Waking up from a deep slumber...the princess of Pirout would spent an hour of her day caring for her attire before she’d step out of the bedroom door...
From combing her raven hair, to polishing the armor plates of her outfit, to neatly re-attaching her house’s brooch on the right side of her waist. Every little task, she did it with a small smile on her face.
Every time she was done, one look in the enormous half-wall mirror she had Aaron install (under threats of telling her father), she patted herself on the cheeks...
She got out of her room. Gracefully descending the creaking, wooden staircase, she greeted her teammates with words of love and adoration...
Lau: Halt to whatever meaningless task you have going on. Good morning, my subordinates...
Other than Cassie bending her way over to kneel in front of the Lecourt princess, Aaron and Suiga’s derisive looks were enough to show their disinterest in Lau’s arrival...
Lau: Hm? Well, I guess that will change with a few tries...Thank you, Cassandra Mergrove. I wish you good fortune today.
Cassie: The pleasure is all mine, my lady...
Url: Good morning Lau. I have your benedicts ready, with coffee and a cookie.
Lau: I would fall flat on my back and float to the clouds had you not offered me my breakfast with that disgusting mask on your beautiful face...
Url: Then I’m glad I’m still wearing it, wouldn’t want to lose you now!
He said with a thumb sarcastically raised. Handing her the exquisite plate, she sat along with the lads. A smudge of disgust appeared on her mouth, as she was granted a point blank view of Aaron tearing apart three slices of the thickest, juiciest bacon a butcher could carve. She covered her breakfast from the drops of lard, but it was quite hard to do , while Suiga stuffed himself with little hot cross buns filled with chicken bits, chewing the...
Suiga: I have to say, chief, chicken isn’t so bad with this recipe.
Aaron: Pork is pretty fatty, but I guess that’s what gives it this amazing flavor...
Lau: Could you please?! You’re in the presence of a lady!!!
Aaron was left dumbfounded...
Aaron: Oh, yes...Napkin?
Lau: Take your own advice!!!
Cassie took her breakfast, a bowl of pumpkin soup along with two slices of toasted bread, and sat between Aaron and Lau...
Cassie: No worries my lady! I can withstand bossman’s crude table manners, he much reminds me of my brother and my pops!
Lau: Do not put yourself next to that beast, he’ll devour you!
Suiga: Will you cool it, we’ve had a hard week.
Url : And it doesn’t seem it’ll get any better...
Joining along between the other two with his vegetable variety, dipped in strangely delicious juices and colourful sauces, he slammed a newspaper, along with some documents from the VHC, signed by the Chief...
Aaron grabbed the newspaper, and read out the first, grand title...
Aaron : Down the VHA : why should the hunting system be reconfi_reconfisc-recontur-
Lau angrily grabs the newspaper out of his hands...
Aaron: Rude...
Lau: Why should the hunting system be reconfigured from the sorry state it has left itself drown in...Huh?
Url: People are pissed. Wutsworth Industries is dead, the chest is long gone, massacres all around town, and the last of the escapees have fled to the southern outskirts...The festival was pretty much the tipping point.
Lau: But we saved them! It’s not our fault they chose to host a festival without supervision!
Url: You and I see that, the seniors see that, but none of the citizens do. They think the hunters aren’t doing their job. None of them are safe.
Lau: Load of bol-...liars...
Aaron took a quick stare as Lau pouted...
Url: Anyways, since Doku and Balecq are on guard and interrogation duty, and the seniors are taking charge of the city patrols, we are tasked with...
Aaron : Please don’t say “outskirt patrol”, please don’t say outskirt patrol
Cassie: Come on, “outskirts patrol”.
Url: Outskirt...
Cassie: YES!!!
Aaron: Fuck!!!
Url: hunting!!
Aaron/Cassie: Huh?
Suiga: What is the difference?
Url: Well, Suiga, we only managed to chase away the escapees, so most of them are on the run inside the forest settlements...
Aaron: So now we have to run through every backwater ruin to hunt for bats...Great...
Cassie: Exactly, bossman! Great! Who knows we might even get to meet the Black Steed!
Shivers run down through Aaron’s, Suiga’s and Lau’s spines when his name is mentioned...
Aaron : Mergrove, I SINCERELY hope we do not cross paths with that freak again.
Cassie pouted...
Suiga: Chief...
Aaron: ‘Sup?
Suiga: Should we venture in the southern outskirts...there is a chance...we meet them again...
Aaron:...
None of the others uttered a word...
Aaron: Cool. This time we’ll send them to the dirt. Both of us...
Suiga: Yes...
Url: Before you do any of that, you’ll each wash your dish. We’re leaving in an hour.
Aaron: What!?
Cassie: I’ll go prepare!!
Lau: A trip through the poor villages. Witness the little backbone of society through my higher heels. This should be entertaining...
As hours pass...in Huckleberry’s cramped office, the scientist drowned himself in notes and scrolls...
Samuel: The man himself, Samuel Huckleberry. Smartest hunter alive, co-creator of the anti-vampirification model number 4, youngest senior hunter in Landen and IN the world...and yet I still can’t find a way to get you two out of my office.
Shroud: Just quit already.
Samuel: GET OUT!!!
Samuel was quite literally drowned in work. Shroud and Luca dumped their workload of notes from the past few weeks for the sicentist to check, under the guise of “team project”.
Luca: You know me and Shroud can’t do any paperwork. It’d be wasted muscle.
Samuel: I get the paperwork dumping, but why are you still here?
The hulk pressed his body against Samuel’s, bringing his stinking breath full of smoked rum inside the intellect’s nostrils...
Shroud: You sayin’ we ain’t good company, Sammy?
Samuel: No...it’s just...Oh lord, who drinks this in 2 the afternoon?!
Shroud: Ya know Sammy, maybe that’s why Philo won’t stroke your pale-ass little worm. She doesn’t dig stuck ups who don’t (burp) drink and chill out with their friends...
Samuel: Ah, I...you...what are you saying?!
Luca: Not to give the drunk a stool to stand on, but yeah you are kind of a major loser, Sammy. We’re here keeping you company under perilous times, and you just kick us out?
Samuel: It’s “Samuel” and you know it...And all you’ve been doing is throwing my books on the floor and-Shroud you’re crushing me!
Shroud: Fer gots sake, how will you ever fuck?
Samuel: Not with you on top of me, that’s sure!
The two bullies shared a good laugh...Shroud took his hide off the poor Samuel, who was quick to recapture the air squeezed out of his lungs...
Shroud: Relax, we just messing wit ‘ya...
Luca: You don’t have to do all that paperwork today.
Samuel: Huh? Then why is it here, drowning my desk?
Luca: Too much clutter for our offices.
Samuel: You don’t have offices!!!!
Shroud: Whatever...Talked to the Steed after he gave us back our students...
Samuel: Shouldn’t we have a word with that guy?! He put my poor Url in danger, and not to mention, gave a nice beating on your students!
Shroud: Twas’ Aaron’s punishment for talking to me like that.
Luca: Suiga needed the tough love.
Samuel: Un...Unbelievable...
Having brought a leather satchel with him, Luca pulled out a new set of old scrolls and dropped them in the only spot on Huckleberry’s desk that was not filled to the brim...
One look through his ornated glasses, and Samuel was in shock by the old letters and ominous pictures inscribed...
Samuel: This...is really old vampiric language...where did he find it?!
Luca: He told us somewhere between the Old Castle and East of the Jakar strip, around... 3-4 months ago?
Samuel : So...
Luca: Yeah, he didn’t tell us.
Samuel: Doesn’t matter...The fact he found it then and there...And we have the Ripper banging on our doors a few months after...
Luca: Yeah I could make the connection too, Sammy-
Samuel : Yeah, but could you figure out that these were coordinates?
Luca: Huh?
Shroud: What’s ammacallit’?
Samuel: Look over here...
Raising his finger, he pointed out the similarities of each design : A chest with ornated spectacles... Alongside, myriads of illigible letters to the human eye, that would take months to decipher...
Luca: How did you figure that out just now?
Samuel: Look closely to the way the chests are positioned...when you ignore the letters and replace them with land, it really reminds you of the Landenian map, outskirts and city combined!
Luca: Hmm...fuck.
Samuel: It’s meant to trick human deciphers...but it’s too intricate to help any other vampire...only close confidants could figure out such a trick...someone who knows how it works...
Shroud: Enough wit the dick sucking, yeah you’re a genius. So there are other boxes?!
Samuel: Yes...and if I can decipher the letters, they’ll probably explain what every chest is used for...I can already figure out some words...
Shroud:...Yeah, you’re a genius...
Samuel : But I’m warning you, it’s only estimates of the locations, we still have to search every nook and cranny...
Luca : Well we already have the depository...There, in the northern district!
Shroud: Table’s start turning...
As the 5 heroes left the city premises, they took a walk on the large stone path leading to the outskirt settlements, while the chilly breeze moved the grass and leaves around…
The south of Landen. Extending throughout miles, a dense forest area, inhabited by villagers choosing to domesticate the leftover ruins of Earth and farm their way into life.
Url, mask worn, held up the documents given to him this morning, reading with extreme caution…
Lau: How can you read inside of that thing?
Url: Special lenses.
Lau: But they’re pitch black!
Url: That’s why they’re special. It’s a see through glass that is only panned from the outside to filter moisture and debris while allowing one to observe with no distruction…For example, I just read the details to our next mission.
Aaron: Anything about warm fireplaces and blankets?
Url: ...missing people...
Aaron: Huh?
Url: Apparently the support army that scouted the areas only marked this little settlement 10 minutes from here. The rest are still under investigation but this one’s a priority because it hasn’t stopped three days after the break out…
Suiga: Missing people? Could it be our vampires?
Url: Nothing for sure, but we can keep our eyes out...
Aaron: Great, more dirt. And we just got these from the dry cleaner!
The minutes pass, and there they are inside the village. Nothing too special. Some stone houses, puffing out grey clouds of smoke from their small chimneys.
Not as scary as depicted by west Landenians, but the uncomfortable sensation of silence, with only the burning charcoal and the chickens plucking at each other to be heard, set off our heroes whose ears were used to the city’s hustle…Almost all of them…
Cassie: Why are we home?
The cosy houses and green terrain weren’t enough to prevent everyone from turning their heads clockwise when Cassie acquainted herself with the environment…
Lau:…Home?
Cassie: Well yes, my Lady. This is my previous and original abode. The Mergrove house is but a 2 minute walk from here.
Aaron: The bat devil played me this trick…
Url: Now that you mention it, yeah, Mergrove residence, right here! Aaron didn’t you say she was homeless?
Aaron: She looked the part! I don’t believe this, I gave this chick my chicken-
Cassie: Oh Goodie!!! My teammates getting to see where my journey started!!! What more could I have asked for!!!
Url: Well, before we drift off, maybe we should start by announcing we just arrived?
The black and white group of young hunters couldn’t possibly match with the plural color palette of the flower patches in front of every house on this outback village…
Grey-colored brick houses and stables or run-down forges, with either sawn-on hay or brick roofs on every side, with smoke puffing from the stone chimneys on top…
A cobblestone path to guide the hunters inside , extending all until a large land of short wheat where farmers had gathered to collect…
The commotion outside was heard by an old woman of short stature, dressed in a brown patched coat and a velvet hood, coming out of the wooden door of her house…
Old woman : Who’s there?!
Aaron: Oh shit. Eh, hello miss! We are from the Vampire Hunting Assocation! You asked for help?
Said the boy tipping his hat, with a coy, nervous little smile to lower the elderly’s guard.
Old woman: And they decided to bring us the baby deers instead of anyone capable? For Lord’s Sake, the south is ruined.
Cassie: Miss Albert!!
Old woman: Who’ssat’?...Cassie?!
The old woman, who was shaking on the fence of her patio, suddenly burst with joy and energy when Cassie ran to hug her…
Miss Albert : You little runt, it’s Sophie fer you!! And when did you grow up like that?!
Cassie: I only left for some months, Sophie. I made it big in the city!
Sophie: And these are?
Cassie: Oh!! Let me show you, my friends and teammates!
Aaron: And then discuss the reward for bringing you back home.
Url/Lau: Be nice!!!
Cassie: Here is Url Schellinger! Our medic! Don’t take off his mask, you might get a heart attack!
The old woman spent a good couple of seconds looking., from Url’s heavy boots , to his oversized cloak giving him the impression of a church hunchback, to the fabled crow mask. Url appeared at ease, but beneath, he was still concerned. Wearing his mask proudly but still afraid of what the old woman would have to say about a plague doctor parading in her village…
Sophie:…Too many clothes! It ain’t that cold, Schellinger!
Url: Ugh…Well, easier to hide the vials…
Sophie: Hey plague doctor, while you are here, fix my husband’s back will ya’? He still thinks he’s 25, and his back thinks he’s already under the damn dirt.
Url: Oh…sure, I’d be glad too!!!
Cassie: And this is Princess Lau Lecourt! Make sure to bow!
Sophie: Haven’t seen a Lecourt since that parade they made 5 years ago. The princess is as beautiful as they say.
Lau:…Oh please…You must be talking about my late sister, Beatrice…
Sophie: The woman’s beauty almost made girls in my village turn the leaf! But no eyes forgot about the bundle of joy Lady Vivienne carried on her lap on the carriage that day…
Lau fell on her back, blushing and rolling in embarrassment…The old lady moved along to greet the estranged samurai, gasping at the sight of his clear white robe, the traditional dark long grey bottoms with combat sandals and some small armor plates, decorated by the sigil of house Akira, a drawn-on red sun…
Sophie: Lemme guess. This one’s from the East!
Suiga: Prince Akira Suiga, son of Akira Hanshiro. Pleased to be making your acquaintance!
Sophie: Heh. Never thought that man would have made anything but a daughter after all his cosorts…How many sisters now, prince boy?
Suiga: Heheh…50…
Cassie: And the last one is my boss, Aaron Willheart!! Like the late, magnificent, fantastic Florence!!
She introduced while dramatically spinning and showing off the pissed hunter on every adjective for his mother.
The old woman ignored the rest of the hunter’s muscular physique and casual/black tie attire, but stared into his silver eyes long enough for Aaron to slightly blush…
Aaron: Em…
Sophie: His spittin’ image…
Aaron: What?
Sophie: Nothing, lad! Just like yer mother! She came here once for a hunt! Nice one Cassie, you locked yourself a good one.
Url/Suiga/Lau: Eeeh…
Cassie: All in a day’s work for the nightingale! But in regard to your current plight, how can we help?!
Sophie tilted her head. What was the young huntress referring to?
Sophie: Plight? What nonsense are you spouting out of that mouth, girl?
Cassie: The missing people? You called for some kidnappings after the support army came through your village?
Aaron/Url:…
Sophie: Ugh, those runts you have helping you are just a bunch of slack-offs like your brother! We send someone! The lads came back a while ago!! No need for saving!!
Url: (A while ago? I was at Central the past few days, I never heard anything about envoys from Crooked Grove…)
With Sophie growing wary of Url’s skepticism, Suiga noticed her fading patience, so he jumped in front, with a smile as charismatic as any exotic prince would have…
Suiga: My apologies, my lady. It is possible the administration wing is in a state of chaos for the past few days…There is a chance our esteemed chief ignored your request to ensure the suburbs had some security over their shoulders?
Sophie:…You know how to ease an old lady’s heart now, don’t you…
Suiga: Only doing my assigned job, ma’am.
Lau: Kissass…
With Suiga’s combat sandal shoved on Lau’s shin, room was left for Url to press on his comrade’s diversion…
Url: That does seem like a plausible explanation…
Sophie: I didn’t expect your fat chief to send any help towards these here lands…
Url: And exactly how did these kidnappings happen?
Sophie: It wasn’t a kidnapping! Two lads from our farmers went missing for a day after gatherin’, and they left without a word! Hours of panic, just for them to come back and say that they were napping it off under the old tree!
Aaron: The old tree? Crooked Grove? Isn’t that thing long gone?
Cassie: Crooked Grove still has its remains, but the roots…wait, were the slackers-
Sophie: Your two usuals, Emmett and his walking dog, Kevin!! I swear, the only two good hands in this old bone festival , and they choose to go sleep it off under that damn graveyard of a tree!!
Url: Well…then I guess there’s not a lot to do…but escapees from Salazar still roam the woods these days…
Sophie: Lemme guess, you gonna squat the fences for two nights, piss off every fella sleepin’ in these here cabins, and then leave! Sorry, bird face, but we’ve got no need fer yer-
Url gently took off his mask, earning the old lady’s undivided attention…He moved his mouth, slightly turning his accent to a Barelans’ more harsh, elegant baritone…
Url: I understand, truly…but no doctor of my creed could ever leave this village knowing vampire filth roams its grass and molds its soils…Please, milady, allow this ragtag group of young hunters to service you in place of our much absent seniors…You do deserve it…
The rattling, raspy, soft use of Landenian vocabulary, accompanied by a face even vampires could adore…
Sophie:…Tch, I guess you can stay…
Aaron: Did we just whore out our doc-
Url: The pleasure is all mine, milady…I’ll make sure we behave…Now, to investigate the woods…
Sophie : Wop!!! Almost forgot!! None of you pretty faces are out of this village without tasting the pecan pie I just made!! Cassie drools for this…
Aaron: Miss, it’d be a pleasure but we are already-
Cassie: Food!!? Yes!! Pecan Pie!!
Not even Aaron’s iron grip could hold the acrobat huntress from attacking the outside oven…
Suiga: I suggest we follow suit, my stomach has been complaining for a few minutes…
Url: Yeah, I could go for a snack…
Lau: Sweets? Count this princess in!
With rears placed on chairs and steps of the balcony, the crew demolished one of the three pans of pecan pie prepared in Sophie’s outside stone oven…
Cassie ate and simultaneously greeted farmers arriving from the fields. The joy in her eyes as they spat out stories and anecdotes of every single thing that happened ever since she left could not be conceived by the group, even for Cassandra, who’s happy with anything…
Url: Our nightingale sure is popular…
Sophie: The heroine of the southern suburbs…Ever since that cowgirl gunslinger gave her the green light, she would go from village to village and shoot down vampires like duck hunting!
Suiga: Lady Cassandra was all on her own?
Sophie: Well, her senior had to leave for days when your fatso chief called her in for expeditions…But like that would ever bother Cassie…
Lau: I had no idea Lady Mergrove was in charge of a whole area…
Url: Hmm, really puts into perspective how valuable she is to this team, especially to those who would be indifferent to her contributions , for petty little reasons, right?
Lau: I completely agree…
Aaron suddenly shook his eyes off the pecan pie…
Aaron:…Excuse me?
Sophie: Hahah, I can see why the girl can be a handful, Willheart! She and her brother were rascals under my care, while her parents bit the dust and her granpop took off for months on end!!!
Aaron: He took off? Where?
Sophie: Some carpentry business, makes stuff for big shots in every corner of the planet that still has a few humans…Man loves his grankids, but can’t stay put for one second!
Url: Hmm, so you took on the role of grandmother for them? Is our granpop that a catch?
Sophie: Hah! You’d wish! But shouldn’t say stuff like that, my gal pal down under might wake up and start a rumble!
Lau: Gal pal?
Sophie: Sorry, my lady. My best friend, and their actual granmother…Radiant, like our girl here. Too bad the ol’ gal took a wrong turn at night and…well you kids should already know…
Url:...
Suiga: Oh…we’re sorry…
Sophie: Oh well…happens doesn’t it…
With that sorrowful mention, Sophie's brows dropped, while her head faced over the farm, where the woods were denser…
Sophie: When they told us the blasted vampire came over here, none of us thought we would make the next morning…Yer elder colleagues came in…said lock the doors…and if you hear anyone from the other houses asking for help…don’t you dare open…
Aaron:…
Sophie: But those screams…black night and still heard people shouting as if the sun still shun away…The screams…It’s as if I could still hear…
Suiga:…
Sophie: …It’d be mighty foolish of me to think of it…but you here, looking for vampires…
Suiga and Lau, kneeled in front of the old lady, holding her wrinkled, tired hands with care, facing towards her hopeless face…
Their one shared memory of two young hunters guiding them through a bloody factory, and their hopes up while the walls bled crimson…
Suiga: Be assured my Lady, no harm shall come to this village…
Lau: You’ll be safe under our guard, we promise you that!!
Url accompanied their efforts with his sincere smile, while Aaron was left surprised from his comrades’ assertiveness…
Sophie:…Oh well!! You might have convinced me, but I don’t think you’ll be getting anything out of the others!! Especially the two brothers that brought this on!!!
Url: Well , I mean, give us a shot first! We do have the fabled nightingale with us!!
Cassie returned with smiles written all over her country girl face…
Sophie: Happy!! They’ve been dying to see ya’!! Almost ate yer brother alive when he came fer a visit!!
Cassie: He visited?! I thought he was still at school?
Sophie: He is! The moment he finished his little nap, he left!! Damn brat’s too fancy for the dorms!!
Suiga: Aw, we’d love to meet the little nightingale-assuming he took his sister’s path.
Cassie: Oh, he’s not that-
Sophie: Only thing that sloth brat could hunt is rotisserie chicken , and not by moving out of a chair, that’s for sure!!
Url: Oh, he’s…
Sophie: A lazy brat! Can’t see how Cassie’s related to that slob!!
Lau: Almost reminds me of someone…
Aaron: (Munching)…Excuse me?
Url: Anyways, Cassie, your impressions? Anything useful?
She posed, hand in forehead, other hand open and faced towards everyone…
Cassie: The nightingale searched hard and wide while cheering on her former neighbours! And!...she found nothing!
Url: What?
Cassie: Nothing at all! No one here seems to have had any issues regarding bats. Some ladies asked for your civil status though, oh doctor.
Url: For God’s sake (puts mask back on) …
Aaron: Hey!! Mask off!! We aint’ quitting just yet. We should start off with the two culprits first! See what they gonna tell us about their little old crimes.
Url: Perfect, which house Cassie?
Cassie: Oh, doc, well…
Url: ?
Confused at Cassandra’s avoidant glare, they could not find a way to pull out the truth…
Sophie: Dammit, Cassie, it’s a known deal, no need to hide it!
Cassie: It is by no means a pleasant subject!
Aaron: Out with it, Cassie. I have no more pie to tolerate the stench from the horses!
Cassie: Well…I mean…
Sophie: Emmet’s been sick for… well ever since he started working in the fields…
Suiga: Oh, the old farmer’s ache…My grandparents have seen their fair share of it…
Sophie: I bet not like the brat’s. Cassie was still under the Gunslinger when this thing started… had us all in fear before we figured out it’s not contagious! The pains were manageable, bu when the spots came out-
Url: (Spots…haven’t heard of a similar symptom) Hmm…if he can’t move then why go all the way to Crooked Grove…
Sophie: Beats me…Although…
Cassie: Hm?
Sophie: …
Aaron: …Lady Sophie?
Sophie: Oh! Yes, I remember!! My husband put Emmett in charge of helping him with the inventory for the farmwork!! Crooked Grove isn’t that far from there!!
Url: …Well…can’t connect the dots yet…
Sophie: Hey! I’m just an old woman, not a detective!
Url: Oh!! I didn’t-
Sophie: Just messing wit’ ya, bird doctor!! Ya’ll can find Kevin in the stables now, and Emmett closed up in his house!! Cassie’ll show ya’!! Although watch out for Kevin. He’s an itty bitchy angry when Emmet’s involved!
Aaron: Well, we could always split. I’ll talk to the stable boy, you guys-
Url: You know, I’d rather avoid the paperwork for whatever damage you and an angry stable boy will cause. Me and Suiga could talk to Kevin.
Aaron: And what will I- oh hell no!!
Cassie: To chat along with the seeked upon farm prince, the nightingale and the titan boss embark on an adventure of eloquence. She sings ballads of hope to prepare for the sensational theme of this encounter’s-
Aaron: You start chanting for the next walk, you’ll see the sun from up close this time!
Url: Lau, your call to choose who to follow.
Suiga: Like the princess would choose hard labor to the horse’s house…
They patiently waited while Lau lost herself in space.
Suiga: Hey! You can think of how to rid the farm stench later, choose!
Aaron: Wake up, Lecourt!
Lau: Zip it!!...I’ll join the doc and fangirl…I had enough of Willheart’s munching for today…
The three departed right after Cassie gave the directions for Kevin’s stables…
Aaron: Damn what’s up her ass…
Cassie: Oh did they step!...For the prince in distreeeesss-
Aaron: Walk!!!
Taking the straight route, Aaron couldn’t help but notice how much the farmers smiled at the sight of the nightingale.
How her strange, over the top mannerisms could only bring joy and laughter to their hearts. Nothing in comparison to their previous mission…
He did agree that had Beryl still lived, he would be delighted by this sight…
And without even a quarter passed, they reached Emmett’s hut…
Not unlike the others, a humble little house with hay roofs, grey brick walls, a chimney full of smoke…
And a slender, blond, young man working on his loom with sheep wool…
Through the edges of his clothes, the hunters noticed pale, sickly skin, riddled with small, blackish spots and marks…
Aaron: (Damn, that’s no regular farmer’s ache…)
Cassie : Emmett!! Goodness, and people say I’ve grown a bunch.
Emmett: Cassie…Good lord, you look like your mother an’ gramma’ by the day…
With gloomy blonde hair, blueish eyes, and a skinny, disease-ridden body, he hugged the huntress in his farmer’s leather outfit, gently, as if something had tired him out from the night before…
Emmett: Ya’ll have to excuse mine behavior…I’m not the most energetic person these past few days…
Cassie: What could be wrong, Emmett? Sophie having you two do the hay lifting?
Emmett: Thankfully, she left that at Kevin, who just loves anything non brainy…No, I’m just tired from the stock counting.
Cassie: Oh, Ollie has started giving you the job?
Emmett: Years of begging, and finally he chooses to let it go once the farm starts growing velvet grass again…
Cassie: Well, finally your chance to shine!!! I’m sure in a matter of days you’ll kick the old man out of his seat and rule as the farm leader in no time!!!
Emmett: Hahah…yeah, in the near future…
Aaron could see what Cassie’s ignorant eyes avoided. The man, even though with a build most people would envy, was clearly sick, and clearly stressed enough to gropw fear in thought of the future…
His distinct rubbing of the wrist, his averting gaze, searching all over the house for a place to hide, his discreet little shaking over the hardwood floor…
Cassie: What!? Did I say something weird?
Aaron: Hey! Weirdo! Didn’t they teach you –
Emmett: Oh, no…It’s fine really…Cassie…I’m sorry, I’m just a little-
The huntress hugged him tightly once again, even the boy himself was impressed by how his little “sister” had matured to reach his height and hold him whole in her arms…
She then took one good look in his blue eyes, filling his pupils with her warm, affectionate spirit…
Cassie: It will all be well…Your nightingale says so…
The gentle boy couldn't restrain his lips. He cracked a smile, brighter and more distinct than the rest of his sickly façade, enough for Aaron to be swept along with the flow as he remembered how motivating the nightingale was back at Landen’s Plaza…
Cassie: But still!! We heard some interesting news about you and your older brother!!
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Emmett: The Crooked Grove thing!? I thought we sent a letter saying everything’s-
Aaron: Still, with all the bats running around, it’s best we don’t continue what happened a few days ago…
Emmett: You’re right, and I’m more than just sorry about the trouble me and Kevin caused…
Cassie: But why Crooked Grove though?
Aaron: I suppose it’s not about its extreme renown restorative capabilities.
Emmett: Ugh…well…I can’t really explain it…
The youth surprised his visitors by slowly taking off his shirt…
Under the white cloth and brown suspenders, a pale skin with the black clots and sickly yellow marks covering most of his back and torso…
Aaron: Yeah, that’s not just farmer’s ache…
Cassie: My god, Emmett, has anyone seen this!!?
Emmett: The best in Landen came and none could figure it out…It presents like farmer’s ache at the start but…
Cassie:…Well, bossman, maybe our doctor could take a look at it!! He’s a medical genius…
Emmet: Oh! Well, I mean-
Aaron:…Yeah…yeah he could…I can’t guarantee anything, but…I mean, are you alright getting checked by a plague doctor?
Emmett: Heheh…At this point, a damn bat god could take care of me and I wouldn’t say a thing…but, that’s not the point…
Aaron : Hm?
Emmett: This has been going on for a few years…I’ve managed to handle it somehow but…the past weeks have been the worst I’ve seen concerning fatigue and pain…It’s like I’m walking with a thousand horses on my back…
Cassie: Oh, Emmett…
Emmett: And watching everyone pick up after me…try to clean my messes…especially my own brother…
Before he could even fall, Aaron noticed how Emmet’s chest started moving erratically…
He caught and supported the frail boy, let him breathe it out with Cassie while resting on his broad shoulder…
Aaron:…Crooked Grove’s your happy place…
Emmett:…
Cassie: Happy place…?
Aaron:…I get it, I would want to just get out the door and go find someplace where nothing matters…somewhere I’m not sick, or hounded by responsibilities…
Cassie:…
Aaron: But lemme tell ya’, sometime’s it’s just better ta’ count on your folks. Less the trouble, right?
Emmett: Heh…wish I could tell you I see it that way…
Aaron : Believe me, pal. I’m just starting to see it too…
He helped him up once Emmett came to his senses…Emmett slowly pulled his clothes back on, hiding his shame away…
Aaron: But pal, maybe leave Crooked Grove alone for a while? At least until we are finished with the investigation. Make sure no Rippers are hiding nearby?
Emmett:…Alright.
Aaron: Huh? That was fast.
Emmett: If a whole hunting party AND our nightingale came to help, this must be a bigger deal…We’ll steer away…
Cassie: Oh, Emmett. I’ll make sure it’s extra safe before we leave!!!
Aaron : Really appreciate it, mate…
With some extra care, he firmly shook his hand.
Emmett let out a small, sincere snicker that caught the hunter’s eye…
Emmett:…I’m sorry…You just really remind me of my brother…
Aaron: Huh?
Emmett: He’s kind of a walking grouch, to be honest…but when it matters most, he’s the most sincere, selfless person you can find in this village…and we are talking about a lot of them!!
Cassie: That sounds exactly like bossman!! A hardened slacker outside, a soft cutiepie on the inside!! Much like Sophie’s pecan pie!
Emmett: Heheh...you seem to have taken a liking to your bossman. Even for you, that’s a lot!
Cassie: As worried as he makes me with his recklessness, there’s no one I wouldn’t blindly follow. Although, his denial to explore his own emotions is quite the encumbrance.
Aaron: Kicking caped charlatans that steal my food is an emotion I’d love to explore…
His strength diminished, but he still kept his eyes up to watch over their reactions…
Emmett: Hm…Well, glad to have met the man to inspire my lil’ sis as much! Man, never have I or Kevin ever motivated her like this…
Cassie: Hoping to have him talk to Victor soon!!
Emmett: Heheh…Yeah, good luck with that.
Aaron: Tch, guess we are empty-handed. We should go find the doctor for this boy here.
Emmet: Oh, don’t you worry about me. I can handle myself for now, don’t keep the man off of his important work…
Aaron : But, really now…Crooked Grove? There are so many better places to go chill out!
Emmett: Hahah…well…it might not seem…but that place has some sort of…calmness…as if nothing matters when you stand under that old tree…It offers some momentary salvation…
Aaron:…Tch, well, at least let us finish with our check-up today before you two bolt it again…
Emmet: Hehe, thank you, It’s an old crooked stump, but my head hasn’t felt a better resting spot, and I’ve got a custom-made sheep wool pillow
Cassie: Heheh, we should be careful then that THIS one deosn’t end up falling asleep until next harvest!
She said while pushing her elbow in his ribs. Titan he was, his mental capacity too a nice hit, enough for the hunter to grab her arm and gently twist her wrist, unexpressive and unbothered by her screams…
Emmet: Heheh…I think Aaron might have to be more cautious here…Cassie does adore the trees, you know…
The hunter remained confused for a good minute as Emmett sneaked him a mischievous little smile under Cassie’s eyes…
Aaron:…
Cassie: That is true, that’s why I always-
Aaron: Damn it, alright! Out of here for us!! We’ll be back to tell you if something’s changed, Emmett!!
Emmett : Well, if it helps, me and Kevin haven’t heard anything vampire like from Crooked Grove!
Cassie: Thanks for the help! Bossman, why are we leaving just yet!?
Aaron: We got ALL the answers we need…
Emmett saluted them, with a devilish little grin on his face…
To a nearby horse shack, a larger, dark haired man is moving rolls of hay around and preparing them for the steeds to eat under Url, Suiga and Lau’s observation…
Url: So who starts with the hot-head?
Lau: I’ll abstain from this, the stench is unbelievable!
Suiga: Then why not join the others, if you are going to be a pain in the ass?
Lau: Well, maybe being a pain in your ass is a task I take great pleasure in!
Url: Suiga, how about you!? You can be the friendliest person a human can meet!
The prince blushed while Url grinned all the way through that compliment…
Suiga: Oh...alright I guess…
They approached the grunting stable man, who turned his head right as soon as he heard Suiga’s salute…
Kevin: Aaah, the hunters! They told us you’d be coming, a few days ago!! Can I help ya goons with anytin’, other than the road back?!
Suiga: Hello kind sir! Nothing in particular, really. Just doing some follow-up of our colleague’s last visit here!
Kevin: Well, as we told ya with the letter, nothing’s afoot!! Na’ get yer asses outta here!!! I’ll be late with the horses!!
Url : (Letter?)
Suiga: Well, it will only take us a minute! I swear!
Kevin: One minute is enough to throw me off balance! Now scram!!
Url: Oh god…
Suiga looked around. Following the stable boy, he took off his robe, shaped the upper part around the waist like a belt, and started feeding the horses alongside Kevin in the long corridor full of horses ready to munch…
Kevin: Hey!! What’ya-
Suiga: This way you’re not out of schedule AND you owe me!
Kevin: Screw that!! Leave that on the the ground, you got no idea what yer-
With Suiga already feeding horses, surprisingly without any trouble, Kevin kept his anger in check and followed through…
Kevin: Tch!! Trying to outdo me in my own work!? Who ya silver head fucks think I am?!
Url: Um…I want to say…oh god…
Url just observed as the two hot heads fed every horse in the stable…
Suiga swept his sweat away while Kevin stood tall in a mixture of condescension, covering a small bit of awe…
Kevin: I know frail little girls who’ve done better than this…
Suiga: I suppose Lady Cassandra’s work history far outweighs anyone’s on the team…
Kevin:…Who’dya say?
Suiga: Cassandra Mergrove…we’re with her…
Url: Will you listen to us now, before you kill my teammate from over exhaustion?
Kevin: Should’ve said sooner!! But why didn’t she come over, and left a bird doctor and his nurses to come talk to me?
Url: Hurtful. But Cassie’s over at your brother’s.
Kevin: Hah?! You fucks, no one’s-
Suiga: We’re sorry!! But Cassie really needed to see him!!
Url: Also, our other partner isn’t the type to handle any talk, I’m afraid we were the better option here…
Kevin:…My brother’s-
Url: Sick, we’ve heard. We’ve also heard of you two visiting Crooked Grove for a few nights.
Kevin: That’s none of your business!
His anger rised by the second, through his flaring, bull-like nostrils, his popping veins…
Suiga: No one’s here to blame anyone!! Please, we are just here to see if any vampires from the city have passed through!! And make sure no villagers are hurt!!! Could you please listen to us?
Kevin:…You are lucky Cassie’s with you…
Url : (You are lucky my captain didn’t choose to come here…)
Kevin cooled down…He offered a few wooden seats to the team, even though Lau declined in order to take a look around the stables…
Kevin:…She alright?
Suiga: Don’t open that can of worms…
Url: Agreed…Anyways, Kevin, all we just want to know is if you’ve heard anything while at Crooked Grove…and also, know why you chose that tree to go hide?
Kevin: My brother’s been a hell lotta worse this week…Mumps, clots, marks you name it. Crooked Grove is nothing compared what he’s going through…
Url: Farmer’s ache doesn’t sound like that at all…
With all the xepressions accompanying the eotion of anger, he stared shouting with his stable boy accent…
Kevin: Farmer’s ache? FARMER’S ACHE? I’m sure those other asshats told you that when they were complaining about Emmet’s leftover work!!
Suiga: Uhm…the other farmers?
Kevin: Who else? Like those old bags never complained about joint pains and broken bones…
Url: ( A small exaggeration?) Have they complained about your visits to Crooked Grove?
Kevin: Heh, apparently they called a hunter squadron to search for us, too!! So yeah, they are complaining!!
Suiga: Not that you don’t have your reasons, but…
Kevin : To save ya the trouble, Emmett’s been loving it there! Says he feels…calm…like the mumps and clots don’t hurt him no more… I got no idea why but…
Url: Hmm…I doubt that place has any healing properties…
Kevin: Hey, what do I know?!
Url: Oh, no! I’ve heard of places with restorative capabilities! Maybe Crooked Grove has such an effect!...I wouldn’t mind taking a look at your brother’s condition, if you don’t mind, of course…
Kevin: Heh…doctors and nuns come and go, from city to our house, and they all say the same damn thing…
He angrily threw away a chunk of hay he was fiddling at with his hands…
Kevin: No fucking clue…we can only try and wait…
Suiga:…I’m so sorry…
Kevin: In the meantime, my brother rots away in the house, hearing the old bastards complain about him every other day from his window!! I’d like to see if those asshats would-
Url: Kevin, calm down!
Kevin: How ya want me ta calm down?! My brother’s dyi-
A quick slap from the samurai halted his anger.
Suiga grabbed his tired face from the fatty cheeks before he could even react with a fist full of hay…
Suiga: He’s still here isn’t he??!! Then throw that word out of your mind!!!
Kevin: Tchk!!!...Get your hands off-
Suiga: Sit down, and then I’ll take my hands off!!!
Kevin:…
The stable boy sat back down to his wooden chair, all while rubbing his head in anguish…
Kevin:…I’ve seen no bats in there…
Url:…?
Kevin: We just go there for him to…feel alive again…I’m just trying to help him…
Url: And that’s what you’ll keep on doing. But making yourselves vampire prey is not the answer. I’ll take a look at the tree today, and your brother tonight. Can you do me a favor and stay away from Crooked Grove while I do that?
He huffed, he puffed, and threw most of his frustration away…
Kevin: …Fine…
Suiga: Kevin…thank you…
Kevin: Just get going! The old bags won’t let ya fiddle around the farm, try to find anything you need before they kick you out…Not that you will…
Url: Thanks, Kevin. I promise I’ll do my best. Lau, let’s go!!!
With the hunters left , Kevin kept on feeding hay to his horses…
Walking back to the village center…
Suiga : He seemed…lovely.
Url: Ugh, Cassie did say Kevin was the hardest to talk to…
Suiga: I really do want to believe them. I mean, to anyone, it seems a normal story…
Url:…
Suiga:…But who’d take his sickly brother out of the house with vampires close by…Oy, shrimp, what are your thoughts on this…
With a tilt of their heads, they found Lau following in body but absent of mind, daydreaming as she saw Kevin fixing up an old photo of him and Emmett before they left…
Lau:…
Suiga: And it has the nerve of calling our chief “lazy” and “aloof”.
Lau: Huh?...Sh-shut up!! Ever heard of silent thinking?
Url: Haven’t heard of any other type of thinking.
Lau:…
Suiga: Couldn’t you be more active when he was ready to kick us out with his own legs?
Lau: I prefer to collect my thoughts before talking!
Suiga: Doesn’t seem to be the case the past few weeks!
Url: I want to say Aaron’s lucky, but I can’t think of him smiling with Cassie right now…
From the other end of the central pathway, walked Cassandra and Aaron…
Aaron: Won’t be getting anything out of him…
Cassie: Bossman, I really do believe Emmett and Kevin were just searching for a place to relax…Maybe leave them alone with a little warning?
Aaron: Tchk…I can’t say, their story sounds too solid…
Cassie: Of course! Emmett and Kevin have been with me for years!!
Aaron: Really?
Cassie: They started taking care of me and ma brother and we were just two kids left by their grandfather while he was away at work!! They made sure trouble never found us, and taught us everything we needed to know about Landen!!
Aaron: Emmett does seem like the caring type…Still…I wouldn’t be going anywhere out of that house unless I lost those mumps and clots…Can’t say they’re out of the woods yet…
Cassie: Hmm…
He stared at Cassie, who began to question her own instincts the more Aaron pressured…
Aaron: …You must really trust them.
Cassie: Huh?
Aaron: They are the primary suspects, and you haven’t questioned them yet…
Cassie: I…I don’t-
Aaron: So they must be some pretty great folks if you are ready to protect them like that…
Cassie: Well…most of the village has been my home and parent for my childhood…Emmett and Kevin were like two big brothers, the protective and the caring one, always to look after me and my lil bro…
Aaron: (Beryl…)…Huh…
Cassie’s head wandered around the village houses. Greeting the kids running around the kindergarden, the old folks leaving for farm work, the ladies looming on their respective balconies…
Cassie: They have been loyal, caring, and they are the reason yours truly has been on the heroine’s path for so long…Is it that much of a sin for one to care for her kin?
The hunter stood speechless. He saw a sincere, calm, light shine over the black clad, grim dressed huntress…
Aaron: …
And his own, impressed, satisfied face shook her back into delusion…
Cassie:…Ehm, I mean, as the nightingale too! It is my duty as this village’s grim heroine to veil over their safety!!!
Aaron: (She went and ruined it)Tchk…No worries, braids…
Cassie: (New nickname?!)
Aaron: You told me you wanna keep the south alive, right? That’s what we’re gonna make sure of.
Cassie: Oh…
Aaron: But still…Emmett and Kevin can’t be going out like that…
Cassie: I don’t believe they’ll be making any more escapades…however…
Aaron: ?
Cassie: …I have no desire to soil their integrity…But I wouldn’t be a true huntress if I left my own feelings cloud my judgement…Their behavior has been slightly strange…Especially since…
Url: Since what?
Aaron/Cassie: Aaah!!!
Suiga: Url, you really need to stop doing this!
Url: But it’s way too fun! Now, what were you two talking about?
Aaron: About the brothers…You believe their story?
Url: I so want to, so we can go home and do some actual work, but unfortunately my conscience won’t let me…
Cassie: Did Kevin throw any clues?
Url: He definitely threw stuff…
Suiga: I don’t believe any more interrogation will do us any good…
Aaron: Actually, Url could take a look at Emmett’s disease. Try to find out what is going on…Although he didn’t seem eager for someone ridden with mumps.
Url: Oh, that’s right. The body does tell more than words.
Cassie: His house ain’t even that far! Let’s go!
Back to the hut, Cassie banged on the door with excitement…
Aaron: You dumbass, he’s a walking stick, you cant’ have him opening the door like a damn machine!!
Cassie: But I can’t wait! Url’s the best doctor I’ve seen! He’ll make quick work of whatever’s ailing Emmett!!
Url: Well, maybe he doesn’t have to die from exhaustion first?
Aaron: God, I won’t be paying any new doors now!
While Aaron tried to pull Cassie away, Lau wandered again…
She stumbled upon a few stacks of hay…the same ones Kevin was using to feed the horses…
Lau:…
She quickly warned the others, to crouch and silently investigate the back of the house…
Cassie: But wait…that’s Emmett and Kevin!
Aaron: Will you keep it down!!
Suiga : “Silence”.
Url: No need to whisper, I guess. What are they doing, Kevin was still working when we left!
Suiga: Maybe he finished early?
Lau: Well, you DID do half his work.
Cassie: Still…there’s no way we wouldn’t notice him. You have to pass from the central pathway to reach their house from the stable…
Aaron:…Hey shrimp!!
Lau: What?
Aaron: Take Cassie and tail’em.
Cassie: Huh?
Lau: You out of your mind? Topknot sold his body to gain the stable boy’s trust!
Aaron: Why are you and Url whoring yourselves- you know what I can’t take this. Just try to see what they are planning!!
Suiga: What about us?
Aaron:…Something about that tree doesn’t sit right with me…
Url: I’d like to take a look at that thing too… Kevin said it makes Emmett feel alive again…
Cassie: So…we are tailing them…
Aaron noticed the doubt in her frowny expression…
Aaron: Try not to creep them out braids. Emmet’s been through enough already…
Cassie: Aah…yeah, I won’t!!!
And with the girls tailing the brothers, the boys took off for Crooked Grove…
Just next to the hollowed husk of the dead tree, a wheat farm full of villagers hard at work…
One tall , slim, old man stood out, with notepad and pen, typical white and brown farmer’s outfit, leading the farmwork and counting every wheat and flower picked and planted…
Ollie: 50 kilograms of wheat in stock, 10 kg picked…velvetgrass 10 in stock, 5 picked…damn bats…
Aaron: ‘Xcuse us!
Ollie: Hm? Huh? What are the silver heads doin’ her’?
Aaron: Uhm…you called us…
Ollie: Don’t remember havin’ any trouble lately with the freaks. Off you go now, you’ll step on the wheat!
Url: Uhm, sir…you called for a missing person’s case?
Ollie tilted his head...
Ollie: Missing persons?...Oh the two lads! We already sent an envoy! Nothing important, just two boys slacking off work!
Url: (Again with the envoy…) Oh...well, a small patrol wouldn’t hurt though, right? We still have escapees on the lose...
Olie: Look, plague doctor. We have no time let you tramp around our precious stock with vampire infested boots…Now scram, my protégé forgot to write down-
Url: We are with Cassandra Mergrove, if that clears things out…
Ollie:Hah!? The little nightingale’s back in town?!...I suppose we could let you look around…
Suiga : You are acquainted with her?
Ollie: Is the sun bright? Of course, I raised that gal and her snot of a brother while their pops took off for the foreign lands! I pray she’s been more than a blessing for you folks…
Aaron: I can add to-
Url/Suiga: She’s been great!!!
Ollie:…Dammit alright! But I can’t promise you any fanged freaks around...Crooked Grove hasn’t seen a vampire ever since Cassie hanged those imp heads outside her house as warnings!
Aaron: I let that freak enter my house...
Url: Concerning memories aside, we ‘d love to help. It’s a good chance to help our foreign visitors get acquainted with the land, too!
Ollie: Suit yerselves! Have ya tried talking to the culprits first?
Url: Yes and…well we can see they’ve been troubled a lot…
Ollie: Gosh, it’s been hell for them the past few weeks…I can see why that tree brings them solace…
Aaron: Solace or not, it’s not the best idea while hungry bats roam around the woods…
Ollie: Hah! Try telling them that!...Anyways, just watch out for the wheats and flowers. And don’t bother Crooked Grove that much. I’m sure he’s had enough visitors…
With the old man out of their feet, the boys looked around. Conversing with the farmers, and helping out in any way they can.
When it came to Emmett and Kevin, no complaint could be heard. The two culprits that alerted the hunters, and no villager held a grudge for them.
From Emmet’s kindness that knew no bounds, to Kevin’s hard work ethic that held the farm together, it was loud and clear to the boys that the village adored that couple…
Not to mention the love for Cassandra, the only huntress that took care of them, the girl that made sure no neck fell victim to a vampire’s mouth, the heroine of Crooked Grove…
Aaron: Nothing!
Suiga: Could it really be…are we running circles over nothing?
Url:…I’d like to try something…
Two quick looks. No one took notice of Url stealing velvetgrass from one of the patches…
A purple colored, thin plant…driving the kids behind Crooked Grove, he pulled out the table and started brewing a bizarre potion…
Suiga: Another concoction?
Aaron: Uhm, buddy, I don’t think Cassie’s name’s gonna get us out of theft…
Url: Suiga…Kevin told us the farmers have been nagging at Emmett for the work he’s been missing, right?
Suiga:…Oh, that’s right. But, all they’ve been saying-
Url: Exactly.
Aaron: Couldn’t they just be sucking up to us?
Url: That much?! An entire village?!
Aaron:…Tch…
Url: Not to mention, it’s been three weeks they are under surveillance…They know Jack’s crew is hiding in the woods…and yet they refuse help from 5 hunters, and one of them their own personal guard…
Mixing, adding, stirring over a hot fire place placed on the wooden table. The liquid boiled and the ingredients combined…
Url: Plot holes everywhere…Kevin says everyone hates him and Emmett…
Aaron: Wow…
Url: Aaron…Doesn’t it remind you of something…
Aaron:…Fuck no…
Suiga: You aren’t talking about…
Url: I don’t want to alert Cassie…so I want to be extra sure for this…Now, follow my lead…when I spray this, I want you to observe Ollie with deadlock attention.
Suiga: I don’t know how I feel about experimenting on Cassie’s benefactor…
Aaron: Drugging old dudes, we’re those guys now…
They made a move to live, but Suiga felt his ankle wrapped around the tree’s weak roots…
Url: Trouble?
Suiga: Nothing I can’t handle. Although using the blade would be a scary sight for the people.
Url: Not to mention a fire hazard, here take my knife.
With Url’s little knife, he shred the wilting, hardened exterior of the plant entrapping him…
But as the blade cut deeper and deeper with every pull and push, the samurai couldn’t shake off a tingling sensation.
As if something was…calling him…but he felt…distant from it…as if even if the boy was inches away, the tree was calling him from the other side of the world…
He finally managed to cut it.
Aaron: All’s alright?
Suiga: Uh…yeah, just…this tree’s creeping me out…
Approaching the old man…
Ollie: You fellas finished?!
Url: All done! Nothing out of the ordinary, although we do want to place some defensive traps around the farm. It won’t touch the crops, and you can do your farm work as usual…
Ollie:…Tchk, you can do that tonight!
Url: Ooof course. By the way, do you happen to be Sophie’s husband?
Ollie: Husband or punching bag? I’ve lost the difference between the two…
Url: Hahah…well, she did say that you’ve been having some trouble with your back.
Ollie: You a plague doctor, right? You got any ailment that can give my back 25 years more on its contract?
Url: Hmm…well, I do have this…It’s a sniffing spray that can repair broken bones and give muscle nerves a little kick…Although, I have to warn-
Ollie: Then what are ya waitin’ for? Come on, I wanna blow that hag’s mind out!!
Suiga: Ugh…
Ollie: What’s wrong, Assian? Can’t handle an old man loving his wife?
Suiga: Loving…
Url takes out the potion, put in a spraying vial.
One puff, and a moist cloud of purple droplets invaded Ollie’s face and nostrils…
Ollie: Huh…Oh…
Url: It will take a while, and sorry for the smell…Oh, by the way, I wanted to excuse us , in behalf of the VHC, for not taking care of your envoy’s request…
Ollie: Huh? What envoy? We sent a letter! Damn, ya silver heads too busy chopping bats instead of looking over yer people. I wish more of ye were like Cassie…
Url: We sure do too…But you know…I don’t think anything’s going to happen…I mean…Crooked Grove is pretty safe, from my point of view…
Ollie: Well…if ya count out the boys singing like crazy in front of Crooked Grove, and all the commotion there…yeah sure…It…of course it’s safe! There are no bats here!
Aaron and Suiga did their best to hide their shock after the old man changed moods in the span of seconds…
Ollie:…Hey…this is working!
Url: I also put in a little…incentive…maybe lady Sophie might be more intrigued to witness your new found physicality!
Ollie: Before ya leave this place, yer giving me ten of these! I hafta find Emmett!! I gave him my old suspenders to fix!! See ya!!!
He said as he left a smoky figure of his body behind…
Aaron: Another day I’m glad this association doesn’t have a human resources department.
Suiga: What was that? A truth serum?
Url: Nope. That was moondust.
Aaron: The spray you use to sneak out ritual seals?
Url: Yep. To be more specific, the silver particles in the cloud disrupt the flow of magicka in a given area, thus nullifying the spell for a while.
Suiga: So, Mister Ollie’s behavioral change…
Url: He said they sent an envoy, now he’s adamant they sent a letter…and what about that nightly commotion and singing…
Aaron could barely hold back his anger, settling for the tightening of his fist and bite of the lips…
Aaron: That bitch again…I’ll rip her chords out myself…
Suiga: But they all cooperated once we convinced them…wouldn’t that go against her plans?
Url: That does raise more questions…Although…
Suiga:?
Url:…Last time, Beryl managed to find out because his citizens were acting way out of proportion when Aaron and Cassie asked about Tragoedia…
Suiga: She altered her effect to have us running in circles…Good thing we have you, Url…
Aaron: How the fuck we gonna tell braids…
Url: Hmm…let us meet at her house first…We can discuss what we will do with the info we gathered here…
Suiga: This place means a lot to Lady Cassie…let us not fail…
As for the girls…
Their own spy mission proved fruitless.
With no mention of Crooked Grove, of vampires, Kevin left Emmett back at the house while he ran errands…
A heart-warming thing truly. Their eyes mellowed while Kevin helped his fellow villagers with housework…
Roof repairs, carrying, fixing old steps, a rare handy-man indeed. And the villagers could only stand by and praise him.
Questions about Emmett’s health did not miss from their chats. Any house he visited, the old people asked about the frail brother as if he was lands afar, as if they hadn’t seen him just this morning on his balcony, taking care of Ollie’s inventory work and maintaining his house at the best of his abilities…
Kevin, while hot-headed and stubborn, still made sure the villagers received his brother’s greetings. They gifted him with herbs, medicine, anything that could prove helpful for his suffering brother…
Lau: He is a capable person…
Cassie: He learned all that after their parents passed away…An older brother has to take care of his little siblings…
Lau:…
Cassie: Does it remind of your sister?
Lau: Huh?
Cassie: That’s what has been eating your mind today, right?
Lau:…How did you-
Cassie: Our rooms are stuck next to each other…you have quite the cute ritual…
Lau: Ugh…
Cassie:…I’m sor-
Lau: Don’t be…I suppose my sister did share the same sentiment with me…
The nightingale cracked a smile as Lau opened up…
Lau: That’s why…I sincerely hope they have not found any trouble…
Cassie:…I hope so too…
Villager: So Kevin! Back at usual place, today!?
Lau: Huh?
Kevin: Heh? What ya talkin’ bout?
Villager: C’mon!! Ya know what I’m talkin’ bout’!! Can’t have ‘em new visitors know!!
Kevin:…
Villager: Jokin’!!! Like ya’d do that when Cassie’s home!!! You gonna visit?!
Kevin: She’s got her own company…Maybe another time, if she stays…
Village: Alright, take care now!!
Lau: Hm, what was that about…
Cassie:…
Lau:…Cassandra!
Cassie: Huh?!
Lau: That sounded fishy. You got anything?
Cassie:…I think we might have to stalk a little more tonight…I’ll explain later…we can go at my old house…
Lau:…Let’s find the others…
Regrouping, they march to the nightingale’s abode...
Medium in size, two roofs, and connected to a small watchtower, the house is dressed in brown oakwood and dark green leaves...No one currently resides, so Cassie blandly opened the door with her kick...
Url’s observant eye wasn’t needed to notice the small cracks in the walls, the accumulated dust, the bent steps of the staircase, the makeshift security bolts...
Lau and Url looked at Aaron with dissapointment, as he himself tried to hide his own guilt...
Cassie: I welcome thee to mine humble abode. The place it all began. The crib where the black nightmare of the vampire kind took its first bite of flesh. Her first step to the hunter’s path.
Suiga carefully grabbed one of the miniature ships in a bottle sitting on the center fireplace. The top horizontal half was broken, so he made sure he held it with the utmost precision...
Suiga: Lady Cassandra, I see your bottle was broken. If you need, I can have my grandparents send you some from their own collection.
Caasie: Oh, it’s not “broken”! My grandfather couldn’t afford the new ones, so he found a miniature ship alone, cracked one of his rum bottles and made it look like that. We haven’t touched it since.
Lau and Url’s derision to their bad-mouthing chief continued to grow...
Suiga moved to the carpets. Bear, deer, racoon, all sorts of animals covered the wooden floor...
Suiga: I see you hunted more than vampires!
Cassie : Of course! Hunting is in Mergrove blood. Also, it helps because we have a lot of pests coming in and out. My pops and I hunted down these animals in the woods and used our own pest repellant on the carpets so the rats wouldn’ttenter through the cracks!
Growing and Growing, Aaron’s face turned vermillion red...
Suiga: Well, the house sure is built on the shoulders of two able individuals.
Cassie: My pops mostly. I just helped as much as I could since our parents died young and my brother was just a kid. Duty of a big sis and grandaughter!!
Url grabbed his chief’s shoulder and brought his bird mask close to his ear...Lau came up from the other side, looking up to him with a freaky smile ‘till the ears...
Url:...She gets half your chicken for every dinner...
Lau: A beautiful suggestion, doctor! Don’t you think, oh captain?!
Aaron : Alright with the guided tour! Let’s plan for tonight!!!
Cleaning up quickly while Cassie guides Suiga and Lau through the house, they all finally sit on the bear carpet of the living room, map and drawings to the center...
Url: Is that so…you believe the two of them will visit the tree tonight?
Cassie: That’s right…Kevin was always stubborn when it came to Emmett…even if nothing is going on…we should tail them. They are in grave danger under that tree…
Url: …As for that…we found something…
Cassie: ?
Aaron:…
Suiga: Cassie…there is a possibility your village is under the singer vampire’s spell.
Cassie cocked her head in bewildered worry, with a weak smile to cover it all…
Cassie: Hm? Wh-what is it you are saying, Suiga?
Url: We met Ollie today…There were a lot of holes in his story combined with the others, so I figured if none of the villagers are turned, they might be under a similar situation as the plaza…
Cassie: But…it’s just a theory…
Url: We used Moondust on Ollie. There is clearly an effect at play…
Suiga: He also mentioned a commotion every time Emmett and Kevin leave for Crooked Grove…alongside their singing…
The nightingale’s face slowly crumbled to bits…Lau held her tight…
Cassie: Emmett…Kevin, no…
Lau: Hey, dumbasses, I hope for your own good this isn’t a joke!
Suiga: It’s no joke, shrimp! We need a plan!
Cassie: I…ugh…yes, tonight…
Lau: Maybe wait a little? She’s under a lot of stress.
Url: Take it easy, Cassie. Don’t worry.
Cassie: Sophie…Ollie…everyone in the village is…like them…
Aaron:…
Suiga: Nothing is going to happen to them, Cassie. We’ll get to the bottom of this, unscathed even.
Lau: Not sure about the prince, but this princess won’t let any vampire get out alive after this.
Suiga: I’d love to see you trying. After all, the Steed did give you a pretty nice beating.
Lau: Look who’s talking!
Url: He gave you both a good beating, along with our captain, who’s remained pretty silent during all of this…
Everyone tilted their eyes to look at Aaron, resting with his eyes closed. Url had his mask out, looking with indifference.
Suiga with some forced excitement, Cassie with her eyes ready to pour rain…Lau held a judgemental gaze…
Aaron:…Told braids already, we’ll make sure this place stays safe…
Cassie: Sniff…I do have worries though…The villagers might not react quickly if this turns to a large scale fight...
Suiga: I have my Blight still...Should anything happen, consider taking the villagers away and let me go berserk against her…
Url: An amusing idea, and great way to lose you. If anyone’s up for the suicide option it should be the man who knows how to make bombs.
Cassie: The medic is the last person to be making this decision. You’ll stay far behind where it’s safe.
Suiga: We’re not letting our doctor meters close to her.
Lau: As the only one capable of escaping quick, I’ll step up to that plate. Not like suicide will be my option, either...
Suiga: Pretty sure of yourself.
Lau: Bravery comes naturally when one has to take care of her subordinates, especially the goody two shoes.
Cassie: Hahah…I’m sorry, but I’ll be the heroic sacrifice. Princesses this serene shouldn’t be risking their lives. It would be the perfect final chapter for the Nightingale’s story as the heroine who saved her comrades in the time of need, when duty called she answered the-
The more they bickered over combat matters, Aaron stood in silence, observing his friend’s passion on self sacrifice...
Aaron:...Why are you guys so sure we will lose?
Those 9 words closed mouths and turned gazes towards the aloof Titan once again...
Suiga:...I...honestly don’t know...
Lau: No one said we’d lose…
Aaron: Then why the hell are you assholes discussing your own funerals?
No one could give an actual answer, instead they chose to fry their minds trying to search for a reasoning...
Url:...I guess the last week hasn’t been that fruitful for motivation, has it?
Aaron: ...Look guys, I don’t know what the hell that singing fuck’s planning, but one thing’s for sure : I’m not letting anyone out of this house with this kind of mood tonight!
Suiga: But preparing for the worst should be reasonable.
Aaron: And going at it like it’s already a dead end is why we’ll fail...
With Beryl on his mind and Louis’s gauntlets dripping with his blood, he clenched his fist...
Aaron: Trust me on that...If we are going to fight anything, no one’s allowed to think we are going to lose.
Lau: …And who are you to decide that?
Every gaze then turned over to Lau, who stood up on her feet and posed herself against the lied over Titan...
Suiga : Hey, shrim-
Lau: Zip it, topknot! Who are you to decide how I’ll approach my mission, Aaron Willheart?
She outed to Aaron, with his eyes fixed on the ceiling, as if he was ignoring her complaints. Url knew though, as to why he wasn’t tense like Cassie and Suiga. The hunter was listening...
Lau: I’ll admit it, you have fight in you . And you’ve saved us numerous times. But your negligence of your own responsibilities is horrible! You left off like we didn’t even exist. We tried to talk to you but you shut us off. So why should I, daughter of Pirout’s top hunter, listen to a senseless slob?!
The hunter got up. Towering over the little fearless princess, he looked down to meet her unwavering, saphirre eyes...
Aaron: Cause I’m your leader. And like it or not, you know damn well I’m right...
After a few still seconds, Lau backed off...
Lau: Fine. If that’s the role you chose to take on...
Url:...Well, if that’s that, we should move ahead already, nightfall’s about to start...
Picking everything up in agreed upon silence, they avoid each other stares and focus to the task ahead...
Hours in preparation, Url and Suiga prepare small wire traps for every layer of untouched land, should Tragoedia choose to dwell in the wheats...
Url: Should anyone get caught, it’s silver wire knots and a injection of a silver dampener...Took me hours to make, but the effect should be high enough for one noble...
Suiga: What will it do?
Url: The silver will bypass the immunity barriers of a vampire. Coursing through veins, it will slow down muscle movement and the afflicted won’t put up much of a fight... With Apothecary’s Table, the dampener should last for an hour or two, depending on the vampire.
Suiga: Hmm...good...
The bird doc saw Suiga’s teeth clenching through his mask, which then lead to observing his twitching, tightened fingers, struggling with the wires...
Url: You’ll cut yourself.
Suiga: Huh? Oh, I’m fine.
Url: The blood on that wire doesn’t tell that story.
Suiga: Oh, shi-
He grasped his fingers. With a green vial out of his pocket , he poured the stinging liquid to cure the wound away...
Suiga: Tchk!!
Url: Serves you for ignoring our boss’s orders...
Suiga: Excuse me?
Url : “Right mindset for the mission”. Remember?
Suiga: Ugh...I’m just...
Url:... She had to tell it, you know...
Suiga: ...He lost his older brother figure...
Url: And I lost my parents. Cassie lost hers. And she lost her own sister.
Suiga: Exactly! Shouldn’t she know how that feels?
Url: That’s exactly why she told Aaron off. Lau might be annoying, but her resilience is...phenomenal. And Aaron needs to know that life goes on. Beryl would have said the exact same thing, minus the insults. I like Aaron as much as you , which might not even be possible, but he needs us to keep him grounded...
Suiga: ...You are correct...
Url: Of course I am. Now let’s finish this before Lau starts telling you off.
Lau: Prince of Assia and he can’t get simple traps done! Unbelievable!!!
Suiga: I pray the tree eats her alive…
Hours passed, and the moon shined upon Crooked Grove…
Crumbled, beaten and broken, a large bark, of a sickly brown colour, stood on the ground a few feet next to the wheat farm…
Thick and round enough to look like a druid’s house. The shade made from the moon’s light cast on the ground, resembled a monster ready to devour Emmett and Kevin, who awaited on its foot for the other arrival…
Our hunters, with the Silence spell cast upon themselves, hid behind a few bushes right in front of the thick forest mass expanding to the rest of the suburbs…
Aaron: Tch…that thing is giving me the creeps…
Cassie: Worry not, bossman! I’ll hug you tight should the fear stop you from fighting!!
Aaron: Do not even -
Lau: Grown men can’t handle one little dead tree…
Suiga: Says the woman afraid of ghosts…
Lau: Shouldn’t you be feeding horses?!
Suiga: Oh, so you were watching?
Lau: Watching you fail? Loud and laughing!
Aaron: Hey, numbskulls, it’s a silence spell, not a cover your flailing arms spell.
Cassie: Isn’t that what the bushes are for?
Url: You fail to account for the fact that most of us are above average height and Aaron’s wardrobe build.
Aaron: Dude, I’ve been commiting to the diet, alright?
Suiga: What is concerning, is how a shrimp of 150 centimeters is hiding behind bushes and still be the less discreet one.
Lau: Maybe it’s because they’ll first notice your towering topknot.
Cassie: Um…
Suiga: At least my topknot knows when to shut up and when to run its mouth…
Cassie: Everyone-
Lau: You‘d really like to see my sword up your ass, do you?!
Suiga: Depends, can you even manage-
Aaron: Zip it, both of you!!! Vampire!!!
Like an angel from the sky, but with a devil’s bat wings spread wide, descended a vampire in front of the couple…
Aaron and Cassie saw the short, bright red hair, the bizzare mask divided into two pitch black visors connected with a golden circlet, the white night gown, the cutesy teeth sprouting out of her upper lip…
Cassie: Oh…
Aaron: You…
Not a moment to waste, Url bound his comrade’s brawny arms before he could rush to the field in cold blood…
Aaron: Url!!
Url: Don’t you dare get out. We need to see what she’s planning first…
Aaron: Tchk!...
Url: I know she’s a monster, but we should get to the bottom of this before we cut off her head…
Aaron:…
Cassie:…He’s right, bossman…
Said Cassie, while holding tight his broad shoulder…Aaron learned from his previous acts, and listened to his comrades, kneeled down and waited…
From the forest, approached a group of dependents, villagers the Ripper had his fun with. Bitten all over, clearly drained from blood and soul daily, they marched slowly towards the vampire and her attendants…
Cassie: Emmett…Kevin what have you done…?
Url: …that seems like Tragoedia’s doing…
Cassie: We should save them…Bossman did it once with me and Beryl, we can do it again!
Url: Patience, Cassie. We will, but I’m sure she’s taken precautions since last time…But what are these guys bringing now?
Along the servants marching, three short individuals, two girls in plain, brown dresses and one boy in clean farmer’s clothes. Heads covered with black duffel bags and arms bound with heavy rope…
They are thrown in front once the group reaches the vampire…
Emmett: My lady…are these…
Tragoedia:…Sacrifices…today, three youngs shall be made…the tree will be pleased…an audience, it shall grant…
Kevin: For us? For real?! Emmett, finally-
Tragoedia: But first…rite…will you sing along with me…
With hesitation in their hearts…
Kevin:…Of course, my lady…
Emmett: Anything for our saviors…
Beginning the chant, she sang the entirety of the song in high, melodious notes while the two assisted with their deep baritone voices…
A text in vampiric…Started slow, calm and steady, but went deeply into a more menacing, spontaneous, vile rhythm as Emmett’s and Kevin’s necks glowed with a red seal and tremors started around the old tree bark…
Tragoedia :…Bags…take them off…
Off with the head covers, one blonde girl with emerald eyes, bushy eyebrows and chubby cheekbones, visibly scared…
The other two caught Url’s eyes the moment the girl’s long purple hair and the boy’s messy orange hairdo popped out…
Url: Oh god no…
Maya looked around, distraught but still calm enough to assess her surroundings…
Vic had no time…he stared with shock and disgust at Emmett and Kevin, whose eyes, wide-opened, looked back into his with indifference and apathy…
Vic:…You…why-
Emmett:…Is this the sacrifice…?
Tragoedia: For a miracle to come be…a tragedy is the price to pay…Are you…not in accord…?
Kevin took his eyes off the boy and looked over Emmett…He couldn’t hold himself from hugging him tightly with his one arm…
Kevin: Emmett…he’s the most important thing in my life…My lady…
Emmett:…If it needs be…then they will suffice…
Maya: Vic, do you know them?
Vic: You bitch!!! The hell did you do to them?!!
Tragoedia: …I did not…
Tremors once again…Cassie’s eyes were diverted from the number of lackeys and finally reached Vic’s fire orange head…
Cassie:…Victor?!
Url: You know them?
Out of the ground, smashing through the thick soil, sprouted dozens of thick, long vines, color even darker and even more ominous, with slight yellow lights inside the stretched tears…
Tragoedia: You shall now meet the lord…to his choice you’ll succumb…
Maya: Vic, Poppy, brace yourselves!!
Vic : I ain’t giving up now!! I’ll smash your fucking face in!!! Emmett, Kevin, wake up!!!
With Vic struggling to get out of his binds, the young couple of brothers indifferent to the chaos around them, none of the hunters noticed Cassie sprinting to action until they saw her cape floating in the wind…
Aaron: Cassie!!
Url: Wait!
Cassie: Keep your vile claws of my brother!!!!
And along with her rushed everyone, while the tremors got stronger and stronger…
Vines sprout and destroyed the ground beneath, dragging everyone of the humans along with them…
In the chaos of the skirmish, Cassie got dragged along with Suiga, Url and the kids…
Aaron tried to pull them away, but his body reacted on its own when he saw a vine try to thrash the Lecourt’s back…
Dropped to the underground. The vines retracted as the soil closed…