Author Topic: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid  (Read 16448 times)

Offline Kuroimaken

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Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« on: June 23, 2014, 12:36:46 PM »
The ride back to Castlevania remains without further incident.

You are all disembarked directly at the Throne Room, and the coachswain declines offering his Lord a courtesy before departing - for literal fear of losing his head in the process. The carriage vanishes into thin smoke.

Death and Dracula await. The Lord of Darkness, himself, seems to be lazily awaiting in his throne; he wears heavy greaves with a pair of spiked spurs, as if he's been outside until recently. A bound and gagged succubus is serving as an ottoman, and the spurs dig deeply into her flesh every now and then. She suppresses her writhing, but the way her eyes roll back and she bites tightly into the gag clearly indicate this is not meant to be punishment.

Neither of them says anything. Common knowledge dictates you address them before you are spoken to.
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2014, 01:10:55 PM »
Elizabeth stared. And stared some more. Well, that was an interesting footstool. Pointlessly garish, however; what good was something that squirmed when you wanted to put your feet up?

"Did you get your zombie ball back?"

Offline Geigan

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2014, 10:49:03 PM »
Silva simply took to one knee and closed her eyes. She sighs every so lightly at Elizabeth's informal tone, but decides to get over herself and move on. The angel seems not to acknowledge the presence of the succubus any more than she would a typical piece of furniture. Her voice projected with the clear diction of one used to bearing messages.

"We have returned my Lord. The mission did not quite go as simply as we might have expected, but mainly, as I'm sure you're aware of by now, this was because Legion was compromised heavily. Someone made use of an ambitious worm of a soul stealing fey to take control of your servant, using some sort of spell to bind him via several of the souls under its control. We had to extract the souls from Legion the hard way to stop it from flooding the countryside with erstwhile undead. We returned upon your request once Legion appeared to be back under control and the cleanup of loose bodies had been disposed of. Would you like a more extensive report, or are you already aware of the details?"
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Offline Kuroimaken

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2014, 08:38:33 AM »
"Your initial report was rather detailed, Silva, my child. However, the Lord feels as though some information may have slipped through your minds. The imperfections of putting memory into word, you understand."

A goblet and a small dagger float towards your lot from a nearby side table.

"A couple of droplets of your blood should allow the Lord to peer into your memories of the mission and literally see things for himself. As good as though he were there. I trust none of you object?"
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Offline VennDygrem

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2014, 04:54:10 PM »
"I do not give my blood willingly to just anyone, Madame, as I am sure you are aware of how much power one's blood can contain. However, for the purpose of Lord Dracula's request, I am willing to part with some droplets."

Maeve smiles slightly, sweetly, though it is clear to those who knew the fey that it was more formality than contentment.


Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2014, 06:40:15 PM »
"Feel free; I have no use for it," the vampire stated, forming a dagger out of the nebulous store she normally drew on and then cheerily slashing her own arm.

It was a bit overkill, and liable to make quite some mess.

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Offline Geigan

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2014, 08:17:54 PM »
Silva nods in answer to Death's request and approaches the goblet without a word. The angel holds out her hand over the goblet and calls her glaive out of its holster and into her hand. A crystal glows red below the head of the spear and Silva's hand tremors as drops of blood spill out from her wrist. The droplets have an almost ghostly quality as no wound seems to have opened to admit them passage through her skin. She then sheathes her polearm and stands at attention, waiting.

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Offline oslecamo

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2014, 03:05:14 PM »
Claudia's hat extends a pair of tentacles, one holding the goblet and the other her dagger:

Blood for the blood lord!
Information for his information board!


Says the fey as she raises her arms in a dramatic pose and pricks her left index finder with the steel blade, making sure the resulting droplets fall in the goblet. Claudia then bows down, the tentacle holding the goblet putting it back on its place when her head is at the lowest, while the other sheats the dagger back inside her clothes.

Offline Kuroimaken

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2014, 06:12:59 PM »
As the group finishes donating blood for a greater cause, the goblet flies back into Dracula's hand. His face distorts into a grimace and he looks oddly in Elizabeth's direction.

"It is no small task to kill one of my kind, girl, but you sure seem to have picked the most disgusting method of suicide yet."

With that remark given, the Lord of Chaos tented his fingers as he pondered his options.

"I see. You were indeed pitted against something beyond the unexpected. Even given my vast stores of knowledge, the artifacts involved in enslaving one of my servants on Legion's level are still no laughing matter; I'm afraid I will require the enlisting of outside help for that.

Of course, first must come your rewards for work well done. Have you any rewards you'd like to ask?"
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #9 on: June 26, 2014, 06:26:19 PM »
The vampire shrugged, and the dripping wound steadily sealed itself, the blood still on her person traversing back up her arm into her veins in blatant defiance of gravity and pressure.

"Humans."

It was a simple enough request, Elizabeth felt: people were good for food, but she could also use them for carrying things. Or turn them into lesser vampires herself and build a little entourage unable to disobey. Even but one would be a nice start, but that would probably replicate the fate of her previous spawn: abandoned to die in her place whilst she went off somewhere safer.

Offline VennDygrem

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2014, 10:38:19 PM »
The winter fey's face is difficult to read, as it doesn't seem to change in any distinct way. It merely presented a neutral facade, with a hint of pleasantly polite propriety. The tone of her voice, however, faltered ever so slightly, edged as it was with ice. "You honor us with the offer of reward. You know what I want. I know that I cannot have it. I would argue that I have learned my place and that no such repeat of our last dealing would have cause to repeat. You know what would happen should I be unable to return to my Court, without what I would ask of you to return; I do not know if you are aware of the full repercussions of that scenario, though I do think that it is of little consequence to you, especially given these recent events. So, I will request the one thing I could ever ask for, as there is only one thing to ask for: The return of my power."

Offline oslecamo

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2014, 07:12:04 AM »
Claudia smiles and stretches her arms behind her back, clearly relaxing.

Serving the great Dracula is enough reward.
Seeing the satisfaction in the face of my lord.

Then she looks behind her and grabs her scepter from her belt, stares at it for a few seconds with a perplexed face, approaches the item to her left year as if trying to hear something, and then puts it away before speaking once more:

My scepter however has a request that should not be too excessive.
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Offline Geigan

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2014, 12:15:27 PM »
Silva smiles sympathetically at Maeve's show of humility as she knows it must pain her to do so, then warmly at Claudia's own humble request. She almost forgets that her Lord expects her to ask for something herself.

"As always I am here to serve you my Lord. The only reward I ask is for the ability to continue doing so, with proper equipment for carrying out your will. On this mission we encountered a difficulty with a spell I was not familiar with and it was cumbersome to attempt to work around with my own ability to detect magic. If you had some means to allow me to recognize magical phenomenon on sight I believe I could make excellent use of the ability."
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Offline Kuroimaken

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #13 on: July 02, 2014, 04:37:58 PM »
Dracula ponders over each request. He replies to them in turn.

First it's Claudia's.

"Yours is by far the easiest, child. Your scepter shall be given fine treatment in accordance with the value of your service. Gold and jewels of power shall be added to it. All you need do is speak with one of my blacksmiths - Death will guide you as soon as we're done."

Silva is next.

"Likewise, your dedication is more than moving, young angel. I indeed have a solution, though this might be a touch more... involved, and drastic. I do not expect vanity to be one of your defects, but all the same..."

As he says this, an eye sprouts out of a stalk from Dracula's palm. He places it upon a bowl and makes it float towards Silva.

"This graft, born of my own body, should give you the power to see past many falsehoods. As your power grows, so too will its strength, in time. It should prove invaluable in your future endeavors. An appropriate eyepatch shall be provided to you as well to make control over it easier.

Your weapon shall be tempered with a mix of mine and your blood. It will not fail you. But be forewarned, as it may thirst after your own blood thereafter."


Elizabeth's request is met with a quizzical expression.

"Why do you request of me something that you could easily obtain yourself? Furthermore, why a gift so frail? If it is sustenance you fear for, one of the alchemists under my employ has discovered the secret to the creation of a special kind of homunculus that should more than cover your needs, though it is not much good for anything else.

It would also make for a paltry reward. Thus, I offer you in addition three droplets of my own blood. As father of vampirekind, no doubt you understand how much this would increase your abilities. Think on it a moment."


Maeve's request is left for last.

"Clearly you have taken great pains to so much as utter the words. The pride of the fey is legendary. The pride of a queen, even moreso.

Maeve, you severely underestimate the respect I hold for you, as opposed to the contempt I hold for many of your kind. Not once since you chose to work for me did I mean to deny that which you seek now. Of course you understand that I cannot return the full extent of your power to you now - you are far too weak as it is, and that would kill you, defeating the purpose. And you understand as well that even should you choose to repeat that sorry incident, I would not be so lenient a second time.

With that said, I do not expect you to continue serving me once you have recovered your glory in all its plenitude. Nor will I ask you to. But I promise I will do my utmost to keep my lips sealed regarding how you are come to recover. Otherwise word would spread, and no fey who once swore fealty to you would respect you again.

I can return your power. But to regain your dignity... that is something only you can reclaim."


With this said, Dracula holds up his hand. A pristine icicle forms upon his palm, floating in midair.

"Likewise, there is no delicate way to do this."

Dracula flings the icicle with a flick of his wrist. which shoots unerringly towards Maeve. It impales her through the heart and sends her flying backwards where she ends up nailed to a nearby wall. Her body seems to lay lifeless for a moment as her blood slowly drips to the edge of the icicle. It freezes midstream, and then begins to recede. With a sound of shattering crystal, the icicle steadily decomposes into light and the light is reabsorbed into Maeve's body. As the power becomes one with her again, an ear-splitting scream urges forth from Maeve's body as her skin takes on a pale blue tone, her eyes growing fully white, her fingernails taking on a frostbitten darker blue hue. And finally, she falls to the ground, on one knee, as she reasserts dominance over her stolen clout. Whether she will return to her previous appearance remains to be seen, but it is certainly within her purview to do so.
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #14 on: July 02, 2014, 04:44:15 PM »
"If such is the reward offered, then I cannot object," the lesser vampire answered, impassively gazing at Maeve's brief impalement. How painful. Still, this was why she had asked for something so comparatively easy to obtain: less chance of getting staked for insolence or the like. Caution was good to one's survival, much like how her contribution against Legion had been launching bats at the zombie-spawning ball.

Offline Geigan

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2014, 09:26:10 PM »
Silva smiles again and takes her gift from the bowl without hesitation.

"As you say, I shall walk by the Spirit, and will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

The angel takes the graft and applies it, or otherwise awaits instruction for application if it is more complicated than just affixing it to her eye to begin.
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Offline Kuroimaken

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2014, 10:27:45 PM »
As Silva pushes the graft against her eye, she senses the stalk come alive and burrow itself through her pupil, rupturing her eyeball in the process. She can sense it pushing deeper into her skull, removing the dead tissue by noisily absorbing it against itself. She feels the graft testing itself as it attaches to the delicate muscles that once controlled her eye movement. And finally, she feels it remove the nerve endings that once attached to her actual eye and create new connections within her brain.

Amazingly enough, there's no blood, though the angel might briefly experience a strange kind of disorientation...

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Offline Geigan

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #17 on: July 03, 2014, 02:01:31 PM »
The angel vented her lungs with something between a gasp and a strangled scream. She fell to her knees as the graft burrowed further in and devoured the remains of her eye and gulped in another gasp of air and bit her lip hard enough that blood began to drip. As the stalk began connecting to her nerve endings she let out a moan that almost seemed pleasured instead of pained. Her breathing evened out as she stood back up, wiping the blood from her mouth. Her eyes had a bit of a tired look about them as if she were still a bit woozy, but she just shrugged with delight, smiled, and held her silence.
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Offline Kuroimaken

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #18 on: July 03, 2014, 02:39:54 PM »
At the end of her ordeal, Silva's new eye matched the color of the original, albeit with a draconian pupil now.

Dracula gestured towards Death, whom took the time to gesture about and mumble a few words as if in prayer, though obviously casting a spell. By the end of it, an eyepatch came into being upon her palm. She descended until she was level with Silva and pushed her open palm forward, offering the eyepatch as a gift to the angel.

"Here. This should help you get accustomed to it. The Lord's eye is a powerful tool and, as such, it demands magical energy to function. Until you've built the strength to use its full power, you should try to keep it closed until it is necessary."

Finally, Dracula and Death both turned to Elizabeth.

A small, white chalice is conjured into being by the Lord of Castlevania. Pressing tightly into his palm, three droplets of blood drip into the chalice. It floats in her direction until it remains still right in front of the vampire.

As Elizabeth drinks it, she finds her knees going weak almost instantly. Her mind is overtaken by a deep haze as the blood of the Father of All Vampires makes its way into her heart and, from there, throughout her veins, which pulse black and red with power, up to and including her eyes, the whites of which go entirely red as she absorbs the power unto herself.
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Offline Raineh Daze

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Re: Chapter the Second: Meet the Squid
« Reply #19 on: July 03, 2014, 02:53:00 PM »
Back before she became a vampire, the finest thing Elizabeth had ever tasted was a cake. She had successfully talked her way into a lavish feast and its crowning glory wasn't something like an entire elephant stuffed with swans or some similarly exaggerated meat concoction. The man who had chosen to arrange the affair had such a sweet tooth that his cooks had been ordered to spare no expense in creating the largest, most delicious confection that they could. It had been an amazing achievement: not too sweet, and the taste of cinnamon didn't overpower the rest of the flavours--many of which Elizabeth had no hope of naming--whilst complementing them.

Even after becoming one of the undead, she had never been able to find blood of such quality that it equalled the recollections of the best cake ever.

Dracula's blood displaced this cake by such a huge margin that it was highly unlikely the blonde would so much as remember it had ever existed, let alone remember its flavours or how delicious it had been at the time. Nothing could ever equal the three drops save more of the precious liquid and, even though it was potent enough that any larger quantity would be courting destruction, Elizabeth would gladly risk herself for another taste.

As the blood pulsed through her, the vampire dropped to her knees. Rather than the pain that appeared to accompany the others' rewards, Elizabeth looked ecstatic, though her mind was obviously not on the present, as she'd bitten right through her lip. Soon, she looked to be returning to some awareness of her location--only to bend over further, hands resting on the red carpeting. Then, the blood coursed through her a third time, and the vampire started clutchingwith strength enough to crack rock. Fortunately, carpet is far more resistant to crushing force.

The following laughter was quite insane, but appeared to have nothing to do with the blood itself, but rather due to lingering ecstasy.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2014, 03:47:01 PM by Raineh Daze »