Lena and Hauk arrived in Bruma on the 12th, almost two weeks after they left.

“Good holiday?” – Jowan greeted them. He’s been staying at the Mages Guild – Volanaro managed to convince Jeanne that it was a charitable thing to do to allow Lena’s friend to stay with them, considering that Lena was a Warlock and had the ear of the Arch Mage.

“Yes, I think it was a good holiday, all things considered” – Lena decided. “I have things to do in Skingrad, so why don’t we take a coach to there, and I’ll fill you in on the way.”

13 Rain’s Hand

“What happened to the unicorn?” – asked Hauk at breakfast the following morning. They were staying at Lena’s house in Skingrad where she used to have a stuffed unicorn in the bedroom. The unicorn was now gone, replaced by an alchemy lab behind a partition.

“Sent it to Skyrim” – she smiled. “Geralt was talking about getting a house of his own, so he’ll need it. I doubt Yennefer will be able to bring hers from the Northern Realms.”

That was that. She didn’t take any further questions.

…

“Well, what do you think we should do?” – Lena turned to Hauk after they spoke to the Count of Skingrad. “Talk to the vampire hunters or go see the vampires for ourselves first?”

“I don’t think we need to see the vampires” – said Hauk. “The Count wants them gone, it’s understandable.”

“Ok, hunters then. Let’s ask around town.”

…

“We’re here to protect!” – said Eridor and continued talking until Lena couldn’t take it anymore.

“They are in the Bloodcrust Cavern!” – Lena had enough of it. “Go get them.” Then turning to Hauk and Jowan, she added: “I have a headache! Let’s go to the Two Sisters Lodge for a drink.”

The Lodge teamed with vampire hunters.

“Well, there are no vampires here!” – Mog gra-Mogakh told them. “So stop sneaking around and start buying drinks!”

Which they did. Were they ever going to hunt the vampires?

“Well, they are not in a hurry” – said Lena in the evening. “I’ve got another job to do, and it may take a few days, I just don’t know. Why don’t you two keep an eye on the hunters while I’m gone? I’ll leave in the morning.”

“Is that far away?” – asked Jowan.

“No, it’s right here in Skingrad. A closed party of some sort” – Lena explained. “And it is likely that everyone will have their own objectives there. I don’t really know what to expect.”

“Well, be careful” – said Hauk. “We’ll keep an eye on the hunters.”

15 Rain’s Hand

Lena was gone for a day and a half, returning in the evening. She looked tired but satisfied.

“Unbelievable!” – she let herself drop into a seat with a goblet of wine. “The small talk nearly killed me!”

“I’m glad it didn’t” – laughed Hauk. “But I know what you mean.”

“Any news about the hunters?”

“Not as such, but they seem to have disappeared.”

“Oh?”

“Mog gra-Mogakh complained that they scampered without paying, and that now she’ll have to clean out their rooms as they left their ‘filthy smelly stuff’ behind” – explained Hauk. “I think they might be dead.”

“We’ll need to go check the cavern tomorrow, in case any of the vampires survived” – Lena was looking thoughtful. “I wonder what made them come so close to the city, and not any city, but Skingrad specifically. Were they hoping that the Count would welcome them with open arms?”

“Probably not, but there might be a reason. We should ask” – agreed Hauk.

“Aren’t they just going to try to kill us on sight?” – Jowan couldn’t quite imagine what this conversation would look like.

“That’s what we need to find out” – answered Lena, looking straight at him. “When I was a vampire, I didn’t attack people on sight. Many vampires don’t stop being people. Some however do turn into wild predators attacking everyone. We need to find out what these ones are like.”

“Tomorrow is going to be interesting” – concluded Jowan.

16 Rain’s Hand

“Was that a hunter?”

They were standing over a corpse near the entrance of the Bloodcrust Cavern.

“Hard to say” – Hauk turned him over. A pale face stared at them. “He is not wearing armour – just clothes – but he’s got a sword and a shield. Yes, probably a hunter – sucked dry.”

They entered the cave. Another corpse – Eridor. No bite marks.

“Hello!!!” – Lena shouted into the cave passage. “Can we talk?”

Footsteps.

“You dare come in here?!” – a vampire appeared, claymore at the ready.

“Yes, I do” – said Lena calmly. “Not afraid to get infected and you won’t like my blood. I want to speak to the head of this coven.”

“And they?” – the vampire glared at Hauk and Jowan.

“They will kill you and spill your blood unless you cooperate. Now.”

The vampire hesitated but then sheathed his weapon and asked them to follow. The matriarch was waiting in the next chamber, having listened to the exchange unseen.

“You wanted to speak with me” – she turned to Lena. “Speak.”

“What is it you seek so close to Skingrad?” – asked Lena.

“We seek the cure – the Count has it” – the matriarch bared her fangs. “We shall terrorise the populace until we get it.”

“Have you asked the Count for it?”

“No, but isn’t it obvious? He is just sitting on it!”

“Well…” – Lena looked into the faces of the vampires at the back of the room. “You do realise that it has side effects?”

The matriarch stepped towards Lena and bit her neck. Lena didn’t look worried – and Hauk held back Jowan who wanted to attack. The bite was but a scratch, a drop of blood appeared, the matriarch tasted it.

“Yes, you would know” – she said with satisfaction. “Come – we need to talk.”

…

“As simple as that” – Lena looked at Janus Hassildor with urgency. “Leave them be, and you will never need to worry about vampires in Skingrad because these ones will defend their turf. And there will be no attacks on your people – they’ll be keeping captives.”

“Oh?” – Count Hassildor wasn’t convinced yet. “Captives? Any of my citizens?” – he looked angry.

“No, just a pair of vampire hunters” – Lena smiled. “They weren’t up to the job, it seems.”

Count Hassildor smiled.

“Very well” – he looked at Lena intently. “But how did you convince them to forgo the search for the cure?”

“I told them that I still had to drink blood – and Hauk showed where he cut his vein for me… when I was close to death.”

“You spoke to Vicente then” – the Count relaxed.

“It was a huge shock to learn that I still needed blood… but I’ve accepted it now. Some of the vampires in that coven may prefer suicide though.”