The New Day is a Great Big Fish!

Blackwood inclined his head, managing to not show his unease upon seeing the man's unusually-pointed teeth. "It is the least we can do, for the moment. Certainly there will be others passing - "

At that moment, another officer did in fact pass by. Excellently timed. Blackwood nodded at his Navy counterpart. "Good evening, sir. We are, it seems, to be receiving all manner of new guests here."

Maladict's eyes fixed straight on the newcomer; he knew another of his kind at a glance. There was no mistaking him. And this one was no Black Ribboner. Maladict could smell the blood on him; he'd been very neat about it, but there was that telltale scent all the same.

"Maladict," Igor said in a low whisper, having noticed the same thing, "he'th a vam- "

"So I see," Maladict whispered back. "And he's not taken the Oath of Temperance."

Shufti backed away hastily from Bolitho.

Bolitho was only able to nod briefly to Blackwood, for he quickly became much more concerned with the newcomer who was staring intently at him. He too was a clearly a vampire. Bolitho was on his guard immediately. Who was he and where had he come from? Even though he was across the room, he easily heard the hushed exchange between the other vampire and one of his companions. Oath of Temperance? What on Earth was that? Though he had not been a vampire for long, Bolitho had never heard of such a thing.

For a moment, he debated whether or not he should approach the vampire. Bolitho knew better than to try to be too friendly with others of his kind. But eventually he decided to speak up.

"Good evening. What brings you here?" he said, addressing all of the newcomers, but keeping his eyes on the vampire.

"Good evening, sir," Lieutenant Blouse responded promptly. "As far as I understand, some sort of magic, sir." He eyed the man's blue uniform. It wasn't Zlobenian, at least, but it wasn't anything he recognized either.

"Picked up the lot of us and dropped us down again," Jackrum put in. He'd found his way to one of the tables and sat down, though the chair creaked under his weight.


The vampire had noticed Maladict, of course, and recognized him just as easily; he was giving Maladict a particular look that conveyed that pretty clearly. "Corporal Maladict, at your service," he said to Bolitho, in response to that pointed look. He proffered a hand.

"Magic?" Bolitho blinked in surprise, though he knew he was much more willing to believe that explanation than Blackwood would most likely be. That went a long way to explain a few things about the oddness of the newcomers, at any rate.

He glanced back at the vampire, who had offered his hand and introduced himself. Well, at least he was being polite. Though how long that would last, Bolitho could not say.

"Captain Richard Bolitho." He accepted the corporal's hand, which was just as cold as his own. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Magic? Blackwood felt distinctly baffled. The notion of magic was utterly laughable to him, as a rational man, but he could think of no logical explanation for what he was seeing before him. Perhaps he was dreaming?

"Benjamin Blackwood," he said, ingrained instinct kicking in. Dream or not, he must mind his manners. "Second Guards."

Unlike Bolitho, he did not offer his hand to any of the newcomers but instead bowed slightly from the waist.