A young guardsman ran up to Tealas and Odefin as they sat on their horses, ready to leave for another day of searching. The man stopped in front of them, huffing and red-faced, unable to speak for a moment.

´Take it easy,` Odefin said, curious as to what the fuss was about.

´The colonel,` he said between intakes of breath, ´He wants to see you... right now.` The man pointed towards the harbour and dried sweat from his forehead.

Tealas raised his eyebrows and Odefin shrugged.

The young guard continued, ´He's waiting by... Gravel Street... close to the harbour.` He straightened and looked at the hunters. ´The vampire,` he said. ´He killed again, we think.`

Tealas immediately turned his horse around and kicked it into a trot.

´Thank you,` Odefin said and hurried after his friend. Finally. They had made the right decision to stay in the area after all. He nudged his horse who snorted and sprang forward, sensing his excitement.

Making their way through the winding streets, the hunters rode swiftly but not so recklessly they risked the horses slipping and falling on the cobbles.

When they arrived, both horses and hunters were sweaty from the exertion and the hot weather. They found the street, a narrow alley, with ease. A crowd of excited onlookers pushed and shoved, trying to glimpse the scene. City guards stood in the way, blocking the entrance. Tealas and Odefin dismounted and jogged up to the guards. They explained who they were and were let through immediately. The colonel and two other guards waited in the alley, looking at three corpses. A woman with long blonde hair and a brown dress talked to them.

´What happened?` Tealas asked as he got there.

´Well,` the colonel answered, his face pale. ´The night shift was missing two guards in the early morning and a patrol was sent out to look for them. Apparently, they found the elf and he killed them.` His brows furrowed as he stared at the closest body.

The guard had by all appearances been beaten to death with his own crossbow. His caved in face was a gory mess, his helmet had fallen off, and he lay in a drying pool of his own blood. Odefin's lips curled in disgust.

Tealas stared grimly. The vampire had become more violent. This was plain murder! He bent down to make sure. There were no bite-marks on this man's neck or anywhere else with exposed skin. He had just been killed. Tealas looked around and found three crossbow quarrels on the ground. Two were broken and covered in blood. It appeared the vampire had been hit at least twice. There were bloody tracks on the ground. Maybe they could follow it this time, he thought hopefully.

The hunters inspected the other bodies and found that both of them had bite-marks. The other dead guardsman had a broken neck, which suggested he hadn't died from the bite itself. The dead civilian had a broken arm but the corpse' pallid hue implied he'd died from blood loss.

´It killed two of them to feed,` Tealas concluded. ´That guard shot it, the vampire probably became angry and killed him for it.`

Odefin nodded. ´Sounds about right.`

The colonel looked grimly at the bodies and nodded.

´What does she have to do with this?` Tealas asked then, indicating the blonde woman behind the colonel.

´She saw the vampire.` He stepped aside so they could talk with her properly.

Tealas studied the pale woman, visibly shaken by standing among the dead bodies. ´Let's go somewhere else and talk,` he said softly.

She nodded and took a deep breath, her hands trembling. ´I live in that house, right there.` She pointed.

´Let's go there then,` Odefin said and smiled faintly.

They followed her into the simple wooden house. They entered a sparsely furnished main room, dominated by a big fireplace surrounded by pots and pans, some big cabinets lining the walls. They sat down on benches by a central table on a worn carpet.

´Well,` Tealas said quietly. ´What did you see?`

She looked from the tall, square-faced hunter to the big, bearded one, her eyes wide. ´I heard screams outside the house,` she began. ´I was sleeping upstairs. But I opened the window to look out, and I saw this...` she hesitated, clasping her hands in her lap, ´this man.` She glanced towards the door and sighed deeply. ´He had killed those men out there. But there were more I think. Based on the shouting. Maybe they ran away.` She fiddled with her apron. ´He... he must have heard me because he looked up at me. His eyes were glowing.` She stared at them, dark circles underneath her eyes. ´He looked right at me and I thought he was going to kill me. I shut the window and prayed through the rest of the night. He didn't come into the house.`

´Did you see anything else? Like how it looked or where it went? Was it alone?`

´It? Yes, he was alone.` She nodded and leaned forward. ´He wore his hair in a ponytail, I think. He went that way,` she pointed. ´At least that was the direction he was going before he saw me,` she added and pressed her lips together.

´Thank you for telling us,` Tealas said with the ghost of a smile. ´Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a vampire to catch.`

She followed them to the door and waved them off. ´I hope you get him soon. I won't be able to sleep at night until you do.`

The hunters and the colonel spent some time searching the narrow alley for more signs of the fight and anything that could give them the upper hand later.

´He doesn't appear to use weapons,` Odefin remarked. ´All of his victims have been killed by hand.`

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Tealas nodded. ´That's not too unusual for new vampires. Some simply don't have focus enough to remember to use weapons.`

Odefin indicated the crossbow on the ground. ´Well, he did use a weapon this time I suppose. But crudely.`

Tealas eyed the bloodied and crooked crossbow. ´Let's find it before it gets more control,` he said and started following the tracks in the direction the woman had pointed.

At first, they were easy to follow. A bloody handprint on a wall here, partial footsteps on the ground there, drops of blood. But in the busier streets, the tracks had already been ruined and the search slowed.

Another problem was that vampires healed quickly, so the tracks got fewer and further apart. They had to seek in many directions and backtrack if they found nothing. A time-consuming business at best. But shortly after midday, Odefin spotted a smear of blood on the side of a building. It looked as if the vampire had leaned against the wall for some reason.

´Maybe he's more hurt than we thought?` he said and pointed to the mark.

´Maybe. Let's hope so.` Tealas studied a faint handprint near the corner of the house.

They carefully followed the few tracks they found. As they worked, the day passed and evening arrived with a beautiful pink and gold sunset. The hunters rested and ate at a nearby tavern, discussing whether they should continue the search in the dark and risk missing things, or wait until morning and give the vampire a chance at escaping.

Tealas hated being out in the dark but had to admit it was probably better to continue now. Since the monster was hurt, there was also a chance of it sleeping through the night to heal. If they could find it resting, it would be well worth the extra work now.

As soon as they felt refreshed enough, they set out again in the same direction they'd headed for a while. They led the horses to avoid missing any tracks. It was harder in the dark, but they used their enchanted sun-medallions to light their way. Still, the slow work frustrated the tired hunters.

* * * * *

In the late afternoon, Sern found the place of the murders and looked around for signs of Ranloo. The bodies had been removed before he arrived, but the blood splatters were still very much there. On the ground, on the walls. A shiver of mixed feelings coursed through him as he thought of what had happened here. So much blood. A memory of Ranloo's burning eyes flashed in his mind.

Something glinted in the sunlight by a wall. He bent down and picked up a crossbow bolt. Someone had been shooting. He hoped they had missed Ranloo but wasn't too hopeful. Unless this was the only bolt fired. He pocketed it and kept looking around.

There was a bloody handprint on one of the walls. He stared at it, wondering if it was Ranloo's or one of the others'. If it was Ranloo's, he must've been badly hurt. Worried, he studied the ground and found bloody tracks. He followed them as well as he could. It was hard, and soon he lost them in the busy streets. But he continued in their general direction, thinking Ranloo probably hadn't turned around too much in his hurt state. Soon, he realized he headed in the direction of the old district.

Maybe he'd gone back to the old hovel? Or the ruin. That was probably more likely since it was abandoned and safer than the house. He started running. The sun hung low in the sky, blinding him. Still too hot. He didn't care. The hunters could be right on Ranloo's tail. Better hurry. Cursing loudly, startling some ladies he passed by in the street, he pushed himself harder. He had to get there first.

The sun set in a blaze of pink and gold, setting the sky on fire. Sern stopped by a small park, catching his breath, exhausted and thirsty from running in the heat all day. Dizzy from eating too little, and missing a full night's sleep affected him too. He just wanted to stop. But he didn't have time for that. He had to find Ranloo before the hunters did. They must've seen the bloody tracks too. But surely they didn't know where to go?

Panting, Sern leaned against a tree for a while, looking at the blazing sky. It would be dark soon. If Ranloo woke up before he could get to him, who knew where he'd run off to. Sern worried he wouldn't go back to the inn. He might stay asleep, of course. Or worse, he'd wake up and in his hunger attack the hunters, getting himself killed. Sern started running again, his legs like heavy logs.

The night was still young but fully dark when Tealas realized they had been here before. The old wooden shacks huddled close together. The narrow dirt roads, uncobbled and winding. The alleys criss-crossing between the low buildings.

´Wasn't this where they hid in that old ruin?` he said, stopping short.

Odefin looked up from the ground and studied the place around him. ´Now that you say it,` he muttered and nodded. ´I was looking for tracks, didn't think about it.`

´Do you think it went back to that place?´ Tealas asked, his voice taut.

´Maybe. It's possible,` Odefin answered.

´Where was it? Do you remember?` Tealas drew out his crossbow and a quarrel. Better to be prepared than be caught by surprise. They looked around, trying to get their bearings. It was hard to recognize the place in the dark.

´Maybe that way?` Odefin said and pointed. ´I'm not sure.` He frowned and readied his axe.

Tealas looked in the direction Odefin indicated as he loaded the weapon. ´Maybe. Let's go and check. It'll be faster than trying to follow tracks in the dark anyway.` He set off at a quick pace, still leading his horse.

Odefin hurried along.

They found the old temple with some difficulty. It had been well hidden in daylight. In the dark, it was almost invisible, and finding the hole in the fence was even trickier. They approached the temple, moving quietly. Tealas' breathing quickened, and he could tell Odefin was tense too by the way he moved. Approaching vampires was always a bit terrifying, especially in the dark. Hopefully, he was asleep.

´Wake up!` The voice resounded in Ranloo's head. ´Wake up, now!`

His eyes cracked open. They stung. Stiffly, he sat up, blinking in confusion. Where was he? Had there been a voice?

Ranloo took in his surroundings, a dark empty room, and remembered where he was. But who had spoken? Heavily, he stood and nudged something with his foot, causing a light clattering across the floor. Looking down, he slowly focused on a crossbow bolt. Strange. He reached with his hand to feel his back. Finding nothing, he flexed his back and arms. Nothing felt wrong, the bolt was gone. It must have fallen out. Odd.

His guts screamed with emptiness and his head pounded with every move. Why had he awakened? He needed to sleep and heal. But there had been a feeling of urgency, something dangerous. He stilled and listened carefully.

Clattering of hooves and faint voices approached from outside. Alarmed, he shuffled to the door and peeked out. The noises were louder out there, coming from the street. A light glimmered some way off. Sucking in a sharp breath, Ranloo backed away from the door. He had to leave. Now. The side door was the only way out though. He gave it an uneasy look. If he went out there now, he might get spotted. Maybe he could get out through the nave?

He turned on his heels and limped towards it. Fallen pieces of roof, wooden beams, cracked plaster, and disorderly pews littered the large room. The big doors seemed far away, at the other end of the chaos. Ranloo uttered a dissatisfied sound before carefully treading between the benches and pieces, avoiding loose debris. The small door squealed behind him and he muttered under his breath as fear rolled through his hurting body. He had to hurry.