James spent the rest of the afternoon creating a persona for himself. A human merchant who was interested in establishing a trade route from the south and who was interested in the stability of the city. He was from a town four days south of Sharbotfalls called Glen Garry and had an abundance of wool and apples. James' merchant was interested in trading for hardwood that he could sell back home. His persona was interested in a quick turnaround of funds and did want to deal with the hassle of corrupt guards, magistrates or city officials. Fortunately, no one cared about the wool or wood market, so James was overlooked for the most part. Most of the other merchants he encountered were friendly enough, and James quickly realized he needed to purchase a Merchant Charter if he wanted to pull off the ruse. Fortunately, this was done promptly for a few gold, and James was in business. In more ways than one.

James even went so far as to rent a room and tell the innkeeper he would be staying a few days until he was confident enough to return to his father (the money behind the young man). Most people had seen some variation of James's loosely crafted story, so it didn't raise an eyebrow. James was pleased to note that most of the city was not protected from the restriction of teleportation, so he could return to his room after supper and use his Astral Portal to leave the city.

James began his journey to the city of West Grove. This was the location of the Vampire Lord, who would hire him to create and deliver blood. James wasn't too eager to do this, but the money was good and may even save a few lives. James knew it was likely not true, but the lie helped quiet his conscience.

The trip to West Grove was uneventful, and James could tell that a Zone of Anti-Teleportation protected the city. James searched around for an area he could step through. The first area he tried was a farmer's field. James regretted the decision right away as it was muddy and newly fertilized. Deciding to try it again, James stepped back into Astral Space, moved over several hundred meters in Real Space and then stepped back through. The second time, James appeared on the edge of a field and some trees this time. The ground was firmer, and he was not that far from the road leading to the city. Not wishing to get stuck outside the city at night, James hurried to the city gates and made his way through. Like Ash Rumbo, this city had walls. They were not massive, towering walls or small wooden ones, but ten meters tall and three meters thick.

Once inside the city, James had directions to a specific house in the merchant area of the town. By the time he arrived, the lamplighters were wandering the streets, and most reputable persons were already indoors. James stood in front of a regular home with an iron fence across the front. The house was a stone two-story building with a large front door and a three-story turret on the left. It was a very nice, well-kept house. Not a place James expected a Vampire Lord to live.

Approaching the house, James stepped up the stone steps unto the porch. Before he could knock, the door opened to a butler or manservant.

"Master James, I presume?" the man asked.

James nodded.

"Please come in. Lord Von Lux will meet with you in the study."

James was ushered into the home. Since he didn't have a hat, gloves or a coat to hand over, he just followed the butler as he led him to the second story of the turret. James was impressed with the room. It was circular, but the third-floor portion of the turret was open and had several gabled windows that went around three sides of the turret. The room would be well-lit in the daytime.

"Would you care for some refreshments?" the butler asked James.

"No, thank you," James replied.

The butler nodded, "Please be seated, and the Master will be with you shortly." The butler left the room and closed the double doors behind him.

James figured he was being watched, so he behaved and sat in a chair that didn't look well used. It was smaller and off to the side a bit. After a few minutes, the door opened, and another man entered. James stood to greet the new arrival. The man was short and round. Typical of a prosperous merchant, but not someone James would picture as a Vampire Lord. The man stood about 170cm and about a hundred kilos. His skin was pale, but not in an unhealthy way or in the 'I want to drink your blood' way, but in the 'I need to get outside more' kind of way.

"Master James?" the man asked, looking up at James with indifference.

"Yes," James responded.

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The man quirked an eyebrow, "My name is Baron Albert von Lux. You may address me by the honorific of 'My Lord' or my title Baron. Do you understand?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Pick and choose your battles, James. This is not one you can win." Rocko cautioned him.

"I understand, Baron von Lux. Where I am from, we don't have nobility anymore," James explained.

Baron Von Lux waved a hand dismissively, "I understand that you claim you can recreate blood through some feat of Magic. I would be most interested in procuring your services if this is true."

James nodded. The man was not interested in idle chatter. "I don't do it myself, but I have someone who can. If you give me the blood, I can have it recreated and brought back here tomorrow."

Baron Von Lux nodded, "Excellent. Arnold will provide you with the samples I wish you to duplicate and see you out."

Baron Von Lux then turned and walked towards a desk, "Thank you for your time, Master James." At the same time, the butler returned, "If you will follow me, Master James."

James looked back to the Baron, but the man was already reading some papers on the desk. With a shrug, he turned and followed Arnold.

When he arrived at the front door, Arnold presented him with a small Dimensional Storage Container, "The samples are in the container. To keep them fresh, please don't remove them prematurely."

James nodded and took the bag, stuffing it inside his shirt. When he returned to the porch, he heard the door close behind him and lock.

Shaking his head, he walked back to the street and out of the city, 'That was fucking weird.'

Rocko agreed, "Not what I was expecting from a Vampire Lord."

James agreed, 'I was expecting a castle or a mansion with servants and guards.'

Rocko pondered for a moment, "Why would a Baron be living in a place like that? It is not a poor home, but even Ferdinand has a grand house, and I am sure the Baron has more wealth than him."

'No clue. I should have Inspected him when I had the chance,' James lamented.

"Probably a good thing you didn't," Rocko commented, "There are some creatures that can detect when you use that power on them. You may be able to detect it used on you when your Perception is high enough. If he detected you using it, he might have been offended."

James looked at Rocko, 'Why?'

"Does he need a reason?" Rocko asked.

'If it is not something you can typically detect without special Skills, then it stands to reason that people would do it all the time when they meet each other,' James countered, 'That I forget to do it sometimes because I am still learning things in this cursed world.'

"I suppose, but I wouldn't have taken the risk," Rocko stated.

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James entered the Dungeon and was greeted by Onyx. Dropping down to one knee, he welcomed his pet with a hug. James had noticed a few advantages to having Onyx as his pet. Onyx didn't shed her fur, didn't shit on the floor, didn't eat his boots, or had dog breath or drool. As much as he loved dogs, these things always irked him about his previous pets. He also noticed that Onyx understood him better than his last pets, making it worth taking on adventures. The fact that he was only level 5 limited the risk James was willing to take.

"Did you get the blood that you wanted to test?" Glezda asked as she entered the room from James'.

James looked up and smiled, "Yes." James gave Onyx a final pat and stood up. Walking to the receiving table, he pulled out the bag of holding he was provided with the blood samples. Opening it up, James was informed that there were a total of eight vials of blood. A quick Analyze gave him some more information.

Vial of Dwarf Blood

Vial of Elf Blood

Vial of Gnome Blood

Vial of Human Blood

Vial of Llama Blood

Vial of Were Wolf Blood

Vial of Vampire Blood

Vial of Vampire Blood

It would disappear as soon as he lay a vial on the table. Once all the vials were gone, James looked up at Glezda and quirked an eyebrow, "Well?"

Glezda waved her hand at the other table, and a stack of vials appeared. James quickly moved to the table and started shoving them into the bag of holding. Checking the contents, he noticed that he had a different number of each.

Vial of Dwarf Blood (4)

Vial of Elf Blood (3)

Vial of GnomeBlood (5)

Vial of Human Blood (4)

Vial of Llama Blood (10)

Vial of Were Wolf Blood (4)

Vial of Vampire Blood (2)

Vial of Vampire Blood (2)

Once they were all collected, he turned back to her, "Was that very Mana intensive?"

Glezda nodded, "That is my limit for the day. I even had to dip into the reserve I keep to generate the gold."

James checked the bag's contents, "Why the different numbers of vials?"

Glezda smiled, "You can tell the client that I can make a total of ten times what I offered of a specific type as a limit for the day. Except for the Vampire Blood, I can only make a total of 12 a day. But I gave you two to prove we were not returning the original samples. As per your earlier agreement."

James nodded, "Thank you. I appreciate your consideration. Any idea why there may be a different Mana cost for them?"

Glezda shrugged, "It could be based on the amount of Mana the source creature had at the time the blood was taken. But that is only a guess on my part."

"Would Goblin Shaman blood be more costly than Goblin Spearman blood?" James inquired.

Glezda quirked an eyebrow, "I will need to experiment. I prepared some ale for you if you like. Some of the ale you brought last time."

James smiled, "Thanks, I think that would hit the spot."