Trevor and Sypha ponder what to do next: there's nothing of note going on in Lindenfeld, after all. This preconception, however, is put to rest by the Judge, who summons the two to his home to discuss the strange goings-on in town: some time ago, the town was beset by night creatures. The town's guards were well-versed in fending off the night hoards, but one fateful evening, a particularly powerful night creature broke into the priory. Eerie lights poured from the building, and the monks of the priory were not quite the same afterwards. In the days that followed, more people, their minds similarly broken, flocked to the priory. The Judge requests Trevor and Sypha investigate. Trevor is reluctant to involve himself, but Sypha manages to convince him to help.
As Isaac journeys across the open sea and bonds with the ship's captain over tales of his service in Dracula's army, Lenore approaches Hector in his cell. After dismissing the prison's guard, she offers Hector fresh berries and chicken, clean food that wasn't rotten and maggot-infested. She explains that, among the sisters, she was a "diplomat": it was her job to seek peace when the situation called for it, and the situation was now calling for her to convince Hector to help Carmilla raise an army with his devilforging abilities.
At first, Hector accepts her treats, but when she draws close to the bars, he grabs her and threatens to maim her. In response, Lenore slips into Hector's cell and beats him back into submission: a painful lesson to Hector that just because she was peaceful did not mean she was weak. She leaves the cell and departs to let Hector think about how he wants to proceed going forward, but not before tossing him one more berry and chiming "Good boy."
Tropes
- Accentuate the Negative: The Captain points out this tendency of Isaac, he only remembers the worst of humanity and forgets the people that are kind and good to him.
- And Then What?: The Captain asks Isaac what he will do after he revenges himself on Carmilla.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Nice is relatively speaking of course, but Hector finds out the hard way that, despite being the kindest and most soft spoken of Carmilla's sisters, Lenore is no pushover and will get physical when provoked.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: What the Judge suspects happened to the monks - the night creature "broke their minds"
- Humans Are Flawed: The philosophy espoused by The Captain as a contrast to Isaac's Humans Are Bastards worldview
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Hector realizes that Lenore is trying this technique on him when she first scolds the guard, and then proceeds to act nice to him. He doesn't fall for it.
- Mission from God: Isaac regards his powers and mission as a religious calling from God.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Lenore shows Hector that, contrary to popular belief, vampires can eat other food than blood, and actually enjoy it.
- Salt Solution: The Lindenfeld guards are veteran monster hunters who know to coat their weapons in salt to burn the night creatures (along with some feces, so those burning wounds would get infected).
- Shout-Out: The Captain paraphrases Terry Pratchett's “If you don't turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else's story".
- Straight Edge Evil: Isaac doesn't drink alcohol. This is because he is a Sufi Muslim, for whom alcohol is haraam (forbidden by religious edict), though he is beginning to sway in his faith. As he drinks his water, he explains he is on a holy mission from God, but begins to rethink if he can do more good otherwise.
- The Teetotaler: When the captain pours a glass of wine for himself, he asks if Isaac partakes. Isaac does not, being a practicing Muslim.
