Gavner gazed, bewildered, at the scene.

“What’s troubling you?” Mavrik asked, sensing Gavner’s confusion.

“The fact that our organization is helping citizens, as well as the fact that only the public face team is having contact with the people here is… Somewhat perplexing. If we are even interacting with these people, they must be- involved in, suspects of, or victims of- a mass scale crisis. The Ixian Knights are not an international organization that is interested in helping refugees for the sake of helping.” Gavner said, still confused.

“So why don’t we just go ask the man in charge?” Mavrik asked.

“Because I am on the wetworks team and the mercenary team. It is best that my face is not seen near the castle by people who are not of the Knights unless it is by somebody who is going to die.” Gavner said thoughtfully, “No, we need to go in through the tunnels, or the back. Follow me.”

The now golden sunlight from the setting beacon in the sky flooded the clearing to Gavner’s left as he turned to weave his way through the trees. His first approach into the castle was going to be through the North tunnel that led underground to a safety chamber that had access to the castle.

“Keep an eye out for a large pine tree,” Gavner said to Mavrik, “Jensen said it was the landmark for the tunnel.”

“You mean that one over there?”

Gavner looked around but he could not make out any pine trees. He squinted, looking farther into the distance thinking that he may have missed something and, long behold, spotted a colossal trunk about seventy feet on the horizon.

“Oh, yes, I suppose,” Gavner said. “I did not notice it from that far away.”

“Remember, Gavner,” Mavrik said, “Your body is much stronger than that of a normal human in almost every aspect- including your mind. If you think like a human, you will be nothing more than a human with super strength and speed, and hyperactive senses, but if you start to think like a vampire, these abilities will become part of your everyday use. You will learn to naturally use your eyesight to see two-hundred more feet into the distance- you will be able to differentiate the scent of a deer, or your enemy, from the scent of the forest when he is fifty miles away. You can even learn to discern whether or not a person in a crowd is intending to do anybody harm. It is all a matter of honing your mind and body to be accustomed to these behaviors, and training your mind to attain such a level of perspicacity.”

“Wow,” Gavner said, pausing, “I never thought of it that way...”

“It’s all a matter of who you want to be- a human, or a vampire,” Mavrik said, “Of course, there are always certain lines that you won’t be ready to cross until you truly make your decision. Drinking blood is the first step, but small aspects of your life, little decisions such as walking around during the day or accepting that it is no longer a possibility- trying to cross on a voyage and remain well or accept the universal seasickness that we all get. I can tell you all of this, but it is up to you to make the actual decision.”

Gavner understood what Mavrik was saying- the young vampire still refused to sleep in coffins or lurk in the shadows for too long. At times he still indulged in feeling like he was human- he had made the decision to become a vampire when he was relatively young at that. He realized that he had now been a vampire for so long that he forgot what it was to feel fully human- and suddenly he yearned to be one again for some reason.

“Well,” Gavner said, snapping out of his trance, “Let us find that tunnel.”