Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

Mariette gave chase to Sir Tristyn, and eventually found him. The problem was that the knight seemed to have been waiting for her. As she bounded off the roof of a two story building, a spear zipped through the air and ripped through her chest, abruptly halting her in midair and sending her tumbling down to the cobblestone street below. The dullahan seemed to not want to be followed, and would do what was needed to halt pursuers.

Really, it was odd that a dullahan was retreating in the first place. Dullahans, in the various tales of their exploits, never retreated and continued till their wicked deeds came to fruition. This one was actively trying to run away. Perhaps he had been commanded to do so should his allies be killed? And he seemed to be retreating to the west. As Mariette recovered from the attack and her fall, the knight's aura gradually faded as he continued his sprint westward.

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​

The remaining constables in the city of Grimsby began the process of cleaning up, as well as tending to the citizens that managed to elude the zombies and skeletons that had rampaged through Grimsby. The four in the marketplace that had followed Jakob joined in the effort, leaving the inquiry group to themselves. Rosanna remained where she fell, unmoving after being impaled by the dark magic laced sword that Sir Tristyn had thrown at her. From just her looks, she appeared dead. Since she was a dullahan, however, looks were deceiving. She appeared to be in some sort of coma.

 

[Dmaster]

There was a slight stinging as her wounds were magically stitched, but the healing magic soon took the stinging and melted it away into a soothing warmth. It did nothing for the damage to her clothing, however, and the tear in the fabric was a window to her bare stomach. This was precisely why she had brought several shirts and sets of pants along this trip. Her gloved hand went back down to inspect the wound, and felt no purchase in prying the wound open again for it no longer existed.

"If he retreated that means he is moving back to his master, I wager. With both necromancers dead I can not see their spell persisting. Then again, I am no expert." she said, lowering her hand from her stomach so that she may crouch down and retrieve the quill she dropped. "So what now? Have we any idea where Cassandra might have taken Valeria?" Camille asked the group, rolling her shoulders as she looked at the damage done to the street. She shuddered to think what the rest of the town looked like at this moment.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil noted that Tristyn's presence was still felt, but he recognized that he continued to retreat westward... but to where? He made his way towards where Tristyn was running to, only to see in the distance Mariette being stopped mid-air by a spear launched by the Dullahan. Ethraeil realized that he had no way to catch up to, nor any way to restrain Tristyn (not that it would do him any good), and opted to end the chase. He must be heading west for a reason... maybe that's where Valeria was taken. he thought to himself for a moment before coming to a realization. The Duke. The Duke must be in Peltragow. That's where they're taking them. This is worse than I could have imagined.

Upon this realization, Ethraeil hastily made his way back to the Inquiry to deliver the bad news. "We must head posthaste to Peltragow. Cassandra is taking the sword and Valeria, and presumably Wesley, to the Duke." he spoke to everyone in the vicinity.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Transforming back into a human was perhaps the more painful of the two transformations. Muscle mass reduced, hair fell off, bone structure reverted back to human form, all of which caused inmmense amounts of pain. By the end of it, Jakob was left breathing heavily and holding back tears as he knelt down on the ground. His broken uniform barely held together. The other constables gave him his items back, before offering him a new constable jacket which he gladly took. When they left, the inquiry group was left with vague clues of what to do now. Jakob didn't care about any of that, though. He was worried more about the town and Rosanna.

He went towards Rosanna's body. Seeing her in that state made Jakob sad, but it was the second time that the dullahan had 'died' while working with the group. He grabbed her and carried her in his arms. When Ethraeil suggested heading to Peltragow, Jakob couldn't help but interject. "Excuse me? Are you seeing the chaos around us, Ethraeil? I understand that we have to catch up to them, but the town was just besieged by the undead and a lot of people died. One of our own almost died too. We need to help these people." He looked to the others. "I know some of you might disagree, but we can't let what happened in Porthcrawl and the mansion in Tresomin happen here again. Valeria's quest to stop the Duke is important, but if we can't save people, then what's the point?" He then added "If you're set on going, then go. I'll stay here and help these people till Rose comes back to her senses." He looked to Aleister. "And make sure someone sends a letter to the gods damned army on the mainland."

 

[Dmaster]

With the battle concluded Camille felt no reason to have her weapons out any longer, and she quickly sheathed them as she looked to Ethraeil. The huntress wanted to know how the lich was so certain that is where they should go next. Even though it was an island, Grimtham was quite large and would take time to traverse. Going off of a simple hunch would be a gigantic waste of precious time, yet part of her knew that Ethraeil knew what he was talking about. "We have to hurry, then. There isn't a moment to waste. Cassandra is likely halfway to Peltragrow by now." the Marquess muttered, stepping closer to the lich yet looking over her shoulder once Jakob spoke up.

The empathy the man displayed was admirable, but she could not help but feel her patience thinning as he blatantly ignored the stakes of their mission. "Do not be ridiculous." she said, turning on her heel to look the constable in the eyes. "With Rosanna out of commission and Valeria kidnapped we need every person we can get. I worry for these people and all of the victims of the attacks as well, yet aiding them in the recovery wastes precious time." Camille explained, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you understand what the Duke is capable of with that sword and his ring? The crazed vampire seeks to become a god, and he will be able to raze townships like this in seconds rather than an hour like his underlings. To stay behind now jeopardizes every innocent life in the world, and we must press forward. 'What's the point?!' Mes dieux! Listen to yourself! If you care for anybody alive you will come with us and strike while we still have a chance. It is the only change we have for survival." As she lectured him, her gaze grew more and more intense while she continued to stare him down.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"Speak to me with the same respect I speak to you, madame." said Jakob, looking Camille straight in the eyes. "You might be right, but I am tired of leaving good people behind to die. For gods sake, I am not a child. I understand it is impossible to save everyone." He looked at the destruction around him for a second. "I'm not asking for us to stay here for days and put the fate of Adonia in danger, but..." His eyes then began to glow again as his voice cracked. "F-For Gods SAKE! Have some gods damned consideration for your fellow man! They don't have y-your resolve, you inconsiderate unhuman bi-" Jakob stopped midsentence, calming himself. "...An hour or two could be enough to save many lives, and still have time to stop the Duke."

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil had prepared a harsh rebuke to the constable's shortsightedness, but found no need to speak as Camille scolded the man on his faults. In the meantime, Ethraeil went to gather both his own undead horse and Rosanna's to the area. He used the latter to lay Rosanna on its back and then mounted his own steed. "Time is of the essence. Every minute lost is another minute going to the hands of the enemy. I will ride ahead and see if I can find anything of note. Do as you must constable, but do not think you are not a fool if you waste time on one hovel when the world is at stake."

And with that, he rode off at a breakneck pace upon his pale horse. Galloping through the chaotic and destroyed streets before reaching the city limits and following the road west.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille continues to stand her ground even as Jakob nearly resorts to insulting her, her eyes narrowing as Ethraeil takes her side. "The enemy is stronger and faster than we are. Every minute wasted bickering or assisting the needy is far too many. You are noble to want to save everyone you can, constable, yet far more will die if we hesitate for even a second." she says, her tone still harsh while she takes her hands off her hips, balling them into fists. "I too get tired of being unable to save the innocent. I throw myself into these battles because that is how I can make a difference despite how disadvantaged we are. So long as there is a chance, I take it. Remaining here and wasting what little time we have left is how we lose that chance. Think of your home, your family. How quickly they can take it away from you as they have done to these people... That is why we cannot right every wrong circumstance, there are far more people that need and depend on us. I trust this city can recover, that's all we can do right now." Gradually her tone started to get more calm and perhaps sullen, and she turned her back on the constable before slowly stepping away from.

"Do what you must, but we stand a much better chance if we fight the enemy together." she says as her parting words, starting to sprint back to the inn to ready her equipment and her horse. As she said there was no time to lose, and she quickly mounted her horse and started to ride after Ethraeill.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette awoke on a side street in a state of delirious pain. One of her eyes was stuck closed when she tried to open it, and when she tried to move her hand to feel for the obstruction, a bolt of agony shot through her not unlike the strike she took from Cassandra before the battle began. She cried out, and there was a sound of fearful chatter. Fighting against it, she forced her one eye open and looked to her side, greeted by a number of terrified onlookers and angry constables. Slowly, memories came back to her... she had been chasing the Dullahan and had apparently taken a great fall. She had gone too far from the site of the battle, too, and these people were unaware that she had been defending them. Blood oozed out of her mouth along with the fractured remains of her teeth, which were growing back in and shaping themselves with the curse that sustained her eternally.

"She's not finished!" A man screamed. "Shoot her!"

A constable yelled, "Fire!" and the street was filled by the sound of gunfire, pelting Mariette all over her broken body, tearing muscle and shattering bone, and yet the only thing which could end her suffering was decapitation. The wounds began to close themselves within seconds, the bones mending and the muscles stitched back up together, an endless cycle of breaking and healing. She simply lay there and took it, face down in the wretchedly dirty cobbles.

This is hell.

The thought crossed her mind effortlessly.

Where is my vineyard? My lovely estate? Where are my gens de la nuit? Did I really come all this way to disgrace myself?

"Fire!" the constable's shrill voice commanded again, once the men had reloaded their guns. Mariette needed only lift her head to once again be blasted by their volley, this time getting knocked onto her side and revealing the iron rod sticking out of the middle of her chest. Behind her, the weighty length of the spear bobbed up and down above the pavement, its glistening tip gleaming in the air. It had gone into her from the front, but had been jammed the rest of the way by the impact with the street, and bent as well, ripping the internal organs and utterly pulverizing the ribs.

Maybe Cassandra was right all along. Perhaps I ask too much of the human race.

A bullet split the air, slicing through the Countess's cheek and blasting out the freshly-grown teeth once again. In the sea of misery she found herself in, this new insult felt like nothing more than a slap in the face. She rested her forehead on one hand while reaching for the spear with the other. The humans reloaded again, but as her face and jaw reformed in a disgusting spectacle, some found themselves too sickened to face her while others were too terrified to act. Gripping the pole tightly, but at a less-than-straight angle, she put all her strength into a single tug and ripped it loose from her back. Dropping the spear, and her arm, flat to the ground, she let out an exhausted hacking cough.

Perhaps I should have never left Escaria. Where has all this gotten me? "Queen of the Vampires" indeed...

With her body no longer constricted by the spear, she reached to her face and rubbed the eye which had been stuck closed with swelling and caked-on, dried blood. Now, with a better look at the humans gathered around her, she could see the looks of terror and hatred on their faces, the same ones they gave to the necromancer and the enemy dullahan. She thought about the Inquisitors' continued failure to prevent these sorts of tragedies from playing out, and how it had been partially her own fault this time. She wondered whether she could have decapitated Cassandra back at Tresomin, when she had pinned the mad pureblood under her own saber. Instead she experienced the futility of trying to live forever.

Now I make deals with that filthy murderer? ...And a Demon Prince as well?

The small wounds had nearly finished healing once more when she heard the sound of a shotgun being loaded close by. The captain of these constables was closing in on her, and she silently hoped that he was aiming for the back of her head, as if he were aiming for the body, then it would merely inflict more fruitless agony on her. She thought of her vampiric kingdom, of all the bloodshed it would take to build it, all the pain it would inflict, and all the death it would leave in its wake.

Why? Why... why... why do I want it? Is it really about saving anyone? My so-called kin?

The hope lingered for what seemed like an eternity. A hope for release from the charade. A hope for her head to be blown apart irreparably, severing her from this life and giving her a peace she hadn't known she dearly wished for. A return to the nothing which awaited her on the other side, the nothing she had experienced at Ethraeil's hand once before. It was a surrender which came with another shocking introspection, and the one which hurt her more than any other. After a century of prowling the darkness, Mariette had been overjoyed to return to the light, to bask in its warmth without fear, and to return to the society which had scorned her for so long. But to do so required she hide her true nature. The fear, the loathing she sensed on the faces of the onlookers was all that awaited her on the throne that Sazak promised, except for other accursed fools like her. Cassandra was wrong, and so was Undite.

It was Camille who was right all along.

Kill me, you cowards. I'm a monster, but I'm still mortal, I promise you. Kill me!

She turned and faced the constable with her half-formed fangs bared and the fiery red in her eyes a defiant snarl, ready for his judgement, but the young man jumped at her movement and pointed downward, pulling the trigger as the barrel was too low. The silver-laced slugs blew Mariette's already-perforated chest cavity wide-open. Rather than being knocked flat, she caught herself with her free arm and grabbed the barrel with the other, forcibly pointing it at her own head. The terrifed constable let go of the weapon and scrambled backwards, and soon the others were doing the same, pushing the onlookers back for their own safety. Disgusted, Mariette threw the shotgun aside and crawled up to her feet, finding Cassandra's saber sticking point-down into the dirt a short distance away where the land wasn't paved over.

She picked up the blade and slipped it into the tattered remains of her overcoat, dragging her feet as she shambled toward the wall of a nearby house. Automatically she began to climb up from street level, so that she wouldn't be shot at any further, before she reached the rooftop and rolled over onto her back. She stared at the sky for a moment as her many wounds began to heal once more, and thought about Rose. The whole reason she had been chasing Sir Tristyn was because he had nearly killed one of her only friends. A friend she had now betrayed in favor of a demon.

Her expression changed a bit. Well, not yet, I haven't.

Until she prevents the others from killing Valeria at the right moment, Mariette hadn't actually betrayed anyone, except in spirit. She vowed not to allow herself to go through with it, even if it meant asking for death at the hands of that vile Marquess. Even if it meant burning in Hell. Her friends deserve better than to occupy a world in which Mariette was queen of anything but the dirt she was buried in.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob wanted to raise his voice again once the Marquess continued with her point, but he managed to calm himself. He thought carefully about what she had said, completely disregarding the skeleton whom seemingly believed in a machiavelian logic. Something Jakob despised. But the Marquess presented a stronger point that made him reconcider. He looked at the chaos around him for a moment, then rubbed his fingers against his temple. He felt a strong headache as the Marquess finished. He was still full of doubts, but decided to carry Rose to the carriage and rest her inside. He then sat down on the driver's seat and decided to go after Camille. For the first time in the inquiry, the tought of leaving the group to stay and help others crossed his mind. "...Thiasis give me strength."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister had nothing to say, surprisingly, as the others bickered for a moment. He could see that Jakob was reaching a point where the man was cracking, somewhat, though even he felt the pressure of the situation and the seeming futility of it. They saved the town, but at the cost of losing the inquisitor and Velin's sword. The necromancer was dead, but the dullahan was not. It was hardly a victory in the grand sense... but a victory nonetheless.

The priest went along with Jakob back towards the inn. "I'll sit inside with her and make sure she is fine. I can try some magic on her, but I am not certain if it works on dullahans or her. And I have a letter or two I shall pen... I don't know if the letters will arrive in time, or get us the help we need, but people on the mainland need to be alerted. I know a bishop and an esteemed cleric that should be able to do something for us."

"And keep an eye out for Mariette, monsieur. No telling how far she is now if she is still chasing that monstrous knight."

He settled down into the carriage and made sure Rose was comfortable and secure on the opposite bench. He placed one hand on her arm, the other on her forehead, and tried to see if her body would accept a small amount of divine magic to restitch her wounds.

 

[Infab]

Rosanna found herself sitting at the same camp fire she had been before, under the stars out in the dry desert of southern Atraca. This time, however, the Rider didn't appear. As she looked up from where she was sitting, she saw herself sitting across from her on the other side of the fire. This version of herself, however, had far shorter hair and jet black eyes. Her clothes were different as well. She wore a dark leather duster, with a dull blue shirt beneath and black town pants. Even her boots were different, black with shiny silver metal over the toes. Her hat was flat brimmed, and tipped back just enough that she was peering under the rim of the hat at her.

"Well, now...'bout time we met face to face." said the copy of the dullahan, giving her a grin. Rose looked confused. "...W-What are y--" she spoke, before the copy interrupted her with a laugh. "I'm you, ya damn fool. Well, the real you." stated the copy as she sat back a bit and adjusted her hat. Rosanna shifted where she sat. "You ain't the real me. I'm the real me." she responded. The copy grinned yet again. "You know what I mean. I'm the dullahan part of ya. The born killer itchin' to get out and do what I do best." Rosanna's eyes widened. This was the source of the voice she had been hearing. The blows she took from the knight must have fed her more dark magic, and gave the voice form. She had been further corrupted during the battle against him.

"Now, I'm gonna need ya to wake up. We can't really do anythin' while you're in a coma, ya know. I need ya up and about if I'm ever gonna get some proper action." said the copy finally. Rosanna gave her a horrified look. "In a coma--" was all she was able to get out of her mouth before everything went black.

-----------​

The magic that Aleister cast upon Rosanna didn't help much. Her wounds were already closing and healing, much like that of his own kind and the other supernatural entities. The gaping sword wound in her chest slowly closed, flesh repairing itself as it sealed shut. Her blood dried and faded, eventually disappearing from her chest. Eventually, she was fully healed. As he looked back up to her face, her eyes suddenly snapped open. The eyes themselves were their dullahan black, and her head snapped over to face Aleister. She swatted his arm away, and sat up quickly as she looked about the carriage. After a moment of her looking about, recognizing where she was, her eyes returned to their human look and she let out a heavy sigh.

"...Is everybody alright? Where's Mariette? The others?" she asked, refraining from looking Aleister in the face. She reached up and touched her chest where she had been stabbed as she waited for his reply.

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"Oh Weeeesleeyyy! Wake up! Don't make me have to break something!" said a voice. Eventually Wesley felt a nudge and slowly opened his eyes. "There you are! Finally. I thought you'd sleep all night. How's the chains?" Cassandra. Wrapped around Wesley now were a mixture of iron and silver chains, and nearby was an unconscious Valeria in the same situation. They seemed to be among a cluster of trees, somewhere in the hills far to the west of Grimsby. Apparently Cassandra had carried them both, as Wesley didn't see any horses around. He did however see a sword of some sort on Cassandra's back.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette had been fully healed for a while before she finally lifted her head off the ground, deciding to return to the remaining Inquisitors for what seemed like a hopeless endeavor. Only then did she notice that the rooftop she had chosen to rest on was actually covered in potted plants. She stood and took a moment to look over them, examining how the occupants of the tenements below had arranged what little space there was to work with into a quaint garden. She took a pinch of the soil from one of the pots and examined it closely, rubbing it between her fingers and thinking back on all the years she spent perfecting the growing conditions at La Cygne. The environment in which any crop was grown was essential to the quality of the harvest, and so special care had to be taken to maintain the health of the earth itself before any notions of growing could be entertained. It now seemed so strange to her that she, an ageless corpse of a woman, would care so dearly over the conditions for life to prosper. The cycle she had exempted herself from was the chief concern of most of her existence. It nearly brought a smile to her face.

There was a small bench fabricated from a few planks lain across stacks of old, crumbling bricks, and she took a seat. The view from this corner looked out over a small quarter of the city, which was still in chaos after the attack, but oddly, in this peaceful place and high above the ground the vampire felt a world apart from it. In fact, this was likely the closest thing to paradise that she would ever find. She didn't belong in it, but once, long ago, it might have awaited her. She wondered whether her husband's decision to preserve her unnaturally from the cycle of life and death was more responsible for her current reality than her own innate flaws which brought her to kill and twist the minds of others. She closed her eyes a moment and remembered the desperation that filled that room, her pleas to Auguste to spare her from the curse, unheeded.

She reached for a vial of blood which had been in her coat pocket, but found only shards of glass and the dampness left behind by the spilled humor. She licked what little residue collected on her fingers and felt the hunger tugging at her, and hung her head in her hands. How did it take this long to discover the truth? There was nothing preventing me from seeking that peaceful sleep all along. I could have walked into the vineyard at dawn and cast my ashes across the soil any day of any year, to enrich the earth and become a part of that drink I love so much... A tear traced a line down her jaw and dripped off her chin. Perhaps I'll make wine in Hell for all eternity if Sazak likes it so much. Of course it'll never cross my lips again, down there... They'll have me feeding on the fetid blood of corpses or some other abominable fate...

Having no blood to quench her thirst, she thought of the supply she had been gathering earlier. The case with all of her other vials was sitting somewhere in the woods outside of town, at the location Cassandra originally ambushed her. She had intended to recover it later, but she couldn't quite remember exactly how to get back to where she had been before; the search would doubtlessly take hours and she might become desperate far before then. The thought of attacking an innocent in a bloodlust craze made her sick to her stomach.

Then, a chill ran down her spine as she jumped to her feet and began to pat down the rest of her body. Not finding it, she ran to the edge of the building and peered down at the street where she had crashed to the ground and scanned it carefully, but there was nothing down there which seemed out of place. "Where is it!?" she said aloud. "Non, non, non, non!

The grimoire was missing... Undite's grimoire.

Turning away numbly, she paced the rooftop awhile before sitting down once more on the bench. One of her best weapons against the Duke was gone. An already hopeless situation seemed laughable now. She took up Cassandra's sword and briefly wondered if it was possible to slice her own head off with some perfectly planned flick of the wrist when a sound startled her, and she turned quickly to instead face the interloper with the tip of the sword pointed directly at them.

The young man dropped his bag and backed away immediately, hands empty and extended. "Oh, gods! P-please... Don't hurt me!" he stammered.

Mariette realized that she shown her fangs and true eyes to the unknown man. She lowered her saber and looked away. "I won't," she declared. "I'm with the Inquisitors; you simply startled me. Je suis désolé."

"The Inquisitors?" the man repeated. "A vampire?"

"Sadly, yes," Mariette replied. "I'm surprised the constables didn't warn you that I was up here. They think I'm one of the enemy. Perhaps they're still making their way up the building, going room to room... I should be going."

"O-oh, okay then. Um, ma'am, would you like some clothes before you go? Your outfit looks ruined," the man explained, sheepishly.

Mariette glanced down at herself before casting a skeptical gaze in the man's direction. "A firing squad will do that. You have something that would fit me, monsieur? ...And why are you up so late?"

---

Mariette was in the midst of changing into another woman's clothing when there was a heavy knock on the tenement's door. The young man, whom she learned was named Ansel, answered it and calmly accepted the constables' warnings of the 'monster' on the roof of the building, for which they were preparing an all-out assault in the coming minutes. Despite having hidden her vampiric features, Mariette still felt that she could be recognized if she attempted to speak to any of them and remained out of sight, along with Alice, the actual owner of the clothing that she was now wearing. Alice, as it turned out, was a vampire herself, and spent most of her days cooking the vegetables Ansel was growing on the roof, or making small trinkets and crafts for him to peddle on the streets below. Ansel, meanwhile, was a bricklayer when he could find work.

Once the police had moved along, Mariette said her goodbyes to the pair, thanking them for their generosity. Before leaving, however, she paused in the doorway. "...If you might satisfy this one's curiosity, how did you two-"

"We were already in love," Ansel interrupted. "Alice was bitten just after our engagement. We still haven't worked out how we're going to have a wedding, what with all the complications."

Alice crossed her arms. "I keep telling him he should just let me bite him. We're already on our own in this city and it would be so much simpler if both of us-"

"No, it wouldn't be," Mariette warned. "It will always be very difficult, mademoiselle. I'm very sorry for you. And you as well, monsieur."

Mariette departed in the quiet discomfort that followed, and skulked down the hall toward the exit. There were children running around in the common area between the doorways, having been awakened by the commotion of the city outside. Mariette had to step around them on her way to the stairs. "Rachael, Cooper, get back inside!" a shrill mother's voice called to them. "It's not safe, there are vampires about!" The kids let out a half-frightened, half-playful scream as they scrambled back to their crowded home. As Mariette departed into the night, anonymous once more, the mother two floors above scolded her children further for rushing outside when the panic began.

"...You never, never leave this building after sundown without my permission!" the mother nagged.

Cooper pleaded. "But the other residents were outside! The police were going to kill a vampire, mum!"

"All the more reason to stay away!" she accosted him. "Anywhere you see guns, you run away from it, do you understand me?"

While the argument went on, Rachael edged out of sight to the bedroom. She, her brother, and both of her parents all shared the same bed, but Rachael had a special place, a windowsill blocked by a small bookcase, where she stored a few personal belongings. Alone in the room with her father, who was fast asleep stricken with a heavy cold, she reached behind the shelf and retrieved her new favorite possession, a strangely captivating book filled with strange symbols and drawings she found in the street outside...

---

Mariette arrived at the inn shortly after leaving the tenements. She gathered her original grimoire from one of her trunks and tucked into the pocket of her new coat before seeking out Aleister, who she assumed would have blood to share.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

It took only a moment for Aleister to realize that his magic wasn't going to help her, but thankfully, the woman's own supernatural biology was fast at work mending her wounds. He nodded in satisfaction that Rose seemed to be fine. It was no small mercy to know that she was able to still heal, and would hopefully be well recovered within the hour. He continued to monitor her for a moment when he noticed her eyes snap open.

"Rose?" He asked quietly, seeing her coal black eyes stare back at him, and she smacked his arm aside and sat up. Aleister scooted quickly towards the door to the carriage and his hand grasped the handle. If she had lost her mind, he wasn't going to be able to put up much of a fight without gold. "Rose?" He asked again, a little more desperately.

Thankfully... her eyes changed back. Aleister cleared his throat and adjusted his collar as he straightened up in his seat.

"Yes, madam, the others are quite well... to my knowledge. We're currently on our way to Cassandra, presumably. The lich is leading the way and we're not far behind him. Mariette also took off in pursuit of the other dullahan. I'm not sure where she is now, but she is probably headed in the same direction we are, I suspect. If not... I left a letter back at the inn when I grabbed some things."

Aleister eyed the woman for a moment. "That was a rather remarkable hit you took. Are you feeling alright? Well, I'm sure you don't feel great, but... still. You keep taking quite the beating."

---

Back at the inn, the letter Aleister had written remained behind in his room on the small desk tucked away beneath the shuttered window. It was neither stamped or sealed with ribbon, and the parchment lay out and open with a few lines quickly scribbled upon it.

Witlock Inquiry - To whom it may concern - We are in pursuit of Cassandra to rescue Valeria, Wesley, and retrieve the stolen item. Valeria or Wesley, if you are reading this and escaped, we are likely to return soon if we do not find you. Mariette, if you have returned, we have left in haste. Rose is unconscious but well.

Written at the end was the direction they had gone in, and Aleister's flowery signature.

His belongings were packed away in the room neatly, with his large sturdy travel suitcase under his bed and latched shut. The bed was meticulously made, and it appeared he had not slept in it at all since their time at the inn. Laid out on it at the end was a small satchel, the contents partially spilled out from when he had left in a hurry. Most of the items that had tumbled out were for knitting or sewing, with a few string and yarn spindles, and a needle pouch. There were two penny novels which had also fallen out. They were cheaply printed and inked, with the paper thin, making it easy for the pages to tear.

Lastly, a glass snout with a cork stopper at the end was peering out from within the satchel. A bottle. It was in fact the bottle of lamb's blood Aleister had procured the other day when he went out shopping. Attached to it was a little string and paper slip, with a few words written on it. For you, mademoiselle. It is the blood of the finest lamb I could find, but I hope you will enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you for the purchase of the rooms. We should dine together sometime.

It was the gift he had yet to give to the pureblood on account of everything which had happened after he had obtained it. There was likely to be more blood in his suitcase, among other belongings, but this was an almost miraculous thing to find given the circumstances.

 

[KRIY]

"Oh, Well I slept fine! I just didn't notice that you were the cause of it. and these chains? they're fantastic that I hate them so much." Wesley started shifting around, trying to find a way to break out of these chains but to no avail, he groans and he starts looking over his surroundings, besides the senior inquistor who was nearby, The sword that Casssandra is carrying over her back seemed important.

"So. My Beloved vampire lover. What are you going to do to me and Miss Witlock? I assume that you have another michevious plan in the works, so lets hear it."

 

[Infab]

"Well, love, you brought it on yourself! Running away like you did..." responded Cassandra, after his comments about the chains. "If you try and run again, I might have to cut your arms and legs off at the joints, and attach silver plates to the nubs! You'll be wheelchair bound for the rest of your life!" She laughed afterwards, before glancing to Valeria nearby. "Well, I'm going to take you and Valeria back to Peltragow! I want to show you my room back at the mansion. As for Valeria, I'm gonna hand her and this sword over to the Duke!"

Cassandra squatted next to where Wesley was laying, cocking her head to the side as she looked back down to him. "I'm sure he'll want to deal with Valeria himself, especially with that demon crawling around in her head!" Her expression twisted into a grin. "You became a vampire, and she became a demon's plaything. Life is full of surprises, eh?"

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​

"That was a rather remarkable hit you took. Are you feeling alright? Well, I'm sure you don't feel great, but... still. You keep taking quite the beating."

Rosanna was quiet for a moment, before replying. "...No, I ain't alright. But nothin' can be done 'bout that." she said. She then turned about and bumped the carriage roof near where Jakob was sitting in his driver's seat. "Stop the carriage, Jake!" she said. "I'd rather be on my horse!"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"It may seem surprising, but there is often a lot that one can do. It usually is not easy to figure out what it is... but it is there, somewhere. If there is anything I can do to assist, I am most happy to do so, madam," Aleister explained, and then smiled somewhat wryly when she tapped on the carriage roof. "I didn't realize I made such poor company," he chuckled.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob didn't say anything. He was lost in his own thoughts, and it took him a while to realize that Rosanna was talking to him. He looked over into the gap between the driver's seat and the passenger's seats. "You should be resting Rosanna, you got knocked out cold!" But knowing how the cowgirl was, he simply said "J-Just take it easy...okay?" Jakob decided to stop the carriage and let her get to her horse. He looked back into the gap and smile at Aleister. "Don't worry. I'm still here and still listening."

 

[Infab]

Rosanna shook her head. "It ain't that. I'm just...I'm better on my horse." she said, before glancing up to where Jakob was. "I'll try to." she said in response to him as the carriage slowed to a stop. A moment later, she climbed out and strolled around to where her horse had been tied to the back of the carriage. With a simple hop, she was back in the saddle. After giving Rayham a few pats and gentle pets, she straightened up. "Get goin'. I'll wait here. Mariette can probably sense my aura, and we'll need everyone together if we're gonna take down Cassandra and that damned knight. I'll catch up with y'all once she shows up."

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​

As Cassandra spoke to Wesley about Valeria's state, the sound of a horse could soon be heard. And an overwhelming aura could be felt. "Ah! Sir Tristyn! I guess this means that Tarja is dead...pity. I liked the twins' company..." she said, turning about to face the aura's direction. As the knight rode up upon his horse, he grunted. Cassandra then noticed his armor. "Wow, they really did a number on you! We'll get you fixed up back in Peltragow. Anyway, time to go!" she said, before looking back down at Wesley. She then reached down and effortlessly lifted Wesley up by one of the chains. Then, she did the same with Valeria. "I hope you don't get motion sick, dear!" she said aloud, before promptly disappearing. Afterwards, Sir Tristyn began moving again, riding hard in the direction of Peltragow.

 

[K0mori]

Having discovered that the carriage was not in front of the inn and that her colleagues had already departed, Mariette took it upon herself to search for clues to their whereabouts, and quickly found what she needed in Aleister's room. He had hastily written a note explaining that the Inquiry had left in hot pursuit, but knowing how quickly Cassandra could move, Mariette had no doubt that they'd lose her trail quickly if it were a chase. That meant the Inquisitors would be heading in a generally westward direction toward Peltragow, where the Duke resided, if she remembered correctly.

She took the lamb's blood and downed it, not carelessly, but as if it were a canteen of water in a hostile desert. She briefly understood how Aleister was able to survive on the stuff, despite its more mundane taste, it was... clean. She didn't feel so guilty for consuming it. However, she wouldn't always be so lucky as to have this sort of thing fall into her lap. She would need to retrieve her case of blood from the woods.

She gathered all of the inquisitors' leftover belongings that they were unable to collect and consolidated them within her own bedroom, then collected the money which had been returned to her on the first night when they reached the inn, when some of the Inquiry were too vain to accept her generosity. The rest of her money was sealed inside the blue case shackled to her mule, which was currently with the Inquisitors. She returned to the front desk and paid for a long extension of her own stay at the inn so that their belongings would be safely locked away until they could return, no matter how optimistic it felt to even imagine it.

---

Roseanna would wind up loitering in Grimsby for a little over half an hour before she finally began to sense Mariette approaching from seemingly the wrong direction. When she arrived on foot, Mariette was dressed in a more innocent-looking outfit, less suited for fighting, although she still carried Cassandra's sword at her hip. Her case full of blood was slung over her shoulder, and she bore an expression of hopelessness as she strolled along which barely changed when she met eyes with the dullahan. "You waited for me?" she finally asked as they were within earshot. "...I was worried you wouldn't recover."

 

[Infab]

Rosanna looked about, waiting quietly. Eventually, Mariette arrived, dressed a bit differently with her blood case on her shoulder. The outfit reminded her a bit of some of the dresses she'd see women wear down south. Fancy stuff, usually worn to gatherings and parties. She shifted in the saddle a bit, looking over towards Mariette as she approached.

"You waited for me?...I was worried you wouldn't recover."

"...Well, dullahans are kinda tough." responded Rosanna. She motioned for Mariette to come over, before dismounting the horse. She could strap the blood case to the horse so that Mariette wouldn't have to carry it the whole way. "The question is are you alright? They told me that ya went after the knight after I got knocked out."

 

[K0mori]

Mariette gave a dejected sigh. "The enemy ambushed me and I was impaled for the second time tonight. I don't remember quite how it happened but I know I fell from the rooftops, and when I woke up, the constabulary thought I was an enemy and opened fire. I've lost the grimoire that Undite gave to me... I still have my own with the rest of my possessions hitched with my mule, but it's far less powerful... I'm not going to be as much use to the Inquiry, going forward."

There was a listlessness to Mariette's words, as if something beyond terrible had happened without Rosanna's knowledge. She didn't need to ask, as Mariette began to divulge the secrets she possessed. "Rose, it's a long ride to catch up with the others. There's some things I need to explain to you, secrets I've been holding from the rest. First of all... do you know how we were able to locate Velin's sword at Porthcrawl? It's location had been kept secret for centuries... Sazak appeared to me in a dream and revealed that Valeria sold her soul for the knowledge of its position. He also wanted to strike a deal with me, but while I initially agreed, it would have required a future action on my part, and I'm no longer willing to carry out my half of the bargain. I'm quite certain I've punched my ticket to Hell, regardless, but... it's for the best, in the end."

 

[Infab]

Rosanna gazed upon Mariette for a few moments as she listened, clearly shocked by the revelations. Valeria made a deal with Sazak? And Mariette did too? What was Mariette supposed to do? Nothing good, considering it was Sazak. Eventually Rosanna sighed. "...He must've promised you somethin' big. I couldn't see you dealin' with a demon over small things..." she responded. After a moment, she spoke again. "...Countess, I don't think you've punched it yet. I've heard a couple o' stories of deals bein' cancelled if ya kill the demon you dealt with."

She then stepped over. "...You're a good person deep down. You're swayed by chance and opportunity just like everybody else, but you're no Cassandra or Duke Ashwood. If you were, you would'a kept all this to yourself, and you would'a went through with what that damned demon asked of ya. Instead, you're here. Talkin' to me and tellin' me all this." She paused for a moment, seemingly out of hesitation, before gently embracing Marriete in a hug. "...You gettin' dragged off to the Abyss ain't for the best, Countess. The world would lose somebody that actually cares 'bout the decent vamp folk like yourself and Aleister...and the Gods know there aren't many of your type."

 

[joshuadim]

It was quiet at a small messenger post, some ways away from Grimsby. It had been quiet for the night, save for a horseman thundering past without stop. They looked like they were in a hurry somewhere indeed to the old postmaster at the building. He smoked a pipe as he sat in his chair on the porch of the building, staring up at the night sky and pondered a variety of questions, such as when he would get paid next, when the next messenger would arrive to rest, and how soon winter will arrive. His job was rather boring at the moment, as he wasn't required to do much without anyone to help tend their horses to or to deliver a quick meal to them before they moved on.

As such, he resigned himself to some comfort outside in his favorite oaken chair. The sounds of the night were soothing and it was peaceful to him as the time passed on through the night. However, his peace was disturbed as he heard the trodding of a horse in the distance. Another rider? At this hour? he thought to himself as he lit a small lantern and went out next to the road to observe. It would be nothing unusual, were it for the faint glow of blue that he saw. As it approached rapidly, he realized this was indeed something far more terrifying. A flaming blue skeletal aberration riding upon a pale dead horse approached quickly after noticing the old man, who now began to breath heavily in panic and dropped his lantern onto the ground. He muttered a prayer to several of the gods, and even begged to not die in his whispers.

"Did you see a rider pass through not long ago?" Ethraeil asked the postmaster with an intensity that rivaled his stare. The poor old fool could not manage to get any thing lengthy out and only stammered in terror. "Y-y-yes. P-please don't kill m-me!"

"I am not here for your life. I am after the dullahan that rode through here. Now tell me, how long ago." Ethraeil replied in his cold attempt at reassurance.

"N-not even an hour! I swear!"

Ethraeil did not reply as he rode off as quickly as he came, leaving the old man confused and terrified in his wake. I am not far behind. I can catch up to them. But what then? Can I take on Tristyn by myself? As well as a pureblood? Even by just tracking them, we are making headway. I should not rush in alone...

Ethraeil rode for some time, following fresh horse-tracks on the road as well as hints of Tristyn's aura to a small little enclave of woods. It wasn't anything particularly special, just trees and rocks, but he felt the lingering residue from the corrupted dullahan in here. He must've stopped here... why? Was he meeting with Cassandra? he thought to himself as he looked around. Not a trace was left of the four apart from what Ethraeil had used before to find this. Even with speculation, Ethraeil could confirm the dullahan's trajectory now. He was following the road and riding as fast as he could. The question was, could the Inquiry prevent the sword from falling into the Duke's hands? Or were they already too late?

 

[K0mori]

Mariette allowed herself to be hugged by Rose, but it was obvious that she wasn't in an affectionate mood. "If we kill Duke Ashwood, then Sazak will take possession of Valeria's body- that's her debt to him. Valeria wants us to kill her before that can happen, but since she's the only one aside from Theodore that can wield that damned sword, she wanted to wait until the last possible moment for it to happen. Ethraeil has already agreed to deal the killing blow if no one else will," she calmly explained.

"Sazak promised me everything I ever wanted if I could protect Valeria's body and allow the deal to come to fruition. It seems to me that Sazak wants the Senior Inquisitor's body and soul so that he can carry Velin's Sword. I told him I would do it, but I've come to realize that this... disease I've had really is the scourge that Giguere says it is. Focusing on the few of us vampires who haven't turned into predators has allowed me to delude myself into thinking that I had some noble purpose that justified everything horrible that would have happened if I had taken the deal and brought Sazak's 'gifts' home to Escaria. And who knows what horrible fate would come to the world if he enacts whatever plans he has for Velin's weapon. The truth is," she added fiercely, "there's no hope for me, nor any of us 'decent' vampires. Rose, the whole world would be better off if we all just perished."

She began walking in the direction the two needed to take to catch up to the inquiry. A hard-set look in her eyes told Rosanna that the Countess wasn't simply being melodramatic. She appeared to absolutely loathe herself. "We need to kill the Duke. We'll deal with my fate when the time is appropriate."