Fetzen

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

First posting blood belongs to me :o

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

Jared wasn't very eager to get out of bed. It was just so beautifully warm in here while even the most shoddy look out of the small window was telling him that temperatures were plummeting outside as crystals of ice had started to grow from the edges to the center. An arm that almost seemed to be too long to belong to any human reached lazily for another chunk of wood and tossed it into the open fireplace that had been defending him against the cold since last evening. A bit too late however - the loner living in this farmhouse had picked up an infection some days ago and still was busy recovering. The things keeping boredom away ? A book and Khan. Well... there was some interconnection between the two things. Let's just say that the book had not been published by an exactly ordinary, mortal printer. Many details of the story were so rotten as the strange paper it was printed on appeared to be. Yet - much to Jared's dismay and Khan's fortune - the pages had turned out to be much more robust than anticipated.

The thin tome was slammed on the small desk next to his bed. Enough! He'd not spend yet another day on laying around doing nothing. Rather bad developments were making progress out there and he had to go for another inspection run. Not to the castle, but to Seren's Folley. These damn hunters had such a nice board there on which they diligently noted everything they intended doing within the next weeks. Jared already had considered stealing the thing and subjecting it to thermal disposal below the chimney more than once, but the plan never came to execution. Today it wouldn't either, so much was for sure. But maybe something interesting was to be seen there ? He could also buy some liquor...

I feel obliged to inform you that you are likely going to infect people when you go there and have to cough.
Women you want to say ? According to my observations, the ratio of men to women standing next to this job board is out of proportion to the same ratio in the general population. I'll temporarily decimate competition. You have to approve this!

Khan gently zapped his host and then went silent until the latter one was fully dressed. Over the years Jared had learned that this meant that Khan was giving in to the argument (but was too proud to openly admit it).

Knowing that he'd not have to expose himself to the chilly weather outside, Jared had gone without putting on much more than his thick woolen and hooded cloak painted in white and red. It would protect him for the short distance he had to walk, but maybe appear a bit strange because it was frayed. But who was Jared to care about this ? There was a nice little cave hidden in the woods adjacent to Seren's Folley he almost always selected as his target. Noone would be there to see his arrival and so it was today.

The farmer entered the tavern, his head easily reaching up to the wooden crossbeams supporting the upper floor. Ducking, Jared approached the job board without caring much about looking left and right.

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

@13org IS it okay that I am semi-using your character?

@Ellion

Is there any link to google docs or whatever I am missing ? Want to watch :o ^^

Nocturne

Sorry for the delay.

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

OKAY I AM FINALLY DONE IF ANY HUNTER ARE BORED AND WANT TO HELP ME CRAFT THE OPENING LET ME KNOW ^^

@Ellion

I'm pretending to be here!

Nocturne

That had been quick. Almost too quick. While Hatuum had come here hoping to acquire a new contract, he had been nowhere near expecting to get it so quickly. It almost seemed like that his sheer appearance was making enough of a first impression to let people think thad he'd be suited for the job. However this also added to the pressure resting on his giant shoulders now. He would have to deliver: early and decisively. Otherwise the damage to his reputation could become unrecoverable.

Additionally there were other circumstances that gave this contract the potential to be one of the most important and most special of his entire career. The fact that one of his clients was one of the three elders, for example. Hell given that Amelia was standing so close to him he suddenly felt quite ashamed of himself. Was he behaving correctly ? Was his clothing something that could annoy some of the very high ranking persons here or was it at least halfway adequate for the situation ? Normally Hatuum didn't bother about such things at all except when doing his job, but right now these thoughs suddenly hit him so fiercly that the colossal man almost seemed to slightly shrink, though only briefly.

Hatuum made unvarnished use of his size, taking a quick survey of the crowd to check if there was anyone eavesdropping. Personally he thought that speaking openly about such a mission in such a room was a big mistake, but it had not been him who started it. There was no point left in urging to relocate the discussion now.

"Alright." He cleared his throat, partly due to embarrassment. "So I think there is a multitude of matters we have to discuss beforehand. First: Who is in command ? I'm not an official part of your mercenary group, Amiartys, but still it must be clear who has the duty to obey orders and who has the privilege to issue them. Second: The german territory is quite far away from here. I assume it is rather urgent ? So what do we do in order to get there if not walk ? Third: When and where to meet ? I'd like to have a little bit of time to prepare myself beforehand. A different set of clothes, something more adapted to the situation. And we need a plan."

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

So who wants to know Draco? After all, he has been a hunter for over 70 years of his life (and the rest of it was more or less training him to be one) and is still active via means that most hunters would find... worrying. Hunters that last this long tend to be known by both sides of the hunt.

Truthfully his reputation would be... individualistic rather then a faction thing. After all, some of the more friendly (and less homicidal) witches might have a positive relationship/opinion of him while more puratian hunters would find his research and usage of the occult... unsavory.

@Bright_Ops

Well, my character is rather out of the question because the old Andri has stopped living quite some years ago. However I could ask the same question for Jared because he basically is some sort of 'native' inhabitant, never having moved away from the area around the castle - it being a ruin or not. Some people might know him or at least know that and where he exists.

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

Alright I'm back in.

Spells in the Dark: The Shadow Queen (18+ For dark and suggestive themes)

Jared Nostrym

Age

23

Appearance

Jared's small number of years is clearly visible to even the most inattentive observer. His skin is clean and of medium complexion, his hair's dirty blond and of medium length. The man's typical facial expression is a rather grim looking one, but it is up to debate if this is merely due to the natural tension and arrangement of his muscles. Jared's build is not that muscular, but to call him weak would be off base. After all he somehow has to move about eight feet of body around due to the giantism condition inherited from his father.

Personality

Jared can be considered an introvert, but that's more of a deliberate choice than instinctive behaviour. He can do otherwise if he's sure that the topic is not going near the things about himself he wants to hide. This also makes him appear rather thoughtful, frequently weighing his words before giving his mouth the order to speak them out and thereby causing delays in dialogue. He usually is friendly, willing to pay for a round as long as he can afford it (which is not very likely given his current situation). He's not yet a hunter and given his familiy's history comparably open minded when it comes to witches, but on the other hand he's clever enough not to put his head too far above the parapet when he's among people looking like hunters.

History

His father was Andri Hymir, the hunter that managed to blast himself into eternal shame by doing something the vast majority of hunters considered treason and relocating to the Bloodrose coven. Many still do, but that's reduced to academic interest because Andri died about fifteen years ago. He disappeared from the scene decades earlier though - after the destruction of Castle Bloodrose he had nowhere left to go except self-elected exile.

Being his son explains Jared's interest in noone knowing his true origin and living under a false name. Interestingly though he made the decision to come back very near the place where everything had started a long time ago: The ruins of the castle, said to be haunted, shielded him from snoops and undesired civilians for most of his life. Now however he has a rather big problem: The witches are back - and with them the hunters.

What he didn't expect though was the precarious location of his home coming to befall him so early in the upcoming struggle. Was it the witches' presence or a rogue, random event after many years of nothing that made the gnomes attack his home near the mountain ? The question is quite academic. Having lost a lot, Jared had to relocate to Seren's Folley very recently. He now is stuck in the middle of a hive of hunters, but he's not yet sure if he wants to join their cause or try otherwise. The village has been his first choice because, unlike a certain castle, it doesn't lie in ruins but at least can offer a bit of comfort. As long as he can afford it...

Signature weapon

His father has left Jared with a number of items, some of them originating from his time with the old Bloodrose Coven. Among them was his suit of armor. While it is imbued with magic, Jared lacks the ability to actually invoke it. For him it is an ordinary piece of equipment although of superb quality and made of materials looking a bit atypical. Part of it are two almost identical staffs comprised of ironwood, leather and a minor amount of metal for reinforcement. One could claim that such a blunt weapon's effectiveness is inferior to that of a real sword of equal size, but on the other hand they can hit and knock out the enemy without spilling much blood or used for strangling. After all he looks more like some sort of silent killer, doesn't he ?

Pets / familiars

None, except maybe for the horse he used to escape from his farm when it was overrun.

Things he looks for in a partner

He currently has other priorities - restoring his former life and securing his own future, for example. That doesn't mean that he'd not be open to being approached though.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Vanya, Verya,... had the world silently started to resort to a regular expression consisting of a 'V' at the beginning, an 'ya' at the end and two random alphanumeric symbols in the middle in order to find names for incarnate disappointment ? An-Hasst's will to clean up the aftermath of this swamp excursion had been borderline before, but now he refused to do it at all. It didn't bother him much - the stuff would dry and the solid remains detach by themselves, it would just be a matter of time and if there'd be another source of dirt in their way he'd be the only one not having wasted time.

The Skayleigh closed his eyelids - so he could roll his eyeballs behind them without anyong noticing. Settionne, again, deployed his bewildering array of softened up, well chosen words in order to make a first impression. The question was if it would work this time. According to An-Hasst's internal opinion it would not. Verya, judging by the woman's tone, appeared to be quite used to the military and thereby would likely be more interested in hard facts than anything else.

However the giant didn't get very far with his attempt to finally hatch out some sort of retaliation plan. He was considering 'accidentally' stepping onto the man's foot when Alice, without knowing, saved it from this rather crushing experience by doing something An-Hasst instantaneously considered to be even more... intriguing. "I'd like to apologize for these words." he spoke up, speculating that him being a Skayleigh could net him some sort of bonus because it partially made him a wood elf himself. Of course it could be that the opposite thing would happen, but since when did An-Hasst have talent for excellent manners ?

Slowly he stepped closer towards Alice, approaching her from the right and from behind. "Why are you referring to your 'old dormitory' ? Was it a rotten collection of beddings stenched with a plethora of body fluids and an already self-compressing layer of dead flies on the window ledges ? Or did your memory just suffer a momentary glitch that made you forget about this swamp we just came from before making this comparison ?" His voice was enhanced with enough sarcasm to indicate that he wasn't entirely serious about what he was saying.