The air was thick with warm moisture that soon condensed into beads of water along any exposed flesh. It was a soothing sensation that would normally leave a person feeling cleansed and free while the trees and the resort's low elevation helped to cut out any winds that might disturb its tenants.

But this time, a cold breeze somehow managed to break through the thick foliage and dense atmosphere. It was just a sliver of wind, a stream of air so soft and short that it could have been the breath of a person as he yawned . . . but it was ice cold, sliding against the flushed faces of each member of the group, making some of them shiver from its frosty touch.

"An ill wind," Caroline whispered to herself, bringing her hands up to rub her arms. "It's a bad omen."

"Don't talk like that, Caroline," Mashira muttered. "You know that always gives me the creeps . . . my nerves are already on edge as it is."

"I can't help it," Caroline shot back, but without any of her usual heat. "You felt it as well as I did. It won't be long, now."

"What're you two talking about?" Kyle asked as he yawned. "I don't feel anything."

"The Leader's wrath has been ignited," Caroline said with a nervous edge. "Now you can bet your ass that we're in trouble, honey. He isn't the Leader of the Barbarois for nothing."

"Well I say let's go look for him before he gets a chance to look for us," Borgoff said, stepping into the middle of the circle that the group had formed in the spring. "If that old geezer has it out for us, then why don't we take him down before he can launch an attack?"

"It's not that easy," Benge said, his arms crossed. "Didn't we already explain that the Leader isn't so powerless?"

"Well we ain't, either," Borgoff stated, turning to face him. "All of us against that pervert . . . he won't stand a chance."

"I guess he'll just have to learn the hard way," Caroline murmured.

"Just make sure you're not anywhere near him when he's being taught," Benge murmured back.

"What, you two don't think I can hear you?" Borgoff growled, glaring at them. They both shrugged.

"Oh, Meier," Charlotte fretted quietly, buried deeply within Meier's protective arms. "What're we going to do about that old man? He almost got me the last time."

"Don't worry, my love," Meier said as he stroked Charlotte's hair with a comforting hand. "I won't let him get you."

Nolt shifted to ease the cramp beginning to worm its way up his leg. He was still staring up at the sky, even though each of the women had already made sure to cover themselves up with their towels. "So do we just go off and start looking for the pervert like Borgoff says?" Nolt asked in his deep voice.

"Well that's what I'm going to do," Borgoff said, stepping out of the circle and away from the group. "Anyone who wants to join the search is welcome to it, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let that crazy old fool ruin my vacation . . . this stupid stuff is going to end today."

"As much as I hate to admit it," Meier said, looking around at the others, "I have to agree with Borgoff. Normally I'd just say lay in wait for the old man, but he's too cunning to be taken in by such a tactic. We'll have to hunt him down."

"Great," Carmila muttered. Then she looked up at the others, her eyes narrowed. "I think it's called for that I make known to everyone now that I'm only going along with this 'hide-and-seek' charade to protect my own better interests. I have just as much at stake here as any of the other women."

"Right," Kyle muttered sarcastically under his own breath. "Who'd want to go after an old witch like you?"

"WHAT WAS THAT!!??" Carmila shouted, her eyes glowing, her hair whipping about her as her battle aura suddenly came to life. Benge and Mashira took involuntary steps away from her since they were the ones standing closest to her, both of them shielding their eyes from Carmila's intense anger.

All of a sudden, a sharp, blood-curdling cackle erupted from the woods surrounding the springs, but it was impossible to hear where it was coming from. The evil laughter echoed from every direction, making everyone in the group turn circles. After a moment, it was D who first realized that the laughter wasn't actually anywhere near them. They were just hearing the horrible sound as it reverberated off of any hard surface, echoing back to them in an uncanny canyon-effect.

"He's anticipating our first move," D said seriously as he stared in one particular direction. The feeling was very faint, but he could sense the old man's presence coming from just somewhere in the wooded area over to the right of the resort---and the old barbaroi was moving very swiftly. He wasn't allowing himself to stay in one given place for too long. "He knows that we're going to try to find him, and he's waiting for us."

"Why do I feel like we're the ones being hunted here?" Leila sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand.

"That's because we are, honey," Caroline said with a flick of her wrist. "Make no mistake about that. Anything we do here on out are just defensive maneuvers as far as I'm concerned."

"You're such a cynic, Caroline."

"Well somebody has to be."

Kyle slapped his hands together, his mouth curving up into an excited smile. "Okay," he said happily. "Where do we start?"

Benge threw him a hooded, suspicious look.

"You're actually enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked Kyle dryly, his voice flat.

"What?" Kyle said with a big grin on his face. "Enjoying this? No, of course I'm not." A beat. "I'm going to our room to fetch my blades!"

It's a good thing we're the only guests here, Leila thought blandly as she watched Kyle disappear into the ladies' baths, using it as a shortcut.

"Kyle, you be careful while in there!" Borgoff shouted, unsure that Kyle had actually heard him. Then, in a lower voice, he added, "---because we don't know where that old pervert's going to show up."

"Hey, where you going?"

Everyone's attention was suddenly captured by the sound of confusion in Nolt's voice. He was looking directly at D who was trailing away from the rest of the group, heading over to the area of wall that Borgoff had pointed out earlier---the one with the opening just below the water's surface. No one had noticed him leaving except for Nolt.

D continued walking without looking back or responding, leaving the others behind in shrouded silence. Leila could feel her irritation get a hold of her, and she ran to close the distance that D had already put in between himself and the others.

"Hey," she said tightly once she was walking beside him. "Nolt asked you where you were going. The least you could do is answer, you jerk."

D looked down at her without pausing. She glared up at him, silently demanding that he answer the question.

"I'm going back to get some underwear," he said placidly, his face expressionless. Leila almost stumbled, caught off-guard by his words. Behind her, she could hear everyone balk and splash down into the water, too stunned to lift themselves out of the water for the next few seconds afterward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do you see anything?" Benge asked apprehensively from beside Kyle. Kyle was peering around a rock face that they had come across in their search along the southern area of the resort. It was just a ledge that jutted out from the earth, but it still stood high and wide enough to create an optical barrier.

Benge's face was practically pressed up against Kyle's head, working hard to see around the corner without exposing himself in the process.

"Will you give me my space," Kyle muttered irritably, jabbing his elbow back into Benge's stomach to help give his words more meaning.

"Quit your shovin'," Benge muttered back, rubbing his mid-section where Kyle's elbow had connected. "If you'd hurry up and clear the area, I'd back off."

"Well I can't clear the area with you melting the nose from my face with your bad breath."

"I'd be doing you a favor."

"Not as big a favor as I'd be giving you in making you eat those words."

"Just try it, you prick."

"What you just call me?"

"You heard what I said."

"Shh." Kyle hissed suddenly, holding up his hand to silence the arguing. "Did you just hear that?"

"What?" Benge said heatedly, coming to attention, but not completely forgetting his anger.

"Just wait for it," Kyle whispered, laying a hand on one of his blades. They were both still stripped down to their towels since everyone had agreed that it would be best to begin the search for the old man immediately. He could catch them unawares while dressing, after all. Kyle had had just barely enough time to strap on his blades before Borgoff had barreled into the room to drag him and his own arrow launcher back out.

Leila had paired up with D to search the area to the right of the woods. Meier had insisted on keeping Charlotte close to him, accompanied by Borgoff since the demure woman was hardly a fighter of any caliber. Caroline had refused to leave Nolt's side, so the two of them---along with Carmila---were sent to search the other side of the resort together.

Now, both Kyle and Benge stood tense and still as they listened for any out-of-place sound, something that Kyle swore he had heard only a moment before. It had been very quick---very soft---but it had been there all the same. Everything had suddenly become still and quiet as the two of them cocked their ears.

A minute of complete silence.

Another minute.

And then they heard it again.

A slight rustle of movement sliding along the soft ground, barely detectable. Kyle closed his eyes and concentrated on the movement, allowing his senses to pick up where it was coming from.

A beat.

"There!" he shouted while simultaneously whipping out a blade and throwing it in northeastern direction. Both he and Benge heard a fearful cry of outrage followed by a loud crash and "THUMP!".

"You got the little bastard, Kyle!" Benge shouted happily, giving him a congratulatory smack on the back.

"Yeah, c'mon!" Kyle yelled enthusiastically, bolting off in the direction of the crash. They weaved around some trees and whipped over a short ridge---and then stopped dead in their tracks.

Mashira was slowly picking himself off of the ground, grunting and yelping over his injuries, bruises that wouldn't show until the next day. Kyle spotted his knife still lodged about ten feet up in the tree behind Mashira, its blade imbedded deep in the wood where it had driven into after ripping through Mashira's towel. Mashira must have been positioned along one of the tree's thick branches so that his towel had hung away from his body, allowing itself to become the target as Kyle's blade had caught Mashira by complete surprised.

Mashira's angry expression became ever harder and fiercer as he looked up at Kyle and Benge, his muttering becoming unintelligible growls in his throat as he caught their sheepish looks

"What the hell's the matter with you two idiots?!" he barked, his body tensed and heaving.

"Sorry, Mashira," Kyle muttered as he rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "I . . . kinda forgot that we sent you off to sniff the grounds."

"Yeah, you can blame him for all of it," Benge quickly interceded. "I had nothing to do with this."

Kyle's eyes flashed, his guilt forgotten as he turned his attention on Benge. "Why you little---"

"How could you forget that I was out here?" Mashira cut in, incredulous, but not any less angry. "That stupid knife of yours almost got me in the ass!"

"Hey, look, I said I was sorry," Kyle said irritably, dropping his apologetic mood. "It doesn't help that you and the other barbaroi freaks made your "leader" sound like he was some kind of unstoppable psychopath. How do you expect me to react when you're bumbling around making all that noise?"

"Noise?" Mashira snorted loudly, his face full of disdain and disbelief. "I hardly made a sound, you idiot! Don't try to turn this around on me! You were the one who's throwing stuff. Haven't you ever learned not to leap before you look?"

"Who are you to tell me about not leaping!" Kyle shouted, his temper flaring. "You're the one who pulled that number with the rover earlier today!"

"And who do you think was sitting out on top of it the whole journey!" Mashira shot back. "I had to bare the punishment of the elements while you and the others got to enjoy all that nice air conditioning!"

"Not for the whole journey," Kyle said as he straightened, thumbing his nose. "You made sure of that, didn't you?"

"I had every right."

"Just so you'll know, I'm going to charge you for the body work later."

"What?! &^%@!#$*%^!!!"

"Mashira," Benge suddenly cut in. "Your towel."

"Huh?"

Mashira looked down, noticing for the first time that his towel had somehow managed to slip away from his waist. It laid around his ankles, the rip along its right end gaping at him like an open mouth. Sighing, he bent down and picked it up, wrapping it back around his waist and tying it securely at the ends to be sure it wouldn't fall off again. He managed to get it so that the rip was overlapped by the other end of the towel, covering it completely.

Then he looked back up at Kyle, his eyes still burning with anger, but now much more controlled.

"Tell you what," he said in a calm voice. "You forget about those charges on the rover, and I'll forget about reporting you for attempted murder."

"Attempted murder!!" Kyle raged, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head, his face now red as a tomato. "I didn't try to kill you! You were just in the wrong spot at the wrong time!"

"So you say," Mashira snorted, turning his head so that he could look at Kyle from the corners of his hooded eyes.

"I don't believe this! Benge, talk some sense into him!"

"Don't drag me into this," Benge said haughtily. "I wasn't the one who threw that knife."

"AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My slippers are getting all soiled," Carmila complained, picking her way through the foliage in a dainty little walk. "They're made of 100% of the finest imported silk."

"Well why don't you take them off, then?" Nolt asked in his deep voice, his tone casual. Caroline walked along side him, her arms wrapped around one of his. He carried his giant hammer in the other.

"And get my feet soiled as well?" Carmila objected, somewhat indignantly. "I think not."

"Then stop complaining about your slippers, Carmila," Caroline breathed. "The Leader'll be able to hear you the way you keep carrying on."

"Good," Carmila huffed, pausing for a moment so that she could scrape some wet grass from her soles. "The sooner we find that old fool, the better. Maybe if he can hear us, we can lure him out into the open."

"Doubtful," Caroline said dryly, shooting a bored look over her shoulder. "He's more likely to ambush us ourselves. We should be the first ones to spot him. It'll at least give us the upper hand."

"Whatever." Carmila straightened and placed a polished hand on each of her slender hips. "I'm going to make sure that old fool pays for forcing me to come out here like this," she muttered under her breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Meier."

"Charlotte."

"Meier."

"Charlotte."

"Meier---"

"I didn't join up with the two of you to hear you gushing over each other," Borgoff cut in, eyeing Meier and Charlotte with more than a little disdain. They stood facing each other, Meier's hands clasped around Charlotte's.

Meier sighed, then wrapped an arm around Charlotte's slender shoulders. "Borgoff's right, my love," he told her gently. "We must stay focused on the matter at hand. The villain might be lurking anywhere."

"Oh, Meier," Charlotte said fearfully. "Do you really think we'll be able to fight him off?"

"Of course, dear one," Meier said in his most comforting tone. "He cannot possibly stand against me, no matter what the other barbarois say."

"Don't take this too lightly, vampire," Borgoff commented as he passed the two of the up. "Because it wouldn't surprise me if it came around and bit you in the ass. You might want to think about saving a little face while you're still ahead."

Meier snorted, keeping his pace even with the other man as Charlotte cuddled against him. "I don't need a human telling me to save face," he said in a flat voice. "I'm telling you that the old man has got nothing I won't be able to counter. He and the barbarois have been serving the Nobility for millennia, and with good reason."

"The old man's greedy, that's all," Borgoff argued. "He does it for the sake of money. He's a business man."

"My ass," Meier snorted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"D, what the hell are we trying to do?" Leila asked flatly, watching him dispersing women's undergarments along the ground.

Silence.

Leila could feel her eyes narrow and her stomach tighten.

"I asked you a question, dhampire."

"And I gave you my answer."

"What?" Leila blinked in confusion. "You didn't tell me sh--"

"Quit your whining," the hand cut in. "Can't you put two and two together on your own, you twit?"

"What you just call me?" Leila said in a low voice, her body beginning to boil. The hand sniffed, seemingly uncaring of Leila's rise in anger.

"D's laying out a trap for the pervert," it said.

"I know that," Leila responded through clenched teeth, her voice tight. "I meant I wanted to know how D could possibly think that such an obvious set-up will trick the pervert. That old man isn't a fool who was born yesterday."

Silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grove settled back into the water, enjoying the soothing heat and peaceful atmosphere. He let out a contented sigh, quickly dozing off into a restful sleep.

Wonder what everyone's up to, he thought as his mind drifted off.