The Darkest Forest

[aedan777]

Kacper finished his meal, and desiring to leave the people, got up to return to his room. Several of his companions and other order members bade him goodnight and wished him well, but Kacper gave them no mind. His mind returned to thoughts of the creatures in Pretz, and he wondered how he could get their powers? It would not be easy while he was with the order, since he would either be confined to the castle, or in the presence of others, who would surely question his actions. If he could find a way to actually speak to one of the creatures without anyone knowing, or without giving it the chance to kill him, he would be in an excellent position.

Kacper shook his head, such thoughts were a fantasy, which would inevitably lead him into trouble. He would have to play it by ear and hope that he'd eventually find a way to gain the power he so desperately seeked.

Kacper opened the door to the hall and walked out heading to his room. He was wrapped in thought though, and did not see another person approaching him, causing him to walk straight into her.

"Oh I'm sorry, I was just a little lost." The figure said.

Kacper didn't want to talk anymore than he had to, so he asked, "What are you looking for?", hoping to set her on the right path and leave.

"The hall. I've just arrived, my name is Adriana."

"Kacper, and the hall is the place I've just exited. Though why would a person want to come here?" Kacper asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"To lend aid. I'm a healer. These people will surely need assistance. But you don't seem to agree with all of them over there. Perhaps we should talk later, or now. Whatever is better for you."

"I have no particular preference when to speak, and now that we've started, why stop? I don't agree with the others, since I have no particular care to help them, or people in general. I'm here because the alternative was to be executed for my crimes." Kacper disliked speaking, but it was easier to continue than to start.

"Ah a dark past, huh? I remember you. You were different than the rest, you seemed interested not afraid. Do you want a book?"

"A book about what? Though considering the dreadfulness of this place, I may well accept regardless. Wait. What do you mean, "You were different than the rest, you seemed interested not afraid". Do you know me? Were you spying on us in Pretz?" It was clear there was something more to this girl, and Kacper needed to know what was going on.

"I spied on a lot of people in Pretz."

"Who are you really? No mere healer wanting to lend aid would bother to do that. You know something, and I suspect you're here for a reason." Kacper was almost certain this woman was a witch now, but why would she be here?

"I'm here to ensure my survival. I'm a simple girl from the town of Pretz. Now about that book, it's a book of knowledge."

"Knowledge? The kind of knowledge known only to one such as you?" Kacper couldn't believe his luck, and in fact did not believe it. Surely this was a trap. Another test by the Order, to see if he was still consumed by ambition.

"Now you're getting it babe."

"I'd be interested in that book, yes. And don't call me 'babe'." He couldn't pass this up though. This is exactly what he wanted, magical power that would make him the most powerful person in the castle. Even if she was annoying.

She smiled and handed him a black tome. As he took it, Kacper wondered if he could kill her. It would prevent her from ratting him out, but that would leave a body to explain, and he didn't think he could hide it before someone found him.

"Have fun, my friend. Study well."

Kacper walked away without recognizing that he'd heard that. This book would change everything. He'd been successful in Pretz, and now he had power in his hands that would dwarf the others. All that effort by the Order to make him a useful tool was for nothing. As Kacper walked up the stairs to his room, he looked out a window and saw the lights in the town below, so dim and distant, so beneath him. At this point something burst from within him, and slowly he smirked, then chuckled, then began laughing louder and louder- until he stopped himself for being too melodramatic and stereotypically evil. He would be professional about this. And with that thought he returned to his room and began eagerly reading the tome, devouring every word.

 

[Sneakyflaps]

Waking up to a new face​

As i woke up i found myself in a bed at the castle, the last thing i remembered was being charged at by three witches and one of them pierced my skin, i could feel the pain in my side. As i opened my eyes, i saw a young woman sitting at my bedside side, she had long black hair, brown eyes and looked to be medium height, her face was very cute and she was extremely attractive, she looked to be at the young age of 19 or in the very early 20. “I looked over at her trying to make eye contact”

"Looks like you are finally awake.” She says while smiling at me. I clench my teeth in pain due to the wound i got, the pain was bad. It still hurt a lot, I could feel the pain inside of me, it was burning and it wasn’t pleasant, I looked at her a bit before responding "Indeed, you are no servant girl are you?".

“Not in a million years. The name's Adriana. I'm an herbalist” it was the first time I had met one, I hadn’t gone to one before and I didn’t expect to find one at my beside before asking "So you are the one they sent to look after me?" i said with a smile on my face. She turned to me and looked at me again before speaking "Yes. So how do you feel?" I looked at the side of my body wrapped up in bandaged, it still hurt "Badly, it hurts and it feels like my entire body is burning" She looked at me not seeming surprised, then again who could blame her considering the amount of bandages I guess it was pretty severe, she didn’t think much about her response

"Just as I thought. I'm going to rub this herb into the cut. Bite down on this rag." Adriana puts the rag in my mouth and puts the ground up herb into the wound. A wave of intense pain shot through my body but it was soon replaced by a lack of the burning sensation and a much reduced amount of pain. The pain could easily have been seen on my face but my smile started to appear again as I spoke to her “Thanks, it still hurts but it seemed to have helped”

"Exactly. So how exactly did you get such nasty wounds?" She asked seeming curious, "A woman with way to long nails" I respond with a laugh. She starts laughing as she responds “certainly an unorthodox way to almost die." I liked her laugh, there was something extremely cute about her I let her finish laughing before I responds "Yes, it would have been quite a way to go. So what about you, how come you agreed to care for me?" I am also laughing as I say it as it must sound absolutely absurd.

"I'm a healer. I will take on any patient and care for them in whatever way I can." She winked at me when she said the last part, I couldn’t help but smile at that before responding "Is that so? Well then if you are my caretaker, let’s get to know each other" She responds with a smile before saying "I was thinking the same thing. Let's start with your name."

"Alright, Richard Darvill, your turn"
"I already said it, Adriana."
"Yes, but not your last name" I said hoping that to get to know her better, sadly she seemed reluctant before finally responding "Oh my dear, let's not get too hasty. Ask me another question." Deciding not to poke at her I did as she asked and instead asked "Where are you from?"

"A farm just outside the town of Pretz." As she mentioned Pretz i could feel the pain in my wound come back, I had finally managed to block it out, and sadly it had come back. I decided to tell her what had happened hoping to forget about the pain "Ah, i got attacked in Pretz, i don’t remember much. I just remember the long nails, the pain and something else, Willem being in a trance i think" as I said the last part I found myself confused, I didn’t quite remember what had happened, all I remember was Willem standing in a trance without reaction.

She seemed concerned "Oh dear, I hope my friends are alright. I haven't been there for weeks. Anyways, where are you from?" it seemed like she didn’t really want to talk about Pretz, I was curious if she had bad memories from there as she didn’t seem to concern herself with the place, or the witches being there. But as she had told me where she was from I guess it was only fair to return the favor "I am from England, i am the lord of Settrington" *He said with a smile* "My uncle is an important member of the British order, and he decided to send me here to get training. Well so far the only lesson i have gotten is in pain" She giggled and laughed before responding "A very useful lesson if I say so myself. Can't have you crying over a broken toe during a life or death battle, can we? Your turn."

"Okey, where did you learn these skills?" I asked fairly curious, I myself am interested in medicine so this could be quite useful to know, she seemed extremely good at what she was doing after all. Her response wasn’t that surprising "From my mother, she was also a herbalist." Many children in the world learn their craft through their parents. "Ah, what about your father"? I asked wanting to know what he did for a living, I wondered what social class they were. She grew up on a farm but seemed to talk rather well and seemed educated.

"He left me and my mother when I was a small girl. I think he was a wandering gypsy of some description." I could hear she didn’t care about her father, she even seemed mad. It made me sad to hear about her father, I thought of my own mother who had died early on in my life, I had a few memories of her and I missed her from time to time. Trying to change the topic "Do you have a husband then?" She looked a bit at me before responding "No, I prefer to remain unbound.”

“Do you have a wife?" She asked quickly afterwards, I thought to myself that I never actually did have someone that I truly loved, it made me a bit sad before responding "I do not" She then followed up with "Ah, any sort of sweetheart back home?" I thought a bit about it before responding "Not really no, i haven’t really found anyone worth keeping", she responded with a smile "Yeah neither have I." I returned her smile "I guess we have something in common then”

“So are you a member of the order?" I said curiously. She responded a bit after "No, I'm not a real member. I'm just here to nurse you all back to health." I smiled towards her "Thank you, so how long have you been here?" I asked curiously, also to try and find out how long I had been asleep. "I arrived yesterday." She said before I continued "Ah, have they given you loggings to stay in?" She looked at me before answering “Yes, they have been kind enough to provide me a room. This is a large castle you know."

"I don’t, it’s my first time here actually." I had truly never been here before, I had meet Sofia, Willem and Ford on the road, I wondered how the castle looked and where I was, I knew that if this was the base of the order it had to be fairly safe. She started saying "It's very old. They say that it was built by a mad Hungarian baron who drank the blood of his servants at night." The old vampire stories, they were nothing but stories "Old stories, i have never seen a vampire and the reports about them are varied" as I spoke i turn my head towards to window and look out, it was dark and the moon was shining, it was starting to become night and the sun was away, then again it was February it gets dark fairly early "I don’t believe they are real, there are loads of monsters but i doubt they are among them"

"Perhaps. All I can say is that this castle has not always been home to good men." She said, changing the moral in the story into one of character and not superstition I thought a bit before responding "I dont believe it is today, i don’t think all of these people are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts" I doubt most of the people here did it for the goodness of life, I feared they did it more out of personal gain more than anything else. By her response it seemed like she agreed "Good. The goodness of men's hearts is never their primary motive." I didn’t expect her to say that, she seemed to have a lot of faith in people to be willing to help me and the order while she didn’t even know us, I just nodded in agreement without anything to really say to her.

"I wonder what drives you. An English swordsman fighting in the corner of poor old Transylvania." She asked, I had never really thought, perhaps I should have, so far from home and I didn’t even know why, I thought a bit before I told her the only reason I ever told myself for doing this "I dont know, i just do it because i want to i guess, it’s my duty, my family have been a part of the order for generations" I didn’t really know what else to say and it annoyed me that I didn’t have a reason to do what I did. I think she could feel how I felt, it felt like she tried to cheer me up with her response and change the topic. "Ah, sometimes motivation is buried so deep even you aren't aware of it. Richard, you were a noble, right? Tell me about your home and your family."

I look at her in eyes while smiling "Settrington is a small piece of land in Yorkshire, i haven’t spend a lot of time there. When i grew up i spent it with my father and grandfather, i am the heir to my father who is the earl of March and Kinrara and my father is the heir to my grandfather who is the duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon. Most of my time was spend in London until the assassination of Queen Victoria. London is quite crowded but you meet a lot of interesting people, also a lot of industry"

"I meant how are they as people?" she said, I felt a bit stupid for my previous response and not catching what she meant with the question, I thought about home before I responded, about my father and grandfather and my uncle being busy with the British order. “my grandfather is old by now, he used to be in the British navy during the Napoleonic wars. My father is kind but he doesn’t do a lot, i am closest with my uncle, he is the one that got me into the order"

She smiled at me "That's nice. I wonder what it's like to have a father figure growing up. But all's well that ends well, and I'm certainly satisfied with the results of my childhood."
"How was your childhood?" I asked being curious.
"Strange and lonely. I didn't have a lot of friends until I was older. But now I'm doing well enough." She said.
"How was it lonely?"
"My mother never had time for me and I didn't have any friends. The only people I regularly interacted with were bullies." I was a bit worried for what had happened and decided to ask her "Did you get bullied?"
"Yes." She answered without feeling sad, even though it didn’t seem to trouble her it still made me feel a bit sad, I didn’t know why as I never got bullied myself. I responded with the only words I could think of "I am sorry to hear" As I said that I took her hand into mine and held it while smiling towards her, she moves her a hand so that she is holding mine and blushes a little "Thanks, but it is in the past. Better to move forward." I laugh as I respond "Indeed but i fear it will be some time before i can forget these scars"
"Oh those ones will take a while to fade. Best to ignore them." She said with a smile
"Would be easier if it didnt hurt, but perhaps with what you can mix up it will help" I said while feeling the bandage with my other hand.
"I am an expert you know. I'm just glad you weren't damaged too badly." She said while sounding a bit concerned.
"I am glad that you think that" I said with a smile

As I said that she said something I didn’t expect to hear from her "You know, your eyes are very pretty." As she said it she leaned in and kissed me softly, she tasted and smelled nice, I welcome the kiss and started to relax, I put my hand at her cheek and returned the kiss before she backs away slowly, smiling at me looking me in the eyes. "I, hmm not sure what to say" was the only words that came out of my mouth, I had hoped for something a bit better and thought I most have sounded like an idiot. She responded seeming unsure of what to say aswell "Yeah neither do I. Are you strong enough to move?" as she said that I tilted my head a bit to the side and smiled "I think so" as I tried to get up I could feel the pain in my side, it was starting to hurt again when I moved, I could feel my body wanted me to lay down but I stood up anyway and walked around in the room. She said with a smile on her lips "Oh good. The medicine is working great." As she went over to take my hand and led me out the door, we went a bit down the hall and entered a room, which I assumed was hers.

As we got in she closed the door behind me and slowly started to undress, as she did I forgot the pain in my side as I was standing still, I was looking at her body, her face the breasts and down her legs, I studied every part of her body and she was extremely gorgeous, her beauty was unmatched even more beautiful than Sofia and Narcisa.
As she stood naked in front of me I started to walk towards and kissed her on her lips, they were soft, I placed one of my hands on her waist and the other at her cheeks as I kissed her. I started moving her closer towards the bed, she could feel I was in pain when I moved my body, as we got over to the bed she stopped me and undid the bindings to my pants making them fall down to the floor, we continued to kiss as she did that and I laid her down on the bed. Due to the pain she could feel i had when i moved she placed herself on top of me. She sat down on me as I entered her and it felt good, she leaned down and kissed me as she started to move and I had my arms around her, we kept going for some time before we both finished, as we did she laid down next to me and kissed me passionately before she rested in my arms and fell asleep. I was awake for a bit more time before also falling asleep spending the night in her bed.


((I wish everyone a merry Christmas))

 

[GreatSlayer]

A Most Bewildering Dream​

Sofia couldn’t believe how long she had slept. The carriage was no more a soft cushion than her trunks of the most modest amounts of clothing she had brought with her from Berlin, or the negligible stack of alembics, flasks and beakers for her home-made laboratory. It was dark outside, a most pressing so. The sky had begun to weep, clotting the roads with barely sustaining mud cokes and puddles of stinking water of manure. She wished the train had gone all the way to Tartros, but alas, progress came slow in these lands. She stretched herself in the wagon, quite indecently for a young lady, but two weeks in this creaking barrel was more than enough to set prudent behaviour in complete solitude aside.

The book still sat in her lap, its covers torn from all the flickering and indelicate care she had offered it. Its silvery ink, so hard to read, much less from the slight amber light radiating from the candle’s shine. For some unexplainable reason it was much easier to deduce its writing under the light of the moon and starlight than any man-made contraption. A crack roared outside, as a bolt of lightning struck from the stormy clouds. Green leaves rained over the window, stuck at the wet surface of the outside, only to be washed away by water in seconds. She could have sworn she saw a face, white, lifeless, reflected in the moment of impact upon the glass. She told herself it was not so.

“A ghastly night, wouldn’t you say?” The voice came as from nowhere. Sofia had been so preoccupied with herself, she hadn’t even taken a moment to look around her carriage after the dreams had ended, and reality been brought to life. An old man with greying wild hair sat across her seat, dressed in a coat as black as his hat, with golden spectacles hanging from the tip of his nose. His skin was wretched and torn, wrinkled and hit hard by a long and most eventful life she reckoned. Even so, he had not made his presence aware when she had rolled her arms to soften her joints, clearly no gentleman by her standards at all. Her cheeks became hot from embarrassment by the most improper display she must have offered him, and quickly crossed her legs and lapped her hands.

“Pardon me, sir. I must have slept when you came on, though I can’t imagine from where.” He grinned at her most dishonestly, licking his lips as he looked at her from toe to brow.

“A place of no concern, I can assure you, mademoiselle.” His thick accent was only apparent during his second round as his words echoed shrill and complacent at the same time. “But what else can be said about our destination? Or any other village in these parts for that matter. It feels like moving from one pile of dirt to another.” He spoke wise and high soaring, most articulate and slow, his crude behaviour set aside. Sofia made a visible move to bend the frills of her shirt so to cover her charms. A gesture that she didn’t enjoy the road his gaze had travelled.

“You shouldn’t be so judgemental, good sir. Stone can still be built on dirt, and steel can be built just anywhere. And besides, what business takes you to Transylvania if it appals you so?” His eyes were adamant to soak in her curves, until they etched into her eyes.

“The same as yours, I reckon? Adventure and wealth, cheap promises of rich... Food.” He was making no sense, and he was being surreal. His brows turned more colourful and his hands started twitching. The curtains turned redder still as the carriage room shrunk. She felt herself powerless, as his features grew tall. He laid a hand on her knee, and climbed over, pressing her against the seat as he reached over her. He breathed down her neck, and all she did was gasp. “I will gorge in your blood...”

She darted up, screaming. It was daylight, and small cottages was starting to appear outside the window screen. Chirping birds, assuring her the nightmare had but only broken her sweat, but not her skin. She sighed in relief as the coachman turned his head to peer inside. He spoke some strange language she couldn’t possibly understand, but his concerned face bore witness he had heard her turbulent awakening. She nodded, politely, and began to wonder over the green horizon. Pines, just like home, was garlanding the castle upon the hill. The dream had felt so real, and yet it couldn’t possibly have been. Such fangs was not human, so unnatural. Clearly such beings could simply not be. She stretched her shoulders, readying to present herself as proper and decent as possible on her first day here. Maybe Transylvania would be the respite she for long now had sorely needed.

((Finally posted Sofia's intro. Merry Christmas and so forth!))

 

[Fingon888]

Orders due Saturday December 28.

 

[GreatSlayer]

((28th December might be too soon for my own account at least. I'll only be able to send something simple for this turn, I hope it's ok?))

 

[Afaslizo]

OOC. Have to resign as i am occupied with 1920 and too many ideas for it, sorry.

 

[Fingon888]

February 1850​

After the witch hunt in Pretz the Grandmaster thought it would be best for the order to be able to relax for a month and gather strength. Due to that the order had been given a month where they were not required to do anything other than their own pleasure.


As such Lorenzo decided to use some old skill of his to earn him some gold in a less than legal way, while out in the streets of Pretz he found himself a rich merchant getting some enjoyment out of the local women. He followed him to see where he lived and would act accordingly, after a few nights he had spent on setting up a strategy on how to take on the old man he decided it was time to strike. As the old man left the house the next evening, Lorenzo was able to break into his house and take multiple worthwhile items.

((Lorenzo gains 20 silver and 25 XP))


Kacper Radzim decides to spend the first few days in the marketplace hoping to be able to buy a few new throwing knives, he is able to buy some throwing knives of poor quality and hopes they will be enough. Afterwards he heads to the castle and into the library where he starts to study the book he recently has been given, while there he also sees Albert who is also studying. Kacper tries to study the book but is unable due to others being in the library.

Albert tries to find books about the dark creatures hunting the lands but is unable to find anything of worth, he is able to discover a bit of new knowledge but nothing impressive.

((Kacper Radzim gains 10 XP, loses 5 silver and gain some poor throwing knifes

Albert fails to find anything of proper use but is able to find a recipe for garlic soup. 5 XP earned))

Narcisa spends her time among the locals in hopes of finding some new and useful information regarding the Dark creatures; she uses her knowledge of the local language to try and establish contact but is mostly unable to do so. She learns a bit of information but nothing useful for her.

((Narcisa gains 5 XP))

Rory Price returns to Pretz after the previous witch hunt, he hopes to clear out any remaining witches there are in the city and together with him is Richard Darvill who also travelled to Pretz but as they arrive it becomes quite clear that their goals in the city is quite different.
As Rory goes into the city to hunt down any remaining witches he is able to find it quickly turns out that the order didn’t do their job completely last time they were in Pretz. He therefor begins to set up traps and other tricks for capturing the remaining witches and is able to do so quite successfully and kills the remaining witches in the city.

((Rory gains 30 XP))

Richard went to outskirts of town and looked at multiple old ruins and graveyards, there he was able to find a painting of various Dark creatures and how they came to be, while this is already known to the order he is still able to learn new stuff from it as the order only has parts of similar paintings. The painting is carved into a stone wall and he is there for unable to take it with him back to the Order.

((Richard Darvill gains 25 XP))


Balthier Ravenholt spends his time among the wounded of the city in hopes of helping to cure their illness. He is able to help a fair amount of people and earns a bit of money, he did however come upon a strange illness that he was not able to cure and the infected seemed terrified and frenzied over what had happened.

((Balthier Ravenholt gains 15 XP and 10 silver))


Sofia has heard some rumors of a mansion which used to be owned by an old famous Romanian chemist. It is deep within the forest and it takes her time to find, after a week and a half of walking she finally finds it and decides to spend some time there looking through his research, while there she is also able to find a bottle with a description on saying “Aqua regia” before she heads back.
((Sofia earns 20 XP and gains a bottle of Aqua regia))

James and Willem spends their time in the forest, they are looking for different prey to hunt and hope to be able to cut down a few monsters while at it. After having spent a week in the forest they have been unable to find any monsters and their hunt is also limited by what they are able to find, as such they are very unlucky and multiple animals are able to get away from them.

((James earns 10 XP and 5 silver

Willem earns 5 XP))