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

[SniperComZero]

Gwen upturned an eyebrow at the other elf. Confidence! How surprising, considering how she was not a day ago. Though it was a nice surprise, on the other hand, an uptick in confidence often was a sign of... resentment? That'd be the word. She'll just have to keep an eye on it.

She kneels down beside Aliana, propping the rifle butt on the ground and gazing to the streets below, a horde of... shamblers being the most appropriate term for it. "Hm. Seems a little big, doesn't it? If we're going for accuracy, might be best to try and target some stragglers at the back, non?" She looked at her own rifle, before shouldering it up. "Holding it like this is the best way. It, ah... you know. Makes it so that it doesn't fly from your hands when you fire it." She moved her head to look between her and Aliana. "Firm grip, and brace it up against the shoulder. Ah--" She let its front press against the stone of the wall, tapping the ledge in front of her. "And try to let it rest against something if you can. Just makes it easier to aim."

As Aliana was getting herself comfortable, Gwenaelle thought it poignant to pose the question. "...Where are you from, anyways? I do not believe I recognize the, ah... dialect."

 

[Fubuki]

Aliana makes sure to leave enough space between the edge and the floor so she doesn't end up falling down to an untimely, comedic death. The rifle felt odd, yet somehow nice to hold. She didn't understand why, but left the wonderment to some other time.

She glances to the side, seeing Gwen kneel next to her. The horde continued its slow and impending march down the street. A sense of community, it seems, something the Hollows didn't lose. She hears Gwen's suggestion, ultimately wondering if two people will do anything meaningful to such a massive group of zombies. After a bit of tutoring, Aliana hoists the rifle properly as best she can, becoming comfortable with her stance quickly. She prefers to keep the gun lifted up, seeing no viable resting position to lay her gun on.

"I'm from Tsavania," she says, looking at Gwen through her peripheral vision, "From a province that probably isn't the same now." She'd mention its name, but considering how much the world has changed, there was no point in bothering.

"And yourself?" She asks, being that it's only nice to return the question, despite her misgivings about it.

 

[SniperComZero]

Now of course, Gwenaelle was under no illusion. For a group that big, there was no way in-- well, hell, that they'd even make a dent in those numbers. Not that it mattered. They're stupid, and slow, and just being used for target practice. So long as their hearing went away as well as their individuality, then they should all be fine. "It's, ah, not all that different from a crossbow, actually. Just think about it like that. A loud... somewhat heavier crossbow." Probably not the best of analogies, but it got the point across, she hoped.

"Now, you just look down the ah, center of the thing. Should be easy enough just to line up the mark at the end with whatever you want to hit." She tried to check for distance. They weren't that far away, and given that they're firing from high ground, it shouldn't make too much of a difference, right?

"Where I'm from? Ah, well. A little region known as the Monrouxelles. Lovely little place. The mountains, the fields--" Still clinging on to her old world, it took Gwen a second to realize, before she cut herself off with an outwardly positive... and somewhat forced breath. "Ahum, my ah. Apologies. I believe it's in what the humans call Escaria? Something like that? Up in the north there. I ah-- think it's by the border with Ss--." It took her a second. "...Tsah-van-ee-ah. Tsavania."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob simply watched over as Gwen helped. He did not want to interrupt both ladies as they talked with each other. He got close to them, standing at the side as they looked at the fallen town surroundings the watchtower. He didn't have much to add to their conversation, he was just glad Aliana was learning how to handle her rifle. "You can do it girl." he said while giving her a thumbs up.

 

[Fubuki]

Aliana continues to listen to Gwen's advice. This thing was kind of like a crossbow, she thought, just not as bulky. She looks down the sight posts of the rifle, minding her fingers positioning near the trigger guard. The front post sits right on top of a Hollows head, and with her enhanced sight, it was easy to aim for the head of each one. Though, she didn't know if it was the head or the body she should shoot first.

"Tsa-...vane-...e-...ah." She says, slowly saying out the word of her home country so that Gwen could pronounce it easier. Aliana's accent, however, still made it hard to pronounce for Gwen.

"Mountains...fields." Recalling every memory she had, she'd read in books of a land much like Gwen was remembering. Beautiful, expansive fields and mountains that seem to break the sky in twain. "I think I've read of such a place, and being forced inside a house by my parents I never had the chance to go." She says, a twinge of sadness upon her voice, her eyes shifting lower as she buries herself in thought.

Eventually, Jakob rips her out of her thought processes, and she blinks a few times. Refocusing, she puts her sights back on the hoard. "Thank you." She says, trying her best to sound a bit more cheery.

 

[Infab]

The group continued on up the street, as some of them continued to ask the plague doctor questions about herself. None of them really trusted her. Who would? They were in the Abyss, and had randomly encountered this woman here. A dead woman, likely from an age long ago. Vincent spoke up. "She's likely from the Age of Darkness, or more specifically, towards the end of it. Plague doctors were sent out in the early days of the Church to try and curb the rampant spread of diseases and such spawned by Taranoch's demons. When Taranoch was sealed away, and the Age of Darkness ended, medicine began to improve. As did the medical profession. So eventually, plague doctors faded, and modern doctors and physicians came into being." he explained. He glanced back at her after a moment. Still, he wondered why she was down here? Unless she murdered some of her patients.

Eventually, they came to an open market square. In the center of the market was a statue which had fallen mostly into ruin. Scattered around them, chunks of debris from buildings as well as old, rotted market stalls. The statue was apparently of a demon of some sort. At the base of the statue was a small plaque, which read the letters KAIZEN. Apparently this might have been the former capital city of the Abyss. Vincent examined the statue, as the others spread out around the market. There were a few Hollows moving about, but they were easy to dispatch. Some of them were demons, however, so those required a bit more of a forceful thump to eliminate.

Above, Venextos and Takato flew about. Inspecting the city below them. The large Cathedral of the Damned was easy to locate, as a massive building stood tall and proud off to itself in the center of a large clear square. Though it wasn't entirely clear. There were flesh colored demons as well as larger stone ones wandering around it. As well as large silver ones with wings, perched atop the angled roof and the various golden spires. There was another larger building nearby, but it was a crumbling wreckage. A palace of some sort, right at the center of the spiralling city.

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson withdrew his sword from a hollow demon's chest, kicking it to remove it from the blade. Soon after he flicked the blood off of his weapon, eyeing what was left of the market. He gave an exasperated breath as all he was met with were the shambling stragglers moving about the place.

"If this is our demon priests' cult I struggle to see him being as big a threat as she made them out to be." he grumbled, shuffling on ahead as he continued to clear the perimeter. "Seems to me like all we're doing is clearing out whatever filth they can't be assed to clear themselves."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Though the others might be wading around the market square, dodging or combating the Hollows or whatever else; Loque instead examines the statue a bit more closely alongside Vincent. With her free hand, she shakily places it on the plaque as if she was trying to feel some sort of energy emanating from behind it. Cautiously yet curiously, she turns her head upward to look at the statue in it's face. It stares right back at her, cold and dead. Her parents often told her stories of how great of a king Kaizen was whenever they weren't being beaten or worked to death, about how well he treated them and how grateful he was towards their service towards him, but none of those stories seemed to matter anymore, especially not with the way the Abyss is now. Some noises come out of her mouth in an attempt to say some sort of vigil, but she can't seem to find the right words to say towards this memorial of the true king of the Abyss.

"Sorry, I'm-..." she says, remembering Vincent's next to her and possibly heard the annoying mumbling she spoke. She nervously shuffles away from both before Hudson spoke, catching her attention.

"If this is our demon priests' cult I struggle to see him being as big a threat as she made them out to be. Seems to me like all we're doing is clearing out whatever filth they can't be assed to clear themselves."

"Hudson, Hollows don't make for good congregation. They're in no shape to pray or worship. This is by far not the priest's type."

 

[Dmaster]

The hunter scoffs at the correction, continuing his walk through the market sqaure as he hacks apart the shambling figures before him. "And here I thought demon cults just needed warm bodies to do their sadistic bidding. Forgot I was in the presence of an expert." he spat.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

”Forgot I was in the presence of an expert."

“Yeah a lot of you seem to forget that.” she responds, taking a bite out of another hollow nearby.

 

[Infab]

Vincent glanced at Hudson and Loque, after Loque muttered something before stepping away from him and the statue. He looked back to the tall statue of the former Demon King of the Abyss, taking in the statue's design. He appeared rather human, really, with two thin horns which wrapped around from the back of his head towards his front like that of a bull. His hair was short, straight and slicked back. He appeared to be wearing some sort of armor, which resembled that of some of the angels in the service of the gods. Perhaps Kaizen himself was a reformed Fallen Angel? Or perhaps an Ascended Demon? It would explain why all his Chosen advisors were Ascended Demons as well.

Sadly, Kaizen was long dead. Supposedly trapped inside a wall inside the Land of Dead Kings by Taranoch during an Abyssal shift. At least, that was what Vincent knew about him. He glanced back to Loque once more, before looking back to Riberta as she simply slammed the base of her fist down on the top of a Hollow's head. The impact forced it immediately to the ground, it's neck and spine snapped simply from the power of the blow. She then looked down at the creature and grunted. "I wonder when we'll run into the not-so-hollow?" she thought aloud.

------
​

The distance that Aliana, Gwen, and Jakob had put between and above themselves and the Hollows allowed for excellent practice in the art of using their weapons. Aliana held a bit of a different weapon that Gwen however, holding a Atracan lever-action rifle that was manufactured for troops deep in the wilderness on the Atracan-Tsavanian border. Gwen's rifle was a bolt-action, newly built by the Tsavanians, made to be reliable but relatively cheap to produce. The differences weren't all that major, however, as both used the same ammunition and loaded the same way. The method of cycling a new round into the chamber was the only difference. Shots were carefully selected, as to not attract attention from the other Hollows in the city or Demons elsewhere. Still, the shots were rather loud. Easily heard from where Vincent and the others were.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

He glanced back to Loque once more.

Loque also exchanges looks with Vincent, wondering what he has to say since he's got an expression for talking. "...Mr. Vincent?"

 

[Stormpooper]

Irene attacks a few Hollows, swinging her mace at them, the plague doctor fighting as though she was a warrior. She turns her head to the direction the gunshots came from after eliminating a few Hollows. "You all hear that, right?" She glanced at the group.

 

[Infab]

"...Mr. Vincent?"

Vincent shook his head. "It's nothing. Was just thinking." Then they heard the gunshots, and Irene spoke up. "Just three of our friends. One of them is teaching the other how to use her rifle." he replied. He held up his weapon, showing it to the plague doctor. "Thing of it like an advanced crossbow. It shoots small metal projectiles really fast." He then looked to the others, as they continued to whack away at hollows. They needed to keep moving. "Alright, let's keep moving." said Vincent, before turning about and moving towards one of the exits of the square. The group could see Venextos and Takato above, flying about and observing all below them.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"It's nothing. Was just thinking."

This doesn't dissuade her, and she feels he's probably thinking the same thing.

She looks over to that statue of Kaizen again. "...It's about him, isn't it?"

 

[Damian0358]

Above in the sky, Takato inspected the city below - he figured he had identified the Cathedral of the Damned after a few decisive nods from Venextos, but the two would need to identify it more. Near it, some sort of crumbling palace could be seen, but what Takato noted especially were the demons - flesh-colored demons along with larger stone ones wandering around, not forgetting the perched-up large silver winged ones. He couldn't exactly ascertain their aura from this distance, but he worried that approaching may cause issues.

Below, Takato could see the group in some sort of open market square and- wait, is that someone new? Huh. He wondered who they had picked up this time. He mustn't concentrate on that too much, when the issue of the demons still had to be investigated. The hermit motioned his hands towards the befeathered mage, indicating he wanted to try and get closer. After he had done so, he attempted to further reduce the presence of his overall aura, and with a deep breath, began slowing approaching what he thought was the Cathedral. Hopefully he can identify the auras in the area more clearly without getting spotted, knowing to fly towards cover if necessary.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari looked around nonchalantly at the Hollows around them, many members of the group dispatching them. She had no interest in these useless creatures. Her first kill in the Abyss would not be some... insect. And even then, she couldn't sully her sword on things that didn't even know they were being killed. These things more resembled plants in effect to anything else.

Up above she spotted Takato do a little fly over, and she wondered if her skills with a hunting crossbow were what they used to be. Hunting animals wasn't as exciting as, say, hunting people. She had a fair aim on taking out ducks and other plump birds, and Takato was a much larger target. Same with that other foreign wizard. They probably didn't taste as good, though.

 

[K0mori]

Anya slinked about behind the group, picking hollows to slay that the others had overlooked or ignored. With her short sword and lycan strength, she struck them with such force that in several cases the cranium was crushed by the blow, killing them instantly. The longer this went on, the more her posture began to slump into a more hunched and primal one, although she retained her human form quite well. It seemed that she would be able to do so as long as the group was not presented with any major threat, and so regardless of how much killing she did, there was little chance of her losing control.

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine followed the main group at a short distance, choosing to watch the rear and take in the atmosphere of the city. Were all demonspawn hives like these? Void of life and...hollow? That remained to be seen. Dispatching a few Hollows here and there the kills bore no satisfaction nor honor- they were simply obstacles being removed. After a while Seriphine noticed that she wasn't at the very end of the group as one of the werewolves- Anya- had chosen to keep her distance.

Hardly trustworthy after her outrage back at the start of the journey Seriphine found some comfort with Anya watching over her. Mainly because it wasn't her own back that was exposed to possible enemies.

When the group stopped briefly to look at an ancient statue Seriphine remained uninterested. Did they really have to stop and gawk at every withering sculpture in a city where everything looked as if it was about to fall apart? She scoffed at the thought. It'd take years for them to move through the city.

Once Vincent gave the order the move Seriphine rolled her eyes. Good. Someone who understands.

 

[Dmaster]

As the distant gunfire from their allies cracked in the distance from the bullets splitting the air behind them, Hudson would flinch ever so slightly with each discharge. His mood was often quite sour but the conclusion of his distaste for firearms was growing clearer and clearer. Fortunately for him the firing line was quite distant, and he managed to mute the sounds in his head for the most part. Once Vincent gave the order to start moving on he simply nodded, walking toward him and keeping a fair distance from him and the rest of the group.

 

[Infab]

Vincent glanced back to Loque, before looking back to the statue of Kaizen. "Was thinking about your former ruler. Most of the lore we have on him is just from what we could gather from demons or from demonic texts that we've acquired over time...which isn't much." he said, before looking to Loque once again. "All I know is he was an exceptional ruler, whom Taranoch killed during an Abyssal shift." The group continued walking, dispatching any groups of hollows that they encountered along the way.

As Takato neared the cathedral with Venextos, they began to take in their auras. All demons, clearly, though there was a powerful one inside the cathedral itself. There were around thirty outside, and ten atop the cathedral. All significantly less powerful than the one inside, but far more powerful than any hollow.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“He really was...” responds Loque, solemnly. “I hadn’t been born early enough to live during his rule unfortunately, but I know much of him through what my mother and my father told me when I was still a child. They served him diligently in the castle kitchens, and he was grateful towards them, for all they did for him...”

She takes a deep breath as she remembers her parents, and the cruel punishment that had been done to them, and almost to her.

“I just... don’t know why Thorgran couldn’t be the same...” her voice trails off, clearly holding a hint of depression to it.

 

[Infab]

Vincent looked at her for a few moments. Thorgran was the Icon of Gluttony, a demon known to even eat his fellow demons if he was hungry enough. It was likely that Taranoch chose him specifically because he was a slob that didn't care about much beyond food. Less competition for the throne, and a loyal Icon if he kept him fed. "...I'm sorry for whatever he put you through. Who knows, though. We may end up killing him before we're done down here." he said, looking back ahead. "If we do, I'll let you deal the finishing blow."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Loque snaps upward for a moment, looking at Vincent with both eyes wide open at him, taking a second to process what he’s saying before she sags back down morosely.

“Thank you... Mr. Vincent. I won’t waste my chance.” she says back. With what Thorgran has done to her, hearing someone offer their condolences, from a demon hunter nonetheless, moves her very deeply. The fact he and the rest of the group are supposed to hate her only amplifies it’s kindness, making it feel like it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to her. She’s having a little trouble controlling her expression beneath her mask.

 

[Stormpooper]

Irene stays close to the group, cleaning her mace, imagining what possibilities she could do with a rifle in her hands