Forty-Eight
Apr. 1st, 2013 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theonecalledwander"Well, if we're not going to see anything more, let's shut these windows," Bel says, and we do.
"What's it all for, then?" she asks. "I mean, vampires crave blood, not water. Can a vampire feed on another? And if they could, would the water be enough?"
"I don't know," I say. "That is an awful lot of water, but I'd think trying to get sustenance from it would be like trying to extract gold from seawater. If we weren't dealing with a full-fledged vampire, I'd suspect some venal human who's caught on and is trying to achieve immortality by chugging it, but that display was pretty compelling evidence that we have the genuine article.But what would a vampire want with infected water?"
"To make more vampires?" Bel suggests.
"I think it could do that on its own," I say. "On a smaller, more intimate scale than the water might allow, but vampires don't tend to go for mass conversions anyway. Evangelists don't tend to last long. Their own kind will wipe them out before they upset the ecosystem. Plus, if anyone wants a massive vampire uprising, all they have to do is wait for the town to succumb. I don't see how drawing water out of the well can improve on that."
"Tainting another town's water, then," she says. "Or possibly it's a brewer or a vintner, trying to make a drink with an extra bite?"
"If someone did want to convert the town, there would be some sense in tainting the alcohol supply," I say. "Worth thinking about. We're getting more pieces of the puzzle now, it's just a matter of figuring out how they fit together. One piece that's still missing is Father Toma... I'd like to know why his blessing didn't destroy the one in the well. Even if he can't clear that up, he could be an effective ally."
"What's it all for, then?" she asks. "I mean, vampires crave blood, not water. Can a vampire feed on another? And if they could, would the water be enough?"
"I don't know," I say. "That is an awful lot of water, but I'd think trying to get sustenance from it would be like trying to extract gold from seawater. If we weren't dealing with a full-fledged vampire, I'd suspect some venal human who's caught on and is trying to achieve immortality by chugging it, but that display was pretty compelling evidence that we have the genuine article.But what would a vampire want with infected water?"
"To make more vampires?" Bel suggests.
"I think it could do that on its own," I say. "On a smaller, more intimate scale than the water might allow, but vampires don't tend to go for mass conversions anyway. Evangelists don't tend to last long. Their own kind will wipe them out before they upset the ecosystem. Plus, if anyone wants a massive vampire uprising, all they have to do is wait for the town to succumb. I don't see how drawing water out of the well can improve on that."
"Tainting another town's water, then," she says. "Or possibly it's a brewer or a vintner, trying to make a drink with an extra bite?"
"If someone did want to convert the town, there would be some sense in tainting the alcohol supply," I say. "Worth thinking about. We're getting more pieces of the puzzle now, it's just a matter of figuring out how they fit together. One piece that's still missing is Father Toma... I'd like to know why his blessing didn't destroy the one in the well. Even if he can't clear that up, he could be an effective ally."