Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » What Lurks in the Night (closed)

In the castle's main hallway, a small number of individuals is soon going to be gathered.

A young red-headed knight is already present, idly looking around as she waits; she has been informed that the castle's Lord will only see her when the others arrive, and not before. "The remaining three hunters are being brought to us as we speak, m'Dame.", a young page assures the lady knight as he keeps her company; she has no reason to doubt this fact.

Oh, so they're being called 'hunters' now - that makes it sound like a huge responsibility.

Dame Aleria Zatan, the red-headed young Paladin, makes a mental rundown of the facts and situation. Something (that people referred to as 'the evil thing' and 'the monster') has been seen lurking the castle's hallways at night; a few claim to have been attacked by it. Of course, when this started to happen, all eyes were turned to the Paladin who just happened to be staying in town; true to her responsibilities, she offered her help. Word of rewards quickly spread, though; soon, there were three other brave (greedy?) souls wishing to join the hunt as well. While she wasn't given too much information about them, she is pretty sure a 'big lizard thing', a 'sort of a cat lass' and a 'young scholar-like lady' were at some point mentioned.

Great. Just great.

Her eyes rest upon the huge, closed wooden doors in front of her. She knows Lord D'Auvers awaits on the other side, probably next to his lovely wife. Important people. Powerful people. Some anxiety from the lady knight's part is perfectly normal. These guys have a reputation for not being too tolerant of failure...

"What's taking them so long?", Aleria grumbles to herself; the look she gets in return from the page gives her no answer. He clearly doesn't know, either.

Pulchra was no Hunter. More of an adventurer than much else, with a keen eye for knowledge, a swiftness with spellforms and a thirst for the new. Which made the news of someone searching for such a group to be rather tempting. She arrived in due course, on horseback at first before making her way into the building as directed - namely, the castle's main hallway.

"Aleria, I presume?" The measure of haughtiness in the mage's voice was quite distinct but, quite assuredly normal. Such was how the elvish-looking woman always was when it came to such things. Business first, often taking time to open up.

It took a while for Sylass to find the castle. Mainly because he had no idea what a castle exactly was. He knew of fortresses and keeps, but castles were a strange term to him. Once the barbaric Lizard found his way to the stone structure, he only scoffed and loudly proclaimed that 'keeps and castles look exactly alike!'

Of course, they weren't, but Sylass had no idea. The Blackscale brought a strong scent with him, as if he just left a bog. Judging from his worn looks, this was not impossible.

Asking for directions was equally difficult, as most villagers feared this warrior. Some yelled at him and claimed the Lizard to be a monster. Whether they claimed HE was the monster that resided in the castle, or a different creature altogether, he did not know. Sylass wasn't even sure whether those peasants were affiliated to the castle.

Sylass walked on foot, his bandages around his soles were even more worn than the leather and scale armor. With a stern face, Sylass ignored any strange look that might have been given to him and headed straight for the meeting point, being the castle's main hallway.

For a moment he looked around, having forgotten who to meet. His offer was one of gold, and that was all this brute of a beast paid attention to."Who here called for Sylass' help!?" He shouted into the room.

It doesn't take long for the group's last member to arrive. She comes up behind Sylass and side-steps around him, ears flattening at his yell but otherwise her mood unhampered.

To call her a 'sort of a cat lass' would be a pretty apt description--maybe even 'faun' would work, except she was far more 'cat' than 'goat'. On what was otherwise a human body, the young twenty-something at the forearms, hands, and waist-and-down was all cheetah. There were the eyes and ears too, of course, but otherwise she was utterly human. Finely dressed, too, in a tailored attire that consisted only of tunic, corset, and breeches; utterly lady-like otherwise--both in choice of attire and mannerisms.

"Ach, tha' took long enough." And in accent. "I take it we're goin' t' b' th' merry band o' arse-kickers for this castle's monster troubles?" Lauren grins widely at the lot of them and taps the short sword hanging off her hip. "I came prepared. Sort o'."

"Dame Aleria. At your service." The title receives a good amount of emphasis, but other than the small correction, the slip is ignored. She bows her head at this woman she assumes is 'the scholar-like lady'. They could have at least mentioned the elvish features. Those are more specific than the words 'scholar-like'.

As these thoughts - and some others - cross her mind, she examines Pulchra. Whatever conclusions she reaches are kept to herself. Not that she'd be able to vocalize them anyway, as suddenly a very loud shout makes itself heard and interrupts her train of thought. After being a little startled, she turns, sees Sylass... and sighs loudly, bringing a gauntleted hand to her forehead. It is moved away when she hears another voice and straightens up a bit, but after hearing what the newcomer Lauren has to say, she sure feels like facepalming again.

She hesitates visibly for a moment before she makes a 'come here' gesture at the lizardman.

"Very well, that is all of us, I believe.", says the red-headed knight when they're all assembled. "I am hoping you all know how to behave in front of high nobility. For your own good." And yes, these words come with a very intent look at Sylass and Lauren, specifically.

Pulchra arched a 'brow up, and was just about to make something of a comment when the other two arrivals made their entrance. Contrary to what might be assumed to be her reaction at the lizardman, instead, the woman seemed quite unruffled. "Travelled far, Sylass?" The stench of bog, while not the greatest whiff anyone could have witnessed, only brought up more questions for the research-mage.

Lauren too, was briefly eyed with the same hawkishly-intense curious gaze. "I believe that is us..." The sword was eyed for a moment. "Regardless of how prepared or not we are, I am sure that Dame Aleria considers us facing her hierarchy to be more of a challenge than the monster itself..." A tinge of humour entered into her voice then, as she simply held the crystal-topped staff in hand. The next comment was to the knight directly. "Do you have more adventurers waiting in the wings for such a task, should we... disappoint?"

The confused Lizard answered to the Dame Aleria's hand gesture. The dim witted creature was quite slow sometimes. This being one of his moments. With large steps, he joined the group, eyeing this strange Faun like creature that had come through the doors behind him.

At the comment of his smell, Sylass' nostrils flared."Smell of bog haunts Sylass for weeks." His voice was much lower now."Did not come by a river, nor did innkeepers allow Sylass to soak. So horrid smell remains."

Pulchra's joke went right by Sylass' head. At Aleria asked her question regarding how to act around nobility he was in thought. It would come to no one's surprise this Lizard did not know how act courteously. Still, he knows leaders deserve respect, but he wouldn't openly admit he didn't know something."Sylass will follow Bloodred Woman's lead." He answered as neutral as possible. Looks like Dame Aleria had her nickname for the day.

It's a little late, but a few seconds later Lauren actually catches a whiff of Sylass' scent. The young woman wrinkles her nose and brings a clawed, furry hand up to rub at it--she's trying to pass off the disturbance as just an itch, but at least she isn't spouting off tactless comments. Yet. In fact, her next words are to the paladin.

"Ach, I may speak crassly, m'dame, but I know more than enough 'bout nobility; 'igh an' low." Then the woman catches Pulchra's gaze and returns it with a curious one to match. "'ey, monsters or rulers, meetin' either 'as its pros an' cons."

Aleria groans loudly; so much for grace. At least she doesn't mention Sylass's scent, and manages not to grimace at it. "Just don't give the castle's Lord a reason to execute us all for improper behavior, yes? I-"

She is interrupted when the two guards start opening the doors. Dame Aleria all but jumps and takes a much more dignified pose - though she still whispers, from the corner of her mouth, "Do what I do, Lizard, and don't say anything unless you're spoken to first."

The doors are opened, revealing a rather large and lavishly decorated room. There are two rows of armored guards on each side, standing tall and motionless, and sure enough, sitting on the ornate throne, across the room, is the man himself. Lord Heinrich D'Auvers is a middle-aged man with short unkempt hair and a small beard and a very bored look on his face. He doesn't look overly like a ruler, but the crown upon his head and the expensive clothing he wears leave no doubt. It doesn't look like he's at all concerned with the issue that has brought the four here.

Notably, his wife is absent.

The red-headed Paladin is the first to start walking towards the throne, not seeing fit to look over her shoulder to check if the others are following. If they don't, that'll be embarrassing.

She smirked a little at Lauren's observation. "That's quite true." She looked to Sylass when he replied, before giving a nod that was one of understanding. "I could muffle the scent for the duration you are in this castle, if you wish..." A cantrip wouldn't take her alarmingly long to do, and she could easily remove it later as well. But that was up to the lizardman as to whether or not he accepted the offer.

Then Dame Aleria led the way in as the doors opened.

Pulchra followed, keeping her steps reasonably in time with Aleria although perhaps half a step's length behind her. At least the elvish-looking woman did not have to put all too much effort into looking dignified, genetics granted her some of that naturally and stringent training did the rest. Add a dash of arrogant, and she would not look alarmingly out of place save for the distinctive crystal-topped staff. Oh, and pointed ears.

Sylass had not been paying all that much attention to anyone. Lauren's accent was an amusing one to this creature, and he preferred to hear her speak over the others. He did hear Pulchra's offer, though."Must deny for now. Could take long. If Sylass not find river or bath, shall find mage." He answered. This was about as polite as his kind could possibly get. Still, though he didn't say it, Sylass did have feelings of gratitude towards her. Not many would offer to help a stranger, especially one so odd looking as he.

The Blackscale followed Aleria close by as well, staying near the group. He looked around the room with a certain curious fascination. Even he couldn't deny this place was impressive, though the amount of guards seemed excessive to him.

Sadly, unlike Pulchra, Sylass did look out of place. In fact, he might seem threatening to most. Luckily he didn't voice that opinion. The Lizard remained quiet. Sylass might not have answered Aleria's advice, but he did follow it.

[OoC: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay-- I didn't catch the topic in my notifications due to being busy with packing for moving!]

---

The cheetahfaun obediently follows after Aleria and Pulchra, trying her best to keep ahead of Sylass so as not to catch more of his swamp stench. It doesn't completely work, and she has to struggle to keep a straight face in the, ah, face of royalty.

By the by, that face looks awfully bored to her. Lauren appears to be savvy enough keep resisting tactless spout-offs, and there does appear to be a certain sort of subdued grace to her steps the further into the audience chamber. She keeps her arms folded behind her back, her tail gently swaying to keep balanced, and her ears perked forward in attention.

It is without a word (and with the always unpleasant feeling of having dozens of judging eyes staring at her) that Dame Aleria marches towards the throne. Despite all the pressure and possible stress, she performs admirably - standing tall and proud, taking steady steps, and even managing to retain a fair amount of grace, despite the weight of the armor she carries.

A few steps away from the castle's lord, she kneels, eyes on the floor. "My Lord, we were summoned and here we are."

D'Auvers doesn't respond, at first, instead glancing over each of the present 'hunters' with what could best be described as very mild interest.

Pulchra steadily regarded the King for a moment, once she had stopped level with Aleria, before inclining her head and performing a half-bow with her staff moving to one side. Mages - characteristically haughty beings by stereotype - rarely lowered to a knee for anyone. Not just that, but in the culture she had come from, kneeling to anyone was a foreign concept! You didn't even kneel to the gods and goddesses, never mind a mortal.

Then she straightened up after holding that position of respect for a time. While her eyes might have attentively been on both King and Dame, t'was her other senses that were alert as to the reaction of the others.

Sylass kept to his promise, as much as he hated it. He kept his mouth shut, and did follow Dame Aleria's movements. For a moment he had no idea what she doing. He figured Aleria must have dropped something, so the Lizard edged over to see what exactly. Slow as he is, he realized she was simply kneeling, a movement Sylass disliked.

Back home, the only greeting a leader required was a fist to the chest. This was a show of respect anyone could appreciate. Kneeling seemed... excessive.

Still, Sylass made a promise, and so he kneels. His gaze wasn't set at the floor, though. As his claw rested upon his knee, he never broke his vision with the king.

Lauren had seen her fair share of people kneeling before and doesn't show much of an issue with Aleria doing so. Unfortunately, it's not something she's really used to, and she's suddenly awkward of how terribly awkward she is amongst the upper crust. In the blink of an eye, her good grace falters a bit, and the 'faun isn't sure whether to bow or to curtsey or to kneel before D'Auvers.

So instead after a couple of seconds of quick deliberation, she settles on a deep bow from the waist and silently prays that it'll suffice.

"Stand." There is latent impatience in the lord's rather nasal voice, and he makes a dismissive gesture with his right hand. Aleria swiftly obeys without a word, and if the Lord's behavior bothers the Dame, she is smart enough to not let it show.

"Only four answered my call? Hopefully quality will make up for the lack of quantity." Going by his expression, he's not convinced. "I will spare us all formalities. You are to hunt the beast that allegedly is the cause of the... weakness some of my subjects have been experiencing. I want it caught and I want to see it, or its carcass. Is this understood?"

Pulchra listened intently. Seems like her choice not to kneel had been a wise one, given the Lord's expression of impatience and briskness that cut through the tension in the air like a knife through butter. "I understand." She considered his words thoughtfully then for a moment, before quietly clearing her throat once.

"I wish to make a request on behalf of Mithras Keep. The beast that is allegedly the cause of the weakness may be worthy of study." Namely to find out if it was responsible, or if it was indeed proven to be, then how, and what ways might be found to negate the effects through spellcraft, herbology or other such branches of the arcane that the Keep diligently housed within the grounds. "I seek permission, that if it is caught alive or deceased, that it's body or corpse might be obtained." She was, while a mage, also a loremaster; a field researcher in the new, the undiscovered and occult. Now was as good of a time as any to ask, and it had been part of her motivation in volunteering in the first place!

Sylass quickly raised himself. Seems like the king wasn't all that big on formalities that take too much time. At least Sylass could respect that factor. Impatience meant things got done faster, or at least that's how the Blackscale warrior saw it, as he wasn't the most patient himself.

A toothy grin appeared on Sylass' face. He did love hunting much, though the thrill of the kill was what got him to answer the king's call in the first place."Sylass will destroy whatever lurks within the stone halls." He proclaimed proudly. He didn't much care for Pulchra's intentions, as long as he could shed some blood.

Lauren straightens back up at D'Auvers' command and finally relaxes just a bit--enough to fold her arms, in the very least, while still keeping a fairly straight-backed posture. Her ears swivel back and forth at each person who speaks, but for now the 'faun is relatively quiet and in the background.