As Far As You Know
Teasers
Law Giver
It had been less than half an hour since the sun had set. Junaid Naji Mansur stood guard, eyes alertly scanning the deepening shadows, ready to react to anything that appeared in his peripheral vision. Around him, the abandoned factory's floor was blackened and littered with rubble. Behind him, his regnant knelt over a charred and crumbled corpse.
"Just as I thought," said his regnant, "this one has some of the markings of the Fallen Clan. He was not one of those common rabble we saw."
Junaid knew better than to turn to look, or even respond. He knew that his regnant was testing him to see if he would forget his discipline. He had been given the responsibility to watch his regnant's back, and previous servants had met unfortunate ends simply by forgetting themselves for a brief moment during an assigned task. Such was the penalty for failing to properly serve the prodigal ruler of the Detroit domain.
Behind him, he could sense, but not see, that his regnant had finished his inspection and stood up. Still, he did not turn or let down his guard. He only allowed himself to relax when the familiar voice of command spoke: "Very well, Junaid, you can stand at ease. I am satisfied."
Junaid grinned with fierce pride, then quickly erased the expression from his face before turning to his regnant.
His regnant watched him carefully, and Junaid suddenly knew that it had been a futile effort to conceal his proud reaction. A thought came unbidden to his mind, that he should not have to suffer for being proud of his abilities. This, too, his regnant seemed to read in his expression, or his posture. He did not doubt the whispered stories that the great Prince could read minds.
"You are right to be proud of yourself, Junaid. Your only flaw was in how you masked the set of your shoulders and the tension in your upper arms. We haven't gone over those techniques in formal training yet. I am not angry, but remember that every second spent congratulating yourself is a second in which you are not focused on the task at hand. Now, my precocious student, what is on your mind?"
Unfathomably relieved, the muscular ghoul allowed himself to take a glance at the corpse.
"Who killed him, regnant? Or was it just the sun?"
"Not in the sense you might be thinking, Junaid. This one had completed his mission to spy on us in Detroit, and even more strangely, his clothes had some splatters on them, which... smelled like the vapors of the dark Malkavian. But his wounds did not come from the claws of his frenzied brethren. It was a more arcane death." With this, Junaid's regnant held up an ornate ceremonial dagger, still covered in the ashes of it's victim.
Junaid's regnant paused for a moment of thought, then went on. "His killer, however, did not stay to feed from his victim. I suppose there were others here, and the killer did not take the luxury of enjoying his killing rights. But this weapon is much more interesting than that. It was carefully and lovingly constructed by the victim himself."
Junaid did not have to ask to realize that his regnant would take the weapon and put it away, to be analyzed later by some of the Tremere. He had other questions.
"Was it an argument between the spy and the other Sabbat?"
At that, his regnant shrugged. "Who knows why the Sabbat fight now? It may have been some kind of sorcerers' duel, but I don't see enough evidence of thaumaturgy to really think that. Perhaps it was personal. Just belonging to the Fallen Clan marks the victim as someone more likely to find himself in deadly combat."
"I don't know much about the Fallen Clan, regnant."
"It's enough to know that they had a bloody reputation in the old country, and if the Tremere accounts are to be believed, that reputation was well earned. Still, they were not fanatics. Some of them could be useful. Especially for their access to certain archives..." His regnant's smile was sharp. Junaid had come to know that, from time to time, his regnant could not help but congratulate himself on his own cunning, and he had to believe that this was just such a situation.
His regnant went on: "The thing to remember about them is that they are a lot more independent than they have ever been before. I doubt that Maximo, in his unhealthy obsession, realizes just how much trouble he's bought himself by infiltrating the Sabbat here." Junaid knew that hearing this kind of sensitive information was a sign of great trust. He could also tell that he'd been told as much as he would be told...for now.
Regnant and student both looked north, their attention captured by a blinking light high on the wall. It was a laser signal from one of Junaid's fellow ghouls, a less-accomplished servant. The laser pen's flashes indicated that the twilight had faded to the point where lesser kindred would be awakening soon.
"Well, your brother thinks we ought to hurry." Junaid nodded, and regnant and ghoul began to walk out of the factory's ruins.
Junaid risked a glance at his regnant's face and noticed something extremely odd. The old Ventrue's face was creased in a cruel scowl, and a red glow projecting from his eyes illuminated the ground before him.
"Prince, forgive my indiscretion, but why do you show the glowing eyes?"
His regnant stopped and let out a soft sigh, then turned and gazed at his ghoul, the unholy luminescence fading from his vision. "I have just had a revelation. That spy was one of Maximo's infiltrators. He let himself be killed before the Sabbat leaders could get the truth out of him. Maximo has made a grave mistake. He must be distracted by the scandal in his court."
Junaid dreaded asking the next question, but he had to know. "Will this affect the alliance between your cities?"
"Yes. We will be at war very soon."
Junaid wasn't sure if the thrill he felt was one of exhilaration or fear.
"A bit of both, Junaid. You still need to mask your reflexes. Now come along. As soon as we return to Detroit, summon Mendelson and Gable to an urgent meeting about the latest Sabbat attempt on my life. Until then, stay as vigilant as you can. I want no more surprises this night."
Junaid just nodded and followed after his regnant warily, covering the filthy floor with silent strides. Try as he might, he couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he was about to learn just how ruthless and efficient Archimedes could be. It made him admire the Prince even more, and also made him aware that this knowledge had probably reduced the chances that he would survive the coming conflict.
Stryck Wiki