[ He sighs, drawing a hand across his face, and then returns that hand to Alucard's shoulder again. Magic. It's the fucking worst. But he can't imagine how he would have felt had he needed to rely on Sypha or Alucard to find the Belmont Hold. It would have been- kind of shitty, he supposes. ]
Tell me how it's done. You can walk me through it. That way you'll still be involved.
We can spare a few minutes. And I'd have to operate the mirror anyway.
[Thank you. But Alucard knows Trevor's feelings on magic, and he'll not force this. He is happier to wait, especially because if something goes wrong, Sypha is better equipped to handle it.]
[ Trevor doesn't ask if he's sure. Of course he's sure. ]
Well then, once again my strategic purpose is standing around looking pretty.
[ It's not bitter. It's not even as self-deprecating as it usually is. All things considered, the morning's silliness still has him in a fairly good mood. Apparently he should get moderately severe concussions more often. There's a clattering from above as Sypha brings a selection of things that have caught her interest down the stairs. Not necessarily useful things, just interesting ones. ]
I was under the impression I was here to be pretty, you were around to be ruggedly handsome.
[Better to end this with a touch of that silliness from before. Alucard perks as Sypha comes in (the dog is with her) and...he's not sure what actually any of this is.
Nothing useful, but at least there's time to quickly impart what has been learned. The notebook gets snatched up off the table in a moment, and she reads what's there carefully.]
[ When Sypha begins to cast the spell, all Trevor can really do is hover around her awkwardly, trying to be present if anything goes wrong without being distracting.
Nothing does. Dracula keeps good and complete notes, it seems, and there's no guesswork involved with the spell at all. Trevor just waits, listening but not quite understanding the bulk of it, as Sypha passes information on to Alucard. There's a little of the geography she's describing that he understands, but then it moves into things like ley lines and the paths of the moon and stars and you know what, he's not even going to try. ]
[Alucard's quiet as Sypha explains the information she's gathered. Starts to adjust the mirror, images of France going past all of them in a flash. A great, beautiful valley, a river that the mirror travels along, all along until there's some estate that comes into view.
Alucard looks to Sypha, who confirms that this is it. And Alucard gestures Trevor over.]
[He doesn't trust it, it shouldn't be so easy. But he knows where it is, and now things are a matter of figuring out how long it will take to get to this place. There must be some kind of wagon or...other transportation...that won't shatter.]
I want to go through the mirror. To just outside the edges of the spell, so that I can just walk back if necessary.
[ It's going to be useful tactical information, whether they can move between places with the mirror from within here. And also whether, if they do that, they can come back in the same way. ]
[So the mirror refocuses again. Lands just outside the estate, all mist and the horrible feeling of keeping away. Perhaps it isn't right to strain like this but....but they need to do this. It's important.]
This counts as a strain, so yes you're being supervised.
[45 minutes means Alucard busies himself with the first of dinner preparations. Some grain heated in broth for soup, and now all the vegetables to cut up for it. He's using his sword, so Alucard's mood is just fine.]
That's good to know. Was it easier to fight the spell coming back a second time?
Not inherently. Easier once you're expecting it, though. All this shit works that way.
[ He's considering what this means for whatever it is they need to do. ]
Means we'll need to use the mirror itself to gather information, rather than doing it in person. We need to know whether we're dealing with humans or a vampire here, because those demand opposite strategies.
[ Humans are going to be either intending to be turned to make use of the stone or intending to use the stone to release the vampire trapped within it somehow - either way, the best solution to that is to go through the mirror immediately, stop whatever they are doing, and figure out the mechanics of being stuck on the other side of France afterwards. A vampire, though, will be near invincible. Not quite as strong as Dracula at is prime, but close. Running headlong into that with no means of escape would be a bad idea. ]
Mm. Still, 45 minutes is better than any of us could have expected.
[The sword keeps going with the parsnips it has been assigned, and Alucard walks over to readjust the mirror so it gazes down on their new target.]
We can't keep this trained on the place day and night. Vampire or hunter, they will figure out that they're being watched and greater pains shall be taken to hide from us. As it stands, I can have an eye on it when I'm preparing meals. That ought to be a busier time of day to start with.
[He stands in front of the mirror with arms crossed, frowning.]
Vampires would almost make more sense, wouldn't it? The power shifts back to the west. We're seemingly too far away, and they're more likely to know if it to begin with.
Vampires would make more sense. Short-term, they're worse. I don't care for our chances against even the weakest if they have that stone. But at least they're likely in it for themselves.
[ He stares through the mirror. Nobody about by day. Could mean vampires or hunters or thieves just as likely as each other. ]
If humans have it- at best, they're hunters. I can talk to them. Most likely, they're some local shithead who wants power and want to be turned, which is- not materially different from them being vampires in the first place. The stone will overcome the initial weakness from the turning process. They'll be a danger within hours, rather than months.
And at worst, that rock still contains the Vampire Lord of the Forest of Eternal Night. And I'm sure that some idiots out there think it'd be a good plan to get him out of it.
[There's a whole lot to respond to there. But the...title. That just gets a short, incredulous bark of laughter because every vampire is the Most Dramatic it seems.
But then it's back to business.]
Bad options all around, but the first is almost routine for us. So then let me ask this: how safe is it for any of us to handle that thing without barriers of some kind? Gloves, magic, anything else.
[ Which is probably not what Alucard wants to hear. ]
Dracula was able to handle it safely. But he made the thing. Nobody else ever has handled it until now, to my knowledge. Honestly, you would be the best positioned to know. You've seen his diagrams of the thing. Did he ever wear it in your presence or your mothers? If he did, we can be certain that it's safe.
[ He doesn't out a whole lot of faith into this 'Dracula was a cool guy actually' thing, but there's demonstrable proof that he cared dearly for his wife and son. He wouldn't have endangered them. ]
Otherwise, we ought to take whatever precautions we can.
[ Which means silver, more than likely. So this, at least, is a Trevor job. ]
[There are easy memories to parse through, ones not wrapped up in the sheer bugfuck horror of what Dracula did after Lisa's death. Ones outside that little bedroom (scene of a murder), many in the library, a few in Gresit, and outside at night with about five telescopes because they all had different and important uses. Going through the details, seeking something, that's harder.
Alucard pauses, then shakes his head because he's realized the logic of the few times he ever saw it. Never at home. A place of power, yes, but also a place to reassert his father's lost humanity. Why would his mother even entertain it being used?]
Not unless he was away from the castle. I never paid attention to it or felt any ill effects, but it was still on his person. If the kind of magic used here is any indication, it could respond only to him. We'd be better off acting as cautiously as possible. This thing is still an unknown quantity in all the ways that matter.
Let me deal with it, then. I'll throw together something to contain it.
[ It's awful, to have to shove Alucard out of the picture when dealing with the last physical fragment of his own father. But it needs to be done. There are so many things that could go wrong here, and so many things they don't know. Between the selection of weapons and substances that Alucard is not allowed to touch, he can probably make something that will work. ]
I born to deal with that fucking stone, after all.
I expect there will be silver in the lab, I'd be amazed if there wasn't. The notebook has the thing's dimensions, I'd consider constructing a containment case for it through some means.
[No, Alucard, there's no silversmithy here. But there's Sypha and her fire, and that's even better.
And it's...easier to let Trevor take the lead on this. Fewer messy emotions that are placed squarely on Alucard's shoulders. (That's unfair though, isn't it? Even if this counts as squarely Belmont Things. One family cleaning up the mess of another.)]
And there can be additional warding spells and the like put in the case once it's constructed.
If there isn't any, some of the shit I brought can be melted down. You'll need to take them off the index, but I'm sure you'd be happy to see the back of a few of them.
[ He's got a shape in mind for the case already. For the short term, the threads of that net of silver wire that was used to capture Alucard in the first place can be re-purposed and woven into a small bag to collect and move the thing safely. Once it's back here, a hollow container of iron, silvered on the inside and than filled with communion wine, warded with whatever they can manage. ]
Sypha will need to handle wards. Once I'm done with this fucking thing, you don't enter the same room as it.
Editing a record takes maybe two minutes at most. Hardly much work.
[But to the rest of the plan, Alucard nods in steadfast agreement. There are times when his nature makes planning hard and forces him to remain on the edges. He hates it, but safety is the priority. Survival is the priority.]
Understood. We'll use the lab for it's intended purpose then.
We check the rest of the house tomorrow, then. I'll see what your father and Leon left for us to work with. And if everything replaces itself, and what happens to whatever becomes of what's used when it does.
[ Because there's no sense in using materials from here if they just pull themselves out of whatever they're used to create at the end of the day. ]
To the effect on the last one: can you both experiment with a prototype of the case using only the material in the lab today? It'd be useful not only for testing the reset, but for seeing how your idea bears out in crafting what we need to complete this work.
I'm not allowed to walk unsupervised, and you want me to do metalwork.
[ It sounds ridiculous, but it's about the right kind of priorities for dealing the Trevor. He's fucked up walking a lot of times in his life, never working with silver. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
no subject
[ He sighs, drawing a hand across his face, and then returns that hand to Alucard's shoulder again. Magic. It's the fucking worst. But he can't imagine how he would have felt had he needed to rely on Sypha or Alucard to find the Belmont Hold. It would have been- kind of shitty, he supposes. ]
Tell me how it's done. You can walk me through it. That way you'll still be involved.
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[Thank you. But Alucard knows Trevor's feelings on magic, and he'll not force this. He is happier to wait, especially because if something goes wrong, Sypha is better equipped to handle it.]
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Well then, once again my strategic purpose is standing around looking pretty.
[ It's not bitter. It's not even as self-deprecating as it usually is. All things considered, the morning's silliness still has him in a fairly good mood. Apparently he should get moderately severe concussions more often. There's a clattering from above as Sypha brings a selection of things that have caught her interest down the stairs. Not necessarily useful things, just interesting ones. ]
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[Better to end this with a touch of that silliness from before. Alucard perks as Sypha comes in (the dog is with her) and...he's not sure what actually any of this is.
Nothing useful, but at least there's time to quickly impart what has been learned. The notebook gets snatched up off the table in a moment, and she reads what's there carefully.]
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Nothing does. Dracula keeps good and complete notes, it seems, and there's no guesswork involved with the spell at all. Trevor just waits, listening but not quite understanding the bulk of it, as Sypha passes information on to Alucard. There's a little of the geography she's describing that he understands, but then it moves into things like ley lines and the paths of the moon and stars and you know what, he's not even going to try. ]
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Alucard looks to Sypha, who confirms that this is it. And Alucard gestures Trevor over.]
We have a location.
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[ He looks at the estate, trying to glean what information he can of it from the mirror. ]
Will you be able to find this place again? There's something I want to use the mirror to test, before we can figure out what to do next.
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[He doesn't trust it, it shouldn't be so easy. But he knows where it is, and now things are a matter of figuring out how long it will take to get to this place. There must be some kind of wagon or...other transportation...that won't shatter.]
It'll be found. What do you have in mind?
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[ It's going to be useful tactical information, whether they can move between places with the mirror from within here. And also whether, if they do that, they can come back in the same way. ]
no subject
[So the mirror refocuses again. Lands just outside the estate, all mist and the horrible feeling of keeping away. Perhaps it isn't right to strain like this but....but they need to do this. It's important.]
Sypha, please go with him.
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[ He sighs. ]
Give us- an hour, maybe? Before you assume something's wrong. It shouldn't take that long to walk back, but that spell's still a nasty piece of work.
[ And with that he takes Sypha's arm and they go through the mirror. They aren't visible on the other side.
It's maybe three quarters of an hour before the kitchen doors open. ]
Mirror doesn't work from the outside.
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[45 minutes means Alucard busies himself with the first of dinner preparations. Some grain heated in broth for soup, and now all the vegetables to cut up for it. He's using his sword, so Alucard's mood is just fine.]
That's good to know. Was it easier to fight the spell coming back a second time?
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[ He's considering what this means for whatever it is they need to do. ]
Means we'll need to use the mirror itself to gather information, rather than doing it in person. We need to know whether we're dealing with humans or a vampire here, because those demand opposite strategies.
[ Humans are going to be either intending to be turned to make use of the stone or intending to use the stone to release the vampire trapped within it somehow - either way, the best solution to that is to go through the mirror immediately, stop whatever they are doing, and figure out the mechanics of being stuck on the other side of France afterwards. A vampire, though, will be near invincible. Not quite as strong as Dracula at is prime, but close. Running headlong into that with no means of escape would be a bad idea. ]
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[The sword keeps going with the parsnips it has been assigned, and Alucard walks over to readjust the mirror so it gazes down on their new target.]
We can't keep this trained on the place day and night. Vampire or hunter, they will figure out that they're being watched and greater pains shall be taken to hide from us. As it stands, I can have an eye on it when I'm preparing meals. That ought to be a busier time of day to start with.
[He stands in front of the mirror with arms crossed, frowning.]
Vampires would almost make more sense, wouldn't it? The power shifts back to the west. We're seemingly too far away, and they're more likely to know if it to begin with.
no subject
[ He stares through the mirror. Nobody about by day. Could mean vampires or hunters or thieves just as likely as each other. ]
If humans have it- at best, they're hunters. I can talk to them. Most likely, they're some local shithead who wants power and want to be turned, which is- not materially different from them being vampires in the first place. The stone will overcome the initial weakness from the turning process. They'll be a danger within hours, rather than months.
And at worst, that rock still contains the Vampire Lord of the Forest of Eternal Night. And I'm sure that some idiots out there think it'd be a good plan to get him out of it.
no subject
But then it's back to business.]
Bad options all around, but the first is almost routine for us. So then let me ask this: how safe is it for any of us to handle that thing without barriers of some kind? Gloves, magic, anything else.
no subject
[ Which is probably not what Alucard wants to hear. ]
Dracula was able to handle it safely. But he made the thing. Nobody else ever has handled it until now, to my knowledge. Honestly, you would be the best positioned to know. You've seen his diagrams of the thing. Did he ever wear it in your presence or your mothers? If he did, we can be certain that it's safe.
[ He doesn't out a whole lot of faith into this 'Dracula was a cool guy actually' thing, but there's demonstrable proof that he cared dearly for his wife and son. He wouldn't have endangered them. ]
Otherwise, we ought to take whatever precautions we can.
[ Which means silver, more than likely. So this, at least, is a Trevor job. ]
no subject
Alucard pauses, then shakes his head because he's realized the logic of the few times he ever saw it. Never at home. A place of power, yes, but also a place to reassert his father's lost humanity. Why would his mother even entertain it being used?]
Not unless he was away from the castle. I never paid attention to it or felt any ill effects, but it was still on his person. If the kind of magic used here is any indication, it could respond only to him. We'd be better off acting as cautiously as possible. This thing is still an unknown quantity in all the ways that matter.
no subject
[ It's awful, to have to shove Alucard out of the picture when dealing with the last physical fragment of his own father. But it needs to be done. There are so many things that could go wrong here, and so many things they don't know. Between the selection of weapons and substances that Alucard is not allowed to touch, he can probably make something that will work. ]
I born to deal with that fucking stone, after all.
no subject
[No, Alucard, there's no silversmithy here. But there's Sypha and her fire, and that's even better.
And it's...easier to let Trevor take the lead on this. Fewer messy emotions that are placed squarely on Alucard's shoulders. (That's unfair though, isn't it? Even if this counts as squarely Belmont Things. One family cleaning up the mess of another.)]
And there can be additional warding spells and the like put in the case once it's constructed.
no subject
[ He's got a shape in mind for the case already. For the short term, the threads of that net of silver wire that was used to capture Alucard in the first place can be re-purposed and woven into a small bag to collect and move the thing safely. Once it's back here, a hollow container of iron, silvered on the inside and than filled with communion wine, warded with whatever they can manage. ]
Sypha will need to handle wards. Once I'm done with this fucking thing, you don't enter the same room as it.
no subject
[But to the rest of the plan, Alucard nods in steadfast agreement. There are times when his nature makes planning hard and forces him to remain on the edges. He hates it, but safety is the priority. Survival is the priority.]
Understood. We'll use the lab for it's intended purpose then.
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[ Because there's no sense in using materials from here if they just pull themselves out of whatever they're used to create at the end of the day. ]
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[ It sounds ridiculous, but it's about the right kind of priorities for dealing the Trevor. He's fucked up walking a lot of times in his life, never working with silver. ]
I can do that.
(no subject)