With a scowl followed by a sigh, Lucian relents to the doctor's plan.
Sophia nods at her master and disappears into the darkness, taking the clothes with her.
The sculpting of Cainite flesh proves to be not much different from the sculpting of that of mortals. Aside from the inherent coldness of death in vampire bodies, the dottore finds that, in this instance, the skin of the dead proves to be just as pliant and moldable as that of the living. Within the span of a few minutes, Lucian, Alexander and himself soon look like nondescript serving folk.
The young servant girl returns barely a few moments after the last of the fleshly manipulations have been completed. "Master Alexandru? Your proper clothes are inside a crate by the warehouse on Wainwright's Walk."
"Well done, My Dear," Alexandru says approvingly. "Now lead us round to the servant's entry."
He turns and gives a bow to Elena. "My Lady," he say, before turning to follow his ward.
Alexander gingerly touched his face, his fingers finding the flesh...wrong in ways he didn't want to understand. He was especially pleased there was no kind of looking glass - he could not have resisted the temptation to look, and would undoubtedly be unhappy at what he saw.
Instead he fell in, trying not to poke at his odd feeling face as they went to get what would no doubt be miserable, ill fitting clothes.
Elena curtsies and then goes to call as an evening visitor, which of course will help to keep the household busy so that some unnamed servants moving about won't be as readily noticed.
Your approach to the front gates of the manor go unremarked upon—the few glances you get from the other attendees are little more than cursory looks in the shadowy streets. You follow a couple of finely-dressed locals up the white marble walk to the front door, poised and assured as you were taught.
Two men dressed in mail and chain coifs stand guard outside the manor’s front door, each with a sword belted at their side. One of them looks decidedly younger than the other one, and more fit—the other bears several wrinkles on his face and has a noticeable paunch. They let the two party-goers ahead of you in, but raise their hands when you approach.
”Hold there.” The younger one says. ”Who are you and what business have you here?”
———————————
Sophia turns and leads the three face-shifted Cainites through the darkened back gate and across the yard beyond. The rear of the manor does not appear to be as well-tended as the front—while it sports a fountain of an angel pouring water out of a jug, the grass surrounding the dirt path leading to the manor is rougher and longer than that of the front yard.
The servant girl pushes the rear door of the manor open and hurries inside—running smack into a dark-haired older man dressed in drab brown garb. ”Sophia?!” He barks. ”Where have you been?! The guests’ drinks still need to be served!”
Sophia yelps. ”I—Lord Albert had errands for me to run, sir—“
”Of COURSE he did.” The man grumbles. ”Bad enough that we’re short-staffed, but—“ The man’s tirade stops when he notices the trio behind her.
”Who’re you?”
"Extra help, sir," Alexander said with a short bow. "The errand Miss Sophia had to run was to call upon us."
The man's demeanour calms down greatly. "Oh, praise the Lord. You arrived just in the nick of time--Lord Albert's guests have been wondering when the drinks and hors d'oeuvres were going to be ready. The kitchen's already busy--you'll know what to do when you get there."
"I am a visiting dignitary who has come some distance and hoped that it would not be too much to request some hospitality," says Elena carefully, her Romanian accent sliding through slightly.
The two guards share a glance at each other before the younger one's lips quirk into a smile. "Well, m'lady--" He says, his low-born origins coming through almost immediately. "--you've come to the right place. I'm sure Lord Albert will be quite happy to meet you. Normally, we only get grafs and--"
The paunchier guard rolls his eyes at the younger one's enthusiasm. "Where's your husband?" He asks, his tone too dismissive for dealing with someone clearly of an aristocratic bearing.
"Deceased. I am a widow, and thus I hold my own estates. Truth be told, I am indulging in some traveling and would care to make the acquaintance of various lords and ladies," replies Elena. She holds out her hand to show one of the expensive rings that she wears. "Irregular, I know, but surely you would not add to the burdens of a widow whose difficulties on the road led to her arriving in town only just at dusk."
The paunchier guard's brow furrows for a second before he turns his eyes back to the darkened path leading to the manor. The younger guard shoots him a dirty look before turning back to you.
"Don't mind Torsten, m'lady. Misspent youth would turn anyone bitter." He says with a quick smirk in his colleague's direction. "Please, go on in."
"The ballroom is through the double doors past the main hall's stairs."
As the infiltrators enter and move towards the kitchens, Alexandru whispers to Alexander and Lucian, "Now is our chance to separate and start searching, if you wish. I will go with Sophia to the kitchens. If you go, see if you can get into the upstairs area."
"I'll go and see if I can get suitably lost," Alexander said with a nod. It would have been smart to have the serving girl draw them a map, but for now he'd simply have to ask. "Sophia, is there a servant's route to the upper areas?"
Sophia points down the hall to the west. "The servants use the stairwell down that way to attend to Lord Albert and his guests when they stay the night. Follow the hall until it goes right, then upstairs."
Alexander nodded his thanks and headed for the stairwell, to see what could be done.
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"Thank you both," says Elena politely, though she inclines her head to the younger guard. Without further ado she picks up her skirts and makes her way down the hall past the stairs.
"Come Child," Alexandru says to Sophia. "Let us be about our business in the kitchens." He indicates to her to lead him there.
The ballroom of the manor is evidently where most the Baron's wealth was spent--the large room's walls are carved of fine wood and its floor has been scrubbed & polished to a mirror shine. The room is brightly illuminated by a large chandelier hanging over the room’s centre, with several lanterns hanging from wooden stylized pegs lining the walls. Courtiers, both men and women alike, cluster together in little cliques along the walls while the bolder among them dance with each other as the vibrant humming of violins and cellos fill the air. A fair few of the guests turn their heads as you enter the room—and very few of them turn their eyes away afterward.
One in particular, a gaunt-looking gentleman dressed in fine white clothes and with his dark hair cut short, approaches you. ”Greetings, madame. Might I bring you a drink?”
———————————
Sophia leads you down the corridor and through a roughly-carved door of solid oak. The kitchen is a drab-looking room of solid stone with several counters available for the preparation of foodstuffs and a pair of lit lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Various kitchen utensils and cookware are scattered about, some of them scrubbed and others bearing the telltale signs of cooked food still clinging to them. Several pewter goblets are arranged in a neat line on one counter, with a large pewter jug sitting nearby. A few plain-looking servants dressed in even plainer garb than yours hurry about, preparing small dishes. A nearby window lets in
One of the servants, a haggard, older woman dressed in roughspun brown garb, nearly bumps into you as you enter. ”AH!”
”For f@!!’s sake, where have you been?!” She starts before grunting in annoyance. ”Never mind. Those goblets aren’t going to fill and deliver themselves!” She makes a wild gesture in the direction of the goblets.
———————————
You carefully make your way up the stairs, the darkened stairway holding no danger for one such as you. The air becomes colder as you reach the top floor.
The long corridor before you stretches what appears to be the entire length of the house and is carved of darkened wood. A pair of men dressed in ill-kept mail and bearing clubs on their belts are standing before a grand-looking door in the middle of the hallway. They don’t seem to be paying too much attention—and more focused on not falling asleep at their posts than doing their jobs.
Four other doors line the hallway—two on the north wall, two on the south wall, both on either side of the main door. Another staircase leading up to the fancy door runs down the south.
Alexandru goes to the table where the goblets rest and begins to fill them with wine. He places the goblets on a silver tray, and carries them back to the old woman. He knows that she will berate him, but that she will most likely clarify her earlier, vague instructions about where they are to be delivered.
Alexander glanced around the rooms, searching for clues as to which might be the Barons study or chambers. Most nobles liked there doors gilded and inlaid with there initials. The fanciest that was currently guarded was more likely the ballroom or somesuch, but asking them was a second option - lying wasn't something Alexander was exceptionally skilled at unfortunately.