[IC] Overlords. (Sarpedon/Sanquin)

[sanquin]

Sanguine smirked at Oliver's comment. "Going to get into trouble again, huh... Might I suggest the monster arena then? Maybe it'll be fun and a good learning experience at the same time, slashing up some monsters. Just a possible suggestion." In front of the npc's she might want to act like the leader, but when it was just her and Oliver there was no need. In the first place, they were equals in 'real life' anyway. Though it was probably a good idea for her to remain the guild master. Oliver didn't really seem like the leader type to her.

The vampiress turned the mirror off again and stood. "Well, off to the bath then." She spoke, walking to Oliver first and putting her arms around his waist. "I'm glad you're still with me. You always managed to keep me from taking things too seriously. Plus I actually get to hug you now~" After a few seconds she let go again though, heading for the living quarters on the other side of the throne room. It was basically just a roleplay area in the game. A bunch of bedrooms, a room with some minigames, a bathing room, and a bar of course. No place was ready for roleplay without a bar. But now she figured she could actually use said bath.

However full privacy was apparently not going to happen. On her way one of the maids crossed her path, whom in turn immediately bowed as they passed each other. "Mistress, is there anything you require?" The vampiress shook her head. "Just going to take a bath." The maid, still bowing, spoke again. "I will send someone to operate the heater and wash your hair for you." She wanted to protest, wanting a bit of full privacy. But at the same time, having someone there to wash your hair and back sounded kind of nice. "Very well..." She replied, continuing on to her destination.

The bathing room was as beautiful as ever. Black polished stone on the floor, and the walls all lined with wooden planks. The planks in turn had elaborate patterns carved into them, sometimes broken up by a candle holder on the wall. On one side stood several benches and tables, as well as a mirror or two. And on the other you had one very large, and four small baths. The large one was a full meter high, carved out of the same shining black stone as the floor. While the two baths on either side beside it were instead made of marble. Each of the baths had it's own heating system as well. A small tunnel magical fire could be turned on beneath them, and kept on as long as was needed to get the right temperature. AS Sanguine walked into the room, all of the candles along the walls started to light themselves. In the game this was just a gameplay feature, but the woman figured it now worked on magic or something. It seemed that 'it now works on magic' was the answer to everything that used to be a game thing. She walked to the water of the large bath and dipped her fingers in, feeling that it was pretty cold. Just thinking about having to bathe in that made her shiver. Though luckily it took less than a minute for one of the maids to arrive. "I'm honoured to assist you, my lady." The maid spoke as she once again bowed. Sanguine sighed a little, wondering if the constant bowing and way of addressing her would get tiresome at some point. "I'm too tired for formalities right now. Just heat up the large bath and help me undress." She had tried to do so herself, but the clips on the back of her dress were hard to reach and she really didn't want to accidentally rip her precious necromancer robes which were of legendary quality.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver liked Sanguine's idea, and nodded at the suggestion, "I'll give that a try." he agreed, heading off to go see what Lanius had cooked up lately. Making his way to the arena was easy enough, and when he got there, he found the guild's beastmaster quietly reading. It seemed she'd helped herself to some armour with slightly better coverage, but only very slightly. She also looked to be honing her Lochaber axe at the same time. Not the most welcoming sight, but the Paladin wasn't too worried about it. At least until she got up.

"Mmh. Here to waste more valuable resources, Ser Oliver?" she growled, getting to her feet. The lithe, muscular woman would have been easy on the eyes if she didn't look so completely enraged. He didn't doubt that axe of hers would be unpleasant if she started swinging.

"I prefer to think of it as committing those resources to improve the defences of the Guild." he replied, speaking softly to avoid the ire of the monster minder

"Fine. Put some armour on. You're not using magic in my arena either." the amazon replied, gesturing to what might have been a changing room. It didn't just have lockers, though, there were also racks of weapons and armour designed for training use. Everything available was heavier, and the weapons were blunted. He sighed at this realization, and changed from his typical light armour, into the much heavier training equivalent. And since he was going to be lacking any magical assistance, Oliver put on a helmet as well. For the purpose of proper training, he found himself an equally large sword to strap to his back, though this one was obviously useless. He also selected the closest imitation to his knife of choice. It was much heavier than the real thing, and he figured it would work better as a blackjack than a tool of merciless finesse, but he wasn't about to argue with Lanius about that. She was far too terrifying to risk pissing off. He also liked being able to take advantage of the training facility she maintained, and upsetting her would only ruin that.

So with that done, he stepped up to his gate looking more like a gladiator than the noble warrior he typically appeared to be. He couldn't see what his opponent was going to be, but he figured it out pretty quickly when the portcullises raised and both combatants took to the sands of the arena. Facing off against him was an Orcticore. Of course. This one had been subdued very thoroughly at some point, as armour plates had been strapped all over it, and its orcish upper body was completely encased in steel. The only thing it lacked was a helmet, likely because the feral thing needed full command of its senses to fight properly. That, and it was almost ten feet tall, so very few things were going to be beating it over the head to begin with.

Oliver shuddered a little as the beast rushed at him. The armour didn't slow it down in the slightest, and even knowing that its claws had been clipped, and its tail had been de-venomed, he was still a little leary about fighting the monster. Then again, its first attempt was utterly useless. He slipped to his right as it rushed him, and the beast slid right on by. Even having anticipated his move, the creature wasn't quick enough to do anything about it. It lashed out with its tail, but he ducked the wild swinging and rushed for the monster's back. It spun faster than he'd hoped, though, and he ended up barrelling head first into the Orcticore's steel-clad chest. It wasn't staggered nearly as much as he was, though, and it wasn't long before the knight found himself being hefted into the air by the straps of his cuirass.

"Fuck you." he growled, grabbing the beast's arm with his left hand, while his right hand produced the blackjack he'd strapped on where his knife should have been. A vicious upward swing into the monster's elbow had it roar in pain, but it failed to let go of him completely. Throwing himself forward into its deadly embrace, he swung angrily for its face, and the wood-and-metal club made solid contact with its jaw. That seemed to stun the monster long enough for him to rip his armour from its grip. But he didn't see the point in dashing away now. He was already up close and personal, where he was going to have to be to beat this thing. So he wrapped his plate-armoured legs around its massive chest and, cocked his arm back to swing again.

Lucky for him, he was paying enough attention to watch its tail coming lashing foward, aiming for his head. Swaying from side to side, he began beating the Orcticore about the head and shoulders. His heavier-than-normal armour did a remarkable job soaking up its enraged blows as the abomination slammed its mailed fists into his sides, though it was starting to take its toll before his own assault produced proper results. At some point he lost the club-thing he'd been swinging with, and now he was holding on for dear life with his legs while throwing vicious haymakers at the beast, simultaneously throwing himself back and forth to stay out of the way of its tail. If that thing made contact, he would surely lose his grip. Finally the pair stumbled over to a wall, and Oliver felt his back slam into the stone. He groaned, but the additional leverage was all he needed to end the fight. He slammed his fist into the Orcticore's temple, and it finally crumpled, sending both combatants to the sand.

Breathing hard and feeling much worse than he'd expected, the Paladin got to his feet, and raised his arms in victory. "I guess that's one way to do things..." Lanius clearly didn't approve.

"Let's see you do better." the warrior challenged. The Beastmaster snorted at that, and tossed her head, clearly unwilling to stoop to his level. "Or come down here and fight me yourself." he added as she stormed away. He knew that wasn't going to happen, when the gate to his changing room opened up once more. He sighed, patted the Orcticore on the head, and then headed back underground to get changed. "Now I need a bath..." he observed with a chuckle. He supposed he would just have to go and see if there was a tub free for him to use. Then maybe Sanguine would have more exciting ideas of what they could get up to. "Wish my magic worked on myself." he grumbled as he observed the bruising beginning to show over his torso. He wasn't injured, but he was going to be sore for a while. But he was pretty sure he'd learned some things about what not to do when fighting an opponent larger than himself in the real world. That was always a good thing. Satisfied that he'd gotten some benefit out of the strange brawl, he collected his things and headed for the baths. He'd gotten a lot sweatier than he'd wanted to, and thanks to the nature of the arena, he had sand just about everywhere he didn't want it...

[sanquin]

As soon as Oliver stepped out of the arena a maid was already waiting for him, bowing respectfully as always. "One of our healers has already been prepared for you my lord. Please follow me." They might have only been bruises, but now that all npc's had wills of their own, they had their reasons to keep their two remaining masters as healthy as possible.

In the mean time the maid first turned on the heating system. Then she quickly moved to help Sanguine undress. By the time that was done, the water had already been heated. Magic was useful like that. Once again the woman dipped her fingers into the water and smiled. "That's better." She spoke softly to herself. She stepped into the water, sighing in content as her body submerged. As she relaxed her back against the rounded stone edge the maid had already come up behind her, ready with soap and some scented oils. Shampoo didn't exist in the game world, so it didn't exist here either it seemed. Which bothered her quite a bit, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it now.

The maid was actually very adept at this sort of thing. A gentle touch, yet thorough all the same. The vampiress' shorter hair probably made it easier as well. Though as Sanguine sat there she wondered about what the npc's thought about all this. "Say, does this bother you? I mean, it's not like I couldn't wash my own hair..." The maid quickly shook her head. "Of course not mistress! We'll gladly help you in any way you wish. And it's an honour to be allowed in the bathing room with you." Then she softly added. "The others are probably even a bit jealous of me." Sanguine had to smile at that. Though she wasn't entirely sure if she was comfortable with the idea of so many people treating her like a queen. Or a goddess even. With the whole place being in chaos though, she didn't want to add to that by suddenly acting like a completely different person from what they expected her to be.

Once her hair was washed, the maid still remained as if she was waiting for more orders. At first Sanguine didn't notice, but after a minute she realised what was going on. "Ah, uhm...that's all for now. Should have said so sooner. Though I would like for somebody to be sent to my room in about 15 minutes to help me with my hair." The maid stood and bowed. "Very well mistress. Have a pleasant bath." The maid then left again, finally giving the woman some privacy. Though on her way out she saw Oliver heading her way. As always, the maid bowed as he was about to pass. "Ser Oliver, if you're looking for lady Sanguine she is currently taking a bath. Though she said she would be done in about 15 minutes." Then unless he wanted to say something to her, the maid then went on her way.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver had forgotten that there were people on standby to help with things like medical aid. He smiled when a maid appeared to escort him to them, and nodded, following happily. That was a lot better than having to put up with a black, blue, and purple torso for however long it took for such extensive bruising to heal. The healers were in the same general direction as the baths too, so that was convenient. He couldn't remember who'd come up with that, but he figured they deserved a commendation for their design skills. That thought didn't stick around long, though, as he was soon confronted with the sight of the witch who looked like she was supposed to be the one to heal him. She jumped up at the sight of the Paladin, and immediately grabbed his hand. Clearly someone had asked her to be ready. He could feel the positive energy flowing through him, and it was only a few seconds before he was feeling better than he had prior to the fight.

"Thank you." he said with a smile when the woman let him go.

"My pleasure." she replied with a wink. He left as quickly as was polite after that, wondering if that was Sanguine's doing. She didn't strike him as the paranoid type, but she had been awfully worried about everything lately. He decided not to sweat it, and focused on his next goal. To get cleaned up, and maybe do some relaxing.

Before he got there, though, he was interrupted by another of the many maids, this one informing him that the Guild Master was currently bathing and that he should wait fifteen minutes if he wanted to talk to her. "I, actually just want to take a bath." he offered in reply, and the woman changed her course immediately.

"Right this way!" she led the way to the other bathing room. He hadn't seen any gender-specific labels, but he supposed it made sense. The maid darted into the room and started up the magical water heater, before laying out everything he could possibly need to wash up. "Are you going to require assistance, Ser Oliver?" She asked as he began undoing the myriad of straps that held his gear onto his body.

"No, I think I will be fine. Thank you, though. That will be all." he replied. The last thing he needed was Sanguine getting the wrong impression, now that he could actually touch her. The maid left with another bow, and he was left to figure out how to put out the water heater on his own. Thankfully, it was a fire-based contraption, so all he had to do was snuff out the flames with his own power. Not the best way of doing things, but he wasn't trained in the art of operating magical artefacts. Once he was naked, and the water had reached the right temperature, he quenched the fire and slipped into the hot water. For a moment, he forgot that he was supposed to be actually cleaning himself, and just relaxed in the hot water. Even in a strange world, surrounded by strange people, he could still enjoy a hot bath with no issues...

[sanquin]

Finally Sanguine started to relax. At first her mind was still being as worrying as ever, however slowly those kinds of thoughts stopped. It was like the warm water was washing all of her troubles away. And without realising, more than just 15 minutes passed. First 20 minutes, and then 25, before finally there was a knock on the door. "My lady? Is everything all right?" The vampiress jumped a little from the sudden voice, having started to fall dose off a little bit. Though she quickly regained herself ans answered. "Ah, yes, everything is fine. I dosed off a little." "I brought you a change of clothes my lady, permission to come inside." "You can come." Sanguine sighed a little, wishing she could have stayed in the water a little longer. But now that she was fully to her senses again it felt wrong to take a nap in the water at a time like this.

It was only when the voice entered that she realised whom it was. Daniëlle, rather than one of the maids. "Daniëlle? Why are you here?" The other vampiress smiled and bowed slightly. "Is there something wrong with wanting to assist my mistress and creator? Besides, I'm very good with hair so I volunteered for helping you." "No, I guess there's nothing wrong. Very well then, I will dry myself right away." "Please let me assi--" Daniëlle wanted to offer, but Sanguine was quick to cut her off. "No need. Being pampered too much will only have a negative effect on my character in the long run." Not that she wasn't being pampered a lot already. It was more an excuse, as it felt wrong to have someone else dry her.

Once Sanguine was done she was presented with the 'change of clothes'. Which in this case apparently meant a ballroom dress of some kind. "Er...Daniëlle, I think I require your assistance..." She spoke, not because she was lazy. But because she didn't have a clue about how to put a dress like this on. "Certainly my lady!" The girl replied cheerfully, immediately moving behind the woman and helping her lady dress. She almost seemed a bit too happy about it, in fact. And that thought was only strengthened when Sanguine could feel the girl's hands linger just a little bit too long on her back and along her sides. But right now she didn't want to deal with that kind of thing and decided to leave it be this time. Once dressed Sanguine looked at herself in one of the mirrors. She actually felt pretty, even though her hair was still a mess. Something she had never really felt about herself in real life. Then again, this body looked a bit more sexy than her real life body anyway... Quickly pushing that thought away the woman started to make her way to her bedroom. And Daniëlle happily followed. Not only did she look like a teenager, but she acted a bit more like one as well. Which made Sanguine wonder how much of the backgrounds they had written for them had carried over to these real versions of the npc's.

(The dress: )

[Sarpedon]

Oliver nearly fell asleep relaxing in the bath, and it was only when he realized he was dozing off, that he remembered he was supposed to be washing himself. He didn't know how long he'd been soaking, but he barely needed soap to get most of the grime off. Surprisingly, though, the water was still warm. He assumed someone had snuck in and done that for him, and moved on with his life. Once he was clean, the Paladin decided he might as well get out. Of course, he stood up just in time to see someone peeking in. Unashamed, he glared at the slowly opening door, his body glistening in the candlelight as one of the maids poked her head in, only to gasp and retreat.

"My apologies, Ser Oliver." she called out quietly.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." he replied, climbing out of the tub and towelling himself off. Once he was mostly dry, he wrapped the towel around himself. "I'm decent." he called out, and now the maid entered the room completely, a fancy-looking bundle in her arms.

"I brought you some clothes" she offered barely above a whisper. She kept her eyes downcast, but he could see the effects he was having on her, despite her efforts to the contrary.

"Just, uh... Throw them there, I guess... Do you have anything less fancy? I don't plan on entertaining anyone today, I'd like something to lounge in." he wasn't used to women behaving this way around but, but he also wasn't normally a warrior who could very well have been carved marble given his figure.

"Oh. Uh, yes of course. I'll be right back." the woman was recovering remarkably quickly, but that didn't stop her from dashing out to find something else for him to wear.

"Can it be brighter in here?" he asked the room, and it was kind enough to oblige. The lights had dimmed while he snoozed, but hadn't gotten around to brightening again, he supposed. Then it occurred to him that whoever had kept his bath warm had probably dimmed the lights too. Now that he'd pointed it out, though, the room lit up very nicely, like it had been when he'd first walked in. Once he could see properly, Oliver finished drying off, and then began admiring himself in the nearest mirror, flexing and examining his battle scars. So it was for the second time that day that the maid walked in on him naked, and again she was kind enough to gasp and duck out. He grinned to himself when he realized what had happened, but wiped the smile from his face before announcing his decency once more.

"I picked out the comfiest clothes I could find. Please let me know if you decide you'd like something else." the maid set the clothes down where he'd indicated she could set the first set, and disappeared from the room, probably to go tell her friends about walking in on the Paladin while he was naked. Meanwhile, he got dressed. She certainly had picked out comfortable clothes. He had a pair of baggy pants that he might have called sweat pants if they weren't still in the weird, quasi-medieval style of everything in the game, an incredibly soft silk shirt that looked like it wasn't supposed to fit anyone, and was designed purely to be comfortable. and a pair of slippers to round out his lazy sunday look.

"I probably shouldn't be seen like this..." he muttered to himself, wondering what others would think if he were to start wandering around dressed like the laziest, richest man alive. He decided he didn't care for the moment, though. He just wanted to go lounge around, and maybe ambush Sanguine into making out with him some more. Then he remembered that the vampire was supposed to be done her bath fifteen minutes from a while ago. He was pretty sure she should be unoccupied, but supposed she could be anywhere at this point. He decided to start in the living area that was nearby, and headed out, figuring someone should know where she was if he couldn't find her there.

It seemed that it took both of them longer than expected to get ready, though, and he got into the hallway just in time to see someone he was pretty sure was the Guild Master dressed up incredibly nicely. "Holy fuck." the words just kind of tumbled out of his mouth without his consent, not that he would have changed them if he did mean to say something. "I'm super under dressed..." he muttered to himself, but it was too late now, he'd surely alerted her to his presence. He didn't even have enough time to dash back into the bathing room if she reacted like any normal person would when someone starts swearing behind them. Resigning himself to whatever fate awaited people who wandered around under dressed, he decided he might as well press forward. At least then he could find somewhere comfortable to lounge instead of cowering in the bathroom hoping for someone to bring him something fancy and uncomfortable to wear...

[sanquin]

Sanguine quickly turned around when she heard a familiar voice behind her. And indeed it was Oliver, wearing what looked like just about the most baggy clothing the game had to offer. She smirked, finding the sight kind of funny. Especially compared to what she was wearing. "That's quite the...casual look Oliver. It seems you're settling in quite nicely." In truth she too would like to just wear baggy pants and a shirt that was 3 sizes too big. But at least right now it felt like that would be setting a poor example for everyone else. Plus, it wasn't like she didn't like feeling pretty while wearing a dress like this. It was just that what he was wearing looked a whole lot more comfortable.

"Since you're apparently done bathing as well, how about we go to the dining room and have something to eat?" It had been 10 pm in the real world when all of this started. Though in this world, judging by the sun when they were out, it was probably around 5 pm now. So it seemed like a good time to have a bite...if she could still eat that is. Did vampires eat? There was only one way to find out really. "Mistress, your hair..." Daniëlle protested. Something Sanguine had forgotten about by the sudden sight of Oliver in casual attire. "Oh right! Uhm...let's say we'll meet in 10 the dining hall in 10 minutes then?" Sanguine suggested, figuring getting her hair tidied up wouldn't take too long. It wasn't like she needed to look her best for anything at the moment anyway.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver was caught, and sighed imperceptibly when Sanguine spotted him. She was looking incredibly fancy, and here he was looking like he was ready to spend the next week lazing around doing nothing. He chuckled when she teased him about his choice of attire, and shrugged. "You seem to have the fancy department locked down, so I figured one of us might as well be comfortable." he offered. Then the vampire suggested that they go have something to eat. He liked the sound of that, and it was only once he started thinking about it that that Paladin realized he was hungry. "That sounds good to me." he agreed, just in time for Daniëlle to interrupt. Something about the Guild Master's hair.

She then proposed they put dinner off by ten minutes, and the warrior shrugged again. "Works for me. Your hair looks great as it is, though." he winked at his companion before wandering off. He decided to take the long way to the dining hall, having given up on keeping his decision to be extra lazy a secret. On top of that, he initially had no motivation in his step, making his journey even longer. At least until he realized that they had two dining rooms, and he wasn't sure which one Sanguine had meant. He supposed it wouldn't make sense for them to eat in the massive dining hall, though. That was meant for massive, important occasions, and certainly not necessary for just two people. That didn't stop him from checking, though. It was just as impressive as he remembered, but there was no one around.

Suspicions confirmed, he headed for the much smaller dining room intended for more private affairs. And there he found a team of half a dozen servants working fervently as if everything needed to be perfect. Oliver decided not to say anything because at least one person coming to dinner was going to be dressed very nicely, even if it wasn't him. Instead he watched as they worked until someone noticed him. The look of surprise on their face was hilarious, and the Paladin chuckled quietly, before slipping back out of the room to let them work. He figured it couldn't be long before Sanguine showed up, so he hoped they were quick. He tried several times to bring up any kind of clock, but obviously that didn't work any more. He heard footsteps coming down the hall before he could be bothered to actually go and track down some sort of time piece, and wondered what magic the two vampires had worked on the Guild Master's hair...

[sanquin]

Once in her room Sanguine sat down in front of the mirror. And right away Daniëlle got to work. "So mistress...about earlier today. That was quite a bold way to court you, don't you think?" Right away her cheeks started to heat up again. That first kiss Oliver gave her made her feel embarrassed every time she was reminded of it. "Yes...I guess you could call it...very daring." And very wonderful, though she kept silent about that part. "Does that mean you two are a couple now?" Daniëlle decided to ask. She seemed a lot more comfortable around her master than any of the other servants were. Maybe because she stood directly below the former generals. "I don't know. I...think so? Maybe it's still a bit too early to tell..." It wasn't that Sanguine doubted Oliver's intentions. Those were made very clear already. Rather she doubted herself, wondering if she wouldn't mess things up with him. "I think it was about time though." Daniëlle continued. "You two seemed to be getting along so well in the past, I figured he would have kissed you a long time ago." "Well, what's done is done." The guild master replied. "I'll just have to wait and see what the future holds."

Sanguine's hair was tidied up, though was given a bit more flair this time. It wasn't as neat as it could be, but it would take way too long to make sure every single strand of hair was in the right place. So it was left at that, and the vampiress started making her way to the dining room. Once there it appeared Oliver was waiting outside. Which was a rather comical sight indeed. "It almost looks like you're a student that had to wait in the hallway as punishment." She spoke with a grin, moving to enter before him. Unlike him, she wasn't about to wait outside considering this was all their property. Well, technically hers. Since the guild was registered to her name. That was just a minor detail though. "I wonder what kind of food the cooks will prepare for us." She mused as she walked to one of the chairs. Especially for her. It made sense that the cooks would know what to serve a vampire. So anything put in front of her would be fine to eat. Hopefully meat. Sanguine had never been a huge fan of vegetables or potatoes.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver chuckled, shrugging off Sanguine's teasing like he always did. "They were working in there when I showed up. I think I freaked out a couple of them." he offered with a shrug. Then the vampire led the way into the room. This time there didn't seem to be anyone to freak out, though. The Paladin supposed it would have been too much to ask for, to have some proof for the Guild Master, and let the matter go. Once back in the room, though, he darted for his companion's chair, pulling it out for her before she could do anything. It was the thing to do, he was sure. And only once she was seated did he take his own seat.

"Hopefully edible food." he agreed with Sanguine's musing as they waited for someone to show up and start serving. They didn't have to wait long, though, as within a moment or two of both of them sitting down, a door the Paladin hadn't noticed was flung open and a whole troupe of servants flooded in bearing food and drink for the pair. There were two servants bearing silver-domed platters, and two more with drinks to go with them. A fifth had shown up to adjust the ambiance, setting the light levels and directing a six-piece band to play some quiet background music for the pair. Finally the leader of the whole group looked to first the Guild Master and then the warrior across from her.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" he asked. It was obvious that they all took pride in their work here, and Oliver was suitably impressed to the point where he couldn't come up with anything else. At the same time, though, he was also eagerly awaiting the big reveal, as he still hadn't been shown the meal that had been prepared for him. Distracted as he was, he shrugged, looking to the vampire to see if she had any brilliant ideas...

[sanquin]

Before Sanguine could reach for her chair, Oliver had already grabbed it and pulled it out for her. For a brief moment she looked at him in surprise, though she then quickly moved to sit down. "My, aren't we a gentleman." She spoke with a smile, wondering what had gotten into him today. He seemed so different from his usual ingame self. Before the vampiress could really think about it though another door opened. And out came a whole group of maids, led by Jeeves himself and followed by a group of other servants with musical instruments. This normal dinner started looking more and more like a date in a very fancy restaurant... Though she supposed that if this could count as their first date she couldn't have asked for anything better.

However once again her mind got distracted. And this time it was beyond her control. A faint scent of blood started to fill the room, which immediately had the vampiress on edge. She didn't realise it was blood, but the scent was still very alluring. Almost becking her to get up and come towards it. Instead the scent headed into her direction though, as a cognac glass filled with red liquid was put in front of her. Her body moved almost on it's own as she grabbed the glass, immediately starting to drink the delicious red liquid that had been served to her.

The taste and smell drew her in so much that she didn't even hear Jeeves ask if there was anything else until the glass was completely empty. She looked up, wondering why everyone was looking in her direction until her butler asked his question a second time. "Ah, well...one more glass of this would be great." She spoke, feeling a bit shy with all the eyes on her all of a sudden. One of the maids came to get her glass to get a refill, while two others started taking the domes off of the plates.

Now, in front of them laid a full four-course meal with quite the selection of food for them to pick from. Slightly salted potatoes with a cup of gravy beside it, chicken fillet skewers with red sauce poured over them, a colourful salad in a bowl, beef that was spiced with herbs, and a plate with strawberries with two cups beside it. One had whipped cream and the other had sugar in it. The plate with beef was put down closest to Sanguine, giving her the idea that that was meant for her. "Wow..." Sanguine whispered, she sheer amount of food and the skill with which it was prepared and laid on the plates impressing her quite a bit. Though it did seem like quite a waste of food, as they probably couldn't finish all of it with just the two of them...

(She doesn't realise it was blood in the glass yet by the wait. :P)

[Sarpedon]

Oliver held back the face he wanted to make when he thought he could smell blood. The crisp, coppery scent got in his mouth seemed to stick to his tongue. He picked up his own glass the moment it was full in a futile attempt to rinse away the metallic flavour. It didn't help much, though, as the cloying aroma was still in the air. It almost felt like it had filled the room. And of course the vampire wanted more. "Leave the bottle." he whispered, grabbing the arm of the waiter who had tried to run off with the bottle of red wine after topping off the Paladin's glass. He figured maybe he could cleanse his palate once his companion had finished her second glass. For the moment, though, all he could taste was blood. He didn't think it was normal blood, either, the way the smell seemed to permeate just about everything. And the way it appeared almost like the wine he had in his own glass, the warrior was beginning to think there was magic involved here.

He continued to sip at his glass while he took in the meal laid out before him, and he finally found relief. The rush of steam coming off the hot platters seemed to clear the air, and he was glad to discover that he didn't have any further issues, even when Sanguine's second glass was brought by. That just made him all the more certain that there was magic involved. Not that he really cared any more. He could taste normally again, and everything looked delicious. The only disappointment was the fact that he wouldn't be able to wrestle the roast away from the vampire. She looked far too enthused by it for him to even consider such a thing. It did make sense, blood and red meat were probably the only things vampires ate. Which brought up the question of the strawberries.

The Paladin had to remind himself not to worry, and instead started helping himself. He decided he was just going to work through the four courses one at a time, and see what was left when they were done. And he needed to get started quickly before he got too deep into the bottle of wine that he already had a head start on. "This looks awesome. I could live like this." he commented, waiting for the Guild Master before actually digging in. He didn't want to seem impolite if she wasn't totally satisfied for some obscure reason.

((I figured as much, but the heads up is appreciated. That's the sort of thing I'd miss XD))

[sanquin]

"I know, right?" Sanguine replied, quickly taking a few more sips of her refill. "Especially this wine. It's so good. I wonder what--" And only then Sanguine realized what exactly she had been drinking. "--Oh..." The woman put the glass down, still staring at it in shock. For blood to taste like that...that was just unnatural. The realization of what it actually meant to be a real vampire now started to sink in a little. Though at the same time, somehow, she wasn't too bothered by it. That first realization was a shock, but she immediately thought she could get used to it very easily, considering the taste.

Pushing those thoughts away Sanguine quickly pulled the plate with beef cutlets on it closer, putting several of them on her plate before pushing the plate away a little again. Just like Oliver, the woman didn't want to be impolite and leave some for him as well. She cut off a piece, noticing that it was still almost completely red inside. In her normal life she would have wanted it to at least be medium done. But now the red meat looked very enticing to her. Which was confirmed when she put it in her mouth. The juicy, soft red meat tasted better than any beef she had in the past. So the woman quickly continued eating, feeling like she could fill up on this alone. Even so, there was also chicken. Something Sanguine wanted to try at the very least. As for the rest, as appealing as it all looked, the scents of the other dishes didn't smell good at all. Even though she used to love potatoes. "You should try the beef cutlets as well, they're great~ Or at least...I think they're great." Maybe they were a bit undercooked for Oliver's liking. Then again, she was always told that to eat beef properly it had to still be red inside. "Also, sorry about the...about my drink. I imagine it isn't too pleasant a sight..."

[Sarpedon]

Oliver nodded when Sanguine mentioned the wine, and pushed the bottle of actual wine toward her in case she wanted something that wasn't the freshly-spilled vitality of hopefully not an innocent. He didn't know where they got that sort of thing, but he really didn't want it to be from people that had done nothing wrong. Not having much say in the matter didn't help, he supposed. The Paladin quickly reverted back to his normal strategy of not worrying about it, though, and focused on enjoying his meal. While the vampire immediately helped herself to the plate piled with beef, he insisted on going through the meal properly, starting with the salad, and only after he'd finished that, did he moved on to the main courses.

At the Guild Master's insistence, he helped himself to a piece of the roast she seemed to be enjoying so much, but left the rest of it to her. Based on the way she was eating, he figured that nearly-raw meat and blood were probably her staples, and he didn't want to deprive the woman in charge of her sustenance. She was right, though, the beef was very good. It was a little rarer than the warrior typically liked, but beyond that it was excellent. Then the woman had to go apologizing for things beyond her control. He didn't think it was right to just shrug off that sort of thing, which meant he had to actually say something.

"It's not really your fault. I don't see why you should have to apologize." he managed. Then he shrugged. "At least you're not chewing on me." he joked, silently quite pleased by that fact. He wasn't convinced that being vampire food could be any kind of enjoyable, no matter what some people could write down in a book. Again, Oliver pushed the unpleasant thoughts aside, and continued to eat. He made sure to leave some of everything for his companion to try, if she wanted, but beyond that, he powered through most of the food set out for them, horking back surprising quantities of everything, including the wine.

It was only once he had decided that to eat any more would leave no room for strawberries, that he set his fork down. "Wow... That was really good." he declared, leaning back in his chair, and wondering if Sanguine could even eat strawberries. They didn't seem to fit with her typical dietary requirements, beyond being red, and he didn't really like the idea of eating dessert alone. That just wasn't fair...

[sanquin]

"I guess you're right..." Sanguine replied, wondering how 'fine' he was with it for real. In truth she didn't think she'd want to chew on anyone. If just blood from a glass and meat could get her by then that would be perfect, though it was still hard to tell if that was the case at this point. The woman continued eating, finishing all of the roast on her plate before continuing to the chicken. The other things didn't even interest her at this point, apart from everything looking wonderful. She only took a little bit though, starting to feel a bit full already. Possibly because at this point she had almost finished the second glass of blood as well. That seemed to fill her up a lot more than the meat at least.

Once they were both done one plate remained untouched. The one with the strawberries on it. Sanguine frowned a little, nodding towards them as she spoke. "You don't want dessert? They look delicious though. Would be a bit of a waste to not have some at all." The woman shrugged a little, not about to pressure him into eating when he didn't want to. Though saving them for her was a bit pointless. To her it could be described as going for some left-over dry bread while she had just finished a delicious chocolate pudding. Not exactly the most appealing way to finish a meal.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver looked up when Sanguine asked if he didn't want dessert. "I just feel bad, enjoying it without you." he offered in reply. He supposed she was right though, there was no point in wasting it. The Paladin wondered what the Guild Master was supposed to do for dessert, and decided he would have to mention that to the kitchen staff. It was just as easy for him to enjoy dessert on his own afterward, there was no need for the vampire to be tormented by such things. All the same, since it was already laid out, he pulled the plate over in front of himself, and dug in to the simple, yet delicious final course. The warrior still thought it was unfair, even as he delighted in the fresh fruit mixed with sugar and whipped cream. He couldn't bring himself to say he didn't like it, though. That was going too far.

When the servants returned to clear away the dishes, Oliver wasted no time in catching the attention of their leader, offering the man a frown as he brought up the most pressing issue he could see. "So, you just didn't think to bring a dessert for the Guild Master, or what? Vampires deserve dessert, too." he tried to keep his outrage under control, but a little slipped out. Even Pelor's more wrathful side was still an advocate for justice...

[sanquin]

Jeeves turned around to face Oliver, giving him a slight bow. "I'm terribly sorry, ser Oliver, but we have no recipes for desserts fit for a vampire... If there are any suggestions we'd be glad to change the menu for the next time." Sanguine sighed, waving for all of the servants to leave. Whom all quickly obliged and left the room. Once they were all gone she answered Oliver's question for the butler. "It's fine, Oliver. I may have a very limited diet now, but it's not like I feel left out. It's a bit hard to admit, but...that blood tasted like heaven. Better than any normal dessert they could have put in front of me. It almost felt like I was only having dessert for dinner. I mean, I would like to still have something like strawberries, but they don't seem appealing to me at all any more."

Sanguine finally stood, deciding it was time for something more important. She had ordered for the spies to have their reports by the end of the day, so surely they would have at least some information by now. "I plan to go and see if the spies have returned with information yet. We may be safe in here for now, but I want to be as prepared as possible before we go out. Care to join me? Or would going over reports be too boring?" Sanguine may not have been the strongest spellcaster, or the best leader the guild could have had when this was a game. But behind she scenes she was always busy with the 'paperwork' of the guild. For direct leadership and power the guild had the generals. Though now only Oliver still remained for that. But the woman planned to continue what she knew she was best at. The paperwork part of management.

(Figured we could end the first day here. As in, heading to bed. Just picked something not too important to do until bed time since it was still a bit early in the evening.)

[Sarpedon]

Oliver frowned, but he supposed it had to be difficult to make dessert out of people. Especially when adding anything else would likely only make it less appetizing. He shrugged when Sanguine assured him that she wasn't bothered. More for him, he supposed. In the end, the Paladin had a hard time arguing with logic like that. He was drawn out of his thoughts by his companion explaining her plans for the evening. He remembered her sending out the spies, and supposed that collecting their information while it was fresh was probably the best idea. He supposed it couldn't hurt to get such information first hand, either. Of course he trusted the Guild Master, but he'd always found it easier to scout things himself when drawing up battle plans. "Yeah, I'll tag along." he agreed, getting up to follow the vampire. She was usually the expert on this sort of thing, but he supposed that in the worst case scenario, he might learn some things about their surroundings. Things he could put to good use if they ended up having to fight off anyone who thought it might be a good idea to mess with the guild.

[sanquin]

Sanguine led the way down to the 6th floor. It was annoying to not be able to talk to an npc to just teleport to the floor you wanted to go to. But on the plus side, this body was in far better shape than her normal body. So even though they had to go down 2 flights of fairly long stairs it didn't bother her. Once there, immediately Ryltar appeared before them, bowing as everyone else did. "Welcome lady Sanguine, ser Oliver. Most of my spies have returned with reports for you. This way please." The dungeon looked rather creepy to the woman. Sure she had been down here in the game, but seeing it all in a real world made it all the more creepy. They didn't have to go through any of it at the moment though, as the room they needed to be in was right next to the entrance. Inside was a large table with a few chairs, lit by candle light and currently filled with reports from the scouts. "Okay, let's first organize the reports. I use a system where I put them down in the general locations of where they would be on the map, to get a better picture of what is where." Sanguine explained to Oliver, since she assumed he had come along to help.

There was a lot of information to process, with the guild leader taking her own notes based on what she deemed important. Not to mention discussing things with Oliver in between. And in total it took two full hours to get through all of it. The town she had spotted to the west in the scrying mirror was now confirmed to be a farming village. Though more importantly, behind it was a special forest. Apparently it was infested by goblins and trolls. And one spy had managed to pick up on some kind of powerful magical beast living in the forest as well. To the north were some mountains, though no further information about that yet. To the east laid some kind of border. Probably the border of the country they were in. Though the border was guarded by a fort, and flanked on either side by thick forest as well. Finally far to the south there was a sea or ocean. Once again no further information just yet. It would take more time to see what was beyond their immediate area.

Now that they were done, it was too late to do much more. She may technically be a creature of the night, but she was used to being awake during the day. So sleeping at night like normal would have to do at least for now. Which meant it was probably a good time for bed. "My neck hurts..." Sanguine mused, rubbing her neck a little. "Guess I will have to get used to this kind of thing though. No more comfortable office chair or bed for me." She usually played Yggdrasil while laying down on her bed, but her office chair was still expensive and designed for sitting down for many hours. Design like that clearly didn't exist in fantasy worlds. "I think I'll go to bed. I feel pretty tired, actually. So a long night's sleep will probably do me good. What about you?" The woman asked Oliver, part of her wishing him to join her. Though at the same time just thinking about sleeping in the same bed made her cheeks tint a little red again, too shy to actually ask him to her room.

[Sarpedon]

Oliver followed Sanguine, wondering what actually went on during these sorts of meetings. He'd never actually attended one, since the Guild Master had always handled that sort of thing. And before it had always been a game. Now, it definitely didn't feel like a game, and he got the feeling he'd be attending a lot more meetings. The Paladin wasn't a huge fan of the setting for the briefing, but he supposed it was better than nothing. Then things kicked off with his boss saying that they needed to organize reports based on where they were on a map. It seemed really weird to him, and slightly unproductive, but he wasn't going to argue. She was the strategic mastermind behind the guild, and so far they had a perfect record. He just hoped things continued to go so well.

The next two hours were long and mind-numbing. But the warrior did manage to learn a few things. They'd discovered a forest full of greenskins and trolls. Apparently there was also some kind of fancy magical creature somewhere in there as well. Oliver wanted to volunteer to lead the force that would destroy any and all evil in the forest, but he figured he would wait for the vampire to make her own plans before he started jumping to conclusions. Of course, she didn't make any decisions just yet, so he was left to keep silent, probably until the next day. His tactical mind was already churning, but there was nothing for it. He could do little until the next day, even if there were men-at-arms available to be led into the fray. In the end, he nodded when Sanguine suggested bedtime.

"I'm not tired any more... But I suppose you're right, I should try and get some sleep..." he agreed quietly. He didn't dare say anything else with others in the room, so he left it at that. Taking one last longing glance at the map, he finally turned away. There was nothing he could do. The greenskin horde would be there in the morning, and maybe the Guild Master would let him vanquish them then. From there he let her lead the way, thinking he'd ambush her for a goodnight kiss before retiring to his own room. As much as he might have wanted to spend the night with her, Oliver didn't want to presume too much. Sure they'd admitted to liking each other very much, and were surprisingly well acquainted for internet friends, but he wasn't sure how far that could get him, and playing it a little safe was definitely better than getting any future chances cut off by being too bold...