Count Drabek's Project Chapter

Baroness Lulu Morthoss sat a table in the Zardoff Black-Wing whose great grandfather moved  their estates to the city of Mount Agontis, Ghudran. His own family had roots within Nymres and Arqolith. The Baron’s daughter Lulu married the local noble Rollo Morthoss who then became Rollo von Morthoss after succeeding the late Baron and acquiring his whole estate.

            Lulu had recently experienced a very unsettling intrusion one late night while Rollo was gone on a business trip. When he heard that some strange grotesque looking humanoid made it all the way up to the manor on the mountain, he rushed home. Rumors spread around the mountain city about grotesque looking humanoids coming out of the forest-jungle to the south.

            Rollo von Morthoss sat at his desk watching her looking out the window of their massive study. It faced the southern forests of Ghudran. She still appeared to be traumatized after the encounter with the intruder. He did not get to see what this intruder looked like after Gantronese troops shot it to death. Yet Rollo knew his voluptuous and ravenous wife did not want to talk about it all. He heard vivid descriptions of this creature from the butlers, and maids whenever Lulu wasn’t present.

             He was now concerned for his wife and their three children Jordan, Crystalline, and little Lorel. It was hard to explain to the children about the intruder since they were still at a young age. Crystal and Jordan had somehow figured it out and tried looking for it in the courtyard. Little Lorel was with one of the maids who had children of her own. It was helpful since he tried to focus his work for the family business. Along with his own olive plantation business income came from the Ferryman and city morgue professions. Ever since her father died Lulu left those tasks to Rollo since she could not stand corpses. She was more of an artist and made money with her own paintings of the surrounding area and portraits of nobles.

            Rollo did not mind the professions as ferryman and Morgue Keeper. This was due to the studies of anatomy, chemistry, alchemy, and natural philosophy. He studied those subjects from a young age until he inherited his own father’s estate. He was looking over a list of corpses found strewn about the city when the doors opened. Rollo turned to see four Gantronese soldiers march in with Count Gattas Drabek. His Gantronese escorts closed the doors as they left them alone. Rollo stood up to greet his friend.

            “Count Drabek it is good to see you drop by and visit. How are things in the Bornhan Government Laboraty?” Rollo welcomed Drabek to his home. The count had a very sadistic expression on his face.

            “Hello my friend it is a pleasure to come visit you. Apologies for dropping in unannounced or giving you any warning.” Drabek said greeting Rollo in return and apologized for his unexpected arrival. He still held that sadistic look on his face even though he apologized. The count did not answer the Baron’s question. The Baron wanted to ask why he was here, but was more concerned about his sadistic expression. Did he want something from him or did he have something in store for Rollo von Morthos?

            “It is no problem my friend you are welcome. I hope my servants or maid’s let you in I trust.” Rollo said hoping the count had not fucked another one this time. The last time was about six months ago at Lulu’s masquerade celebrations she threw annually. These celebrations were in commemoration to the Festival of the First moon of Abtos.

            “They did Rollo they did.” Count Drabek said to him with a wry smile.

            “So what brings you here to our home?” Rollo asked again hoping he would get a straight answer from Count Drabek.

            “It is just business my friend.” Count Drabek answered.

            “Did you hear the Gantronese are losing Zekmar and Dorntalla?” Gattas asked Rollo. This did not surprise Rollo at all since the Gantronese did have to send to the weakling armies of the Vullanese Empire. He recalled the Gantronese being forced to withdraw from the unknown lands after heavy casualties. Despite those setbacks they earned victories in Grussia, Eoth, East Koriv, and Vunnace.

            “I did hear our masters were losing Zekmar and Dorntalla. Aren’t we attacking smaller island states to the south?” he asked curiously.

            “Yes to some extent and those losses only mean their previous launched invasion failed. Fortunately for us and the Gantronese Masters we do not have the Nevoran Federation to worry about.” Drabek said adjusting his cuffs and his ascot.

            “They did stretch their forces a little too thin. Now they have launched a joint invasion of Al-Dadoria with the Nazdar.” Rollo pointed out to Count Drabek despite the presence of the Gantronese soldiers behind the closed doors. He knew the Gantronese would take offense to that and arrest him as a traitor. The guards just seemed to ignore him since they were only here to escort Count Drabek. It was also because Count Drabek was here for him.

            “They should have invaded the Al-Dadorian isles before the Vullanese fell.” Drabek said mocking the strategies used regardless of the Gantronese guards. Rollo then heard his wife’s voice rise up from her side of the room.

            “How have the invasions of Gaskouth Ladai, and Nevkamuu turned out my dear Gattas?” she asked the count overhearing they were talking about the invasions going on.

            “I am sad to say the Gantronese masters have failed and we may not see Ottante become part of the Gantronese Empire.” Gattas told Lulu in a more gentlemanly manner over the sadistic voice he used.

            “What a pity, I was hoping to bathe in the sun on the beaches of the Baedur sands.” Lulu said as she stood up to greet Count Drabek. She approached them in her burgundy luxury dress with the straps and her cleavage showing. His wife Lulu usually wore something that would cover he shoulders down to her heels. She stretched out her hand to the count who took it and kissed it.

            “Would you mind giving us some privacy Baroness Morthoss? Baron Rollo and I have some discrete business to discuss if you don’t mind?” Count Drabek asked Lulu as he let go of her hand and gave her a smile. She smiled automatically showing her charmed expression as she blushed.

            “Not at all Count Drabek I will leave you two to your business.” She said as she walked out of their study to another port of the Black-Wing Manor.

            Once Lulu had left the room Drabek ordered for the doors to be closed. When the guards closed the doors to the study and living room Count Drabek turned towards Rollo. That is when Rollo realized the Count was here for him. The only question remained was what did Drabek want from Rollo von Morthoss of Black-Wing Manor?

            “I need your help with something my friend.” Drabek flat out said to Rollo. The Count looked intent on using his help for something in the laboratories Drabek worked in.

            “What is it you need help with just name it and I will help?” Rollo blindly asked Gattas giving his service to the Count. He felt willing to do whatever his friend asked of him. After all the Baron Rollo von Morthoss was a minion to the Count Gattas Drabek.

            “There is a certain set of tasks I need done for my project. It will require getting dirty during the research part.” Drabek said still hiding some parts of his plans for Rollo.

            “What does this project and research involve?” Rollo blindly asked feeling a mixture of willingness and uncertain confusion. He was uncomfortable about this idea, but willingly gave his service to the Count.

            “Since the Gantronese are losing Zekmar and Dorntalla it will be only a matter of time before the Gantronese lose more land. We all know it will be lost to those Vestrisians and their allies. However it would be very surprising if the Nazdar invaded from the north.” Drabek said as he scratched his chin with one finger. The Count seemed to ponder over the thought of the Nazdar invading Gantronese territory.

            “I am to help the Gantronese in their war against this coalition to regain foothold in lands it has lost. This will involve the creation of specific weapons to send into the battlefields.”

            “What sort of weapons did you have in mind Count Drabek?” Rollo asked rather curious about what types of weapons he was reffering to. He hoped to the four gods of the Nicoron squares that Drabek wasn’t creating any chemical or biological weapons. Such weapons could cause catastrophic results world wide.

            “Come with me and join me to the labs. I will discuss this with you on the way there.” Drabek said motioning for Rollo to follow him. Rollo hesitated for a moment then decided to follow Count Drabek and his guards. They led Rollo out of the study and through the halls towards the Manor’s main doors. There two of his servants stood the wide open doors to the Black-Wing Manor.

The nine people descended the Manor steps and through the open doors. Outside was a motorized cab escorted by two half-tracks and one armored car with a mounted turret with two machine-guns. He blindly followed Drabek to the cab and got inside with the Count. As soon as they sat in the leather cushion seats a guard closed the door and hopped on the half-track. Their little convoy started down the oath of the Manor to the street. The convoy took a left down the road and made its way through the winding streets of Mount Agontis.

            As they rode down the streets through Mount Agontis Rollo looked out the thick reinforced window. He watched the houses, shops, and other structures go by with people walking around them. Rollo turned his focus towards the Count to see what this project and research were all about.

            “What does this research and project have to do with creating weapons for the Gantronese Empire?” Rollo asked still rather curious about this project Drabek was working on. In his mind Rollo wanted to scream outloud ‘don’t create any chemical weapons or biological weaponry! We won’t be able to control the virus or gas!’ Baron Morthoss chose not shout out loud nor did he say anything about chemical or biological weapons to the Count. He was afraid if he did the count would throw him out of the cab and let the other vehicles run over him.

            “I am under the command and servitude to a Shogun named Gitao Hogai. He is a Gantronese lord brought up from the rank of a warlord to minister of science and weapons rank. Shogunate Hogai has requested for me, sic other scientists and ten or twelve chemists, cytologists, and Corpsologists. For many weeks we have been gathering materials and instruments for the research.” Drabek said and his part of the discussion. He seemed very keen on not giving away anything else about this project.

            Rollo thought about what it would be like working alongside eighteen other scientists, chemists, cytologists and corpsologists. As they rode down the street towards the south Rollo still wondered what type of weapons he was talking about. Did it involve humanoids of some sort? He still questioned Drabek’s methods even as they came to the main military labs of Mount Agontis.

            “Come Dr. Morthoss I have much to show you.” Count Drabek said as he opened the door and stepped out of the cab. He stopped and looked at Rollo with a pleased look about him.

            “Or should I refer to you as Baron Rollo von Morthoss?” Drabek asked him.

            Rollo was confused by this question the Count asked him. What did he mean by offering to call him Baron instead of calling him Doctor? Was he calling him Dr. Morthoss because of his studies during his youth and the studies he attended three years ago? Baron Morthoss stepped out of the cab and walked up to the labs with Count Drabek. They entered through he doors to an elongated room and a hallway that trailed from the entrance to some staircases. On either side of the hallway stood doors leading to other labs. The elongated room to their right had along line of lab coats and lab necessities to wear hung on the walls. Gattas went over to the wall of the lab coats half of which were missing. He took two of them off the wall.

            “Here put this on and follow me to the stairs.” Gattas said as he tossed the lab coat to Rollo who caught it with one hand.

            As Gattas put on his lab coat and gloves he darted for the staircases with Rollo following behind. They went down the hall passing rooms rooms full of lab tables, file cabinets, chemistry instruments, and equipment. When they got to the staircases Rollo put on his lab coat and shoved his gloves into a pocket. The two partners descended the steps about four flights down into the ground. One they descended the last steps they came upon a heavy steel door that appeared to be locked. Count Drabek took out a set of keys on a ring to open the heavily locked door. As he waited for the count to unlock the door Rollo turned around to look underneath the staircase. Under the last staircase stood an eight foot tall figure covered in plates of armor and constructed pieces of metal with spikes on them. It had a series of cords and wires all over its body attached to some generators in the walls. Fortunately for Rollo it had it back turned to the door. On the other side of this monstrous construct lay a tunnel dug into the wall and going through the earth.

            “Co…c…c-c-count Drabek…wh-wh-what in the Yitali is that monstrous this?” Rollo asked pointing at the metal construct standing lifeless under the staircase. Count Drabek had just unlocked the heavy steel door when he turned to see what Rollo wanted from him.

            “Ah good I see you have just noticed one of our Cadaver Collectors. These constructs are designed to go out and fetch fresh corpses from battlefields, and the streets or rural areas. Since we have to keep these a secret their jobs cannot be complete at night in the dark streets. Come Rollo I will show you the rest of our constructed weapons and other experiments.” Drabek said as he opened the heavy steel door. The Count went through the door without any signs of fear on his face and body.

            Rollo hesitantly followed the Count through the doorway to an immense laboratory that covered the span of the underground floor. He saw rows upon rows of lab tables littered with mortars, pestles, alembics, retorts, calcinatos, racks of vials, tubes, graduated cylinders, and beakers. Among these tools were various flasks, syringes, ring stands, clamps, holders, and an assortment of bags full of powdery contents. Scores of lab workers were at work at the first parts of the tables. Down these other rows of tables sat tools of a surgeon along with piles of body parts from limbs to organs in jars filled with strange liquids. Next to these were boxes with hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, saws, pliers, clamps, tape measures, and chisels covered in blood.

            To his horror he saw body parts being stitched, and stapled together. Some were even attached through screwing in bolts. At the end of these tables there sat eight metal beds raised on platforms. These metal beds had eight humanoid looking beings strapped down. Each one of them appeared to be constructed from various body parts put together. These fleshy constructs actually looked bigger than most orcs. There were about forty lab workers working on the eight abominations. All around these fleshy constructs were strange machines and generators connected to the lifeless humanoid creations. Rollo turned to the sides of this nightmarish laboratory spotting large doors to coolers and a long rack of weapons. On the opposite side of these coolers were a set of garage doors for these constructs to be stored or deployed.

            “Gattas…Count Drabek w-w-what is all of this?” Rollo asked Drabek feeling terrified to see body parts being cut up and put together to form larger limbs. The sight of a lab worker retrieving a torso from the cooler on a meat hook terrified him the most.

            “This my friend is how we will help the Empire win the war. These constructs are the weapons for the Gantronese!” Gattas cried out raising his hands and arms in the air. The Count looked very pleased with the progress of his projects. Now Rollo knew why he chose him for this project. It was because of his ferryman and Morgue business. With these available to Drabek the Count could have an endless supply of corpses.