[A week goes by. Observing the estate where the stone resides through the viewing mirror gives precious few clues. Whoever is responsible is a vampire. That's the only thing that can be certain, as come nightfall there are shadows visible through the curtains, and sometimes the screams of those who are about to become food instead of respected guests. (Alucard cuts off the viewing mirror the minute he hears them.)
But that is the only thing they have. Exploring the estate leads to more notebooks, which have now piled up in the part of the kitchen that is now the research corner (they could move into the servants' quarters, but none of them have.) Sypha has found enough old research to begin to develop new spells, and hidden away in that bedroom has been one journal of Leon's that never quite made it to the Hold. It's all the beginning signs of turning, and notes on the first horrible attempt to engage the vampire responsible for it.
Alucard's read it once, and only for one reason: to figure out how far the location of Walter's own home was, and how far it is from the estate.
If we fail in this, then we should know how to fight him.
Which was why he and Trevor were walking through the forest now, March closing and a few precious spring flowers under foot. Sypha's spell development was in a whirlwind, which meant not coming along. Alucard didn't like it, but they'd need those spells in the future. Better she do that.
[ It's very strange to see the Forest of Eternal Night in daylight. But then, it hasn't been known by that name for some four centuries, and the sun returned to it when Walter's influence faded.
But clearly it didn't fade entirely. This place isn't protected by the same spells as the estate, no, but it has a similar air to it, driving away everything from travelers to wildlife to wind. It's silent, and that's- probably appropriate, but it's still strange. The place where Dracula had been human is trapped in eternal life, bright and warm and devoid of humans but filled with whatever had been there before, the horses and the dog and the animals and birds that ran wild in the land around it. The place where he had died as a vampire is trapped in the strangest place that it could be and the warmest place that he can imagine, filled with love.
And the place between them, where he had ended and begun, not trapped anywhere by anything and yet deathly silent. ]
The trees bent away from Walter's castle, because it was the source of the darkness. That was how he navigated.
[ He's committed Leon's journals to memory. What else can he do but to keep himself sharp and to learn what he can? The information isn't as useful four hundred years later, with the trees growing used to the sun being in its normal place and growing upward as they ought to instead. But some of them, the oldest, still bend in that strange way. ]
[There are spring buds on all of the trees, which is an advantage. Alucard's eyes go upwards, his eyes seeking strange shapes in the canopy.]
When we find the right path, we'd do well to mark it with notches or some other indicator. Something our eyes will know to look for.
[Should eternal night fall again, they'll have their guideposts. Alucard's dark vision won't require any additional lights, and so there is their advantage.
There is a tree ahead that twists as an angle too severe, like it was growing upright, twisted 60 degrees, and then decided to grow upright again. Alucard puts a foot to the trunk, testing if it is hollow or not, and then scales the trunk of it as if it is the easiest thing in the world.]
A sign post by any other name.
[He'd be happy for the energy here to be different. The forest outside the castle back home is so very alive. He knows the wolf pack well now, the birds, tracks the deer population. Knows when the birds have returned home for the spring. Even during the time of the night hoards, there was terrifying life in the forests that snarled and spat, but it was still life. The forest here, the estate, they are sterile, even as they are bathed in the natural world.
[ Fucking showoff vampire you don't even like trees half as much as Trevor does. ]
Something small. I'd rather not lead anyone here.
[ Foes are perhaps what they should be most concerned about, but he's also concerned about random people wandering into Walter's old castle. It's almost certainly still a dangerous place for the unprepared. ]
Do you see anything from up there? It ought to be a big fucking castle. Presumably inspires thoughts of 'actually I don't like this one, I'm going to leave France and make a better one'.
[ Okay so probably the reason Dracula didn't claim this castle was more more personal (so many bad memories here, if he really did care for Leon and Sara) and also more practical (he'd as good as killed the daughter of the king's cousin. There was no way that could have ended well for anyone if he'd stayed here). But he'd rather not think about that right now, so he's settled on 'it probably didn't meet Dracula's high standards for castles'. ]
Agreed. You know how hunters would approach this, so what would they miss?
[He's careful as he climbs higher, the weight of younger branches starting to groan under his weight. At a certain point, Alucard simply stops, looking further and further into the forest. The thickness of growth does not change, but the way this tree points, it lines up with others that bend just ever so slightly. There's a thin smile of satisfaction.
Good tree. Best tree.]
I don't see the building, but the path is clear. The angle this tree bends at is the correct way to go.
[Alucard doesn't bother climbing down. He leaps, landing neatly on his feet. His coat is appropriately dramatic for the moment as well, and his hand moves to rest atop his sword.]
My expectation is that architecturally what we're looking at would likely have some Roman features, but in comparison would be, in a word, basic.
If you're going to be going about leaping through the treetops, I doubt anyone would think to look there. Otherwise, we make marks not to find our way to the castle itself, but to find the closest of the bent trees.
[ And he chuckles, putting an arm around Alucard's shoulders. ]
Basic. We really are looking for a castle that isn't good enough.
I'll keep that option in mind upon our return. Perhaps we simply need to mark the next tree after this one. This one is painfully obvious.
[Alucard can only elbow back. Gently, but his elbows are still plenty sharp.]
This is a castle that at the most was no longer built onto in the 11th century. Architecture continued to evolve, that is all I meant by the statement. [Okay no it wasn't, and he can hear that unspoken word Belmont.
So now he's going to be an asshole about it.]
You know at this point, I might as well start fussing about sharing titles with you both.
Most people don't look at a castle and go 'goodness, what an unworthy castle'!
[ The laughing helps, flooding through the silence of the forest. Perhaps he should be concerned about the sound making it easy to find them, but in the silence even Alucard's light footfall would be sound enough for that. This is better than the quiet. Somehow he doubts there's been any laughter here in a long time. ]
Well I can't exactly be consort to a better vampire, now can I? Most have the good sense not to keep a Belmont around.
People who understand how buildings work can venture upon critique.
[It is said with such sulleness, such grump, that it's hard to believe that the vampire is serious. Except the vampire is serious, which makes the whole thing funnier.
Perhaps, the vampire thinks as they keep going through the forest, that's the better approach. The last time members of their families came this way, it was with grim seriousness. Such a stupid way to avoid being their fathers, and yet.
And this other branch of the conversation. That wouldn't have happened either. Not with these words, even if the affection was close.]
Please, what vampire have you known to have good sense to begin with, you being mine or not?
[ There aren't many vampires he's run into who at least had the sense to not start shit when there's someone around carrying a thing called a Vampire Killer. ]
[The ugh that's on Alucard's lips stops at the word mine. There's just a smile there now, and if it was possible to lean any more into Trevor without knocking him over, Alucard would. As it stands, he can only make sure Trevor sees the look on his face.]
[ It's harder to walk, like this, but the extra effort is worth it. The spring air, even in the eerie quiet, is a welcome break from the endless summer of the estate, and it's hard to be overly concerned with the silence with Alucard leaning into him. It's safe. Pleasant. Like when they collect berries and Alucard carries that ridiculous little basket with him.
The next tree is bent at a sharper angle, almost growing horizontally for a little while, and while the castle isn't yet visible from the ground there's a definite presence that can be felt. ]
I think you'll get your chance to venture upon critique soon enough.
[They don't know if there's a deadline for this work yet. Sypha has a theory or two (the Eve of St. George's Day? It's said to be a day for the evil spirits to pass into our world), and maybe they shouldn't be walking like this through the forest. Hell, they barely walk like this back home. So maybe that says something about what the past few days and weeks worth of revelations have resulted in. Stitching them all closer together out of some stubborn defiance.
That next tree does prompt Alucard to straight up just a hair though. His eyes follow the angle of the tree and he nods.]
Within the next quarter mile.
[He nudges Trevor gently. This must be put on pause, as much as neither of them will like it.]
[ Concussions make Trevor clingy. It's been a lot, and among all the concerns of becoming what was before, there's the knowledge that this could easily end as tragically as it did then. He pauses for just a moment, long enough to pull Alucard closer before letting go. He lets his knuckles brush against Alucard's as they walk, but nothing more.
The trees become more sparse as the castle becomes visible, and the oldest of them bend away from it at ninety degrees before growing upwards once again. And it's- fairly normal, all things considered. Not an unimpressive castle, at least as far as he's concerned. But nothing to signify that it might be terrible in the same way as Dracula's. ]
Would you rather get your comments on the architecture out of the way now, or share them as we go through?
[That last moment is everything. If this all goes to hell (it could so quickly go to hell), those little things will be all there ever were. All the more reason to indulge the impulses now, even when the timing feels ridiculous and inappropriate for the situation's gravity.
Alucard's ice cold sobriety returns with every step, until his usual demeanor is back when they reach the end of the forest. He'll call the place the forest of Eternal Silence for now, and perhaps that name shall stick in the future.
The edifice that greets them is normal. Uninteresting. And so all Alucard says as he begins to cross over to the door comes with a terrible smug look.]
[ The door opens. There's no resistance, nothing like the defenses of the castle. That, at least, he knows to be deliberate. Walter wanted visitors. He thrived upon them. ]
There ought to be a staircase leading downward, at first.
[ They have maps of the place. One theoretical, made by Mathias based upon intelligence gathered from outside. The second is from Leon's journals at the hold, a working map made for himself when he explored it - more reliable but less complete. He nods when he sees the staircase - this place isn't living. Isn't rearranging itself the way Dracula's castle was known to be capable of. That, at least, is a relief. ]
Leon said there was- something down there. Didn't say what, he just didn't like it. Through here, there'll be corridors into the inner parts of the castle.
[There's no reason for a defense. The owner is long dead, and this place so very abandoned. Dust has settled on the interior. Four centuries worth, and as Alucard walks in, the pathway he makes is reflected in that dust.
Leon's journals, the ones here, they were the only guide to go on. Trevor's their strategist, which means everything in those journals has been commited to memory. (They'll be brought to the Hold when all is said and done, to rejoin their siblings. No silver bindings though.)]
Ahead, just to your left.
[There's no windows here. It's the castle of a vampire, why should there be? Alucard moves in that direction, aware his superior eyesight is key here.]
Something down there is probably long dead. We should confirm that, or else destroy what still lives.
[ His hand touches the Morning Star delicately, just for a moment, to be certain he's ready. Whatever is down there, it drove fear into Leon far more than Walter, or anything other than Sara's injury and turning, ever had.
He's not quite certain they're ready for that. But they have to at least know. ]
Downstairs. There might be torches on the way down, it seems like it would be appropriate for the tone.
[By tone Alucard means over dramatic. It was the one word he kept thinking over and over again in reading research beyond Leon's notes, and here, it was an asset.
The downstairs steps are too easily found. Alucard descends the first several, his hand tracing over the wall. Dirt gathers on his gloves, but more importantly, he does fined a torch. He takes it in hand, fiddles for a few moments, and it is lit. (God he misses Sypha.)]
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cryptsleeper) wrote2018-11-10 11:26 pm
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But that is the only thing they have. Exploring the estate leads to more notebooks, which have now piled up in the part of the kitchen that is now the research corner (they could move into the servants' quarters, but none of them have.) Sypha has found enough old research to begin to develop new spells, and hidden away in that bedroom has been one journal of Leon's that never quite made it to the Hold. It's all the beginning signs of turning, and notes on the first horrible attempt to engage the vampire responsible for it.
Alucard's read it once, and only for one reason: to figure out how far the location of Walter's own home was, and how far it is from the estate.
If we fail in this, then we should know how to fight him.
Which was why he and Trevor were walking through the forest now, March closing and a few precious spring flowers under foot. Sypha's spell development was in a whirlwind, which meant not coming along. Alucard didn't like it, but they'd need those spells in the future. Better she do that.
The forest is too quiet. He hates it.]
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But clearly it didn't fade entirely. This place isn't protected by the same spells as the estate, no, but it has a similar air to it, driving away everything from travelers to wildlife to wind. It's silent, and that's- probably appropriate, but it's still strange. The place where Dracula had been human is trapped in eternal life, bright and warm and devoid of humans but filled with whatever had been there before, the horses and the dog and the animals and birds that ran wild in the land around it. The place where he had died as a vampire is trapped in the strangest place that it could be and the warmest place that he can imagine, filled with love.
And the place between them, where he had ended and begun, not trapped anywhere by anything and yet deathly silent. ]
The trees bent away from Walter's castle, because it was the source of the darkness. That was how he navigated.
[ He's committed Leon's journals to memory. What else can he do but to keep himself sharp and to learn what he can? The information isn't as useful four hundred years later, with the trees growing used to the sun being in its normal place and growing upward as they ought to instead. But some of them, the oldest, still bend in that strange way. ]
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When we find the right path, we'd do well to mark it with notches or some other indicator. Something our eyes will know to look for.
[Should eternal night fall again, they'll have their guideposts. Alucard's dark vision won't require any additional lights, and so there is their advantage.
There is a tree ahead that twists as an angle too severe, like it was growing upright, twisted 60 degrees, and then decided to grow upright again. Alucard puts a foot to the trunk, testing if it is hollow or not, and then scales the trunk of it as if it is the easiest thing in the world.]
A sign post by any other name.
[He'd be happy for the energy here to be different. The forest outside the castle back home is so very alive. He knows the wolf pack well now, the birds, tracks the deer population. Knows when the birds have returned home for the spring. Even during the time of the night hoards, there was terrifying life in the forests that snarled and spat, but it was still life. The forest here, the estate, they are sterile, even as they are bathed in the natural world.
It should not be.]
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Something small. I'd rather not lead anyone here.
[ Foes are perhaps what they should be most concerned about, but he's also concerned about random people wandering into Walter's old castle. It's almost certainly still a dangerous place for the unprepared. ]
Do you see anything from up there? It ought to be a big fucking castle. Presumably inspires thoughts of 'actually I don't like this one, I'm going to leave France and make a better one'.
[ Okay so probably the reason Dracula didn't claim this castle was more more personal (so many bad memories here, if he really did care for Leon and Sara) and also more practical (he'd as good as killed the daughter of the king's cousin. There was no way that could have ended well for anyone if he'd stayed here). But he'd rather not think about that right now, so he's settled on 'it probably didn't meet Dracula's high standards for castles'. ]
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[He's careful as he climbs higher, the weight of younger branches starting to groan under his weight. At a certain point, Alucard simply stops, looking further and further into the forest. The thickness of growth does not change, but the way this tree points, it lines up with others that bend just ever so slightly. There's a thin smile of satisfaction.
Good tree. Best tree.]
I don't see the building, but the path is clear. The angle this tree bends at is the correct way to go.
[Alucard doesn't bother climbing down. He leaps, landing neatly on his feet. His coat is appropriately dramatic for the moment as well, and his hand moves to rest atop his sword.]
My expectation is that architecturally what we're looking at would likely have some Roman features, but in comparison would be, in a word, basic.
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If you're going to be going about leaping through the treetops, I doubt anyone would think to look there. Otherwise, we make marks not to find our way to the castle itself, but to find the closest of the bent trees.
[ And he chuckles, putting an arm around Alucard's shoulders. ]
Basic. We really are looking for a castle that isn't good enough.
[ PRINCELING. ]
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[Alucard can only elbow back. Gently, but his elbows are still plenty sharp.]
This is a castle that at the most was no longer built onto in the 11th century. Architecture continued to evolve, that is all I meant by the statement. [Okay no it wasn't, and he can hear that unspoken word Belmont.
So now he's going to be an asshole about it.]
You know at this point, I might as well start fussing about sharing titles with you both.
[This is 200% a threat to lighten the mood only.-
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[ Wow rude. He's perfectly fine with having had all his titles stripped away. Literally the only part of that situation he's okay with. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to the Worst Vampire in Europe'. I can live with that.
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{THIS IS 200% PURE DAD RIGHT NOW it cannot be helped
And that comment, strangely enough, just gets an all too pleased laugh.]
You're only content with that because it involves mocking me in the process.
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[ The laughing helps, flooding through the silence of the forest. Perhaps he should be concerned about the sound making it easy to find them, but in the silence even Alucard's light footfall would be sound enough for that. This is better than the quiet. Somehow he doubts there's been any laughter here in a long time. ]
Well I can't exactly be consort to a better vampire, now can I? Most have the good sense not to keep a Belmont around.
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[It is said with such sulleness, such grump, that it's hard to believe that the vampire is serious. Except the vampire is serious, which makes the whole thing funnier.
Perhaps, the vampire thinks as they keep going through the forest, that's the better approach. The last time members of their families came this way, it was with grim seriousness. Such a stupid way to avoid being their fathers, and yet.
And this other branch of the conversation. That wouldn't have happened either. Not with these words, even if the affection was close.]
Please, what vampire have you known to have good sense to begin with, you being mine or not?
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[ There aren't many vampires he's run into who at least had the sense to not start shit when there's someone around carrying a thing called a Vampire Killer. ]
What title would you prefer, then?
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[There's a soft sigh of consideration. Titles are pointless with the three of them, aren't they? Which makes the answer easy to produce.]
Yours and hers. Nothing else at all.
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[ He already has an arm around Alucard's shoulders, so he pulls him closer and grins. ]
'Trevor Belmont, Consort to Yours and Hers'. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but I can work with it.
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The word consort is what makes it all too strange sounding. Never liked the word, it doesn't imply a sense of equality.
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[ He laughs at himself, remembering how little Alucard cares for that particular title, and squeezes his shoulder. ]
Mine.
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Always.
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The next tree is bent at a sharper angle, almost growing horizontally for a little while, and while the castle isn't yet visible from the ground there's a definite presence that can be felt. ]
I think you'll get your chance to venture upon critique soon enough.
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That next tree does prompt Alucard to straight up just a hair though. His eyes follow the angle of the tree and he nods.]
Within the next quarter mile.
[He nudges Trevor gently. This must be put on pause, as much as neither of them will like it.]
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Concussions make Trevor clingy. It's been a lot, and among all the concerns of becoming what was before, there's the knowledge that this could easily end as tragically as it did then. He pauses for just a moment, long enough to pull Alucard closer before letting go. He lets his knuckles brush against Alucard's as they walk, but nothing more.The trees become more sparse as the castle becomes visible, and the oldest of them bend away from it at ninety degrees before growing upwards once again. And it's- fairly normal, all things considered. Not an unimpressive castle, at least as far as he's concerned. But nothing to signify that it might be terrible in the same way as Dracula's. ]
Would you rather get your comments on the architecture out of the way now, or share them as we go through?
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Alucard's ice cold sobriety returns with every step, until his usual demeanor is back when they reach the end of the forest. He'll call the place the forest of Eternal Silence for now, and perhaps that name shall stick in the future.
The edifice that greets them is normal. Uninteresting. And so all Alucard says as he begins to cross over to the door comes with a terrible smug look.]
As I said before. It looks basic.
[And like that, he's at the door.]
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There ought to be a staircase leading downward, at first.
[ They have maps of the place. One theoretical, made by Mathias based upon intelligence gathered from outside. The second is from Leon's journals at the hold, a working map made for himself when he explored it - more reliable but less complete. He nods when he sees the staircase - this place isn't living. Isn't rearranging itself the way Dracula's castle was known to be capable of. That, at least, is a relief. ]
Leon said there was- something down there. Didn't say what, he just didn't like it. Through here, there'll be corridors into the inner parts of the castle.
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Leon's journals, the ones here, they were the only guide to go on. Trevor's their strategist, which means everything in those journals has been commited to memory. (They'll be brought to the Hold when all is said and done, to rejoin their siblings. No silver bindings though.)]
Ahead, just to your left.
[There's no windows here. It's the castle of a vampire, why should there be? Alucard moves in that direction, aware his superior eyesight is key here.]
Something down there is probably long dead. We should confirm that, or else destroy what still lives.
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He's not quite certain they're ready for that. But they have to at least know. ]
Downstairs first, then?
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[By tone Alucard means over dramatic. It was the one word he kept thinking over and over again in reading research beyond Leon's notes, and here, it was an asset.
The downstairs steps are too easily found. Alucard descends the first several, his hand tracing over the wall. Dirt gathers on his gloves, but more importantly, he does fined a torch. He takes it in hand, fiddles for a few moments, and it is lit. (God he misses Sypha.)]
It's steeper than it looks.
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tmw ur a brit but ur spellcheck is american and you have to use the word 'theatre' 700 times
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