Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[K0mori]

"Tch," Francis reacted with a subdued chuckle. "You and those little darts? I'd rather throw a bomb. At least that'll do some damage."

 

[Infab]

Valeria stood, listening as the others spoke while watching the creature that had been chasing them rise up into the sky once more before flying off. "I think our foe decided to choose for us." she said, pointing at him as he flew over and off into the distance. "We'll be continuing on. We'll settle things with him the future, along with whomever it was that set these traps for us." She moved over to check on her horse, before mounting it. Rosanna did the same, checking Rayham for injuries from the blast, before grabbing her hat and slipping back into the saddle. She glanced over to Francis afterwards. "We'll gut the bastard soon enough, don' worry." she said, before looking to the others.

After making sure everyone was alright and that the carriage could still be properly used (and that the horses could still be ridden), the group gathered themselves and proceeded onward. Through the undisturbed portion of the residential area of the city.

---
​

Blair looked up, stunned by what Edmond had just said. "...My traps never fail, Ed. They should have at least killed two or three of them." she finally said, putting aside her plate and killing the music coming from her small record player. She knew what Edmond was talking about. The lich froze the bridge. That's why the bridge didn't explode on time. It wasn't a mistake she had made. She then stood, moving about and beginning to collect her things. "I'll just make more! There isn't a problem in the world that can't be solved with the proper use of science and explosives. And I have alchemy on my side as well." From the fluctuations in her voice, she sounded particularly upset over the matter. "I'll level half the mountain range if I have to! A boom for the ages!"

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Edmond looked down upon Blair as she rambled on, clearly upset by this failure. The mention of more explosives made Edmond roll his glowing eyes, and he let out a frustrated sigh. He raised a hand, wanting to say something, but decided against it. Allowing his mortal companion to continue her rant for a bit. Edmond peered through the rocks and trees nearby, which Blair had been sitting behind to watch the explosions in Buckshard. He could feel the inquiry moving again. How was he going to kill them? More importantly, was it even worth it?

His actions tonight made him no different from the other henchmen of his liege. Perhaps Ethraeil had been right, and he was just a hypocrite. Maybe he was blinded by his oath. A part of him, though, continued to believe in his liege's original intentions. He hoped that the Duke would open his eyes and see that Sazak's influence was blinding him, or the Inquiry would eventually end him and their cause.

Edmond eventually looked back at Blair, still rambling on as she gathered her things together. He soon let out a grunt, and simply grabbed the young alchemist by the waist and pressed her against his side. He then extended his wings once more. She knew full well what was about to happen.

 

[Infab]

Blair dropped most of the things she had gathered up in her arms, as she felt Edmond jerk her by the waist close to him. Oh no. Not this again. Anything but this. "Woah, wait! I need to gather my things! I can just find a hors--" she managed to get out, before she felt herself being jerked upwards. She let out a yelp, followed by a scream as they rocketed upwards into the sky. She hated this. It was always so sudden, since Edmond seemed to not understand the concept of proper warnings when it came to it. But here she was again, being yanked away into the sky by the nosferatu. "PUT ME DOWN!!!" she yelled out. Edmond wouldn't, of course. Instead, he darted through the air, flapping his large bat-like wings. Their destination: a small lake east of Buckshard.

 

[Breadman]

Theodore got up after the explosion knocked his small stature down to the ground. An impressive explosion, he had to admit. The following arguing was somewhat odd to him as to why it was held in the first place.

"The duke will likely be consolidating his power and his forces for the upcoming power grab. Right now if we find him, we find our flying friend and his trap laying partner." Whether anyone bothered to listen to him was of little concern to him. For now he wondered who exactly could be under the duke's employ that would set up such traps so recklessly.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister closed his eyes and rested his chin on his hand as Francis continued to spout nonsense drivel and pretend he was the mightiest of poisonous cobras. He even put himself to snapping at Camille, though he knew from experience that nothing would get through to that... woman, if she could be called that. She was more like a coal driven pump. Feeding on darkness and utterly relentless in task without concern for other considerations. It would listen, but what more?

He couldn't bring himself to jump back into an argument. Not right now, at least. He had done so well to meditate earlier and get rid of those angry feelings, and now the damnable man was stoking that fire once again.

He heard Theodore spoke up from nearby, and he opened his eyes to glance at the man. "Yes, I imagine you're right about that. Think you can get an explosion of that size tucked into your pocket?" He asked, nodding back at the disappeared bridge. "I'd rather be more inclined to tip my hat in your direction if you could manage that."

 

[joshuadim]

With quick help from Camille, Ethraeil was on his feet and walked his way to the carriage. Once he got inside, he was much too tired to bother listening in on what people were saying and opted to rest instead. He would need his strength for the fights to come, since this was still far from over.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille felt no need to push things further. The purpose of her throwing quills were obvious to whoever witnessed her using them. She could tell the erratic man was more content on making enemies rather than allies here. Still it made her wonder why he would start drawing dividing lines between the few mortals in the group. As scathing as her opinions have been she has learned to cooperate with the supernatural members of the inquiry, and she would be a fool not to at this point as they have saved her life more than once.

The huntress slowly trot her horse out away from the bridge now, deep in her thoughts. She couldn't bear to look back at the bridge and the dead ghouls, else she'd lose herself in a storm of anger and sorrow. Innocent lives snuffed out carelessly for this Duke and his monster's schemes. Camille couldn't save them, none of them could. Yet even still she wished it could have been possible... All she could focus on now was vengeance.

 

[Breadman]

Theodore looked back at the bridge for a few seconds, back to the carriage where his trunk was and finalle looked at Aleister.
"Give me an hour and I can improve it."

 

[Viper Actual]

Approaching with gritted teeth Galina looked between Aleister and Theodore.

"I hope I'm not interrupting but I would appreciate if Aleister could take a look at my shoulder," she said while using her left hand to put pressure on the still-aching wound. She had no idea if Aleister had managed to heal it all during their daring escape through Buckshard.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Hmph. I look forward to that then, professor," Aleister said, sparing a small smile. He glanced over to Galina when she approached and nodded.

"I hope I managed to heal most of the wound, but let me take a look." He stepped towards her and examined her shoulder, seeing that the wound was mostly closed and far shallower now than it was earlier when she had initially been hit. Aleister raised his left hand over the wound and said a silent prayer to initiate more healing to get rid of the wound entirely.

 

[Infab]

The night continued on, as Edmond and Blair soon arrived at their destination. The small lake, named Lake Birmagne, was nestled inside a cluster of hills and small forests, the dark waters calm and serene. The only light to guide them in were the moon and stars, and a small cluster of torches sitting just next to the lake. Their landing point. Edmond swooped in, descending quickly before landing in the grass near the torches. "F-Finally!" said Blair loudly, as Edmond set her down.

It turned out that the torches belonged to a group of armored soldiers, and at the center stood the Duke himself. He was looking out over the lake, his hands together in front of him. Likely touching the ring again. As Edmond and Blair approached, the Duke glanced over and motioned for his soldiers to move out of the way. "Report, Ser Edmond. Has the inquiry been dealt with?" he asked, returning to gazing out over the lake. The soldiers around them stood in silence, clad in what appeared to be solid plate metal and wearing swords on their hips. The armor was old...really old. It was dyed a deep purple, and bore markings and engravings here and there from an era long past. Blair eyed one of them, raising an eyebrow. She could see a pair of glowing red eyes through the slits in their closed helmets, eyeing her right back.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Finally at the edge of the lake, Edmond looked at his liege and bowed to him. Ignoring his armored kin around them. "No, my liege... I did as you ordered. I converted most of the town... and led the group into a trap." Edmond took a deep breath before continuing. "But we failed..." Edmond then eyed Blair for a moment. "It was my fault... I should... have prioritized the lich above all of them... the lich, Ethraeil managed to... freeze the bridge and escaped the main trap... we keep... underestimating them. Just... like Cassandra and Wallace did." He looked at the Duke once more. "Joseph... we need to talk about all of this. Ever since you allowed that... that..." Edmond started to breathe heavily between sentences. "...that damn demon into your life, your methods have changed. You surrounded yourself with... bootlickers and wrongdoers like Wallace, Archer, and those damn twin witches... And you allowed that demon to break young Cassandra with that foul blood... what are you doing...?"

 

[Infab]

The Duke was silent for a moment, before turning about and glaring at Edmond. "Cassandra was broken long before she drank any of the Romanov blood, and she was a valuable asset as long as she stayed on the right track. If she hadn't toyed with the inquiry group, then we wouldn't be at this point. I used Wallace, Archer, and the Devonshire twins because no one else would be willing to do what needed to be done to bring my plans to fruition. The world will not willingly submit to vampire rule, so force is needed to push things along. Wallace and Archer were useful for making sure that no one from the mainland knew what I was planning. Wallace assisted in eliminating future threats from other vampires and their human acquaintances at the mansion. Those that would seek to undo my plans."

He looked back out over the lake. "...And Sazak was useful only in helping me locate the ring. Without this ring, my plans wouldn't be possible. The sooner that demon and his future inquisitor vessel is dead, the better. Cassandra failed to kill them, and I expected you to do better."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"What... is this nonsense, Joseph?" the nosferatu asked in disbelief. His face contorts in utter disappointment and sadness. "Is this what...you've become? Cassandra was... simply an asset? So were those military brutes...? I served you for over three hundred years...ever since you were a... young pureblood! Am I just... an asset too?" He got closer to his liege, but some of the guards stepped over in between the nosferatu and the pureblood. "...All of this for... power? We... us vampires should be... ruling to ensure humans... stop their hate.... Change those who wrong our kin!" Edmonds voice became clear for a moment, but drowned in sadness and sorrow. "What... made you this way? The demon? The hunger for power? Or just... that desire to avenge them?"

 

[Infab]

The Duke's head snapped about, as Edmond spoke of the only two people he truly cared about. "You know damned well that it has always been for them, Edmond." he said, anger in his voice. "They died because of humanity's blind hatred for us. They did nothing wrong, but were killed anyway by a member of that divine whore's order. He couldn't stand knowing that a vampire and a human had willingly spawned a child together, and that drivel that he believed is forced into the minds of all whom follow the Church and those damned gods of theirs." He turned to fully face Edmond. "That's why the Church must be destroyed, and humanity must be placed under our rule. To weed out those that would seek to do us harm, and to make sure that what happened to me will never again happen to anyone else. And it must be done using any means necessary."

He then glanced over to Blair, before looking back to Edmond. He then brushed some hair out of his face, strands that had fallen as he had been angrily speaking to Edmond. He took a breath, before turning to face the lake again. He then stepped out to the edge of the lake, before squatting down and pressing his ringed hand into dark water. The ring then began to glow brightly, as he glanced back to Edmond. "You and Lockhart have one more chance, Edmond. Should they get past what I'm planning here...and somehow survive Black Hollow...then you will slaughter them at the castle. Prepare yourself once you arrive. I'll task some of the guards to assist you."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Edmond looked at Joseph, as he let all his anger speak for him. He then looked to the side once he was done. How low can a once great man fall? Is this what was happening to him as well? Was he just a tool for evil? But he remembered that day, when the knight faithful to Velin stormed in and killed those that Joseph truly loved. Edmond remembered through the thousands of years that he had lived how humanity continued to kill those around them. His husband's race, the northern Elves, destroyed by the Tsavanians raiders. The Orks exterminated by the Atracans. The dwarves begged for help when the dragons and demons destroyed their kingdom, but humanity turned their back on them. Perhaps Joseph was right. This was all necessary to ensure that vampires and all the surviving non-humans continued to exist. But this felt wrong, and it ached in Edmond's soul. Might the Old Gods forgive him if he is doing the wrong thing. "As you wish... my liege..." said Edmond, before bowing. "...Don't lose yourself, Joseph." he added, before walking away with Blair. Once the two got away from the Duke and his guards, Edmond looked down upon the small alchemist. "...This won't...end well for...him."

 

[Infab]

Blair, looking back to the Duke and his guards, nodded. "...That's pretty obvious..." she replied. She then turned back about, facing Edmond. "Well, we're going to have our hands full. You and the guards making your preparations, while I construct new traps and bombs. Hopefully my traps help this time. I wonder if the dullahan knight in Black Hollow will take any of them down..." she said, her voice trailing off as she looked about.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Edmond knew Sir Tristyn in life. Not as much as the ancient lich Ethraeil, but he had met the knight before. Even back in life, he was a beast of a human, and now he was a war machine. But could the knight's toughness fight against the inquiry's resolve? Those who bested an Alpha werewolf, two powerful necromancers, a vampiric werebeast, and one of the most powerful vampires Edmond had the pleasure to know? And had now survived a horde of thousands of ghouls as well as deadly traps and explosives? "...Knowing their will to live...I think they will triumph." He then looked down for a moment, before looking back at Blair. She was a nice human lady. Clearly selfish and ambitious, but not of the same ilk as Wallace or Archer, and nothing like her mentor Christoph Heilmeier. Gods knew where that man was right now. Edmond felt like this small, ambitious creature was being dragged down to her death by the Duke's plot. After all, she was just another asset like the rest of them. "...Lets go, Blair." he said, before grabbing her by the waist again and launching into the sky once more on their way to the Castle.

 

[Infab]

Blair had little time to react, as she was snatched close and yanked into the air yet again. She let out a yelp and another scream, as they darted into the sky and set off towards the mountain range to the southeast. Off to Castle Ellisgate, as instructed by the Duke. Meanwhile, the Duke continued to hold his hand into the lake water, as the ring glowed brightly just beneath the surface. About ten minutes later, he finally stood and flicked the water off his hand. At the center of the lake, bubbles began to rise to the surface, and something moved beneath the dark waters. "Good. Its done." he said to himself, before looking back to the guards. He didn't need to say anything. They simply nodded and dispersed into the darkness as their torches were snuffed out. Soon enough, the Duke followed.

------
​

It was in the early hours just before dawn when the inquiry group arrived at Lake Birmagne, the horses and carriage stopping as the group paused their journey. A mist had settled in, common in the early morning and evening hours around large bodies of water like this or just after rain. Especially this time of year. "We can stop here and rest for now, since we've been traveling all night." said Valeria aloud, as she dismounted her horse and drew her map out of her coat. As she unrolled it and began to look it over, Rosanna stepped off her horse nearby, and drew her rifle from its holster on the saddle. "I'll walk 'round...see if there's anything nearby. Hope there ain't more traps." she stated, looking around at the others, before strolling off into the trees nearby.

Valeria spoke again after a few moments, as she rolled her map back up and tucked it away. "We can follow the river on the other side of this lake straight to Black Hollow. From there, we take the path up to Castle Ellisgate."

 

[joshuadim]

A few hours of rest helped Ethraeil recover most of his strength, although he still felt somewhat groggy as he exited the carriage and looked around. It seemed calm enough, and the way to Black Hollow seemed to be clear from here on out. Still, after Buckshard he couldn't help but feel that there might be traps nearby to stir his paranoia up.

"Then we should keep going." Ethraeil said as he walked behind Valeria.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Indeed, we should keep going. Yet many of you need some rest, whether you think so or not. Even I could go for a little shut eye now that the sun should be rising at any moment," Aleister said, glancing up at the sky for a moment. Still dark, but the unmistakable golden haze of sunrise would be appearing soon if his watch was still correct.

"It would be foolish to continue on at this moment and have our moves be brought low by mere fatigue and exhaustion."

 

[Viper Actual]

After Aleister performed some additional healing Galina felt content that she would not end up dying from internal bleeding.

Several hours later she looked between the members of the party. "We need to rest. There's no debate."

"Same goes for our horses."

 

[Dmaster]

Once they arrived at the lake and it was clear that they would try to rest, Camille's stance on the matter was incredibly apparent. Just near a treeline she dismounted from her horse, fatigued from the long and frantic riding as she tiredly stepped to the base of one of the trees. "No use pressing on if our legs give out from sleep deprivation, lich." she remarks, crouching down and seating herself against the tree she had chosen. Tugging on the brim of her hood, she pulled it down to cover her eyes entirely before crossing her arms over her chest. This was as comfortable as she could get, now to just ignore all the noise.

 

[Infab]

Valeria glanced back to the lich, after the others agreed with what she had said. They needed rest, as did the horses. The group soon began to set up camp, pitching tents and preparing food. After a few hours of rest, they would proceed on. For now, relaxation. An hour passed, and Rosanna had returned from her venture through the forests around them. No traps, surprisingly. Maybe that bat creature and the one whom made the traps in Buckshard had retreated back to Black Hollow. Where the dullahan knight was. She gripped her rifle tighter as she strolled back to where the group had made camp. She still had the sword from the mansion, wrapped up and tied to her saddle. She'd be using that to settle things with the knight.

"No traps. We're all good here." she stated aloud, as she reached the camp. She walked over to where Valeria had started a fire and was now roasting some bits of meat over it. "Good. Still, keep an eye out." replied the red haired inquisitor, whom had changed clothes. No longer was she in the full inquisitorial uniform, which was now folded up neatly next to her equipment nearby. Now she wore a simple white buttoned shirt, dark colored britches, and black boots. She had removed her gloves as well, rubbing the scar across her palm as she gazed upon the cooking meat over the fire. It itched. Probably because of how close she was to completing her objective. Just a short journey to the castle, then they would battle the Duke.

She had stopped praying, as well. There was no need to seek forgiveness for what she had done. Velin would never forgive her for making a deal with this demon. Adona probably wouldn't either. She eventually sighed, looking up at the others. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something move. A blur, down on the sand near the waters of the lake. The water rippled a bit, signifying that something had moved through it. Perhaps an animal? Indeed it was. A big one. Valeria raised an eyebrow, as she brushed some strands of red hair out of her face. "Rose...did you see that?" asked Valeria, glancing up to where the cowgirl was standing nearby.

Rosanna glanced back to her, over her shoulder. "Yeah..." she replied, before looking back out over the waters from where she was standing. There were bubbles rising to the surface here and there, signifying movement in the deep. She cycled her lever action, looking back to the others. "Somethin' in the water, people. Eyes open." Valeria grabbed her sword and revolver, climbing to her feet.

Then something poked its head up out of the water.

The head oddly resembled a snapping turtle, which looked about at the group up the beach. Then another head popped out of the water. Then another, and another. One more eventually emerged, before they began to move towards the group. It seemed to be several creatures, clustered together with long necks which moved about much like snakes. Until the body emerged onto the beach. They were all connected to this one large body, which resembled a large alligator-like creature towards the front. As the rest of the body emerged, it resembled a fish as it had no back legs. Instead, it had fins, which helped it along quite poorly on the sand.

Valeria looked on in horror, but she could hear Sazak cackling in her mind. The Duke spawned a Hydra in the lake! Likely mutating several of the freshwater eels. He's learning to use that ring quite well! Valeria quickly looked to Rosanna and the others. "IT'S A HYDRA!" she shouted. Then a few of the hydra's heads squealed at them, before the body of the creature began to rapidly drag itself towards them.

Lake Birmagne - BOSS FIGHT
Hydra (Ancient Creature) (Boss)
75 HP
Trait #1 - Accelerated Regeneration - Can regenerate 5 HP every two turns.
Trait #2 - The Life Aquatic - Water-based attacks do 5 DMG instead of 1, and may hit multiple enemies. Weak against Ice (takes 5 DMG from Ice and Electric based attacks.)​