He steps away from Jack, now addressing each person in the room.
“You may have heard the wolves outside. They are here to eradicate those who have witnessed the cloaked men. But they are not at all men and the wolves are merely the first wave; a relatively inconspicuous measure of attack to prevent further witnesses. Yet they are, in effect, only wolves. I assume you won’t have an issue killing wolves? But don’t get too cocky in this knowledge, the wolves don’t ride alone. We have a battle ahead of us. If their first assault fails them, they will not hesitate to deploy a second, more powerful wave.”
It may be apparent to Jack and the others in the hall at this time, Vernon has still not answered Jack’s question with any specific indication on how to counter The Order. By the look in Vernon’s eyes, it may however be clear that he lacks the faith in those present to succeed in what is needed to perform the task.
'Silas' saw the look in Vernon's eyes and knew immediately that staying with this motley group would only lead to failure. And yet he couldn't leave this cursed place! No matter. The Order was not his affair to mess with, and if they were too busy with the others to mess with him personally, someone will slip, and he'll eventually find a way out. And if they did decide he was worth messing with...
Boris hadn't yet divulged his Bonecrusher identity to anyone in Waise yet and it was doubtful anyone there were part of the circles that knew of said reputation, but even though his own memory may have been at fault, he doubted that, so he just grimaces down at the little, bearded man, replying;
"You sure are a creepy old man."
"Maybe," 'Silas' asserts, his grin slowly growing from ear to ear, tilting his head to one side, almost as if he was trying to see something in Boris more clearly. "Maybe the creepy old man is right." The chuckle that followed was a downright unsettling giggle, a cackle more suited to someone half his age, as he threw his head back, burying himself with his own laughter and the absurdity of the whole situation.
Jack watches as Boris shoves Silas against the wall, not bothering to try to stop him. Any attempts to do so, he figured, would be fruitless, given the demigod's raw strength.
"There'll be no point in bothering to fight against our common foe if we just end up destroying ourselves, old man..." Jack states, a tone of caution in his voice. Making a demigod your enemy tends to be a poor choice in terms of long-term survival, after all.
The giggling suddenly died down as 'Silas' turned sharply, almost too sharply, to Jack. "You're right. I shouldn't be wasting my energy on fruitless pursuits. I should be miles away from here!" He gestured to the room around him. "And yet here I am, stuck in this purgatory of a mansion, bunched with you lot." He kicks the wall behind him, frustrated.
"Waiting for death, that's all this is..." he mumbles under his breath.
When Chisille fell into a state of hysteria, Boris's stared pout at the ground was broken. He looked at the pathetic display, his heart hurt at the sound of the dragon crying, but his lack of current intellect didn't provide him a suitable response. He was frustrated by this, lifted himself off the floor and stomped his foot hard like a child chucking a tantrum. He then turns around, alerted by Silas's rude remark to Jack. His eyes flare with rage as he gives the old man a hefty shove against the wall -
"YOU DON'T TALK TO MY FRIEND LIKE THAT!" The shove was no doubt severe enough to knock the wind right out of Silas.
He then walks over to Jack and Betty, not saying a word to Jack, but distractedly happy to be in the company of the only friend he has at this point. He gives a soured look to Betty.
"Girls are mean!"
Vernon enters the room again to make his announcement. Boris looks at the man like someone might look at an alien vessel descending from the heavens, and also replies to Vernon:
"I may not be a smart man, but I can tell when someone is lying! Likeable men like you get away with fibs all the time!" He clenches his fists so hard that his knuckles turn white. "You better tell the truth or ELSE!"
Just then a little voice screams out from behind Jack, Bob, Betty and Boris. It's the slug on the wall, yelling loud enough for the four to hear, even though his words are directed at Jack:
"Hey you, Jack! I need a favor! Come on over here, please. It seems things are heating up around here, and I sure would appreciate it if you let me take a ride on your shoulder. I promise not to be a nuisance, you won't even know I'm there, really! It's just that I have no way of keeping up without a little help. And by the way... please don't hurt me! Oh yeah, thanks for putting out the fire!"
Buttons lifts his eyes to Jack, a look of 'this kitten is hungry' on his face.
Bob smiles, also saying something to Jack. "Looks like you're the man of the hours."
As 'Silas' was knocked against the wall, he did not remotely look like he was in any sort of pain. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it, mister Bonecrusher..." he growls softly, a small grin crawling up his mouth.
Jack watches Chisille as she releases her own rant in response to Boris's. As the fireball she releases explodes on the floor, Jack stands up, walking over to the flames and extinguishing them under the sole of his boot before they can spread enough to do any real damage. As smoke from the smoldering ashes left behind rises from underneath his foot, he glances down at Chisille and considers saying something, but concludes that anything he could say probably wouldn't help the situation.
Jack turns to look at Silas as he enters the hallway once more. "Guess your spell didn't quite turn out the way you had hoped, eh?"
'Silas' turns sharply over to Jack. "Oh, shut up," he quickly grunts, before looking around again.
Vernon was indifferent for hearing of the Order's recent conduct with Ei. He was well aware of their tendency for deceit, yet he was not ready to explain their intricate nature to Ei. Doing so would take a great deal of time, and time was of the essence at the moment. Perhaps Ei would, in time, learn that the Order do and say nothing unless it serves their cause, even if by doing so lies must be bequeathed. As for humans... Vernon appeared less than bigoted for Ei's personal disdain towards them. He has had his fair share of disagreements with humans, but does not pigeonhole the entire race for the deeds of those relative few who have performed misdeeds towards him.
"I am of a different opinion." He is straight with Ei, though lacking emotional commitment. "Most humans I have become acquainted with are petty, judgmental, discriminate and self serving. Yes. The majority of this group, in case your antipathy has blinded you, are detached from the run-of-the-mill humankind."
Vernon regards his daughter while giving the matter further thought. He than addressed Ei to conclude:
"To simply say, the order have lied to you. But as you have mentioned without sufficient knowledge to substantiate such a claim, the orders endeavor may be doomed to fail, or not.... I for one prefer to make sure it does. Let it be known right now, they have succeeded in their cause far more than you realize throughout the ages. On either accord, I will not allow them to succeed in the ineffectual destruction of more lives. Stand back and allow these few and rare decent humans to die if you must. I will not."
He now gives a stern look to Annie. "For reasons I have explained, I deeply regret not being a direct part of your life until now, but I did what I had to do. I don't deserve your love, I don't deserve your obedience. All I ask now is that you consider following me into battle to defend these humans, some of which you have even chosen as father to your child. I could use your help, Anne, you and that shaman you have growing inside you.... The decision is yours." He looks to Ei with one last word. "If you are intent on abandoning these humans then... I will need to assist in your cause once I'm done defending their honor. Now would be a good time to remove the void from outside this wretched house."
Walking away without granting Ei the room to respond, Vernon enters the hallway and looks kindly upon all present.
"In case you haven't noticed, your lives are in danger. I will help you fight."
Annie listens intently to her fathers words, but displays no emotion until he has departed, at which point she turns to Ei, a look of great acumen in her narrowing eyes.
"The fathers of my unborn will not die. Remove the void."
She giggles like a child anticipating play.
Fred is struck by a freak bolt of lightening.
"Is, someone... hunting us?" he mutters to himself, having heard Vernon's announcement.
Why, the host seems to know who these 'hunters' are! Some sort of 'Order'... How delightful, that it'll all be miiiiiine once I finish consuming his heart...
Wait, that must mean they're lifting the barrier, if I'm not mistaken! Perfect...
Climbing up the ladder, Silas eventually arrives in some sort of basement room. The floor seems to be a bit damaged by fire, but is otherwise empty.
Ei, as promised, follows Annie into the dining room, glaring at Jack as she passes him. "Smells like you?" Ei asks Annie, slightly confused. "How do you know that? Besides, why would he smell like you in the first place?"
As Ei enters the dining room after Annie does, she pulls the door closed behind them to ensure those outside don't get to hear the conversation going on. "So, you wanted to speak to us, Vernon?"
Finding nothing of note in the room, 'Silas' simply and wordlessly searches around for a door. If Silas finds one, he walks out. If not, he goes back down the ladder, disgruntled. Because this goshdarn game master forgot to mention if there's another exit to this place. Silly fairy. Do I have to do all the work myself?
Ei sighs. "You haven't finished what I had you do yet, but Ki still lives so all is fine I suppose." She says, glancing at Ki while Vernon attempts to calm Boris.
Then Vernon speaks again, suggesting Ei and Annie follow him. Ei looks at Annie to see how she responds.
"I think it's best we follow him, see what he has to say. After all, if he is a threat to us he can be dealt with, no?" Ei says, waiting for Annie to head to the Dining Room to follow her.
After a long while of trugding through the sewage, Silas arrives at a ladder leading up, but to where does it lead?
'Silas' gratefully takes the ladder and climbs up it into the unknown above.
"Well, at least that's something."
As 'Silas' vanishes, he soon appears elsewhere. Though, not where he was hoping to end up. Judging by the water that reaches to his knees and the disgusting smell, he's ended up in the sewers beneath Waise.
Ei simply smiles at Jack. "Don't worry, I already know your name, Jack. Anyway, that cat." Ei points at Buttons. "How much for it?"
Ei turns her attention back to Annie. If Jack and such were willing to sell Buttons, they'd mention the price even when Ei's attention was elsewhere. If not, she'd just take Buttons in a not-so-peaceful manner.
"Well, sort-of. I wanted to speak with you about what they said, and how it matters to us." Ei says, unaware that Annie's attention is currently vested on Vernon. Only when Vernon speaks does she actually notice he's there. "And I see that you are still alive, so you've succeeded at protecting Ki so far. Though, I never did get your name, did I?" Ei asks, grinning towards Vernon. Before turning her attention back towards Annie "But yes, Annie, you really should wear something less... revealing."
"Damnit!" 'Silas' yells. "The barrier was stronger than I thought... it managed to scramble the connection!" Wasting no time, he starts trugding through the sewage, trying to locate a way out. "Fortunately the host can disable its olfactory glands..."
The door leads to a small room with a closet. There is one other door, it's open and seemingly leads outside. However, judging by the sounds of footsteps, someone else is already outside near the door...
(Marion & Leon now share a map)
Marion begins to sigh, but then she hears the footsteps coming from the other side of the door, and the natural light streaming from the crack in the door, and immediately goes into a battle stance, before she creaks the door open to see what's on the other side.
"Finally!" 'Silas' exclaims out of nowhere. "It is done..."
He puts a hand on the wall, directly in the middle the multiple complex series of runes, and the runes start glowing a sickly indigo.
"Now, it's been nice knowing you... oh who am I kidding, of course it wasn't!" 'Silas' explains to the others in the room, emphasizing the 'of course'. "Anyway, I've got places to go and people to see, and I can't do that while stuck in this den of a dwelling!" Near the end of his sentence, it becomes a bit clearer that there are two voices speaking.
He begins to waver and fade away as the magic does its work. "Sayanora, mother-!" His last few syllables weren't heard by the others as he completely disappears from where he stood, and the runes become dust, blown away by a gust of wind that shouldn't be there.
Herman isn't altogether disappointed by Silas' reaction, somehow it only stimulates him.
"I don't mind it rough." She says, and strokes his back with her finger as he writes his equations on the wall with his magically appearing pen. "What's that you're doing there, hun?"
As Silas turns to view the appearance of Ei, Herman places her chin on his shoulder to watch the commotion as well. She furrows her eyebrows at Ei's appearance, having never seen the shady female before, but finding out who she was was going to have to wait; his attention is instead turned to Annie, since she's the ones that's naked, and hopes she doesn't put on the coat that the newcomer has offered. But something of a curios notion grows on Herman's face.
"So you'd prefer that young pregnant girl over me?" She whispers in Silas ear.
When Silas returns his attention to his work, Herman stands back, rubbing his female chin thoughtfully.... While his soul was trapped inside a slug, he wasn't able to use his powers, since the chemistry and physical parameters of slug wouldn't allow it, but now that he was again in human form, Herman suspected he was able to tap into his powers of sorcery once more. As he considered this, he kept his eyes on Annie, while his slender female fingers wriggled by his side and a thin, hairline green mist-like substance began to coil up her arms.
"Yes..." She repeats Silas' words in a whisper; "In time... certainly in time... they will all be consumed by my lust. But I think that Annie girl will have to die -"
Herman's words were ended by the loud sound from the room next door, and he turns to look as if he could see through the wall, which of course he couldn't. "Sounds like someones fun is going off with a bang."
Silas is irritated by Herman's constant pestering, but he says nothing in return. Instead, he continues drawing, scooting further away from Herman. Almost done...
'Silas' turns around to face what the commotion is all about. "Strange..." he mutters. "The host recognizes the appearance of this Ei being. It is of no consequence." He returns to continue his work on the wall. "In time," he whispered to himself, almost like a ritual chant, "all shall be consumed."
Boris nods with Jack's attempt to comfort, but he wasn't truly feeling it. He really just wanted his bone back, but he didn't want to kill the dragon to get it either. He scratches his head, concentrating hard to try and think of other options.
Herman is disappointed by Bobs interruption and grimaces at him, looking his attire up and down as she does so. She crosses her arms stroppily and huffs. She listens to their conversation for a while then looks up at Boris with a cunning smirk.
"Hey there big boy... maybe I could help get your bone back."
Boris didn't pick up on the innuendo, but the tone of her voice told him enough. Distracted from his contemplation he raises his narrow glare at her.
"You a very naughty girl. Boris doesn't like you at all. You might be a pretty lady, but your words make you ugly! Ladies are meant to have discretion - even Boris knows that much, miss. Boris doesn't want help from a woman like you."
Herman seems genuinely surprised by Boris' reply. "Well damn.... Who saw that coming?" Twisting her nose up, she turns away, gives Jack a kiss on the cheek and starts walking down the hall. "Fine, boys, I'll find a real man somewhere else." She hardly even takes ten steps before stopping at Silas, approaching him in much the same as she had approached Jack a minute before.
"Well how you doing there, Sweetie Pie? Looks like you might be a man of experience." She runs her fingers down the bristly hair of his face. "I'm ready for my lesson."
Bob is slowly shaking his head, genuinely amazed at Herman's behavior. After watching her walk away, he looks back at Jack with a nod. "Takes all sorts, I guess. But yes, I'd like to take you up on that offer. As far as I can tell, Jane, that's her name, was responsible for sticking Herman's soul into the slug as well. Not that I might blame her in this case. But it's true, Jane needs to be stopped. I was married to her a number of years before I even found out she was a witch. She's a clever one, Jack, and she also has my two kids with her. I'd prefer they don't get hurt. Nonetheless, we have a plan, let's work out the issues of this god forsaken town first, then go on that hunt together."
He looks at Boris. "And don't worry, Boris, I've lived in this town for most of my life and know where we could get our hands on some weapons. That is if we can get out of this house first."
He looks back at Buttons with Annie, and calls out to the cat by name, but Buttons only responds with a frightened look before returning his skittish attention to Annie again, then starts analyzing the area with a frightened demeanor.
"Buttons was our household pet, and I'd prefer to take him with me." He tells Jack with a sigh while looking over his tattered evening long johns. "But I'm hardly in a condition to safely get close to that girl (Annie) right now. I don't feel safe around her. You wouldn't mind going to fetch him for me, would you?"
'Silas' growls at Herman, and not in a good way. "I'm busy," he grunted. "Important work," he continued, roughly shoving Herman out of the way before returning to what appears to be writing science and magic far too complicated for any of them to understand on the walls of the mansion.
At this time, 'Silas' had finally made his way to the exit of the mansion. Sure, Boris had set him on fire earlier, but he was nothing more than a bit peeved that his clothes were ruined, and ignored Boris' apology before getting back up and continuing on his way. Unable to escape the mansion entirely, he instead opened his suitcase, marvelling at the things within. "Looks like this host is hiding more than he claimed," he muttered to himself. Then he shut his eyes. "Jackpot!" Closing the suitcase, he starts planning a way to bypass the forcefield so he could get to the old church. "I gotta get outta here before anything bad happens!"
0
Almost the eleventh hour there with that plot twist... welp, now what do I do with all this party material
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you're all wasting your breath, a smart winner would post on june 15th!
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*reads up*
Oh, flipping heck.
Hi, I'm Nucleep!
Nobody knows me
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'Silas' saw the look in Vernon's eyes and knew immediately that staying with this motley group would only lead to failure. And yet he couldn't leave this cursed place! No matter. The Order was not his affair to mess with, and if they were too busy with the others to mess with him personally, someone will slip, and he'll eventually find a way out. And if they did decide he was worth messing with...
Why, they'll know pain, of course.
"Maybe," 'Silas' asserts, his grin slowly growing from ear to ear, tilting his head to one side, almost as if he was trying to see something in Boris more clearly. "Maybe the creepy old man is right." The chuckle that followed was a downright unsettling giggle, a cackle more suited to someone half his age, as he threw his head back, burying himself with his own laughter and the absurdity of the whole situation.
The giggling suddenly died down as 'Silas' turned sharply, almost too sharply, to Jack. "You're right. I shouldn't be wasting my energy on fruitless pursuits. I should be miles away from here!" He gestured to the room around him. "And yet here I am, stuck in this purgatory of a mansion, bunched with you lot." He kicks the wall behind him, frustrated.
"Waiting for death, that's all this is..." he mumbles under his breath.
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As 'Silas' was knocked against the wall, he did not remotely look like he was in any sort of pain. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it, mister Bonecrusher..." he growls softly, a small grin crawling up his mouth.
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'Silas' turns sharply over to Jack. "Oh, shut up," he quickly grunts, before looking around again.
0
Finding nothing of note in the room, 'Silas' simply and wordlessly searches around for a door. If Silas finds one, he walks out. If not, he goes back down the ladder, disgruntled.
Because this goshdarn game master forgot to mention if there's another exit to this place. Silly fairy. Do I have to do all the work myself?0
'Silas' gratefully takes the ladder and climbs up it into the unknown above.
"Well, at least that's something."
0
"Damnit!" 'Silas' yells. "The barrier was stronger than I thought... it managed to scramble the connection!" Wasting no time, he starts trugding through the sewage, trying to locate a way out. "Fortunately the host can disable its olfactory glands..."
0
Marion begins to sigh, but then she hears the footsteps coming from the other side of the door, and the natural light streaming from the crack in the door, and immediately goes into a battle stance, before she creaks the door open to see what's on the other side.
0
"Finally!" 'Silas' exclaims out of nowhere. "It is done..."
He puts a hand on the wall, directly in the middle the multiple complex series of runes, and the runes start glowing a sickly indigo.
"Now, it's been nice knowing you... oh who am I kidding, of course it wasn't!" 'Silas' explains to the others in the room, emphasizing the 'of course'. "Anyway, I've got places to go and people to see, and I can't do that while stuck in this den of a dwelling!" Near the end of his sentence, it becomes a bit clearer that there are two voices speaking.
He begins to waver and fade away as the magic does its work. "Sayanora, mother-!" His last few syllables weren't heard by the others as he completely disappears from where he stood, and the runes become dust, blown away by a gust of wind that shouldn't be there.
0
Silas is irritated by Herman's constant pestering, but he says nothing in return. Instead, he continues drawing, scooting further away from Herman. Almost done...
0
'Silas' turns around to face what the commotion is all about. "Strange..." he mutters. "The host recognizes the appearance of this Ei being. It is of no consequence." He returns to continue his work on the wall. "In time," he whispered to himself, almost like a ritual chant, "all shall be consumed."
0
'Silas' growls at Herman, and not in a good way. "I'm busy," he grunted. "Important work," he continued, roughly shoving Herman out of the way before returning to what appears to be writing science and magic far too complicated for any of them to understand on the walls of the mansion.
0
At this time, 'Silas' had finally made his way to the exit of the mansion. Sure, Boris had set him on fire earlier, but he was nothing more than a bit peeved that his clothes were ruined, and ignored Boris' apology before getting back up and continuing on his way. Unable to escape the mansion entirely, he instead opened his suitcase, marvelling at the things within. "Looks like this host is hiding more than he claimed," he muttered to himself. Then he shut his eyes. "Jackpot!" Closing the suitcase, he starts planning a way to bypass the forcefield so he could get to the old church. "I gotta get outta here before anything bad happens!"