On the Hunt -- Game Thread

The man flinches and lets out a small cry of shock as Doru lunges, but he does not resist. Once Doru has finished, the man leans against the wall, looking a little lightheaded but thankful to be alive. He nods to Doru, then to the tall figure, who nods back, and leaves, closing the door behind him.

The fluid from the vial tastes excellent and flows smoothly over his palette, leaving Doru a bit full. "My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ferons Uat. My old appearance is an illusion; I am but twenty-four years old." Doru sees his grey hair and wrinkles in the candlelight, now that the figure has come close to the candles. His hair is short, his eyes green. He picks up a vial from the table. "My father was Sir John, Duke of Turin, who himself was transformed." He pauses, then turns and approaches yet another door, in the center of the wall opposite of the opening through which Doru entered. "I shall send Schatten to retrieve him; we have important matters to attend to. The bell, you know there is always a reason." He opens the door.

~

Illia relaxes, having gone through a third of her mug. The drunkard looks around and realized there's free ale on the table, and he wastes no time in grabbing the mug the other men left, drinking it with great haste and spilling a fair amount over his mouth. He then slams it on the table, sloshing ale uncomfortably close to Illia. He looks at the girl. "Wha, who are you? Didn't'cha hear, bell's up, we gotta go--*hiccup*." He stumbles past Illia, but stops to catch himself on the counter. "Whoo, the killin', the fightin', all so FUN! *hiccup*"

~

Marth and Synyster ride the crowd inside. The church is well lit; the setting sun glows through a hole high on the back wall, illuminating the space directly above the door where lies a mosaic depicting a fight between angels and demons. Candles all over the room provide adequate lighting throughout; the firelight does not disturb Marth or Synyster. They gain some freedom of motion as the crowd begins to disperse after the doorway, beginning to fill the colossal space and populate the several dozens of wooden pews. There are five columns of pews, with dozens of these wooden benches in each column. There is also a giant stage spanning the back wall, a few feet stepped up from the floor. There are two figures on each side in dark cloaks, watching the people enter. The space is so large that Marth and Synyster cannot observe everything at once.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is this place?"
The man has already left.

Illia looks at the drunkard, "Killing?" She asks, not expecting too much of an answer from the man in his condition before taking another sip of her own ale.

>"Wha, who are you? Get out of my bar!" He raises his fist high over his head, causing him to lose balance and fall, landing on his butt. He then starts laughing. "YEAH, nice sacrifice, wonder who's the lucky winner today!!"

Illia rubs her temple, "What the hell are you babbling about?" She says, beginning to lose her patience.

>"Party, blood, or he has a party of blood! Good old venerable baby..." He seems to realize something. "Oh yeah, I was just going to the church... what was... Oh yeah, the... bell... thing... (inaudible mumbling)." He gets up, slowly and shakily, and turns to walk towards the doorway.

"Venerable....baby..?"

Synyster tries to get a better look at the interior of the church.

Doru approaches the door that Uat stands next to. "Quite the skill I must say, I never was good at illusion magic. I prefer the type that breaks bones." Doru says with a grin. "I would also ask the names of our friends here if I am not being too imposing."

Marth quickly find himself overwhelmed with sound, and slowly makes his way towards a wall, hoping to find an open spot or somewhere he could hunker down.

My ears are near useless without enhancing them, and even then the sound pollution from all these commoners is disgusting, makes things difficult. Better if I simply wait for a chance and exit...

"YEAH baby, the GREAT, MYSTERIOUS, VE-ny..." The drunkard loses his train of thought and exits quickly. Once outside, he turns left, then right, then begins to sprint right, towards the church. But he falls over. Then he gets up, wobbles, and hobbles out of Illia's sight.

Scanning the room 360 degrees, almost nothing escapes Synyster's gaze. Men in black unhooded cloaks stand stationary at several places around the room; two by a staircase on the left, two by the door through which the masses are entering, about five to each wall, and eight on the stage: four all lined up close in the middle, and two pairs on either side. They all focus towards the crowd; Synyster begins to feel uneasy.

Uat nods with a smile. "Yes, those three. The one who fled is called Feigling." An unfamiliar name. A new vampire arrives through the open passage, passes rapidly around Merek, behind Doru, and skips through to the door through which Feigling left. "He is Shatten, my closest aide." Doru knows nothing about this person. Uat starts up the stairs, which run in the same direction as the door, and Doru follows, with the other two following some distance away. Merek departs back up the old staircase. Uat rotates his body as he ascends. "He—" (pointing to the man who simply recognized Doru) "—is Borin Ansgot, and he—" (pointing to the man whose face still shows signs of wonder) "—is Rowan du Theil." Doru knows much about both of these men.

Marth seeks the left corner of the church, where there are no people except the two dark cloaked figures in front of a descending staircase. The noise rapidly begins to die down as the flow of people thins out and those inside quickly take their seats. Marth begins to feel uneasy, but not just from the noise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmm... magic...

Illia groans and gets out of her seat before exiting the bar and heading towards the church. Not like I was doing anything particularly interesting anyway. If this thing turns out to be boring, I'll probably have to hurt that damn drunk.

Having found a convenient place to stand, Marth re-transforms his ears and uses sound-location as best he can to observe the area.

So many people here. What is this, a special sermon? And there's an odd air around as well...

Doru continues after his associates, briefly analyzing the terrain around as he walks.

"Yeah, way too many people." Synyster turns around and exits the church.

Illia exits and makes her way down the street towards the church. She notices the sun is even closer to setting. She sees the drunkard up ahead stumbling about as well. There aren't that many people walking towards the church now. She arrives at the door, which is already almost half closed, and notices two men in black cloaks, one on either side of the door, watching people enter. Illia begins to feel uneasy, and before she is able to enter the flow of people is temporarily stopped.

Through the noise and commotion Marth can observe the layout of the church and the presense of many isolated, stationary figures. The church is almost full of people. Another person enters from the opposite corner... wait, are there two? No, three? Marth cannot tell very well.

Doru ascends the dimly lit staircase, observing the cracks in the ancient brick underfoot, having been troddon by many people over many centuries. The walls, also a simple brick, but upon crossing the threshold of an ancient wooden door the enclosing walls end, and the space opens out into a vast wooden stage with a colossal podium in the center fit for ten people to vocalize. Before Doru sit many hundreds of people, all sitting in five columns of vastly expanding pews, who all seem intently focused on what is before them. Figures in black cloaks, whom Doru assumes to be vampiric members of the secret clergy, populate the area. A wall of four separate to let Uat, Doru and party pass through. They all take places on the podium and look out towards the crowd as the last few people trickle in.

Synyster attempts to leave the church. Against the general flow of traffic he is easily spotted by two men in black cloaks, who cross their swords over the entryway, forbidding passage. "Not yet. The bell has rung; you must listen to the sermon." Even if Synyster were able to slip past the swords, the halted flow of people through the already half-closed door would be impassable.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That man up there looks pretty nice, but why do I feel like I'm being watched?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Synyster backs away and stands by. The flow of people resumes.
Illia enters and examines the area, not noticing Synyster.
Doru folds up his wings and hides them under his cloak.

He perks up and focuses on the few people entering. He tries to discern any differences between them, the people standing oddly still, and everyone else.

Marth gets a better image of the scene as the commotion dies down. The majority of people seem to walk with purpose, all in the same direction: towards the pews. A couple stand stiff, seemingly focused like the others but not moving. However, two stand out; their movements are not purposeful, their destinations are unclear, their faces are turning this way and that to take in the sights.

~

The last few people enter and the doors shut with a dull thud. Everybody seems to have found a seat, and there are still places for even Marth, Synyster, and Illia to sit if they so wish. Most in the assembly have already taken their seats. A white haired man with some facial hair and a calm, assertive demeanor approaches the podium, standing tall and authoritative over the crowd. Another person on his left takes in the crowd with a condescending look on his face. The other six look neutral. All wear black cloaks. After a few moments pass, scarcely one person remains standing, a girl with almost white hair somewhat towards the back, who sits after a second or two of hesitation after the rest. There are empty seats here and there, some closer to the door, a few by the girl, some by a congregation of black cloaked men in the center, and a couple right in front. Illia sees that the wall next to the door is inscribed with hundreds of names; the reason is not immediatly apparent.

The man standing tall in the center of the podium begins to speak in a booming voice almost unfitting for a man of his apparent age. "Welcome, children, to the Grand Hall! I your elder Ferons Uat the Venerable, have summoned you here. Ye have heard the bell; it has beckoned, and ye have come, as all do come! A grand ceremony we have prepared for you today, to purge this place of evil and grant ye sanctity, asylum, peace, and safety from the hands of the greedy Titan!" The crowd cheers, and with a wave of Uat's hand they go silent. "To appease the Greater King, there must be sacrifice, and what greater offering than evil to evil!" Pause, some cheering from the crowd.

Doru notices the men around him starting to get anxious, as if they're about to make a move. Synyster feels a bit more uneasy. Marth detects movement from the front of the staircase, about two dozen feet from where he is standing. Illia feels like she is being watched. Light begins to fade from the mural above the door, indicating that the sun is about to set.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, that lights a bit low. Sun's probably about to set."
"Yeah, when that thing goes out completely I don't want to be anywhere near those monsters."
I sure hope he knows what he's doing...

This place feels....wrong. And it's not just the sensation that I'm being watched. The creepy robed guys don't help that feeling at all. Illia silently scans the room, for details in addition to finding out who might be watching her.

Synyster finds a seat closest to the exit. This doesn't feel right... I don't easily get sick and I feel uneasy about this...

Doru readies himself as the men around him shuffle and aptly surround him. Doru reaches into the recesses of his mind to call one of his children to him. But instead, all that is accomplished is the appearance of a singular flying rodent in the farthest reaches of his limited vision.

What the... The evil? I don't like the people moving in front of the stairs, they might be blocking it. Marth uses echolocation to determine the various windows and doors. Could they... No, they couldn't know...

Illia's eyes comb over the room, stopping at points of interest. She realizes the wall inscribed with names denotes the past sacrifices to the Greater King.

Synyster takes a seat close to the back. Illia notices that the black cloaked figures seem to be eyeing him as well.

Through Marth's echolocation, he realizes that there is only one door that leads outside: the giant arched double doors through which he had entered. There are a few small arched windows scattered about, a few feet up from the floor; one lies directly behind him, as a matter of fact. There is no opening without obstruction.

A bat, disturbed from its resting place, descends from the height of the vaulted roof, flying and screeching noisily to the corner where Marth stands, and alights on the interior sill directly behind him.

Doru remembers the reason for the congregation, the bell he usually had not been present for, which has only happened rarely in the course of recent history... the call for sacrifice. The church trembles slightly. Marth hears colossal footsteps in the distance.

"You see the sorceries before you!" Ferons Uat cries as he lifts up Doru's cloak, exposing his wings to the crowd. "Wings of creatures of night, the unholy chiroptera!" He points out the bat as it flies across the room, and he points to the being to which the bat flew. "More fiends, kin to darkness! You know what their kind has done to us! And now they shall be PUNISHED!" At this word, the room erupts in movement of dark robes as these men swarm around their targets. The two men from the staircase opening beside Marth move swiftly, capturing Marth clumsily though securely. The two men from the door stumble as the tackle Illia from behind. One misses, but the other makes contact and barely manages to bring her to the ground. Two men a couple seats in front of Synyster aptly turn and jump backwards off the pews to tackle him, but Synyster quickly notices and executes a back handspring off the back of the pew, evading them and landing several feet from the door. Finally, the men surrounding Doru grab him, but not violently, barely even restraining him, and start to lead him off the stage as Uat walks beside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two men grab the blonde woman's arms, restraining her forcefully. She cries out for a moment, and the man in front of her turns quickly and glowers down at the two attackers. "If you do not handle her with respect, I will personally tear both of your heads off and report your insolence to the Master himself.
They both shake in fear for a moment, then they loosen their grip, instead loosely gripping her wrists and guiding her by the shoulders. She is too scared to resist.

Illia gasps as she is taken to the ground, "What the fuck is this?! Do you idiots have any idea who you're screwing with?!" She yells before attempting to throw the man that has her pinned off of her.

"What kind men you have here, helping an old man on his way." Doru says wryly as he is escorted off stage. I'll kill all of them..

Marth says nothing and offers no resistance but stays prepared to use a sonic sound wave to disrupt his enemies. Fuck, fuck it all. I'll wait to see what happens and find the best opening to bust their eardrums... Might have to hurt the civies but who cares.

Synyster climbs up to the archway above the door, perches, and hisses at the attackers.

Illia throws off the man with some effort, but two more arrive to restrain her along with the one who missed the tackle before. They forcefully attempt to restrain her as she gets up, but their grip ends up loose as she is pushed towards the door.

"I'm so sorry it has to be like this, your lordship," Uat says to Doru as they start walking towards the door. He leans in close and whispers, "—but I can promise you power than even what you've attained so far." He slyly puts a small object in Doru's hand, about the size of a cueball (though billiards hasn't been invented yet). Doru feels power through his body emanating from this rough-feeling... stone? Some sort of round object. "But they could not trust me if I did it any other way..."

Marth's restrainers keep a moderate but comparatively loose grip on him as they lead him to the door. One whispers, "I'm glad you're not resisting. You need to save your strength for what's ahead."

Synyster succeeds in climbing up the door and perching on the stones of the arch above. He hisses noisily, and a few more men come close to the door, watching him with bewildered looks. One big man braces himself against the archway.

The church begins to shake a little more violently; everyone notices this. It's clear to Marth that the reverberations are definitely caused by giant footsteps.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where are you taking me?"
"Oh, you don't want to know."

Damn! Damn it all! I can't transform here and make any more of a scene than I already have. Illia attempts to break free once more.

Synyster stays upon the archway, hoping he doesn't fall off anytime soon.