Thirty-Seven
Mar. 2nd, 2013 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theonecalledwander“Have you ever heard of a city of vampires?” I ask her.
“No,” she says. “But then, I wasn’t sure vampires weren’t legends, anyway.”
“Yes, but you never even hear legends about a city of vampires. An extended family at the very most, maybe, but usually they’re loners. Most varieties of vampire aren’t particularly virulent. It takes a deliberate act to infect someone and create a new vampire. They also don’t need to kill everytime they feed, and can go for sometime between victims when they do. It has to be that way, or vampires would overrun everything and then starve back to death.”
Bel nods.
“So a whole town the size of Peram succumbing at once…” she says. “It would get bad.”
“A plague of the undead, ravenous and turned loose across the land,” I say.
“So what do you propose to do about it?”
“Strike at the source,” I say.
“I don’t suppose dropping a load of garlic into the well would accomplish anything?”
“It might increase the torment of whatever’s trapped down there, but garlic by itself cannot destroy a full-fledged vampire. Holy water would be a better option, but apparently the well’s been consecrated without any effect. That worries me.”
“Maybe it isn’t a vampire, then?” Bel says You spoke as if there are varieties of vampirism… maybe this is something that acts like a vampire but isn’t unholy in the way a vampire is?”
“There are many things that are like a vampire but that spring from a different source… still, the lack of reflection in the water seems like a pretty specific sign,” I say. “But it’s a good thought. If I can’t find an anomaly in the priest or blessing, the next step will be to look for one in the vampire. Do you know anything about a Father Toma?”
“No,” she says. “But then, I wasn’t sure vampires weren’t legends, anyway.”
“Yes, but you never even hear legends about a city of vampires. An extended family at the very most, maybe, but usually they’re loners. Most varieties of vampire aren’t particularly virulent. It takes a deliberate act to infect someone and create a new vampire. They also don’t need to kill everytime they feed, and can go for sometime between victims when they do. It has to be that way, or vampires would overrun everything and then starve back to death.”
Bel nods.
“So a whole town the size of Peram succumbing at once…” she says. “It would get bad.”
“A plague of the undead, ravenous and turned loose across the land,” I say.
“So what do you propose to do about it?”
“Strike at the source,” I say.
“I don’t suppose dropping a load of garlic into the well would accomplish anything?”
“It might increase the torment of whatever’s trapped down there, but garlic by itself cannot destroy a full-fledged vampire. Holy water would be a better option, but apparently the well’s been consecrated without any effect. That worries me.”
“Maybe it isn’t a vampire, then?” Bel says You spoke as if there are varieties of vampirism… maybe this is something that acts like a vampire but isn’t unholy in the way a vampire is?”
“There are many things that are like a vampire but that spring from a different source… still, the lack of reflection in the water seems like a pretty specific sign,” I say. “But it’s a good thought. If I can’t find an anomaly in the priest or blessing, the next step will be to look for one in the vampire. Do you know anything about a Father Toma?”