Topic: Anton and Kiril - Assassin's Honour (Read 45309 times)

Not Aman · « **Reply #100 on:** July 01, 2015, 06:59:57 am »

Anton nods, and follows kiril's suit, walking on the side of te room.

Drakilian · « **Reply #101 on:** July 01, 2015, 07:34:40 pm »

The two progress up the hallway for some time, soon the smell of oil is left behind and they can walk a little easier.

The hall ahead of them is clearer now, and more ornate than even the hall before. Now Anton begins to see scenes from the book of Nod carved into the wall. Caine being banished to the Abyss, his conquering of the darkness that dwelt within the under-realm. Kiril sees much the same, tracing his hands along the side of the hall as he walked that way.

Not Aman · « **Reply #102 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:00:47 am »

Anton nods, knowing the tale well (probably? Id think Anton read the book of nod, not sure tho).

"It seems we have avoided the oil trap, brother. There is a mural depicting Caine and the abyss here. I can only assume we are finally nearing our Lord's haven." He says, walking foward, on the sides of the floor to avoid pressure plates, as he coats the area with the shadows that follow him.

Drakilian · « **Reply #103 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:15:49 am »

Kiril stops suddenly.

"Anton, don't move."

Not Aman · « **Reply #104 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:17:01 am »

Anton stops, of course.

"What, brother?" Anton asks, still.

Drakilian · « **Reply #105 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:20:53 am »

"Do... Do you see a floor up ahead?"

Not Aman · « **Reply #106 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:24:14 am »

Anton looks ahead.

Drakilian · « **Reply #107 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:50:34 am »

There does, in fact, appear to be a floor ahead.

Not Aman · « **Reply #108 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:53:20 am »

"I can see one, but that means nothing here. You sense it being gone?" Anton asks, as he has his shadow tendrils touch the floor up ahead.

Drakilian · « **Reply #109 on:** July 02, 2015, 02:02:41 am »

The tendril passes straight through the floor, and promptly dissolved, breaking apart into rapidly fading wisps.

"It feels like there's some sort of wide, yawning emptiness ahead - but not just that. The air has gotten colder. It feels deathly cold ahead."

Not Aman · « **Reply #110 on:** July 02, 2015, 02:13:24 am »

"It's definitely not a floor. It dissolved my tendrils, fading it away... Perhaps it's an entrance to the abyss? It was incredibely cold there."

Drakilian · « **Reply #111 on:** July 02, 2015, 02:28:01 am »

"Perhaps a defense set up by Desiderio - though if this is really a portal to the abyss, I should think there would be abyssal entities here to guard the passage. Maybe they are leaving us alone because we're Basilio's childer."

Kiril holds out his arm and the shadows coalesce into a ten-foot long pike that Kiril plants at his feet and then lets fall onto the ground in the direction they intend to move forward to. The pike strikes stone.

"Well, it isn't longer than 10 feet at least."

Not Aman · « **Reply #112 on:** July 02, 2015, 02:55:05 am »

"Then it's time for a leap of faith." Anton quips, and jumps across the abyss.

Drakilian · « **Reply #113 on:** July 02, 2015, 01:36:01 pm »

Anton braces himself and takes the leap - easily clearing 15 feet in his jump, stumbling as he hits the ground and almost falling over.

He is, however, still alive.

Kiril, meanwhile, just builds a quick bridge out of shadow crystal pikes and walks across.

Not Aman · « **Reply #114 on:** July 02, 2015, 04:45:12 pm »

Anton nods, straightens himself, and heads fowards, on the room's side.

"When this is all over, I must ask Desidiro about this portal." Anton states.

Drakilian · « **Reply #115 on:** July 03, 2015, 02:04:23 am »

"If you can put him back together..." Kiril mutters under his breath, confident in his brother's horrific perception hindering him sufficiently that he would not catch the slight to his mentor.

The two brothers continue down the hall. The carvings on the wall change from scenes from the Book of Nod to scenes of the creatures locked within the Abyss. Anton sees demons, fallen angels and other monsters too horrific for human eyes surround him. He feels the evil of the abyss, and the power it possessed to hold such creations in its grasp.

Further in he begins to see it - all around him he sees wisps of shadow run through the carvings, accentuating them against the wall, brighter than the glow which already permeated the hallway. Soon the carvings begin to combine into a single form, a single figure carved against the wall, on the floor, in the ceiling.

Anton thinks he recalls hearing about such defensive measures. As he sees the obstruction up ahead, he is sure of it.

An entirely hollow statue of a fearsome Leviathan blocks their advance. He'd heard of such a defense being employed by Archbishop Monçada, a summoning of one of the fallen creatures of the Abyss. It would be bound to a statue of its likeness, forced to protect its master's haven. The arbishop's haven was said to be impregnable for its existence, hundreds have died trying to infiltrate it - though the archbishop's haven is a special case, as the demon is reportedly not bound to a statue of any kind, and is held in check by the power of Monçada's blood, making it even more difficult to defeat than one might first imagine.

Everything till now - every trap, every obstacle, even the floor that appeared to lead to the abyss - all of that could be avoided. But this - this could not be avoided. This monster would have to be destroyed.

Yet, as they draw nearer, despair seizes Anton's cold heart as he realizes they will not have to destroy the Leviathan after all. For such has already been done for them.

The statue is cracked in many places, and a hole is visible at the chest, black liquid leaks from said hole and chest, and completely covers the floor.

Blood is also everywhere. On the floors, on the wall, even some on the ceiling, and it audibly sizzles as the two vampires approach the statue. Anton sees it is in the process of eating through the rock.

This has to be it. Basilio's last line of defense. All he has left now is the demon hiding within his shadow and his own powers.

"This was recent, brother. Whatever happened here, Husayn could not have escaped unharmed; we must hurry."

Not Aman · « **Reply #116 on:** July 08, 2015, 06:17:55 pm »

Anton nods.

"Yes, quite." He states, though his mind is mostly on the dead Leviathan. A creature from the abyss this powerful... And yet destroyed? How could that be?

"Let me guide you, the blood will burn the skin."

Drakilian · « **Reply #117 on:** July 09, 2015, 05:05:42 pm »

Guiding Kirl through the acid blood pooled at the bottom of the floor, Anton and Kiril make it through without touching any of the acid with their skin - though it begins to eat away at their boots. Anton's travelling boots last a bit longer than Kiril's fine nobleman's dress, but both have to be discarded before any serious damage is caused to the wearers.

Proceeding barefoot through the hall, Anton soon arrives at a crossroads of sorts. Down the left hall he sees a series of wooden doors, the same down the right hall. Directly forward he sees a stairway that leads upstairs.

There are no plaques of any sort indicating what each room is. If this is Basilio's haven, he would know that himself. Yet another measure to confuse invaders, it seems.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #118 on:** July 09, 2015, 09:46:44 pm »

Kiril attempts to discern if any traces of the leviathan's blood might indicate which way its killer traveled..

Not Aman · « **Reply #119 on:** July 10, 2015, 05:44:34 am »

Anton looks around.
"Can you hear anything, brother?" Anton asks. "There are four doors now, yet I can see no sign of struggle on any of them."

Drakilian · « **Reply #120 on:** July 11, 2015, 01:24:59 am »

The Leviathan, being a creature of the abyss, possessed no blood. The black liquid that leaked out of the statue that bound it was part of the ritual, abyssal essence liquified and held within the fetish.

Husayn's own acidic blood cannot be sensed anywhere within Kiril's range of vision, nor can he hear the sounds of combat - even though Basilio's shadows would drown out sound, Kiril is certain the fighting between two such potent elders would shake the very earth. Perhaps Husayn has not yet reached their master?

Sethaniel · « **Reply #121 on:** July 13, 2015, 06:00:32 am »

"My apologies,," says Kiril. "I can't sense anything."

Not Aman · « **Reply #122 on:** July 13, 2015, 06:51:02 am »

Anton nods.
"Then we must quickly check everywhere." Anton says, opening up the doors to each room.

Drakilian · « **Reply #123 on:** July 14, 2015, 02:03:58 pm »

The first room Anton comes across is locked.

The second room he comes across is also locked.

Approaching the third room he comes across a great sense of foreboding that tells him opening the door would be a horrible, horrible idea.

It appears he is not making much progress here.

Not Aman · « **Reply #124 on:** July 14, 2015, 02:14:07 pm »

"All the doors are locked. We should head upstairs." Anton states, heading up.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #125 on:** July 14, 2015, 05:05:24 pm »

Kirin figures he may as well try to ascertain if there might be another secret entrance or something nearby.

Drakilian · « **Reply #126 on:** July 14, 2015, 05:22:22 pm »

Moving up the stairs, Anton is soon stopped by a massive, heavily fortified door with metal reinforcements that appear to have been ripped to pieces. No mortal man could possibly have broken through this barricade, and very few vampires as well.

End of the line.

Drakilian · « **Reply #127 on:** July 14, 2015, 05:30:40 pm »

While Kiril doesn't feel any latches to any secret passages around here, he does hear his brother's footsteps stop suddenly upstairs.

Not Aman · « **Reply #128 on:** July 14, 2015, 05:46:56 pm »

"Yeah, this looks like where Husayn went." Anton states, waiting for Kiril as he summons Nightshades and draws his blade.

Drakilian · « **Reply #129 on:** July 14, 2015, 07:52:38 pm »

Four Nightshades crawl out of the darkness and pool at Anton's feet, ready to be used.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #130 on:** July 14, 2015, 09:37:42 pm »

Kirk summons dark steel tentacles around himself as he joins his brother. (He's really hoping Anton enters first, though.)

Not Aman · « **Reply #131 on:** July 14, 2015, 10:06:12 pm »

Anton does, letting his nightshade swarm into the room.

Drakilian · « **Reply #132 on:** July 15, 2015, 05:52:38 pm »

Anton heaves and strains to pull the massive door open, where unoiled hinges (perhaps purposely unoiled hinges) screech mightily into the final room of Lord Basilio the Elder's labyrinth.

Rushing down the short hallway, the two vampires stumble onto a scene almost out of a tale:

The room is luxurious and decadent, clearly intended to provide every comfort an elder of Basilio's magnitude could desire. A pale fire that gives off neither heat nor smoke burns within an ornate fireplace, at the foot of which is a large stuffed chair of egyptian origin. Basilio, Lord of Sofia, sits in it. Behind him, Husayn, master among masters, stands with a sword drawn, dripping his own blood. His clothing has been ripped to pieces around his upper left torso, where he appears to have suffered terrible damage to his body - the Leviathan left its mark.

Basilio is not unaware of the situation - Kiril and Anton had walked into a conversation, it seems.

"You truly intend to kill me then, Husayn? You would give up everything we have strived to accomplish together?"

Husayn's voice is clear and neutral, telling nothing of the pain he must feel.

"I have taken a contract, and I shall execute it. Enough, my friend; your children have come to watch you die."

Moving so quickly they can only begin to follow him with their eyes, Husayn's blade almost vanishes from sight as it moves up and then rapidly down, in a simple maneuver to decapitate the dark lord - but Basilio is not without his own defenses. With almost equal speed, the master Lasombra shifts out of his seat and holds out his right hand as if he held something within it. Darkness materializes into the form of a dark, obsidian blade just in time to stop the advance of the assassin's killing blow. Both strike with such force that their blades break, Husayn's snapping at the edge and Basilio's shattering into a thousand abyssal crystals. The force from the blade also expels some of the blood on Husayn's blade, which strikes Basilio's body and begins eating through his clothing. The elder shows no pain.

Without missing a step Husayn unsheathes a bloody dagger, moving to eviscerate Basilio - but the Lasombra grabs and twists the assassin's arm. Moving him aside just in time to avoid the blow.

Now put slightly off balance, Husayn takes advantage of his superior speed to maneuver himself back into a position of safety behind Basilio, where he prepares his next finishing strike. The Lasombra starts to turn but he moves too slowly to stop the blow...

Kiril and Anton start forward both know they will be unable to reach their sire in time. Husayn wears a look of open despair as he realizes he will succeed.

The room grows cold.

A shade bursts out from Basilio's shadow and catches Husayn's dagger in one dark hand, squeezing with such absolute strength that the Kiril can hear the dagger's steel groan and snap. The pain would be horrific, had it been capable of feeling such.

From the prolific shadows within the room tendrils sprout, blessed with a strength from the Abyss greater than even Basilio's. Husayn's eyes widen, though he no longer appears to despair. He ducks and weaves a slips around the attacks, avoiding even those that Basilio adds into the fight. He moves as a blur, and in fact Anton is not sure that the Assamite isn't using some discipline to hide his form.

As it goes, Husayn has begun to dodge towards Anton and Kiril. If there's any time for them to act, it would be now.

Not Aman · « **Reply #133 on:** July 16, 2015, 10:55:32 am »

Anton quickly sends off his nightshades towards Husayn to slow him down, as he moves in with his sabre and tentacles to attack.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #134 on:** July 17, 2015, 07:44:55 am »

Kiril surrounds the assamite with a shroud of night, whilst sending all his tentacles to aid in the attack.

Like everyone but Anton, Kiril is also touched by despair. After all, the assamite has already proven the brothers stand absolutely no chance of even inflicting damage on him, let alone defeating him in combat.

Perhaps their inevitable deaths will at least provide their lord with a momentary distraction of which he might take advantage.

Drakilian · « **Reply #135 on:** July 17, 2015, 11:48:00 am »

As the nightshades begin to surround him, Kiril's shroud envelops him, and tendrils of all kinds surround him, Husayn stops moving. He stays still long enough for each to strike him. No one can see the brief smile he gives at their extreme efforts, so covered is he by darkness.

Basilio, Anton and Kiril being so focused on the blob of darkness that they assumed was Husayn, did not see Husayn appear behind Anton. As Husayn snaps Anton's neck before throwing him away into the mass of tendrls, only Anton noticed that as he fell back, it was not Husayn who had struck him, but a mirror image Anton himself.

Basilio and Kiril turn aside with surprise to see Anton looking incredulously at Husayn, who lies on the ground at the base of the mass of tendrils wounded. It looks to them that Husayn did not completely escape the tendrils; his neck hanging at an odd angle. The assassin tries to speak but sound refuses to escape his mouth, perhaps because of the broken throat.

Anton looks at his own hands, as if surprised he had managed to fell such a foe. "His injuries must have been too much for him", he mutters.

Not Aman · « **Reply #136 on:** July 17, 2015, 05:58:06 pm »

Anton knows that the only thing keeping him from becoming riddled with tendrils is the group's confusion, so with a quick boost of will and blood, Anton forces his tendrils towards Husayn, along with nightshades, as he quickly escapes the death trap.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #137 on:** July 18, 2015, 11:22:10 am »

Kiril does nothing.
He knows they should not have been able to defeat the assassin at all, let alone so easily. Best to follow Basilio's lead here.

Drakilian · « **Reply #138 on:** July 19, 2015, 04:48:15 pm »

Basilio, having far too much faith in the competence of his childer, has his tendrils wrap around Anton.

Having not much time before Anton's tendrils react and the deception is revealed, Husayn draws two throwing daggers from his belt whilst the two others are distracted and rapidly spits blood onto both of them. Kiril notices instantly, as does Basilio. This blood is stronger than the others, so strong that even as they watch it begins to eat through the two throwing knives. Before anything can be done, the assassin throws both knives directly at Basilio - they move far more quickly than any thrown knife has any right to move, and it is just barely that the shade sprouts in time to stop the two blades, unable to summon tendrils quickly enough. The shade shimmers briefly, and for a second it seems as if the thing would fade back into the abyss, having sustained wounds too terrible for it to live - but it subsists, however weakly, and fades back into Basilio's shadow.

It takes a second for everyone in the room save for Husayn to register the third dagger that had appeared in Basilio's chest.

Kiril is astonished. There was no third dagger thrown. Husayn had only made the throwing motion for two and a third had never been seen.

The dagger drops from Basilio's body as Basilio instantaneously turns himself into a shadow - and begins to rapidly slink away from the fireplace. Perhaps it could still burn him, despite its non-heated nature?

More tendrils sprout from the darkness and dart towards Husayn, who phases out of place into the one corner of the room currently out of reach of Ahriman's grasp. He pulls out two clay balls...

Not Aman · « **Reply #139 on:** July 19, 2015, 07:49:03 pm »

Anton quickly attempts to create a wall of Dark Steel to protect his master from whatever Husayn is throwing. To think that one kindred would be able to do so much against three others.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #140 on:** July 19, 2015, 08:55:31 pm »

Since only one area of the room is free from shadow, Kiril tries to fill it with a shroud of night.

Drakilian · « **Reply #141 on:** July 20, 2015, 02:38:56 pm »

Anton summons three tendrils around his master's shadow, while Kiril fills Husayn's part of the room with a Shroud of night.

The room goes dead quiet. For a few seconds nothing happens, and Anton wonders if Husayn had just bluffed so as to escape. Kiril sees him however. The assassin briefly says some few words of power, and he vanishes. Kiril's senses pick him up exactly where Basilio's shadow is.

Husayn throws the clay ball down, then teleports back to where he'd originally stood.

The clay ball hits the ground and shatters with a sudden and frightening explosion. Hot fire covers everything in a five foot radius, and the force from the blast stuns Anton.

Basilio's shadow and his shade look like they are consumed completely by the flames. Anton's tendrils are in the process of being consumed and Basilio's tendrils begin to fade, likely as a result of his death.

Husayn looks with mourning at the fire. He believes he has, unfortunately, won.

It is for this that he does not notice Basilio re-taking physical form behind him. It is for this that he does not see the jagged obsidian blade forming in Basilio's right hand. It is for the shroud that Kiril has wrapped around them both that Husayn does not hear the whistling of the blade through the air as the dark lord drives the sword through Husayn's chest with such force as to lift the assassin off the ground, impaling him completely.

Kiril doesn't quite know when the Lasombra overlayed himself with a nightshade, or when he split off from it, but the master shadow-worker had undoubtedly done so at some time during the fight, anticipating some use of fire once he assumed shadow form.

Anton, of course, is left thinking his master has just been brutally killed by whatever hides within the darkness of Kiril's shroud.

Not Aman · « **Reply #142 on:** July 20, 2015, 02:46:38 pm »

Seeing his master killed, Anton quickly sends off tendrils towards Kiril's darkness, aiming to at least damage Husayn. One can only hope him killing his friend would keep him still for a moment.

Sethaniel · « **Reply #143 on:** July 20, 2015, 06:21:54 pm »

Kiril does nothing, assuming he would only be in his master's way at this point.

Drakilian · « **Reply #144 on:** July 20, 2015, 07:01:33 pm »

Husayn hangs immobile, impaled on Basilio's summoned blade. The tendrils summoned by Basilio's shade begin to crawl up and slide around Husayn's limbs, to immobilize him. Not quickly enough.

Steeling himself, Husayn reaches for the blade sticking out of his chest with his right hand and grabs onto it so hard that the jagged edge cuts deeply into his fingers. With supernatural strength he snaps off the edge of the obsidian blade , then twists violently, pulling himself free. The assassin looks terrible, with the gaping chest wound and the injuries sustained from combating the statued Leviathan.

His situation does not improve when Anton's tendrils reach into the darkness and snag his left arm and right leg, beginning drag the injured vampire to his doom.

Still unable to see anything due to the shroud, Basilio does not see Husayn's next move - not that there would have been anything he could have done to stop it.

Reaching out with his left hand as far as possible in the direction he knows Basilio is in, Husayn squeezes very, very tightly.

The clay ball left in his hand shatters.

Fire consumes the small area, engulfing Husayn and Basilio both. Anton's tendrils, so close to the point of origin, are destroyed instantly. In wake of the scorching flames Kiril's shroud is dispersed, clearing the scene for Anton and the two elder combatants.

Basilio, fearful of the flames, summons smothering darkness from the shadows to put out the flames in the area. The darkness, not distinguishing between Basilio and Husayn, put out everything.

Basilio lies on the ground, the front half of his body a blackened mess, his clothes in ruins and seemingly as near to death as any vampire could be. The shade has undoubtedly been destroyed, as it is nowhere in sight. Husayn looks worse off, if that could be possible. Lying face-down near Basilio, his entire left hand has been obliterated by the blast. His left arm now ends halfway down his forearm at a burnt stump, a grievous wound that might not heal - even for one of the undead. This is not to speak of the other terrible burns all across his body, and the broken bones from the force of the blast.

Yet even so near death as he is, the assassin must complete his contract. Pushing himself up by the elbow on his injured side, Husayn looks briefly at his worthless arm, and then down to his right hand. Closing his eyes, Husayn vomits terribly acidic blood onto his own right arm, coating it as he would a weapon. His blood begins to eat through his arm - to Anton and Kiril's eyes, it is blood of the same intense acidity that burned through the daggers he'd thrown at the shade. His face takes on a terribly pale shade; that must have been among the last of the assassin's blood reserves.

Staggering upwards with continuously surprising speed, Husayn moves towards Basilio, the acid blood dripping down his arm. His intention is obvious - one last blow to end the Lasombra.

Not Aman · « **Reply #145 on:** July 21, 2015, 09:10:20 am »

Anton, seeing his sire burnt but still alive, breaths a sigh of relief, before resummoning more tendrils to grab the battered Husayn.
"Kiril! Torpor the assasin!"

Sethaniel · « **Reply #146 on:** July 21, 2015, 04:19:20 pm »

Kiril tries to block the assassins path to his master, using as many dark steel tendrils as he has/could quickly summon, along with his own body if possible.

Drakilian · « **Reply #147 on:** July 21, 2015, 05:37:13 pm »

Husayn shuffles towards Basilio - though he moves with nowhere near his usual speed, it is still enough to cause alarm to the barely conscious Lasombra. Basilio reaches out to Husayn with a ruined arm and five tendrils sprout from the darkness, striking at the assassin in unison. Husayn grabs and squeezes the first to reach him and the acid on his hand annihalates the tendril, dispersing it back into the abyss. Dodging and weaving, and making precise strikes with astonishing effectiveness, Husayn destroys each of the other four tendrils in a similar fashion - though he now seems even more drained than he did before. He's at Basilio's feet; the dark lord of Sofia is in little better condition than his would-be killer. Basilio's arm drops back down, almost is if he has resigned himself to his fate.

But Basilio's childer have not stood by idly for a moment while their master's life has been put into peril; from the church to Basilio's labyrinth, to this very room, they have fought fiercely for the life of their sire.

Tendrils sprout from the darkness, the product of Anton and Kiril's effort. They dart towards Husayn.

The assassin drops to his knees, no longer quite able to keep his feet. He raises his arm to finish off his friend. Tendrils crawl about his body and encase him almost utterly, anchoring him in place and holding him back - yet those that crawl around his arm to restrain his blow dissipate rapidly, destroyed by the acid with which he coated his own arm.

The remaining tendrils pull back powefully at Husayn's shoulder, the one part of his arm left unscathed by the acid. Husayn strains mightily against the tendrils, and for an instant, it seems as if they might give way even now. Husayn look towards his friend, and he finds sight of his target blocked.

Kiril stands before him.

Husayn stops struggling. His hand unclenches and he lets his head fall onto his own chest.

His voice comes out as a rasp, just barely audible - there must not be much blood left in his system to lubricate his vocal cords.

"Then I am finished. The contract is complete."

Sethaniel · « **Reply #148 on:** July 22, 2015, 06:42:12 am »

Kiril continues to shield Basilio while awaiting Husayn's inevitable descent into torpor.

Not Aman · « **Reply #149 on:** July 22, 2015, 11:39:47 am »

Anton quickly heads over to Kiril, his sire, and Husayn.
"Are you okay, sire?" Anton asks, looking over basillio.

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Author Topic: Anton and Kiril - Assassin's Honour (Read 45309 times)