A History Through Blood

The sound of hooves moving through damp gravel permeated through the low hanging mist that covered the swampy mire, emanating from the merchant wagon that housed William and his companions during their journey north. The bright sun's rays, which usually weakened her to the point of collapse, were now obscured by the white haze and provided sufficient cover for Victoria to be active during the daylight hours. The boon of natural darkness also presented cover for would be assailants, forcing the vampress to vigilantly search the white mists with her companions for any dangers lurking with-in the walls of white and grey.

This particular trip through the mires had her unnerved, constantly scanning the horizon for various unseen dangers. Even with the illumination of their bright lamps which highlighted their location and the pervasive echoes from the wagon's spinning wheels, nothing seemed to disturb their journey through the muggy bog-lands. Her sense of unease unsettled William, who had begun to absentmindedly move the beads on his rosary in his gloved hand.

In-spite her paranoia nothing disturbed their journey inwards, although it could be partially attributed to the herbal incense left burning from an ornate iron censor, dangling predominantly on the left-hand side of the wagon. “Your incense seems to work well,” William remarked as he tracked a crow's smooth flight across the obscured skyline. “Nothing has been able to approach us.” Victoria only shook her head, “I feel like you misunderstand how my particular blend of incense works. While your churches' fragrances are imbued with holy based magic and often used to 'cleanse' a designated area, my current blend serves as a warning to anything lurking around the area. It contains various reagents designed to emit a powerful aura that most inhabitants sensitive to magic would know to avoid, as opposed to creating a protective barrier as yours would. Another way to look at it is your holy incense creates a sturdy wall around a town to protect it from invaders, this particular bland emulates the battle cries of a large standing army stationed in a town. Each method deters external threats, but for very different reasons.” This insight as to the particulars of magic was mentally stowed away by the night hunter for future reference, sensing that this would intrigue scholars upon his return.

-

Concealed by the dense fog three witches sat around their large cauldron, chatting idly in the cold morning air. Their various spells and incantations had removed any traces of light emitted from their fire, as well as adding additional protections to their current abode. Through their various wards they could hear the sounds echoing from the lone caravan, pausing their conversation to observe the bold individuals who trespassed in their territory in the difficult weather. “There appears to be some foreign visitors to the area.” mussed one of the hooded figures.

The cauldron's surface had quickly settled, changing from a sickly green, bubbling mixture to one of a stagnant pool tinted lime. The once volatile surface now displayed the moving image taken from the perspective of a local bird, revealing a solitary wagon holding three weary passengers slowly passing through the area. “Who ever made their incense is clearly knowledgeable.” praised the second hag, sensing the herbal smoke from a mile away. “Undoubtedly the vampire's work, although it is interesting to see a human priest travel so openly with a vampiric ally” pondered the third woman, “I almost want to mess with them.” The first shook their head “Let them be. I have talked briefly the girl from that demon tavern in London about sourcing some supplies, she will be more useful undisturbed.” Upon remembering the vampresses' identity, the second woman suddenly began to search her belongings. “Oooo... she might have some herbs from down south. Do you two need anything?”

-

Above their wagon a crow circled, cawing loudly as to catch their attention. William silently watched as Victoria extended her arm as to create a temporary perch for their avian tracker. “Do I want to know what you are getting involved with?” asked William, hesitantly expecting bad news. The young doctor quickly read the small note provided by the ebony courier. “It seems that a group of witches nearby are aware of us.” Stated the vampire who was beginning to search the limited stock she carried. “My reputation is apparently known to them. They don't want to harm us, although they did enquire about some purchasing alchemical supplies from France or their surrounding countries.” What ever herbs she had in stock were quickly collected and provided to the avian messenger, along with a note advising what supplies they did not have on hand and their price. The bird left the wagon, supernaturally unhindered by its load, its cry promising a return with promised payment.

“Given that something has taken notice of us, what has your count been so far?” Asked Leo several tones lower than his general bravado usually allowed. “I think I saw an eel, although it could've been a snake of some kind. You two have a better knack for this sorta thing.” Victoria, now focused on some movement off their right side, carefully rearranged her stock. “I've seen an Lambton Worm and a Wight, although I am sure there are some Shellycoats and Barghests who are keeping their distance.” William nodded in cautious agreement, “I believe I saw a Barghest in the branches of an old tree a mile back, although the others I am not as knowledgeable on.” They all knew that they would likely be safe as long as they remained on the stony road and didn't stray to far into the mire.

The name “Lambton Worm” did not resonate with-in William's internal lexicon of supernatural knowledge. “What is a Lambton worm? I am not familiar with that name.” “Its the name given to a creature sighted with-in the northern parts of England. Being the primary sighting, the creature is generally associated with their legends.” began Victoria, with Leo humming an oddly-specific tune. “The folklore says that John Lambton missed Sunday mass to go fishing in the nearby, he did not catch anything but a small eel-like creature. John then disposed of the creature in the town well. The creature then grows over the years, corrupting the lands and consuming livestock from its home in the well. Eventually it is slain, but it's corruption was said to curse the lord's family for generations. The worm's description and means often vary and are sometimes associated with dragonic creatures.”

“Should this be something I should be concerned with?” asked William, uncomfortable with the idea of letting a beast such as this live. “The folk lore, mostly out of ignorance of the occult, does not quite get their origins correct.* They are not from this world.” her voice trailed off while scanning the cloud-covered sky for any traces of the witches' messenger. “They are usually located in the chaos realm and lack the intelligence or power to leave on their own.”

Sensing confusion at some of her terms, Victoria quickly clarified. “If it helps think of the chaos realm as Hell. The main concept you need to grasp is that the land is comprised of mostly Chaotic magic.” William nodded his head in appreciation, his Religious frame of reference hindered a lot of talk about other types of magic. “In their natural home the worms are weak, often resorting to scavenging for scraps or corpses. If they somehow get summoned here they emit corrupting magic to the surroundings and with no predators they will often grow quickly to large sizes. Due to their tendency to render large areas of land unusable, most sentient creatures from all affiliations will try and destroy them. I've alerted the witches who will likely want them gone as much as you do, assuming they weren't the ones who are responsible for its presence.” As if summoned by his words, the avian courier returned with a note and small satchel.

The small note from her Wiccan trade partners reminded him of their initial purpose. While he knew she was dispatched north at the whims of her benefactor, he still did not know the reason behind the assignment in question. “Remind me, why were you summoned out here?” enquired William, eyeing the raven's departure after delivering the agreed upon payment. He had known that she had been tasked to visit a noble house up north, but not of the specific details. “The daughter of one lords has been acting as if possessed, or at least disturbed beyond what could be considered normal. The local priests attempts at exorcism did not cure her from her state and the local doctor's attempts to diagnose her condition failed to yield any meaningful answers. Their requests for aid reached my affiliated guild and someone who knew of my skill set offered my aid.”

His immediate thoughts turned to the homeless mad men and women that frequented the church's walls, taking whatever charity was offered. Each had their own disruptive symptoms and sudden triggers that would send them into psychotic episodes. He could remember one woman who constantly heard voices in her head, pressuring her into doing various degrading acts which often lead to self-harm and mutilation. Despite many attempts at exorcism, nothing could be done her aside from preventing her more manic episodes from causing too much damage to herself and her surroundings.

“Could it be madness?” asked William, mind slightly lingering on his past memories. “Mental assessment is beyond my field of expertise, so I cannot rule it out.” Victoria replied. “Although deliberate or accidental consumption of toxins could also be the cause of her ailment.” It was a possibility, certain mushrooms did possess a hallucinogenic property so a malicious actor could have slipped her something in her food. Whatever the cause they would know soon enough, through the dense mist the night hunter could see a town ahead whose outlines grew bolder as the lingering grey weather cleared up. At the first sign of the sun's cleansing light, the vampress readied herself as to return to the comforting darkness of her crate.