Half-melted candles in the street lamps indicated time to leave. Laimbeer locked the door behind him before putting on his mask and ducking into an alleyway. Taking guarded strides, he felt at his side through his jacket. Ribs healed, gashes too. A den of blood harvesters from two nights ago had left the demon an impression as gruesome as the wounds they'd inflicted on him. Their fault for not having a single light in the building though. Dark environment like that, it didn't matter what kind of vampiric power strengthened their attacks. Demons dig the dark, Laimbeer digs it even more. Helps him save on any and all medical expenses, lucky him.
A burnt up guestbook had made its way to Laimbeer's doorstep this morning. The cover and page headers made it obvious that this book was meant for use by a hotel or hostel. Seeing those same page headers crossed-out with extra columns scratched in for different statuses of some kind told him that the establishment using this guestbook was not any kind of hotel he'd stay at. The names, dates, and other data recorded in the book were all singed beyond recognition. All that had remained, perhaps left intact on purpose by the Benefactor, was the address. At the top right corner of the front cover: 'Snowbridge Hall, 30 Town Center, Room 24A.' With no clue what to expect, he'd packed his usual kit. Multipurpose stuff, all very functional. Laimbeer patted his other side, feeling for the cleaver tucked inside his jacket.
Elven cultists? Vampire gangsters? Laimbeer wished he was given better information but acknowledged that that would dampen the excitement to all this. Ambushing the unknown, he liked to call it.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 10, 2020 9:05:37 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
The rings on the ends of his throwing knives' handles made them very easy to spin around one finger, something he often did when idling down empty streets towards his destination. Before the whole ghoul thing, one could expect Town Center to still be crowded at a good clip, even as late into the night as this. Now? Like a ghost town. A medium-height, medium-size white structure boasting a gambrel roof with curved eaves stood to one side of a side street. The '30' street sign glinted in the dark as he passed it by. Unlike the other buildings on the street, Snowbridge Hall lacked not only lamps but also the mounting points for lamps. The few windows visible were small and seemed to be fixed place, unable to be opened. A single white wooden door marked the front facade of the establishment. Laimbeer checked behind him and, satisfied no one was nearby, moved around towards the rear of the building, hoping for an alternate entrance.
Rear screen door left unlocked meant Laimbeer didn't have to waste any time picking glass out of his arm and waiting for the wounds to close under darkness. It also could mean someone had only just returned. This he did not mind, taking 'em down when asleep was a bore. A snooze, one could say. Inside were cobweb-decorated pews and old ceremonial equipment. Old elven haunt maybe, he wondered. A small wooden staircase tucked to the side of the assembly hall took him up to what seemed like residences. Out of the thirty doors that occupied the deceptively large upper floor of the building, only two had light showing from beneath them. 24A and 24B. Laimbeer removed his cleaver from his jacket and posted up next to the door of Room 24A. None of these rooms seemed that large, perhaps he'd been sent to clean out some fugitive trafficker or abuser, an individual target instead of a ring like usual. The sound of a pen scratching on paper was audible from where he was positioned. He checked his gloves, checking the fasteners on the wrist bit of each one.
Laimbeer kicked down the door, sending it flying onto a vampire lounging in a corner chair. One of his throwing knives made quick work of the hanging lamp, dropping it to the ground for him to stamp out. Even in total darkness, he could see just as well. Two vampires standing around a desk, one additional vampire occupied with lifting a door off of himself, and an elf sitting at the actual desk? Lower B-Ranks, they looked like. Party animals here for who knows what. With vampires, their speed and strength, boosted physical attributes in general really, made them particularly tough customers. Dealing with them at range or outmaneuvering them worked best. They were confident in their hand-to-hand abilities, and usually rightfully so, yet vampires were the least likely to predict or counter what some would consider 'dirty hits'.
The demon hurled another knife into a vampire's eye, taking them out of the fight for now, and went to work on the one still charging. They picked him up from the waist and seemed ready to drop him on the floor, from some kind of wrestling hold perhaps. Laimbeer would have none of that, opting to turn to the cleaver. They'd left him his arms free after all, what should he have done instead? Pulling the cleaver from their head, the demon made his way to the vampire struggling to remove whatever had landed in their eye. He coiled his arm back and loosed a sweeping slash around their neck level. Then Laimbeer got knocked to the ground, by a familiar and dislodged door. "Uungh. Holy hell." he coughed. With the door still on top of him, he opened his eyes to see the last vampire scampering towards the stairs. Lining up the shot, Laimbeer threw his last of three knives, sticking the vampire in the spine and dropping them just as they had reached the first step down. He hoped that, besides the sounds from the initial struggle, the sound of someone falling limp down a staircase wouldn't wake anyone in the other rooms.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 9, 2020 20:16:27 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
Shoving the door off of himself, Laimbeer felt around his shoulder, making sure his bones fused right. Then, he turned to the elf, who had remained petrified to the desk perhaps out of fear. "You. Do you run things here or something? What is this?" he asked through his mask. "I swear, it's not what you think! Please, please don't hurt anyone else!" Laimbeer tilted his head at the elf, saying, "Buddy, there's no one else in the room. I'm here for 24A, that's it. So if you have something to tell me, or just otherwise get off your chest. Now's the time." The demon retrieved his knives and wiped them down as he addressed the elf. "No! You don't understand! It's the children!" they pleaded. "What children? Where, here? Get, get up, come on. Show me what you're talking about or I'm not gonna be happy." Laimbeer lifted the elf from the desk and pushed them outside the room. Not sure where to begin, the demon pointed at the only other room with a light on. "Show me what's in there. 24B, yeah." They fumbled around in their pockets for a key. Not unusual for an elf to be wearing clerical garments, near Yggdrasil maybe. But whatever this place was, being in Town Center, and having some kind of religiously-affiliated elf in charge was strange.
The door creaked open, revealing an empty room with a sprawled out blue medical chair. A single candle lamp dangled above it. Adjacent to the chair was the only other object in the room, a soggy-looking box. To anyone, it was clear the place was cleaned to its every corner on a frequent basis. Yet some kind of smell persisted, contrary to the squeaky clean appearance. "Open that box. Next to the chair." "Please don't make me do this. I can show you the other rooms but please don't make me do this." Laimbeer waved the cleaver in the air at the elf and said, "You'll show me the other rooms but right now, you're opening that box."
Had he not needed the elf to explain the other rooms, Laimbeer may very well have killed them then and there as they displayed the box's contents. Blood-stained tubes and bags galore, with rusty knives to boot. The demon could only imagine how many vampires must have come through here. "You, you better open the other rooms, and fast." said the demon, shaking a tiny amount. He'd seen blood harvesting operations before, he'd seen much worse things in general before. But something about this place in particular gave him shivers.
"Oh no. What the hell is this? What the hell is this!?" Every one of the remaining rooms was filled with bunk beds, some empty, some clearly occupied by sleeping children from various lower races. Laimbeer pinned the elf to the wall and raised the cleaver. "You're gonna burn for this, if not here then wherever you end up when I'm done with you, man. You're, you're..." "I'm what!? Evil? What am I supposed to do? You want these kids to grow up only to get swept up by the Council's next grand move?" The elf's outburst, followed by broken sobs, paused the demon in his tracks. "I, I don't know what you're getting at. What the hell kind of belief do you buy into that lets you think letting vampires bleed kids dead is okay?" The elf's face twisted into anger and they spat, "Horseshit! You know exactly what I'm getting at! You think I don't know who you are? Maybe not who you are exactly but I'd be living under a rock not to have heard of what you do. The kinds of people to whom you do what you do!" Laimbeer gestured with the cleaver as he replied, "Don't change the subject! You. Kill. Kids." "Sure! Yeah, I do! I do so that they don't have it done to themselves! Or are you going to enlighten me as to the quality of life a Halfling orphan can expect nowadays? I feed them too, you know, clothe them. The vampires' money, it's used for exactly what one would think it's used for at an orphanage. That's what this is, by the way. That's where you killed three people. An orphanage. None of the kids know what happens to them when they go to 24B. I intend on keeping it that way." said the elf. "Yeah, okay, you're gonna guilt me into ignoring what you do. No, I don't think so, man. You wanna know what I think, I think..." Still struggling against his grasp, the elf interrupted him, "You don't think! You came here thinking you could kill this problem, solve it by killing it dead! And now, you're stuck, knowing what I know. There can be no greater punishment. Though, I guess you condemning these kids to live in the Council's jaws is pretty close." they hissed. Laimbeer let go, dropping the elf to the floor. "Yeah, I thought as much. Demons, angels, all the same. Vampires are at least honest in their urges. Blood, simple as that. I've been running this place for a long while. But I bet you can imagine what happened after the Ghoul Purge. It's even worse than you think. The number of children dropped off here by their parents, their own parents..." coughed the elf.
Laimbeer remained silent. In his head, he cursed his Benefactor for sending him to this address. This was some kind of shit. The elf slumped and sat on the floor, panting just as Laimbeer was but for different reasons entirely.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 10, 2020 9:05:06 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
It was that vaguely familiar noise that awoke Yukai at such an hour. The sound of fire, an eruption... But perhaps this was all just in his dreams. Yume beside him was still awake, singing something to herself under her breath. He sighed, turning over to try and sleep again. Yet he could not shake that particular feeling. He turned to Yume and tapped her on the shoulder. "This is the good part of the song, bro," she sounded irritated, so he decided to investigate on his own. Standing up, Yukai lit a small candle and headed out for the hallway.
He was surprised to see no staff to sneak past at such an hour. He and Yume had become quite adept at sneaking out in the past, but the halls were rather eerie without a soul in sight. Maybe it was just that late into the night? Uncertain, he gulped and moved forward towards the stairs. Before he even looked down to the floor below, he easily recognized the scent of blood hanging heavy in the air. Immediately, he brought his hand up to his face to prevent himself from vomiting as his heart began to race. A cold sweat dripped down his face as he considered his options. He knew he should've just gone straight back to sleep, but his morbid curiousity must have gotten the best of him. However involuntarily, he found himself making his way down the staircase.
As he reached the ground floor, without realizing it, he had stepped in a pool of warm liquid with nothing but socks on. As the blood seeped into the wool of his socks, he looked down only to confirm that the worst had happened. With a blood curling scream, Yukai fell to the floor quickly scooting himself into a corner. His breaths quickened as he began to repeatedly whisper, "Oh no, oh no, oh no..." tears welling in his eye.
Having already followed him Yume emerged from the staircase quickly examining the vampires before rushing to Yukai's aid. She grabbed his shoulders and screamed, "Nurse! Yume needs attentioning, now! Nurse! Someone!" She tried to pull Yukai's hands in hers, but it was too late. He had already been reaching to claw off the eye-patch sewn on his face with beyond all of his strength. Moaning and groaning, the boy managed to snap off a few of the stitches leaving nothing but blood and muscle by his eyebrow. Yume, crying, shouted again as she tried to stabilize Yukai, "Attention! Now! Please, now, Attention!"
A piercing scream, followed by cries for help, snapped Laimbeer and the elf's attention to the ground floor. The demon picked up his cleaver before standing up, to which the elf commented, "You know as well as I do that those aren't adult voices. Gonna kill them too? I can put you in for an interv-" Laimbeer socked the elf in the stomach and pulled them up by the collar. "You, shut up. You're gonna put them back to bed. I don't know how they snuck past us, maybe you let them. But that's on you, not me." The elf began to carefully go down the stairs, coughing at Laimbeer, "Y- You can tell yourself that, if you like. Just know, just know that the worst thing one can possibly ever have to answer for is when a child, all grown-up, asks you: 'Did you know? Did you know that the world would be like this for me?' What can you say but yes?" "Get moving." snarled Laimbeer.
"Hey, hey, Yume, I'm here, it's okay!" The elf's voice changed as they knelt down to comfort the two children. From where Laimbeer stood, at the top of the stairs, his backlit self really could have looked like a crazy axe murderer or something. One of the kids had blood on and under his nails. Laimbeer hid the cleaver inside his jacket and took a few steps down towards the commotion. "Yukai, hey, Yukai, I need you to look at me, please." asked the elf.
Laimbeer considered bolting out of a window and, just, running. Yet he stuck around, anxious to see if he could maybe help in calming the kids down.
Yume turned towards the elf with a look of relief in her face. "Yukai, blood. Medic needle needed. Sleepy drug for scared bro." She looked at him expectantly as she sat by Yukai whose strength was fading. The pain seemed to cripple him temporarily, his pained groans being accompanied by feeble attempts to reach again for his face. "Five stitch. New record," she thought as she wobbled up to her feet. Noticing the bloodied demon in the corner, she sighed and approached him, confident Yukai's episode was close to an end. Tired and entirely disinhibited as this point, Yume looked around at the carnage around the room. Grimacing at the horrible stench, she turned and glared into Laimbeer's eyes. After looking around carefully, she grabbed his right arm gently and lead him back into room 24A, shutting the door tight behind her. Pressing against the door with her backside, she turned once again to Laimbeer. "You're a killer? Don't worry; Yume won't tattle. Blood suits your face well, stranger. The smell of death comes from you." her voice seemed for a moment to detach from her otherwise innocuous appearance. "I don't know why! Why kill visitors? Vistors forget: 'save often.' I don't understand why!" She kept a close ear on Yukai, but as far as she could tell, he was doing fine. Besides, he wouldn't be the one screaming if things weren't.
Laimbeer furrowed his brow at the halfling orphan. Her eyes seemed to look straight through his mask, somewhat irritating. Inside 24A again, the demon looked at the two vampire bodies littering the floor. "Not where I'd have picked to have a talk. Or an office." he muttered to himself. Laimbeer wiped his gloves off on the shoulder of one of the vampires before looking at the orphan to properly contend with what she was saying. "The vampires were gonna do some bad stuff. I stopped them. It's, it's simple." he sniffed. The demon towered over the halfling, height-wise, and speaking down to her felt strange. Laimbeer turned his head a bit, feigning looking around the room, and cracked his knuckles before kneeling on the ground to be at a more even speaking level. Gloves and mask stayed on, though. Maybe he did owe the orphan some sort of explanation but anything beyond that was pointless. "The, uh, the elf, whoever they are, I'm not a huge fan of what they're doing here. So I paid them, and you as well I suppose, a visit. Showed 'em I didn't like what they're doing here."
Still weighing on his mind was number of rooms in the facility total. In the one room he'd had a look into, many of the beds seemed occupied, leading him to wonder just how many people this place housed, and had housed. The demon stopped a shudder before it could run down his spine.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 14, 2020 4:02:16 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
Scratching her head, she fixated on the bodies in the room. "Dunno," her brow furrowed. "Dead man kill like natural predator. Gets thrill from dead like black fire," Yume thought aloud before turning back to Laimbeer. "Demon, right? Big power... No blood dranked," she spoke noticing the vampire crushed by the real door. "Demon shouldn't be here. Demons not care about halflings, no. No worries, Yume get sleep and drinks the milk; growing up strong, maybe."
She was concerned too that the demons actions might catch wind throughout the Council. Perhaps there would be budget cuts. Perhaps the twins would have to once again wander in search of a place to call home.
Idle, he scratched at his neck as she spoke. "Right. Okay." he uttered as he stood back up. It dawned on Laimbeer to make his exit but seeing the state of the kids here, he figured he'd set some conditions with the elf regarding the further operation of this place before leaving. Maybe that'd suffice. "Demons don't care about anyone, kid. Nothing new there. But don't go on about where I should and shouldn't be. That's not for you to decide. It's for..." Laimbeer blinked, recalling the continued anonymity of The Benefactor, before finishing his sentence, "It's for me to decide. Nice of you to, uh, look out, though. Smart, kid." He bit his lip, uncertain if there was more he ought to say. After all, the longer he took here, the more of a chance there was for the elf to run and call for backup. At the same time, treating the other kid's bleeding was something he was content to leave to someone who knew how.
"Say, kid. If the elf, or anyone here, tries to separate you or another kid from the rest, like you know, separate. There's more of you than there are them, right? Them being the elf or even these idiots," he nudged a vampire with the toe of his shoe. Blood stained the white toecap without hesitation. "You lot would do well to look out for one another. They're not up to good stuff in 24B, you understand? Right. Good." Laimbeer nodded at the halfling and departed the room for the stairs. A swift exit from conversation would serve him well, he lacked any clue what else to say and he didn't feel up to fielding questions about a return anytime soon.
"If demon man not care, demon man not come. Period. Kill vampire? Heh, big mistake," Yume suddenly looked concerned for Laimbeer, releasing the illusion of the door behind them.
"Yume knows 24B, demon man," she admitted pulling her floofy hair aside to reveal her neck filled with countless scars. "Dreams know these things. Maybe you dream too since you know." she sighed. "Sorry bro an idiotic. He might kill elf soon, maybe. Sad. Tell me, demon man, before leave. Do you know The Orphanage?"
Laimbeer kept his back to the halfling and began to approach a window, in the hopes of exiting without having to take the stairs down. "I was bored. So I took a stroll and ended up here. Their mistake for leaving the rear door open unlocked. You get scary people like me when you do that. Their big mistake, indeed." He stuck his boot through the glass, sliding it around the pane to clear out standing shards. "If you know 24B, then you know the name and face of your oppressor. Use your common sense, keep yourself, and your friend, alive." An irritated malaise washing over him only accelerated his desire to leave.
Eyeing the alley below to gauge the jump distance, he entertained her questions further as something to do while idle. "I don't know The Orphanage. Unless you mean this place, in which case, I do now."
"Oppressor? I am oppressing? You are..." she scratched her head, "No friend. Just bro. Bro protects me, so it's okay, Yume thinks. Thanks though," she began to wonder if perhaps this man had come here for a reason greater than he was stating. After all, he didn't even know the place's name.
"Orphanage is here. Many caged halfling bastards. Many. Or just bad babies, you know? 'accident.' How you know oppressing, but not know this? Silly demon," she was fairly sure he wouldn't entertain her questions further, but she would try. After all, it was her first glimpse at the outside world of Pavane in a long while. She began to wonder if all demons had become vigilante killers in their spare time. "bam, bam, smack the bad right out!" she whispered to herself as she considered this.
"I don't know what you want to hear, kid. I can unlock all the cages right now if you want. But I can't feed you all. Least I can do is make sure the elf doesn't let others feed on you all." He rested his elbows on the windowsill, feeling a cool night breeze touch is face.
His own thoughts betrayed him as he recalled just what else he'd seen in that 24B box. Metal wire, thin and bent into a shape, stuck out of the box, useless for any vampiric needs. If the kid hadn't said 'bad babies', maybe the question would not have formed in his mind but there it was: How many people come here, pregnant with a child they feel cannot enjoy a life worth living, and rely on the elf here to... To...
Even if he didn't already know the answer, maybe he would have asked the kid just how many non-vampire grown-ups come through here. It was a well-known and unspoken fact that some had made use of the carnage and confusion of the Ghoul Purge to exact harrowing violence on Halfling communities all the same. Could these prospective parents really be faulted for their fears? The elf would get no pardon from Laimbeer, if it wasn't for their 'responsibilities' here. Nevertheless, it was no small feat to endure not only the knowledge but also the physical act of such misery.
"Why here!? And why me!? Cazzo!" he cursed the Benefactor under his breath. On the street below, a small puddle of rainwater reflected Laimbeer's visage to himself. Maybe the Elves and their Church could figure something out, someplace for all the kids here to live. That was the kind of thing they did, right? Aside from the rites and ceremonies? Surely, an anonymous tip could be submitted? Laimbeer exhaled sharply through his nose. "Ti corro in culo." he murmured to himself.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 19, 2020 20:32:46 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
She shrugged. "Okay. Yume doesn't eat breakfast anyways. No problem if on streets." Perhaps it was finally time to leave The Orphanage behind and discover where her and Yukai could truly fit in after all. She was sure the others felt the same way after all they had endured together. Those that didn't die to the vampires that is.
She stepped close behind Laimbeer resting her chin on his back awkwardly. "No worries, demon man. No worries. Life is full of stale bread. It's just...life." a strange sadness was in her voice as she spoke, "But demon man, I think you recook bread and made it unstale, right? You do this for Yume and all. Not sure what you do or whatever, but thanks. For giving shits." She backed away slowly, uncertain how to calm the man. "He's scarier than bro when he he doesn't brush his hair," she thought to herself.
Laimbeer clapped his hands to his head twice and turned around, kneeling next to the halfling. "You gotta listen closely, okay?" He grabbed a roll of paper from the desk in 24A and dipped a finger in the blood pooling on the floor. Laimbeer began sketching the outline of the where they were in Town Center, relative to the destination. "Past the closed-up shop that says Ryuukai Butchery, okay, there's a tall building with white brick walls that are all burnt and ashy. The walls still hold, right, they're just not the same colour anymore. Front door, blocked, blocked by a bunch of crap. So you all need to go around to the left side, okay, left side, and there will be a hatch. It drops down but just to a ladder that takes you inside the actual building, back to ground floor actually. It used to be some fancy parlour cafe called 'Fitzgerald's' but it's not in use anymore. The important bit, though, is that there's a crate's worth of special candies nestled in the place. I think each candy is like a day's nutrition or something. So there would be enough for all of you. Everything in the building should work, the owners wrote it off as an insurance thing anyhow. But you all have to go now, if you're going to go. I, I can't make that decision for you. It's not up to me. But you should go." He added finishing touches to the directions to take and set the paper down to dry. In speaking with urgency, a pumping tension swelled into the space, radiating from the demon, yet managing to remain cool.
"If you all actually are there, I can see about bringing extra stuff you all may need. But don't count on it. Now, are you going to fetch your brother or do I need to? Otherwise, I'm going." Where an eye would be, beneath a long section of hair that spilled over onto his face, a faint gleam, somehow able to be identified as not from him, appeared.
LAIKA OF GS!
Last Edit: May 21, 2020 2:48:19 GMT -5 by Laimbeer
Living in a dystopian society, seven mystic races are trapped due to their own selfishness. Tensions rise between the races and the different social classes, leading up to the constant struggle for power, with no end in sight.
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4/11 - With the Ghoul Purge complete, Pavane's fear shifts from the goddesses towards the Council. Check out the aftermath here to get an understanding of the current situation in the plot.
MYSTICAL SOULS belongs to YUMEKUI, DYLZOE AND LUNARIS. This is an original plot created by staff members.. The skin "Midnight Madness" was created by Dorothia. This includes Board Mod, Mini-Profile Mod and such. Thread list was made by Kagney. User Profile mod was made by Pharaoh Leap. Graphics belong to their rightful owner. Plagiarism is not appreciated and will not be tolerated.