Old World Monsters Act One: Of Pagans

[Rukia]

She hadn't had anytime to digest the information that her opponent had given her before she felt a horrible burning pain wash over her body. She looked to the other vampire and noticed her had the same look of horror and confusion and she knew that this wasn't one of his tricks. The dire situation became worse when the fire seemed to encase the pair. Krystyna let out a howling scream and dropped to the ground. The pain was nearly unbearable and her blurred vision was going dark. She forced herself to stand and had made the decision to try and escape when all went silent. She took the moment to jump through the wall of fire. The flame scorched her skin and clothing the pain was sickening. For a split second there was no sound but then a resounding boom hit her ears. She had barley landed to her feet when the boom was followed by it's pressure counterpart and hit her like a cannonball to the gut. It was enough to knock her to the ground. The pain from the fire still ricocheted through her body she didn't even try to maintain consciousness and let the dark envelop her.

[Charon]

The vampire under John's grasp squirmed as well as he could in an attempt to free himself, but it was all for naught as the man's grip effectively held the creature down. Visira moving in did little to help against the already pinned vampire but every bit helped. The blade struck the vampire's face repeatedly, the cold steel cutting deeply into the flesh of the beast as it bucked in an attempt to free itself. As John continued to strike though, the creature became more and more incorporial, until it faded away completely in a mist that immediately launched itself outside of the confines of the town, careful to cross over the landbridge that remained.

Francesco, free of the effects of whatever had been affecting him before, hit his mark with the spell. And as the circle rose in height the other vampire that Krystyna had been fighting made for his escape as well, leaping through the flames, the creature's cloak began to burn immediately, engulfing it in flames. The implosion of fire did not manage to catch either of the prey Francesco had wanted. But one was unconscious as the other ran, completely aflame and screaming, towards the gate of the town.

Manfred's own spell hit it's mark as well, though the imp was fast enough to avoid the swinging mace. The shorter man's eyes went wide as parts of his body suddenly shifted. There was no obvious physical damage to be seen but the man flew from the roof at a downward angle and crashed through what remained of the cart that had once blocked the enterance. The imp did not seem to be affected at all by the spell and with a shuddering hiss towards Manfred dropped from the roof to tend to its master. The man screamed in even more pain as he realized what he had fallen into before the earth gave way and he disappeared into a deep tunnel.

Per was awake, but barely alive. He could feel his own life slipping away by the second as he watched the other two figures. The nowly arrived armored man had placed a hand on Hrothgen and held it there for a few moments. Hrothgen fell over to one side as another troll appeared from out of the thick smoke and spoke to the armored man for awhile before he grabbed Hrothgen and dragged him away. The armored figure moved over to Agrilos then and placed a hand on him. A few moments passed and Per could see that his fellow Mercenary was breathing with more ease now, though he was still unconscious. Then the armored man stepped up to Per and looked him over. The man spoke to Per, but in his daze he could not hear any of it.

The armored man laid a gauntleted hand on Per and the troll could feel his injuries begin to mend, his arm remained broken, but many of his internal injuries were healing. Per could see now that, though it was very well kept, the armor the man wore was very old. Abruptly, the tall man stood straight again and looked to the sky. "Looks like your friends are on their way." With that the man easily jogged into the still thick cloud of black smoke and disappeared as a barn owl came into sight high in the sky.

[The Silence and I]

The vampire under John's grasp squirmed as well as he could in an attempt to free himself, but it was all for naught as the man's grip effectively held the creature down. Visira moving in did little to help against the already pinned vampire but every bit helped. The blade struck the vampire's face repeatedly, the cold steel cutting deeply into the flesh of the beast as it bucked in an attempt to free itself. As John continued to strike though, the creature became more and more incorporial, until it faded away completely in a mist that immediately launched itself outside of the confines of the town, careful to cross over the landbridge that remained.

John's fist strikes the ground after the vampire becomes insubstantial enough to allow it and the blade sticks into the earth. He rolls over on his side, panting, and the motion pulls on his arm and thus removes the blade from the ground.

Shifting his legs slightly so he can sit upright he fiddles with some unseen mechanism under his sleeve and pushes the blade, against some sort of resistance, back into its hiding place using his thickly gloved left hand. This done he straightens his back with a sigh and tenderly feels his left shoulder with his now blade-less right hand as he rotates it, lifting it and feeling for damage.

This takes him but a short while, and when done he looks over at Visira.

"Never underestimate bar room tactics and a hidden knife!" With a louder voice as he strains to stand up: "It's a good thing you layer your armor sir," which becomes softer as he finishes standing: "although I've always found that to be too stuffy. But where did you learn to use a blade?"

Now standing he surveys the dark of the night around him. Seeing no enemies, save possibly the figure lying still on the ground near where the other battle had taken place, he casts his gaze about and gives a soft "aha!" upon discovering where he had left his sword and shield, maybe 5 feet away. He quickly walks over to them, groaning only slightly as he picks them up, and wipes the blade on his pants before sheathing it and then slinging the shield over his shoulder. He then looks about and grabs the wheellock pistols the two vampires had dropped, nodding in the dark at Manfred as he passes the wizard's position.

His hands holding the two pistols, one of which is loaded, he walks back to where he left the longer gun he'd used before, by the nearby wall. Dropping the empty pistol beside the gun he looks at the nearest guard and calls to him: "You, guard! Identify that body over there, be it friend or be it foe? Does it live?"

[LadyTevar]

The armored figure moved over to Agrilos then and placed a hand on him. A few moments passed and Per could see that his fellow Mercenary was breathing with more ease now, though he was still unconscious. Then the armored man stepped up to Per and looked him over. The man spoke to Per, but in his daze he could not hear any of it.

The armored man laid a gauntleted hand on Per and the troll could feel his injuries begin to mend, his arm remained broken, but many of his internal injuries were healing. Per could see now that, though it was very well kept, the armor the man wore was very old. Abruptly, the tall man stood straight again and looked to the sky. "Looks like your friends are on their way." With that the man easily jogged into the still thick cloud of black smoke and disappeared as a barn owl came into sight high in the sky.

Silent wings carried the owl over the battlefield, to the area blasted and burnt in the midst of what once was pristine forest. Dark golden-brown eyes surveyed the scene, just barely catching sight of an armored figure walking away into the shadows, leaving two men lying wounded on the ground. It was a brief glimpse, enough to see that it was a man wearing chain mail, long since dropped in favor of steel breastplates by the nobles and warriors of these rough times. A helmet hid his head, his weapon was in hand, far too large to make out what it was as he vanished into the smoke and darkness.

The nearest trees were all burned and blasted, leaving the barn owl no place to truly land but on the ground near one of the (she assumed) unconscious men. The russet-feathered owl touched down to Agrilos, awkwardly mincing forward to get a closer look. There was something about him that touched a chord within her, like a playful breeze carrying a familiar scent, but nothing she truly recognized. The cream-colored moon-shaped face bobbed up and down as the golden-brown eyes looked the fallen man over, the head twisting and turning to the side until nearly upside down in an attempt to catch a good look at Agrilos' face.

The owl's head righted itself, and she shifted from foot to foot as she pondered what to do. As she thought, she twittered softly in agitation. The noise was more pleasing to the ear than the usual cry of a barn owl, which was a womanly screech that was said to wake the dead. It was one reason many places in Europe considered the common barn owl an ill omen.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred now had two goals. Kill the Earth-using dwarfborn, and prevent the escape of the last vampire. This he could accomplish easily enough. The dwarfborn could probably not move very much with his injuries. He could wait... the vampire however could not.

With a flash of his hands and a clasping motion, Manfred cast a spell that would encase the vampire in earth, with lack of air extinguishing the flames. This would allow him to be preserved for interrogation.

[Marcao]

He had underestimated them.

It had been his goal to kill both of those Vampires and in doing so remove their stain from the eyes of God. He had failed to achieve his goals; the reflexes of the creatures had proven to being up to the task of dealing with his attack. It had been his hope that seeing the flames being born and reach into the heavens would have filled their hearts with fear. With fear and doubt gnawing at their bones, their reactions would have been slowed. In the end, the explosive main thrust of his spell would have reduced them to mere ashes. It seemed that fear was not something that resided within their hearts after all. It had been a mistake, but not one that he would replicate.

Still, he took comfort in seeing that they did not get away without pain. They had chosen to endure the flames of his wrath rather than being consumed by them. One such Vampire proved to be unequal to the task and fell unmoving after having been thrown by the explosive element of his spell. The creature did not stir and he assumed that it was dead, although if it still lived it would be best. That one could answer some of his questions before he speedily sent it to the after life. It was the Vampire that still lived that caught his attention.

Beautiful screams are they not? It seems that they dislike your fires as much as they dislike God’s love.

The voice echoed in his mind and he answered without thinking something he had never done before. “Yes, so it seems but I am not done with it just yet.â€

[The Village Idiot]

As the creature turned mist broke away from the scuffle Visiras wounds become all to clear to him. With a soft groan he rolls onto his stomach hiding the obviously mortal wounds. Focusing all his attention and magic he could muster on attending his wounds he could barely hear John speaking.

"Never underestimate bar room tactics and a hidden knife!" With a louder voice as he strains to stand up: "It's a good thing you layer your armor sir," which becomes softer as he finishes standing: "although I've always found that to be too stuffy. But where did you learn to use a blade?"

"He's covering for me," Visira thought, " I'll have to thank him some time...."

"Ah you know... one day you pick it up as a last resort, the next thing you know you've fallen in love with it. Quick, concealable, light, and still deadly as ever in the right hands. But you know what, I think next time I should remember to bring a gun, or a crossbow... or even a bag of stones." he said with a light chuckle.

He didn't want to be down for to long, so as soon as he looked healed on the outside, he stood up and began inspecting his armor. He continued healing all the muscle and tissue damage, but that wasn't externally obvious. What was obvious was that the armor he had cared for so well was in pretty bad shape. The chainmail would need some attention, and the leather chest would need to be replaced. He collected his daggers, cleaning them off and slipping them back quitely. He then gathered up the weapons around him as he walked over to John, laying them in a pile next to the pistols.

"How's your shoulder?, I saw you take a pretty nice blow there."

[Charon]

As the monsters fled a round of cheers filled the air from the assembled guardsmen. None of them made a move to follow the creatures out though, they knew better than to do that. They did not congratulate each other for long though as there was still work to be done tending to the wounded and stopping the fires that had been started.

One of the guardsmen moved over to the unconscious figure and peered closely. The man brought the flame close to their face for a moment before he pulled away. "It's a woman! I've never seen her before though." The man put a hand over her face and paused for a few seconds. "She's dead though, breath's gone from her."

Francesco's spell struck the fleeing, burning vampire and the creature stumbled for a step or two. But the creature was already dead, and as such the spell did little more than to cause a hiccup in the creature's moving body. The pause did give Manfred a clearer shot at the vampire however and the earth sprang up, enclosing the flaming creature in it's grasp. Manfred was still tied to the earth with his spell, and with it he could tell that the dwarfborn had built a tunnel during the fight.

As the black smoke finally cleared enough to see clearly in the night, it became clear how massive the damage had been. A section of the forest had been cleaned of all life, trees further out were still aflame or toppled over. Near the center of the explosion were three figures, Per, Agrilos, and a barn owl.

The town itself had faired decently well. Large portions of the palisade were ruined, there was blood splattered on the ground and walls of buildings, and many houses closer to the fighting had either gaping holes in them or were still on fire. That being said, the victory clearly belonged to the town as the devastation was limited to just the small area of fighting.

[The Silence and I]

"How's your shoulder?, I saw you take a pretty nice blow there."

"Ah, it seems to be ok. I acted more hurt than I was to fool the vampire." He rolls his shoulder as he says this, and cranes his neck for a close look at it. "It looks like the blade spent its blow on the armor. That'll need fixing. I've been a fighting man for years and I learned the hard way I tend to leave this shoulder open, so I doubled the chain and had the leather padding here made triple thick. It seems to have done its job, though I shall see how close a thing it was soon."

He begins to turn his attention elsewhere but stops, remembering something. "Oh, my apologies for knocking you down earlier--I had imagined sending our opponent to the ground, not all three of us."

"It's a woman! I've never seen her before though." The man put a hand over her face and paused for a few seconds. "She's dead though, breath's gone from her."

"That'd be one of the other mercenaries. I suppose her guards will want to have the body."

As the black smoke finally cleared enough to see clearly in the night, it became clear how massive the damage had been. A section of the forest had been cleaned of all life, trees further out were still aflame or toppled over. Near the center of the explosion were three figures, Per, Agrilos, and a barn owl.

John quickly crosses himself and mutters, "Those owls are rarely a good sign." With a more normal volume: "Visira, are you able to check those two with me once I find out what Manfred's doing?"

[LadyTevar]

The man on the ground did not move, although the owl could see that he was breathing and thus alive. Cheering from the town caught the owl's attention, and the head turned nearly backwards to look that way. No one was leaving the town, nor coming this way as yet.

She flutter/jumped onto Agrilos' back, to see if her slight weight and sharp talons might wake him. Caution kept her as she was for now, in the shape that the Welsh called "flower-face". Legend say they are the children of a woman who plotted with her lover to kill her husband. The husband killed the lover and cursed the woman forever into the shape of a barn owl, her lovely voice cursed to hideous screeches.

[Cynical Cat]

Paul breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't had to fight. He went out on the battlements to see if he could find his master.

[rhoenix]

Consciousness returned to Agrilos similar to a lifeboat managing to find its mother ship in dense fog, as he slowly became aware of his surroundings.

The first two things he noticed, virtually simultaneously, were that it was still nightfall, and he could hear cheering in the distance. The second, and more insistent thing he noticed was that his entire body felt like he'd been beaten by several strong men using cudgels for the better part of the night. He stifled a groan as he slowly began to try sitting up.

Belatedly, he also noticed that the furious whirlwind that served as his armor was still, and silent. Agrilos guessed that his Wind Armor moved the force of the explosion around enough to not kill him, but the tradeoff was that he felt as if he were entirely bruised.

It was then that his brain, slowly regaining cognizance, realized there was a small owl nearby, looking at him somewhat oddly. He managed to sit up into a crouch after several false starts, and regarded the owl oddly, while taking in the aftermath of what apparently had happened.

[LadyTevar]

She had fluttered to his side as soon as Agrilos had made the first attempt at movement, and now watched him with interest. His appearance was of a Moor or a Turk, but there was still something ... off ... about him. Her curiousity was starting to outweigh her caution, yet she remained for now as the Owl ... far easily to fly away than run if need be.

The high-pitched twittering continued, almost as if the Owl was attempting to speak to Agrilos, or reassure him.

[rhoenix]

She had fluttered to his side as soon as Agrilos had made the first attempt at movement, and now watched him with interest. His appearance was of a Moor or a Turk, but there was still something ... off ... about him. Her curiousity was starting to outweigh her caution, yet she remained for now as the Owl ... far easily to fly away than run if need be.

The high-pitched twittering continued, almost as if the Owl was attempting to speak to Agrilos, or reassure him.

Looking at the owl curiously for several moments, Agrilos made no sudden movements. In fact, he made sure all his movements were slow and precise lest he frighten the owl away, despite how his entire body felt like a continuous bruise.

Slowly, he sat up and moved until he was sitting cross-legged, somewhat amazed to see the owl still in front of him. He spoke softly, though clearly to the small owl. "[German]I know not who you are, little owl, but you have my thanks for awakening me.[/German]"

He waited to get up, lest he frighten away the nocturnal bird - even if it wasn't born an owl. Given that he'd been around those who could change their shape since he was quite young, he'd also learned a bit of decorum around others who could change their form. Since decorum typically involved subtle graces, such as not making sudden movements, he didn't consider it wasted effort.

[LadyTevar]

The slow cautious movements reassured her, and she waited patiently as Agrilos sat up. The golden-brown eyes in the heart-shaped face (another sign of oddness, as owls have black eyes) watched him intently as he spoke.

German... not her best language, but she puzzled it out. 'Danke' was the clearest of the sentence, and there was only one proper answer to that. "Bitte." The Germanic word meant 'please' or 'welcome' depending on context, and it was one of the simpler ones for a owl's tongue and beak. "Bitte." she repeated, to make sure he knew it wasn't a trick of his ears, before she extended her right wing out to her side, the left held close, and lowered her body and head in a very good approximation of a fancy bow.

[Charon]

Two of the guards began to pick up Krystyna's body when two of her men that had been at the battle stepped in and began looking over her. The taller one looked up. "No, wait. She's still alive! I can feel her breath, but it is faint." With that the two men gently picked up their master and quickly carried her back towards her lodgings.

Another guard made his way quickly to John and Visira. "I have some training with apothecary work. You two seemed to be in the thick o' the fightin' and took some hits. I'd suggest you let me look at 'em before they begin to rot eh?"

Burkhard had remained safe during the fighting, and waved to Francesco briefly before he and a squad of men moved out to tell the town that the fighting was over.

John's discerning eye had noticed something when it had set all of the guns next to each other, they all had odd similarities in the way they were built, the way the wheel was placed, the decoration along the trigger and barrel, they all looked very similar.

[Marcao]

Hmm, that was strange.

It was the first thought that came to his mind when his spell reached out, touched his adversary and did not provoke the desired effect. Did his ability to slay the Vampire was somewhat hindered by his state? He had thought he had inverted the right weaves, creating a tapestry of power that should have affected any creature alive or dead. For a moment, he lost himself in thought as he considered where he had gone amiss. In the end, it mattered little. The earth itself seemed to reach up and swallow the Vampire.

Ah, that would be the other mage. High time he did something worth while.

His eyes darted about his surroundings drinking in the sight of the town around him. It seemed that they had repelled their attackers, they had won this engagement. He reached out and touched his power, weaving space in a familiar manner. The twin gateways appeared and he stepped through the one closest to him in order to appear in the ground a moment later.

He hesitated for only a moment about to approach the fallen Vampire whom he assumed was dead. At least God had seen it fit to allow him to remove the taint of one such creature from the world. When the two guardsmen approached and proclaimed the creature's gender and her passing. He felt surprisingly little.

Such a creature could barely be considered a woman.

He watched as the two men, both familiar looking guards stepped in and began to look at the purported female Vampire. Moments later they carried her away and he understood what had transpired. It changed nothing. It did not change what she was.

His head turned as he heard sounds of men in armor, his eyes catching sight of Burkhard as he waved and he replied in kind. His faith had carried him through. He smiled at that, walking over towards a group of soldiers before he spoke.

"Gather the wounded and I will do what I can for them." He said.

The memory of the power that he had touched mere minutes before still lingered in his mind. Even now he could feel the reservoir of power within him aching to find a conduit for release. It was an intoxicating feeling, made even more so by the realization that there was more power to be bathed in just beyond his reach. The temptation almost proved too much to resist, but he endured the alluring call.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Manfred stepped off the building and his fall was slowed by the air. He landed softly and started to work again. He placed his hand on the ground, and made repairs to his moat, lowering the land bridge. Then he walked over to Fancesco.

"We need to speak, sooner rather than later. Tend to the wounded I will await you over there... I have power to gather" he said, pointing at a spot of earth under a thatched roof. He then proceeded stalk over to that spot and sit.

He sat down, and began slowly releasing the power of the sphere he had touched earlier that day.

[rhoenix]

Agrilos couldn't hide his smirk as he regarded the owl thoughtfully. Whoever the owl might be, he or she just took a rather forward chance in revealing themselves as a shapechanger by saying "You're welcome" in German. Despite what others might do in this situation, he felt honored.

Still taking great (and painful) care to move carefully, deliberately, and slowly, Agrilos got to his feet and stood, while still looking at the owl. He spoke slightly more slowly than before, while looking in its great golden-brown eyes. "[German]I should check on my friend, to see if he has been hurt. I am honored to meet you, and if you'd like to accompany me, you are welcome to.[/German]"

He briefly considered taking to the air himself, but decided against it. He had just now been introduced to another shapechanger of uncertain motivation and origin, despite apparently peaceful intentions. Moreover, he didn't know how the other mercenaries would deal with it. The second reason was that he wasn't sure he could properly flap wings feeling as entirely bruised as he was. After all, even the act of standing was rather painful.

[LadyTevar]

A few high-pitched twitters and coos were the only answer she chose to give. Flutter-hopping over to the recumbent troll, she looked him over as she had Agrilos, although from a much further distance as Per was much larger, and thus, a bigger threat should he move.

[rhoenix]

A few high-pitched twitters and coos were the only answer she chose to give. Flutter-hopping over to the recumbent troll, she looked him over as she had Agrilos, although from a much further distance as Per was much larger, and thus, a bigger threat should he move.

Agrilos walked slowly, and more because each movement hurt than because he was trying not to frighten the owl, though both played a factor.

Following the little barn owl over to where Per lay motionless, his mind was suddenly no longer on his aches and pains, or on the odd owl that had woken him up. Walking over to the mercenary who he might even call a friend, Agrilos stood next to Per's unconscious form, shaking his head.

"Per?"

No response.

"Per!"

Still no response.

"PER!"

A now-predictable lack of response. He sighed.

Looking back toward the town, it was about one hundred twenty yards from where he stood. He didn't really feel like walking that distance, especially now. However, the logistics of flying there, landing without being seen, and changing back into his human form were about as annoying to contemplate.

He looked back toward the owl, who appeared to be looking at him curiously. Very well, he thought to himself. I know one of your secrets little owl, and by your choice. It is right that I not take that fact for granted.

Mentally shrugging, he faced the owl directly, and sank slowly into a crouch to lessen the height difference. "[Gaelic]Do you speak other tongues of the land, little owl?[/Gaelic] [English]Your eyes betray your intelligence - I am honored to meet you.[/English] [Italian]But, I worry about my friend here - he saved my life.[/Italian] [Latin]Such things I do not forget, so I wish to make sure he is well.[/Latin]"

He paused again, feeling a bit silly for trying to see what an owl's most familiar human tongue was, despite knowing the owl wasn't born as such. "[German]If you could understand me, I wish to ask for your help. I am willing to owe you a favor.[/German]"

(EDIT: revised the distance to the town from "3/4 mile" to "120 feet.")

[LadyTevar]

The Gaelic had the owl laying her head to the side in confusion. The English it was clear she was puzzling out. The Italian made her head jerk upright in recognition, and the Latin made the golden-brown eyes twinkle with unspoken laughter before the head tilted to puzzle out the German once more.

There was, unfortunately, only so much that can be said by an owl's beak. Italian phrases were not amongst them, thus she was forced to answer soley by bobbing her head 'yes'. She began to comtemplate if she should shapechange, but she had an idea of what the man was asking.

[rhoenix]

Watching the owl carefully as he spoke, Agrilos saw the signs of recognition when he spoke Italian in particular, as well as Latin. The combination didn't surprise him too much, though he did become more curious about his new acquaintance. However, he couldn't help but smile.

Now that he had a much better idea of what the owl understood, he decided to ask directly, while he was still crouched, facing the owl. "[Italian]Little owl, I know not your name, but I wish to make sure my friend is as well as I...however 'well' that might be. My friend here might need a healer, so I must go back to the town to find one. Would you mind watching over him until I return?[/Italian]"

[LadyTevar]

"Phffff" was the contempuous answer. She couldn't reply in Italian, or give any true reply at all, but she made her intentions plain as she carefully flutter-hopped onto Per's unresponsive chest. Giving Agrilos a look that clearly said 'stand back', she turned carefully to face the town and puffed up her chest with a deep breath.

In ages past, the ancestors of humans would hear a screech in the night, and tell stories what it was. Goblins. Ghosts. Demons. Only once they were brave enough to leave the cave-fires did they find the noise came from a small night-bird with a heart-shaped face and large dark eyes. Even then, the barn owl was given ill-omened names: Goblin Owl, Hob Owl, Shriek Owl. All because it did not sing like its daylight cousins.

The shriek echoed off the town's walls, terrifyingly eerie, as the small owl said on the troll's chest and mantled her wings to catch the eyes of those who would look to the source. For good or ill... it would call attention to them.

[rhoenix]

Chuckling and shaking his head, Agrilos was unable, and perhaps unwilling to hide his amusement. "[Italian]You make a good point, little owl. However, I think the town will wonder how such a large sound came from such a small source, no?[/Italian]"

Deciding to be somewhat efficient as he was waiting for the healers to come, Agrilos gathered up any equipment of his, and sheathed it or placed it back into its proper place on his person. After doing so, he began gathering Per's belongings, and piling them semi-neatly near where he lay unconscious.

Once he was finished, he sat slowly (and somewhat painfully) near where Per lay, and by association, the curious owl.