Kerštas (Part 3)

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The Role-playing Scientists

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Kerštas (Part 3)

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Tairais

Tairais

@Amuulzhaan 2 years ago

(( Way hee. Helen and Lewis are chilling in the library, Huxley's getting Elias, and Char's wondering if he's going to regret this or not. ))

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chatterghosts • 2 years ago

There were several minutes of waiting to be had before the comfortable silence was disrupted by hard footsteps on the stairs, followed by its more sluggish partner: Huxley, who was smiling broadly as ever; and then Elias, who scrubbed at his eyes and looked for all the world as if he’d just woken up and subsequently radiated ’I did not want to come downstairs’. The two of them came to a stop in front of Char, Huxley tilting his head toward Elias and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I figured you could explain the get-down better than me. Grumpy here wasn’t, uh, wasn’t exactly eager to get out of bed,” Huxley said, looking as amused as ever.

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

"Simple: I know how ta find the two that... happened Artemis, an' I fully intend ta help the lot o' ya get rid o' em, since I cannae myself. Lewis'n Helen're takin' care o' researching how best ta deal with them in the library, an' I'm aboutta head out ta find some information o' my own. Extra hands'n eyes are always appreciated, butcha can join up with either group."

Charricthran placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head as he waited for an answer from one or both of them.

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

Huxley was rather intently focused on Elias’ expression, which was a drawn blend of hurt, surprise, and something unreadable. When it settled (after several seconds of no response whatsoever), he appeared...determined, to say the least. “What can I do to help you?”

Huxley seemed to relax at that, a wider smile plucking at the corners of his face. “Thank f*ck.”

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

The corners of Charricthran's smile twitched upward for a half second as he dipped his head in a nod.

"If ya feel like roamin' London with me an' findin' a book, ya can hoof it with me. Elsewise, hoppin' up ta the library ta figure out the best way ta kill 'em's best, since it'll be your lot against theirs an' I dinnae ken much about that- normally speakin', could jus' brute force a tango with'm, as it is, this ain't so, see?"

He chuckled and rolled his shoulders in a lazy sort of half-shrug.

"Your call, yeah? Yours as well." He added to Huxley.

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

“I’ll go with you,” Elias returned quickly. He then cast his gaze toward Huxley, brows knitting closer indistinctly. “Uh...and you... Huxley?”

Huxley’s grin in response was all too eager, and he made a sweeping gesture with his hands to indicate the area — and the journey, perhaps — ahead. “It’s a ‘wherever you go’ sorta thing. Travel-buddies!”

Elias visibly deflated, reassuming his bitterly annoyed and weary expression. “Ah. Wonderful.”

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

Charricthran chuckled and pushed off the wall he was leaning on.

"The more the merrier, then! C'mon, ain't too terribly far of a walk."

Turning on his heel, he whirled out of the Society and led the pair of them down a series of alleyways and streets, the afternoon air soon turning to evening with winter's watchful sigh.

In time, they arrived at a decrepit warehouse, whose roof appeared as if it might fall in at any moment.

Charricthran slowed to a halt outside a jagged hole in the wall that he seemed to be intending to use as their entrance.

"Keep your eyes peeled, if ya would. Somethin' feels.. twitchy-off 'bout the place."

With little more than that foreboding warning, Charricthran ducked inside, swallowed by the darkness within.

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

Elias and Huxley both hurried after — the former’s expression was drawn, nervous, where the latter’s kept an even, natural smile.

Both could sense the strange, looming feelings of dread around them.

Both packed tighter together, and neither chose to acknowledge it.

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Tairais  chatterghosts • 2 years ago

The warehouse was empty.

Charricthran looked around with a frown, unease prickling down his spine.

The heavy air abated after a few moments, but wariness clung to him like a handful of cobwebs, spun like smoke.

"Odd. Could've sworn..."

He shook his head and chuckled ruefully.

"Nevermind. 'Spose it wasn't anythin' after all. Which is good! Be a sight concernin' if it wasn't, really don' need anythin' else happenin' ta anyone else."

It was a simple matter of retracing his footsteps after that. The book was still where Richard had left it, the first domino to have fallen. The body was long gone, faded to dust and rot in the darkness.

He stopped just short of it, magic sparking and snapping across his chest.

Figured.

"Y'know, this whole thing would've been avoided had Ricky-boy just stopped ta think a bit. He panicked an' ended up killin' the investigator Hannibal an' Will hired ta find the weak spots in his armor."

He tilted his head in curiosity and sighed.

"One o' ya are gonna have ta pick that up an' read it."

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chatterghosts  Tairais • 2 years ago

Elias was immediate to oblige despite Huxley’s attempt to snatch him by the arm — he pressed forward, determined, scooping up the book and cracking it open impatiently.

Huxley gave a faint shudder, on edge despite himself as the heavy weight of magic bore down around them. “What is it?”

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Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

"So...a vampire and a wendigo," remarked Lewis as he and Helen entered the library. "This dimension never ceases to surprise me."

((Helen Jekyll ))

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Nyx Silverfang  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago • edited

((Welp, this is what I get for trying to have two tabs open, with a different profile on each. XD))

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Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago • edited

"The vampire isn't too much of a surprise, as we've a few were-creatures here, but I'll admit I wasn't expecting a wendigo," returned Helen, looking over the shelves of books fondly, "I thought --more hoped, really-- that those were truly just myths."

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Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll • 2 years ago

"Indeed," concurred Lewis as he went to a particular shelf.

"I wonder if this Will Graham descends from tribes of the frozen north who gave us the very word 'wendigo', or was bitten by such a creature as some people are said to be by werewolves, or both, or something else entirely."

He gathered up several books on the indigenous peoples of northern North America and their myths, legends, and other stories.

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Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

"That's certainly a good question," Helen agreed, "After all, there may be different breeds of wendigo, if origin is a factor."

"I don't suppose you've a description of the man-- er, creature, that is," She corrected, "It could help separate some facts from fiction."

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Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll • 2 years ago • edited

"Not physically, no. I arrived not only too late to save Artemis, but to catch sight of either of his murderers. I did sense them in the woods beyond, but I can't say what either one looked like. I do know Charricthran told me they were both faster than he. And I know their scents because I rifled through their clothes before I burned them."

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Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

At a loss for words for a moment, she gently touched his arm.

"Well, perhaps we can ask for a description... Does that include being faster than the sort of shadow travel he can do? I can't imagine anything beating that sort of teleportation."

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Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll • 2 years ago • edited

Appreciative of the gesture, he laid his hand upon hers.

A gentle breath escaped him as images of that fateful night flashed by in his mind.

At last breaking the contact, he answered her question.

"I don't believe he meant the shadow-stepping, though it never hurts to double-check. I can ask him about their physical descriptions as well, though I do understand they can pass for human. I don't know if they have other forms or no..."

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Helen Jekyll  Jekyll1886 • 2 years ago

She nodded and offered a smile. "More information would be useful, but perhaps for now we should simply take notes? You've a decent handful of books there."

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Jekyll1886  Helen Jekyll • 2 years ago

"True," he said, and handed her half the stack.

They set to work searching for anything in any of the stories that resembled a wendigo.

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