cryptsleeper | Inbox for breathofusir

Are you alive?

We both are. Where are you right now?

Edited 2018-12-31 21:08 (UTC)

I have not yet left the city.

Mm.

[Here's a question that Alucard feels compelled to ask, based only on what they have conversed about so far. He considers the phrasing before he asks it, and knows he may react poorly to the answer.]

Were you able to stay inside for the whole of it?

[ That is the question, isn't it. There's a pause before Lauralae speaks. ]

Not all.

[Give him a moment to just sigh. And Ellis does the wolf version of it too, because on this? They seems to be in agreement.]

And you endure. That's...no accident, I assume.

[ R u d e. ]

I live. Is that not enough?

If you were temporarily not for a second time, then we all have reason to be concerned.

Why?

Because if a second death doesn't take, that leaves me to wonder exactly how many it take until it does, if it does at all.

[ She is quiet, for some time. ]

I do wonder. Perhaps we simply cannot die.

[Oh, fuck him.]

I truly hope that is not the case.

[Moreover.]

And you shouldn't have disregarded your own well being.

[ Whoops.

She huffs, quiet. ]

I did not say I was evidence.

Did I assume wrong?

What answer would you prefer?

The truth.

I have something to show you. [ Then, awkwardly -

well. ] If you are alive.

What is it? I am in Krimnos at present.

[He's ignoring that alive part. He and Trevor managed 1 whole emotion because of that pit, and it was awful.]

I am in the forest. [ The one he had pointed out to her. She'd fled there as soon as she had woken. ] Something that might impress Ellis.

I am indisposed for the rest of today and tomorrow. Can you wait until then?

I can wait. I am resting. I will not go anywhere.

I will inform you when I am departing.

[[Actual question, do we want to keep this to inbox or log it properly/if logging, should we wrap it up to be included in today or tomorrow's event log that's supposed to go up?]]

[ Even though his personality is a tirefire, Alucard's the sort of person to keep an eye on things. So even though their last conversation ended in a fight, Strange just rings up Alucard like the shameless person he is. ]

Two things. One, I've gotten better at the electricity—your suggestions helped, so thank you for that. Two, do you know anyone who has empathic magic? I'm interested in that sort of thing and chatting with someone would be useful.

[Look just because Alucard doesn't love dragons doesn't mean he's a tire fire!!!]

....No, I can't say I know anyone with that particular variety of magic. Where do you intend to go with it?

There's a theory I want to try. Dragonborn have an empathetic connection to their parent dragon. If we are in a pseudo-dragonborn state, we could possibly communicate with the parent dragon.

[ there's a small, chirping noise in the background of the audio as Strange talks. He shushes the noise before pausing and waiting for Alucard to answer. ]

[Now we don't have time to unpack all of the things that just got said that make Alucard uncomfortable but...]

That...would confirm or deny your theory regarding the dragon responsibility for any of this.

[God help him if he and Trevor are both considered dragon born now, that's too much to handle.]

But I genuinely have not run into anyone with those abil...was that a bird?

No. It was a dragon.

[ And then, as if that's something totally obvious, Strange keeps talking. ]

Will you tell me if you come across anyone with that sort of magic?

Sorry it was--

WHAT?

A dragon. I don't think I stuttered. Queen Adria found one of her own, even you must realize that it's ludicrous to think that there would only be one egg out there.

Kindly give me a few moments here.

[Cue two minutes of Alucard in the background letting out a few distinct strings of not swear words but absolutely express his displeasure at this turn of events.]

[ Strange says on the line but spends those two minutes cooing and 'whoosa good boy' towards his dragon. It's alright, the mean dhampir isn't swearing at you, you beautiful little boy. ]

Are you finished yet?

[Nope he's swearing at a very good boy's disaster of a dad.]

I am, yes. Anyway, what I was going to say was if I find anyone with that particular skill set, I will inform you.

Thank you.

[ there's an awkward pause before, ]

The dragon's name is Alistair Tourmaline, by the way. He's a very smart boy.

Mm. Good luck. My understanding is that you will need space for him soon.

[Is he stiff and awkward? Sure is!]

Oh, not for another few months at least. And I've got a place near the outskirts of Didymos. That should suffice until he gets too big to live there.

Just don't have it make you into a dragon born for a few years.

[It isn't a joke. Alucard sounds too genuinely concerned.]

I'm not even going to think about bringing up the dragonborn thing until he's an adult.

[ which...means he's going to bring up the dragonborn thing eventually. ]

[He. Knew. It. Strange is absolutely not going to be happy until he's dragon born.

God willing this kid is going to say dad no.]

...Good. I...back to the electricity then, does this mean you have a greater sense of control over it or...?

It does. It also means I can call forth a lightning bolt without falling on my ass.

[ he says, in a slightly teasing tone. ]

Congratulations on mastering the art of standing. I'm sure it was difficult. Where do you intend to progress, with that matter under your belt?

I don't know. I could continue examining this magic, but as I mentioned before, I've got that interest in empathic magic. Maybe I'll let the lightning be for now.

[ the more Alucard talks with Strange, the more apparent it is that the elf's magical sensibilities are 'jack of all trades, master of none.' ]

[That seems like a shitty idea. Alucard makes a soft little annoyed kind of noise, but not his magic. (Still his problem.)]

Well, be sure to return to it every so often. It'd be a shame if you lost the control you worked so hard to refine because of lack of continued exploration.

I don't know if you've noticed, but things try to kill us on a regular basis. [ he sarcastically says in a sarcastic tone. ] I'm certain I'll return to it sooner or later, if only for defense.

No, I hadn't at all. [Dry as the driest wines.]

Don't sleep on it too long then.

[Or really, good luck and don't fuck it up]

I'll call you if I find anything interesting.

[ because Alucard may be an ass, but he's a smart ass (and a smartass), so he's definitely reached 'person who I will bug about magic' tier in Strange's mind. ]

Likewise. Don't be too foolhardy.

[Strange lives up to the surname, in the end. For better, for worse, and ever for the all too curious so far as Alucard can tell.]

this is daud. i was one of the guards for the einjar expedition.

you translated the designs on the glass orb christine found. i've found another with the same design, but this time it wasn't in a corpse.

[ Well, not a corpse that he knows of. Koroc wasn't exactly a bastion of sanity at the end. ]

do you know anything of the kind of magic that might have been used to make something like this?

I recall you, although I don't believe we've had any formal introduction.

Bluntly, it's blood magic. It's not dissimilar to an older tiefling rune alphabet, but the language has since become it's own thing.

I am afraid to ask this, but who had these designs?

it was in the ashes of koroc's body.

[ How and when Koroc became a body, he conveniently leaves out. ]

i don't know if you saw that courier message, but he all but confessed to working with the cult that raised those dead soldiers. seems he replaced anyone who was still loyal to lykos with a thrall.

Is that how the situation has been resolved? Forgive me, I've been stuck in Einjar for a time.

[Which is a much nicer way of saying "I haven't been paying attention" and "there was a lot of drama in Einjar."]

This concerns me on many fronts, although it more or less confirms that the cult stirred up the attack on Krimnos for whatever their goal is. I presume that you're aware of the fact the soldiers who were attacking had vials. Is it known if Koroc had one as well?

i hadn't thought to look for one, but the defender camp will need to be searched. i'll keep an eye out.

speaking of einjar, i take it something happened. that ringing water appeared in the river by the city. it had more or less the effect you'd expect it to. what happened up there?

It's telling either way. Blood magic like that can be used in multiple ways, or Koroc was also dead and re-raised. It begs the question of what is this cult's aim(s) with raising all of the dead that it has and clearly trying to get a war going. I doubt that it's chaos for the sake of chaos.

Yes, well. To begin, a basilisk has been responsible for those in the mountains going missing or else curious statue works appearing. It charged into Einjar as we left. As for the rest, that water was overflowing within the city when we arrived.

If you recall the dragon sightings back in February, then you'll be (dis)pleased to learn that the aforementioned dragon reappeared, and sealed our group in with ice and with the water levels rising for several days.

It is unclear where that dragon has gotten to now.

Naturally, this remains quiet.

the orb seems to have parts made of dragonglass, like our vials. could be related to whatever raised us.

[ Though while the cult's moving in a concerted effort, they clearly aren't ... and don't have much direction. Great. In any case, there'll be a lag of time between that brief response, digesting the rest of what Alucard has to say. ]

naturally.

did you get a good look at the thing and the condition it was in? do you think it was being controlled?

Perhaps. Or perhaps that's simply the most useful material for such work, I'm not sure if correlation is causation in this particular case.]

[Einjar was just a lot, and that's leaving out the personal level of crazy that it inspired too.]

I was not able to on either account, the basilisk for obvious reasons and the dragon because it was attempting to set myself and another aflame at the time.

still, besides the spellwork, the materials and mechanism of the orb must have a source. the tinkers of krimnos might recognize its make. perhaps they were even involved it creating it, without knowing what it was for.

unfortunate about, about the dragon.

[ Though since he said 'attempt,' even not accounting for resurrection, Daud will assume it didn't succeed. He weighs how much to say here, and then abruptly changes tack: ]

what do you know of dragonborn?

I'd be very, very careful about who you ask. I know that there are knights among their ranks, and they might be honorbound to report it to those in charge.

It needs to be destroyed sooner rather than later. I don't trust it has any good intentions.

[Alucard doesn't like dragons on good days. Being trapped in a mountain by one is very much another point against them.]

More than enough to know that question is worrying. Where are they appearing?

sitka seems like he's no stranger to keeping secrets as well. what story have they spun for einjar this time?

to be more accurate, it seems our cultist friends are now in the business of making scaleskin -- transforming people without their consent or the dragon's. an orc afflicted with it was attacking the city, under someone's control. she said they were making more like her, and she had blue scales.

[ Fiven how dragonborn take on characteristics of their dragon, well... he doesn't think he needs to fill in why he was asking about the dragon that attacked the Einjar expedition. ]

At the moment, nothing. My residence is also not within the city itself, so I cannot speak to current rumor.

[TMW you live in the mountains like your crazy vampir dad.]

...Fuck.

that would be a fair description of the state of present affairs, yes. though the cult was unable to install koroc as a king, it's clear they're continuing to have an interest in interfering with the affairs of the living beyond raising the dead. have a care.

[ Contrary to rumor, Daud does have a sense of humor, it's just usually shitty. moving on... ]

was there anything else at einjar? were the kobolds there still?

[He's so glad he's in the mountains right now.]

Maybe having him be king was just one route of many that they chose to take, and his potential loss was factored into their plans all along. Whatever those plans may be. This does, to me, confirm the need to take care of that blue dragon.

[Alucard doesn't know Daud well enough to pick up on the humor, and in discussing dragons and that cult, he never will have any desire to make light of the situation.]

There were. They exited when they did, along with Monty. He seemed...perfectly within reason. A contrast to what you've encountered.

the blue dragon may have gone mad. if so, putting out of its misery would be a kindness.

did the knights attempt to take him in for questioning again?

May isn't even a question anymore. The issue then becomes killing a dragon.

[...mods haven't said as far as i know, soooo:]

Not to my knowledge. But I was occupied with issues brought upon that madness of that ringing.

[ Dragons aren’t affected by the sound, but there’s no way to say that without it then looping around to the question of how he knows that, so... ]

do you intend to search for that blue dragon, then?

There is more immediate aftermath from that expedition that I must attend to within my own household.

I am also sure with the surplus of young dragons now, a simple fact is likely to be taken poorly. I am not the correct person to suggest such a thing.

[Read: Too many people know Alucard's got personal dragon problems and out of his mouth, everything is just bias and bitterness.]

[ Ha ha ha. Yeah ... Daud's not a fan. ]

if previous experience is anything to go by, that cult will force the matter one way or another. they may be content to remain in the shadows for now, but if their ultimate goal is conquest, they'll have to announce themselves and their intentions eventually.

[Welcome to the club, buddy.]

You are doubtlessly correct. Being proactive and preventing that requires an extensive amount of resources and far more people.

or some very resourceful people in the right place.

how did you get out of einjar? the singing waters stopped, but i don't know if that means the curse was broken or not.

I fully expect it is column A and column B.

I don't know if it was fully broken or not either. There was a break in the ice wall that kept everyone trapped in - we all left without questioning why, as that singing water was close to driving everyone to madness.

Survival was the word of the day.

if that's the case, i expect there'll be another expedition to einjar in the future.

Doubtlessly, as I believe the fear is that whatever lies there would spread to Krimnos first before the other cities.

I do not know if I would be so bold as to attempt to join this third adventure.

even the deathless have something to fear.

Edited 2019-06-10 05:58 (UTC)

What, you mean aside from discovery of our natures and the inevitable backlash from it?

i was contemplating the likelihood of being corrupted into some monstrous form, since the cult's gotten such a taste for it.

unless we're useless for the purpose of their rituals.

Oh, our nature already provides some insulation, that's a matter of fact that I've witnessed. What that doesn't disqualify is that either a) they'll find some other way to turn us all into a monstrous form or b) someone else who is responsible for this unwanted resurrection shall do it instead.

Alucard?

[ There's some scuffling in the background, a metallic tink, and a quiet ow followed by some muffled swearing. Somebody hasn't figured out how to work this thing yet. ]

It's Noctis. Remember when I told you I heard Epythimetikon's bones singing? Heard it again. Except not the bones this time.

[ Leave it to Noctis to get straight to the point. No "How have you been?" or "Surprise, I'm not dead!" ]

What was it then, if not the bones?

[Alucard's fine with getting to the point. It's his preferred approach, in all honesty.]

And where have you landed?

...Lake rats? They're ugly and bald and they sing the same song. Would've walked out into the water and drowned if not for my new friend.

[ There's an answering mrow from somewhere close by when he says this. ]

Made it to Atr— [ He catches himself, but he's still not used to the new name. ] The Free City. Do you want your cloak back? It's muddy but it's still in one piece.

....That's good to know. I am roughly in the same area still, the fact that these things are happening at all are of a particular concern to a...[oh. Wait he doesn't have to hesitate there anymore.] my boyfriend.

[It's really one of the first times he's said it to someone who doesn't happen to be Trevor or Sypha.]

I don't think it was mine in the first place, I only found it in the skull. Keep it.

Oh. Cool. Thanks.

[ To be honest, he was reluctant to part with it anyway. He's been spending a lot of time outdoors and having something waterproof to keep him a little dry has been invaluable. ]

He should be worried, and you should be careful. They mess with your head with that song, draw you in before you know what you're doing. I've been— [ He pauses for a second, frowning to himself. ] —trying to clear them out from around the lakeshore. At least near the roads. But they keep coming. Not sure where from.

Of course.

[It wasn't his to give, but well, clearly it has a purpose now, keeping Noctis from getting rain soaked.]

The roads are the ultimate problem. I have a theory with regards to origin, as Tsakál has been responsible for trying to create creatures to help with the flooding, but this hypothesis doesn't feel entirely correct.

I've seen those. Couple of the fishermen down here have stories about being dragged out of the lake by a waterhorse. But why would she make creatures to help rescue people and then make more to try and drown them again?

[ He knows she's capricious, but Alucard's right: it doesn't quite make sense. ]

Epythimetikon's skeleton is upriver from the lake, and I know it wasn't like this before the war. What if the dragon's blood got into the groundwater? Into the river?

[ Not that Noctis would know anything about the myriad ways dragon's blood can poison a living system. Just. You know. A guess. ]

It's always possible that one's intentions can go astray, but that feels like an overly simplistic explanation of what's been happening.

[He hates it, Trevor hates it, Sypha hates it, and they're all very damp. It's not a great look.]

Hm. That's...[Alucard's quiet, then he nods.] Yes, I think that's a worthy avenue of investigation.

It'd explain why the song's the same, anyway.

Don't suppose there's any way to test the water, is there?

[ Other than drinking it and seeing if anybody gets weird. No thanks. ]

There should be. Water and soil analysis would be the most helpful and useful approaches, but then the question becomes that of adequate equipment and appropriate spell work to get reliable results.

...How about water, soil, and one of those rats? A dead one, obviously. I can get you all three.

If it's anything like a century ago, we could probably find what we need for testing in Thalass—uh. Didymos.

[ Still not used to that name, either. ]

It's less obtaining those and more keeping the samples clean that I'm concerned about. I have small ones for water and dirt, I'm not sure I have anything rat sized.

[Also, he's not sure he wants anything rat sized, although the idea of someone leaving a dead rat is like, the least weird thing Alucard's had to deal with in bit.]

We've made our encampment though, and I am loathe to leave it.

In this weather? I'll bet you don't.

[ Nevermind why he's out getting soaked. ~~Mostly just trying not to stay still too long with his thoughts.~~ ]

If you tell me what else you need for testing, I can find it for you. Probably.

Well, I'd rather you not be leaving me dead rats. You're not a cat after all, and plants are just as good and reliable for this as anything else.

Let me double check the components and I'll send a list in a few minutes.

Who wouldn't want the cold corpse of a singing death rat?

[ Said dryly. Yeah, okay, he's aware. ]

Alright, alright. Stay safe and dry in the meantime. Getting weird out there.

Who wouldn't indeed Noctis.

[Thanks buddy.]

It is.

I trust everything else is as well as it can be on your end?

Oh, you know. Just getting used to my new existence as an aimless, rootless walking corpse. What's not to love?

[ It might be raining, but at least he's dry in spirit. ]

If I ever find out who's responsible—

Well. They'd better hope I don't.

Mm. You and I are in absolute agreement on that front. It's...more complicated if the status of revived extends beyond simply yourself.

[ There's a very long pause. ]

Maybe you're right. Lot of dead people laying out there who probably deserve a second chance. Some of them are getting it now.

You've got at least one person you care about with you, yeah? Probably makes you feel a little differently about it.

Mmm. It's the perspective of someone isn't only meddling with your bones, but someone else's. Your dead, who don't need to be dragged into all of this.

[There have been....well, Alucard has always been low key furious about anyone touching Trevor's and Sypha's bones, but he'd be an utter liar if he did not admit that having them back was wonderful now. The real secret fear now was that someone might try the same stunt with Dracula and that? That's a thing to fear.]

Maybe.

[ Not sounding totally convinced here. ]

If you can have them with you again like this, does it matter so much about the details?

[ Maybe not the greatest path of thought to be going down, but he's always been a little selfish in moments of crisis. And right now? He's living his worst nightmare. ]

Some days, I care very, very much. Others, the thought does not occur. To call the matter complicated would be a gross understatement, I'm afraid.

...Might be better not to think too hard about it. We're stuck with it now. Might as well figure out how to live with it.

That's much easier said than done. I think that if I was alone, I'd be far more occupied.

Are you okay for living space?

Psh, not like I'm housing an entire family. One room at the Duke's plenty of space for just me by myself.

Plus, it's easy to pay for. I'll live.

It's worth asking after.

I'll leave you be and let you know what our investigations result in.

Inbox for breathofusir

post long night. audio.

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BUSTED.

RIP.

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audio.

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audio!

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post song of suffering; thought

Re: post song of suffering; thought

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audio | forward dated to the 18th

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ftr I binged castlevania today & that ending broke me but this made it better