|| MIDNIGHT 017: GENERAL
As the night wears on, there is no sign of the sunrise; the sky is dark, overcast with clouds barely letting any light through.
A thick fog seeps in through the front gates, curling through and over the walls into the town in a condensed column. A hunting horn sounds from it, and a figure rides out, mounted on a half-armored beast that seems to be somewhere between an extremely large prehistoric deer and a horse; the skull is bare bone, with a single, spiraling horn curving from the center of its forehead. The huntsman himself wears a combination of hides and battered bits of armor that obscures most features, carrying a long, heavy spear with indistinct shifting markings that glow faintly in the gloom; a stag’s skull with full antlers either covers his face or is his face - it’s difficult to tell.
A pack of large, shaggy black hounds accompanies him, creatures that seem to be as much wolf or prehistoric beast as dog, their breath coming out in puffs of faintly glowing fog, along with four other riders, varied armor and clothes of different times and places mounted on skeletal horses with ragged, half-rotted gear and tack, armed with aged spears themselves, the tips glowing with a cold white light. The spiders scatter in their path, the riders swinging spears in pursuit as the hounds chase them down. The arachnids turn to heavy ash almost on contact with the spears or the jaws of the hounds; within a few hours of the arrival of the hunt, the flood of spiders has scattered, either destroyed or driven into hiding, leaving the town clear and eerily empty.
The Hunt does not leave once they have been driven out, and the townsfolk are loathe to leave their homes and havens for the rest of the night. They leave the town environs mostly alone, but ride between the Courtyard area and through the Gardens freely, roots and low branches shifting to allow them passage.
In the Camp outside the castle grounds, Murtagh is also ushered out of the semi-built tent structure where Alayne is by Tevin and the two Xathos siblings, Amery attending to the Princess.
|| TOWN
All at once, the spiders in the town disperse. They abandon whatever they had been previously occupied with, or wherever they’ve stationed themselves, and skitter over the wall in the direction of the courtyard. Roughly half of them break for the Garden; the others continue onward down the road.
Not long after the swarm is driven out, Rei and Kora go into labor; Richter will be ushered downstairs by the folk also staying there, “to not draw attention to the child”. The Tea Lady stays in attendance with Rei for the birth, and Rei will be presented with a healthy baby boy.
Treasa slips out of the Monastery shortly after midnight. She makes rounds in the Monastery garden to check on the plants, carefully assessing each one for possible damage. She makes a concentrated effort to evade notice of any onlookers, seeming notably flighty and on edge. When she’s finished, she locks the garden gates, barring out visitors in a somewhat unusual occurrence. She hurriedly retreats back inside the Monastery and does not emerge again for the remainder of night.
As the night carries on, a continuous series of clamor, crashes, and screams can be heard coming from inside the Monastery. Although there’s currently no way to enter and investigate, it’s clear that some kind of commotion is taking place.
|| GARDENS & YARD
Any Spiders that flee into the garden find the plants show them no mercy, and are quickly engulfed and buried by roots and thorned vines.
The Hunt roams this area, a thin haze of fog pooling around their feet as they ride at a slow pace, seeking prey.
Anyone touched by a form of corruption or carrying a weight of guilt that passes near their path will hear the horn sound and find the hunt turning towards them. Those with lesser marks and lesser burdens will be given an ultimatum in a hollow voice as the huntsman levels his spear at them - ride with the hunt or become prey.
Children are left untouched by the Hunt; anyone else who strays too close finds the same challenge being given to them, to hunt or be hunted.
Those who choose to join the hunt will find themselves changed, growing claws and fangs for the night and becoming swift enough to run with the hounds; their minds haze over partly, and most things in their path become prey. While they have some compulsion to show deference to the Huntsman, they are not obligated to stay with the Hunt proper, and may roam the Castle and its grounds freely; with some effort they can still speak and retain their wills, but they will find it hard to not pursue “quarry”.
The hunted have no such advantage, although they may find themselves able to run faster, enough to give the hunt a challenge.
|| CASTLE
The remaining spiders race towards the castle. Once they’ve reached their destination, they slip through cracks and crevices to return to the Basement Hallways. While most of them disappear out of sight to the space beyond the dorms, several linger behind to prowl the hallways in search of prey.
(Note: For purposes of the hunt, a child is considered to be anyone apparently under ~13.)
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allthekeys) wrote2017-04-14 11:57 pm
Midnight 017 plotting
no subject
Mukuro, Murtagh, Kaito, Shougo
Murtagh - still outside, if anyone has messages to send to him let me know. Maybe we can arrange contact.
Kaito is going to end up joining the Hunt (because who wants to risk dying at that thing's hands, right?). Haven't decided on details but if you'd like to be chased by him...
* Shougo will be joining the Hunt voluntarily, mostly out of interest. He'll enjoy it, too.
no subject
Whoops. Guess that sounds like volunteering to be prey, if he isn't gonna be hunter.
If anybody is joining the Hunt and would like to chase him, go ahead and hit me up! Alternatively, if you'd like to help him escape...