Castlevania: Blood is thicker than water

[TurkwithStyle]

The old man got a stern look across his face then went silent, "..." He then left the room he was currently sitting in, and escaped to the back room, slamming the door behind.

The woman came in and set some tea down on the table, "Please, help yourself." she then rubbed her head while looking at the door that was just slammed. "Who told you?"

[AnT]

The girl and her robot, running across the town, found the only house with its lights on. Erika, holding Brass' arm, approached the home, making a bee-line towards the door.

But, her eyes spotted a pair in the windows before she did. From the looks of the red-head, either he was a warrior, or some dorky cos-player for a RPG convention. Whatever he was, Erika can hear their voices through the wall. These people may not give her answers, because she's just a kid. But hopefully, if she peaks in the window, she might get the answers of this place, and how to leave.

[Mage]

When the old man left the room, Adell was surprised. "Whoa, did I go too far?!" He then looked at the woman from before. "Who, ah..." Adell couldn't just tell her, the young boy might be in trouble. So the red haired man had no choice... "I actually heard it from gossip around the town, I never got their names...I'm sorry."

[TurkwithStyle]

The woman nodded, "Oh. You seem a bit embarressed, It's okay...he just doesn't like it brought up." She then searched the shelf to the side of the room, "He has a book here, I don't know if gossip has told you, but he's escaped the place countless times. He was researching it. Ah, here it is..." she pulled the book of the shelf and blew the dust away, then set it on the table. "In this book lies most of the information on the Castle." She parted the book and started to read some of the passages out loud,

"I went to the Castle for the first time today and BOY were they right about those monsters, I knocked on the door hoping to see somone rather than the some THING that stood before me. It was what seemed to be a 'Ghoul', to read up on this facinating creature, turn to page 74."

She turned the page and went on,

"Since you can't very well just knock on the front door unless you want something unpleasant to open it for you, I looked for a secret way in. If you look to the side of the castle, there should be a little door down a small flight of stairs. This door leads to the waterway of the building, I was surprised to see the door unlocked, but entered in anyway. Down here there seems to be nothing but water and filth...most bridges are destroyed also, so you need a good pair of legs to jump it all. I thought it was an un inhabited area, keyword 'thought', until I saw a fin swoop up then dive into the water. I was under the impression this was a fish, until that is I saw an odd creature emerge and try to grab my arm. It was a 'Fish Man'. A mutated beast that loves to snack on those who come near. I strolled, no, ran back home as fast as I could, in hopes to get away from the monster. I of course did, but just barely. Tomorrow I may try that route again, but I won't take time to investigate the water. To read more on the Fish Man, turn to page 98."

She turned the page once more,

"Well, I managed to get past the swamp creature today, it was very exillerating, or at least, that's what I WOULD have said if the swamp creature were there. There were surprisingly no monsters when I took the stairs from the waterway into the castle either. It was very odd. When I reached the inside of the Castle, it was very well lit, and very well decorated. It didn't seem to be the place for average monsters to simply live in, there had to be SOMETHING sentiet in the structure, so I seeked out the owner in hopes of talking to him...or her...whichever gender it may have been. I searched all over the castle, and was just about to give up, but my sheer persistance had me check ONE more door near the top, it seemed to be a bedroom. Sure enough, there was a man in that room, surrounded by the most beutiful women I've seen in my entire life. They were kissing him, lying up against him, and some were hiding themselves under the blankets when I first entered...what a lucky man! He asked me to sit down and have tea with him, a very polite fellow, and even offered me one of his hehe...lady friends. Though I declined that offer, I'm happily married...even though it WAS tempting haha, I hope my wife doesn't find this. After chatting with this man for hours I asked his name, and he told me...'Vlad Tepe'...odd name now isn't it? Though I didn't mention anything of it, he was such a kind host. Good news though! He gave me the spare key to the back door, it would be most convenient for me to have this, as he said no monsters lurk there at all. I WILL take him up on this offer, as he already said that two of his lady friends would be awaiting me at the door at precisely 7:00, when it gets to be dark."

Then she went on to read the next page, it was a short one,

"I met my friend Mr. Tepe again, he was charming as ever. His one hostess seems to have gotten fond of me hehe she seemed to always be hanging off my arm. He told me of all of the artifacts he owned, and all of the 'pets' he's acquired over time. With all of what he had to say, it seems that he's lived for over a century haha, now THAT'S a thought! We talked normally for a good hour before I grew tired. I asked him if I could come earlier on in the day the next day, so we could chat for a longer period of time. He said no more than 'I would take you up on that offer good sir, if it weren't for the fact that I'm not too fond of the daylight. I'm more of a man of the nightlife...' I found this odd, though I never asked why. Especially since all of his hostess's were chuckling at the statement. I didn't find it very funny, I may have missed the joke."

[AnT]

Watching carefully over the window, Brass was confused of the story from the book. "I do not understand what-"

"Shh!" she went to her robot. "Just keep listening."

[Mage]

"So he did go in there, sounds like he had a good time too." Adell added, he continued to stay quiet and listen.

[TurkwithStyle]

She nodded toward Adell before continuing,

"I saw Mr. Tepe again for the third day today. We seem to be getting into a close friendship of some kind. He offered me to come with him on a tour around the establishment, and I agreed of course.

He first took me into the dining hall. It was brilliant...hand carven designs were scattered over all of the furniture, perfectly chiseled ornamental art in the stone pillars, fine crafted decorations, and beautifully painted paintings littered the room. In the middle of the room sat a large table, big enough for up to 35 people! I assume this is where not only he, but where his servants come to eat also. Speaking of servants, he has a most unusual one. While in the dining hall, a man came up to me and offered me a small one man cake. I wouldn't have said much about it if it weren't for the fact that he seemed to have come from no where! His exit was just as hasty...I swear he just simply 'VANISHED' out of the corner of my eye.

Anyway...moving on to the kitchen. The kitchen was fairly large. I was amazed to see some people still working in the kitchen, dinner was over quite a few hours ago, but Mr. Tepe said that he requires a 'special' time for his snacking.

After visiting the kitchen, we moved on to the basement. In the basement, it was large and dark. There were also cells lining the side of the room, with animals inside. This is where he keeps his 'pets'. Such peculiar creatures they were. They were very wolf-like in appearance, but they had glowing eyes, and the ability to stand on their hind legs! Remarkable animals indeed. He referred to them as "Fenrir" and also gave the nickname to the species "Werewolf". To read more on this fascinating creature, refer to page 112.

Last, but not least, he took me into his wine cellar, on the same floor but through a tiny door on the east side of the room. Not much in here at all, though there was some fine wine. Possibly the best I've ever tasted. I was quite amazed though, that the room was full, and I was even more amazed when he said he gets a shipment of the stuff weekly! I'm quite shocked that anyone would come through THAT forest in order to supply him with his cargo, he must pay heftily.

Though over time, I grew tired, and I needed to go home. I asked if I could finish the tour the next day, and he agreed. He also asked while I was making my way for the door, if I had a family. So I stayed for about fifteen more minutes, talking about my wife and my son. He then brought up an excellent idea! He invited them to come up the following night too, I see no problem with this, as I would like for my friend to meet with my family."

[AnT]

Must...not...be...bored... She swears, something better happen. Erika wanted to just leave or sleep, but as a journalists, she must endure the boring in order to wait for the juicy stuff.

[Mage]

The boy continued to stay silent still trying to follow the story. "...."

[TurkwithStyle]

Isabelle watched Adell gaze at the book in silence. "The end is near, just one more page."

"They're...gone. Mr. Tepe, he betrayed me. I took my wife and my children, and they were slowly missing...one...by...one. I asked THAT man, where my family had gone, and he said he didn't know. He lied, because when I entered a room...I saw them...lifeless. I was just about the only one that escaped the castle, with my grand daughter Isaballe. I still hear his voice echoing in my head, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way friend..." He was no more than a monster, but greater than an average monster, a demon! I swear, I shall never go near that Castle again, friend or foe. And I'll try to stop ANYONE who even dares to try to go near there. I don't want anyone to face the same fate as I have."

The old man came out of the room somberly, "I thought I told you to leave boy...oh well...if you really want to go to that god awful place, please promise me one thing. Try to help my friend, Mr. Vlad Tepe, by stopping him. I believe all he wants to do is rest."

[AnT]

Narrowing her eyes, Erika tried to make sense of things. "Huh?...It's almost like he means this person is...l-like undead or something."

"Maybe this isn't something we should get involved, Miss Erika."

"It probably be more logical to ask for directions out of here...then again, we'll just get lost in the woods..." Her eyes glint. "And miss out a scoop if I ever smell one!"

[Mage]

Adell's face grew with shock as he heard the last part. "Tepe, a demon?" This is by no means a surprise to Adell. He's faced down demons before in his life, and was even accused of being one for some strange reason. Then the old man came back in. "Help him?" Adell was a little conflicted right now, Tepe did such horrible things to him...but then again maybe its a curse or something. Adell is no stranger to curses. "...Alright, I promise to help Mr Tepe. Count on it!" He gave the old man a reassuring fist pump and smile.



"Thats just my style!"

[TurkwithStyle]

The old man nodded and silently walked off into the back room, then walked in again with a set of keys. "As you probably heard, there are 3 ways in. It's up to you to decide which route to take." The old man reminded Adell, "There's the underwater passageway which is usually unlocked...the front door, which is the most dangerous and monster infested route, and finally the back door, which these keys," he jingled them for a second, "will unlock. I never got rid of them since the day Mr. Tepe lent them to me." He handed off the keys to Adell, "I'm counting on you." He went back to his bedroom once more to rest.

The woman nodded off at Adell, handing him the book, "And take this with you too, it might have valuable information on the monsters there, or even on Mr. Tepe himself...Good luck, I hope you find your friends."

[AnT]

Erika ducked under the window. "That means we should follow that overly-dramatic redhead."

"I still say we shouldn't get involved, Miss Erika."

"Don't be silly, Brass. A good investigated reporter doesn't ignore a good scoop, plus like I said, who knows what's out there if we tried to go home. Let's follow the hero guy; it'll be....a little, not that safe." Erika dived in the bushes, so not to be seen by the people that could come out the house.

There are times Brass wished she had the gumption to disagree with Erika's headstrong ideas, as she crawled in that hiding place.

[Mage]

With a nod to them both, he took the keys and the book. "Thank you, I really appreciate this."

Adell received Old man's book and keys!

He went to the door and turned the knob, just before he turned back to the old man. "Don't worry, I always keep my promises." He smiled then opened to leave for his quest.