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They quickly and quietly left the priest’s hovel and began their way back towards the palace.
Ulrike started walking ahead of them, still thinking of this powerful demonstration she just witnessed. Never before had she seen it done so clearly. Within a couple of hours she had learned more than she had in decades, the thought saddened her, all these years wasted, but there was new hope.

Laurenz and Farhad followed behind her, Laurenz had slowed down his pace a bit to keep Farhad a bit further back.

“Why are you slowing down? Everything alright, Laurenz?”

Laurenz replied with a whisper.

“It’s something strange…what I did there.”

Farhad looked at him curiously.
“What exactly was strange about it? You’ve done this a million times before, did you have trouble with the priest? Maybe his faith shielded him or something, that kind of thing is not unheard of.”

Laurenz shook his head.
“No, it was the opposite, it was easier…a lot easier, almost effortless.”

Farhad gave him a knowing look and a slight smile.
“Of course…Sybille had power too…her power now is yours, you did drain her dry…”

Laurenz seemed skeptical.
“That…that is a bit disturbing, is that how it works?”

“Yes, in a way. It is of course frowned upon by polite vampires.” he chuckled softly.

“It’s not like there are very many around these parts, right?”
Laurenz replied nonchalantly.

“I’m not familiar with the area that much, but if others had known of Sibylle’s whereabouts, which probably some knew given the amount of time she spent here, then it’s within the realm of possibility that at some point someone will find out what happened.”

“I don’t like that Farhad, we need to protect Ulrike.”

Farhad nodded.
“We need to prepare, Ulrike, she has all the potential to protect herself.”

“How would we go about it?”

“I can teach her swordplay, you can teach her your gifts. Between the two of us there is enough to rectify the lack of education.”

Laurenz sighed and nodded.
“It shall be done. Now let’s catch up.”

They walked up to her.
“Lady Ulrike, you seem to be in a hurry, we’re old men, we have a hard time keeping up.”

Farhad quipped with a cheeky smile. Ulrike smiled, she was amused and felt more at ease.

“You’re doing rather well for old men.”

“Time touches our kind differently…So where are we off to now?”

“Her office.”
Laurenz interjected dryly.

“I’m curious what we may find in there Laurenz, I was never allowed in.”
Ulrike responded in a more serious tone this time.

“Neither was I, so I have high hopes.”

They crossed the gate to the castle again, the guard wasn’t back yet, but they had no time to waste. They followed along the same route which brought them there and were careful not to be seen. Soon they reached the entrance to the palace again and walked inside.

Laurenz walked ahead confidently, he still knew this place well, as if he never left.
Sibylle had her office in the same wing as her chambers, but high on a tower and locked tightly.
Laurenz had tried to peek in and even break in back in the day, but he didn’t have the skills to do so. Now he was determined to even break the door down and noise be damned, but this time he had Farhad with him. That man was resourceful, he didn’t have trouble unlocking the chapel’s door, why would this be any different?

Quietly they ascended the stairs, Laurenz at the front, followed by Ulrike and Farhad not far behind. They finally reached the door that kept all the secrets that were kept from there for all these years. Laurenz tried the door handle, in case it was unlocked, but no such luck.
“Don’t be shy, Laurenz, that’s what I'm here for.”

Laurenz sighs.
“Thank you, please go ahead.”

Laurenz was anxious to get in the office, Ulrike on the other hand was more nervous, she didn’t know what to expect.

Farhad went and kneeled in front of the door and started working with the lock.
It took him about two minutes to get the lock open, it felt like hours to Laurenz, finally he was going to see what hid in there.

Farhad got up and gave the two an accomplished nod, he took pride in his shady accomplishments, he too was curious what they would find inside.

Laurenz pushed the door open and looked at Ulrike.
“After you.” He offered her with a small bow of the head.

Ulrike seemed apprehensive at first but then took a step inside the office. It seemed pretty mundane overall, like a typical study. She lit the ornate lamp that was on the table and looked around the room.

“Where do we start?”

“Let’s start at the desk’s drawers and work our way up?”
Proposed Laurenz.

Farhad shook his head mockingly.
“My brother, you are really charming but so inefficient. You take one side, I take the other and Ulrike can search the desk, work smarter not harder.”

The three of them exchanged a look and nodded in agreement, then got to work.

Slowly documents, books and journals were being placed on the desk as being relevant, other papers were tossed around the room. There were a lot of things there, journals describing powers and rituals, locations, artifacts, rites. A wealth of knowledge that she had kept secret from them.

Ulrike sat on the desk and was inspecting a recent journal.

“Look here, she could control animals…that’s fascinating…”

“Fascinating but what led to her demise…” Farhad commented, while leaning on the desk, in order to get a better look of the document.

Laurenz was focused on a different journal, an older one, he seemed to be very concentrated.
“She was meticulous…this here is a treasure trove. I wish to make copies and study them while I’m here, if that’s alright with you, Ulrike.”

She shrugged.
“It’s your home too, Laurenz, you can do as you want, I don't know if I can make sense of all this on my own anyway.”

“We will be here a few days at least, Lady Ulrike, we’ll figure it out.” Farhad responded in his reassuring tone.

“You shall never again be unprepared, this is your home, we will give you the tools to be able to defend it.”

Ulrike smiled and was relieved.

“Then I truly am lucky that you have arrived, I will not forget this.”

“It’s my obligation, Ulrike and will do so happily, you are my blood and all that is left of our house, I want you to be well, I want you to be whole and to stand on your own.”

“As for me, I would never let a young lady in peril, I'm a bit of a swordsman, I offer to teach you while I'm here. I owe Laurenz a lot for his hospitality, it seems to be a good way to repay.”

Ulrike looked between the two of them with a grateful smile, then went back to studying the document in her hand.

And thus was the rest of the night spent until they finally enjoyed the hospitality offered by Ulrike. And Laurenz was back home, though it no longer felt like it.

Description

They quickly and quietly left the priest’s hovel and began their way back towards the palace.
Ulrike started walking ahead of them, still thinking of this powerful demonstration she just witnessed. Never before had she seen it done so clearly. Within a couple of hours she had learned more than she had in decades, the thought saddened her, all these years wasted, but there was new hope.

Laurenz and Farhad followed behind her, Laurenz had slowed down his pace a bit to keep Farhad a bit further back.

“Why are you slowing down? Everything alright, Laurenz?”

Laurenz replied with a whisper.

“It’s something strange…what I did there.”

Farhad looked at him curiously.
“What exactly was strange about it? You’ve done this a million times before, did you have trouble with the priest? Maybe his faith shielded him or something, that kind of thing is not unheard of.”

Laurenz shook his head.
“No, it was the opposite, it was easier…a lot easier, almost effortless.”

Farhad gave him a knowing look and a slight smile.
“Of course…Sybille had power too…her power now is yours, you did drain her dry…”

Laurenz seemed skeptical.
“That…that is a bit disturbing, is that how it works?”

“Yes, in a way. It is of course frowned upon by polite vampires.” he chuckled softly.

“It’s not like there are very many around these parts, right?”
Laurenz replied nonchalantly.

“I’m not familiar with the area that much, but if others had known of Sibylle’s whereabouts, which probably some knew given the amount of time she spent here, then it’s within the realm of possibility that at some point someone will find out what happened.”

“I don’t like that Farhad, we need to protect Ulrike.”

Farhad nodded.
“We need to prepare, Ulrike, she has all the potential to protect herself.”

“How would we go about it?”

“I can teach her swordplay, you can teach her your gifts. Between the two of us there is enough to rectify the lack of education.”

Laurenz sighed and nodded.
“It shall be done. Now let’s catch up.”

They walked up to her.
“Lady Ulrike, you seem to be in a hurry, we’re old men, we have a hard time keeping up.”

Farhad quipped with a cheeky smile. Ulrike smiled, she was amused and felt more at ease.

“You’re doing rather well for old men.”

“Time touches our kind differently…So where are we off to now?”

“Her office.”
Laurenz interjected dryly.

“I’m curious what we may find in there Laurenz, I was never allowed in.”
Ulrike responded in a more serious tone this time.

“Neither was I, so I have high hopes.”

They crossed the gate to the castle again, the guard wasn’t back yet, but they had no time to waste. They followed along the same route which brought them there and were careful not to be seen. Soon they reached the entrance to the palace again and walked inside.

Laurenz walked ahead confidently, he still knew this place well, as if he never left.
Sibylle had her office in the same wing as her chambers, but high on a tower and locked tightly.
Laurenz had tried to peek in and even break in back in the day, but he didn’t have the skills to do so. Now he was determined to even break the door down and noise be damned, but this time he had Farhad with him. That man was resourceful, he didn’t have trouble unlocking the chapel’s door, why would this be any different?

Quietly they ascended the stairs, Laurenz at the front, followed by Ulrike and Farhad not far behind. They finally reached the door that kept all the secrets that were kept from there for all these years. Laurenz tried the door handle, in case it was unlocked, but no such luck.
“Don’t be shy, Laurenz, that’s what I'm here for.”

Laurenz sighs.
“Thank you, please go ahead.”

Laurenz was anxious to get in the office, Ulrike on the other hand was more nervous, she didn’t know what to expect.

Farhad went and kneeled in front of the door and started working with the lock.
It took him about two minutes to get the lock open, it felt like hours to Laurenz, finally he was going to see what hid in there.

Farhad got up and gave the two an accomplished nod, he took pride in his shady accomplishments, he too was curious what they would find inside.

Laurenz pushed the door open and looked at Ulrike.
“After you.” He offered her with a small bow of the head.

Ulrike seemed apprehensive at first but then took a step inside the office. It seemed pretty mundane overall, like a typical study. She lit the ornate lamp that was on the table and looked around the room.

“Where do we start?”

“Let’s start at the desk’s drawers and work our way up?”
Proposed Laurenz.

Farhad shook his head mockingly.
“My brother, you are really charming but so inefficient. You take one side, I take the other and Ulrike can search the desk, work smarter not harder.”

The three of them exchanged a look and nodded in agreement, then got to work.

Slowly documents, books and journals were being placed on the desk as being relevant, other papers were tossed around the room. There were a lot of things there, journals describing powers and rituals, locations, artifacts, rites. A wealth of knowledge that she had kept secret from them.

Ulrike sat on the desk and was inspecting a recent journal.

“Look here, she could control animals…that’s fascinating…”

“Fascinating but what led to her demise…” Farhad commented, while leaning on the desk, in order to get a better look of the document.

Laurenz was focused on a different journal, an older one, he seemed to be very concentrated.
“She was meticulous…this here is a treasure trove. I wish to make copies and study them while I’m here, if that’s alright with you, Ulrike.”

She shrugged.
“It’s your home too, Laurenz, you can do as you want, I don't know if I can make sense of all this on my own anyway.”

“We will be here a few days at least, Lady Ulrike, we’ll figure it out.” Farhad responded in his reassuring tone.

“You shall never again be unprepared, this is your home, we will give you the tools to be able to defend it.”

Ulrike smiled and was relieved.

“Then I truly am lucky that you have arrived, I will not forget this.”

“It’s my obligation, Ulrike and will do so happily, you are my blood and all that is left of our house, I want you to be well, I want you to be whole and to stand on your own.”

“As for me, I would never let a young lady in peril, I'm a bit of a swordsman, I offer to teach you while I'm here. I owe Laurenz a lot for his hospitality, it seems to be a good way to repay.”

Ulrike looked between the two of them with a grateful smile, then went back to studying the document in her hand.

And thus was the rest of the night spent until they finally enjoyed the hospitality offered by Ulrike. And Laurenz was back home, though it no longer felt like it.