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[Jod]

The apprentices in the halls were panicking, scrambling up and down the halls trying to get as far away from a certain individual as possible. The last time, one of the apprentices to irk the man was turned into a cat, him had though he was a cat for an entire year. That individual was Dr.Steamfunk, who at the moment was stomping through the hallway. He was on his way to the Vice chancellors chamber. He had a very large bone to pick with her, if he had it his way, the bone would be lodged firmly up her snooty behind.

 

He kicked open her fancy teak door, "What. The. Fuck!" he yelled.

 

The vice chancellor of course sat unpeturbed as usual, going through her paperwork. Not one eye was batted to the extravagant entrance.

"Good Evening, Steamfunk" she said, her voice even and calm. " I was wondering when you'd pop in. I hope you find your new assignment acceptable."

 

The vice chancellors nonchalance simply drove the doctor deeper into rage, his face going red. "Acceptable? FUCKING NOT ACCEPTABLE AT ALLL! I FUCKING HATE THOSE CHRUCH BUFOONS!"

 

Ignoring Steamfunk's outburst the vice chancellor drawled on, "Please Steamfunk, It will be a wonderful experiance for you. Its good to spend time outside of the lab you know. I mean look at your recent work, its been rather stale from what I hear. You need a breath of fresh air."

 

If Steamfunk was steaming by now, viens popping all over his forehead. He looked ready to do some violence, and unfortunately he might very well actually enact violence. "FUCK YOU! MY WORK IS NEVER. EVER. STALE! AND JERUSLEM IS WORSE THAN A BUTT MONKEY'S DINGLEBERRY! THERE IS A REASON ITS CALLED A WASTELAND!" He screamed, slamming his fist down on the expansive oak table.

 

The vice chancellor arced her brow, as she peered over her papers "Steamfunk, youre going and thats final. Those church buffons where nice enough to pick up the tab for your research... Guess that means the continuation of you research depends on them finding all that treasure doesn't it."

 

And then Steamfunk went volcanic, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAT! DONT YOU DARE MESS WITH MY FUNDING! I WILL THROTTLE YOU MARK MY WORDS! I. WILL. THROTTLE. YOU!" he said, turning around with swish of his coat and making his exit by blowing open the chancellors door.

 

————

 

Jeruslem was just as he expected it to be, a complete freaking bore. He had spent the entire journey pouting and making a scene. He was so bored that he even tried to speak to the voice in his head.

 

She didnt respond, at least he thought it was a she. Though she had kept mum since that day. Those silent stoic types could get real annoying real fast. Though he did seem to get a new ability, it was an interesting one at that. Some kind of invisible force, a good puzzle. However even this was proving to be an irritant, an entire battery of tests failed to result in any kind of insight.

 

He trudged along in the sand, pouting like a little child. He kicked a stray rock lying in the dirt, even that lazily flopped over. He really wanted to be back home. "I FUCKING HATE THIS PLACE" he screamed, his hands flying in rage.

 

It was then that he heard a loud crash. He hoped it was one of the church bastards dieing. He hoped with all his heart. It would be especially good if it was the chatty female, that would be great. In excitement he rushed over to see who it was, but alas it was stupid pidgeon man. He hated pigeons, all they did was eat, poop and annoy with their incessant cooing. Though he did catch the glint of gold. Now that was interesting. Very very interesting. Now gold was beautiful stuff. Very good stuff.

———

The doctor didnt expect to be in the middle of a fight so early on in their hunt in the forest. Faster he got the gold the better. So there they were trampling through the forest, in search of the pigeon lycans, when the chatty church female once again shot of in some random direction.

He of course was obliged to follow after her. "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!" he screamed after her. He hurtled into a clearing after her. Finally though they where accosted by some lycans.

 

He didn't bother to pay attention to the discussion between the idiot woman and the poop lycans. He was least interested. "Finally a fight, time to try a few new tricks hehehe" he said. 

 

Dr.Vega Steamfunk flourished his jacket, and many small glistening vials of glass shot out only to stop a few feet away hovering menacingly around him. His new ability had turned his crossbow obsolete, in a good way.

Beside him the the idiot woman took the time to smash down one of the on coming bird lycans. Out of the corner of eye he observed the strangeness of the fallen bird body. 

 

"THOUGHT  YOU COULD FOOL ME! DID YA?!" He said, then with out stretched hands send out a volley of explosive vials towards the two dive bombing bird men. The Vials shot out propelled by his Otherlike mind force.

 

"STFU" He yelled as the voice came from the tree tops. With a flick of his wrist he send several more vials outwards towards the tree tops, these where magnesium bombs and would have accompanying bright flashes of light, along  with the heat.

[Wandering Rogue]

Mother Mercy

 

Henry welcomed them with gusto as he refused to settle for a simple handshake greeting and wrapped them each into a crushing embrace.  Seeing Henry welcome them, the rest were quick to follow suit in their own ways.  The girls gave relaxes smiles as the guard they’d raised upon seeing strangers slipped away.  Alice did the talking for them while Jennifer nodded appropriately while avoiding meeting their eyes.  Jasper boasted outrageously from the start and flirted half seriously with them both.  At least, you thought that was what he was doing.  Roland merely gave them a neutral nod as Jasper rambled on.

 

Even as they talked, the wheels on the wagons continued to turn as they moved closer to the city.  They had a lot of stops to make before the day was through and no time to stop and enjoy the morning.  The morning mist was just starting to think and yet here they were already behind schedule.  Henry kicked his team of horses up a step and the rest of the caravan followed suit.  

 

~~~~~

 

It wasn’t long before they turned off the paved road leading into the city and onto a dirt path that led into a small forest where they’d find their first stop.  Even as the mists were nearly gone their vision was still obscured and the fact they were entering an area known for bandits and things far worse was enough for them to be careful.  Henry waved Erin and Zephyraea over towards him and spoke softly.  What he had to say was meant for them alone.

 

“Last time I came through here the village warned me that bandits had holed up in the woods.  They hit fast and hard and disappear back into their hidey holes.   Now,  I’ve never seen them so chances are they won’t bother us but I’d rather play it safe.  Ride up ahead a ways and make sure there’s nothing fishy going on will ya?  If you run into any trouble make some noise and roland and me will come running.”

 

He sent them on ahead and within a few minutes they’d traveled out of sight of the caravan of Friends.  The fact that the dirty road winded about corners needlessly didn’t help.  They’d ridden for nearly ten minutes without any sign of trouble.  The forest hardly felt dangerous at all, in fact, it felt a good deal more peaceful than the city streets they were used to.   It was almost enough to tempt you into letting down your guard enough to just enjoy the moment.  Almost.  The serenity of their ride was broken by the sounds of angry shouts.  

 

A group of lycans were gathered about a handful of humans who still bore the marks of a recent beating.  Piles of stolen goods were stacked up nearby haphazardly as the group was clearly more focused on the humans than the loot.  One of the beaten men was in the process of getting lynched as the lycans cheered.  There was a dark savagery to the scene as it escalated further and further as their actions grew more and more fed by their more primal instincts.  An older man stood in their midst and seemed by far the most level headed of the bunch.  The group seemed to defer to him and gave him a small measure of space.

 

Several of the lycans who’d been in their transformed state turned upon hearing the sound of approaching horses and gave Erin and Zephyraea their attention.  They made no move to attack but judging from their stances it was clear that they were only for the two to give them an excuse.

 

OOC

Spoiler

So you have stumbled on a good old fashioned lynching.  One human is getting raised up now and will die shortly if not saved.  The others are already getting fitted for their nooses.  There are four humans, including the one being currently strung up, and none of them are in any position to fight.  There are twenty lycans and they are nearly all men.  Only five are transformed while the rest are still in human forms and not very well armed.  They are not autokillable.

Edited by Wandering Rogue, 08 March 2015 - 06:56 PM.

[Johnny Paradise]

Holy Shit

 

The rushing shadows of avian Lycans continued to dart towards the group, being kept at bay by spears of ice, twin hammers, Gilgamesh's holy blade, and explosives. Yet, no matter how many were struck down, new ones replaced them. The voice in the trees simply laughed, mocking them.

 

Steamfunk would have none of that.

 

He threw his magnesium bombs into the canopy, and the bright flash and the wave of heat elicited a shrill screech and the black figures flying through the air dissolved. A vampire fell from the canopy, landing hard on his ass. It was a fall that would have killed a lesser man, but he seemed mostly fine.

 

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck," he hissed, tears welling in the corner of his eyes. "Who the fuck does that? This is why you humans are so reprehensible," he said. It seemed like he was about to go on a longer diatribe, but another avian figure swooped down from the trees and grabbed him--this Lycan was real, it seemed. The bird glared at the vampire, not pleased with the situation, but didn't waste words on him.

 

"Squall mentioned she had seen some humans around," he said. "These are our lands, I would ask you to leave."

 

"No," Ellie said with a smile. "We have business here--and for the record, these are human lands. Whether you agree or not, this whole area belongs to humans."

 

The black-feathered Lycan spat. "Hmph. How very expected. Enough playing around, Olek. We're leaving."  The vampire and Lycan's bodies became shrouded in the same dusky black of the creatures the group was fighting before, and three more copies of the two appeared. Ellie threw her hammer at where the two had been, but the figure simply dissolved on contact with her weapon. The other three pairs spread out into the forest. If the humans wanted to find out where the Lycans were keeping holy artifacts, they'd have to split up and follow all three--but was that really the best option?

Edited by Johnny Paradise, 10 March 2015 - 07:03 AM.

[Kind of a Manly Man-chan]

- Zephyraea of Astor, In "Mother Mercy" -

Henry's kind and probably unintededly strong embrace had pushed all the air out of her small phyisique. After short moment of catching her breath she noticed the warmth emitted from the man, how oddly pleasant it felt. The unexpected embrace brought a lively colour and a flustered expression upon her usually pale face, she recovered quickly but her cheeks remained bright red for the remainder of the following hours. Zephyraea had grown alienated from physical contact through the many decades of being alone, she wasn't quite sure how to feel or how to respond. She quickly became used to the friendly and welcoming personalities of her new companions. Although she did bump into her rather shy nature; she chose to rather listen to Jasper's never ending chatter than to actively participate in the conversations which consisted mainly of Jasper never endingly chattering and.. was he flirting? She wasn't if he was but it all did for sure bring a smile upon her face. They were all rather young compared to herself she noted, she hoped nothing bad would come over these very like-able individuals during the days to come.
 
 
 
It wasn't much later as both Erin and Zephyraea found themselves traversing, on Henry's instructions, the forest path ahead of the caravan to check if the road up ahead was safe for passing. Among the trees Zephyraea felt at home, among the trees she had lived for most of the past century. Sheltered under a roof of leaves on branches, the nose teased by the many little odors of the wild and the ears comforted by the rustling of the leaves in the breeze. It would have been a serene experience if not for what Henry had told them just prior to their scouting assignment. "Bandits". Henry did mention chances were slim but he'd rather play it safe, And playing it safe had proven to be wise choice indeed.

Twenty heads she counted, excluding the four humans amongst the midst of the Lycans occupied with lynching one of the poor souls. Three of the transformed Lycans noticed their approach and turned towards them. Zephyraea would much rather turn with tail between legs and make for safety, her insticts telling her it wasn't safe to remain. But her newly found drive for doing what she thought was right compelled her to stay, she was compelled to disobey. How could one simply sit idly by or turn the other way after seeing such a gut-wrenching scene take place before oneself? She for sure couldn't, and so she didn't.

"Do we have an agreement here? Erin of no place worth mentioning." She looked at him for confirmation, preparing herself for potential combat and doing her best to supress the tremors her heart reverberated through her chest. Undoing herself of any unwanted weight she removed the satchel hanging over her shoulder and placed it on Calitatus his back. She undid the spear from it's holder and stuck it's tip into the dirt leaving it standing up straight. She jumped off of the horse but remained close enough to be able to jump back on and make a run for it if the situation called for it. What was going to happen now was all up to Erin as the three lycans didn't seem to make their move just yet.

Under the cover of her cloak she took three throwing knives into her hand. If the Lycans did so much as move forward to attack they'd find themselves with a knive each digging deep into their lungs, right through the gaps in between their ribs. Zephy was sure she'd be pull it off, she could feel the precise control over her body increase as she transformed into her gelatineous state. If she somehow did fail she had her spear within arm's reach. The one weapon Eurus had completely mastered and taught her how to use.

Edited by Kawaii~ Dragon girl, 11 March 2015 - 11:36 PM.

[SliceAndDice]

Marshall Septimus Volgas
Location: Castle White

 

When the yeti finally fell, overcome by wintery bite of his sword, Marshall heaved a sigh of relief. When he looked up at the walls of Castle White, expecting to see his mother's flabbergasted face, he found she was not there. More than likely, he reflected, she had gone to look at the painting again. Just as she had been for the past hundred years. With nothing left to do but gain entrance, he pulled his sword from Igor's back, wiped the blood on his white fur, and sheathed it. Then he retrieved his cloak from the snowy ground, placed it back on his shoulders, and walked forward to their overseers.

 

"Captain," he called to the man now serving as chief observer in his mother's stead, "I believe we've proven ourselves. Would you kindly take us to the guest chambers?"

 

Of course, it was not as if Marshall needed a guide. He had grown up in these walls, and they did not have a habit of changing themselves. There had been a time, in fact, when he and his siblings had made it a game to see who could find the most hidden passageways, and he'd nearly won. But Tobias had taken it, like usual. Tobias always took their contests; the only thing between them that he wasn't first in was line for the throne. He was third for that.

 

With a start, he realized what hallway they were going down. At the end of it, where the path forked to the east and west wings, was his father's portrait. But as he got closer to it, he found it harder and harder to notice it for the beautiful woman standing near his mother at its base. The draw behind her seemed oddly familiar, but it wasn't until he got closer that he could pinpoint it as Princess Jasmine. He smiled as she turned and walked toward them to give her greetings, and not just because of her aura; in spite of the proclamation the Red Queen had made of her exile and warnings about her, Marshall had always found the first Daughter of Red to be amiable and courteous enough. Even though her age dwarfed his own by several orders of magnitude, she had always spoke to him as something of an equal. Quite different from Katarina, who, while no less courteous on the surface, typically reveled in her superiority over those around her.

 

"Marshall! As always, it is a pleasure to see you again."

 

"The pleasure is all mine, your Highness," he replied as he gently kissed the back of her hand. In any other time he might very well have used her name, but given the current succession crisis left in the wake of Priscilla's death... it was better to be safe.

 

"One of the nobility are holding a ball later this week, if you're free you should come. It's been a while since we caught up!"

 

"I shall certainly try, but I regrettably cannot make any guarantees."

 

By then she was moving on to Seliesen and her sister, both of whom were probably quite flabbergasted by Jasmine. Having met her before, however, made Marshall aware of the gravitational pull she had on his senses, and while he couldn't resist it, he could look and think beyond it. The fact that Jasmine was here, in Castle White, and holding discussions with his mother was foreboding. He suspected Jasmine was searching for support in her striving for her mother's throne; Katarina had claimed it and was not like to surrender it quietly. That might well make negotiations difficult for them, particularly if the First of Red had already gained some sway over Irene. But, he reminded himself, they were not here to acquire support for a succession war; they were here because war was about to begin anew and Vampires of every Court would have to stand together to weather it.

 

"Please, let me show you to the guest quarters"

 

"I shall be along in a moment. Worry not, I know the way."

 

And then the rest of the party left, leaving him alone with his mother and the portrait of his father that they both looked on with similar longing. They said nothing to one another; Marshall knew that Irene held no favor for him. Was it because he had survived where Tobias had perished? When all his siblings and his father had died? Did she think he should have joined them? Did she somehow blame him for their deaths? Or was it simply that grief blotted out all the motherly care she once held for him? Marshall did not know, and he knew better than to ask. But here, in front of the painting, there was an odd sort of serenity over them. Here, they both shared the same thoughts; both wished that King Damien Volgas were still living...

[Siderealmidnight]

 

Erin

Reprimand

 

Erin was pleased to see that Henry and his companions had made it to the rock intact. They had chosen it as a meeting spot because it was close enough to Memorium that most bandits stayed clear of it, but it was in Erin's nature to worry about those he cared for and the repetitive work of sharpening his blade had only served to dull that worry, not remove it. The man looked much as Erin remembered him, with the exception of a bit more salt in his salt-and-pepper hair than their last encounter. He could almost feel the woman beside him tense as Henry approached, but Erin was prepared and strolled towards the man with arms outstretched. The two large men shared a crushing hug, applying the maximum amount of force the same way most men would with handshakes. After seeing the way Henry embraced him the others in his entourage relaxed, except for Roland who had known Erin only a few years less than Henry did. 

 

Erin listened to the group chatter in silence as the caravan rode down the paved road. Jasper seemed like a boastful fellow, but if he had done half the things he told the two young women he'd done then he would be a valuable asset on this journey. The two women seemed for the most part to be opposites of each other, one outspoken and brash the other quiet and reserved, but that was not uncommon in the world. People often became close with those who had something they lacked, and for all her meekness in front of Jasper the two shared animated conversations when they thought others were out of earshot. Then there was Roland, who needed no worrying over. Erin knew enough of the man to know that he could handle himself if pressed, so long as what pressed him wasn't a gang of bandits or a man of the cloth other than Henry. Eventually the road became more dirt than stone and Erin knew the true work would begin now. The road itself was clear, but maintenance was unheard of this far outside of Memorium and every so often bandits would set up camp in the area between Memorium and the hamlets, looking to catch trade caravans on their way to Memorium or waylay some of the cities tax collectors before making a hasty escape. 

 

Henry seemed to have the same thoughts Erin did, because he sent the pair of guards out ahead to make sure the way was clear of any unknown dangers. So Zephyraea and Erin rode ahead of the caravan through the winding dirt road that lead to the nearest hamlet. Zephyraea rode her large horse in silence, tensed for any sign of attack. Erin thought of telling her that the only things she needed to keep so vigilant were her eyes and ears, but then he thought the better of it. One couldn't learn to be a good scout in a day, and being too tense was better than being lax where guarding was concerned. Only a few minutes passed before Erin started hearing shouts from further up the road. They were still too far away for even Erin to make out what those sounds were, but they sounded human and heated. The sounds became less and less human as the pair came closer to them, and Erin was soon able to make out individual curses and growls from within the cacophony. Erin put on a burst of speed just as the noblewoman's horse did and they both rounded the bend to the sight of a lynching.

 

There was little chance that the lycans gathered around a group of humans who had clearly been on the end of many fists recently were carrying out a magistrate's justice. Many of them were already halfway to their wolf forms, growling savagely at the humans who seemed too dazed to resist. One man was being prepared for a hanging, and there were cheers and howls of delight as the noose went around his neck. As the two rode into the clearing several of the most wolf-like lycans turned to face them, ears flat against their head and teeth bared. The rest were too intent on the man about to be hanged, surging forward to surround the block of wood the man was precariously perched on. Erin could pick out their leader in an instant, it was always easy to see in a lycan pack by the way they stepped around him. Erin heard Zephyraea whisper a disjointed question to him, but it was clear from the way she held herself and the knives in her hand as she stepped down from her horse what she meant.

 

This was dicey situation, a pack this size could easily tear both of them apart before the rest of the caravan arrived to help. But Erin would rather be torn apart by wolves in the daylight than sit and watch men be lynched. "Follow my lead, and no matter what happens do not reveal you are a vampire." Erin threw his voice so that only Zephyraea could hear it, then reached into the sheath at his thigh, took a knife, and threw it in one smooth motion. The knife sailed over the heads of the mob and through the rope set to hang the man, embedding itself in the tree beyond. The man collapsed to the ground with a ragged gasp, unable to support his own weight. "What in the world do you think you're doing?!" Erin yelled with a combination of the tone of a sergeant who had just found his men trying to desert and that of a father who just found their child sticking their hand into the cookie jar. The sound rolled across the clearing in an instant, and every eye in the clearing was focused on him. Erin ignored them all, looking only at their leader. "Hanging men in the cover of mist over stolen goods, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves." Erin never changed his tone. He was every inch the commander he had once been, staring down an insubordinate soldier who still had a trace of defiance in their eyes. Lycans didn't respond well to weakness or fear and tended to look down on delegates unless they were strong enough to hold their own. Presenting himself as another alpha was the best way to make sure he was heard. Assuming they don't kill us first.

[Rainbow Dash]

IT CAME FROM BEHIND!

They'd spent an hour searching with little progress. The greater hunting party was spread into several small clusters, each led by a huntmaster. The groups moved forward in a rough line, hoping to cover the entire zone. The overall leader - and the huntmaster of Bratumił's group - was simply called Hunter. Hunter was the mate of the archer Ranger whose raids had become notorious of late. He seemed a capable lycan.

The groups were currently taking an hour break announced by a horn. It was towards the end of the hour when they had company.

A young brown-furred lycan quickly rushed over and spoke to Hunter. Something made Bratumił's fur stand up on edge. Listening closely he managed to capture a few snippets of conversation. Apparently one of the groups several clusters over had found tracks. Hunter told everyone that they would go search the area. If the beast was to be found that is where it would be.

The group of lycans made a good pace but the feeling Bratumił had did not go away. It only got worse. Something was very, very wrong. He noticed Hunter also seemed to have the same feeling. The speed of their group slowed ever so slightly as Hunter became more cautious. Bratumił wondered if Hunter felt the same thing he did until he noticed what had disturbed Hunter; if the groups were in a line and they were going several clusters in, why hadn't they seen any other groups?

They passed a decrepit watch tower, a relic from the Crimson Century long since abandoned. Shadows stretched inside it but Hunter declared it empty. As they approached the group's location the smell of offal and viscera filled the air. Hunter came to a stop at the edge of a clearing. Bratumił closed in.

The clearing was a killing ground. Dismembered corpses of lycans were scattered all over the place. The group slowly followed Hunter in as he searched for clues.

Bratumił did his best to ignore the horror and performed a quick count of the bodies. Despite the fact they had been torn to shreds he could see there were obviously a lot more than a single groups here. There were at least three. Something else nagged him at the back of his mind.

Their leader pulled out his horn and gave three short bursts. Hunter called the men over. "These were good lycans. Good fighters", he said. "Whatever it is out there is clearly more than we can handle. We'll need to come back with bigger claws. Fletcher or maybe even Grey himself"

The rising annoyance in the back of his mind finally spoke up. Bratumił had looked over the whole area. This was where they were taking their break. If they had found tracks then why hadn't the group been at the tracks? And if there were no tracks then...

Before he could stop himself he impulsively looked at the brown-furred lycan who'd brought them the news. The youth looked back at him and smiled widely. Too widely. His mouth wasn't filled with the canines of a wolf. His teeth were densely-packed needles nearly half a finger length long.

Blurred with speed he transformed as he leapt at Hunter. Hunter barely had time to register what was happening when jaws a metre wide closed in on his torso, biting him clear in half with a crunch. The monster pretending to be a lycan was still changing. Brown fur gave way to pebbled black skin. Bratumił could not tell exactly what the thing was but knew it was coming

[Jod]

It was quite entertaining to see the vampire fall on his ass. It almost, 'almost'  made the entire trip worth it. Lording it over a vamp is always fun and the doctor loved fun. 
. "Who the fuck does that? This is why you humans are so reprehensible,"
 
Steamfunk couldnt help but reply, "Ironic, coming from shitty vampire" He sniggered at his own joke. Earning him quizzical look from all.
Still it didnt take long for the situation devolve back into a clusterfuck. Unlike him, the lycan and the church bitch exchanged some silly altogether meaningless words. Soon they found themselves back where they started. With no Idea what to do.
 
Scoffing at the rest of them, Steamfunk decided to follow one of the 'decoys' on random, since he had absolutely no clue on which way to go.  Turning back to the group, "Follow me or go yer own way, I don't give a fuck." he said. Then he dove  in after the group, blasting away any obstruction in his path

Edited by I AM HE, 28 March 2015 - 08:47 PM.

[Sir Frog]

"Follow me or go yer own way, I don't give a fuck."

 

As Steam-funk ran into the woods he laughed, "For a complete ass hole, he is very honest would you say?"

 

The Knight looks at his own sword then Ellie's hammer, "The artifacts can change the tide of the war, we must split up and find them."

 

Crude, but at least he is honest. Gilgamesh raised his visor and turned to see how Father Abel was doing. "Father stay with Ellie." 

He once lived in a forest for a decade, there was no fear to be had. He set off running as fast as possible chasing one of the other "decoys." 

 

"Let's us hope that we can actually fight now that the Father is not with us, Dunamis."