Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[The_Rifleman]

Sergey carefully inspected her wounds, ready to help before she swatted him away. In the heat of the moment he forgot that she had the power to renegerate naturally. Didn't really need him, so he stood up to give her space and packed his pack again. It's seen more action in the past two days than in the past two years. Figures haha. He looked at the others, "I'm staying the fuck away from that sword I don't care if it solves world hunger and heart burn I ain't fucking touching it."

 

[Breadman]

"Here you go." Theodore said to Rosanna while handing her her hat. He caught a look at the scars. Horrid looking. And that was from a mere touch. The ability to destroy one's souls was another horror. "Are you sure your natural healing would work? Wrath of the gods is a different thing all together from getting hurt in a traditional way."

He didn't like this. Not one bit. But he was not surprised. The use of such weapons by the church would be greatly concerning had he not gotten a good look in the past just what the archives also house within its faults. The worse part was he could see why the justification for them to exist and the logic behind it. The absolute worst, when it was agreeable.

 

[Infab]

"I hope so." said Rosanna, slipping her hat back on her head before looking at her arm again. It seemed to be looking better at least. "Better to get hit by lightning than cut by that thing, I guess." she said, motioning to the sword on Valeria's shoulder. Valeria's expression was again one of deep remorse. "...If we didn't need it, I would have left it buried beneath that tree." she replied softly, before stepping away from the cluster. She motioned for Ethraeil to follow her, off to themselves so that they could speak privately.

Rosanna didn't understand it, really. Jakob touched the sword and didn't get shocked. Maybe it only affected the undead? Or it only worked in the hands of one of the Order? Still...that hurt. Really badly. Worse than anything else she had ever felt. She sighed, coughing once more as her voice began to return to normal. "Glad it hit me in the chest than in the head. I'd be missin' hair." she said, with a hint of a chuckle. Or worse, she'd be dead.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil followed when Valeria motioned for him, and he made sure they were some distance away from the others before finally speaking up. He stared directly into Valeria's eyes with apprehension and a bit of anger. "What did you do?" he asked.

 

[Infab]

Valeria looked to the others, then back to Ethraeil. She sighed, before letting the tip of the sword rest against the ground. "...I made a deal...information on what the duke has, and where the sword was we needed to kill him...in exchange for my body and soul." she finally said, looking back to Ethraeil's blue ember eyes. "...and before you say anything, I know. I understand. It was a stupid decision, wrong in every way...and I'll be condemned to be a demon's play thing till he decides to consume my soul or send me to the Abyss...It was the only way, Ethraeil."

She looked down towards the ground as she continued. "...the church isn't prepared for what the Duke has in mind. He has the ring of Adona...the most powerful of the gods. Imagine the sheer chaos and destruction he could do if he learns to fully control the ring's powers? I had to do something...and so when Sazak appeared to me in a dream the other night in the swamp..."

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil's eyes widened as he took a step back and clapsed his hands onto his head in utter disbelief. "You made... a deal with SAZAK?" he sputtered out in a furious manner. He began to speak again, almost about to yell, but instead opted to shake his head. "I... you've made the same mistake I made... and that demonic wretch will make you suffer for it for as long as he wants." he said solemnly, his visage becoming filled with pity and sorrow for a moment before returning to anger. "I bet he can hear me right now, can't he?"

 

[Infab]

Valeria's eyes shifted, her pupils and irises shifting to yellow orbs while the whites of her eyes turned as black as night. "Yes, I can hear you. How's my favorite bone boy?" were the words that flowed from Valeria's mouth, before her eyes quickly shifted back to their normal appearance. "...he's...always there. Whispering, commenting on the things I'm feeling or seeing..." she then said. She went silent for a moment. "...please...Ethraeil. Forgive me for what I did...I had to."

 

[The_Rifleman]

Sergey watched carefully over Rose as she got up, and he figured she was ok as long as she could move. It didn't ruin her cheerful attitude at least. He then pivoted to ask Val what their next course of action was, only to see she was off talking to the skeleton off in the distance. That's odd.

He looked at the others questioningly, "What do ya'll suppose they're talking about they can't say in front of us?" Sergey was starting to get a little peeved. Two massive fights in just about as many days, and more questions than answers. This was all a little more than he had in mind when he set out for adventure. Saving the world wasn't on his little resume.

 

[joshuadim]

Sazak's retort was of no surprise to Ethraeil, and he stayed silent as the demon taunted him before control was relinquished back to Valeria. "...I thought that too when I unwittingly became Sazak's slave." Ethraeil replied quietly, moving his gaze off to the side. "Now you travel the same path I had traveled once before."

He then also realized that, by extension, Sazak was very near his phylactery, which once more filled him with dread. "...if Sazak tries to use me with my phylactery, Valeria... I don't know if I can stop him."

 

[Infab]

"...which is why I'm doing this." she said, before reaching up to her neck. She lifted off the necklace, and handed it to Ethraeil. "...I'm giving this to you in good faith. You have proven yourself to the church for centuries...and its time they actually trusted you to do things without the need of someone lording over you." she said, placing the necklace in his hand. "...I ask that you stay with the group, and help me kill the duke. Then...once he is dead...I want you and the others to kill me."

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil stood still as the one thing connecting him to the mortal world was placed into his hands. The one thing used against him... now his. He stared for a moment at it before looking at Valeria. "I will find a way to free you. I will travel to the depths of the abyss if I must, for I will not have another suffer the same fate as I had. I promise you this." he said as he placed the necklace safely within him. "For now... we have a duke to kill."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister was glad that Rose seemed fine. After all the prior excitement, the last thing they needed was one of the strongest dropping dead from touching a cursed sword from Velin. It would have fit the cruel layout of the tragi-comedy which he imagined himself to be stuck in. He was simply glad that he was a better playwright than fate.

He settled back down into the grass and sat down, laying out onto his back again. A nap would have been nice, and he didn't even really need to sleep. His clothes were scratched, his hair out of place, filth covered him still in some places. He needed a bath then a nap.

The others continued to talk nearby, and he glanced over towards Valeria and the lich to see them talking much further away from the group. He wasn't sure what that was about, but probably some kind of Order business concerning the sword. Then he saw the inquisitor hand the phylactery over to the lich.

Oh? It seems are friend has found freedom over his own life now.

 

[Infab]

After giving Ethraeil a nod, she then said "...I need to tell the others. Its the right thing to do...they need to know what they're working with, and what they need to do once this is all over." She looked to the group, then back to Lich. "I have to tell them, Ethraeil."

-------

Rosanna eventually walked over, fetching the rifle that had been thrown from her, before settling down in the grass near Aleister. Another glance to her arm informed her that her wounds were healing, though rather slowly. She glanced over to where Valeria and Ethraeil had walked, and saw that Valeria was handing Ethraeil his phylactery. The lich is getting control over his own soul. That was good. She smiled at the sight, before looking around at the others. For the first time in a while, she actually felt like taking a nap.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil gave a nod before chiming in. "Though, a few might not take well to that kind of news."

 

[Infab]

"...All of them won't." she said, before sighing. "Its very likely that some will choose to leave. One might want to kill me on the spot." she said, glancing over to where Camille was sitting against a tree. She then lifted the sword back to her shoulder, and after another moment of silence she spoke again. "...lets keep it between us for now...we can choose a better moment than this." And with that, she walked past Ethraeil, heading towards where the rest of the group was mostly gathered.

------

Cassandra smiled. "Well, I like to read...mess with the locals or wildlife...sometimes play pranks on those I'm traveling with." she said, before eventually standing. She removed her hat, setting it on the nightstand next to the bed. She reached into a pocket inside her cloak, before drawing out another vial of blood and handing it to Wesley. "Drink up, sweetie." she said, before removing her cloak and laying it on the chair she had been sitting on before.

A moment later, as Wesley gulped down the blood in the vial, she crawled onto the bed where Wesley was laying almost like a spider. "Perhaps there's something else we could do to pass the time till darkness comes?" she said, flashing a grin to him as her blonde bangs hung down in front of her face. Before Wesley could answer, she gave him yet another gentle kiss.

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END OF CHAPTER ONE

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[Infab]

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CHAPTER TWO

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After a few hours of rest, and a chance to fill their bellies with sustenance, the group made their way back through the city and back to the boats. Then, another journey was taken, back across the bay towards the small fishing village of Islebury. The group was tired, and once they reached where they had left the carriage and horses, they set up camp once again and got some much needed sleep.

The next day, they had a conundrum. Where exactly had Cassandra taken Wesley? Most likely to the Duke, but he was likely going back to Peltragow. At the moment, that was all they had to go on. So, the group set out towards the nearest city to see if they could pick up the trail. Oar's Rest, another fishing village but slightly larger than Islebury and sitting on a river delta. The journey took two days, and they eventually arrived in Oar's Rest by nightfall.

What they found was rather shocking. Oar's Rest was empty. The shops were still open, the taverns still had drinks sitting on the bar...it was as if everyone suddenly had got up and left.

"...Uhm...where is everyone?" asked Rosanna aloud, looking at the others before around at the empty village. They stood at the center, at the north end of the docks where various fishing boats were sitting silent. Even the boats looked suddenly abandoned. Valeria looked about as well, before looking to Mariette and Ethraeil. "Either of you detect anyone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. As the pair would search, they would discover that it truly was abandoned.

 

[joshuadim]

"There is nothing here." Ethraeil replied as he scanned the village with his eyes. "Very curious."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob had spent these past few days meditating like he was suggested by Thiasis. He was never a person to believe in such things, but he wanted to relax and embrace his new nature. The travel was tiring, especially for him, who was still feeling sore from the swamps and the beating he had received from the Colonel. He still felt frustrated by the Colonel's death, but he had to move on. During the travel, he tried to regain his good humor by singing songs while driving the carriage. And now he had a companion to talk to while driving. Mariette.

Once in Oar's Rest, seeing the town completely deserted made Jakob look at Valeria. Feeling a mix of emotions as he sees the empty houses and shops. "What the hell is the Duke doing to Grimtham?" He looked down for a moment, anger slowly taking over. Whatever happened here must not be natural. "Why can't we save anyone? Isn't that your job, Valeria? Everywhere we go, everyone is dead!"

 

[Viper Actual]

After the eventful mission at Porthcrawl it was time to move on. Galina used the two days of travelling to rest as best as she could, she would switch places with Erwin repeatedly to rotate from overwatch to sleep. Once the party arrived at Oar's Rest Galina knew right away that something was wrong. Boris felt it too.

Galina patted Boris on his head gently while eyeing the empty village. It was quiet. Too quiet. She closed her eyes to listen. There were no whispers to be heard. No impending death. There was simply...nothing. When Jakob spoke up she looked at him. "Jakob. Focus. We need to investigate before making any kind of allegations."

She readied her rifle and placed it in her lap. "Let's split up. Look around."

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil took a moment to crouch down and pick up a small patch of dirt into his bony hand, rubbing it between his fingers for a moment. Very curious indeed... he thought to himself as he looked at the grass. It was all... dead. As if something had passed through and drained the life out of it. He squinted his eyes for a moment before being interrupted by Jakob's remarks. He turned his head slightly towards the Constable. "You can't save everyone. You can only try to save as many people as you can with what you are given."

He then returned his attention to the grass for a moment before standing up once more. "Something sucked the life of the land around here."

 

[Dmaster]

Camille kept to herself all throughout the travel, the woman letting off this aura of intense anger and resentment that made it incredibly obvious that she was in no mood to converse with the others. Any time they would stop for the night, the Marquess would depart from the group and find herself somewhere private, the only indication that she was still nearby were the distant sounds of rapid tapping. One could gather that she was aiming to hone her skills better. Even on the first night when she was still hurt from her healed wounds the huntress tried to find her focus, aiming to rectify any and all mistakes.

Upon finding a completely deserted village, she scanned about the empty buildings on horseback before Jakob spoke up. "Have you considered that people are dying because there's an apocalypse brewing? Unless the Senior Inquisitor is communing with the enemy I am doubtful she had a hand in any of this, through inaction or otherwise." the huntress adds before getting off of her horse. Splitting up in search of clues was a good idea, so she gave Galina a wordless nod and stepped into one of the houses. Its door was swung open wide so getting in was not an issue in the least bit.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"Can't save everyone?! These were common people, Ethraeil! Just like Porthcrawl, just like in Bromwich! Hell, even half the people at the party in Tresomin didn't deserve to die the way they did!" He looked at Valeria. "We even lost one of our own, and we have no idea where he is or if he's even still alive, Gods damn it!"

As he shouts at his superior, he eventually realizes that she's a human being, and that she's trying her best despite the death around them. He rubbed his fingers against his eyes, before speaking. "Valeria, I know you're trying...but it just feels like all we're doing is futile. We lost Wesley, and this is now the second town where everyone is dead. It feels like we're going to our own deaths."

 

[K0mori]

Mariette stretched her back and let out a stifled yawn. "To be honest, the unexpected is becoming quite predictable." she mused, before listening to Camille's ramblings. "...an apocalypse? Well, maybe for your kind," Mariette joked with a snicker. "Jakob, I suspect the residents of this village aren't as dead as you think. Call it a hunch, if you like."

 

[Breadman]

"Unfortunately for us, constable, the trail of the dead is out path leading to Wesley and Duke." Theodore commented as he dismounted his horse. He scanned the scene. Having a similar feeling he did back at Porthcrawl. A feeling of dread and the smell of death in the air. Lovely.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked away as Mariette joked about the situation. "M'lady, please...the dark humor...I don't think its the right time for that at all." He looked around. "Besides...I might not have the same senses as you might have...but...I can't feel anyone. Nothing at all." He looked at Theodore as he spoke. "I hope at the very least we can save Wesley. The poor kid...he doesn't deserve to be that bitch's plaything."