The King of Chaos IC

Rio staggered to her feet. She was swaying, and the gash was far from completely healed, but Rio was a professional who wasn't about to allow such a minor obstacle as an injury to keep her from her job.

She marched over to the beast, issuing orders along the way. "Ed, get answers from the lord. If he was hiding his son for the entirety of the incubation period, he likely knows the cause and we can deduce the likelihood of infectees and an approximation of how many. Jaynia," the doctor crouched down by the beast and laid aside her dissection tools, "I do believe we have work here to do." She said a small prayer for the remains of the son, before proceeding with the dissection.
 
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Ed sighed and moved around as Rio gave him a suggestion. He'd managed to scrounge about 4 arrows, but...he wasn't quite wanting to use them just then. "I..." He grimbled. "Fine, I'll speak to him, I must admit we did not leave on the...best of terms." He shook his head, but starting moving back towards the stair case. He'd talk to the lord. Knowing the others, Rio would try and dissect him and Jaynia would punch him in the gut before throwing him out the window. Ed was only tempted to do that sort of thing.


"Jaynia!" He said, calling over his shoulder. "Remind me! Need a new chaos weapon..." He then strode off purposely towards the room where he left the lord. He wasn't in a great mood, but he'd try and be peaceful. He entered the room, looking for the lord, as he did so, he announced what had gone down.


"The beast has been slain."


ARROW COUNT:

4 somewhat sketchy arrows
 
Jaynia chuckled quietly at her brother's announcement before going to the beast. Rio did not move as smoothly as she had seen the woman capable of. Was she still injured? Yes, she had healed herself, but had it not been enough? Jaynia grit her teeth. She hated revealing her healing ability. It hadn't always been that way, but since it had become that way, she had done well hiding it. Yet, now... As hardened as a woman she may be, even she could not ignore that she had been saved thrice. She stood behind Rio as the woman placed the dissection tools, ready to be used. Jaynia felt the weight of her own on her belt.

"Hold still... a moment..." she spoke as she hovered her hand over Rio's gash, her chest tensing up. Last she saw, there was no-one around, and even if they did see her, she already planned to vehemently deny it. Whatever, that was all in the back of her mind as she healed the gash. Soon as she could do what she could to it, she would bring out her own dissection tools. It was a large beast, room for all. Yipee.
 
Jaynia & Rio

Before cutting open the beast Rio would have the chance to examine the lump of skin that was so important. Looking closely she would be able to see it was covered in black lines. The lines were actually small slits that opened up if the skin was teased apart. Beneath every slit was a very short tube that merged together with the other tubes into one larger one, as the hunters had seen dangling from the injured shoulder previously.

Cutting open the arm revealed the small, black organ that the tube was connected to. It was a bit smaller than a closed fist and even now slowly pulsed. Apart from the tube that led to it from the lump another led deeper into the creature’s torso. The colour of this second tube began as black, but quickly changed into red. Were Rio to cut out the organ it wound continue to pulse. Only when it was sliced open would the movement stop as a puff of miasmic gas was released. The other joints had similar set ups but the orangs within were deflated and torn apart. The only difference being the middle arms had 2 tubs leading deeper in.

For some odd reason Jaynia had chosen to begin her dissection on the creature’s posterior. Certainly a very weird choice. And surprisingly fruitful. In her inspection she would uncover two additional lumps the same as those on the creature’s back, hidden where the posterior joined the leg and protected by the fatty tissue. Delving deeper into the area she would discover two more organs identical to those connected to the other lumps. Examining the area further she would discover the start of what appeared to be a larger organ between the other two that was red in colour. And a fourth that was placed along the creature’s back behind everything else that was blue and thin, but as wide as the creature.

At this point the squad of ten guards finally arrived, led by their captain. The man was dressed in half plate armour, obviously prepared for battle. But when he entered and saw the scene before him his mouth dropped open in horror. His men were similarity struck silent. Shaking his head and exhaling deeply the captain managed to snap out of it. “You have to stop that now!” he said, trying to be authoritive, but unable to summon his full voice when facing two hunters doing their loyal duty to the country, “The lord, if you desecrate his son’s body more …” he swallowed with a bit of fear and turned to the man on his left, “Raita, go stall the lord, don’t let him come down.”

The man bobbed his head rapidly and took off at a jog up the stairs, armour clanking with every step. The captain stepped forward, his arms raised as if to pull Jaynia away, but couldn’t bring himself to make contact. “Please.” he said, worried, “there’s another you can dissect!”

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Ed

The lord was still standing at the window where the hunter had left him previously and there was no reaction to Ed’s word right away. The pause would continue until Ed said something more or about ten seconds had passed. The lord finally turned around and stared directly at the hunter, the faintest red around his eyes. “My son is dead you mean.” he said in a raspy voice, “Killed by you, yes? You and your fellows.” There was a definite challenge in those words, as if the lord was prepared to fight. Then it passed. “Take me to my son then. Let me see his body.”

A guardsmen burst into the room and threw a hasty bow towards the lord. “My lord.” he paused, trying to find his words, “We are attending the situation downstairs. Would you uh, please remain here until the captain sends word it is safe.”

Norve turned to Ed. “Did you not just say it was dead?” Without waiting for an answer he began walking forward, intent on finding the body where it lay, “Out of my way guard.” Raita raised his hands briefly but dropped them just as quickly, and sent Ed a pleading look for help.
 
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It seemed Rio was going for the once-human creature's limbs. Then, Jaynia would take the...

"Do butt stuff with it"

...What?

It was like a voice, coming not from within, but without. All around, everywhere, yet specific, and undefiable. Is this it? Have I cracked?

No... this didn't feel crazy. This felt... divine?

Lawrence? Wasn't she in a tavern the other day where these two blasphemers were speaking of 'Lawrence' and 'anal' in the same sentence? Jaynia was appalled then, and now. Yet she couldn't help but recall it as she, as if by compulsion, but almost unarguably by choice, dissected the creature's behind.

Lo and behold, the dissection proved a success. A hint, it seemed, as to how this creature worked...

“Please.”

The man behind her may as well have been on a different plane. That was, until he said,

“there’s another you can dissect!”

...Another? Another! Jaynia snapped her neck around to face him. "You, guard. What do you mean another? Another plague beast?" She was already rising up, eyes locked on the guard's.
 
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"Hm, healing?" Rio had idly commented without sparring a glance. "Would have been useful if I had known in the fight yet..." Magical ability was not something that most hunters hid, so the other doctor figured there must have been a reason she hid it. With her assumption at hand, she dropped the conversation and focused exclusively on her work; it was as much of a 'thank you' as the emotionally stunted woman could offer to her companion.

Her area of dissection held a pulsing, black orbulette. An interesting little thing, as it continued to pulsate even as it was removed from the corpse. It was something worth examination later, but Rio still had other places of note that she wished to dissect, before they were interrupted.

The woman had begun marking notes on the beast in her notebook -- even those of Jaynia's curious, if fortunate, choice of cutting -- when the interruptions began. A captain, and his small squadron of nine. It was about time, even if they were late, for the local authorities to show up. He was obviously aghast with their choice to dissect the former lord's son, yet Rio could not care less of what he thought. She only perked to his words, much as Jaynia had, when they mentioned another.

"Desecrate the body? As much as the Chaos has already, I'm sure." She rolled her eyes, as she began to knit the dead flesh with a spell. She didn't exactly want the already smoldering lord even more upset at them, or for the distraught Pelia to think badly of her, if they were going to abandon this corpse. "I have already given the body its due rights, guard; were it not for another specimen, I would keep doing what I am beholden to do, lord's son or not." As soon as the pair's clean dissection marks were removed from what was left of the body, Rio stood, close behind Jaynia. "Damn sentimentality," she would say under her breath before speaking louder. "Just send the damned thing to the pyre, I tell you; would make no difference then."

"Beyond that, take us to this other corpse. We have yet to make a conclusive case as for where this strain is weakest, so further study will be needed... Actually, on that note." She strolled back over to the corpse, and slung it over her shoulder. "There may be another, but there is no guarantee that it is in any better condition than this one. I shall turn this back over to the lord and his family when we conclude this other will make a better substitute. Understood?" She raised a challenging brow. The guard was either being sincere, or manipulative so they can keep them away from the body. This way, they would be taking no chances.
 
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Ed rose a brow at the desperate guard. Distract the lord? Well...he had questions of his own first.


"Wait milord, I have a few questions of you, and I don't think you'd care to walk away from them." There was an inquisitve undertone to Ed's voice. Not hostile, just...curious. "You of course had no idea that your son was infected, correct? I would assume so." he sighed. "A man of your stature knows the dangers of the plague, and, even with the sentiments of a family relation you'd be sure to have a guard at his room. At least I hope."



Ed gave a tired sigh, momentarily wondering how he had got into this profession and how it was goign to help them find the sibling's father. He also moved to block the entryway, the lord unable to push past him until he received a response to his next question.



"We're going to be conducting an investigation, and I'd like to get a timetable. A reliable one too." He said straightly. "I need to know what you know about your Son's accident, and if he'd acted at all differently in the last couple days."



ARROW COUNT:

Sketchy arrowsx4
 
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Ed

The lord rounded on Ed, a combination of fury and grief taking over his face. Norve was not a small man and he used that now, getting right in Ed’s face on the verge of erupting into physical violence. “You come into my home. You kill my son. And you expect me to answer your damned questions? Implying I kept knowledge of my son’s sickness a secret? You think you have any power here hunter? This is my village. This is my goddamned house you’re in you fool. Move yourself this instance or you’ll be spending the next week in the dungeons.” The lord stared at Ed with a burning flame in his eyes. It was not an empty threat.

With Ed moving out of the way in response to that the lord spared a few more seconds to continue his withering stare at the hunter before moving downstairs.

Jaynia & Rio & Ed

“You will do no such thing.” Norve said, emerging from upstairs as Rio was claiming the son’s corpse, “Put his body down immediately. You cursed hunters, I will have you all executed if you take my son’s body from me. Drop it now!” The man’s voice was a mix of authority, grief and anger, a blend that robbed it of the harshest parts of each emotion. He turned to the captain of the guard and pointed a finger at Rio. “Remove these hunters from the premises immediately captain. And my son’s body stays here.”

The guard who had been sent to stall the lord emerged behind the man and looked down at his captain with an apologetic look on his face. The captain swallowed and looked nervously at the two hunters. Then straightened up and put some steel into his voice. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave the body behind ma’am hunter. Once you do I can escort you to the other body. I believe it will be sufficient for your needs.” The captain didn’t look happy with his words but wasn’t backing down, “It’s in the forest to the east of town.” His men were blocking the doorway, preventing the hunters from leaving until Rio dropped the body.
 
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"Very well," Jaynia's pride stung, she wouldn't let the lord get away without a word, "It seems the lord is intent on letting his son's death be in vain. Who am I to get in his way?" She looked to the guard who addressed her and Rio, "Take me to the body. At least this poor soul can do his fellow man a service before he is given his final rites."
 
Rio was injured. Not by the previous wounds, or even by the words the man said. Moreover, it was because of his radiance; the power he was able to exert to which Rio had to squirm. Her pride, even to such an ignorant man, was hurt, as it had been before... This, on top of the physical wounds which were likely to scar, the peckish feeling from days on only the bare minimum of food, and the overall indignation this man held caused Rio to finally boil over with enraged emotion, in the face of the humility her partner had shown.

"'Cursed hunters?' Yet, were it not for us, I'm sure more than a snooty footman and a beleaguered guard of this household of would have died. You housed a victim of the plague within your very own, knowing or not, because he was 'family'. Yet again, milord, you claim sympathy to his death, but where were you when he breathed his last? Were you one of the people staunchly defending the very place you claim to lord over? No, you cowered; you let the 'cursed hunters' stick your boy because you hadn't the balls to do it yourself.

"So fine, take your blasted body. Take your son's damned body and walk into the bloody pyre with it, for all I care; this is the last service I do for you snotty nobles!" With that, Rio threw the body to the ground, indignantly, and unceremoniously. She would have went further and blasted a bolt past the lord's head, if she had the ammunition to do so. Part of her wished to stay, to watch as the lord retaliated against her words, but the more reasonable part ushered her out of the manor; muscling past the guards which would otherwise bar her way.
 
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Ed sighed. Look like his efforts were a waste. Rio had probably tipped the lord over the edge with that, and he hadn't even been able to punch the bastard...it was a shame really. Some faces just really had that look like they would be a million times better with a black eye. A quick scan of the guards made him raise a brow. He couldn't quite read them, but he wasn't sure if punching the lord would make him a hero or a villain...



Not that there was time for that. Letting out a sigh Ed shuffled out through the front door with a helpless shrug to the guards. Nothing much he could do. He planned on collecting the quivers he stashed around town.


He had a feeling his time was short in this place.
 
Due to real life commitments of its players this RP is now officially paused.
It will resume at a later date.
 
Jaynia & Rio & Ed

“Get out you bastards!” Norve roared, his face burning red from Rio’s speech. The guards stood aside to allow the hunters to exit the building unobstructed taking his anger as an order. There were a few words exchanged between the captain and his men before he and two others followed them, the rest remaining with the lord. The two guards looked nervous about what had transpired and the attitudes of the hunters. The captain attempted to hold a neutral expression but his own nervousness kept slipping through. “If you follow us we will take you to the other body. It’s within the forest on the town’s eastern side.” he told the trio, q request not an order. The captain waited for the two hunters to start walking before he joined them. The two guards followed behind the group. None of them attempted to force Ed to join the group. However if he tried to return to the lord’s house he would find a guard barring entry.

Jaynia & Rio

Upon entering the small ‘clearing’ where the other hunters had done battle the two doctors were greeted by a scene of carnage. None of the guardsmen escorting them had followed this far. “One look was enough.” the captain had explained while pointing to the site.

There were three corpses in the area. The most noticeable was the beast’s corpse, from the multitude of limbs that lay around it. All six arms had been removed from the body. One was beyond the edge of the clearing surrounded by an oddly large bloodstain. The other five were scattered around the centre. The sides of its torso were a mess of torn flesh and gore from multiple cuts. Some parts of it had been blackened by fire. In the centre of its back was a large puncture wound.

The next body lay near the edge of the clearing. The masked man, Haima. A wound on his right side continued to slowly drip blood. While his body was splayed out on the grass and insect ashes his head lay against a tree trunk. The mask was still in place, unharmed, but askew suggesting his head had collided with the tree and he had then fallen to bleed out. However he was not so easily killed and the man was now awaking from his unconsciousness as the others arrived on the scene.

The final body lay next to the beast. Jacob’s corpse still wore his armour, but was broken and red around the stomach where a long slit had been cut into it. The metal had folded inwards with the blow and likely torn the wound wider as he moved. The man’s face was disfigured and some of the bones had clearly been broken. The blade of Haima’s axe was gripped in his hand and his lance was close by.

Ed & Asen

Having left the two doctors to gather his arrows, by sheer coincidence and not at all by divine intervention, Ed would be around the northern entrance to the town just as a young man was arriving. The villagers were giving him a wide berth thanks to the wolf at his side. The cutter’s wandering had brought him to the town of Gipla. Too late to save his dead compatriots, but perhaps not too late to help those who still lived. From Asen’s appearance Ed would easily be able to determine his occupation as a hunter due to his dress.

The north side of town was mostly houses. There were a few people about who looked nervous, and for everyone who was conversing naturally there was a pair quickly exchanging whispered words before moving on. The town’s medical doctor was situated in the area’s south. A pair of the town guard were standing outside the doors.
 
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Ed had spent a bit of time collecting his stashes around town, and a fresh quiver of 30 arrows not sat happily attached to Ed's side. The hunter however, was a bit...less happy. Ed's day had been a bit of a rough one, fighting for his life and perhaps more importantly the fact that a plague was starting again. Without knowing more about the incident that had caused the Lord's son to fall ill there was truly no way to know who patient zero was...for now. This had Ed on edge a bit, and he was glad the villagers had become a bit more distant...he had no energy for his usual face.


Still, finding a cutter after a day of fighting was...relieving. Ed didn't know much about the strange fellow in front of him, but if there was one thing he knew the group would be thankful for it was reinforcements. The fighting had taken a beating out of the group, and if another beast had been slain...well, Ed wasn't sure how well the other hunters had faired since they had all split up to search for clues.


The only problem was that the clues they found painted an alarmingly dangerous picture...and this hunter may not be informed. "Hello my good sir!" Ed said with renewed vigor. A fresh face was always welcome after all. The man swept his had low as he gave a bow. "Your attire marks you a cutter, am I not wrong?" Ed smiled. "I do not believe we've met, my name is Edward Thrice, master marksman. I'm also a hunter." He finished his bow and gave a quick look at the strangely tamed wolf by this new Hunter's side. "I trust this beast is with you?" He said with a cautious tone. "If so, I ask you please come quickly."


A pause as Ed walked away from the villagers, leading Asen back towards the forest, and after making sure nobody was around to listen, he sighed. "Kid, you've come at a tough time, first things first though, how are you with a weapon?" Ed raised a brow. "My compatriots can fill you in on the details, but to put things simply you better be willing to use it...we're going to run into a hell of a fight coming up, how's the wolf?" He points down at the animal in question. "How can she hold up in a fight?"

ARROW COUNT- 30 Fresh arrows
 
Asen had grown accustomed to being avoided by most. But he wouldn't give his wolf companion up just to be spoken too. Giving Kaisa and loving ruffle on the head and getting a little kiss on the hand in return, Asen looked up to see a man walking towards him. Oh? Certainly not a villager. A Hunter, perhaps from his attire. Asen brought down his metal mask to give the man full view of his face, and smiled warmly.

"Hello my good sir!" "Oh, hello!" Asen chirped. "Your attire marks you a cutter, am I not wrong?" "Not wrong in the slightest." "I do not believe we've met, my name is Edward Thrice, master marksman. I'm also a hunter." Ah! Fantastic. Though, probably not fantastic, meeting another hunter usually meant something bad was going on. "My name is Asen Galitan, and this is my companion Kaisa." Asen wondered if someone would recognize his surname. He kind of hoped not. "I trust this beast is with you?" Asen gave a small nod. "If so, I ask you please come quickly."

Ah, yep. There it was. The danger. As a hunter, there was never truly any peace. Asen wondered if he would ever get to settle down on a farm somewhere and live a quiet life. Probably not. But it was something nice to dream about.

Asen followed Ed into the forest, Kaisa trotting by his side without even a second thought. "Kid, you've come at a tough time, first things first though, how are you with a weapon?" Asen's smile faded away, now bracing himself for a harsh battle from how Ed spoke. "I have years worth of training." Asen said, looking towards Ed with a firm gaze. He was young, but he had been holding a weapon since he could remember. Though Asen suspected the "kid" nickname wouldn't be fading away anytime soon. "My compatriots can fill you in on the details, but to put things simply you better be willing to use it...we're going to run into a hell of a fight coming up, how's the wolf? How can she hold up in a fight?"

"I am rather prepared to use my weapon. And Kaisa holds up quite well." Asen said. "She's been with me for many years and fought with me many times." It was rather taunting that Edward decided to wait for his companions to explain the details of the battle he was being lead into. Was it that bad, or did Ed just not have the patience to explain? Asen put a hand on the hilt of his chaos weapon, seeming to expecting something to jump out at him from the side. "How many are in your group?" Asen asked.
 
Bloody death. The scene all around them. Jaynia uttered a few words under her breath, something akin to what should soothe a passed soul, or several, and then, irregardless, went to check if any of them were alive. First, the beast, keeping distance before approaching it and kicking it to make sure it was, indeed, dead. Then, those who had been her companions for all too short a length of time. Jaynia was sure they were are dead as the--

Oh.

Wait.

This one was stirring.

Jaynia ignored him completely, it was Rio who openly healed, it would be she that Jaynia would default rely on and expect to deal with the broken companion. Instead, she went to the creature. But didn't automatically go to dissect it. First, she shifted her eyes, keeping her ears open. Would she perhaps... hear anything... of divine nature?

...It did prove fruitful last time...

Jaynia pulled out her tools, flicking her eyes to the creature's backside...
 
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Rio scrunched her nose at the sight, and smell, of the dilapidated scene around them, but showed no further signs of discomfort. Rio paid little heed to the bodies of her dead companions and instead took a spot next to the severed arms. With the work her former partners had managed to do, the doctor was glad she had started the dissection where she had on the son's corpse. She had lain her dissection kit next to her when one of the guards had motioned to the still breathing body of Haima. Rio sighed as she got up. The woman had healing magics, yes, but when there was a Chaos corrupted corpse within her vicinity, she would have much rather given her attention to that.

On her small way over to do her proper duty, Rio took note of Jaynia's gaze; elbowing her to discourage repetitious, and quite frankly weird, behavior.

At Haima's side, the doctor assessed Haima's most grievous of wounds, not saying a word in the downtime. Rio diagnosed the flesh wound on his side, and perhaps a cranial injury he had acquired from landing. She started on the one thing she knew from her cursory look, healing the gash while beginning to speak. "Lucky sort, aren't ya?" She meant this half-ironically. "Well, at least you aren't dead. Tell me, how exactly did the pair of you come across this beast? Was it man before...?" Rio didn't know why she had asked the last question. Perhaps to know whether this has gone on longer than their arrival there. Superfluous thoughts, ones that didn't manage to distract her from the task at hand.
 
"Lured here by daughter of some lord...Joondie or something. Little coward knew magic and didn't even have the courage to use it!"

The response was automatic, even if his brain struggled to make sense of what had happened. Vague and hazy memories of getting up and donning his mask, pulling at the chain to try and retrieve his weapon before darkness consumed the rest. His hand remained on his face, keeping that mask pressed up tight against it while the healer inspected his long-deformed and maimed head for any further injuries. His gaze scanned the grounds that had been the stage of their skirmish, eventually finding the remains of Hammond and Jacob, the latter holding his axe.

"How fitting..." Haima sneered. "A useless weapon for a useless man!" While he commended Jacob for dealing the final blow in his mind, it had been the deceased who had alerted the girl when Haima had sought to remain in hiding. Once Rio had had enough of poking and prodding his injuries, he arose and seized his weapon from the dead man's clutches, breaking fingers set in rigor mortis. "Beast was under the employ of that Joondie. Turned when trying to retrieve the little coward!" The cutter practically spat out, having more than enough venom for the ones who had made this mess. It was all their faults, not Haima's.

"Hurry with your studies!" He said to Jaynia, picking up an object from off the ground: a longbow. "I promised that one a final meal and I be a man of my word. Hehehehehehe!!"
 
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