Norbert walked into the main room, seeing it was still in the heist setup, which he had last left. He placed the sack on the table and, tossing the opening over to her, jumped onto the table and sat on it. “Do you know who Franstran is?” Norbert asked Vivienne.
Vivienne tapped her chin for a moment. “Right next to the market?”
“That’s the one. I had an altercation with him. I thought it was all sorted out, but then, once outside, he was about to cause a scene. Saying your name calmed it all down, and I told him I had a package to deliver.” Norbert pointed towards the sack dumped on the table.
“He’s a bit of a prickly pear, that one. What were you doing to catch his attention?” Vivienne asked him.
Norbert quickly recounts his story about being chased after by people, thinking he was with one of the guards, nearly taking the child out, damaging the roof and talking with Franstran in the house where he dropped the girl off.
“And nobody told you why the building is like that?” Vivienne asked Norbert.
He shook his head in response, only for Vivienne to move her head sideways. “Trust you to find the cursed child out of everyone in this city.”
“Cursed child?” Norbert asked her, looking down at himself, not seeing any weird growths or spots now developed on him.
“That’s just what they are called, those that can control the dead.”
“You mean necromancers?” Norbert questioned.
“That is what a cursed child can become, one of the few paths for them. One of the better paths.” Vivienne no longer looked at Norbert but passed him.
Norbert swallowing. “What are the other paths?”
“Being killed, starved by neglect, or used for research. Wait, was this the little girl living with her father?” Vivienne asked him.
Norbert nodded, “Yes, with a single black eye where it should be white and a golden iris.”
“Enid, a bright child who was given a hard life from the start.”
“What’s up with her? She is living with no lights on and marks on the door. A father that doesn’t open the door when someone is banging on it after losing their daughter?” Norbert asked, trying to picture a situation leading to that scenario in his head.
“The main reason people say they are cursed is due to being like you; they cannot activate runes or any conventional magic. Only raising and communicating with the dead.” Vivienne explained to him.
“Don’t see that being much of an issue. Not like most here are dead.” Norbert speaks his thoughts to Vivienne.
“Maybe for you and everyone else above. But to a Grimm, we are already one step into the grave, the only difference between each other is how close the second foot is.”
“Are you dead?” Norbert asked, looking around the room to see if anyone else was there.
“Only slightly though that’s a discussion for another day. But there are some a lot closer. Take the skeletons, ghouls and zombies you see. Those are the closest, most susceptible to a necromancer's doings. Like our friend Franstran.”
Norbert nods his head before pausing. “But he looks normal,” Norbert asked. Vivienne gave him a single look with his eye, gulping as he corrected himself. “As a Morenas or a Moren as Franstran called me.”
“Yes, he's a zombie, flesh half decomposing and falling off, a human if you will, like yourself before being infected by the Grimm and turning into that. Forced to embrace his new place in life, he's bitter to anyone and anything that disturbs him even slightly.” Vivienne explained to Norbert, the pretence in her eyes gone.
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“Back to Enid? Why is she living like that, especially this far away from the Colosseum?” Norbert changed the conversation back to what he had asked before.
“Enid, a child from a family that was once well off, with a mother's death and a father who needed to pick up the pieces, was forced out of Grimm and here, the small fortune they had amassed before, now gone after slowly being chipped away from the hardships of life.”
“And do you know why they live in the dark? It mustn’t be that hard to power a rune for him?” Norbert asked.
“Because the father likes it that way. With no lights on, there is less of a chance of people disturbing them.”
Norbert frowned, remembering the girl playing with her ball on the rooftop. “Guess Enid wanted some fresh air, but how do you know so much about this family being harassed?” Norbert asked, hopping off the table and turning around to look at Vivienne.
“Having a potential necromancer on hand is handy,” Vivienne shrugs to Norbert, giving all the explanation needed.
Norbert was just shaking his head. “You have your plans. Now what about this blood orb?” Norbert asked, pointing towards the sack he had left on the table.
“That, nothing much, just waiting for the person to pick it up.” Vivienne picked up the documents needed for the heist, but the information was no longer needed.
“So you're not even going to use it for your witchy work?” Norbert asked.
“Oh heavens no, I have no use for it at all; it’s something worthy of a trade.” Vivienne told Norbert.
Norbert opened his mouth; a knock came from the study's door. Vivienne held her hand up to quiet Norbert before he spoke anything more.
“Come in!” Vivienne to the person outside as she rummaged around in the sack, pulling out the blood orb and resting it on a podium, Norbert hadn’t seen before, now sitting on the desk.
Norbert turned to see who was walking in, stopping as the vampire beamed back at him, “Norbert, what are you doing here?”
Count von Count walked forward, arms outstretched, waiting to give Norbert a hug. Stepping forward away from the table, Norbert opened his arms out.
Norbert closed in for the embrace as Count von Count stepped backwards, pinching his nose as the other hand waved it in front of his face. “You reek, dude, what did you do? Jump into a sewer?”
Norbert punches Count von Count in the shoulder. “Really, dude, you disappear after me dropping you off here, and not even mentioning about you picking up what I ran around a heavily guarded building for? And the outfit?” Norbert asks, pointing towards the sack with the coin, the only piece of original costume Norbert still has.
“The outfit is iconic, something to get you in the mood.” Count von Count told him, stepping around Norbert as he rubbed his hands together. “Now, where is this blood orb of mine.”
Norbert stepped back in front of Count von Count, going in-between the vampire and what he came there for. “You're not going to get around me that easily; why didn’t you just go and collect it from the colosseum yourself? Or just tell me you wanted it collected rather than this weird scheme of putting us in touch by recommending me to stay at a tavern completely hostile to me.” Norbert crossed his arms in front of him.
“Plans within plans, my boy. Some things are better for you not to know; keep that innocence a tad bit longer.” Count von Count patted Norbert on the shoulder, stepping around the scout and in front of the table. “Oh, and just for your future reference”, Count von Count added as he turned his head ", it's tough to take a person seriously when they are in rags and have soiled their pants.”
Norbert opened his mouth, only to close it again, not having anything to come up that would be a relatable reply.
“So that’s mine?” Count von Count asked, leaning over the table as his hand reached for the orb on its wooden pedestal.
“Not so fast, cowboy, first, hand over the goods,” Vivienne told him as she reached over, blocking the vampire's hand from reaching the orb.
Count von Count, tilting his head slightly at Vivienne’s words, teaching as he reached inside his top, pulling out an envelope and sliding it across the table.
Vivienne kept a hand on the orb as she slowly dragged it over to her, out of Count von Count's reach. Safe out of the vampire's clutches, she opened the envelope, Count von Count turning to Norbert. “Is there Anything interesting that I don’t know about?” the vampire asked Norbert.
Standing there for a moment, thinking about it, Norbert only drew blanks: “Not really, other than the fight with Arzlan and this…” Norbert trailed off as he continued to think, something tickling at the back of his mind.
Count von Count just stood there, waiting for Norbert to reply. “I’m not going to ask you anything until you spit out what’s on your mind.”
Norbert burrows his brows together as he continues to think. Tapping his fingers on his coin pouch, the coins clink as the gears in his mind begin to turn. Hearing them pitter against something, Norbert reaches in for what it is as it comes to him, opening it up and seeing the envelope there.
“Oh, does one of you know of this place called Swallowed Tower? I was told it's somewhere in Grimm,” Norbert asked as he closed the pouch back up.
Vivienne looked up from her own letter as she started at Count von Count, her eyes flicking across to Norbert and back to the vampire. Norbert saw the vampires make several jerky movements in their arms.
“So sweetie,” Vivienne richly asked him, “who told you about that place?”