At the training center that had been set up at a shopping center in Halifax.
News of the fall of Madame Lussier’s death had spread throughout her territory and people had been making their way to Esmeralda in an attempt to join Justice or see about funding for a new life.
Being ever generous, Esmeralda funded nearly two million dollars worth of “new lives” and took in a dozen new people to join as would be Judges. Minerva trains the Valkyries who in turn train the new recruits, the Einherjar as they were selected by the Valkyries to join.
Part of the training of the new recruits was to make their own way back to the hotel that Esmeralda has rented out. A four mile journey through an urban environment.
At the end of the latest class, Esmeralda von Krauss stands in front of them all with an Egyptian cigarette in a bright yellow foot long holder.
Esmeralda von Krauss: You have all done well tonight, my dahlings. My Valkyries, you are nearly ready for your first tests. My Council will test your capabilities. Not all of you will survive, but this will propel the rest of you to the next stage of things. Your first assignments. My Einherjar, you have done well for your first week. Your quest tonight as you make your way to the hotel is to patrol the city on your various routes. Take down criminals on your way. The vicious pimps who beat their hookers, the would be muggers, and so on.
A man raises his hand. He was a bouncer at a nightclub owned by Madame Lussier. Now, he is Fargrim, warrior of the Einherjar.
Fargrim: So, you want us to be Batman?
Esmeralda holds out a hand, bringing the thumb and the index finger together like she was pinching them together.
Esmeralda von Krauss: I want you to be just a bit more deadly when you go about stopping the crime. Bring me a trophy from the criminal you stopped. Come, my Goddess and my Valkyries. Good luck tonight, my Einherjar.
Esmeralda leads Minerva, the last remaining of Goddess, and her Valkyries out to the waiting limo where they will ride to the hotel. The Einherjar gather their things and leave the building, the last one locking up as they begin their solo journeys to the hotel through the worst neighborhoods so that they might find their grisly trophies for the night to bring to their Mistress.
The quest is what stretches what would normally be an hour and a half to several hours as the Einherjar seek out places to skulk about and watch for criminal activities. The Valkyries, no stranger to these games, had tutored the Einherjar in some of the right places to find different people involved in criminal activities.
Fargrim is perched on a fire escape in a darkened alleyway between tall buildings. It’s a shortcut between a popular nightclub and the public parking lot that people going to said nightclub frequently use. He’s been watching people walk back and forth for the past few hours to see if anything happens out of the ordinary as Miriam of the Valkyries says she’s caught three sexual assaults in the past week.
He watches as a young lady in a skin tight red dress walks down the alleyway while texting on her phone. She does not notice the man walking behind him that is keeping pace while trying to not be seen. As the young lady gets to the bend in the alleyway where it is at its darkest, he springs. He runs up to the young lady and grabs her from behind, holding her in a choke hold.
Man: Cooperate and this will go easy. Might even be enjoyable for you.
Fargrim leaps from his hiding spot, landing against the side of the building, and springboarding off to spear the man to the ground off of the young lady. He perches on the man’s chest, raises a fist, and brings it down to punch the man in the throat hard enough to crush his windpipe. He gets to his feet and attends to the scared young lady while the would-be attacker chokes on his own blood.
Young Lady: Oh, thank you for your help!
She quickly hugs Fargrim tight in thanks for saving her, but as she pulls away with a twisted grin, she has the knife that Fargrim was given on his first day as Einherjar. The young lady cocks her head as she regards the young Judge, her features melting and changing as she grows taller. Her features stabilize once she looks exactly like Fargrim himself.
Fake Fargrim: But this was set up for you.
Fargrim: What is this? What are you?
Fargrim glances back at the would-be attacker to see that he has melted into a puddle of quicksilver.
Fake Fargrim: Goodbye, Fargrim.
Fargrim throws up a defensive arm, but the Fake Fargrim slips the blade up underneath the offending left arm so the knife can be plunged through the ribs in the side to rip into his heart. The shapeshifter rips the blade out to a fountain of blood to come spraying from the wound before he falls dead to the ground.
The shapeshifter grabs the belongings from the slain Einherjar before stuffing him into the dumpster. He also grabs a pack of cigarettes and specialty torch lighter from the slain attacker’s clothes before stuffing them too into the dumpster. He lights a cigarette, taking a long drag, and then starting his trek toward the hotel. He gets out his cell phone as he walks.
Fake Fargrim: The deed is done, m’lady. I’m on my way to join the others. They will never suspect a thing. Thank you. I will point you in the direction of what will hurt her the most when I see the asset, m’lady. Goodbye.
About two hours later, the fake Fargrim arrives at the hotel and walks up to the meeting room where he is to present his trophies to Esmeralda von Krauss. He hands over the pack of cigarettes and torch lighter. Esmeralda smiles as she sees him, accepting the trophy, but handing the cigarette pack back to him. She turns the torch lighter over in her hand while nodding.
Esmeralda von Krauss: This is an excellent trophy. What was the situation that you removed it from a criminal?
Fake Fargrim: I got it from a would-be sexual assailant at a blind alleyway, Mistress.
Esmeralda grabs the Fake Fargrim by the hand while holding the torch in the other.
Esmeralda von Krauss: I just have one question, dahling.
The Fake Fargrim licks his lips nervously. Does she know? She can’t know.
Fake Fargrim: What is it, my mistress?
Esmeralda von Krauss: Where is my Fargrim, dahling?
Fake Fargrim: What? I am Fargrim!
Esmeralda pulls the Fake Fargrim’s hand close to her where she lights the torch and turns the flame to the back of his hand. The flesh bubbles quickly as it burns, the entire hand going to a light gray for a moment before turning back to fleshy colored. The fake Fargrim yanks his hand back away from Esmeralda, still in disbelief that she somehow knows that he is not the real Fargrim.
Esmeralda von Krauss: What have you done with the real Fargrim? Tell me and you may yet survive this night.
The fake Fargrim produces his knife and slashes at Esmeralda. Being that she’s in a chair, she doesn’t have much leeway in dodging so she throws an arm into the air that is slashed open by the knife.
Esmeralda grabs the fake Fargrim by the wrist that is holding the knife and palm strikes the outside of his elbow to hyperextend the joint until it snaps like a dry twig. He drops the knife from numb fingers. Esmeralda catches the blade by the handle, sweeps his legs, and drives the blade into his left shoulder to pin him to the floor. In his pain, his shape reverts back to a grey-white being with an alien face.
http://klubbsaga2015.wdfiles.com/local—files/doppelganger/Doppelganger%2002.png
Esmeralda von Krauss: A doppelgänger. What have you done with Fargrim?
Doppelgänger: Dead in a dumpster.
Esmeralda von Krauss: Do you seek vengeance for Madame Lussier? If you are, you have failed. Behold!
Esmeralda shows the creature the wound that it inflicted upon her is closing. The creature’s eyes go wide.
Doppelgänger: What are you?
Esmeralda von Krauss: It matters not what I am. Who are you working for?
Doppelgänger: Did you think that Madame Lussier worked alone? You have no idea the mess you are in.
Esmeralda grunts and grabs the handle of the blade in the creature’s shoulder. She moves the blade a little, causing a scream of pain from the creature. As people start running to the room to see what’s wrong, the doppelgänger transforms into a perfect copy of Esmeralda herself with the blade still in her left shoulder.
Doppelgänger: Get this shapeshifter off of me, you possenreißer!
Minerva looks from Esmeralda to the fake one, clearly confused by the situation.
Minerva: Mistress? Which one is the real you?
Esmeralda von Krauss: I have the shapeshifter pinned beneath this blade. It murdered Fargrim and took his place. Nicht stören!
Doppelgänger: Are you going to let this shapeshifter kill me? Do something!
Minerva: Mistress, do you trust me?
Esmeralda von Krauss: Yes, Fräulein. I do.
Minerva grabs the blade from Esmeralda and rips it out of the doppelgänger. She swiftly cuts Esmeralda in the shoulder with the blade.
Minerva: Stand up!
Both the creature and Esmeralda stand up and Minerva looks between the two of them with her eyebrow raised. Esmeralda bleeds a dark red blood that’s nearly black. The creature bleeds pure quicksilver.
Minerva: Think we fools, doppelgänger? Think I would not know the blood of my mistress? Who do you work for?
The doppelgänger looks from Esmeralda to Minerva, now clearly afraid for its life. As more students come into the room, its escape route is cut off. It changes shape again, this time to its base form.
Doppelgänger: Have mercy upon me. If I told you whom I worked for, I would share your fate. A dreadful fate that I would not wish upon anyone…except you guys.
Minerva: Where is Fargrim?
Doppelgänger: Dead in a dumpster.
Minerva: You killed him?
Minerva grabs the doppelgänger by the shoulder and slams the knife home into its midsection, shoving it backwards off of the knife.
Minerva: Who do you work for!
She stabs it again.
Minerva: Tell me who you work for!
She stabs it again and again.
The doppelgänger falls to its knees, quicksilver blood pouring from the knife wounds. He begins to melt, falling to the floor where he quickly becomes a puddle of quicksilver. Minerva looks at the puddle with wide eyes, looking at Esmeralda.
Minerva: I’m so sorry, Mistress. I got carried away with the knife and now we have no idea who the creature was working for.
Esmeralda scoffs, lighting an Egyptian cigarette on her fancy foot long holder.
Esmeralda von Krauss: It matters not. We just know that they have access to supernatural assets. We will just have to redouble our efforts in training and seek to discover who our foes are when they strike next.
Esmeralda takes her seat again, flicking ashes onto the pool of quicksilver on the floor.
Esmeralda von Krauss: Now leave me. I wish to be alone with my musings.
Minerva leads the Valkyries, Einherjar, and any stray bystanders from the room to leave Esmeralda alone. She looks down at the puddle of blood, a ghost of a worry crosses her face.
Esmeralda von Krauss: I really wish you had not killed that doppelgänger, dahling. I would have liked to have gotten more info from it. Though when you think about it. Madame Lussier was an annis hag. Hags tend to travel in threes so we could be looking for the servants of two more hags.
I don’t know exactly what we are dealing with, but we will find out before long. That, we will do. Though when dealing with the supernatural, one should call upon the supernatural.
Esmeralda picks up her smart phone and flips through her contacts until she finds the person she wants to contact. She hits the button to connect and waits for someone to answer o the other end.
Esmeralda von Krauss: Husband, dahling. I need a favor from you.
