Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

Valeria watched the man turn about and walk off, trekking through the rain back up the road. Once he was gone, she gazed back down at the grass outside the tent. He sounds fun. Reminds me of some of the crusaders I've encountered in the past. Always a lively bunch they were, even as they perished. Valeria's eyes narrowed as Sazak made his comments, before shaking her head and glancing over to where Rosanna and Ethraeil sat. She didn't know what to say to Rosanna, really. She knew that Rosanna had been close to both Mariette and Jakob...their departures affected her probably the most out of all of them. Hopefully Ethraeil helped by talking to her...he seemed to have a way with words at times. She shifted a bit in her tent, pulling out her journal again and scribbling down a few thoughts before putting it away once again. She intended to do as Francis suggested, visiting his workshop in the morning. For now, she would rest. She crawled further into her tent, before laying down and attempting to drift off to sleep.

------
​

Rosanna listened to Ethraeil, as she gazed out at the river. "...I just feel that...I'll be a liability for y'all when you fight the Duke or when ya go to stop Sazak. If I snap...then I might not be able to stop myself from hurtin' y'all." she replied. "...That or Sazak might just try and use me against y'all...so its best if I don't go with y'all past Black Hollow." She then grinned. "Who knows...maybe me an' that damned knight will end up killin' each other at the same time. Better way to go out than puttin' a bullet in my head." She finally sighed after a few moments, before glancing over to Ethraeil. "We should try and get some rest or somethin'...nice place to...really peaceful here."

A moment later, she reached up and pulled the brim of her hat over her eyes, before getting comfortable where she was. It had been a while since she tried to get some actual sleep.

 

[joshuadim]

Respecting her need to rest, Ethraeil quietly got up and walked off from Rosanna to let her sleep in peace. With the rain continuing to pour, Ethraeil opted to head across river and into the nearby woods for some quiet time of his own. The water visibly chilled over as he waded through the knee high waters before venturing into the other side of the bank. He slowly walked into the treeline and found a fallen log to sit upon.

Ethraeil took his spot and stayed deathly still as he listened to everything around him. The rain, the breeze, the leaves rustling, the small clattering of insects beneath him. It was peaceful, and also a stern reminder for what was at stake. Peace.

He closed his eyes and focused on everything around him, which eventually began to all meld together before turning to silence. A silence he was familiar with when he went about meditating. And so there he sat: quiet and alone.

 

[KRIY]

Wesley listened to Galina’s story of Artem with intrigue. “By the looks of it, Artem was one of a kind.”

Wesley noticed the rain pouring and sun disappearing from the dark clouds. He took this opportunity to pull back his hood and scarf, revealing his face. Which was once filled with lively color, has now been replaced by a pale tone. “how did you meet and end up with each other?”

 

[Breadman]

Gyasis resides in this town, hiding as a mortal. I can confidently say his presence only served to unravel him further.

The only thing Theodore could muster was a confused look and a short
"Excuse me?"

 

[Dmaster]

Camille's face was entirely serious, and it should be known by now that she is not the kind to make such flippant jokes. Even still, she raised her brow at Theodore before commenting. "That is the detail you choose to fixate on? Oui, he was or perhaps still is here. Yet it is of little matter, he can provide nothing beyond empty words." she says, fingers tapping on the table.

"If you find it hard to believe, consider all that's happened to us thus far. Velin's sword, Adona's ring... I even spoke to Velin in a dream, yet once again she had little of worth to provide."

 

[Breadman]

"Well of course I would fixate on that." Theodore bluntly responded "The gods have been rather absent as of late everywhere you look. Gyasis hiding among mortals and Velin coming to you in a dream." He paused for a second to process it all. "Rather nonchalant of you to talk about speaking to not one, but two gods in your lifetime in such a short period of time. But given what you've said so far about them, I shouldn't be surprised."

"If I survive this, I might as well retire, because archiving this would require too much work for what the end result will be...Who am I kidding, the boredom will kill me before any vampire or werewolf."

 

[Viper Actual]

"We both served in the same battalion. While I was a scout he was a shock trooper. There were also some werewolf troops embedded with us. A true force to be reckoned with," said Galina as she crossed her arms.
"I first met him during a sabotage mission. We had been sent in to destroy a bridge in enemy territory. Its destruction would force the Atracan reinforcements to take a detour through a valley where we could ambush them. We had a long trek ahead of us and our team was small. Half of the men were mine, half were his. As we advanced towards the bridge we took the time to get to know one another. We became good friends and by the time we returned to the main force we were also lovers."

 

[Dmaster]

Camille scoffed at how he could remiss over archiving such things. These particular details were simply drivel to her. "I was raised on coveting personal achievement and contribution to the world over appeasing some distant entity. It takes a great degree of patience to devote oneself to a being who is never present at best and terribly disconnected at worst." she begins.

"My circumstances and upbringing have brought me here today, molded me into who I am. If I am such a terrible person why did he wait so long to let me get to this point? Why did he make me struggle for the slightest ounce of respect from my family and peers for the entirety of my life..? Such advice to turn a new leaf comes too little too late, and I will not be swayed by a god too scared to commit to anything." she explains, fists tightening yet again.

Camille looks through Theodore as she continues. "I hold the most common ground with Velin, only through the virtues that innocents are precious and fragile, too weak to stand on their own against the cruelty of those that prey upon them. And still she was far more fixated on giving me orders than nurse my own confidence back to health. My communion with the gods has no merit being archived. The only thing to be learned from them is the cold truth: they would much rather use or manipulate us than absolve or assist us where it truly matters."

 

[KRIY]

Wesley smiled. “Sounds like he meant the whole world to you.”

Wesley looked at the rain drops falling from the edge of the wooden roof that was above them, he thought about the war that happened between Tsavania and Attraca. He has heard of the numerous stories of Tsavania’s use of werewolves during charges. But he dismissed it as a myth “By the divines, the war must’ve been brutal for the young ones.

“You don’t mind me asking… how did he die?

 

[Viper Actual]

Galina looked at Wesley briefly before continuing to stare out into the rain. She straightened herself and raised her chin. "The enemy surrounded him. He had nowhere else to go," she responded. It was a lie. Artem had been shot by Galina. Not the enemy. Of course no one knew that.

Shaking her head Galina looked away from the rain. "I need to find something to eat. I'll see you later Wesley."

 

[KRIY]

"Unfortunate, I hope his soul rests peacefully." Wesley nodded sincerly, afterwards, Galina said her goodbyes. with this, Wesley waved his hand and smiled. "If you ever need someone to talk to, You know where you can find me."

With that, Wesley looks back to the rain, watching their calm droplets hit the dirt in a smooth rhythm

 

[Breadman]

"And that is the burden of godhood. Do too little and the faith of those you protect under your watch will lose their faith in you as you do not give them the needed attention and protection and so any attempt from there to help would be viewed with mistrusts. Which may be warranted. Do too much and well...You see who we hunt, why we hunt them and what we have found in our journey so far. They were mortals like us once. And just like vampires, whatever faults they have come from that rooted human nature. Anger, fury, negligence and stupidity." Theodore continued to give his own thought on the matter "And I will decide what is worth archiving or not, marquise. Your experience shows signs of something changing. I prefer that those back home see the warning signs instead of come crashing into something blind."

Theodore got up from his chair.
"Excuse me, Camille. This conversation has been interesting so far, but I have some business to attend to as well as the hunger. If you wish, we can continue it another time."

 

[Infab]

The Duke glared at Blair, obviously judging her for how carefree she had entered and greeted him. Blair winced. "I apologize, sir. Just in a good mood, that's all." she said, straightening up and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'd rather you be serious, Miss Lockhart. I had enough of that from Cassandra. Now, where's Ser Edmond?" replied Ashwood, glancing past her towards the door. Blair went to speak, holding up a finger, but was interrupted by the Duke glancing over to a darkened corner and pointing. Blair looked towards the corner, and noticed a figure standing there in the shade. "I really wish that you would stop doing that, Edmond. It's getting creepy."

The Duke nodded. "Any news on the inquiry group?" he asked, to which Blair quickly replied. "Their werewolf constable is now a cripple and is returning to where he came from. We could send someone to Airedale to eliminate him and his family, if you wish. Also, the female vampire in the group killed herself. She is nothing but ashes now. The others have gathered themselves and are on their way." The Duke shifted, looking back down to his ring. "...Forget about the constable. I want you two to deal with the rest of them. And hopefully you won't prove yourself to be as utterly incompetent as the others."

Blair grinned. "Don't worry, sir. Have you ever known me or Ser Edmond to fail?" The Duke glanced up to Blair quickly, and the look in his eyes said everything. Blair winced yet again. "...Forget I said that. We'll get it done!"

------

The day passed, as did the rain, and soon enough the sun rose in the distance over the mountains. Rosanna crawled quietly out of her tent and stretched, having slept pretty well. No Sazak related dreams or anything. Perhaps it was this town? Or the general peacefulness of it. As Rosanna still slept nearby next to her horse and tree, Valeria gathered up her things and packed them away on her horse. She then lead it over to where Rosanna was sleeping, so that it would at least be near someone who could take care of it. The executioner's blade was hidden on it, wrapped in the blanket she had slept on.

Afterwards, she walked up the road into the village. It reminded her a bit of her hometown, really. Before the vampire that turned her father showed up. People going about their morning routines in relative silence, some shops getting ready to open up. It was as if the politics and drama of the outside world had no effect on this little village. She smiled slightly, but continued on. She had someone to visit.

She eventually found a thin sign marked 'ADAMS', next to a dirt road that lead a ways down to a nice house with a shack near it. Valeria glanced to the shack, studying it for a moment, before proceeding down the dirt road towards the home.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"As... you wish, my liege" said Ser Edmond, bowing before the Duke.

 

[Dmaster]

As the scholar left her she simply gave him a nod, looking back to her flames as she had finished her piece. "I see. You take care of yourself, Theodore." Camille replied.

It would be quite some time before the huntress got up to go over her nightly routine. She had been hoping that veryone would take this time to commune and develop a plan to eliminate Sazak. It seemed like they would not be so fortunate, as everyone was too occupied with their own issues. Once it was apparent she would not be joined by any other members of the inquiry, Camille stood up and went to bathe and go to bed.

In the morning she geared up and waited outside the inn, evaluating the weather as she took the time to contemplate in seclusion yet again.

 

[K0mori]

"...and if it's that serious, like she told me, then we really want them to move along as quickly as possible. Maybe Whitelock or Witlock or whatever her name was - and her brigade of freaks - mean us no harm, but the kind of people she claims are arrayed against them could be coming after her, and I don't want to see Westerly become their meeting place." Francis picked the last apple from the previous day out of a bowl on the dining table and began to toss it in the air repeatedly as he walked in silence.

Dorothy watched her husband pace around the room nervously. She was a very thin blond woman, ten or more years his younger. There was a scar on her lip from an assault that took place several years before, and a discoloration around her right eye from a more recent one. "When is she-" she began to ask when there was a knock at the door. She immediately swallowed her voice.

Francis turned, holding up his hand as if to tell his wife to be silent. There was warning in his eyes. He stepped over and opened the door to greet Valeria while Dorothy stepped back and away, positioning herself in the shadows between the windows.

"Ah, Inquisitor, I was just beginning to wonder if you would take me up on my offer. Please," he said, stepping out onto the porch of the home. "The workshop is in the shed. It's a safety matter, of course, quite a few of my inventions are incindiary."

 

[Infab]

Valeria nodded. "Understandable. You have a lovely home." she said, looking about the porch and the front of the house. After stepping off the porch, she followed Francis across the yard to the shed. "Do you get many customers for your devices?" she asked, attempting to make small talk as they approached the small wooden shed.

 

[K0mori]

"Customers? Oh, no, ma'am. I build these things for my own sake, so that I'm always ready for what comes along." Francis stepped up to the door of his shed, which was slightly askew. Pulling hard, he unjammed the door and swung it open, revealing a dark room filled with various homemade devices. "Be very careful," he cautioned as he reached over to a long rod hanging from the ceiling. By manipulating it, he opened a hatch in the roof to allow a flood of light in.

Hanging from the walls and lining the shelves were Francis's "tools," which, while made of crude materials, seemed quite well-made and menacing at that. Littering the worktop counter were odds and ends like strips of leather, long nails, and... matches. There were lots and lots of matches, or specifically, match head material. The floor was covered in headless match sticks. "I don't have a lot of silver to work with, since it's too pricey, but the vamps hate fire, right? So I've got all kinds of tools that burn- I've got tripwire bombs, fire ammunition, and this-" he said, almost giddy as he grabbed the handle of an old metal container. "I call this 'hell's honey.' It's a mixture I cooked up from tree resins. It'll stick to damn near anything and burn like you wouldn't believe. That's why I work out here in the shed; I don't want to burn my house down. Of course, I have other weapons, too, that rely on shrapnel like any old bomb. You could load them up with silver if you like."

It was true that Francis had created many different weapons of all shapes and sizes, everything from caltrops and pipe bombs to an entire spring-loaded snare trap. The man went around describing each item and enumerating the prices he would reasonably accept for each. Once he had finished, he gave Valeria some time to consider the goods. Somewhat spontaneously, he asked: "so... Ashwood. What sort of dire consequences did you mean, if he gets his way?"

 

[Infab]

As Valeria looked over a pipe bomb, inspecting it closely, she heard Francis ask about the Duke. "...The Duke wishes to build a world where vampires rule. He wishes to place pureblood vampires in strategic positions of power across Adonia...the ones he doesn't need, he has killed." she explained. She turned to face him. "We saw things first hand in Tresomin. He gathered numerous vampires and humans together at a ball, just to have them all executed by troops under the command of Colonel Gabriel Wallace and Major Samuel Archer. Both of them were aligned with the Duke in his mission, and were both apparently werewolves. He also had a vampire under his command by the name of Cassandra Bainbridge, as well as two witches named the Devonshire twins. We've killed Wallace, Archer, Cassandra, and the twins, but encountered a dullahan knight under his command as well. We don't know where he is, but we assume that he's close to the Duke along with whatever else he might have at his disposal."

She looked at the pipe bomb in hand again. "...The ring he has is the Ring of Adona, an artifact left behind by the god when he ascended to Heaven. The ring grants its wearer the powers of the god, and he's been using it to convert ordinary vampires loyal to him into purebloods...and who knows what else he's done with it." She glanced up. "He needs to be stopped before he can learn to fully use the ring, and put his scheme into motion."

 

[joshuadim]

As Ethraeil sat upon the fallen tree in the forest, his mind unwittingly went from meditation to sleep, and followed by a nightmare he was all too familiar with. Within the frozen north, he heard a church official long dead bark orders at him. A cave appeared before him, its darkness looming and concealing whatever lay inside... but Ethraeil knew what lay within. It would be the subject to regret and eternal self-loathing. Nonetheless, without his control he entered and walked through the darkness. The rock and ice shimmered from his blue flames as he traversed what he already had done so many times before, before finding himself at a larger opening to lead to a natural enclosed amphitheater made entirely of ice. And at its center lay Auriel, the Dragon Sage. She sat atop her hoard of books, literature, and poetry which had been regarded as one of the most extensive collections within the known world. Yet this was not the dragon he had come to know, but rather a shadow of her former self. Her life was fading, he could feel that clearly. And she was suffering dearly from his condition.

As he descended the stairs, a flood of emotions overwhelmed him. Pity, sadness, anger, regret. He could do nothing to stop it, yet he was forced to watch it as always from within his own mind. He saw her eyes meet him, eyes filled with her own flood of agony and pain. She knew what Ethraeil had come to do, like he had to do so many of her kin under force of the Church. Yet she did not offer resistance, as if she could muster any, but rather sighed and resigned herself to her fate.

"I will not allow those... humans to desecrate your corpse for trinkets." Ethraeil stated sadly as he approached. "I am sorry... old friend."

And with that, he plunged his blade into her heart and ended her life. Yet as she died, the dream did not end as it usually did, but rather... everything went still. Ethraeil looked around in suspicion and confusion, the scenery turning to a cliffside in Escaria. He had been here before, it was during a hunt for a pureblood almost a century ago. But yet, at the edge stood a lone figure. A man cloaked in raven black. "Ethraeil, to have suffered so much and gained so little... your time has yet to come."

"Who are you?" Ethraeil asked with anger.

"That is irrelevant, monsieur. What is relevant, is the part you should play in what's to come. The balance has been... upset. Something terrible is about to happen, and the world must muster its strength in whatever way it can, lest everything be lost."

"Duly noted. That's why we are going to kill the duke." Ethraeil replied flatly.

The figure tilted his head to the side, seemingly unamused. "I don't speak of the duke, monsieur."

And with that, Ethraeil was snapped back to reality, causing him to fall over in shock and confusion.

---

The next morning, Ethraeil made his way back to where Rosanna and Valeria were camped, noting that the latter had moved elsewhere. Without saying so much of a word, Ethraeil sat next to Rosanna and left himself to his own thoughts on what had transpired.

 

[K0mori]

Having mentally adjusted to the terribly high stakes Valeria had already spoken of once before, Francis was able to accept the new details without finding reason to dismiss or ridicule them. He had actually had some difficulty sleeping that night, not only because of his encounter with Aleister, which put him on edge, but of the grizzly sight of Ethraeil proving to him that the danger facing the world was both widespread as well as local. Just as he had discussed with his wife, Francis feared that if action wasn't taken quickly then even the children he referred to as delinquents would face dire consequences. Now, he knew what those consequences would be. He took a bite out of the apple he was still carrying and tried to imagine a world under the control of vampires.

"Do you think you can pull it off?" he asked. "Stop the Duke, I mean. If... if there's any doubt that it can be accomplished, then I'll go. Forget selling these tools, we'll use them as is and account for the expenses after the fact," he suddenly added. "Because if you can't, I don't think there's enough folks like me out there to clean up the damage. Even your hired huntress accused me of being a sadist, but I think myself a realist, killing scum when I find it like an infectious disease. It's not my fault I can't afford fancy silver weapons or hurl lightning bolts like a damned wizard. Killing is a grizzly thing, but I'd be willing, even proud, to do it if it can get us one step closer to a world without bloodsuckers and walking corpses."

 

[Infab]

Valeria nodded. "It will likely be difficult, so we will need as much assistance as possible." she replied. She placed the pipe bomb back on the table, before turning back to Francis. "I have one more detail that I should inform you of. As I mentioned yesterday, I had to do something that I immensely regret in order to gain the weapon that we will use to kill the Duke. It is better to inform you now instead of letting one of the others tell you during the journey."

She then gently tugged the glove off her right hand, and showed Francis the long scar across her palm. "...I had to make a deal with a demon in order to get it. The weapon had been hidden for centuries, and not even the church knew where it was. This demon, Sazak, knew and told me in exchange for my body and soul after we kill the Duke. Now..." she said, before slipping her glove back on. "...I have asked the others to kill me once the Duke is dead to prevent Sazak from taking control of my body. I do not want that demon anywhere near the sword or the ring once the Duke is dead. I leave it to them, as well as you, to make sure I die immediately following the slaying of the Duke. I will take my place in the Abyss for making such a deal, and I will leave things in the hands of my fellow inquisitor named Theodore. You'll meet him, should you join us."

 

[K0mori]

Francis was mid-bite into his apple when Valeria made yet another startling revelation. He froze for a moment, calculating a response. To Valeria's surprise, he swallowed the bite, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and then replied in a rather relaxed manner, "that's fine." He took another moment to compose himself before explaining. "Ma'am, I can't tell you how much I pity you for your sacrifice. Given what's at stake, however, I understand why you did it. I can't say I'd be brave enough to do the same if I were in your shoes... But I can help with your final arrangements later, if that'll help bring you peace. Let's not discuss it right now, though. For now, I need to explain to Dorothy that I'll be leaving.

"One more thing. I'll need a month's pay up front so I can leave it behind with her. I can't just run off without taking care of her." Oddly, Francis barely seemed concerned about the notion of sold souls and demons, and was wholly ready to move on without a second question.

 

[Infab]

"Understandable." she responded, digging into her inner coat pocket and pulling out a bill fold. She withdrew two silver notes, and handed them to Francis. It did seem odd that he was perfectly fine with her condition, considering how the others had reacted when she told them. Still, she wasn't going to question the man now. They needed to get moving as soon as possible, and the man seemed to have made his decision on things. "I'm going to head back into town, and gather up the others. We'll gather at the end of the road outside and wait for you." she stated, before turning about and stepping back outside.

She strolled quietly back up the dirt path back to the road, then back into town. She walked about, gathering everyone up from their locations at the inn and back at the tree where she had made camp with Ethraeil and Rosanna. And soon enough, they were all gathered at the end of the Adams' path to their home. She glanced to the others a few times, wondering what they had done while she had been camped outside of town. Beyond that, she was focused on the path and task ahead.

 

[Infab]

The group patiently waited, and soon enough Francis emerged from his house and ventured down the path towards them. Carrying various supplies and cases, likely containing his numerous devices, he soon arrived and placed them on the wagon. "Alright. Everyone, this is Francis Adams. He'll be joining us for the rest of the trip." she stated, motioning to the man. "Howdy. I'm Rosanna." stated the cowgirl nearby with a tip of her hat. After the rest of the group introduced themselves, Theodore and Francis swapped positions, with Theodore moving back to his horse while Francis took up the reins of the wagon. Afterwards, the group got underway, heading up the road towards Buckshard. The road itself was a mixture of cobblestone and dirt. A slight change of pace from the full cobblestone roads they had traveled on the way to Peltragow.