Villa de Correa

Ralf Valgard may have had sealegs - a natural trait among the Varan - but it did little to prepare him for the eventful and rickety ride aboard the carriage. Nevertheless, he fared better than Vasco who was busy trying to settle his nausea. The White Wolf placed a gentle hand on his shoulder: "take it easy," he offered. He then turned to gauge Ianatan's condition, offering him a similar sentiment. He checked his belongings and confirmed he still carried his Ki'Gar, his Hirhanic shield, ancestral sword, and his new battleaxe.

By that point Maribel was visible before the trio and Vasco introduced her. "Ah!" Ralf piqued up, "Matriarch of Clan Correa! I am... humbled." Naturally, the White Wolf spoke loudly. But it was not boisterous and clumsy - it was full of vigor and confidence - while echoing that ancestral arrogance and stubborn pride of his kin. The attending party would be pleased that his booming voice was unlike that of a drunken lout blabbering incessantly about impossible boasts.

In any case, Ralf's tone immediately changed when he caught sight of the looming lady, so when the word humbled came from his mouth it was filled with vulnerability. She was tall, and where most women of height would appear slim she was broad-shouldered and built quite well. If this was not striking enough, then her blackened eyes set against a pale face and near-white hair set her apart from the other women Ralf had seen.

Careless as he was, Ralf did not seem to catch on to her words 'three valuable prizes', nor did he put two-and-two together to determine that 'Clan Correa' were of the same affliction as the Steihofs were...

"Maribel... Correa," Ralf repeated to himself, bowing before her in a nordic fashion. He was sheepishly entranced that onlookers might roll their eyes at his naivety.

Vasco felt his skin crawl as he saw the way Ralf looked upon the head of the Correa Familia. He sneered, a new wave of nausea swaying him as he got to his feet. "Because I had nowhere else to go," he spat to Ianatan.

"... very glad I could be of service. Not like I have a choice. Regardless, I think I'm going to retire to the baths," he grumbled, walking up the stairs to pass his mother. Before he could do so, she stuck out a hand to grab his shoulder. She inclined her head gently.

"Why, Vasco, dearest. You're out all night, don't come home for hours, and don't even think to kiss mummy hello when you do?"

The young vampire shot Maribel a weary, reluctant glare. Taking a short glance over his shoulder at his company, he whipped his head back to place the smallest peck on the woman's cheek before storming into the villa. A heavenly smile stretched across the matriarch's face. Her eyes floated downward to Ralf and Ianatan.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said to them both, eyes dead set on the White Wolf. "I asked my son to retrieve you when I heard of the Steihof's barbaric plans. Poor gentlemen; I can't imagine what you've been through. Why don't you stay for dinner, yes? You must be hungry. Come along. I'd also like to discuss that nifty little artifact you have there."

She turned, dress splaying out like a black flood onto the stairs around her.

Ianatan frowned at Vasco.
"Someone needs a nap." He muttered at Vasco's back as the vampire walked up the stairway. The grizzly, ageing man followed Ralf up the stairs, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tunic, touching the knuckle dusters just to comfort the feeling of unease growing in his chest.

"I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing." He said to himself. He looked at Maribel, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"Why exactly are you interested in any... artifacts? It wouldn't happen to be the lamp, would it?"

Ralf followed Maribel alongside Ianatan. Fortunately he was disciplined enough not to ooh and ahh] out loud. But the hall was quite a spectacle; he had traveled far and wide and seen many a great hall, but never one with the spherical gems. The dining room similarly impressive, and Ralf took a seat near to wherever his friend, Ianatan, found one. He removed his ancestral sword and Hirhanic shield, placing them at his side so that they leaned against his chair. His battle axe was laid on the other side. Mariah's dagger was still firmly sheathed in its spot across his chest.

"Aye," he answered the vampiress, "wine'll be lovely! I fancy Gauldish wine myself, though it's been hard to come by as of late. If you have any Isran product, I'll take that." Ralf was all too familiar with Vessian drink, what with Asgeir being to its north. Gauldish wine was one of his favorites, but when it was unavailable he preferred the Isran equivalent. But none of them compared to Vorutan vodka!

Ralf considered Maribel's earlier communications. Perhaps the vampires classified the White Wolf as an 'enchanted being', but he would not have considered this himself. He assumed that Ianatan was the one they would be most interested in. As for Ralf's personal items - his ancestral sword could theoretically channel great powers, but he was oblivious to this ability. His Hirhanic shield, on the other hand, was very much an enchanted atifact. He started to question whether the Correa family wanted it.

In an effort to turn their ambitions against Ianatan and the Hirhanic shield, Ralf extended an offer of assistance that he hoped Maribel and Vasco would see as more beneficial. "I've hunted a monster or two in my day," he began. "Collected rare ingredients, even items, from their corpse. I've stumbled upon wondrous caches of enchanted arms and armor." Though these things would normally be a boast, the White Wolf was not liar - he was a seasoned and experienced adventurer. "And so, if it pleases you... I could be an agent to retrieve such collections for you and your... kin."

"Gauldish wine... yes, I do think we have some of that. Louise!" she called, fluttering a hand in the air absently.

From one of the various doors leading to the dining room entered a small girl, no more than the age of twelve, who was pale-skinned and absent-eyed. She was dressed in the dull brown of a maid's dress with a white apron tied around her neck.


Maribel spoke low, asking for her to search the cellar for any Gauldish wine, which she was sure that they had. After the war, there were many stolen and pilfered goods from their country. The young girl bowed and walked off steadily, but swiftly.

Maribel smiled. "It should arrive shortly," she told Ralf. Having listened to his brave tales of monster hunting, certainly not bragging, as the White Wolf was above such things, she mused. Fingers tapped against her dark lips as she hummed amusedly. "Well, well! It looks like I saved the right wolf! I would reward you greatly, of course. Both of you. A team with my son would be a force to be reckoned with! Though I do want to look at that lantern. I thought I heard screaming when you arrived- faint, almost silent, but there. Am I right to think it was the item doing it?"