"-And after that, we followed a lead about a vampire in the area. Turns out it was just some anemic dude. He was kind of an asshole, so we robbed him blind and destroyed his house. Under the guise of the Omen, of course. Didn't forget that part."

Damien, who had been teaching Sheila and the younger children how to read and write, put a palm to his face as a lone tear slipped down his cheek. Chester and three of the older children had tagged along to pose as Omen operatives, carrying large sacks of what seemed to be stolen goods.

'May great-grandfather guide me, what have I done to be trapped with this thieving goblin?'

It had only been a day since Chester began his plan to attract Braham's attention. Within twenty-four hours, the illusionist had committed multiple felonies and raised a ruckus around the Twilight Bandits' territory, ensuring this trip would not be a peaceful one.

"Please! Just don't cause any more trouble! I don't know how you managed to connect staging robberies to get my brother's attention, but don't do it!"

"...Well, I think the concept of trouble differs from person to person."

Chester was forced to restrain the vampire from beheading him. The boy looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel from the man's antics. In an effort to convince his long-time companion, the curly-haired man spoke in a convincing tone while the veins on his arm bulged to avoid death via cold iron sword.

"Come on, come on!" The illusionist said, voice shaking as he struggled to put away Damien's weapon. The chilly aura of the blade could be strongly felt as he grasped the Shadow Knight's wrist. "Isn't this why you brought me here? I'm the perfect guy for this place! A cunning man for this cutthroat kingdom filled with dastardly bandits! It takes a snake to navigate the grasslands!"

"You...You won't learn until you get a beating, will you?" Damien said through gritted teeth.

"Please stop, Mr. Rose! Chester's just tryna' help us!"

A murmur of agreement came from the other children. The illusionist had been giving all of them lessons on how to survive in such a harsh environment. It was a lesson that was hard to come by, and the man gave it all away for free. The only thing they asked for was a place to stay and any information they could pass along.

'Well, I've always wanted little sidekicks and minions. They fill that role perfectly well. Not that they need to know that.'

"Yeah, we're trying our best to learn from 'im! I've even gotten better at picking pockets!" One of the younger children cried out.

"Look what you did! You tainted these children! Dyed them in your color!" Damien yelled out, slowly beginning to overpower the man with sheer brute strength. It was comical to see a grown man struggle so mightily against a smaller child.

"They asked me to! Give a man a fish, you'll feed him for a day! Teach the man how to pickpocket and he'll be able to feed himself for a lifetime! I'm teaching these kids valuable skills to help them survive here."

Sheila put her hands on the teenager's leg, blinking her wide eyes at Damien with pure eyes. Out of all the children, she was the one the vampire had a soft spot for. Her childish curiosity and eagerness to learn warmed the warrior's heart.

"Please, Mr. Rose. I don't want to see you two fighting."

The vampire looked at the young child with a wavering expression and relented. He sighed, easing the pressure on Chester and putting his sword away. He supposed Chester was right. No matter how much gold they gave to the children, what would happen once they spent it all? Unethical or not, skill development would go a long way toward their continued survival long after the adventuring duo's departure.

"...You're exposing them to needless dangers, you know that? What if they end up stealing from someone they can't handle?"

The illusionist tsked. "That's why I'm teaching them. How to avoid getting caught, and how to know when you're in over your heads and what to do during those times."

Damien sighed deeply. It was something he was doing a lot more often the longer he stayed around the thieving bastard he called a companion. He decided to leave them to it. The children looked eager to learn from him, and the thief was happy to oblige. Even if it defied his moral compass, the vampire knew he had to be flexible when dealing with others. He had no room to interfere when both parties were willing. Especially when Chester was involved.

"...I'm going to keep searching for leads," The vampire said. Putting on a dull cloak, he made his way for the exit. "Just do things in moderation, okay? If you don't cover your tracks and get caught by one of those gangs..."

His tone had a hint of warning. The prince knew Chester was a slippery eel that could get out of any sticky situation, but what of the children? They were regular humans; extra attention in such a dangerous city would only put them in peril.

"What do you think I am, a kid? Don't go bald stressing out."

'The only reason I'm stressing out is because of you!'

Damien swallowed his words, opting to shake his head and cover his face with a hood. He left the house and made sure the door was tightly shut before making his way through the city.

The district they resided in, Strofil South, was one of the many locations the Twilight Bandits controlled. Due to the large amount of territory they held, higher-ranked gang members were given the rights to portions of the city. Bentham, the second-oldest teen in their group, explained that the men in charge were merely drug-addled junkies. But the primary reason they'd never been overthrown or moved was because of the power they held.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

'Orcsbane and Rotfoot! That's their names. Be careful in the popular areas, because they usually have goons there collecting money from merchants.'

Damien wasn't afraid of some gangsters, part-giant or not, but he was afraid of what it would entail if he were to provoke them. It wouldn't just end there. The situation strongly reminded him of his time in Elway, where he was forced to search for a method of making money to afford their pricey instant cube.

He had a rough idea of what the city's layout looked like, but he needed to find a map to better plan their search for Braham.

It didn't take long for him to reach the local street markets which sold a variety of trinkets. Some were food vendors running carts, offering a wide variety of simple dishes, and the boy decided to grab fried fish on a stick. It had been quite some time since he last ate. Munching on the salty skewer, Damien noticed a merchant selling his wares, and a basket filled with maps of the city being sold at the front of the store.

Going up to the storekeeper, the Shadow Knight pointed at the maps and asked for a copy.

"Five silver."

Damien frowned. The price was far too high for a simple piece of paper; even the shops in Elway wouldn't sell it for that amount. None of his wares offered price tags, so the vampire assumed he could haggle for a lower price.

"The price is too high."

The shopkeeper sighed. His face was round and his hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. He seemed irritated at the thought of having to lower the prices.

"Four silver."

The vampire still wasn't satisfied. He wasn't an idiot and knew anything close to a silver was overpaying for a simple map. Damien was wealthy enough to shrug off the cost, but the idea of being ripped off didn't sit quite right with him.

"I only have fifty-bronze."

"Then leave." The shopkeeper oozed annoyance, but from their momentary eye contact, Damien could see the man was expecting him to pay up. He didn't miss the split-second smirk the merchant had before turning his head away.

Before the noble decided to shrug it off and look for another vendor that offered a map, he decided to put more pressure. He was already in a sour mood after dealing with his companion and his tolerance for bullshit was beginning to near its peak.

Damien smiled brightly. It was a textbook example of a happy expression, although no kindness could be detected on his face. A chunk of rock lay on the floor, and the boy picked it up with ease despite being the size of his palm.

He promptly crushed it in his hand, allowing the debris to fall to the floor while the merchant watched.

"I forget to wear my robe for one day and these rats think they can rip me off, huh?" Damien muttered darkly. He channeled his inner Chester, remembering the time he tried to blackmail the residents of Stillwater into giving him even more money for fulfilling their request. Acting out like a local thug was easy when he had been traveling with one for months. "We let you set up shop and this is how you treat us? I'll have to let my boss know unless we can come to some sort of...resolution?"

The feat of strength was already enough to make the shopkeeper nervous. As the child before him implied his affiliation with the Twilight Bandits, he paled drastically, matching Damien's skin tone, and gave the map without fuss. His hands were trembling as the vampire child took the rolled-up parchment with a nasty smirk.

As the vampire walked away, many saw the entire interaction play out and gave him a wide berth. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, going back to his usual self. Damien felt some guilt for exercising his power over others in such a way, but it was better than being willingly ripped off for a map of the city. The boy maintained some pride as a scion, after all.

'Better a bully than a sucker. Chester's taught me that much at least.'

It hadn't been a full minute before he was interrupted by another small group of men standing in his way. Thugs with domineering looks on their faces, as if they just spotted prey. His eyes widened slightly upon seeing the symbol of a purple-lightning bolt draped over their robes. Damien cursed and immediately regretted his actions.

"We ain't seen you here before. You can't be collecting on our turf like that. What's your name?"

"...Chester."

"Chester? Any of y'all know a Chester?" The man at the front turned to his two other groupmates, both of whom shook their heads.

They were all muscular, with biceps the size of Damien's head. Although he wasn't a skinny boy by any means, the height difference put the group of thugs several weight divisions ahead of the teenager. But it didn't phase him in the slightest.

He was not a stranger to size disparities in combat. The memories of the Ankheg Queen, Scrap Bots, and Delont wafted in his mind. The teen's jaw tightened ever so slightly while matching the stares coming his way.

"Where'd you come from, huh? Strolling into our territory, pretendin' to be one o' us." The man at the front was bald, with small, cruel eyes that looked down on Damien with disdain. He stomped his foot on the ground, making a clear imprint and a loud noise that failed to intimidate the vampire whatsoever.

"...I'm a new member. You can ask Orcsbane if you'd like. I transferred here just yesterday."

"Orcsbane? 'Izzat so?" The man mulled it over, giving the boy a cursory glance and putting his hand on his chin.

Damien didn't think he was much of the thinking type and hoped his lie would hold through. After several seconds of staring, the man's face broke out into a devious grin.

"Well, if you're a new member, that means you 'aven't got initiated yet then, have you?"

The vampire didn't like the sound of that. But he wanted to make it out of the situation with his cover intact. Drawing attention to himself wasn't the way to go.

"Don't worry, you'll just have to follow us." The man said with a cheeky grin. His crooked teeth were on full display. "Unless you've got somewhere else to be?"

"No, I don't. Lead the way then."

The vampire figured if trouble had found him already, he might as well deal with it now rather than later. He had slowly resigned himself to the fact that as long as Chester accompanied him on his travels, he would never know peace.

With him at the front, the group of thugs led him into a back alley far from prying eyes. They kept together in a tight formation, making it difficult for the boy to try and run off.

Not that he felt the need to do so.

"Can I ask what the initiation is?" The boy asked, watching as the group of thugs blocked the only exit from the alley.

"Oh, that's easy! We just beat the stuffing out of you and you have to take it! Don't worry, we won't be using weapons or armor. The same goes for you too, though."

"...Can I fight back?"

"Of course! If you can bruise up even one of us I'll eat my boot!"

As the men shed their clothes and prepared to jump the small teenager, they saw no alarm or urgency in the boy's movement. Instead, he took off his robe and unequipped his armor, leaving him in a simple shirt and pants. But he didn't stop there; Damien began taking off his shirt as well, revealing a palace of muscle that contrasted heavily with his youthful face. A bead of sweat dropped the thugs' foreheads as they realized their victim may have not been as easy of a target as they thought.

The vampire boy's upper body didn't look real. It was as though a professional bodybuilder had been shrunk down and compressed into an adolescent's body. His pale and translucent skin showcased veins running along his arms and neck. It was a physique that surpassed the bandits facing him, even though they were much larger and had more mass.

CRACK

Damien cracked his neck and knuckles while approaching the bandits. He talked in a quiet tone. In the dimly lit alley, the bald thug at the front could swear the teen's irises had turned red.

"I don't have too many shirts, you see. I gave them all away. So it wouldn't do to get blood on them, correct?"

The three thugs took a step back. It would've been easy to retreat with their backs facing the exit to the alleyway, but how could they? Did it make sense for all three of them to run from a mere child? Pride was poison, and it made them shut out their instincts in favor of lashing out.

"D-don't get cocky, you fucking brat!"

With a battle cry, the bald man charged despite feeling an undercurrent of unease while doing so. Damien only smiled in response.

'I've been wanting to let loose for a while now. All this stress is getting to me.'