He pushed his cloak from over his head. It slid over the side of the sarcophagus with a quiet crumple. As quietly as he could he whispered, “System, what is it?”
:: System: More information is required.
Harry sat up, trying to do it without making noise. “Is something outside? Is someone coming?”
:: System: Your senses have not picked up the sound of anyone approaching throughout the day.
“Oh, I thought… nevermind.” He stretched and climbed out of the sarcophagus.
“Good day? Evening?”
:: System: Evening.
He scooped his cloak off the floor and looked around. A thin stripe of dusky light showed through the cracks in the door. The sun would be gone within the hour.
Going to the door he peeked outside. Long shadows stretched over the cemetery. The air smelled of grass and old marble. Twilight. Close enough to safe.
“Could use a cup of coffee.”
The familiar meters waited in the corner.
V: 87 | TM: 13 %
“Only down a few. Did I gain one for resting?”
:: System: Negative. You stopped losing vitae during slumber, but you required thirty-seven more minutes of uninterrupted inactivity to gain a vitae.
“Can I just lay back down?”
:: System: Negative. The counter would start anew.
“Well that figures, the whole invitation thing you’re loosey-goosey, just hypnotize someone. This, you’re strict with.”
He looked himself over in the dim light, his night vision good enough for a quick inspection. He brushed the dust from his clothes. The results were not encouraging. His shirt was rumpled and stained. The waistcoat had lost most of its shape. He tried tugging the lapels straight and smoothing the wrinkles, but the effort only made it worse. Not to mention the tear left by the dagger and a hole in one pant leg made when one of his bones shattered and tried to escape. His reflection would have groaned if he'd had one.
“At least the cloak looks decent.”
He held it up and looked it over. The dark fabric shimmered faintly in the low light, classy, heroic even. He swung it around his shoulders and immediately ran into a problem.
The brass hook under the collar still looked like a puzzle designed by sadists. He tried looping it one way, then the other, muttering under his breath.
“System, a little help?”
:: System: Insert the lower clasp tongue through the retaining ring and rotate ninety degrees clockwise until secure.
Harry fumbled at his neck. “You’re assuming I know what a retaining ring is.”
:: System: The circular piece located two centimeters left of the collar seam.
“Left from which side?”
:: System: Yours.
He tried again. Missed. Tried the other way. Caught the hook in the lining, swore, freed it, and tried once more.
:: System: Rotate clockwise.
“I am rotating clockwise!”
:: System: From your perspective.
Harry froze, took a breath, then slowly turned the hook the other direction. It clicked.
He stood there a moment, panting though he didn’t need to. “You know, I used to do surgery on cats. This was harder.”
:: System: Practice will improve proficiency.
“Thanks, coach.”
He adjusted the cloak until it hung evenly and gave the hook one cautious tug. Secure.
“Alright. Let’s see what kind of unspeakable evil we can inflict on the world today.”
Stepping outside, pointedly not tiptoeing, he eased the door shut behind him, careful not to let the hinges creak. The graveyard looked the same as it had the night before, rows of well-kept headstones stretched into the dim light. The last trace of twilight was fading in the west.
“At least the sun sets where it’s supposed to.”
Harry took a slow breath and reached outward with his Blood Sense. Threads stirred here and there through the graveyard, scattered and thin, faint pulses of small life moving among the stones. They reached farther than those of Stan and dagger man, even a little longer than the cows. He followed one through the air until it ended at a fat gray rat nosing along the edge of a headstone.
He watched it for a moment and checked his meters again. “Could use a top off,” he murmured.
:: System: It will be dark soon. Detected plentiful cows along the route to Brookhaven.
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Harry shuddered and blinked the message away.
He stepped closer. The rat didn’t react. Just kept sniffing, digging through leaves.
“System, do animals see me?”
:: Scanning…
:: System: Affirmative. However, they perceive your presence as analogous to a small insect, insignificant and non-threatening.
“Are all animals like that on… what’s the name of this world again?”
:: System: The world is Lumos. And no. In general, non-domesticated animals fear humanoid species.
“So just me then?”
:: System: Affirmative.
Harry sighed. “Well, that’s just hurtful.”
Harry knelt and reached out with his senses, brushing against the faint thread that pulsed from the rat. He caught hold of it in his mind.
“Mesmerize.”
:: Skill [Mesmerize]: Successful (Active, cost: 1 vitae)
V: 86 | TM: 14 %
The rat froze, a small shape in the dim light, something dark and shiny clutched in one forepaw.
Harry reached out and picked it up. It squirmed in his grip, not fighting, more like it was settling in. “Well, aren’t you trusting.”
He lifted it toward his face as his fangs slid free. The smell hit him hard. It had the sweet tang of blood and a tiny heart pulsing its siren call, but overlaying that it was foul, sour and heavy, half rot, half mold, and half poor life choices.
Holding it close to his mouth was worse. He could almost hear the fleas crawling on it. The fur brushed his lips, greasy and uneven.
“Sip.”
Blessedly, the skill took over. He bit down, drew out a trace of blood, and dropped the rat at once. He was proud of himself for not gagging.
:: Skill [Sip]: (+0 Health) (+0 Vitae)
:: Warning: You have been infected. (Merkwither Fever).
:: System: Immune to disease (Merkwither Fever does not take effect).
“Dammit… But hooray for immunity.”
:: System: Target has insufficient life force. Recommend use of skill [Drain].
“So gross.”
:: System: Or alternate recommendation, use [Sip] on cattle en route to Brookhaven.
Harry looked around in surprise. “Battles on the way to Brookhaven? We better be careful.”
Harry cut the connection to the rat and watched it scurry away. Stumbling along on its tiny rat legs like a miniature Uncle Roger. Now that he thought about it, the smell and the fur weren’t that dissimilar either.
“Fly, little buddy. Vaya con dios.”
He stood and brushed off the new grass stain on one knee, made his way along the hedge and set off down the road, cloak billowing behind him.
He’d gone only a short way when an unexpected message popped up.
:: System: New title awarded, “Bottom Feeder”. (+1 xp)
“Well that was delayed. And one point, really?”
:: System: Assessment, consensus was difficult with a few shards insisting on a title. Minimal reward was likely a compromise.
“I’m not sure if your coworkers are in my corner or mocking me.”
:: System: Affirmative.
“Exactly.”
Harry followed the road past the farmhouse where he’d washed his clothes the night before. The yard was still, the air cooling fast. From inside the house came faint sounds of life, chairs scraping, quiet voices, the rattle of a pot lid.
He tilted his head toward the sound. “Evening, neighbor,” he said under his breath.
He passed the pastures next. A few cows stood near the fences, dark shapes against the fading light. The air carried the smell of warm flesh and sweet hay, and beneath it the deeper pulse of life. He could hear the rhythm of their hearts, stronger than before. The taste of bovine blood lingering in his mind. He felt his fangs wanting to peek out for a look.
He shook it off and kept walking, eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Harry reached the edge of town just as the moon cleared the treeline. Gas lamps were being lit one by one, their glow pooling across the cobblestones. A few people moved along the streets, voices low. A horse-drawn carriage rattled past, hooves striking sharp on stone. The night had turned cold enough that every breath rose in a faint white cloud, everyone’s but his.
He could sense all the people around him, even those inside the stone and wood buildings. But the threads only appeared when someone outside came within about twenty feet, faint glimmers at the edge of his awareness. He practiced focusing his Blood Sense, pushing it outward. He could extend his reach another ten feet or so, and the threads became firmer, more distinct. When he wasn’t concentrating, they were all much the same except for a few. The horse pulling the carriage had a thread trailing twice as far. An older couple walked arm in arm, the woman leaning on the man for support. Her thread stretched three times longer than anyone else’s, thin and pale like worn silk. Fragile.
Old Jones at the bell tower had a long thread like that. I wonder if he’s sick.
As much as possible, he tried to hug the walls and stay in the shadows without drawing attention to the fact that he was hugging the walls and staying in the shadows.
“System, did…” He cleared his throat when he heard his own voice.
Dummy, you don’t have to talk out loud. System, you said something about getting a shadow skill in the future?
:: System: Skill [Shadow Manipulation: 0]. While in dim or low light, shadows deepen and cling to user. Passively conceals user from notice, provides stealth bonus, and muffles sounds such as footsteps, fabric rustling, and breathing.
Oh, nice. System, add that to my want list.
:: System: Duly noted.
He stopped at the mouth of the alley where so much had happened, the Dusty Lantern Inn glowing warm and loud ahead. Men entered and left, laughter spilling into the street.
You got this, Harry. Don’t think about having an existential crisis because you’re no longer welcome by the human race. Cast out. A lone wolf. You against the world, Harry. Don’t think about it at all. Let it go. Not an issue.
He immediately didn’t move. Just stood there, watching.
System, that inn isn’t restricted now, right?
:: System: Affirmative.
So I can just walk up and go inside. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
:: System: Affirmative. Assuming “easy peasy, lemon squeezy” is a term from Err meaning something that is easy to accomplish.
“Err?”
:: System: Affirmative. User justified detecting the odor of fish when none was present as a “famous saying on Err.”
“Right. We still have to talk about that.”
He continued standing there, watching the entrance, motionless.
Breathe, Harry. In. Out.
He exhaled slowly, stretched his arms down, palms flat and facing the ground. Rolled his neck and shoulders. He finally moved, walked forward, reached for the handle, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Ha… simple. Was not worried at all.
***
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