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Archives: Vampire Hunt

Chapter 9: The Hunt at Dragon’s Fist Inn

    The vampire hunters had spent the remainder of the night visiting inns on the streets north of the brothel. They found no more information, and as dawn broke, they were frustrated and anxious. It was around five AM when they reached the Dragon’s Fist Inn.

    N’shara dismounted her horse and tied its reins to a post. The priestess looked over the inn, and though she had been feeling rather defeated after their search for the last few hours, this place made her spirits rise a little. “I have a good feeling about this one,” she commented.

    Laies shuddered slightly. His eyes were closing on their own and his legs were worn and tired. He nodded at N’shara’s comment and walked into the inn. Finding a seat near the fire, Laies flopped down into it, the very act almost splintering the legs. He lay his head back a little and closed his heavy eyes. “Just a few moments...” he muttered to himself. The pale faced quarter-elf began to flit between consciousness and unconsciousness, his ears lost interest in the waking world as his mind slipped into the deep dark world of his subconscious.

    Nakira was looking pretty tired by now, though she was still able to stay awake. Once they reached the inn she pushed the door open after Laies. Looking to N’shara she gave a weary smile. Hopefully she was right, if they had to keep going she might just pass out too. “I trust your judgment, but not mine at the moment. How do you know, or is it just your intuition?” she spoke and waited till the others had entered. She was worried that her family might be looking for her. Normally she was asleep in the safety of her husbands arm’s right now.

    N’shara shrugged. “Intuition, I suppose,” she replied to Nakira, then made her way over to the table Laies had sat—or collapsed—at. She smiled at her friend who was already unconscious. They were all exhausted, though she, the one who was recovering from losing blood, was probably the most awake.

    The priestess quietly slipped into a seat next to Laies, trying not to disturb him. “Perhaps we should rest next if we find nothing here,” she said softly to Nakira.

    It was quite obvious that the inn was short-handed this morning when no one came to greet the new party. Ileta and Dutia never returned. Inga was her usual perky self early in the morning, but Hinny was almost dead on her feet. She had to do all of Dutia’s duties overnight. Had this been a normal day, Hinny would be ready to go home soon, but she would be working up until at least lunch, if not later.

    Daim, the innkeeper, was in a foul mood. Two of his barmaids ran off with men the night before, and never bothered to return. It never crossed his mind that they might be in trouble. The portly middle-aged innkeeper sat behind the bar, smoking a pipe and radiating rage. His wife, Tanildy, was busy making breakfast, and Inga was serving the current patrons, while Hinny was upstairs, cleaning up rooms.

* * *

    Within her room, Penna slipped out from between the covers and dressed in her usual fashion. The slender shamaness ran a comb through her hair, tidying up from the night’s sleep. With a soft lick of her lips she pursed and pressed till the desired plumpness had returned to her supple lips. With careful and timed movement, she removed herself from her room and glided down to the commons. For all her grace and charm, she could not hold her surprise when she say a will o’ wisp perched upon a slumbering human’s shoulder. She looked away to regain composure and made her way to the innkeeper. “Good morning,” she said softly, her melodious voice trying to coax a smile from the foul mooded man. “If it is not too much trouble, I would like to have some vegetable broth again this morning, with an assorted variety of crackers and vegetables. If it is too much trouble, I’ll gladly just take the broth and a warm cup of tea.”

    Daim looked at the pretty elf who spoke to him, but even her beauty and charm couldn’t bring a smile to his face, since it was a charming and beautiful woman who had him so frustrated. “I’ll let the cook know,” he said as diplomatically as possible through his anger, then pushed himself out of his seat to tell his wife in the kitchen.

* * *

    Lorban, a large, burly mercenary, came downstairs leading a few of his companions. They just finished a job the night before, guarding a merchant to Dragon Eye, and with their pay in hand, they decided to stay at the same inn their employer had. However, one of their party was missing. Darin, a handsome young man, had gone off with a barmaid the night before and never returned. The mercenaries assumed he stayed the night at where ever she lived. Lorban sat down at a larger table and the other men found seats as well.

    “Looks like Darin stayed the night with that bony little wench,” one of the men chuckled to the others.

    Darin originally tried to smooth talk his way into bed with the beautiful blonde that was there the night before, but she left with another man. He was left with the second best; a petite, slender, black-haired girl named Dutia.

* * *

    Laies’s weight coupled with the awkwardness of the way he slumped down on the seat caused the young man to topple backwards towards the fire. His head hit the ground with a sickening thump as his hand flopped into the fire. The flames moved away from his hand with gentle care as the wisp nudged against Laies’s cheek. Even after all that the young man refused to wake.

    Laies’s weight coupled with the awkwardness of the way he slumped down on the seat caused the young man to topple backwards towards the fire. His head hit the ground with a sickening thump as his hand flopped into the fire. The flames moved away from his hand with gentle care as the wisp nudged against Laies’s cheek. Even after all that the young man refused to wake.

    Daim jumped from his stool when he heard someone fall heavily to the floor. One of the people who had just entered had fallen into the hearth, passed out or otherwise. The innkeeper charged out from behind the bar to help. He began shouting, “Get him out of there before he gets...burned...” but he paused as he saw that the fire seemed to avoid the pale man’s hand, despite the fact that there was plenty of fuel to burn under it. Aside from that, a little glowing spirit was bumping against the man’s cheek, leaving Daim quite confused.

    Nakira looked to N’shara and slowly stood up. She was going to pull Laies from the fire, but he didn’t appear to be burned. “I’ll help look for leads while you take care of this,” she spoke, knowing she had to trust the priestess’s instincts. After this, she could go home and get some sleep. Hopefully nobody was too worried about her, she was worried about her family however.

    Penna couldn’t help but yelp at the sudden loud noise. The slight elf clung to the bar to steady herself, as the innkeep ran out to help the fallen. Penna turned around slowly, her keen elven eyes catching sight of the boy with the wisp again. Her brows furrowed at the confusion at why everyone was not moving him away from the flames, but it seemed that the fire itself was staying away from his hand. Unconsciously controlling the fire to prevent himself from getting burned... She sighed inwardly. Suddenly all my training as a shaman seems so useless if this human boy can control spirits even in sleep. She walked over to the crowd and put her hand on the table. “It would probably be best if you moved him against a wall,” she stated blandly. “I’m not sure how long his mental state will allow the flames to avoid his hand, and that cannot be comfortable no matter whether he could sleep through it or not.” She could feel the slight presence of salamander in the fire, which would explain why his hand wasn’t being touched, but the fact that he was doing it while sleeping bothered the elven shamaness. It would take someone of extreme clarity and mental acuity to hold a spirit under control while sleeping. Someone far older.

    Without realizing it, the salamander had instinctively pulled away from Laies’s hand, hoping that its nearly maternal reaction went unnoticed. As the shy spirit’s actions were noticed, the salamander removed itself from control over the flames and allowed Laies’s hand to get caught in the fire. With a yelp of pain Laies rolled away from the fire, knocking over N’shara as he did. He rolled clear of her and shook his hand to try to alleviate some of the pain. Blisters had formed from the quick enveloping of his hand in flame causing the skin to swell and change to a ruddy brown color, his skin cracking as his hand cooled in the air. Even with the power of the talisman around his neck, fire still caused pain and could do damage to his extremities.

    As Laies’s eyes started towards the flames and N’shara his glance caught sight of a full blooded elf. His initial reaction was delayed by the pain in his hand, but he took a wary step backwards and averted his eyes from her gaze. Regardless of his quarter-blood heritage, dark elves were usually seen in a fouler light when it came to other elves. If she was an elf, she’d have her prejudices. The wisp collided with Laies’s burnt hand. as if to tell him to get it looked after first and foremost. With his unburnt hand he extended it to N’shara to help her to her feet. “I’m sorry for knocking you over, N’shara,” he stated wearily. “Initial reactions to burns...” he muttered as an excuse.

    N’shara took Laies’s hand and let him help her up. “It’s all right,” she assured him, then reached for his other hand. “I am going to have to heal your burns everyday?” she teased. With his burned hand in hers, she murmured a prayer to Marfa and his burns began to heal.

    Laies blushed a little as she healed his hand. “I hope not,” he muttered. “The healing part I don’t mind, it’s the searing pain in the moment that bothers me. If we were in the field without a priest or priestess, we usually just slapped mud on the burn. While it wasn’t the cleanest medical procedure, it beat the constant pain from having the open air at it. Clay works the best though,” he murmured softly. He was drifting off with the soothing feeling in his hand acting like a lullaby. “Sometimes my mother would rub grass on a cut or a scrape and say that the green attracted good spirits to heal the wounds of little children. I believed it for a while too, it was hard not to believe my mother. She’s very persuasive with her words, and it’s hard not to look up to your parents when you’re so green dancing little fairies like the comb of honey to chew on and make pottery...babies like honeysuckle mixed with their milk it adds a hint of summer teething gnawing mashing fundernellisesss...” he nodded off on his feet, remaining standing with his head slumped and his red eyes glazed over with sleep.

    “Oh!” N’shara gasped as Laies drifted off. To keep him from falling over, she supported him with her body, then looked back at the innkeeper. “Sir, may we have a room? I’m afraid my companion is quite exhausted.”

    “Yes, of course. Room four should be empty, so take him there. You can pay when you get back down,” Daim replied. Since it seemed there was no real harm done to the customer, the innkeeper returned to his seat behind the bar.

    There was no way N’shara could move Laies on her own, so she looked to the strongest of the party. “Rone, can you help me get him upstairs?”

    What kind of people thought it was smart to leave a man’s hand in the fire, spirits or no? He shook his head ruefully when the fire finally got to him. Falis wouldn’t do that to someone if he started to protect them. Rone was glad he wasn’t an elf who had to practically beg just to get something. Falis was much better than that. It didn’t help much that it was now his responsibility to carry the man’s dead weight. “I’ll do it,” he groaned, obviously displeased by the woman’s demand. All of this was a whole level of stupid he didn’t appreciate. Instead of attempting to wake Laies up, Rone came up to face him and simply hefted the slender man over his broad shoulders like a child. N’shara looked at him for a second, as if to protest. “Oh please. He lost his dignity the second he fell out of his chair, let alone the rest.” With his free hand, the muscular cleric snatched the key from his hand and marched upstairs begrudgingly.

    “Is he alright?” a patron asked as Rone shifted Laies over his shoulder to open the door.

    “Physically? No. Mentally, probably not. Spiritually, apparently not.” Rone kicked open the door unpleasantly. The patron stared at him oddly. “He’s fine,” the hunter growled as he walked into the room and carelessly dropped Laies on the bed. His tired body bounced a bit on the mattress before settling down. Roughly, Rone pulled up his head and shoved his pillow underneath it. “Sleep,” he ordered as he slammed the door behind him.

    Laies fell against the bed unceremoniously without waking. The young quarter-elf had little food and energy to bother waking after hitting the floor, and had his hand not caught on fire he wouldn’t have bothered waking up then either. Laies was dead to the world, sleep was needed after his long day, and his first time in a bed in nearly a year made the transition into sleep all the better.

* * *

    Rone hurried back down the steps and joined N’shara and Nakira. “He’s taken care of.”

    “At least he’s alright,” Penna responded, the pale elf looking to the fireplace with darkened eyes. Fire is no friend to elves. I’m rather surprised that the salamander even bothered to protect him in the first place. “What brings a priestess, a priest, a...” she looked Nakira up and down then responded “scoundrel and a boy who talks to spirits here in such poor light? Don’t tell me I’ve walked into a poorly drawn out one-liner.” She wore a smirk of arrogance on her lips. Despite meeting such a strange group of people, she couldn’t help but feel awkward and haughty around people who associated with a boy who could control fire.

    Rone drew out a chair and dropped himself into it. He was clearly displeased with having to drag the dead weight of Laies around for the priestess’ benefit. His mood didn’t lighten with the presence of some woman who thought she was funny. The gruff vampire hunter’s face was sour with annoyance. “Death,” he growled darkly. He then turned to N’shara. It was time she started pulling some weight and getting some experience. The fact that she refused to enter the brothel still weighed heavily on his judgment of her. “Surely you are not offended enough by a tavern for you to inquire about our query,” he whispered to her. He nodded his head towards Penna. One of the few values Rone saw in his new envoy was a feminine touch. Women would always respond better to other women, especially considering Rone’s lack of handsome qualities.

    “Well, it’s rather a long story,” N’shara started to explain to the elven woman, sounding rather displeased with Rone as she watched the hunter-priest. With his response, she glared at him. “Who ever said I was offended?” she growled back at Rone. “And you didn’t need to toss Laies about like a rag doll! I’m so sorry that I, the victim, am getting in the way of your hunt. Falis forbid anyone but you should be able to hunt vampires!”

    “You did. You can’t even walk into a damnable brothel to catch the foul thing. Life is tough, priestess. Show me you can put some effort into it and perhaps you will be allowed to hunt.” Rone reached to his side and pulled out a leather bound tome with the symbol of Falis on it. He shook his head in frustration has he stood up. “You want to hunt the damned, priestess? You do, huh? Fine. One of the tenets of a hunter is to not waste time, no matter the location of the sun. So, either start asking questions or,” he said angrily, slamming the massive book in front of her, “memorize every word of this book as I have, so you can be prepared to face them. If you do anything else, you are no hunter.” His eyes were forged of fire and fury, offended to the greatest. His resolve was iron as he towered over her.

    Rone was intimidating, but what could he really do to her? Would he be willing to strike a woman, or a priestess? She wasn’t going to turn around and run from this, or crawl into a corner and cry. She planted her feet firmly and stabbed her finger at Rone, no matter how much he towered over her. “Oh, excuse the hell out of me for wanting to do something about the monster that tried to kill me! And the brothel? I had no problems with going in there, you said that I shouldn’t go in if I had anything on that revealed that I was a priestess. Everything I wear shows that! What the hell did you expect me to do, walk in in my undergarments? Oh, I’m sure that would be a great idea in a whore house!”

    “Then today we will buy you new clothes, since you did not think that far ahead,” Rone growled. “The book or the questions, priestess. Take your pick.”

* * *

    Nakira nodded after Rone came back down and told them the situation. She headed over to the innkeeper to see if he knew anything. They had found nothing yet and they all needed rest. Still, maybe they could get some details here. Maybe they could help a little here if anything was wrong; the innkeeper looked like like his mood was pretty rough. “Sorry to bother you. I was wondering if anything unusual happened overnight? Your help would be appreciated. If there is anything troubling you, perhaps something could be arranged.”

    Daim looked over at the young lady who had spoken. ‘Something could be arranged’? What does she mean by that? “Yeah, something did happen. Some tall, dark and handsome stranger swept one of my best barmaids off her feet, and the other walked off with tall, fair and handsome, and neither came back! What, you want a job? I’ve got two openings now,” the innkeeper replied gruffly.

    “I’m certainly interested in some stable work in the future, though right now I’m on another job. Can you tell me what he looked like? It may help locate your missing girls,” Nakira replied as she thought it over. After this was over, finding a job that had some security for in between mercenary work was a good idea. Though right now, her attention was focused on the task at hand.

    Overhearing the fight, the innkeeper glared at the quarreling priests over Nakira’s shoulder. “Either knock it off or take it outside, you’re disrupting my business!” he shouted, shaking his fist at the pair.

    Returning his attention to Nakira, Daim almost answered, but then realized she only said ‘he’. He mentioned two men. “Which man? I was talking about two,” he asked.

    This surprised Nakira; there were two men who showed up instead of one. Perhaps details on both might help their search, though it might throw them off a little. “Can you tell me about both of them, and which rooms they went off to? Anything will help, and could I take a look at anything left behind?” She was trying to do her part, to help them find this vampire sooner rather than later.

* * *

    “Would you two shut the hell up!?” Penna yelled. “Honestly, I’m glad you’re having such a wonderful time arguing, but this is really not the place to just on a whim announce your displeasures of being in the same room with each other.” I feel so old, Penna whimpered inwardly. She kept an angry face and stared down the two human clergy. “Your friend has fainted, and while the priestess seems to care, you have not a care in the world, priest save for your precious quest, in which, in your ignorance and blighted stupidity you failed to hear whether the man described fit the description of the man-thing you are searching for.” The slender elf woman turned away from the quarreling duo and added in one final quip. “With servants like you two, it’s no wonder the gods fell,” she muttered half under her breath.

    Rone ignored Penna altogether. She was inconsequential. He had to deal with a woman who thought she could be a hunter. He was not a teacher, so he had no intention of arguing anything with Penna. His job was to destroy and it was the only thing he did. The thief girl was doing well, checking with the others, so he didn’t need to hear their discussion. Nakira would tell him, because it was clear that she was trying. The truth was that N’shara should have been the one asking that question because she was the one who wanted to hunt the vampire. She was the one who wanted to be a hunter. As far as he was concerned, Nakira and Laies seemed more serious about catching the thing than she was. Still, he stood waiting for N’shara’s answer.

    N’shara clenched her jaw and fists as she stared down Rone. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of following his orders. He was no high priest! Two people were shouting at them to be quiet, and it was obvious that neither she nor he would back down. She had to gather her wits and leave before this got any worse. “Since you seem to have such mighty powers of understanding people, maybe you should do your damn questioning,” N’shara said through her teeth, “You know me so well after all,” she added sarcastically. She turned around to face the elf again. “I’m sorry,” she murmured—it was the best she could do. N’shara stepped aside and went straight to the stairs to get some peace.

    “That’s what I thought,” Rone muttered to himself as he slid the tome back into the pouch. She was not hunter material. He would give her respect when she took the job seriously. It was clear that she didn’t since she did none of the work. Now that N’shara, who was quickly becoming known as the lazy priestess in his mind, Rone returned to be calm and collected. For him, it wasn’t a matter of losing control. He didn’t have to yell or argue. It was not a necessity. But N’shara was being childish and Rone had no interest in being her father. She probably even thought that hunting this vampire was about her. That was the first and last mistake Rone ever made.

    Penna nodded at N’shara’s sheepish reply. She was more ticked off at the priest than she was at the priestess because at least the priestess apologized. She turned on her toes and marched up the stairs to check on the boy. If he was suffering from fatigue, it could be more of a spiritual drain than physical, since he seemed to have some constant, if not odd, spiritual companions. Perhaps it was more about curiosity than actual concern for the boy. Penna stopped at the stairs and turned to face Daim as she remembered the barmaid from the day before. “...Is one of the missing girls that Ileta girl?”

    Rone adjusted his things and came up quietly behind Nakira to listen in on her discussion. He said nothing and did not take over the conversation like his personality suggested he would. Nakira was doing a good job and he wouldn’t step on that. For a thief, she was gaining respect from him.

    “They never went to any rooms, they walked out on me,” Daim replied to the woman. She didn’t seem to keep up very well. “And yes, one was Ileta,” he added in response to Penna, then continued his description. With all the attention this disappearance was getting, Daim was beginning to worry that this was more than just a case of women being charmed by handsome men. “The fair fella was with those mercenaries over there,” Daim jerked his thumb toward the group of mercenaries sitting around one of the larger tables and eating their breakfasts. “He was flirting with Ileta first, but then this dark haired man came in and charmed her so well, that she walked out with him. I ain’t got an eye for fellas, but let me tell ya, he was a pretty man. I know Ileta does a little...work on the side with men, but she’s never walked out on me, no matter how much she’s offered. Anyway, the merc started hitting on Dutia, the other girl, and she convinced me to let her go check on Ileta with this guy. She was supposed to come back after she told Ileta she was fired, but she never did.”

    Rone’s head dropped with the news. Not only had this Ileta woman become prey, but he was fairly certain that Dutia had as well. Waiting that day for N’shara to recover was definitely a mistake, no matter the valuable information she gave. He had hunted with less information in the past. For his stupidity, there were two more victims to the unholy monster’s name. He sighed heavily. Every time a vampire preyed upon an innocent, Rone took it as a personal failure, especially when he was hunting them. It meant he did not move fast enough to stop it. Rone leaned very close to Nakira’s side and whispered. “Keep talking. Make sure to get a description for the missing girls. I’m going to try and talk up these mercenaries.”

    Rone stuck his hand out in front of Nakira, towards Daim. “Sorry to interrupt sir, but besides the handsome man, is that all of the mercenaries he was sitting with?”

    “A...pretty man? Was he like the boy that fell near the fire?” Penna asked, her own curiosity getting the better of her. First a boy who communicated with spirits, then a man that even men find pretty. ”Did he have pointy ears like mine?” She touched her ears gently to indicate the length and point further. In her mind it was possible that the man who came in was a half elf, the inherent prettiness coming from his elven side.

    Again, Daim wasn’t sure if they had listened to everything he said. “Uhh...well, the handsome one with dark hair wasn’t with the mercs, the blonde one was. And I think that just about all of them are there now ’cept for him. I didn’t exactly take a head count,” he explained to Rone. Daim then turned to address Penna; “No, his ears were round like any other human.”

* * *

    Callin had a tendency to listen in on tavern conversations; they tended to give up some interesting and sometimes useful information. He had perked up since the large man, claiming to be a priest and the dark skinned priestess started a heated argument. Nothing of true interest was stated until the conversation about the barmaids started. Callin kept thinking it odd that his fellow merc, Darin, was turned down. Not only with his decent looks, he had a rough charm that a lot of women just fell for. But the man they were discussing had swept the barmaid off her feet leaving Darin with second best. Shortly after Darin and the other barmaid, Dutia, left to ‘search’ for Ileta. What was odder still, is that he nor the barmaids had not returned. So Callin decided to pay as close attention the conversation as possible to see what was going on.

* * *

    “Understood, I’ll leave him something for his effort.” Nakira waited till Rone was finished, and then whispered back to him before he went to talk to the mercenaries. When his and Penna’s questions were answered she asked Daim about the girls; the situation was looking pretty grim. “What do Dutia and Ileta look like? It will help us to find them.”

    Penna’s mouth pursed when she heard that Ileta was one of the two women missing. Ileta had been so kind to her the previous day, and now she was missing. The elven woman moved away from the conversation and towards where N’shara had gone.

    “Well, Ileta’s a beautiful blond girl, about yay high,” Daim measured a height around five-foot-seven by raising his hand beside him. “Dutia is pretty too, but she’s got all the curves of a wood plank. Short dark hair, about so high,” he measured a height a few inches shorter than Ileta’s.

    Nakira noted the descriptions, this would help them despite the fact it would be hard to pick them out in a crowd. Needing a little more info, she decided to ask for specifics, maybe they had a distinguishable mark. “Any distinguishing features; something like a birthmark or a tattoo? It will make it easier to find them, though your descriptions are very helpful.” She was trying to get as much info as possible, so that they had enough of a base to make a mental image from. That would give them an advantage in their search, though by now they would be too late to save them.

    Daim shrugged, “Ain’t much more I can tell ya. Ileta’s a pretty girl, the kind you really notice, and Dutia, well, a slip of a girl like that with such short hair should be easy enough to pick out of a crowd. But what’s going on here? I heard those priests mention vampires. You don’t think that one of those men was a vampire, do you?”

    Nakira figured he was onto the truth, but they had to keep this information confined to those who needed to know. She answered him as best she could put it, so he understood. She spoke in a low tone, so no others would hear, “Probably one of them was, in fact he’s the one we’re looking for. Can you keep this quiet? It would not help us if this was known. Here’s something for your information, and silence on the matter if you could.” She placed some coins on the counter so nobody would see, a small fee for his info and his silence. The way some things worked, perhaps the safest way for this matter. She waited to remove her hand until he took the money, she had her information and they had some leads.

    Daim frowned as he was offered money, but he took it. Now he couldn’t be upset with the girls any more, he was wracked with worry. Which one was the vampire? Probably the dark haired one. If Ileta was killed, it seemed likely that he might have sent Dutia and Darin to their deaths as well. “Please, tell me what you find,” he said, sorrowfully.

    “Of course, once we know what happened I will inform you. We’ll find him and deal with the matter, and if you still have an opening I’ll need work after this,” she replied, knowing this was hard on him. She gave him a nod of assurance she was going to see this to the end.

* * *

    Rone grew a smile as he approached the mercenaries. There was one seat left. It was perfect. “Mind if I sit?” the gruff cleric asked, making sure his finely crafted weapons were visible. Hopefully the mercenaries could appreciate a fellow fighting man like themselves. Rone’s mannerisms became more friendly for the purposes of the job.

    Callin focused his attention on the big cleric, noting his quick change in attitude and display of weapons. He knows how to get in good with a bunch of mercs. This man has a good deal of experience. Since Callin was the one next to the open seat he replied with a big grin, “More the merrier,” and scooted his chair a bit to the other side giving the priest plenty of room.

    Rone smiled taking a seat. “Funny, I’d think this seat would be filled. I thought I heard there was one more of you.” Rone got comfortable. “How’s about a drink?” Rone leaned back in the chair and looked towards whoever was free on duty. “A round of drinks for my friends here! On me!” Rone smiled, looking forward. “What? He run off with a girl or something? The way I hear it, he got out-charmed...”

    “Aye, though its odd, Darin is good looking guy by most standards, and he has this charm the ladies always fall for. He still did get a girl that night, but it’s off that he hasn’t gotten back, and we aren’t even sure where he got off to.”

    The round of drinks came, and they raised their glasses to drink to all things good, then took giant gulps. “Thanks for this. Rare that a stranger decides to spend his coin on a bunch of lousy mercs,” Callin said, eying Rone intently. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Darin, eh?” Callin took another drink, letter the question hang in the air.

    “It just so happens that I’m looking for the man that beat him out. But, if he left around the same time as the black-haired man left with his waitress, then there’s a possibility I can find him as well. That is, assuming all would care to share a story of the experience,” Rone said. “You see, my specialty is finding people and I’ve been one step behind the very man who was here.” Perhaps it sounded too much like a bounty hunter, but he hoped the fact that he was a priest was still in their minds on some level. No priest chased people for money unless they were corrupt. “And now I’m stuck here with no lead as to where they went. Perhaps we could help each other here.”

    Lorban spoke up this time. “Darin left a bit after the dark haired guy. When the guy left, Darin went out after him to start something, but he got tossed aside like a rag doll. After that, he just settled for the skinny girl. She made a deal with the innkeeper that if she gave Ileta a message, that she could get the night off to stay with Darin. He stayed up after we all went to bed. You’d have to ask the innkeeper when they left, but they never came back. I just figured he stayed with her, wherever she lives.”

    “So this Darin fellow went separate ways then? Perhaps we may not find them in the same place then,” Rone said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. “I don’t suppose you overheard where the dark-haired fellow was headed...”

    Lorban thought for a moment, but could remember nothing. “’fraid not. Could have been his place, her place, or a dark alley fer all I know.”

* * *

    N’shara stormed up the stairs to get away from Rone. She hoped he didn’t stop her, and thankfully, he didn’t. At the top off the stairs, she noticed a damp rag on the floor, left behind by the maid cleaning the rooms. No one was around, it wouldn’t make much noise, so she kicked it. It flew down the hall until it splattered against the window. N’shara gave a sigh. That’s a little better, she thought. It would have been more satisfying if it was something larger and more breakable, but it would have to do.

    The priestess went to Laies’s room and saw him sleeping soundly on the bed. If only he had been awake to stand up for her. It felt good to have the elf speak on her behalf, even if she did pick out the flaws in N’shara’s argument. N’shara knew where she was wrong, but she didn’t have the will to swallow her pride.

    She leaned over Laies and brushed back his hair, concerned that he had hurt his head in his fall. She healed his hand, but hadn’t given enough energy to heal any more wounds. So, just to be safe, N’shara said a healing prayer for Laies to heal any wounds on his body. Once that was finished, she sat down in a chair next to the bed and thought.

    Penna slipped upstairs to Laies’s room and stood in the doorway. With a slender hand she knocked gently on the frame. “How is your friend?” she asked from the doorway, hoping not to startle the priestess any further than her knock might’ve.

    N’shara was pleased to hear the melodic voice of the elven woman from the other side of the door, and she went to answer it. She opened the door a bit, to keep from letting too much noise into the room, then spoke softly to the elf. “He seems fine, just exhausted,” she explained. “He sleeps like the dead though, nothing has woken him up since the burn. Would you like to come in?”

    Penna smiled at the invitation. “Yes, please,” she stated in response to the invitation. “He does seem to sleep like the dead, and his coloring doesn’t seem to make him look any more alive.” She shuddered sight of him despite herself. “You two seem close. Have you two been together long?” she asked, whisking herself into the room and leaning against the far wall from the bed.

    N’shara returned to her seat beside the bed. “Oh, we only met yesterday morning, but he saved my life last night,” the priestess replied. “By the way, my name is N’shara. May I have the pleasure of knowing yours?”

    “It’s Penna,” the elven woman stated softly. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, priestess N’shara.” Penna rubbed her fingers along her own jawline, tracing it gently while she pondered her next sentence. “...A knight in shining armor,” she said after the short pause. “A woman could become enamored with a man who saves her life. From what, pray tell, did he save you from?”

    “I was seduced by a vampire. Laies broke down the door while the vampire was feeding on me,” N’shara explained, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. She was quite ashamed of how easily she, a priestess, had been seduced. “We’re now hunting that vampire, that’s why we’re at this inn, trying to find news of other victims.”

    Penna blanched at the word ‘vampire’. In all of her years she had only heard of them, but never once ran into one herself. The priestess was really lucky to have survived the attack, but she found it odd that this boy—Laies—had managed to come to the rescue at the nick of time. “Trust me dear, if it’s one thing I know it’s seduction,” Penna smiled. “Even the most steeled people can break down easily in the eyes of beauty.” The elven woman frowned. “Although, one thing concerns me, and it’s really gnawing at the corners of my mind. Or perhaps it’s two concerns—one: why do spirits protect this boy? And two: how come he knew to come to your rescue when he did?”

    “He has a quarter elf blood,” N’shara replied. “I don’t really know why the spirits are so fond of him, but they seem to enjoy his company. Perhaps...you could ask the spirits why they like him?” she suggested. She knew little of the spirit world, but she knew that elves spoke to spirits readily.

    The door creaked open, and N’shara glared at the door, assuming it was Rone. However, only a homely maid met her glare. N’shara’s face softened quickly, hoping that the woman didn’t take offense.

    “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” the maid said, reaching to shut the door.

    “Wait!” N’shara called, standing from her seat. “I need to pay for the room still. My friend is only napping, I don’t know how long he’ll be asleep.” She crossed the room and paid the maid, but as the woman turned around to leave, N’shara stopped her again. “Were you working last night?” she asked. She hated to do something Rone told her to do, but she wasn’t going to let him do all the work and be right about her.

    “Yeah,” she stopped, looking at N’shara cautiously. She had spent the entire morning cleaning on this floor, and missed the questioning downstairs, so she was unaware of the investigation. “Is this about Dutia and Ileta? Did something happen to them?” she asked eagerly.

    “Dutia and Ileta?” N’shara asked. Two women, it sounded like. That caught her attention.

    “Two girls who work here, they left last night and didn’t come back. It’s strange for Dutia, we live together so I know her pretty well,” the maid explained.

    Penna’s face darkened. Not at the mention of the quarter-elven blood but at the mention of Ileta going off with the vampire. Ileta was so nice to her the day before, but it was unlikely that the buxom barmaid was alive anymore, nor her friend if Dutia didn’t return home last night. The slim elven face became distorted in a mix of silent rage and disbelief. There were so few humans that were nice to her out of kindness and not out of love for her beauty. Dammit, she better be alive or that I’ll hunt and kill that bastard myself.

    “Did they leave together, alone, or in the company of a man?” N’shara asked, becoming more excited by the promise of a lead.

    “Ileta left first,” the maid replied. “This handsome man with black hair came in and basically swept her off her feet. She was flirting with a mercenary before he came in, but when that man arrived, he became like the only person in the world for her. Dutia left after dinner with the mercenary Ileta was flirting with, and she was supposed to go to Ileta’s apartment and tell her that she was fired.” The maid frowned. “Ileta’s a whore. I mean, she has sex for money, and she picks up men here at the inn a lot. She takes them to her place to do it, but she’s never skipped work here for it.”

    In her eagerness, N’shara took the maid’s hands in hers. “Do you know where she lives?”

    “No, but Daim, the innkeeper, should.”

    Penna frowned at the ‘whore’ statement, however accurate it may have been. The word never sat well with the elven woman who got by on her charms and etiquette alone. “I’ll ask for you,” Penna offered. “You keep looking after your friend.” She gave a small smile and left the room, beginning her decent downstairs.

    “I’ll go with you, Laies is fine. Besides, I need to show Rone that I’m capable of doing something,” N’shara said bitterly as she talked about the vampire hunting priest. “Thank you for your help, ma’am,” the priestess said kindly, but hurriedly, then headed toward the stairs. Hopefully Rone hadn’t learned this little bit of information about Ileta’s habits.

* * *

    Penna walked downstairs, although her fluidic movements displayed a little anger and hesitant worry in each gingerly taken step. “Daim,” she stated coldly, attempting to grab the innkeeper’s attention. “Where does Ileta live?”

    N’shara was alongside Penna as the elf led the way downstairs. Rone was talking with the mercenaries. If he knew what she did, he’d have been gone by now most likely. The priestess was hoping she would have the chance to ask Daim, but Penna was taking the reins. “We need to know where Dutia lives as well, just in case,” she added.

    Daim had become far more somber since Nakira spoke to him, and was very willing to help. “Hold on, I need to find my books,” Daim said. The innkeeper went behind the bar and rummaged through the low shelves to find his records of employment. As he searched, N’shara followed him to the bar and waited as patiently as possible. Daim set the book on the counter and began to flip through the pages until he found the page with the information on his most recent employees. On a blank page, he wrote down the addresses for both Dutia and Ileta, then ripped it out. “Here. Good luck in your search,” he said, handing the page to whoever wanted it.

    “Thank you, sir,” N’shara said to Daim as she took the page. Sharing it with Penna, they both glanced over it to remember the locations. Looking up at the elf, she had to ask a couple questions of her. “You seem especially concerned about this Ileta, do you know her well?”

    Penna shook her head. “Not especially well,” she admitted. “Ileta was just kind to me yesterday, and...” I wish to repay that kindness even if she is dead. The thought was not easy to vocalize to N’shara. “Should we rouse your friend, and get the priest, or do you feel confident enough with just the two of us?” She lay down the money for the meal she requested earlier. “I’ll be back to eat it, and bring news of your workers,” she assured Daim.

    That answered her second question, which would have been to ask if Penna was going to join the search. “Laies needs his sleep, and we also may need some muscle. Rone, as frustrating as he is, would be useful there,” N’shara replied. The priestess turned to the innkeeper with her own message. “If we don’t return when our companion wakes, let him know where we’ve gone. I gave his room fee to the maid upstairs.”

    Daim nodded to both women, and pocketed Penna’s payment. “Thank you,” he said, but he was too depressed to speak his fears and hopes.

    N’shara left the bar and went to the mercenaries’ table where Rone sat. “I have a lead on where to look,” she said to the priest, standing just behind his shoulder.

    Rone looked up at N’shara for a few seconds, measuring this up. If Nakira slipped it to her to look good while he wasn’t looking, Rone would not be happy. He judged her sincerity for the moment, though her lack of discreteness was a tad frustrating. “Very well,” he muttered before turning back to mercenaries. “Thank you all. Enjoy your drinks. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ve got to get moving. However, if I catch any clue as to your friend, I’ll be sure to send message to you here. I can’t guarantee finding him though. Thank you for your help.” Rone lifted himself from the chair and spun around to N’shara’s side. His cape followed him relatively dramatically. “Where are we headed?” he asked in his somewhat demanding tone.

    “A house,” Penna replied bluntly to Rone. She hadn’t forgotten how he hadn’t bothered to apologize nor back down when she gave him lip before, and now that he was being demanding, the elf maiden had little to no patience for his attitude. “Its on a street, near a corner, in some approximation. Is that too complex for you, shall I perhaps draw you a map on a piece of paper, such as directions to pull your head from your ass?”

    “I’m not going to throw childish insults at you. If you are coming, get your things. If not, get out of my way,” Rone replied calmly, brushing past her and towards the door. The last thing he needed were more whiny women to hold up his work. The fact that she mixed up who was the fool of the group partly annoyed her, but also proved that her addition was simply a second fool to the pack. He mine as well start buying it in bulk. Rone shoved the door open a bit too hard as he marched out of the tavern. As he made it to the other side of the door, he leaned against the wall of the building with his hand on his forehead. “Falis help me,” Rone groaned to himself.

    N’shara scowled at Rone’s back as the priest walked out. At least it felt good to have someone with them who was conscious and defended her when she was right. The priestess started toward the door, calling to Nakira as she walked, “Come on, we’re off on a lead.”

    Nakira heard N’shara and quickly joined them, at least they were getting somewhere in this search. If she saw either of the girls she knew who to look for, hopefully they were not already dead. “I’m ready, where is our next destination?”

    “The barmaids’ apartments,” N’shara replied. “The blonde that went with Aryen apparently does some freelance prostitution. She takes her clients to her apartment, so it seems like there’s a good chance she took him there. We should check the other woman’s apartment for good measure too, I think.”

    Callin got up and went after N’shara. “Would you mind if I joined you? The other man, the merc, was a good friend of mine. I would like to see if I can find any clues as to what happened with him. I am good at many things and you needn’t worry about me being a burden.”

    N’shara paused and glanced back at the mercenary. She debated letting him come with them for a moment, but having another fighter was a good idea in her mind. Rone wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t like any decision anyone aside from himself made. “Fine,” she said with a nod. “Come along then.”

    Now with Penna, Nakira, and Callin with her, N’shara led the way out of the inn to find Rone impatiently waiting outside. “The mercenary wants to help find his friend,” she stated coldly to the priest, informing him, but not asking his opinion. She brought out the address list again, then offered it to Nakira. “You live here, are you familiar enough with streets to find your way to these addresses?” she asked the thief.

    N’shara had looked to Nakira for directions, but had not asked Penna. The elf touched N’shara’s shoulder. “I’ve lived here for a long time. I can tell you where it is,” Penna said slowly.

    Nakira looked at the list and thought for a second. She knew the city fairly well and had an idea where these places were. Though when Penna volunteered she opted to let Penna guide them. Handing her the list she replied to N’shara, “I do know where these places are, though if she wishes to guide us then I will allow her to do so in my place.” She then waited for them to be on their way, nodding in hello to Callin after he joined them. Their search would not get any easier, she only wanted to find and help put an end to this vampire.

    “Oh, alright,” N’shara said to Penna a little sheepishly. She assumed that since the elf was staying at an inn...and well, an elf, that she was only a visitor to the city.

    “Hmph.” Rone pushed off of the wall. Why was it that this foolish priestess felt the need to drag half of the city into this affair? The less people, the faster they could move. And this vampire was fast. “Then someone start walking,” Rone said impatiently. He didn’t know this city, so he couldn’t simply go from address to address. The fact that they were waiting and discussing who could walk first was pathetic.

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