The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

The creature did not even seem alive as Huldah did her best at keeping an eye on the creature. It's face so horribly ugly that she wondered if it could be some kind of demon or a similar denizen of hell itself. It would certainly fit in with everything she had experienced this strange night.

Daniel had knelt carefully beside Emma to check on her, her body obscured by his cloak. Though Huldah did catch sight of a sudden movement from Emma and a strange sucking sound she could not tell what was happening with the knight positioned as he was. Everything seemed to be safe at the very least so she looked back to the demon on the ground. That's when she noticed the first signs of the creature stirring once more. Shaking it's head as though in a stupor, it wouldn't be long before it would return to consciousness.


((((Meh, we all get busy once in a while even if we don't want to. Take as much time as you need))))

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"Are you sure everything is alright over there?" Huldah's asked when she heard the odd sounds coming from the pair across the room. She was about to turn and look when the thing in front of her started to shift and move once more. Glancing around, the blacksmith found a chunk of pew that seemed hefty enough, and started hammering it down on top of the thing, aiming for the head and chest with heavy, repetitive blows. "I think it's waking up again..." She called back, not stopping.

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Huldah did not notice a response from the protectors as the sight of the creature moving drew her attention. She was certainly no weakling and despite her repeated blows on the creature they seemed to have very little effect accept to knock it back into unconsciousness. She could swear that any wounds she caused healed almost immediately.

She was preparing to begin hitting the creature again when she felt Daniel's hand on her shoulder, stopping her. A look of concern crossed his handsome face as he knelt to examine the creature without a word. Though he did look as though he wanted to try and explain everything that was happening he said nothing.

Huldah noticed that Emma was now sitting up where she had lain, her arm now seemed to be straight and a small trickle of dark fluid was at the corners of her mouth. Other than these unusual sights she seemed to be the same as she had been before.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

The woman grit her teeth as she slammed the hunk of wood into the thing, venting her frustration at the day's events through her arm. It didn't seem to do much, what little skin she split seeming to fold back together fast enough to watch, the occasional crunch of a bone mending just as fast. It seemed to be working though, the creature shuddering and falling still once more.

She didn't stop, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun, halfway raising the bloodied instrument to strike before she realized who it was. Then she calmed again, panting slightly as she dropped her improvised weapon to the ground, looking over at Emma, then back to Ser Daniel. "Is... is that blood?" She asked slowly, frowning.

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Emma quickly wiped the blood from her chin at Huldah's question. Her gaze however remained affixed on Daniel, much like a young person discovering her first crush.

Daniel looked toward the creature now lying still on the ground, there was a bit of worry in his eyes though he covered it well as he said. "I promise to answer all of your questions in time Huldah, but right now it would probably be best for you to stake him through the heart."

As he said this he nodded towards the monster that she had recently been beating with a bench leg. His monstrous visage no worse than it had been before she started. Huldah was hardly a quick thinker but the whole evening seemed to fall horrifically into place even if she did not believe in such things as vampires. Surely she was asleep and this was all just a vivid nightmare...she just had to wake herself up and she would be in her bed. Alas she pinched her arm as hard as possible and nothing was changed in the slightest, even as she bent to pick up a broken piece of wood from the shattered pew.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Huldah looked between Daniel and Emma, her eyes going wide with realization. She took a moment, pinching herself and looking down at the creature at her feet. If it wasn't real, then it didn't matter what she did. But if it was, she had better do something, and the two still standing have done nothing but help her, so far. She'd trust them a little longer, at least.

So she reached down, taking a chunk of proven pew in hand, then breaking it further until it made a wicked-looking spike, retrieving her bashing implement and using it to drive the spike into the creature's chest, shaking only slightly. Standing once more, she gave Daniel a pained expression, blunt weapon still in one hand. "...What now?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"Now I believe you deserve a rest and perhaps a bit of an explanation. I'm afraid a full explanation will have to wait until tomorrow night as neither Emma nor myself will be able to remain awake for much longer." Daniel said with an apologetic look on his face as he held his hand out for Huldah to take.

"I believe your father has a room prepared here, perhaps you would find it just as comfortable as he once did. It's also a bit more secure than the chapel was, Thomas will stand guard over us while we rest during the day." He added one Huldah had taken his hand, which she could not help but notice was as cold as Emma's had been. The handsome knight then lead her further through the labyrinthine complex past a number of side passages before they came to another heavy wooden door.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

It wasn't until Daniel mentioned rest that Huldah realized how tired she was. It had been a day of busy work, followed by the most adrenaline-filled evening she had ever experienced. Her shoulders slumped, and she dropped her improvised weapon, taking the Knights hand, noticing how cold it was as well.

"My father came here, as well?" She asked, surprised. She never remembered him leaving their home for more than a few hours at a time for supplies or to shoe horses tat couldn't leave the stables, so it was quite surprising that he maintained a room in this place, on top of whatever dealings he had had with those... monsters in the forest. She felt like her entire world had shattered like a mirror, and she was kneeling in the mess, trying to fit pieces back together with bloodied hands.

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"I suppose it would be better to say he had a room here, though it has been a very long time since he used it. Close to 20 years now though it has been kept clean should he ever return, your mother also had a room here as well I am told." Despite the coldness of Daniel's hand Huldah found little difficulty in trusting him, even if he was telling her something that was so difficult to believe in.

"Honestly I'm a little at a loss as to how I might explain everything that has happened to you this evening. At least I'm a little lost as to how I might explain things in a way that won't send you fleeing into the night." He added as they stopped in front of a room from which emerged the young man who she had seen at the inn. He nodded politely before and Huldah realized she had seen him before, visiting her father at the shop. He did not say anything though and merely moved to the end of the hall where he sat in a chair near the door.

The room was rather sparsely furnished though something about it did remind her of her father's room back at home. Then she notice the pressed and preserved violet on the pillow, he always kept one to remind himself of her mother. Her thoughts however were interrupted as Sir Daniel said. "Thomas there will keep an eye on things during the day. I'm sure he could also find you something to eat if you haven't had anything."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

The young woman struggled to take it all in, remaining mostly silent through the halls, and giving the other man a nod before she recognized his face. He had visited the forge multiple times, speaking with her father before heading out again, never seeming to order any work from them.

The room was nearly bare. Bed in the same place, small dresser in the corner. The flower... Just like father kept at home. She was two steps into walking towards it when Daniel spoke up once more behind her, snapping her from her reverie. Her stomach rumbled at mention of food, but after the day she had had, the bed seemed much more inviting. "Perhaps after I sleep. Thank you, Sir Daniel." She answered, remembering her courtesies again.

Once she was alone, she went over and gently took the flower off the pillow, setting it on top of the dresser. She was too tired to look for night clothes, simply stripping out of her outer layer, leaving the damp and dirty mess in a pile near the bed and crawling into the sheets. Tired as she was, Huldah passed out almost immediately.

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Huldah had little time to think over her evenings ordeal before her eyes drifted shut. She hadn't even thought to say goodnight to Sir Daniel as he closed the door quietly after she had thanked him. She slept like she were dead herself though her dreams were anything but peaceful. Her father, the evil friar, the nightmarish creature she had seen in the bushes.

It was all there filling her mind with nightmares both real and imagined as she tossed and turned in the bed. Finally she bolted upright in the bed, her breath coming in gasps and her hair stuck to the back of her neck with sweat. She felt as though she had already spent an entire day in front of the hot forge. Her stomach growling brought her thoughts back to the present and she looked about the room.

A candle still burned on the dresser showing the room looking much the same as it had been when she went to sleep. Wait her clothes were missing from where she had dropped them, everything else seemed the same though. It was then that she noticed the sound of footsteps on the stone outside her door and saw the handle begin to turn.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Huldah gasped as she woke, snapping awake covered in sweat and panting for breath. Nightmares already starting to fade, she noticed the dirty clothes she had removed were missing, someone entering at the door. Figuring it was some servant or someone assigned to tend to her, she remained silent, watching the door from the bed.

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Huldah's assumptions turned out to be right as the man that Sir Daniel had pointed out poked his head in the door. She knew little of the man beyond that he had occasionally stopped to speak of her father. He had always seemed the kind sort though she had never spoken with him.

"Oh, I hadn't realized you were awake yet. I was just bringing your clothes back after I cleaned them. It's close to noon now, are you hungry? I was just about to try and scrounge up something for myself." The man, Thomas as she recalled, asked as he set the clothes down on the dresser.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

The woman's stomach rumbled anew at mention of food, enough to make her self conscious that Thomas may have heard it. "Yes, quite hungry, thank you. I just woke a moment ago." She explained, getting out of bed and standing, still wearing he other half of yesterday's clothes. "Noon, you say? So hard to tell without any Windows. People will be wondering why the forge is empty..."

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Thomas turned and waited while Huldah finished dressing as he responded. "Yeah, they probably will find it a little strange. Aside from Sunday he's pretty much always busy at the forge, though from what I've heard you actually do most of the forging nowadays. Kind of weird since I remember when you weren't even big enough to pick up much less swing a hammer."

Once she had finished they walked a few doors down before entering a decent sized kitchen. A delicious smelling pot of stew sat filling the room with the most delectable aroma as Thomas grabbed a few bowls and some spoons from the shelf while Huldah sat at the table. It wasn't long before the pair were devouring a filling noon time meal together.

Thomas didn't say much else while they ate as though he were waiting for Huldah to ask him questions. The weird nightmares she had seemed like a distant memory by the time she was finished eating.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"I grew up." She admitted. Maybe her father was back at the forge, wondering where she was. The thought ate at her, even as they reached the kitchen, and began to eat the stew Thomas offered.

She remained silent as well, hungry enough that she devoured half of the bowl before she even slowed down enough to speak past a 'Wonderful, thank you.' early on. Finally, she sighed and leaned back, starting to take her time with the meal, and speaking between bites.

"I... I have so many questions, I don't really know where to start." She said, glancing over at the man. "Just... Tell me everything?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

Thomas pondered what he was going to say as he finished chewing on a piece stew soaked bread. Finally he swallowed the food and wiped his hand on the sleeve of his tunic before saying. "I almost wish I could tell you that last night was just a bad dream. Alas the world is a lot darker and scarier than even the priests upstairs would have you believe. The cities and the countryside are full of monsters, most of us humans don't realize it and that's just how the monsters like it. Of course it's not quite hopeless as there are a handful of us doing what we can to protect mankind, like the order here."

Thomas took a another bite of stew before continuing on, "Your father and mother used to be a part of the order here but left after you were born. Of course not everyone in the order is human as you might have guessed, not all the monsters are bad. Though I don't think the term monster is very appropriate for Sir Daniel or Lady Emma, I guess you could call them vampires but it still doesn't seem quite right.

There's all kinds of them, basically a bunch of different families of vampires. Sir Daniel is Salubri, never met a single one of them I didn't like. Emma is an Assamite, only met a few of them I didn't like. That ugly thing you staked last night is called a Nosferatu, they can be alright if you can stand to look at em."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"I... I see." The woman replied slowly, mind running over all she had been told. "So, what happens now, then? The order knows about the things hiding in the woods now. Do they send in Sir Daniel and other knights, kill everything inside? Burn the whole thing down? What about the town?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"I could certainly see some of the order acting in such a manner, but none in this safe house. We tend to be a bit more on the cautious side for the most part, we'll probably try to get somebody on the inside before trying an assault. I can actually already picture the argument between Emma and Sir Daniel about what is the best course of action. Of course you're the only one to have actually seen what we're up against." Thomas said as he continued to eat.

"What did you see by the way? I didn't really hear everything as you explained it to Sir Daniel."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Knight's Tale (Huldah)

"I'm not sure." She admitted, shrinking back slightly as she recalled the dark shapes form the previous evening. "I never saw any of them clearly. Dark shapes, twisted, misshapen maybe. Like if you could forge a person like iron, heat them up and twist them as ye please." She explained, grimacing as she pictured the process.