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Learning that Waylon is in fact not the vampire, he agrees to return with you to the group inside Kiten. When you arrive, however, it seems that one of the members is missing. When you explain the situation to the group, Waylon will make it known that the one he believed to be the vampire was in fact a member of their group called Aronil, the very same person who believed it wiser to stake the bite victim rather than trying to cure her. After some quick conversing, it was believed that Aronil ventured into the elven ruins in the foothills outside of town where he works as an archaeologist. With Waylon at your side, you are to head down into the ruins and put an end to Aronil… as well as the coven he has created.
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[attr="class","shadowsSub"]Details
Maximum Number of Players: 3 [break]Minimum Word Count: 3500 [break]Location: Kiten [break]Special Requirements: Depending on whether or not you killed the vampire victim, Waylon will make it known that this woman was/is his wife and that this was likely the reason why Aronil wanted her to put her to the stake as a means of keeping her from talking. Heading down into the ruins with you, you will encounter several women and children that have been turned into vampires, serving as some kind of distorted version of the family Aronil lost so many years ago. As they are all beyond redemption, they must all be put down along with Aronil, the master vampire himself.
[attr="class","shadowsSub"]NPC Information
What NPCs are in this mission? Please fill out the template for any notable NPCs. While those you have to socially interact with during the mission are not required, any enemy that is presented in the mission must be listed here.
Health Limit: Senior [break]Physical Speed: 10 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Senior [break]Magic Element and Types: Fire | Restraining | Attack Creation [break]Combat Style: Waylon fights with a silver stake in one hand, and fire magic in the other. Capable of quickly switching up offensive fire spells with a few quick jabs from his stabbing weapon, he always aims for the heart, knowing this to be the weak point of any vampire, no matter how old or powerful they might be. His spells are focused on restraining and burning his targets alive. [break]Additional Information: Waylon originally came to Kiten to buy a home where he would be able to live with his soon-to-be wife, a native of Kiten. Shortly after moving in, however, he had become threatened by the very thing he had been seeking out before he went into retirement, a Vampire. As such, he had been frequently moving around town to see if there was to be any vampiric activity, though he seemed to always arrive too late.
Health Limit: Senior [break]Physical Speed: 10 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Senior [break]Magic Element and Types: N/a [break]Combat Style: These women and children that were turned into vampires have not yet learned how to tap into their vampiric powers, knowing only how to use their fangs and claws in order to draw blood. With their physical power and speed being well above that of the people they once were, they are quite dangerous, if not incredibly feral. [break]Additional Information:
Health Limit: Grand [break]Physical Speed: 15 m/s [break]Physical Damage: Grand [break]Magic Element and Types: Blood/Acid | Attack Creation, Physical Reinforcement & Healing [break]Combat Style: Utilizing his razor-sharp claws to cut and pierce his opponents as one might with a blade, Aronil is incredibly fast for someone so old. Kept fresh by the blood he drinks, he also utilizes blood magic to restore his wounds while also capable of converting them into acidic darts that he can fire at his opponents. All things considered, his speed, physical power and his ability to heal from quite a lot of damage makes him a very difficult opponent. [break]Additional Information: Having lived for centuries, Aronil may very well be the last true elf, existing since the time before humans and elves mingled, causing their bloodline to be watered down through many, many generations. When his kind first fought against the demons, he and his kin had been cursed with what would later come to be known as Vampirism. Over the next centuries, his people fed primarily on livestock, doing their best not to kill or infect other people with their curse. However, when the townsfolk rose up after catching wind of their activities, all but himself were put to the stake or burned on a pyre, leaving him alone for too many years to count. After waking from a long slumber, he rose from the same elven ruins he now calls his lair while trying to create a new family out of the inhabitants of Kiten.
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on Jan 24, 2022 2:00:28 GMT -5
Tonight was a strange one that had been filled with more things than one night had the right to be. This didn't stop the turning of time coming. Before he didn't mind that, but now it was a pressure. If it was a vampire, if that did exist, then the man had to be found before sunrise. By then, they would likely already be hidden away somewhere in preparation, like every coming dawn. It was strange how before knowing everything, the night felt a bit too long. There was no rush feeling because it wasn't known just how much danger there really was. In the start there hadn't even been much of any confidence that such a being even existed. Not only did it exist, but they had buried themselves within the group trying to remove them, trying to remove any witnesses that would be against him. In a place of power where they could have a say what was reported and who made the reports. The closer they got to the building, the more of a sinking feeling had started to set in. ~With that kind of power, how easy would it be to keep victims unreported? They did say there had been people that had gone missing, but none of the reports included witnesses to that.~ The ones never threatened with death were the ones that had never been found or treated. What if they weren't dead as it had been assumed before?
”It would be nice if I didn't feel like the missing people that were assumed dead by the group were actually vampires at this point.” Only one attack had been reported after all, only one treated. Evidence didn't point to that, no matter how nice it would be. Death is horrible, but at least in that the victims were still their own people. Life wasn't always kind or fair. Even someone who knew as little about mythology as himself knew that this was going to end badly. Even if they won, there was no way to save the previous victims outside of a quick death. This wasn't a natural way to go, the ways of nature didn't involve mobile corpses. Sometimes lives ended before anything grand happened, or lived far longer than one ever had the right to. ~We can’t prevent whats already done, but we can stop what hasn't.~ Signing that to himself on the way over was a bit of comfort. Nothing that has already happened could be undone. This was how he cheered for himself, so to say. It may have been upsetting, but getting carried away with emotion wouldn't change anything. He was unlikely to get involved in any fighting. Honestly between the three of them, Joseph was still the only one that hadn't attacked anyone as a whole. Grisworld originally introduced himself as someone good at combat and had proven that very true so far.
When it came to having the upper hand in knowledge, it would be Waylon. There were different levels of knowledge on all subjects, this is typically discovered and different levels. This can help demonstrate how much someone knows about a subject. Of the three, Cobborn had the lowest tier as far as knowledge came. The only thing they had ever learned was from what he heard others say on the subject, as it never seemed important to research mythology. Griswald was a notch above him, as they had done actual research before being called. Waylon had hands on experience, with enough information that the vampire was clearly either aiming to get the man killed, or to kill him. He was good at tracking and finding things, but he was also mostly sure that was also a skill had by the person he had started this mission with in the first place. Well, there was always something that could be done by someone, even if it was harder to figure out where you fit in the whole scheme of things. It was becoming every increasingly apparent that his skill sets weren't really up to par with the others on the job. He could use healing magic, but hopefully that wouldn't be a useful skill here. There was no want within the peachy orange haired adult for such things to become useful here.
Theoretically, nobody should get seriously injured outside of those that needed to be. If Joseph got hurt, then it would be his own fault. Griswold would be unlikely to get hurt enough to be in danger with that mans amount of power. He wasn't sure about their other skills, but at the very least they had decent problem solving skills. How the other handled gathering the specific plant from the little island inside the witches forest had proven that much. Entering the water would have made the creatures in the water aggressive. It had been like those things had been waiting for anything to enter that it could attack, so there wouldn't have been a good way to cross that involved the water. In avoiding the water, that person had avoided trouble and saved time. Gathering the ingredients had felt so time sensitive, like every wasted second could cast risked costing someone their life. Another skill was elvish. Before this night ever began, the first time he met the man. The clueless Yugo that seemed to have barely ever left a noble abode their entire life at that point had been the reason the two had met that time. At that point Griswold had shown both the skill to read elvish, and knowing when something should be left alone. Both skills were very useful in the right types of situations.
Entering the building was a different experience, much like each time so far this night. The first time it was full of people full of fear but ready to tell the pair everything and show them where to go. Second time around they only saw one person and that individual hadn't exactly been the most polite. This time? The closer he came to the basement area they had been shown to go to before, the more sounds from people there were. Josephs stomach churned a bit. If everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off, then it would b3e harder to figure out what was going on. A servant that seemed to be leaving a room down their spotted the trio, or maybe just the confused look on his face. She said something about the medicine working, the woman making a recovery, and that now the group was arguing about what to do next. He said a quiet thank you to the woman, though was unsure if she heard. The servant was quick to rush back upstairs, but for what reasons wasn't something the orange haired individual was going to think on. “How did things somehow get more chaotic...”
Never having been the kind of person that enjoyed being taken for a fool, being sent after the wrong person had been very annoying, not to mention dangerous. With how jumpy this guy was, mixed with the fact that no one wanted to be jumped by a potential vampire, there was a very good chance they’d have killed one another before figuring out they had been duped. Now with the vampire hunter in tow, the three of them returned to the mansion they had originally been sent from to see whether or not the man they were truly hunting was still there or not. That, but they would also be reuniting Waylon with his wife, the woman he and Joseph had saved from being bitten and potentially turning into a vampire herself. To think that one of the men that had actually been the vampire had bitten her just so he had someone to stake and turn eyes away from him was somewhat startling.
For him personally, it was like him killing another elf to prove that he wasn’t one, which seemed incredibly wicked. That, and the fact that he had done this to the man that was actually trying to uncover who the vampire was and where he took his victims was another jab Waylon would never have recovered from on his own. Guessing this was one of those times where people intervening with the daily lives of others was a good thing, they made their way through the streets until they saw the manor up ahead of them. Of all the things he expected to encounter inside, there was one thing of which he was as good as certain, this being that the vampire himself was not going to be around anymore. Something he could only guess to was what they might encounter in his wake, as it was possible he’d just murder everyone including the woman before moving on his way to a new town somewhere.
Truly hoping the man hadn’t done such a thing just yet as it meant they wouldn’t be able to locate him until he had managed to create even more victims and leave behind bodies, there was no telling how long that would take. After all, all they had to go off of in the beginning were missing persons reports, showing he had been quite clever about his dealings, there was no way of knowing how long he had been active here and where he had been before coming to this place.
For what it was worth, it showed that they were dealing with a highly intelligent individual, one that had likely been around for a while longer than the two of them, allowing him to refine his tactics and his dealings with humans to blend in and look as normal as could be. And clearly, he had managed to do just that, as was clear enough to see by how he had duped the people of Kiten and sent Joseph and Griswold for a loop. If it weren’t so damn shameful, it would have been worth commending, but things like that had to wait for now. As the three of them were allowed entrance into the building, a few estranged looks were shot towards Waylon, but no actions were taken against him for the time being. Given how Griswold would have gone out of his way to protect the guy, it was clear that he was not the kind of individual that needed help dealing with some household servant with an attitude.
Finding the men that had appointed themselves as vampire hunters to be in disarray, it seemed that the woman was still asleep, or maybe they had simply been sent to fetch plants and flowers that were just hard to find for no reason. Given how her waking up might cause the man to be found out, it was actually not that farfetched to believe that this might have actually been the case, which all would have worked into the totality of this ruse. Were it not for his own botanical affinity due to his upbringing in the elven enclave that had been close to the land of Heart, a place where nature had the upper hand in a great deal of things, they could potentially have been sent to chase ghosts there too. But luckily for him, the vampire had been more clever than to bet on someone’s inability to tell plants apart from one another, which was just another smart move altogether.
But for now, the time to ponder on the ways in which the man might have fucked them over was done with, and the time to figure out what was going on here and where to find the actual target was finally upon them. And with it, redemption from their initial failure was that much closer.
“Calm yourselves and let cooler heads prevail. We’ve gone by your supposed vampire and found him to not be anything of the sort. We’re looking for the one called Aronil, heard he was one of the people we met, the one I’m assuming is no longer in this room?”
While not trying to sound like a smartass, there was no helping the way it came out, speaking while scanning the room and finding that one of them was no longer here. Proving his earlier musings to unfortunately be true, he still held out some hope that one of these people might have some useful intel that might get them to where they needed to be.
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on Mar 8, 2022 1:27:01 GMT -5
One of the men of the group responded to Griswold with an insulted tone that they had come to the conclusion that the man had been the vampire in the first place. Did they really not notice? Joseph quickly changed from feeling confused with how to deal with the chaos, to upset. “Maybe if your group was more organized you would have noticed all the reports that weren't around Mister Waylons house hadn't been written down. When we were called, your group spoke about multiple missing persons, but none of the reports handed even mention those persons. The medicine had clearly already been administered for the woman to be able to rest, but letting her rest so soon after it was taken also means to only witness still breathing is unable to speak.” There was a growing agitation inside. What was this? The emotion wasn't something he was accustomed to. It's sharpness had caused his tongue to get a bit of sting, just as it did in him. Cobborn wasn't really the type to feel anger, or other more aggressive types of emotions. It didn't really pop up as something normally in their system, even when danger was all around and death seemed quite likely. “Did he look so noble and speak so sweetly that none of you thought to second guess them at any point, or anything they did as part of this group?” That made the young man realize what bothered him so much.
Yes, this feeling was anger. This vampire had something in common with their mother. He walked over towards one of the servants running around outside the room, grabbing a sleeve. Knowing what the emotion was made it a bit easier to control it, though the blade of it still stung. “Sorry, I know you're quite busy madam. Did you happen to catch where Aronil left to?” A gentle smile left their lips, as if there wasn't a fire of rage behind it. Years of practice had at least made expressions easy enough to place on. “Oh, yes. Said he went to visit his late wifes grave and pray.” Their pale white hand let go of the womans sleeve, a bit of relief heading in. This didn't remove the anger, but it did give them a direction to go in. “Thank you so much, sorry for being a little rough.” The woman motioned with one of her arms, as if to dismiss the motion. “If you hadn't done that I wouldn't have noticed you saying a thing. You seem like a wonderful boy, be safe. I have to get back to work now.” With that, the female servant dashed off to do whatever it is they were supposed to do. This wasn't something the pink eyed person knew anything about, nor were they going to look into it. Their job was to take care of the vampire, not to bother a nobles servants who clearly had a lot on their plates already.
Pale peachy pink eyed looks back towards the room with the group of men. He hadn't exactly been polite a moment ago. Though he didn't want to apologize, it would be the right thing to do. “Sorry, due to past experiences I get a bit upset when others suffer or parish because a person or persons let themselves get so charmed by a person that much evidence gets ignored. I think we need to head to the cemetery. Does anyone know the way, or should I use a spell to find it?” Coward. That was what his mind was screaming. That vampire, that person was no more than a coward with a lot of charm! The polite smile had already started to fade off as their mind started to try to focus on the next task. Anger wouldn't stop clawing inside, a feeling that he should never have. It would certainly get in the way, but having little experience with feeling it also meant being bad at knowing how to get rid on it. “A coward that ran from the fate nature laid, now running from the humans that might have finally found them out. Do they try to remove or run from everything they can't charm their way out of?” The look on his face made it clear that those words hadn't been meant to leave the mouth. This likely happened because he tended to avoid using sign language around Griswold. His brain was trying to find other ways to ground himself.
In theory it made sense, but in practice it just made him feel like an idiot. The man had even still been using sign language though! It was even used a few minutes ago! Of course another reason could have just been the anger itself. When you don't know how to let it out properly, it can get someone to do and say things they typically wont do.
When he had requested for cooler heads to prevail, he had not been counting on Joseph to start firing a barrage of insinuating statements and questions that were dripping in venom. Still, Griswold decided to wait and listen, to see what would come out of all of this. Finding it easier to listen to what was being said and what wasn’t being said when he wasn’t the one doing the questioning, it seemed pretty positive that no one here knew a damned thing. But that was to be expected, as most people did not care to check up on those who had money to burn and possessed a certain degree of charm. As they put it, in the wealthiest sections, a killer complexion was often a great alibi. And given the fact that this Aronil person looked young enough to pass for a young count or an upcoming businessman, the people here had probably not asked any questions.
So once the questioning round had finished itself up, what they learned was that Aronil had gone to visit the grave of his wife, though Griswold had his doubts about this more or less right away. It seemed unlikely that if he was planning on making a run for it, that he would tell people exactly where he was going, as that would more or less beat the point of escaping without getting caught. So as he thought about it, there had to be more to all of this, something that they were missing. So once they were all back outside and on the streets, Griswold figured he would voice his opinion without all of the other background noises and people that were not nearly as helpful as they believed themselves to be. And as it stood right now, they had a vampire hunter with them, so giving him a chance to provide his input was more than likely the best idea.
“Since we’re dealing with an actual, real-life vampire here, what are the chances that he would actually go to the cemetery to visit his dead wife. If he were making a run for it, wouldn’t it be counter-productive to tell us exactly where we could find him? Or do you think he is actually that sure of himself.”
Stating the issue as he saw it, he did not want to leave out the fact that this guy might actually be this high on his own supply as to believe he could take out all three of them at the same time. Being very well aware of his own limitations, part of him wanted very much to face off against this vampire as a means of seeing what it could do, as well as seeing what he could do against it. Such was the life of someone who made a living off of killing things, keeping people safe and putting some people in their place when their heads got too big and heavy for their shoulders. In a way, it was nice to see someone else putting a bunch of high-society snobs in their place for once, as that was usually his job.
“That doesn’t sound like the Aronil I know. If he were truly leaving, I imagine he would stop by the elven ruins outside of town first. It’s where I’ve encountered vampires before after tracking him to the general area. While I’ve never been able to pin him there, I’ve seen him venturing to and from there many times. And as far as I know, he’s never had a wife here in Kiten.”
Having said his piece, it turned out that asking Waylon about his experiences here paid off. The elven ruins outside of Kiten were spread across a relatively fast area, as whatever town or city that had been there had been buried beneath the earth long before Kiten itself had been drawn up by the architect that had it built. Having had the displeasure of entering into one of these places, Griswold had run into graverobbers that were responsible for raiding the tomb of an ancient elven family. Returning to the world of the living as violent wraiths, they had killed the graverobbers and almost killed him in the process. Stumbling through that whole ordeal on luck rather than skill, he was not really looking forward to the idea of having to enter into that place, or a place just like it again. But if it meant putting a dangerous predator to death that could go on for untold decades since aging no longer seemed to affect him, it had to be done.
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on Apr 27, 2022 20:21:09 GMT -5
Of course it wasn't a surprise hearing the vampire lord never had a wife from that city. Honestly it wouldn't be a shock if this person had always single as a whole. Being somewhere else made perfect sense. The young man had been briefly thinking the vampires he made might be there, but the ruins makes more sense in every account. Maybe it had been their own ignorant assumptions, as his mind seemed to connect vampires with graveyards. Honestly it was more likely the anger that was still getting in the way of thinking that made it easier to not dismiss. An elven ruin would have been further from the city, less likely to be visit due to the distance and the attacks, as well as being the sort of area an average person wouldn't typically approach. A graveyard would be closer or in town. There would also be reason for any normal person to go there that's unrelated to the entire thing. Things like ruins are typically avoided, which was one of the reasons why such things like thieves and looters are more likely to be found than anything friendly. ~Thinking about it, that was probably why Griswold had been making certain assumptions when we first met. Actually... There's a lot of elvish ruins under and outside the city, isn't there?~ That lead to another issue, didn't it?
~If we run around all the ruins outside the city than we'll definitely miss him, unless Waylon already knows which one he would head towards.~ They had Waylon, who sounded like they might know exactly what part of the ruins the man went to. ~There's no need to panic.~ It seemed that without even realizing it, Cobborn had become desperate to smother the burning anger that had erupted within. But this wasn't working the way he wanted. It was becoming more clear that it was easier to keep a lid on anger than it was to beat it down when the reason behind it persisted. Trying to think clearly was harder, though still something he had to do. This was not something he was used to. One of the reasons was likely due to how little he let himself actually fully experience negative emotions. When do you have time to fully experience emotions when they were typically kept under lock and key by as many walls as possible? Like a fear of being burned by your own emotions, a flame that could enter all the walls of carbon matter that had made life easier to manage. That wouldn't happen today, if ever. Still, it made more sense than not that the young man would have trouble when these emotions had a chance and reason to come out. He let out a heavy breath, not sure if he felt more fed up with the people who called for him and Griswald, or himself.
“Oh goodness, why is anger so hard to get rid of? I don't like how much harder it makes to think. Not realizing what a bad hiding spot it would be for the turned victims a graveyard would be is a bad sign, that should have been easy. Sorry.” He didn't know much of anything about vampires personally, but it still should have been obvious. How good could fledgelings really hide in a public place like a graveyard? But the frustration at his own person didn't change the mistake, nor at how eager Joseph was to leave and find the target. “Waylon, do you know what part of the ruins he would be at? Griswolds fast, you're probably faster than me, but my speed is pretty average for a magic knight. I'm worried about all the vampires he did turn and the damage he could do if he gets away with them.” He didn't want a lack of speedy steps to be what allowed the thing to get away. If he had to be left behind, that would be fine. Joseph wanted to at least see the vampire die, but if he couldn't? Knowing it was gone from the world would be just as good. He didn't want fame or fortune, even if money could make certain things in life easier. The only thing that has mattered to the red head for as long as he could recall was simply doing the right thing. What that involved at this point was tracking and ending the vampire and all they turned.
It was too late for the victims that are already that far, right? Which meant this was the only thing that could be done for them now to prevent more victims.
Words: 773
Total: 2,740
The symbol ~ will be used in the post to reference when sign language is being used.
“I might have some idea as to where we could start looking. It might be a shot in the dark, but of the few I managed to put down, most were either returning to or coming from a specific region outside of town. And of those I’ve seen so far, they were always women who appeared to be of a roughly similar age.”
Being quite glad that Waylon might be able to direct them to where it was that they were needing to go, he himself did not look forward to going back to the ruins, not after what he had encountered there the last time he went into one of them. While the chance of them running into wraiths seemed small, a buried building filled with vampires did not sound any better. Aside from the things they had learned from the actual vampire hunter, Griswold knew astonishingly little about them, which was likely due to the fact that up until recently, he hadn’t believed werewolves and vampires to be anything more than myth and legend. Because of that, he was taking anything he heard here and took it to memory, as there was no telling when he might be needing it again in the future. And that was judging by the fact that he was not planning on dying here today.
If this Aronil person figured his best chance of survival was to run away, that must have meant that he did not foresee any scenario in which he could beat Waylon, Joseph and Griswold together, at least not on his own. And seeing as how there was no telling how many vampires he had made over the years, maybe retreating was just a way for him to ensure that anyone who followed him might run into a trap and die. Griswold however was quite certain that such a thing was going to happen, up to some point at least. While a trap seemed unavoidable in this situation, no one was going to be dying on his side of the metaphorical chessboard. It was not until he heard Joseph being hard on himself that he managed to step out of his foreseeing train of thought to instead focus on the other guy that had been tailing him for the majority of this endeavor.
“Anger can be an… overwhelming emotion. If you allow it to channel you, you’ll end up making mistakes that can be very costly. However, if instead of letting it channel you, you learn to channel it, you’ll find it can become a valuable ally, especially in this line of work.”
It was true, as his own anger had made certain situations very difficult for him, though it had also been the driving force that pushed him to win in some almost unwinnable battles. In times like those, being able to channel your anger was a major boon, yet it was also a skill few could manage properly. Believing himself to be on the right path towards learning how to fully channel his negative emotions into something positive, he turned his attention back to Waylon. After all, Joseph had not just brought up the fact that his anger had made it hard for him to see what was right in front of him, but also brought up the fact that he was nowhere near as fast as Griswold. Not really sure what to make of that as no amount of anger management would make him run faster, though Waylon had something more to say to them.
“You raise a valid point, though I have a feeling that our target might not be leaving. If his plan was to leave, there is no chance for any of us to catch up to him now since he’s got too big a lead on us. However, I’ve come to learn that those abominations can enter into a sleep-like state for up to several decades. So if he were to retreat to the depths of the ruins and hibernate, we might be able to catch him off guard. So lets be on our way while we still have some advantage left.”
TIME SKIP
After close to an hour of walking from the town of Kiten and making their way into the foothills, memories trying to resurface made it difficult for the black knight to really plan ahead too far. Luckily, they had Waylon to help out in that department. For as they had been moving throughout the place, he had been keeping them posted on where they were and how much further they still needed to go, even stopping in a few spots to let them know where he had put down vampires in the past. While it could be seen as morbid, it was a good indicator as to whether or not they were getting closer, as well as figuring out if there was any pattern to where the creatures chose to appear. Once they finally made their way to what seemed like a ruin, the first thing Griswold noticed was that there was little to no structure on the surface.
All there was to it was what appeared to be a horizontal door frame made of stone, proving that whatever building they were about to enter seemed to have been toppled before it eventually disappeared deep into the soil. While also being quite overgrown with grass and the like, it seemed to be the only real access point that actually went anywhere within the area. As such, it was as good a place as any to get into and begin the search. Due to the grass and how quickly it bounced back, there was no sign of any footprints heading in or heading out, meaning that if someone did do either of the previously mentioned two, it was at least more than thirty minutes ago. Being the first to hop on in, he formed a bright orb of solar mana to act as a floating torch, allowing him to at the very least keep his hands free and unoccupied with something as silly as a torch.
Putting his sword into his hands, he lowered himself down to the ground, taking a moment to observe the floor which was covered in a thick layer of dust. At times like these, tracking skills really came in handy, as he could see footprints of varying degrees, some of which had more dust covering them than others. These kinds of things made it easier to tell how long ago someone had been through here, and how many people depending on the size of the foot. Clearly being able to tell that someone had indeed come through here, the only thing Griswold could think of was the vampire himself, Aronil. With several older footprints in this area, there were undoubtedly going to be more than just him here, as well as the kind of enemies he would hope to never have to face; Children. Judging by their footprints, there were at least two of them down here, which really just made his mood that much worse.
Without saying a word, he looked up towards the ‘ceiling’, gesturing for Waylon and Joseph to make their way down into the now illuminated darkness. While he wanted to remain as quiet as possible, there was no doubt in his mind that the dwellers in the dark had seen the light in the distance the moment Griswold had switched it on. Already expecting to run into a trap at some point while they were advancing, at least this gave the others a chance to see what was coming, rather than Griswold being the only one that could sense threats approaching him using his sensory and ki. Once the two had made their way down, that was when they were going to press on and make their way deeper into this place, which appeared to just be a long hallway heading deep into the distance.
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on May 23, 2022 3:50:40 GMT -5
Joseph mulled a bit on what Griswold said about anger. This wasn't something they could immediately poke an answer to after all, otherwise He sooner Spoke to Waylon on the vampire subject. “Sounds like he's very possible to catch up to without rushing or panicking then.” That was a bit of relief. It was strange, but the idea that the chance to catch the killer hadn't been lost was very calming. All the anger from before seemed to leave the young mans system. It seemed the way to release the anger had been simpler than expected. Maybe that was to be expected when the root of it had started with the thoughts of him getting away because of the carelessness of others that lead them to not even glance at things that were red flags. Why? Because they had seemed like such a charming noble. Such a simple reason for so many things going wrong was... well, that didn't matter anymore anyway, right? That must have been why the anger had faded so fast. ~This emotion is too irrational and hard to control. I'll keep a better guard next time I feel it might try to rear up.~ This was something that might be useful, if it could be controlled. Cobborn had lots of experience in calming or quelling emotions, but that was different than having full control over them. When an emotion was out, he had as much control as the average person.
Having full control over ones emotions, was that even possible? But keeping feelings at arms length whenever they became a bit much likely didn't help. For now, what could be done? Do what they always did seemed to be the most logical answer. More power would be nice, but without the knowledge on how to work towards that control, trying to use that method would be reckless at best. In any case, he was lucky that Griswold was on the same mission as him. The other could have done it without the orange haired male, no matter how bad Griswold is at reading any form or type of signing in any way. He had been hoping that at least with the plants the lithe man would know a bit more. As someone who relies mainly on their sensory magic, non magical tracking skills, and knowledge in how to blend in? It was a little disheartening to realize that even when it came to that, the blunter of the two was just as good, or better than him when it came to tracking and gathering the plants. Their problem solving skills in the forest for time saving was pretty impressive, considering their personality. The bluntness made it pretty hard to guess that they could also problem solve so well on the fly like that. It was their fault for under estimating the man. This was still the same person who could read ancient elvish fine and dandy.
But it was also the same person who had left Joseph with the task of reading all the vampire reports. For someone who seemed so blunt, understanding them didn't feel as straight forward as it should have. Even though Cobborn had done that reading, the young man was pretty positive that the other could have done the same thing. Would they have come to the same conclusion that Waylon might be a target of the vampires? The pale pink eyed person had no way to answer that. There simply wasn't enough data and too many variables to lean one way or another. Gathered information can only go so far, though maybe the young man wouldn't think that way if there was a way to remove variables. At the moment, this didn't seem like a possible talent to apprehend. In any case, it was a good thing Griswold and Waylon were both here. The traveling was something that didn't bother him, which was fitting for someone in the azure deers. The time spent doing such a thing had certainly left a lot of time to think. Before they had even gotten halfway towards the destination, the young man managed to clear out all the 'junk' from his mind. All the stray thoughts that got in the way or confused the mind had been dealt with. His eyes and mind focused on all the details around them, continuing to follow along.
Each time during the traveling Waylon stopped at a spot to mention they had killed a vampire there, the young man wondered how many vampires had been hunted by this person. Each stop added another shared grain, a better idea of how experienced that person really was. It certainly explained why Aronil had tried to get them to kill Waylon. Who else would have nearly enough experience with vampires to stop one? This had been the first vampire hunter Joseph had ever even met, to his knowledge anyway. Most people don't exactly shout their professions. Clothes could sometimes help a person pinpoint what one did for a living, but even that wasn't always helpful. How would anyone even know what to look for on what a hunter may or may not be more likely to wear or not wear? Before tonight, the young adult hadn't even thought vampires were real. When they got to what seemed like the destination, there didn't seem much in terms of hiding material. The strange door frame that was slanted and sunk in, surrounded by numerous types of flora certainly seemed like it would lead to somewhere most people wouldn't think to walk towards. Pale pink eyes looked over towards the light Girswold made inside. His own magic could be fuel for light at best, but couldn't make any itself.
It was only for a mission involving the safety or well being of the Clover Kingdom that he would enter a place such as this. When the black haired man moved to allow the other two to see inside the darkness, Cobborns curious eyes couldn't help but to roam about. This was something they always did. Details in the dust, things the other had likely already noticed. Joseph hadn't until that point though. There was so much to look at and maybe part of him wanted to avoid that direction. The facts had pointed to a few details being likely before the group had left after the vampire. ~How many victims that we can't save will be there? No, maybe killing them is saving in a sense a this point.~ Not all the footprints were the same size, so it was certainly safe to assume he had gone to the fledgelings. Entering ruins felt a bit like entering an ancient graveyard and disrespecting the dead when it wasn't one of those weird tower things. Still, they followed behind possibly the bluntest person they had ever met. ~Are we going to run into the turned first, or their maker?~ It was starting to feel like the fight would start soon, that things were finally coming close to ending. The peachy orange haired person tensed up before going inside. There wasn't any hesitation in movements, though that didn't stop the mind from understanding they were walking into the vampires territory.
Words: 1,202 Total: 3,942 The symbol ~ will be used in the post to reference when sign language is being used.
Trying to push his mind past the idea of innocent civilians turned monster that they would more than need to put down, the black knight pushed further into the complex. As it were, it did not take him a whole lot of time to pick up the first noises from the place, though this turned out to be due to a bunch of rats scurrying through the place in an attempt at getting past them. When not even rats wanted to stay within a space and actually made their presence known while fleeing, that was when you knew you were not exactly in a very pleasant location, and that things would likely be popping off quite soon. Wondering why they might be wanting to get out of the place this badly, the only thing he could think about was that maybe further up ahead, the place was either flooding or had some kind of creature that actively fed on rats.
Finding both to be equally unlikely since these vampires had proven themselves to be maneaters.. drinkers.. whatever the hell they were called, Griswold tried his best not to step on the roughly seven or eight rats that dashed past them at a high pace. Not caring whether the vampires knew their position at all, as the light he carried was enough of a giveaway already, he began using the sphere as a catalyst, firing smaller orbs into some areas of the room. Once there, they would quickly erupt and set fire to anything flammable, thus flushing out anything that might be nearby as the three of them kept moving along. Due to the fact that this entire place had been made out of stone, was underground and somewhat damp, the only thing it would do was to get rid of some oxygen as it burned itself up with nothing to devour. Ergo, it was no threat to them.
Once they had pressed through the room, they made their way into the next chamber where Griswold just continued his little game of “burn every hidey-hole in sight with fire”. This time however, the first orb he fired that erupted was instantly met with a high-pitched screeching. As it turned out, one of the female victims of the vampire had been hiding here from the light, likely biding her time to strike and kill one of them. With the fire eating away at her hair and clothes, Waylon wasted no time running a stake through her heart as she merely flailed wildly to get the fires off of her. Slamming her down to the ground as the stake pierced her chest, she let out a long gasp as the air escaped her body. Not long after, her body rapidly began to shrivel up as if all of the moisture was sucked out of her. And the dryer she became, the quicker the fires devoured her until nothing was left but ash.
“I knew this woman, she worked as a maid at the tavern, bringing people meals and cleaning rooms for a small fee. She always caught the eye of many onlookers, but when she went missing, I merely assumed she had gone to the city for a better life. Seems she found the opposite… poor girl.”
“At least her suffering is over now, as will that of any others we come across.”
Feeling for Waylon and his emotions in this moment, Griswold did not wish to come off as an asshole, though he knew that they had to keep going onward without wasting too much time feeling bad about every dead body. Seeing the deaths of people you knew would always be enough to make someone stumble for a bit, this much he had come to know well, though it could not keep one from moving to their eventual goal, lest they be delayed and risk others falling to a similar fate. Feeling a kind of drive he had honestly not been feeling all that often before, the sooner this lair was cleansed of these beings, the better it would be for the entire town. And the best way to do exactly that was by finding the master vampire and getting rid of him once and for all. As expected though, one of their own being set on fire and staked to death caused those that remained to stir, as three more women came rushing from the darkness ahead of them.
Wasting no time in reaching for his waist, Griswold took out his blade and began swinging. While it was no wooden stake, he imagined that most beings did not exactly thrive once beheaded, and so that was what he aimed for. Letting his blade cleave the head off of the nearest of the women, Waylon leaped forward, using his body weight and the momentum of the incoming woman to drive the stake through her so fast, the vampire lady died before her body even hit the ground. Setting himself up to be struck in the back, Griswold wasted no time in cleaving the head of the final female vampire in two. With three desiccated bodies on the floor, this time around, Waylon did not express whether he knew them or not, which led the black knight to believe that he had no idea who they were. And that was quite possible, because if these things stopped aging once they were turned, there was no telling which period in time they even hailed from and how many victims they had made over the course of their unlife.
Not getting the chance to press on any further, it was at that point that two children stepped forward out of the darkness, a hand on each of their shoulders. As they stepped forward, the hands touching them warped, becoming large claws with long fingers, attached to equally long arms. Once the children had fully emerged from the dark hallway, the body that was attached to the clawed arms appeared fully into the light, seemingly being some odd being that was both bat and human, though mostly appearing like a bat. Looking around the room, its gaze went from the orb of light to Waylon, from Waylon to Joseph and from Joseph back to Griswold and the light that he was holding. Noticing that the children did not like the light, closer inspection showed that their canines were slightly longer than that of a human being, meaning they had more than likely already been turned into vampires themselves, which presented a problem of its own. To his knowledge, no one here had ever killed a child.
“Did you take pleasure… in killing my wives? Did you bother to ask whether that was what they wanted… whether they were forced into this life or they perhaps chose it? Surely you did not. It is in the nature of you humans to kill that which you do not understand… that which frightens you. So let me ask you this, would you kill my sons like you killed their mothers? Like you undoubtedly wish to kill me… like a rabid dog, only to feign ignorance and claim it was in all of our shared best interests to do so? We cannot help what we are any more than you can. Now, the question remains, would you kill these youngsters just to put an end to me?”
Once the beast began to speak, it was clear that this form belonged to the very master vampire they had come here to hunt down. Asking several questions which proved the beast to retain every bit of intelligence it had when looking like a human, Aronil seemed distraught, yet composed at the same time. With his ‘sons’ standing in front of him, the monstrous form behind them did not seem to spook these children at all, as they had likely gotten used to it some time ago. Waylon however seemed to be spooked by the arrival of these children, for as he got up from the body of the desiccated woman he had just stabbed to death a few moments ago, it turned out that he was aware of whom these children were. The look in Waylon’s eyes clearly resonated with Aronil, who seemed to take some kind of twisted pleasure from this whole ordeal.
Freezing up and clearly incapable of moving on with the plan if it meant killing children, Griswold began asking himself if there was any way in which he could justify doing what needed to be done, only to find that there wasn’t one that he could find right now. At the end of the day, these things were still kids, at least they looked like them, so taking them out was not as easy as it was to kill an adult human that turned into a monster. For the moment, they appeared to be at a standstill as Griswolds’ mind raced trying to find a solution.
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Last Edit: May 31, 2022 18:33:01 GMT -5 by Griswold
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on Jun 12, 2022 1:57:25 GMT -5
One of the things hard to forget was the women and children mentioned by the group when Griswold himself were called by the group to help. Only one victim had been mentioned in the reports, the one who turned out to be Waylons wife. The same woman that was treated and recovering. Such knowledge was like a ball in the pit of the stomach now that they were going further in. There was only one way to free those victims now, their deaths were the fault of the sire that turned them. When the wave of rats started rushing for the exit, Joseph couldn't help but to pause briefly. Rats were known to be mammals that could easily evolve through a small amount of generations to adapt to the new obstacles humans put in their way. They became better at eating through stronger materials and capable of taking on stronger poisons. They couldn't do anything about predators though, making cats or mongooses good against any that weren't over certain sizes. Either way, the creatures had dashed by pretty quickly, so it wasn't a bother to wait for them to pass. It didn't take long for his walking to pause again, but this time more brief. Seeing Griswolf use the sphere to burn anything flammable in the room was a slight surprise, but not enough to gain more of a response.
That was likely a good way of fishing out anyone that might be waiting to attack them in some unseen area. It helped Cobborn feel more at ease, the ball in his stomach starting to unravel itself. There was no reason to fear safety, there would be no surprise attacks. This would make quick deaths easier, right? ~I want them to have as quick deaths as possible, this isn't their fault.~ Signing these words out also helped their nerves calm more, their footsteps becoming more confident. The light was a comfort as well as a weapon. Griswold flushed a victim out in the next room. The young adults body didn't show much of any signs of reaction when a victim was flushed out. That was the point of the fire being tossed everywhere, right? This just means it worked. Eyes looked at every detail that he could of the body, clothes, and any other detail as her life was taken by Waylon. ~Clothes indicate she was dressed for carrying items. This likely means she was taking food home to cook the time that she was attacked.~ This was important for him to remember. Information was stronger than words without facts behind them. Emotions were good, but it was pointless to fight against physical and factual evidence. “May she rest in peace now that her soul is free.”
He wasn't going to pretend like he knew her at all, but it would feel inappropriate to say nothing at all. They just hoped that a small prayer like that could help ease what upset may be in Waylon, knowing someone they knew had to be killed. Cobborn tried to take in every detail after the three other women popped out, all of them looking quite upset. It was a bit harder to take in every detail when it was three at once, but this wasn't much of a challenge. Such a task was nothing so long as the lithe person kept a calm and collected mind. The female victims were disposed of quickly by Waylon and Griswold, which was exactly what the red head was expecting. One had been a grave keeper and looked dressed for still being in the middle of work. It was an important job to make sure that nobody was robbing a graveyard, but that would have made her vulnerable to attacks. Another seemed to be dressed in plain black clothing that indicated mourning at the time they were attacked. The last one looked like a milkmaid. The woman was likely from out of town originally, but came to this town to visit someone. They let out a silent sigh, their mind briefly mulling over the information. He didn't get long to think on this before the children appeared into view. The large hand on each child, that had to lead to Aronil.
The vampire seemed to be looking at all of them one by one, but it didn't feel like a very trough one. A glance doesn't look at even the full body, so it was likely flash judgments. Or maybe it was so fast because they already knew who all of them were. The vampire hunter he wanted them to kill, and the two the man had tried to trick into doing it. Then he spoke. The body language and words made the vampire sound upset, like they felt wronged. This made Joseph frown, his eyes staring at the undead with upset. “Carbon matter with a sound elemental oddity is my magic. Together data is collected and formatted into different various sounds of different types, how these sounds are expressed can indicate a disruption in the laws of nature of some kind. Sorry, but as a conductor to the worlds sound I'm the worst person for a con man to try to convince of lies. The first 'wife' killed had been a maid. How she was dressed indicates she was out to get groceries when turned, indicating she was forced to agree to it after being turned after having no choice in the matter. The second 'wife' was a grave keeper, giving her a job that would have made her isolated from most others in the city due to her work hours. Her clothes indicated you attacked her while she was at work, convincing her after she was attacked and turned.
The third woman was dressed in mourning clothing, suggesting that they were not in a proper state of mind when turned. This indicates that either you took advantage of their vulnerable state verbally, or that you took advantage of them going somewhere alone while they were not in the right state of mind to realize they should be careful where they wonder to at night. The fourth woman was dressed as a milkmaid. The pattern on the hair cover indicates that she was likely from Hage, as it is a common pattern some women started wearing there in the past few months. This also means she was likely only planning on visiting Kiten briefly, likely to deliver milk to somewhere, otherwise she would have changed from her work clothes. This suggests you turned her first, than asked after you had power over her. Waylons wife you attacked without even speaking to her first, than fled as soon as you realized she was saved from being turned. Children tend to be gullible due to the parts of the brain that are still developing, the same sections that make it easier for them to soak in information. They are under the age of consent for for these reasons. If they cannot wed, typically are not allowed to own land, and are under age to receive their grimiores, than why do you expect any of us to believe they can consent to being changed into vampires? When did you consider anyone’s consent?”
Joseph couldn't avoid disliking the other more. It was hard to feel bad for someone when you don't know their reasoning, There was something more important than any amount of anger or dislike though, the children. He reached for their spear, something they hadn't touched the entire time. Hating violence didn't change that sometimes it needed to be done. His eyes looked towards them, their expression and body language softening. “I know very well how scary it can be when an adult takes you and forces you into things. It's easier to tell yourself things are okay and listen to the scary adult. I don't know if either of you fully understood what happened, but neither of you will ever grow up now. You wont ever be able to get jobs, gain grimiores, get married, or have your own kids one day. If you come to us willingly, I'll try to make everything end as quickly as possible. We don't blame either of you for what he's done. We'll tell your parents that you were both very good big brave boys.” It was then that one of the boys started crying, saying they missed their parents. It was only after the first one started crying that the other did as well. One tried to move over towards Joseph, but Aronils grip tightened. The head vampire whos attention before seemed to have been joy of seeing Waylon suffer seemed to now be at the pink eyed person who was still focused on the two kids.
Words: 1,458 Total: 5,400 The symbol ~ will be used in the post to reference when sign language is being used.
Not really expecting Joseph to go into such depth when it came to speaking to the vampire, it saved him a lot of time having to go through everything himself. While many of the things he brought up were true, some of them were assumptions made by some rather on the nose findings that could be done by merely inspecting the bodies. More than that, there was also the knowledge they had been given by Waylon and the way in which his wife had been attacked, leaving very little room for anyone to really feel for the monster, or his rather monstrous actions. There was no room to excuse the creature for the things that it had done, that much seemed clear enough to anyone in the room. With Waylon seeming to be ready to drive stakes left and right, Griswold wondered whether or not he would be prepared to kill a child.
While they had for all intents and purposes been turned into immortal children of the night, one had to wonder what kind of a life they would be having if they were to be left behind here. Because of what they had become, there was no way for them to return to normal life or get taken to an orphanage, as they would simply fall prey to their newly developed nature and become a threat to the other children there. Aside from that, they would only ever be able to be active at night, as they would more than likely be in danger of burning alive. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to take matters into his own hands and be the butcher yet again, as he had been so many times before already. If he stained his hands with the blood of children, that meant Joseph and Waylon would not need to stoop to that level.
Once the children started crying however, that was when Griswold realized that every moment he spent waiting, he spent prolonging the suffering of these kids. In an instant, likely even faster than the vampire itself could respond to it, the black knight closed the distance between him and the monster. Bringing with him such momentum that it allowed him to rip his pitch-black blade through the air like a shadow under the cover of night, he struck at a height that would behead both of the kids, killing them instantly so they would never know what had happened. At the same time, the blade ripped through the waist of the vampiric monster, causing the torso to slide off and fall backwards to the ground. Releasing an ungodly shriek, the body collapsed to the ground as the bodies of the kids hit the floor.
But even as the two heads fell, Griswold could not allow himself to care, as the moment in which he did, he would put everyone in this room in danger. For as soon as the body hit the ground, the vampire used its long limbs to grip onto the surrounding area, pushing itself off towards the ceiling and trying to skitter away for a bit. Even after it had been cut in half, he could tell that the lower portion of his body was already starting to visibly regenerate. Given the fact that it was not going to fall for the same move twice, it was imperative they killed the creature now before it regenerated, as it had a far better grasp on the layout of this room than they did, as well as powers they themselves did not know of. Even the high-speed regeneration came out of nowhere, but now at least they were aware of it.
With Waylon staying behind to make sure nothing would come out of the shadows to gank Joseph, the fact that Griswold’s own sensory means did not pick up on anything likely meant that the only unliving thing still alive down here was the very beast he was currently chasing. But if there was one thing he had learned about creatures that could regenerate swiftly, it was that the introduction of fire halted the rate at which they could restore themselves. So as he ran after the creature, he fired several spheres of solar magic at the general direction of the target, each creating an individual conflagration that enveloped the entire zone in flame momentarily. Due to the stone interior of these ruins, the fact that anything would actually catch fire was small, but always present. Still, it was not going to deter the black knight from bringing this beast down here and now.
As the flames ate away at the thick coat of hair that covered the beasts’ bestial body, the burn wounds inflicted did seem to halt the rate at which it could restore itself. Not waiting to find out by how much, Griswold threw his sword at full force. Penetrating the creature’s back from behind, the aim had been to pierce its heart, but perforated a lung instead. Dropping down from the ceiling and to the ground, it seemed to stop moving as much as a wheezed breathing went to show that, at the end of the day, this creature was still just as mortal as everyone else, just with added perks and downsides. Placing his boot down on top of the creature as he forced it to the ground, his hand gripping the handle of his blade, a guttural laugh came from the creature’s mouth. Raising a brow as he heard it, Griswold did not exactly like hearing this after all that had transpired.
“How does it feel, killing women and children who merely tried to make the most of their unlife. I may be the one with fangs and claws, but it is clear to me now that the true monster here is you. Your bloodlust trumps even my own, and I need the stuff to survive. Now, you may do what you will, I have said all that I care to say to you, Monster.”
Followed by yet another cackle, Griswold turned the blade and ran it sideways, lacerating the beasts’ heart, causing it to vomit blood as it eventually choked upon it. A fitting end for a creature that had ruined the lives of so many, choking on the very thing it needed in order to survive for as long as it did. Looking on as the remains rapidly withered, turning into a dried up husk that likely only needed the slightest bit of heat to catch fire and burn away entirely, Griswold reached down, severing the head of the beast and putting it into the duffle bag he carried in a crumpled up fashion beneath his coat and put it away. Once they got back to town, they would need proof that they had killed the monster that plagued them, and saying they had burned everything down wouldn’t cut it. With that, Griswold grabbed the beast by the arm and began dragging it back to where the others were.
Once there, all of the bodies should be rounded up on a pile and burned in a rather unceremonious fashion. At this point, it was better to cremate all of the remains rather than taking it all up and burying them, as there wasn’t a single family that would be any better for it if they heard their loved ones had been turned into ravenous, blood-sucking monsters that had to be killed. No, it would be best for them to believe the beast had killed them, and that the beast had been killed for all that it had done.
Name of Spell: Concocted Cosmos: Parallax Elemental Type: Air PressureRank & Spell Type: Senior | Attack Creation & SensoryRange & Speed: 100 meters (40 m AoE) | 50 m/sMana Cost: 30 mp | 15 mp sustainStats Effected: +9 Power (Self)Applicable Perks: Cosmic Oddity, Apex Predator, Overpowered, Quick Shot, Skilled Sniper & Battle Knight (& Area of Triumph)Description: A faux cosmic spell that requires the user points the pinky of their left hand towards a specific target, which releases a fast moving ball of mana at a target determined upon the moment of creation. Utilizing "homing" rules in order to chase down the target until the projectile is destroyed or the caster runs out of mana, it also uses "ammo" rules to increase the amount of projectiles fired by 1 for every 75 Control the caster has. Initialized by first making himself glow before firing them, in addition, these projectiles flare up from time to time, allowing them to blind those looking at it for one whole post. These "stars" can flare up to blind someone once every two posts in which they're active, making them rather tricky to deal with. Upon hitting a target, they explode to cover a certain radius, knocking targets back 8 meters + 5 meters for every 10 Power the caster possesses. During the day, the spell takes on an orange hue, taking on a silver blue hue after dark, making it look a lot like a cosmic spell.
Last Edit: Jun 16, 2022 13:15:42 GMT -5 by Griswold
Post by Joseph Ravencrest✾ on Jul 3, 2022 1:58:23 GMT -5
It was honestly a relief to see Griswold kill the children. All the muscles in his body relaxed a bit. The young man took a few steps back, not wanting to get in the way. ~Their suffering is over.~ They were innocent, but still ones they could not save any other way. Joseph was sure Griswold and Waylon could handle things fine, especially with how fast the vampire lord had been sliced in two. Even so, it would be best to not risk getting in the way. Seeing it regenerate from such an attack certainly did show how durable it was, but at least it seemed the other had taken the vampire down before that. The words it said seemed a bit... delusional? ~Did he really think he was the victim, that it was any of us that caused the end of those women and children?~ Yes, the group had come to kill and had done just that. It had been the master vampire that had forcibly turned those people though. It would be hard to say anything vocally for him at the moment. Even with that vampire dead, there was an anger inside that simmered away. That man had turned those people into monsters for what reason? To feel better? Did they want to recapture something that could never regained? ~Making the most of their unlife.~ Their slender arms and hands signed out. It was strange to think about, but there was no way to prove or disprove it.
None of that data made him less angry, but helping put the bodies in a pile at least helped a bit. It wasn't any easier to speak until the pile was lit up. “...Thank you Griswold for freeing the children from their nightmares so fast. The fact that vampire tried to call you a monster shows that he had no awareness of their own actions. He took their lives as well as the childrens ability to grow up, to survive on their own, to grow big enough to not feel scared anymore. That was the only way to save them, thanks to that man.” All the victims that couldn't become human again could rest in peace now. Maybe humans would cause terror in this city, or another kind of monster at some other far off point. At the very least, there would no longer be anymore master vampire. All the upset started to feel like it was rolling from him now. Those kids and women had been turned before they had started this mission, so there was no feelings of guilt. It was horrible, but it would have been worse to keep them alive. At least everyone who survived had their futures. They had saved Waylons wife from turning, wasn't that also pretty amazing? The dried bodies burned fast and well, no signs of life in any of them. That was like an extra bit of relief. This was reassurance to him that the victims could remain passed on and rest.
He wasn't the sort of person to touch people much. This was a bit of an emotional end to things, but there was still no desire for needlessly coming in physical contact with someone else. The vampire had used charms to deceive everyone and get his own ways. The words of none had mattered to that master vampire. While it hadn't felt like the young man had done anything in this mission that Griswold couldn't have done, outside of maybe deal with the paperwork? That man certainly didn't seem to like that. ~I want to learn from him, but maybe I'll ask if I gain more confidence one day.~ Today wasn't the day, or rather night. Cobborn wasn't much when it came to confidence in socializing, even if they had a firm belief in their own abilities. Doing things was easier than socializing. The young man reached towards their own glasses, taking them off. The pale peachy pink stared down at the item. Their only purpose was to make him look more innocent and easier to approach. Was this the same sort of tactic that creature used? Well for now he wouldn't be rid of it. After staring at the glasses for a brief time, the pale person slid them back on. It had been decided that it was different, since their own words were always honest. The red head used it to cope with a world, the vampire had used their own methods to try to fill their own selfish wants.
“I hope that if we work together on something, it wont involve vampires again.”
Words: 768 Total: 6,168 The symbol ~ will be used in the post to reference when sign language is being used.
Staring into the fire as the bodies burned up to the point of rendering the bodies unrecognizable, he imagined how that might be giving the others a slightly better feeling about what had just transpired. For him personally, the fact that they could no longer make out who was who really did not do much to change the way he felt about everything. While he wouldn’t show it on his face, as he never truly did, that did not mean that things did not reach him, because they absolutely did. If anything, things like these just hardened him that much further, as no normal person should be able to push themselves to the point of killing children who were crying and afraid. Yet to him, the blade cut them just the same as they did anyone else, which was why the words of the vampire resonated with him quite a bit.
Ringing in his mind even after the beast was put down for good, it wasn’t that everything he had said reached him. Griswold knew very well that much of the things he had said were nonsense, things aimed to dissuade him or otherwise make him feel worse about the things he had been forced into doing. That said, no one had forced him to kill those kids. There might have been another way in which they could have helped them, though the idea of those kids not dying of old age and remaining a child forever seemed like a horrible fate in and of itself. When Joseph thanked him for freeing those children from their fate, he personally couldn’t sever that sentence from the intent, which was that he had killed those kids so that no one else would need to cross that line. Even for Waylon, the self-proclaimed vampire hunter, killing kids was likely a bridge too far.
“While you’re not wrong, you’re not entirely right. Killing kids isn’t normal, it is far from it. Whether we could have found a way to help them out or give them some kind of life after all of this, it isn’t something we’ll be able to figure out now. At the end of the day, their flesh severed just the same as that of any other person, animal or monster when faced with this sword. There should have been some kind of unconscious restraint when I did it, and the simple fact of the matter is that it wasn’t there.”
And with that restraint not being there, nothing holding him back or even make him flinch at the time, it went to prove that there was an overwhelming portion of inhumanity within him. Where he had saved and looked after children no more than a few weeks ago, he had rent others out of this life just as easily. And while the flames still raged, that was something he wished to come to terms with, believing he had at least another hour before the bodies fully turned to ash. Turning his attention to Waylon first, there was really no need for him to stay here any longer, nor was there a need for Joseph to linger any longer. For while the vampire had been taken out, there was no telling what other threats remained within these ancient ruins.
“You should return to your wife, see to it that she is and remains safe. And you should return to your headquarters, inform people of what happened here in however much detail as is required. I appreciated the help the two of you have provided, though I wish to remain here for a while longer. At least until the flames go out.”
Giving the others a proper send-off and thanking them for their aid, Griswold himself was going to see this through all the way to the very end, which was when the bones themselves were reduced to nothing but ash. After that, once darkness set in, he’d either find his way out, or head further in to see if there was some kind of indication as to where this creature had come from to begin with.
[Exit]
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Last Edit: Jul 11, 2022 13:38:00 GMT -5 by Griswold