New places... Who: Conrad and Elena Where: Heme... eventually When: Eveningish
Conrads exertions of the previous day had taken more out of him than he had thought they would, causing him to awaken later than he had planned. Having no pressing business that required them, he never relied on alarms of any sort to wake him, preferring instead to let his body determine what time was appropriate. The hunt had taken him the better part of a decade, and the trail would certainly get no colder with a few hours.
The sun was near its peak by the time he stepped out of his room. All of his senses seemed sharper, almost painfully so; the sunlight, brighter, birds chirping in a nearby tree, louder, the wind caressing his flesh, colder. He had to restrain himself from calling up a quick bit of magic to warm himself up. Maybe he was closer to it, or maybe it was closer to the surface of his being, but he felt like he had to struggle not to use magic as he walked down the street.
An hour or so of walking took some of the edge off of everything, his senses dulling to almost their usual levels. In the daylight. Scarlet Oak seemed... normal. There was nothing sinister, or otherwise very remarkable about the place. At least at first glance. Something interesting might present itself; it usually did.
His steps took him to a run-down looking gas station. He asked the attendant where a good place might be for a little fun later in the evening, and was told he should just go into the city. As he had already begun sampling the Ann Arbor nightlife, he thought that a bit of people watching and innocent amusement in Scarlet Oak wouldn’t hurt anything. Hopefully.
It would be a shame to be chased from yet another town, especially before he knew whether it was worth staying in or not. Those Italians in that one town had been so touchy. All he had done was insult two of their city council members... and sleep with several of their unwed daughters... and maybe accidentally start half a dozen little fires... That was no reason to form a mob or chase him out of town. It was embarrassing to even think about.
The payphone out in the parking lot reminded him of the card that the cab driver had given him the other night. After a moment of searching his wallet he found it. On the back was written a name, Lucas, and a phone number. He inserted the change he always kept in his pocket for just such reasons and dialed the number on the card. The cabbie answered, “This’s Luke.”
“Lucas, my name is Conrad. You picked me up from the airport several days ago and drove me from the city back to my hotel the other night.”
“Oh yeah! You need a lift, or are you callin’ about somethin’ else?”
“Neither, just yet, though I am sure I will be calling again to avail myself of all of your services. I am wondering right now how familiar you are wtih Scarlet Oak. I will pay you for your time next time you pick me up.”
“I don’t charge just for gabbin’ on the phone. I know it a little. Whaaddaya got in mind?”
“Are there any drinkeries here that might be more interesting than the more... mundane, establishments?”
Luke was quiet for several moments, probably trying to figure out what exactly his newfound client was asking for. After a minute or so’s silence, he answered, “If you don’t mind a joint that allows corpses, there’s a vamp bar not too far from your hotel. Called... hold on... called Heme. Not much to look at from the outside, but I hear it’s pretty nice inside.” He then rattled off brief instructions on how to get there.
“Thank you. Your next tip will reflect this service.”
“Thanks, pal. You need a lift there later?”
“No, thank you. From what you say, it is close enough, and I like to walk.”
“No problem. Just gimme a call if you need anything else.”
After the call ended, Conrad spent most of his walk back to the Budget Lodge trying to decide if the other man had been more effected by his charm spell than he had thought, or if that was just his normal way of doing business. Either way, it would potentially be useful in the future.
A brief nap turned day into evening. His preparation consisted of a quick change of clothes, several small wards of varying magical flavors to keep anyone from just casually inflicting harm on him, and running his hand through his hair.
The walk down City Street and onto Wrecker Road was uneventful. Lucas’s description of the place was accurate so far. ‘Not much to look at’ was certainly apt. The inside was... something else altogether. Conrad ordered a drink, seated himself at a table some distance from the door and settled down to people watch.