[sub]in collaboration with [@shagranoz] and [@Fetzen][/sub] [h1][center][u][i]"A Prayer for Peace"[/i][/u][/center][/h1] Rebecca made her way back into Seren's Folly, dressed in her lilac robes. At least this time, she knew where she was going. She walked down the street to The Witch's Paradise, just in time to see some drunk get thrown out an open window. She swallowed nervously, knowing that was not the best of omens, but she went inside anyway, and the whole tavern came to a dead halt upon seeing her. She went up to the bartender and said in a quiet voice, "Excuse me, but you haven't seen a hunter named Andri around, have you?" The bartender's face was a mixture of interest and pure disgust. Who the hell was this woman ? Noone in the bar started hostilities towards her, so he wouldn't start them as well. He was just an ordinary bartender and if it happened that there was no hunter around, he wouldn't put himself into their position. So he tried to be as friendly as he could while he started to breath through his mouth as one couldn't smell anything that way. "Andri ? You mean that colossus ?" He shook his head. "No. He used to be here often but something appears to have started keeping him away from his drinks. I don't know where he is... but... shouldn't be [i]that[/i] hard to spot him, should it ? His dwelling place is a few buildings farther up the road I think. Something shabby." "Thank you for the help." She winced as she pulled out a silver coin and gave it to the bartender for his troubles, then turned and headed out. Andri's place wasn't exactly the nicest house in town, but it wasn't shabby either. Rebecca saw that the door was locked, so she knocked and called out, "Andri, are you in right now? Lorelai and Medusa both agreed to the meeting." Andri felt refreshed. After a rather sluggish start into the day satisfying Khan's needs had powered up his circulation. Now, after having enjoyed his giant host unpacking his wang in front of a local whore, the demon worm was silent. It just added to Andri's feeling of recreation. He was sitting on his bed in his tiny room, his meal on his chest. The assassin was eating fast - the further the day progressed, the more he was like a cat on hot bricks. Would that witch, Rebecca, actually return ? And more important: What clothing would she wear ? He heard someone knocking the door. The voice accompanying the knocking was enough for him to know who was standing outside, so he rushed to unlock it. Unlike the first time they had met, Andri wasn't wearing his leather armor, but ordinary cloth. [color=00a99d]"Shhhh. Are you crazy ? Don't mention these names in the public here, this is a village filled to the brim with [i]hunters[/i]! Come in!"[/color] Rebecca headed inside and plopped herself down in a wooden chair. "Managed to catch Lorelai and Medusa together. Apparently, they've managed to get some talking accomplished on their own, which is a good sign. They expect us to meet them tomorrow at noon in the town cemetary. You're allowed to bring up to two other hunters with you. Any idea who you're going to choose?" [color=00a99d]"At noon, at the cemetery ? [i]Seren's Folley's[/i] cemetery ? Isn't that a bit... risky ?"[/color] A part of him was regretting actually asking this as the risk was on the witches' side and every other place he could momentarily think of would transfer risk from them to his own side. The other part of him however didn't want put that meeting at risk by other hunters possibly discovering them, so in sum he did ask it, just for confirmation. Rebecca's concluding question however was tough: Aside from Draco, if he subtracted all the hunters he didn't trust with regard to such an endeavour from all the hunters he knew, he ended up with zero. He sighed a bit. [color=00a99d]"Well... Draco is the only one I can think of right now. There's no other one."[/color] "Given my powers, I figured it was the best place. Lots of necromantic energy for me to tap into, just in case things go horribly wrong." Rebecca's face plummeted when he mentioned that Draco seemed to be the only one who might go along with this crazy venture. "And he didn't seem too enthusiastic about the meeting in the first place. A shame, really. Think we should go alone? I trust Medusa and Lorelai not to harm us, given how cordial they were to me, but I'm not sure if you can say the same, considering how you never met them." [color=00a99d]"Honestly, I would like not to do this entirely on my own, but I'm willing to take the risk if I really have to. Think about it as a forthcoming action compensating for the fact that the elected meeting place is basically the lion's cave for you witches."[/color] [color=fff79a][i]You are gonna meet two more witches ? Hell, that makes one undead woman and two more ordinary ones! You must chain fuck them! You MUST![/i][/color] [color=00a99d][i]Or you eat my brain ?[/i][/color] Andri replied mentally to the awakened worm, already knowing the routine. [color=fff79a][i]You guessed it! But I'll give you some time to arrange things![/i][/color] "Then it's settled. We can head out tomorrow, but I'd like to stay here tonight. Don't need to gather any supplies or anything, but I do need to sleep. Don't worry, I'll gladly take the floor." Andri had to battle off another of Khan's... urgent suggestions. [color=00a99d]"Okay, I'll stay here and keep the door locked. If somebody else comes and I can't keep him away from this room..."[/color] He pointed to a small wardrobe. The assassin had not any chance of fitting into it, but Rebecca probably had. He made a facial expression as if he intended to excuse himself for this proposal. Then he sat down on his bed again and continued eating. The smell still was terrible, but after that cathedral and their first meeting in that small cave he had already started getting used to it. [hr] [color=00aeef]"I'm surprised you came."[/color] Lorelai had been wating in the cemetary since first light, her demonic sentries roaming invisibly over the surrounding area. She trusted Rebecca, barely, but strange hunters or Medusa? Not a chance. [color=ed1c24]"I said I would didn't I?"[/color] Medusa'd done her own scouting, and divinations had revealed no secret threats or hidden ambushes. She made her way over to Lorelai, who was leaning against a decidedly melancholy tree. She hadn't had cause to be in a cemetary at noon, the sun's bright rays looked quite odd on the headstones and burial sites. [color=ed1c24]"Wouldn't want to disappoint."[/color] Lorelai nodded. A silence hung between them for several minutes as they waited. Eventually Lorelai broke it. [color=00aeef]"What do you think will come of this? Do you think there's a person out there we'd both trust?"[/color] [color=ed1c24]"I doubt it."[/color] Medusa sighed. [color=ed1c24]"But I don't relish the idea of moving to open war, or anything close to that. I'd be remiss if I passed up on even this slim chance."[/color] [color=00aeef]"That's about what I expect. I'm slightly hopeful, perhaps they'll offer us some insight we haven't thought of."[/color] Lorelai busied herself packing her tabacco pipe, a rare vice of hers, once it was lit she continued. [color=00aeef]"The offer to stand down doesn't have an expiration date Medusa, I don't particularly want to kill you. Your sin, in my mind, is impatience and incompetence, not malicousness."[/color] Medusa extended her hand, taking the pipe from Lorelai enough to savor a few puffs. [color=ed1c24]"I appreciate that... the same goes for you Lorelai."[/color] The silence stretched out between the two old witches, as they smoked fresh tobacco and waited on a longshot that might yet save them from tearing their coven apart. Rebecca came into the cemetary, Andri at her heels. "Good to see you two here. Andri decided to come alone, though honestly, I think he's big enough to count for three people all by himself. I haven't truly been able to update him on the situation, so how about you two explain your grievances in your own words?" [color=00a99d]"Don't overestimate me, Rebecca."[/color] the hunter replied in a semi-casual way. Andri did take his time to examine the two persons in front of him, though he knew that witches probably were the type of beings this strategy of assessing one's opposite was prone to fail, if not even dangerously misleading. It was just an assassin's habit. [color=00a99d]"So... one of you is Medusa and one of you is Lorelai, right ?"[/color] he started a bit hesitantly. [color=00a99d]"I'm Andri. Andri Hymir."[/color] He reached out his oversized hand as he was used to do this with everyone else. [color=ed1c24]"Medusa."[/color] Medusa was the first of the two to take the outstretched offer of gretting, shaking the enormous hand as best as she was able. [color=ed1c24]"And the [i]grievances[/i] are Lorelai's, I'm mostly trying not to get killed or lose control of my coven."[/color] Lorelai took the man's hand next. Giving it a firm shake. [color=00aeef]"Process of elimination makes me Lorelai, as I'm sure you surmised. I accuse Medusa of incompetance, due to some staggering losses we recently suffered during an endeavor of her devising after I assured her it was uneccessary."[/color] [color=00a99d]"And you think that starting a revolt would bring your losses back to life ? Wouldn't such a thing just bring [i]more[/i] losses ?"[/color] He disrupted himself, already feeling that he was no trained diplomat and that this was perhaps too blunt. [color=00a99d]"Okay... erm... let's start over again. So... both of you want to either keep or take control of your... coven, is this term correct ?... exclusively ? And given the fact that Rebecca is actually worried about some kind of civil war instead of just a single casualty I assume that each of you has a lot of followers ? So... why you don't just split the coven ? One gets her half, the other one her half, and the two new covens can cooperate with each other at their individual leader's discretion ?"[/color] Lorelai's mouth curled into a frown. [color=00aeef]"The goal here, is to prevent future losses. Why does everyone expect me to ignore the longterm costs of continuing under Medusa in favor of the short term costs of war. What would you do if a poor leader threatened to weaken you before calamity strikes?"[/color] [color=ed1c24]"The issue of splitting the coven is that although our followers can be neatly tucked away under one new banner or another, there remains many things that cannot."[/color] Medusa explained. [color=ed1c24]"Relics, locations, even housing needs to be considered. With you... hunters choking down the surrounding lands there just isn't enough room for another coven to operate with any modicum of security. We've worked tirelessly to obscure our home from your kind, and as a result we have safety. One of the covens would be turned out into the cold."[/color] [color=00a99d]"If I was suffering under a bad leader I would probably start organizing an insurrection against the leader, but not against my ordinary fellows. What is it that apparently makes the entire coven believe that it must involve itself into this ? Wouldn't the problem just be 'solved' if one of you killed the other one ? And... do you think that your efforts of obscuration will survive a full grown civil war ? Do your think your facilities will survive this in an acceptable way ? In an ordinary civil war, neither of these things usually does. If we are honest, you already [i]have[/i] some kind of security breach at hand because of what you are planning to do. Otherwise we wouldn't be here and talk to each other right now."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"The coven... is more of a family unit than a military one. It isn't of course, but closer to the former than the latter. Each sister has an opinion, their loyalties, and none of them are eager to let their patron die without a fight."[/color] [color=00aeef]"Our obscurations are quite sophisticated, although not perfect. Efforts could be taken to move the conflict away from our home, in fact due to the way witches typically fight their internal struggles the fighting will likely occur farther afield, clustering around loci of power or during contests over relics each side covets."[/color] Lorelai stole a glance at Medusa. [color=00aeef]"A duel might be the... 'simplest' way to deal with this, but how would one ensure that the loser's supporters didn't revolt in the wake of their loss?"[/color] [color=00a99d]"If that would happen you would just end with what you appear to be seeking for in the first place: A civil war. So nothing to loose by trying this strategy if you want to put it in blunt words."[/color] The assassin wondered what these 'loci of powers' could be. He had no idea - and he didn't want to overtax the ongoing discussion by adding any questions that could be off topic. Then he remembered a few words Lorelai said a few minutes before. Calamity... [color=00a99d]"Lorelai, you said something about an incoming calamity. What did you mean with that ?"[/color] Lorelai and Medusa looked at each other for a long moment. Lorelai turned back towards Andri, her eyes solemn. [color=00aeef]"We... don't know specifics, but for quite sometime our divinations have indicated that... something is coming, something alien and impossibly vast."[/color] Medusa nodded, picking up the thread. [color=ed1c24]"That's the primary reason we've gathered here. Normally with hunter activity as... robust as it is from Seren's Folly a wise coven would have fled the region."[/color] She sighed, leaning against a nearby tree. [color=ed1c24]"But we're hoping to stop or hinder... whatever it is, that's why we've invested so much into remaining in this area. From our wards, to our obscurements."[/color] "Yes. In fact, that... whatever it is is the reason I want you two to stop fighting. You two are the most powerful witches I've ever heard of, much less met. If our divinations are true, and there's no reason to believe they've all failed, we are going to need everyone we can get our hands on, and you two would be our strongest weapons. We can't afford to lose either of you. Not now." Andri staggered a bit. Of course these two were witches, and of course the ordinary school of hunters told him not to believe any of their statements, especially if they were spectacular. But he had already given a shit about the ordinary school by attending to this meeting, and with Medusa's explanation of why the coven was still active in this area they had a point. Unsure about how to continue about it, he drew his conclusions and picked up the original thread again. [color=00a99d]"So can't you just... postpone... your hostilities then ? A coven weakened by a sudden change in leadership and riddled with internal conflicts can't be a good thing with something evil coming in either, can it ? I totally agree with Rebecca at this point, at least as far as my horizon limited by my knowledge of witchcraft does reach."[/color] Lorelai turned towards Medusa, eyes narrowed. [color=00aeef]"You killed Vespa, I'll have your blood for that."[/color] She turned slowly back towards Rebecca and Andri. [color=00aeef]"...But perhaps you're right... Medusa, your sentence is pending, give me one more reason to kill you and I will, civility will have nothing to do with it."[/color] Medusa's eyes widened, did Lorelai just agree with them!? She never thought she'd see the day the last Von'Strauss let go of a blood debt, or even delayed one. Her face bloomed into a bright smile. [color=ed1c24]"I'll defer to you in wartime Lorelai... and I can't tell you how sorry I am about Vespa."[/color] Rebecca's jaw nearly hit the ground. She had thought the differences were far too deep for Lorelai and Medusa to overcome them. To hear that the fighting would be delayed, that Medusa would actually cede power, even temporarily... it seemed that this could only be divine intervention, or at least, something close to it. "That... that's honestly more than I had hoped for. I never thought this would actually work. Lorelai, Medusa, Andri, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This coven... this family. I couldn't bear to lose it. With your permission, Medusa, I would name Andri an honored guest, free to come and go from Castle Bloodrose as he pleases, so long as he does not divulge its location to his fellow hunters." The giant was unsure if he could trust what the witches were saying about deferring their own hostilities or not. Anyway - from the standpoint of him just being a hunter that basically had nothing to do with this business, he could consider this meeting a success. When Rebecca suggested offering him access to this castle he had not even heard of before, he was flabbergasted and it was obvious to everyone who was able to catch a glimpse of his face. [color=00a99d]"I...I... am not a traitor. But I don't even know where this castle is located at anyway."[/color] [color=ed1c24]"We will need an envoy to the hunters at somepoint..."[/color] Medusa gave Andri an appraising glance. [color=ed1c24]"Perhaps he'd be suitable... For now however I do name you a friend, merely speak my name should you find yourself at odds with a witch, that should give them more than enough pause to save your life."[/color] [color=00aeef]"Elizabeth seems to be settling into the castle just fine, I think she'd serve well enough in that role."[/color] Lorelai gave Andri a small smile, her brow still furrowed in frustration. [color=00aeef]"However you've performed a great service for us Andri, and I wouldn't be opposed."[/color] Medusa turned to Rebecca. [color=ed1c24]"I'll leave it to you then. The brave witch that risked treason and an unimaginably painful death to bring us this reprieve. Choose soon and we'll be away, Lorelai and I have some catching up to do."[/color] Lorelai nodded as Medusa glanced at her. "I didn't fear death," Rebecca said with a smile. "After all, I've died once before. After that, you kind of gain a new understanding of it. Andri, you may follow us. I'll be more than glad to show you around myself." Wait... [color=00a99d]"Liz is in your castle ?"[/color] The assassin got louder than he would normally approve of himself, especially in this situation. However he was just too surprised and shocked. [color=00a99d]"Did this Charon teleport her there ? Can I meet her ?"[/color] [color=00aeef]"Charon deposited her and Flint both in the woods as an offering to me. I made a deal with her mostly as an excuse to preserve both of their lives."[/color] Lorelai arched an eyebrow at Andri. [color=00aeef]"You're welcome to see her, I don't keep her on a tight leash or anything. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company."[/color] He would see Liz again... That alone was enough reward for the effort he had made and the risks he had taken. It wasn't just about trying to excuse for that action Khan had forced him to do, but about staying in touch with the person that had proved such a formidable partner in that cathedral. Andri thought about carefully probing Khan if he could not just poof him between the Castle and Seren's Folley in the future. It would make things much faster and, more important, much more secure. He couldn't allow himself to be discovered on his way to or from Castle Bloodrose. For now however, as he lacked the knowledge about the location and didn't want to stir up things again, he resorted to more traditional ways of travelling - and that were his feet and a horse. Hopefully the beast had been able to recover from carrying him all the way back to the village just the day before.