"Vampires aren't seen this far south, actually." Lis was swift to correct the large fellow; not in a mean or patronising way, of course - the man may have simply misspoke. But if there there were just about 3 things in this world that Lis knew, it was killing, sailing, and knowing about those monstrous denizens of Bania. While not an expert, Lis had spent over a decade in that land, coming across all manners of beasts and folks to deal with and kill. She'd come to learn of their ways, especially those surrounding Vampires. The group she had hunted with would spend months over one rumour of a vampire, in the slight chance that they could capture and kill it. Even when such endeavours paid off, they didn't always manage to kill the foul thing without losing many of their number alongside it. But as both Nuva and Allard stated, it wasn't necessarily a Vampire - but by no means did that make it less dangerous.

Just about to reply to the others in agreement that it was likely something else, Lis paused as the bickering of the gnomes filled the room. Watching on incredulously, she couldn't believe how blasé Hobnob was being. 'Only a powerful Mage'? That was not something to be relieved over! Her expression soured further as the gnomes continued to chatter over each other, now talking about a dog of all things. Despite their skills in inventing, Lis was finding them incredibly infuriating. Such matters as this one being discussed were not be brushed off lightly; that was how people got killed, or worse.

"Those idiots will be the death of us all." Her tone was scathing; while glad they had left the room, Lis' temper remained prickled. "Do they honestly think one trap would stop a powerful mage? This thing, whatever it is, clearly wants this book. Even if we avoid our worst case scenario, a mage is nothing to be taken lightly. They're capable of getting out of whatever stupid trap that gnome has cooked up, and then turn the world into hell around us. At least we know the strengths and weaknesses of a leech, but mages? Those bastards have access to all manners of dark magics; ones that can twist our minds, make us capable of killing the ones we hold dearest by turning our bodies into puppets. Spells to make your eyes explode and spine to snap..." She paused now, shaking her head slightly. Not just in anger at Hobnob and his lackeys, but memories - bad ones. Bania held more monsters than she cared to think about. "Don't even get me started on the summoning magic they're capable of. Ghosts and demons are harder still to put down; and one small trap set by those fools will not save us from such a fate."

Lis remained silent after this for a few moments as the others spoke; downing the remainder of her tankard and putting it aside. Listening to what Nuva said, Lis sighed with a shrug, still scowling.

"There are plenty of things it could have been. Vampire, mage, conjurer... or it could have been an innocent book collector who gave off creepy vibes to the household." Lis looked now to Virgil and Secret, placing her elbows on the table, hands pressed together. "But we do need to prepare for the worst. While disappearances are best to look at in situations like this, it would be beneficial to look into strange deaths too. Or people having gaps in their memory, acting in ways they normally wouldn't. The best thing to do would be to actually find this Strater, so we can get a good look at him and gauge our own opinions." Probably a fruitless task, but it was worth it. If this was some random book vendor, then he wouldn't be in hiding most likely. If he was harder to find... well, that suggested some kind of foul play. Either way, Hobnob's attitude was off-putting. Waving the serving girl over for another drink, Lis' scowl was firmly fixed on the door the gnomes had left from, eyes glinting at the wood as if it itself had suggested something foolish.

"Those walking tree-stumps wouldn't know danger if it picked them up and ate them." She muttered acidly, nearly snatching the now-full tankard from a somewhat nervous looking wench.