• Memory • (Emea) Mountain Meadows 2 (Mature)

[Wald Lowca]

14th of Cylus 716

Wald gave a slow nod to West. "Yes of course." Wald slowly motioned around the back. "I will start once you get back there my friend." He gave a child like smile, before his companion left.

The golden light was finally cresting well over the mountains. A crisp air rolled into the valley, full of the smell of grapes. Wald was standing there in front of a large plot of land, vineyard bordering both sides of him. He was standing alone, waiting for a signal of something. He seemed to be looking around as his smile seemed to keep to his face. His eyes slowly looked at the building, as he saw a figure make its way behind the structure.

Wald clapped his hands together, and gave a gentle rub against each other. It was time for work, and work was something everyone should enjoy. Slowly the man reached over he head, stretching out his side and arm for a moment. Steps slowly started as he walked onto the property. The first steps were always the most joyful for Wald, as he knew that it was the simple quiet before the storm that was to come.

While approaching the property building, a couple men seemed to take notice of Wald. He was making no attempts to hide his walking. The men moved to stop Wald for a moment, trying to figure out what it was he was doing. Though the only thing they got in response for a moment was a soft chuckle.

Slowly the gentle smile turned sharp and jagged, as his eyes narrowed on both of the men. "Killing the manor of course." He pushed into one of the men, knocking him over, as he pulled the man's sword out for his own. Using the stolen weapon to throw into the other's neck. He fell down like a puppet who's strings have been cut. Wald took out a small knife from his pants, kneeling quickly pushing it into the neck of the man on the ground.

The blood began to be spilled in the vineyard, a new crimson wine was to be made.

[Llyr Llywelyn]

A good man would find it disgusting. A good man would turn away. A good man might even try to stop it. West was not a good man.

He stalked away from his smiling happy blond companion. As he crept along the morning shadows, he fixed the braid of his hair and twisted it into a bun at the nape of his neck. Still, just the one boot, and only the breeches, he shambled around the manor-side, then disappeared from Wald's sight as he made his way behind the house.

What lay ahead was something to get over with. A nasty chunk of flesh to chew on, then swallow. West saw the guard at the back door... but then he saw the couple in the garden courtyard. He recognized that rich chestnut hair and tan skin... the eldest daughter of the manor's family. She was talking with the blacksmith's son. West glanced between them and the guard.

He slid into the shadows alongside the stone wall. West crept closer to the guard, gathered the darkness like threads against his fingertips. He got close enough, then threw the shadows around the guard's neck. The lines of darkness coiled around and squeezed like an angry serpent. West hissed, even, as the guard struggled.

West stumbled aside, seen and known now. He severed the connection to the shadows. The grimy man scrambled up and onto the guard to force him backward. The swift momentum took them both to the ground, and West dug his hand directly into the dark-lined neck. He ripped out the throat with his bare hand.

A scream sounded from the courtyard; the daughter had seen him.

He turned toward her, and swished his hand in a violent twitch of the wrist. Bone erupted out from his tattooed skin. It grew, as fast as an insect's wings in flight, in thin marrow that landed in the young woman's heart. She stared down at the extended bone that impaled her, then gasped in a death rattle when it retreated.

West moved forward, his bone returned to inside his body, and he stalked toward the blacksmith's son. "Don't you fucking run, boy."

Of course, the son didn't listen. They never did.

[Wald Lowca]

Wald did not seem to have any special powers like his friend, and he made no attempt to hide from anyone within the property. He took the sword from the man he knifed, and began to toss it in the air playfully. The client wanted the building intact, it took out some of the fun, but the sizeable bonus was more then enough. He could see the front of the door, several guards were on edge this time. They seemed to be ready for a fight, unlike the last two.

By now he thought, his friend had started their attack. It was best for Wald to try and assist in this matter. He gripped into the stolen sword, and threw it in the direction of the guards. Though it did not hit a single one, as it landed into the wall. It cut through a rope that was used to ring a pair of large bells. These were used to signal visitors or noon. Though instead of their graceful chimes, the sound of metal colliding with the ground was heard. The bells fell from up high, causing a massive amount of noise. Enough for the guards to ignore a scream that they were once running towards. Under the massive bell laid broken wood of a table, and a unlucky cat that was sleeping at the wrong time.

The man continued his grin, as he walked to the several armed guards, his hands open showing them empty. He looked at each one of the guards, a twisted smile on his face. "I am unarmed, should you not try and defend your lord's manor?" The men seemed to hesitate, as Wald continued his approach. The larger of the men began to shout at his men, rallying them to fight the lone man.

They all moved in fast trying to surround Wald, who gave a playful gasp at the movements. Before he waved his hand and gave a simple laugh. It was a much deeper laugh then anything had chuckled before. It seemed to pulse in the air, as he did not stop his approach. He walked right towards the large man in front of him. Though something seemed very wrong with the men that were once threatening him. Slowly, their hands slumped to their sides, a glaze seemed to cover their eyes. The loss of free will, turned into a zombie like state.

Wald pointed at the door, as one of the smaller men went to open the building. He then had the larger one, with the other guards escort him in, as if he were captured.

[Llyr Llywelyn]

West hated running. He fucking hated it. Especially when he had only one boot on. The grizzly killer stopped to pull the boot off, and then he continued the chase after the blacksmith's son.

"Just stop it, will ya?!" He shouted as the young man darted from hedge to hedge, finding that the courtyard had that protective iron-wrought fence. It'd been meant to keep dangers out, keep wolves from stalking and the like, but now it served to keep the prey in a convenient location.

The kid knew enough, though, to not stop trying. Nor to start talking. He knew enough to dart through the hedges, and avoid West. Definitely a townie who had heard the stories. His blacksmith father had probably told them. Of course, none of the stories were true. West only left one witness to his murdering methods alive - and that man was busy building up a body count inside the manor, while he fucked around trying to catch this runt.

West threw his boot. It crashed over a hedge and grazed past the son's shoulder. He heard a yelp, then watched as the lad started to try and climb the fence. That was a stupid choice. He moved along the row, then cracked his neck and raised his arm. His wrist cracked down, the bone pierced past his tattooed flesh, and it slid out in a violent rush of marrow. The bone stabbed into the calf, and pinned the son in a painful wrench to the ground. His bones retreated back under his skin. That never got easier. He rubbed at the spot.

"You killed her, you monster!" shouted the blacksmith's son. He grabbed onto his bleeding leg, then started to try and get back to his feet.

"Will you stop already?" snarled West. He ran forward, grabbed the collar, then forced the son toward the spot where the eldest daughter had died so nice and neatly in comparison. He slapped at the son's attempt to get free. "Stop it, you daft idiot."

West forced him into a seated position, got a hold, then snapped the young man's neck in a fatal crack. He let the body fall and heaved a breath, then spat to the side. "Fuck, it's cold out here."

He'd just realized how cold the morning air was, without his one boot. West only wore breeches now. He padded, barefoot, past the guard and into the manor to find where his old friend had gotten to and whether he could do with any help.

[Wald Lowca]

Wald walked into the manor, with several guards walking along with him. He looked to have been captured, though the glaze over their eyes told a separate story. The bell had crashed just behind the door, the table shattered to pieces. A few other guards were running in a hurry to the front door, that had a man being brought through.

Wald kept his hands behind his back, even though he was a free man. The guards that were inside tried to make sense of things that have gone on that day. They just saw a smiling man getting brought in by several guards. Just after a bell came crashing through the building.

One of the men walked to the larger guard that was with Wald. "Da'hell is going on here!" The man asked in a very angered tone, even with his hint of confusion.

The large guard did not respond, it was creepy how they men started to walk. They moved like marionettes, slightly jagged motions. The man was about to asked his question again, before Wald lifted both his hands in the air. A confused look went onto some of the guards, the man was not bound? "Have fun." The words were spoken with a smile that scratched at the edges of Wald's face.

Those words seemed to trigger something within the guards that he brought in, as they began to set themselves upon the other guards. Swords drawn, they started hacking through the first few men with no resistance. That was until the inner guards started to fight back. The clashing of swords could be heard, along with the splattering of flesh. The men under Wald's control did not stop their attack, even as they started to bleed upon the floor. They only stopped when the body finally died, crumpling on the floor.

Wald's men brought down the inner guard's numbers, until the last of his fell. The final guards seemed tired, and confused on what just happened. As Wald slowly moved to the door way, closing it shut with every lock they had on it. Before he turned around with his smiling face.

[Llyr Llywelyn]

West heard shouts, and the familiar clash of metal on metal. Didn't sound like Wald needed his help. He crept along the backside of the manor's interior. He slid into the kitchen, mostly unnoticed, as the guards had rushed to figure out what the commotion was. However, the place wasn't empty. He saw a couple cooks and a few servants, who all looked at him with wide eyes.

"No, no," said the older cook of the pair, a man with graying hair.

West shrugged. He muttered, "Are servants part of the manor, you think?"

The servants glanced between each other.

"Didn't you hear me? I asked, Are you part of the manor? Do you belong to this house like the vases and chairs do?"

"Y-yes?" tried one of the maids, speaking for the rest of them. She gathered her apron, tight in her hands, then added in her accented voice from the cities north of the town. "We are to manor like the wallpaper."

West sighed. He pointed at a man who stood near the kitchen window. "Did you see me out there?"

"What?" asked the lanky servant. He leaned into the counter as West approached.

"I asked if you saw me out there, in the garden?"

The maid shook her head 'no', but the servant said, "I... you lost your boot out there, should I get it for you?"

West shook his head, picked up one of the butcher knives from the nearby cutting board, then stabbed it into the servant's gut. "I'll get it myself on the way out."

"It's all about self-sufficiency," he told the other servants who'd started toward the door. They hurried out of the kitchen, in hopes to escape a similar fate as the man bleeding out on the ground.

West looked at the maid, who remained where she was, an almost defiant look on her features. He snorted, and said, "Sorry, I don't leave eyes behind. You were close though, got to give you that."

It took a few strong stabs and slices, then he was on his way to find where the other servants had run off to. Feet padded bloody prints behind his path, and his arms had gotten coated in the fresh red crimson. He found a couple of the servants in a closet, left behind a crimson pool, then started up the stairs to the servant quarters. West didn't care if he wasn't handling the guards on this one. Killing people in armor or killing people in cloth, neither made a difference to him. He felt a little hungry though, as he found one of the cooks hiding under a bed and carved him up.

Eventually, he'd have to find his way to the main area and get on with the actual job. If the main family didn't meet their end, then all this work would have been a waste.

[Wald Lowca]

The few men that were left, started to approach Wald with wary steps. They did not know why their men had just attacked them, or who the man was who just entered the manor. Though as they approached they took a back foot, as Wald walked deeper into the room towards the bell. He knocked on it for a moment, as a loud gong came out, as if it was hit by the inner clapper. The men seemed slightly confused by that, as Wald looked to the men. "This bell has such a lovely sound does it not?" He began to lift the bell, that was around the same size of a man. The splintering wood cracking across the floor, mixed with a red liquid.

The men moved back, as it looked like Wald was about to throw the bell at them. How could he lift such an object like that? But to their surprise, he set it back down in front of the door. Moving to the table, he started picking the wooden chips one by one.

Confusion amongst the men seemed to be the only emotion they could give off now. Wald continued to gather several shards of wood, but for what purpose? Two of the men, slowly made their way to Wald. Trying to use their swords to strike a fatal blow to the man. Though when their swords were in the air, they seemed to stop in place.

The men who stood back looked at the two who had approached Wald. One opened their mouth. "Frank? Charlie?" As if on cue, the men slowly fell backwards. Revealing their entire front was covered in wooden splinters, they must of been impaled a hundred times. Soon the man who was gathering the wooden scraps, stood up slowly to look at the remaining men.

A scream could be heard in the manor as it echoed through.

Wald began to look for a stairwell, it was about time for him to get to his main course. Playing with the guards only gave so much entertainment. They were trained to not be as scared as normal people. It fed into Wald much less then the untrained masses, if the people of the small town only knew. Due to his clean appearance, no one really suspected him as a killer. He hid in plain sight, it increased the surprise on his victims faces.

Soon he would be at the stairs, getting ready to rise to the second floor where the family should be hiding. He could only hope that West had not disposed of them already, he wanted to enjoy the feeling for a bit longer.

[Llyr Llywelyn]

West heard the gong echo through the manor. So, things seemed to be going well on that end. Meant he could clean up the back-house. Servants didn't have guards, but they were witnesses all the same. Really, considered West as he stalked barefoot through the rooms to clean up those hiding in various spots, I'm a jobs creator for this town. These positions will need to be filled again, once the new family moves in, and could be villagers or cityfolk.

"That's me," he said while he stabbed a knife through the last cook's head. "Revitalizing my community. Bringing fresh blood into town, by taking out the old."

He coughed, then grabbed at the back of a maid's dress as she tried to sprint past in a last-ditch attempt to get out of the room. West pulled her back, shook his head, and said, "My job, though, it's resilient, you know? Stone-proof against such change. You should have looked into being a killer, miss."

West cleaned the blood from the butcher knife on her apron, then stepped over her and left the room. Not that his work didn't also come with threat and potential loss. He thought of when Wald had first entered the market, another killer could only be dealt with two ways: kill them first, or join them.

He still wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice on that regard.

The gruff man rubbed his head. He could do with a drink... he found the servant's entrance to the interior of the manor, and walked through without trouble. All the guards had been drawn away elsewhere, even the last reserves who were meant to stand at such vulnerable spots.

West paused, however, when he heard voices nearby. Panicked, and the familiar muffled sounds of well-to-do people realizing that their money could only go so far. Coins weren't a proper shield against swords when it came down to it. He looked down the hall and saw a shadow cross the wall. West canted his head to one side. His black hair had fallen out of the bun, back to the messy braid. He scratched at his stubble, then waved when he saw Wald enter the second floor as well. He thumbed at the door nearby to gesture that's where the family was.

[Pig Boy]

Wald

Experience: 15

Knowledge: none

Renown: none

Skill Usage: none

Loot/Losses: none

Injuries/Conditions: none

Consequences: none

West

Experience: 15

Knowledge: none

Renown: none

Skill Usage: none

Loot/Losses: none

Injuries/Conditions: none

Consequences: none

Comments: I'm lacking context here as I haven't read the previous entry to this thread, but wow, you guys didn't lie about the violence. It was incredibly chilling how callously they slaughtered the residents of the manor. Well-written violence is still well-written though, so here are your rewards.