01-13-2017, 03:31 PM
It was almost ironic that Harlan had come back after Malon had left, their positions reversed just like that. And Malon was not aware in the least of the brewing battle... quite the opposite, she was simply hoping that Anderson had recovered and that those other people were also doing better and getting along. What would she say if she came back to see the situation as it was now?
Well, thanks to the strange forces governing the Omniverse, while a pair of minutes was all that had passed in the vicinity of the fountain, Malon had traveled for over an hour and was now approaching what she presumed to be where the guardsmen had come from. It was a... a door of some sort. A big gate with swirling energies, and a pair of guardsmen in the same uniforms as the ones she had met, standing guard. When they noticed her approaching they visibly tensed up and raised their weapons, once she then got into the range of their crossbows one of the guards shouted: "Halt!" and Malon obliged. Her heart was pounding out of a sudden... this was it, now. She could not afford to do a wrong move or say the wrong thing or she would have her body pierced by a bolt in an instant. She stopped the horse and raised her hands to her sides, to show she was unarmed. The guards, visibly surprised that a Prime was actually following their orders, eyed each other, then one of them walked closer, his spear at the ready. "You have several crossbows trained on you, girl. If we so much as suspect a wrong move you'll be dead where you sit."
"Yes... yes sir. But please... I came to tell you something."
"Why are you sitting on a Camelot horse?" asked the guardsman, now with the speartip against Malon's chest. Only then did he notice the body and gasped. He pressed harder and Malon nearly fell backwards. "And WHAT is Heinz doing there?! Speak!"
"I... he was killed. He's dead... a, a vampire did it. Please, check the body. There's bite marks on his neck."
"Why did you kill him?" the man asked coldly.
Malon shook her head but took care not to lower her arms. "I didn't! It wasn't me! It was a man, I can describe him to you! Please, I don't want to..." Suddenly she remembered the words that she'd pondered on her way here. "W-why would I bring his body here, and ride his horse, to you, if it was me who killed him?"
"Maybe you DID kill him and you're doing all that to make us think it wasn't you. You're not fooling anyone, Prime", the guard snarled.
She had not considered that... then again, a real killer may have done just that. "I could just have fled the scene... nobody would have ever known it was me, if I killed them."
"Them?" the guard asked. The other man added: "Yeah, Heinz wasn't alone on the trip. He had, uh... oh right, Ulf, accompaigning him."
"Right. Then tell us, where's Ulf? And what about his horse?"
"The vampire that... that bit the man I brought to you... he also killed the other man. He used a... a small item, made of metal I think, he pointed it at the man, there was a loud blast and... his chest burst open and spilled blood everywhere. He - the vampire I mean, he also stole the other horse. He went very close and said something, I think, and it bucked and threw its rider off. I think it was the one that also got bitten."
The guardsman pointing his spear at her grunted and withdrew the weapon a bit. "Get off the horse, nice and slow."
"Okay... I just need to move my hands down to hold onto the saddle while I dismount, okay? I'll move my legs now, to get over the side... and I'll jump now." By describing her actions like that she ensured that the guardsmen had no surprises. As soon as she was down the man with the spear stepped closer and stuck a gloved finger between her lips. She mmph'ed with widened eyes at the sudden invasion, but he withdrew his finger after just a pair of seconds, having bared her lips and checked. "No fangs. Either she's good at morphing her body or she's telling the truth." He put the spear aside and pulled out a dagger. "Your backpack."
"Okay... I'll need to move my arms to get it off, but... please be careful, my sickles are on the side. They're sharp." She removed the backpack as instructed and hoped that they would not keep it. Not that there was a lot in it, but there were a few personal items that she cared about, and useful items that she could not afford to lose, including her provisions. The guard however just tossed it to his friend, who went through the contents, then handed it back with a shrug. It was put down near her, but she was not told to pick it up and she wanted to avoid moving. Her life was still hanging by a thread.
"You say that the vampire had a metallic item that made a blast. Describe that."
"I'm... not sure how to. It was... small, maybe twice the size of my palm. Very dark-colored... with this long piece that he pointed at the other man. I think there was also a little explosion at the tip of it when it made the blast."
"Did he hold it with both hands, with just one?"
"Oh. Just in one hand. Kind of weird, his finger was through this strange loop now that I think of it."
"Sounds like a pistol alright... okay, then let's say that you are speaking the truth and that this man really exists. What did he look like?"
"Uh... let's see. He looked kinda young, older than me though, with very smooth skin and a little pale. He was... about as tall as you Sir. And he had round ears, I remember that distinctly."
"Human ears then."
"Hey, I'm a human too", protested Malon. "But I don't have round ears, they just grew this way as they do for all Hylians. Anyway, uh... his hair was also black, like really black and kept short."
"What about his clothing?"
"That was really odd. He wore a black jacket of sorts with a white shirt underneath that, and a... something around his neck that went beneath the white shirt's collar, and then hung on his chest. And black pants, and very shiny shoes... oh, and a black hat with a round top. But everything looked very, uh... impractical for manual work, it was very fine craftsmanship."
"Sounds like someone from more modern times... if he had a pistol that'd make sense. Any special traits that you noticed?"
"Er... he did speak in a very weird accent. 'Yer far away from 'ome, is that roight?' Something like that. And physically... he had no beard and no scars, but his nose looked like it's been broken before. And his skin was a little pale, like I said. He also had kinda yellow teeth but he didn't show them much even when smiling."
"Guess he was hiding his fangs from you. Did he mention a name?"
"No... he never introduced himself. I have no idea... sorry."
"Well, it ought to be sufficient to put out a wanted poster. Oi, Jasper, did you jot everything down?"
"Yeah I did. Sounds like one of Dracula's underlings alright, but we don't have any reports of vampires matching that description."
"And you say he killed two Camelot guards and stole a horse, is that about right?"
"Yes, exactly. I don't know why he left me alive either... he was behaving in a nice manner until those two men came. He just... turned around completely."
"Heh. Anycase... we'll go back to check on Ulf, see if your story adds up. We didn't find any gun in your backpack and you don't smell of gunpowder either... and you don't have any fangs, so you're probably telling us the truth."
"O-okay... can I accompaign you? There are other people there that I want to return to. Near the big fountain I mean. Or I guess it's not a fountain anymore... it turned into a big hourglass."
"You're coming along one way or another, lady. We'll check your words... and if it turns out you were lying we'll just have to arrest you. Or maybe banish you. We'll see." The way that he said "banish" made Malon shudder involuntarily. That didn't sound like something good. After some fifteen minutes a group of six guards came out of the gate, all of them riding horses, wearing knight armor and equipped with swords and spears. A fully-fledged raiding force. The guardsman that had held her pulled the corpse off the horse as they gathered around them and spoke: "You go in the middle. Remember that we don't like sudden moves... you're allowed to ride your horse, and we'll bring your backpack along. If you told the truth then we'll give it back with an apology. Otherwise... well, you won't be needing it where you'll go."
Malon nodded and climbed into the saddle, feeling much calmer now. She WAS telling the truth after all... and Anderson would ensure that nobody moved the body, right? She had told him about the situation, he would surely understand the importance of not tampering with the evidence. Surrounded by seven mounted Camelot soldiers she also felt much safer... the vampire would not be able to go up against six of them. Two he had caught by surprise, but those were six and they were well armed. Plus she could warn them if she saw him anywhere.
With these thoughts drifting through her mind, putting her at ease, she matched the speed of the horses around her and embarked on her return trip to the Nexus and the people there.
Well, thanks to the strange forces governing the Omniverse, while a pair of minutes was all that had passed in the vicinity of the fountain, Malon had traveled for over an hour and was now approaching what she presumed to be where the guardsmen had come from. It was a... a door of some sort. A big gate with swirling energies, and a pair of guardsmen in the same uniforms as the ones she had met, standing guard. When they noticed her approaching they visibly tensed up and raised their weapons, once she then got into the range of their crossbows one of the guards shouted: "Halt!" and Malon obliged. Her heart was pounding out of a sudden... this was it, now. She could not afford to do a wrong move or say the wrong thing or she would have her body pierced by a bolt in an instant. She stopped the horse and raised her hands to her sides, to show she was unarmed. The guards, visibly surprised that a Prime was actually following their orders, eyed each other, then one of them walked closer, his spear at the ready. "You have several crossbows trained on you, girl. If we so much as suspect a wrong move you'll be dead where you sit."
"Yes... yes sir. But please... I came to tell you something."
"Why are you sitting on a Camelot horse?" asked the guardsman, now with the speartip against Malon's chest. Only then did he notice the body and gasped. He pressed harder and Malon nearly fell backwards. "And WHAT is Heinz doing there?! Speak!"
"I... he was killed. He's dead... a, a vampire did it. Please, check the body. There's bite marks on his neck."
"Why did you kill him?" the man asked coldly.
Malon shook her head but took care not to lower her arms. "I didn't! It wasn't me! It was a man, I can describe him to you! Please, I don't want to..." Suddenly she remembered the words that she'd pondered on her way here. "W-why would I bring his body here, and ride his horse, to you, if it was me who killed him?"
"Maybe you DID kill him and you're doing all that to make us think it wasn't you. You're not fooling anyone, Prime", the guard snarled.
She had not considered that... then again, a real killer may have done just that. "I could just have fled the scene... nobody would have ever known it was me, if I killed them."
"Them?" the guard asked. The other man added: "Yeah, Heinz wasn't alone on the trip. He had, uh... oh right, Ulf, accompaigning him."
"Right. Then tell us, where's Ulf? And what about his horse?"
"The vampire that... that bit the man I brought to you... he also killed the other man. He used a... a small item, made of metal I think, he pointed it at the man, there was a loud blast and... his chest burst open and spilled blood everywhere. He - the vampire I mean, he also stole the other horse. He went very close and said something, I think, and it bucked and threw its rider off. I think it was the one that also got bitten."
The guardsman pointing his spear at her grunted and withdrew the weapon a bit. "Get off the horse, nice and slow."
"Okay... I just need to move my hands down to hold onto the saddle while I dismount, okay? I'll move my legs now, to get over the side... and I'll jump now." By describing her actions like that she ensured that the guardsmen had no surprises. As soon as she was down the man with the spear stepped closer and stuck a gloved finger between her lips. She mmph'ed with widened eyes at the sudden invasion, but he withdrew his finger after just a pair of seconds, having bared her lips and checked. "No fangs. Either she's good at morphing her body or she's telling the truth." He put the spear aside and pulled out a dagger. "Your backpack."
"Okay... I'll need to move my arms to get it off, but... please be careful, my sickles are on the side. They're sharp." She removed the backpack as instructed and hoped that they would not keep it. Not that there was a lot in it, but there were a few personal items that she cared about, and useful items that she could not afford to lose, including her provisions. The guard however just tossed it to his friend, who went through the contents, then handed it back with a shrug. It was put down near her, but she was not told to pick it up and she wanted to avoid moving. Her life was still hanging by a thread.
"You say that the vampire had a metallic item that made a blast. Describe that."
"I'm... not sure how to. It was... small, maybe twice the size of my palm. Very dark-colored... with this long piece that he pointed at the other man. I think there was also a little explosion at the tip of it when it made the blast."
"Did he hold it with both hands, with just one?"
"Oh. Just in one hand. Kind of weird, his finger was through this strange loop now that I think of it."
"Sounds like a pistol alright... okay, then let's say that you are speaking the truth and that this man really exists. What did he look like?"
"Uh... let's see. He looked kinda young, older than me though, with very smooth skin and a little pale. He was... about as tall as you Sir. And he had round ears, I remember that distinctly."
"Human ears then."
"Hey, I'm a human too", protested Malon. "But I don't have round ears, they just grew this way as they do for all Hylians. Anyway, uh... his hair was also black, like really black and kept short."
"What about his clothing?"
"That was really odd. He wore a black jacket of sorts with a white shirt underneath that, and a... something around his neck that went beneath the white shirt's collar, and then hung on his chest. And black pants, and very shiny shoes... oh, and a black hat with a round top. But everything looked very, uh... impractical for manual work, it was very fine craftsmanship."
"Sounds like someone from more modern times... if he had a pistol that'd make sense. Any special traits that you noticed?"
"Er... he did speak in a very weird accent. 'Yer far away from 'ome, is that roight?' Something like that. And physically... he had no beard and no scars, but his nose looked like it's been broken before. And his skin was a little pale, like I said. He also had kinda yellow teeth but he didn't show them much even when smiling."
"Guess he was hiding his fangs from you. Did he mention a name?"
"No... he never introduced himself. I have no idea... sorry."
"Well, it ought to be sufficient to put out a wanted poster. Oi, Jasper, did you jot everything down?"
"Yeah I did. Sounds like one of Dracula's underlings alright, but we don't have any reports of vampires matching that description."
"And you say he killed two Camelot guards and stole a horse, is that about right?"
"Yes, exactly. I don't know why he left me alive either... he was behaving in a nice manner until those two men came. He just... turned around completely."
"Heh. Anycase... we'll go back to check on Ulf, see if your story adds up. We didn't find any gun in your backpack and you don't smell of gunpowder either... and you don't have any fangs, so you're probably telling us the truth."
"O-okay... can I accompaign you? There are other people there that I want to return to. Near the big fountain I mean. Or I guess it's not a fountain anymore... it turned into a big hourglass."
"You're coming along one way or another, lady. We'll check your words... and if it turns out you were lying we'll just have to arrest you. Or maybe banish you. We'll see." The way that he said "banish" made Malon shudder involuntarily. That didn't sound like something good. After some fifteen minutes a group of six guards came out of the gate, all of them riding horses, wearing knight armor and equipped with swords and spears. A fully-fledged raiding force. The guardsman that had held her pulled the corpse off the horse as they gathered around them and spoke: "You go in the middle. Remember that we don't like sudden moves... you're allowed to ride your horse, and we'll bring your backpack along. If you told the truth then we'll give it back with an apology. Otherwise... well, you won't be needing it where you'll go."
Malon nodded and climbed into the saddle, feeling much calmer now. She WAS telling the truth after all... and Anderson would ensure that nobody moved the body, right? She had told him about the situation, he would surely understand the importance of not tampering with the evidence. Surrounded by seven mounted Camelot soldiers she also felt much safer... the vampire would not be able to go up against six of them. Two he had caught by surprise, but those were six and they were well armed. Plus she could warn them if she saw him anywhere.
With these thoughts drifting through her mind, putting her at ease, she matched the speed of the horses around her and embarked on her return trip to the Nexus and the people there.
Quote:Anyone can feel free to write my return to the Nexus Fountain with the "escort" into their post if they like and use those Camelot soldiers for recruitment speeches or what have you. Otherwise I'll just write the arrival into my next post!