Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[ArcticFox]

Who was the unfortunate person killed by Barille? And what kind of a party was it? She wanted to ask, but there was something more urgent at hand.

"Do you want me to take over?" Lianna offered, watching as Rose struggled, "I'm sure I can manage not to mess it up."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Rose shook her head. "It's about done, no need," she finished mixing it all together. She set the mixture aside and looked to the ceiling as if it had personally wronged her. "You're probably not going to like this next part, though," she swallowed thickly and looked down at Blaine. "I have to bite him."

- Ask why
- Stop her
- Do nothing
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Absolutely not." Lianna shook her head, already moving between the unconscious Blaine and Rose.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I have to get the blood clots out," Rose said. Gestured to the drink they'd made. "That's only going to help so much."

Several people around them looked over, curious and wary of what was going on.

- Let Rose bite him
- Ask for a different solution
- Get angry
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna thought it over for a moment. Surely there were other ways, but opening up a blood vessel without the tools to patch it up seemed riskier. "Alright." She nodded finally, "Go ahead, but I'm watching you."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Rose nodded, though she didn't look particularly happy about what came next. Even more, bothered by the attention they were getting: People openly stared and whispered now, watching the scene unfurl. Her briefly lips drew back in a mock snarl, revealing incredibly sharp fangs before she sunk them into one of the grey-bruised spots closer to Blaine's heart. In moments, Rose spat out several blood clots and shuddered.

There were several more areas for her to operate on and she did so quickly. By the time she was done, her lips were dripping blood and Blaine, surprisingly, had more color to his skin. Lianna hadn't noticed him become so pale.

"The second he wakes up," Rose spat and wiped at her mouth, "he needs to drink that." She coughed grossly, nearly gagging. "All of it."

- Ask if she's okay
- Wait for Blaine to wake up
- Try waking Blaine up
- Address the onlookers
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Watching the scene on front of her, Lianna couldn't help placing a hand on the butt of her shotgun. It was instinctive, with vampires even more so than other supernaturals. As soon as she saw those fangs she tenses, battling the urge to push Rose away. But she kept silent and when Blaine got some colour back she was starting to think that maybe whatever she was doing was working.

"I'll make him drink it." She said when Rose finally spoke, though the moment she saw blood dripping down her chin, nausea threatened to overtake her.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Using the remnants of Blaine's torn up shirt, Rose wiped the blood from her lips. She looked down and away when she glimpsed Lianna, when she noticed the onlookers blatantly staring.

In moments, Blaine groaned. His head turned subtly and his eyes shut as if warding off a bad headache. His breathing came heavily, wheezy, but he eventually opened unfocused eyes. "Wha..." His speech slurred more than usual, but he was alive.

- Give him the medicine
- Wait for him to wake up
- Hug Blaine
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Without explanation, Lianna hurries to kneel next to Blaine, raising his head with one hand, while bringing the smelly concoction to his mouth, "Drink this first, then we'll talk."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine mumbled in protest at first but she eventually coaxed him into downing the drink. He sputtered at swallowing the specks pooling at the bottom but, more or less, finishes everything. He licked his lips and grimaced, but he seemed more peaceful in a way; his breathing grew relaxed, no longer labored, and he opened his eyes fully. The werewolf looked up at Lianna and blinked slowly, registering his surroundings.

His eyes opened wide and he struggled to sit up. "What happened? The Summit? Where-..." he, like Rose, noticed their speculators. "Where are we?"

- Explain
- Thank Rose
- Hug Blaine
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Can you hear well?" Lianna asked, a little bit louder than necessary perhaps. She remembered that one of his ear pieces had fallen out in the Summit. "Vampires and rat witches attacked us. You were hurt, so we brought you here." She did her best to explain, letting his lead rest in her lap as she spoke, "Rose healed you. I think. I hope." She gave a questioning look to the vampire woman.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Rose simply nodded before collecting the makeshift tools she'd used to fix him up. With a quiet, "Tell him I'm sorry about his shirt," she stood and made to leave. Either the stares were getting to her or just didn't want to stick around, for whatever reason.

Blaine narrowed his brows before adopting that intense, almost piercing gaze he had when they first met. His hands went towards his ears to find one was missing. The other he removed and turned over in his hands with a frown. "Broken," he said slowly and loudly, trying to hear his own words. "The other is gone." With a heavy sigh, he curled the device in his hand and stared up at her lips. "Talk slower?"

- Call Rose back
- Try fixing the device
- Talk slower
- Stop talking
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna nodded at Rose, adding a brief "Thank you," as she left. When Blaine addressed, she spoke, trying to clearly and slowly say every word, "She says sorry about the shirt." She gestured at his naked torso. A very fine looking torso, she just noticed. "You must be cold."

 

[Cartoonicat]

He seemed to understand because, at the mention of his shirt, he glanced down at his torso. Another sigh, this one only slightly less burdened. He must have liked that shirt a lot. "Not too bad, though... this cave does give me the chills," Blaine lowered his voice at the last part, careful so as to not be too quiet. On the other hand, he ended up being too loud. A few remaining onlookers who had yet to look away either scowled, likely witches, or grinned, wolves.

Blaine made no move to sit up and ignored those who stared, either out of confidence or a general lack of caring at this point.

- Agree
- Make a joke
- Share a story
- Ask a question
- Tell him to get up
- Address the onlookers
- Say nothing
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

At least he didn't make a deal with the devil, Lianna thought. She made no move to push him off or get up either, though she should be returning to her group soon. Briefly glancing at the onlookers she couldn't help but smirk.

"Don't worry, we'll be safe here tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow everyone's feeling good enough to be able to leave."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine watched her intently, deciphering her words. He dragged a hand down his face with a small grunt after a while. "Things weren't supposed to end up this way," he mumbled, almost too quiet to hear. In a sense, it felt like the coven had declared war on those who opposed. The coven that had hundreds, if not thousands, of years worth of wisdom and experience. Lowering his hand, he looked up at her inquisitively once more. "How many..." he hesitated, though Lianna could read the question in his eyes, on his frown: How many died?

Lianna remembered bodies of both sides littering the floor closest to the explosion, though to think none fell to the hands of the coven or the summit rebels would be undoubtedly naive.

- Lie
- Be honest
- Comfort him
- Change the subject
- Return to your group
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Many." Lianna answered honestly, "From all sides." She gritted her teeth, remembering the slaughter. The worst thing was that she knew both she and her Hunters played a large part in it. Perhaps she was as responsible as the vampire coven leader for the fight that ensued. They should never have chosen her to speak for the human race.

"I'm sorry," She said, barely audible, but clear enough to be read from her lips, "I cannot contain myself around... them."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine searched her face before sitting up slowly. "I can't tell if you're talking about supernaturals or vampires specifically when you say 'them'," he tousled his hair, which stuck out in every direction. Lowering his hand, he looked at her quizzically. "Have you ever been close to someone... like me?" Blaine's eyes widened as if considering his words from another angle. "A-Ah, I mean, have you ever known a supernatural personally? Erm, on friendly terms."

- Answer
- Don't answer
- Lie
- Change the subject
- Combat with a question
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna raised an eyebrow, amused by his demeanor. "Is that your strange way of asking me on a date?" She smiled mischievously, but then shrugged, "That's a long story and not one I'd like to repeat. Let's just say that out of all od supernaturals, I am most likely to kill a vampire without any questions asked."

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Wha- Erm, no, I-" Blaine's eyes widened comically until he realized—or guessed—that Lianna was only kidding. He relaxed again. Nodded, reading her lips. "Aren't you on good terms with the coven prince, though? At least, that's what I've heard."

While she'd initially tried to hunt him, Landon had come to Lianna's aid multiple times. Now, she considered him...

- A friend
- An acquaintance
- An enemy
- A burden
- Nothing
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"I wouldn't describe it like that." Lianna answered, "We are not friends nor lovers. We are just able to stand each others' presence." She chuckled a little, "I guess that's as far as I can go in terms of being friendly with a vampire."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Blaine quirked a brow. “Rumors are just rumors, then,” he said. Gave a little shrug. “I had sort of hoped they were true, for the prospect of a complete alliance and all, but that’s alright.” He paused, then, contemplative. “We have Rose, at least, to represent the coven... though she doesn’t hold much influence, especially now.” He sighed, but did not appear shaken. “I should go talk to the other survivors. Erm...”

By that point, his volume and struggle to speak clearly had gathered more stares than he could stand; it seemed Blaine only fumbled at the exposure of his hearing difficulty. He cleared his throat and, with a mumble about meeting with Dan instead, he stood and meandered over to the edge of the Hunters’ group.

With free reign of the cave, Lianna could go anywhere.

- Follow Blaine
- Approach the witches
- Approach the wolves
- Talk to Eden, the Child Stealer
- Talk to Rose
- Go inside the Brambleroot Coven
- Try to sleep
- Do nothing

 

[ArcticFox]

"I won't make an alliance with them, Blaine." Lianna added as he walked away, "They are not like the rest of you, even demons are less insidious than them." She shook her head, standing up.

No, even if the Hunters somehow miraculously accepted to ally with the other groups, the vampire coven needed to be extinguished. They would have no peace until they are gone. As for Rose and others, well, Lianna wasn't quite sure what was to be done with them.

When Blaine walked over to her group, she threw them a quick wave as she proceeded to go deeper into the Coven's cave. She needed to talk to the demon woman again and find out more about her end of the bargain. After all, Blaine was alive and well now, and she was in quite a debt.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Not long after Lianna left the group and entered the cave, a nearby corpse flower rustled. There were no buzzing sounds, but a fainter version of the smell from before wafted in a small radius around the singular petal. Mistress Gul was watching. Probably.

- Approach the flower
- Ignore the flower
- Talk to the flower
- Observe the flower
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Hello again, demon." Lianna spoke, approaching he moving flower, "You seem to have fulfilled your end without a catch, or at least I am yet to see a catch... so I've come to learn whatever you can tell me on my end. Who is my target? Where is it located?"