"What an interesting establishment" Vyle stated as he suddenly reappeared into existence next to Teliana. He was casually leaning against a wall, arms folded, and gazing about the room disinterestedly "Do not be scared, if I wanted to kill you I could have done so many times already, I simply desire to talk to you" Vyle stated calmly, he hoped the woman wouldn't start screaming. She did have a male acquaintance, who Vyle assumed was a werewolf based on what she said about people and prey and what she was doing for him "You're one of the only people to see me, know what I am, and not either run away screaming or call me a monster, you handled the situation expertly. I know we only just met and in such extraordinary circumstances, but you can trust me, can I trust you?" An orphanage owner? Really? Willow wondered what a harmless orphanage matron could have possibly done to get them killed? Obviously this "Terra Mace" was not as harmless as she seemed. So what did Willow know? Mrs Mace was a widow who had run the orphanage with her husband before he died. The contact refused to explain anything else about the woman's past, except the fact she was a mage. Willow didn't ask questions either, she worked with discretion. Eventually Willow made her way into Oxenfurt, hmm, she thought of ways to infiltrate the building. Sometimes the most simple approach was, however, the best. Stopping in a secluded alley Willow transformed herself into a young girl, about fourteen. She already had a small stature so it was quite a convincing disguise. But how to make the costume more complete? She ruffled her clothes and hair and rolled around in the dirt for a moment. faking some tears she decided she looked just as intended. With an incredible skill in acting she changed her whole manner to seem beaten down and depressed, she walked dragging her feet and looking exhausted. Perfect. It wasn't far to the orphanage, as she approached she looked up at the door mournfully. She had to keep the disguise up at all times, who knew what powers this woman possessed? Knocking weakly she cried out for help. "Please... please... let me in!"
The man sat at the bar brooding over his drink. He was a mage, a powerful mage of some kind, his name really didn't matter. The barmaid returned and smiled at him flirtatiously "Another drink sir?" "Yep" "Coming right up" the barmaid made him another beer and placed it in front of him. If the mage had been paying close attention he may have noticed a slight discolouring in the liquid, but he just wanted to drink and drink he did. Eventually the man began to feel slightly sick, putting it down to him being unable to hold his liquor he decided to leave the bar. Grumbling as he did he stepped out into the dimly lit streets of Oxenfurt. Night had fallen over the city, a few guards still patrolled but danger lurked in the darkness. If the mage had been observant he may have noticed a dark shape flitting through the shadows, and watching. Overconfident and certainly not frightened of the dark, the mage decided to take a shortcut through an alley around the back of the tavern. He got a few steps but had to stop to throw up his dinner. The dark shape in the shadows thought it a shame to waste expensive food, certainly the food was worth more than this mage's life. As the man's eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw a woman sitting by the wall of the tavern "Hey, you... you alright?" he slurred, as he stumbled closer, she was sitting in a puddle and her face seemed pale. The mage leaned down and shook her, he hand came away wet. But... that puddle wasn't water. Horrifed the mage lurched back, he recognised this woman, she served him at the bar. Turning quickly he came face to face with the dark shape, a woman... no... the same woman... the mage stumbled away from the barmaid in front of him who was also dead behind him. "Surprised?" the barmaid whispered as her face slowly shifted into someone completely different. The mage tried to summon fire but the poison in the alcohol was getting to him, he could barely stand. With one swift motion the dark shape who had formerly been disguised as a barmaid brought out a sword and slit the mage's throat, leaving his dead body next to the barmaid's. Willow wasted no time staying around and quickly leaped into the shadows. Navigating a maze of alleys and tunnels she found her way down to Sanctuary. Stopping suddenly in a shaded crossroads by several other shadowy figures. Quickly looking around she began to speak, without facing the figures "Yes, he's dead. Killing mages is so fun, they make the most hilarious faces" she chuckled slightly "You should have seen him, so shocked at being bested" a muffled voice came from the figure and he held out a pouch of coins "What's next then?" the figure gave her a piece of paper, Willow smiled "They're good as dead"
Username: Relatively Sane Character Name: Willow Duskstrider, The Widowmaker Age: 25 Gender: Female Race: Doppler Appearance: Usually she is slender, has black hair and wears purple and black robes Bio: After willow's parents and family were killed in the wilderness by animals when she was only a baby, she was discovered by a human bandit gang. From this young age she was ruthlessly trained as a brutal killer to do whatever her masters wanted, the training was abusive and her life was harsh but she soon grew into an excellent assassin who could use her doppler shapeshifting skills to infiltrate anywhere. But one day, during an ordinary heist she discovered the house she was raiding belonged to a witcher, and she could not beat him. However when the witcher saw how young she was he spared her life and let her go back to her masters, giving her one piece of advice, that she shouldn't let other people control her life. Taking this advice to heart she returned and killed all the bandits, taking all their money and possessions for herself. She had no idea how to live a normal life though and so returned to being an assassin for hire not long after. The witcher found her again though and was convinced he could change her, thus he began to train her rigorously in the same way witchers are trained. But after she had learned all she could she decided she liked killing people for money and that he couldn't change her. She faced her master and defeated him, thus becoming a legend as one of the only dopplers to kill a witcher in single combat. Since then she has continued her career of assassination and burglary. She specialises in killing witchers, mages, and particularly challenging opponents. Occupation: Assassin Weapons: Dual swords Secondary Weapon: Shortbow Other:
"My past? Well..." He thought for a moment, how much should he tell this man? He'd only just met him "I'm a member of the Vellister family. Heavily religious, their priests taught me healing and magic for a while. But then I was banished for... reasons. Stupid reasons really, there was nothing I could have done, it's just who I am. So for a while I wandered around aimlessly, homeless. I slept rough in forests and villages for a while. Until one day a kind family brought me in for the night and fed me. I was so so hungry, I remember that was the best tasting soup I've ever had" He paused as the memories came flooding back "I was only 13. Can you even imagine how grateful I was to this family? After sleeping out in the rain and storms for so long? my clothes were sodden and muddy, this family washed them for me. They had their own problems, they had to care for their blind old grandfather and they barely had enough food to feed themselves, but still they helped me. I was so happy I cried. After being there a couple of hours I had noticed certain symptoms in one of the children, they were sick, that was clear from all the coughing, but I knew what to do. I still had some medicine on me that I'd taken from home and I treated the young girl. If I hadn't been there she would have died. It was the least I could do, I felt so happy to help them as much as they'd helped me. That was when I found my calling, all I wanted to do was help people. From that day on I wandered village to village, trading my healing services for a place to stay and food to eat. I never asked for money, just supplies and shelter. I was happy" Damian smiled, but that smile suddenly became a dark look and Damian glared "years later returned to that village, to that family, to see them again, simply because they'd had such an impact on my life. When I arrived at the house though only the old blind man remained. The rest of the family..." Damian paused and held back sobs "...the rest of them were killed by bandits. They were good people! They didn't deserve this! It was heartbreaking to see the sadness in the old man's face, they'd left nobody behind to care for him, and they'd taken all the family possessions. I stayed, for months, just to care for this old man who had lost his family. At least he died in somebody's care, knowing that he had a friend. That's how all good people should die, safely and comfortably with their friends" Damian suddenly turned and looked at Ander with determination in his eyes "But those bandits deserve to burn in hell. People like them, who have no respect for human lives, who profit from the misery of others... no punishment on earth is enough to make them pay for what they've done. They all deserve to die. That's why I came here. i want to help the good, and rid the world of the cruel"
Vyle watched as the events played out. He clenched his fists as he saw the necromancer summon the dead and terrify that woman. Slipping through the shadows he followed Solomon until he opened a portal and popped through. The mage was going to Kaer Morhen, that was good to know. Returning to the woman he noticed she had been saved by a man, good. She should have realised now that she should have listened to him, perhaps she could be a potential ally? Nevertheless for now he must remain hidden... Meanwhile Solomon was beginning to feel unwanted, but luckily he was exactly where he meant to be, Kaer Morhen. There seemed to be some conflict going on, good that was just a distraction then "Thank you kindly for the help, I'll be going then, clearly I was supposed to be in White Orchard. This happens all the time" and with that he began to walk away. Kaer Morhen. Perfect. He skipped his way out of the library and began to wander among the castle, generally heading out. He didn't have a plan, but ideas for mischief and suffering were beginning to form in his mind. Opening a portal he teleported out of the castle into the nearby forest. He stopped in a shaded area and took out a locket. Opening it he sighed and stared at the picture "My love, they will suffer as you did, as we did. The whole world will suffer..." Sobbing laughter emanated from beneath his mask, suddenly he put away the locket and skipped away merrily.
Solomon materialised suddenly. Now let's see, where was he? Looking around he appeared to be in some kind of library "I may have got my co-ordinates wrong, ah, hello there" there were several people around, this was problematic. A boy and a girl, also some old guy who looked like he was in charge. "Sorry about this, just dropping in, heh, dropping in, I'm hilarious, anyway just passing through, you wouldn't happen to know where we are would you? I'm not very good at geography" He hoped he wasn't going to run into another ridiculous situation, just after he got away from the self-righteous vampire...
"Yes, the truth is..." as he said this he begun to raise dead from beneath the earth, their desperate claws digging upwards with intent "You should never trust a vampire, or a necromancer" the skeletal hands burst forth and grabbed Teliana, as she was close to the ground it was easy for them to quickly swamp her. Solomon sprang up and skipped around her for a moment, brandishing his staff, which had been cracked in half by the fall "Foolish, foolish girl. You should have listened to the vampire. For your information my name is Solomon, and next time I won't be so merciful" he whispered, before melting into the shadows with his dark magic and fleeing away, he couldn't risk staying here for one more second, that vampire could be anywhere. Quickly he summoned another portal, where would be a nice place to go? Hmmm... yes, he'd see what it was like around there. Without wasting any time Solomon stepped through the portal and disappeared.
Damian's face fell as Ander explained a bit about his past "Sorry... I just assumed. I know what you mean about wishing you could save someone, the guilt stay on your mind for years" Perhaps he'd been wrong about this man, despite his pompous manner. "I'm sorry to hear about your family. I haven't seen mine since they sent me away when I was younger, they may not be dead, but they're dead to me" He felt awkward about inquiring further into Ander's past, though there were questions he wanted to ask. Then Ander said about Mikasa taking Johanna "Oh, I know Johanna, I hope she's alright"
The woman seemed scared, rightfully, she'd just threatened an incredibly powerful vampire. But what Solomon found more surprising was the vampire's retreat. He could clearly have killed the woman, that would have made for an excellent show, Solomon kinda was looking forward to it. Yet either way Solomon was alive now so perhaps this was the better course of events. Suddenly the woman rapidly questioned him "Woah woah woah, one at a time" Solomon objected "1) Why do you want to know, do you want to learn it too? Well sorry but some secrets I have to keep close to heart" Solomon analysed the situation as he spoke, a mage with a weapon, she probably wouldn't kill him unprovoked but she was still dangerous "2) I didn't choose to teleport here exactly, just anywhere safe" Let's see, he could summon undead to hold her down and then he could steal the dagger, he could use black magic to incapacitate her, but the problem with dark magic was it always took something out of the user, and Solomon wasn't in the best shape right now "3) I have never met that vampire before in my life but if you believe his speech he seems to just hate me. Perhaps a repentant vampire? Probably just wanted to suck my blood" Every plan he could think of was risky, he did not know this woman's capabilities "Either way, I don't think he's quite given up the chase yet, he'll probably wait until we're vulnerable and strike. He might kill you next time, you can never trust a vampire"
So Ander started lecturing Damian about being a healer, most of which Damian ignored "Please stop it, I've been healing people for most of my life, I know all about people, what makes you think you do? have you trekked from village to village helping the sick and saving livestock? have you saved lives?" Damian shook his head with annoyance, to be fair he knew nothing of this man's backstory, perhaps they had a similar past, perhaps his outburst was unprecedented, but it didn't excuse Ander's arrogant manner. Suddenly he said something about someone being in danger "Who's in danger?" he turned suddenly, this was important.
This was going very well for Solomon, a moment ago he was dead, now he had a chance of survival. This mage woman was being very helpful, he wondered how he could turn the situation to his advantage... "Petulant child!" the vampire muttered, and flicked out two more daggers "Indeed I am always ready, but I'd like my property back" That was when the girl decided to set his dagger on fire and threaten him, first there was the fear of the fire, then that fear became rage that rage bubbled inseide him. But he could not let it loose, he could not, would not, become the monsters he fought. "You should probably question this guy too, he's a vampire" Solomon interrupted, beneath his mask he was grinning, people didn't like necromancers, but they hated vampires Vyle looked back at the necromancer with an expression of extreme hatred, he considered denying the truth, pretending he wasn't what the mage claimed. Yet it was difficult to hide once people knew "There is not denying it..." He looked back at the girl and hissed at her, showing off his large fangs "Prince Vyle Blackwing, a High Vampire, and you dare threaten me? Be grateful you're still alive, my kin would not be so merciful" He looked from the woman, to the necromancer, and back to the woman. He could certainly take this mage girl in a fight, but the fire deterred him, as well as the fact that they were in the middle of a populated village and Vyle did not want to draw attention to himself. "Very well, but I cannot be blamed if this creature escapes yet again" And with that he became invisible and slunk into the shadows. An observant watcher would have noticed a swarm of bats flutter away into the night. "Thank gods, that guy was crazy, he was going to kill me!" Solomon stated, fear and sincerity present in his voice "Do you mind helping me up? I think I broke something"
"Perhaps you are right, after tonight I wasn't planning on drinking anymore anyway" Damian replied, this Ander person was beginning to get on his nerves, with his stuck-up attitude "No, I don't know what happens to a mage that uses up all their magical energy, I'm a doctor not a wizard" he said as he analysed Cassandra, he was really starting to get tired of this guy "What happened to Cassandra?"
Prince Vyle narrowed his eyes, this reminded him why he hated dealing with humans, so demanding, they always wanted to know your business. Vyle stood tall and imposing "You have no right to inquire about who or what I might be. But since you ask I am obliged to answer. I am a hunter. A hunter of those who abuse and exploit humankind, alike in purpose to the ones you would call witchers" With a dramatic flourish he gestured to the Necromancer lying on the floor "And this man... this man is hardly a man. A mage who abuses the sanctity of death, a necromancer" "And quite a good one at that, nobody resurrects a corpse like me" Solomon sat up and interjected "Silence warlock! Your devious ways will go on no longer" Turning back to the girl he continued "I intend to bring this man to justice, so could you please pass me the knife and I'll be on my way" "You forgot to mention the fact that..." "SILENCE!"
"Cursed creature! Turn and face me!" Damn this guy was persistant, Solomon stumbled onwards, his undead weren't doing a great job at holding back the vampire. It was times like these he wished the undead worked out, but of course they couldn't, they were dead, unless you had a coffin with a built in gym, that would be an interesting idea... nevertheless, back to the topic, where was he? Oh yes, being chased by a vampire. He had just been casually ressurecting a graveyard when he'd been quite rudely interrupted by a knife to his throat, barely escaping with his life he thought he'd lost the man, until he'd heard a screech from above and was swarmed by bats. And now here he was desperately running for his life. Funny the way things went, wasn't it? Gathering up the magic energy Solomon stopped and created a portal "I'd love to stick around and chat but I've got to be going" he quipped as he fell backwards into the portal, hoping it led somewhere safe "Ta ta for now" "Coward! Craven! You won't escape my wrath!" catching up with the necromancer Prince Vyle managed to leap through the portal before it closed. Vyle had heard tales of a dark necromancer that abused mortals and had decided to track him down, he certainly wouldn't let the dark mage out of his clutches now. He grabbed the man and pulled out one of his many knives "For god's sake just die!" As they hit the ground the knife was knocked out of his hands and he gracefully tumbled away, the necromancer however landed roughly and something cracked. Vyle took in his surroundings. A road, a village, a little girl picking flowers. Oh dear, Vyle's knife had landed by the young girl's feet. Curses. He really did not want to reveal himself to humans. Trying to straighten out his clothes Vyle walked forwards slowly. The Necromancer was not a danger, he was moaning on the floor. Vyle would deal with him once this interloper was out of the way. "Greetings" He said softly to the girl "I appear to have dropped a blade, could I, ah, please have it?"
Username: It's me again, Relatively Sane, you should know me by now Character Name: Prince Vyle Blackwing, Lord of the Night Age: Very very old Gender: Male Race: High Vampire Appearance: Looks like a regular human most of the time, quite young looking, slightly pale, long black hair, wears dark but expensive clothes. Bio: Vyle was once royalty, a prince of the Blackwing clan of vampires that ruled a long long time ago, but soon he realised that what his clan were doing was wrong, he had a better sense of morality that his family, he didn't like how they were feeding off humans and wantonly killing. When he confronted the king, his father, about this he was exiled from the clan and disowned. Vyle became enraged and bitter, he wanted revenge, he wanted justice. Thus, under the guise of a human, he stealthily led a group of witchers to the castle and once inside they assassinated his whole family. Vyle murdered his father without any doubt or regret, he didn't feel anything for the clan, because he knew justice was done. Vyle became an enforcer of justice, a hunter of those he believed to be wrong. He was hated by mortalkind even though he protected them from creatures worse than himself, but he didn't care, as long as the reckoning came for the evil. Vyle has very defined views of good and evil and doesn't quite grasp the intricacies of morality, making him effective but perhaps misguided sometimes. He still needs to feed on humans though so only picks criminals and those he considers evil. Vyle has come into conflict with witchers on several occasions but still respects what they do, even if they think he's a monster. But most of the time Vyle is never seen as he has incredible powers of stealth and slips through the night unnoticed. Occupation: Vigilante Weapons: Knives Secondary Weapon: More knives Powers: Invisibility, turns into a massive bat, can control bats.
Damian went bright red as the man commented on his appearance and smell "I don't usually drink, ever, I uh, just decided to see what it was like" Damian moved over to Cassandra, she seemed stable for now "I guess I'm kind of new, I've been on a mission though... it didn't go so well" This guy seemed really stuck up and not very friendly, all Damian wanted to do was introduce himself and help a colleague in need, but this arrogant man treated him condescendingly. It was probably because he smelled of alcohol to be fair "Um... what's your name? I haven't seen you around before..."
Username: Relatively Sane Character Name: Solomon Age: Unknown Gender: Male Race: Mage Appearance: Solomon wears black robes, a pointy hat and a mask. he never shows his face. Bio: A long time ago Solomon was like any other mage, a good and moral man. But when, on one fateful day, he lost his true love he tried anything to bring them back. He was so emotionally distraught that he delved into dark and dangerous magic. Eventually, when he did manage to bring back his love it was as an undead abomination with no thoughts or feelings of the time before. Additionally the humans of the village he lived in were growing suspicious of his dark experiments and had discovered many graves had been raided in Solomon's desperate research of death. They confronted him but what they found was a husk of the man Solomon had once been, he was so drained from his failure to truly bring back his love and his mind was warped by the dark magic he'd meddled in. There was only anger left and it was this anger that Solomon unleashed on the villagers, ripping the souls from their weak human bodies and raising them as his undead servants. He was no longer truly Solomon and to commemorate this he crafted a mask to hide his face. Now Solomon wanders the land doing whatever amuses him. Occupation: Necromancer Weapons: Staff Secondary Weapon: N/A Powers: Necromancy and Dark magic, raising the dead and twisting the souls of the living
"Thanks" Damian smiled shyly at the others in the room and made to leave "I'll see you around" and left the room. Sam wondered where Damian would go next. He did not have a cup of tea, that was problematic. He didn't know if there were any teabags left and either way it was getting late. Suddenly Sam realised he was writing about himself again and quickly got back to Damian Damian wandered around the guild and made himself a cup of tea. As he walked around a corridor he bumped into a massive stone statue "Oh, hello, Malkira was it?" "Is that a cup of tea?" Malkira eyed the cup with wonder "Ah, it's been so long since I've had a cup of tea!" "Oh. That must suck" Damian eyed the statue nervously, he wasn't really sure how to act around this guy "Indeed, but luckily I've found a way to become human again! It's just remarkable, the Oracle told me" Malkira stated happily "The... Oracle?" "You haven't heard? we picked up an ancient artifact on our journey, everyone gets to ask the Oracle one question" "Huh, I'll have to give that a look" Damian made a mental note to check that out and went on his way. As he passed by Cassandra's room he noticed she was hurt and some guy was in there "Oh, is something wrong? Uh, I'm Damian" He smiled awkwardly as he entered the room "I'm a healer, can I er help maybe?"
"Sure I guess I could teach you what I know..." Sam stared at his keyboard, what was he supposed to write now? He knew nothing about medicine or doctoring, how did they teach it? Sipping his tea he tried to remember that first aid course he took a long time ago, but he couldn't, something about recovery positions? CPR? Sam really hoped nobody had to rely on him to save their life. Sam took another sip of tea and decided to skip the question. "... at some point. It won't be quick so er, I guess I'll find some other time" He said to Tessa. Suddenly Conrad asked him about being banished, Damian's heart skipped a beat and his mouth went dry. He was always uncomfortable talking about this "Um, well, yes" He looked down shyly "I used to be a part of the Vellister family until I was kicked out for... reasons" Conrad was nice and all but still a noble, and Damian wasn't comfortable talking to nobles, or anyone, about... himself. He didn't want to be rejected again, excluded, banished, because of one silly thing he couldn't stop. It was at this moment Sam spilled his tea. Curses, that was good tea as well. Of course all the tea Sam made was good but that one was especially good, and it was just at the right temperature. Sam hated to waste good tea.
"Right" Damian wiped his hands and sat back "That seems like enough, but you should rest for at least 24 hours, don't strain yourself or it'll make my job even harder" Tessa's face was full of guilt, she clearly didn't intend to do whatever she did. All she wanted was to do good, but she just lost control. Damian knew how she felt, Conrad asked about teaching her medicine "Uh, well, I was taught a bit of medicine and healing from the priests back home, and then the rest was self-taught over... oh a long time, I can't remember how many years... of wandering the world after I got banished. The point is yes it could be taught, I could probably teach it... uh I don't think I'd be a great teacher... but it's not easy to learn, it takes a while" Conrad thanked him and asked if he could do anything in return, Damian chuckled "Seriously don't worry about it, I do things all the time without expecting anything in return"
