Fantasy The Gates Of Hell Have Opened

[BDark]

It is the fifth year after the Great War and the world has mostly been fixed. Lord Kravok has been overthrown and executed for his crimes against the world and the war and a new monarchy has taken his place, allowing for steam technology to flourish as it had not during the Great War. On the day after Lord Kravok was hung, however, strange things started happening; mysterious murders and mutilations past the capabilities of normal men, and in a month, it was declared that the Gates of Hell were opened, releasing demons into our world.

In response to these demons and their lord, a man by the name of Lucius Brooks has assembled a team of fighters to battle against these demons and close the gates from whence they came.

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OOC - https://www.rpnation.com/threads/the-gates-of-hell-have-opened-ooc.353147/
CS - https://www.rpnation.com/threads/the-gates-of-hell-have-opened-cs.353131/
Lore - https://www.rpnation.com/threads/the-gates-of-hell-have-opened-lore.353836/

 

[BDark]

A great and joyous clamour came from the tavern of drunken men and the musicians entertaining them; drinks were spilt and served, and people came and went. The tavern was lit by the few rays of sun that penetrated the slightly grimy glass of the building, not unlike the rooms above.

In one of the most spacious rooms above, the gunslinger stood at the window. He looked upon the sign of the tavern, the Fancy Hare, and watched as the door opened to let two drunk men who had been fighting out onto the road, but none of them still came.

A few days before, Lucius Brooks had sent some letters to some of the most dangerous people he'd heard of; some of them were famous in their own lands, or across other nations, and some of them he had heard about through mere rumours, and, alongside explaining what he sought them for, the letter had also provided them with a location--the Fancy Hare tavern in the small village not far from the Hollow Mountains. They were to ask the bartender about Sir Underhill, and he would lead them to the fancy room where Lucius awaited.

 

[Berries]

Grumbling as he trudged through town, Charlie looked around half-heartedly. He was searching for some tavern. He had forgotten the name long ago, as he had deemed this entire thing rather unimportant, but here he was nonetheless. He probably wouldn't have even ended up coming had it not been for the fact that he was closeby anywaay. The man had recently had his construction contract in Itel expire, and after deciding to visit the rest of the world he hadn't sought to renew it. Now he was trekking around the Hollow Mountains. He had ventured near the area due to its reputation for being filled with precious metals and gems; both of which were valuable commodities in his trade. Unfortunately, he had been stranded when his lack of knowledge of the area condemned him to wandering around lost.

It was around the time when he acknowledged his total lack of direction when some letter from a man named Lucius Brooks had arrived. Seeing that it was directing him to a nearby village, and the fact that Charlie was now running low on funds and had nothing else to do, he had decided to follow the letter's directions. Eyes lightening upon a sign that read Fancy Hare, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to recall if this was the tavern he was looking for. Shrugging and deciding that it mattered very little, since he fully intended to go to a tavern for some alcohol anyway, he strolled inside. Walking up to the bartender, Charlie ordered himself a mug of beer before inquiring after the letter he had received.

Charlie had the letter tucked somewhere in his apron but was much too lazy to retrieve it, so he worked off of memory to determine what he was supposed to ask. "I'm looking for some Sir Overmountain." He said, reaching into his memories. The bartender seemed rather confused.

"We don't have any Overmountains on file," he said, "but perhaps you're looking for Sir Underhill?" He suggested, to which Charlie's eyes lit up.

"Underhill, that was it." He said appreciatively. The bartender pointed him to a rather fancy-looking room to which Charlie immediately plopped himself down in a chair with his mug of ale. He made for quite an imposing figure with his massive stature, wearing clothing that wasn't very common in this region. His clothes were all manufactured in Itel, and since not many had contact with the city under construction, it seemed a little bit out of place. Regarding the man standing near the window, the mechanic noted that he seemed to be the only one there. "You Mister Underhive?" He asked plainly, already forgetting the man's name.

--

Concealing a yawn behind a long-fingered hand, Abbie had already located the tavern the day before. Like a true professional, she had arrived two days earlier than the letter mentioned in order to scout out the place and keep tabs on the activity going on around it. She had no knowledge of who this Lucius Brooks figure may be, and too little information usually lead to bad endings in her profession. Despite knowing this, she had chosen to come regardless out of intrigue. Thus far, she had been attempting to make up for the fact that she lacked information on the man with the fact that she had extensive information about the layout of the town. She had surveyed the entire area after she had arrived; going to the extent to draw herself a quite elaborate map of it. It seemed to be a quiet village, and the Fancy Hare in particular seemed to be a pretty generic tavern.

She had begun to think that her decision to venture all the way to the Hollow Mountains was poor, but seeing that her time would have been wasted if she didn't go to meet the Lucius fellow she decided to go through with it anyway. However, instead of arriving on time, she had elected to stake out on a rooftop neighboring the tavern's to keep track of who was coming and going. Surely she hadn't been the only one invited, so she fully intended to figure out who else was going in. She had no desire to come into contact with any of her enemies, so she had decided that surveying the scene would be a good start.

After quite a few minutes of waiting, she had deduced that not many people had received the letter - and those who had elected not to show up. All she had seen so far was a man dressed in a waistcoat and large hat and some large, burly mechanic. Shrugging off her concerns, Abbie walked into the tavern at last. Moving to the bartender's table, she quickly inquired after Sir Underhill and was directed up the stairs into the room on the second floor.

Looking around and spotting the man in the hat as well as the mechanic, the woman cleared her throat once. "I'm here to see Sir Underhill?" She asked the room.

 

[BDark]

Lucius turned from the window just as the door was pushed open to let in a large mechanic with a tankard of ale who helped himself to one of the several armchairs in the middle of the room. Charlie Evans. Brooks had heard about him from some engineers who took part in the construction of Itel; they mentioned his prowess in craft and battle alike, and that he had left some time before. With a faint smile, Lucius greeted the engineer with a nod.

"I believe you're Charlie Evans of Itel." He spoke, and just then, the door creaked open once more to let a young and well-dressed woman about whom he had heard from a drunk man intending to kill her; he shot him later that night, of course. "And you must be Abbie Elkins, correct?"

"No, I'm not Sir Underhill." He started, answering the question that had been asked by the two of them. "I took on the name of my... Friend... for the sake of safety. I've got some skin changers close behind."

"Lucius Brooks. I've been longing to meet the two of you."

 

[Fangs9090]

Samantha glanced around as she stepped out of the carriage that had brought her into town. She tossed the driver his pay and took a moment to look around. Her instinct had told her that answering the random summons of a stranger's letter was a bad idea, but her curiousity ultimately won the arguement. She knew how to get out of a rough situation, to an extent anway. Forgetting what she was looking for, she dug the letter out of her blouse and checked it again. The Fancy Hare. Trying not to smile at the mental image that brought to mind, she walked about trying to find the place. After following the lingering scent of alcohol, she managed to track the tavern down and wandered inside. She had no interest in drinking at the moment, so she walked straight to bar to ask about Sir Underhill, after checking the letter again. Upon being directed to the room, she turned and went to check it out, putting the letter away. As she reached the room, she stopped by the doorway, seeing others had gathered already. She stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt.

 

[Berries]

Glancing over his shoulder as a woman opened the door behind him, Charlie nodded to her briefly. She nodded back, not seeming surprised by his presence. Instead she cut right to the chase and asked for Sir Underhill, which warranted an explanation from the man who had apparently summoned them all. "Friend," Charlie repeated with a snort. The Brooks person hadn't seemed all that sold on the idea of his friendship to Sir Underhill. Meanwhile, another woman had opened up the door but remained there without saying anything. Turning around and raising an eyebrow, Charlie gestured for her to come in. "Are you here from the letter or what?" He asked impatiently before turning back to Lucius.

Earlier, the man had stated his name as well as one of the women's - Abbie, if he had remembered correctly. Crossing his arms across his chest, Charlie raised his eyebrows at Lucius. "Well, are we going to get some more details? Is this everybody?" He questioned with a hint of irritability in his voice. From his experience working, time was money. So far, this outing seemed to be a waste of time. The company was wholly unimpressive, not to mention not on time and small in number. It was going to take a pretty good spiel to get Charlie on board any type of expedition.

--

Nodding as the man correctly stated her name, Abbie had walked up to lean against the wall. Her weapons were all close at hand and her eyes continually scanned the room for any potential danger, and her ears were open to any sounds that may give away someone in hiding or traps that had been set. She was used to being surrounded with danger, and some obscure tavern in the middle of nowhere was not the way she intended to be taken out. However, all the people present seemed to be some of the least dangerous people she had ever set her eyes on. Not to mention that the group seemed to be incredibly small. Was this some kind of joke? She blocked that idea out quickly. Surely nobody would call her somewhere in jest, knowing her reputation.

Looking slightly resentfully over at the man apparently named Lucius, she didn't trust his words one bit. If he had assumed one fake name she had little faith that Lucius Brooks was his actual name. When the man apparently named Charlie spoke up, she nodded along with his words - agreeing with the questions. Meanwhile, her gaze had settled upon the woman standing quietly in the doorway. Another unfamiliar face.

 

[Fangs9090]

Upon being questioned about the letter, Samantha nodded her head and stepped in. She hesitantly glanced around before going to take a seat. She looked at the others present, wondering why they'd all been called here. She noticed that she seemed to have missed the introductions, so she wasn't sure which one was Sir Underhill. Assuming he was among the present company. She never really stuck to a schedule, so it wouldn't surprise her if others didn't as well.

 

[BDark]

As Samantha entered the chamber, Lucius greeted her with a nod and shut the door behind her. He then turned to face the other two right as Abbie rose and took a place by one wall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger that belonged to the man who was pursuing her earlier and had been shot by Lucius. He walked over to her and handed her the dagger that she had most likely seen several times before. "Put a bullet right in his heart."

Lucius then turned to face Charlie and answered his questions, but not before lighting a cigar and placing in his mouth. "Mr Underhill was an acquaintance of mine. He studied these demons in his own ways that nobody understood and recorded everything in his journal. He never really uncovered much; just a few methods on how to track them down, kill 'em, or identify them if they're in disguise. Recently, he's passed it on to me just before he was taken by a demon warlord of Lakehurst." He pulled out a leather bound journal from the inside of his clothes and placed it before Charlie. "I'm here to seek the Gates of Hell and shut 'em, and kill demons along the way. I mentioned it briefly in the letters I sent you, albeit not very clearly."

Lucius flicked through the pages of the journal, revealing that only a very small number of pages contained writings and illustrations; some of them even showed the insides of the demons. He then pulled out one of his numerous guns and removed a single bullet, placing it right before Charlie. "Demons can be killed just like any other living being, but these are most efficient." He proclaimed. "Mercury is fatal to demons, even the smallest of amounts. Poison Ivy's also very effective."

 

[Fangs9090]

Samantha raised her eyebrows a bit as he spoke, shifting nervously in her seat. "D-demons? You mean, like, actual demons? And you want us to fight them?" She glanced at the others, wondering if she was the only one that thought this was not the best idea.