Escher Von Preshlow

The First act of Empathy

Escher stood before Strahd, head bowed, in the center of his master's audience hall.

"I've taken each of the guests to their respective accommodation for the evening, my Lord. Two in my room and the twins in your study. Forgive me, but I felt that Ireena would benefit from seeing them. As your vessel, I extended your generous hospitality, it may help her come around."

Strahd looked down upon him like one would at a pile of horse shit in the street.

"I suppose that will do. It's a shame the twins were not appreciative of my welcome gift... I took such a time locating someone of the right height and frame. So disappointing."

"It was extremely inconsiderate of them." Escher nodded, still staring at the floor.

The vampire master snarled, he was in such a foul mood. Escher knew precisely why... neither of the two he had proposed to that evening accepted his 'generous terms', and then, to add insult to injury...

"What is inconsiderate-" Strahd barked, "-Is that my own husband spent all evening licking the boots of another man at my table!"

"My Lord, I have no excuse-"

"Shut up Escher." The Vampire Lord raised a hand clouded in black magic and something wrapped itself around Escher's mouth and throat. The bard reached his hands up to claw himself free, finding himself muted by a long back fiendish tendril. Two more burst upwards from the floor and wrapped around either of his wrists, forcing him down onto his knees and pulling his arms out either side of him. "Stay there and stay quiet while I figure out what to do with you."

Escher closed his eyes, trying to steady his nerves. Maybe, his behavior at dinner had been a cry for attention. A form of self-sabotage, 'acting out', Strahd would call it. He was still fluctuating between wanting to maintain his last dregs of hope and wanting all this to be over. Before dinner, that seemed like a good choice, now... he was scared, and so, so painfully aware that every single one of his spells required a verbal component. He didn't want to die. Not again. He tried to tense his muscles, pull with all his strength at the tendrils that held his arms out, but all that resulted in was the release of a pained grunt.

"I said silence." Strahd said, his voice dangerously low as he paced across the floor in front of the bound blonde. "I can't let the behavior of two of our guests slide either. How dare that pointy eared harlot reject me and then fornicate with another man, under my own roof. In my own home." Strahd paused pacing just to look at Escher briefly, a smile of strange satisfaction across his lips, "And they insult you also. In your own bed."

Escher attempted a nod of agreement, though the tendril that gagged him made it extremely difficult. The bard began to cold-sweat and he let out a small sorrowful whine.

"My, you are pathetic." Strahd sighed earnestly, reaching to tuck a few strands of hair out of Escher's eyes and back behind his ear. He held his face, and looked down into the pleading, frightened eyes of the man at his mercy. "I like it... I think-" Strahd's brows furrowed and a smile crawled onto his face as he had an idea. "I think I'd like to see those two who insult us in the dungeon. Chained up like this, pathetic also. Hang them on either side so they have a prime spot from which to watch the other slowly rot." He leaned in closer. "Yes... I like that idea... what do you think, my love?"

Finally the tendrils that coiled themselves around Escher's jaw loosened and fell away. He felt his bottom lip tremble a moment, so quickly shut his mouth before Strahd could see. Escher hated the elven woman. In the brief time they had met she had shown him no glimpse of humility. He did however- like the druid. There was something about him that reminded him of home, of hope. The sun emblems perhaps. Maybe it was merely the romantic idea that he could be the sunlight this world was missing... or maybe it was that to Escher now, sunlight was deadly, and in his momentary lapse of faith, he'd gravitated towards the symbol of something that would kill him.