Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[EdwardDewey98]

"Don't waste the time of the Divine, Al. Wouldn't want them to get mad at you!" said Jakob to Aleister, as he joked about summoning an angel. He then moved to check on the stew. "Oh dear, the smell! Takes me back decades!" he said, serving the stew into several bowls kindly provided by the Church on the carriage. "Y'all better eat this. No food goes to waste! My mum used to say its a blessing from Thiasis himself!" He looked to everyone with a smile. "And we wouldn't want him to get mad, eh?" He chuckled, while offering the first bowl to Rosanna.

He then moved to Valeria, and handed her a bowl. "Enjoy the meal, ma'am." he said, before going around and handing two more bowls to Erwin and Theodore. When he approached Camille, he offered her the bowl. "I know this ain't fancy food, but...I hope you can at least enjoy it, madame." he said with a smile. "Bon appetit! That's what you Escarians say, right?" He moved on to Galina. "I know you Tsavanians are more fond of meals with potatoes in it, so there's some in there for ya!" He gave her a wink as he offered the bowl to her, before moving on. He moved on to Wesley, giving him a bowl and saying "You'd better eat that. Don't hurt the feelings of Thiasis!" He skipped Aleister and Mariette. Not to be rude, but more respectful. Vampires couldn't exactly eat regular food all that well, from what he heard. "I appreciate the work you did, Al. You're a good kid!"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister watched Jakob hand out the food to everyone, acting like a kindly monk handing out his daily soup and bread for all the destitute lined up outside the walls of his monastery. It was rather heartwarming, but his easy-going optimism put him somewhat ill at ease. He seemed too good-natured. Perhaps it was simply the composition of the group that made Jakob stand out more so than usual to him. Regardless, smelling the food pained him a great deal. Every day was a constant reminder of the one true loss he suffered after becoming a vampire - food and drink.

"You are most welcome," Aleister said with a slight nod. "But 'kid'? Heavens, constable, I'm probably as old as your parents!" He couldn't help but give a light chuckle, amused at the situation nonetheless.

 

[Infab]

Rosanna didn't really ever need to eat. Or drink. Or really sleep. Still, she often found herself still doing these things out of habit. Being practically immortal, you lose the need to do them, but it felt nicer to continue to do them. As she looked down at the bowl of beef stew, she looked back to Jakob as he sat down with his own. "Hey, Jake. Watch this." she said with a grin. She then removed her head gently, setting it to the side. Her body then picked the bowl up, before pouring it directly into the black abyss of a hole in her neck. And it was gone! "Amazin', eh?" said her head, with a chuckle.

 

[KRIY]

Wesley rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, Don't bring up the sap story there." chuckling a bit at the end. he received a bowl of food from Jakob and took a whiff from it. "Smells like what mother used to make. thanks for the serving, Jakob" he sat down near Galina and proceed to eat his meal. right before he could even start. he noticed that Rosanna pulled her head off again and poured her soup down her exposed neck.

"People and their heads these days..."

 

[Radley]

After having an assortment of ammunition blessed, as well as his cutlass and a large antler-horn hilted bowie knife, blessed by the priest, he gathered his gear and brought them over to his spot by the fire.

He had thought of what Sazak had said earlier, about letting people know what one was. He had heard many a people say he needed to open up, but the demons words seem to have some sort of special effect on him. In lieu of this, he removed his hat and coat, hat and highcollared jacket. With nay but his leather boots, suspended pants and yellowed workshirt with rolled up sleeves, he took the bowl of stew from Jakob.

With the flames displaying his ravaged face and tattoed arm as he sat by the fire, he took out a small, leatherbound notebook and began writing.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil returned to the firepit where everyone seemed to gather around and took a seat somewhat near Valeria and stared into the fire in front of him. After reminiscing for a moment he turned to Valeria to speak. "It looks good on you."

 

[Breadman]

"Thank you mon ami." Theodore took his gear and placed a majority of it save away from the fire. Rather not wanting to risk a random spark flying and hitting a fuse. Returning just in time to see Rosanna perform her party trick. Curiosity made him stare for half a minute completely oblivious to his surroundings. He read theories on what would happen if an object were to be inserted into a dullahan's neck orifice, but never concrete evidence to support anything. Until now.

"You know, we really should have a talk you and I." He said to Rosanna "Because you just made Ludwig Von Cestle eat his research book with that trick."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob let out a hearty laugh as he sat down with his bowl of stew. "I don't doubt that, Al. How much? Two decades older than me?" He started to eat the stew before continuing. "But to me, you still are kind of a kid, sir. Appearance wise." he said, before looking to Rosanna after she called for his attention. He then let out another laugh as he saw his friend practically devour the stew through her neck. "Well! Must have been really good 'cause you cleaned your bowl!" he said, while laughing.

He shifted his attention back to Aleister afterwards. "Take no offense to my words, priest. I mean to ill." he said. "But to me, you haven't truly experienced life yet. That don't really make you older than me... don't get me wrong, you have experienced a lot of it from what you said in the carriage." He took a sup from the stew before continuing. "But you still need to see all the facets of life. At my age, I've seen...a lot of things. I've seen the kindness of man as well as the monstrous nature as well..." At this point, Jakob seemed a bit lost in his own world. Old memories creeping into his mind. He then let out a chuckle. "Or maybe, like my mum would say, I am full of shit and need to respect my elders." He winked at Aleister before getting back to his stew.

 

[Dmaster]

The Escarian huntress looked down at the stew as she took it from Jakob, certainly hungry but eyeing the dish with some scrutiny. Soup was often a starter to a meal, an appetizer that would give way to the first course that had generally been light and flavorful. But this seemed to be soup that was meant to be an entire meal, which was a bit jarring to the woman who was so used to the finer cuisine her homeland would offer her. "Quaint as it is I still have to eat to stay alive. So, I thank you for the meal constable." she begins, dipping her spoon in to sip on the hot broth gingerly. Her face scrunched up ever so slightly as she ate it, finding it a bit over seasoned yet she said nothing about it. "Ah... yes, bon apetit." Camille added before she forced herself to eat more.

Camille's expression twisted into that of a disgusted grimace once she saw Rosanna remove her head, finding no humor in such a thing. Aside from that she kept quiet and ate her meal.

 

[Breadman]

Thodore grabbed his own bowl of the stew and sat down

"Surprised you are content with it, my lady." He began as he undid part of his mask, allowing the lower part to be moved for the stew. Turning to Jakob to continue "Her excellency is of a noble house and as such they are used to lavish lunches and diners that have more servings than a priest has prayers. Most of which goes straight to the garbage because a strict diet demands it. Common folk on the other hand count ourselves lucky that we can even eat meat once a week." He paused to taste what Jakob had cooked up. "Delicious! Haven't had a good stew in months. Innkeepers are low on anything that gives a semblance of flavor."

 

[Infab]

Rosanna chuckled, before putting her head back on her body. "I'd be happy to answer any questions about bein' a dullahan for ya, Theo. Given I know the answers to 'em." she replied, as she set her empty bowl aside. "Just all took a bit to get used to, really."

Valeria looked over as Ethraeil spoke to her. She wondered exactly what he was refering to, before glancing down. The necklace. "...Thank you." she said, caught offguard by the compliment in general. "...I take it the necklace belonged to someone you cared about?"

 

[K0mori]

Mariette allowed herself to take in the aroma of the stew, but wanted none of it to taste. "Smells delightful, Jakob," she remarked, idly. Then after having not said anything for quite a while, she calmly took out her grimoire and set it on the ground, closed, in front of her. "A bit of after-breakfast reading..." she remarked to nobody as she stood and walked to her mule. A short while later, she returned with a vial of blood to consume. When she was apparently finished, she tucked away the vial inside of her coat and opened the old tome, quickly examining the runes on each page and reciting incantations under her breath, occasionally nodding and flipping to the next page.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille narrowed her eyes at Theodore's commentary as she forced herself to eat. Despite telling herself to bite her tongue, the deconstruction of her preferences and eating habits proved too much to ignore. "That we do, yes. But you should know as economists and traders my family is quite hesitant to waste anything. Shall I recount to you tales of how entitled the lazy working class might be due to a bad experience or two from a servant?" she asks, scowling straight at him.

"Or should I refrain from making such sweeping generalizations on a population I know nothing about? I had initially pinned you as a man of science, Monsieur Bolvin, not assumptions." the Escarian huntress finishes with a shake of her head, finishing up her bowl of stew. Insubordinate, rude people she was surrounded by. At least the literal monsters of the inquiry carried themselves with more tact.

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil was quiet for a moment before looking into the fire again. "A long time ago... yes. Those were happier times. The times when I could forget about the problems of the world and see the smile of the one I held closest to my heart." he spoke with a gentle tune. His eyes were fixated on the fire on front of him as he spoke, as if he was entranced by the flickering of the light before him. "In those times, many things were... complicated. The world was in chaos and turmoil in that era, and I happened to be a peasant boy in a small village. The troubles of the world seemed so far away, yet they were very real. Constant reminders of war, famine, chaos were routine."

He adjusted himself in his seat as he continued his thoughts: "The duke we lived under was a good man, though somewhat blunt. He tried at least, unlike most others that shared a similar title or monarchs. He tried to be decent to us. One day, he was visiting my village. It so happened that he was taking a friend of his, a local Count, on a tour throughout his lands. In particular, our plot of land had a peculiar forest trail to lead to a beautiful grove nearby. Some said it was blessed by the divines. And as a result, they and their caravan of wagons and horsemen stopped at our village to take a look around. And that is where I laid my eyes upon her for the first time. The duke's daughter rode in a small carriage with a servant behind the carriage carrying her father and his company. It so happened that we locked eyes at that moment... and it felt like we connected. Keep in mind I was nothing more than a peasant boy at the time, and to be seen talking with someone of her stature was... untraditional. Nonetheless, she walked over to me without any fear and demanded my name. Of course I obliged and I asked for hers, to which I will always remember: Elise. We talked for what seemed like hours after that as we sat under a great oak tree and discussed our lives among many other things as the warm summer breeze blew gently through the grasses. We walked through the nearby woods and caught some frogs by the stream that ran through it. In the end, it was a happy day, but I was sad to see her go when she ran off to make it to the carriage before her father returned."

He then chuckled slightly as he continued the story, "So imagine my surprise that a week later, she had her maid sneak her over to visit me. It was from then on, we became friends. As the year passed, we spent more and more time together, and our friendship became something more. As we both turned 15 years, I set it in my mind that I would spend the rest of my life with her. So the next time she visited, I confessed my love to her by the stream in the forest. Of course, if anyone had known about this at this point, it would've resulted in me probably being exiled. Nonetheless, it was where we shared our first kiss. She too confessed her love to me, but was deathly worried about her father and of society in general. So from that point on, I was determined to become worthy for her father's approval so that we could be together."

"Technically it was my idea to go directly to the duke and ask of the duke his requirements even if it was not well thought out. Being young and in love does that to you. Understandably, the duke was furious that a peasant had wooed his daughter but Elise herself came to my defense. She begged her father for a chance as he prepared for the guards to throw me off the walls, and much to my surprise he did give me a chance. He took me as a squire and told me these words: 'Prove to me that you have the noble heart of a knight and the noble soul of a gentleman, and I shall grant you your request.' For 4 years I toiled and worked to my hardest, in times of peace and in times of war I strove to prove myself. And it so happened that I saved the duke's life when on the battlefield against our neighboring kingdom. It was then that through his gratitude he permitted my marriage to Elise, and granted me an estate of my own."

Ethraeil leaned back a little as he transitioned the story. "And so, I was a Count, and for years I lived with the love of my life, my soulmate. And through our love came a beautiful son. The brightest beacon of purity and innocence in the world. My beautiful, precious son...

My father-in-law threw a banquet for his grandson that lasted for nearly a week upon hearing the news. Everything was happy."

"But then, the king consorted with evil... fell to darkness and his mind twisted to the insanity that is the abyss. Whether he sought more power, or for hidden knowledge, or for something else, I do not know... but the reign of terror began. Like a cancer, the lands grew dark as the presence of demons grew more and more like moths to a flame. At this point, I had heard rumours of... sacrifices, rituals, treacherous things occurring within our lands. It seemed as if one-by-one, those loyal to the king grew mad. It was then that civil war broke out, as the tyrant king grew out of control and out of reason. Of course I sided with the rebellion, because I believed it was the right thing to do. As did my father-in-law, and the many good men who still held good in their hearts. And when we marched into battle... we were slaughtered. I only survived because I was knocked unconscious and seemed dead... I found the duke lying under the weight of his dead horse, dying. I comforted him in his last moments as he passed."

"I then realized how much in danger those I loved were. And so I found a horse and rode it as fast as I could towards my estate, only to have found it destroyed and ruined. Yet I saw no sign of my beloved, nor of my son. From there I rode to the duke's castle until my horse collapsed from under me and I ran the rest of the way. When I arrived... the stench... it haunts me to this day. I saw mountains of corpses, mangled and ruined, strewn about as if they were nothing but trash. It was there I saw them... my Elise... and my son...

For three days I wept as I held their corpses, my grief was insurmountable. And when tears would not flow anymore, my voice yelled and ached in agony. And when my voice gave out, I could only grieve in silence. My life seemed meaningless without them... they had been taken from me. I truly considered killing myself at that moment, I held a blade to my chest and truly wanted to find the will and the strength to plunge it through my heart, yet I did not. And so I sat there... alone... broken. I only awaited death to take me. Yet, fate had other plans for me, as you can tell."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"I haven't truly experienced life yet?" Aleister echoed Jakob's words, sounding them out for a moment. So that was it. The man indeed did have a hollow heart he shrouded in his sickly faux compassion. He knew something seemed off with the man. Perhaps there was indeed some prejudice in his soul that he tried to hide with his ridiculous smile.

"I dare say I have seen far more of the monstrous nature of man than you ever will constable," he replied somewhat venomously, disregarding the man's wink. "A lot can happen in two decades. A lot can happen in only a year or two. I have traveled the entire continent by foot, you know. I have slept in the streets and dined in sewers with the rejects of society, and I have graced the halls of imperial royalty. I dare say you should pay more heed to your mother's words and not patronize those you know little about, constable."

He rolled over onto his side, exasperated at the extent that the people around him were hardly enjoyable to be with. If they weren't fanatics, they were dreary boars who growled at everything that looked at them. It wasn't surprising that the constable was a fool. What he had mistaken for civility was simply a well-veiled patronizing smugness. Even dealing with the Marquess seemed better, for at least even when she was being civil, she didn't pretend to be everyone's friend.

And hearing Theodore's remarks made him roll his eyes.

"The Marquess speaks well, Theodore," he said, "it is unwise to make improper generalizations of a world you know little of." Ironic, he thought, that he would ever hear Camille say such a thing when she didn't even abide by it.

 

[Radley]

Erwin lowered the spoon back into the soup. "Oh well allow me to be offended on your behalf, your exellence." He said to Camille in a mocking tone.
"I'm sure you have many other virtues akin to more common folk other than the common fucking decency to eat everything on your plate."

"Anecdotal evidence in all it's splendor, I'm sure. But I've lived with a noble family and I'll draw my perspective from there. After all, someone with the vanity to sneer at a hot and sufficient meal have never been offered bark and peat soup. And thats something I don't have to believe to be certain of." Erwin concluded, bringing another spoonful to his mouth as he glared at the marquess.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob choked on his meal for a moment, surprised by Aleister's response. "W...wha?" he said, giving the priest a confused look. "Aleister...I didn't mean any offense, sir." He put his bowl next to him. "I didn't..." He then saw the anger in the vampire's eyes, and simply looked down. "...I am sorry, sir." Jakob then stood, leaving the bowl on a bucket, before walking to his post on the carriage.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille, to her credit, had finished her bowl of overseasoned stew, just in time to lay her utensils down and meet Erwin's gaze. "I thanked the man for the meal. What? Do you want me to offer him a large sum of money for his efforts?" she spat back, her ire rising now that she was being attacked by two of the men. "You insolent, petty, scarred bastard of a man. Would you prefer for me to treat you with civility or should I scar the rest of you for your terrible arrogance?" the Marquess continued, having quite enough of all the vitriol coming her way.

"Thank the gods every day that whatever monster that clawed your face to bits had not made you lame, monsieur. For I would sooner die than make that same mistake you pitiful creature."

 

[Radley]

"You vile, silver spooned banshee!" Erwin retorted in a raised voice before spitting in Camilles direction as his scar was used to belittle him.

He glared at Camille more intensely than before, with pressed lips and raised breathing.
After steadying his breathing he continued. "When I say my prayers for bestowed days upon this earth I'll relay one for your mum as well. And I'll pray to the divines that she died in child birth. At least that would have a afforded her the mercy of not having to see what a bitch of a woman she spawned and keel over and die of shame." He fumed from behind pressed teeth.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister paid little attention to Jakob's apologies, for the man was no doubt simply covering himself for being called out. Unsurprising. The entire evening was turning rather deplorable. Having to hear the lich's story of despair was equally upsetting, for he felt sympathetic for the dead man's painful ordeal of warfare and the death of his family. And now he had to listen to the braying of the beasts as Erwin and Camille got into a row.

Oh, merciful Gyasis, do away with this group's damned arrogance, he half-prayed, half-sighed to himself.

However, hearing Erwin's retort made Aleister shift upwards on his elbows from his laying position to see if a fight would break out. The Marquess almost certainly wouldn't stand for this.

 

[Infab]

"By the fucking gods, would you all just SHUT UP?" finally blurted out Rosanna. She looked amongst each of the group that had been arguing, a look of anger on her face. "I swear, if Gyasis was here, he'd slap the piss out of each of you." she spat. She eventually stood. "And if any of this shit grows into a fight, I will beat every one of you bloody. Do you understand me?" she said. As she spoke her threat, her voice seemed to change and her eyes seemed to take on the same color they did when she removed her head.

Eventually, she looked to Aleister. "Forgive Jakob. The man apologized, and obviously feels like crap now. Its your preacherly duty or whatever." she finally stated, before looking to the others.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette paused her arcane review to watch the growing dispute between two of her three least favorite inquisitors.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille scoffed at his insults as she rose to her feet, kicking the bowl out of the way as she stood and turned her nose at Erwin. "Oh, and here I thought you would pray to meet her in an alleyway to stab her for the pearls around her neck instead. I suppose the pit you were spawned from at least had the decency to impart you with the knowledge to pray for other's misfortune! I had thought your indecent, brigand band of ruffians threw their weight around in different ways instead." she retorted right back.

Just then Rosanna rose to her feet, elliciting a squint from the Escarian noble as she raised her voice and threatened them all. Empty threats, all of them. The only reason she hadn't challenged anyone had been for their necessity to the inquiry. Well, supposed necessity. "Am I to keep biting my tongue as I am openly insulted so? I granted Witlock the kindness of my cooperation, but clearly others are here for the wrong reasons." Camille added, shutting her eyes as she calmed herself down. "I do this to protect all people, be they noble or peasant. For anyone can make themselves into something regardless of where they began. It is such a terrible shame that some would prefer to be rude, insolent cowards that hide behind insults we cannot act on proper."

 

[joshuadim]

Ethraeil sighed as he got up to stand, mentally exhausted from everything that was happening at the moment. "I'm going to patrol the area. Someone should accompany me."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Thank you, Gyasis, for blessing us with this dullahan, Aleister thought as the woman put herself between Erwin and Camille before the two could go off like a boiler explosion. He didn't doubt Rosanna could put them both on their rears if need be, but when she added him to the tail end of things he pouted slightly. What did he do wrong? It was the constable that was being rude to him.

Slowly, Aleister laid back down on his back and sighed. "I accept his apology," he said neutrally. "Not everyone is rudely offensive on purpose."

Hearing Camille's retort made him snort slightly, but the woman was right. Even as she continued to fail to act according to her words. Perhaps she missed her calling as priest herself.

"Marquess Camille is right. The constant insults and slights is rather ridiculous, be they purposeful or by mistake. Its clear that not everyone here sees eye to eye, as they say. But we all are working on the same mission, to the same goal. Basic professionalism dictates that we should at least tolerate each other. If it isn't our lives at stake here, it is countless others who live in these lands. Insulting people over how they... thank someone over dinner, or on their past, is unnecessary. If there is criticism, then allow it to be legitimate. We are all adults here. I think most of us should be able to handle that without having to become school children insulting each other's mothers."

Aleister was still somewhat irritated that Camille could speak so well on the matter yet not even extend her words to vampires. It was hypocritical to the extreme. Why couldn't the woman see that?