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Post by Eve Vardell on Oct 29, 2011 17:13:55 GMT -5
This sounded like an awful lot of guesswork when lives were on the line, but what else was there to be done? As the others spoke she drifted forward, past Sam, and to the circle, just up ahead.
"Well, if we're going to do this, let's do it. Now, I know that." She inched in and pointed decisively at the symbol of imprisonment, the same one she bore on her arm. A thought occurred to her and she pulled her arm back. Last thing she wanted was to have her arm caught inside the circle or something. That would be tricky to explain. "But beyond that I'm kind of clueless. Ritual stuff... not exactly my area, you know?" She frowned at the two men - Kasen with his journal, Sam with his weapons and experience - and rubbed at her forearm absently. "I hope one of you has some experience, 'cause I don't think trail and error's going to work with this one."
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Post by Sam Winchester on Oct 29, 2011 17:50:11 GMT -5
He blinked quickly, Sarah's words jolting something loose in his panic-stricken brain, something that should've occurred to him half an hour ago. He really wasn't handling this as well as he should've been. Vacation. After he got Dean back they were definitely going on vacation. Take a few weeks on a nice beach, get their heads straight... drifting. Right. He pulled out his cell phone, shaking his head, and hit speed dial #3.
"Maybe not, but I know someone who does."
It took all of five minutes for Bobby Singer to dig up his stockpile of summoning rituals. Another six to dig out something that seemed workable for this kind of summons. Sam hadn't brought paper with him, so he passed the phone to Kasen briefly so the other man could scribble the ritual in his journal, before taking the phone back.
"But if you idjits want my advice you'll just avoid the whole mess altogether. Put out a general advisory to the town to keep its eyes shut after nightfall while you go after the summoner, not the summonees."
"Probably good advice, except one of us idjits went and got himself snatched up. Thanks, Bobby. Expect another call by dawn or..."
"Or I'll have to come bail you kids out is what. Gotta say, things were a lot quieter while you were away at school." Sam couldn't agree more. He flipped the phone shut and nodded at the other two.
"Alright, now or never."
(Sorry for sort of semi-controlling Kasen for a sec there. No intention of godmodding, if you've got any objections let me know & I'll change it, no worries.)
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Post by Kasen Rowe on Oct 30, 2011 11:48:56 GMT -5
(OOC: Works for me, Sam! BIC:)
Kasen examined the ritual he'd scribbled down in his journal from Sam's friend over the phone. This Bobby character was good. In barely no time at all he'd found a ritual that would fit their needs. Kasen found himself wanting to picture the mystery man as a librarian, but the gruff voice and drawl made the comparison somehow unfitting.
With a sigh and a glance at Sarah, Kasen stepped carefully towards the circle. According to Bobby, summoning the Hunt required a lot of preparation, some herbs, blood, the circle, and fire, but only to create the initial connection to it. The Cult had already taken that step. The circle of summoning remained unbroken and untainted. All that remained was to connect Kasen himself to the Erlking.
Which meant blood. Curling his lip in displeasure, Kasen adjusted Wheton's Shield around his neck wondering, not for the first time, if it would get in the way of the summoning itself. They'd find out soon.
Kasen looked at Sarah and Sam. "Be careful," he replied before turning to face the large summoning circle and pulling out his small knife. He examined his left hand, wondering what was the best, least painful and least self-endangering place to cut. The hand? That's where they all did it in the movies. He touched the knife to his skin, but didn't cut.
Cutting oneself like this was not as easy as the movies all made it seem. To actually take a blade and slice yourself open? Kasen felt himself shiver and considered handing the knife, the ritual, and even the Shield over to the Winchester brother, but the thought was fleeting. He’d been at this too long to entrust this moment to anyone but himself. He needed to know what the Erlking knew.
With a hiss of pain, Kasen drew the knife across his palm. It hurt just as much as he’d imagined. He pocketed the knife and with his good hand he lifted his journal to read the words. With the first two lines spoken, he reached into the Hunt’s circle and allowed blood to drip from his hand into the snow. Then he pulled it back out and continued on to the next verse. That’s when the wind seemed to pick up out of nowhere. The biting wind was soothing to his throbbing hand, but the rest of him was less than pleased. He managed to continue the incantation to the end where the wind swirled again this time bringing with it a deep darkness. The dark concentrated in the circle before him where a tall, daunting figure stepped out of the nothing to stare down at him with angry glowing eyes. Frozen with an initial fear and surprise at this thing before him, Kasen could only stare at the unnatural being before him.
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Post by Molly Rourke on Oct 30, 2011 19:03:22 GMT -5
There was something somehow wrong about the forest. Off. Odd. Unnatural At first she'd just thought it was just mists, made by the winter air, maybe, or maybe even this Hunt thing, itself. But as they began to move among the trees and brush, Molly started to notice that it wasn't just fog making the trees look to out of focus. It was almost like the trees, themselves, were less solid than they should be.
"The hell is going on here?" She muttered, tightening her grip on her weapon. At that moment she caught sight of something else - not a tree or a bush, but maybe... a person? Another prisoner, exploring like them? Or one of their captors? Dean caught her eye and they both moved in, spreading out like practiced soldiers to better flank whoever loomed in front of them. That's how she caught sight of the other two figures, hidden from sight at first by a pair of thick (blurry) trees. She signaled Dean sharply, stopping and squinting at the pair on her left, and then the first figure off ahead. Molly was close to the pair, close enough that she should've been able to make out faces... or backs of their heads, if that's the direction they were facing. But she couldn't tell. Couldn't make out more than their basic shapes - human enough, one taller, one about her size, but faded, grey, impossible to define. Just like the forest.
She rose up slowly from her crouched position, in plain view, but the figures didn't react. Were they even really there?
"No point." The sudden voice behind her made her flinch, spin. Dean was still a ways off to her right, and directly behind her... a man. A real man, unlike the ghost shapes in front of them. How she hadn't heard his footsteps in the snow baffled her. He was thin, no taller than Molly, and picking his teeth casually with what looked like a thin shard of bone. "They can't see you none. Hear you either."
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Post by Eve Vardell on Nov 5, 2011 16:35:55 GMT -5
She offered Kasen a tight smile, "good luck" sounding too... well... not... enough for the situation, and stepped back from the circle as he started the ritual. Sam and she needed to be out of sight before it was completed - if there was any truth to the stories, someone without protection like Kasen had might well be in danger just from catching sight of this Erl guy. They were hoping that the circle's power would be enough to protect them, but there was no reason to risk it just for curiosity's sake.
Something twisted inside of her, but she clamped down on it before she could identify it. She didn't want to stay, didn't want to see him, and most definitely did not want to hear another note from that haunting horn.
She turned away, nodding to Sam, and started off into the forest again. There were still no marks in the snow, not that she'd expected them. Nothing to give them any sign of which way to go. She closed her eyes for a second, listening hard for footsteps... hoofsteps... but the forest, around her, was silent. Maybe there was no "way to go." Maybe the creatures just disappeared back to Germany or wherever it was they came from in between Hunts. Still, they had to go somewhere, if only to get safely out of the Erlking's line of vision, so Eve picked left. Deeper into the forest, away from town.
After only a few seconds she felt a sudden chill. She almost looked back to see if Sam felt it, but stopped herself. What if they weren't far enough? What if they weren't out of sight? What if that twisting in her gut was the wolf, responding to Erlking's presence somehow?
She couldn't help it, didn't even think about it, but a second later she was sprinting away from the clearing, the circle, fighting the snarling voice inside that ordered her to turn.
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Post by Dean Winchester on Nov 6, 2011 15:18:07 GMT -5
Dean stalked slowly and carefully towards the unidentified figure when Molly signaled him to stop. He did automatically. Hunters knew to trust one another's instincts on a job. Or they should anyway. It took him a moment to see why she'd stopped their advance. More figures, closer than the other, and Molly was closer still than Dean. He went down into a crouch as Molly examined them. There were two of them, but for the life of him Dean could not see their details. Faces, clothing, hair color or color at all for that matter. The only thing he could make out was that 1) they were in fact humanoid and 2) one was shorter than the other. As he compared them to Molly, he amended the statement. One was average height for a female and the other was ridiculously tall for anybody.
Dean straightened as the idea occurred to him that somehow, those shadowy figures were Sam and-
Movement caught his eye. He'd been so focused on the shadows that he hadn't noticed the approach of a man. (If he had, in fact, 'approached'.) "No point. They can't hear you none," replied the stranger as he picked at his teeth with a bone...
Dean pulled his knife and took up a position behind the newcomer so that he and Molly were on opposite sides of him.
"Maybe not, but you I have a feeling you can. Who the hell are you and what do you know about this place?"
It was about the same time he finished that he felt a subtle tremor in the ground beneath him and a strange crackle went through the air as if it had been suddenly charged. He frowned, but kept his eyes on the stranger.
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Post by Kasen Rowe on Nov 9, 2011 23:35:13 GMT -5
In his not so terribly long life, Kasen had been in a great variety situations. Varying from the ordinary (homework, standing up for his kid brother on the ‘battle field’ of the high school football field, deciding which college to go to or how to ask his girlfriend to marry him) to the supernatural (possession by a demon worshipping, power hungry cult and, in particular, said brother), but never had Kasen been face to face with a creature of the supernatural.
Kasen was frozen. He stood stock still as the tall daunting figure, made even taller by the unearthly steed he sat upon, materialized out of the darkness. The horse’s breath steamed and it glared angrily at Kasen, but the man’s wide eyes were only for the Erlking. The Wild Hunt’s master stared down at Kasen solemnly. His face- and it was a face, nearly human but for the frightening glowing eyes- was hard and angry and nearly hidden beneath his dark hood. The aura that emanated from the Erlking was a constant reminder that whatever his appearance, this mounted monster was no man.
For several moments neither one said anything. And then the Erlking spoke.
“Ja? Warum haben Sie mich wieder heute Abend aufgefordert?” The voice was so deep and reverberating, Kasen wasn’t even sure at first that it had actually said anything.
The Erlking, eyes blazing, urged his horse forward, just a couple steps until it had reached the edge of the circle. “Ja?”
Kasen blinked and realized then that even if he did finally manage to get his mouth working, if he couldn’t actually understand the Erlking, this would be a very unfruitful conversation. With a great effort to ignore the thick fear that permeated the air, he straightened and tried to think of how to begin.
“I have some questions for you,” he began, trying to keep his tone firm.
The Erlking lifted a lofty eyebrow and leaned forward in his saddle. “You are not the one I spoke to earlier. This I see now, though strangely I have trouble seeing you fully. Curious,” the deep reverberating voice replied, in English now. There was an anger there. Despite the strange voice, the tone was still obvious. “Why have they sent another child to speak with me? A cowering and stupid child it would seem.”
Kasen bristled, clenching his hands into fists and stiffening at the pain from the still fresh cut on his left. This might be a supernatural creature, a monster, but if it could talk, Kasen could reason with it. And if it had anger, then it could have other human-like emotions as well. And if it had them, Kasen could manipulate them. He just needed to figure out how. Did he play his cards outright? Give away that he wasn’t with the Cult? Or pretend to be one of them?
He needed to learn more first. Where did the Erlking’s loyalties, his feelings, lie?
“Like I said,” he pushed on, ignoring the Erlking’s question. “I’ve got some questions
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Post by Sam Winchester on Nov 12, 2011 0:33:51 GMT -5
Sam was loathe to leave the clearing, leave negotiations up to this man he hardly knew (and who, Sam couldn't help remembering, Dean had been less than fond of). But Kasen didn't seem like a bad guy, and Sam had no reason to suspect he'd flip on them. Besides, with any luck when the Erlking was summoned, the rest of the Hunt would show itself as well. Then the real work would be Sam's, while Kasen played distraction. ...Right. Luck. 'Cause his life up 'til now had been overflowing with that.
He let Sarah take the lead, and was more than a little surprised when she suddenly tensed and burst into a sprint. Even before his brain had finished processing, he'd dropped one leg back and lifted the shotgun, scoping out the area in search of whatever had set her off. But there was nothing nearby, and he couldn't make out anything in the direction she was going either.
"What the..." Lowering the gun, he stared after her for another second before his brain processed enough to tell his legs to follow. "Hey!" She had a decent head-start, and it was never fun running in snow, but his legs were longer and it didn't take long to catch up. Chasing her through the woods to destinations unknown didn't seem like the smartest move, so he reached out an arm and grabbed hers, tugging her to a stop. "Hey, Sarah. What's going on?"
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Post by Eve Vardell on Nov 12, 2011 18:05:56 GMT -5
Something caught her arm and she spun, a snarl forming, eyes flashing. Tall, imposing form, gun in hand, didn't scare her. Whatever it took to survive, she was ready. Ready to fight, scratch, claw...
Oh. The moonlight flickered on her assailant's face. Not-assailant. Sam. The Hunter was standing in front of her, looking concerned, not malicious. Not a threat, and definitely not someone she should be threatening.
"I, um..." Speaking seemed strange, somehow. Using words. Her eyes flicked to the moon, shining off to one side, lighting the forest, so bright. It had been too long since she'd slept. She'd never felt this... out of control before. Not while she was awake, anyway. "Sorry. I fel-heard Kasen start the summoning, and I guess I just freaked. We're not allowed to be anywhere near when it happens. You know, wanted to get clear."
She shrugged out of the Hunter's grip and looked around the forest. Her eye caught on movement. Tensed. A squirrel. She cleared her throat.
"But unless it's a longer spell than I thought, plan A might be a no-go. The woods aren't exactly crawling with supernatural monsters all of a sudden, you know?"
Though if that squirrel wasn't suspicious, she didn't know what was. Sitting on that branch, munching a nut, innocent as you please. Maybe she should investigate... No. She swung her focus back to Sam.
"Uh... Plan B?"
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Post by Molly Rourke on Nov 13, 2011 14:12:44 GMT -5
There was something about the stranger (something beyond the casual air and the bone picking) that sent Molly's internal warnings flaring. Not his gaunt, unkempt appearance, Molly had dealt with her share of that type and knew enough to realize 9 times out of 10 it was more laziness that made them dirty and scraggly than some malicious intent shining through.
The other Hunter took lead in questioning the stranger, and Molly took the time to analyze. It wasn't that he seemed threatening, though the casual attitude would put anyone with sense on edge. Something that seemed out of place, out of... time? Something about his clothes?
The ground trembled. Molly's knees bent to ride out the strange tremor. She drew out her knife and stepped in closer to Dean, eyes scanning the forest in a quick sweep. There was something forming off behind them, near the first shadow, like a darker mist spreading out amongst all the gray.
"Hey," she started, wondering if it was an attack. Maybe the shape of a demon? Though they were rare enough seen in their true state outside of exorcisms. Should they attack? Talk? Run? But then it stopped spreading, still a good ways off, as though caught behind a wall or a barrier. The mist... or energy or whatever it was seemed both more real and less real than the shadows they'd seen at first. At least those had been shaped like people. This was just a dark mist, an energy. A force. Though for an instant, she thought she could make out a dark glow, like a pair of red-hot coals, gleaming off to the heart of the dark.
The man, back in the other direction, finished with his bone and flicked it off into the snow with a tired sigh.
"Again?" Molly couldn't take her attention off the dark mist to see his expression, but his tone was a mix of frustration and mirth. "They're getting greedy, aren't they, with their jingling little bell. Summon us once, summon us twice, more souls and more and not a minute's rest for Master. They best be careful with their pushings. Law's law and we play fair but oh... wasn't there some rule about not abusing power, about one Hunt a night?"
Molly couldn't help looking back, to catch a glimpse of the ranting man. Though his tone was manic, he was pacing with an almost jaunty hop to his step and his smile was approaching Cheshire widths.
"No? No, probably not, but I'm sure some of the newer recruits will believe it's so if I plant the thought in their mind. Dig and plant, like a little new flower the thought will spring. And off they'll rush to Master's rescue, and we'll have to kill them afterward for disrespecting the laws of course, but by then the greedy little summoners will be gone, and you plump little souls will be all ours again. It's always easy to recruit more."
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Post by Dean Winchester on Nov 15, 2011 12:35:09 GMT -5
Dean frowned at the stranger as the scrawny guy paced, his speech proving more than anything that he was just a bit mad. He glanced at Molly then back to the stranger as he spoke of being summoned. So the whoever had summoned the Hunt the first time was back for another go? Dean fought the urge to tell Molly to deal with this nut job so he could go off in search of the summoner. This stranger didn’t seem like much, but there was something about him that was very wrong. Still wielding his knife, Dean took a good look around them at the mist and Dean wondered briefly if it was the German smoke he’d spoken with earlier.
…Yeah. His life wasn’t weird at all.
“Before you go all Hannibal Lector on our asses, who the hell is summoning the Hunt? What do they have against these towns and the people?”
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Post by Kasen Rowe on Nov 24, 2011 23:21:50 GMT -5
The gigantic stallion was looking at him hungrily, he was sure of it. It was bad enough looking at the Erlking, but the horse wasn't much better. Kasen swallowed hard and tried to remember his questions. He knew he had some. Everything else just seemed so far away now. One thing he had been able to notice was that although the Erlking was before him, it didn’t seem that the rest of the Hunt had come with him. …Though just because Kasen couldn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t there. He just had to hope Sarah and the younger Winchester could find them or something.
Kasen cleared his throat as he noted the supernatural huntsman's brow dip into a frown. "What is your purpose?" he blurted out. It was vague and not really what he meant to ask, but what was done was done. He didn't want to seem even more foolish in front of this guy –creature- than he already did so he couldn’t really take it back. He had to stick with it and think of something better as his next question…
The Erlking pursed his lips thoughtfully. Or confusedly. It was hard to tell in the darkness that was only amplified by his hood.
"A strange question. My purpose... is to serve those who've summoned me." There was animosity in its tone, Kasen noted. Trying to ignore the horse's steaming breath and the Erlking's piercing gaze, Kasen attempted to think rationally. Strategically.
"That's your whole purpose? You don't exist without a master to tell you to go kidnap some folk?"
The Erlking bristled. "Of course I exist without the likes of you! I am the leader of the Hunt, the Wildes Heer, Estantiga! I commanded my ranks through the woodlands of Deutschland to the rocky shores of England. I have been mistaken for King Arthur and Odin. I have been called Wodan, Wotk, and Ebernburg. I’ve been the harbinger of death across Scandinavia and all this I have done long before your little group of demon worshipping power mongers came into their own.”
Kasen said nothing as the creature went through his rant. He didn’t know half the things this guy seemed to think were his claims to fame, but it certainly sounded impressive. Frightening. And this Erlking was definitely not fond of being bossed around.
“So…would I be right in assuming then that you are no fan of this cult?”
The Erlking stared at Kasen a moment then leaned back in his saddle and let out a deep long laugh. “I believe your superiors know as much. They also know I am no, what was the word? Fan? No ‘fan’ of this Amazarak either. Oh yes, I know about him. Just because I am forced to do what you wish does not mean I do not have ways of learning more about you.”
Kasen frowned thoughtfully and mouthed the name again. Amazarak. He would need to remember that. …But he wouldn’t. He pulled out his pencil and flipped open his journal to what he was pretty sure was a blank page and scribbled the name down so as not to forget while the Erlking watched in with a growing annoyance.
“This is an... interview of some kind?” the Hunt’s leader asked. “A test?”
Kasen blinked. “Uh… No?”
“Then get to the point,” the Erlking demanded.
Kasen took a deep breath and tried not to glance around for Sarah and Sam. It was time to play a new card. "What if I told you I wasn't exactly a fan of this cult that's been summoning you either?"
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Post by Sam Winchester on Nov 26, 2011 20:49:14 GMT -5
Sam was surprised to feel himself flinching as Sarah spun back to face him. She hadn't looked scared, like she'd expected. No, her eyes had been angry. Wild. She fought it down, it was gone in a second, but it didn't erase the fact that it had been there. Maybe she wasn't quite as new and innocent in all this monster stuff as Sam had thought.
Or maybe angry was just her default terror reaction. He didn't really know her well enough to judge either way. He'd just have to keep an eye out. Another thing to worry about, just what he needed.
"Plan B... yeah. Was never totally sure we had a plan A, to be honest. Either we manage to find something or we don't. Keep our eyes open and sweep the woods, hope that the Erlking doesn't leave his huntsmen behind while he's taking orders, or there's at least some sort of trail letting us know where they've gone."
Shuffling his shotgun to his left hand, he reached into his right pocket and tugged out Dean's EMF detector. Who knew whether Hunt activity would get picked up by the thing, but according to some myths they kept spirits in tow, so it was worth a try. He flicked it on...
And almost dropped it and the shotgun as the machine went wild, screeching as if Sam had a horde of ghosts making a nest in his hair.
"What the..." There was nothing here. No chill (nothing past the natural winter cold, anyway), no ectoplasm, nothing that would suggest ghosts roaming nearby. He switched off the device, wincing. "Alright, so I'm gonna go ahead and guess that the Hunt's nearby."
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Post by Molly Rourke on Nov 27, 2011 0:37:05 GMT -5
Old-fashioned. That was the problem. She tilted her head, giving him a careful look, noting the loose white shirt, the thin, velvety vest, the faded, fraying trousers that looked at least a hundred years old... in addition to looking a hundred years old. How long had the man been a part of this hunt? Was immortality a bribe that was offered as part of its recruitment, or was this man something other than human? ...Or both?
The man/creature continued to move with a quick, nervous energy, stepping in toward Dean, hopping several steps away, never coming close to within reach of either of them. His lips turned down in a sad mockery of a pout as Dean spoke.
"Oh, no worries about the town, no worries about the people. Worry about yourselves, perhaps, but only if you aren't fond of strings." He laughed at that, a wild, quick outburst that faded in a second as if it had never been. Molly scowled.
"Strings? The hell are you on about?" Ropes, chains, would make sense since they were more or less prisoners. But strings? The man/creature rewarded her curiosity with a smile.
"Oh please, no care for the strings. If you have strings you'll hardly know it, after all. Won't think, won't mind, won't care a bit at all." His eyes went wide, a finger going up as though a sudden thought had come to mind. "But for those wishing to avoid strings... what better plan than cutting the puppetmasters? I send the new recruits after the greedy summoners. No more jingling bell for us, no more dangling strings for you, and all is right with the world again."
He turned abruptly, as if their conversation, such as it was, had ended, and began making his way back into the trees.
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Post by Dean Winchester on Nov 27, 2011 11:57:20 GMT -5
Dean scowled. Strings? Puppetmasters? The Winchester was not fond of crazy people. Ok, on tv they could be hilarious, but in real life when the crazy person may or may not be some kind of 'bump in the night', Dean didn't like them. They were unpredictable. And as he/it began to move off, Dean realized they had a decision to make.
"You know," he said to Molly. "It might not be a completely bad thing if this Hunt kills the summoner, but it doesn't sound like that'll get us out of here."
He turned to look back at the shadowy figures he and Molly had been sneaking up on in the first place and was reminded of his earlier thought. That if these figures were accurate... there weren't many people who towered over him like that one did. And if that shadow was somehow his brother... Where the hell was Dean? If this was death, it was not what he'd been expecting. Then again, maybe death under the Erlking was different than regular death.
Either way, being dead didn't seem to soften his own internal turmoil which made the whole point kind of useless in his eyes. And if that was his brother out there, then he was still in this forest somehow and the Hunt was closer than Sam probably realized. Dean straightened as a familiar, almost comforting, sense of responsibility and loyalty settled over him like a coat.
"If we're in the same forest I was in when I got abducted, it's likely I've got friends out there. I don't like the idea of the Hunt going out in a murderous rampage with the out there." Dean hurried off in the direction the little man had gone, already concerned that he'd lost him in the unbelievably limited visibility.
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Post by Eve Vardell on Nov 29, 2011 16:46:07 GMT -5
The silver dagger tumbled to the snow as Eve's hands went to her ears. She jumped back, saving her toes seconds before they... yeah, probably wouldn't have been impaled at all, but the possibility still made her nervous.
"What is that?"
It took her a second to notice when the screeching stopped. It continued on in her ears, and she shook her head, stretching out her jaw to try and pop the ringing out of her brain.
"A Hunt detector?" She stepped in to get a better look at the device that seemed to look more like a picked apart Walkman than anything else. "But they've got at least fifty horses, and who knows what else. If they're nearby then wouldn't we-"
She wanted to say that she heard the movement, or saw it… but that wouldn’t be the truth at all. It was more like something shifting, almost a physical vibration, her skin grating against the fabric of the world. And that’s how she knew to duck before the axe blow fell.
She hit the ground in a controlled roll, soaking her jeans and new sweater in the snow and catching a dizzying view of movement around her. Three… no, four?... pairs of feet suddenly standing all around the clearing. Where had they come from? They couldn’t have walked up without being noticed, she and Sam had been facing each other.
By the time Eve came out of her roll, falling back into an instinctive fighting stance, Eve had decided on 3 very important things. One: this must be the Hunt, or some little Hunt patrol group, and they weren’t happy. Two: they could apparently poof in and out of existence at will – never a good sign for an enemy in combat. And three: Eve was now a good five feet away from the silver dagger she’d dropped in the snow.
Not good, all definitely not good.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Nov 30, 2011 0:43:18 GMT -5
Sam hadn’t even seen Sarah’s attacker until she’d started to roll. Good instincts on that one, there was no way he could’ve warned her before she’d been hit. Luckily that gave him enough warning to glance over his own shoulder and spot the crossbow being aimed at his back.
A crossbow, really? What was he, a deer?
He dodged to the left, causing the bowman to snarl and adjust his aim. There were more of them around him, Sam could pick them out in his periphery – not the least of which being the axe-man who’d attacked Sarah standing less than four paces away, but he kept his eyes on the bow. One issue at a time.
You ever fall into a nest you keep calm, keep focused on one target at a time. You get panicky, you start trying to take down everything at once, that’s when you stop being a Hunter and start being something’s dinner. Words of wisdom from John Winchester, and words that, despite himself, Sam had taken to heart and applied to everything in his life from Hunting to homework assignments.
He kept moving, always left or right in the bowman’s aim, never keeping his pace to steady or predictable as he shouldered his shotgun, took aim, and fired. He didn’t miss.
Too bad it was only rock salt.
The bowman reeled back, curling inward as the salt hit his chest, but didn’t drop his grip on the weapon. Sam racked the shotgun and took the opportunity to glance over his shoulder and see how Sarah was doing.
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Post by Eve Vardell on Nov 30, 2011 18:24:00 GMT -5
Eve wasn’t doing well. She’d never been much good in a fight. Fleeing, yeah, she had all kinds of skills in that area, but when it came down to your every day blow-for-blow Eve had always felt more than a little out of her element.
And now she was in her third battle in less than 24 hours. God, this had been the longest day ever.
The axeman growled at Eve, and she felt something inside her snarl right back. It was strange, almost like the wolf inside her was connecting with him. Was it possible that…
A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, pinning her arms, and a high pitched cackle screamed in her sensitive ears as someone seeming way too strong for her size tugged Eve against her chest.
”Too easy. I thought liberating the King would be more of a challenge.”
”But they’re not the summoner,” The axeman snapped back. ”If they were, wouldn’t the King be here being… oh, I don’t know, summoned?”
Not good. Sounded like the Cult was more aggressive than they’d thought. Maybe the original summoners, whoever they were, had all had protection the way Kasen did.
“Friends of the summoners, then?” The woman - stronger than a woman; Eve had a right to believe she’d gained some muscle over the years and she couldn’t begin to budge – continued, musingly. “Patrolling the woods with guns and knives, not exactly innocent villagers, are they? And this one…” the woman leaned in and sniffed Eve's hair, making her wince, ”She’s got a bit of a scent about her…”
Now that, she took offense to.
“Ok, it’s been a couple of days since I’ve had a good shower, but that’s really not necessary.”
But there was something else. The woman mentioning knives… Eve had dropped Sam’s silver blade, it was still gleaming in the snow by the axeman’s feet, but she still had her own dagger tucked into her belt. If she could just maneuver her hands without giving herself away…
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Post by Kasen Rowe on Dec 2, 2011 0:27:42 GMT -5
The Erlking said nothing and Kasen did not repeat himself. He just waited for that little thought to sink in to the Huntsman’s mind. The horse turned its head to look up at its master curiously then glared back at Kasen, breath smoking out past the circle’s barrier. Kasen was just glad the circle didn't seem to be letting anything else through.
“This is a trick of some kind,” the Erlking said finally.
“No,” Kasen replied wholeheartedly. “No it is not.”
“Then why did you summon me here? In the same place as they?”
Kasen shrugged. “It was convenient. Didn’t have to make my own,” he replied, deciding to leave out the fact that he had no idea how to make his own.
“Why can’t I see you?” the Erlking asked.
Because I have a magical pendant like some fairytale character out of a child’s bedtime story, was what he thought. What came out was “Well, maybe you need glasses.” Neither were proper responses, he thought afterward.
The Erlking on the other hand apparently thought it was funny. After an incredulous moment of deathly silence, the monstrous supernatural leader of the Wild Hunt chuckled and lifted a leather clad finger to point at the human before him.
“You would betray your masters? Is it power you seek then, little underling?”
It was Kasen’s turn to be offended. “They are not my masters. They don’t control me! It’s not power I’m looking for. It’s vengeance!” He was breathing a little more heavily now and the anger that swelled in him gave him the courage he’d before lacked to stare the Erlking right in his glowing eyes. “I figure… we’re in very similar boats, you and I.”
The Erlking’s head tipped to the side. “You aren’t with the cult and their demon…?”
“No.”
A pause. Then, in one fluid motion, the Erlking dismounted his steed. Kasen stepped back involuntarily as the creature hit the ground. Even without his horse, the Erlking was large. It towered over Kasen as if he were just a boy. Kasen fought hard not to move back further as the Erlking stepped right up to the edge of the circle. In the pale full moon light, Kasen could only just make out the sharp outline of the Erlking’s unnaturally pale white chin, lips, and the end of his nose. Even with the Shield, even with the circle’s invisible barrier, Kasen felt a strange energy emanating from the Erlking. Something that made him want to follow the creature wherever it went. It was disturbing, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it as the Erlking’s deep voice boomed.
“What do you propose?”
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Post by Molly Rourke on Dec 2, 2011 14:15:50 GMT -5
Molly allowed her gaze to shift away from the departing man/creature. While she didn't like the idea of letting anything so decidedly not human roam free, Dean was right. Letting one monster tear apart the other might be the best move right now.
"Same forest?" She echoed, sliding her knife back into her belt and taking the few steps toward the nearest tree. It was oddly foreboding, for a tree. Alright, it was oddly foreboding for most things. Something about the greyness of it, the mist that seemed to hover around it like a cocoon. Or maybe it was made of mist altogether. "Don't seem much like any forest I've ever been in." Refusing to be intimidated by a piece of foliage, she reached out her hand, half expecting it to pass right through the smoky bark.
It didn't, but it felt like it wanted to. It didn't feel real against her flesh, smoother than bark, almost malleable. No, not malleable... more like it was pushing on her. One thing was sure, it definitely wasn't a normal tree.
"Don't think we're in South Dakota anymore," she muttered, pulling her hand back, rubbing her fingers together to get rid of the odd sensation. "How do you plan to get in touch with your friends? Not much chance of cell phones working, is there?"
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