"who control all the power and go to war with each other." "And who's caught in the middle?" " We are." " We are!" "Because we don't matter." "Do you know why?" "Where'd you come from?" "according to you." "You came from shit." "I came from shit." "We all came from shit." "We just work for a living every day of our lives." "We just keep those bastards in food and wool." "Slaves!" "That's what we are." "Slaves to great old families and their games." "Sorry." "Can I get my ale?" "It's just that I think I'm sobering up." "but wanna see some coin from you now." "Ohh." "Huh." "what's that on your chest?" "Oh... my shirt." "eh?" "Something to keep me warm while I find a tree to sleep under." "That's a family crest." "I know it." "all right?" "That's a Belmont crest." "here's the money." "aren't you?" "Family Belmont!" "Never met them." "just forget it." "I'll just go." "No!" "You're a Belmont!" "This is all your fault." "I don't know what you're talking about." "you do." "you do." "Everyone knows the Belmonts dealt in black magic." "The Belmonts dealt with monsters." "son... so I'm told." "This is just an old shirt. their lands taken because they were evil." "Evil." "And now Dracula's hordes are abroad in the land." "And whose fault is that?" "it ain't mine. and now black magic is all over Wallachia." "I think you know exactly whose fault that is." "okay?" "I'm leaving now." "So you can lead your monster friends back here?" "So I can find somewhere to piss and somewhere else to sleep." "you can sleep right here." "You haven't got your shovel." "I don't need it." "and I'll make it quick." "What's your name?" "Jesus of Nazareth." "I'm carrying a short sword and a whip." "Try again." "Trevor Belmont." "House of Belmont." "Last son of the Belmont family." "Happy now?" "No." "Unh!" "Ooh." "whoa!" "Oi!" "Fucking face down here!" "That's how you want it?" "Listen." "I used to fight fucking vampires." "Unh!" "Kick him!" "Would you please leave my testicles alone?" "Ugh!" "Hey! and I've never lost a fight to man nor fucking beast." "Oh!" "shit." "Christ." "Bastards." "I hope you all bleed out." "Through your arses!" "Mm... every last rat bastard one of you." "Oh." "Oh." "Bloody Gresit." "Last stop between me and starvation." "The next town's 40 bloody miles away." "Here we go." "Hmm." "and no one's getting out." "Pretty sure they wouldn't do that just to deny me breakfast." "Hmm." "Whoa." "God forbid you should warn anyone before emptying your fucking shit pots." "Never thought I'd be so hungry" "I'd climb a shit pipe in pursuit of breakfast." "never mind." "What will one coin buy me?" "Bit of dried goat." "Haven't seen you before." "I'm just passing through." "thanks." "You want to pass through quicker." "I guess you've got some troubles here." "Is there a defense effort?" "Don't need it." "We got a tribe of Speakers in the city." "the demons will leave us alone." "the Sleeping Soldier. but now he sleep under the catacombs." "what for?" "of course." "I think he'll come back." "Really?" "but keep it quiet." "The new bishop hates the old wisdom. but the bishop's men come in the middle of the day." "You know what I mean?" "You know what I think?" "I think the Speakers make the Sleeping Soldier ill." "so of course Dracula's bastards come over the wall every night." "The bishop will sort things out." "gone to hell. then all will be in order." "I warned you." "You can't say I didn't warn you." "sir." "Are you talking back to me?" "I'm merely talking to you." "Anyone can see that we are not responsible for what befalls Gresit." "keep walking." "now I'm stupid?" "but you can see things I can't with your magic?" "that's all." "Speakers don't help. and you and yours were told to be out of Gresit by sunset." "And see?" "The sun is up." "old man." "Will killing an old man make you less scared of the dark?" "I don't know." "Maybe it will just make me feel better." "hell." "I'm sorry." "I was trying to snatch the stave out of your hand." "How's your finger?" "What fucking finger?" "!" "That's no way for a man of the cloth to talk." "Why don't you go and get that looked at?" "Kill the bastard!" "I don't like priests at the best of times." "really don't like priests." "we'll say no more about it." "Kill him now!" "Last warning." "This will get nasty." "that's a funny thing for a priest to be carrying." "That's a thief's knife." "but I'm stone-cold sober." "Someone will get hurt." "Pick him up." "Take him back to your church." "Don't bother this man or his people again." "sir." "But... it is appreciated." "I am the elder of the Codrii Speakers." "Thank you for your kindness your restraint." "Elder." "Can I accompany you to your train?" "We have settled here in Gresit." "No caravans." "But I would be glad of your company on the way to our lodging." "How many are you?" "though I insist we be counted as 12." "you see." "come inside." "Meet my people." "we were worried about you." "I told you it was too soon to go outdoors." "And I told you it was necessary to offer aid to the people." "I was met by some of the Christian priests." "Are you all right?" "Thanks to this man." "Although I fear there may be trouble ahead because of it." "What did you do?" "I'm a little out of practice." "They're both still alive." "You used violence on them?" "The younger people believe that words can speak louder than actions." "you're Speakers." "Words are what you do." "You know of us? although my father once got into a fight with one." "True Speakers do not fight." "When he tried to convince a Speaker to have your oral history transcribed on paper." "we are quite protective of our ways." "History is a living thing." "Paper is dead." "Would you like something to eat?" "I'd prefer something to drink." "bring our friend some water." "then." "Maybe you can just tell me why you're here." "Speakers live anywhere they deem right." "You must know that." "I know Speakers are nomadic tribes." "You seem to have been here a while." "And how do you know that?" "Because the locals are blaming you for the attacks." "That's the church's doing." "They need something to blame. that the church itself brought Dracula's hordes down on the land." "Really?" "There were Speakers in Targoviste one year ago." "The church burned Dracula's wife at the stake as a witch." "Shit." "That is indeed one way of putting it." "But you didn't answer my question." "There is no structure left in Gresit." "no aid." "then you know we can't turn away from those in need." "That is why we are here." "May as well tell him the rest. probably." "I like stories. until there is a darkness upon the land." "I heard that one." "The Sleeping Soldier." "It's a local legend." "if you know what I mean." "sir?" "I'm a Belmont... carry complete spoken histories with you." "I also know you gather hidden knowledge and have practitioners of magic knowledge in your tribes." "A Belmont?" "I thought your family had vanished. then... it doesn't mean it originated there." "The wisest and cleverest of our magicians that it is possible to hear stories from the future. and you're here to wait for him?" "One of us went to look for him." "This would be your "missing" Speaker?" "Yes." "That one went into the catacombs under the mausoleum west of the church." "Has not returned." "Isn't there a head man in Gresit you could go to?" "He died in the first horde attack." "Our searches have been unsuccessful." "what are your plans? move on. all that." "You feel no compassion?" "This is what the church wanted. but they didn't want us." "good luck to them." "they didn't get the choice." "all ordinary people have to do is stand aside and keep quiet." "There's always a choice." "find a good tall tree." "too." "Don't be crazy." "Leave now." "hook up with another train." " It's his grandchild." " Arn!" "I don't care!" "It's the elder's grandchild down there." "We can't even bury them." "It's not our way to just leave our dead unattended to!" "We stay for the people of Gresit." "we do." "But we also stay because we hope... but because you don't have your grandchild's body?" "If you want to put it that way." "will you please leave?" "Wait outside the city." "Give your aid to the survivors when the night horde finally just rips through this place." "Why would you do that?" "They're going to come for you soon." "The good people." "It's gonna be a pogrom." "They were talking about it in the marketplace this morning." "I don't think you answered my question." "I know what it's like to be persecuted by your own country for the accident of your birth." "will you leave this city before nightfall?" "then yes." "I'm leaving now." "Don't go walkabouts looking for people to give support to." " Stay right here." " Belmont." "It is not dying that frightens us." "It's living without ever having done our best." "I don't care." "Frederator!"