Chapter 71

Reminding Baron of the obvious, Ec'Savoyardi, who was both a right hand and a left foot, a jack-of-all-trades, fell silent. The strange strangers interested him much more than he let on. The barony was wealthy but weak. Beyond the city gates, his lord's authority ceased, and even the peasants did not always respect the baron as much as the nobleman deserved.

Unfortunately, his brother did not always understand this. The fresh blood introduced into the barony by the arrival of these strangers could disrupt the established balance. But in whose favor?

The inspection of the sites was conducted fairly quickly.

As expected, the former village of "Wet Stones" was a good place from the locals' point of view: a river with plenty of clean water, remnants of fortifications in the form of earthworks and sporadic palisades, the remains of ovens, and several dilapidated buildings. If vampires were human, this place would have been simply excellent; the baron had not suggested it in vain. But they were not human, and the open spaces, which served as good protection against sudden goblin attacks, were deadly for vampires.

The former village of "Forest" was much more suitable for them. It was evident that people had inhabited it for a long time. Only the earthworks and overly precise square shapes on the ground indicated that this had not always been a forest. Now everything was overgrown with trees and shrubs. The river was even fuller and reached a width of twenty meters. If not for its swift current, it would have been navigable in those places where it flowed, though only the inhabitants of the village of Sprouts and the unclean of the Cursed Forest lived there.

Exchanging glances with his colleagues, Alexander read on their faces the same positive decision he had made himself. Although this place was far from their current camp, it was simply ideal. And most importantly, if the locals ever felt uneasy living near the vampires, they could easily flee to the expanses of the Cursed Forest and disappear there.

"Let's go back, my dear. This place suits us. Inform His Lordship the Baron that I hope to meet with him tomorrow."

***

"What do you say about them, Mit?"

"They are strange, Your Grace!"

The baron's brother looked interested and gestured for the servant to continue.

"Well, for instance, their camp: many wagons, few people, and it feels like they are asleep."

"Asleep?"

"That was the impression I got when we passed their camp, sir."

"Anything else?"

"Their behavior. The camp guards behaved rather...," the spy paused, choosing his words carefully, "well, like a peasant militia rather than professional warriors as they presented themselves. No discipline."

"Did you notice anything else?"

"No, sir," the baron's best tracker bowed.

"Very well, you may go."

"Quite far!" Maria was the most indignant for some reason.

"So what. We're not in a hurry."

"But maybe we should settle here after all?"

"This isn't the best place."

After half an hour of persuasions, the girl gave in. Once again, the camp began preparing to move. Towards evening, Olga, Sergey, and several others went to inspect the new location.

Unfortunately, Sergey couldn't lead a small detachment directly to the location on the first try. They had to find the river and then search for the right spot along it. The old good method helped: during the daytime inspection, the vampires went into the bushes and marked their territory. By the smell of their urine, they pinpointed the right spot.

"I almost peed slightly to the side, didn't I? We're supposed to live here!" Olga's indignation was genuine. "And why are you shouting at me? Look, your husband marked the territory too!"

"I'll talk to him separately about it!"

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