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

[Dmaster]

Hudson looks up again once Jakob mentions the war, turning his head slightly. "Lasgow have demons swimming in it looking to pull you down and consume your body and soul?" he asked, clearly trying to downplay the war that happened so long ago.

"Speaking of demons." he added, flicking his eyes on to Loque. "I spy one that's clearly lost its nerve. Did you forget to pack entrails to snack on?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Ever so slowly does Loque turn her head to Hudson, looking exhausted.

“I’m not sharing with you.” she slurs out.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked over his shoulder to look at Hudson. "Lasgow had giant water snakes, saw one of my buddies from the 13th division get dragged underwater by it. Poor fellow." but then the hunter began to once again pick up a fight with the demon of the group. "Hudson, not the best time to fight. Come on man, we have a mission to do."

 

[SniperComZero]

In spite of her rolling her eyes, Gwen was pleasantly surprised to know that she wasn't totally off the mark. But, usually she thought these kinds of things were one tube and not two. Oh well. She reaches over to take it from Vincent. And, looking through them... proceeds to break into giggling.

"Hah, the view on these is pathetic! Good to know some things still never change." Still snickering, she holds the binoculars out behind herself, for someone to grab, before muttering something to herself. A little incantation that allowed her to focus her sight, and see over long distances with much more clarity. Very like a telescope, just. With magic, instead of glass.

 

[Dmaster]

"And here I was hoping for poor sod filet." he spat back sarcastically, putting his glove back on now that Senya took the hint. He turned to Jakob soon after. "So this lot can threaten to track down my wife and kids to devour them or tear them to bloody pieces, but I can't bring attention to a demon doing what it always does?" the hunter asked aloud.

"Pardon me for not giving two shits about deplorable monsters."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"Look I don't like demons either, but we are stuck with her and we gotta work together, you know the drill." Jakob sighed and looked back into the murky waters surrounding them. While he could count on Hudson, his attitude was definitely going to be detrimental if something wasn't done about it. For now, Jakob just wanted to get to the mainland, and talk with Vincent and Riberta when he has the opportunity to do so.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Loque keeps it simple, and just shrugs at Hudson. She never did made any comments or threats towards him and his family, though perhaps he shouldn’t have revealed he had one at all to her.

 

[Fubuki]

Uloth with one meaty hand picks Aliana by the back of her garments and hoists her up to set her upright on the seat in front of Uloth, "Is' alright, wee lass, jus' dunnae make a habit of it, aye."

With how light Aliana was, the mere act of lifting her up was as easy as picking up a sack of potatoes. She made a few noises as she was moved into position, sitting down. Uloth was so strong! Like...like a boulder but with three boulders stacked onto it!

Yet she could be as kind and gentle as some of the others she's interacted with. It was true, Aliana did not have sea legs, however. That was probably one of the few things she understood from Inari's way of speaking.

She watched Riberta get in next, and tried her best to stick with her.

 

[Damian0358]

Boarding the boat, Takato had considered offering to assist in its rowing, before hearing Jakob proposing that he and Uloth be the ones to do so. Truthfully, Uloth, Riberta and Henderson seemed to be among those to have the most natural strength, alongside himself - though knowing from personal experience, natural strength meant nothing if one knew not to utilize it efficiently, and that required strength in skill too, and the same mattered in magic too. He briefly glanced at Inari trying to show off, as if she weren't aware it wasn't impressive at the slightest.

Takato decided to take a seat near the rowers anyway, and spoke up:

"Sir Phillomon, Madame Uloth, if either of you tire of rowing at some point, willing am I to swap in," he offered.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth glances at Takato and shrugs, "Aye, if'n tha' comes ta' pass, but I think I'll be fine fer tha' trip." She sets her hands on the oar nearest her and waits for the boarding to finish and for the navigation assistance so they can cross the body of water safely.

 

[K0mori]

Anya had spent the entire encounter with Tariun and her lieutenant in hiding, as she was overwhelmed with the scenery, the dazzling auras of some of her comrades, and the prospect of meeting these important demons in the same day as meeting Lady Velin herself. Her body shifted back and forth, through various half-states of human and beast, as she hyperventilated on the far side of a large boulder, and she missed much of the conversation. She gathered that they were headed to kill a sort of demonic priest, and that this would somehow contribute to defeating Taranoch, which she was not aware was the end goal. When Vincent gathered her, she sat near the stern of the boat and buried her head in her arms. It is the will of the gods. Do not question it.

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine marched towards the boat with decisive steps. With a blank expression she was the last one to board the boat and seated herself near the rear.

She gave Hudson a quick glance as he and Senya did...something. Her ears twitched. Was this some silent custom she had missed?

After shrugging off the thought Seriphine went over the information they had received from Tariun and Xager. For demonspawn they would serve the party well with their regular resupplying and whatnot. Still, why not employ demonspawn to kill demonspawn? As much as she found politics and war (especially war) interesting fighting for weak-minded demonspawn against other demonspawn was just as bad as fighting for lowborn scum against other lowborn scum.

Seriphine shook her head slowly. Elven Houses. Those were worthy. A slight smile formed across her face as she reminisced when her House, Ironwind, assumed control of an alliance. The first Elven alliance at the time.

The combat had been glorious, not to mention hunting down all the degenerates that had tried to exploit the rich elven lands. When the last fool had been struck down Seriphine had expanded her army to an impressive size.

From there on every battle had served to spread her name across the realms...

Seriphine's smile faded. Now she was here. The kingdom she had once served was gone and her name seemed to have been washed away by history.

Looking at Gwen she frowned. What if her peoole had grown weak because of elves like her? Pompuous royals? Time would tell.

 

[Infab]

Soon enough, everyone was aboard the rowboat. The ropes binding the boat to the dock were removed, and the boat was pushed away. Soon, they were off, cruising across the waters towards the mainland. The water, they noticed, was dark and murky. They were only able to see perhaps a foot into it. Perfect cover for an aquatic demon to hide in before jumping out at something on the surface. A few kept their eyes on the water, except for Inari whom sat at the center of the boat. Vincent stuck his hand into the water as they went, and found that Tariun was right. It did feel like a sludge. He quickly flicked the gunk off his hand, brushing what remained off after a few moments on his pants leg. Disgusting, really. Thankfully they wouldn't be swimming in this stuff, much less drinking any of it.

The boat continued its coarse, before eventually passing through a cloud of mist which concealed it for a few moments. Tariun and Xager watched from the dock, having come down to witness their departure. Tariun glanced to her friend. "Lets hope this works, Xager." Xager simply glanced back to her and nodded. A portal appeared behind Tariun a moment later, and both ventured into it. It then shut, disappearing in a flash.

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Back outside the Abyss, in Northern Daristein...

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As the last of the group ventured into the door, Cassiel returned back to Velin. "It should be a few days before they return, my lady...if they return." he spoke, glancing back to the door for a brief moment. Velin nodded, before snapping her fingers. A portal opened nearby, leading back to the cathedral in Eternis. "Go." she said simply. Cassiel looked surprised, glancing into the portal before looking back to the goddess. "You...don't want me to go with you, my lady?" he asked. Velin looked to him. "No. I'm going to Red Gorge alone." she replied. He hesitated, refusing to move as his eyes widened. She then grabbed him by his jacket and shoved him through the portal before closing it.

She then paused, looking about the forest before snapping her fingers once again. Red Gorge sat on the other side. She grunted, and a moment later, she stepped through. She emerged on the northern eastern edge of town, looking down a bustling street at the various residents. Some of them saw her and froze in fear. Velin was here. Electricity began to crackle from her armor, flowing down and eventually reaching the ground. Her grip tightened on her bastard sword, and she began to walk.

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END OF PROLOGUE

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[Infab]

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CHAPTER ONE: THE HOLLOWLANDS

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As the group ventured across the straight, taking turns rowing with the large oars, they learned what they needed to from one another. Which was really just each other's names. Perhaps that would be all they learned from one another in this hellish place. Perhaps not. Time would tell. Soon enough, they hit the shore line of the mainland with a thunk, as they couldn't see all that far due to the mist. Everyone climbed off the front of the boat onto the shore, instead of hopping over the side into the sludge water.

The sand was cold and white, and to those without shoes, moist. There was more grass here, which actually stretched on for quite a distance, and there were a few trees nearby. All were alive, somehow. As the others looked about, Vincent pulled out the map once more that Tariun had given them. As he unrolled it, he found that their position had been marked, with a tiny arrow that turned and pointed in the direction he was facing. Likely by Tariun's magic. Sheol was a ways away from them, so it was likely best if they got moving. He turned to face Sheol using the arrow, then rolled the map up and looked to the others. "Lets get going, shall we?"

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson kept watch near the back of the boat for any creatures that would emerge from the depths below, but thankfully his vigilance was unneeded this time. He hopped off of the boat and hooked his flaming mace back to his waist, looking about the area as Vincent checked the map.

Once they had a direction in mind he simply gave a nod, fingers soon wrapping the handle to his bastard sword in a relaxed manner.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari didn't waste any time getting off the boat once they hit shore, and she stepped gracefully - and eagerly - over the plank boards behind those in her way until she finally had her feet on solid ground. No kami would be taking her today. Every crossing over a water was a great victory. One day those watery tendrils would come for her, and she would be ready for them, but that wasn't today.

The mist made for excellent concealment. Inari kept one hand on the hilt of her sword as she looked up and down the beach and as far inland as she could. Some more vegetation, but not much more else. No signs of demons or adversaries. If they were going to be attacked, now was a good time as they were still unloading. Fortunately, that was another aspect that didn't seem keen to materializing as Vincent examined the map and pointed out the path.

"Good idea to me, let us go. We should take captives first people we find. Question them, take their things. We need to know more than simple map speaks."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob rowed alongside Uloth without caring much about the strange murky waters around them, he did see Vincent touch it and smearing his hand on his clothing afterwards, he simply let out a chuckle. But once in land, Jakob fixed his hat and he stepped off the boat. He looked at his surroundings, carefully scouting for any possible threats, there were none visible and he certainly didn't feel any auras nearby. Good. He then walked towards Vincent as he told everyone to get ready for the travel to Sheol. But then Inari began talking about kidnapping people and stealing their belongings. Jakob just looked at her dumbfounded. "...what is wrong with you woman?" he shaked his head in disapproval. "We are in the abyss of all places and you want to rob, what, some demon? a lost soul? what belonging do you think they have? We are not a gang of robbers, we are here to do a mission, stick to the plan."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari appeared unfazed by Jakob's words as she stood on the beach, hands on her hips as she looked out over the shoreline. She thought she heard this man say he was a soldier, yet he didn't seem to know the first thing about living off the land. Maybe war was different in Adonia.

"We need knowledge. Food and supply. Local demons might say good things for us to learn. Maybe lost soul people not have good loot, but how we pay other demons with no money or trade stuff? We have no cavalry to scout, no quick ninja or guide. Captives best plan."

 

[K0mori]

Anya would be one of the last to stumble out of the boat and onto the beach, shivering in the cold but still refusing to allow herself to shift. She heard Jakob admonishing the strange lady Inari, and snapped at him suddenly. "How does it matter, anyway?" she questioned him. "We are in land of eternal suffering. Be good, be evil, does not matter while job needs doing. Why not steal from demons if possible?" This was not a front; she didn't disagree with Jakob just because the man was a werewolf, but rather because Anya was a pragmatist and had burglarized a home on her way to the Abyssal doorway. "And come to think, if we find damned souls here, maybe they join us? They have nothing to lose."

 

[Dmaster]

"Fuck no." Hudson piped up, not one to mince words. "I'll sooner kill a hollow or demon than stop it for whatever useless belongings it is holding. If there's value or economy in this forsaken place I want no part in it." he concluded, making it clear if there would be an incident such as that he would immediately step in.

With a quick look to Vincent he turned to Inari, then Anya. "We don't have time to waste with that nonsense. We do our mission, most likely die trying, then fuck off. In that order with no detours or hangups." he said, leveling a finger that slowly swept across the both of them. "Highwayman days are behind me anyhow..." the hunter muttered in a barely audible tone.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari smiled smugly when Anya backed her up, though the expression fell somewhat when Hudson offered his opinion. The jester without jokes, that one was.

"You very foolish man. How wage war without touching money or goods? This not for fun, this for business," she said pointedly. Admittedly, she thought it would also be fun, but this wasn't the proper lot to convince how great conquest was. Some, maybe, but not all.

"Is no waste of time, is done to help group. You always say we die, but we no die, because we have strong people. You, not so strong so maybe die, but not others. And if you want die so bad, then go that way," she adds, pointing out towards the dreary demonic water.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked to Inari, and let out a frustrated sigh. "Do we have the resources to watch over captives? Drag them along? Mind you, these are demons we're talking about. Some can be monstrous beings, while others may look like us. As for supplies...that weird eyed demon soldier that was with Tariun is supposed to supply us when we need supplies. Looting seems an unnecessary thing." Jakob looked at Anya next, raising an eyebrow. "I doubt Demons, besides the high ranking ones, have anything on them. Besides, I hear the Hollow are just...like Zombies. They wouldn't be of use to us." Jakob was glad to know that Hudson understood, in a way. They didn't have time for any of that. He looked back at Inari. "Look...I don't know how you handle yourself back home, but what you're talking about sounds like banditry. And I don't like banditry."

 

[Infab]

Riberta then spoke up. "...This is Hell. Leave your fucking morals at home, children." she said simply, looking to both Jakob and Hudson. "Or you will both die here, and some demon will come and eat or rape your corpse. We do what is needed. If we need to loot, we loot. If we need to play the part of petty bandits, we do it. We survive, kill what we need to kill, save who we need to save, and go home."

 

[K0mori]

Already appearing irritated, Anya's sallow look turned even more hostile as Hudson and Jakob began to boss her and Inari around. "You come here often?" she demanded of Hudson. "Maybe so; you look like a man who fight demons. But I am just widow from northlands, sent by Adona to this hell, and I am... scared and alone here, carry worthless junk for wrong job! This sword- coated with silver! This is just regular handgun! How will I fight demons with this? Might as well use my teeth!" she roared, her mouth twisting and jutting with fangs as her voice grew darker and turned raspy. "You want to wait for demon's help? Maybe I die before that happens! I will do as Inari says." She glanced to the Redonian woman and gave a fierce nod, to suggest that she was ready to make a sort of alliance. Then, Riberta interjected, and despite her lycan blood, Anya was happy to know that she was on the right side of things.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"I trust no supply that is not here," Inari says firmly, pointing directly down at the ground. "All quartermaster say they give supply whenever you want, and many lie, or line is in trouble and supply no get through. Army always supposed to have food, but do army always have food? No. This war now, so we do war right."

Riberta's words added needed assistance, and Inari nodded again, and then Anya's fiery remarks put some spirit into the air. Inari smiled wide at the woman, and the kitsune slammed one fist against her own chest. "Yes! Good words, good passion, this what needed for war!"