Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

Cassandra neared the doorway, soon hearing Edmond's voice as he spoke. And then she heard that all to familiar voice of someone she thought was long gone. She emerged from the doorway, eyes wide and locking straight onto Mariette. "M...M-Mariette?" she managed to get out, staring at her for a moment before glancing to the others.

Cassandra was clad in a sort of old leather outfit that was often worn in the early Age of Darkness, tweaked here and there to fit her but also stained with blood. Her face and hair was also marked in demon blood, her long blonde hair slicked back and tinted red as if she had wiped it back out of her face in a hurry. It looked as if she just came from a bloodbath.

"I...I escaped from Azgon's imprisonment..." she replied, looking back to Mariette. "...What...What happened to you? You went hollow! I watched it happen! I...I-I..." Cassandra tried to get the words out, till a sudden realization hit her as she glanced down to the book that Mariette was holding. It forced her to think back to Grimtham, when she and Marriete were on opposing sides of things. She remembered just what Mariette was. And then her eyes narrowed. "...Oh...Now I understand." she said, a hint of anger in her voice.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob became tense when he saw Cassandra approach them, for he still had bad memories of her during their adventure in Grimtham. But he trusted Mariette, so he did not aim his gun at her. "...Cassandra Bainbridge. Mariette here told me you've changed. I hope that's still the case." Edmond on the other hand was glad to see his old companion here, now covered in blood. "Cassandra... you too came back for me? Hm... thank you, my ladies, for even considering saving me..." He did not want to continue interfering in the reunion between the two, so he remained in the back of the room. Staring at Hudson from time to time.

 

[joshuadim]

"I believe this conversation should continue when we are well away from harm. Do any of you know if Madame Witlock is here or not?" Venextos commented as he looked around.

 

[K0mori]

"Azgon?" Mariette echoed, her elation fading, but not completely disappearing. "...I didn't think of that. Mas-" she paused and flinched, "-Sazak had you captive for his own entertainment before I was brought in, remember? I- I didn't think he would send you away like that! But even if you hadn't escaped, I swear I would have scoured the entire Abyss looking for you." Then Venextos suggested they move along. "Ah, oui, that would be a good idea... Cass, these few are looking for the madam inquisitor, to help undo the damage of what happened on Grimtham. I promised to help them and they in turn promised to help me free you and Ser Edmond."

 

[Infab]

Cassandra cut a glance towards Jakob as he spoke. "It is, Constable. I have a much clearer mind now." she responded, before looking towards Venextos then Mariette. "Well, they are our only way out of the Abyss later, so we should assist them however possible."

Riberta spoke up soon enough. "I don't sense Valeria anywhere." she said, "...She probably isn't here."

Cassandra nodded. "Indeed. Our former master likely kept her as far from us as possible. In a deep dark hole somewhere...We can look around upstairs for an idea of where he might be holding her." Cassandra then turned about, moving towards the doorway. "And maybe I can wring his son's neck...might help me feel a little better."

 

[K0mori]

As the party began to climb its way up the stairs, retracing its steps towards the palace far above, Mariette was silent for a bit. As happy as she had been to find Cassandra in the end, she was concerned that the pureblood would resent her for the way she deceived everyone yet again. Did she truly believe Mariette when she claimed she would have searched for her? Perhaps not, because Cassandra's words revealed a difference in their future plans. She wanted to tell Cassandra that she didn't intend to leave the abyss at all, although Cass could do whatever she wanted, given that she wasn't actually dead. Mariette didn't trust herself not to give in to wicked temptation again. But such a conversation would be a major distraction right now. It would need to wait until after they were out of the palace.

 

[Infab]

The journey up through the catacombs and dungeon was a bit slower than before, as they now had a slightly weakened Ser Edmond in tow. Cassandra remained at the front, ocassionally glancing over her shoulder towards Mariette. Many thoughts ran through her head. Mostly angry ones. Why didn't she tell me she was faking it all? That it was a ruse to fool Sazak and the others? Why leave me out of it, making me think I was utterly alone here? Did she plan on leaving me down here?

Cassandra glanced back to Mariette once more, as they neared the final spiral set of stairs. And soon, they emerged back inside the palace. Cassandra and Mariette knew the perfect place to search for information to Valeria's potential whereabouts. And it was a place that really only they entered under Sazak or a guard's personal supervision. His personal quarters.

Sazak's quarters were high up in the palace, and were actually one of the highest rooms in the building. Certainly the highest bedroom. They had to travel up several sets of stairs, avoiding or killing guards as they went. And as they reached his room, they took notice that the double door entrance was made of an obsidian black. Demonic language was carved across both doors, appearing almost runic.

Cassandra looked back to Mariette. "And lo, our master's quiet little hovel." she said sarcastically, before shoving the doors open.

The inside of the room was near black, with obsidian tiling that matched the doors and equally colored walls. There were several white candles floating about, eternally lit and providing a bit of lighting for the room. There was furniture scattered about, such as what appeared to be a wardrobe and a marble bedframe. The bed itself was cloaked in satin sheets, the lovely shade of red drawing Cassandra's eye. "...Still has nice taste in bedding, I think. As horrible of a monster as he is." she remarked. She looked about, before looking back to Mariette. "What was that phrase he said to summon the other parts of his room? We'll need to search everything."

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson remained quiet as they descended into the dungeons of Sazak's palace, having sheathed his blade once it was clear that the guards would not be a factor to worry about in their descent. Even still, he silently raged over the torment that the Icon put all of his prisoners through. The fact that a demon so vile was allowed to persist angered the hunter greatly, wanting nothing more than to see the cursed fiend dead.

The group met up with both Edmond and Cassandra, to which the hunter didn't have anything to say to them either. He had heard of the stories associated with them, and to say that both had changed in any capacity was a rather hard sell for him. For that reason as they skulked back through the dungeon and went back to the upper levels of the castle, Hudson never took his eyes off of either of them. Jakob could see how the hunter's body language subtly shifted, his growing distaste of the situation growing more evident. Still, there wasn't much to be said or done within the belly of the beast, and even then it was hardly worth it to voice his concerns.

Soon enough they were in Sazak's quarters, and Hudson examined their surroundings with his arms crossed. "I half expect her to be all the way across the Abyss, if at all. If we find out where Valeria is, is our merry little band going to march over and grab her?"

 

[K0mori]

"I don't speak for this 'merry little band,' but think it would be prudent for the fate of the world if the Icon of Vainglory were unable to wield Velin's executioner blade, oui," Mariette replied flatly. "As for this room, he used to say, ahem... 'Idle hands and idle lips, to mischief make - rescind eclipse.'"

Mariette theatrically mimicked the demon's voice and mannerisms as she spoke in a spate of mockery.

 

[Infab]

Shortly after Mariette spoke the phrase, the candles picked up their pace. Rotating a bit more rapidly as they floated about the room, and glowing brightly to provide more light. And soon, some of the dark walls started to move outwards, away from them. The room seemed to grow larger, and more furniture and even doors began to manifest from the darkness. Cassandra smirked at Mariette's theatrics, before moving deeper into the room. Riberta moved in herself, taking note of the large sword mounted on the wall above the bed. A hellish looking zweihander-like weapon. She raised an eyebrow, before looking towards the wardrobe. Time to search.

The group moved about, checking every piece of furniture as well as the other rooms that had been revealed to them. They even found where Sazak kept his vessels, the lifeless bodies of several victims held in a magical stasis. Apparently he was using his blonde female vessel at the moment, wherever he was. Jakob found a disc much like the ones that Tariun had given Vincent, hidden in a small box in the same room that Sazak's vessels were being held. It was strange, because it was only one disc...and it was old. Really old, made of a similar material to the claymore that Riberta was carrying as well as the zweihander in the main room. Inside the box was also a folded map, detailing some location known as Vucrox. Apparently, it was a necropolis...which used to be a massive city at one point in the Abyss's history. There was a detailed path marked across the map, leading to a small singular X.

Mariette would locate some better clothing, as would Cassandra. Far better than the rags and old leather that they had both procured from hollows.

 

[joshuadim]

As Venextos looked over the map they had found, he surmised that it was possible that this 'Vucrox' place was where Valeria could be held. Or it could signify something else entirely. In any case, it was a lead to follow, and the path marked onto it seemed rather passable to travel upon. "This necropolis... I say that is our next destination, oui?" Venextos asked aloud as he continued to look over the map, running his fingers along the marked path. "A vague lead is better than no lead at all."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob chuckled a bit at Mariette's theatrics, before the rest of the room (and other rooms) was revealed. Sazak's little studio had some strange items in there, like a strange disk tucked in a box floating in the middle of the room. Jakob looked at it cautiously, while Venextos asked what was the next course of events while examining the map they had also found in the box.

The vampiric knight looked at the disk for a while, before speaking again. "...Throughout my ventures in the old age... [heavy breath] ...I met an occultist. A scholar whose name is still remembered by her work on the Abyss... Hamna el-Mahdavi told me about Vucrox, an ancient place that existed even before the demons became fascinated by the progress of mankind... [heavy breath] ...P-previously a realm where the demons who worshiped Death would perform their chaotic practices... now made a tomb for the greatest demons that have ever existed. A tomb for Icons and Kings... [heavy breathing] ...Before, Hamna described it as... an non-ecluidian temple... I do not know this for a certain... but i-imagine Kings over the millennia transformed it into a catacomb in their clueless desire to copy what humans make."

Jakob looked at the disk before looking back at Mariette. "...Guess we got no other choice right? I'm not a grave robber... but maybe we can find something good there on the way." Edmond extended his long arms to grab the disk.

 

[Dmaster]

While Hudson agreed with the vampiress' sentiment, he was puzzled by Mariette's phrase. As the room shifted and changed he predictably stepped back and reached for his weapons, stance spread and alert for any kind of triggered trap or enemy lying in wait. Seeing how none came, he lowered his arms and soon looked to Cassandra and Edmond, not keeping his eyes off of them.

As the ancient vampire spoke, the hunter listened intently. "Right. Well if it's our only lead and most solid way to knock Sazak down a peg, I'm all for it." Hudson declared. Though he was not all that thrilled to be dealing with some kind of esoteric tomb, only able to hope that the map was not leading to a trap of some kind. Knowing Sazak, he very well could orchestrate something of that scale.

"Let's get there as soon as possible, gods know the potential for what can go wrong."

 

[Infab]

Riberta reached out and took the disk before Edmond could, cutting the vampiric knight a look. "Its one of those disks that you use to summon the train, I think. Guess Sazak uses it when he wants to relax on the way." she said, looking it over. Cassandra, having changed into better clothes in the next room, soon entered behind them. Now clad in what appeared to be a black jacket, a red silk vest, white button up shirt, black riding pants, and black riding boots, she looked as if she were ready to compete in a horse-back competition. There weren't any horses down here, though. She smirked at the thought, before taking note of what the group had found. A weird black disk, and a map. "Let me guess! The location of our dear inquisitoral friend?" she asked, a more jovial tone to her voice, now that she was a little cleaner than she had been before.

Riberta nodded. "Lets get going." she said, motioning to Hudson whom was already leaving the room. The group gathered up, following after Hudson as they left the room and moved back into the palace itself. On the way down, however, in one of the many hallways, they came to a sudden halt.

Ahead of them, out of a room on the right, Ergran stepped out. Tea cup in one hand, and numerous painting supplies in the other. He glanced up, looking towards the group, and noticed both Cassandra and Mariette standing with them. "Ah! Cassandra! Mariette!...Did father get new servants?" he asked, before glancing down and noticing their weapons. His facial expression turned from happiness to fear. Cassandra's, however, shifted from neutrality to joy. "My my, Ergran! DON'T LOOK SO TERRIFIED!" she spat, before darting towards him and catching him by the throat. His tea cup shattered as it hit the floor, and his art supplies scattered about. Paint brushes and jars of paint rolling around the floor. As she turned about and slammed the young demon into the wall, she looked back to Mariette. "Mariette! Look who it is? Young Ergran, the blossoming artist!"

 

[joshuadim]

"Merde..." Venextos muttered as they came across one of Sazak's sons, and by the looks of it it seemed that both Mariette and Cassandra had a history with him. If they do anything rash, they could bring down Sazak's wrath much sooner than we want. he thought to himself as he saw the scene unfold before him with Cassandra slamming the demon into a wall. "Now now... lets not do anything rash..." Venextos spoke rather cautiously as he looked between both Cassandra and Ergran.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Edmond gave a look at Riberta as she took the disk away. "That I know, child...The tram designed by Ralvas. Originally it was said to be transportation for the hollow... but of course, in his vanity Ralvas made it but a toy. You can keep the disk of course." As the group made their way out and down through the palace, he stopped in his tracks when he saw the demon prince emerge out of a room on the way out. "...Fuck." he said, before the vampire jumped on the youngling demon. Clearly with revenge on her mind. Venextos logically wanted to stop Cassandra, but luckily for them, Edmond intervened. Grabbing Cassandra by the head quite comically while putting his hand against Ergram. Pinning him to the wall just like Cassandra had as he pulled Cassandra away. "...Bainbridge, your emotions are coming out strong... [heavy breathing] ...Even if this whelp is not Sazaks favorite...if you kill him, it will anger the demon. And he will be right on our tracks....We should move out of here now."

 

[K0mori]

Mariette, upon seeing Cassandra seize the hapless son of Sazak, initially returned her bloodthirsty grin and even gave a cold laugh, one Jakob had heard once or twice before, three years prior, but which still sounded unpleasant and incompatible with his opinion of her. But as the others intervened and gave their thoughts on the matter, the former Countess gave a sigh, walking up to Ergran with a serious expression. She studied him harshly for a moment, before turning to Cassandra. "Cass," she said calmly, "in all our years here, Ergran was never cruel to us, was he? He treated us as servants, that's all. He was fair to us."

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson continued down the halls with the group, stopping when the approach of Ergran halted their exit. Cassandra reacted with absurd speed, pinning Sazak's son to the wall with malicious intent. The hunter was preparing for the little runt to make a quick end of that spawn of the Icon, though was perturbed when the majority of the group seemed to be against going through with it. As Edmond and Mariette tried to talk down Cassandra, Hudson couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Despite his quiet laughter it came out cold, indifferent. Not quite as natural as Mariette's, yet still a confusing smattering of emotions nonetheless

Slowly he began to draw his sword, stepping nearer to the vampires and Ergran. "Funny how you only show mercy when it is convenient for you." he spat at Edmond, turning to look that demon in the eyes through his helmet. If they could be seen, his eyes burned with a white-hot scorn in them.

"Do you think Sazak cared for who or what is and isn't fair to him before he tortures and slaughters innocent people? I can at least muster a shred of respect for his rebellious son, but this waif of an insidious spawn?" Hudson asked rhetorically, clutching his blade in both hands. "He paints landscapes above a sprawling complex of fucking burning, screaming souls locked in everlasting torment! And for what?! Pissing off some childish monster who thinks far too highly of himself."

"The little bastard dies here - and I'll make it real fucking quick. Sazak has a debt to me, and this is the way to repay it."

 

[Infab]

Cassandra's grin quickly faded to a furious look, as Edmond grabbed her by the head and pullet her away from Ergran. "LET ME GO." she barked, trying to pry the vampiric knight's hand from her head. She had come here with the full intention to kill any of Sazak's spawn that she could, and Ergran fit the bill. "You think I care if Sazak gets mad?!" she spat, in response to Edmond's statement. But then Mariette stepped in, examining Ergran for a few moments before looking back to Cassandra.

"Cass," she said calmly, "in all our years here, Ergran was never cruel to us, was he? He treated us as servants, that's all. He was fair to us."

Cassandra cut her a confused look. "Because he didn't actually care what we were! Astraal treated us like shit, Sal'gel treated us like shit!" she responded, looking back to Ergran. Ergran himself was struggling to push Edmond's hand away...and was slowly succeeding due to his demonic strength. Edmond forced him back into the wall with a little extra pressure. "I bet if he actually gave half of a shit about us, he'd have treated us just like they did!" continued Cassandra, before cutting a look to Hudson as he butted in.

Ergran then started to do as expected. He started to beg. "I never mistreated either of you because you were just servants! I teased you every now and then, just like I did the servants before you, to keep you from going hollow! I had no quarrel with you! And certainly not you!" he said, motioning to both Cassandra and Mariette before pointing at Hudson. "All of your quarrels have been with my father! What have I done!? Be born!? Please, just let me go! I won't say anything! I'll act as if you were never here!"

 

[K0mori]

"He paints landscapes above a sprawling complex of fucking burning, screaming souls locked in everlasting torment! And for what?! Pissing off some childish monster who thinks far too highly of himself."

"Au contraire," Mariette said, "most of us wound up here not because we crossed Sazak, but Velin. In fact, the most proper reasoning for my damnation is that I was too friendly with Sazak in life... although the so-called Goddess would have sent me here anyway for the capital crime of having sharp teeth," she added with particular spite. She then turned to Cassandra, whose rage was predictably about to boil over, and gave her a knowing look, as if slightly disappointed that Cassandra was still falling for Mariette's theatrics after decades of being chained together. It seemed she needed to turn up the sarcasm. "Cass, listen to him beg. Doesn't he just melt your heart, like a wounded little puppy dog?"

At this point, it was unmistakable how she felt. She looked back to Hudson with a nasty grin. "I agree with you on a different point, mon ami. He ought to have a swift death. For mercy's sake."

 

[Dmaster]

"Quarrel." Hudson repeats, leveling his sword's point to Ergran's neck. "Perhaps you are innocent in all of this. But when has innocence ever saved someone from your father's wrath? If anything that just makes him want them dead even more. Too innocent? He'll give you a reason to hate. Too stoic? That monster will actively work to break. You. Down."

As he spoke, his grip on his blade grew tighter and tighter. "You may not have wronged me, but you still reap the benefits of your father's cruelty. You live in a palace, taken care of and allowed to pursuit such calming hobbies, live a life without want. All built on the bones and withering husks beneath you."

"Do you care? Do you take a single moment to let that wash over you? Or do you ignore it? Pretend that it's none of your concern, absolve yourself of the guilt by association. Or do you even feel guilt?!"

"Because of your bastard of a father, my son lived all of five seconds as a baby before shifting into an utter monstrosity I had to kill with my bare fucking hands!"

He was stopped by Mariette interrupting him, confused yet not surprised that Velin damned people into Sazak's clutches. Even still, the Icon was who brought them here and tortured them in this way. Yet before he could respond, the vampiress confided that she shared his point of view.

"It will be quick. I don't torture enemies, I don't make them suffer. Even demons deserve the mercy of a swift death. I grant it because the second I give in to the desire to make them suffer, they've won." the hunter started to pull his blade back, ready to stab it deep into Ergran's throat.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked at Hudson, frowning at his companion. "Hudson, calm down...You want revenge, I get it... but this ain't the best way of handling this. This oaf has done nothing to us." Edmond interrupted. "Oh no, he has done plenty. As useless and aloof as he might be, he is still the child of vainglory." The vampiric knight eyed Hudson for a moment. "...Hm, I am not granting mercy, for I care not for Sazak or his spawn... [heavy breathing] ...I am trying to not risk your lives, for Sazak will retaliate for this offense... However..." Edmond looked over his shoulder at Mariette and Cassandra. "...The choice, ultimately, depends on the two of you... I'd rather not kill this whelp."

When Mariette gave her answer, Jakob looked at her disappointed. He then turned and walking down the hall without them. Edmond sighed and pushed the demon prince down to the the ground. "...Then so be it. I trust your judgement, Mariette."

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson said nothing to Jakob, keeping his back turned to the man as Edmond explained himself. "I won't let fear of Sazak's future actions stop me from doing what is right. My life was forfeit the moment I stepped into the Abyss, but I'll fight to prevent it." he replied to the nosferatu. Slowly he approached, now pressing the tip of his sword to Ergran's neck, the weapon grasped so that it was pointed downwards. Gravity was poised to do the majority of the work for him.

"A son for a son you deranged fuck..!" Hudson growled quietly, only barely audible as he raised his arms up before forcefully bringing them down. If no one stopped him short, he would stab straight through Ergran's neck without any further hesitation.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette drew her rapier and with a simple flick of the wrist, turned it through the air like a windmill until the tip drove into the demon's heart at the same moment Hudson's blade pierced the neck.

 

[Infab]

Cassandra grumbled in frustration. She wanted it to be slow. Painful. She wanted him to suffer, for every single year down here that they had suffered. But no, they wanted it to be quick. She finally pried herself free from Edmond's grip and simply stood by to watch the demon meet his end. Riberta, on the other hand, followed after Jakob after hearing the decisions of the group. She was leaning more towards Jakob's sentiments on the matter. She glanced back only for a moment as she walked, to make sure they had killed him.

And killed him they did. Before Ergran could get out another word, to plead for them to not kill him, Hudson's sword pierced his neck and Mariette's rapier pierced his heart. A cooperative kill.