The vampire hunters and beastslayers had arrived. Even before the chamberlains had announced their arrival, Baron Ulrek had sensed their presence as they entered his keep; already he had begun attempting to probe their minds. It was apparent that many among them were skilled vampire slayers, for the thoughts that Ulrek perceived were unbelievably inane or crude. Ulrek probed one of the beastslayers' minds only to be subjected to the memory of the teenaged vampire slayer pleasuring himself with a large, overripe turnip with a hole poked through it. Revolted by being subjected to such a thought, Ulrek immediately untethered his consciousness from the hunter's mind. No doubt that these vampire slayers were well aware of vampires' capacity to read minds, and had therefore forced themselves to think of some drivel to distract or disgust any who would attempt to read their minds; a simple yet effective tactic in the presence of a powerful vampire. These were precisely the sort of seasoned hunters Ulrek needed. The Keep's head chamberlain ushered nearly a dozen men into the great hall. They were a barbaric gaggle of dangerous looking men; their mere entry had stirred the guards to the utmost attention and the Baron's servants exchanged anxious glances with one another as a hushed murmur came up from the peripheries of the great hall. Even to the courtiers that had not expected them, it was clear that these men were vampire hunters from the crosses hanging openly from their necks and the reek of garlic emanating from their pores. What had compelled the Baron to invite such men to his court? The Baron of the Great Weald sat rigidly upon his throne, eying his curious guests. Ulrek seemed attentive but unperturbed, even as the miserable garlic stench clinging to the clothing and skin of some of the vampire slayers reached his nose. Once they had settled into the great hall, Ulrek stood to address them. "Gentlemen," Baron Ulrek began as he rose out of his throne, "I bid you welcome. You have traveled distant leagues and endured many inconveniences to join me at my court today. The matter that has forced me to summon you today is urgent indeed, and I thank you for arriving quickly in keeping with the urgency of this situation." "Enough jabberin', Baron," a broad-shouldered beast of a vampire slayer interrupted. "Wot d'ya wont wif us?" "You wish me to be concise? Fair enough," said Ulrek. "Guards, servants, leave me and these gentlemen for a brief while." The guards hesitated for a moment. Leave his majesty alone with a dozen vampire slayers without a single guard in the room? Had Ulrek gone completely mad? "Guards, I insist," Ulrek repeated, sensing their unease. Mad or not, the Baron's orders could not be denied. The guards slowly filed out of the great hall and the head chamberlain shut the doors behind them, leaving the vampire lord and the vampire hunters alone together. "Now, as you wish, I shall speak candidly and concisely. King Zachaeus Bathory, my father and master of this imperium, has elected to forgo the legal order of succession of these lands and pass the inheritance of rule over the Xelwyth Imperium to whichever of his sons can first find a loving bride. I am a revolting monster that naturally repulses female beings, and so I am naturally handicapped in this absurd game against the likes of my handsome younger brothers Edward, Matteas, Rory, and others. I see this contest for what it truly is: a desperate attempt for my father to deny me my rightful inheritance. I will not abide this flagrant perversion of inheritance law." "So, where do we lot come in?" Asked the giant of a vampire slayer. "I will pay 1,000 golden vespers for each of my brother's heads delivered to me." Ulrek declared. The vampire slayers exchanged toothy grins and excited nudges to one another. A single golden vesper was more than many commoners saved up in an entire year; 1,000 was a considerable fortune. It was by far the largest bounty any of them had ever been offered. "Which of your brothers do you think will be wed soonest?" Asked the tallest of the vampire slayers, handsomely dressed and better spoken than his cruder compatriots. "A wise question," said Ulrek. "I believe Matteas, Baron of Solleck, is nearest to being betrothed. He has courted a noblewoman of that city for some time before my father issued his challenge and is therefore in an advantageous position." Ulrek, impressed with this taller vampire hunter, casually attempted to probe his mind. Nothing. Ulrek's eyes widened slightly, for this had never happened before. Never before had Ulrek encountered a mortal impervious to being mind-probed. He continued on with this briefing, wishing to distract the vampire slayers from his shock. "Matteas is a problem, but Edward is the greatest threat. 1,500 vespers for his head." "A bloo'y fo'tune!" Exclaimed one of the vampire slayers who could not contain his enthusiasm for the promise of such riches. "I'll be rich 'nuf to buy my own bloo'y castle when this is all said 'n done." "A word of caution," Ulrek added, tempering the enthusiasm. "These are not the wild, feral beasts you gentlemen are accustomed to dispatching. These are powerful vampires, learned and protected by guard contingents and the laws of this land. If you should be captured attempting to kill my brothers, then there will be nothing I can do to save you. Die in the last ditch, for if you are captured my brothers will mete out the most excruciating of executions against you. Great risk warrants great reward." Truthfully, Baron Ulrek did not know if a captured vampire slayer would be immediately executed if found by his brothers, but he hoped that they would believe it and choose to fight to the death rather than be interrogated and reveal his plot. "I dismiss you now to seek out whichever of my brothers you see fit," Ulrek said at last. "Now go and do your bloody work. But work quickly. Time is of the essence in this matter." As the vampire slayers made their way for the doors, Ulrek focused on the tallest of the vampire hunters, confirming once again that he could not read his mind. As Ulrek's attempts to hone in on this man's mind proved fruitless, the immortal monster felt for perhaps the first time in his long life a very mortal feeling: fear. For the first time in nearly three centuries, Ulrek Bathory had encountered in this tall mortal man something that frightened him.