Sibiu

[Apollymi]

"Overwhelmed, he says," the Baron Dacian mentioned as he picked up his recently filled mug and downed more of it. The blush of drunkenness across his face as he sighed. "She looked at me with her mother's eyes, and laughed while claiming not to be able to help me. My girl wouldn't have said such a thing to me. So much poise she has... she used to help me without a question..." the Baron said. It'd seem to most that her father was indeed a good man, and one of few needs. Nice to his daughter and looking out for her best interests. And to many it would have looked like Kasmina helped her father all the time, but this was simply the outward appearance. There was no way for the girl to not help her father, while helping herself, her brother and her stepmother.

The words of the Baron MacLaird drew Costel's attention. His words bolstered the man, in his drunken state and seemed to feed him quite a bit. "Right? He's young, she's young, such a match could have been made long ago between me and that boy's father. I didn't even know he had any interest in her, before he showed up with her on my own doorstep almost a week ago. Night of the full moon my whole world fell apart." said the Baron. About the house and lights the Baron had much to say. "The entire house is strange. Big enough to fit my entire house just in the entry way, large throne room lined with lights the likes of which I've never seen before. Stunning really, had to have costed a fortune to make the lamps look that way. Hardly a thing negative to be said about the decor. But he claimed she was busy, couldn't be seen. I yelled until she came, and boy did she arrive. Lies that man fed me, my daughter is just the same as she always was... too good for him I say!" he slumped and took another sip while Gregor's attention was elsewhere. His eyes shifted to the new comer and he seemed to grin widely. "Oi, that man was another, wanted to marry my Kasmina, he didn't get a chance to meet her. Missed out he did." he said of this man. His daughter had all the finest suitors in the land and had gone with a fiend so vile that he wouldn't allow her to help her father any more. "I swear he turned her against me, that Phantomhive..." he spit most angrily the name of the man he thought had taken his daughter away.

[Bloodedge]

"Laughed at your troubles, eh? Doesn't sound like your lass at all," Gregor agreed, thinking that only in the short time he'd seen Kasmina, he'd found a hefty enough sample of her personality to determine her worth to the Baron. Costel's cries seemed well-placed, and very justified. This Count was a vile person by every word the Baron Dacian shared about him, but Gregor's mind wandered beyond a simple bad influence. The description of the castle was beyond what humans were capable of. More importantly, for that man to claim his wife was unavailable, only for her to arrive when called upon, was levels of suspicious Gregor only saw reached in a few instances of his life. Gregor only needed a little bit more to go by.

Costel knew the young man who'd recently approached the bar, and the latter knew him as well. He, however, was more well-versed when it came to dealing with humans of all varieties, and did not think as highly of Costel as other locals did. "Yeah. Evening, Baron. Congratulations and condolences for your daughter," he said. Apparently, he didn't mind at all that the woman to whom he was a suitor had been married off very recently. Gregor had more to say about this male. "Your lass didnae even believe in vampires. Can't see her makin' much of a Belmont." These words resonated in the ear of the newcomer, warranting nothing more than a sigh as he shut his eyes and drank his share of ale. "I knew it!" the bartender spoke. "Filthy Belmonts comin' round here. We don't want no trouble, understand?" Of course, the alleged Belmont had no intentions of causing any trouble; Belmonts never did. The unknown man's next words would not address this, however; he instead had something to add to this conversation sparked by Costel. "No clue what you lot are on about. You should all be more worried about the name Phantomhive than anything, though."

[Apollymi]

Costel looked up from his drink. Someone cared for his troubles, understood what he had to say, his eyes filled with hope. "You understand! My Kasmina was such a good girl, she'd never have said such a thing to me without... him," Costel was disgusted. But none knew the reasoning of the lass who refused her father for the first time in his life. And in typical childish fashion he was complaining now to anyone who would listen. This man who had previously been one of the girl's suitors seemed to offer both congratulations and condolences to the man which Costel accepted in the way only a narcissistic parent could. "Thank you sir, for understanding. My lass was beautiful, married in the Great Church at high noon on Sunday. I couldn't be prouder! Except for how she acts now..." as Costel drank more he cursed himself for not attending the girl's wedding. 'For Christ's sake I could have bragged so much about her, if I'd actually bothered to go. Curse my love of drink and my pride.' still he drank even more.

Seeming to lose track of the conversation just a bit. Apparently the man who also wanted to marry his daughter had some sort of reputation and involvement with vampires. Because of this Gregor thought the girl might have been unsuited. Costel couldn't have this, no... he'd defend his good genes and child-rearing. "Vampires? Hardly a bother, my girl may not have believed in them, but she's a good God-fearing girl. Attends church every Sunday, says her prayers and does the lords work. Such devotion makes her a fine choice for any and every man. My prized daughter," he paused. "Except that man...." his eyes narrowed, making obvious that he somehow had some fundamental problem with the man his daughter had married. The man who'd come to his door and called him on how he treated the lass. The man who'd not paid him a cent on her bride price and instead taken care of his son, the man who poisoned his daughter against him. Still, that family was not one he'd ever heard anything bad about. "Phantomhive is a family name, important 'round these parts. Been so for generations... His father Lothaire was a good man, he had a vile son though," said the Baron Costel, who seemed not to realize that he was the rotten one in this situation.

[Bloodedge]

"Aye, I understand. If the Count is such a shit man livin' in a place li'ah, it pains me to say he might not be a man at all." Gregor had a rough idea of the situation that had befallen Costel's daughter. It wasn't anything solid, but a warning of the name Phantomhive from this other man made him more wary. "And what say you about this family name Phantomhive, Belmont?" he asked. The former suitor of Kasmina sighed yet again. How had he managed to drag himself into this discussion? He only wanted another drink, and now he was being accosted for his coat, the name associated with it, and something he'd managed to let fall from his mouth. "Not that I know anything, but... Phantomhive sounds like a vampire name, is all," he said, wishing only to exclude himself from the discussion at this point. In truth, he knew the name Phantomhive; it was a once-great name of nobility, much like the Belmont clan, until the reported last daughter of its line married one Vlad Tepes of Wallachia. "No point playin' the ignorant role now, lad. I won't hassle ye, though. There ain't much a man like that can be, but one of the filthy bloodsuckers. Probably usin' yer lass for cattle there, Baron."

[Apollymi]

This conversation seemed to fly over the head of the Baron Dacian. It seemed this pair of Kasmina's former suitors thought something of the Count Phantomhive. Beyond all this it seemed to be that the lad who'd married his daughter was a vampire. The Baron thought about this and he could almost believe it too. "You saying, he bewitched my Kasmina, and is using her as cattle? Disgusting my daughter deserves far better to be at the beck and call of a parasitic man like that!" the Baron said slamming his hand down on the table. It was easy to see the man's courage was far greater after a day's drinking. Even so, how could he hope to best a vampire. Surely he could not, "I want my Kasmina back, not in the clutches of some fiend. McLaird you said you do work such as this, bring my daughter back to me and rest her from that man she 'married'," he chimed. He hadn't even gotten a proper bride price for the lass. At least if he got her back there would be her holding of this man's property. She'd still be Countess even if her husband died and that was worth quite a lot. 'And the Dacian name would return to glory, it wouldn't even take long. And if she's a vampire and he exterminates her as well... all the better,' it seemed the Baron was far too hurt by his daughters chastising of him to think about this situation in a way that didn't make him seem like a venomous and vengeful old man. Greed shown in his eyes clear as day, he was truly an uncaring man, but he had the people convinced of his victim status in this matter.

[Bloodedge]

"That's exactly what I be sayin'," Gregor replied. Another pint was downed by the Scotsman. He knew what he would be asked to do now that this information was out in the open, but this was what he came to this land to accomplish. "If this man showed his face the night of the full moon, he might be the one I've been lookin' for. Ne'er did I think I'd find 'im so soon. Be warned though, Baron. The hen Kasmina might not be the same, if ye even get her back when I'm done."

Gregor stood in preparation of his leave, splitting his remaining pints between the men on either side of him. The Belmont had yet to finish his own mug, but was satisfied enough to have another for free. He did, however, have some... advice for the Scottish Vampire Hunter. "You're going to die," was all he said. Gregor paid no mind to this. He left without another word spoken to the Belmont, believing himself to be the only true Vampire Hunter in the vicinity. With Gregor's departure, the other male scoffed across his mug. "Well. Can't say I didn't warn him, right Baron?"

[Apollymi]

It seemed that the man who was in this bar thought to offer Gregor some advice. His words seemed ominous for someone who claimed not to know anything. But this was no concern of the Baron Dacian. Actually, his courage still in full swing the man started on his free mug and chortled. "Hardly worth worrying about. The 'Count' Phantomhive is a skinny boy. Barely bigger than my finger. I don't know what my daughter sees in him... must be evil magic afoot," said the man but this wasn't anything true. No, the Baron Dacian had just sent another problem to his daughter's doorstep while she tried to enjoy her new life as a vampire and beyond this seemed only to want to continue living at her husband's side.

[Bloodedge]

The light chugging of the fedora-wearing man's mug continued as Costel spoke. There was a claim that there would be nothing to worry about on Gregor's part, but the reason he gave was the physical state of the alleged vampire. "Means about as much as a bucket of shit. Vampires' strength has nothing to do with what they look like, but they're always stronger than a human can be. That hulking friend of yours might be able to slam a bloodsucker through a wall, but they wouldn't even feel it. He's pretty dumb, too, so he'll probably just have his brain turned to grog or... something." A sniff followed this statement. Though the Belmont was in something of a drunken state, his mind was always clear when discussions of vampires were on the table. "Oh, and... if that man was any sort of real vampire hunter, he'd have seen some obvious signs of possession in your daughter. If she's married this Phantomhive, it was her own choosing. If there's one thing a vampire is, it's damn handsome and charming, the bastards."

[Apollymi]

Costel went on to learn more from this supposed Belmont and apparently the man had more information about vampires than even Gregor had offered. The news that one could in fact not look like much of anything and yet be strong enough to tank being thrown through a wall was quite different. "Seemed clever enough to me. I figured my daughter would enjoy a man like that..." he said of Gregor. In fact he thought the man to be like himself. Heartily made and well adjusted. Of course, Costel also had a very skewed view of himself. "He knows about vampires, hunted them back where he's from, I'm sure he'll be fine," finished the man as he once again buried his face in the mug he drank from. But this Belmont wasn't finished yet, he had more to say about the nature of Kasmina and Sorin's relationship. "Charming?! My ass, my daughter should have better taste than that, surely there is something evil afoot!" said the man as he delved into the depths of another drink. Of course this man wouldn't understand that his daughter wouldn't like any man he chose, simply because of how it was put forth. But... this wouldn't be obvious to a man like the Costel, who saw only what he liked in everything and respected no one else's views.

[Bloodedge]

"Clever enough, you say," he repeated. This older male was quite pitiful in his mind, much like the self-proclaimed Vampire Hunter that had recently left. Costel claimed the Scotsman knew about vampires, and would be fine because of it. The Belmont male found this to ideologically be an affront to everything he knew. "Right. I've been fighting Master Vampires for years, and my family has been for generations. Your daughter's been married to one for a day, though. I'm sure you're the biggest expert in town by now," he said in a surprisingly casual manner while tilting his mug toward his mouth again. "Damn shame, though. Smaller vampires usually have stronger mental powers. Before he kills your hunter, he'll probably read his mind to find out where he came from. You'll die then. But... you're a knowledgeable guy, so you probably already knew about all that."