This time, the location of our meeting is in John's room at the inn. It is a small but grand place, fit for somebody at the level of John. (Apparently.) We had to pick this location because it is the only place where we can meet up without raising much suspicion. I guess we could have met on the ship. Anywhere on the ship will most likely end with swords being drawn today.

  Now, of all times, is not the time for all of us to be fighting. The enemy is on the verge of attacking us, after all. We finally have a clue about where our enemies are. It would be stupid to fumble things this close to success. Here we are sitting around a grand little table. Today is not going to be very peaceful.

  The main source of the tension in the room is Anthony. The man has a look of rage to him that makes it clear that the man is on a warpath today. He has a battered look to him. His arm is in a sling, and the man is bandaged in quite a few places. The most damning evidence of his weakness is his mana, though. His vital mana is at least a couple of stages weaker than it is supposed to be. (That wouldn't happen unless he really pushed his mana.)

  I don't think that the man still knows that we have used him as bait yet. (If he did, we would be fighting already.) Still, the man looks like he wants to kill us all. Well, the man is not a fool. He knows that something is going on. Well, it is not my duty to placate the man today. (So I don't need to think too much about him.) I just need to make sure that the man won't derail the conversation.

  After all, if this meeting goes well, we will have a plan against the vampires. We won't need to make use of secret agreements to get any work done. Right now, the other people at the table each have their own moods. John is angry at the moment. He is suppressing his anger, though. The man knows the importance of this meeting going well.

  Looking at his expression, you would think that the man is sleepy right now. This is when he is at his most dangerous, though. After all, you can never tell when the man will explode. Searcher Amelia has an expression of calmness. I can't figure out what the lady is thinking at this moment at all. (I could at least try to guess her mood if I knew what her goals were.)

  Alfred looks bored. Well, I think bored would be the wrong word. The man looks clocked out. Like everything that is happening here is beyond him. That is a facade. The man has been observing everything that we do. He is studying us all with about the same interest as a scholar. (Well, with how much the mayfires interact with us, this information would be quite useful to them.)

  Well, the reason that I have been rambling all this time is that nobody is speaking right now. All of us are staring at each other's faces, waiting for one of us to start. It has been about ten minutes since the meeting began, and we are still staring at each other.

  I guess that I should be the one to do it. After all, I have the most to speak in this bunch. The problem with that is the person to speaks first is going to be the lightning rod today for Anthony's rage. Even now, looking at the man, you can see him quivering with barely suppressed rage.

  Screw it, we have more immediate concerns anyway. Might as well get all the arguments out of the way now.

  "I called this meeting today to discuss how to deal with the vampire threat." I reply. "As my fellows must have already explained to you, I have achieved contact with one of the vampi...."

  Before I can complete my statement, Anthony smacks his hand on the table.

  "Before all of that, I have a few questions." Anthony growls.

  "Sure, you can ask." I reply.

  I guess the man is pissed off. If the man were acting, this would be considered to be overacting.

  "How exactly did you meet with the vampire. Your soldiers were quite vague about it." The man asks.

  "Well, as my soldiers must have already explained, I made use of a spell known as blood echolocation." I reply. "It allowed me to track the vampires to a warehouse at the edge of the town."

  Well, there is no way that I am mentioning that this was supposed to be a trap and that I had basically tripped it. Right now, that explosion is a sign of success, not a trap that was sabotaged. That information would destroy any credibility I have with this bunch.

  "If you had managed to discover the location of the enemy base, why did you not hold back?" He replies. "It is a pretty risky action that you have taken. You could have died, or worse, you could have informed them of our presence."

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Well, the problem with using blood echolocation is that the vampires can detect it as well." I reply. "If we had waited, the enemy would have run away. Anyway, I have hunted vampires before. I am not as helpless as you seem to think that I am against them."

  "That doesn't answer the question. Why did you not wait to use blood echolocation when we would have been able to reinforce you?" Anthony snaps back. "Even you must admit that what you have done is monumentally stupid."

  That is the man's problem, I see. The guards want to be a part of the action. How else would he gain glory other than by proving himself in combat?

  "Well, I was going to propose that in the last meeting. Even you know how that ended." I reply. "Anyway, all the factions have been doing their own thing. We naturally did this."

  As I do so, I can see the man turn to look at John. The two of them give each other a flat look. For just an instant, I can feel the intense bloodlust between the two of them. I feel like swords are going to be drawn at any second. The only thing preventing this from happening is the fact that we are in such an open place. I feel a bit guilty deflecting the blame like that, but I don't want to be drawn into a conflict with the man. I have the task of keeping the conversation on track.

  "Fine, report your attack." The man says finally, as he returns to look at me. "As I said, your soldier was too vague."

  "Well, we detected the vampires' base using blood echolocation. Then we entered the place. I went ahead of the others to scout out the place." I reply.

  I feel a twinge of annoyance at having to repeat all of this. My soldiers must have reported all of this already. Well, I bury it deep. That is the man's goal in asking the question. To get me off guard and make me say something that I don't want to.

  "There, I met the vampire known as Esmerelda. Then we had our negotiations, as my soldiers must have already explained to you." I speak, taking care to keep my voice as flat as possible. (If a fight is going to break out today, it won't be due to me.)

  "Well, how do you know of this vampire. Why would she be willing to negotiate with you?" The man asks.

  "Well, my soldiers must have already explained all of this to you. I don't see what else I can add to their explanation." I reply.

  I guess I could have been more polite in the way that I said it, but I am done. The man is just asking these questions to piss me off. The man doesn't give a lot of reasons to be polite to him.

  "Fine, what about this sword?" He replies. "Can it be used by the creature to track us down?"

  "Well, I have placed runes on the sword that will help conceal it." I reply. "They will be able to track our general location, but that is only enough to tell which part of the city we are in. That is something they don't need to rely on magic to find out, anyway."

  This finally shuts up the man for a bit. As he stews in his thoughts, I look at the people surrounding me. None of the people in the room looks like they have anything to speak about.

  "What about this Jolly Tulip. Does anybody have an idea of where this place is?" I ask the people surrounding us. (Before the idiot can trap me in another chain of questions.)

  "It is a tavern. A particularly seedy tavern at the edge of the town." Searcher Amelia replies. "We have been visiting the place quite regularly now. At least my troopmates have been."

  "Why exactly are you visiting such a shady place?" John asks, looking at the lady.

  "Well, we have been following Enrique Navok for the last couple of weeks. The man seems to have taken to visiting the place every other day." The lady replies, looking at all of us.

  "When exactly were we going to be informed about this stupid behaviour?" Alfred replies as he finally speaks for the first time in this meeting. "Something like that can easily put the man on guard against us."

  "Well, we assumed it would be worth the risk. The Aegis were following the man anyway, and the man had not looked at the servants when we entered the town. He would not have noticed us." She replies. "We took the gamble that the man won't recognise Arnold even if he walked next to him."

  "Why exactly have you taken such a risky action?" John replies to the lady. There is poison in his voice. "Weren't the Aegis following the man already?"

  "Well, you tell me that the Aegis have been following the man for the last week or so. In that time, have they detected Arnold?" The lady replies.

  "No, none of my soldiers came forward with such a report." Anthony replies.

  The lady's words are enough to put Anthony on edge. The lady might not mean it, but she has been insulting Anthony for a while now. (Somehow, I find it unlikely that this is a mistake. The lady has been playing Anthony like a fiddle in the last couple of weeks.)

  "Well, we scholars know how to hide ourselves. We will also be able to tell with confidence whether the man has fallen to the vampires." Searcher Amelia replies. "We assumed that it would be prudent for our side to keep an eye on the man. He would have been a very good indicator of how the vampires plan to attack us. Anyway, looks like we have not been as hidden as we hoped we were."

  "Well, we can't hide much from the vampires." I reply. "Right now, our discussion should be about the deal and whether we should be taking it. Do you think that we have any other option? Do you think the vampires will be honouring our agreement?"

  "Well, following Enrique has been a waste of time, and that was the only feasible plan that we had." The Searcher replies. "Even more of a waste than we hoped it to be, if the vampires have caught us in the act."

  "Well, I don't have any plans as well. We usually tend to deal with vampires when they are unaware of us." John replies. "I would say that this Esmerelda is our only option. I would say that we trust her. After all, it is the nature of the vampires to scheme against each other. It sounds like she really wants that sword."

  "My soldiers are too hurt from the attack on us." Anthony speaks. "We won't be fighting in any battle very soon. This is as good a way to spend our time."

  "Well, then we will have to negoti......" I begin to speak.

  "Before you ask. Who else was with you there?" Anthony interrupts me.