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Dawn found the party resting. The night had been almost entirely devoid of sleep, and added to the exhaustion of the race to catch the vampire, most of them had collapsed into slumber. All but Van Helsing, who remained on watch and stared at the coffin, pondering the contents and the future.
Could the vampire be contained? What experiments could be run? Would the paste of Holy Wafer and holy water keep him from escaping as a mist? Would the silver chain wrapped about the coffin keep him from escaping? Would it have been better to wrap the silver about him?
Abraham sighed at that last thought. As terribly damaged as the Count appeared to be, he had no doubt that even placing silver in the coffin, much less wrapping it about him, would have finished the beast off. He was not even sure if the count would make it through the day. A brief memory of the soft, overly-malleable flesh came to mind, and brought a shudder to Abraham. He was almost tempted to open the coffin and check to make sure that his prey and prize was not a mere pile of ash and dust, but resisted with the cold realization that at best, he d have to seal the entire coffin again. At worst, sunlight was a known bane to vampires and while the count was obviously exceptionally resistant, in his near-death condition that pile of ash and dust might well be created. Well, he amended to himself, the worst was that the vampire would have recovered after being placed in the coffin, and opening it would get his own throat torn out and the rest of the party murdered. Or, in the case of Mina, worse than murdered.
At least they were all safe, for now, for the day, for as long as the sun was in the sky. Afterwards? He'd do his best to protect them from the beast, but it looked to be a long and difficult task. Throwing a few more pieces of wood on the fire, he sat back down to watch the coffin and think.
A few miles away, the rising smoke was being watched with interest.
Tales at the train station are always about the unusual, and unusual in this bleak corner of the world was certainly a lovely lady and her obviously wealthy male companions. Good horses, fine hats, and the unpatched, thick warm coats were noticed. Nobility, perhaps? Not staying in the city, but heading out to the mountains? A half-dozen people, and a great deal of potential wealth; a tempting prize for the vagabonds of the town. However, thieves often came to a nasty end in the mountains. There was a reason that bandits did not thrive along those empty roads, and not simply because of the poverty of the residents. Too many had disappeared, often right out of a camp, and the thieves of society stayed close to the towns. The local police were less a risk than whatever was in the night!
But so much money, and such a pretty lady? Surely they would stay on the main roads. It should not be difficult to follow along behind them, catching up, and then claim the prize. And then, return back to the city as swiftly as possible! No loitering to count the loot. Murder, take their pleasure, and then grab as they could and race back.