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Late in one mid-summer afternoon, the marketplace in was bustling with crowds of people from the small city on the edge of the forest. This small city called the jewel of Naromia, because of its vast array of trade routes and variety of goods that circulated the city. This city was extremely prosperous for the King of Naromia: it had no equal, and nether did it's king. Except one, one the king did not speak of, The Count ... Count Iram Withencroft. He was rumored to be a vampyre or a demon, but no one really knew since no one had ever remembered him after speaking with him. It was said that speaking to him put you in a trance. He's reputation wasn't helped any by the growing number of virgins who has disappeared recently or the men who had never returned from the Forest of Delusions that surround his castle upon it's dark and wicked looking crag of a mountain. If you were standing in the marketplace at night you would see the moon rise behind the castle and its sharp towers and haunting windows would send chills up your spine so bad you'd pray nothing ever came out of it looking for you. On this very late afternoon as the sun set and the day cooled off though, something was coming and it was looking for a victim.

The late sun of the day was at Frank's back as he walked down a path between the market stalls. His blue-gray overcoat was tied around his waist, the heat his excuse to show off his toned upper body. A few girls would stop to stare and he would send a smile or a wink their way before continuing on his way. He may run across them in a bar later tonight, might as well start winning them over now. Frank stopped at his destination, a leather shop, and pulled out his broken collar. The girl last night had pulled it clean off, he'd been so angry he'd left without another word. He growled as he recalled the girl, he'd already forgotten her name, telling him it was just a stupid collar, but what did she know; nothing. His growl had gotten the keeps attention and Frank pointed to the strip of leather. "Can it be fixed?" He gruffed, leaning forward and placing his palms on the shop counter. The man picked it up and examined it closely. "It'll cost you..." He warned after a short while. "I don't care, just fix it, and I'm in a hurry." Frank grumbled again, a whole day lost because of his collar, no because of some girl. He sighed and ran his fingers up into his short light brown hair before bringing his hands down to rub his face. He was frustrated; he hadn't even noticed the sun was getting lower and the air cooling off.

Little did Frank know that he was missing more than the sun setting; if he had paid more attention while he was walking he would have seen the large man in a dark aristocratic suit who had watched him walk by. He had chuckled at the young man and had not really shown any interest until he heard the one tiny thing out of his mouth; a growl. He grinned wickedly and waited for the man to emerge from the leather shop. Once the man had walked out, he casually followed him like he was browsing the little shops under the overhangs in the open air. He watched the young man's body language and smiled. He already delighted in the devilish thoughts that were crawling like a virus through his mind. His large form loomed over Frank as he reached for a pear. His hand squeezed it gently and his chest grazed Frank's back as he leaned over him. Frank's shoulder right under his armpit, he set the pair down and smiled. "Oh, sorry about that, you know how crowded it can get..." His voice was low and thick with charm.

Frank grumbled as he hooked his fixed collar back around his neck, happy to have it back. It had cost more then a pretty penny to get it repaired and he still had other shopping to do before nightfall. "Damn-it," He cursed himself mentally for a moment, not paying must attention to anything else. When he noted his surroundings around he realized he had walked to the fruit stand, one of the stops on his mental lists. He was busy picking up a few apples when he felt something brush against his bare back. He froze, already on edge from the insane price he had paid and now someone was touching him. Before he could stop it a low growl escaped his lips, stopping as he heard a candied apology. "Crowded, right..." He thought bitterly, though the words came out in a practiced emotionless tone at the same time. "How much," He asked the keep, trying to ignore the person still behind him.

Iram smiled to himself knowing that this was just the challenge he was looking for. He handed the keep some money and when the keep tried to give him the change, he pushed his hand away. "For whatever... he buys..." He pointed to Frank as he talked. He then smiled to himself and walked off. His tall muscular figure could be seen in the crowd and even when he was surrounded you could still see his dark top hat resting on the wave of people.

"Humf," Frank snorted and shook his head and mumbled under his breath so no one could hear. "Yeah, thanks..." He nodded to the keep once he had his things, knowing it was covered and left for the next shop in his list. The butchers wasn't as crowed as the fruit stand, but more people then normal were huddled in front of the counter, waiting to get their choice of cut. Frank was looking for some fish, since it was the cheapest meat and he knew what little currency he had left. If he was lucky he could still have a few coins left over for a beer after he got his bread. He had almost put the man at the fruit stand out of his thoughts as he got closer to ordering his meat.

Iram was standing there scratching his chin looking at some thick red meat and nearly licking his lips. He stood upright and his eyes flickered to Frank. They only slightly burned into him as he gazed. Frank could nearly feel his gaze on him, but it was only for a split second, though it felt much longer. There was something about this man's eyes that made everyone feel uneasy and nervous. The man stood wavering for a moment and then wandered off again.

Frank tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that covered his entire body and turned slightly only to see a district top hat heading away from the shop. The butcher then called his number and he ordered his fish in a harsher tone then he had meant to. Grabbing the wrapped meat, Frank paid the man and was thankful he still had the money get the bread he wanted. He wouldn't have enough for a drink which at this point he could use. "He's just some rich guy... why are you letting him bother you?" Frank chastised himself as he made his way through the crowds to the bakery to get the loaf of bread he barely could afford.

The man smelled the aroma of fresh bread and smiled to himself. He glanced over and chuckled to himself silently as he saw Frank again right where he wanted him. He wanted to cast a spell on him but at this point he knew it was not necessary. Iram had him right where he wanted him. On the way out he made sure to bump into Frank while he was on his way in. He made sure not to make eye contact but he let him smell his intoxicating breath which smelled of pheromones. Frank wouldn't be able to tell what it was, but it was enough of a distraction for him to put money into Frank’s pocket without being noticed.

Frank gave an unconscious grunt as he was bumped into while walking into the bakery. He turned his head to see who had done it and caught a whiff of some scent; surprised his nose could tell the difference with the heavy smell of fresh bread. He blinked, for a moment forgetting why he had turned and then caught the now familiar hat taunting him. His eyes narrowed and he turned back to the inside of the shop. He ordered his bread while digging into his pocket for the last of his money, only to find a bit extra then he remembered having. "Oh hell no..." Frank thought; a few different reasons why he had the extra currency forming in his mind, as well as ideas as to who did it. After paying the baker Frank grabbed his bags from each and stormed out of the shop, looking for the man he wanted to have a few words with.

By now the sun had finally finished its decent and set behind the horizon. The man in the tall hat was smoking down a dark alleyway and was rather ominous and scary looking with a slight glowing in front of his face while he smoked a hand rolled cigarette. He waited just outside the bakery down the alley where he knew Frank would see him.

Frank looked around as removed himself from the dispersing crowd and didn't noticed that he smiled when he spotted the man he was looking for without much trouble at all. He shifted his packages around in his arm as he headed down the alley without a second thought. "Hey! Hey you! Who do you think you are, following me around all day?!" He accused as he got closer to the man, not really thinking about what he was going to say or do about the extra money just yet.

'Bingo...' The thought ran through the man's mind as a wicked smile crossed his face, "I think I'm Iram Withencroft, and last time I checked you have to be behind someone to follow them." His voice was silky and taunting in the night air. Smoke billowed from his nostrils as he exhaled.