Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Breadman]

"Wesley...We know the plan." Theodore said as he climbed up on the roof. "We talked about it at length before we left. Are you alright?" The professor was a bit perplexed by this. Was Wesley still stuck with a rookie jitters, or is the vampirism having an effect. Possible proximity to the duke having a toll maybe?

"Keep an eye out for anyone and anything. It's going to sound like a thunderbolt came down on top of them." He started to examine the roof for any parts that would do.

 

[Infab]

As the trio moved slowly across the roof of the massive keep, eventually they found a soft spot. Rotten wood and crumbling stone., surrounding what appeared to be a square, Age of Darkness-era skylight. The glass itself was scratched up and dirty, offering a rather foggy glimpse into what lay below them. Theodore could see a floor, so it wasn't far of a drop. It should be relatively easy to blow through this part of the roof, as it already was weak. They'd just have to place their explosives just so, and not bring the entire roof down with them. They would need to hurry, as it was likely the other two groups were already making their way through the castle.

---
​

Elsewhere...


Get up...Ain't your time yet, Rose.

Rosanna's eyes fluttered for a moment. She was still on the ground, having not been moved from where she had fallen after fighting Sir Tristyn. She attempted to move, wiggling fingers and then moving her hands and arms. Eventually, she mustered up the strength to push herself up into a seated position. She glanced down and noticed that Sir Tristyn's sword was gone, removed from her chest. The wound was healed. All of her wounds were healed. What the hell was going on?

She lifted her head, and saw him. The Rider, sitting on an old barrel just in front of her. His horse was nearby...as was Rayham, her own. "...I...I'm alive?" she said. "You're as alive as you'll ever be." stated the Rider, tilting his head a bit as he studied her. His hands were clasped together, as he sat hunched over on the barrel. She looked at him for a moment. "...Why?" she finally asked. The Rider smiled. "Like I said, ain't your time yet."

She sat there for a moment, gazing down at the ground. She felt...better. A lot better than before...and the voice was gone. The other her, from when she absorbed so much dark magic from the twins. The Rider spoke again. "I removed the darkness that those vile twins put into you...as well as what you absorbed from Tristyn." he stated, as if he knew what she was thinking about. He then motioned to something nearby, causing Rosanna to turn to look. Nearby was a freshly dug grave, with Tristyn's longsword shoved into the ground at the head of it. "Figured I'd give the man a proper burial...He deserved one for what he done in life." he then said, before looking back to Rosanna.

Rosanna, however, appeared to be crying. The Rider watched her for a few moments, before speaking once more. "...You're thinkin' about when I last showed up to you, aren't ya?" he said. She looked up to him, and slowly nodded. "I don't want to become like him. I don't want to be a mindless killer, and I put myself on that track back at Treso--" she said, before being cut off by the Rider as he shook his head. "...Girl, you're not gonna turn into a mindless killer as long as you doin' the right thing for the right reason. Those guys you were killin' back at that mansion? They were evil. You're not evil for puttin' 'em down. You were trying to protect your friends, and stop 'em from murderin' all those people. You were born to do good...and good you did."

Rosanna sniffled for a moment, before rubbing her eyes. "...You're Adona, aren't you?" she said, looking back up to the Rider. He straightened up, pushing his hat's brim up a bit with his thumb. "...Yeah. I'm Adona. After the continent. Not my real name, just somethin' people called me...still, haven't been called that in a long, long time." he replied. Rosanna looked at him for a moment, before glancing back behind her towards the trail leading up to the castle. "...Y-You can help me and the others stop the Duke, then! He's got your ring!" she stated, pointing back towards the castle as she looked back to him. Adona looked past her, towards the trail, before slowly shaking his head. "...I can't...and you can't either." he stated. Rosanna's eyes widened. "W...Why not? He's tryin' to take over the world!" she said, almost shouting it.

Adona was quiet for a moment. "...There are...things in the flow of time that ya can't alter...this is one of 'em." Rosanna looked confused by his response. "...Flow of time?" she asked. She knew he was the god of time, but something that even he couldn't alter? Adona nodded. "Yeah...there's fixed points in time that even the god of time can't alter...If you or I got involved, it'd potentially change things drastically from the way they're supposed to go...and that's bad. Real bad." he said. He appeared to be trying to find the right way to explain things. "I can see the flow of events up to the point of my death, just like all the previous gods of time before me...I know what happens to my fellow gods too. I know how my friends die...and I can't tell them because it'll break time. Changin'...anything...will break time..."

He paused, to give Rosanna a chance to take it in. Soon, she spoke. "...So you're not supposed to...go help them...and neither am I? But you were supposed to..." she said, glancing back towards the castle before looking back to Adona. He nodded. "...Yes, I was supposed to resurrect you. I'm followin' the course of events as laid out by the Eternal Gods...I've been followin' you and the others since you left Airedale." Rosanna raised an eyebrow. "...The Eternal Gods?" she asked, tilting her head. "Yes. The Eternal Gods Onos and Krozos. The Gods above Gods, the Gods of the Black, the Gods of Eternity, Those Who Were Here First. They are Order and Chaos manifest. They are the true Fate Weavers. That which was, is, and will be. They are the ones that choose who become gods, granting them vast energies and powers, and they decide the fates of everyone in the universe." Rosanna looked utterly confused, which made Adona actually chuckle. "Don't think too hard on it, alright? But anyway...we need to go." he finally said, before standing up.

He stepped over and offered a hand to Rosanna, which she took and pulled herself up. "We have things to do...and things to prepare for. I can't tell you what we're preparing for. Understand?" he said, looking her in the eyes. She looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "Alright. Mount up, and lets get goin'. And...don't worry about them. I can at least tell ya that." he said, turning to face his horse before giving her one last glance. She nodded again, and followed him over to the horses. A moment later, they mounted up, and soon disappeared into the night, heading back down the trail away from Black Hollow.

 

[Breadman]

Theodore planted the small explosive carefully. The last thing they needed was for the thing to go off and take them down as corpses. Then came the fuse and a signal for them to move away to a safe distance.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister listened silently, seemingly unable to say anything in response as they stepped through the revealed entrance. A half-hearted joke came to mind, yet it died before it could reach his mouth as he was overcome with more melancholy and sourness.

"My fear is that the time I have spent guiding people has been wasted, and that the guidance I gave was, ultimately, misguided. I have never felt more like a charlatan as I do now, even when I was one, peddling useless trinkets for my own amusement and that of others. My relationship with the gods has always been one sided, as I now realize. I never asked for anything. I offered only thanks for the wisdom they provided. And now I wonder just how much wisdom is truly worth? Fifty years, mademoiselle, I have lived as a religious man. Ever since I was a boy. Being a priest was decided before I was even born. I wasn't to be the son in the army or navy, nor politics like my father. I was to be the man of the gods. Lofty, idealistic. I had thought, on my pilgrimages, I had witnessed miracles. Subtle actions by the gods to assist those in great need. And now I realize... if they can't raise a finger for this, then they never rose any fingers for anyone or anything before. I didn't even realize until now that I had been lying to myself."

"Perhaps worst of all, I had felt that those wicked people eventually succumbed to some sort of divine justice for their ways. Now I regret not killing every wretch I have had the misfortune to come across in my life, because now I know that they haven't changed. What terrors have they conducted because I took no action aside from prayer and forgiveness," Aleister sneered.

He went silent again as he examined the room for another exit, noting the bloody cage. "I wonder if that Romanov still holds to life. Their mind very well could be gone."

 

[Infab]

The explosive fizzled for a few moments, before eventually detonating and blowing a rather large hole in the roof. The skylight was obliterated, sending glass shards raining down through the hole (as well as scattering some across the roof from the blast.) Now would come the part of them getting down through the hole. Francis moved over, taking the rope back from Wesley, before attaching it to the makeshift grappling hook that he had made earlier. Then, he lodged solidly in a crack in the stone roof, before tossing the rope down through the hole. One at a time, each of them would descend down through the hole and onto the debris covered floor beneath. There was plenty of dust from the rubble collapsing, but from the looks of things they were in some sort of library. Bookcases lined the walls, as well as standing free throughout the large room. Forming aisles for the trio to travel down.

The bookcases shelves themselves looked ancient, some of them sagging under the weight of the remaining books still holding together on their shelves. There was paper scattered about the floor, as well as a few old books which had fallen from the shelves years prior. As Wesley picked up one of the books, the pages inside fell out onto the floor in a mess. The binding had worn out over the centuries.

---
​

Camille and Aleister continued to move through the room full of cages, before eventually arriving at a stone archway. In the next room sat several old torture devices, used to interrogate prisoners or punish them. A rack stood in the corner, along with a wooden horse as well as a table with a head crusher mounted to it. Next to the door across from them was a scavenger's daughter, while directly to the right of them was an iron chair with a foot press sitting on the floor next to it. A horrible room to be in, honestly.

They then noticed a pair of pliers on the table next to the head crusher, with a pile of old teeth sitting next to them. Several of the teeth were actually fangs, either from various vampires or from werewolves. Four of them appeared to be recently pulled, still stained red with blood. One could only wonder whom they had been removed from.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille listened intently to Aleister's plight and crisis of faith as they navigated the bowels of the castle. The torture devices gave her pause, and she even crouched down to examine the teeth before looking for a way out. Not much time was allotted for investigation or exploration, sadly. They could comb this place to figure out the who and why of the torture after the Duke was dead, far as she was concerned.

"So what do you intend to do now? Has your message been made useless now that the gods choose not to intervene?" she asks simply, squinting at the path ahead as she processed his fears and concerns. "And the wicked... Were you only a priest to be above them, so eager to see them punished for misdeeds without having to lift a finger yourself? Such a mindset is more befitting a priest of Velin than Gyasis and Undite." Camille states, shaking her head solemnly. She was not liking how he was sounding lately.

"The gods may have wisdom, but above all else they are symbols. Ideals to abide by, the best selves we could hope to strive for. You know the difference between right and wrong, and using their teachings you have granted help to those that needed it, steering them on a better path. Whether they actually grant aid or not doesn't matter, what matters is how people choose to take those messages and put them in action."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Hidden in the darkness, the nosferatu decided to stalk the huntress and the priest as they traveled through the dungeon. "The priest...and the huntress...working together..." Edmond's shadow was visible for a moment, due to a dim torch, but he quickly moved away into the darkness again. "...Back when...Cassandra spied on you as you...left Airedale, she said that the huntress, so wicked and evil, was at...some point going to drive her sword through her non-human companions. But now...she's the one helping her fellow man...admirable." Edmond's glowing eyes became visible in the the dark to the huntress and priest, as he looked upon them. "...Tell me, Camille Giguere and Aleister Germain, what...drives you forward? Why are you...continuing this quest when you could have left at any given time? Was it duty? Responsibility? Hate? Or just...trying to prove something?"

 

[Dmaster]

As soon as Edmond began to talk she pointed her blade to him, scowling as she lacked the patience to deal with this sort of thing at the moment. Spreading her stance and looking around, she decided to entertain the mad vampire's questions. It wouldn't be the first time she's done something like this.

"There are always more reasons why you shouldn't commit to something than you should." she replies. "All my life I have been told everything I can't do, why I couldn't do it, what was best for me. I refuse to walk a path that isn't my own, I refuse to be a product of those who have succeeded before me."

"I am here still because the world needs someone to step up and be the best, to be a hero the defenseless and weak can depend on. I vow to be that hero someday, and I will not walk away when the world hangs on the brink of chaos."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"The path you walk on...huntress, is long...painful and...noble." The nosferatu's voice echoed through the empty halls of the dungeon, his glowing eyes still gazing at the pair from the darkness. "I have met so many young...proud and strong-willed men and women like you, huntress...trying to...set their own destiny and not follow...a path made by the Ancients...But in their pursuits and struggles, they lose themselves...they stop being what they once were, and become shadows of their former selves." Edmond couldn't help but think of Joseph as he continued talking. "...Tell me, my lady...aren't you afraid of losing yourself in...your quest to be a hero?"

 

[Dmaster]

"You sound like you speak from experience, vampire. How many innocents have you turned into monsters? Slaves trapped in their own bodies, only able to cry out guttural shrieks as they skulk about for flesh to rend and devour." she spat, grip tightening on her rapier as she stepped about the room, trying to get a bead on him. "People with lives, family, aspirations, fears, hopes, dreams..! Snuffed out in some petty game that they had no part in or desire to join!"

"The rage I feel now, for monsters like you and the Duke - that is what will keep me as myself. The only weakness I suffer from is a lack of individual ability, and I will never take shortcuts or stop working to improve myself. I will leave behind a legacy that has made the world better than when I walked upon it. If I misstep, if I die trying to fulfill this goal, it is better than living a life of regret, of complacency and inaction, bound by the wishes of my family and peers. I will not lose myself. I am the only reason I risk myself fighting for those who cannot fight themselves, and that will never change."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Edmond listened to the huntress as she spat her words at him. While noble, her own anger and hate towards the nosferatu grew stronger with each word. But by the end of it, she spoke with wisdom that reminded him of an old, dwarven friend. "You are wise...huntress, and your wisdom will take you far. But wisdom...does not make you immune to bravado or hubris. Your quest...what you seek...will blind you. Do not let pride hinder your noble quest." The nosferatu walked to another dark corner of the dungeon. His eyes were hidden once again in shadow. "As for me? Worry not....huntress....I'll pay for my crimes. For my path...My journey of heroism, glory and failure ends this night. And the Gods...will be the judge of my actions. Tonight, I die a villain."

 

[Breadman]

"What a waste." The only thing Theodore could think by looking at the state of the library they were in. Wouldn't be the first time either. Old castles like these fell into disrepair when they are abandoned or taken over by the duke's ilk. First thing to go was usually the food supplies, followed by the books. Whatever knowledge these old tomes had was now either dust or rat droppings.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil only stayed silent as he followed Valeria with an ice lance in one hand and a bolt of dark magic in the other. Upon approaching the staircase, Ethraeil took a moment to look around to see whether or not he could find the Duke. It seemed as though they were on the right path, but in a keep as old as this it could be a maze to get to him.

 

[Dmaster]

"I have never seen more clearly, and I am so much weaker than the threats I hope to face." she replies, constantly checking corners for the nosferatu before she pivots about quickly. "I will continue to work tirelessly to improve myself and my skill, so that I can be the hero I think the world needs. The family I hope to build will hold themselves to those same virtues."

"You will pay for what you have done, I am sure of it. Should I grant you a death, it will be swift and merciful. There is no torture I can perforn that would not pale in comparison to the twisted life you have been forced to live. If you were ever a good man, if any monster was, they deserve a dignified end."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister found it rather strange that Camille of all people was the one granting him such words, attempting to bestow her own wisdom upon him to clear his mind from the shadows which inhabited it. He wasn't sure what to say in return as his thoughts warred with each other when the Nosferatu began to speak to them.

He quickly matched himself to Camille's stance, readying his pistol with a full cylinder of silver loaded. The huntress responded readily to the man, and Aleister listened carefully as he watched her back, stepping about carefully as she tracked the being through the dark. It was hard to say if he was toying with them, planning an ambush, or coming just to speak. The two of them alone likely could not handle him.

"If you say you'll pay for your crimes, then surrender yourself to death now," Aleister said evenly, though with a touch anger. "The Duke promises only an era of death, terror, slaughter, and genocide. Of both humans and vampires. No dynasty - especially not one he may imagine - lasts. If he were to succeed, vampire kind would be annihilated by the humans when his little empire inevitably collapses. Vampires are already feared and hated, but tolerated to a degree. He will be the extinction of my kind if he gets his way. And as the huntress so aptly says... the innocent cannot fight to protect themselves."

 

[K0mori]

"You're not kidding," Francis remarked at the desolate library. "Could be good kindling, though, so long as it isn't too damp in here..."

It seemed the man's mind was always on the topic of fire. "Hey, bloodsucker," he said to Wesley, "do you sense anything? Maybe you could lead us somewhere useful."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

The nosferatu was now standing nearby, still hidden in the shadows as the priest asked him to give in and spoke of Joseph's tyranical quest for domination. Edmond let out a little dry chuckle. "It wasn't always...like that, priest...Two hundred years ago, Joseph envisioned an era...where the humans of Adonia and the Church wouldn't rule over the others. The creatures of the night...safe from their tyranny. But I'm afraid that the poison that Sazak fed Joseph throughout the years darkened my liege's heart. His emotions...corrupted...his hate grew, and now..." There was a long silence in between the nosferatu's words. "...Now he's just another hateful being...Like the Church he tried to destroy."

The nosferatu gently caressed his elven amulet while walking in circles around the two inquisitors, as they continued through the dungeon. "Mankind...will have its way regardless, and soon when we follow the fate of the elves...the dwarves...the orcs and all the ancient races of old...They will turn to each other...As they grow in number, so does their capacity for evil..." The nosferatu stopped in his tracks for a moment, his eyes glowing as he looked to the two inquisitors.

"...And the worst thing? They won't even notice as they do it."

"...But what do I know? Perhaps this is the natural course of things..." The nosferatu grew quiet, his difficult breathing becoming louder. "I won't surrender just yet, child...I have decided my fate, but fear not...My judgement comes today, and by your hands." He suddenly leaned in from the shadows, his face right in front of the two. It bore no malice, his body movements gentle and controlled. He wasn't going to attack them. He locked eyes with the priest, before speaking again. "...The Huntress answered...What moves you...onwards? Aleister Germain?"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister kept his pistol leveled on the nosferatu as it appeared before them in the shadows. He knew they couldn't take it on alone, but he wouldn't go down without a fight if this were a trick. Simply because he was in a talkative mood did not render the creature unable to attack.

"I've spoken my reasons," he replied indignantly. "I'm fighting to preserve the lives of the innocent. Vampires and humans alike. The Duke would be the end of us. I will not stand idle at the chance my family and friends could be chased like dogs and put to the stake before the morning sun by ignorant savages. The tenuous relation between the people of the night and the day will be forever severed if the Duke's ambition comes to pass. I care not for whatever good intentions he may have once had. He is sick and demented. Employing slaughters and defilers, like yourself and those filthy necromancers."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"You are naive..." said the nosferatu, disappointed. What else did Edmond expect from such a man, who was but a child when compared to the other members of the inquiry. "You are hoping things...will get better through inaction, Aleister." The nosferatu stopped, and sighed before straightening himself. "...But regardless of your...naivity, you believe in a just cause. But I do hope you open your eyes, priest...you have...the touch of Angels. You carry the warm love of Gyasis within you, and the...guiding hand of Undite. You could...do so much more to save our kind." The nosferatu then turned around. "...I hope you realize this before it is too...late..." Before leaving, the nosferatu looked over his shoulder. His glowing eyes looking to Camille. "...The Romanov is down the left tunnel outside...this room. Ascend the stairs once you...reach the end...I've already dispatched his guards....Save him." Then, the nosferatu walked away from the pair. They were ready to face their fate.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Naive? Inaction?" Alesiter repeated with some surprise, unsure if he should be shocked or angered. "Damn you, creature, and whatever you may think! You know nothing of my life, and you number among those who have no right to pass any manner of judgement. I've done more to help our kind than you have in your entire existence. The things you have done here will forever outshadow whatever accomplishments you may have done in the past. You are forever tainted."

He considered pulling the trigger in that moment, wondering if a single shot to the head would be enough to kill the nosferatu. Patience won out in the end when it was revealed the Romanov was near, and once more, a fight would be unnecessary.

Once he was gone, he turned in the direction of the tunnel. "Lets get this over with, mademoiselle. If I so much as have to put up with any more lectures from the likes of fiends, I will lose my mind."

 

[Infab]

Wesley looked about, before glancing back to Francis and shaking his head. Just like Ethraeil, he couldn't sense the exact position of the Duke in the castle either. He couldn't sense where the others were either. The dark magics inside the castle were obscuring everything, inside and out. Sazak's word was the only thing they had to go on. The right most tower of the three tallest would be where Ashwood resided for now. They began to move through the library, taking the chance to gather up some paper from the floor to use for potential flammable materials, before eventually finding a door leading out into an enclosed hallway. The dim torches around them lit the way mostly, but there was plenty of darkness around them. Darkness that the enemy could still use.

As they moved, there was eventually a thunk, as Wesley kicked something on the floor. When they glanced down to see what it was, they found themselves staring down at a disembodied head. One of the vampiric knights. The body was nearby, slumped against the wall. What could have done this? Did they turn on one another? Did the Duke kill them, or that other nosferatu they met back in Buckshard?

---
​

Valeria moved up the grand staircase, Ethraeil and Galina following closely behind. More knight corpses were discovered, scattered about the second floor. A few of the traps on this floor had also been set off, mostly by the corpses of the dead knights. Bear traps disarmed, trip wires broken, axes and swords having fallen onto the floor. Even some silver crossbow bolts embedded in the wall nearby from a hidden weapon inside the wall. They heard a boom a moment later, coming from the floor they had arrived on. Likely the trio of Wesley, Francis, and Theodore. They were somewhere around, but it'd likely take a few minutes to locate them.

---
​

After Edmond departed, Camille and Aleister proceeded on. They had directions to the captive Romanov, though they didn't exactly trust the nosferatu's word. They cautiously proceeded out of the torture chamber, out into a stone tunnel leading to the left and right. Edmond has said the Romanov was to the left, so they ventured down the tunnel for quite a ways before finding themselves at a set of spiraling stairs. They promptly ascended them, slowly as to avoid any potential traps that may have been set, before finding the first of the vampire knight corpses. He really did kill the Romanov's guards.

They stepped past it, along with the others they came across. Eight in total. They continued to climb the stairs, into the bell tower, before pausing as they saw that the stairs ended and a ladder was fixed to the wall before them. They didn't need to climb, however, as a door stood to their right. It was ajar, so Camille cautiously pushed it open. Inside, three more corpses, and a scrawny man dangling from the ceiling. Held aloft by chains bound to his wrists and ankles. He was barely clothed, and seemed to have been there for easily a week or two. A bucket sat nearby, the inside stained red. Likely what Cassandra had been using to catch his blood when she bled him. He twitched as he heard them step inside, Camille's steps making the floor creak.

He looked up slowly, and they soon saw who those fangs had belonged to that they found back in the torture room. Blood stained his mouth and what was left of his teeth, and his face was covered in bruises as well as most of his scarred-up body. They needed to get him down quickly, and treat his injuries.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille steadied her blade, keeping it pointed at the nosferatu as he began to lecture Aleister in turn. She had not much to add, most of her efforts peeling apart or commenting on the priest's conflict were spent in the conversation they had prior. "Mmnh, you get used to it." she stated simply, her exploits hunting noble vampires have her hardened to the theatrics those duels entail.

She seemed somewhat surprised that Edmond had kept his word, questioning the monster's motives before continuing to ascend. The Marquess' weapon continued to stay drawn, being so deep in their adversary's lair had her eapecially cautious and rightfully so. Upon finding the Romanov she winced at the state he was in, scarred and barely alive was a terrible look for man or creature. Somewhat reluctantly Camille stepped closer, hands slowly reaching for the chains. "We will get you out of here. Keep strong." she said, hoping to ease him so that he wouldn't struggle or attack.

"Monsieur, you'll have to apply first aid and carry him to safety. I can cover you." she said back to Aleister, working to unlock the Romanov's manacles.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

It was difficult not to feel some level of revulsion from seeing the Romanov and the torture he had been through. Torture in all aspects was demented and sicking, but this case looked particularly bad. Aleister couldn't imagine how painful it must have been to have one's fangs removed, and he was not entirely certain if they had the ability to grow back, or at least easily. He hurried along to assist Camille in unfastening the man so that he could be let down gently.

"If there is one thing I remain sound of mind to, it is healing," he said, looking the poor man over. "We may wish to spare a few minutes. I can conduct some stronger magic to get him on his feet, at least, and ease most of the pain."

 

[Breadman]

"It appears that our hosts are indisposed." Theodore knelled down on one knee to get a better look at a corpse left leaning on the wall. "Clean cut. Broadsword probably." He stood back up and looked to his two companions "Price of failure or someone has another idea of how things should be done. Wonder if our trapper met a similar fate."

 

[Dmaster]

She nodded to him as she stepped back and gave the two space once they managed to undo his bindings, stepping to the doorway to watch for any movement outside. "Do what you need to. Dragging him to safety won't do any of us good in his condition." Camille stated, whether that was said out of sympathy or not was anyone's guess. "Are we to lead him out back the way we came? That route seems safest."