While I would have taken the chance to rest in the dwarven palace, the stench of undeath was too strong inside the palace. I decided to do my exploring outside, following the unique stench that I was originally trailing which eventually led to a closed-off building: The Capital’s Workshop. Currently, ordinary dwarves occupied the site and barred anyone from coming closer. As I approached the workshop, I was stopped by a group of dwarves in plated armor.

“Halt! I must declare that ye must turn ye back lest we employ violence!” One of the dwarves shouted at me.

While I didn’t like negotiating with the haughty noble dwarves, I didn’t need to. I had someone else to do the talking for me. “Oh? You shall stop your one and only queen, Ellysa VI, from going wherever she wishes?” Ellysa inquired as she revealed herself from behind me.

“T-the queen?! By Jove! I sincerely and humbly apologize for my impertinence, Your Majesty!” The lead dwarf bowed, followed by his troops.

“Good. I am joyed that you know your rightful place. Now, move aside. I have business to attend to,” Ellysa commanded to which the dwarves obeyed without question. The dwarves unsealed the workshop’s entrance, allowing Ellysa and me to enter.

“Your Majesty, there’s really no need to accompany me,” I assured the dwarven queen.

“Be thankful that I am allowing you to accompany me! You are lucky, Cahalotian, that I am putting up with your impudence just because you are the only one who could lead me to him!” Ellysa growled back.

“Well, I mean no disrespect. After all, having a monarch follow a lowly scholar around is a bit too much. Why not just send one of your retainers to trail me?” I asked.

“The last time I sent one of my maids to trail someone, she… changed loyalties,” Ellysa answered.

“Oh, she died?” I asked.

“Did I stutter? I said she changed loyalties. She decided to find a new… employer,” Ellysa replied.

Eh?

Ellysa is a vampire, therefore her most loyal retainers would be her vampire thralls. There never was a recorded case of a thrall escaping the clutches of their overlord. In fact, thralls are known to be unable to function without a master. Didn’t Ellysa say that the loose thrall found a new ‘employer’?

Perhaps we simply lacked information? After all, it’s hard getting our hands on a vampire to study. I will have to note that thralls could, potentially, break off from their masters.

Ellysa guided me to a large hole in the center of the workshop interior. The edges were covered with planks, but the hole was left largely open.

As I approached the hole, I noticed tiny spiders crawling around the floor. I wouldn’t have taken note of them had it not been for the fact that they exuded the stench of the undead. I crouched then picked one up. It acted like how a normal spider would, but I could feel that this wasn’t an ordinary spider.

After squishing it with my fingers, I decided to investigate the hole cautiously. Moving to the edge, I looked down the hole. I felt a cold sweat run down my spine as the back of my robes were grabbed. Not only that, I felt limbs, several of them, against my back. They felt like humanoid hands gripping me, yet they had no weight on them. It seemed that Ellysa used shadow or undead magic while I was distracted by the intense presence of undeath from the hole.

“Don’t move,” Ellysa ordered.

I didn’t need to be told that!

No wonder Ellysa came here with me! Damn it! I was so stupid! I shouldn’t have just let a vampire lead me around like a sheep to the slaughterhouse!

“Who are you?” Ellysa asked.

“Your Majesty, I already introduced myself as-...”

“Not everyone could realize my true nature. You are well aware of what I am, or am I wrong, Master Mauri?” Ellysa continued.

“I…” Just as I was about to answer, the limbs got off my back. I was about to say my goodbyes thinking that the dwarven queen was going to push me but apparently, I didn’t notice the giant spiders. Two of the beasts jumped out of the hole but were quickly sliced by black, shadowy arms.

As the remains of the spiders fell back into the hole, the shadow arms melted into the wall before converging back into their owner, Ellysa.

“You may join them if you wish to lie to me. You already know what I am so what use is it to be dishonest here?” Ellysa tilted her head. She took a few steps back, then said with a smile, “Then again, I have a vague idea of what you truly are. So let us introduce ourselves once again.”

The shadows around Ellysa quivered, her dress shifting between an ordinary noble’s dress and a nightmarish costume made out of flesh and blood. Her face became paler, but her smile only grew wider.

Ellysa gave me a courtesy bow and said, “I am Ellysa, Queen of the Dark, Lady of Flesh and Gore, Lady of the Vampires of the Western Continent. It’s a pleasure meeting you, spirit.”