No less than three emissaries of the Count attended the lightning-lit execution of Balthasar Eotvos, self-proclaimed Prince of Gundarak; Valentin von Zarovich, Talena von Zarovich, and Vasili van Holtz. Those local unfortunates who were rounded up to witness the spectacles say little in public, save that the Count's Own Executioner removed the man's head with his bare hands. In light of the flames that glittered upon the Citadel's walls and were quickly snuffed out, and means darker still, the folk of Vallaki whisper behind closed doors of foul sorcery, of demons, and above all the work of the Devil. In Gundarak, the tale is bolder-- of the noble deaths of a handful of souls who dared to try, and the cowardice of all those who stood by and let fiends rule the night.
