Vampire's Epitaph | ONC 2025

"Tell me who that woman was." Daphne asked once she had located Eleazar. He was lying in the shade of an apricot tree looking thoroughly put-out. It stood in stark contrast to the beautiful sunny day and general joyous element all around them.

"Don't you ever tire of asking questions?"

Daphne fixed him with a quizzical stare. If she grew weary of asking questions, there would be many fewer answers available in the world. She'd uncovered the mysteries of where everyone's bread was disappearing to - a Goblin Hoard. And what that symbol on the old well meant. And why Trolls seemed to actively avoid their town. Amongst other findings.

She realised as she thought about it that what she had done was irrelevant in the time they were in. No one cared. Did anyone care, even in her actual realm?

The thought was unnerving, so she pushed it away, unwilling to believe that no one was curious about the past but herself. Daphne set her hands on her hips and glared down at the Vampire. Ezra settled on a long-hanging branch, watching the pair with great interest. "Fine." She huffed. "Don't tell me. I don't care."

Daphne looked around. They were some ways off the main path that travelled around Epitaph and not far off, women could be heard gossiping. She felt left out, standing off to the side. "You were the one who said we had no time to waste. Why are you lying down?" She wanted to give him a good kick, but felt it would aggravate the situation.

He waved her off half-heartedly and turned onto his side. "Sun's out... It's draining my energy. I need a nap." He yawned, but Daphne was unconvinced.

"The sun? If nobody can see you, surely the sun can't either! How can a two hundred year old sun be affecting you? You're practically a figment of imagination in this time!" She threw her hands up in aggravation.

Eleazar shook his head in an exasperated fashion. "You really don't know anything, do you? The sun transcends time and memory and everything in between." He looked up at it through the canopy of leaves and almost-ripe apricots above him. "The sun knows I'm here. Even if its effect on me is significantly weakened, I can't continue in broad daylight."

"So you're going to sleep here and possibly miss the entire reason we came?"

"We won't miss it..." His words were slow and tired. "It'll wait for us..." His eyes didn't open again and Daphne stood there in disbelief for the better part of five minutes. When the gossiping of the townsfolk became too loud to ignore and that scent of cinnamon she had gotten a whiff of before reached her again, it was easy to leave the Vampire to his slumber.

She thought she heard him mumbling as she turned, something about staying put, but whatever it was, it didn't matter. Daphne thought Vampires "didn't have to sleep" and as such, it just proved what a slob Eleazar was. Napping even though he wasn't tired! Her thoughts turned angry and vengeful until she heard Ezra's caw. He came to hover just above her.

"And what do you want?" She snapped, stepping onto the cobblestone pathway. "Go watch over your Vampire. Leave me be." But the bird didn't listen. Daphne was fed up with magickal creatures anyhow; she didn't have it in her to argue with a bird. And his presence was slightly comforting - a reminder of what her mission was.

Epitaph was a small town in Daphne's time with a population not quite reaching one hundred. It was hard to believe that the town she walked through now was the same one. The streets were lined with lanterns and smelt like freshly baked goods. People were everywhere, dressed in drab clothing but feeling very good about themselves. It was evident in the women's rosy cheeks and the men's good-natured chuckles. The place felt homely.