Private Tales Men of Monsters

[Faera Ayammetu]

"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."

Hooded figures stood in a circle around a five pointed star and a pentagram at the bottom of a pit deep beneath the city of Elbion, arms outstretched with palms facing downwards and heads bowed. The chanting increased in rhythm as the symbols on the floor glowed with a hellish red light, a portal opened in the floor through which demons of every kind began climbing through.

"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non inferorum uocare."
"Cui non infero-"
The final chant was cut short as a crossbow bolt dropped a cultist to the ground.
The portal closed with a snap, decapitating a hulking demon before he could clear the edge one way or the other, but already there were many demons that made it through.

At the top of the dirt ramp that spiraled down into the pit stood a woman backed up by several men dressed in leather armor and carrying crossbows.
She held a naked rapier in her hand, dressed in leather armor with a long coat, spectacles were perched on her nose through which peered blue eyes, a lazy stream of smoke rose from the end of a lit cigar as she surveyed the scene below her.

Her voice rang out commanding and strong as she called down on demon and cultist alike.
"In the name of the holy gods, I hereby arrest you all for heresy."

As expected, not a one simply accepted their fate. Cultist and demon bolted in ever direction, running for escape tunnels into the sewers, some of the demons flew upwards to bypass the humans.
The demons who flew upwards were felled by well placed crossbow bolts coated in salt and holy water.
The monster hunters began chasing after the cultists and demons, Fiera also joined in the chase.

_____________________________​

... A few hours later...

Back up on the street level a sewer grate was ripped open and a dozen demons swarmed out, they split up into the maze of streets hoping to throw off their pursuers.
A demon raced through the alleyways on all fours, insectoid eyes scanning for danger. Rounding a corner it was suddenly faced with two humans, youths meeting up for a midnight trist. The demon made a split second decision to kill all witnesses.
It prepared to lunge forward to slaughter the two humans, but before it could do so it heard the flap of a cloak, it turned just in time to take the salted and purified blade directly between the eyes.

The demon screamed as it burned and died, disintegrating into dust.
Fiera wiped the bit of blood off the tip of her blade while the two children ran for their lives.
She looked around, her glasses glinting in the light of flames from the burning demon.

Who was next?

 

[Aidenzak]

Another day, another dollar. The tiefling steps out of the local huntsman's guild, having sold some pelts he got ahold of for some extra coin. It had been a bit of a late night, for sure. But he had ended up catching a massive moose in the evening. Took till around nightfall to fully skin the thing. After that, he turned his pelts in for the coin. Once outside, he takes one of the cigarettes from his metal case, putting it between his teeth before snapping his fingers to ignite a flame on his index finger, which he uses to light the cigarette before closing his hand, snuffing out the fire.

His eyes drift about the streets. It was a mostly silent night it seemed, until that thought was proven false. Screaming could be heard not far off, though they weren't the screams of any mortal. He grunts to himself, pulling a hand crossbow from his back pocket. He folds out the sides, locking them in place so that it can properly fire, and then loads the bolt.

Alden turned the corner just in time to see the demon turn to ash. Like him, the demon had horns. Did the city have a demon problem now? He'd often been mistaken for such, so that made him just a bit uneasy. He realizes what the rapier wielding lady thinks he is when her eyes lock onto him, and he goes deadpan. "Oh, fuck's sake. I'm not THAT ugly."

Faera Ayammetu

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

"Oh, fuck's sake. I'm not THAT ugly."

Another demon rounded the corner. She grinned with the glowing cigar in her teeth, her eyes dancing with a dangerous light as the last dying flames of the demon diminished into nothingness.
"My lucky day. That makes thirteen not counting your unfortunate summoners."
She stood straight and aimed her rapier between his eyes from the other side of the alley.
She got a look at him up and down in the clear moonlight, "Hmm, you're right, not bad on the eyes... You incubi types are the most sickening sort... I bet you're just dying to know what I do to your kind."

She charged down the alley at an incredible pace, maybe the soles of her boots were enchanted to some degree. The blade split the air and lanced towards his face, but it was a feint, her true target was his sword hand and that's where the tip of her blade sought next.

 

[Aidenzak]

Alden chuckles nervously as she locks onto him as her next target. Was this really the way his night was going to go? He just wanted to celebrate his sale with a drink! "Wha- summoners? Do I look like I was summoned to you? I have clothes. Last I checked, infernal plane denizens didn't care if they had everything hangin out." He pauses as she speaks up again, and his eye twitches a bit. "Alright. Now we're just getting into semantics. I'm not ugly enough to be..." He gestures to the pile of ash that used to be a demon. "Whatever in the hells that is, but I DEFINITELY ain't pretty enough to be a fuckin incub-" She darted at him before he could finish.

What happens next would be a suicide move for most people. What Faera intended to be a feint would end up being Alden's ticket to stopping this fight. He shoved his palm outward towards the sword before she could move into the feint, literally impaling his hand upon the blade, hopefully making it stuck there momentarily. All the blood that splatters from his hand instantly evaporates as his eyes glow purple for a moment, and sparks of electricity would travel down the blade to shock her hand, the intent being to cause the surprise of all this to make her let go of the sword. "I will have ye know, I'm of an eldritch bloodline, not an infernal one. So no demon summoning whelp coulda brought me here. On top of that, I AM A TIEFLING. WHY DO PEOPLE NOT KNOW WHAT TIEFLINS ARE? PLEASE PULL THIS SWORD OUT OF MY FUCKIN HAND SO WE CAN BE CIVILIZED."

He was certainly a bit angry, but had yet to make any other moves to harm her.

Faera Ayammetu

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

Sacrificing his hand was unexpected, but then again the blade didn't seem to effect him the way it did to normal demons. This inferred that he was either powerful or telling the truth, and she wasn't inclined to listen to a single word he said.
The electrical shock jolted her and she was indeed forced to let go of her sword, but she wasn't idle.

"I will have ye know, I'm of an eldritch bloodline, not an infernal one. So no demon summoning whelp coulda brought me here. On top of that, I AM A TIEFLING. WHY DO PEOPLE NOT KNOW WHAT TIEFLINS ARE? PLEASE PULL THIS SWORD OUT OF MY FUCKIN HAND SO WE CAN BE CIVILIZED."

Well, might as well have just confessed to murder. In the blink of an eye she obliged him. Once her right hand was jolted off the hilt she used that momentum, grabbed hold of her sword with her left hand in a reverse grip and spun clockwise drawing the blade out of his palm not in a pleasant way.
She was suddenly facing him again and made a series of thrusts towards his face to keep him focused on ducking and not so much on casting spells.

While she attacked she began ticking off the facts as she heard them with each thrust.
"You're very familiar with demons, you've obviously been in the prime material plane for a while, you failed to hide your true nature with that magic, and you just admitted to being an eldritch horror."
She made a flurry of swishing slashes at his arms and torso to further keep his concentration occupied.
"But you are right, I've never heard of a tiefling. Tell you what, monster, you have until I kill you to explain yourself, and you better hope I believe you!"

 

[Aidenzak]

He looks momentarily relieved as she pulls the sword from his hand. He doesn't seem to flinch much from her pulling the sword out of his hand. He's got a high pain tolerance due to his type of magic, and the life he's lived. "Alright, I'm glad we coul-" The first thrust happens, and he leans to the side just in time. The rapier manages to scrape his cheek. "Are you fucking ser-" He starts dodging more blows before he can finish, leaning and ducking just as she's intended. "Yes, I am indeed experienced with the material plane. I WAS BORN HERE. I mean, I was thrown into an alley on the spot, but THAT AIN'T THE POINT HERE." It was hard to talk and dodge at the same time, and he'd had enough.

He catches the rapier as it stabs at him, grabbing the blade with his left hand, which draws more blood. He would then shove the blade aside and cast out his right palm. She would see it again. All the blood on his left hand evaporates, the wound burning shut as a blast wave left his right palm. No elemental power, just kinetic force. Enough to knock her back. "Tieflins are a species of people with infernal or in some cases, eldritch bloodlines. The other half of us is human. I ain't sure how you have no idea what a tiefling is considering you're a demon expert and also due to the MERE EXISTENCE OF TOLELAJARA! YOU KNOW? THE SETTLEMENT. STARTED BY TIEFLINGS? BIG PORT TOWN?" He asks, waving his arms in the air to emphasize the words 'big'. He seems to be using a form of blood magic. But it doesn't seem demonic in nature. Though it's certainly far from holy.

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

She stumbled back from his blast of force, her sword clattered to the side and she caught herself before she fell over, regaining her balance. She was positively grinning now with that cigar clenched between her teeth.

"Tieflins are a species of people with infernal or in some cases, eldritch bloodlines. The other half of us is human. I ain't sure how you have no idea what a tiefling is considering you're a demon expert and also due to the MERE EXISTENCE OF TOLELAJARA! YOU KNOW? THE SETTLEMENT. STARTED BY TIEFLINGS? BIG PORT TOWN?"

She chuckled, "Children with cursed blood, no doubt borne by force and compulsion for no woman would willingly bear the seed of a demon or eldritch. An entire settlement of them? You're not very good at convincing me to not kill you and hunt down those demon spawn. Might as well try convincing me that Dhampir don't feel the call to feed just as strongly as their progenitors."
She reached behind her back under her trench coat and withdrew a coiled weapon, a whip that seemed to snake and writhe of its own accord.
"If you've got a better argument I'm listening, but you're running out of time to save yourself."
She cracked the whip and the tip snaked out faster than a blink, especially hard to see in the dark with its black leather even for one with dark sight.
The tip wasn't barbed but it struck with the power of both the force and shock that he himself had inadvertently charged it with. The whip struck at his kneecap and focused both magical effects on that single point if it connected.

 

[Aidenzak]

"Have I tried to actually harm ye yet?" He points out, an eye twitching. "If we were demons, would I be allowed to walk the city streets? Would I have the concept of remorse? As for if my mother willingly gave birth to me? Fuck if I know. I was tossed out on the streets. I don't even remember her damned face." He relaxes his shoulders, frowning heavily, "I really don't want to fight ye, you seem to be doing good work. Killin demons, keepin the commonfolk safe. I just wanna go booze myself off to sleep." Booze and the occasional visit from Hahna were really the only things in life he had. It was a sad life he lived, really. Ever since his crew died.

"If you don't stop, I'll have to start usin force. My crew died out at sea, me being the only survivor. Making their memory live on makes life worth livin. If you don't stop, I'll do what I gotta do."

It's then that she draws the whip. He raises his arms to stop it, though he can't properly see it, and it strikes his kneecap full on. It causes him to stager back a bit, falling onto one knee. He looks up at her, pupils glowing in the dark as his rage builds. "Yer....yer not a very good listener lass." He draws a knife from his coat, and lets the blood from his leg leak over it before quickly throwing the blade in one quick motion. It flies past her, intending itself in the ground behind her. Then, the only warning is the blood on his leg evaporating. She would either feel the knife lightly poke her back, or she would turn around just in time to see the dagger pointed at her throat. Either way, it's not out for long, as he pulls it back. "I'm just gonna....put this away now." He states, slowly sheathing the dagger in his coat. No matter how fast she turned around, the fact remains that he had the chance to stab her right in the heart through her back, securing a win. But he didn't. "Stop this shite. The more I bleed, the harder this becomes."

Faera Ayammetu

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

"Have I tried to actually harm ye yet?"

Eh, debatable. It felt more like he was toying with her. Besides, he could simply be trying to trick her, demons did that.

"If we were demons, would I be allowed to walk the city streets? Would I have the concept of remorse? As for if my mother willingly gave birth to me? Fuck if I know. I was tossed out on the streets. I don't even remember her damned face."

"Quite the sad story. Almost convincing."
She raised the whip to attack again when he throws the knife. She scoffed when he missed and was about to follow through on her own attack when she felt the tip of the blade poke her back. She sighed but she was still smiling and wiggled the cigar in her teeth, "Well played."

"I'm just gonna....put this away now."

The knife returned to his hand. This could all still be a trick, but this was obviously going to be settled with words, not weapons. His magic gave him a distinct advantage even though she had countermeasures for such things.
She coiled up her whip and put it away.
"Fine, we do this your way."

 

[Aidenzak]

"Blood magic has a lot of tricks. Since my shithead of an eldritch relative's blood flows through me, my blood goes further in the...magical economy...I guess? I dunno. I just know my blood is valuable." He shrugs after sheathing his knife. "So I don't have to pay as much blood to cast magic as others of my....not exactly holy magic school do. But hey, you learn what you can to get an edge growin up on the street. Y'know? Anyways." He makes his way over to where the crossbow was knocked out of his hand, and picks it up to once again stow away in his coat.

He looks back at her momentarily, raising a brow. "Now, I'm going to get a drink since I am now achin like hell. Feel free to join me if ya wanna learn somethin." With that, he turns the corner, humming a tune to himself. Some honey mead sounded nice,

Faera Ayammetu

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

"Blood magic has a lot of tricks. Since my shithead of an eldritch relative's blood flows through me, my blood goes further in the...magical economy...I guess? I dunno. I just know my blood is valuable." He shrugs after sheathing his knife. "So I don't have to pay as much blood to cast magic as others of my....not exactly holy magic school do. But hey, you learn what you can to get an edge growin up on the street. Y'know? Anyways." He makes his way over to where the crossbow was knocked out of his hand, and picks it up to once again stow away in his coat.

He explained his magic and it still sounded pretty demonic and unholy. Blood sacrifice in return for magic, such magic was often used to summon demons and dark lords in the past.

"Now, I'm going to get a drink since I am now achin like hell. Feel free to join me if ya wanna learn somethin."

Fiera went and recovered her rapier before following him.
She tapped some ash from her cigar and took a few long strides to catch up with him.
"So, you're some new breed of Cambion with eldritch parentage, how are you not stark raving mad with a bloodline like that?"

 

[Aidenzak]

"New? Far from new. Tieflins are ancient. Been around a long time." He takes a cigarette out of his coat, and puts it between his teeth before snapping his fingers to create a spark which sets the end alight. He then takes a drag of smoke before speaking once more. "Some tieflings are related to demons, others to eldritch. Though, those with infernal bloodlines are much more common. And we ain't cambion" He shakes his head, continuing down the street. "Cambions are direct children. Tieflings are born from someone having infernal or eldritch in their bloodline, no matter how far back. Two completely normal humans can give birth to a tiefling because one of them has even the slightest...." He puts his index and thumb together. "Bit of an infernal ancestor. No matter how far back that relative goes. Often, infernal bloodlines are forgotten by time, so most tieflings end up orphans on the streets because two non demons are horrified they gave birth to a horned freak." He gestures to himself. "Me being one of those orphans."

He pauses as they arrive at a bar, and he turns about to meet her eyes. "Other than the horns, and our blood, we think and feel like normal people. Though, we make amazing pyromancers, apparently. Never thought to focus on that academic study though." He opens the door for her, grinning slightly. "Ladies first."

Faera Ayammetu

 

[Faera Ayammetu]

She crushed out the remains of her used up cigar as he lit up his and listened to his explanation.
To her Tiefling were something new, and she could venture a guess as to why... But that was a different mystery to do with a certain someone within her organization.
"An interesting story. Seems things of a dark nature can never fully be known or understood. I apologize for being quick to judge, though I'm sure you understand first impressions weren't ideal all around."

"Other than the horns, and our blood, we think and feel like normal people. Though, we make amazing pyromancers, apparently. Never thought to focus on that academic study though." He opens the door for her, grinning slightly. "Ladies first."

She entered the bar ahead of him, "Thank you. Your drink's on me. And it'd be best if you stick by me tonight, there's more hunters out besides me tracking down demons and cultists."

 

[Aidenzak]

"Aye, dark things are hard to understand. S'why they're referred to as 'dark'. Cause you can't see in the darkness." He blows a puff of smoke, shrugging slightly. "I don't know about my eldritch relatives either. I know the fucker's name, but I can't say it to regular folk, gives'em headaches and nightmares. Typical elder shite, really."

When she tells him to stick by her, the tiefling chuckles slightly. "I assure ye I can fend for meself, but if a charmin lass is asking me to stick around." He grins, cigarette between his teeth. "Who am I to protest, eh? By the way, don't get the mystery stew. There's rat in there. Lived in enough alleys to know the taste." He sits across from her at whatever table she chooses to sit. "I've been mistaken as a demon by cultists before. It's really weird. I hope someone never asks me to step on them. Never. Again." He shivers. "If ya wanna find out more about tieflings, try out Tolelajara. Amazin place. a bit seedy, typical port city full of markets and carnal pleasures."

Faera Ayammetu