DISCLAIMER : There are some mature scenes in this story. Vampirism isn't for the squeamish, sadly. ;) It's nothing really bad, but it's only right to warn in advance.

The situation was dire. The starved vampires, mad with bloodlust, launched attack after attack at the four living creatures in the room with them. Already, two vampires had fallen to Minsc's wild attacks, but there were ten still remaining.

Minsc seething with wild and barely controllable beserker rage, was twirling his twin maces like a whirling giant deathbringer, hitting vampire after vampire, doing a lot of damage. But would it be enough?

Laska had fallen unconscious as a result of her overly sensitive reactions to undead. More than once, the pack of blood crazed vampires had tried to get past the three remaining defenders to drag the unconscious elf towards them so they could feast on her blood. For some reason, the vampires were very, very keen on getting their hands on the elf. So focused were they on the elf, that they often even ignored the other defenders. Minsc, Dynaheir and Khittix formed a defensive cordon around the downed elf to protect her as best they could, while Khittix had fastened Laska to the floor with strong webbing in case any vampire would get past them.

Thankfully, the vampires were so starved they were only running on instinct, meaning they were not casting spells of domination or using their innate soul draining abilities to weaken their prey.

For Dynaheir, alternating blows from her Staff-Spear with powerful magical attack-spells, this scene was all too familiar.

"Imagine that," Dynaheir heard a giggling voice speak.

"The newbies are always hungry in the extreme..." another voice, male this time, spoke. "I think she's a lot more approachable now."

Dynaheir felt pain course through every part of her body, but it was quickly receeding. The cold was loosing its grip on her body, and she found she could move again. Opening her eyes, she found the darkness of... wherever she was, to be as bright as day-light. The sight of a corpse lying at her feet startled her briefly, but fright soon made place for... a sense of alluring. It was a fresh kill, a human with its throat ripped open... from the inside out? Fresh blood was spreading out over the floor. Immediately, the wonderful coppery scent of fresh, warm blood sent a shudder of dire hunger through her body. When she looked up, and noticed her hands were covered with the blood of her victim, she could not help but smile.

Where was she? WHO was she? Why was she feeling so cold? And why was she so hungry? Try as she might, she could not even recall her own name...

"Look, she's already adjusting," a female vampire, who used to be a half-elf in a previous life, smiled warmly, her fangs glistening in the light of the torches.

"Interesting," the male said, looking like a very, very pale bald human bodybuilder. "Look at her skin. She is not even pale. The perfect agent..."

"Oh, Lassal, forget about the shop-talk for a while," the female smiled. "HI!" she greeted and moved to take Dynaheir by the hand and wrapped a sisterly arm over mage's shoulder. "I'm Myrna and this is Lassal. Don't worry, he's a grouch but a good guy..."

"Myrna," Lassal rolled his eyes. "She's only a fledgling! Do the nobles of the city talk to their hired help? Why should we?"

"I'll show you around the place we are proud to call home. Amn is good hunting ground for undead like us. I know the best places to get a wonderful taste of blood and I'll show you all..." Myrna added, ignoring Lassal. "I'll introduce you to everyone here. I'm sure you'll fit right in..."

Dynaheir could only nod.

"But first the mistress would like to have a word with you..." Myrna added. "Don't worry, she's not so bad. A harsh mistress, but I've run with worse master vampires. Besides, she led us to this great place! She didn't allow me to dye my hair pink, but I did get this cool navel ring!"

"Myrna, you're almost a thousand years old!" Lassal shouted. "Act your damn age!"

"Nope, nope, nope!" Myrna said. "I was twenty when I was turned and I'll be twenty till the day I get dusted, so no dice... Besides, where does a mere fifty year old vampire get off telling ME what to do?!" Myrna retorted.

While Myrna chatted on, Dynaheir was led to a corridor past several coffins. In the back of the room, which was lit by several torches, stood a strange bath filled with a bloodlike substance. Her newly acquired sensitive nose told her that there was definitely plenty of blood in the concoction, but that was only part of it. Her nose also identified there was another woman in the room... A human woman. Immediately, her hunting instincts took over, but Myrna simply grabbed her by the arm and shook her head 'no'.

"Why is SHE been made a vampire immediately?!" the human woman demanded. "Have I not served you loyally the past two years?!"

"Valen," an innocent-sound female voice spoke with barely masked harshness, "I have more need of a human agent at the moment. Don't worry, my dear... I keep my promises. Especially to those who... serve me as well as you do. I will tell you when you will receive your award, not the other way around. You'll get what's coming to you..."

"Yes," Valen spoke in relief and moved to leave. "Thank you, mistress."

Myrna nodded and pushed Dynaheir a little into the room before stalking off. For the first time, Dynaheir was afforded a good look at the person sitting in the tub. For all intents and purposes, she was a young elf-maid, sitting submerged in the blood-like substance in the large bath. Her hair was as black as soot, while her skin had the color of finely hued white porcelain. She was small, but her power was undeniable as her eyes flashed a dangerous shade of red.

"Ah, there you are," the elf spoke, while she extended her leg above the murky substance and ran a bloody sponge across it. "Eaten well, I presume? Take off your clothes and join me..."

Dynaheir was taken aback for a while, to which the elf responded : "Shy? Don't be... There are no such things as prudish vampires. Vampires, especially females, need to be in complete control of their sensuality, lest they starve. Come on, remove that robe..."

Something in the elf's eyes made her obey without question. The tattered purple robe slid off the mage's body and fell to the floor. She stepped towards the bath and gently lowered herself into the murky substance. She felt... strangely cleaner now that she was in this bath.

"A perfect body, for a human," the elf smiled appraisingly. "You will certainly not starve... But then again," she smiled. "Neither will this 'elven maiden'," she smiled, then talked in a little girl's voice. "Oh, dear sir! I'm so afraid and lonely. Dear sir, would you help me, please? I'd do anything for a safe place to spend the night," she giggled. "So, easy," she spoke in her normal voice, "the nobles in this town are so depraved it's like shooting fish in a barrel. I trust Myrna has already promised to show you the best places to hunt? Heed her words. She's even older than I am... even counting the years I was alive. She's more of a follower than a leader, however, but there is much you can learn from her..."

Dynaheir nodded, feeling herself relax even more due to the strange properties of this bath.

"Like the bath?" the elf giggled. "It's a rare mixture of Virgin's blood, nymph blood, troll blood with a little Glabrezu-blood added for the robustness... Very, very soothing for vampires. I usually bathe first before giving the bath to my subordinates, so feel yourself privileged. Now, turn around," the elf said, and Dynaheir obliged...

She suddenly found herself in a surprisingly strong grip. A few seconds later, Dynaheir hissed in pain as two fangs entered her jugular vein and the elf slowly started to drain some blood. The rashami mage felt numb in her mind, and she was certain some sort of mental exchange was occurring. The exchange did work both ways, but she was mostly blocked. She did find out, however, that the elf's name was Bodhi, that she had experienced a terrible loss and was filled with rage and an utter desire to destroy a place called 'Suldenesselar'. But as soon as it began, it was over.

"Ah, when a vampire drains another," Bodhi smiled, "more goes on than a simple exchange of fluids. Especially if you know what you're looking for... Now," Bodhi said, easing back into her bath, "I've allowed part of your memories to resurface. Tell me everything about your travels with Laska Leafwalker..."

Dynaheir slammed her staff against the head of yet another vampire, but didn't do any permanent damage. She was running out of offensive spells fast... much fast than she was taking care of the vampires. Of the twelve attackers, only three had fallen.

"Okay, stand behind your victim... Now move your left arm over your victim's abdomen and clench tightly," Myrna told Dynaheir as they were standing in one of the many alleys of Athkatla. Myrna had charmed a young common boy and brought him to her new friend as practise material. Dynaheir complied and grasped the young man tightly. "Now," Myrna continued, "use your right arm to grasp the chin. Be careful to cover the mouth so your victim can't scream for help. Now, yank the head up and to the right to expose the neck.... Excellent... Now, if your victim is flailing and struggling, and if you intend to drain him or her completely, the best course of action is to find the lowest vertebra in the neck and push hard on it with your thumb until you hear the snap. You'll have severed the nerves inside, but your victim will still be alive so you can drink in peace... But we will practise this later."

Dynaheir nodded while she held her hapless victim.

"Okay," Myrna smiled. "You're doing great so far. Now, extend your fangs fully. This may hurt the first time, but the reward will be worth it."

Dynaheir complied and, indeed, felt an incredible pain as her upper fangs sheaved out of her upper jaw and pressed several other teeth aside.

"Now, BITE!" Myrna giggled. "Oopps," she giggled even harder. "You missed the jugular! Try again... Too high this time, try again... Ah, perfect! Enjoy!"

Dynaheir quietly drank the blood, the young man's life. She felt instantly rejuvenated and restored.

"Ah, I see our student is a quick learner," Bodhi smiled as she entered the alley. Myrna nodded and offered Bodhi the left wrist, while she herself put her teeth in the right wrist. Together, the three vampires drained the doomed commoner within a minute.

"Well," Bodhi said, smiling. "It seems we..." Suddenly, however, Bodhi fell silent. A small rupture appeared on her cheek, a trickle of foul blood escaping.

"Mistress, what..." Dynaheir asked.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" Bodhi screeched and turned away from her servants. Grabbing a dirty cloth from the ground, she wrapped it around her face. "I... I need another bath," she muttered and stalked off, leaving the two vampires standing.

"The mistress' curse," Myrna said. "I'd never bring up the subject if I were you. The last vampire who did got both his arms torn off... In any case, let us continue our lesson. To dispose of the corpses..."

'That wasn't me,' Dynaheir thought while fighting exhaustion almost as hard as the vampires attacking her. Minsc had a seemingly endless stamina as he pummeled the vampires with his twin maces, but even Dynaheir's enhanced strength and endurance, leftovers from her time as a vampire, could hold out much longer without a rest.

"So why is the mistress trying to hire the enemy of her brother again?" Lassal said as he and several other vampires were sitting in the lounge of their cozy crypt.

"Have you no sense of humor?" Myrna smiled. "I'd be irony! Besides, she really gets to tick off that brother of hers."

"Irenicus?" Dynaheir asked.

"Yeah, that guy is really dead, you know?" Myrna sighed. "There's nothing in his eyes... Even Lassal here has a sparkle there. And certainly the mistress... But him? Brrrrrrrr...." she mock-shivered. "That guy scares the hell out of me."

"I very much doubt this Leafwalker will work with the mistress, though," Lassal muttered.

"Laska is... unpredictable," Dynaheir offered.

Guttural screaming and a litany of curses sounded from the staircase as the elfmaid known as Bodhi stalked through the corridors, covered with, it seemed, the remains of someone's gourmet dinner. A seven-course dinner... Without saying a word, the elfmaid stalked past the stunned vampires and ran down the stairs leading to her private chambers.

Myrna was the first to snort. A snort turned into a snicker, a snicker into a laugh, a laugh into a roaring bellylaugh which ended with her rolling over the floor in laughter. The laughter was infectious and, soon enough, she took all the other vampires with her.

They did, however, not count on a cleaned Bodhi coming back up the stairs so quickly. As the laughter continued, Bodhi just stood there, waiting for the laughter to die out. The strength was from her voice, however, and she spoke in a sad voice laced with insecurity. "Why... why are you laughing?"

"Errr," Myrna offered. "Lassal told a knock-knock joke..."

"It was... about me wasn't it?" Bodhi said, a single tear of blood running over her cheek. "My... my own minions... I... I need to be alone for a while..."

"Uh-oh," Myrna said. "She always starts eating when she gets into moods like this..."

And, as if on cue, Bodhi ripped the still-beating heart from the chest of a human thrall and started snacking on it as she ran back to her private quarters.

"Yes," Myrna sighed. "We'll be breaking in new thralls next week."

'That wasn't me,' Dynaheir thought again. The fight was still going strong. Two more vampires had fallen due to the efforts of both of them. And Khittix was doing his best, squirting webbing from his hind-quarters to stop the vampiric advance.

It was brilliant. A brilliant idea. Bodhi's plan was to slowly take away all the Shadow Thieves' support in the nobility by not only killing the lords which supported them, but they could also make use of the confusion to rob them blind before anything could react. Right now, Dynaheir was stalking through the house of Lord Pelarr, which had screamed so deliciously just moments before. Dumping his body in front of the Thieves' stronghold at the docks would create enough chaos for her not to be noticed.

Right now, she was filling a bag of holding with all manner of valuables found at Pelarr's estate. Silverware candlesticks, golden plates, bags of coins, land deeds... All were worth a pretty penny on the black market of Riatavin and served to enlarge Bodhi's pool of resources. Coming across a wall safe, Dynaheir smiled and ripped the door from its hinges before unloading the entire content into the Bag of Holding, as were several valuable paintings as well as several decorative weapons...

"Who are you?!" sounded behind her. Of course, Dynaheir had heard Pelarr's fifteen year old son approach, but she was still feeling a bit peckish.

"You're a commoner, aren't you?" the boy shouted. "And a thief too! My dad will have you hung! Bah, you even smell like a beggar!"

"Do not concern thyself," Dynaheir smiled. "All thy worries shalt soon cease..."

"THAT... WASN'T... ME!" Shouted Dynaheir, dropping her staff and raising her arms high into the air. The planned Fireball was held over her head instead of launched. Dynaheir poured every bit of magical energy stored into her body for this assault. The fireball over her head grew in intensity, illuminating the entire cavern. Everyone stopped fighting. Minsc smiled while the starved vampires stared in fear at the powerful magics forming above Dynaheir's head.

Finally, letting out a scream of anger, she launched the fireball until it collided with the ceiling, exploding in a brilliant light. Minsc, Dynaheir and Khittix averted their eyes to the magical light, but when it had subsided, there was nothing left of the vampires but a few piles of ashes.

The Rashami mage smiled contently and collapsed to the floor. "Ah," Minsc roared. "A fine victory, isn't it, Boo? Little Dynaheir did well! Ha, HAH!"

A weak moan escaped Laska's mouth. "Wh... what's going on? Why I am stuck to the floor?" she asked.

"So, Firkraag trapped you here as well," the blonde, armored woman known as Samia sighed. She was undoubtedly an experienced warrior, as were the other members of her party, which surprisingly contained a Neo-Orog.

Korgan, locked in a staring contest with the dwarf of the other party, did not reply.

"You could say that," Viconia replied, trying to keep as much information to herself as possible. By the look of some of the party-members, they weren't exactly paladins.

"We were on an important mission for the Queen of Tethyr. Have you come searching for the tomb as well? I was not aware of another expedition," Samia said. "And if you are graverobbers, we know how to deal with your kind..."

"Ah, dealing with graverobbers, eh?" Jan said. "But how do you deal with graves that rob themselves?"

"Is he insane?" Samia asked.

"Ach, we be nay be knownin' that yet," Korgan muttered.

"It's true! One of the Jansen family crypts is near a living wall, and they attract dead bodies like crazy..." Jan replied.

"ANYWAY," Samia sneered, "I seek the tomb of King Strohm III of Tethyr. He lost his life to treachery, a sad end for a noble man. I hope to find texts in his tomb that will detail his life. I am not much of a scholar, but since this tomb is heavily trapped I was asked to recover it. But I cannot pass beyond this area. I have the key, but something prevents my entry. Perhaps the magic was attuned to stop those of a certain heritage. Probably a hold-over from at time of war, or maybe they did not want enemies defiling the tomb. You can guess what I am going to ask, can't you?"

"You want us to act as arrow-fodder?" Viconia finished.

"Basically," Samia said, tossing the key to Jan, who immediately started to work on the ornate door leading towards the deeper crypt and opened it with a creak, "you are correct. According to legend the tomb contains seven guardians. The last guards the burial chamber and is invisible even to the strongest magics. If the legends are true, I'm not sure how you would get by such a creature. There may be clues beyond this door to guide you towards such an end. The texts I seek should be in his burial chamber. Once you get them, return to me and I will allow you to keep everything else you might find. Good luck... you'll likely need it."

"FOUND IT!" Jan shouted as he returned from the tomb carrying a dusty old tome in his hands. "Here it is. 'Life and Times of King Strohm the Third, second edition'."

Samia was clearly taken aback and stammered like a fish on dry land. "Er... no, no. The ones I seek detail Strohm's life. They'll be within his burial chamber and, I suspect, much better preserved than this text..."

"Alright, then," Viconia said. "Wish us luck."

Safely in the dungeon, the door closed, Viconia finally was able to speak freely. "Have you seen them?" she said.

"Aye," Korgan said. "They be killin' us as soon as we be steppin' out with the treasure."

"Now, that is a VERY negative attitude, missy," Jan pressed. "Why, there wouldn't have been gnomes on the moon if you had been in mission control."

"There were never gnomes on the moon, yinglin," Viconia sighed.

"Yes there were! And the moon really IS made out of green turnips," Jan smiled. "Poor astrognomes ate themselves to death..."

"At any rate," Viconia said, "we can't fight them off at the moment, so we might as well go along with them until we can come up with a plan to defeat them later on..."

"Ach," Korgan said while trying one of the doors. "So we be playin' scholar now?"

Immediately, a gust of fire was launched through the hallways as the ancient efreeti guardian, determined to guard its part of the deathmask of Strohm, launched several fireballs. It was all Korgan, Jan and Viconia could do get the door closed again.

"Jan?" Viconia asked. "Do you still have those flashers?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Jan grinned broadly. "Yes, I've got a whole load of them in a bag here..."

"Perfect!" Viconia smiled and took the whole bag. Opening the door, she tossed the whole bag towards the malevolent genie. Diving through the hallway to avoid the explosion, the three later returned to gather their hard-earned piece of the mask.

"Any more of those flashers?" Viconia asked.

"Nope, sorry Vicky," Jan tried.

"Then, you'd better get to work..."

Using the new flashers Jan had created as high-yield explosives, Viconia reduced the other guardians to cinders as well. After putting the mask together, defeating the invisible fire elemental was surprisingly easy. In the end, the three adventurers stood in the middle of the tomb, which sported a casket with a sword and a shield lying on the top. Unfortunately, the items were not for the taking... As soon as Jan grabbed the shield and sword, a portcullis was slowly lowering over the entrance. Korgan quickly moved to stand under it and hold it up, and just when Viconia and Jan were making their way, a shift 'click' sounded as the ceiling slowly started to lower. To make matters were, several armored boots were heading towards them.

Viconia glanced at the mechanism while Korgan was struggling with the portcullis, and informed Jan of her plans.

"Dammit!" Samia snarled as she and her party found the tomb empty and treasureless. "Where are they! They couldn't have slipped past us!"

Immediately, the portcullis slammed down and clicked into place.

"Samia?" the Neo-Orog asked. "Why is the room getting smaller?"

"So let us get this straight," Jan said as their spell of invisibility wore off and they walked towards the exit of the ancient tomb. "Don't we care what happens to those poor people when they meet up with the trap I reset?"

"No."

"Nay."

"Don't we care that, even if they figure out how the mechanism works, they will probably starve to death?"

"No."

"Nay."

"Just checking. Plus, the next party which explores this dungeon will find some treasure too, now..."

"No doggie! No hurt us, Doggie!" a little troll told the werewolf snarling in front him, while his friend, a hobgoblin tried to intervene.

"Yeah, youse keep me and Moe alone," the hobgoblin said.

"Oh, please," the werewolf snarled. "You have not been cleaning the golem properly, and the master forgives no mistakes... Besides, I haven't eaten for a whole day..."

But before the werewolf could attack, a blue sword emerged from his throat. His eyes glazed over, and the dead werewolf slid to the floor.

"Play dead," Laska snickered as she stood over the dead creature.

"Thankee," the hobgoblin said. "We be getting outta here. No good dying in a smelly hole as this, right Moe?"

"Next time," Laska said as the two friend stalked off, "find a better employer."

"Wait a minute," Minsc said. "Boo asked me to say... 'Did that werewolf say 'golem'?"

The three adventurers looked at each other... and started running as a huge silver-colored magical construct emerged from a large hallway.

The hallways converged on a huge open area, where a narrow pathway was suspended over a seemingly bottomless pit. The signs that this room was initially used for ore-smelting were apparent due to the trolleys, the pulleys and bits of left-over iron strewn about the place. Just as Laska and her friends ran into the room, a small door on the opposite side opened up to reveal... their missing friends.

"LASKA!"

"VICONIA!"

"MINSC!"

"KORGAN!"

"DYNAHEIR!"

"JAN!"

"KHITTIX!" Viconia smiled as the happy spider ran towards her and jumped in her arms.

"Boo says : GOLEM!" Minsc shouted, but this time, it was Laska that came up with a plan of action. Moving like lightning, the elf placed herself between the wall and one of the rusted trolleys, her back pushed against the wall while her legs pressed against the cart. Flexing her muscles and taxing every ounce of her strength, she finally managed to move the cart. The cart sped over the rails... until it collided with the adamantine golem just stepping onto the platform. The golem was taken by surprise and wobbled, only to keel over backwards and drop down the shaft. That the pit was not entirely bottomless, became painfully obvious by the resounding 'clank' of metal landing on rock.

"I... really..." Laska said, gasping from the strain, "HATE... Firkraag!"