Finally!

They had reached the camp site. Rhojeka felt such a relief that this horrible journey in those strange contraptions had finally come to an end that she let out a deep sigh while she let herself drop onto the bed that had been assigned to her. The sack with her stuff landed on the floor next to the bed with a "thump". She just looked at the wooden ceiling of the cabin, a view that was a lot more familiar to her than the rest of her journey so far - so much indeed that she could almost feel home. As long as she managed to ignore that smell, it was.

We have been on the road for weeks, she faintly heard the echo of her friend Mervella's voice in the dark corners of her mind.  Believe me, none of us smell like roses at the moment. Not even you! Rhojeka squinched her face. Even if it was true, she didn't like being reminded of it. Some people would call her shallow and superficial, but her appearance mattered to her - she made a living out of it. Maybe sometimes she was over-sensitive to how things or people smelled. But if she didn't care about it, then who would?

Well, this time it wasn't her. It seemed like there was no getting rid of Mr. Dev, and the more time she spent in his presence, the more he disgusted her.

She would have loved to take a breath of fresh air outside, but the weather kept her from doing so. The rain splattered against the glass windows of the cabin while lightning bolts set the sky ablaze and the thunder growled outside, much closer than she was comfortable with. It was no time to be out there. The other inhabitants of the cabin sat together, quietly and gently talking, and like herself enjoying the warm comfort and safety of this place, safe from the elements outside.

But then she saw the shadow.

It was just a quick moment, a flicker of darkness creeping past the window. The thunderstorm outside made the appearance all the more... dramatic, for lack of a better term. Rhojeka frowned. Whoever was outside in that weather, they had to be crazy. Curious and with the urge to help this someone before a thunderbolt would strike them down - something she had seen happening way too often in her own world - she reached for her blue cape. Whoever it was out there, she better talked to them.

But then she hesitated. What am I doing? Going outside, lacking any form of protection, not knowing what it was that creeped around... and with her magic powers entirely gone. She had heared the warning from Mervella not to accept any drinks, but as she had taken her seat on the train, she had ignored this warning cause she had been so thirsty. But even with her full magic potential at her fingertips, she would be a fool to go out there alone.

"Hey!" she whispered to the other group of people in the cabin. "There's something out there!"

She nodded towards the window, and immediately the people got up and walked cautiously over there. With their faces almost pressed to the glass, they tried to make anything out. "I don't see nothin'," one of them stated.

"There!" a girl yelled and pointed outside. "Someone is lying there!"

They turned the overall attention towards a soaking wet body outside in front of the cabin. It didn't move. Rhojeka joined the group, looking over their shoulders and tried to see anything relevant. It looked dead. Splashes of red were visible in the neck area, but got washed away by the rain. 

Rhojeka froze. In the back of her head an alarm went off, triggered by her knowledge of bardic lore. This cannot be... She knew what was out there. It terrified her.

"Whatever happens," she whispered to the others, "do not open the door!"

"But we have to help him," came the protest from the other group.

Rhojeka shook her head vehemently. "There is nothing you can do for him. You go out there, and you share his fate."

The door to the cabin had a large window, too, and the cover wasn't pulled down. Cautiously she walked over there to make sure the door was locked tight. As she turned the key in the lock and heard the click, she sighed in relief. But then she looked up and out the window - and straight into the face of the monster.

She gasped.

Red glowing eyes stared back at her over long fangs in a mouth that showed the smile of a predator.

But the rest of the face... she knew it. Not that she had seen it before, but she knew the description. And it had been precise enough for her to imagine this face in great detail. Everything matched. From the smooth aristocratic face to the bright hair over those deadly eyes. And this would not be the first encounter that she and Mervella would have shared on their respective journeys. She knew that this was not just any vampire.

She turned the key again. The door unlocked with a click. She opened it.

The smile on the face of the vampire became a little less threatening, it showed signs of surprise. "Good evening." The voice was well modulated, fitting for a person of noble birth. My name is Bertrand..."

"... Romania Wolfgang," Rhojeka interrupted him. "I know of you. Your reputation precedes you."

He raised an eyebrow. "It does?"

"Certainly," Rhojeka answered and showed a similar smile that the vampire gave her. "You've met a good friend of mine. Mervella." As Bertrand frowned and apparently tried to remember, she added: "Didn't she announce that she would rip your fangs out if you ever crossed her path again?"

This apparently rang a bell with him. "Ah, yes... the warrior."

"The same," Rhojeka confirmed. "Maybe she hasn't mentioned me though. I am her friend - and the only person she is actually afraid of."

The glowing red eyes wandered up and down her body, measuring her. A little bit of silvery shine got into them though, as if the monster inside got a little weaker. But not enough for Rhojeka to feel safe from him. "Afraid of you?" he echoed in disbelief.

"Looks can be deceiving," Rhojeka stated calmly, almost in a relaxed way. "Even when looked upon by eyes of a bloodthirsty monster. Let's just leave it at that."

With a gesture that almost looked like a shrug, but seemed to just remind Bertrand of his reason for being here, he grew a bit taller again. "Well, you could let me in, so we could discuss you and your little friend," he suggested.

It was now Rhojeka's turn to measure him up. "And what do you expect that will happen? Besides you being utterly destroyed?" She made a short pause to let him grasp the full meaning of her words. "What, you think I came unprepared to meet you?"

A wave of insecurity rushed over Bertrand's face, though he did his best to conceal it. "Whatever powers you believe to have, they will not..."

"I didn't take the drink, if that is what you're implying," Rhojeka cut him off again. "Again, I was warned about the likes of you. So... you might be pretty surprised."

He thought about her words. Considered them from every angle, it seemed, with every open, hidden or implied meaning. "Maybe you're lying," he concluded.

Rhojeka raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"I could still vanquish you."

Her icy blue eyes met his red glare. "So could I." All the warmth in her voice was gone.

She could feel the stares of the others in her back that had followed the conversation from inside the cabin, keeping a safe distance to the door. Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation and fear. It was like any good bardic performance, capturing the attention of her audience in a heartbeat. But the most important audience was standing right in front of her. And now he really was unsure and hesitant. It became worse the more he tried to hide it.

He straightened himself out, seemed to grow even a little taller than before, as he uttered in remarkable bravado: "Even your powers will not save you from me. You will curse the day when you crossed Bertrand Romania..."

"Good night!" And she threw the door in the lock, hitting it almost in his face. She locked the door and hung the key up on a nail right next to it. As she turned around, the rest of the cabin residents - excluding Mr. Dev who was snoring on his bed - stared at her with eyes wide open, their faces white as sheets.

"What the..." One of the group finally found their voice to speak up. "Do you know what you just did? You made this thing angry! It will kill all of us in our sleep now."

Rhojeka gave them a faint smile. "Hardly. It cannot come in here unless it is invited." Then she went to bed.