It had only been a little while since they had arrived back at Kiten, though the duo wasted no time in getting to the manor, delivering the flowers that had been carefully preserved in the container to the group of men in an attempt at preparing whatever antidote for vampirism they had to cook up. Figuring that it could not possibly be so easy as just stomping the flowers together with mortar and pestle before just shoving whatever came out down the woman’s throat, Griswold contemplated on waiting around to see the effects with his own eyes. But just as he had imagined might be the case earlier, just fixing this particular issue wouldn’t do a thing if they did not go out to find the culprit and take care of it. Otherwise, they’d have to do this whole song and dance again every time someone got bit in the streets of Kiten. It was something to inquire about, or so he thought to himself as the men turned their heads towards him.

Before he was actually capable of bringing it up himself, they were both approached by those that were not hard at work creating the antidote, likely because they had no idea what to do. In those regards, they were really no different from the two mages, the clear difference aside of that being that they were just men with money while those like Griswold held the actual power here. Assuming they were in a position where they could go around ordering the mages around without even attempting to hide it as a request or saying please, Griswold violently placed his dagger on the table, causing the wood to creak. Looking at them with his intense orange peepers, he approached them with a few steps, causing at least one of the three to take step back. Judging by the ones that remained where they were, it was not at all hard to see who the leading members of this group were, which would be useful to him later down the line.

“Perhaps you would like to rephrase that a bit. “Please sir, help us deal with our vampire problem” sounds like it would be a request, as I do not take orders from any nobles who believe they are in any position to boss me around. You might hold the money, but do not think you hold the power. So, lets try this again.”

Normally, the elven mage wasn’t so easily riled up, though when it came to people who believed all things in life could be purchased with money, and therefore forgot how to treat someone, that’s where he drew a line. Believing to have told them exactly what he thought of them, he imagined the magic knight might want to stick around to hear out what explanation the men were willing to give them. Griswold however did not really care much for it as he ventured outside to have a look around for himself. Even if the magic knight wasn’t going to stay inside and listen to whatever the group had to say, like where this vampire was supposed to live, if it were as powerful as they claimed it to be, there was a good chance as to Griswold being able to find him based off of that alone. After all, his sensory means were quite extensive at this point, spanning a fair distance. So if this vampire had any means of concealing his mana, which by itself seemed quite likely, it would be made a lot harder.

On the other hand, if this thing needed to eat, it would need to go outside and attack someone. And if it did, Griswold would be right there to convert his undead body into a pile of ash and bone.

“That’s alright. Sometimes, people with that kind of status tend to forget that the rest of the world won’t bend to them. And when people get too big for their boots, they need to be made aware of that much. After all, the next person they speak to in such a manner might not be as kind as I am, meaning they might very well find a dagger in their ribcage for talking down to someone.”

Having heard this much fairly often, Griswold was one of those people that was just painfully aware of how power was power. People with wealth liked to misunderstand it for what it was, a means by which to get people to move in a specific direction, to do things you wanted them to do by offering them some of that wealth. But that did not make wealth and power similar. Because those that had actual power could, if they were so inclined, easily take wealth for their own by using the power they had gathered. The same went for Griswold. If he truly wanted to, he could garner large quantities of wealth that could rival some noble families just by taking from those who were weaker than he was. So to say that those with wealth also had power, that was simply not true most of the time. It also went to show that Griswold valued things like conduct between people without anyone having to act high and mighty for no apparent reason.

In that sense, it wasn’t all that odd for the magic knight to not have been used to the idea of someone from a lower caste speaking up to someone who was higher on the social and economical ladder. In reality, one really need only look at the dark haired individual to know that he would not stand for such behavior, not even if it came from the royal family itself. For just being born into the right family did not mean they had earned their station, at least not to Griswold. As someone who had been forced to fight for everything he had while being granted little to nothing, stuff like that simply did not fly. But that did not matter right now, as right now, it was not he that should be taking the lead right now, but his compatriot.

“But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the kind of information they gave you to find this supposed vampire. That is, if they managed to give you anything useful at all?”

With that, he just waited for the guy to bring up anything that might even be remotely relevant to the situation. Because if there were actually something there that could be useful, Griswold would appreciate it if he took the lead and brought them to where they needed to be. If it were a bunch of useless, baseless accusations however, he would prefer to just do his own homework and determine a possible suspect that way. Though that could take a while, so the alternative currently seemed like the best choice, thus leaving it up to Joseph to make himself useful.

“At times, they merely need a reminder that their station does not mean they’re invulnerable. They can have all the influence and money in the world, but when I stick a blade in their gut, they will still bleed and die just like any old peasant or even an animal. It is often when people forget that fact that they get hurt, so make sure you remember.”

If there was ever a thing to remain mindful of, it was the fact that the only substitute for power in this world, was power. And not the kind one could buy or talk their way into, but they kind that was acquired through hard work. Because in a world of magic, it did not matter how much wealth one had and how many mercenaries one could purchase, not when one more skilled and powerful mage could level the building with everyone in it in a single fell swoop. So in a way, all of that meant nothing, though that was why people here had come up with the kind of society that preferred those that had deep pockets, and for obvious reasons. When one could wield power, have a reputation and have wealth, that would always be chosen over doing the right thing, because that was human nature. And that was also why Griswold praised his lucky stars regarding the fact that he had not been born human.

Hearing Joseph out as he brought up the report that had been given to him, there were a couple of inconsistencies that he could spot right away, but would leave for a later time. There were after all a bunch of fairly interesting matters brought to light, such as the situation regarding the woman that had gotten attacked, as well as the place where it had happened. If the stories were to be believed and these vampires were not a fan of natural light, it made sense for these things to have transpired during moments where light was “low to nonexistent”, which was a strange way of putting that it was close to or after sundown. Either that, or it was a place with low visibility, but that wasn’t a factor since they were in the middle of a town which wasn’t all that big or crowded, so he decided to take it as the former. And obviously, it triggered the kind of response he was prone to giving whenever he thought out loud.

“I have to agree, it’s rather peculiar that the guy wanted to have the woman staked, though it is not entirely unfathomable. After all, if you don’t have the means to find these rare and hard to get to herbs and face the option of going out there and dying, or letting an innocent person becoming a danger to society, I imagine the option of putting her down was not all that farfetched.”

Though it would more than likely not be the preferred way of handling the situation as it was the thing that would cost someone their life, it was without a doubt the most pragmatic approach. It meant no one else would need to risk their life in the witches forest and kept the woman from becoming the kind of monster that would rip everyone in the room to shreds before venturing out into the world and becoming a threat to every man, woman and child she’d encounter. Luckily, that was not an outcome they needed to ponder on for too long, for as the question came as to what they should ask the guy once they met with him, there was no real doubt as to his response. If this man was a vampire, the moment he got cornered, he would likely lash out at them. If he was in fact just a mortal man, he might also lash out, though he would likely be more prone to explaining his situation than ripping their throats out with his teeth. An apt assumption given the circumstances.

“When we meet him, we’ll…. Wait, is that him?”

Watching as a hooded man was walking through the streets while sticking to the center rather than skulking along the walls, it was the kind of walk belonging to a person that was afraid they might get snatched up if they got too close to one of the dark alleys. While it did not seem like the kind of thing a vampire might do, given they were the one doing the snatching, it stood out just enough for Griswold to believe that this person might at the very least be worth talking to. After all, if they were not the one they were after, they might still have some information that might prove useful to the both of them. Or rather, that was what he hoped when he set off and crossed the street in what seemed like little to no time at all. Crossing the roughly seventy meters between them and their supposed target in under five seconds, he blocked the street as he raised his hand with a bit of an overhead wave.

852 (2010)

The fact that this guy believed Griswold to be a vampire was rather fun, as he did not exactly have any of the signs as explained to him. The complexion, the elongated canines, though he imagined that the color of his eyes was not overly helpful in this case. Claiming he was not planning on becoming food for a vampire, he tried to make his way around Griswold for some reason, even though the man had just seen how fast he could move. To that extent, the black knight moved again to block his path and keep him from making their escape. By this point, he wondered as to whether or not this man was actually a vampire to begin with, as none of these things were really adding up, believing a vampire would more than likely have tried to bleed him out right here in the darkening streets. Just as Griswold was about to talk to the guy, that’s when it happened.

Freeing his hand from underneath his cloak, Griswold saw a sharpened wooden stake coming towards his chest, a weapon similar to the one the men had laying around in their shelter. Knowing that they would have tried using this on the woman in the case of her potential turning, this guy having it on him was incredibly weird, even if he used it as a weapon for self defense. Even this made no sense, because if this guy were to be the one they were after, him bringing along one of the weapons with which they could apparently be killed was very counter-productive. It was like a person that was allergic to nuts bringing along a bag of trail mix in case they were to be attacked by other people with nut allergies. So as the sharpened piece of wood came at him, Griswold moved aside swiftly, finding that the man was rather slow.

“Keep it in your pants will you, damn. I’m not a vampire, because if I were, you’d have been dead already. Now, we’d like to ask you some questions regarding the actual vampire and what it is you’ve got in common with the victim. And fair warning, if you come at me with that this again, I’ll incinerate it and the hand that holds it.”

Holding out his hand in front of him with his flat palm up and forming a miniature sun right above it, Griswold was not playing around at this point. He was all for trying to get people to see reason and making sure the proper people were punished for their misdeeds so the innocent ones would not end up paying for it, but the moment he got assaulted, he would not give them the chance to do so a second time. They had come here to question the man that was believed to be a vampire, though they would not outright kill someone based on hunches and assumptions. At least that was not how he worked, though he could clearly not speak for Joseph, as he had no idea what the guy had on his resume. One thing was clear though, he did not seem overly confident, so maybe he just lacked the kind of experience that one needed to actually gain confidence.

“Yes… yes, I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else for a moment. Follow me, it isn’t safe to talk here.”

Putting the wooden stake away and beginning to lead them to his house, for a moment, Griswold wondered as to whether or not this was going to be a good idea or not. Looking over at Joseph while raising his shoulders, he began to follow the man closely as he did not want to take the risk of the guy opening his door, slipping through and shutting it right in front of them. Because invading someone else’s home was generally quite frowned upon and could get the both of them into a lot of trouble with the local guards and the magic knight squads in charge of the region, the black knight would rather not let it get to that point. So as the man stuck his key into the lock and opened the front door, Griswold made sure that he was the first to cross the threshold and take a look inside. As it was nowhere near as big as the mansion they had been in before, checking the place out did not take him all that long.

With his sensory skills and his Ki, it was never all that difficult to get a proper read on a room and the people in it, which allowed him to know without asking that this guy was incredibly tense. Though to be fair, he could have told that just by looking at his body language and the fact that he carried around a supposed anti-vampire weapon. Taking a seat at the dinner table, which was more or less the only place where one could really sit down, Griswold looked on as the man waited for Joseph to enter the building before putting the key back inside of the lock and closing the door. Followed by shoving several bolts into the doorframe, it was clear that this guy was not taking any chances, and that he was prepared to go out fighting. Just by looking at the sheer amount of stakes and the crossbow on the table, that much was easy to see.

“So, would you mind sharing what it was that you could not share with us outside? Because I can promise you, aside from all of the locks and the…. Arsenal of stakes, you’re quite safe with us.”

Wandering over to the table where he sank into a chair, the man looked around to make sure the windows were closed. Though they could not really be called that due to being bolted shut from the inside and letting in no light whatsoever, Griswold could imagine why some might believe this guy was in fact a vampire, even though his actions did not reflect that at all. No vampire would surround himself with so much of the stuff that could kill him, not unless he was out to kill another of his own kind for some reason. Exhaling deeply, it appeared as though the man was finally ready to talk.

“The name is Waylon, and I apologize for being cautious. These days, there’s no telling who might be in league with that parasite Aronil, especially after what happened to my wife. It was he that told you I was the vampire, him and his frightened lackeys, wasn’t it?”

While he might not have been the most emotional person one might encounter in this land, that did not mean that Griswold did not have a very accurate read on the emotions of others. Sensing a slight tremble in the man’s voice when he brought up his wife and the name “Aronil”, he could tell that these were not faked. And more often than not, these genuine emotions spoke volumes about someone’s involvement in something, which made Griswold believe that this guy was not a vampire at all. More importantly, it was starting to look like the actual vampire had duped them into believing this Waylon was the one they were meant to be after. Coming to conclude that the woman they had saved might be this wife that he was talking about, he wondered whether or not she was still going to be alive when they barged back into the mansion. But one thing seemed certain.

With all of this misdirection that had been going on, it was highly unlikely that they would encounter Aronil at the mansion. He more than likely would not have sent the two of them after Waylon just to wait for them to come back and try to put him down. No, one thing was clear, this was going to all become a whole lot more difficult and unpleasant than a stroll through the witches’ forest.

1337 (3347)

With all of the pieces gradually falling into place, the name of the culprit presented to them by the very guy they believed might have been their target to begin with, it was about time for everyone involved in this whole mess to be brought together and see what would happen. It also made him wonder as to whether or not the woman would have woken up after taking the medicine they had come to claim from the forest, as she would certainly be able to point out the person responsible for attacking her. Without a doubt, the person that did that was the vampire, and it was clearly not this man, for if he were to be believed, the woman they had aided by looking for all of the special herbs was his wife. And given the fact that he was no vampire, it couldn’t possibly have been him, leading only to this Aronil.

“I say it’s high time we visit the mansion again. This time, we’re going to bring you with us as a guest, as I imagine the woman that is being kept there for observation is most likely your wife, who should have been cured of her vampirism and might be able to point out her attacker so there would be no lingering doubt.”

And if she could do that for them, they would have all of the evidence they needed to move against the man, as just him being pointed out by Waylon was not enough. Unfortunately, he had never cared enough to get to know all of the men involved with their undertaking, so he had no idea who out of the lot would be this Aronil person. Thinking Joseph was correct in assuming that the others were more than likely not aware of the fact that one of them was in fact a vampire, now that he thought about it, he had sensed fear radiating from quite literally every one of them. Due to his extrasensory means of picking up his surroundings, whether it be through sensing mana, sensing certain emotions and even seeing things on an entirely different spectrum, fooling Griswold was not something one could get away with easily if the emotion was not sincere.

It meant that while the majority of them would likely be afraid of the vampire in their midst, it also meant that the vampire feared them for being on his trail. Or maybe fear was too big of a word, though there was absolutely something it dreaded, though that might not have been in relation to himself. Maybe it was afraid that if it got caught, it would need to leave town and make a new home for itself elsewhere, which it would most likely do after it tried to kill anyone and everyone that had ever seen his face and knew that he was in fact a vampire. This in turn made Griswold fear for the lives of Waylon’s wife and the others that remained within the mansion, believing they were all good people who were getting rid of the monster that prowled their little hamlet. For their sake, he hoped that they would be arriving on time and that they would not have been bled out by now.

Rising from his seat and walking over to the front door, Waylon began stocking up on stakes to bring along with him so the man could stand a chance against Aronil if it were to come down to it. As he watched it all happen, it made Griswold wonder as to whether or not a stake to the heart was the only way to kill a vampire. Having not the faintest clue as to what it was truly capable of on account of it being a kind of beast or monster he had never encountered in his twenty-three years of life, part of him was almost excited. For while he was far from a scholar, if there was something he wished to do with his life, it was learning the best ways to kill monsters and creatures. Both for the sake of helping people against them, and helping the creatures themselves by defeating them and sending them back to where they belonged before they got hurt or killed simply for being misunderstood. Not all monsters were monstrous after all.

[End of Thread]