Lunarium

A collection of media featuring a vampire-centric writing universe

[ncass-lunarium]

Works

Charum:

Strings of Charum (novella - Google Drive)

*****

The Greenvale series:

- The Painter of Devil’s Fangs (interactive fiction - itch.io)

- The Art Dealer (short story - tumblr)

- The Fate of Greenvale (interactive fiction - itch.io)

- The Sacrifice - Prologue (short story - tumblr)

- The Sacrifice (short story - tumblr)

     - Part 1

     - Part 2

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Another excellent piece of art from my friend Gallus Moser (on Twitter and Tumblr), this time of Sereis in an alternative casual outfit! I imagine this takes place after Sereis accomplishes what he wanted in Fate of Greenvale and retires from the whole paladin thing altogether.

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A few more random commissions I forgot from other artists: the first is the vampire bard Morien by artist kohakuasato (careful, their gallery is a little spicy); the second one is Pisano and a zombified Guillam in a certain ending in Fate of Greenvale, and the third one is a sketch of the pair, both by the fantastic watercolor artist mixowi.

[ncass-lunarium]

Where do you think your fascination with vampires comes from?

That is a fantastic question - and one that is weirdly complicated for me to answer. I hope you're ready for the wall of text and labyrinth of reasoning that comes with asking someone about a core part of themselves.

I always thought vampires were super cool growing up and I guess in a sense identified with them - I naturally had dark hair, pale skin, long nails, and perpetually cold hands (that's just bad circulation - I got better). I was also a huge loner in school, so there's that sort of "power in solitude" thing that vampires have going on - after all, vampires find power in the shadows and don't need strong allies to pose a huge threat. (I am pleased to report, however, that I am no longer a huge loner - now I content myself with being a strong introvert with a handful of friends.) Lame as it might sound, identifying with a mythical creature like that was a way to feel strong during a time when I felt I had no control over my life.

…Plus, I’ve always cherished the silence and starry sky of nighttime. I find the afternoon hours far too busy, and the afternoon heat in the areas I lived all my life is crushing. As a not-so-wise man once put it, "The sun sucks."

An assortment of writing-related reasons:

* vampires possess humanoid intelligence, often portrayed as highly intelligent, which is fun for long-term schemes and makes them more interesting to write than some other monsters

* vampires are capable of possessing a moral compass (or not), so they're flexible as characters

* vampires have functional immortality, often undone by tragic folly which is always fun to write

* any human can become a vampire, further increasing the potential for drama

Various personal reasons:

* I'm a big fan of Gothic horror and by extension the "traditional" vampire stories like Dracula and Carmilla (even though they both have issues stemming from the time period).

* My parents had the first three of Anne Rice's Lestat books in the house. (I liked the first two well enough, but I never got around to finishing Queen of the Damned.)

* My father played the Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop game as a kid, but I was never allowed to play or watch because of its obviously mature elements. In a sense, that just added an air of mystery to the game for me. There were a few trading cards from VtM floating around the house, though. (White Lily was my favorite - can't recall any others.)

* I'm a big fan of the Castlevania games, especially the GBA ones. The PS2 games in particular had fantastic atmosphere.

* It might be a bit basic, but traditional vampires have a cool aesthetic. (I probably would have been a goth in school if I could have afforded it.)

* I’m basically nocturnal. As I write this, the sun is rising, and I need to sleep so I can go to work in the evening.

...Now, with all this being said, I am capable of writing things that aren't vampire-related, I promise! I just happen to be writing a very vampire-related saga right now, and it keeps spiralling out of control just a little bit in the way that creativity does.

[ncass-lunarium]

The Sacrifice - Part 2

A paladin grappling with unintended consequences of his order’s actions

A set of footsteps stopped directly in Sereis’s path, drawing his consciousness back to the world around him. He looked up. A man dressed in blue robes, with holy symbols hanging off his clothing and jingling lightly with every movement, stood in his way with feet slightly apart, as though challenging him. Sereis blinked uncertainty. Vague memories resurfaced, nostalgic memories of his time with the paladins. "The most important thing when fighting a wizard,” a voice echoed from a forgotten corner of his mind, “is to close the distance and break their concentration.”

But there was something else. As if by animal instinct he could sense a heartbeat some distance behind him. It wasn't that of a sand drake, or some smaller skittering creature of the desert - no, it was certainly human. This revelation made him shudder; more precisely, it was the implications of this newly acquired sense that terrified him.

The difficulty of his situation suddenly struck him. Those holy symbols, once a source of comfort, now filled him with dread as he realized why this mage was here.

He stood rooted to the spot, staring at the mage. Perhaps I should let them kill me, he suddenly thought with a renewed pang of despair. The one behind him was creeping forward, barely audible, heartbeat steady - a professional.

But despite his despair, something stirred deep within his consciousness. These were the first creatures he had encountered - everything else to this point had avoided him. Two sets of heartbeats, two apparently hostile creatures, reminded him of his terrible hunger. He suddenly realized he had eaten nothing since waking up in this state.

The mage suddenly raised his hand and Sereis lunged forward without thinking, grabbing the mage’s throat with a swiftness that surprised even Sereis himself. Like a cornered animal, he became keenly aware of every movement and sound - so when he heard the figure behind him rush forward, he turned swiftly and flung the mage at them. There he saw what appeared to be a mercenary at first, but the craftsmanship of the leather and the intricate design embroidered on it gave him away as a noble of some sort.

The noble-hunter neatly leapt to one side, dodging the body of his companion. He swiftly pulled a crossbow in front of him and fired, though even his quick draw only allowed the bolt to graze the rampaging vampire as the latter dodged, then rushed forward and grabbed him by the neck.

Sereis hesitated for a moment, fighting the instinct telling him to bite down on the hunter's exposed neck. The hunter seized that moment to plunge a dagger into his side - and the pain of that wound replaced Sereis's hesitance with a flicker of feral rage. He bit down, the warm, sweet liquid within the hunter gushing beneath his fangs. Despite the searing, worsening pain from his wound, he held his jaws fast against his victim, enraptured by the taste of blood, oblivious to the mage who had staggered to his feet to prepare an attack. Sereis realized his mistake too late, turning to see the gleam of the mage’s magic amulets moments before their activation.

Suddenly, a spurt of blood erupted from the center of the mage's throat, and the amulets’ magic faded.

His body fell forward, revealing the figure behind him: a man with oddly anachronistic dress with long blonde hair, snow-white skin, and gleaming red eyes, holding a bloody black dagger with a needle-like blade.

The blonde vampire smiled brightly. "Amateurs, huh?"

Sereis stared at him. "You... you're a vampire!”

He reached for his shortsword and grasped at air, suddenly remembering his sword was still at the bottom of a lake. Then he froze, realizing he was covered in blood, remembering that he was a vampire, too.

"Hey, relax," the other vampire said with a soft chuckle. "I guess old instincts run deep, haha." He smiled with surprising softness for someone who had just killed a man in cold blood. "You must have been turned accidentally too, right?"

Sereis fell silent. "Too...?" he echoed. His eyes suddenly caught sight of something odd: a cooking pot that had somehow ended up under the mage as he fell, collecting blood from the wound. "Wh... what is that?" he asked in bafflement.

"What? I'm saving some for later," the other grinned. “Anyways, my name is Morien. I was turned in a random vampire attack mishap, but I strived to make the best of it from the start. But you... you look like you're having a hard time adjusting. Am I right?"

"I..." Sereis exhaled shakily. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to die, but..." He trailed off.

"Why don't you tell me everything that happened?” Morien sat cross-legged beside the mage's body and pulled a lute from his back, tuning it casually. “Retrace your steps, take as much time as you need. I’m interested to hear your story, and it might help you get your thoughts in order."

Sereis frowned. "Why do you care?"

Morien gestured to his instrument. "I'm a bard. It's my job to be nosy.”

Sereis sighed. "Alright. But it's quite a long story." 

“All the better," Morien smiled.

He started from the beginning - seven years ago - recounting much of the same tale as he told to the paladins before he left, but omitting less. Morien listened silently, only nodding or making brief responses, allowing him to speak freely.

"May I ask you something?” Morien spoke when he was finished.

“...Sure."

"This merchant, Guillam. Do you think he'd help you if you went to him?"

Sereis blinked in surprise. "Help...? In what way?"

“Any way. He's a wealthy man, right? Maybe he could give you a nice basement room to stay in, maybe hire guards for you or help you conceal your affliction, who knows? He's already on good terms with you and with another vampire. An obvious choice, if you ask me.”

Sereis shook his head. “I don’t know where he lives. He's not a native of Naiad Bay, but that’s all I know." 

“Leave that to me.” Morien grinned as his red eyes shifted to green and his skin became florid. "I believe I've met your man before - not many merchants go around transporting vampires around here, haha. I know some good caves around here; I'll set you up somewhere while I go find him, alright?"

Sereis paused. “Again, why go through the trouble?”

Morien smiled mysteriously. "Curiosity. To tell you the truth, I'm visiting this area for a reason. I have a hunch that you and your friends can help clear up the mystery of Naruma for me." He chuckled and rose to his feet. “In any case, we need to get you cleaned up. Blood stains don’t suit your blue outfit well. There’s a nice canyon cave - hey, you alright there?”

Sereis froze and looked down, suddenly feeling paralyzed by the situation he found himself in. A tug on his shirtsleeve brought him out of it. “Come on,” Morien said softly, leading him towards the canyon.

[ncass-lunarium]

The Sacrifice - Part 1

A paladin’s journey to rid a ruined town of a curse - and its consequences

Weary from his perilous journey, Sereis released all his tension in one long exhale. He had finally made it. The spire in the center of Igni Springs reached up like the claw of Terari itself, piercing the skies from the inky darkness below. Its power seeped up from the earth, bubbling to the surface with the spring water and permeating the ground beneath his feet. Even without seven years of careful research, anyone could recognize this site as the true source of the curse - a curse that Sereis believed only he could dispel now.

Taking a deep breath, Sereis reached to his scabbard and drew his sword. Then, he hurled it into the water, watching it disappear in an instant under the unnaturally dark surface. "Hear me, Terari!" He paused. Was it his imagination, or was the surface of the water changing...? "I am Sereis of the Holy Order. In the name of my Order, and in the presence of the Pharos himself, I offer myself to you!"

He stood still as a statue, as though any further movement might inspire him to run from the spot in terror. He stared at the water, looking for any sign that the dark god had heard his message. Just as he considered giving up, a slow movement drew his gaze upwards toward the spire. As if by a mirage, the spire seemed to be dividing into two, mirroring itself on the other side of the spring; a long, serpentine neck rose up from between the twin spires; two slivers of purple light appeared, then opened into featureless glowing eyes. The dragon god Terari stood before him, glimmering, seemingly made of the black water from whence it spawned. Its aura swallowed the paltry amount of the dusk's light around it, darkening the sky until only a pure void stretched all the way to the horizon.

A creeping chill enveloped Sereis. This was where he, the last of the paladins that desecrated the shrine, would meet his end - though it was by his own free will, the fear of death still froze his spirit. He swallowed and closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, resolving to meet his fate. The dragon's maw opened, bathing Sereis in a bright purple glow.

In his last moments, Sereis felt a peculiar peace, and a pleasant warm breeze grazed his skin just before he lost all sensation.

That peace was broken in an instant.

As if shaken roughly from a dream, he jolted and snapped his eyes open. The sky looked different: where once the violet clouds obscured the stars, a clear canvas of dark blue engirdled a bright full moon. He squinted against the moon's searing light, lifting himself upright.

He was terribly thirsty. He glanced frantically around and, seeing the spring nearby, rushed to its edge to take a drink. Its surface was transparent now, not the inky darkness it had been before, revealing his sword still stuck near the center in the underwater sediment. That could wait, he thought. He cupped his trembling hands and brought the clear water to his lips.

He took a single sip, then froze. He looked at the shining film of water on his snow-white hands, felt the unquenched, gnawing thirst that seemed to tear at his very soul, and finally stared emptily at the spire above him. The silence of the night deafened him, and he lost all conscious thought, replaced by a dull, aching terror.

He slowly rose to his feet, his still-shaking hands betraying the helpless, resigned fear within him. Numbly, he tremulously turned away from the spring and began stumbling forward with leaden feet. His eyes didn't process the landscape as he walked, nor did his feet walk in any particular direction; he simply walked, with no hope or destination.

-----------

“Guillam, I heard some news that may be of interest to you,” Leopold said with an unusually restrained tone. He crossed his guest room, made shadowy by heavy curtains that had recently nailed over the windows, and seated himself to face his bedridden friend. “A report came in from the paladins stationed near Greenvale.” Guillam visibly flinched, but it was too dark in the canopy bed to see the expression on his face. Leopold continued, “They say the curse has been lifted.”

Guillam inhaled audibly and paused before speaking. “I see.”

Leopold stared at Guillam, scrutinizing him. "You know, Guillam, you have always had a bad poker face. You know something about the curse, don't you?” Guillam turned onto his side with a quiet groan, facing away. Leopold sighed. “Anyways, they found a paladin's sword stuck in a spring north of Greenvale. They say a paladin went alone to dispel the curse, but they never found his body."

"Right," Guillam mumbled, still turned away. "I suppose we'll never know what happened, then."

Leopold began to say something but stopped, then exhaled sharply in frustration. He had just moved forward in his seat to stand when a noble appeared in the doorway and knocked lightly. "Leopold!" the noble whispered from across the room. Leopold gave him a puzzled look. The noble continued, "I have an interesting rumor for you - it's about that enigmatic paladin you asked about."

"Really." Leopold glanced at Guillam, who hadn't moved or reacted, then stood up and faced the noble. "Do tell. I'm always open for gossip."

The noble hesitated, perhaps sensing the tension in the air, then continued in a hushed tone, "Well, apparently some hunter spotted a paladin while tracking sand drakes in the middle of the desert east of Greenvale. But he looked like a ghost - his uniform was all in tatters, and he was just walking slowly, like a zombie, totally unaware of anything around him. On top of that, his skin was as pale as the moon. The hunter was a superstitious man, so he didn't dare get any closer for fear of being cursed, but he swore he saw a sand drake run away as the paladin approached."

Leopold's brows furrowed. "Does anyone know for certain whether this is connected to the sword in that spring?"

"No, not really. But it's surely more than coincidence, don't you think? Last I heard, an occult expert, who came all the way from the city of Flynn to see Greenvale for himself, has taken an interest in this paladin and is tracking him as we speak."

Leopold started to answer, but a sudden movement from the bed interrupted his thought. He turned to find Guillam suddenly sitting upright, staring forward and leaning on his arm as if he intended to move. Leopold, somewhat stunned, hesitated before asking, "Everything alright, Guillam? Do you need something?"

Guillam turned to look at him. "I need to find that paladin," he murmured resolutely.

Leopold gaped at him. "What's this all of a sudden? Guillam, you're not going anywhere in your current condition."

Guillam groaned and collapsed back onto the bed, but continued speaking, “I’m certain I’ve mentioned this to you already, but I feel much better at nighttime. In any case, night might just be the best time to catch up with him anyways. Please, humor me just this once - I must know what has happened to him before that occult expert finds him first.”

Leopold stammered incomprehensibly in reply while the noble silently excused himself and slipped out of the room. Finally Leopold huffed, “I suppose you’ll just find a way to slip out if I don’t accompany you! You really are stubborn once you’ve set your mind on something. Fine, let’s leave tonight, but I’m not going to let you do anything dangerous, alright?”

Guillam breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Leopold. It means a lot. I’m going to rest so I’ll have the energy for the trip - he probably hasn’t gotten very far, but who knows.”

Leopold sighed, shaking his head as he walked out the room and gently closed the door behind him.

[ncass-lunarium]

The Sacrifice - Prologue

A paladin’s journey to rid a ruined town of its curse

Sereis ignored everyone as he moved with purpose through town, single-mindedly walking back to his old house. He opened his front door, then paused, looking around at the dark, dingy shack. This may be the last time he would see this place, he considered - even though it was hardly a place befitting a paladin, it was still his own space in which he could do as he pleased. He continued walking, now taking his time, to the stairs leading up to his attic.

Scuff marks and scratches marred the wood where he had spent these last seven years practicing by himself. Though there was a contingency of paladins stationed near this town, he never associated with them or told them he was once one of them. He reached down and opened the chest that had been shoved into the back corner, then pulled out his old, dusty blue paladin's outfit.

The fabric was faded and slightly moth-eaten, but the chainmail was still serviceable, if somewhat rusted. He sighed heavily and began to put it on.

It still fitted him well; if anything, it fitted him better than before. He had admittedly, been slacking on his training prior to the destruction of Greenvale. He took a whetstone to his shortsword, once again filled with a sense of purpose, then hastened out the door, not bothering to lock it behind him. The townsfolk gave him strange looks as he passed, but he pressed forward, away from Naiad Bay to the south.

The sounds of the ocean faded as he made his way down the road. Eventually, he saw a large golden tent by the side of the road, surrounded by men in familiar blue uniforms just like his own except more presentable. One of them noticed him and raised a hand in greeting, then froze and placed his hand near his sword as he drew closer.

“Who’s there!?” he barked. His eyes looked sunken and dark as if he were sleep deprived; guarding Greenvale's ruins can't be an easy job, Sereis considered. The other paladins rallied around the first, taking up a defensive position, each one looking agitated and paranoid.

Sereis raised his open hands defensively. “Wait. I mean no harm. I used to be one of you, a paladin of the Holy Order. I was one of the only survivors of Greenvale - I must pass."

The paladin stared tensely. "To what end? Who are you?"

Sereis sighed at his own hastiness. "My name is Sereis, former enchanter of the Holy Order. I was stationed at Greenvale when the assault on Devil’s Fangs was made.” 

The paladin relaxed. “I recognize you now. You were reported missing along with the rest of the men stationed there."

“Missing? I've been living a stone's throw west of Naiad Bay! The locals know me!” Sereis answered incredulously.

"Oh." The paladin shrugged. "We were never informed as such."

Sereis sighed. “Listen - I must enter Greenvale while there's still daylight. I have uncovered the secret of Greenvale’s curse.”

"Truly?" The paladin's eyes widened in amazement. "You must tell us at once. Together we may have a greater chance of overcoming the curse."

Sereis grimaced and began to recount the events of the previous day. He had followed a suspicious merchant onto a ship; the ship had been destroyed, and he had narrowly escaped drowning; then he had washed ashore on that cursed island. That's where he met him - the vampire, accompanied by the merchant who secretly served him.

But they turned out to be reasonable. Outnumbered as he was, and surrounded by the cursed creatures of the island, Sereis had surrendered, but the vampire offered him mercy and sent him away.

"You surrendered!?" one of the paladins interrupted sharply.

Sereis sighed. "I intended to go down swinging. I wasn't expecting to be spared. However, I managed to exchange a few words with that merchant. Between his words and my own investigation, I have learned this: the curse of Greenvale is the direct consequence of an offense towards the dark dragon god Terari, whom the vampire serves.”

The paladins murmured amongst each other. "Terari?" the paladin echoed, then added somewhat sheepishly, "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with it."

"It appears to be a local deity," Sereis continued. "I have been investigating it for some time since Greenvale's destruction, but only recently were my suspicions confirmed. It is associated with the caverns beneath Greenvale, which were damaged in the initial attack against the vampire - who, of course, was the god’s chief and possibly only priest." He sighed heavily. "Ultimately, our order’s actions are to blame for this curse. However, I believe I can make things right.”

The paladins grimaced at the assignment of blame, but allowed Sereis to continue. "So what do you mean to do?"

Sereis's face hardened. "I’m sorry to say this, but this is a mission I must accomplish alone.”

“Why is that?” the paladin asked. " Surely there must be some assistance we can offer, whatever you plan to do."

"I am the last survivor of the contingency sent to slay that vampire." Sereis explained. "If anyone's sacrifice will placate Terari, it's mine."

The others looked grim. "Surely there must be another way,” one protested.

"Have you had much luck placating the beasts with steel alone?" Sereis replied pointedly. The others fell silent. "If you must assist me," he conceded, "then help me reach its shrine - Igni Springs, located north of Greenvale. It is a relatively short journey, but it will still be perilous. I can't ask you to accompany me, but I will need supplies." He pulled out the amulet from his uniform. "This will protect me - an amulet of invisibility, gifted to me by the merchant for this purpose. That's why I must go alone - it will work only on one person at a time, I think."

The first paladin nodded, then disappeared into the tent. A few minutes later he emerged carrying a large chest. "We were saving these in case the situation worsened," he explained. "But If you can lift the curse, then we won't need them. May the Holy Light illuminate your path."

[ncass-lunarium]

The Art Dealer

A short story prologue to the Twine game, The Fate of Greenvale

The art merchant Guillam swung the lock box shut and turned the key with a click, the end of another night. Yawning, he shuffled back to the back room – his bedroom – and gently set his lit candle on the nightstand by his bed. It was an uneventful day, but he got a couple of sales out of it, so he was satisfied. Changing into his bedclothes, he allowed his mind to wander and started planning his day tomorrow. A few things needed to be rearranged, a few appointments needed to be made...

Then he heard footsteps.

He strained to hear them, but they were footsteps, undeniably. He had remembered to bolt the front door, hadn't he? He took a long dagger from his nightstand's drawer and cautiously approached his bedroom door, listening. The footsteps slowed, then stopped, in the same way that one might slow down to inspect an art piece that had caught their eye. It seemed unsettlingly normal, given the circumstances.

As quietly as he could, he pushed the bedroom door open. Sure enough, someone was standing there in the darkness, facing Guillam's most recent acquisition, the visitor's back turned away from him. He was dressed oddly - entirely in red, it seemed, and trimmed with gold - and his black hair fell just past his shoulders. Guillam had dealt with would-be burglars before, but this man certainly didn't look or act the part of an ordinary burglar. The front door, he noted, was still bolted. He tried to imagine a burglar politely bolting the door behind them.

"H-hey, you!" he stammered despite his best attempt not to. "If you're planning to steal anything, forget it! I'm armed and I'm no stranger to dealing with thieves!"

The man turned. His eyes, set in a pale, corpse-like face, glowed a piercing red. He had the eyes of a snake - no, the eyes of a vampire.

Guillam choked. "W-what I mean is, uh... We're closed, but... Feel free to, um, continue looking... After all, art is meant to be appreciated, right? Hahahaha..."

The vampire did not respond, but studied the art dealer intently. After a long, tense silence, the vampire turned away and faded into red mist, disappearing through the door. Guillam staggered backwards, frantically scanning the room, then bolted for the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him and sinking to the floor, shaking.

The next day, Guillam swung the lock box shut, but hesitated before turning the key. His friend Leopold, over by his invitation, casually leaned over the counter.

"Say, Leopold. Would you mind, uh, staying here a bit longer?"

"Oh? Do you have a proposition for-"

"Leopold, no. I had a run-in with... well, an intruder last night. To tell you the truth, it's left me a bit rattled."

"Well, I don't know how much help I can possibly be, but I can stay as long as you like."

"Thank you." Guillam sighed with relief. Indeed, Leopold wouldn't be much help in an emergency, but he'd at least appreciate the company. "Would you help me close the store, then?"

"Of course."

With Leopold's help, he had completely cleaned the store before the sun had completely set. He double-checked the door's lock several times and hung protective charms around the door frame, muttering prayers to any god he thought might help.

"Are you alright, Guillam?" Leopold asked, concerned. "This is unlike you."

"Well, these are special circumstances..." Guillam had paid good money for these protective charms, and he could only hope that they worked. "Alright, that's probably enough." He walked back to his bedroom, and Leopold followed after.

As the sun set, Guillam kept his ear pressed to the door, listening. Leopold watched, casually resting against the bed. "Are you going to tell me what this is about or not?"

"Well, I... You see, it's..." Every time he started to speak, it just sounded ridiculous in his head. A vampire visited my store to do some window shopping last night. How could he possibly say that in a way that didn't make him sound like a madman? "N-never mind... It's probably nothing," he finally decided.

"Well, I brought some cards. Care for a game?"

"Yes... I could use some relaxation. Thank you."

Time passed, and nothing unusual happened. Guillam had, of course, lost all the money he set aside for gambling, being unable to focus on the game. Eventually, he opened his shutters and looked at the moon outside. It was well past midnight.

"This has been a blissfully uneventful night," Guillam remarked. He stretched, feeling his mind begin to shut down after such a long period of nightly alertness. "It's getting late; you should probably go home."

"This has certainly been interesting," Leopold replied with a disappointed yawn. "See you tomorrow, then."

Guillam followed until Leopold had exited the shop, then bolted the door behind him. He sighed in relief. Nothing strange had happened; no unusual sounds interrupted their card games. Perhaps his fears were for naught, or perhaps the protective charms had worked. He turned away and headed back to the bedroom. No sooner had he reached the bedroom door, however, than he heard a knock at the door. Guillam froze.

"Guillam?" It's Leopold's voice, thank the gods. "Were you expecting a package?"

Guillam furrowed his brow and doubled back, then swung open the door to see Leopold with his usual casual stance. "A package?"

Leopold gestured to his left. "Look."

There, indeed, was a small wooden box. The box was taller than it was wide, polished and engraved with remarkable craftsmanship and inlaid in intricate patterns with silver. Guillam approached it and gingerly picked up. It was surprisingly heavy. The box alone would be worth quite a bit to the right buyer, he thought. "I wasn't expecting anything like this, no..." he murmured. He unlatched the delicate silver clasp and found that the box folded outwards rather than opening from the top. Hesitantly, he opened it fully.

His breath caught in his throat.

It was the most spectacular piece of metalworking he had ever seen. It represented some god or saint that he didn't immediately recognize, but regardless, it was stunning. Impossibly small details made of precious gemstones adorned the figure, and the figure's eyes seemed alive. Leopold looked over his shoulder to marvel at it. "Astounding," he said. "I've never seen anything like this."

Guillam found it impossible to speak. He was fairly certain he knew what artist created this. But... why? Why bring this here? He inspected it closer and saw a note underneath the statue. He took it, and read it. "Do with this what you will." It was signed at the bottom with a flowing script - "Pisano".

"What are you going to do?" Leopold asked.

"I..." He paused. A sculpture made by a vampire!? "I think I'll take it to a priest."

"What!? You think this beautiful sculpture is cursed!?" Leopold gaped at him, then relaxed and shrugged with a sigh. "Well, you may have a point. It is rather odd to be receiving strange statues in the middle of the night."

Guillam nodded. "I think I'm going to do that now. I'd rather not keep this in my home without knowing if it's safe."

"No, it's not cursed," said the priest.

"Really?" Guillam knelt on a fine velvet cushion, on the verge of falling asleep in the warm, dark temple. He was only kept awake by anxiety of the business that had brought him here, as well as the pungent smell of incense and smoke from the roaring fire.

"It does, however, have faint traces of dark magic. It may have lived in a cursed place recently, but it is not directly cursed."

A small gathering of nighttime temple-goers crowded in to ogle the statue. "You're Monsieur Guillam, right? Where did you find this?" one of them asked.

"He received it from a mysterious benefactor," Leopold interrupted before Guillam could speak. "It was even signed, by an artist named Pisano." He showed off the card that came with the statue, letting everyone see it.

"That name doesn't sound familiar at all," someone said. "You'd think, with this level of skill, that they'd be famous by now."

"And what was that about a 'cursed place'? What kind of artifact is this?" someone else added.

"It's certainly a curiosity, isn't it?" Leopold said. He took Guillam aside, whispering to him. "This statue has already caused a stir. You should auction it off while people are talking about it."

"I don't know..." He had been trying to figure out the vampire's motivations. He remembered what he had said... Art is meant to be appreciated, right? He had just blurted that out, but maybe that was the reason for all this. If so, it was up to him to honor the artist's intentions, right? Especially if it earned him some coin. "Well... I'll consider it," he decided.

[ncass-lunarium]

A fantastic piece of Pisano at work! This lovely piece was done by artist Jadan: https://j-dry-art.tumblr.com/

[ncass-lunarium]

Here’s a collection of art pieces of my characters by my good friend Gallus over at https://gmoserart.tumblr.com! Featuring Pisano, Sereis, and a certain bard...