RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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ewancummins
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RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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A Late Summer's Night in Pont-a-Museau


DORGIO and BENN





...
Brock Marsh Runoff wrote:BOARDING HOUSE
Her lips quiver.
She whispers,
"Please, no...don't hurt me."
“No,” he says quickly, “of course, we won’t hurt you.”

For just a moment, his eyes flick to mirror on the dead woman’s dresser. Remi and others stare back, yet only Dorgio can see them. He doesn’t know if they are some trick of mind, or if he is seeing their ghosts in truth—he never does. Some of the faces glare balefully at him, knowing what he is about to do and disapproving. Others give him looks of pity. Two of the younger faces seem on the verge of horror, as if the years of unlife have done nothing to inure them from the shock of it.

And Remi grins back at the priest, as toothy and eager as a goblyn.

He believes he steps outside of his god’s whenever he uses this magic. And as the woman begins to speak, the blood on her makes him think of The Morninglord, and the drop of blood said to hang from the corner of the sun god’s mouth. Perhaps even The Morninglord sometimes stepped outside of his own domain, as well.

No time for philosophy though. “Annabelle, you do not know me,” he says, “but I am a friend. Forgive my disturbing you, but I must ask a few things of you.”

The corpse that was once Annabelle stirs and stretches, and Dorgio tries not to look at the shifting wounds .

“First,” Dorgio says, “do you know the person who slew you?”

Annabelle mumbles something indistinct. “…who?”

“The man you met tonight,” he says, careful not to use up another question so soon.

“Yes,” she says, almost groggy sounding. He had hair like mine…he said he liked my hair.” And at the mention of her own tresses, she seems to waken to Dorgio’s questions.

"This man, was he younger than me?"

"He said the beast was ancient. And so strong. The beast that whispers in the dark, the voice echoing in his skull. It came to him first in Mordent."

Of course…of course. Dorgio feels something cold in his stomach, a confirmation of what he’d been hoping wasn’t true.

“Did the man give his name?”

“Yes. Jonathan Maytr.”

So there it is. By all the damned heads of all the damned gods. No denying it anymore .

And now a final question: “This Jonathan Maytr. How did he come to slay you?”

Annabelle seems not to understand at first, and instead gives a mischievous giggle. "The sheets? Like a rope? I never...alright.” And then her expressions turns distraught. “Ouch. That's too tight, love.”

And here the look of concern turns to pure terror. “What...what is the knife for? Just loosen with--ahhh!" The woman gives a ghastly shriek, which is quickly stifled before trailing off into a low moan. And then the dead woman falls back onto the bed, cold as the clay and red as sundown.

“Gods…she didn’t know she was dead until the very end. Until my last question, and then she felt it all over again.”

He looks to his friend Benn, and the priest of the Morninglord’s green eyes tighten in the guttering candlelight.

“Maytr must die.”
Last edited by ewancummins on Wed Oct 19, 2016 11:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Bennedict stumbles back against the dresser, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and failing to keep a look of...concern and fear on his face.

"I did not know the Morninglord used such magics," he says. He smiles bitterly. "Or perhaps I'm rubbing off on you more than you'd care to admit."

He steps back to the girl, attempting to readjust her and her vitals to resume their previous position.

"We can't be foolish enough to think this is random," Bennedict says, "If he's here and doing this, it is meant for us to find. He WANTS us to know he is here, and he is coming."

He pauses, moving to tap his lip thoughtfully but stopping as he sees the gore clearly on his fingers. He snatches out his handkerchief again and wipes it away. "So our best way to proceed is to do something he doesn't know. Come at him from a direction he can't predict..." he trails off before coming back to focus. "I think we are done here, yes? If so, we'd best get back to our people and make certain they are safe."
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Adam wrote:Bennedict stumbles back against the dresser, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and failing to keep a look of...concern and fear on his face.

"I did not know the Morninglord used such magics," he says. He smiles bitterly. "Or perhaps I'm rubbing off on you more than you'd care to admit."

He steps back to the girl, attempting to readjust her and her vitals to resume their previous position.

"We can't be foolish enough to think this is random," Bennedict says, "If he's here and doing this, it is meant for us to find. He WANTS us to know he is here, and he is coming."

He pauses, moving to tap his lip thoughtfully but stopping as he sees the gore clearly on his fingers. He snatches out his handkerchief again and wipes it away. "So our best way to proceed is to do something he doesn't know. Come at him from a direction he can't predict..." he trails off before coming back to focus. "I think we are done here, yes? If so, we'd best get back to our people and make certain they are safe."

For all the mocking semblance of life Annabelle's corpse showed a moment ago, it feels cold and heavy now.
Benn straightens out her red hair as best he can, leaving it as he found it-- combed out in a halo.

Annabelle's eyelids flick open. Her head tilts so that she stares Benn full in the face.
A choked whisper-
"Please, no..."
The girl's face contorts in agony. She gasps and then falls silent, still. Her eyes remain open, but the last flickers of light vanish like a candle-flame blown out.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Bennedict starts and backs away from the table, breath catching in his chest. With a scowl he reaches forward and presses her eyes closed.
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Adam wrote:Bennedict starts and backs away from the table, breath catching in his chest. With a scowl he reaches forward and presses her eyes closed.
The corpse's eyes close under the pressure of Benn's fingers.
It remains still.


"Monsiuers?" A man's voice carries through the closed door.
"I heard one of you cry out. Is everything alright?"
Benn recognizes the voice now: the keeper of the boarding house.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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AT THE GEHRMAN HOUSE


Charlotte invites Raen, Sara, and Thom to join her and Kat in the parlor, for after-dinner tea and cakes.

By this time, Lorna has recovered from her swoon. She takes a seat near the hostess in the parlor.

The maid readies Baby Tilda and her brother, Jonas, for bed.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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ewancummins wrote:
Adam wrote:Bennedict starts and backs away from the table, breath catching in his chest. With a scowl he reaches forward and presses her eyes closed.
The corpse's eyes close under the pressure of Benn's fingers.
It remains still.


"Monsiuers?" A man's voice carries through the closed door.
"I heard one of you cry out. Is everything alright?"
Benn recognizes the voice now: the keeper of the boarding house.
"We're fine," Benn curtly responds. He begins to gather up his things and prepares to depart.
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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BOARDING HOUSE

"Aye," he says to Benn in a weary tone. "Not exactly the light of the Morninglord in that prayer, but at least now we know. It's no copycat or minion. It's the weasel himself.

"And you're right, we'll need to outwit the little fiend, because he must know we're here. Gods, he may even have sussed out where we live by now. Or else he will soon. And I do not trust this place for private speech."

He almost ignores the gendarme, and instead gives a last glance at the girl's body. "Let us leave this place," he says to Benn.
"You said I killed you--haunt me, then!...Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” -Wuthering Heights
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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A SHORT WHILE LATER

The gendarmes give a Dorgio and Benn cart ride, dropping the pair off outside the GEHRMAN residence.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Dorgio steps out of the carriage without a word, and heads to the entrance of the Gerhmann residence. He has fished a dagger from his boot, and now holds it, still sheathed, but firmly in his grasp in case the worst should greet him.
"You said I killed you--haunt me, then!...Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” -Wuthering Heights
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Bennedict heads to the door, opening it up and stepping inside without preamble. He looks around for any sign of what had occurred with the guests in his absence.
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Adam wrote:Bennedict heads to the door, opening it up and stepping inside without preamble. He looks around for any sign of what had occurred with the guests in his absence.

He sees nothing amiss.

He hears his wife and others conversing in the parlor.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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HOUSE:
As Benn enters, Raen turns and then looks at Charlotte. He waits for her to explain to her husband what happened.
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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alhoon wrote:HOUSE:
As Benn enters, Raen turns and then looks at Charlotte. He waits for her to explain to her husband what happened.

Charlotte leaves the parlor and meets her husband in the hall.
"Thank goodness you are home."
She nods to Dorgio.
"Benn, Juergin brought those horrible one-eyed child stealers here from Gauntcliff. They have all gone, now. For good. I hope. But there's domething else. The little monsters were afraid of something outside. Some sort of beast, I think...You can ask Raen and the others about that."
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: RAVENLOFT: The One That Got Away, Chapter 3

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Bennedict hangs his hat and coat away inside the closet, the evidence bag with the perfumed cloth tucked and sealed inside.

He turns to join the others in the hall, trying to recompose himself, but Charlotte's response causes a look of alarm to cross his eyes regardless. He looks to Hornsby, trying to get an idea of how dire the situation may actually have been.

Absently, he says to her "I should not have invited the young man inside. I thought perhaps he had distanced himself from his demons, but it seems he has not." He crosses to comfort her. "I trust everyone is alright."
"Of course," Benn mutters, "It would be a damned shame if we ever knew what the hell was actually going on."
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