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| Beginning of the Black Harvest [P] | |
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| Topic Started: Sun Oct 2, 2011 1:58 am (246 Views) | |
| Kemi | Sun Oct 2, 2011 1:58 am Post #1 |
Guildmaster
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Autumn had come and so had the Black Harvest. One could say that this was when dark magic was at it's strongest. For a lot of people that wasn't a good thing and began a time of superstition. For others it was advantageous. A certain demon cult leader had escaped the Shadow Master and she was determined to have his head. All she found out was that a cult had started to gather somewhere in Cascadia. Brother Harris had told her that the man's name was Jafron. Father Jafron was his title. When he left he would've either gone to Balefire or Cascadia. Balefire was too close and a little bit of searching has brought nothing up. Cascadia it was. Evals sat on the edge of a fountain. It was gearing towards the evening now and she was waiting for those who said they would come. Though really one insisted that he helped. Doubtful that he was going to be of actually any help. The sun was starting to set early this time of year, but it was still up. For a little while at least. |
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| Shan Orison | Sun Oct 2, 2011 2:14 am Post #2 |
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The bard had arrived in Cascadia several days earlier. He loved the floating city, except for the floating bit. Once he was on solid ground, so to speak, it was fine, but the flight up was jarring enough even now that any Cascadia trips were extended ones. Now that he minded. The city was beautiful and almost seemed designed to by any artist's second home with its offerings. He'd spent the time as he usually did, sleeping until noon, researching in the libraries until dusk, and playing in various inns and taverns until early morning. Repeat as necessary. This nightfall, however, he wandered through the streets, picking his way through the traffic with practiced ease. Somehow - he still wasn't certain how - Emily had reached him with a note to meet her at the The Madame de la Grande Bouche Fountain, though it seemed from her directions Emily had never heard of the once famous opera singer. He arrived at the plaza the fountain was in, the jets of water cascading around the marble woman dressed in a gown that, if it were real, would have enough fabric for a circus tent. Everything was colored in the light of the fading sun, all orange and pink. Sitting demurely on the fountain's edge was what looked to the world like a young girl just entering her teens. Shan waved and hurried over. "Emily, there you are!" Shan smiled, holding the strap of his violin case in one hand. "Hope I didn't hold you up any. Um, still haven't figured out how to, well, aim my spells, but I do have a few new enchantments and the like, and a bag and, well, thanks for letting me come along again, and I'll try to be sure to follow your lead since I'm not messed up in the head any more than usual and my taking the initiative never works well," he said in a rush, bowing his head. "So, what's the plan?" |
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| Blackwell | Sun Oct 2, 2011 2:28 am Post #3 |
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Cascadia's day was on the wane, night quickly approaching. The girl had requested he come around this time, and it would be no surprise if she held against him waiting for a more appropriate time. Sighing, the vampire stirred from the bed, crossing the room to take his heavy cloak from the wall. The windows of the building had been boarded up for his convenience, the resident of the home sitting outside the door of the room, staring at the wall with a blank gaze. Exiting into the living area of a small home, Cade stepped over the prone man, ignoring his vegetative state as he left the building. Cool evening air greeted him, sun's last rays blocked for the most part by his clothing, but his skin still burnt hot, already feeling the equivalent of a normal man sitting in the sun for hours on end. Those who remained out at this time passed by without noticing the creature, as if he weren't there at all. Holding up the illusion, Cade walked a block down the cobbled street to the fountain nearby, spotting a young girl and someone he hadn't expected to see for a long time yet. Making sure he was still hidden from all senses, he conjured the image of a mutt, the dog padding from around the other side of the fountain to greet the girl, sitting before the two. Rather pointedly ignoring the bard, it cocked its head, tongue lolling out, whining and scratching itself behind the ear with a rear paw. |
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| Kemi | Sun Oct 2, 2011 2:53 am Post #4 |
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Guildmaster
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Evals dipped her hand into the water and then splashed a bit of it into the streets in front of where a couple was walking. They gave her a pointed glare and she only gave a cheesy smile and a wave. Yay for pointless rudeness. She was a child, she didn't have to be polite. If it amused her she could get away with it. She put her hand in the water again before a voice caught her attention. Calling her name, her false name. Taking her metal hand out of the water, she shook it a bit to get the water droplets off. Shan was here. Looks like now she was only waiting for Cade to show up. She shrugged at him and motioned for him to take a seat on the fountain edge. "We just have to wait for someone else to show up. It isn't just us two this time. Well, in the beginning. I doubt we'll be picking up any golems this time too." She said to him in a light hearted tune. Recalling their two adventures so far, though the last one couldn't exactly be called an adventure. After a little while, that could be filled with as much Shan rambling as possible a dog came up to them. Evals could easily tell that was not a real dog. It had no vibration. Glaring at it she got off of her seat on the ledge and crouched down in front of it. Without hesitation she ran her hand through it, distorting the lies. "Dastardly illusions. Though I'd assume our third party member is here." |
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| Shan Orison | Sun Oct 2, 2011 3:26 am Post #5 |
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Shan sat with Emily and waited with her. It wasn't as if that were much of a chore. This part of Cascadia didn't receive as much traffic as, say, the Broken Strings, but there were plenty of people to watch, and could already hear the strains of voices as people began a long, hard, night of drinking. A dog padded across the plaza and sat next to the fountain near them, pausing to scratch its ear. "Aww, hey there," said Shan, conditional animal lover. The dog wasn't trying to kill him, so Shan was willing to fell affectionate. Emily knelt down next to the dog and gave it a rather harsh glare. "Dastardly illusions," she said, almost to herself. She moved her hand, palms flat to the dog and through it making the dog ripple almost as if she ran her hand through a still pond. The dog reasserted itself quickly, however, panting as though nothing had interrupted its corporal looks. "Though I'd assume our third party member is here," she added. Shan looked around the square, which he realized was a silly thing to do. He didn't know who the third member was or what they looked like, and if they were skilled at illusions, even that information would be useless. Shan looked back at the dog. It looked like a normal furry mutt. He patted its head. He could feel fur. It was rather soft and fluffy. "How could you tell it wasn't real, Emily?" he asked. "I'd never had guessed." As a second experiment, Shan tried closing his eyes with his hand just above the dog's head. He focused as he would onstage, letting everything besides himself and his music fade away to a point where it didn't matter. He lowered his hand slowly, keeping that mindset. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His hand was now resting inside the dog's face, its pink tongue still lolling, and his mind had a moment of existential uncertainty as it tried to reconcile what it felt with what it felt he should feel. The result was an unsettling mishmash of sensation that made him jerk his hand free as fast as he could, scooting backward, and finding out there just wasn't that much ledge underneath him as he fell backward into the fountain's pool, the girth of the Madame above him. He sputtered back upright and pulled himself back onto the bench girding the pool, glaring at the dog. The dog didn't seem to care much about Shan's dripping form. "So, is there a chance for a change of clothing once this third person comes out, Emily, or should I just be thankful I buy clothes that dry easily?" he asked, wringing water out of his hair and shirt and back into the fountain once more. |
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| Blackwell | Sun Oct 2, 2011 3:48 am Post #6 |
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The dog closed its mouth, whining. Even as it made the sound, its tail swept across the stones. “You know that hurts me, dear.” The dog lifted a paw and twisted it unnaturally to place it over its own heart. “Right here.” As the bard jerked backward into the fountain, the dog cocked its head. “Get used to it, boy.” The dog watched Shan for a moment before glancing at Evals. “I'm to your left. The hell is he doing here?” He projected the thoughts to the girl, crossing his legs on the fountain edge beside her. The dog rose to its paws, standing on its hind legs and jumping onto the seat beside Shan. Curling up next to him, the illusion spoke. "I'm ready to go, though it'd be nice to know what it is i'm here for." |
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| Kemi | Sun Oct 2, 2011 4:04 am Post #7 |
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Guildmaster
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Evals retook her seat on the ledge after the illusion reformed. Giving him a small laugh. "If you don't stop with the drama a stake is going to be hurting right there." She joked, not meaning a bit of it. Half paying attention to Shan but turned to look when he fell in the water. "You're not trying to steal the coins in there, are you?" She asked him curiously. She's seen it done before, just not like that. At the mental intrusion, Evals looked to her left and saw nothing. Turning back to Shan and the dog illusion as they were the speakers here. "You can change your clothes, Shan. If you want to risk Jafron getting away with what he wants to do by showing up a few minutes late." She said, not sounding overly too serious. Yet at the thought of that and Cade's next question she hide a bit of remorse inside. She was with her only two friends, only two left on Imythess anyways. It was a nice evening and they had to go out and perform dangerous activities. Everything always had to be so adventurous, while it was fun it didn't offer much for relaxing. "We're here to find a cult. A specific person going by the name of Father Jafron is running it. I doubt we'd be able to pinpoint his cultists in Cascadia as easily as I did in Gloomwood. So first part of tonight's operation is to find out where they are. Infiltration will come after that." She explained to Cade, all while shaping her thoughts to answer him if he was monitoring them. "He wanted to come, he was with me last time I dealt with these cultists. Why do you care?" |
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| Shan Orison | Sun Oct 2, 2011 4:24 am Post #8 |
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Shan watched the dog out of the corner of his eye as he continued to wring himself dry. A towel. That was something he needed to pack. A nice, fluffy towel. "I'll be fine. This sort of thing happens," he said to Emily. His other clothes were being washed, anyway. He didn't have another set to change into, so it didn't matter if what Emily said was true or not. He swung his violin case around and opened it. At least the merchant wasn't lying when he said this model was waterproof, he thought wryly at the sight of his instrument, untouched by the fountain pool. He shut the lid again, wondering exactly where their third member was hiding. The person, man, Shan was supposing by the voice, spoke through the dog and said they were ready to go, if only they'd inform him of the mission. Shan took off a boot as he wrung out a sock, already feeling his clothes turning simply "damp" rather than "drenched." He was also wishing the dog wasn't an illusion so that he could strangle it- Wait, what? his second thoughts interrupted. Where did that come from? Shadow? What the hell? Don't ask me, Shan's Shadow said. I agree, but I don't know why that thought came up. Shan only half listened to Emily's explication as he thought. He had been fine with the dog. He knew that. The growing - he wasn't sure what to cal it, rage? - only came up when the third person began to speak. That's it, Shadow said with a nod. It's that voice. If I could punch a voice, I would do it right then and there. Yes, but why? his Second Thoughts asked in confusion. I feel I don't need a reason to punch things, Shadow answered with a shrug. I just need means and an opportunity. The fact I hate his voice is enough motive for me. Shan watched the dog. That voice was damn grating, but it wasn't as though Emily's contact had much say on that. Shan could live with it for a time, at least. He wasn't about to start physical violence over such a small thing, no matter how irritating. "...So first part of tonight's operation is to find out where they are. Infiltration will come after that," his ears caught Emily finishing. "I can at least help with that," Shan said. "I come to Cascadia a lot, and I know a few people who might help us, though of course I'll leave actual maneuvering up to you, Emily," Shan said, trying to ignore the dog. He wished this person would simply drop their canine act. Maybe once he could put a face to the voice, his nerves would stop standing on end. |
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| Blackwell | Sun Oct 2, 2011 4:34 am Post #9 |
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Cade grinned at the girl's empty threat. “Oh, dear. You don't really think that'll do the trick?” The dog snorted. Turning his attention briefly to Shan's mind, he froze in place at the bits of dialogue he picked up. He seemed to be suspicious of him. This would be a tricky night. There were holes in every delicate modification, the more specific the worse the openings. Cade had learned how to deal with these things well, but even his best work had flaws. It was difficult to know precisely what the subject had tied the memories to. Often it was easiest to work with large groups of memory, erasing and rebuilding. “Cultists? You two have been having fun without me.” sniffing, the mutt turned its head away. “No matter. Finding them sounds to be the hard part. Not as if we'll have much trouble... What exactly are we planning to do with this Father Jafron when we find him?” Cade flicked his tail in a distinctly catlike motion. “Because we've... met. Do not mention this to him.” Edited by Blackwell, Sun Oct 2, 2011 4:35 am.
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| Kemi | Mon Oct 3, 2011 11:52 am Post #10 |
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Guildmaster
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Evals nodded at Shan and then gave her attention to Cade's words. "Kind of fun, not really. Worst that happened to me was getting my cheek sliced opened. Shan got his hand busted." She mentioned before thinking about the difficulty of the operation. Only to be interrupted by Cade getting in her head again. "Oho? Why not?" her thoughts inquired directly before she pushed the idea from her mind so he wouldn't analyse her thoughts on doing so. "Depends on how easy it is to infiltrate them. Jafron isn't an ordinary Human. I'm not entirely sure what he is, I'm only positive that he's a living being. He's shown some resistance to mental contamination from musical effects and a keen ability to pinpoint our kind, Cade. As for what we're doing with him, confiscate some kind of item he has that drained the life energy of all of the cultists in the last area. Find out what it's for and most likely kill him after we're done with it." Evals finished explaining and got to her feet. Time to get going, the sun was going down and they had a long night ahead of them. "Any ideas on who to ask then, Shan?" |
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| Shan Orison | Mon Oct 3, 2011 11:03 pm Post #11 |
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Shan quietly noted Emily saying Father Jafron could pinpoint "our kind." So Emily's new friend was undead as well? A fellow zombie, a lich, something else? It would at least mean his first suggestion would require less explanation, or at least fewer protests. He hoped. He didn't really know the dynamics of undead society. Perhaps there was a social hierarchy he had no awareness of, and he was about to suggest a very tense scenario. Still, considering how she got around and listened to everyone who would speak, and that everyone would speak to her because she listened... "I do have an idea," Shan said. "I'm not sure how willing she would be to part with the information, but I think I can convince her. She trusts me, I think, and as a healer she'd want to stop another incident like Gloomwood. She listens to people a lot, and her position of silence means she is told a great deal. She might want payment, um, but I'd be willing to front that, don't worry. Just let me talk to her and we should at least get an idea of where to start looking, even if its just where people have been disappearing. That's where I'd start, at least," Shan finished, ready to lead the faux dog and Emily through the darkening streets to the healer's door. |
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| Blackwell | Mon Oct 3, 2011 11:18 pm Post #12 |
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Cade felt himself smile involuntarily at the description of events, the pain that must have been involved. “I'm jealous to have missed out on your... pains. Believe me, I'd gladly have taken them myself.” he laughed icily. It was no kind comment, despite what the act would entailed. The creature loved to be hurt. “He sounds difficult to manage. Not entirely sure what use I’ll be directly against him. Unless...” The dog trailed, looking at the little girl. “To what extent may I put those around me to use?” He sounded unsure, checking with the girl. “It would make life difficult.” He projected. “Trust me, I have no interest in prying into your thoughts, dear.” His tone became heavy laden with amusement. Returning to the situation at hand, he nodded to the bard. “A plan, full and true. Refreshing. Shall we?” |
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| Kemi | Sun Oct 9, 2011 9:41 pm Post #13 |
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Guildmaster
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Evals looked to the north of the fountain. At Shan's suggestion that he might have someone to talk to, that was a start. "Alright, lets be off!" She shouted and pointed down one of the streets for them to follow. Waiting for Shan to lead them to where they have to do. "We'll see. Until further notice, you're not authorised to do more than pry into their minds." |
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| Shan Orison | Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:07 am Post #14 |
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Shan led their odd group through the latern lit streets of Cascadia, heading for a quiet residential district that had, up to a few years ago, been a rather seedy place haunted by the quiet sort of gang that easily slips by the watch. Now even thieves rarely bothered these houses. No one wanted to upset the healer. He walked down a deadend street to the home on the end, characterized by nothing but a small display of flowers on the windowsill and a bell. The door opened as they approached, and a man came out rolling his shoulder. He gave a nod as he passed, a small bandage on his neck. Shan rang the bell and waited for an answer. It wasn't a long wait, at least. The door opened to reveal a pale, freckled brunette with a wide smile and an impressive....amount of experience in the world of healing. "Shan! You're soaking wet! How is that drunken swordsman you dragged in here?" She asked with exuberance. "Hey, Zena. He's fine. He said he was getting his sword fixed, last I heard." "Now, what brings you here, Shan? You don't look hurt and-" She studied Emily for a moment. "I'm sorry if there's something wrong with you, dear. I'm afraid my healing skills are skewed toward the living." "Actually, I came to talk. Mind if my friends and I come in?" "That's no problem! So nice to have you here for something besides business, though I'll have to leave you if someone comes along." "I understand. Oh, everyone, this is Zena. Zena, these are Emily and Cade." Zena watched the dog that masqueraded as Cade. "I'm going to assume that's an illusion and ask that you don't play silly buggers with me. We're all civil people here, and I can smell my own kind. Please drop the glamor and refrain from feeding on anyone here, Cade. I have spare drink in the ice box if you're hungry. "Well, now that's settled, come inside! Have a seat." "Um, thank you Zena," Shan said, stepping inside the front room lined with chairs and couches and walls covered with plants on shelves and amateur watercolors.. Things were going well so far, he thought as he waited for everyone else to file in. |
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| Blackwell | Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:13 am Post #15 |
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“Well that's just no fun.” The dog entered the room after Shan, fur standing along its spine. He could smell her. The hound cocked its head, putting on a show of sniffing at her feet. Cade found the woman vastly intriguing, it was rare he found one of his own, at least outside the mansion, and it seemed every time he did the encounter began and ended in hostility. “It is your home, milady. As you wish.” The illusionary dog scattered, pieces dissolving. Pulling his will around the spell hiding him from detection, he removed himself from its hold. Cade stepped into view from midair, a tall and thin creature, abnormally so. Time without feeding had taken its toll harshly. The lines of his face were clearly defined, all traces of childish youth gone. He'd groomed himself recently, hair relatively clean-cut, not a speck of dirt on his features. The suit he wore was the polar opposite, frayed at the edges and elbows, white shirt beneath stained red from the shoulder-wound he'd received from Shan previously. “Feeding is... not in my current interests, thank you. It's lost its appeal to me.” He coughed into a cupped hand, suddenly aware that he could not hide the symptoms when he wasn't hiding. |
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