VAU: The Tale of Ivana Hoompalotte - Game Thread

[Duke Danse Macabre]

*Clasping his hand down on Kristof's shoulder and squeezing a slow smile spreads across his face*

Aye, we will give that vial monster something to fear before the nights over. *A wide grin spreading across his face*


*Turning to the man calling them fools*

Maybe, but we are brave fools and I for one will not let her pick us off at their leisure.
After all, if we find the vampires here do you really think she will just let us go?.... *leaving the question hanging*
If you truly think someone who has lied to get all all to come here to kill us for sport will allow any of us to leave if we find these fiends then you are being just as foolish as I but at least I'll go down fighting at a time of my choosing.
Now, if anyone can offer me an alternative that would give us a better chance I will gladly take it, I'm no coward but if i can avoid another last stand in my life I will be a happy man... Seen far to many of those whilst in the army.


*Glancing to the man who he had heard speaking about those in masks*
I would be included to agree with you, hiding behind a mask is a shady business but at least they have not shyed away from smoking the leaf and have removed their mask, so I point out he is in fact a she.
But no, at this point I don't feel comfortable in what I know to give a vote.... Yet, however those we have yet which to speak concern me a far greater deal than those here, at least even if we differ in opinion we are trying to work towards finding a way to show who these monsters are.
*Casting a glance over his shoulder at those who have yet to mutter a single word*





*After listening to each start to tell their own tales*

Well it appears its my turn if none object?
My name is "Christof Oberstyre"and sometimes Captain Christof Oberstyre.

I was a Soldier in the Employ of Stirland, a Sargent of my own detachment after many years campaigning across the empire to fight this and that.
For the most part we were tasked to patrol the woods, keeping roads safe and dealing with any bandits or beastmen we came across, it was not overly tasking so we were even afforded reasonable leave so we could return home to our families from time to time, not nearly as much as I wished but we had it allot better than others.
As you can imagine though, after marching under a flag for most your adult life you form bonds with those around you, I had my own little close knit circle, brothers in all but blood having saved each other from a fell blade or a deadly shaft more than a hundred times between us.

Now I don't mean to paint an image of this being fun by any stretch but we were there for each other no matter how bad it may of got.
Even when we lost friends.

Anyway I have gone off topic a tad.... Mainly my force, 106 men all told would deal with minor things, small forces or helping put flight to a larger force when assisting a much larger force of our own.
That was until about 4 years ago.
There was a large army of beastmen marauding through the forests burning small towns and farms along the way but before battle could be offered they always returned further into the forest where our formations and cannon would be useless.

So one day late summer that year I was ordered to head to a farm with my troops and evacuate the citizens there whilst the army continued to track the enemy, the farm was just inside of the forest.
Arriving at the farm we found it all but deserted and already burnt out.
Whilst searching the buildings we came under attack, it was just a few dozen at first but within minutes it seemed the whole forest was alive with movement as an unending wave of savage beastmen poured forth against us.
Having no support and nothing to protect our flanks but a few scorched walls we quickly got into formation, pikes against the foes whilst our best marksmen fired shafts overhead into the oncoming foe.
By that point though you no longer had to aim.... you were sure to hit something regardless.

In those first few minutes I lost more than 20 men as they hacked into our ranks, uncaring that they had been run through, just hacking at use through nothing but sheer rage.
Still though we held for more than an hour we held between a few tumble down walls being whittled away one but one, dragged down screaming into the mud.

Over half our number dead, exhausted and against a limitless foe without any sign of support the line began to waver.... I had hoped to hold long enough for one of the two scouts I had sent back to the main force to of fetched aid but it showed no sign in coming if indeed it was on its way at all.
It was then the Minotaur's came.....
Scything into our ranks with huge axes we were broken almost as soon as they hit us, fleeing as fast as we could across the open field into the woods we had marched through earlier that day towards open ground and what we hoped was salvation.

The Beastmen on our heels the entire way cutting down any that were not fast enough.
We broke from the treeline to be presented with our entire army deployed some 1600 yards away across open ground, running all the faster to reach now sure safety we heard the explosions of imperial cannon firing into the foe as they cleared the woods into open ground.

That day we made it back, yes the army saved us but it was also our doom.
We had been sent there as bait, they knew we would be attacked and they had been waiting since we set off, the only thing they had not counted on was us lasting as long as we had.
After that day I left, my troops once numbering over a hundred were now limited to but 9.... 9!... Myself included.
I had fought too long and too hard to be used like that,lost far to many friends, all those lads I had been to hell and back with were dead, even "Young Dumfelds" being the only other from my circle to live had lost most of a hand in the fighting, bitten off trying to fend off a dying foe.
But no, this was no longer the life for me, I had those who depended on me elsewhere, I had done my time and my children were not going to grow up without a father because I was too pig headed or too stupid to know when to quit.





So after that I returned home, cared for my family as best I could, after time though I was missing one thing..... Coin.
What good is it being home to raise your young ones only to watch them go hungry?... I had to earn gold and fighting was all I knew, so I once again took up my blade but this time, closer to home.
I worked as a guard here, a bodyguard there to some rich merchant or another, even the occasional Noble.
A man of my experience however always found himself being placed in high stead and I was good at my work so naturally I found myself in positions of leadership, being chief caravan guard here or there, my most recent being the Captain of the Guard for a minor noble.
He liked to travel and had a few houses up and down the empire and beyond no doubt, I was in charge in but one of these manor houses but the work agreed with me, I did not have to move about and the pay was good.
I could work all day and go home to my family on the night.
Unfortunately that did not last, the Noble was not a young man and passed away late last year, his assets divided between his children, they had elected to sell off some of the homes which put me out of a job.
Since then I have been looking for another such like position where I can have my family stay with me or in a local town, I won't cart my children up and down the empire, not after what I have seen.

No, thats why I can tonight.
I was sent a invitation to the party to discuss the possibility of taking over for the former captain of the Ladies watch.
The money was good, the living arrangements ideal for my situation.

*Letting out a sigh of resignation*

I may of been played for a fool but.... It was not a offer I could afford to pass up, I seem to of riveted on quite a while however, I apologize but if your going to tell someone the story of your life, you may as well be thorough.

 

[Nikos]

To Frederick/Alessandro
"It is not as if I knew what was in store when I got here, my motivation was foolish greed. You wouldn't blame a fish for catching its self on a baited hook, would you?" said Wilhelmina regretfully.

 

[Harland]

Frederick thought about it for a second.
"Very true. I suppose the mere fact that there was a party would be bait enough for one such as you, no?"

 

[Pietr Von Carstein]

Tormund, now more than a little inebriated as he had been drinking steadily all day, belched loudly and began to shout.
"I KNOW WHO IS THE BEAST!*hic*ITS YOU!"
He then pointed at an empty chair.
"I KNEW IT WAS YOU FROM THE MOMENT I LAID EYES ON YOU! NO DON'T INTERRUPT ME! I CAST MY VOTE AGAINST YOU!"
He then fell over and began to snore loudly.
VOTE:ABSTAIN

 

[spineyrequiem]

Tuomas picked up a chicken leg and tore off a huge chunk with his teeth. Swallowing, he said 'We have not much time, so I must cast my vote. If he is one of the beasts, my suspicions are correct, but if not I accept his blood being on my hands. Before I say who, I shall give reasons for my suspicion.

The first is his mixed behaviour. He has shown extremely violent tendencies, frequently threatening to "split Frederick from head to toe" and other such. Yet he did not advocate violence against our host. On its own, this would simply be evidence of intelligence, and I would applaud it. But in combination with the other factors...

His history is an unpleasant mark. He paused for just a moment before the word 'relatives' when he described his grudge with Gotrek and Felix. Are these other vampires of his bloodline he refers to? Moreover, why would Gotek and Felix kill them if they were merely innocent Ulrik-worshippers? Certainly I will accept they are unprincipled killers, but even they generally have a reason for it. Again, on this own this would simply be a tragedy.' He took another large bite of his chicken leg before continuing.

'Finally, I draw attention to a test which no-one else has thought of yet. I refer to the fact that vampires do not eat. Please, do not try to prove me wrong by stuffing your faces, were I to slit a vampire open it would have the same stomach and innards of any one of us, since it is just a very well-animated, human, corpse. So they can eat, but they do not need to. Given the choice, they will not do so, since vomitting it up afterwards is unpleasant to say the least. But they can if neccesary.

The thing is, much earlier the man I now accuse took a slice of meat, before he talked to Erik. But it has not been eaten. He merely picked at it for this whole time. If you look, you will see a piece of meat which has been torn apart but not a morsel has been eaten. Nerves? On its own, I would imagine that to be the case. But with the aforementioned factors, I see no other explanation but that he is one of the very beasts which will be hunting us tonight if we do not kill them now. So I cast my vote. His blood be on my hands if I am wrong.'

Vote: The Archivist - Gurter Fallor.

 

[The Archivist]

Gurter stared long and hard at Tuomas.
"It seems you have forced my hand. The reason I have held this back was due to social stigma - like The Masque's circumstances, but more so."
"I am a descendant of those whom Ulric has blest. We are Ulric's fanatics - we are the true lycantropes."
He turned to look pointedly at the priest of Sigmar.
"Other religions call us mutants. This is not so. We are blest to be able to change our form, whereas those who are mutated are simply a fusing of wolf and man, to be hunted and destroyed. We have been called monsters, but the real monster is a creature many know as the Thing, whose bite infects those it gores and changes them. We are blessed by Ulric to be fanatics for his cause, yet we are cast out from society. We abhore those who use magic to change into the most blessed of beasts, such as those of the Jade College."
"You can understand now why I kept it back. I may well be sent to my death for this very reason. Yet my story is true, for I am the illegitamate son of a baron, and I was indeed raised by the priesthood as a child blessed by Ulric. The tragic scene was witnessed, and whether it was a mistake on their part, or whether that branch had let themselves go wild or become corrupted, no-one knows. I must still perform a deed to enter the priesthood, and I still sought Gotrek and Felix."
"That piece of meat has been well cooked. I will happily devour a raw deer carcase, but as you can see there is not a piece of uncooked meat on the table. Though I must eat, the meat tastes burnt to one accustomed to the wilderness."
"As for my temper... I am still human. My honour is something I pride, but even then I am not immune to irritation from needless accusations with no basis. You, on the other hand, have placed out in the open your points, and as such have given me an opportunity to explain."
"If you continue to accuse me, and wish to see me dead, I will accept my fate. But please, if you do choose to kill me, use something silver. I would rather die quickly than an agonising death."

 

[Johnny-Crass]

Approaching Father Markov who was still focused on his drink "Do you have a suspect yet my friend?" Erik smiled kindly "As a priest of Morr you must have seen some signs"

 

[Malochai]

*To Wilhelmina*

"I figured as much," he said, the regret evident in his voice. He then buckled his sword belt back on and said, "Now ... Let us see what everyone else has to say?"

 

[Harland]

Frederick looked thoughtful.
to Gurter
"A werewolf, you say? Anyway, that is not what the word lycanthrope means in the common tongue. A lycanthrope is someone who turns into a bloodthirsty wolf with no human prohibitions every full moon. If this is the case, then you are just as dangerous as any vampire."

 

[Black Baron]

Fyodor set his drink down and looked up at Erik, "Sadly as of now I don't know what to think.... If I were perhaps a wizard of the Amethyst Order or maybe part of the Knights of Morr, those trained to sense and root out the that is the undead, I would then be able to spot the foul creatures. I will keep my suspicions to myself for now though and wait and see what transpires."

 

[Malochai]

Alessandro was watching proceedings, and obviously listening to Frederick and Gurter. "Frederick has the right of it, I have to say ... Any creature in here who is not human ought not to make it out ..."

 

[Johnny-Crass]

"Excuse me for a second father" Erik said politely, turning to Gurter, Fredrick and Allessandro.

"If this ends up in a fight with us against them I would rather have something more than human on our side then not. He has admitted to what he is and I think we should use that if the time is right, a werewolf would be a much welcome ally."

 

[Malochai]

"I accept your premise ... But think on this - if we know, then they do too, and I do not doubt that they have some way to combat anything he could do to help us ..."

 

[Harland]

Frederick nodded.
to Erik
"True... HOWEVER if he is a true lycanthrope, either tonight or on a night not too far away, he will turn into a beast unable to tell friend from foe, and rip us all apart. Also, we seem to have ruled one possibility out. One can still be a werewolf... and a vampire."

 

[Johnny-Crass]

Scoffing at Fredricks last words "And I suppose he could also be a orc and maybe a devout worshiper of chaos? I agree that if he is what he says he is then he is dangerous. But we are not here to find those who are dangerous otherwise I would of changed my vote" Nodding to the Masque "We are here to find vampires, not werewolves."

 

[Harland]

"Exactly! Just because he is a werewolf does not mean he isn't a vampire. So we shouldn't immediately ruled him out, as you seemed to do just now. But you are not my enemy. At least, not yet. There could be a time when the evidence is stacked against one of us, but that time is not now."

 

[Malochai]

*To Erik and Gurter*

"Surely we are all dangerous here, in our own way, but there are some more dangerous than others, and, I have to say, Gurter, you are amongst them ...
"And I disagree with you, Erik ... We are not here to hunt vampires, no ... That is but a game to amuse them. We are here to die, be assured of that ... "

 

[Johnny-Crass]

Erik paused, thinking long and hard then to Fredrick "You are right, he is dangerous and while I tried to justify this at first we must trust our safety to those around us"

Turning to Gurter, a look of great sadness across his face "I am sorry my friend..."

Vote Changed To : Gurter Fallor (The Archivist)

 

[NicholasLeMort]

Finally being told the name of his fellow Bretonnian, Nicholas speaks:
"So, Sir Amarande, you would like to hear my story."

Then, he addresses the rest of the group gathered around the table.
"Very well, if you all wish to hear my story I will tell it, but do not be unnerved at this tale of a different then average Bretonnian knight."

"My story begins when I was a newborn. On a pitch-black night, with lightning racing through the skies and the heavens pouring down in Aquitaine, I was left at the village baron's mansion. The similarity with the current weather unsettles me slightly. Anyway, the baron took me in; he could not leave a baby outside on a stormy night with naught but a ruffled blanket protecting him.

In my childhood I grew up in his village, named Layonne. It is on the Northern border of Aquitaine, on the opposite side of the river from the much larger city of Bordeleaux. The baron, simply called Guy de Layonne, became a father to me. I have no clue as to who or where my real parents are."

At this point Nicholas' eyes turn glazy.

"But he was more than just my father: as an excellent warlord he also became my mentor. He comfortably fought on horseback with a massive two-handed axe, but I did not have the raw strength to wield such a weapon. As such, like most Knights of the Realm, I took up the art of the lance and shield, quickly learning how to use my weapon effectively. On foot, I was trained in martial arts as I revealed before, but also in the art of sword combat, and my training was vigourous: I was forced to train for 8 hours each day. Such was my aptitude for sword combat that I even spent the little free time I had left practicing, and at the age of 20 I could beat all the knights of the village, save for my father, in single hand combat. For this, my father granted me the sword I carry now, masterly crafted of the finest metal, lighter and faster than a short sword but deadlier than a greatsword. It would be the last gift I received from him from his foreign adventures..."

Nicholas coughed to clear his throat to get rid of the tremble in his voice that he felt coming along.

"But it was at the age of 21, on what they call Winter's Eve in Bretonnia, perhaps better known as Geheimnisnacht to those of the Empire, that the tragedy happened. We were attacked by a swarm of undead lead by a powerful vampire, who came all the way from Mousillon to conquer Bretonnia in a single night! He advanced recklessly through the duchy of Bordelaux, not being stopped by the city we trusted to protect our village. The people of Layonne were scared, but my master did not fear the undead. He prepared defences and fought the oncoming horde on his terms. He wouldn't let me join in the fight though, for he needed someone to take care of his village if he was gone."

Nicholas sits down for the first time that night and covered his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"The undead did not care for a small village like Layonne, but they ruthlessly slaughtered all who stood in their path. I disobeyed my father's orders and went out into the fray, but I was too late, all I could see was a glimpse of the vampire, a split second before he brutally murdered my father."

Nicholas then stands up firmly, with his fists punching into the table.

"I ran away that night, taking nothing but the green set of armour I wear and the sword that was gifted to me by my father. I swore I would not let his death be in vain, and I would find the vampire, whose appearance was forever imprinted into my mind. I would challenge him in combat and kill him in cold blood, just as he had done with my father!"

Nicholas quickly seemed to calm himself down, and wiped the emotions off his face.

"For this reason I have been perfecting my combat skills every day, and sharpening my senses. It is for this reason that I would never let my senses be dulled, by such means as smoking narcotics."

Nicholas looks at Abel again.
"It was also that night that I gave up all belief in your Lady of the Lake. She should have protected my father from the evil that befell him, as he was a valiant believer in the Lady. Now, I do not believe in anyone but myself and my sword, for my quest is not to sip from the Lady's cup, but to find the vampire that killed my father. Of course, that is not to say I disrespect anyone who puts faith in her, dear knight, I just will not."

After his long speech, Nicholas sits down again and simply puts his hands on his lap, awaiting the next story.

 

[The Archivist]

To Erik
"Gah! Do you think that Ulric would provide his gift in such a sense? It is true that, when Mannslieb is full and Morrslieb is dark, we are compelled to change. But if you remember, I tried to decline your narcotic for this reason: there is such a night tommorrow night. Then I must perform a ritual to Ulric, or rely upon my faith - those who do not lose control of their gift, become the bloodthirsty wolves Frederick is afraid of. It is this that may have happened to the distant branch of the family who were slaughtered by Gotrek, but I know not if this is the case."
"Alessandro's swift conclusion that I am not human is an example of the stigma attached to the blessing. I am human, blessed with this ability. Ulric's fanatics could aid the Empire rid itself of the very creatures we all detest, were it not for this attitude."
"I am resigned to my fate now. I should not have spoken out. I shall prepare myself for Ulric's final blessing before I head to Morr's arms."
He sat down at the bench and took off his pack. Retrieving the various pots, he begins to mark his palms with the liquid, his large body trembling.

 

[Malochai]

"I deny saying you are not human; I merely agreed with Erik when he said you were more than human and that that could help us ... but by the same token, it could be our downfall,"

 

[The Archivist]

Gurter spoke evenly to Alessandro, without the slightest inflection, as he prepared his palms.
"You think I would kill you all? There is no reason I would kill anyone without being certain they were an enemy of Ulric. The only time I would run the risk of madness is tommorrow night, and I have all I need to avoid that."
Taking leather gloves from his bag, he put them on, careful not to smear the symbols on his palms.

 

[Malochai]

"Still, despite all you say, we are all suspicious of each other, and whilst I shall not sleep easily by any means, knowing you are one of the cursed of Ulric does not ease my mind any,"

 

[Harland]

to Gurter
"As someone almost entirely religious, I would be extremely uncomfortable putting my life in the hands of a religious ritual."

 

[The Archivist]

Gurter's voice increased in intensity as he withdrew the metal cylinder from his backpack.
"Cursed!? Blessed, not cursed! It is no different from a blessing from Shallya to heal all who ask for help, or from Morr that one has to guide the dead. I am in full control of my senses, and unless I am extremely unlucky I will not lose my mind through anything other than a bad personal choice, of which I see little chance to do here."
He continued to unpack his items, drawing out the glass rod from a side pocket.