all around Europe and most events had some connection to the inquisition. It was so obvious of a clue that anyone could see it. But still – all of these had to be relayed to master Krieger. This is something that he would have to look through himself and decide what to do about it.
Weisz put the last of the papers back on the table and wiped her hands with a towel. All was done – as it should’ve been.
005
...Someone extremely gingerly half-opened the kitchen door.
“Weisz?” judging by the voice it was Ruprecht. “I’m done with errands… and repairs… and all the other stuff.”
“Don’t just stand there, come in,” she said. “Bear beard.”
“What beard!?”
“Oh, I have to somehow tell you two apart,” Weisz laughed. “You’ll be Bear beard, and the other guy will be Disaster…”
“That I am!” Traveller’s voice interrupted her. The most disturbing part was that voice was accompanied by wet quacking noises. Ruprecht and Weisz turned to look at what was going on and saw Traveller walking down the hallway having trouble pulling his feet off the floor because he was covered from head to toe in grey sticky slime.
Ruprecht chuckled.
“You can laugh” Traveller made a few more steps, each one making a “quack” sound again. “Just first explain to me – why haven’t I been told that those eggs were about to hatch? Explain, please. I’d very much like to know why I had to drive through the city while covered in small snake girls that were slithering all over me and calling me ‘mommy’!”
“Could you at least not leave the slimy trail all over my castle?” Weisz asked sternly.
“And how else would I ask you if you have a shower somewhere… or some way to clean it off me at least?”
“Can’t you clean it yourself?”
“Do you think I didn’t try? Look,” Traveller’s appearance become blurry, empty, blank – and his clothes shifted through several kinds of military uniforms and camouflage patterns. Slime haven’t gotten anywhere though. “See? This stuff’s super sticky somehow.”
“Is it now…” Weisz poked him with a finger, smelled the slime and rubbed it between her fingers. Then dissolved her hand into the fog for a second, letting the sticky substance fall on the floor. “...It is… I don’t even want to think about what the inside of the car looks like.”
“About like me?” Traveller pointed at himself.
“I would have to clean it…”
“Sorry…”
“Don’t be. All’s part of the job,” Weisz said. “Also, we don’t have a shower here.”
“You don’t?” Traveller either panicked or pretended to. Very convincingly pretended. His gaze went from Weisz to Ruprecht and back. “Well, I guess… Being who you are… You don’t need…”
“Oh, no, Traveller, don’t get me wrong” Weisz smiled. “It’s just a very old castle – so if you want to wash yourself you’ll have to heat up water, fill the bathtub and get into it.”
“That’s even better,” he smiled in return. “The hot bath – exactly what a weary traveller needs.”
“You’re awful” Ruprecht groaned. “Weisz, I’ll go look what he did to the car – and try to assess how badly damaged it is.”
“It’s not damaged!” Traveller reacted. “Just… a bit slimy.”
“Grrrr…”
006
After everything was assessed, – there really wasn’t any lasting damage done, even Ruprecht who treated every vehicle in the castle as his own baby, had to admit that Traveller was right, – and the last bits of slime cleaned out, all three of them gathered in the kitchen again.
It looked like this room has become an informal “base of operations” so to speak.
Of course, the cauldron with the soup that gave off a very inviting savory smell, had nothing to do with it.
“Oh, I know this smell!” clean and shiny Traveller sniffed the air. “It’s nostalgic… somehow.”
“It’s called bográcsleves, and…” Weisz started but Traveller interrupted her.
“Bogracz?! I knew it!” his eyes sparkled. “Give me your biggest spoon!”
“What’s with him?” asked Ruprecht, absolutely unimpressed by the prospect of eating this particular sort of food. “Traveller, are you sure you know what you’re asking for?”
“Of course I do!”
“It’s hot…”
“And spicy! As it should be!” Traveller slapped the table. “Finally someone who knows what the pepper is for!”
Ruprecht looked with a visible doubt how Traveller took a spoonful of soup out of the plate Weisz had put in front of him. He sipped it, went silent for a moment, letting the hot liquid put its warmth through his body, then the biggest smile appeared on his face.
“Weisz I love you…”
“You’re too easy,” she smiled.
“Seriously though, this is amazing. This really does taste so good… Brings back memories…”
“Are you,” Ruprecht squinted at him. “A masochist, maybe? Or are you just pretending to like it?”
“It’s just that good, okay?” Traveller fumed. “I wouldn’t be pretending… I don’t even have to! It’s tasty! I’d like some bread with it though…”
“Bread? What kind of?” Weisz asked.
“Just the plain white bread. Sorry, old habit.”
“Next time then. I apologize, we don’t have any right now,” Weisz was clearly happy with the Traveller’s reaction to her cooking but tried not to show it too much. “Ruprecht, would you like some soup too?”
“Well, I certainly don’t want to look weaker than the other guy… Give me a plate of your rocket fuel too.”
“Ghm-mhm-um. Mhmhg!” Traveller tried to say something with a mouth full of soup.
Ruprecht just shook his head.
007
...This castle wasn't as old as it looked like. Though if one were to be completely honest with their words – this castle just wasn't. It did not exist in the normal, common sense of the word. It was an extension of Weisz's being, a material manifestation of her desire to protect and a reminder of the part of her legend that said that the fog on the burial mounds sometimes took a shape of the women in white – a call back to the old days of Norse gods and creatures and alves…
Weisz walked down the long stairway leading to the castle's basement. She'd like to transform into the fog to get to the end of it sooner, but she was carrying a bucket filled with definitely spoiled meat, floating in stale blood and its own rotten-smelling juices. She really wanted to be nose-less fog right now – but she had to carry it down.
Narrow stairs lead her into the large unlit chamber in the centre of which stood a small stone crypt – the heart of the castle, the place it existed to protect.
Weisz didn't need any light to walk few steps towards the stone structure and pour the rotten mass from the bucket into the small iron tub in front of the crypt. Done that she stepped back and waited.
She heard a grunting sounds from inside a crypt, then something fell down followed by more grunts. Stone door opened painfully slow, letting out a vampire that was still half-asleep. He looked disheveled, naked and pathetic.
“Food! I need food!” he groaned, wiping his salivating lips that right now were of deathly greenish-pale color.
“Here, master,” Weisz gestured at the tub, filled with the most unappetising things possible. “Everything’s ready for you.”
Without a word he fell on his knees in front of the tub and scooped the meat and juice out with both his hands, hungrily munching on everything that got in the vicinity of his mouth. With every scoop, with every piece of the rotten meat he ate, his appearance changed a bit – becoming more and more lifelike, refined even. After some time he was finally able to create clothes for himself. Now nobody would call this monster “pathetic”...
“Aw damn!” Krieger cursed.
“Accidentally ate three of my own fingers!” he showed his mutilated hand to Weisz. “I hate when this happens.”
“It’s alright, master. After all, this too is the part of your legend,” she said calmingly. “They will grow out soon, right? They always do.”
“I know… It’s still annoying,” Krieger scooped another handful from the tub. “Weisz… Could you not stare at me while I’m eating? It’s distracting.”
“I am sorry, master,” she lowered her head. “But it is my duty to make sure you chew your food properly. After all, you’re not the young vampireling anymore, your digestion isn’t what it used to be…”
“Enough, Weisz… I get it. Just let me eat.”
“Please do. There are a lot of papers waiting for you to read them.”
“Papers… Extremely unappetising.”
“But important.”
“I know, I know…”
Krieger got back to eating.
Making sure he was chewing properly before swallowing.
