Plans

[Rattrap]

Rattrap took a seat in the creaky wooden chair. Four legs, a board to sit on, and a bar with three wooden rods holding it up - it wasn't much of a chair, but it served the doctor's purpose. He brushed aside the paperwork that lay all about his cluttered desk; several half-rolled up scrolls of parchment, documenting everything from his supply gathering for the day to a detailed operation of the little girl whom the strange mute woman had brought in with a major stab wound to the torso. She was sleeping, hopefully peacefully, in one of the rooms around the back.

He sat down the colorful, large roll on the desk, flattening it out. It was a map of the Amasynian Province, drawn out quite beautifully with fine ink, colored with everything from crushed indigo to powdered dirt. Ratt sat a candle at either of the top corners of the map to keep it from curling up.

The doctor was looking for something. He wasn't sure what; all he could remember was a fragment of a dream where his sister told him to look for something nobody else was. While he wasn't sure what good the map would do him, he just seemed particularly drawn to it. It was a start, at least.

There were a number of demons that seemed to have shown up more than once. They weren't sporadic; they came from somewhere. Perhaps that's what needed to be found. Their origin. Even Lucian, the notorious vampire lived somewhere. What would he do if dozens of vampire hunters suddenly swept in during broad daylight?

Rattrap was searching for something to that resort. Currently, rumor had it that this 'Baie' was coming from the south. So, it was certainly a place to start looking. It was doubtful that much could come from the north, what with the sea. Granted, demons didn't necessarily follow logic.

He figured he might as well start with mountains; they were perfect for hiding. And there were plenty of them around. There were the Wekslos to the south-west, Devil's Ridge directly south, the Red Hills in the far south-east, the Sikasoon Mountains just north-east of Myrken Wood, and finally Spinster's Range from the far north. Considering that this 'Baie' is coming from the south and it was quite possible the others might have as well, it seemed that Devil's Ridge was a natural first spot to search.

Besides, with a name like that, how could it not be infested with things demonic and horrifying?

From there, the Wekslos would be a logical next stop. It was doubtful any of the demons plaguing them now came from the Red Hills - they would've struck Derry instead. Of course, it was a limb to think that these demons came from any mountain range at all. But it was a start.

As his sister had said, "Just look for what nobody else is looking for. You'll find your answers." Wow. Rattrap was amazed he could remember the line so clearly from his dream. But now he needed companions. Hmm...the doctor couldn't ask the Order of Straka for any men, surely. They had their hands full. He hadn't funds to hire mercenaries.

He pondered this for a while, watching the shadows flicker and dance across the office walls forom the pair of candles. Ah...ah! Wasn't there some rumors that a councilor had two sons who hunted for sport? In fact there was. Ratt remembered it being a brief topic of discussion at one of the butcher shops when he first came on board the Judiciary Council. Joseph O'Cynen. He'd have to go speak to him sometime in the morning.

If only the doctor knew what was in store for him in the morning.

[Lucian]

Devil Ridge, the place that Lucian called home. Within it's mine, the Tremere worked upon macabre rituals, and plotted his evil plans.

Others called the mountain their home as well, but Lucian considered it his -- how pompous of him.

The body of the gypsy was pretty much half-decomposed by now, as flies wafted and buzzed around the husk of what once was a man. The place was filled with the stench of death and decay, and the eerie green lights, coming from the mouth of the mineshaft did not serve to make this place anymore appealing to travellers.

Lucian neglected to pick the body back up, or even dispose of it. Instead, let the gypsy corpse rot under the hot sun during the day, as flies, worms, and carrion crows feasted upon it's festering flesh. The pike still stuck within the body, for Lucian had little use for such a rudimentary weapon.

Either way, the runes protecting the entrance to the Mine Shafts would serve to keep most intruders out, for Lucian did not want any stumbling into his private haven. Many had tried in the past, but couldn't get into the mines located in Devil Ridge, for the vampire was steadfast with his plotting schemes, and did not want to be disturbed by vagrants, hunters, and the like...

Certainly, their blood would make a great evening meal, but Lucian had more important things on his mind. Matters to which none would know, until the last possible moment, when it was far too late to turn back.

The sacred cow had been slain, and the golden gates were crumbling. Lucian would have his way, even with Kanashia on his tail, to seek revenge for the conflagration of his manor. All going according to plan, the warlock thought to himself while he leaned back in his chair with a smile.

Intruders were not welcome here... rue the day they tried to enter.

[Rattrap]

The past couple of days had been dark ones. Far too many critical patients on the verge of death, far too much blood, far too many demonic things out and about. In fact, one of them...or...many of them...or something to that resort even struck the Edificium itself! It was only the doctor's determination, Aeri's self-sacrifice, and Khale's loyalty that saved both the physician's lives. The damnable shadows; now even light cast dangers.

All the more reason to get the plans underway. He couldn't but help wondering why such an attack had been made after the plans. Someone or something could have figured out what the doctor was going to do; he kept everything from the daily doings to his thoughts on life in a journal, which wasn't too hard to locate in his office. It was almost as if something had tried to stop him from going south. Perhaps Rattrap was just thinking too much into it. Nonetheless, it was about time to be off.

But he needed a party, first. David had talked to Joseph O'Cynen only to find that his sons were far, far north at the current point in time. So, he fell back on plain, simplistic advertisement.

Suffice to say, after an hour of writing and several more of posting, there were signs about Myrken Wood that read:

Hardy travelers and fighters wanted! Seek out the evil that's stalking our homeland of Myrken Wood, and possibly end these dark times! See David D'Rael at the Rememdium Edificium if you're interested.

That was all there was to it. Details would be given as people flowed in; or, as Rattrap hoped they would. He'd need at least three people to travel with him before he left. And certainly no more than six or seven. Now the doctor simply had to wait.

[Rattrap]

Ironic, he thought, resting his chin on a fisted hand which was subsequently supported by his favorite old wooden desk. David D'Rael had wondered what would happen to Lucian if they'd found where he lived? It was only a thought. The Doctor didn't actually expect to find the place he currently called home.

Oh, but he hadn't even left for Devil's Ridge and David already knew what lied there.

So, obviously, the expedition didn't need to go. Ah, if only he'd been told earlier; he wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of posting signs everywhere. Now the doctor had to go back out and pull them all down. Good exercise, at least.

So now there was an assault to plan. One that David D'Rael would do all on his own, for the time being; he had been warned that letting someone know would endanger a dear friend's life. And the Order of Straka - with their captain looking for vengeance, no doubt - would be too foolhardy to tell. Not that the doctor hadn't the respect for them; but this required finesse. Not an armed brigade. Fortunately, it was exactly the sort of warfare David had been raised with, and his training was ingrained in him just as far as his instinct, no matter how much he wanted to rid himself of the bloody past.

One snag. One little snag that the Doctor couldn't yet find an answer to. The vampire's natural telepathy. Obviously, it was difficult to strike a vampire down when he clearly knew where you were at all times. So he needed a way to bypass it. And that would take some ingenuity.

For the time being, David would leave the signs posted. Nobody would know that he had the knowledge, except the one that gave it. There would be no clues, he'd write nothing of it. The doctor was beginning to feel like he was back in his warring years. Taking down the posts might leave something to ponder on, if indeed someone was following his actions.

It would have to be perfect. Nothing else would succeed.

[Rattrap]

Rattrap had an idea. Two, in fact - two actions that might just prove to be his answers. One was a step for sure, at least, towards the right direction - the other was a simple hope, but considering what sort of hope it was, there was an awfully good chance it would turn out something useful.

The first was to get a hold of a friend of his, Roland Darkwater. He knew much about the dead and the those that should be. There was no doubt his knowledge would be helpful. The last the doc heard, he was in Derry somewhere. Perhaps that was something he'd do for the next few days, look for him.

The second took a bird and a letter. He was going to send a message to another friend of his in the far, far northern city of Bolgardia. Ratt was fairly known in one particular community that was, subsequently, well known by the larger. Quite simply, the latter had trained him as a doctor. Surely, though, they could find something to help. Bolgardia was a big place, and it would be an anomaly to find it empty of the sorts the doc was looking for.

They won't even see it coming, the doctor thought to himself.

[Rattrap]

Rattrap unfolded the letter he'd got back from the north. It had pointed him to a name, a weakness to the vampiric kind. The name had no known location, and no history with the townsfolk here or in Derry.

So the doc was without his trump card. Likewise, Roland Darkwater was not to be found in Derry, either. At least some people there were familiar with him, offering at least a 'he skipped town days ago'. There goes the other.

There was still hope, though. Ratt didn't have the options of sneaky strikes or infiltrative action anymore. So he'd have to rely on the tried and true brunt force in numbers. Aeri had been rallying, the captain as well. The doc only knew vague details, but it looked like there was more than enough to take down Lucian.

But it looked like things had unraveled beyond Lucian. There was another text at his desk, one he'd taken off a shop side just down the lane. It was the captain's call to arms against the vampiric kind as a whole.

Doubtless, Lucian had found a matching bulletin somewhere in Myrken Wood. As well as all the vampires the captain sought to hunt.

The doctor sat in darkness, a grim expression etched onto his features. If the number of vampires had escalated as much as Rattrap was beginning to suspect, this would be an all-out war. Another domestic war - it was everything he had escaped from, everything he had tried to avoid. And here it was again.

Plans might have to change.