"How were you planning to get to the surface?" Vladimir asked.
"I was just going to open a portal to my suite. It’s underground, so there is no danger of sunlight entering, and the only ones who are typically there are mbers of my Pentacles. It also has a dedicated spot along the wall for portals, so just knock first and soone will let you in."
Vlad laughed. "I can’t use that magic as a Vampire. Too much of my magic was sealed as an Undead of this type. I can ask Castellan Asmodai, though. He chose in advance to be a Lich Lord to preserve his power, and I was simply remaining here to share my knowledge and wait for a Noxus Patriarch to return.
Most of the Noxus Family’s undead didn’t preserve our power, as we didn’t need it. We just picked a convenient undead form, and as the compound has a protective barrier that keeps the undead safe, I chose Vampire. It’s convenient, I have a good excuse to sleep when I want, and nobody asked to do annoying things, as I couldn’t use all the fancy magic anymore.
Little did I know, I would be the only one left after the war, and those powers would have been both practical and rather necessary.
I checked the other houses as well, to see if there was anyone who still had more extensive abilities, but the only other Noxus Family residences that have undead survivors are all staff mbers who were never above the second rank."
"Would you like to et the Noxus Ladies in person?" Wolfe asked.
"Is that even safe?" Vladimir asked, sowhat concerned after his last interaction with them.
"They just get annoyed when I forget about schedules, but they’re really rather likeable in person. Why don’t I bring them here so they can understand how easy it is to get distracted?" Wolfe suggested.
"Oh, that is a good idea. If they’ve never seen a proper library before, I can see them getting as lost as you did."
Wolfe opened a small portal and sounded a chi on the other side.
"It’s clear. Co in." Nimue’s voice replied.
Wolfe opened the portal, and the small hybrid ca flying at him to pull him into a hug.
"Welco back, Mister Wolfe. Your wives are mad at you for leaving them with all the chaos in the aftermath of the advancent. You were supposed to be gone one day, not long enough for all the new Academy students to get through their first exams." She giggled.
"Vladimir, et Nimue. She’s one of my Pentacle mbers. Half Dryad and a Princess of the Wrath Demon Kingdom. Nimue, this is Vladimir, the caretaker and Elder of the original Noxus Family ho on the sunken continent." Wolfe introduced them.
Vlad gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles, making Nimue giggle.
"Enchanté mademoiselle."
"I’m not that sort of fancy Princess, but it is good to et you, Lord Vladimir." She replied.
Seconds later, the door swung open and a flood of Witches ca into the room, led by Cassie and Ella.
"Wolfe! What have you been doing that was so much more important than helping out in the city?" Cassie demanded.
"Cassie, Ella, et Vladimir, the last surviving resident of the Noxus Family’s ancestral ho. There is a fully stocked historical archive and library there, untouched by ti. Would you like to co take a look?" Wolfe replied.
"An intact library from before the war?"
Vladimir nodded. "With over a billion hours of recorded content in mory crystals."
That stunned all the Witches into silence. A billion hours of records, unaltered and undamaged, was unthinkable. They didn’t even know that such a library ever existed, much less that it might still be intact.
"Only Cassie and Ella?" Nimue asked from her spot in Wolfe’s arms.
"No, I think that Lord Vladimir can accommodate everyone. I will keep the portal open for the day so that everyone can co and go as required, and so we can import food. A vampire at the bottom of the ocean isn’t exactly in need of a garden." Wolfe suggested.
One after another, the Pentacle mbers in the room introduced themselves to Vladimir and passed into the library, where they were running around like excited school children.
Wolfe let Nimue down to explore, and was about to warn her not to touch things, as they were all old and fragile, but before he could say anything, Rail was in his arms.
"Welco ho, Patriarch. Do you have ti to play before you run away again?" She asked in a teasing voice, while Vladimir sighed.
"I see now that editing your chronicles will give grey hairs."
Cassie laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"It’s better if you gloss over so things. For example, the number of won who go through his bed. It’s mostly to help their growth, and sohow I can’t see Wolfe turning down those requests, as long as it doesn’t interfere with ti for his wives." She inford the vampire with a frown.
Vladimir nodded. "Yes, he takes after his father in that way. I see that he is rather fond of the succubus as well. They’re not going to actually do inappropriate things in public, are they?"
Cassie smirked. "By what standard? By their standards, they’re being ta, but you can almost guarantee that he will tease her with mana because it makes Nimue laugh when the Succubi moan.
They make this cute squeaking noise, and she finds it hilarious."
Vladimir looked scandalized. "Where a child can see them?"
"With their clothes on, of course." Cassie anded.
"I don’t think that I understand this moral standard of yours."
"Let explain. It’s really quite similar to the standards that are used in the Demon Realms, are you familiar with them?" Cassie asked.
"Quite familiar, actually. We often hosted emissaries from the other Realms here at the house, so I hosted thousands of formal and informal gatherings with them in the thousand years before the war."
Cassie smiled, realizing that this vampire would be a wealth of knowledge for them all if he had been alive that long.
They both noticed when Wolfe vanished into the suite with a Succubus on each hip, and Cassie shook her head.
"Just ignore that. They’ve been dejected since the rest of us beca Saints without them. I’m sure they’ll be in a better mood soon. But tell all about what you two were planning. The fact he spent so long here ans he was working on sothing specific.
And who is that? I thought you were the only survivor here?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, the Selkie is an emissary of the Fae Queen of the Ocean. She was his assigned guide, and she seems to be enjoying her ti here as a guest. But I presu she is intending to try to gather so information from your group to bring her Queen about the surface."
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