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

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

An audible sigh followed by loud metallic rustling is heard from the opposite side of the door. It opens shortly after, revealing the dark interior of the room to Vincent. Loque’s mask is off, but her face is still concealed not only by her stringy, messy hair, but the darkness too.

“V-Vincent...” she says.

 

[Damian0358]

As Takato followed Venextos, he observed the old warehouse, wondering to himself just the difference between the mortal coil and the Abyss on an economic level. Soon, the two of them found a spot within the warehouse and took to resting.

Taking into account the damage his clothes had taken, Takato decided to slowly strip - taking his hat and skull cap off first, finally showing the top of his head in its entirety, his hairline on his forehead appearing to have been impacted by the fact that he was born with horns, horns which are completely shaven now, so much so that some bits seem to get under his skin. He put both of them in mid-air, having them float in place. Next, he began taking off his brown robe, revealing his underrobe underneath. Allowing his robe to float, he proceeded and took off his underrobe too, finally revealing his bare upper body, and truly contrasting his charred skin with the skin that wasn't charred. It also revealed the full extent of his actual right arm - going just barely past the tubercle of his humerus, and at the end, it appeared he had something to protect the end of his genuine arm, something appearing to be of silver.

Next, he took off his footwear, his sandals consisting of removable wooden ridged soles and some kind of hide used for everything else, styled to be easy to slip on and off. The soles seemed to have not gotten much damage, but the hide appeared to have deteriorated from the heat. He wasn't sure how well he could restore these, so Takato thought he might just switch to those boots he had taken earlier. He looked over his pants, seeing the damage he had taken from the flames, but he opted instead to just mend them as they are on his body, to avoid showing his boxer-like underwear. Those aren't meant to be shown to the public, after all.

Finally, he dealt with his artificial half of a right arm, grabbing it with his left and allowing it to rest, bringing it down and allowing it to collapse back into a pile of miniscule projectiles, covered in the stuff that makes the 'dark mist' which inhabited his previous right arm controllable, an ancient hermit art that can be used to also mask your location.

His body laid bare, showing just how fit he was after how many years of training the internal martial arts, practicing the Dou and harnessing mystic abilities, he brought out of his bag his seat-cloth, set up a qigong, and began meditating. It should be about time for his mid-day chanting, or his late day chanting, as he wasn't sure of the passing of time here. He would prefer if it was the former though, as he disliked having to sacrifice it due to travel or conflict. Being in an open space like this however, he wished not to bother the others, so he chanted internally, indicated by the moving of his mouth as though he wished to say something.

 

[KRIY]

"Well that takes care of it, albeit in a gory way.." The Ninja brings his Ninjato forward and wipes the demon blood off the sword with his covered thumb and index finger and places it back into its sheath. he then walks over to where Jakob is currently at.

"...And I thought I've seen the worst of things."

 

[Doomevil]

Once they entered through an abandoned warehouse, Senya settled her spot in a corner, unpacking her weapons and shield. She took off her helmet and mail coif, letting down her hair. She never got the chance to breathe during that fight or stretch her limbs. It was a good time than ever to see what were the others up to. The Warden walked over to the Grand Magus, giving a quick nod to the mage.

"Hello. He going to be alright?" Senya referred to Takato starting the conversation.

 

[Damian0358]

Though Takato appeared to be in heavy meditation and internal chanting, despite Senya speaking to Venextos, he gave her a quick thumbs up with his left hand before returning it to its previous position.

 

[Doomevil]

Senya gave a smile, nodding to Takato. "That's good to know." She said to the Oni before turning back to Venextos. "Switching to a different case. You ever thought about that staff the Priest was holding? It looked pretty powerful." Senya crossed her arms.

 

[joshuadim]

"Seems to be doing alright. A bit of rest will be needed by him to heal properly. And I could use a bit of rest as well, the battle was quite taxing for me." Venextos replied at first before listening to Senya's second question.

"Indeed it was powerful. Indicative of magics similar to what a warlock might have used if it could summon a fire demon like that." he then commented. "I would've liked to study it, but it was shattered by our dear friend, Monsieur Hudson..."

 

[Doomevil]

"I'm sure he probably didn't mean to destroy the staff, for the sake of dealing with the enemy quickly. But I'll admit we could have at least figured out what it was capable of." Senya agreed with the notion of studying the Priest's staff in order to gain an advantage. The Abyss is only going to be dangerous for the rest of them, might as well take everything powerful on their hands. On the other hand, maybe Hudson had a point on destroying these artifacts. They didn't know whether it can corrupt someone should they use them in the fight against Taranoch.

"A shame indeed. But we'll most likely encounter more of these weapons soon. What do you think of him?" She asked when Venextos mentioned Hudson.

 

[joshuadim]

Venextos took a long look at Hudson, sitting in the distance by his lonesome before looking to Senya again. "Would you like me to be vague or blunt?" he replied.

 

[Doomevil]

"You can be blunt if you want. I'm not one to judge on honest thoughts." Senya said with little to none aggression, preferring what anyone thought about their progress. She glanced towards Hudson sitting by himself before turning to Venextos.

 

[joshuadim]

"Well then. I think he's going to die. He welcomes death... longing for it as if he wants out of his misery. And sooner or later, I think he will get his wish down here... however detrimental that will be to our cause." the wizard spoke with a tone of pity towards the man.

 

[Doomevil]

"Welcomes death..." Senya repeated. She also felt a little pity for the man, knowing the high-risks of the Abyss. "There's likely a personal reason, but I don't think it's my business to discover or even interfere. I can only hope he gains a positive insight once we succeed." She wanted to remain optimistic, even if it felt pointless. Rough times are a different case for everybody.

"But, it would be wise we watch over him regardless. He's a member of the Church, it's best we bring him back safe like Vincent." Senya said.

 

[Infab]

Vincent eyes her for a moment, before stepping inside. It wasn't often that Vincent was on speaking terms with demons. Even less often on friendly terms. This mission was going to be full of surprises, he could see now. "I wanted to check on you after what happened back at the cathedral." He said, stepping inside the office. "I'm not the biggest fan of Inari's methods and actions either, but we have to just...bear through it till the job is done. High Inquisitor Winchester wouldn't have sent her to join up with us if he didn't think she would be able to work with us. I'd trust that man with my life." He then turned to face Loque. "Still, I don't condone her actions, and will try and talk to her later...how are you holding up?"

------

Riberta listened to Venextos and Senya speak nearby, but didn't join in the conversation. Sounded like she and Hudson shared a wish, though for different reasons.

 

[joshuadim]

"Indeed. I'd rather not have to try to explain to Velin as to why one of her 'children' died while she prepares to smite me." Venextos replied jokingly. Although his words were laced with comedy, there was a grim truth behind it. Velin was a merciless and cruel goddess, taking her anger out on almost anything that displeased her in even the slightest. Although her conduct was nowhere near respectable, it was mostly a fear of her overwhelming power that prevented most people from even daring to speak out against what she does. He'd rather not share the same fate as most of her victims did.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari watched the others chat around the center of their campsite, listening to them as she ate. Stuff about the priest, stuff about that Hudson man. She heard Velin's name mentioned. Not an entirely entertaining conversation, so she waited a moment for a silent lull before speaking up.

"Anyone have story to tell? For fun? I see no celebration for our victory, and we all leave it safe. And so many act like stranger to each other." Maybe, with some luck, they'd be able to rouse some spirit up tonight.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Still, I don't condone her actions, and will try and talk to her later...how are you holding up?"

Loque gives him a dead-eyed stare and shrugs, as if she'd just been asked a simple question with a very obvious answer. "I'm not well..."

 

[Infab]

"I'm not well..."

"Care to talk about it? I'm happy to listen if it'll help." responded Vincent, folding his arms. Anything to try and keep their small sliver of morale up.

------

"Anyone have story to tell? For fun? I see no celebration for our victory, and we all leave it safe. And so many act like stranger to each other."

Riberta glanced up to where Inari was sitting. "I have war stories. Plenty of those...I also have a few 'nicer', pleasant stories, I guess."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Care to talk about it? I'm happy to listen if it'll help."

No way. There's absolutely no way she can tell him or anyone else, lest they use it to taunt her with. Loque paces for a brief moment until she centers her attention back on Vincent.

"I... can't."

 

[Doomevil]

It seemed like Inari and Riberta came into the fray, wanting to switch the topic to war stories. Good enough for Senya as she exhausted everything about the battle. She sat down, pulling something out of her bag. Now that they were out of combat, it was time to treat herself. She pulled out a small soda pop bottle, snapping the cap off with no issue drinking a sip to test the flavor. Sweetness.

Senya turned to Riberta and Inari across the site, giving a friendly gesture, “Let’s hear them.” She said, eager to listen to different perspectives.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Ah, but war stories can also be pleasant stories! Tales of funny happenings, or times of hero actions!" Inari said, grinning widely from her spot atop of the crate as she looked over the others. "You have most kills from last fight, I say, so you can tell story first, ah?"

 

[K0mori]

Anya was somewhat quiet after moving to the warehouse. Although she was sitting in the middle of the room in plain sight, her generally dark appearance made her rather easy to overlook. She seemed a bit preoccupied for a while with the treasures she recovered from the cathedral, especially the dagger she obtained. It was almost as if she were daydreaming about it, and how she planned to use it in combat. The exploding pistol was a distant memory by now, and Anya figured that she wouldn't use a firearm again for the rest of the expedition. Why would she even need to? She was far more powerful when she allowed the wolf to take charge, but a good, sturdy knife was a welcome tool for her human side nonetheless.

When she had grown bored of this, she slipped it back into her pocket and turned to Venextos. "You, Ven- Venex... man with magic. I am curious: I find these jewelry in the cathedral before coming here, necklace from priest and gold bracelet from fire demon. I like them, and want to keep, but I am curious..." she repeated. "How do I say, do these items, carry bad... spirits? Evil energy?" she asked him, displaying both to him.

 

[Infab]

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "...Inari dug up something horrible in your memories, didn't she?" he finally said. He paused for a moment, before speaking again. "If it bothers you too much, I won't press you to talk about it. You can tell me whenever you feel like it. There's painful shit I'd rather not speak about too, so I understand the feeling."

------

“Let’s hear them.”

"You have most kills from last fight, I say, so you can tell story first, ah?"

Riberta shifted a bit, glancing down towards the ground. War stories. And she had hundreds of years worth. "Well...let's see..." She said, thinking for a moment. And then she began.

---

​

Many years ago, in the old kingdoms of Daris...

"[Riberta, we have the enemy on the run. Most of their ranks have fallen. They never saw us coming.]" said the scruffy man, clad in bits of cloth, pelts, and fur. His face was gaunt, wrinkled and old, and most of the hair was gone from his head. But the man moved like someone half his age. Of course, that was only because he himself had fresh lycan blood flowing through his veins. Riberta gave him a toothy grin, her eyes a bright yellow. "[Now all that's left is that castle of theirs.]" she soon responded. He nodded, the strands of hair still atop his head flopping a bit. "[What of the elves nearby? Are we to leave them be?]"

Riberta sat back on her throne in the small tent they had set up. "[For now. They hate the bastards as much as we do. And they haven't bothered us yet. Live and let live...till I decide the don't deserve to live anymore.]" she responded, glancing out of the tent and into the trees nearby as she spoke. The elves, surprisingly, hadn't involved themselves in this war yet. Though it was clearly getting quite close to their fancy little kingdom to the east. The humans were still trying to bargain with them, desperate for allies. And each time, the elves had said no.

Soon, the man left the tent, leaving the warlord alone to ponder how things had progressed. It had been ten years since she started her campaigns against...well, the world. Ten years since her daughters and clan had been cut down, and ten years since she met the blonde woman from the northwestern lands of the Nivardans. The woman whom helped her to gain this power she now wielded to avenge her daughters and clan. Now she was clashing with the various kingdoms that had moved in to seize these ancient tribal lands. Her lands, which she had rightfully conquered, but claimed by these kings and queens. How and why would they care for these lands when they were fighting the demons that also plagued the world? They should leave them to those more worthy to look after them. Riberta grunted finally, standing up from her throne and grabbing her claymore from beside it. She then strolled out of the tent, stopping just at the entrance and looking about.

Nearby, several of her clansmen were sharing a celebratory drink of ale, likely after hearing of the news of their victory. Riberta smiled for a moment, but her expression quickly changed from one of happiness to seriousness when she narrowly avoided being hit by an arrow. Her head snapped about, just in time to catch a glimpse of the one whom released it. An elf darted through the trees, moving quickly to try and seek cover before they could fire off another. As her clansmen scrambled for their weapons nearby, alerted to the attack after the arrow shattered one of their mugs, Riberta herself darted off into the autumn forest after the elf.

Other elves appeared soon enough, attempting to take Riberta down as she charged after the one that shot at her. It seemed that the elves had sided with the humans finally. That, or half-elf mercenaries had been hired to engage them. As one stepped out to try and fire off an arrow at Riberta, he found himself having his chest pierced by Riberta's claymore. She shoved it through, almost to the hilt, before spinning about and slinging them off with her backswing as she kept running. She narrowly avoided two arrows, which klinked off her sword, and found another just ahead defending their retreating ally. He started to back away, rapidly firing off arrows at her till she dipped around a tree. When she reappeared, her expression had shifted to one of intense rage. Her yellow eyes gleamed in the morning light, and her arm muscles rippled as she swung her claymore with all her might. Downward at an angle. The blade hit the elf's armor, but that didn't stop it from crushing through. His legs buckled, as the sword eventually broke through the armor and cleaved him in two from shoulder to hip.

"[RUN, YOU COWARD! YOU'LL JUST DIE TIRED!]" she yelled out as she continued running after the elf, letting out a laugh as she started to catch up to him.

And then she started to shift.

---

"...It turned out that it was mercenaries. Half-elves. Fun bunch. Even more fun when they fought back...." said Riberta. She glanced up. "I managed to catch the one that shot at me, and he practically pissed himself in fear. I let him go after he squealed like a pig. Told me where their camp was and everything. I found their leader fooling around with a human. Swampfolk girl, curvaceous. Killed 'em both in the act." Riberta didn't sound all that enthusiastic about telling the story. In fact, she wasn't happy at all as she told it.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"If it bothers you too much, I won't press you to talk about it. You can tell me whenever you feel like it. There's painful shit I'd rather not speak about too, so I understand the feeling."

Loque turns away from Vincent as she starts smoking a new cigarette. For the few seconds of light when the flame lit up in her hands, it gave an outline of some very nasty looking jagged features on her face. She still snivels as she speaks.

“I-I just didn’t think I would r-remember that. I just... thought I could put it all behind me when I entered your world... I shouldn’t have come back...”

 

[joshuadim]

"Let's find out together then, shall we?" Venextos replied to Anya as he scooted over to take a look first at the necklace. Brass was certainly unusual for the abyss, especially in this quantity since the entire thing was made of it. Not only that, the sigil engraved onto the charm attached to the necklace was unrecognizable to the wizard. It certainly wasn't that of Taranoch nor any of those of the Icons currently and it seemed as if it didn't belong to Kaizen either.

"Hmm... the sigil seems to not belong to any of the notable figures I've heard of within the Abyss. Seems to be older than even what Kaizen had for his. Apart from that, and the unusual amount of brass used here since the Abyss does not usually use that kind of metal... I can't really deduce much from it. The bracelet however... it's enchanted, seemingly to enhance fire magic most likely. That would explain how the fire demon's flames were quite strong."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Despite Riberta's more somber demeanor, Inari clapped and kicked her feet lightly against the crate she sat upon, her heels drumming up a little rumble. A story involving little more than warfare and killing was enough to heighten her mood. Regardless - any story was good fun. They needed some entertainment. "Aha! Is good story. Good fun. I have no story on half-elves - but I have many a story about mercenaries. Hmmm... ah! I have good one, is early story, back when I was young. Practically child! I was a kachi, a foot soldier leader for the Toka Clan...."

---

Many years ago, Kowareta

"Tayama township is done for - we can't be expected to hold this. Lord Hiyashu will understand. There's eleven of us and at most two dozen peasant levy, and however many men we can scrounge up to hold a spear. Natsuma's paid men number nearly two hundred, and they're already in the woods. We have no option but to leave, Inari. If we evacuate now, we have at least tomorrow, maybe even another day to-" Subara was cut off abruptly by a simple wave of the hand, his face growing ashen as Inari didn't even bother looking at him. She was perched atop the small platform of the tiny lord's room, a measly two elevated steps surrounded by walls that she could nearly reach out and touch if she really stretched. She had her chin resting on her hand as she looked off the porch and into the bleak garden, mostly just sand and rocks for autumn had been upon them and the once vibrant plants were dead or dormant.

"Lord Toka Hiyashu made it clear that our garrison duty was absolute. The fletchers, the fair yari craftsmen - they can outfit hundreds of men by their hand alone. If we lose Tayama village, we lose good material. It will set us back. On top of the issues of fleeing a post, we have the villagers to look after, unless you also propose abandoning them? Perhaps you'd like to leave the women and children behind to slow down Natsuma's men? I've heard they have a rather ferocious appetite." Her voice was level, casual even, though her disdain was apparent. It was in part a way to mask her own fear and surprise. This was supposed to be a short duty and near the rear of the conflict. The few troops here had earned the recuperation after that terrible scrap on the hilltops last month. And now Natsuma had dumped more coins into the hands of the jackals he so dearly loved to employ. She held nothing against the mercenaries themselves - this was simply the job they were paid to do, and they did it well. They did the same, but simply under a lord's banner.

"We can leave with the craftsmen and their tools. They are what matter, and you know that," Subara insisted. For a junior, he lacked the fiery disposition he needed. Far too inclined to flight, though a withdrawal was logical enough, barring the dishonor. She was in command and fault would fall upon her, too. Toka Hiyashu was not a flexible man. Even if they got away with what mattered, he'd still demand redress for the situation, and she'd be forced to take seppuku. That wasn't appealing, but worst would be all the lives lost here, and for nothing. Inari finally looked back at Subara. He was tense and afraid, and didn't hide it well enough. "We remain. I have an... idea. How many prisoners are here in Tayama?" She asked. Subara was hesitant but responded after a moment, "We have about fifteen from Natsuma's banner troops." Inari nodded, she knew this, but Subara needed to be walked through it. "And how many municipal?" Once more he was quiet as he consider it. "I think about the same amount, thieves and the like."

"Good. Now how many...." And so it went on, her asking about the population of several groups of people within Tayama township. How many beggars? How many terminally ill? What of the trouble makers, and the riff-raff? Could the townsfolk point out the worst of the gangs? It went on until Inari counted nearly sixty or so total people. "Inari, these people can't possibly fight worth a damn, what could they even-" Once more, she cut him off. "You think far too quickly. Too quick to retreat. Too quick to reach conclusions. These people won't be fighting, Subara. We'll use them to scare off the mercenary dogs. Gather those not in our jail in the courtyard by tonight...."

A whole day had passed, and Subara had been right - had they left, they would have had two days on the road before Natsuma's mercenaries reached Tayama. It was perhaps enough time to get most of the several hundred residents out of town, but they'd be attacked on the roads and mountainside, undoubtedly. The time span was fortunate, for it gave Inari extra time to work. They had seventy-two corpses. Nine of which had been elderly volunteers who offered up their lives when word got out when her ashigaru had been rounding up unsavory residents and bringing them to the courtyard of the lord's house, where the blood was already seeping out into the gutter outside. Her men obeyed because they had to, but dozens of citizens had joined her in dragging the bodies into the woods around the town and standing them up against trees, or impaling their bodies against branches, or even hanging them from even higher branches. Rags were brought out to cover some faces in funerary fashion, others in spirit masks. The playhouse had been raided entirely of masks, and the temple was displeased that their ritual masks had also been stolen away and placed on corpses. Inari apologized, but explained that the ancestors likely wouldn't want their children joining them too soon, or have their lineage ended. The monks grudgingly obeyed.

That night, all light in the town was to be doused. Not a single lantern or candle was to be lit on penalty of death - either from Inari's men, or from Natsuma's mercenaries who would burn the place down regardless. People were to stay home and off the streets for the same reason, and Tayama was turned into an apparent ghost town. Everyone who could fight donned entire Mino outfits - straw capes and hats - and lay in wait along the main road. When the already uneasy Natsuma vanguard reached the town, they were best upon by silent straw warriors. There was no screaming - no horns. Silence. A few escaped, as desired, back into the woods, and quickly the bodies of the slain mercenaries were placed back upon their horses and tied down. Their eyes, hands, and tongues were removed, and the horses were ran off into the woods after the escapees who were heading back to the mercenary host. All night the defenders lay in the fields, obscured by straw. By dawn, scouts were carefully sent out into the woods.

Natsuma's mercenaries had turned back.

---

Inari could barely contain her laughter as she ran one finger beneath her eye, grinning. "Ah, I had my face occupied with rice and weeds that night, but I longed to see the faces of Natsuma's men!" Finally, she started to laugh fully, something between a giggle and laughing fit. "We found spirit wards carved into the trees, near the bodies. They wanted to keep bad kami from chasing them! Ahaha... ah... I would have, but I had so few men, ah? Not enough good with forest hunting. Had I good men, we hunt mercenaries, but sadly this not happen. That also another story entirely... but good one, too!"

She wasn't sure how much of her story got through the language barrier, but she enjoyed telling it nonetheless. Such good memories....