The Hamlet Streets

[EloHim]

[Elorit]

"Others?...Ah, the rest of the group...they are still on the boat. Alive... just picking up the pieces of themselves."- he answered as he walked with her. The ship was safe, the last he saw it. So was the group. If they managed to get themselves killed in his absence...well, that would be their fault, right? He did his best...despite their meager attempts at sabotaging each other.

[rosallora]

[Captain Sal Faerth]

"Let's make haste, then."

And haste she does. Through the winding corridors and quickly to the smell of the salt air. The traversing down was its own kind of worry, but no, she takes to it with a quickness. And behind her, trailing in the night, was her own paranoia, the worry that seeped into her bones. They knew about the captain. What the Ursa was, what it once did, what they did. What she did.

Would judgement be passed? No, surely not. These were mercenaries.

She steps across the gangplank that had been laid and jogs across the blood and viscera covered deck. It was already beginning to stink with the smell of fish. "Where?" She looked back to Elohim, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

[The Carrying Blade]

The Captain would be able to hear the sound of crying echoing through the ship with its origin point coming directly from the captain's quarters. Ellie was on the floor simply bawling her eyes out due to the recent incident with seeing through the entirety of all the atrocities the ghost captain had both done and seen. Ever since being forced out of her beast form, she was incredibly fearful of everything that would startle her or approach her without letting her adjust beforehand. Sacha was only able to comfort her now due to even getting bit, stayed calm, and continued to try and support Ellie despite their previous standing of hatred. If the captain decided to get near she would have to be careful, friend or foe Ellie had seen some terrible things and she was something in them which meant she would be in the most danger of the abominations broken psyche. The woman would need rest or either some sort of stress relief to get rid of her situation but neither seemed to be close at hand.

[brazilianguy]

/ Sascha Holzmann and Milo /

Since Sascha was able to find a way through Ellie's defensive reactions, there she stayed on the ground with Ellie and Milo in her arms, shushing as gently as she could, trying to appease the unstoppable cry out of the fearful woman. Considering herself a powerful woman, with a lot of face, Sascha was constantly clearing Ellie's tears away and putting her hair aside from the face, trying to make her look less fragile and messed up overall. When finally Sal and Elorit arrive, her reaction is to hide a little bit of Ellie's face between her chest and Milo's body, in this same idea of preserving the perception of others of her fragility in that moment.

"...", Sascha had so many things to say, to ask, but somehow nothing went out of her mouth. This night had big implications in her and in the reason she went to this damned region, in the first place. Much was needed to be discussed and if necessary, even forceful interrogatory on a lone Sal, crossed her mind. But at least at that moment, not a single word started a dialogue, not even a head movement, but only her sharp look locked on Sal's eyes.

[EloHim]

[Elorit]
"Fishmen - there, the rest of the group - in your quarters. The former captain...well, i did say we had to repeat the execution? We threw him overboard. He went down pretty quickly, the deep did the rest."- if she was expecting them to show proof of the ghost's presence... the "receiving of rewards" situation could become...problematic.
"Though i would suggest trying to find and retrieve his actual body, just to be sure his connection with this world is properly severed. When we managed to cut open up his lungs...they were filled with water. An unnerving sight, that one."
He tried to explain to the best of his ability, whilst forcing his hand to stop shaking. Whilst he was removed from the body when it came to emotional baggage, the body and brain still tried to make sence of what happened, on a subconscious level, perhaps... Which was an inconvenience that he would have to bear with for now.

[rosallora]

[Captain Sal Faerth]

"I'll... yes, I suppose that's. Right." Her mouth twitches with discomfort, and at seeing the women there on the gorund, one crying and terrible and the other soothing, stoic, she freezes again. The planks of the Ursa's deck were covered with seawater - seawater and blood.

"I'll gather up your reward," she says. "In the meantime, I... suppose it'd be best if you got them off the ship. The deed's done - I believe it. This isn't the kind of scene that you can. Fabricate." It is, with enough time and emotional effort, but she doesn't think that the ragtag group of mercenaries was nearly that cunning.

The Captain disappears quickly belowdecks, seeking out the payment that she had promised them that was being stored below.

[brazilianguy]

/ Sascha Holzmann and Milo /
BGM: Purging by Contract [Main Mission Theme Song]

Since the Captain entered the room, until she left, the surgical analytic eyes of Sascha kept locked on her, in her every move, hands, lips, eyes. She saw everything, the fear of Sal, the uncertainty of what mysteries more this group unfolded. Time and space looked like to behave a little bit different, because at the same time, Sascha was deft to the dialogue between her and Elorit. The only noises that was going through her ear right now was her own subtle shushing, the childish and heavy crying of Ellie, reminding her of her own crying as a little girl, in the arms of her father, after her first drowning. Was Sascha fully connected with her senses, or her mind was on the verge of losing grasp from reality?

Right after Faerth leaves, Sascha stroke Ellie's hair for one last time, and between her eyes going from Milo to the fragile woman, was enough of a command for Milo to stay on guard. Decided, she stands and go straight like an arrow, but silent like a predator, checking the ammunition in her pistol and following the directions of Sal.

/ Sascha Holzmann /

Sascha was in a flow, her mind was giving her the memory of every corner of that ship she spent the night investigating. Only the eventual torchlight in the inside of the ship would reveal her shadow walking in the corridors, from time to time, quietly moving forward. She finally arrives where she can see the Captain bent into crates, getting their rewards. Sascha body get partially revealed from the shadows, her arms going straight, pointing the pistol towards Sal and pushing the hammer back, its noise more than enough to alert the cunning pirate to her presence and, in that spot, was like another ghost ready to haunt the Captain's life.

                       

"Did you docked Ursa in Port Lubeck, Germany, any day between 15th to 19th of August of the last year?", she inquired, with an emotionless tone. Sascha sharp eyes was looking for an answer, in words, in gestures, in eyes or even in silence. Her contract brought her here, to this hell hole, and getting near to a close out. She would not flinch.

She now wait for an answer, thinking on scenarios of a less cooperative Sal, being already prepared to pull the trigger from the distance that she calculated be inhuman for the Captain to lounge at her.

[kodissajumissa]

[ Vane the Alchemist ]

Vane didn’t have much wealth to give to the carriage man. His appearance and stink didn’t make the driver confident enough to take him. He would surely bother the more respectable well paying travelers. However with enough convincing and more coin, Vane managed to get himself his own personal seat. Among the luggage. This made the journey bumpy and uncomfortable where Vane had to constantly watch out for upcoming branches and flying insects. Not to mention the traveling sickness. Vane began to wonder if he should have taken the journey by foot, but then again this way he managed to get to the Hamlet’s safety before sundown. That would be the case if the belt holding the bags and himself wouldn’t have snapped. Vane yelped and flew off the traveling carriage. He landed on the muddy road, scraping his knees and the palm off the hand. “Hold it!” He yelled at the carriage “You dropped something!”. However the horses and the cart were already far away to hear him. Curses!



Vane was incredibly disappointed at his situation, but he knew better than to get angry. He sighed and picked himself up from the road. As he looked at his palm to check his injuries, to his horror he discovered the claws, red skin and green veins of a demon staring back at him. The terrible fiend that shared his body must have come out just enough to save him from the fall. Now Vane was glad that the carriage man hadn’t noticed him or his curse would be discovered before he even reached Hamlet. Vane took deep breaths and calmed himself down, pulling back the demon in his arm. He could now feel the aching in his arm, but at least it looked human again. He looked at the fallen luggage as well. He wasn’t going to carry all of this on his own and he wasn’t going to turn to thievery on his first day. With no other choice, Vane continued his journey on foot.



Soon he could see the welcoming lights of the Hamlet, but upon getting closer Vane discovered that it was nothing but an old worn out town. Was this really his salvation? Vane should know not to judge things based on their appearances. He was still glad to be in civilization. The raggedy man, wearing shackles and torn clothes, now covered in dirt and scraped knees, walked into the town. He had many tasks to accomplish. He needed a place to wash the mud and blood off him, get something to fill his belly before the beast does it and finally a quiet place to rest in. Difficult tasks for a lonely homeless man. But first he had to make sure he was actually safe here. He kept an eye on the armed men and women to see if they would see right through him. If he would be recognized as the Abomination. He wasn't branded with the A-mark yet, thank the lord, so hopefully he should be fine. The fear still filled his mind as he approached the nearest well, hoping to get at least a drink. There he washed his hands and the knees the best he could. Maybe it was enough for him to be left inside the tavern, where he was heading towards next.

> Vane heads to Tavern

[brazilianguy]

> Coming from The Tavern, at page 133 >

\ Sascha Holzmann and Milo \

Once out of sight of the general public, her pace of action changed dramatically. She accelerated to an almost run, arriving at the back of the building where some crates were stashed. It had been almost a week since Sascha had gone to the back of the Tavern and rearranged the crates in such a way that she could easily climb them to gain access to the first roof level of the building. She and Milo promptly ascended to this first level, where Sascha instructed Milo to engage stealth mode. With that, he lay there, undetectable by people on the ground. Sascha herself continued to climb this multi-level roof structure - a task she had practiced until she reached the top, 6 or 7 times in the last few days. She was focused and in a matter of 2 minutes, she climbed to the top of the 3-story building, a personal record, probably due to being filled with the adrenaline of the hunt. Arriving at the top, she leaned against the chimney, finding solid cover and also hooked one of her feet in the metal fence running across the top of the roof. She had an incredible vantage point of the entire Town Square and the beginnings of all the main roads of the Hamlet, and pretty much a clean shot at anything her eyes could see due to her elevated position. She had her rifle in hand, locked and loaded. She was ready to use it, if needed, but that was not what she intended for tonight. She wanted to observe.

In truth, her contractors, who wanted this Abomination dead, did not know the human appearance of the perpetrator. They could only describe its beastly form, and this was all the information she had. It was crucial for her to see that the sketchy beggar had specific fiendish qualities to assess if he was her target - or if he was an abomination at all. If he transformed and she could confirm it, she probably wouldn't take the shot anyways. Two nights ago, she saw before her own eyes how the little broken girl, crying in her arms, became resilient when the beast took control of her. Therefore, she wouldn't risk taking a shot that wouldn't end the creature for good, as big game hunter culture suggests. She would wait patiently until the day and time when the target would be vulnerable, in human form, as fragile as it could get. Now she just needed confirmation.

"Come on, pretty boy, show me your true colors...", she thought.

She kept her eyes sharp, because the strange, conflicted man was, if not in plain sight in the Town Square, hopefully still close enough for her to observe him from her viewpoint.

[kodissajumissa]

Vane and the beast stumbled across the streets aimlessly. They hadn't gotten two far from the tavern. The pain and struggle of transformation were the only thing in their minds so they hadn't managed to find a place to hide. They were out in the open, but thankfully the darkness of the night sheltered them for now. Or it would, if someone wasn't following them.

The beast let out a low growl to ease its anxiety. This place was unfamiliar to it, just like many other towns they moved into. The beast never knew where it was when it came out, leaving it in enraged confusion. This place was full of stone human structures it didn't have knowledge of. It was full of unknown dangers too. If something was definitely following it, then one must be observant and quick. As the transformation neared its end, in the place of Vane stood a tall muscular creature with a terrifying jaw. Its skin was red and tight as if the creature had to fit inside a human suit. The cloak did barely anything to hide the creature now.

The beast got on all fours. Well it tried to. The chain holding the right arm was still tightly attached and holding the arm in bondage. It crippled the creature half way and Vane knew this. The beast couldn't properly and could only fight with one arm. The monster hated this and with more fearful rage started gnawing at its arm and the iron cuff desperately. “I will keep you at bay even when I can't control you”

[catboywizard]

Odin was slightly in front of the more aggressive pursuer, seeing the place of Vane, a creature.

“…Vane…? Is that…you…?” His face darkens as he gets down low, and holds out a hand towards it, his demeanor and posture, even his looks make him seem more friendly, and non-hostile.

“Can…you hear me…?” He asks, slightly lower, as he backs away slightly.

His book is right there, he doesn’t have it out yet but…it is on his waist, and so is his flintlock.

[ricarditoreyes]

Following the commotion and scent of blood, Eileen rushes out of the Tavern. She bids the hope of a peaceful night at the Tavern farewell, as she loosely places a hand on a sharpened blade beneath her cloak. From a careful distance, she catches the remnants of the scene that took place just moments ago: two men hobbling away, one clearly injured. She caught glimpses of Odin interacting with them briefly, though her attention was divided between the panic and the potential spectator tracking her and the group. Splatters of blood litter the front of the tavern, and she searches for tracks of who, or what, was responsible. They, or it, could not have gone far. Vane was nowhere to be seen, and her suspicion grew with each passing moment. She turns to Odin, unsheathing a blade as she walks out towards the darkened streets.

"Keep your wits about you. Something stalks these streets. Any idea where your mate from the road might have gone?" she asks, as she struggles to keep her attention away from the tome Odin held.

At first, it never occurred to her why such an object was of so much interest to her. Now, however, as she stood closer, she recognized that slight churning feeling in the back of her mind. She was reminded of the chanting, the darkness, the insanity and mind-rending pain that those cultists could conjure in their unholy tongue. No, it couldn't be. Odin did not seem the type, and though her suspicions still held, witnessing him assist the local townsfolk eased her mind. She would inquire more on the subject later, after she got to the bottom of this dreadful attack.

"Hope whatever's in that book of yours is handy in a fight" she says, turning back towards the winding paths and listening closely for any more signs of danger. She follows Odin as he seems to catch wind of the beast before she does.

As the pair arrive, Odin is first to recognize the beast as the same man they had just met in the Tavern. She stood silently as she watched the chains struggle to contain the creature's raw strength and killing intent. As Odin reaches out, Eileen places a hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't," she says, gripping the blade in hand tightly. "If you fancy your fingers, keep your distance".

She watched tensely. She had half-expected the thing to leap at her and Odin the second they had met, but it appeared that the beast was fighting it's own battle. Normally, she would cease such an opportunity and strike first, yet she was secretly hoping there would be a way to reach what little of Vane remained within this twisted form. She turned to Odin, hoping that perhaps the young mage would have some spell or trick that could soothe the beast somehow, though at this point her mind began to scramble as it usually would when the prospect of violence arose.

[kodissajumissa]

The gnawing of the iron stopped as Odin came into the frame. The beast stopped and turned around to face the man. Was this the one that followed? Is he dangerous? This one must be eliminated!

“Breathe creature. Breathe. This one's not dangerous”. Vane soothed the beast from the inside. Vane had already lost his physical control so he had to rely on controlling his emotions and therefore the creature’s too. This worked for a moment. The beast still growling anxiously at the man offering his hand to him. It didn't straight up bite it, even though the beast trusted itself to take down the frail man. But there was something else. That energy again. It radiated from the book and therefore the man. This one smelled of dark powers.

“Ruffh” the beast whined as a response and took a gentle hop backwards. He snarled at the man like an animal escaping into a corner and only observed for now, sniffing at the air around the man to study him. Then another human approached them. There were more of humans now than there were it, so the fiend prepared to fight, standing up on too legs to look bigger and growling.
“Don’t attack. Humans have sharp weapons that hurt us. Breathe. Observe. Run if you must.” Vane tried again. The body’s eyes and ears were no longer his so he didn’t know what or who had approached them nor that they were even trying to reach him. But he could feel the emotions of fear and adrenaline coursing through their shared body.

[catboywizard]

Odin nods, but doesn’t move.
“I know, but…it seems maybe the creature is fighting something…” he squints- there’s no way this is Vane right…? How could it be, then again, maybe Vane tampers with dark magic…if so, maybe they could study sometime and find ways to not curse themselves…

But for now, Odin wants too save or help him.
“Vane, vane calm down, please…” he doesn’t understand it’s not quite vane, he can’t control himself even a little bit, but Odin thinks some part of him is in there, which is only true to an extent he doesn’t know.

“My book has a few things, but for anything powerful…I haven’t used yet, and I’m not sure if I can handle it…”
He scoots back abit, showing how much he doesn’t look threatening.

He chants something…despite the book, the chanting is light magic, and soothes the mind, and combining his magic with his voice, further improves the effectiveness…
The beast feels a sense of calm from the man’s words…what does it do with this calm though…?

[brazilianguy]

/ Sascha Holzmann and Milo /

She was fast enough up into the roof to see the strange man hobbling painfully towards the street between the Abbey and the Guild building. She could see on the silhouette of the man new and bigger features & shapes popping from within his body. At this point she was pretty convinced it was an Abomination — because she couldn't imagine another malady being so similar —, but the question that remained: was it the target?

The aberration went deeper into the street, getting out of sight. What Sascha could see next is that, one after the other, the other two of the trio, went towards the same street. Both stopped way more shallow into the venue, closer to the corner where the Guild stands. Sascha had a good view of them both, but naturally couldn't listen their apparent whispers from that far; and any lip reading was completely out of table with that distance.