[quote=@Stitches]Nevertheless, the maid was persuaded by Abigail to go and seek out Anastasia. Unsurprisingly, she found the huntress in the dining room with Villiame and hovered somewhat near the doorway, doing her best to avoid being in the way. “M-madam,” she stammered, “the girl from your latest hunt would like to help you. She is in the dining quarters…” she trailed off, intensely aware of the stares upon her. Her eyes became locked to the floorboards.[/quote] Anastasia glanced back as the other set of doors opened slowly, creaking through the empty hall. She tilted her head as one of the blood servant girls, Annie, poked her head through and made her announcement. Anastasia leaned her chin on a knuckle, humming... Hmmm... that girl, Abigail was it? Strange creature. She still wasn't certain whether to consider her a simple ditzy girl or some strange spy or creature in disguise. She had spied on her briefly during the night with a spyglass through the window, watching her bouncing on her bed, concluding she was nothing but a lucky idiot. But now, blindly offering aid after her traumatic ordeal, hmmm... well, she did say she was a Hunter's apprentice. "Annie, darling, don't be so meek. Although, I suppose that is part of your charm. Hm. Escort her to my barracks and tell Daniel to test her skills, see where she is capable. Of course, be sure to knock first." [quote=@Nymeria]His attention turned back to Anastasia. "I'm sure you've heard by now of the reckless actions of those under my house banner. There is no doubt in my mind that the vampires in question are some of my own guards. I need you to find them and execute them immediately." His voice was unwavering as he spoke. He had dealt with difficult situations in the past, that was nothing new. But this specific situation presented an entirely new problem. He would do anything to keep his family's secrets. "I don't care what you do to them as long as it is quick and it is quiet. I will not tolerate such reckless behavior. I hold my guards to a higher standard than this." He paused and took a seat at the head of the table. He rested his elbows against the table's surface and placed his forehead in his hands. He let out a loud sigh as he sat, considering his options. "We need to make it clear to all of the other guards that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable. Any more of my men caught getting in bar fights will be punished severely." "In the meantime, we need to place the blame elsewhere. What of that vampire community you caught wind of recently? Is it feasible that they could be our scapegoats?" He sat up and turned to face Anastasia. [/quote] Dromeus burst in as she finished her instruction. She rose out of her seat immediatly and came to attention. She listened devoutly, not taking her gaze off him, even when Villiame left, sitting down as he did. She smiled like a clever fox, proudly announcing, "Oh do not worry my Lord, I am fully aware of the situation. In fact, one of my girls spotted them in the act and followed them to their lodgings, and my hunters are taking care of the problem as we speak." [hr] [center] [i] Meanwhile... [/i] [/center] Near a quiant, simple house, pressed tightly in between others on a crocked road in one of the upper middle class districts, Boris and Freya, fully armed and outfitted in their masks and in simple brown armor, ran along the back of rooftops like wolves, staying out of street view. As they spotted their destination, they slid down behind the house and carefully descended the tight alley unto a balcony. Boris smashed in the window with his poleaxe and Freya threw in a smoke bomb, bolting in as female screams and coughing responded. She tackled the first male figure she saw, pressing the handle of her weapon into his hissing, fanged mouth as he struggled to smash the pommel of his sword into her. She pressed down, then brought up and smashed the handle in, breaking the back of his jaw. She lifted and thrust the bottom silver spike into his chest with a resounding crack. Boris followed just as a second male assailant rushed in through the smoke for Freya's kneeling form, calmly and briskly walking up, drawing out, and cleaving his poleaxe through the middle of his head, knocking aside his blade, burying his body in cracked wood. He dug the axe out and stabbed him through the chest just as he began to regenerate. He went down and opened the back door, letting in Clara and Ivanchka from the alley, dressed in hunting gear. They rushed upstairs with cleavers and bags, beginning to hack apart the bodies, wrapping them tightly in parchments used for fresh market meat, the blood seeping through a common sight, then returning downstairs and immediately securing their 'kills' on their mounts and riding off, splitting in different directions. Freya approached the still wailing women and children huddled in the bedroom, who went deathly quiet as the smoke cleared and they saw her, dragging her boots through the gore stained on the floorboards. She stared down at them, poleaxe dripping, then dropped a sack full of coins. "They went to visit family in another city. Someone will come to help you clean." She kneeled down and brushed the hair out of a child's face. "One wrong word, we will kill you. We are watching." They left through the same window, dropping in another alley not far off and riding away. [hr] "As for making an example... Well, I do believe one of the guilty may be at the barracks at the moment. I can have Alosha and Alina make an example of him right there and now. Ah, I see we are of the same mind, my Lord. I was actually planning to speak to you of how to handle that matter before the Hunter Guild arose. That said, they are a perfect candidate for dealing with this. This... mmm, [i]commune[/i] we have been observing, I can confirm it is definitly responsible for the string of livestock deaths over in the northern farmlands of late. We followed some culprits to them one night. The commune seems to be roughly 30 individuals strong, though a fair amount of them are children. I was not sure at the time whether it was simply a few vampires hiding out among them or if all of them were involved, and, frankly, I'm still not sure. However, a recent agent reported in my absence during the Guild hunt that we do know of at least 12 adult vampires traced back to that community. It's your call how we may approach this my Lord, but I can arrange for them to take the fall, so long as every individual is wiped out to keep the story clean. I'm sure we could rile the Hunter guild into leading the charge, and if they do so then the story will be easily eaten up by the Kingdom. After all, it's their duty to hunt monsters, sanctioned by the King himself." She grinned, leaning her chin down on her interlaced fingers. [hr] [@Stitches] The maid rushed back to Abigail in the common dining hall, stammering softly as she rubbed her hands, "M-my lady has requested for you to be escorted to her personal barracks. One of her h-hunters will... test you." She took a few steps back towards the exit, turning somewhat towards it, looking at her with nervous expectation.