Fantasy Shattered World {one on one}

[FaddedFox]

"Alright then, onward we go," he mused. He watched her throw away the rest of the broth before he kicked sand over the fire and tried to spread it out a little so it didn't look too much like someone was camping there recently. You never knew what lurked in the forest after all and he didn't like leaving trails. Once everything was packed up, they began their trek again. He didn't really know where they were going at this point but he supposed the original plan still worked. The mountains may be a safer place for Fern. He didn't mind traveling with her till they got her to safety at least.

As they walked, Iris tilted his head from side to side as he listened to the sounds around him. Things were heightened and it was very distracting. He could see so much farther in the darkness now. He was easily tripped by the roots and bushes anymore. He certainly felt so much more comfortable traveling now. He smiled a little. This could be helpful at least. Not all of this had to be bad. With better sensory input, that meant he would know about things coming their way. He sniffed the air, taking in the plethora of scents. It didn't smell fresh and the scent of the trees and grass were muted, a decay covering the natural. It was sad.

The more they walked, the more the scent of decay permeated everything until he came to a stop. "I don't think we should keep going this way," he said then. "There is something... wrong. I thought the scent was normal but it is not. It's getting worse," he informed.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern got the feeling as they walked along that something just wasn't quite right, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Being a witch had its perks, but heightened senses was not one of them. She had her dagger in her hand for most of the time they were walking. Though she wasn't afraid of Iris, she was a little afraid of all the others things that lurked in the forest. Her face showed no sign of this, but her heartbeat remained a steady above normal pace.

When Iris commented on it, she felt a flood of both relief and unease. Relief because she wasn't just paranoid, and unease for the same exact reason. She turned her back to his and looked around. Nothing seemed amiss despite the lack of vibrant life-- but she was seeing and hearing and smelling it all from a different perspective than Iris was.

"What does it smell like?" She asked, her eyes trained cautiously on the forest around then. There was a sickly sweet tinge to the air that she couldn't quite place. It made her stomach flip. She could only describe it as small death. Identifiable, but only barely. As unsettled as she was, part of her was drawn to investigate further. She didn't like to not know things, especially concerning her surroundings.

 

[FaddedFox]

"It smells... it... decay. It smells like something died and was left in the sun," he answered her. He scrunched up his nose and nearly gagged upon realizing just how bad it smelled. What the hell died out here that could smell so bad? "Hold on. I am going to try and get some leverage in the trees and see what is out there." He ran towards one of the trees and jumped, reaching for a branch. He didn't take stock of the differences in his body however so ended up jumping to high and ended up close lining himself. He grunted as he hit the ground and coughed a second and clung to his stomach. That had been stupid on his part.

He got back to his feet and dusted off before he carefully climbed up instead and when he went as high as he could, he peered out into the distance. What he saw made his blood crawl. He tensed and a hiss slowly curled up out of his mouth. The smell made sense now. The dead were walking. They needed to get out of the area. He wasn't sure if the zombies had gotten their scent yet, but he didn't want to wait and find out. There was no telling if these were the long dead shamblers, or the clever ones. He did not want to land in any traps.

He slid back down and hurried to his partner's side and took her hand. "We need to go, now. The dead are in that direction," he informed and started to rush her back in the other direction. "They must have followed something here. I wonder if they picked up on our scent or something else. Do you have any spells or anything to deter them?"

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern's blood ran cold. She'd heard rumors of dead reanimated, but she hadn't been unfortunate enough to encounter any. "My magic is ritualistic in nature. I can but its going to take a moment. And Iris-- it's blood magic."

She gagged as the wind carried the scent towards her. Now she could smell it, and that meant they were probably getting closer. They could run, but that would stir up the air and probably make their presence known. She sifted through the spells in her mind. She finally settled on one and knelt down just in front of Iris. This would require blood. Mundus, help him not attack me. She brushed the leaves and sticks out of the way. She began to draw a series of symbols in the dirt. She muttered underneath her breath in what the humans called Witchspeak. The real term for it was 'lonatti', the world-wide dialect of all Auroran witches. When she was done with her symbols, she drew a circle around them.

Fern then drew Sankta Elara from her cloak. She pricked her palm with the tip and continued her mutterings as she dropped blood onto the points of each and every symbol. Her heart began to race as the smell grew worse. She dripped blood in a straight line across the sigil and then shoved her dagger back into her waistband. She rose to her feet as quickly as she could and then looked at Iris. "We have to go. Now."

She didn't elaborate to him what the spell was for, but it was important that they got out of dodge. The basics of it was that it would create a mirage of them right where they were standing. It would last for seven minutes or so, give or take some. That didn't seem like a lot of time, but if they could stall the dead for that long then it would help. The only issue was that if they were still around when the mirage began to form, it wouldn't work right. Magic had to be directed, and it could easily get confused. The mirages would be realistic in terms of scent, sound, and appearance. They would even feel real when the dead attacked them. At some point, though, they'd disintegrate. Even as she urged Iris to go, another version of Fern was forming kneeling down in front of the sigil.

She grabbed his wrist with her non-bloodied hand and began to run. They had seven minutes, but if the dead managed to step on the sigil and mess it up, their time would be cut short. She wanted to smack herself for not considering that. Regardless, it was too late to redo it.

 

[FaddedFox]

Blood magic? The thought made him a little queasy. Blood magic was evil. Didn't it require sacrifices and tortured animal and people? He didn't know anything about blood magic except what was rumored. Wasn't it blood magic that had corrupted the world? Wouldn't using it now make things worse? It wasn't natural. It didn't even occur to him that Fern had warned him because of his new nature.

Nervously, Iris stopped trying to walk away as Fern knelt down to start writing her symbols. He looked over her before he turned his gaze back in the direction the smell was the strongest. Damn, zombies were fast. They hadn't felt so close before. He hadn't even seen them and now it felt like they were right at his back. Had they already picked up their scent and were running towards them? This was bad. Very bad. How were they going to fight of a horde of the dead? Magic or not he didn't think they had enough power to go against all of them. Someone was bound to get hurt.

Iris turned back to Fern and his eyes and nose zeroed in on her hand as she pricked herself and blood beaded on her palm before dropping to the ground. He was salivating again, fangs extending. The need to feed was overwhelming. Pangs of hunger ravaged his stomach and he took a step towards her. Realizing what he was intending to do, Iris bit down on his own lip to draw blood and refocus himself. He hugged himself and tried to just breathe and get his mind off the delicious smelling blood in front of him. He wanted to taste it so bad. It was almost enough for him to ignore the scent of decay all around them.

Then Fern grabbed his arm and the two of them were rushing away. Iris glanced back to see the mirage of him and Fern around the symbols. Interesting. He turned away. He was a faster runner and Fern didn't look heavy. "Stop," he said and yanked her to a stop. Before she could protest, he pulled her up into his arms before he took off again. He sped over the ground, occasionally bouncing off a tree to redirect himself easier.

Every direction he seemed to go in brought the smell of decay. Why hadn't they noticed this scent before? IT seemed to permeate the entire forest. And it was started to confuse his sense of direction. He wasn't sure which direction to go in. He slowed to a stop then, panting. He looked around himself and froze. Hanging from the trees he saw decaying flesh. Someone had tied up rotting pieces of humans and animals. His eyes widened in surprise. That was why the smell was suddenly everywhere. The zombies must have used this to strike fear and make people more predictable, directing them towards a trap no doubt and confuse the senses. He could hear the growling now. They were surrounded now, weren't they?

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern was startled when Iris picked her up, but he was indeed a much faster runner. The smell was thick and unpleasant and enough to make her sick, but she held it together. They didn't have time to complain about the rancid smell. She did everything in her power not to think about the close contact. The skin on skin made her want to vomit.

Fern's blood turned to literal ice when she saw the somber scene before them. Humans and animals, each hanging from the trees like bait. She clambered out of Iris's arms then, entirely on edge. There were images in her mind now of things she'd longed to forget. The gentle sway of the decaying carcasses from the trees was all too familiar to her. The smell was now the least of her worries. Her face was set with an intensity even greater than what Iris might have seen so far. Memories were the thing that hardened her so; she couldn't remember and not look as wicked and tainted as she felt back then.

She pulled both of her new blades from their sheathes. This was bad. She was a hell of a fighter, but they were absolutely surrounded. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, only interrupted by the incessant growling. She hadn't planned to be eaten alive today, but since when did plans ever work out? This took 'hunted' to the next level. Her people had been burned and murdered and hung for centuries. She was used to it and had escaped it numerous times. Never, though, had she been caught in a trap like a foolish little rabbit.

"This is wonderful." She muttered, her voice low and dark and for once genuinely wicked. She didn't care about the specific humans and animals hanging from these trees. She did care about the people she was picturing in her head, however, and the cruelty of the act made her want to destroy something.

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris pulled free his bow and arrow and narrowed his sights, scanning the tree line. When he did see a zombie, he fire. He didn't have an infinite amount of arrows, but at least he was getting rid of some of the dead before they got to them. There wasn't much else he could do. Why hadn't either one of them noticed this earlier? Oh right, they were mad dashing away from the main body of the horde. Soon, a few of the dead made it past the tree line and let Fern take care of them as he continued to train his sights on the faster zombies and felled them with arrows. It wasn't long before he did run out of them and had to switch to his own swords. Just how many of these creatures were out there?

He heard a whistle to his left then and looked over to see a man poking his head up from what he'd originally thought was just a pile of brush and sticks. He didn't see any blood on him or anything to indicate that he was one of the dead. His eyes weren't white and soulless either. He looked very much alive. "Hey idiots, you can't fight the horde by yourself. You'll end up dead or turned. Get in here. You're gonna messing up our trap."

Iris frowned. 'Their trap'? He set up these macabre decorations? Why? He looked over at Fern as she killed the last zombie that had shambled through the tree line. More were coming. He could feel the oppressiveness of their presence as more and more began to hone in on their position. They were very much alive and the blood and violence was just going to call to the others. He doubted that the mirage Fern had set up was still distracting the zombies. They didn't have much choice but to follow this stranger. If they didn't, they would be the next meal. "Come on," he called to Fern. The stranger seemed to vanish a moment as Iris and Fern hurried over to the spot. There was a hole in the ground and a short drop. Iris jumped down into and moved aside so Fern could do the same. When the two were in the hole, the stranger moved passed them and peeked into the clearing again. More shamblers were gathering. The pale blond stranger brought the trap door down lower so the shamblers wouldn't see them and just waited, ignoring Iris and Fern as if they weren't there.

More and more zombies entered the area and the smell was horrid. It was like they'd suddenly been transported to a swampy graveyard. Without a living person in their sights, the zombies began to gravitate towards the trees where the putrid remains were hanging and started to eat. Iris's eyes widened. Zombies only ate the flesh of the living. How had this stranger gotten them to eat the decay? The blond boy began to count something under his breath before he reached up to grip a red string that trailed along the top of the tunnel they found themselves in. He tugged on it three times and after a moment, a loud thwack was heard and under the various trees where the dead had gathered, large nets appeared, enveloping the zombies and raising them up, much like one would do to wild animals you were hunting. The zombie groans and growls intensified for a moment in their frustration at losing their meal and getting trapped against each other. And of course there were zombies still on the ground.

The sound of an arrow whizzed above them and a clay pot dropped from a tree and shattered, a sudden ring of fire erupting around the perimeter. The zombies on the other side of it snarled when they touched the blaze before they began to turn around and go off in different directions. The zombies that were stuck inside and not within the nets were quickly taken down with arrows. The blond boy gave a nod before he closed the trap door completely and wrapped a chain that hung from it to an anchor so no one could just lift it from the other side. There were smart zombies out there after all.

The blond stranger turned around and pushed the two aside as he continued down the path of the tunnel. "My sister will meet us once we get to safety," he informed, assuming Iris and Fern would follow.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern used her blades against the beings. One particularly gruesome cut caused the putrid blood to spray across her face. It narrowly missed her eyes. She had to hold her breath to keep from gagging. She grunted as she whirled around and took down another. There were too many of them. It wouldn't be long before she and Iris exhausted themselves, and even at that point they wouldn't have made a dent in the horde. Fern didn't waste any time jumping into the hole after Iris. Even if the stranger had ill intentions, it would be easier to handle a measly human than a horde of undead.

She moved to peer out of the trapdoor after they were both inside. From the slit, she could see the zombies enveloped in thick nets. It became clear to her that it wasn't a trap the intelligent undead had set but a trap by the living for the dead. Her heart swelled with anger at the pale blond boy. Maybe it was clever, but it was horrible and wicked and cruel, too. Even if the humans were already dead before they strung them up like Solstice decorations, there was nothing okay or natural about it. An image flashed in her mind: pale, smooth feet and a pretty white dress swaying back and forth in the wind. The sound of rope creaking. She turned around quickly, her back to the trapdoor.

She heard something shatter and the whoosh of fire catching. He heartbeat quickened even more. She took a few good steps away from Iris and the blond boy. She desperately wanted to get away. Fire, people hanging from trees-- life wasn't kind to witches, and she'd seen all of it before. She just wanted to be gone before she could smell burning flesh. That would do it for her.

Her entire body was tense as the boy began to walk down the tunnel. The lines of her face were sharp, her jaw set harshly. Her knuckles were white from the force she used to grip her blades. Her movement was strange; ethereal, like a predator stalking its prey. She followed after the boy, but she was certainly cautious. She couldn't get the blasted image out of her mind no matter how much she tried. Iris's presence was one of the only things keeping her from losing it. She kept her hands inside her cloak; her nails were still an inky black color. These humans would lose their minds if they realized who it was they were leading to their safe space.

She hoped silently that the blood on her face would obscure the smoothness of her skin. For Iris, she hoped he maintained control over his... condition. "Where exactly is safety?" Fern asked. There was a threat behind it, and for once, she wouldn't mind following through. How could this boy and his people have done such a horrific thing? So what if it was to capture the cursed dead.

 

[FaddedFox]

The blond glanced back at them, his pale green eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the girl. He didn't much care for her tone of voice, as if she were already judging him. Hadn't he just saved her life? He didn't respond answer her question as they continued onward. It wasn't long before the narrow channel opened up into an underground circle. There were other tunnels that met this circular room. There was food and weapons and storage containers lining the walls. There was also more lanterns, sand, and ropes for the nets. There was nowhere to sleep and it really didn't look like this was the safe place. To Iris, it looked like a holding area for tools, a meeting place far way from home. If this was a bunker, where was their safe place? This looked extremely organized. There had to be more than two people operating all this.

"Dacre," a voice sounded before a woman who looked about the same age as the blond man entered via a different passage. They had similar features so it was obvious this woman was 'Dacre's' sister. Her powdery blue eyes narrowed on Iris and Fern, far more suspicious appearing than her brother. Her dark shirt and pants hugged her frame well, and the various belts where a rapier and pouches rested made her look formidable. Her long blond hair was tied in a messy bun atop her head but her movements were elegant. Dacre too had an elegance about him. It reminded him of court bred nobility.

"Ah, Evalyn. The trap worked well. They should be redirected to the other traps soon, as long as there are no more sudden tag alongs," he mused and glanced back at the two behind him.

Evalyn frowned and pulled free her sword. "Step away from them," Evalyn growled. "That one's touched by the Taint" she informed, her eyes never leaving Iris.

Dacre glanced back at Iris and chuckled. "Well, so he is." How had he not noticed those unnaturally glowing orbs before? "Well he hasn't nibbled on my neck so I think it is safe to say he's safe for now. "

"But-"

"Let's not judge before a crime," Dacre cut off.

Evalyn didn't look convinced, but she reluctantly put away her rapier. Dacre moved to his sister's side to get a better look at Fern and Iris then. "What brings you two so deep into Dire Wood? We haven't seen humans.. well a human and a vampire around here in a long time.

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern didn’t stop clutching her daggers beneath her cloak as the walked down the corridor. Her eyes swept the big circular room as they entered it. Food, tools, weapons— all stored along the walls in large containers. Her head was downturned as she observed it all.

When she met eyes with a blond-haired girl, her jaw tightened even more. It was to the point now that it was painful. She noted the boy’s name and then the girl’s. Dacre and Evalyn.

Fern almost stepped in when Evalyn called Iris out for being ‘tainted’, but Dacre interrupted before she could. His words were true and logical and it made Fern want to stab them a little bit less. Iris hadn’t done anything to them; they had no reason to banish him or treat him differently.

She found it amusing that they thought she was human, but it worked in her favor. The more human she looked, the less likely they were to try and slaughter her. She glanced at Iris and then back to Dacre.

“Nothing particular.” Fern said lowly. It was the truth and yet didn’t give away too much information. Just right, just believable enough to not be interrogated on whether or not she was lying. Likely not enough for Dacre and Evalyn, though. “We are wanderers.”

 

[FaddedFox]

Iris was a bit relieved Dacre called off his sister. It was surprising, but still. He didn't want to fight these people if he could help it. And he was very curious about these people. Why did they seem familiar? Well he didn't them, but their names... Dire Wood. He thought back to his map, trying to visualize everything around it. Why did he sense an urgency about it? He must have forgotten something.

He watched Dacre closely as the man crossed his arms over his chest. "Wanderers, eh? Well Wanderers don't remain alive around here too long. You're lucky we were there. The deeper you go into Dire Wood, the more zombies you'll find. There is no way through to get to Amoran. That place is overrun with the dead anyway. It's best you go back the way you came if you intend to continue wandering."

Amoran? That was the city backed by the mountains. Amoran, Dire Wood... his eyes widened then. "Meloch," Iris said suddenly and the two siblings turned to look at him. "The land of Lord Tarik. He had two children; a son and a daughter. His court wizard was the necromancer that broke the world."

"Why you little-" Evalyn began but Dacre once more lifted his hand to cut off his sister from rushing forward at the vampire.

Dacre inclined his head. "That is correct. Most don't make the connection since this wasn't called the Dire Wood before everything happened. But yes, we are from Meloch and one of these tunnels goes there; our safe zone. And if you must know, the necromancer and my father are both dead. I've made it my goal to try and protect the land and clear it of the dead. We've started trying to clear out the dead from the forest as you saw."

"With all those people and animals hanging off trees? How do you protect your people if you sacrifice them?" Iris growled.

Dacre narrowed his eyes then. "I didn't sacrifice them. They were already dead. They died from sickness or age, or infection, or the other dead had already gotten to them. I didn't kill any of them."

"But the shamblers don't eat dead flesh so they had to be alive," Iris countered.

"There are ways to trick them," Evalyn answered then. "We and our soldiers cut ourselves and let the blood drip on the corpses. The fresh blood calls them and they go to the corpses thinking it is live flesh. For a vampire, you make a lot of assumptions. Why would we kill off our own people?" Evalyn turned to her brother then. "We should just shove them out of one of the tunnels towards the edge of the forest and just carry on. They don't need to be here."

"I will leave that up to them. Do you want us to just let you go back to the edge of the forest or will you come with us, help us push back the dead at least? Once they die a second time, they don't return and as far as I've seen, those that die now don't turn. If we could kill them off, lessen their numbers, maybe we can start making things better, bit by bit."

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern listened to Iris and Dacre with a scowl on her face. Many of the places they mentioned sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place any of them. She and her coven spent much of their time in the woods in the southeastern country. After she lost them, she’d taken to moving as far away as possible. That left her wherever they were now. It must not have been as far as she’d hoped considering the names Meloch and Amoran rang a bell.

Fern had to seriously refrain from reaching forward and wrapping her fingers around Evelyn’s throat. No matter what good they were trying to do, she couldn’t see why stringing the dead up from the trees was necessary. Couldn’t they have left them on the ground? The dead would’ve walked into the trap all the same. Evalyn’s attitude was enough to make her blood boil.

Fern was good at playing the evil witch game. She enjoyed playing off of the human stereotypes of her kind. She was good at embracing a wicked tone of voice and looking down her nose at people like she could kill them in an instant. The truth was that she could, but it was more difficult than one might think to make her mad enough to reach that point. Evalyn was doing an incredible job of it, and she didn’t even know Fern was a witch.

She was about to suggest they just leave when Dacre spoke again, offering up the opportunity to help change the world. She bit down on her lip and glanced at Iris. Almost all of her still wanted to flee— to turn around and travel in another direction. To get as far away from Dacre and his insufferable sister as possible. But the ghost of hope whispered in her ear, thus causing her to hesitate.

What if a witch helped undo what the necromancer had done? Realistically, it wouldn’t do anything. They’d want to burn her all the same. But what if it changed their perspective changed just the least little bit? There was, of course, the problem of Dacre and Evalyn not knowing what she was at all.

“Why is it necessary to hang them?” She finally said. “I don’t want to be a part of something like that. Where carcasses are strung from trees, dead or not.”

 

[FaddedFox]

[color=87CEEB]Dacre turned to the girl who'd been mostly quiet. She was an interesting case too. She seemed to have no fear traveling with a vampire. Was the vampire someone important to her that she couldn't give up? What did they do to feed him when he got hungry? He'd seen vampires acting more like savage animals when they went after blood. But this one was talking calmly, interacting as anyone would and that was a first. Was he still human? Regardless, the world broke because of the necromancer his own father had hired and so technically, it was their fault the world was the way it was. He was the last person that could pass judgement on anyone else simply for being what they were now in this time. If he stepped out of line, they'd deal with it then.

"We hung them because the scent travels faster when it is higher up, the wind can get to it. And when we had them on the ground before, other animals started to come by to eat it. We still get animals coming by, but they are safer higher up. Also harder to judge how many of the shambles are in position when they are all laying and crawling," Dacre informed. "I know it is distressing to see. If I had a better idea, we'd do it differently but this is what has worked. It really bothers you, so if you have a better idea, I am all ears."

Evalyn just rolled her eyes, mistrust and annoyance still in her eyes. She crossed her arms but continued to leave her hands within reach of her sword, just in case Iris suddenly lunged at them for anything.

"Before you pass judgement on us and what we're doing, do you want to come into the city and see it for yourself? If you decide to leave, we can provide you some provisions before you go on your way," Dacre continued.

That seemed like a good idea to Iris. He was kind of curious how they'd survived out here. Apparently the Shamblers were a very common thing here if they had come up with stuff like this to get rid of hordes. Usually people tried to barricade themselves in and wait for the dead to walk away and find something else instead of dealing with them head on like this. And provisions were always good. He wanted to help, but being what they were, he wasn't sure if it was safe to stay. He'd have to talk to Fern private about the situation.[/color]

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern lifted her chin when Dacre offered to hear her suggestions. There were a few that came to mind, but she kept them to herself for now. As logical as their reasoning was, it didn't stop her from feeling sick to her stomach. She took a deep, steady breath and pinched herself as hard as she could. She couldn't stop thinking about her own skin against the rubbery, bloated skin of someone else. The someone else, she wouldn't allow herself to imagine. She sent a stare towards Evalyn that could very well rattle the dead in their graves. Fern didn't have a tolerance for such.... she didn't even have a word to describe the childishness. The underlying threat was clear, though not as intimidating as it might've been had they known what she was.

She glanced at Iris when Dacre offered to take them to the city. Plenty of things could go wrong, especially considering Evalyn didn't seem to be very accepting of the occult. They could be led to a pyre, to the gallows-- the very place after which she was named. Fern Gallow. She didn't doubt that she and Iris could hold their own, though. If they weren't being lured to their deaths, then they would get off the hook with provisions. Heavens knew they would need them soon.

"We'll go." She finally said aloud. Whether they would stay and help would be decided later, when she was out of the siblings' presence and alone with Iris. The idea of settling down in any one place frightened her. She didn't like for people to know where she was at any given time. That was the mistake her coven had made; staying stationary, even in times of persecution. Her eyes slid from Iris back to Dacre. Under the flickering light, it was impossible to tell that her skin was unnaturally smooth and that she stood with a preternatural stillness. She decided to keep her identity a secret as long as she could. She could allow herself to take on a more human appearance while they walked. It would be subtle enough that it might nearly be undetectable. It would be best if they didn't know what she was-- that way, if they had any tricks up their sleeves, she and Iris could catch them off guard.

Beneath her cloak, she clutched her dagger. Sankta Elana, not the short blades Iris had gotten for her. Sure, her dagger wasn't the greatest thing on the planet-- but she felt it was charged with all the fury of her coven. It would be her greatest weapon in close quarters. Small, hidden, and unfathomably sharp. She glanced at Iris, the dark stare she was giving Evalyn gone. "As long as you are okay with it, we'll go."

 

[FaddedFox]

"Splendid. We'll be on our way then," Dacre answered. "It is a bit of a walk. Suffice it to say, we won't tolerate any aggression from either of you when we are in the city. We take care of each other so I won't allow you to be a danger to anyone here. I have never spoken to a vampire before. The only vampires I have ever seen lost their minds with savagery. If you start down that path, we won't hesitate to kill you," he warned Iris.

Iris simply nodded. "I understand and would expect no less." He didn't want to hurt anyone after all so he'd rather get staked than start attacking people. But it did beg the question... if they stayed for any period of time, what was he going to do? He was going to need blood. Since he hadn't had blood yet, he really didn't know what he was going to do to obtain it or how much of it he needed to drink to be sated. Did the hunger come on suddenly? He had nearly attacked Fern, but maybe that was a little different? They'd just have to play it by ear and figure it out as they went along. Maybe if he had a little blood daily he wouldn't go stark raving mad?

Dacre looked over them one more time before he nodded and turned to his sister. "Come on. Lead the way." He was not about to let her walk behind him so she could be closer to the strangers. He didn't doubt she was itching for something to go wrong so she could kill them. He didn't know what happened to his sister to make her so quick to shed blood. Maybe it was just fear and she was trying to put a brave face on in the world gone wrong. Still, it was jarring to remember the meek little girl she'd once been. Evalyn grumbled but did as requested and began to lead the way down one of the tunnels.

"Did you guys always have these tunnels or was this something you guys made after the Break?" Iris asked then. These tunnels were vast. Dacre must yet have an army behind him; there was no way all of this could have been done so quickly without help. Just how much of the city had survived? And to think; this was the center, the very place the necromancer cast his spell.

"Some of them were from before, the spy network caves. We just expanded it as was needed," Dacre answered.

After a mostly silent walk, the cave ended in a wall, a ladder resting against it. Dacre motioned that they were going to be going up and the party followed along until they finally made it up out of a hole and into what looked like a small storage room where some non-perishable items were being held. "Come on," Dacre called as the siblings left the room to enter the halls of what clearly was the estate. There was no finery. Everything looked militant and necessary. The walls had been stripped of even paintings. It was kind of depressing. If Dacre and Evalyn were still living here, why were these things absent? Iris couldn't tell if it was on purpose of if these items had been stolen.

Dacre led them to a large room that had once been where the common folk of the city and surrounding towns would have come to ask for aid. Like the halls, there was nothing in here beside a table and chairs. Well, one wall had weapons but that was expected. The room opened into a balcony and Dacre sat down on the elegantly crafted guard. "Welcome to the city." he said with a wave of his hand. From their vantage point, they could see almost the entire city. It was surrounded by high walls; a great protection against the undead and invaders. A ocean could be made out just beyond the gates.

The city itself had changed drastically. Fortifications could be found everywhere. Anything that was a weakness was patched and had guards stationed. There were some houses that had been burned down or wrecked. People were sifting through looking for useful items before going on their way but there were certainly a lot of people going about their business. It was quieter than one would expect, but it was also night time and yet there were people moving about. Just in front of the estate, in the gardens, guards were set up handing out rations of food to the people. It was almost as if the city had been spared. But if one looked just to the right of the wall, beyond the city, the devastation was clear. The forest on that side was desolate; all the trees burned and the land was barren. The farm land that used to stretch there were demolished and withered. Some of the shambling dead still wandered there, guards picking them off when they came too close to the city walls.

It truly was amazing how much within the city had been saved. Iris looked over at Dacre and his fussing sister. How had they managed this? No human city he'd passed through had been like this. They were all demolished or home to thieves trying to eek out a living. It was astounding. He looked to his partner then. What was she thinking about this place?

 

[obikanwenobi]

Fern eyed Dacre as he made his expectations clear. She'd remain peaceful up until the very moment she felt threatened. There was no way she was going to allow these people to put her or Iris in danger. She struggled to hide the tautness of her shoulders and the intensity of her facial expression. She needed to look like a weak little human girl, at least for a little while longer. They need not know her powers up until the moment she was forced to reveal them. She relaxed the slightest bit when Evalyn took the lead. The more distance between them, the better.

Her eyes traced the tunnel walls as they walked. Dacre's explanation made sense enough, but Fern still didn't allow herself to fully believe him. It was too easy of an answer. Too easy of a task to repurpose already built tunnels. Fern remained at the very back of the group as they began to ascend the ladder. She hated the feeling of emptiness that filled the space behind her, but knew she didn't have a choice. She ascended as quickly and carefully as she could. The estate that they entered was more barren than her own hut in the woods. At least her dried herbs provided some color, even if it was dull. These walls were eerie. It unsettled her.

Fern's body remained tense to the point of discomfort as Dacre led them through a room with a wall of weapons and out onto a balcony. She remained a good distance away from the edge, just in case someone decided to throw her off the edge. It wasn't likely, but she didn't trust these people. Not at all. The city beneath seemed to be in good working order. Suspiciously good working order. How was it that they were able to survive like this? While it might still look like decimation, it was better conditions than the majority of society had. Fern grimaced at the familiar feeling of her blood beginning to boil. She took a step closer to the rail. People below sifted through burned buildings. Her eyes lifted to the forest beyond, and then back to the city. Something about it all made her feel uncomfortable. She couldn't decide if it was just her inability to trust making her feel uneasy or if her supernatural instincts were telling her something. She hadn't felt so endangered when she met Iris. What about this situation wasn't right? Fern reached down and clutched her bag of herbs tightly.

Her mind was abuzz with questions. Why were they allowing a vampire inside their walls? Where was the food coming from? If there was a steady enough supply to create rations at all, surely it came from somewhere. How come the children of the man who started all of this got to live safely while innocent people suffered? Why weren't they making an effort to help those outside of their little commune? Her biggest worry was this: how might they react when they learn she is a witch? Fern's eyes slid across the scene below them and straight to Iris'. "How have you managed this?" Fern said. Her words were slow and calculated, so as not to offend the siblings. Her eyes remained on her companion's as she spoke. The hardened look was returning to her face.

 

[FaddedFox]

"It wasn't easy. When shit hit the fan after Baelor raised the dead... the people revolted. They killed Baelor and my father. My eldest brother and youngest were also burned. My sister and I had to hide in the tunnels for a while until that all died down. At night, we heard the screams of the dead as they tore into the living. when we surfaced again, we nearly died but there were a few guards yet that swore their fealty. At first most didn't want to listen and it was chaos but trust was built up again as we started to fortify the gates and brought everyone inside. Many people died here and most of the city itself has been abandoned and blocked off where the dead managed to gain entry. Some of the land here in the city we managed to turn into a small square of farm land to get some food though it is small. We still have the sea which gives us sea fare. Trade obviously has stopped, and there is much we are lacking, but thus far, we are surviving and tried to push back the hordes.

"If we can reclaim the forests from the dead, we'll have more game to hunt and we can set up better reinforcements and start to expand and hopefully start making a real place that is safe for others to come here and return to some semblance of normalcy. I can't cure the world. I know that. I can't stop everything and hell, maybe even all this is a fools game, but I can't sit on my ass and do nothing, especially since it was my family that started this mess," Dacre answered.

Iris watched his companion's reactions and then watching the siblings. He didn't trust the girl and Dacre... Dacre seemed a little big of a dreamer. Maybe that was a good thing, or maybe it was bad. He did seem to be taking pains to rebuild and from what he saw, the place was still alive so he had to be doing something right. His men seemed coordinated and obeyed orders. That meant they respected and trusted Dacre. He was still a stranger however so he had to reserve judgement. He didn't know enough yet about Dacre and Evalyn or their world.

"Are you both tired? I'll have one of my men take you to your rooms and have some food brought to you, Fern. Do you still eat human food, Iris?" Dacre asked then.

"It's starting to fade in value for me."

"I'll have a little goats blood brought to you."

"And we prefer rooming in the same room." He didn't want to be separated from his partners. They'd be easier to kill that way.

"Suit yourself." He rang a bell, calling for someone to come and take them to their room.