Vampire: Dark Ages - Scene 4: In the Halls of the Dead

[Goatkiller666]

In the woods by Castle Giovanni
-------------------------------

"let me assure you that your lady is quite well"

Bojan falls to his knees in relief. "Anything. What must I do?"

Dante hears whispers in his mind:

• Hungry. This one won't suffice. His soul can yet be saved.

Erick moves in closer to the scene, though this takes a little while given how far away he was. (He's a little surprised that he was able to clearly hear the conversation from so far away.)

• [Consider Erick hidden behind nearby trees at this point, near enough to see or interact if you choose.]

Erick feels a presence on his shoulder. This is one he has felt before, all his life, but never before has it taken form like this. He is not afraid, nor startled by the sudden appearance, nor even when it speaks to him:

• Yes, child. You must approach that one. He can help you achieve peace.

In the woods by Zombar
----------------------

The owl circles once more and dives in attack. This time, she doesn't even come close to Alina in her dive, and eventually settles onto a nearby tree branch. She is clearly agitated, and whenever Alina moves closer to her she flutters to a farther spot. But she's still here.

• Monster. What have you done to her? How can you wear her seeming?

In the Dining Room
------------------

Sabine plays hide-n-seek. Johann leaves undetected.


In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Vida sees Sabine go over to Taduz, so returns to Seska's bathing room. She enters quietly, so as not to disturb, and sees her mistress submerged beneith the water, with her long hair draped over the edge of the basin.

• [3 successes to notice her enter, even though you're underwater.]

In Pierre's Room
-----------------

Gedeminas is standing in the doorway, while Pierre prances around the room, occassionally uttering happy phrases in hateful French. Olaf can clearly hear this from down the hallway as he approaches. On arrival, he can see over Gedeminas' shoulders to the naked frenchman dancing a caper now, huge grin on his face, though dried blood still covers most of his head and shoulders.

[Goatkiller666]

Nobody comments as Johann steps out of the room and into the clear evening night.

Zombar is on a branch of the Danube, which itself runs through Vienna. So simply heading upstream will eventually take him to his father's town. By foot, the trip would be several weeks travel.

[How will you handle finding shelter, and hunting? You have 19 blood at this point, so could go for easily two weeks without hunting, if you can avoid using powers. You'll need to hunt at least once before you arrive, though. The trip would take half as long with a horse.]

[Seska Karantanija]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------
Seska continues to lay in the tub, perfectly still and lifeless, despite seeing Vida enter. She stays there for almost a minute, until Vida can be seen peering over the bath, trying to say something. Not wanting to worry her, Seska sits up and smiles at her handmaiden.

"Sorry for concerning you, Vida. It was very peaceful under the water. I could stay there all night..." She lets out a faint pleased sigh at finding some relaxation.

She motions with a sponge in her hand. "Help scrub my back?" Seska takes her hair in front of her shoulder while Vida takes the sponge. "Did you lose your puppy?"

[Goatkiller666]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Vida takes the proferred sponge and leans in to scrub. Before she touches her mistress' back, she gasps. "My lady... what has happened to you? Were you injured?" She leans in farther for a closer look, then quickly stumbles away and backs into the corner with a silent scream. She gasps for breath, eyes wide, and makes a sign against evil with her hand.

[Taduz Illyannovich]

I notice most people have left the main meeting room except Sabine who has just disappeared.

No time like the present.

Muttered in Rom "No more sacrifices, no more beckoning. I am your master. Show me your power."

[Goatkiller666]

Taduz perceptions spread. He is now aware of all of the dining room, the kitchen, some of the courtyard outside, the rooms directly above him (including where Pierre, Olaf, and Gedeminas are), and a small portion of the hallway up. He can not sense the bathing room.

He can taste the salty meat in the stew cooking, and the fatigue and worry in Sigismund's blood. He can tell where Sabine is standing, holding very still by the fireplace.

[Seska Karantanija]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Seska hangs her head, partly submerging it. Maybe it is worse than I feared. She raises her head again and twists around in the tub to look at Vida, "Is it that bad? I could feel it, but had no mirror to see."

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Oi, I did ask for it...

I turn my head towards Sabine and wink.

Let's see, let me see the men, our Norseman looked rather put out when he left, this should be interesting, the fop and the blind one up there too.

I hum a light Gypsy tune, a tune to entertain children.

[Concentrating on the room they are in]

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

"Yesss, Sir Bohan, you are pure! Very pure!" exclaims Dante. "God has spoken to me of your purity, your innocence! I see now what must be done, God has told me this. There is only one way to save your lady, my dear sir, and that is to be infused with Christ's holy blood. The very blood within me! Will you do this, for your lady and father in heaven?!"

Dante notices some movement off in the distance. (Use dementation 3 points on the target)

[Erick Shinnings]

Dante notices some movement off in the distance. (Use dementation 3 points on the target)

I'm uncertain whether the monk truly sees me. Either way, I nod in his direction, doing my best to indicate that I mean no harm, at least for now.

[Johann Von Braniff]

[I figure I'll handle the shelter thing with the time comes. Find a nice dark hole to crawl into or something. And, it looks like I'm going to have to steal a horse before I leave Zombar. Heh... ]

I skulk through the village, my eyes seeing clearly in the darkness. I make my way to the inn I was thrown out of the day my life changed. Unseen, I slip into the rickety stable where the patrons' horses are housed. There is only one, a dark brown roan. He snorts as I enter, I can see the panic in his eyes. He knows what I am.

"Peace." I say to him. "You are I are going to be great friends." I hold out my hand as I slowly approach.

[Goatkiller666]

The horse is uncomfortable at first, but Johann's calm demeanor and the fact that it's in a closed stable soon has the horse accepting his hand. The tack and saddle are stored next to the stall.

[Goatkiller666]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Vida slowly approaches again, like a stray dog to offered food. She peers over the edge of the basin, cautiously inspecting Seska's back. "It's scales. Like a rat snake, covering your whole back."

"Mistress, what has happened?"

Castle Giovanni
---------------

Bojan recoils from Dante. "Christ's blood? Christ is just another lie the Romans and the Byzantines use to control people. But are you saying your church has my Mistress? Tell me plain, sir, for I've no time for games or rituals. Where is she?"

Dante sees motion behind the tree, of Erick nodding to him. His look through dementation reveals that the Welshman is not a threat at the moment. Still, he sees all the legions of Hell standing behind him, and yet Erick is resisting them.

[Seska Karantanija]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

She gives a solemn look to Vida, "What hasn't happened? We are cursed. As I said to Pierre, I shall give you the full tale when Bojan returns. The short of it though..." Seska leans back and rests her arms on the tub. "The short of it, my past few days consisted of being buried alive, tapped like a keg, dying, set loose upon soldiers as a rabid dog, stabbed, thrown in a dungeon, tortured, and forced into servitude."

Seska has to give a wry smile upon finishing her recital. "I do believe I am going quite mad, as well."

She sighs. "We did not even get to eat any of the food that damnable Giovanni had set out. That is what happened my dear. This," she rubs her neck and gestures down her back, "is apparently a reminder of the whole delightful evening."

"How it came to be or its significance I do not know yet. However, I do intend to find out."

[Olaf_Magnusson]

In Pierre's Room
-----------------

Gedeminas is standing in the doorway, while Pierre prances around the room, occassionally uttering happy phrases in hateful French. Olaf can clearly hear this from down the hallway as he approaches. On arrival, he can see over Gedeminas' shoulders to the naked frenchman dancing a caper now, huge grin on his face, though dried blood still covers most of his head and shoulders.

"Frankish DOG! Cease your vile tongue! Your ilk are MOST despised, nithings all, becoming sheep-followers! Those of warrior spirit left to war with the Angles, leaving those of milk-hearts to speak that language! You war now with nothing of honor!"

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

"My mistake, sir, I took you for a Christian, not a heathen of the mountains." Dante turns to address the 2 nearby men, "you there, you wear the regalia of Crusading men. Come, tell me your names and pronounce to me your faith in thy Lord God. Tell me, how long has it been since you've taken Communion."

[Gedeminas]

Gedeminas sighed as Olaf keeps shouting, then turns to him once he has finished.

He speaks to Olaf in Latin, "I doubt he can understand you, and even if he can, letting yourself get worked into a killing rage would be a bad idea. I hope we can stay together until we manage to gain at least a working understanding of our situation, and we should try to avoid getting in situations where we have to be chased out of town."

He then turns to Pierre, and says in Slavic, "I don't know if you understand what he said, but he wants you to stop speaking French. He doesn't like that tongue."

[ooc]I'm basing my response on the assumption that Olaf is speaking in Latin, as he has shown he can do, and that Pierre doesn't understand Latin, as I figure most armsmen wouldn't.[/ooc]

[Goatkiller666]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Vida starts to tear up, but at the same time slowly reaches out a hand to touch Seska's back. Especially at the edges of the patch. "Does it hurt?" She leans in closer to inspect, and brushes the skin at the edge a bit more vigorously. "It looks like the scales continue under your skin." She reaches to Seska's arm, kneeding the skin to feel for scales underneath. "I don't feel them here. But it looks like I could peel off the skin back here and expose more scales."

Castle Giovanni

Wolfgang replies quickly to the commanding voice, "It's been nearly two weeks since last we were to church, brother. We were to have gone after Sir Leopold's dinner with Lord Giovanni, but we've been looking for him, instead."

Gunter stares at him. "Shut up, fool. We've more important things to do, now."

Bojan stands again, and reaches for Dante. "Yes! Again you change the subject. I believe you know nothing of my mistress' whereabouts. If you were a decent man, as your Christ bids you be, you wouldn't torture me so. Tell me what you know, or tell me you know nothing and I'll be quit of you!" Not even waiting for an answer, Bojan turns and unties his horse, mounts and gallops off into the night.

Danukes watches him go. He turns to Wolfgang and Gunter. "I suspect this one is mad. Or demon-ridden. Perhaps your God will protect you, or help him. Either way, I'd better go look after Bojan. He might kill himself galloping around at night, as worked up as he is. Can you mind this one?"

Gunter nods to him, then Danukes mounts and follos Bojan into the night. Gunter says to Dante, "So... which is it, Brother? Are you simply mad from this harrowing attack and days alone starving in the woods, or are you really demon-ridden and come to steal our souls for Old Scratch?" Gunter and Wolfgang to not appear to be aware of Erick's presence, as they've been focusing on Dante.


In Pierre's Room
----------------

Pierre is confused by Olaf's shouting in the church tongue, and further confused by Gedeminas' translation. "He does not like le français? But it is such a beautiful tongue. Still, today God has given me back my life and my leg. I will not spoil that by annoying others, strange though they may be." He walks over to Olaf and holds out his hand, saying in very badly accented German, "Germanish it should... shall... be, my friend."

[Sabine]

I'm still hiding. [Obfuscate 1]. But I want to become more hidden. Taduz can still see me. I start to turn to mist. [Protean 5]

[Seska Karantanija]

In the Bathing Room
-------------------

Seska shakes her head. "It does not hurt. Your touch feels a little different, however I can still feel it." She let's Vida explore her back, hoping it reduces her discomfort somewhat. At her suggestion to peel back the skin she blanches a little, "Let us not do that. Maybe the skin will grow back with care. Gods help me if any more sloughs off. That is why I wanted my riding outfit. It should cover my shoulders and neck with its high collar."