An uneventful day

Date Monday 25th

The carriage ride was uneventful presides the occasional conversation, the two nobles respected the Mage didn't wish to talk and talked between themselves while Angelo wasn't allowed to start a conversation as he was a butler.

"Them tents are of good quality, it was nice to finally test them," Lauren says while talking to Richard.

"We will have to buy them again from the same place if we run out," Richard says before turning to the Mage.

"That reminds me, where did you sleep Sir Mage? We only bought enough tents for us and our servants." Awkwardness slowly crept over his face as he realised his respected guest may have had to share a tent.

"I used a trick I have picked up while travelling, sadly I had to borrow some of your blankets since the last ones I owned were damaged." The Mage said with a sigh, he couldn't find any blankets good enough to replace the ones lost and therefore his backpack felt emptier than it should be.

"May I suggest something Sirs and Madam?" Angelo said with his warm smile, his words and face created the image of a caring and warm person.

"Speak," Richard said quickly, "What if Sir Mage were to sleep in the carriage with a blanket? Surely that would be more comfortable than his previous arrangements." Angelo said with the same smile from before, he had learnt to perfectly control his facial expressions through his time as a butler.

'I wonder what he is planning.' The Mage wonders, "I believe that is a smart idea." He says while looking out the window, nothing but forest was beyond the wooden walls of the carriage.

The caravan continued with no setbacks, there were no incidents nearby and no bandits trying to rob them. The sight of twenty guards would deter any normal bandit gang and any big enough to attack such a caravan would be hunting for bigger prey.

Clouds slowly rolled in, they were like piles of ash which blocked out the sky. They came from the south, soon bringing the rain which followed.

Rain soon battered against the caravan, it drowned out any sounds from outside causing the carriage to feel quieter than before.

Hours passed like this as the rain hit harder and harder until someone knocked on the door of the carriage.

It was nearly drowned out by the rain but it could still be heard over the dull sound of rain.

It was reaching night and the smell surrounding Angelo had grown going from a faint smell during the day to soon filling the carriage however it didn't overpower the other smells, it wasn't smelt by the nose but something else, the Mage could block out this new sense and not be able to smell the scent of a Vampire.

Of course, all of this was documented as it happened. The Mage's bestiary slowly becoming filled with facts and all types of information, useful or not.

The sound of knocking resounded throughout the carriage, knock then pause then knock knock. This pattern started to repeat.

Lauren looked at her servant who hadn't answered the door, her face puzzled. She started to speak then stop, her normally kind butler's face was now missing its normal caring and warm smile, a serious pair of eyes matched with an emotionless smile.

She had never seen her butler like this.

The Mage was also unsettled, his cane out of its sheath. Its body pitch black with a metal cap on top, the wood it was made out of wasn't common making it a look exotic, along with it being held by a Mage, the whole cane gave off a mysterious look.

A different smell came from the door, both Angelo and the Mage noticed it. It smelt like stagnant water.

The knocking slowly got faster, becoming more and more frequent. A dripping sound could be heard clearly over the rain, it too started slowly before getting faster.

The bottom of the door slowly leaked water for the first time during the journey. Even during the pelting rain, no water had leaked through the door.

The sound of scratching soon followed, the sound was similar to rats clawing their way into something but the door was above the ground, no rat could reach up there.

The knocking slowly turned into thumping, like someone was hitting their head or shoulder against the door, trying to break it down.

The Mage leaned forward and place his cane near the puddle, the water stopped advancing while the scratching died down.

Angelo soon leaned forward and placed his hand on the back of the door, the creature stopped ramming the door and the dripping slowly got quieter like the source was moving away.

The rain slowly lightened until it stopped.

They all waited ten minutes before moving back to their normal places, the Mage instantly picking up his bestiary and documenting a new page. He had found a second goal for his life, to first understand magic and second to create a detailed bestiary.

He completely zoned out as he wrote, it wasn't until an hour later did he finally come to. His theories, notes and experience with this creature written to the smallest detail.

He dried his notes with the Rune, not wasting time to put his book safely in his backpack.

The carriage was deathly silent.

"What did I miss?" The Mage said while looking around, everyone seemed to be avoiding talking to each other.

"I can understand how a Mage may scare a creature away but I can not believe that an eighty-year-old butler could help scare away such a creature," Lauren said with a hurt tone.

"I always wondered why father told me you could protect me if ever needed, I always scoffed and thought what could an old man do but you've just done this," Lauren said while looking out of the window, Angelo looks genuinely sad at this comment.

'You owe me old man.' The Mage made a plan in his head before speaking.

"He carries a charm of a Mage, while he can't use it, it bears the scent of the Mage and therefore can trick creatures that he is a Mage." The Mage said while nudging Angelo, this action went unnoticed to the two nobles as they both were looking away at the time.

Lauren turned to look at Angelo.