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

[Infab]

Vincent stood nearby, examining the statue itself as Inari did her prayers in front of it. As Jakob spoke to him, he glanced over and nodded before looking back to the statue. Just in time to see Riberta walk over to it, and tap her knuckle against the statue's stone face. "...So this statue killed them all?" she said, looking about at the bodies piled everywhere. "...Interesting." She then glanced over to Aliana, whom was progressing slowly through the bodies. Anya was simply standing there, staring at the environment around them. "Tsavanian." she said, waving at the woman to get her attention. "We need to keep going." she said, pointing after Jakob and Hudson before following herself as she walked over near Aliana. The bodies and gore didn't bother Riberta in the slightest. She herself had done things in a similar manner before.

Vincent watched her walk past with Aliana, making sure the elf girl was okay, and Vincent looked back to Anya. "...You alright over there?" he asked aloud, as he let his rifle rest on his shoulder. When he looked back to the statue, however...it had moved. What the hell? It was now curiously squatting in front of Inari, a sharp finger reaching out to poke Inari's face. Inari's eyes had been closed for a brief moment, and the others had looked away from the statue as they had proceeded on. Did the statue move when they weren't looking directly at it?

 

[Emperor Sagan]

It took near a second for Inari to realize the statue had changed its position entirely in what was simply a blink of the eye, and it startled her enough that she blinked a few times instinctively. Only a few inches from her face was its finger, pointing right at her. Fortunately it didn't seem able to move again as she noticed Vincent was also staring at it again in some surprise. After the moment of shock passed, Inari smiled and laughed.

"You are strange one! My first kill will be in your name, kami. I hope to take as many heads as you on my journey!" She said with glee, bowing her head quickly before taking a step back. It made her feel somewhat uneasy turning her back on something like this, though again, they were told it wasn't dangerous to them. It hadn't hurt Riberta who had directly touched it, either. Inari shuffled carefully back to rejoin the group as they were continuing on, taking note of more disturbed faces than not. This was a very weak group if this was their reaction.

 

[Doomevil]

Senya ventured onward, sword in hand and one of the first by virtue in the front. A Red Warden’s always the first in battle teachers taught her. As soon as the group arrived they were greeted with a foul stench due to the mass bodies. Senya sniffed it out, taking in the details. They were dead alright.

So far some of her allies looked uncomfortable, indifferent, even gleeful. It didn’t matter to her. However, she tilted her head at the strange statue while Inari made gestures.

"Come now, soldiers, this is field of glory! Take deep breath and remember it well”

She wasn’t wrong, Senya thought. This journey was going to be their success or their demise. But if it’s going to be death, it shall go down as the greatest death. Thankfully she came prepared for the harsh cold because of the fur around her shoulders.

As soon as she marched forward sword in hand, others quickly turned to the female statue Inari was bowing, having moved when no one was looking. Senya sighed, proceeding forward. The Red Warden had to admit some like Inari sure had confidence, they were going to need that for later.

So far besides Loque, Inari and Takato the group had potential despite their differences. If the Ashstone Stronghold taught her one thing, a mixed faction of many can work out, but they need discipline first. And a really good reason not to kill each other. Cassiel said there were two demons that can help them out on this journey, let’s hope he’s right.

“Karnax give us strength.” She mumbled, marching at a reasonable pace.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth strides forth through the door once it announces her sin, more impatient than proud of her sin like certain others seemed to be. She wanted to get this done and time was wasting away dawdling outside the doorway. She marches through the killing field of the corridor, the smell all too familiar to her, she only wrinkles her nose slightly in visible reaction to it. It was foul, but she was used to it by this point. She saw the weird girl mussing about with the statue and just keeps walking along, only doing a small double take when she looks back and sees the thing pointing its finger at Inari's face. She figures that despite the dysfunctional nature of the party, the fact they're on the job now and not given much spare time to be at each other's throats will aid in keeping some level of cohesion and discipline. If not, then she might have to sort some people out with her fists and maybe a boot to the ass.

She wonders how someone can murder by lust though, glancing over at the elf that was the carrier of that sin. Was she some sort of weird sex pervert who could only get off to murder, she'd have to keep an eye on that one for sure, she could be the thread that unravels the party. Everyone seems to be murderers for one reason or another, unsurprising, she is curious about the two who the door didn't state a sin for, were their sins so egregious that even the door dare not speak them aloud? Maybe their sins were so embarassing that the door spared their dignity? She's unsure as she has no formal magical training to detect the truth but she'll keep an eye out for them as well. They're all in this together one way or another regardless of how they like this situation or not, so they may as well work together for the time being and let the personal squabbles take a back seat.

 

[joshuadim]

Venextos took his staff and rubbed the top of it as he uttered a few phrases, causing it to glow brighter and illuminate the area around them better. A minor incantation that would serve to be a small ward of sorts, to help them on their journey to detect danger nearby as they moved through the Abyss. "I suppose we should start moving then, oui?" he said as he looked around. "Best not to stay too long in one place... especially in a place like this."

He then walked over to Aliana to see how she was doing. "Stay close to the group, and you'll be fine madame." he said with a smile.

 

[Fubuki]

He then walked over to Aliana to see how she was doing. "Stay close to the group, and you'll be fine madame." he said with a smile.

With fear gripping her entire being, Aliana weakly nodded at Venextos. The kind words assuaged some of the fear she may have had, trying her hardest to ignore the bodies underneath her. With the scary warrior woman walking closer with her, she closed the distance to Riberta, staying with her. While she was as terrifying as her surroundings, she felt safe next to her. Her pace increased, matching Riberta's, looking up at her as a young child would her mother.

"She's scary..." Aliana thought, unclenching her hand to look down at the amulet, "But at least I'm alive." She doesn't need to be brave, just alive. With all these big, scary looking people, what's the worst that could happen?

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked back at Venextos, Riberta, and the young girl. Apparently called Aliana. The young lady looked like a nervous wreck, and remind him of one particular private he served with back in the 12th Infantry Regiment. She was also a nervous wreck, but by the end of the war, she had become a true soldier. He was sure that girl had probably taken his place in the 12th by now. "Hey, girl. Come on...you're gonna be fine. Venny, Riberta, and I are gonna help ya, don't worry." Jakob gave her a friendly smile, before walking ahead alongside Vincent and Hudson. "This place smells like a trench...I wasn't a lycan back during the war, so the smell is even more...jarring. But familiar at the same time."

 

[Fubuki]

"Hey, girl. Come on...you're gonna be fine. Venny, Riberta, and I are gonna help ya, don't worry." Jakob gave her a friendly smile, before walking ahead alongside Vincent and Hudson.

She'd seen a man looking at her, inspecting her. She averted her eyes back to Riberta, before a kind voice rang out to her. Venny, and Riberta.. Riberta was her name, the scary warrior woman.

Aliana had caught the mans name before as she heard idle chatter, being that it was Jakob. He reminded her of her late father, speaking with a gentle tone that puts her mind at ease, and she nodded with somewhat renewed confidence. Though upon recollecting the images of the contorted, screaming faces of her parents, a sharp pang of guilt shot through her. Her heart heavy, she slowly reached a hand to Riberta's arm, wanting something to hold other than the lifeless shell of the rifle slung across her chest.

She wasn't scared anymore, just trying to stoke what semblance of hope she has left. At least the bodies underneath were starting to thin out, as the group walked past the statue.

 

[Dmaster]

He progressed cautiously, arms slightly raised and weapons in hand as they trudged across the barren expanse. When Jakob piped up, Hudson looked over his shoulder before shaking his head. "Far better than a trench. Any place is." he commented, fingers steepling about the grip of his sword. The tone of his voice made it seem as though he was speaking from experience.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"True." Jakob gave Hudson a smile. "Just saying...it smells like one." He looked about for a moment, trying to see anything that could be useful or at least something interesting that could help. Nothing. He looked back to Hudson, wondering how the man knew of the trenches. "You fought in the war? Were you among the Highlander regiments? I was with the 12th. Fought around Fort Uuib."

 

[Dmaster]

"Yeah. From Darrington and was sent to be a rifleman to fight along the border." he explains, eyes still facing front to show he was prepared for anything. "Was really just a kid then. Back then I thought I would be making a difference and be some kind of hero." Hudson gave a mix of a chuckle and scoff. "Was definitely a change of pace from some quiet farming town no one cared to know the name of. Yet I can't say it was for the better."

 

[Breadman]

"Gluttony, that's it?" Henderson was amused that his greatest sin was done because of his unnatural hunger. "Even the Abyss doesn't care I defied the gods and their creations." He kept walking forwards after the others "No surprise that we're a bunch of killers and murderers. Even the little timid one." The sight of the bodies and gore didn't phase him. Rather familiar at this point how it looks like. The stench of rotten flesh filled the air creating a nuisance for his nose. A waste.

"They really need someone to clean this mess." The piles steadily decreased as they walked down the tunnels. He listened to the other members talking to each other. The werewolves were beginning to form a pack by the sound of things. Looking over his shoulder to Riberta he thought that maybe even with her hybrid status, she would likely lead that pack. "Oh look, not even out for a week and already you have a little one clinging to you." Him? He didn't care about it.

 

[Viper Actual]

Throughout the time leading up to the mission Seriphine had visibly become calmer. Not because she accepted her situation but rather because she was planning and, well, that required time.

For the time being she'd play along. Learn their strengths and vulnerabilities. Their uses. When the time came she'd strike some of them down. Thin the ranks. Starting with the false goddess using cheap sorcery and ending with the disgusting hybrid and fox-thing.

Afterwards she'd use the survivors to start a new warhost. Finding new slaves would be easy. Breeding them into strong and hardy battlethralls would be difficult. When it came to finding strong cattle she could always use the big one, Henderson, to lay down a strong basis.

The offspring would no doubt be stronger than her Orc-Man hybrids that had served as shock-troops.

When the group was armed Seriphine retrieved her two obsidian blades and her golden claw, not to mention her expensive dragonbone claw.

Once they stepped through the portal Seriphine avoided conversation. Why would she waste time on idle talk with beings far below her purity, intelligence and worth? The thought wasn't even amusing.

Even though she avoided conversation Seriphine kept a close watch on the other two elves. Aliana and Gwen. The weak link that could be shaped into a dagger and the unknown element with unknown motives.

One of them would serve Ironwind- the other would perish.

Eventually after what would seem like an eternity it was time to move. This time through a portal leading to this fabled Abyss everyone spoke of. Seriphine sighed. Lowborns and their imagination.

Prior to entering the gate gave Seriphine words. Lies. Pride? Now that's amusing. No, there was no pride. She was simply superior.

Once Seriphine was through her ears twitched briefly as she attuned herself to her surroundings. "So this is the Abyss..." She muttered.

It was ghastly, dark and disgusting. Not exactly otherworldly. She had been to darker and fouler places when hunting dwarves.

Her interest was briefly focused on the fox-thing, Inari, as she played with the same statue they had been warned of. Fool.

Moving on Seriphine maintained an even pace near the centre of the party. With narrowed eyes she looked around slowly.

For a brief moment she considered wether or not Faelnir could be down here. If he was she'd butcher him like the traitor he is.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato continued to observe the others - Inari and Riberta having approached the statue, Aliana, Jakob, Venextos and Hudson talking things out, Seriphine looking intensely at everyone, the rest doing their own thing.

He wasn't entirely sure what to do himself now; as Cassiel said, a ways down should be the two demons Tariun and Xager, the former an ascendant demon... he wondered how their auras felt in comparison to Cassiel's and Loque's. In the meantime however, he should get used to the new sphere they had entered - the qi emanating from the Abyss felt... different compared to the mortal coil. This might prove troublesome if he can't get a handle on it.

 

[Doomevil]

The long trail to their intended destination took quite a while, and light was fading for a bit. She heard some of the conversations behind, making mental notes while Senya's eyes kept focused. Now would be a good time to try something. The Warden made a sudden hand gesture, allowing people who were experienced with magic to be familiar with the technique. She sparked a small flame on top of her right hand. The flame eventually shaped itself into a sphere, casting natural light to guide the way while keeping herself warm from this Abyssal cold.

"Everyone okay?" Senya asked to nearby members.

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth glances at Senya and just shrugs her shoulders, the muzzle of the machine gun bobbing to the gesture. "Aye, nothin' new to me here, bodies an' blood. Though I dunnae like th' way that elf is eyeballin' me." She gestures a shrug in Seriphine's direction, before looking at Senya again, "Bit chilly in'ere tho', yeh?" She sweeps her vision around to scope out the path ahead, she forewent having a conventional helmet in favor of a iron mask with two eyeports and some minor slots around the mouth to let her breathe comfortably. She didn't want to cut her rather impressive head of hair to fit in a helmet but didn't want to leave her face unprotected in the event of a fight. She's probably the loudest of the group in terms of movement noise, her armor shunking and clunking and the thuds of each heavy footfall from her reinforced leather combat boots. The steel toe caps of said boots smeared with rancid ichor from her kicking any body parts or minor obstructions out of the way as they travel through the corridor.

 

[Damian0358]

"...doing alright," Takato responded simply to Senya's question, "The cold is reminiscent of Upper Redonia at night, especially when regarding the northwestern mountains, so it bothers me not."

"Though, if desired, more light could be provided."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

"So you were in during the first days...A god damn shame you highlanders got the shorter end of the stick. Right on the front. Then they sent in us Southerners because they didn't want to send their precious Knights to the front yet." Jakob looked at Hudson, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Hey, if we both got through that, then we can get through this." Then the Warden woman spoke. Based on her accent, he figured she was from that now independent realm of Florentina. He gave the woman a smile. "All good here, amiga. Can't wait to get to those...friendly demons that Cassiel spoke so highly about." He then heard the Orc woman talk about the cold. "Very fucking cold...but nothing we can't power through."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Loque doesn’t reply to Senya, preferring to keep her silence so none of the others would be able to tell something’s off about her. But she does move a bit closer to her since Takato’s right, it really is pretty cold here. Colder than she remembered anyway. Not wanting to be outdone though, she does a little fire magic of her own. With her free hand she performs a similar movement, creating a fireball within her palm. She holds it a bit close to her chest to keep herself warm.

 

[Doomevil]

"Of course." Senya heard Takato and Uloth comment about the Abyss's cold. To make the group comfortable, she fanned her light source using her hand, spinning the particle gracefully. In a few seconds the fire grew into a moderate sized flame instead of a small sphere. The light lit up at the front, allowing the Warden to see more clearer now. Hopefully that'll make things better for the travel. She nodded turning to Jakob, "Name?"

 

[Dmaster]

"I have my doubts." he replied, continuing to step down the path as he became more relaxed with his weaponry as time went on. Best to keep himself armed and ready though considering where they were. "Back then I thought the war really meant something, some way to prove myself. Really it was just a pointless land grab. No one needed protecting from any injustices, only crimes that were committed were on those battlefields." Hudson added. "Your optimism is... something at least. Good you still have that."

 

[Damian0358]

Noting Loque's use of fire magic, and Senya's expansion of her own, Takato decided to join in - he briefly considered taking out one of his talisman cards before opting against it, believing something as complex as those cards wouldn't be befitting at the moment, something simple being a better choice instead.

Using his left hand, he motioned it like a lighter to his bandaged right, and flicking his thumb up, produced a small sphere of qi. The sphere wavered as Takato had yet to get used to the atmosphere of the Abyss, but it would hold for now. He repeated the procedure several more times, producing many smaller spheres. Unfortunately, these would only be useful for lighting the way, for he would have to intensify the qi to produce heat. He motioned the qi spheres forward, joining Senya's flame as it lit up the areas her moderate-sized sphere didn't.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked at Hudson again, as he mentioned his optimism. He chuckled, before looking ahead. Trying to keep his guard up, but his attention was quickly caught by Senya. He responded to her question. "Jakob." He gave the warden a smile. "Jakob Phillomon. I'm a detective, and...I was originally part of the Inquiry on Grimtham Isle three years ago. I was a constable back then." He looked ahead once more. "Now...what's your name?"

 

[Frankafurter]

Uloth nods, "Aye, nothin' we cannae power through. S'cold, but no' tha' cold." She continues to partially take point, figuring she served better as a barrier for potential threats than the others given her tank-like build and equipment. She continues to kick various gore and bits about to help make sure no one has the misfortune of tripping over a dead body and landing in the mess. As they venture further from the statue, the mess seems to clear itself up a little bit, it's obvious where the killzone for that thing was judging by the build up and taper-off of the massacre was. She glances over her shoulder at Gwen then looks back to the path, "So, elf, should I be worried about former lovers down'ere or sommat? Miss Murder by Lust?" She laughs a bit, "Dunnae why anyone would lus' for an elf anyway, they'd just stab'em in tha' back 'cuz thas' what elves do, scheme and lie. At least orcs hav' tha' decency ta stab'em in tha' face." She grins behind her mask, "Face-stabbin' is a good'un, they kno' it's comin' and cannae do anythin' 'bout it. But backstabbin', tis a coward's act."

 

[Doomevil]

A detective in the Abyss? That's an odd combination. Her mouth quickly turned into a smirk. "Senya Melgaeron. Red Warden, protecting the world from chaos." The smirk then changed into a curious expression when Jakob mentioned Grimtham. It reminded her first meeting with Cassiel and how he explained a lot of events transpired there. While she never visited Grimtham, maybe this Jakob can shed light from the situation back then. Senya allowed Uloth to take point, moving behind to get a closer look at the Detective. "Cassiel told me the general idea behind the Inquiry. A demon stole two divine artifacts. Know what happened down there?" Senya asked.