Shalltear stood at the entrance of the hidden cave. "This pathetic hovel is their home?" She wondered aloud and looked at it while the blood of the two guards pooled at her feet. "It's as fitting as it is disgusting. Worms living beneath the dirt, at least one of them is supposed to have some value though…" That thought troubled her a little, ameliorated by the fact that he seemed to be able to do something others, even in Nazarick, couldn't, but still. It was such a strange thing to send an invitation to these bestial creatures. She held up her hand and the blood running from the throats of the humans rose from the ground without carrying a speck of dust with them and formed a ball in her hands.

The tendrils of red spun and whirled in various directions until the husks of corpses were all that remained, dried up and useless unless she wanted a zombie or two. 'There's a thought.' Shalltear considered and looked down at the ragged pair, 'What would a zombie be like, would they be as good as my vampire brides?'

The pale pair at her back traded a look, she'd used them many times to pleasure herself and they knew their mistress's thoughts even without them being spoken. Shalltear set the idea aside, "No, no they're so dry, and frankly they're ugly too." She crinkled her nose in disgust, "Barely good enough to feed off of." She muttered and walked past the unfortunate guards and into the darkness of the underground hideout.

Walking through the night posed no obstacle to her, and a cave where night existed during the day was no exception. Her delicate looking little feet padded across the dirt and stone that made up the floor, and little by little she began to make out the voices of her prey. She felt a string snap when her foot crossed through it, and ahead of her there was a crash of something falling. Like a heap of metal dropped off a wagon, the voices beyond stopped dead.

"Oh pooh. I was expecting a pathetic trap, not a pathetic alarm!" Shalltear cursed and leveled a hand ahead of her, "Go on, my brides, they know we're here." She ordered, and then shouted down the long hall. "Hellooo, is this the Unglaus residence?! I've come for a visit with an invitation! Come out, come out, wherever you are! All your dreams are going to come truuuuuue!"

Her little birdcall like voice sent the distant voices into an uproar, and ahead of her she could hear her brides clash against human opponents. The smell of blood teased at her nose, urging the Guardian forward.

Howls and screams belonging to the living men who comprised the bandit troop, the cacophony was such that granules of dirt and dust on the walls were shaken loose, the twang of crossbows went up, but no noise came from Shalltear's playthings.

She was unconcerned, it was a mere evening stroll, even if it was through a dark, dank hole occupied by pathetic worms.

The screams were dying with their creators, and a distant pulsing light reached her eyes. 'Torches.' She realized. And there was still no tingling of magic use.

Then she felt it. Shalltear stopped in midstep. 'My brides? They were defeated?' Someone slew them, that was certain. She clenched her teeth, they were easy enough to replace, but it was the principle of the thing. Her vibrant red eyes became luminous as she resumed her walk within and found the survivors slumped over in various places. A handful of humans drooped with backs against the wall or laying on their backs clutching at their exposed innards and struggling to push their insides back into place where they belonged.

The smell of blood and death was a heavenly fragrance to the vampire guardian, and it was only enhanced by the continued draw of blood into her sphere when she came into range.

The wounded humans howled and their fingers grasped with desperate, twitching fingers for the tendrils of their blood that were leaving their bodies. But their desperate clawing and cries were futile, they were left with not even stains on their flesh, every drop instead going to the vampire who stood in their midst. Her hoop skirt and parasol were utterly at odds with the rest of the scene around her.

The twitching fingers of the wounded ceased and hands fell limp into the dust, the living became pale and were reduced to husks like the guards at the entrance.

Only one human still stood, his lips moved and the ground around him glowed, the vibrant blue light spread out in a circle. Shalltear paused, her nose twitched. 'There are more of them?' She realized, but they weren't male, that was sure. 'Female, very female. Why aren't they fighting?' The noise was coming from deeper within the cave, past the human with blue hair.

Shalltear looked around the room, ignoring the human for the moment, her vampire brides lay slumped against the wall, the backs of their heads were cracked open and the pink mush of their brains exposed. Her estimation of her target went up another notch, even if it was a very tiny notch.

"You're Brain Unglaus, am I right?" Shalltear asked, her smile sweet as candy and her vampire fangs exposed, the blue haired male, someone of not inconsiderable size and muscles, at least visibly, paused.

"I am." He answered, "And you, you're a vampire."

"Shalltear Bloodfallen." She said and lifting one side of her black and red hoopskirt just a little, she crossed her ankles and curtsied as a lady should. "Before I say more, where are the rest of your… I guess 'friends' is not the right word, is it? Tools? Toys?"

Brain frowned a little, "You killed them all."

"No, definitely not, my nose never lies." Shalltear touched the tip of her nose with one finger, "There are four women close by here, are they part of your little band?"

Brain shook his head, "No. Definitely not. They were prisoners, there's no more wretched hive of scum and villainy in the Kingdom than right here. Or… wasn't, I suppose. They're not warriors, and I doubt they can even move."

"Oh my." Shalltear muttered and the wheels turned in her head, 'I was ordered to get rid of his impediments, his little bandit group. I wasn't told what to do with those who aren't involved with them…and I can't leave them alone to reveal anything when they get free…' She let out a sigh of annoyance, "I suppose I'll have to take those too. Let the others figure out what to do with them." Shalltear muttered, and Brain felt his heart skip a beat.

"How do you know my name? Take them… me… us… where? Who are you?" He demanded, his jaw clenched, danger radiated from the creature in front of him, his feet were already telling him to tuck tail and run, and he would have, if he felt he could have reached the exit in time.

"I already gave you my name, it's rude not to listen when someone introduces themselves." She said and gave him a little pouty smile. "I'm from Nazarick, and I'm here to make all your dreams come true. You caught my master's eye, and he wants to meet with you."

"So he has my entire bandit tribe killed so he can… meet me? That's one hell of an invitation." Brain said, the pretty little vampire hadn't struck yet, and that lent some credence to her words, but not much.

"I was instructed just to remove obstacles to your future in his service. These?" Shalltear waved her hand out to encompass the room, "These were those obstacles. I did consider bribery, but giving treasure from our home to buy off, what did you call them, 'scum and villainy'? That just didn't seem proper."

"And if I refuse?" Brain asked, his sword grip tensed.

"I wasn't given the choice of allowing you to refuse, so if you do, I will simply take you." Shalltear answered, her mouth opened in a mocking, wide smile, "Or is that what you want? To be embraced by a beautiful young girl and carried away to the life of your dreams?"

Brain's mind was racing, the creature in front of him was laying out a tantalizing offer, but also a threat… of sorts.

"You have your martial arts active now, don't you? Please, use them, I want to see this mysterious magic of this new world, come at me! Come into my embrace, human swordsman!" Shalltear squealed with excitement, and then he was there, in front of her.

His sword flashed out like lightning…

And she stopped it dead with the fingernail of her pinky.

Brain looked at the impossible fingernail, the impossible feat, the impossible being. 'Run!' He told himself to do it, but all his martial arts were built around combat, he had none for flight. 'The escape tunnel…' He recalled the way out, but he'd waited too long. 'If only I'd gone out to face her, then I could have run away, but now?'

"That's disappointing. You'll never impress a lady with swordsmanship like that, but not to worry. Please my master, and maybe you can get much, much stronger." Shalltear said it in such a nearly conciliatory way that it was almost believable.

The blow came on so suddenly that he never saw it coming. However, he was strong enough that he felt himself losing consciousness and heard her say, "Come on now, we've not got all night… now about those other ones…" Shalltear's mumbling was joined by the feel of his body being dragged, her pale fingers clenching the collar of his shirt, and he could feel the dirt scraping his limp knuckles.

The squeal of the captive peasants hit his ears, and then unconsciousness claimed Brain Unglaus at last.