Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Eliza blinked her kiwi eyes for a moment, but then her lips slowly curled into a scowl. She was not amused.

"You do sound like a friend of Jourdain's."

Eliza retorted, voice dripping with disdain, eyes darting to Vezina and the decrepit man then back to Annabelle.

"As it seems he is busy being utterly useless, would it be too much to assume you might know where he is?"

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The decrepit old man bows his head solemnly in greeting but avoids speaking to the vampires. Instead heading up the gangplank to speak with the captain in his official capacity as harbormaster. Annabelle and Vezina notice that Albrecht actually manages to look older and sicker when walking than he had simply sitting in the tavern.

Before long the harbormaster makes his way back down the gangplank and nods again before heading back the way he came. The small ship wastes little time in getting under way again either, having dropped off Eliza and any baggage she may have had.

--------------------------

Jocelyn sat looking at the intricate box still frustrated by her inability to figure it or the chests secrets. She hardly remembered the trip to London through the English countryside being to worried about the box and the people she knew were still looking for her and Aubrey. The small haven she was sharing with Aubrey was beginning to feel more like a prison and she decided to go exploring a little. She hadn't been very far from the gate where they had found a cheap place to haven though she knew from Aubrey that the main city was beyond the bridge she had seen over the buildings.

Aubrey was out trying to find the Prince of the city so that they could have permission to stay. He wouldn't mind if she did a little exploring as long as she was careful. She had done so well in Bordeaux without his help, London might be much bigger but she was sure it would be fine.

Ooh going to explore are we
I hope there aren't too many demons here
Yeah the last town had too many
No those were angels in the last town

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

As the word's left Eliza's mouth, Anabelle's eyes narrowed, her lips pulling back almost in a snarl, the very tips of her fangs showing.

"Trying to arrange acknowledgement in the city, for yourself as well I'm assuming, while you took your sweet ass time in getting here. You want help, try not to be so obvious that you'll be holding a knife to my back once I turn away," she said in a low growl.

"Welcome to London... welcome back to being a nobody. Galla."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

"Let us not aggravate one another in this public place. Eliza, your clan mate is making his inquiries, so that our first nights in this city may be made all the easier. Please, do accompany us. We shall hopefully meet with him later tonight."

Vezina turned her body sideways and gestured with her arm for Eliza to walk with them, even as Anabelle walked away in her foul mood.

"In the meantime, you can enlighten us with tales of your journey over water. I confess I was not fond of the sea when first I crossed it many years ago to this isle."

Vezina made no attempt to hide her eastern european accent.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Setting the puzzle box aside in the secret niche it originally came from, having kept the trunk the entire time as well, Jocelyn did her best to fancy herself up before heading out. It consisted of smoothing the ruffles on her worn dress and patting as much of the dirt off as she could, but one makes due...

"Yes, or... no... London's bigger, there's likely to be more of everything, I think." She mumbles in return to the voices, stepping outside as heading for the bridge. "We'll just have to be careful. We'll be fine."

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Eliza snorted derisively, holding up her hands.

"The only one making her position here obvious is you."

Eyebrow still arched, the Lasombra walked next to the placating Vezina.

"Is your friend always so boorish?" Eliza inquired incredulously before considering Vezina's question.

"The sea is indeed rather unpleasant I suppose. Especially the miserable cold, dark waters in this land. It is much different from my home." Eliza paused before continuing.

"Last night I endured what I believe was an assassination attempt on my life. The assassins were admittedly feeble and dreadfully inadequate to the task. However, what with the incessant rocking and sloshing of that god forsaken boat, dispensing with the attackers was.... more complicated than it should have been." The young Lasombra shrugged.

"So forgive me if meeting two strange cainites when my clan mate is nothing if not punctual does not inspire magnificent levels of trust."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Vezina flashed a grin.

"Naturally. Trust is not so easily earned amongst our kind. Yet all the same, it doesn't do to spurn all offers of aid out of hand. Do go on about this assassination attempt. Mortal assailants no doubt? Did you let them live long enough to get any information out of them?"

An assassination plot against this clanmate of Jourdain? A dissappearing Seneschel? Were these two happenings linked somehow? Vezina's curiosity and desire to know more were getting the better of her.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Eliza sighed and shook her head.

"Unfortunately no. They were slimy humans, yes, but they had stakes. Naturally, I wasn't inclined to take chances with such high...stakes..."

The cloaked Lasombra smiled ruefully.

"Regardless, it suggests they were looking for a descendant of Caine like myself."

Taking after her sire, Eliza was paranoid.

"I'm convinced that someone sent them after me. Perhaps far worse is that someone may be playing games with the Silence of the Blood, and that means that I am the least of our worries."

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The clouds that had been rolling back in begin to loose their icy rain once more. The full moon was blotted out by the dark clouds casting the four individuals into the cold darkness of Southwark.

Anabelle, Vezina, and Eliza had only begun walking along the docks back towards the bridge that led to London proper when a piercing howl rose from much further down the docks. The howl was very much wolf-like though some it reminded both Vezina and Anabelle of something more primal and powerful. Several other howls rose from across the river in the city proper sending chills down all of their spines.

With the voices arguing amongst themselves Jocelyn stepped from the entrance of her current haven and began walking towards where she could see the bridge peeking over the tops of the smaller buildings. The road was slick with the icy rain that fell from the sky as she curiously looked about the dark and silent homes of Southwark. She heard the unearthly howls and felt a chill travel down her spine.

Hell hounds!
It's just wolves.
How would you know, you've never heard a wolf.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

She was in town, she'd be safe, surely. Right?

Jocelyn quickened her pace a little, headed towards the pace with more purpose, and shaking herself a bit to try and clear the chill down her spine the howls gave her. Hellhounds, wolves, or something else, she didn't want to find out...

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The icy rain and the howls continue as Jocelyn quickens her pace for the bridge though they seem to be off in the city proper and far from her. Once she arrives she can't help but feel awed by the structure, both bridge and fortress, which was easily larger than any castle she had ever seen. The gatehouse stood open for any traffic during the night and she could see that the entire length was lined with shops and stalls. The pikes on the roof gave her a little pause as they were topped with at least a dozen heads and skulls of condemned criminals.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Jocelyn was about halfway across the bridge, staring up at the severed heads with disgust, when she suddenly realized that the wolf calls seemed to be coming from deeper inside the city, not out in the countryside. She stopped dead in her tracks, near one of the many stalls lining the bridge, looking further down at the massive gate as if it was the jaws of Hell for a moment...

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Despite the chill that ran down her spine, Anabelle smiled up towards the sky as the howls echoed through the city.

"Bòidheach," she said, before lowering her gaze once more and tilting her head to the side. Though the crack that used to sound from the action no longer accompanied it, she had never been able to remove the habit.

Her hand clamped down on the hilt of her sword and she looked to the other two.

"I suggest we find somewhere safe. Ud," she said to the other two Cainites.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

"I concur," Vezina said in a low voice. "Those do not sound like any wolf I have yet encountered. Let us seek the safety of the indoors."

The inns shouldn't be too far if they walked briskly.

 

[Ranger Princess]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Eliza's head jerked to the side, and she stared intently in the direction of the howl.

"Fabulous..." Eliza muttered under her breath as she picked up her pace. She pulled her cloak tightly around her and moved next to the wall for cover as she continued forward.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

"Oh, they sound like wolves I've encountered. And that's the problem," Anabelle said carefully.

"We should find a nearby inn or something. Easier to defend ourselves inside if need be,"

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Spoiler

Halfway across the bridge! Good lord slow down a little, that's one long ass bridge you're sprinting across.

"Great now they're hunting us
Maybe they're after other petitioners
Demons don't care about collateral damage"

The moon slipped from behind the clouds for a brief second as Jocelyn looked towards the gates. She watched with curiosity as the light glinted off of mystical symbols engraved along the walls of the gateway, protective symbols that she remembered from before coming to this place. The wolves within the city didn't seem to be getting closer though the Southwark wolf seemed to be coming her way.

Anabelle recognized the sound of wolves hunting in the howls as the one behind them seemed to move closer. The sound reminded her very much of the lupine she had come across in her travels. Noticing the gatehouse of the bridge ahead and looking back they can see the inn at roughly the same distance.

Vezina also recognized the hunting pattern and the closeness of danger. Though she had never seen or heard one of the lupines herself she knew from Gyulu that they were far to deadly a foe for any single Cainite. Perhaps it was good that she had found companions similar to herself but each with their own additional benefits.

Eliza knew little about wolves and even less about this city but she could sense the danger just as easily as she could sense the danger in any Lasombra court. She knew the best way to deal with any danger was to face it on your own terms. The inn was probably safe but an inn meant kine and could limit the use of their powers if they needed to defend themselves. Better to face an enemy without limitations to your powers she thought.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Noting the gatehouse at the head of the bridge, Anabelle pointed. "Fòghnaidh. Stone walls will funnel the enemy in towards us, and hopefully with limited kine about we can use any... abilities we each may have. Ud, tiugainn," she called to the other two, before sprinting towards the gatehouse.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Spoiler

I was in a hurry, and it didn't sound like anything was happening on the bridge. *shrugs*

Jocelyn heard the howl from behind start to get closer, and had the vague feeling that she was being herded. She didn't feel like sticking around to argue with the one that showed up though, so she picked up the pace. The symbols around the gateway, and made that her target. She recognized them from her time learning at the church, there was a good chance it promised a safe haven. She was already regretting leaving the house tonight...

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Spoiler

Eh, just joshing you more than anything, ya kook.

Despite the howl that seems to be getting closer, Jocelyn feels a little safer as she inspects the symbols up close. She doesn't recognize all of them but the ones she does recognize have something to do with protection. They seem to be made out of some kind of metal that seems imbedded in the wall and are almost impossible to see if you aren't looking for them.