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The rain had not let up for the last two days. It was refreshing, and peaceful, to an extent. It also made great for hiding, causing visual issues to those who wished to seek deep into the night and even further into the morning. Dawn was approaching, and Karol wished to not be outside when it happened. It was simple really. He did not want to be burned to a crisp, rather he'd like to stay secluded into his 'home' with the thick curtains drawn closed so he could continue his daily research, or.. maybe sleep. He got so very little of it that he felt it would perhaps be a good idea.

Nothing nefarious happened last night, though in the last few nights before this, much had happened, not all of it was Karolek's fault. One, maybe TWO of the incidents could even be blamed on the vampire, and they were not accidents, nor were they sought after. Last night though was a night for collecting ingredients. Not many people would be out in the roads while it rained, and he would be able to obtain specific flowers and plants that had been so hard to obtain before, what with the presence of people.

He continued with great haste, attempting to make it back 'home' before the sun peered over the mountains. The sky was just beginning to show signs of change from dark to light. He pushed past a tree or two, climbing up to the road from the lower ground, his ingredient basket was tucked carefully under one arm, and his cloak pulled over him tightly, hood and all.
"It isn't witchcraft if I don't use magic... and it isn't superstitious if it comes true!" A figure trekked angrily over the wet ground, and by the voice, one could tell that it was a woman, and by the way she hiked up her skirts to avoid getting them wet, it was only confirmed. "That is no reason to kick me out of the inn, and it is rather rude! You shouldn't throw a pretty face out into the rain." She huffed to herself as she stopped to pull her brown cloak around her a bit tighter.

Her satchel was tucked under the cloak, but with all the rain that had fallen and for the amount of time she had been walking, there was little point in protecting it now. Her entire body was soaked and all of her things as well.

She was about to shout out that it was impossible to be walking this long and not come across another town, but then something caught her eye. Someone making their way down the path nearby. Her eyes lit up, and hopefully this meant that there was civilization soon.

"Hey!" she called out, waving to them, ignoring that fact that it might have been suspecious that they were walking out this early in the morning in the rain. And even if they didn't answer, she was definitely going to follow them.
He did stop, only out of hesitation. Was it a voice in his head? Or was someone talking to him? It was hard to tell the difference between the two things. He started walking again, taking things at an even faster pace. The sky was starting to get lighter and lighter.. The sun was soon to be here. He didn't have time to waste on whimsical voices and mysterious sounds.

His current place of residence was set up in the ruins of a old town. Most of the walls had already crumbled and fallen down from wars that passed and due to nature reclaiming what belonged to it. He took hold in a watch tower, that sat along one of the crumbling walls. It stood tall and seemed to be in decent condition, only a few holes remained.. It was rare for anyone other than himself to be out this far, as the ruins were regarded with much suspicion and worry. They were said to be haunted or worse, cursed.

Neither were true, it was just humans being cautious and superstitious and that was good. It kept them out of his hair. After a while he left the road again, more lighter shades had filled the sky and he had broken off into a dash for the tower, breaking through a thick line of tall shrubbery and small tree's that had started growing, a mini maze of plantwork, if you were to look at it from above. He was so close to the tower.. It would be nice to get back inside and out of the rain, despite how much he enjoyed it, he didn't want to die in the rain. THAT WOULD BE SAD.
The person stopped and she nearly let out a squeal of happiness. But then they started again. "H-Hey, wait!" she called out, before she lifted her skirts again, and started after them. For quite a ways she nearly thought they were going to lead her nowhere, but then she caught a glimpse of the run down town, and she stopped dead in her tracks. There was definitely no civilization in that run down town, so she wondered why that person was going there.

The eerie look of the place made her nervous, and she looked around nervously. If she wanted to get out of this rain, and get some rest... she was going to have to stay there, or risk the idea of trekking on further with no hope of finding another place to stop.

Her hands wandered underneath her cloak as she pulled out a silver charm in the shape of a star. She raised it to her lips and kissed it, before she made her way into the town.

Following the overgrown streets, she stopped at an old, partially broken building. The corner of its insides were dry, and protected from the rain, and she found that the best place to stay for the day. Hopefully the strange person here wouldn't mind if she housed here for just one day.
He broke through the small maze of overgrown bushes and stopped at the door to the watch tower, glancing behind him again, with narrowed eyes. He didn't stand there for too long before the heavy door was pushed open and slammed shut. Torches within the inside would be lit on the main floor, while he grumbled to himself. Last night ended up turning out wonderful.. Nobody bothered him and he was able to collect the things he needed for the salve he was working on..

The basket was set aside and the thick hide curtains would be pulled closed. The sun would have difficulty getting through them.. He would have boarded the holes or windows up by now, but he enjoyed landscapes.. It was just a shame he couldn't enjoy them in the day, but hopefully he found a way to change that.. Tomorrow afternoon would come the testing..

After a few moments he collected his basket and tossed the cloak aside, making his way up the stairs that circled the walls, hugging close to them.. When he got to the second floor he made adjustments to some things within the room and would move to close more of the hide curtains, though he stopped to stare out one of the windows that faced the town. He stood there for a few moments, staring towards where Eevi had gone, though he did not know of her.. But it certainly looked like he did. He turned from the window, sliding the curtain closed and glanced back towards his bed.

He was formulating a plan.. Something had to be done about the bed. He looked to the ceiling, staring at it. If there was ever an accident.. he needed a safer place to sleep, though it is not a matter of location, it was a matter of constructing something to shield him from things.. Though, he could worry with this later.. For now he wanted to lay down. Perhaps a nap would be worth it.
Being out of the rain was nice, but now she was shivering uncontrollably. Now that she wasn't moving, she could feel the coldness of the rain on her body. "Damn rain... Only been raining forever it seems." She leaned back against the wall, and immediately regret it as the structure shifted slightly at her weight, and the roof started to leak, right onto her.

She sat there for a long while, not believing her luck. And then she was standing, stomping out of the building. "The cards said that I would find something interesting soon! Not die of pneumonia..." Her eyes glanced up to what looked to be a watch tower. It was probably the single building in the best condition in this ruined town. She glanced around, before she made her way through the foliage, trying to find the entrance.

Eventually she found the door, and she gave it a tug, but getting no luck in opening it. "Come on... Don't let me die out in this rain!" She gave another big pull, and it gave way, swinging open slightly and giving her enough space to slip in.

Pulling the door shut behind her, she immediately noticed the torches when she turned. She held her breath, and really wondered if someone was in this tower...

Maybe it was the stranger she had seen out in the rain that led her to the town in the first place. In that case, maybe they wouldn't mind if she stayed there!

"Hello!" she called out, before she decided to make herself at home, shedding her wet cloak and hanging it on a chair. Her brown vest, brown skirt, and white chemise where soaked as well, but she made no attempt to remove them right away. Instead, she went to inspect the things around the room. She noticed the basket, and went to inspect it.
Karolek found it easy to relax and drift off into sleep. He didn't bother with much, slid his boots off and collapsed across the bed, laying there for some time. Sleep came easy to one as himself. It wasnt like he had anything to feel guilty over, ever.

He had been asleep, but the moment that Eevi entered his domain, his eyes opened and he looked around. Then the voice again. Was it following him? Was it to keep him up and drive him mad? Obviously it seemed determined to do so. He slid out of the bed, slowly standing upright. The sun was well and up now.. having shown it's bright face to the world once again, as it was to do for all eternity.. He heard the movement now, and it caused his face to pale, slightly.. or did it grow more flushed? It was hard to tell if he was even able to 'grow more pale'.

The basket had quite a few different plants. Most of which could very well be poisonous, not to mention a few roots that didn't seem too safe to have. General apothecary things, or rather.. general alchemist things. As she rooted around down below, he looked around. What to do.. what to do.. Why was someone here? Who were they? Were they out to get him? Was it their plan to expose him? He certainly hoped not.. Karol moved slowly across the room, pressing against the stone wall that hid the staircase. He took a deep inhale before yelling. "What are you doing her?! You shouldn't be here!!" A slice accent laced his common speaking. The fuck was he going to tell her? "It's cursed! All of it is cursed!"
Eevi glanced up when she heard the voice, but surprisingly, she didn't hesitate to it. "Even if it is cursed, I have a charm that will protect me. I'm not worried." She closed the lid to the basket, and made her way over to the window, throwing open the curtains. "You shouldn't keep it so dim in here. It isn't good for you." She peered outside and looked out at the town. Still gloomy. Nothing had changed.

She turned her eyes to look around the rest of the room, now that it was lit a little better. "Why are you here in this town, if it is cursed anyway? Doesn't make much sense, if you ask me."
He was quiet for a moment, listening carefully. Was she messing with his stuff.. oh no, this would never do. "I was under the impression that this was my home, and that I lived here, not you." He said roughly, attempting to go around the wall to head down, but he saw the beams of sunlight from where he was. IT WAS LIKE HE COULD ALREADY FEEL IT. "Close that damn window, girl!" He commanded.

"It's my curse, no little trinket will save you from it, now LEAVE. You do not belong here, go back to the village and never return!" He looked around for another thick article of clothing. If he was going to close that window, he had to do so with many layers of things that would not kill him..
Eevi frowned at his words. "Yelling isn't any good either, you know," she said, closing the window like he had said. "And do you even know how far it is to the village? There is no way I'm walking back there, especially after the way they treated me."

She waved her hand in front of her face, as if that weren't important. "I'm not staying. I just needed a place to rest. And my clothing is soaked, so I had to get out of the open air. Would you really turn away a damsel in distress?"

Of course she really didn't think of herself as such a thing, but if it got her a night in this place, she wasn't going to argue otherwise.
Karol furrowed his brow. This was probably why he never talked with anyone. "Really now? I never noticed." He said, knocking something over as he approached the staircase with a large cloak of animal pelts on. One arm was held up to conceal some of his face, while the other was held out, in a defensive way.

"This is not an inn, nor is it a place for you. However they treated you back at the village is none of my concern you know." He said, giving a short scoff. "If I were to buy into that act every time someone came around here, then yes, you could stay, but sadly I do-" He stopped speaking the moment he heard boards from above clatter to the floor, and water pour in. His eyes went wide. No.. did.. did what he think happened just happen??? He looked to his feet, where the water escaped to, running down the stairs.. It was not a very hard decision to get him to come all the way down, not since being upstairs was putting him in immediate danger. No.. no no no. This was bad, oh so very bad.

"What did you do!" It couldnt have been her fault, but he was going to blame her. Things were fine until she came.
She heard the crash and the water. Her eyes turned upward, trying to look through the ceiling to see what had happened. She resisted the urge to say, 'Sounds like you have a leak.' Only because he had blamed her for it. "W-What? How could I possibly do that? That, sir, is karma! Because you wouldn't let me stay here, you are being punished!" She gave a firm nod of her head.

"Why are you running from it! You should fix it before it gets worse!"
He scowled. "Karma exists only in the mind. You think, and think and think. Then you cause something bad for yourself. This is deterioration, lost, forgotten, aged, wood is bound to give with time. It was only a matter of time, but the time was now.. It could have been earlier, and I could have been dead." He said, pulling the cloak tighter around himself.

"You brought a change to things, therefor you brought this upon us. UPON ME, but I've already said that it was time, so you are exempt from it.. This is no time for jokes, girl. I cannot do that." He said, frowning deeply. If this was night time he'd have already been attempting to fix it, sealing up the hole.. "I will have to wait. Unless of course, you, wish to fix the problem, then I'd have no choice, but to allow you to stay here." He could very well push her out the heavy door and lock the many locks that line it's edge.
She could have went into great detail about how he had contradicted himself over everything he had just said. The fact that it could have gone at anytime, but it went at this specific time... hardly a coincidence in her mind.

But she was more interested in his latter comment. "Hmm... I fix it, and I can stay. I suppose a little hard work isn't that bad," she said, rolling up her sleeves. It was apparent that she didn't even notice that he had said he couldn't do it during the day.

"Show me what I have to work with!" She was already marching up the staircase, to see the damage.
"More or less, yes, that is what I would reward for you.. You would do me a service and I, In return, would do you one." Time was the only thing that kept her exempt from being fully blamed. Time.. Water was bound to build up on a roof that was flat, yet covered by a wall, and it was only a matter of time before the boards gave way to the weight.. It was logical.

"There are planks and boards.. Another staircase leads to the top of the tower, and you enter it by a hatch." He did not go up with her. "Hammer and nails are in a box on a shelf." He said, looking around for a way to get the water out of down here.. It was strange, having to rely on this person to keep him from death.. He had not ever had this happen. He always felt like he was so careful.. So cautious.
"Simple enough," she said, disappearing upstairs. She looked up at the hole in the cieling, and shook her head. This might take a bit, and she was running on no sleep. But, in the end, the reward would be that much better. She looked for the hatch he mentioned, before she gathered everything else she would need and took it all up on the roof. She wasn't worried about getting wet, since she was already soaked to the bone.

Luckily, she had done this sort of work before, for money and lodging. Traveling around the country like she did often had her doing odd jobs. Of course, there were some that she would turn down very quickly.

She almost wondered why he hadn't fixed this sooner, if he had known about the problem. As she hammered away, she glanced around the town, thinking about all of the possibilities of what may have happened to it and its people.

Maybe this man really was the reason that this place was in its current state. Maybe... but her charm would keep her safe. He said it wouldn't but... he hadn't hurt her yet, right?

A little time later, she was finished, and she slowly made her way back down into the tower, and she called out for him. "Hey! Fixed it! Now where do I sleep!"
Karolek was relieved when she went away to fix.. He had maybe known about it, but there was only so much time in a night. It wasn't like he could spend the day fixing things. He had to do one or the other, and he generally chose what made more sense to him.. It wouldnt have been such an issue if the rain had not been continously falling.

As she hammered away, he remained where he was, taking a very careful peek into the upstairs to make sure she was doing as he had said and not just beating on the floor.. When the hole was covered, he moved up and looked around. Nothing was damaged, at least in the general room.. Perhaps this week he'd do more to reinforce his home. It wouldn't do for it to fall down around him. That would not help with research at all..

When she finally finished and came down, he had set her up a place to sleep, across the room, towards the staircase. "You will sleep here." He pointed to the most basic of beds.. It was not much different than his own. Made of straw and hides, with animal pelts for covers, her's was just on the ground, rather than having a base for the bed. Still was probably just as comfortable as his bed. The work she did was examined. He had to make sure that it would not slide away, or move.. that would be dangerous. "It will keep us safe then?" He questioned on her work. She had to be more positive of this than she was of her wants and needs as a human. SHE NEEDED TO WANT THAT TO NOT FAIL.
"Hey! Don't doubt my work! I know what I am doing, you know!" she said, frowning and crossing her arms as she looked at him, and then to the bed. It wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for, but she knew better than to turn down a place to sleep. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, and wrung it free of what water she could.

She made her way downstairs quickly, and gathered her bag, looking inside to make sure that everything was okay. "No!!" was heard when she saw that everything was NOT okay. All of her things had been soaked with water from the rain. Her cards were ruined, and any supplies she had were now unusable.
Today was turning out to be terrible, and that was apparent as she stomped up the staircase. She tossed her bag beside the little bed and began to untie her vest. And then her skirt, til she was just in her chemise. She glared at the man, as if he might be looking at her in a perverted manner.
"Fine." He said, turning from her to continue checking on his things. By the time she went down stairs, he was already ignoring her existence. She was staying for ONE day and that was it. Whether the rain stopped or not, she'd be leaving. When she came back up and threw her bag down, he was leaning over his desk, looking over a few of the papers and scrolls.

He could feel her glare on the back of his head, and that was the only reason why he lifted from the desk and stood straight up, staring at the wall for a moment, before he turned and moved for her, taking the bag without asking and dumping the contents of it on a table that sat near her. He rummaged through the things there. It was all wet.. Only a few things of it could maybe be salvaged. He collected the cards, looking over them briefly. He never understood why people bought into these, or rather, why they became so important.

Without anything said to her, he picked each of the soggy cards out and stacked them, then moved for the fireplace built into the wall. It vented outside so the smoke wouldnt pool into the house. A compartment on the side was opened and a few of the cards were laid inside, while a lower compartment was opened and the rest were laid out inside, each card face up and by it's self. He closed both doors and would pull a metal slide out. The cards laying on a grill so they would stay put and holes at the top and bottom of the stone box inside each compartment allowed heat to pool in from both top and bottom, drying both sides. This was useful for other papers as well. He didn't say anything to her during this time, rather he locked the doors and moved on to other things.
She went to grab her bag back from him when he took it, but failed to do so, and so she was only left shouting at him. "Hey! What the hell do you think you are doing!? You can't just go around taking people's things!" She frowned as she watched him, seeing that he wasn't actually planning on hurting anything. She realized what he was up too, but she wasn't about to tell him thanks.

"You could have at least said that was what you were doing, you know..." she frowned, plopping down on the bed and watching him.

"Why were you out in the rain like that, in the early morning? Seems to me that with no one around, you wouldn't need to be all sneaky like that... Unless you just killed someone." She eyed him suspiciously.

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