blackdragon

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

Midori shook her head at the whole mess. Looking back, though, it could have been a lot worse. One dead Vice, no dead humans. In the end, I guess that has to go down in the win column. Midori took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. It would be almost impossible to hunt Vices with her emotions getting in the way. "Well, ladies," Midori commented as she brushed off her skirt, "the night is still young, the way I see it. Plenty of time to bring down a few more vices before we have to turn in. If any of you want to join me, feel free." With that, she raced off into the darkness, to continue the search.

Spells in the Dark (18+ for Dark and suggestive themes)

Rebecca’s bones clicked as she walked up the stairs of Castle Bloodrose. Helena really needed to get to work on that potion- she wanted to feel her flesh again. Andri floated up beside her, his brow starting to furrow. “It sounds like there’s quite a commotion over by the front gate. We should head over there, try to intercept Alexina when things start to die down.”

“Andri, you’ve been around here long enough to know that things never die down around here. I mean, just look at us,” the lich said with an undeserved chuckle at her own awful joke. “Be that as it may, you’re probably right. The sooner we know what Alexina intends to do, the sooner we can start making plans of our own.” With that, Rebecca headed towards the gate, with Andri in tow.

The scene at the castle gate wasn’t pure chaos, but it was as close as the pair were likely to see in their afterlives. Rebecca’s eyes first shot to a strange girl surrounded by molten, but cooling, rock. Another pyromancer, one who was strong enough to melt rock? Rebecca was definitely intrigued.

Speaking of pyromancers, Taran was there too, covered in drying blood with a disturbed look on his face, obviously just healed by Usoa. Rebecca didn’t envy him a bit for going through that particular process- the tentacled witch unnerved her, though she supposed the reverse might well be true, also.

Saen was there as well, and- aha! There was Alexina, presiding over the whole thrice-damned fiasco. Rebecca strode towards her, while still keeping a respectful distance. As she did so, she uttered an incantation, causing Andri to become visible to those whose senses weren’t as finely attuned to spirits as hers. “Greetings, Alexina. I take it you recall Andri, from the old days. We came up here to talk to you, but it seem you have troubles of your own right now. What can we do to be of assistance?”

Spells in the Dark (18+ for Dark and suggestive themes)

Phagora hadn’t noticed at first that Ryleth had left, and the realization threw her into a hurried panic.Not bothering to get any supplies, she grabbed the nearest horse she could find and raced through the gates of Castle Bloodrose, with Sarah and Mary, the other two witches in the raid, hot on her heels.

Eventually, though, the horses just couldn’t keep their pace, and the trio was forced to stop to let them rest. Tying their mounts to a tree by the road, Phagora asked the other two if they had any plans for the attack. “Stealth and secrecy will be the keys to our success, I would think.” commented Mary. “I could open up a portal to Hell, we go through it, and then I create another portal right into their fortress. Could do it from here, in fact.”

Sarah turned to the little demonologist. The pair were a study in contrasts- Sarah stood nearly six feet tall, while Mary couldn’t have been more the four-foot-nine. The former witch had luscious black curls, whereas Mary’s hair was blonde, sparse, and straight. Yet they made a perfect pair in battle- Mary’s infernal summons were quite capable of causing utter terror in a foe, fears that Sarah could use to power her own spells.

“I doubt that would work, Mary. Any sane coven would make certain nothing could enter from there without permission- we already do it back at the Castle. We’d be stuck there with whatever demons are in the area coming for us.” She shook her head in dismay. “No, I say overwhelming power would be our best option. Knock them to the dirt with our strongest spells, and make sure they don’t have a chance to get up.”

“I vote for scouting the situation, personally,” responded Phagora. “Don’t want to get tripped up by surprises.” At that moment, though, there was a large surge of magic that all three witches could feel, about half a mile further down the road. That could only mean one thing- Ryleth had found the other coven, and they had found him, too. “Looks like the decision has been made for us, ladies!” Phagora yelled as she untied the horses for what would probably amount to a cavalry charge. “Let’s go!”

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

Midori looked at the wreckage her fireball had caused. Obviously, the police were going to be here in a minute or two, and what would they tell her father? His little girl just bombed an office building? She could just see how that conversation would go and facepalmed. Then, she made the very smart decision to go find the girl that had yanked her through the portal and give her a piece of her mind.

Fortunately, she didn't have to look far. All those magical girls, right next to the spot where the fight had happened, with a new one there? In a rabbit outfit, of all things? It didn't take a genius to put two and two together and get four. Midori leapt out of the hole she had blasted (damn, but she was hard on buildings) and stormed right on up to the newcomer with blatantly obvious violence in her eyes.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?! I don't care what sort of powers you have, you don't rip somebody right out of a fight! Especially when they're charging up an attack! See how those offices have a new bay window? That's your fault! And it could have been a lot worse. I knew I had a clear line of fire. What if there had been people there that you didn't see?" Midori shook her head. "You've got to think before you do things like that!"

Spells in the Dark (18+ for Dark and suggestive themes)

The thing about wild and ugly situations is that no matter where they happen, they always, always attract onlookers. Case in point- the commotion at the castle's gates had caught the attention of a certain lamia.

"How any timesss must I tell you, Taran?" Saen quipped in a light tone as she ade her way up to the events. "Don't bring usss any strangersss."Then, she saw the girl's injuries being healed by Usoa, and her tone changed completely. "Hold on, an injured witch? And a lava ssspecialist to boot. Well done, Taran. Well done indeed." Turning to Usoa, she asked, "Is there anything I can do to help with the healing? Get usss supplies, try to keep her comfortable." The snake-girl's eyes were full of concern- she didn't want to lose a new member of the coven getting her through the door.

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

All right, let's do this! The largest Vice had fully taken form, looking something like an oversized armadillo with a dozen deadly claws, but Midori was ready and raring to go. She casually blocked one strike, then spun away from a second attack. Slicing a smaller vice to shreds, Midori backflipped away to get some distance. A golden glow appeared around her, and she felt even stronger and faster than before. Midori smiled at the other girl and her... spell? ability? She still wasn't sure on the terminology. "Thanks for that!" she called.

Midori cupped her hands, feeling the power of a truly massive Fiery Blast charging up within her. Then, something went horribly wrong with the whole operation. As she got ready to unleash her attack, she felt herself get yanked through a portal, ending up in some unfamiliar office. The ball of flame sailed right past another magical girl, probably scaring the everloving bejeezus out of her, and continued on to level quite a few cubicles before fizzling out. "Oh, fuck."

@Karkinos

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

@Karkinos Go right ahead, I've got a few ideas for how to get a laugh out of it anyway.

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

Patrolling was awful, simply awful. Midori had no idea which would be worse- the boredom of looking for a Vice, or the nervousness of actually finding one. Still, she was on the hunt. After all, these creatures couldn't be allowed to just run wild and harm people.

Perched on top of a roof in the warehouse district, the newbie spotted a dark and indiscriminate shape moving below her. Just looking at it gave her a wave of terror and despair, and she knew it was a Vice. With a snap of her fingers, Midori transformed and leapt down, swinging her sword in a graceful yet savage slice. "Whatever you are, you're going down!"

Spells in the Dark (18+ for Dark and suggestive themes)

The cellars of Castle Bloodrose, to some major degree, very not different from the cellars one could find in other homes and castles. The fact that these were underground locations became more and more undeniably as things became colder, damper, darker and more and more discomforting in general the further down one went. What complicated matters was the fact that many of the lower levels had been built, abandoned, reopened, haphazardly maintained, abandoned again, stripped and rebuilt several times over the last few centuries. At first glance they were a maze, but if one possessed enough knowledge one could see the political roadmap of old times in them as the state of things and the kind of equipment left down here changed considerably from place to place. Much of it was just discarded furniture and household stuff probably none would ever use again but everyone had been too lazy or oblivious to get rid off properly, but there were also torture instruments and prison cells with only a moderate layer of rust on them that could be put back into action.

It wasn't as if Andri would have to worry about those things anymore. The cold grasp of death was a thing of the past for him -- and so were concerns like a cold or wet environment or bad air. He didn't breathe anymore, but was much more of a shade that had decided to come down here for a meeting. None had installed ghost-repelling magic down here, so he was pretty much free to go and leave as he desired at this point. He was waiting in one of the more empty rooms, having seated himself in a large, dilapidated sofa that most likely would have collapsed instantly if he had not turned weightless. The only source of light here was he himself, a dim, fluctuating and eerie white glow.

Rebecca trotted down to the bowels of Castle Bloodrose, a look of sorrow on her face. Things had gone very badly that day, and she needed to talk with a friend, even one who was an enemy in days long, long past. The lich tread softly, following a faint glow to an old storeroom. There he was, just sitting there on some ancient furniture, with a look of anticipation on his face.

“It does me good to see you, Andri, and all the more with today’s events.” She took a seat opposite him, on a threadworn and ratty old chair. “I hate to use the term ‘grave matter’, given our current states, but it’s the only thing that describes what has happened. The Bloodroses have turned, not only on each other, but on innocents. Acts that even Lorelai Von’Strauss and Medusa would never have dared condone, much less commit. I… I fear for us, Andri. I truly do.” What was left of Rebecca’s face twitched nervously, as she began to think of her home under siege. “I know we had hoped to just talk, but I need your advice. You were the hunter with the courage to work with witches. I trust you more than anyone, even Alexina. What shall I do?”

If Andri had still been able to let air flow through his lungs he would have let go of a sigh at this point. He had not been anywhere near Seren’s Folly and Castle Bloodrose for years, and now that he had come back it seemed that things were falling apart. There was some degree of despair in Rebecca’s voice that he had not heard before, indicating that the situation was indeed severe. “What has happened ?” was his first reaction. “Please don’t be afraid of being less abstract. I need to know what is going on above our heads.” Given that they were located in the very basement of the Castle this could be taken quite literally. “I haven’t been here for quite a while, so I guess my information is pretty outdated.”

“The worst kind of black magic,” Rebecca said with a shudder. Coming from a necromancer, the words were absolutely damning. “Five witches conspired to sack a village. No adults survived, and the town was razed. What’s worse, they invaded the church where the children were being hidden. Demon’s blood was used to desecrate every inch of the building, as well as the holy relics. They’ll never hold power for miracles again.” Rebecca would have broken down in tears, had she still had the requisite parts. “They killed a little girl, stealing her life force to restore their own youth, and would have done the same to the rest, had Alexina not intervened. I was with her. So much pain, so much torment, and all so a few witches could live fifteen years more.”

“They did what ?” it shot out of Andri’s mouth. “They have fallen completely mad, haven’t they ?” the ghostly man added, shaking his head and starting to support it with his left hand. “This is bound to invoke the attention of every hunter in the region. Even if they don’t know who’s the culprit they might try to give this place a visit rather soon than later. Or do some other acts of revenge.” He remembered the advice he had given his son once, that he should not go to Seren’s Folly. Now hopefully he would have sticked to that advice, given that things were bound to get more ugly. “This will make everybody’s life considerably harder I think. Including ours, possibly. So… what could and should we do about this ?”

“That’s the rub. There are things we could do, yes.” Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t know if you’ve revealed yourself to Alexina, but you might still have some influence with her and the other elders. As for me, well, I have some of Lorelai’s old tomes. The magic of Hell, and instructions on calling some of her… friends.” The lich quivered like a leaf. “You helped me stop the war, all those years ago. You know how I abhor violence and vengeance. But these witches, what they’ve done… do they deserve death? Is there a point where it is wrong not to seek retribution for true evil?”

“Maybe I sound a little superficial at this point, but I think we should not focus too much on what we think these witches deserve or not. This is a concern, yes, but what we think becomes rather pointless the moment a bunch of hunters shows up at the doorstep of this castle and goes on a rampage. Or they encounter one of the supply lines and do the same thing. If what you’ve described is true then there is hardly any argument against such an act of revenge. Or much more defense one should say at this point as this would be the next logical step if I were still alive and a hunter. What if those witches run out of ritualistic benefits and have to do it again ? Even if not, even if Alexina had them already executed herself…the ordinary humans out there don’t know that. I can throw myself into the equation and try to speak with Alexina, but some internal chit-chat or even spilling some witchblood on that decapitation machine next door won’t help. We need a strong signal that the people out there can see.”

“I think I understand what you’re saying,” Rebecca responded. “We need to keep the hunters from turning this into an all-out war, and the best way I can think of to do that is to give them names of the individuals responsible. Limit their targets.” She grinned, which looked truly eerie on her features. “Unless I miss my guess, my identity would serve as evidence enough that I know what I speak of, and I believe that the Witch’s Paradise is still open in Seren’s Folly. You can talk to Alexina, try to keep her from going after the hunters.”

“I think that names alone would not be enough. People need pictures in order to know how the ones they should search for look. Nobody is going to ask everybody who’s suspected to be a witch for her name before trying to kill her.” Andri stopped talking for a moment, thinking while staring at the wall as if it was a transparent thing to look through. “Which brings us to the next piece of the puzzle: What’s Alexina’s stance on the matter ? What does she currently intend to do in order to stop this from happening again ? Or does she actually care about ? We need to clarify this first I think.”

“Well, if you’re talking about what she did to them, she ordered them to go exterminate another nearby coven. ‘Come back victorious or not at all’ was her general sentiment.” Rebecca rolled out a creak in her shoulders, and the sound of bone against bone could faintly be heard. “But what if they do succeed? Is she going to just send them out until they’re used up? Will they have proven their obedience to her satisfaction? That, I cannot answer for you.”

“We will have to monitor this. Also we should find out what other coven she ordered them to strike against -- just in case they come back all too successful and managed to exterminate a bunch of other witches. It surprises me that Alexina finds starting a witch war to be an acceptable cost to dispose of insubordinate members of her own coven. I will talk to her, or at least I’ll try to get an appointment. Does she know I even exist ?”

“I… I think she knows, or at least she suspects. She’s never been sensitive to ghosts and souls, not like me, anyway. But she’s always been a sharp one.” There was no sign of emotion from Rebecca as she idly drummed her fingers on the chair. “I can get us an audience with her, and if she has trouble seeing you, well, there are always spells for that. Meet me tomorrow morning, in the castle hall, and we’ll see what is to be done about this."

“Alright. I think I know where that is. Let’s hope there won’t be too many witches trying to intercept me. Or just trying to keep me busy with nonsensical small talk…” Having said this, the dim glow that had an eerie resemblance to a human body seemed to fade away, into the next wall.

Spells in the Dark (18+ for Dark and suggestive themes)

The commotion of the scene was initially lost on Kalisel. As a perfect servant of God, she was used to being omniscient, at least where the immediate area was concerned. Now, as rather fallible flesh, and ever so slightly inebriated besides, she was easily caught off her guard. Still, she got up and quickly headed outside with a somewhat clumsy draw of Forgiveness.

The scene outside was a madhouse. What seemed like the world's largest goblin tribe had invaded the town, and while she tried to catch up, other hunters who had been more alert were slowly cutting through the goblin horde. One goblin was no threat to a group of well-trained hunters, but this many would be a challenge. Kalisel blocked a claw swipe aimed at her thigh, then made an awkward thrust that nonetheless clipped her attacker in the shoulder. As she stepped back to keep her distance, the former angel caught sight of a group of hunters luring the goblins off with a chicken, of all things. Odd, but it seems to be working. Finishing off her current opponent with a strike that was more smash than slash, she started to come up behind them, hoping to catch them while they were distracted.