Chapter 23: Vampires
After breakfast, Garfield and Hannah returned to the royal palace. They requested to meet with the Court Mage, who apparently dropped everything she was doing to come meet them.
“Duke! Ms. Hannah!”
“Have you had enough time to put a vampire treatise together for us?”
“Yes!” Kay confirmed eagerly. “I’m still researching to see if I missed anything, but I’m ready to share with you what I know. Follow me.”
The three returned to the special table where they could hold a private conversation.
“The tricky part is separating myth from fact, so please consider everything I tell you to have a chance of being wrong unless we can validate it.”
Garfield nodded. Hannah listened quietly but intently.
“There haven’t been any official reports of vampires for over 100 years. I realize Ms. Hannah is a counterexample, but that’s just what I found in the literature. In most cases, the vampire was cast out by society and hunted down as a menace who victimizes people, or even animals, for their blood.”
Garfield figured this would be painful for Hannah, but she needed to hear it.
“In rare cases, nations captured vampires and studied them. From what I could find, vampires didn’t die even when held in captivity for a long time. However, the longer they were held, the more strength they would gain when they did eventually consume blood again.
“That seems to be the case,” Garfield confirmed.
Kay nodded. “One record likened the strength of a vampire to a straight line that slopes upward with time. However, that’s assuming they drink an adequate amount of sufficient-quality blood. If the vampire is ‘malnourished’, their real strength will fall below that line. However, they can catch back up simply by drinking blood.”
‘It knocked Hannah off her feet…’ Garfield recalled.
“Human blood was the type most commonly consumed by vampires. Some vampires were provided blood from other species besides pure humans, reportedly to try and awaken powers or abilities. I couldn’t find any record of whether that was successful, or not. I did read that as vampires get older, they get better able to control their appearance.”
Hannah perked up at that last statement.
“Strangely, I couldn’t find a clear cause for how vampires actually become vampires. As far as I can tell, humans become vampires at some point in their lives, although the age varies. Again, I’m not sure if there’s an external stimuli or if the person was fated to eventually become a vampire, as though it’s in their blood, so to speak. I found a couple of cases where vampires supposedly created other vampires while sucking their blood, but not enough to verify the theory.”
Kay stopped to take a breath.
“Hannah isn’t sure why it happened to her, either,” Garfield noted.
“I see. This next part is a little grimmer. It’s about how to kill a vampire. Do you want me to continue?”
Garfield looked at Hannah, who nodded.
“I found repeated reports of killing vampires either by impaling them through the heart with a wooden stake, or by decapitating them with a silver blade. In one case, a vampire was consumed in a fire, but it wasn’t confirmed if they actually perished or simply escaped. Apparently, the older they get, the more easily they can shrug off pain, or at least things that would cause pain. They can heal quickly, and the rate improves as they get older.”
This generally tracked with Garfield’s prior knowledge.
“Vampires are not believed to be able to have children, other than the possible exception of turning humans by biting them, which as I mentioned before is hardly confirmed. They are able to sleep, but do not need to.”
Garfield wasn’t convinced about that last part.
“They prefer the dark, but can handle the sun okay, especially if they cover themselves with garments. They can eat regular food, and even enjoy it, but they derive no nutritional benefits from it. I read some superstition about protecting yourself from vampires by doing various things to the entrance of your home, but none of it was in any way verified or trustworthy.”
Kay looked up from her notes. “That’s what I was able to learn. It mostly aligns with what I already knew, but I did have to make a few tweaks based on my research. How is that?”
“It’s very helpful, although there are still some unanswered questions. I believe that bit about drinking different types of blood will be important, although it’s not clear if a vampire will actually gain new abilities that way.”
“Is there a way I can protect my heart and neck?” Hannah asked.
Garfield stopped to think. “Hm. Certainly, you could wear armor which provides extra protection in front of and behind your heart. Doing so might tip off an enemy to where your weakness is, though, so we need to think about that more. Keep in mind that the Court Mage and I die if stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake as well…”
Kay wasn’t entirely sure Garfield would actually die, but there was no point in bringing that up.
“Protecting your neck would be even more conspicuous,” Garfield explained, “so that may be difficult. Hm? I just got an idea. «Mapping: Display Map. Identify Vampires».”
“What is that spell?” Kay asked. “It sounds amazing!”
“Hm. There are no other vampires anywhere in this kingdom, or even nearby this kingdom. It was worth a look.”
“What are the limits of that spell? Can you search for anything?”
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“«Mapping: Display Map. Identify Individual Kay, Filter People Who Are Being Annoying Right Now». Hm. There’s a Kay in the southern district who isn’t being annoying, but none in this castle right now…”
“Is that real!? Did you really see that with magic!?”
Garfield then asked the Court Mage, “Do you mind if I use you again to test if my teleport spell can reach the surface of the sun?”
Kay deflated and did not respond. Meanwhile, Hannah was slamming her hand down on the table and laughing hysterically.
“I truly am appreciative of your support,” Garfield acknowledged. “Please do let us know if you learn anything new about vampires.”
“Yes, I will do just that.”
“Also, the King asked me about you. He was worried because you were being less of a pain in the ass lately.”
“Pain in the ass? Is that an expression? Well, I get the gist of it. I’ll try to act more normal around him.”
“You could make it up to me if you let Hannah drink a tiny bit of your blood.”
“I don’t mind but… why me?”
“Basically, I just need a pure human right now. The only blood she’s consumed so far is a little bit from a fox-person. She probably needs more to regain her strength either way, but I’m purposefully diversifying in the hopes that it helps her. Also I don’t want to reveal the fact that she’s a vampire too widely.”
“All right.”
Hannah stood up and stepped over to Kay. Kay lifted her chin up and away from Hannah in preparation for receiving a bite. With a slightly more practiced motion than last time, Hannah connected and started drawing blood from the Court Mage. She drank more deeply than previously with Gregorio, but still stopped after just a few seconds. She took a step back and waited to see how her body would respond.
“…How do you feel right now?” Garfield asked her.
“I… The effect wasn’t as strong this time. It felt good, but only a little bit. I just feel satisfied.”
Garfield once again used his sensing magic on Hannah. Her physical and magical stats had exploded yet again, although this time her blood supply was partly full. Also, the term “human” appeared below “fox-person” in the list of blood types she had consumed.
“Hannah, can you try lifting Kay up? Perhaps put your hands below her arms?”
“What is this?” Kay asked, suspicious.
Hannah placed her hands below Kay’s arms like she was about to lift up a small child. She then effortlessly lifted Kay out of her chair.
“Woah!”
“You’re light,” Hannah observed.
Garfield chose his words carefully. “I’m sure that’s true but, you’re also pretty darn strong.”
Hannah gently put Kay back down in her chair.
“Real smooth Mr. Duke…”
“Hannah,” Garfield asked, “do you feel that anything else is different? Ability to change your appearance? Other new ability? Perhaps specifically a new ability to sense or detect something?”
“No, I do feel stronger but I don’t feel anything like that.”
“Do you feel an increase or decrease in your hunger?” The question actually came from Kay.
“No. I haven’t really felt any cravings, other than to eat normal food for the first time in a very long while.”
“Honestly, things are going too smoothly,” said Garfield. “I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.”
“Another strange expression. Well, that’s not surprising, if it’s you. Is there anything else you need?”
“Not right now. Is there anything you need? A thing that I can quickly produce and then leave without using up the rest of my day perhaps?”
“Oh! Would you be able to provide me with completely pure water? The only water I can normally gather is mixed with impurities, and it’s very difficult to filter it to level that is useful for magical experimentation.”
“Do you have a container clean enough to receive pure water?” asked Garfield.
Kay stepped away and retrieved a polished metal cup. “Here.”
“«Make Water». Is this sufficient?”
“Woah. Let me check. Detect Impurities. Yes, this is perfect! You’re amazing! I’ll resume my experiment right now. Good day to you both.”
Kay took the container and just kind of left them there. Oh well.
“Let’s wander around a bit and see what’s going on.”
As they were wandering in the castle, they bumped into the crown prince.
“Oh, Duke Garfield, is it? What brings you to the palace today?”
“I came to consult with the Court Mage on some magical issues, then figured I’d swing by for any updates on the situation down south.”
“Oh, that. The deployment from the capital has obviously been cancelled. I know father sent a group to Baron Lucke’s domain to investigate something, but I don’t know the details. Honestly, I’m surprised he still keeps me in the dark about so much.”
“Ah, thank you. That’s useful information for me. Are there any other developments of the past half-day or so?”
“Let’s see… The soldiers captured down at Fork’s Crossing are being transferred to the capital for further questioning. My father sent a couple of nobles down to Fork’s Crossing to investigate what happened during the conflict with Tyrin Kingdom’s army. My sister keeps going on and on about how she wants to watch you use your magic more. I can’t think of anything else at the moment.”
“I’m not sure your sister would be happy to hear you shared that last item, but I appreciate all the information. I supposed I’ll return to the northern district. Thank you for your time.”
The crown prince nodded and Garfield and Hannah walked out of the palace. Then, of course, they teleported to the manor.
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“Assistant Duke! Are you around!?”
After a few moments, Assistant Duke came running. “Here, my Lord.”
“Are you ready to provide that briefing on the domain and everything else?
“Yes. Right this way.”
Assistant Duke gave Garfield an overview of his domain. Fork’s Crossing was effectively his capital. Other than that, he had full control over a large oval that adjoined the Tyrin Kingdom along the oval’s southern border. The region included several other towns, farms, mines, mountains, rivers, lakes, and the like.
“By now, word should have officially reached Fork’s Crossing that you are the Lord of Rox as well as the formal changes to territorial boundaries and responsibilities of neighboring lords.”
“What happens to that Frond guy?”
“Viscount Frond? He was temporarily the Lord of Fork’s Crossing while the reorganization was underway over the past two years. He will return to the capital and await further assignment.”
“Hm, I see. If you are here, who could manage day to day duties down there? Besides me, of course.”
“I do recommend we select a magistrate who can handle most matters in your absence. I believe it is better for me to remain here in the capital as I am currently doing. Do you have any objections to that?”
“No, that’s fine. And if I ever needed you to visit the domain, I could simply bring you there myself in a moment, so it’s no big deal.”
“I must confess, the thought of doing that bothers me a bit, but if it is your decision I will not complain…”
“Would we be better off choosing a magistrate from within the domain, or perhaps from the capital?”
“Both are acceptable solutions,” said Assistant Duke. “If you like, I can put together a list of candidates from the capital. It would currently be difficult for me to do the same for people in the domain, given its distance from here.”
“Please do that.”
The possibility of summoning an intelligent creature to serve as his magistrate did occur to him. Among the pool of creatures he could summon, a few would probably be exceptional. Still, he would treat this idea as more of a last resort.
Assistant Duke gave Garfield a rundown of other responsibilities nobles have while residing in the capital as well special cases involving nation-level crises. Garfield was willing to comply with about half of those expectations.
“Hannah, how would you like to be my magistrate in the Rox domain?”
Hannah grabbed Garfield’s arm and refused to let go.
“All right! All right! Assistant Duke, will you join me for a tour of our domain tomorrow?”
“Very good sir.”
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Meanwhile, in a place well outside of the Fenwick Kingdom, a deep voice echoed from a small house.
“I told you everything. I await only your judgment.”
A female voice responded. “I learned many interesting things thanks to you. Still, you lost the Lance of Longinus. I won’t be able to make another one for a long time. Do you realize what this means?”
The deep-voiced man paused. “I wouldn’t even pretend to understand the thoughts of the gods.”
“Come to me. This Goblin King is annoying.”
The man’s body turned to dust as his clothes fell to the ground.
“What this means is, I will need to take action… personally.”