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5:50pm, Last Seed 16
Kitchen, Evermore Castle 
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Chops-Lettuce had been gone for almost an hour now. As Tsleeixth finally settled into his food prep station and figured out how to clean vegetables to Breton standards, the head chef decided to pay him a visit. She berated Tsleeixth for doing a mediocre job (while the Breton and Redguard cooks were ignored for doing the same), and warned Tsleeixth to keep an eye on his "scaled friend". However, Tsleeixth was as clueless as everyone else about Chops. At this time, servants (including Sagax) were arriving to refill their refreshments and getting ready to set the dinner buffet.

As if on cue, Chops-Lettuce ran in frantically, knocking over pots and pans, and spilling scorching hot beef broth on the chef's exposed forearms.

"What the f-" The chef bellowed.

"Holy hist, Delacourt's dead!" Chops shouted.

"What the f-" The chef repeated, louder, but was once again interrupted by the Argonian.

"I saw them slit his throat! They drained the blood out of Delacourt!" Chops-Lettuce was almost crying. "They saw me, almost got me! They were going to drink my bl-"

[i]Slap![/i]

"Guards!" The chef had backhanded Chops, knocking the Argonian flat on her back, and knocking the wind out of her. For a few brief moments, the kitchen was still, cooks and servants alike stared at the unfolding spectacle. That was until the heavy footsteps of royal guards rushing in, and Chops began blabbering again.

"No, wait, they're going to kill us all!" Chops plead, only to be dragged away by two heavily armored guards. "They're vam-"

"Get this crazy lizard bitch out of my sight!" The chef gritted her teeth, gesturing with one arm and soaking the other one in a pot of cold water.

"We'll send her to the dungeon." A guard acknowledged. An armored fist whacked Chops' jaw, just to drive the point home.

"Back to work!" Was the chef's command. Gradually, the cooks went back to finish their cooking, while the servants took food and drinks out on trays and carts. Tsleeixth was told to fetch more seasoning from the cellar. When he's halfway there, Tsleeixth found himself stalked by the same pair of Breton and Redguard that had harassed him earlier.

"Look at that mess you made!" The Breton approached with a meat cleaver in hand. "I don't know about you, Zavin, but I've seen enough of these reptiles."

"You said it, Teranse." Zavin, the Redguard, concurred. A sinister grin appeared on his face, and a heavy meat mallet appeared in his hand. "Seems like we have a couple of people missing, but no one's going to miss you when we're done here, lizard boy."
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Edith was listening nearby when the fiasco in the kitchen went down. At first, she was honestly baffled by how stupid the chef was. Then she realized that she was disguised among the working folks, the kind that grinds hours for a set wage. These cooks and waiters weren't mercenaries like herself; they worried only about getting through the job as fast as possible, not doing it thoroughly to earn a completion bonus. Now Edith understood why she was here in the first; Bretons are a lot dumber than they think they are.

As Sagax finished delivering his food cart, Edith dragged him into the servants' change room. "Delacourt's the old man that stopped you at the checkpoint, right?" She asked Sagax.

"I think he stopped someone else that shouldn't be here, and that may be the vampires we're looking for." Edith whispered, making sure no one else was around the room. "We need to see what's going on over there."
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