Chapter 4
"The Negotiation"

Entreri woke the next morning at dawn with a smile on his face. Today was going to be a good day. Entreri was excited about the business opportunities he had found last night at the Toole party.

He had scheduled three meetings today, and since no one in their right mind would go into the north for a short meeting, Entreri had to go see them. The assassin didn't mind. He was used to a busy schedule and traveling all over town in his old job. Only now he didn't have to creep along the rooftops or slink through the sewers. It felt good to walk openly down the street for a change.

Entreri was not a social butterfly. He didn't have friends and didn't play well with others, but so far there had been one thing that he had sorely missed from his days back in Calimport: competition. His rivalry with every other rogue in Calimport – and in fact the whole Sword Coast – was what had driven him to greatness.

So far his days as a businessman had been spent alone, making his own decisions, and ignoring the businesses around him. Now he understood that in order to play the game correctly, you had to reach out to others and get involved. He didn't need to make friends. He didn't need to socialize, but he did need to work with others. And the time he had spent at the party last night had been surprisingly enjoyable.

He still had an edge though. He had been quoted prices last night that he had no intention of paying. When he entered negotiations with a company, he was not going to be friendly. He had perfected his deadly stare over the past 30 years, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste now. At the same time, he wanted to make sure that everyone that signed on with his business profited from it. If word got around that doing business with him was a sure way to bankrupt your company, then he would be out on his own.

Toole had been right. There was enough financial elbow-room and growth potential in this city for everyone to do well. So while Entreri was interested in seeing everyone succeed, he planed on staying a little ahead of the curve.

All the planning was great, but before he could get started, Entreri needed to take care of matters at home first.

"Good morning sir," Dorin, Entreri's foreman, greeted him as he walked into the office. "We have a problem."

Entreri listened patiently as Dorin explained. Allen and Chancey hadn't shown up this morning. They were probably Entreri's two best employees. They were respectable men who had been cheated out of business down south and had then been forced to move to the north. The only reason Entreri had not promoted one of them to foreman was because he knew in a few months, once they had earned enough money, they would be heading back south to try again.

Dorin had already sent Entreri's messenger boy to the men's homes to see why they hadn't shown up. As the two men waited for the youth's return, Entreri tried to think of how to salvage this situation should the news be worst case. Allen and Chancey were replaceable, and Entreri had realized they would have to be if they left, but the few men he was grooming to take their place, weren't nearly ready yet. Entreri would have to hire someone else.

A few minutes later, Sam, the runner, came back to say he had found both men lying dead in their homes, but the boy didn't know what had killed them. "It was very strange, sir," he reported. "They didn't have any knife wounds or blood or anything on them. Nothing was broken or anything like that. It was just like they fell over dead."

Entreri thought in silence for a while. His two best men had just died mysteriously. Was he under attack from someone? This was obviously no coincidence. He glanced at his pocket watch. He had four hours to straighten this whole thing out before he needed to be at Edgar's Metal Shop for his first meeting of the day.

"I have to go look at this," he told Dorin. The foreman nodded. "You need to find someone to fill in for them till we can sort this out."

With that, Entreri followed Sam out of his office. He didn't know where his men lived, so the boy led him quickly through the dirty streets of the northern neighborhoods. Fifteen minutes later they were looking at Allen.

The man was as the boy had said, dead without any sign of violence. Entreri really did not like this. This was magic or something similar, and it was aimed at him. Someone had observed his business long enough to figure out the two most prominent, yet vulnerable men in his business and then had taken them out without leaving a trace.

No, Entreri thought, no one leaves without a trace. He walked over to the body to get a closer look. It didn't take long. Two pinpricks were visible on his neck. A vampire. There was a vampire loose in the city, and for some reason he was picking on Entreri. Or was he?

What if the vampire had just gotten sick of feeding on drunks and prostitutes? Only a creature that wanted to be discovered would feed in the south, so if they wanted a good meal, Entreri's restaurant was the most logical place. And if they were looking for the two best men, Allen and Chancey were on the short list.

Entreri stood slowly. Maybe this was a chance encounter.

Sam asked if he wanted to see the other body too, but Entreri shook his head. He already knew what he was going to find. Hunting down a vampire was going to clog up his schedule considerably. He thought about bringing John into the hunt but not for long. The captain was a capable enough fighter, but he had no experience with vampires, and Entreri didn't need a novice to mess things up for him. If his leads dried up, he might turn to the captain for information, but he would try it on his own for now.

Back at the office, Entreri filled Dorin in on the situation and then had a few questions for the foreman, but he answered them before Entreri had a chance to ask.

"Oh, and another thing," he said after the bad news, "there was a man here last night looking for you. He was a strange fellow with an odd accent. He said he was looking for the owner, but he didn't know your name. He didn't give his name, but said he would come back."

"Did he eat anything?" Entreri asked, hoping for his first lead.

"He had a glass of wine."

"Did he consume any food?" Entreri rephrased his question, adding an impatient tone to his voice.

Dorin shook his head. "Not that I saw. He had a glass of wine, sat there for half an hour, and left. Where you expecting someone?"

Entreri shook his head. "No, but that is usually when they tend to show up."

"Who?"

Entreri thought about explaining things to him, but there was no point in it. Dorin, like the rest of the people in this city, did not understand that there was a supernatural force awakening in their land. Magic was resurfacing. Evil was waking up. Things would get very interesting in the next few years. The people would not understand any explanation. Instead, they were going to have to see it for themselves.

Entreri ignored the question and got down to business. The two of them spent a full hour discussing their options for filling the two vacated positions and what decisions needed to be made while Entreri was away to his meetings. Things had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated. This was not going to be a good day.

Entreri waited at the bar, his eyes intent on the door to his restaurant. It had been a bad day.

After the excitement of the morning, he had barely made the meetings he had to go to. They had gone poorly. Two of them fell through, and the third ended with Entreri signing a contract for much more than he had anticipated. His mind was on other things, and he couldn't focus.

Entreri realized he had a long way to go before he could claim his current venture a success. His problems were not unique. Problems arose all the time in the business world. Sure, vampire attacks were not common, but there were a lot more mundane things that happened. Fire, weather, competition, employee strikes, bad publicity, and many other things happened to businesses all the time. The successful men handled them efficiently and kept going. Entreri had not done a good job of that today. He wasn't trained for that.

There was one thing was trained for. It was something he was very well equipped to handle. It was something in which he had all the confidence in the world. He sat at the bar, waiting for the vampire to show up.

Alececarr walked into The Dragon's Lair shortly after sunset. Entreri spotted him right away. Even without the description he had gotten from Dorin or knowledge that this man was a vampire, Entreri hoped he would have picked him out immediately. He had been away from Calimport for a long time, and there had not been much need of his skills. But the assassin had to believe that it would be a long time, if ever, before his instincts deteriorated enough to let a man like this walk by without every alarm going off in his head. The sensation that this vampire produced reminded him of the strange man from last night's party, but this creature was far more powerful. Entreri started to play with the idea that the man from last night was a vampire. That would explain a lot and would- Entreri shook his head. He could worry about that later.

Alececarr took the same seat he had last night, and Entreri moved to serve him before the waiter in the area had the chance. He moved as unassumingly as possible, but just like Entreri had spotted him immediately, Alececarr also knew a man of power when he saw one. He could not know of Entreri's skill or past, but he was obviously one to be reckoned with. If he was the owner, to turn him would be an incredible asset.

"Good evening, sir," Entreri said, a bottle of red wine in his hand. Without asking he poured a glass and placed it before the vampire.

"Thank you," Alececarr replied, reaching for the glass and sipping it slowly. "Would you be the owner of this fine establishment?"

Entreri nodded. "I am. My name is Artemis Entreri. Can I get you anything?"

"A menu is all," he said, "and perhaps your company at this table, if you are not too busy. My name is Alec."

"Of course," Entreri replied and motioned to a waiter he had spoken with earlier. He took a seat at the table. "What brings you to my restaurant this evening?"

"A business proposal," Alececarr replied, taking another sip of wine. "I want to buy your restaurant."

Entreri didn't blink. This was actually good news. It meant this vampire was still looking for a home in the city. He was not established and likely did not have many followers yet. "I don't remember putting it up for sale."

Alecearr smiled back at him. "I'm quite confident I could make you an offer you can't refuse. If we could move to your office, or somewhere more private, I could show you."

Entreri could feel the spell of the vampire coming over him, but he shrugged it off easily. He would not follow this creature into a dark room like a puppy dog. "We can talk here," Entreri replied. "No one will be listening to us. Besides, I don't like to negotiate on an empty stomach."

The waiter Entreri had called came by with the menu and handed it to his employer. Entreri took a brief look at the menu before he passed it across the table. "I'm sure you'll find that we have the best selection in the north."

Alececarr put on a fake smile and took the menu. "I'm sure you do." He wasn't hungry. At least not for the type of food served in this restaurant. He looked at the menu anyway. His fake smile turned to one of confusion. "This doesn't appear to be a menu," he said, looking up at Entreri. "This looks like an employee listing."

"Yes," Entreri agreed. "If I may be so bold as to make a recommendation, Geoff has kept himself in excellent shape, and I can see that he is loosing a lot of weight. He drinks a bit too much beer, but most of them do, I'm afraid. Though Gene has been sampling our wines lately, and has restricted his diet to vegetables and fish. You are probably looking for someone who eats more red meat. If that's the case, I recommend that you-"

"Excuse me," Alececarr tried to appear appalled, even though his mouth had begun to water, "are you suggesting that I eat your employees?"

"You are a vampire," Entreri replied matter-of-factly, "I thought it would only be hospitable to offer you something you like. Though, you might want to cross off the top two people on that list. I believe you ate them last night."

Alececarr tried to look insulted. "How dare you! What in all the realms would possess you to say such things?"

"Your hand does not make a reflection in your wine glass," the assassin said plainly.

Alececarr picked up his wine glass and looked at it. He could see the fine bubbles filtering their way through the deep red liquid, but that was all he could see. He put the glass down. "Yes, I suppose you are right." All acting was over at this point, and both men were poised for action.

"Do you still want to go somewhere so we can discuss the sale of this restaurant?" Entreri asked.

"Yes."

"Perhaps we can 'negotiate' outside," Entreri offered.

"That seems suitable to me. We wouldn't want to interrupt your customers."

Entreri stood slowly and deliberately, his jacket pulled aside so his hand could rest visibly on the pommel of his frost blade. "After you."

Alececarr took another long sip of the wine before getting up and moving to the door. He didn't have any trouble placing this man to his back. He had met few mortals who could challenge him in combat, and they had all been elves. He stepped quickly through the door to the outside, and it swung back shut before Entreri got there.

The assassin pushed the door open and stopped. The boardwalk in front of his restaurant was empty. He took a deep breath, pulled Cicle from its sheath, and stepped through the door. He paused for a moment, and then dove forward off the boardwalk, somersaulted to his back, and raised his weapon.

Alececarr was descending from the roof, slashing his claws back and forth viciously. At the last second, Entreri realized the vampire was willing to take a hit in order to score half a dozen on the assassin. He swept his blade to the side at the last second, rolling out of the way.

The vampire avoided the block and landed just to the right of where his target had been. Entreri had rolled to the left and came up fast, just faster than Alececarr. Entreri drew his dagger as well and created a steel shield in front of him. The vampire tested the barrier for a few seconds and almost lost a finger. He decided to change strategies.

The vampire leaped into the air over Entreri, and the assassin reacted quickly, stabbing out behind him, and then dropping into a crouch, turning, and slicing Cicle at waist height. Alececarr wasn't there.

Entreri paused just long enough for his enemy to finally land, lash out with a claw, and then take to the air again. Entreri watched, not trying to guess again, but this time it was quick, the vampire landing right back where he had been, kicking out at the assassin's head. Entreri rolled to the side, swiping out at the offered leg, but he was gone again.

A flicker of movement to his side had him swiping at air, then back to his other side. Alececarr landed only long enough to laugh and then jumped again. Entreri was getting sick of this quickly. Entreri faked in one direction and then stabbed out with each weapon in opposite directions. He finally guessed right. The vampire came down on Entreri's left, and the dagger bit hard.

Alececarr didn't seem to mind, and pulled on Entreri's left arm with the dagger still in his side, spinning him around, and bringing his neck into range. Entreri used the momentum of the spin, to bring Cicle in fast. The vampire was too close and inside the blade of the weapon, but as Alececarr barred his teeth at Entreri's neck, the rapier's hilt came crashing into the demon's face.

Alececarr stumbled backward, and Entreri pulled away, just then realizing that his dagger had been in flesh the whole time. He had felt no surge of energy and then ridiculed himself for even wearing the weapon tonight. How was a vampiric blade going to work on a vampire? There was no life to suck from an undead creature.

He sheathed the dagger and pulled his dirk. He wasn't as used to fighting with two long weapons as Drizzt, but he was more than capable. As Alececarr's hand came back down from feeling the wound on his face that Entreri had just given him, his eyes stared death at Entreri. For the first time in a long time, the assassin felt out matched. The vampire was stronger, faster, and had several more centuries of experience. Entreri could deal with the strength; he had fought against countless enemies that had been stronger than him, but he was used to being quicker than his opponent. He had to take speed out of the equation.

The boardwalk in front of his restaurant continued to the edge of the lake and turned into a pier that led to the entrance of his shipyard. Entreri turned and ran down the pier.

"You won't escape that way," the vampire called to him. He tensed his legs and leaped after the assassin. The pier was well lit, and Entreri saw the shadow at his feet, pulled up short at the last second, and then dove forward a second later as Alececarr came down in front of him. The vampire ducked, and Entreri flew over him, rolling back to his feet and turning to meet his enemy.

Entreri's blades were swirling again, but much harder to dodge now with each weapon almost three feet in length. Alececarr was up to the task, seeing each move almost before it happened, and still having time to get out of the way of the ones he didn't see coming. Entreri was just warming up.

The assassin lunged to the left, forcing Alececarr to hop to the right, and Entreri filled the void. Now the two fighters squared off on the narrow pier perpendicular to its length. Predictably, the vampire rushed, trying to bowl Entreri off the wooden planks and into the water. Only the fact that Entreri had set this up allowed him to get out of the way of the lightening fast charge. Even then, he felt a claw scrape against his chest, but his dirk did likewise against Alececarr's thigh.

Entreri turned to see the vampire smiling at him. He held the dagger. Entreri clutched at his side where he had sheathed it, already knowing it wouldn't be there. The swipe against his chest had not been random. Entreri just realized that the vampire might be playing with him. He didn't like it. He came on with renewed fervor, and Alececarr met him.

It was two blades against one. A dirk and a rapier against a foot- long dagger. Statistically the dagger didn't have a chance. Still, it kept up. Entreri had never seen anything like it, and would have loved to just watch, but he was too involved to appreciate it fully. His strikes came faster than he had thought himself possible and truly wished that Drizzt could be on the receiving end, for he felt not even the drow could keep up. Yet here this vampire was keeping pace with just one blade.

Entreri did not discourage, instead he increased his rhythm, hacking and slashing from every angle. He had the creature playing his game. This was Entreri's strength, and if he did not find the vampire's weakness here, then he would not find it. It was there. It was a hitch in his motion, a movement that fought against natural momentum. His blocks did not always flow into one another. It was the result of someone relying on their strength and speed and not caring about technique.

It wasn't that Alececarr was a novice, far from it. He had fought against some of the realms most powerful fighters including humans, dwarves, and elves. He had seen every style and had emulated the ones he liked. But like an elementary school teacher, Alececarr never found the need to elevate his level of knowledge, because to him, he was dealing with children. Mortals did not posses enough skill to overcome his strength and speed. Or so he thought.

It took a while for Entreri to see the hitch, but only a moment to expose it. It was just a matter of making him break rhythm twice in a row in opposite directions, his arm went up, then down, out and then almost back in, but Entreri's dirk kept it out as Cicle plunged into his chest. The move was done so perfectly in rhythm that to any observers (there were a few) it would have looked too easy, or as if the two fighters had rehearsed the move over and over.

Alececarr cried out. It was the cry of someone who had thought himself a god and realized it wasn't true. The dirk and dagger were still locked in a block, and the Vampire heaved his arm around, throwing Entreri back. The assassin flew 20 feet, landing hard on his back, his dirk flying from his hand and skittering backwards on the pier. He didn't go after it right away but watched instead.

Alececarr stared at the frost blade in his chest with a mixture of pain and awe. He had been bested! It hadn't been fair, but that had never mattered before. He had always won. It didn't matter the odds he faced or the skill of his opponent. He always won.

While Alececarr contemplated the impossible that had just happened, Entreri counted the seconds the blade stayed in the vampire's chest, waiting for the crackling sound that would signify the freezing of his foe. It never came.

As Alececarr slowly pulled the rapier from his chest, screaming as he did, Entreri realized his second mistake of the night. Just like the vampire had no life for his dagger to steal, likewise he had no body heat for his frost blade to steal. And Cicle only stuck to living flesh.

Still, the wound he had given to the vampire, while not lethal to an undead creature, would slow him considerably. Entreri had found the hole in his technique at full speed; he could easily find it at half speed. But as Alececarr slowly walked toward him, the dagger in one hand, and Cicle in the other, the assassin realized that while he could beat the vampire, he would need a weapon to do it.

Entreri scrambled to his feet and turned to race up the pier. His dirk glinted in the moonlight. It was only 15 feet away, then 10, then – a shadow passed over him. Entreri dove, his hand closed on the handle, and Alececarr's foot came down on the blade. Entreri should have let go, but he tugged stubbornly as the vampire's other foot kicked him under the chin. He flew almost back to where he had started.

When he turned to look back now, Alececarr stood between him and his dirk. Entreri stood slowly, no weapon in either hand to meet the vampire, who held the two most powerful weapons south of the great range. The assassin still felt he had a chance. Alececarr attacked, and Entreri could immediately see that if he had a weapon, any weapon, he could pick this creature apart. He didn't and he was reduced to dodging.

The dance didn't last long, as Alececarr grew frustrated and threw the dagger at the elusive assassin. It missed and thunked into the pier behind him. The vampire hadn't missed as much as he just wanted to free one of his hands. As Entreri turned to chase after his weapon, the stronger fighter grabbed at the human's belt, stopping him short and hauling him back in.

Entreri braced to feel Cicle in between his shoulder blades, but as he felt his belt rip, he realized the vampire was after something else: Cicle's sheath. As his belt came off, Entreri turned to grapple with the vampire, but he elbowed Entreri in the head, sending the weaker man staggering back. Alececarr smiled as he swung the frost blade at Entreri's head, but he was staggering and tripped off the edge of the pier, the rapier passing just over his head as Entreri splashed down in the water.

The two fighters looked at each other for a few moments. Alececarr still grimacing from his wound and Entreri treading water. The vampire had stripped the assassin of his weapons and had him floating in the lake, but somehow, the ancient creature still felt like he had lost. If Entreri hadn't lost his dirk, Alececarr would probably be a pile of dust. He was over 1,000 years old and the idea that he had almost lost to a human brought great concern to his psyche. For that reason he left Entreri there, gathered the weapons, ran off the pier, and into the small crowd. No one tried to stop him.

Entreri couldn't follow. His head still spun from the elbow, and it would take him a full minute to get out of the water. By then Alececarr would be long gone. Entreri felt beaten. He had lost all his weapons and a good deal of his pride. He knew he had made stupid mistakes, over- estimating the strength of his weapons against a very powerful foe. He would not make that mistake again, but he also knew that Alec, as he had called himself, would be very wary of the assassin, and had a huge advantage with Cicle and the dagger.

As Entreri swam over to the dock and pulled himself up onto the pier, he thought about what he could do now. He needed to get his weapons back. That wasn't even a question. He just needed to know how. He couldn't wait for the vampire to come back to him. Alec would wait until he had a host of minions and attack Entreri on his terms.

No, Entreri had to bring the fight to him. He needed to know where he was staying during the day. He needed to know how big his army was. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed John's help. The captain would know if there had been any weird deaths or missing person reports. John would also be able to get him a few serviceable weapons until he could get his back.

Right now Entreri was tired. Alec wouldn't come for him tonight. That wound would need a night or two and several feedings before it healed fully. Entreri walked down the pier to his shipyard, ignored the looks of those who had gathered (most of whom were his employees), went up the stairs to his office, and then to the back room where he slept. He'd pay John a visit in the morning.

Christine looked at the clock on her nightstand and then back out the window. He had not come back tonight. It was 2 am and she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. She had been trying to think of other things all day, but she couldn't concentrate. She had to leave work early and skipped dinner. She wasn't hungry.

She had heard about the "Can't eat, can't sleep, madly in love" symptoms before, but that wasn't her. Was it? She didn't love this man. Did she? He was playing her, and she knew it, and she didn't really care. When you played keep away from a child, they might scream and yell at you, knowing you are making fun of them, but for some reason, they keep playing.

In Choraston where she had gone to school she had tasted chocolate for the first time. It had been like nothing she had ever had before. When she had asked what was in it, halfway through her fourth piece, she stopped.

If you ate chocolate all day long, you would die. She enjoyed being healthy, she liked her figure, she didn't want any skin problems, but the chocolate was so good. Was she in love with the chocolate, obviously not, but she craved it in a way she couldn't explain, despite the fact that she knew it was bad for her.

Was this stranger bad for her? She knew he was not a nice, simple, hardworking young man like she had been looking for. And thinking of him all day long, like eating chocolate all the time, was destroying her life, but was that his fault? She was going through withdrawal, if he was here, would she be able to focus?

She shook her head. In the few instances when he had been close her heart had skipped and her breath had faltered. No, to have him close would drive her even more insane. Still, there was something about him that tugged at her. She desired him on an unconscious level. Chocolate in small doses wouldn't kill you. He couldn't be all bad, was he?

Christine shook her head in frustration. She didn't know what to think. All she knew was that it was 2:15 and she needed to go to bed. As she turned away from the window, a bird called outside, and she spun back around. Was that him, was he coming? She didn't see him. She looked back at the clock. It was only 2:15; she could wait a little while longer.

The Ruddy Mary did good business. It was owned by Edward and Steven Ruddy, men who could have done anything they wanted, but decided to keep the restaurant their mother had opened 50 years ago, back when there hadn't been a difference between the northern and southern halves of Garrilport. At least not a very big difference. It had never been an upscale restaurant, and its clientele today was a far cry from its patronage from 50 years ago, but it was one of the nicer places in the north.

Ed and Steve were able to keep the ruffians out of their tavern for the most part, and soon it was pretty clear that if you wanted to spend the night drinking and fighting, there were better places to do it than at the Ruddy Mary. The two brothers never started the fights, but they always finished them.

In the past few days, the brothers had been even more wary of their customers than before. A cook and a barmaid had been killed in the storeroom four nights ago, and they were at a loss as to what had happened. The tavern's name was an obvious reference to the popular drink and the fact that their mother's name had been Mary, but the two brothers had been proud to keep the "bloody" aspect of most of the other northern taverns out of their business.

True to form, the two dead women had not had a drop of blood on them. The barmaid had been mostly dressed, so rape did not seem likely. Neither woman had any money on them, and nothing was missing from the storeroom. The only thing they found were small bite marks on the women's necks. Had their blood been sucked out? Was there some strange animal roaming the streets? Or was someone playing an awful joke on them?

Whatever the case, the brothers were now very careful about who they let into their tavern. So when Alececarr came stumbling in, a vicious wound on his chest, clutching a dagger in one hand, both brothers acted immediately. They raced up to the injured visitor, and quickly carried him out of the building.

"You don't want to go in there," Steve said. "This isn't the right place for you."

"We don't want your trouble," Ed continued. "You take your problems elsewhere."

Alececarr slumped into Ed's arms. "I just need-"

"You just need to keep on moving," Ed cut him off, hoisting him up a bit so his head was resting on his shoulder. "Just keep on-" Alececarr bit hard into the sturdy man's neck.

Neither brother drank much anymore since the two women had died, and the vampire sucked hungrily, glad for the alcohol free blood. Steve saw what was happening, and quickly put two and two together. The bite marks on the women suddenly made sense, and he moved to pull this creature off his brother.

The dagger in Alececarr's left hand intercepted the attack, striking hard into the big man's gut. Alececarr felt the rush and could barely control himself. He fed off both of the powerful men at the same time, all of his incredible strength returning to him in an instant. With one great heave he threw the men up against the outside wall of their tavern. They were each only half conscious as the vampire walked toward them.

"Your establishment has just come under new ownership. But I have good news for you two," he said as he stepped before them. Both of their eyes were almost closed, and they were slowly sliding down the wall as their bodies went limp. "You get to keep your jobs."

Alececarr slashed his new dagger across his wrists and held them up for the men to drink. They sucked hungrily, as Alececarr threw his head back and laughed.