Deciding not to venture in, the vampire walked a bit further and, approaching a tethered horse standing in front of the inn entrance, patted it on the mane. The fine and even elegant clothing made it almost effortless. Except for the fact that the inn's guard didn't stop watching him after this?
An elderly woman in simple townsfolk attire emerged from the alley and headed in the opposite direction from the vampire. No one paid her any attention; there were many like her around. It was evident she earned her living honestly, not by favor or theft, so there was no reason to disturb an honest person with intense scrutiny. The Light of the Universe wouldn't approve of that. But why did a simple townswoman smell of the mage's expensive southern perfume?
Sergey followed the woman, almost certain he was making a mistake, but some inner sense drove him specifically to follow her. After two blocks, the vampire was no longer so sure of his intuition; the woman was clearly heading toward the poorer quarters.
Finally, the respectable matron entered a modest inn where merchants' workers stayed—dirty, shabby, and cheap. Through the window, the vampire saw the woman nod to the innkeeper or his employee behind the counter and then head upstairs.
Seating himself not far away, Sergey began to pretend to clean his boots from dirt. He had to portray this tedious activity for nearly twenty minutes. Even local thugs began to eye him, discussing his conspicuous attire and debating how best to prey on the out-of-place stranger. Their whispers irritated the vampire, but these petty nuisances were harmless even to ordinary people; they relied on bravado and numbers, so a little caution was enough to easily deal with them.
When a man came out of the inn, Sergey immediately recognized him as the informant who had once incited local thugs to rob several merchant caravans and even organized an attack on Sir Vlad. The vampire was slightly taken aback. Everything fell into place when the faint southern aroma reached his nose.
"Just like a bitch!"
Further surveillance was unnecessary. The enemy's lair had been discovered. Whatever the mysterious informant, who turned out to be the chief mage of the barony, was up to, he would eventually show up here. Therefore, it was time to set up an ambush. First, by adopting a bandit look, the scout boldly entered the inn and quickly engaged in conversation with its worker.
Of course, remaining loyal to his client, the worker didn't reveal the truth aloud, neither when pressed against the wall nor when shown the silver, but his blood told everything, even what he preferred to keep secret from himself.
The inn was cheap but honest and had no dealings with bandits. That was why when the girl arrived and rented a room, then paid extra for silence and secretly revealed that she was an agent of the Stone Chamber of Elur and was in Savoyardi on a secret mission to identify bands causing havoc on the duchy's roads, she was believed and helped as much as they could.
The girl entered the room, but a man exited? Well, what wouldn't one do for the sake of service! Both the owner and the workers were even proud to be part of such work, albeit only by providing a room and refraining from questioning.
The vampire left the building and made his way purposefully down the street to the nearest alley. Entering it, he stopped and began to wait. His calculations proved correct; within a minute, five young men rushed into the narrow street, intending to catch their prey, which they believed was walking right into their hands. All the petty robbers were quickly knocked unconscious, and their pockets were emptied.
What interested the vampire the most were the local "Robin Hood's" "tools of the trade." Finding what he needed—a small, clearly weighted club wrapped in cloth—Sergey left the hapless bandits lying on the ground and returned to the inn, doing so secretly by sneaking into one of the vacant rooms through the window. Now all that remained was to wait.
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