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Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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As the Hunter drew close to the pile, a small, bone thin man had darted out in an attempt to escape his notice. Uthalion was quicker, however, and a swing of his arm was enough to knock the man senseless. He quickly grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, and lifted him into the air. The man came to his senses, and began squirming as he saw Uthalion’s helmet staring into his eyes.

“P-please,” the man moaned. “I-I didn't even d-do anything!”

“I’ll decide that,” Uthalion spat. “I’m looking for information…or more accurately, information a certain street urchin is supposed to have.”

“Let me go and I’ll try to help,” the man replied. “I swear, I didn't even do anything illegal yet!”

Uthalion dropped the man, and he tried running around the Hunter once more. In fact, he was almost taken off guard, but quickly recovered and still had enough of his wits to tackle the guy to the ground rather brutally.

“I’ll only ask once!” Uthalion shouted as the man squirmed. “I’m looking for anything unusual that’s happened around here in the past few weeks. Do. You. Know. Anything?”

“This is the gods damned capital, boy!" the man rasped. “Define ‘strange’, or else you’ll be hearin’ about half the scandals that popped up with the nobles this week and how one of them was caught sleepin’ with a farmer’s livestock for god’s sake!”

“Alright, try this then,” Uthalion replied. “I’m looking for something concerning a strange creature of sorts. Looks like a wolf, but has an exoskeleton and horns. Howls a lot.”

The man began laughing. “You didn't hear, did ya?”

Uthalion twisted the man’s arm, causing him to squeal in pain. “I’m not playing around here,” he said angrily. “Tell me what you know, if you know anything at all!”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:52:41 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:07:47 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“The theatre!” the man screamed in agony. “Weird sounds be comin’ from there every night fer the past few days. Nobody wants to go in because they think it’s a hauntin’!”

“What kind of sounds?”

“Howls,” the man said. “Wails. Crying. Dunno if that helps, but that’s all I know. Promise!"

Uthalion let the man go and stood up. “Alright,” he addressed his men. “You heard the guy. Sounds like we’ll be heading to the theatre, then.”

The Ordinators under his command nodded silently, and turned to march out. Uthalion turned to address the man, but he was gone. It was probably just as well, he thought. If the lead turned out to be something relevant to his current mission, then things would be getting hairy pretty soon if he wasn’t careful.

~^+^~

Erevin looked down on the streets as he flew over the city that day. So far nobody seemed to pay him any mind, but whether that was because the citizens had chosen to ignore him or were scared out of their wits because of his presence was anybody’s guess at this point. In truth, he blamed the rogue Drakan’s vampyre converts that clouded the sky for the sense of unease which seemed to permeate the city, one that was driving even the hardiest of citizens to hurry about their business without much fuss.

The pseudo-vampire had landed on a nearby roof as he heard a chime sounding from his coat pocket. Reaching in, he pulled a small orb that had been designed for communication by the throne’s Royal Magicians in the past. Of course, the orbs had been in circulation for the past few years, but the ones assigned to agents of the Emperor were designed to block any attempts to intercept messages, or worse, tracking the source of the signal which was used to transmit thoughts and words across large distances.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:53:29 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:08:49 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Willing the orb to activate, he said, “Erevin here. What’s going on?”

“This is Uthalion reporting in,” a voice answered. “So far I’ve been having dry runs while searching for Hound nests, but a source says the theatre in this district may be a potential one.”

“Is it reliable?” Erevin asked.

A brief moment of silence passed before Uthalion answered, "I don’t think so, but the source said that strange noises have been heard around there for the past couple of days. Could be something, could be nothing. But it can’t hurt to try looking around.”

“Then you’re authorized to investigate,” Erevin responded. “There’s a force of Black Wings in the area, so I’ll send the command for them to meet you there and get some aerial surveillance in the meantime.”

“Understood. Oh, and Erevin?”

“Yeah?”

“Listen, about Kaz…be careful,” Uthalion said.

“I have no intention of hurting her,” Erevin said. “So don’t worry, I’ll try to be careful.”

Silence answered him for a brief moment before Uthalion murmured, “Thanks.” The connection cut out, and Erevin took to the sky once more as he put the orb in his pocket. He shuffled around his other pockets, and found the amulet that he had taken from the rebel spies’ mere weeks before.

With a hope and a prayer, he activated his own magic while working the one in the piece of jewelry at the same time.

Luckily for him he didn't end up causing an explosion. But only gods knew what he would encounter once he found his quarry that day.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:54:16 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:09:40 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Are you ready?” Ally asked.

Marik gulped and nodded. “Yeah, but I have to admit…I’m starting to doubt how well planned this whole thing is.”

“I assure you, the entire point of this test is just to survive,” the Drow said. “If you’re good enough to do that, you’re good enough to be part of the family.”

“What about the innocents though?” He asked.

The Drow only laughed. “I’m sorry, but you don’t seem to be grasping the concept here,” she said. “The lives of innocents don’t matter to Grandfather, only the results. And if the results serve his ends, all the better!”

Marik shrugged. “I sort of got that feeling from the guy,” he said. “But I had to ask anyway. So let’s just get this over with.”

Ally only smirked playfully, and walked behind the spherical cage. She motioned towards it and barked a short syllable, and the cloth Marik had torn off earlier had flown back over it, obscuring the Hound, much to its chagrin.

The Drow spoke another mystic syllable, and her skin paled to the point where she looked just like a normal elf, save for her red eyes. Her voice even seemed to be of a higher pitch than before when she said, “Alright, go outside and gather a crowd. Make sure it’s a decent sized one, or else the infection might not cause the initial panic we need.”

Marik left the room swiftly, his steps each seeming to echo thunderously in the empty hall to his ears. Some of his thoughts screamed at him to run, to just abandon the mission and find another way to go about bringing the enemy down, while others told him that snubbing Romulus’ plans like that would possibly mean many more needless deaths that he could’ve prevented.

His mind seemed to make itself up once he entered the plaza to be greeted by the sight of a few citizens strolling around the area, each tending to their own business.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:55:37 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:10:42 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Marik braced himself for what he was about to do. After clearing his throat, he shouted, “Attention goodsirs and goodwives! A special show is about to start soon, courtesy of the infamous Guild of Experienced Actors and Those Guys from Egrissa!”

The crowd didn't seem to pay him any heed, instead choosing to give him blank stares for a brief moment before turning back to whatever they were doing that day. Before Marik could even sigh in relief, he head Ally shout behind him, “Free admission for all!”

The Hexblade swore under his breath as a large crowd suddenly began making their way into the theatre. It was times like these that made him hate cheapskates.

~^+^~

“Well, what d’ya know?” Uthalion said as he watched a crowd begin to form outside of the theatre. He had arrived at the building mere moments ago, only to find that it looked like a show was about to start. Which wouldn’t be weird in itself if it wasn’t for the fact that no legit actors guild was actually in the city since the quarantine started.

The sound of flapping wings came from above him, and Uthalion saw the form of a vampyre drop to the ground in front of him. The pale humanoid straightened and saluted him, with no small amount of contempt present in its features.

“There’s a whole squadron of us on standby," the vampyre said. “What is your bidding?”

Uthalion smirked underneath his helmet. If what he knew about the vampyre race was true, it was probably killing him to answer to someone, much less someone who was probably weaker than he was.

“Have you seen anything out of the usual before my arrival?” Uthalion asked.

The vampyre snorted. “Just some guy in black leathers shouting about a special show. Nobody seemed interested until an elf lass had announced that it was free.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:56:21 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:11:58 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Go figure that it would be free,” Uthalion muttered. Most citizens of Ukrosha were rumored to be real cheapskates in the other cities, and the citizenry itself didn't attempt to do much to debunk such rumors while traveling abroad, much less while at home.

“Yeah, well…I don’t like the smell of it,” the Vampyre said. “Weird part is I’m picking up some strange aroma around here too. Almost smells like a wet dog, in all honestly.”

“Yeah…I’m sure that seems…err, suspicious," Uthalion stammered. “But either way, I guess we should check it out.”

“So what do we do, then?”

Uthalion looked around. He only had five other Ordinators with him, and there seemed to be little more than four Vampyres in the sky. Though whether Erevin might be coming by with reinforcements or not was open to questioning. And even if he did, Uthalion didn't like their chances.

After all, he had seen some of the most powerful magic users in the world fall to the Hounds, and they had magic to keep themselves from suddenly turning into one of the creatures. While the Vampyre forces had the aerial advantage, who knew if they wouldn’t become infected and make the situation worse? Same with the Ordinators, he thought.

Then again, wouldn’t that possibly happen to him as well? Uthalion had to admit, he wasn’t sure if his naturally manifested magic would be enough to keep himself in his true form, and he doubted he had the strength to physically resist being turned. Then again, his armor was also enchanted by Romulus himself to slay the Hounds, so maybe he had some defenses that he just didn't know about yet. It wasn’t like he went and tested the suit in battle after he got it, after all.

Turning to the Vampyre, he said, “Alright, this is the plan. I’m going in alone. Your Vampyres are to stay in the air and use any means necessary to kill any animals that may come out. My Ordinators will provide ground support. Any objections?”

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:57:11 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:13:25 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Wow I can’t believe the crowd for this thing!” Ally said with hushed excitement.

“I must admit,” he said grudgingly as he surveyed the masses. "I never thought people would be stupid enough to show up for something like this during the quarantine, let alone when there are no scheduled shows here in the first place.”

“Well, I guess they’re here to escape reality for a few moments,” the Drow replied. “Let’s face it, I’ve noticed that the mood seemed pretty crappy in this city ever since that attack at the parade, and I doubt the recent troubles are doing their part to lift any spirits. But hey, who am I to complain if this works?”

Marik said nothing, instead choosing to keep his attention on the back doors of the theatre’s performance hall. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being watched ever since he slipped past the quarantine checkpoints – or at least what he supposed was the quarantine checkpoints. He really did*’t buy that excuse personally – to meet up with who he was told was an important ally for his newfound employer. So far everything seemed to go as planned, but for some reason he just had a feeling that everything was going a little *too* well.

Ally’s voice broke his concentration. “Hey, we need to start soon!” she hissed through clenched teeth.

Marik grimaced. Hell, he thought. He trusted Romulus’ judgment, but this seemed to be going too far for his liking. But what choice did he have?

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:58:00 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:14:23 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“I’m on it,” he replied rather lazily.

“Hey,” the Drow said. “Don’t worry about messing up. There’s not many ways this can go wrong, so no need to be nervous.”

“Yeah…nervous,” he said. He didn't know which was worse: him actually going this far, or the fact that the Dark Elf actually read his emotions as easily as she would a book.
With no small amount of false bravado, the Hexblade pushed his way past the thick curtains and onto the stage.

“Welcome,” he said. “I’m sure you will all enjoy our special performance today.”

He couldn’t help but pray to any gods who might happen to be listening at that point for forgiveness.

*^+^*

Uthalion crept stealthily through the darkened halls leading to the performance hall rather surprisingly, given his armor and all. He heard a muffled announcement coming from a door at the far end of the hallway, which was met with thunderous applause.

Utilizing his natural magic, Uthalion scanned the hall for any hidden traps. When he was sure the way was clear, he pressed himself against the wall near the door, which he had opened a small crack, and began eavesdropping.

“Let me start by saying, we’re all very grateful that you’ve decided to come this day,” a male voice said over the noise. “I won’t be boring anybody with a long winded speech today, because I feel that actions speak much louder than words. And boy, do we have big actions planned for the festivities!”

More applause erupted at that, so Uthalion decided to chance a peek through the door. He couldn’t see much over the crowd which was packed into the hall, but he also figured if that was the case then whoever was on stage most likely couldn’t see him as well.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:59:03 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:15:17 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The speaker’s voice seemed to trail off just as soon as Uthalion made himself comfortable, though that did*’t stop the crowd from talking amongst themselves as the room gradually grew darker. Suddenly, green and purple flashes lit up the room, causing the audience to gape and stare in awe at the obviously magical spectacle.

What he guessed was some kind of circus act followed afterwards. He didn't see much of it outside of a few oddly colored garments thrown about, and even then he wasn’t sure if that was actually part of the show or the spectators starting to get into a partying mood.

A ringing chime sounded in his ear. “Yeah, I’m here,” he answered.

“Good,” Erevin said. “I’ve heard from the Black Wings about the theatre situation. What’s going on down there?”

“I think we have an illegal circus or something going on here,” Uthalion replied. "It doesn’t look harmful, but I’m not sure. I’ll be sticking around just to find out what I can.”

“Good man,” the spymaster said. “Listen, I’m still looking for the witch. Sort of having trouble tracking her energy signal with this locket thing, so I was wondering if she had taught you anything about her magic while you two were together.”

“I wasn’t told anything,” Uthalion answered. “She was always a little on the secretive side, even before she found out she was a Fade Witch.”

“Damn,” Erevin yelled. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to continue this later.”

“Hey, you alright?” Uthalion asked. He was met with silence. Shrugging the incident off as an urgent distraction on Erevin’s part, Uthalion turned his attention back to the show.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 04:59:35 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:16:11 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

For Marik’s part, he was nothing short of amazed. Not only did no one, not even the normal employees of the theatre who seemed to live there, show up backstage to investigate just why there was a large crowd of people going into the building in the first place, but the large amount of noise that such a crowd naturally generated had also seemingly evaded immediate investigations by the authorities.

“Don’t worry,” Ally said as she sidled up beside him. “This whole thing is an illusion. There’s nothing to worry about until the main event.”

Marik blinked in surprise. “Wait, how exactly does that work again?” he asked.

The disguised Drow giggled and replied, “The same way your flashy attacks work: magic!”

“Well, damn,” Marik mumbled. “I heard that some mages could warp reality for short periods of time, but I thought it was supposed to be more…I don’t know…magical.”

“Geez, for the Archmage’s former go to guy you don’t seem to know too much about magic,” Ally replied playfully. She added as Marik gave her a questioning glance, “Look, the stupid act isn’t working. I know what the hell a Hexblade is, and I know them when I see one.”

“Let’s say I believe that,” Marik said. “How do you know this?”

“Oh please,” she replied. “I’ve studied magic before the Circle of Hecate was even around. I know what to look for when reading that glow that all mages from this world have.”

Marik was kicking himself at that very moment. He knew he was at a disadvantage as long as he was in the presence of this Dark Elf, and he wondered just how much she really knew. As far as he knew she could read minds too!

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

22-Jan-2011 05:00:15 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 18:17:26 by A Mad Hatter

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