Fantasy City of Salem {ded}

[V e r t i g o]

Sance chuckled loudly, easily dodging the shots, but took one to the stomach. She stopped in her tracks and felt her wound, lifting her hand to watch the blood drip from her fingers. She laughed again and yelled to her comrade. "Hey! You were right!" It obviously didn't phase her as she leapt forward, but instead of striking with her sword, she slammed it into the ground and flipped over the hilt and onto a nearby table. She managed to dance around one of the men's attacks before throwing a concealed dagger straight into the side of his neck. She staggered backwards and she leapt forward again, landing on his back and ripping the blade from his skin, snapped his neck and let him fall.

She looked around, watching Seth split the other man in half. She ran and ripped her sword from the floor, looking around.

The bouncer.... had bounced.

She sighed and sent the blade on her boots soaring into the last goon's knee.

 

[Floodwater31]

Alexander pulled into parking lot of the brothel just as frightened patrons and 'companions' started running out the doors screaming. They took that approach, he looked at the pen he'd ran home to grab, so much for a peaceful alternative. He slid the pen into his pocket and grabbed something that would be infinitely more useful, his medical bag.
Alex stood next to the door and watched the people flood out, the patrons and whores pushed and shoved each to get through the narrow door first, none of them seemed injured more than the scrapes and bruises they were giving each other. Several were jostled enough for their glamours to momentarily flicker.
Waiting for a lull in the crowd, Alex squeezed into the dark building, neon lights illuminated the now mostly emptied room, several of the more trampled customers were still getting out.
Alex shouted into building, "You know you weren't supposed to cause a panic right?". It was then he noticed the burly man with a cornered look on his face, and remembered he'd forgotten his revolver in the car.

 

[that1aj]

Holding her bow even tighter in her hands, AJ started talking. "Julian, we need to go, come on! The manager was a vamp, he turned into a bat and flew up the ventilation shaft. We need to go find him!" Looking towards the door, she saw a stranger talking to Seth and Sance. "Come on, Julian, let's go!"

Caffeine Freak V e r t i g o Floodwater31 TerribleTachi

 

[TerribleTachi]

Julian had barely touched his glass before panic erupted.
Firstly, there were gunshots going off in the backroom, but most of the customers were too inebriated to really notice. Julian didn't seem bothered either. There was nothing here that the slayers could not handle.

However, AJ running out behind the bouncer and shooting arrows in plain sight of everyone was enough to create chaos in the whole room. When the bouncer hit the bar, shattering glasses everywhere, people spilled in all directions. Julian stepped away from the mess quickly, going absolutely still for a second as his vampire senses were completely overloaded with information.

The panic continued to erupt around him as all the humans began to rush outside, causing the doorway to get choked. The silver-haired man processed the mess around him, and then his steel blue eyes fixed on AJ. He was angry.

He strode towards her as if to hit her. But then he walked right past, straight into the backroom, his lips pressed together tightly.

 

[Caffeine Freak]

"Nice shot." Seth muttered to Sance, hauling the injured henchman under his arm, who gave no shortage of protest. "C'mon, you're coming too."

Julian appeared at the door. "Oh hey, Julian." Seth strolled past him, ignoring the annoyed look on Julian's face. The remaining occupants of the main room, it seemed, consisted of AJ, Julian, the guy he'd met earlier, and the escapee bouncer - who had unwittingly taken an arrow to the knee, and was leaning on a table for support. This did not stop him, however, from pulling out his gun.

Seth, realising this, dropped the unfortunate guy he was carrying and surged forward, slashing upward with his blade. The bouncer, along with part of the table, slumped to the ground in two pieces.
"Guess we're bouncing this check" Seth muttered. He went to pick up the guy he dropped. "Alright." He mused. "Only like three homicides. So far, so good." There was no sarcasm in his voice. Seth remained convinced that they had conducted a successful stealth mission by his standards. Though this was no time for celebration, Seth thought, and plopped the injured henchguy into a chair.

"Alright. We're gonna ask you questions and stuff and if you don't... then you just die I guess." Seth sat down in an opposite seat, idly drawing circles on the ground with his sword.
"I'll tell you anything!" The man cried.

-

"Sir, we have several reports from citizens concerning an establishment downtown. May I ask why you are asking me to not send police officers?" The police chief folded his arms.

The Mayor took a long sip from his brandy. "All in good time, Major. All in good time." Sweat appeared on his brow.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance calmed down a bit with Seth's compliment, a gentle smile spreading across her face. Then, with Julian entering the room again, her lips dropped back into their neutral position. There was something about this guy that threw her off and gave her chills, but she didn't know what and that bothered her even more. Walking by him, following Seth's lead, she smiled at the angry lad, speaking up as they passed.

"Smile, it'd look better on you."

Entering the main bar area, the entire place was a wreck. "Mortals sure are messy..." She mumbled and pouted. Then before she could even blink, the bouncer was on the floor, dead at the hands of Seth. She blinked a few times and shook her head before trotting over to where they were gathered. She leaned over and draped her arm over Seth's shoulder. One could hardly say she was bent over, due to Seth's size even sitting down. She was small, but still packed quite the punch.

"I'll tell you anything."

She smirked as the man cried and chuckled. "Someone seems a little scared to die," she mocked and teased. "It's inevitable, yanno? and Lord Death isn't kind with those who don't cooperate." She flashed a toothy smile at him, obviously trying to intimidate him. "Now, wanna tell us a little about the management around here?"

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Seth gave Sance a brief sideways glance. Since when did he become an armrest?

The henchman, meanwhile, didn't hesitate before grovelling. "I just get paid to be muscle, I swear it! The boss-man, he don't tell me nothin' bout what's going on. Didn't even tell me about what happened in that alleyway with the whore-"
Seth held up a hand. "Alleyway?"
The man blinked. "Y-Yeah, the one on Ghoulstreet, fifth avenue."
For a guy who was told 'nothin', the information was oddly specific.
"Uh... thanks." Seth muttered, not quite expecting it to be so easy. "What about your manager? He turned into a bat, flew out the air duct."
No sign of surprise was in the guy's eye. "Oh, yeah, he does that sometimes. Only so he can get backstage though."
Seth raised an eyebrow. "Backstage-"

"I'm firin' you, asswipe!" The manager growled as he burst out from his hiding place behind the stage's curtain, making for the door.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance smirked at the glance Seth gave her, whispering over his shoulder. "It's only for the intimidation factor. Gotta look like we can at least get along, right?"

She couldn't help but groan and face-palm at how utterly stupid this guy was. It was a lot easier to get the information than she expected. How do you just casually watch your boss shift into a bat and leave? She had so many questions, and went to speak, but Big Ol' Bossman reappeared and made a sprint for the door. She growled, immediately leaping into action, scuffling with him for a moment before getting him on the floor. She spoke with anger, her teeth clenched as he squirmed beneath her.

"Don't... move..."

She motioned for Seth and the others to join her, but kept an eye on the injured man at the table.

"And, as for you, just stay put or you'll be drowning in your own blood."

 

[Caffeine Freak]

The henchman gulped.

The Manager meanwhile just started squirming. "Agh, you halfwits! You got the wrong guy!"
Seth moseyed over. "Oh really? The vampire who made a break for it when asked about a killer vampire is the wrong guy?"
"Yes!"
Kneeling down, Seth gave the tattooed man a skeptical look. "...Really?"
With a brief puff of smoke, the Manager weeded his way out of Saunce's grasp by shifting into a bat, but only dusted himself off when he re-assumed human form. "Your precious Mayor doesn't give me no blood packs. The girls here let me have a sip in exchange for a free roof over their heads. I ain't killed nobody, but I knew what you oafs would think when you trudged through the door. Now look at my bar. Fockin' mess, it is."

Seth's skeptical look didn't really change.

"So if you didn't kill that girl, who did?"
The Manager huffed. "Dunno. Was about to find out too, when you jokesters showed up and screwed it all up. Fifth Avenue, just like my dipshite, now fired employee told you."
Seth rolled his eyes, turning to the rest of the group. "Guess we've learned all there is to learn here. Seems the leads are all down at Fifth Avenue." The exclamation did, of course, require a great deal of trust on their informant, and Seth wasn't too keen on trekking a wild goose chase just because some whorehouse scum told him so. Still, Seth was out of better ideas.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance scratched her head and looked down, mumbling an apology to the man for the destruction of his business. She placed her arms behind her head and stretched. "There's no harm in goin', to check it out," she folded her arms. "Though, this time, let's try not to make such a mess." She looked around, examining the damage, cringing softly. She did tend to get carried away. She could only guess it was the Bloodlust.

She looked around for AJ. She was quite the little escapee. Here one second, gone the next. It struck Sance as odd the Mayor would ask assistance of such a young girl. Though, she couldn't be one to judge on maturity considering her younger sister wasn't much of an adult either. She kind of huffed, thinking about the little green-eyed demon.

She then guided her attention to the newcomer whom she had hardly interacted with and bowed to him with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you! Name's Sance." She held her hand out.

 

[Floodwater31]

Alex took the hand offered, "Alexander, pleasures mine, one moment please". He turned his attention to the tattooed man, this seemed like the perfect time to chime in, "How much would you be willing to risk?". He stepped further into the room, having got the general gist of he conversation, "That is, how much would you be willing to risk to prove your innocence?". He pulled the pen from his pocket and clicked it, it was thicker than the average pen, one were you probably could supply your own ink, which is precisely what Alex had done. Placing a napkin he'd found onto a miraculously unsmashed table and continued, "Simply write something along the lines of, I have shared all relevant information or I am not involved in the murder of... what was the girl's name again? Oh-well, anyway, think about what you write before you do, if you chose to write anything. Your choice".
The ink in the pen was infused with truth, a rare commodity in today's world, and would be impossible to write a lie with. If he attempted to write 'I'm not a vampire' he would instead write 'I am a vampire'. It wasn't nearly as menacing as Alex let on, but alittle fear helped these things.

 

[Caffeine Freak]

"Oh, give it here then. If it'll get you outta my hair, I'll write whatever you damned want." The Manager snatched the pen from Alexander, scrawled something on the napkin, then presented it for all to see. 'I did not murder the girl. I told you everything I've learned. Fuck off.'
Seth grabbed the pen back and tossed it to Alexander. "See? Was that so hard?" He hadn't expected anyone to be carrying around a truth quill, relics like those had all lost their magic decades back. It was a wonder to see such a modernized version with its magic intact."Nice play, Alex. Squeezing confessions out of vampires is pretty difficult when you've got no heart rate to hold their statements too."
"I'm still fockin' here, you know."
Seth gave the manager one last distasteful look before turning toward the door. "Let's get outta here."

The Manager called after them. "Oi! If you knuckleheads somehow actually catch the bastard who offed Susie, give him a good ol' kick in the nutsack from me!"

Seth turned back towards the others when he was back outside. "Fifth Avenue it is, then. I'm walking." Mortal vehicles always did make Seth feel claustrophobic, and the Mayor kept making excuses every time Seth requested a horse riding track through every block.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance wasn't much for cars either, but she wouldn't decline an offer if given one. She glanced at Alex, also intrigued by the pen. Technology and magic mesmerized her.

She stretched and looked at the others before shrugging. "I'll join ya," she said nonchalantly and began to walk towards their destination. The two made a pretty good team, so she wasn't too worried if they got ganged up on. He was more blunt force, and she was more agility and quickness. Plus, their colliding personalities gave an interesting combination of sour and sweet.

 

[Caffeine Freak]

"Alright, no time to waste." It felt good having at least someone watching his back on the way there, just in case the Manager had just waved them off into a trap. Seth then realised that he was putting his faith in a magic pen, and suddenly didn't feel so keen to find out what was waiting for them on Fifth Avenue. 'Ghoulstreet', Seth had heard the name before, and had made a point to avoid that particular part of town. The Mayor didn't have a habit of just making up names for non-human streets off the top of his head, and Seth would die a happy man if he never saw a ghoul again.

A couple of minutes passed, and Seth supposed he should invest his attention in something else other than the lurking shadows. "You and your sister - reapers - you guys aren't from Earth, are you?" Realms and dimensions always made Seth's head hurt when he read about them, he mainly just stuck with killing things that they spat out. "What's it like? Y'know, on the other side."

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance smiled up at him, enjoying the bit of interest he seemed to show in her background. "Well, there isn't much left of it now after the War. Bloody angels.." she mumbled and pouted. Sighing, she snaked her arm around his, as more of a kind gesture than anything. "Growing up, it really wasn't THAT different, but I mean, it was all any of us knew. Earth wasn't meant for us, we always just mortals souls to assign them places in Hell. It looks quite a lot like this place, just, more demons," she pondered. "And fire.... and the screams of the damned." She couldn't help but chuckle.

 

[Caffeine Freak]

"Ah, screams of the damned. Sounds wonderful." Seth muttered, trying to un-tense at Sance's touch to no avail. "Probably wouldn't go there on vacation, mind you. demons and witchers don't really get on." He shuddered momentarily, briefly picturing the city with demons instead of pedestrians. Just catching the bus would be a question of life or death.

His little mind scenario was cut short, however.

"We're here."

Fifth Avenue. The misty place looked like something out of a horror movie at night, and the silhouettes of streetwalkers who stopped in their tracks as the group approached weren't helping. Seth's hand twitched at his side, itching to go for his sword. "Uh... hello." He awkwardly waved at the figures. "We're just here to-"

Faint, red glimmers of glowing eyes shone through the fog, a few seconds before the figures charged, flailing their sharp nails.

"Nevermind." Seth murmured, whipping out his silver blade.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance was lost in reminiscing of her past and home, but was suddenly pulled from her thoughts at the sudden action in front of her. She stepped back a bit, an instinctive hiss leaving her mouth. She pulled her sword from her back, the saw-like blade shining with what little light was around. She didn't quite know what to do, so she just started swingin'.

"Why the Hell are things so difficult around here..." She mumbled.

 

[Floodwater31]

Alexander watched as the witcher and the elder sister, Sance, a reaper, began to walk towards Ghoul Street. Best not to discuss longevity with her, Alex made a mental note. While not the longest walk, it is better to leave a car parked on Ghoul Street than in this parking lot, "Anyone need a ride?". He opened, his door and slid in. He gently tossed his medical bag into the back and moved his revolver off of the passenger seat, I might need this now.

...​

Ghoul Street was darker than the rest of town, the buildings were old and decaying, whatever shops weren't boarded up had darkened windows. The citizens walked slowly, and slumped, they stopped and watched as the car drove by. These souls were no doubt torn apart by hunger, thus was the nature of ghouls, the cravings tear you apart from the inside. The city treats these people like a subset of vampire, only providing blood, when this simply sustained them and did nothing to end the hunger. What city would provide flesh though, and it is a step up from the regular ghoul purges from twenty years ago...

...​

Alex pulled into a parking lot of a seedy looking bar, the place looked abandoned, he knew better. Before existing the car, he slid his revolver into his bag, and a pocket knife into his pocket. "Don't talk to anyone, don't look at them, don't acknowledge them, walk slow... breath softly if you can", whether this was a reminder to himself or a warning to others was dependent entirely on whether others were in the car.

TerribleTachi that1aj

 

[that1aj]

Getting into the man's car, AJ put her bow on her shoulders. While they were driving, she was completely silent other than the occasional cough or sneeze. Once they got to Ghoul Street, he started talking. Only really half-listening, all AJ heard was, "...walk slow... Breathe softly if you can." Getting out of the car, the girl instinctively kept her head down and her steps light, trying to breathe as slowly and quietly as she could. Creeping around, she only looked up when it was absolutely nessecary, and even then it would only be a quick glance. Becoming more nervous, AJ took out her bow and grabbed an arrow, not getting ready to shoot quite yet, but able to do so in an instant. Looking up after hearing loud noises and a hiss, AJ saw Sance and Seth fought a group of streetwalkers. One of them noticed her and started running towards her, so AJ took the arrow to her bow and shot the creature, killing it.

Caffeine Freak V e r t i g o Floodwater31

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Seth flurried with his blade, but the creatures where unnervingly fast, and he couldn't risk heavy swings lest they close in while he was off-balance. Each slice he tore from them was too shallow to be lethal, if anything it just made them more angry.
These couldn't have been the ghouls living peacefully in Salem, these things were gaunt, dressed in rags - must've leaked in from the forest. Thankfully, Seth spotted Alex and AJ approaching, but his relief didn't last long as even more ghouls poured in from alleys and sewer grates.

While Seth was just beginning to wonder if ghouls still ate witcher flesh, another, more substantial figure appeared from a house's doorway.
"Begone before I file a noise complaint." The shadow spoke with annoyance, red eyes singeing through the fog. The assailing ghouls unhesitatingly scurried back to the crevices they'd sprouted from. "You must forgive me, my neighbors have been restless. Please, come in." The figure held the door ajar.

Seth reluctantly approached the house, sword still in his hand. "We just want to ask-"
But the figure disappeared within the house, the open door beckoning them inside.

 

[that1aj]

Creeping towards the door, AJ kept her bow and arrow ready as she slowly walked inside. "Hello...? Anyone home?" she called, hoping both to get a response and not to get a response. "Guys, come on. I think it's safe," AJ said, beckoning towards the others to follow her.

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Seth followed AJ in, looking around at the house's interior. Apart from being overly fancy - from a linen clothed dining table set with gold plated cutlery to cut diamond chandeliers - the place was also much bigger on the inside. "Extension spell." Seth muttered, trying to wrap his head around walking through the door of a cramped townhouse and instead entering a mansion.

"Please, sit." A voice beckoned, though there was no one to be seen. The dining table was set with a plethora of roasted meats, though Seth could tell immediately through the herbs and spices just what the meat actually was.

The door appeared to wait for everyone to enter before swiftly shutting with an audible click behind them.

"Sit." The voice insisted.

Seth, not seeing much choice in the matter, took a seat at the table - trying not to look at the served dishes.

 

[Floodwater31]

The elven girl loosed an arrow, dispatching a feral ghoul, it seemed that the elder sister and the witcher were in a similar predicament. Though this group seemed to cause destruction wherever they went, Alex couldn't really blame them, feral ghoul attacks were rare but unavoidable. Alex pondered for a moment whether he should draw his revolver, he'd be pretty useless without it, but the noise would attract any ghoul who hadn't already found them. Fortunately he didn't have to make a decision, a stranger intervened, the ghouls scattered, leaving only two or three dead, but many sporting injuries.
As he passed through the door, the witcher echoed Alex's thoughts, this was indeed an extension spell, no small task. There is no telling what other enchantments were laced into that doorway, with this sort of magic, domain is everything. Alex shivered.
The table was laden with a wide variety of what Alex assumed was long pork, expertly prepared and perfectly seasoned, but long pork all the same. He took seat as instructed and leaned back, surveying the spread, Alex voiced a question to the unseen master of the house, "Is this all imported or made inhouse?"

 

[Caffeine Freak]

Seth gave Alex an anxious look. "I'm not sure you wanna-"

"Oh yes, all made in house." The voice finally had an owner, a well dressed figure at the head of the table, one that certainly was not sat there moments before. "Much more exquisite when prepared on-site, don't you agree?"

Aftershave and soap - Seth didn't even particularly need to focus his senses to catch that overwhelming scent from his end of the table. Whoever this guy was, his overdoing of the whole 'classy' act even outmatched the Mayor. "Listen, uh-"

"Ah, yes, the young woman. Let us not dwell on such tragic affairs while dry. Please, drink."

A full goblet was just there in front of Seth when he looked down, topped with an awfully sweet smelling red wine. While he'd planned to refuse drinking, something about the scent was too alluring to ignore, and the goblet was in Seth's hands before he even knew what he was doing.

 

[V e r t i g o]

Sance mumbled as they entered the house. The whole place was giving her the creeps, and for a Demon, it took quite a lot to phase her.

As the four of them entered, a voice spoke up, telling them to sit. She took a seat and carefully watched the movements of each person in the room. She wasn't quite sure of what to do, when Alex spoke up. She eased a little at the lax conversation and pushed her back against her chair. Before she knew it, goblets were appearing in front of the group. She didn't care much for most alcohol, but wine had always been her favorite. This one, however, didn't set well with her. It was too sweet, and though her hand moved to drink, she stopped it and eyed Seth as he took a sip.