Tracking a Vampire (ScalesNDbook)

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"Fuwaa~" Raid stretched his one arm out, and yawned. The sun blinded him as he stepped out of the bar. Drowsily blinking his eyes, he walked out into the bustling street. He had been circling around the nearby towns in search of information pertaining to the vampire that was on the loose, but he hadn't gotten much other than its location. He bit the nail on his thumb. Apparently it was currently residing in Sylca, where it was feeding off the townsfolk there.

Raid sighed. It was a shame, his signature ice magic would be almost completely useless this time around. Vampires had a resistance to the cold for the most part, if he really wanted to damage one, he'd need to use a fire or light based magic. Maybe he should have dragged that cat along, if he remembered correctly, she could use fire magic...

Raid coughed as a cart kicked up dust next to him. He supposed he should get moving, it was going to get dark soon.

[ScalesNDbook]

Valona liked the town.  There were a lot of people who bought her potions and she was making a lot of money.
Her only complain was that the inn where she have stayed , was noisy and overcrowded.
While she was in the inn , she heard a rumor that the daughter of a rich merchant have fallen ill, and the one of the people in the inn was convinced that the reason for that was that she was attacked by a vampire the day before. Valona had meet a variety of non human creatures in her journeys, but she have never meet another vampire, not counting the creature that transformed her.
Valona asked the man where  she can find that merchant.
- Be carefull miss , there is a dangerous creature in the town
- Don't worry about me, I'm a big girl- said Valona
She wanted to find that vampire and maybe drink his blood.

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By the time Raid reached the town in question, it was dark out, and the sun had set. He wanted to get some rest, but at the same time, well, vampires are usually only active during the night.

Raid shivered, and pulled his cloak closer together. As expected of a town in the mountains, it was cold.

He passed a drunk man and a prostitute as he wandered into a nearby alleyway. This is as good a place as any I guess... He walked on while deep in thought, recalling everything he had heard. It's probably safe to assume that the 4 kids who went missing have already turned... What about that story of the merchant's daughter... She hasn't quite turned yet from the sounds of it. He'd need to get a priest to her before it becomes too late, or else he'd have to kill her too. So 4 confirmed spawns, likely there's more, one in th- his thinking was interrupted when he walked into a person who looked deathly pale, with dirty blond hair.

[ScalesNDbook]

- Sorry I didn't intended to bump into you - Valona said
In front of her was an elf like man with one arm silver hair and  red eyes. Most people would mistake him for an elf , but Valona smelled some human blood in him.

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Gods.., Raid thought. He was almost sure she was one of the vampire's spawns, but she spoke words, which indicated she wasn't. She was paler than a ghost though, perhaps she was down with something.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going." He quickly turned and began to walk off when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, wait a second! I'm kinda new to this town, I was wondering if you could point me to where a merchant called Vars lives?" He figured he should at least check up on the girl and hear the story of what happened from the merchant.

[ScalesNDbook]

- I think we are searching for the same person. Unfortunately , I have no idea where does  he lives. Maybe we should ask somebody. Why are you searching for him ?

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"Why I'm searching for him?" Raid faked a smile. "I want to do business with him." Wasn't necessarily a lie, he supposed. "What about you?"

[ScalesNDbook]

- I heard that his daughter is sick. I work as a healer , and he will probably pay me a lot of coins if I heal her. I also heard rumors about a monster which terrorise the local towns, and how it is responsible for the girl's sickness.

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Well isn't she well informed. She might know something more, I should stick with her for a while.

"I see, a healer eh? Wait, what did you mean by monster!?" Raid feigned surprise, in an effort to get her to open up. "Do you know where it lives? I'd prefer not to get mixed up with any trouble so... ehm... I'd like to know in advance, where to avoid...?"

Raid kept a straight face as he cringed inside. He was a horrible actor. But who knows, maybe she would buy it.

[ScalesNDbook]

- I'm not one of the locals. If you really want to avoid the monster I suggest you shouldn't visit the area where Vars lives. Or at least wait until the morning.

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.....
Ah dammit she got me.
Raid slumped his shoulders and let out a deep sigh.

"I have to get to him today, it's ki~nd of urgent. I guess I'll just ask someone for directions. We can head over there together right?"
Maybe if he stuck with her, he'd be able to see the daughter in question.

So now, finding a local...
He scratched the side of his face as he scanned the roads. It was actually surprisingly empty. Perhaps most people have curfews now because of all the rumors?

However, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of three backing a rather sickly looking man into a nearby alley off the side of the road. "Oh! Perfect timing!" Raid smiled and began heading over.

[ScalesNDbook]

Using her excellent sense of smell Valona found that the sickly  looking man , that was attacked by the thugs , is an undead. Her first thought was to attack the three man. Killing them with her water magic would be easy, however she decided to observe what will happen.

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By the time Raid reached the four, the sickly man was foaming in the mouth and gurgling. Oh, eww... Raid looked away and turned his focus to the group of three. "Heeey, Can you guys help me out?"

They leered at him, and one of them replied. "Leave you fucking elf, or we'll kill you too."
Figures, Raid sighed. With his one hand he grabbed the one who had spoken and lifted him in to the air by the neck. "Look, I don-" Raid was suddenly cut off by the howl of the sickly man. The man lunged at Raid.

Oh shit..! Raid quickly jumped back while throwing the person he had caught at the creature. It was definitely a spawn, Raid had no doubt of that now. Raid grimaced. He had only prepared to scout out the vampire on the first day, so he was ill-equipped for a fight. While the man screamed in agony as he was ripped apart, Raid called over to the healer.
"Can you exorcise this thing?"

[ScalesNDbook]

- No. Do I look like an exorcist to you. - Valona said .
She used a water tentacles spell, tentacles erupted from the ground and coiled around the arms and legs of the creature. The tentacles teared the creature's arms and legs.
- Hm.... this thing is still alive - Valona said and used a water blast spell to destroy the creature head.
- Have you ever seen something similar? - she asked the half elf

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"Oh I just thought.., you're a healer, and holy magic.., well, whatever that magic was, that worked too I guess." Damn though, she's a pretty competent mage... "Uh, as for what it is, I'm pretty sure it's the leftovers from a rather powerful vampire's meal." Raid laughed. "Seems like there really is a monster in this town, just like you said."

He walked over to the man who had been bitten apart by the creature. Raid sympathized with him a little. Raid knew how it felt to be bitten apart. Regardless, the man did a good job keeping the spawn at bay. He wasn't quite dead yet, but it looked like he would in a few minutes.

"Healer, I feel a bit bad relying on you so often, but this guy could use your help."

[ScalesNDbook]

-  What do you mean by leftovers from a vampire's meal. - Valona asked while treating the wounds of the wounded men. Her potions stopped the bleeding and the wounds of the wounded begun to heal.

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Oh, she doesn't use magic to heal... Raid felt stupid for assuming. No wonder she looked at him as if he was crazy when he suggested she exorcise that thing. Regardless, she had skill. The man who was on his deathbed was quickly recovering.

Raid glanced at the two other thugs. They were white in the face, on the ground in shock. One looked like he had wet himself. Raid sighed, and answered the healer's question. "You know, vampire thralls, spawns, revenants in rare cases ー the result of a strong vampire feeding off of someone? I guess they're not all that common, but you should have heard of them at least."

He looked back at the man who was almost fully healed at this point. Picking up one of the spawn's arms and waving it in front of the man, Raid questioned him. "Hey, where'd you find this guy?"

[ScalesNDbook]

- We saw him at the market district. - said the man ,then  he and the other two walked away from Valona and the Half elf.
- Fucking elves ...... next time I will use him as ghoul food.

- Maybe we should ask another person. - Valona said and then she made a very realistic fake yawn - probably it would be best if we do it in the morning.

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"Haah? The fuck did you say?" Raid swiftly grabbed a knife that had fallen in the commotion from a thug, and threw it at the man who had spoke. It lightly grazed the man's cheek and hit a wall, clattering to the ground. The three quickly fled.

"Damn idiots. Underestimating the hearing of an elf..." Raid muttered. He looked back at the healer. "Huh? Oh, right. I suppose we could do it in the morning, thanks for the help. It's a shame we let those guys go though... I'll be at that inn over there if you need me." He pointed at a shabby looking building across the street. Hanging off of the door was a sign with a picture of a bed carved into it. "My name's Raid by the way. Nice to meet you."

[ScalesNDbook]

- Valona. Nice to meet you.

Valona  examined the dead body.  She searched the town for a similar scent.
She found  a creature similar  to the one she killed , several kilometers away from the town.
The vampire spawn was attacking a young man. Valona used water blast spell to kill the spawn.
- What are you doing so late in the nigh. Not that I'm ungratefully for saving my life.
- I'm hunting monsters. And what are you doing ?
- My master , Mr Vars send me to track this man. I follow him , then this bastard decided that he want to eat me.
- I want to buy something from your master.  Where can I find him?
- He will be in his house. In the trade district. Big red house covered  with garlic. You can miss it.
- Garlic you said... thank you for the information - Valona said then suddenly stabbed the man. Valona  drunk all the blood from the man. Then she cleaned her  face and returned to the town.

Raid was just coming out  of the Inn.