The Three Fools Tavern

"You're lying!" Dmitri sounded surprised, as if he had heard this for the first time. He actually knew some vampires who lived this way, and it seemed to work well for them. "How do you know if they're vampires, if they hide so well?"

"They slip up. Forget to hide bodies. Try to attack wrong person," Katrina replied in her Naughtsian accent.

"I see." Dmitri moved his arms so that he could place his chin on his hand without putting his elbows on the table. His purpose, to cover a smirk with his fingers. He wondered why he hadn't tried this before, he noticed. Talk to a vampire hunter and figure out their secrets and hunting tips, so he could use the techniques against them. The Kuzlovs aren't the only hunters that Dmitri's dealt with in the past, and probably wouldn't be the last, either. All he had to do was ask his questions in such a way that he seemed like a curious human, not a vampire seeking opportunities. By the time he spoke, the smirk was gone, and he lifted his head to ask, "Don't you get into tricky situations, though, if the public thinks they're human?"

"Most vampires do not stay human when they are dead. They turn to dust. See, vampires are old and have no blood in their veins. Why else would they drink it?" Katrina replied. After a moment to consider, she offered a smile, drawing out her silver stake from her muff. "This here is what is used to kill Naughtsian vampires. See, they are not quite fond of silver. It is actual silver, here, see?" She said as she flipped the stake over and offered it to Dmitri by the handle.

Eirk, still nursing a beer and trying to be nonchelant about his eavesdropping, groaned inwardly, "Dammit girl, ye are a hoonter then, and yer feeding that corpse yer techniques, pulling a steak on tha beast is jess gonna get 'im tryin tae be sneakier. Piss an' spittle, Imma havta bail the lass oot somehow, aint I?" The worst part was, her hunting technique was ignoring the vampires presense, focusing on it habits. Vampires are a predator, plain and simple, and the humans around them react to their presense on a subconsious level, weather trying to get in close or trying to get away from. Vampires are clever, and often are able to do their thing for YEARS without bieng caught, but they cant hide that, and THAT is how Erik spotted the dead man, when apperantly this poor fool couldnt.

Dmitri leaned back when Katrina held the stake in front of him. He mentally cursed his situation. If he didn't take it, she would probably become a little suspicious. On the other hand, if he did take it, it would begin to burn him, and she would definitely be suspicious. He decided to pretend that he didn't realize she was handing it to him, also pretending that his reaction was from her taking the stake out all of a sudden. He leaned a little closer, to get a "better look" at the stake, saying, "Amazing. Why don't Naughtsian vampires like silver?"

"No one's entirely sure. Some say because it is religious, others because it zaps them of strength. I think because they are magic, and silver effects magic," She replied with a smile, offering him the stake a bit more firmly. "Take it. It is real thing."

Dmitri made Katrina think he took the stake, taking a napkin in hand as his illusionary self would grab for the stake. With the napkin covering his hand, he would be able to take the stake when Katrina would release it once the fake Dmitri had taken the stake. His fake self would turn it over a couple of times, looking it over before handing it back to her, which the real Dmitri would also do, saying, "Very impressive."

Katrina took the stake back and set it on the table in front of her, looking a bit surprised he had managed to pick up the stake. Perhaps he was not the vampire her entire family had been trained to look for. Or perhaps it was a trick. She wasn't going to know for sure unless the island started getting reports of people missing. Then she knew the first place she was going to look for evidence.

Forcing another smile, she added, "It is a family heirloom from Naughtsha. If you do not mind, I think we have taken up table for far too long. I would like to meet you again if you would not mind. Perhaps we speak more of mother land next time and trade stories."

Dmitri nodded, putting a fake smile on as well, saying, "That would be great." He didn't know how long he could keep his secret from Katrina, especially if he kept meeting her, but there was a possibility she would become suspicious if he tried avoiding her. Either way, he continued, "It was very nice speaking with you today, though, and I thank you for taking time out of your day to talk with me. It is nice talking to fellow Naughtsian for once." And, while she was technically someone he would rather not be with, the sentiment was true.

"Aboot bally time" Erik sighed with relief, he was actually worried shed have caught the corpse there, but it seemd she was either biding her time, or none the wiser. "Dammit though", Erik muttered under his breath, "Whyd tha bastid haf tae have sex ray eyes?" With that he moved to pay his tab, and prepare to follow this possible nightmare into the city.

Katrina smile and stood up to leave the bar, leaving behind money for her two drinks.

Dmitri stood up after her, leaving some money as well. When they left the bar, he stood outside a little bit, his umbrella in one hand, the other hand in his pocket. With the meeting with Katrina over, Dmitri would have to head back to the ship to wait for the Fairfax fellow if he wasn't already there, and talk to him if he was. Neither of which Dmitri felt like doing. Sighing, Dmitri headed back to the ship, keeping an eye out for someplace to stop to light a cigar to prepare him for the rest of the day.

Erik was following the Vampire, waiting for a moment to corner him. When he stopped on a street corner to pull out his cigar, Erik decided he should move now. He walked up behind the vamprie, careful to be on the side with the eye patch and spoke in a soft voice. "Ae know wot ye are, blood glutter, soo kinly not try an' feing innocence" Erik said softly, "Ah'd like tae ask ye a few questions, if ah like tha answers, yer free tae goo aboot yer business, if ah dont, well, ah'm sure ye kin guess." Erik pressed a steak knife he palmed from the bar into Dimitris lower back, "'Ats some lovely sterlin silver ready tae hit yer lumbar. So, wotcha sae, dead man, care tae be sociable?"

Dmitri had been slightly aware of someone approaching him, but failed to react by the time the knife was to his back. Without turning to face the man, he sighed loudly, saying, "If you don't mind, I'd rather you didn't blurt out my secret to entire world." A look of annoyance on his face, he turned to look at the man holding a knife to him, and was fairly surprised to see someone unfamiliar to him. "If it'll get the knife off my back, sure. I'll talk with you. Can't say I'll answer all you have to ask, though." Dmitri wondered who this man was, and why he wanted to talk with him. And, more importantly, how he knew that Dmitri was a vampire. "Shall we go somewhere a bit more private, though?"

"Ahright there, danny boi, but doncha be tryin any 'o tha moind addlen stuff ya pulled on the missy in the pub, I kin get nasty fast." With that, he lowered the knife, making sure to keep it out of sight, lest his 'trump card' be revealed in full, and pointed to a nearby alley. "'Ows at soot yer sensibilities, sir?"

Dmitri looked in the direction the stranger pointed, saying, "Works well enough, I suppose." Gesturing toward the alley, he said, "You first, then?" He wasn't about to let this man behind him again, unsure of what he was capable of.

Eriks face almost turns amused, "Ye think me a daft dally boi than, do ye friend? Wossay in the spirit of nae wontin this tae tern ugly, we go side ba side like raesonable folk?"

"As long as you walk on right, that will work." Dmitri positioned himself to be on the left of Erik, not wanting him to be on his blind side, either. Once they were in the alley, Dmitri would ask, "Now, what is so important that you would threaten a complete stranger?"

Erik gave the vampire an exasperated look. "Sonny, I tol' ye, I know wot ye are, sa please dinnae insult mah intelligence. Where one ah yer kin go, those who 'ave luved ones need to keep wotch. Ye played tha hoonter rather well, tho Ah've noo idea if ye've already plans tae end 'er, ye seem content to stay oonder tha loin ah fire. Leads a feller tae ask, wots a man a yer nature dooin all tha way oot here?"

"I don't see why I need to tell you such things, but considering I don't have much of a choice," Dmitri waved his free hand, the other holding his unfinished cigar, as if to say "whatever". Continuing, he said, "I'm in Electric City due to pure coincidence. My job brings me out this way in the first place." He left his explanation at this, not thinking this man deserved much more than that. With a look of annoyance on his face, he asked in turn, "How do you know I'm a vampire?" As far as he knew, no one on this infernal island other than his shipmates knew of his true nature, and how this man could tell that Dmitri wasn't human so quickly baffled him.

Erik tilted his head in a manner that almost said, "how stupid do you think I am?" Out loud he said, "Ah'm na soom daft hooter ye kin pull a fast one on, Jimmy boi. An if ye wan tae be toit lipped, than all Imma say is, yeers of practice." He shook his head slightly, like he was trying to clear a cobweb. "Look, Danny boi, Ah'd rally rather not start a faht wit ye, Ah've goot enough enimies as is, an Ah don need any mar. All Ah wan tae kno is, wot was that goobeldygook ye an tha young lady were speaking in tha pub, and wot clan are ye?"

Dmitri couldn't help but look a little confused when Erik spoke. He was used to people not understanding him, but now that it was his turn, he knew how they felt. "'Goobledy'-what now?" Crossing his arms, he said, "Whatever. The young woman and I were speaking of our home land. There's been some trouble over there, and I wanted her to fill me in on the goings-on over there. Then we talked about her job. Nothing more." Dmitri almost laughed when he began answering Erik's question about clans. "I'm in no clan. Clans are for vampires who are too weak to care for themselves, and must rely on others to bail them out of sticky situations." Shrugging, Dmitri said, "And as for your enemy problem, I don't want to cause you any trouble. All I want is to smoke my cigar in peace. You're the one who upped and threatened me." When he said this, he glanced at the cigar in his hand, frowning slightly at the fact that it was burning slightly, wasting a good cigar.

Erik gave the piratical pulse poacher a hard stare, as if attempting to discern some false hood from his demeanor, not that he was overly confidant of his ability to spot a mistake in a liars mask, but seeing what he hoped was honesty said, "Less be honest, would ye 'ave been amicable to a lad o' moi stature wokin up ta ye and saying 'Scuse me sar, Ah couln elp noticin ye drink hooman blud, might Ah ave a word with ye' withoot tha knoif?"

"I'm reasonable fellow. I don't go attacking everyone who finds me out. As long as they promise to keep my secret." Dmitri began wondering if this man had a bad relationship with vampires. Something more than a "this guy's gonna suck my blood" mentality. "Any more questions? I actually have meeting with someone I need to go to."