This was supposed to be just an ordinary non-AX business related trip but when William glanced at the pager he had with him, he knew this was going to be about his other work. He was at a seminar for literature professors, and he hadn't exactly expected to find himself needed in AX operations whilst here, several thousand kilometers away from Rome.

He shut the door to the room where he was staying and sat down. He did carry his AX communicator device with him but establishing contact when in public was not a good idea. "Yes, Kate dear, what it is?" He replied to the call. "Missed me?"

"You wish, William," came the reply, and the Professor was sure that Kate, somewhere aboard the Iron Maiden, was rolling her eyes. "This is about work and you know it."

William shrugged, but he couldn't deny it; lying to Kate wouldn't work, and if this was as important as the original message implied, he would have to take a look at the situation. "I get it, I get it. Give me the details and I'll see what I can do."

"Unfortunately I can't give you much information," Kate explained. "What I do know is that this lead needs to be checked to see if the source was correct. Although, William," she paused for a moment. The Professor frowned, wondering if something was wrong. "I would think you're more interested in the source itself than on what you're supposed to check. Honestly, why do I bother with you..."

He was definitely getting curious now. "Oh?" William asked, digging out the pipe from his pocked and studying it. "I'm all ears. What's this about?"

"The point is, you're not the only AX operative in the area," the nun continued, her tone of voice making William even more curious about the mission. "It's Hugue. You know how there hasn't been any contact from him for at least three weeks? He suddenly contacted me earlier today and said he's in the area and wants you to meet him at the old Östermyra bridge."

"Hmm," William stared at the pipe thoughtfully. He hadn't seen the blond swordsman in a month and a half, and hearing his student was in the area sure made him interested. There just had to be more in this than checking on Hugue's well-being, though. "Östermyra? Somewhere around here I think..." He moved to the desk and searched for a map he had with him. "Wait, that's something like fifty kilometers from here!" He complained, the frown returning to his face. "What is that boy thinking?"

Kate chuckled. "He's up to something, that's what. I contacted Lady Caterina and she said it's worth checking out. The information itself said that Hugue's after a member of the Svart Vind, which means he's just vampire hunting, but if he wants you there..." She trailed off for a moment. "I somehow don't think Hugue asked you there simply for backup," she added with a gentle tone of voice. "But it might be that he finally figured out he can't do everything alone."

"I wonder," the Professor commented, amused at the thought. "Wishful thinking maybe, but if Lady Caterina thinks this is worth it, then it is. Besides, I have to admit it would be nice to see that the boy's still alive. I'll take care of a few things and head to the site. I promise I'll send you a full report to give to Lady Caterina later, depending how this goes."

"All right. Just take care of yourself and see that Hugue doesn't do anything stupid," Kate said as she closed the connection.

Today's seminar would still last for a few more hours, but William figured he could skip the rest of it. He would have to stop by in any case to chat with some colleagues before heading out, and he also had to cancel dinner plans with a professor acquaintance of his from Albion. He sighed and left the room. "Vampire hunting, hah, of all things I end up doing here..." He muttered to himself before making his way back to the seminar area.

It took him about an hour to get sorted. He ended up having to chat with a few colleagues before he managed to find the acquaintance he had dinner plans with. With that out of the way, he stopped by to get some equipment, just in case things were to get bad. The whole deal also meant at least a half an hour drive, and since he didn't have his car with him, it meant using taxi services. That, or talking Kate into bringing the Iron Maiden II over to give him a ride, but William knew better. Kate wasn't that close and even bringing up the idea would have ended up in disaster.

He frowned as he stepped outside and looked around the campus area. It was dark, although considering it was winter and he was up in the Northern Marquisates, the notion was unnecessary; it had been dark since the afternoon. He muttered to himself while crossing the campus and headed towards town to find a taxi. Some extra bribery was likely required before he'd get anyone to take him that far in the first place.

Much to his annoyance it turned out he was correct. The taxi driver charged him something ridiculously high for the distance traveled, but it wasn't like he had a choice. He figured he could always put it in AX travel charges at least, even if the little trip had just emptied his pockets and left him wondering how to get back. Well, he was here for Hugue. The boy would get to deal with that problem.

It took some walking around with the map before he found the desired place, and as he took a look around, William decided he had no idea why the meeting place was some old bridge behind an abandoned school building. The place seemed deserted, and there didn't seem to be anyone living nearby. This of course meant trouble, since if the swordsman picked such a place it was likely that he was planning on a fight.

"Hugue? You here?" William called as he looked around some more. This was at least the right place as far as he knew, not that it was much of a place. There was the river, and the bridge in question was little more than a small pedestrian bridge, connecting between the old school and another couple of large buildings on the other side of the river. There was snow around the area but the river wasn't frozen; the weather, however, was cold enough to cause clouds of mist to float over the water surface, giving the whole area a rather eerie look.

The Professor was studying the river when his eyes caught the sight of someone standing at the other end of the bridge and he smirked. The person was clad in a dark cloak that fully covered him, but there was that one thing that guaranteed the Professor had found what he was looking for - the person was holding something that appeared to be a long stick.