[X]"Perhaps we should start more slowly. I should not like to start and find you hate the sensation... how do you feel about a trial run?"
"Trial run" as in "WinRAR trial run"?
*stares* Yes, the actual Vampire Hunters are asking us to become Blood Bonded.
[X]"It would be my honor, yes."
Seriously, all things being equal I'm inclined to take this, especially as Morgan can indeed read minds.
My first Impulse is to take the deal right away because it's their right to sacrifice for their daughter; and we really need a better source of blood. The bonus of loyal retainers with supernatural powers that are actually good at combat is icing on the cake. In the end I have no reason to not go with my first impulse.
[X]"Perhaps we should start more slowly. I should not like to start and find you hate the sensation... how do you feel about a trial run?"
They can't read Bruce's mind, remember. He's immune.
"You went to a butcher first?"
"I should have realized they'd be closed. I was rushing. It was on the way to the emergency vet, though, which I knew would be open, and I thought it wouldn't hurt."
"It wasn't really hurting that much, then. The kid at the vet was pretty useless, but he said their large animal vet might be able to help. She's the one with the farm. So I got a coffee and drove out there. She was… pretty nice, for a woman living alone who had a strange man turn up at her house at midnight."
Probably worth noting you guys might want to remember this plot hook.
A cow on the hoof has around 35 liters of blood. A horse has around 55 liters of blood. A large pig can be 13-15 liters.
You can safely tap any of those for up to 10% of their blood volume in a week without harming them, assuming they're being fed and cared for properly. Premium vino it's not, not the way a human is, but that is still a lot of product for a vampire sorcerer who might need to burn massive amounts of power in a hurry, and a nice buffer. Blood sample volumes | NC3Rs
What I'm saying is, your PC probably should get a controlling interest in a nearby farm. Or that vet's business.
Whether cash, or in return for services; I hear anti-undead wards are currently in high demand.
Honestly surprised they didn't invest in a local farm back when they bought the estate.
EDIT
Tiebreaker vote:
[X]"Perhaps we should start more slowly. I should not like to start and find you hate the sensation... how do you feel about a trial run?"
Adhoc vote count started by uju32 on May 23, 2019 at 7:40 AM, finished with 614 posts and 18 votes.
[X]"Perhaps we should start more slowly. I should not like to start and find you hate the sensation... how do you feel about a trial run?"
"Perhaps we should start more slowly. I should not like to start and find you hate the sensation... how do you feel about a trial run?"
You're already rushing this, you don't have to rush it that much.
"I feel like a zombie bite's a nasty way to die."
"You can manage not to get bitten for a few days, can't you?" You frown. "You're not joining the army, I'm not going to turn around and tell you to jump straight back into a pit full of zombies when you're already exhausted. You don't have to-"
"I'm going back out."
"Yes. Under controlled circumstances. I like controlled circumstances."
"I know. I have the journals."
"Oh?"
"A year of trying to ambush you, only for you to take a detour around the lake or whatever it was that day and never even see the ambush?"
You blink.
"I admit. I'm not quite sure why I would want to walk into an ambush."
"Some people think springing traps is the best way to deal with them."
"I'm actually a fan of maximizing precision and good judgement, not efficiency – and I'm arguing with you instead of making you take care of yourself, I'm sorry. I'm going out myself, I'll come by before I go."
"Williams – you're not saying no?"
You smile.
"I'm not going to pretend to be that altruistic."
You head inside, and find Claudia, sans dog and small child, hovering in the hallway. (She's not literally hovering, she's just emanating nervousness. It pays to be precise, sometimes.)
"Claudia – have a few minutes to show me where the machete you got me ended up?"
"Machetes," she corrects. "Downstairs, I'll show you."
Down the spiraling stairs you go, with her leading.
"Bruce talked to you?" you ask.
"I got through to him on the phone this afternoon, after we got back."
In a quieter moment, you are going to find out what made two seasoned vampire hunters truly fearful. This is not a quiet moment.
"It must be a strange idea, for you."
"I don't like it. Not that I don't like you – I don't know you, that's all."
"Ah. I've suggested to Bruce we take things a little slowly. It would at least give us more than five minutes to get to know each other."
"…what's it like?"
"I've never been on the human side of it. The way we're doing it, it's going to be rough. It's better if there's a preexisting relationship for it to build off of."
"What does 'rough' mean?"
"We're going to be protective and loyal towards each other, and it's going to be far enough apart from our ordinary feelings that it'll feel imposed. After that – you either fight it, and it gets worse, or you try to build the relationship on the scaffolding already in place."
"So it's mind control. I thought Bruce was immune to that."
Claudia enters the combination on the electronic lock and leads the way into your panic room turned walk-in pantry. The walls are absolutely stuffed full of cans and bags of food, and a folding table has been set up in the middle, covered in weapons. There's a few varieties of machete, and guns. Quite a lot of guns. You recognize shotguns, three different handguns, hunting rifles, and the military rifles Abby and Bruce were using.
"He and his relatives are immune to a point. They're not immune to magic or blood binding, if they're not wearing the relevant charm."
"So why didn't you do something like this to his great-uncle, when he was trying to kill you?"
"Believe it or not, I try to solve my problems without being a creepy stereotype. What's that gun?"
The gun in question is a black handgun that you recognize from the army types this morning.
"That's a Beretta. It takes 9mm rounds."
"Is that good?"
"It's easy to find ammunition for, anyway. Reliable."
[]Take a 22" version of the black machete you've been using, with a bucket handle.
[]Take a 24" machete with a sawback and bucket handle. It's black with a silver edge, and has a little less of that vampire aesthetic.
[]Take the Beretta.
[]Take two weapons.
-[]Both machetes
-[]The smaller machete and the gun
-[]The larger machete and the gun
[]Take everything, and ask about a backpack.
[]Ask about the other guns.
[]Write-in
(Morgan is secretly more altruistic than Morgan is willing to try to get a vampire hunter to believe in. Based on available evidence, I might go so far as to call Morgan a softie.)
Morgan's the nicest vampire ever. They're just so nice that people like Bruce's grandpa became paranoid that it's all a too-good-to-be-true ruse!
"This is a truly powerful vampire if they can trick strong minds such as mine into believing a 'nice vampire' exists! Dang bloodsucking mind-enslavers, I'll show you who's stronger...!" -Bruce's grandpa, being invited to Morgan's tea party. Probably.
Morgan's the nicest vampire ever. They're just so nice that people like Bruce's grandpa became paranoid that it's all a too-good-to-be-true ruse!
"This is a truly powerful vampire if they can trick strong minds such as mine into believing a 'nice vampire' exists! Dang bloodsucking mind-enslavers, I'll show you who's stronger...!" -Bruce's grandpa, being invited to Morgan's tea party. Probably.
Well, it's kind of our fault for picking mind control (sorry, Morgan!), so we can't even lie that we don't have those powers.
Being nice and honest Morgan is suffering.
[]Take a 24" machete with a sawback and bucket handle. It's black with a silver edge, and has a little less of that vampire aesthetic.
[]Take two weapons.
-[]The larger machete and the gun
[]Ask about the other guns.
Still weighing my options, caught between these three.
