"That's my stuff" he growled finally stalking closer.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean. I collected these peculiar items over the course of several years young man. If you want to have them you can…for a price~"
Stanley had to stop himself from retorting 'relax man, this is supposed to be a game.'
Also the closer he looked at them the more he saw that they weren't his stuff but replicas.
He sighed before pinning her with a dry look "I expected this from a Danuki."
The Wight scoffed "as if those raccoons have a monopoly on the merchant business. How do you think I acquired all of my fortunes, inheritance?"
"Either that or nepotism" he shrugged to which she scoffed.
"Don't insult me. I actually worked for my wealth. Actual work to go along with social politicking unlike some upstart trollop who thinks she's entitled to my riches because she happened to be a blue blooded little-"
'Wow' she kept going with her colorful yet somehow dignified rant.
Eventually she composed herself "but that is enough about me" the shock must have showed on his face because she gave him a telling look "I'm sure you have much better things to do than to listen to this old corpse prattle on about her woes."
"I do actually."
"O~hohoho my~" she giggled a genuine 'Ojou-sama' laugh "well aren't you a cheeky one. I can't remember the last time someone of a lower station shoed such insolence."
"How the mighty have fallen" he drawled.
"Indeed" she nodded with a smile sharp enough to cut "though I do believe I may have found the instrument of my ascension."
Stanley scoffed "whatever but if we're helping each other I want discounts."
The Wight fished a fan out of somewhere and hid her chuckles behind it "aren't you a cheeky one. We will have to see about that Sir Stanley."
'God dammit Ez'
"So about this bounty" he continued moving on "I'm guessing a lot of people are looking to cash in?"
"It isn't so much the monetary reward than it is the favor of the lady issuing it that everyone covets" Rowena spoke "in either case yes I imagine you will have everyone looking to capture you."
"What about you?"
"I am not exactly in a position to turn you in as I am."
At that he found himself looking around the room and felt reasonably underwhelmed by what he saw.
"Can't help but notice how this room is kinda basic for a supposed Duchess."
Especially considering that everything he's seen so far from the rest of the building like the carpet on the floors, the chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, the glass cabinets full of knick-knacks, the varnished wood, art pieces, sculptures and everything else in between this room rather small and while it did have a similar décor he couldn't help but feel like it was somehow lesser in comparison.
The Wight seemed to agree and grimaced at his observation then scowled "do not remind me. Much like yourself it is not by my own volition that I am confined to this drab place."
'And the plot thickens…' he noted dryly 'I think I know where this is going.'
"It was the Vampire wasn't it?"
That brought the Wight up short "pardon?"
"The Vampire Griselda, you took her in, made her part of your inner circle and she betrayed you, turned the others against you and ousted you as 'mistress of the castle' right?"
The wide eyed look of surprise she gave him was actually amusing.
"How did you know?" she questioned/demanded
"Seems pretty obvious to me" he shrugged.
To Stanley there always seemed like there would be contention between a Wight and a Vampire in the MGE when it comes to nobility. As he understood it Wights are undead nobility by birthright while his headcanon has it that Vampires were once human nobles with massive egos who more or less forced themselves into the undead hierarchy. Kind of like a merchant would accumulate wealth through trade and buy into nobility.
To him having a Vampire usurp a Wight's place made sense for a plot. When put into that context vandalizing the Wight's podium and hiding her bust in the back of an art gallery guarded by a Bogey and confining her to a 'drab' room made sense if the Vampire wanted to secure her position and faze the Wight out of existence while humiliating her.
"My" said Wight spoke "an intelligent mind to go with that cute face~"
"I'm not cute" he growled.
'I'm handsome.'
"Of course, of course" she humored him.
Stanley growled but eventually let it go "so I couldn't help but notice the five podiums outside but you already know this."
"Yeah."
"You seem t already be familiar with such contraptions."
"Let's just say I have a lot of experience. Is the door going to lead out of here?"
"It is a door to a portal that will transport whoever crosses it outside these lands" Rowena began "I intended to use them as an escape in the worst case scenario. Unfortunately the rest of the sculptures are in the possession of my former cohorts."
"Speaking of, I know the gist of how you ended up here but what exactly happened after you got betrayed?"
As the story goes following Griselda's betrayal and Rowena's banishment the others split what remained of the estate and turned it into their own personal fiefdoms. The diverse staff of servants and guards were also taken away and split according to how well they work with them.
The aim of the game was to retrieve all the busts of Rowena's former subordinates to open the gate. Unfortunately as the busts themselves are valuable they are being kept deep within each of their territory and his presence will not be welcomed. Or that's the way it should have been however…
"Do the servants you mentioned include that Bogey prowling about outside?"
Rowena chuckled "I see you've encountered Miss X."
He almost rolled his eyes at the name but answered all the same "yeah, we've met."
"She was placed here as my jailor."
"She doesn't seem that difficult to get around. Have you tried walking briskly?"
Rowena rolled her eyes at his joke "not that I could go anywhere, this mansion is completely sealed with enchanted locks and the key is hidden somewhere in it. I've tried searching for it however I don't tend to go very far before Miss X happens upon me. She has a tendency to pop up at the most inconvenient of times."
"Makes sense" and he'd already thought of what he needed "I need a map, some lock picks and definitely a weapon."
"Of course but do you have the requisite coin for these items?"
"What do you need the money for?" he complained "clearly you're not going to spend it being trapped in here."
"On the contrary I still have agents loyal to me spread about and from what I've heard my former subordinates are not treating the other servants all too well. A good bit of coin can go a long way to buying the loyalties of those disgruntled servants thus expanding the scope of my reach" her eyes glinted "perhaps next we meet I will be able to have them procure more tools to your benefit."
"What's stopping me from bribing them myself?"
"I wish you luck with that though you may find such an endeavor to be quite difficult with your bounty floating about the place. Unless you have something of equal value I doubt any of the servants would even give a foreigner let alone a human one the time of day."
Rather than dwell on her words he reached into his inventory and procured a bundle of coin as proof that while he did not have nearly enough funds to make bribery an option he could still buy some things off her.
In response her hand glowed a ghostly white before trailing into the display like smoke and retrieving the offered items. There was a rolled up piece of parchment, a lock pick as he remembered in the game, health potions, ammunition in the form of BB pellets and a 6mm Proshop 1911 spring loaded airsoft pistol.
"Don't you have a better gun?"
"Unfortunately no" Rowena frowned "but take heart in knowing that with the coin I receive for this weapon I can procure others. Lilith knows no one else has any use for them."
"What are the prices for these?"
She gave him a number that had him immediately outraged but before he could voice it "keep in mind that these are with the discount and all prices are final."
'Discount my ass'
"I will even throw in this" and she retrieved an extra handgun magazine.
"Thanks" he said begrudgingly.
"The map is enchanted to update with wherever you explore on grounds. If you find more pieces however you can have a clear view of places you haven't explored."
He figured that was the case but it was nice to have it confirmed. In the end he accepted the deal but only because he didn't really have a choice with the Bogey running around. Speaking of which…
"Any advice on how to deal with, ugh, Miss X?"
"I'm afraid I don't have a weapon powerful enough to incapacitate her."
'Figures'
"Do I even need to deal with her now though?"
"That is an option" she mused "though now that she has laid her eyes on you I doubt she will let you go."
"Because of the bounty?"
Rowena shook her head "a man would have had her attention however a man with the visage of a young boy I'm afraid she will be very invested in capturing you if only to 'pamper' you."
'That tracks.'
If it's a choice between having to deal with her throughout his entire play or nipping her pursuit in the bud Stanley knew which one he would choose. Unfortunately that wasn't an option until he got a semi automatic rifle…or a couple of grenades.
"On the bright side with her preoccupied with pursuing you I will finally be able to move about unimpeded" said Rowena interrupting his thoughts.
"Good for you" he paused before remembering that not all weapons can be bought "you know where I can find a weapon to put her down?"
Rowena frowned at the wording "if you wish for a better caliber of weapons then I am sure you will be able to find some lying around the place somewhere."
"Seriously?"
Rowena shrugged "I used to put them up in displays around the place though I can't imagine all of them are where I left them after all this time."
"I saw that" he scowled "who the hell puts something on display with a freaking coin slot to buy it?"
Rowena shrugged "someone who would challenge any would-be thief who succeeded in breeching these halls to a game of chance. If they want the true riches they will have to pay the price, nothing is free."
…there is so much wrong with that answer but he couldn't say it was something he expected from a Golem NPC. The fact that she had an excuse that was actually sort of plausible to him given her eccentric/greedy attitude is actually brilliant from a design standpoint. Granted that this woman is actually not sentient of course not that he would think Ezraphel would be dumb or crazy enough to give any of these things true sentience.
'…why does it feel like someone's laughing at me?'
"You will have to thoroughly explore the mansion to find any lying about though I doubt you will find such a weapon here."
"Speaking of exploration, where do I go to find the key to this door?"
"I do not know where you can find the key, however the key itself is not a traditional one. When you see the door just beyond the common room you will understand."
"And I have to dodge the Bogey while doing that, fucking great" he remarked unhappily.
Rowena hummed "about that, I may have a solution for you."
"Which is?"
Rowena gave a perverse smile and Stanley was regretting obliging her before the words even left her mouth.
"I have it on good authority that Miss X falters in the face of sexual stimulation. Should you provide enough stimulation for her she may become incapacitated long enough for you to escape her notice for a time."
'And there's the bullshit MGE twist.'
"Uh-huh."
"And if you manage to give her an orgasm all the better. She tends to fall unconscious after a sufficiently powerful orgasm~" Rowena continued "though beware that in her worked up state she will put more effort into capturing you to relieve herself.'
Stanley closed his eyes counting to five before opening them again and by God and all that is holy he asked a single question.
"Is she going to be out for long?"
"I'd say an hour or so" Rowena answered "once knocked out she won't be woken up by anything" her expression turned wistful "believe me I've tried."
He wanted to ask but thought better of it.
Instead he posed another question "what can you tell me about the others?"
This time Rowena tutted wagging her fingers "now-now I'm afraid to gain access to that information you will have to prove yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"I need to know whether or not you are worth investment Sir Stanley. You will have to prove yourself by opening the enchanted door. Do that and I will provide you with the pertinent information and aid. If you manage to incapacitate Miss X along the way then I will even throw in a bonus reward."
And just like that he received his first quest.
With nothing more left for him he turned to walk away with a question popping up in his thoughts.
'How the fuck am I supposed to give that bitch an orgasm?'
As if reading his mind Rowena called out before his hand reached the doorknob "oh and Sir Stanley?"
He turned to her "yeah?"
Once again that perverse yet beatific smile came up "her weakness is the clitoris~"
Stanley wisely chose to leave the room without another word.