Now Louis Vernon stepped down from the steps of the massive castle and into the court of the gloomy gardens that filled the castle just to then look up from a book he was studying in order to get a better understanding of what it was he was looking at. "Well what is this bit now." Louis spoke only to close his book in hand and place it between his left arm and his body as he continued to walk towards the sight of the snow covered grounds and the seemingly interesting party that sat before him. (Repost)

Seemingly interesting party indeed.

Among a small forest of impaled disembodied heads milled Casren, straightening the pikes and humming oddly upbeat music. Behind him, just inside the gate of the castle, was a glorified war cart. The large mobile structure loomed in the distance, able to easily fit at most eighty men.

The courtyard smelled like death.

There were, of course, heads strewn from vines, heads hanging out with gargoyles, and a head on the gate itself. Some of them still had the remnants of Dracul armor.

"Ah!" He turned to Louis, delighted. "We're almost done with the finishing touches. It's a shame the Harlequin wasn't here, but we did save him some heads to decorate with. Right, Yves?" Casren looked to his counterpart in the courtyard.

Yves would nod, before inquiring, "And whom may you be, I am General Yves Beauregard, I lead the Dracul army and sworn loyalty to this faction." he would pause, "We were just dealing with traitors, if you care to go to Wing City Plaza, I am sure you will see them." laughing he would move away from the pikes and give a short bow.

Louis Vernon simply gave the General a look that would imply some kind of respect for the man but nothing was said to him directly as the scene was set and his questions already answered. "Casren who all were the traitors? I have been locked up in the library for, weeks, maybe a month or so." Louis simply walked towards the two just to then look up to the sky and then back down to the General himself. "General Yves Beauregard, a name and a face that history will do well to remember. I am the Marquis of Montague, Lord Louis Ancroft Vernon Esq. and it is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face." With that said Louis simply gave the man a nod and removed the book he was carrying between his arm and body just to then offer a toothy white smile.

Listening he would salute, "Pleasure to meet you Lord Ancroft, as for the traitors well I don't know the full story, but I sadly had to execute some of my own soldiers, because of what they did." he then indicate towards Casren, "I suspect Casren shall reveal everything as I believe he knows more than he said on the journey back."

"These traitors defiled the name of the Vankoryth Detente, by using the Blood Edict for their own agenda's," He summarized while stroking the hair of one of the heads. It was a shame to lose so many. "If you wish, we can go into detail later, however I do believe everything is chugging along smoothly."

He hoped.

"So," Casren looked from the book to Louis's face. "What did you find in those shelves?"

"Nothing more than this and that. One item in particular you might be interested in however." Louis added only to produce a small letter from the book that held the old house signet that Mariotto once belonged to. "It was written by a Uriel Spencer, a now long dead immortal, and one who claimed to be the father of the one you betrayed." Louis now held a cold gaze towards Casren just to then shrug and offer the letter to the man. "In short the letter is nothing more than a mix of words that does not mean anything as of right now but I am sure in time their true meaning will be revealed."

Intrigued he would listen, but know it's not his place to interfere, even if he was a General, he had to remember to only speak when asked or given permission. This was military law.

"Interesting indeed," Casren reached for the parchment, his mind a whirl.

"And who was it addressed to?" What could it mean?

Louis Vernon simply shrugged a bit. "It was not addressed to any one particular person." Louis spoke only to then look towards the General. "It only is a list of names and corresponding items to those vampires that were around when Mariotto was still alive. Along with a mention to some kind of Magnum Opus." Louis simply began to cross his arms just to let out a sigh. "General I suppose I will need to ask of a favor from you."

"Magnum Opus," That sounded ominous. Casren receded into thought for the moment.

Finally being able to speak he would perk up at his name and reply, "What is it you wish Lord Ancroft, my men are at your disposal." he had heard of this man, but not enough to understand why he would wish to ask something personally of him.

"Yes something about a literary work of art, but I am sure there are more letters possible sense this one lone letter does not make sense as it sits." Louis spoke only to then ponder what it was he needed to say. "Lord Dren has given me command of his battalion of soldiers as a gesture of friendship. I will allow you to use them in hopes of keeping the grounds more secure. I in particular will need from your men to hunt down the ashes of Uriel Spencer if I am to get to the bottom of this."

Nodding he would respond, "I shall give you 500 of my best men to do with what you wish, I shall begin training these soldiers to use the equipment we came with, including Wolfsbane Grenades and creating the wolfsbane poison." he would salute once more, "If I may inquire Casren is there an area I could train my men that would not be interrupted, and if not is there a room you mind having the furniture removed from."

"There is ample land within these woods. If you travel thataway for an evening, you should reach where the trees begin to thin. I can assure you, the Cursed Wood is safe as our domain. With a hundred and fifty men at constant patrolling the border of the Forbidden Thick, your training shouldn't be interrupted," Casren motioned towards the forest.

"You are, of course, more than welcome to bring any of my line with you on your quest. It would be only right, in honor of Mariotto, to assist this...Cause."

In truth, Casren didn't know what to think about this Magnum Opus. What was it? A book, an index, a story, what?

Louis Vernon simply began to open up the book once more only to then ponder something about his new found allies. "Tell me, the two of you please, what threats are there to our family?"

Yves would snarl, "Mongrels, Pretenders and that is all I know of, Mongrels being size of bears almost."

"Werewolves," Casren stated plainly, "The same mongrels that plague us all. I do believe we had a row with the Lessard family, quite some time ago. Last I heard, they weren't doing so well. However, due to The Blood Edict, they are considered our allies until proven otherwise."

A thought struck him.

"Are they still a thing?"

"Are what still a thing?" Louis asked rather confused. Sure he understood the general but Casren was a bit odd.

"The Lessards," Was it not obvious? "Are they still a thing? A unit? Together? All for one and one for all?"

He would simply salute unsure of what to say, before yelling out in French, "J'ai besoin de 500 hommes au double, de la déplacer déplacer!"

After few minutes a gang of soldiers male and female would come to the court-yard and stop, saluting Yves, "Here is your men you requested."

"I would not know the answer to that." Louis spoke plainly as he had never had the honor of speaking with any of them. Sure one would imagine that sense Louis actually held a plot in one of the graveyards of the city that he would have at least had a run in with one of them but he could not say he had ever had. Soon Louis simply looked at the men who stepped out only to smile a bit. "Merveilleux, stature parfaite et une unité possible à craindre j'en suis sûr. Général, je suis très heureux de voir que vous avez ces hommes et ces femmes qui se consacrent à vous." Louis spoke only to then smile to the general. The vampire back before he was turned into a creature of the night he was a rather prominent noble.

The General would smile, "Ils sont essentiellement vamperic forces spéciales, sont formés à la plupart des méthodes et juré de protéger dont je leur demande trop, ils ne seront pas en question vos commandes pas plus qu'elles ne fuient." he would reply before bowing himself out and entering the castle.

Casren had to step aside, for 500 soldiers had come marching though the courtyard. Casren never tired of a decent display of power, a show of camaraderie and vigor and dedication.

"Oh, alright," He was slightly disappointed to hear that Louis didn't know much about the Lessards. Casren remained silent while Louis and Yves finished their business. A light bow was given to Yves as he dismissed himself. Such a valuable asset the Dracul family way.

"The Lessards, yes," Casren turned his attention back to Louis, "They did have quite a bit to do with Mariotto, what with practically arranging his demise, so I figured..." Casren waved a hand.

"One of these days, I will become fluent in that language, so I can speak it as beautifully as I hear it."

Louis Vernon looked at Casren only to shake his head when he heard of how the Lessards were involved with the demise of his former companion Mariotto. "Yet you forget it was this very family who turned a blind eye to it." Louis spoke only to look at the soldier that stood before him now just to shake his head a bit. "I do not blame this family for its weakness but do not act like what had happened in the past was nothing more than a fairy tale. This sword that belonged to Mariotto is proof of that." Louis spoke as he placed a hand upon the hilt of the blade only to then look at the men and women now with a bit of contempt. "Mesdames et Messieurs qui détiennent honneur de la plus haute autorité Je suis le marquis de Montague, Louis Ancroft Vernon, et j'ai besoin de votre aide. Nous cherchons les cendres et le crâne d'un vampire assez puissant qui a déjà été appelé Uriel Spencer. Que l'on sache ce immortel était une fois un puissant être et récupérer une telle chose n'est pas sans risque. Je vous prie de m'aider dans ma recherche et quand vient le temps de récupérer une telle chose." Louis would take a deep breath only to then offer a smile to Casren. "Besides if I were to hold a grudge for every time someone kills one who is close to me the world would be nothing more than ash."

"Fairy tale?" Casren couldn't help but snort, but his expression lowered into something unearthly menacing.

"The dark history of the Detente may seem like a fairy tale when told, but for those who lived it," He let the silence sit, "It is but a dark reminder of who we are, and who we shouldn't be."

"The Vankoryth Detente will aid you in your search. However, let it be known that the Detente will continue to aid so long as the search is not detrimental to the Vankoryth Detente. No further than the moment of defeat shall the Vankoryth Detente assist in this cause."

"Casren I suggest you watch yourself out here in the world that we live now." Louis spoke as he began to walk away from the other vampire and the army that stood before them. "I would be truly saddened if a crazed fool such as yourself were to be slain by our enemies on a battlefield were not any of us could come to help you. Truly it would be a sad day." With those words spoken Louis made his way back into the castle to the library were his research would continue and were he would send another message to Dren.