The snow was heavy. Nearby mountains were completely white, with seemingly no hope of the snow ever melting. The frozen wind hurt the eyes of all that lived in the village. The village was clearly not wealthy, but the layout of the town was impressive. The stone walkway, which was lit during the night by street lanterns, was barely visible despite the apparent shoveling. Inside the wooden gate that served as an entrance, there wasn’t a soul to be found outside. Deeper into the town was a congregation of people. They had gathered inside the wooden house of the village elder.

“My daughter…! It’s already been weeks since she’s been taken, and they still aren’t here?!”

People yelled in rage. Their frustrations had been developing since the start of the missing persons, and it was now bubbling into hysteria.

“Everyone, please calm down!” The old man, slouched from age, slammed his walking stick onto the floorboards.

“We must remain calm… I know that it’s difficult, but please, we must hold on until the Night Watch get here.”

These were people that had their family members abducted. Even though they knew that getting angry and letting their emotions boil over would accomplish nothing, remaining in control was easier said than done. The door swung open and slammed the wall as a blonde man, with a sword at his hip, jumped in.

“The hero of the day has arrived!”

The room stared blankly.

“Ah! That crest on his cloak! The Night Guard!” One of the women in the crowd hollered.

“That’s right, that’s right… I am Jamie from The Night Guard… and you are Mrs…?”

Jamie grabbed the woman’s hand as he asked for her name. He kissed her hand as he awaited her response.

“Stop embarrassing the Guard, Jamie.” Sage entered.

“We’re here on request to exterminate a Vampire. Who among you can give me the information that you have?”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

While they had now arrived in the village where the attacks were taking place, they must still deduce the exact location that the vampire was at. This would usually take anywhere from a couple of hours to as long as multiple weeks. The Night Guard, after all, are not all-knowing.

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A fur coat, which was made from the hide of an elk, covered the shoulders of the man. His sharp eyebrows matched his fierce gaze. He walked down the streets of the his domain.

“Lord Baldron!” A beggar boy kneeled. Lord Baldron’s gaze was fabled among his people to pierce the soul.

“You have not eaten in days, have you, boy?” Baldron moved his hand from under the hide and revealed a piece of bread.

“Take it. Save it if you can.” The boy graciously took the food and munched on it while Baldron continued his walk.

The Winter was just beginning, and the famine was still so terrible. Baldron had spent many nights agonizing over how to save his people, but alas, the North was a brutal territory. As if the famine wasn't enough, the plague continued to ravage the country. He had often cursed his father, the original Lord Baldron, for disappearing many years ago. Even if he was often accurately described as cruel, he never allowed his people to starve- after all, they were precious workers. He was cruel, yet a competetent man.

The current Lord Baldron was inexperienced. Despite his kind heart, he had a reputation of being even more cruel than his father due to his failures to properly govern his territory.

“Lord Baldron.” A female warrior, who was draped in the hide of a lioness, grumbled.

“What’s the problem now, Hilda?”

Hilda sighed. Her voice was sharp and raspy.

“The Pristine Clan was raided. Bandits took their all their capital. Not only is their panic migration placing stress on the Highmountain Clan, but we were relying on their tax to feed the increasing refugees created from the rebellion.”

“Gods.”

Baldron looked to the sky. Despite the day just beginning, the massive moons were in his vision. His mother had told them that the larger was a man, and the smaller was a woman. ‘They gave birth the realm that we walk.’

‘An entertaining tale, but nothing else.’ Baldron wasn’t one for tales- as his underlings would tell you.

“Inform Bjorn that we will need to buy more wheat by the end of the month.”

“Bjorn?!”

Hilda’s blood boiled.

“If we continue to rely on that rat, King Alexander will have your head!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Baldron sighed.

“What choice do I have? My people are starving. Bandits are everywhere. The realm is in turmoil.”

Hilda looked to the ground as she tried to find the proper words of rebuttal. There were no such words.

“Surviving, by any means necessary, is all that we can do.”

‘Father… where have you gone?’ Baldron reverted to his old habit of pondering meaningless questions.

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