Realizing that telling a strange man too much about yourself could be dangerous, you "accidentally" jump on the fact that he said he's new here.

"New! Why, this tiny village hardly ever gets travelers." Why tell him I'm a traveler too, you think. I didn't actually lie to him... "Have you heard about that woman being murdered?"

"Actually, that disappearance is what brings me here. You see, I'm a vampire hunter, and I believe that a vampire killed her."

"A vampire?" you reply. "I heard she was found with her wrists slit, which doesn't sound like a vampire to me."

"Oh, how I do love the common folk," he says, somewhat condescendingly. "All those tales about vampires biting people? Well that's all a load of rubbish. It is true that vampires must drink blood to maintain their strength, but most of the rest are mere wives tales." Thomas pauses to take another bite, while you ponder this last statement. There's a lot of strange stuff on Yed, that you never saw or believed in on Earth. It's hard to tell if what he's telling you is the truth, a lie, or merely a different legend. You decide to try and keep him talking, to learn more.

"Really? So you said that they do need to drink blood to maintain their strength? Can you tell me more about that, or vampires in general?"

"Well, take food for instance. A lot of people think that all vampires need is blood," he says, as he cuts a piece of rare roast beef. "Actually, being a creature of peculiar magic, they need blood, but they also need regular food" he continues, pointing to the food on his plate to illustrate his point. "The key is, they loose their magical abilities, unless they get a supply of blood. They grow weak also, at least compared to other vampires. By human standards, they're still quite strong, I assure you."

You're getting your next question ready in your head, when Thomas finishes his meal. "I'm afraid that I need to retire, if I am going to have all my special equipment unpacked and ready to go. Good eve," he says, and starts to stand, then pauses as you look up at him from the table. He drops his voice to a whisper, and says "Unless you would care to help me, hmm?" He stops, looking about conspiratorially, then bends to whisper in your ear. "You may not even be aware of this, but you have the potential to become a mage. Vampires fear few things, but powerful mages are one of them." He stands, straightening his coat, and letting his eyes glance both ways. No one seems to take notice. Keeping his voice low, he continues, "It's up to you, of course. If you wish to help, meet me at the old house up at the top of the mill road, an hour before midnight. Don't tell the other locals. All they'd do is get out pitchforks, blunder up the hill, and scare off my prey. That wouldn't do at all, if we have a you-know-what on our hands." With that, he heads to his room upstairs, and disappears behind the door of one of them.

What a quack! This guy has obviously escaped from his keeper, but it's late and people are leaving. Guess I'll go to bed, and head home tomorrow.

Well, he did seem knowledgeable about vampires. I think I'll join him tonight at eleven. I saw the mill road as I rode into town today.

Maybe I'll just think about it for awhile, until I can come up with something else.