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[lamentedinnocence]

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for petcromancer ⛲ the dark palace of waterfalls

[lamentedinnocence]

[ The door closes behind him. Chased further and further into the depths of the castle by Walter's monsters, Leon clutches a deep wound on his side where hot blood seeps through gloved fingers. He breaks the quiet with a groan. The tails of his coat are dripping a trail behind him from having slugged through a waterway and he staggers into the chamber where Hector has been entrapped. For now, he's unaware of the forgemaster's presence.

Leon's boots squelch beneath his weight but he doesn't hear them since the roar of the waterfall outside is still ringing in his ears. He can't even tell how loud he is when he slips into the cavern, the sound of the door and his struggling cutting days' worth of palpable silence.

When he's far enough in and nothing's attacked him yet, he crouches, sets his whip aside, and pats down his person for something, anything that might stop the bleeding. ]

[petcromancer]

[Hector doesn't possess the unnaturally keen ears of a vampire, but Leon's approach isn't subtle. He's been here long enough that his brain tunes out the ever-present sound of water and his ears focus on more novel sounds. He's also been here long enough to have had more than one human hunter visit these chambers.

The first one, he'd been hopeful about. An opportunity for escape, he'd thought. But humans were just no match for a vampire lord, and after the first tried and failed, Hector abandoned that hope. If he were to ever see himself freed, it would be by his own magic and cunning.

He sighs as the man staggers in. This hunter has made it further than most, which means Hector's whole week will now be lost to restocking the castle's night creatures. Don't get him wrong, he loves the work (at this point, it is literally all he has to keep himself sane), but he craves creativity. Having to mass produce zombies and fish men when he could be tinkering with something new is so. damn. annoying.

Hector is not a warrior, neither by temperament nor skill, but he takes up his forging hammer as he steps out into the middle of the chamber.]

You'd be better off abandoning your quest and going home, you know.

[His tone is conversational and his hammer is lowered by his side as he moves into the hunter's line of vision.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ While Hector isn't hostile, the sound of a stranger approaching while his weapon isn't in his hand takes Leon off guard. He's amidst glugging down potion when Hector speaks, and upon seeing him, he almost chokes on it— standing up suddenly and readying the whip again as he coughs.

Probably familiar enough to see, as it's Rinaldo's. Leon is indeed one of the many who'd come here, and he wields a recurring weapon, as it's been any hunter's best shot.

Hector isn't quick to start a fight, though. He certainly doesn't come as very antagonistic, if he is. ]

Who— [ He tries to say something, but coughs a few more times to rid his pipes of the potion. He looks at Hector, almost apologetic, before he manages to stop the choking and clear his throat. ] Are you a prisoner here? Did he best you? [ Why else would Hector be so immediately pessimistic? ]

[petcromancer]

[Hector waits, arms folded and one eyebrow raised, for the hunter to finish choking down his potion so he'll stop bleeding all over Hector's floor.]

I prefer to think of it as 'compelled employment'. ['Prisoner' implies passivity, and Hector is not idle here. He has a role, has importance. Until he can find a way to free himself, he has to cling to that.]

I'm called Hector. And let me guess. Walter has seized up your wife or sister or some close kin of yours, and you're here to slay him and see her freed.

[Walter has his hungers, and he isn't shy about sating them. Hector doesn't ask for this hunter's name, because what point is there in differentiating him from the ones who came before and the ones who will surely come after?]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ The magic in the potion stops Leon's bleeding. Hector's floor is spared any more blood stains. ]

So you're his slave then? [ If this Hector fellow's been holed up here, he can't be receiving much reward. Unless this is just where he likes to hang out, which seems highly unlikely. ]

That would be correct. He's keeping my betrothed here somewhere. [ Leon knows he's not the first, so Hector's skepticism can't be considered too rude. Too well-mannered not to, he tells the forgemaster his name, even it isn't asked for. ] My name is Leon.

[ He eyes Hector's hammer. There's a strange energy around it, but Hector himself seems human. Maybe he's a spooky blacksmith that supplies Walter's weapons or something? ] You aren't a night creature, Hector. [ He observes this. ]

This room is a dead end, but when I reached them before in the other areas, there was usually an evil guardian waiting there of some kind. Like Medusa, the succubus or the... [ Well, it looked like a penis, but he will not say that to Hector. That kind of honesty is usually saved for Mathias. ] ...fire worm.

[petcromancer]

[The word 'slave' gets a glare from Hector. It's true, technically, but that doesn't mean Hector likes saying it. Leon gets no more answer from him on that subject for the moment.]

Well, Leon, you'd be better served to simply go home and start searching for a new bride. Even if you make it far enough to find her, you'll find her changed.

[Not many before Leon have even been able to reach their loved ones in the time Hector's been here. Only a few have been skilled enough and quick enough, and their toil had led to nothing but sorrow at find their 'rescued' ladies transformed into vampire thralls.

He looks around at his prison. He's got his forging equipment set up on the drier side, and a little living area, but as Leon has pointed out, the only way in or out is the one Leon came through.]

Damn, you've gone through all of them? [Leon, you are making so much fucking work for him.] Technically, I think Walter expects me to guard this chamber. I can drudge up something big and nasty for you to fight if you insist. But you could just... leave. Nothing's keeping you here.

[lamentedinnocence]

[ What Hector says is unpleasant. Leon's realized that it's a possibility, but he hadn't wanted to think on it too long. He'd rather hope for other circumstances, ones that are realistic, but not completely helpless either. Walter seems both theatrical and sadistic enough to wait until Leon reaches him, he thinks. He may want an audience to witness him take the bite, and if Leon's fast enough, he can exploit that arrogance to lash him to pieces. These are the kinds of things he prays for instead. ]

Could you throw the woman you loved away so easily? [ He hadn't thought Hector was being cruel to him when he says it, and so Leon's reply is less of a reprimand and more his own reason for not abiding the forgemaster's suggestion. He hears him. But surely the other can understand that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for turning around without so much as trying to save her properly. ]

Yes, your area should be the last of them. [ Leon clarifies, revealing that he's actually sweeped out more monsters than he'd let on. With Hector being the last guardian, he imagines he'll be able to open that seal at the front door soon.

His eyes follow the other man's, also looking over his sad little setup. His headcanon is that Hector is a magic blacksmith, even though his ability to make night creatures is already implied. Leon's not thinking as into it as he should and is instead accepting his presumption, wondering where the last orb to the entrance might be stashed. ]

You... [ Hm. He's tired and lucky that Hector's willing to ignore Walter's expectations. ] I'd rather not fight unnecessarily. I'd be happy to free you, actually, if you're really being held captive. [ Leon winds the length of the whip in his hand, a sign that he isn't going to use it. Hector doesn't seem very evil, frankly. ] You may not have any faith in that, but I should at least be encountering him soon enough to have a go at it. [ Just how long has Hector been holed up here? When was the last time he'd slept in a bed? ]

So is there an orb nearby? Will he know if you give it to me? [ Hector is brave to ignore Walter, if this is really how it's going to be. Leon respects him for it. ]

Alchemist's Hut, Forest of Eternal Night

[petcromancer]

[Hector is no stranger to waiting. His imprisonment and the voluntary seclusion before it have left him accustomed to passing time in quiet.

But the hours he spends in the mad alchemist's hut, waiting for word of Leon Belmont's fate, are unexpectedly agonizing.

When he first arrives, he spreads his fingers conspicuously as he hands Rinaldo the scrap of paper and the Belmont crest. A few minutes pass in silence as the alchemist looks over first his credentials, then his binding ring. Muttering to himself about needing to research and collect supplies, Rinaldo waves Hector to a corner of his cottage and disappears. Hector abandons hope of a quick solution to that problem, and settles in to wait.

Leon's hamburger fills a few more minutes. Hector starts with a small bite, but his long-deprived stomach demands more, and he devours the sandwich greedily in a few large bites. It is so, so much better than anything Walter has sent down to his prison in the past couple of years. It is gone much too soon.

There's a limited amount of poking around the hut that Hector can do before Rinaldo intervenes with angry glares and warnings to touch nothing. Eventually, Hector gives up and settles down with a book. When he realizes he's read the same page three times without retaining any of the information, he puts it aside and drums his fingers on the cover.]

Do you think he's got a chance of winning? [He asks Rinaldo.

The Alchemist nods, and produces a crystal ball from a shelf.]

I'm not going to get any work done with your fidgeting. We may as well watch.

[And so the two men sit across from one another at Rinaldo's rough wooden table, watching Leon proceed through the castle and confront Walter. When the vampire surrenders Sara, Hector knows what must have happened, even before they reach the cabin and activate the barrier.

The knowledge doesn't prevent his heart from sinking when it happens. Rinaldo rushes out to meet them, but Hector stays inside, wanting to give them their space.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ When Leon returns to the cabin hours later after having killed Sara, he looks at Hector without really seeing him. Moonlight leaks through the door behind him, spilling across the planks of the floor. His hand is on the whip, gripping it at the handle. There's nothing to be done now other than wait for Rinaldo to finish up outside. ]

...

[petcromancer]

...

[Maybe there are some magic words that could convey 'Sorry you had to kill your wife and turn her into a vampire murder whip. Hope killing her sire goes well for you,' and not go over like a lead balloon. But if there are, Hector doesn't know them. It's a shitty situation, and he doesn't know how to make it better.

But he can't deal with this torturous silence, either.]

...if you've still got that wine, I'd say now's the time for it.

[Hector's going to need to use this time to spin up a charm to keep his forged creatures off of Leon, but he's not doing it sober.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ This hadn't been how he imagined they'd share it. Without protesting, Leon wordlessly moves to one of the cabinets to pull the wine off the shelf. He doesn't carry it with much care, despite its value; bottle neck in his grip, and down at his side. The floor creaks under him as he walks before he sets it on the table in front of Hector. A thousand years old, millennium vintage. ]

I don't know where Rinaldo keeps his cups. [ He doesn't want to go outside to ask, either. ] ...I should bury her. [ He looks elsewhere and feels guilty for not staying outside to help Rinaldo dig the grave. ]

[petcromancer]

[Hector's just going to take the bottle and pop the cork. Who needs 'cups' when you have 'drinking straight from the bottle to forget your pain'? Besides, in an alchemist's house that seems to double as a lab, Hector isn't going to trust that the cups haven't held more poison than beverage. Better safe than dead.]

No. Sit. You should let Rinaldo do what he needs to do.

[There will be... steps... Rinaldo will need to take to ensure the girl does not rise again. The short time Hector spent with Rinaldo has reassured him of the man's knowledge. He trusts the alchemist will proceed as respectfully as he's able to and won't take any unnecessary steps. But still, he can imagine it wouldn't be easy for Leon to see his fiance's forehead scalded with holy water and blessed wafers, nor her heart pieced with a stake.]

You can pay your respects when he's done. Until then, I need you here. Assuming you're not willing to wait much longer to kill Walter, I've only got a little time to work.

[Hector steals liberally from Rinando's shelves as he talks. He thinks he can cobble together what he needs.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ Leon doesn't realize that much. He doesn't think that far ahead. He stares quietly at the label of the wine bottle as Hector lodges the cork free, watching his hands grip and twist. There's still a ring on his finger.

He props an elbow on the table, slipping his forehead against his palm. His fingers rake through his own hair, curling against flaxen roots. Listening to Hector is easier than trying to process his own emotions. He feels as if this conversation's the only thing keeping him sane. ]

Magic? [ Blind guessing. Leon shuts his eyes in an attempt to keep his thoughts from wandering back to what's left of Sara outside. ]

[petcromancer]

Yes. Similar to what I did in the Dark Palace of Waterfalls. It'll be easier to get to Walter and fight him if you don't have to fight your way through what's left of my handiwork.

[He sets his borrowed materials down on the table and nudges the wine bottle towards Leon.]

Drink something. Maybe it'll help.

[Digging through his pile of supplies, Hector pulls out a leather cord that'll serve as the base for his charm. It doesn't feel magic yet, but it will be soon. Eyeballing the length against Leon's head and his wrist, he decides on a bracelet. Easier to cobble together on short notice.

He's not used to having an audience (a live one, at least) as he works, but figuring a distraction might benefit Leon, he launches in to an explanation.]

Essentially, I am going to trick my creatures into thinking you are me. Give you my aura, in a way. It won't fool anything that has a human's intelligence or better, but you've already dealt with most of those when you were collecting your orbs. If I make it right, this should allow you a more direct path to Walter and less of your energy wasted to get there.

[He works while he talks- weaving strands of his own hair into the loop he braids, carving a rune into a wooden bead and stringing it in, pricking his finger on a pin and letting a drop of his blood soak into the binding knot. It's a strange arcane arts and crafts project.]

for petcromancer ⚜️🕊️ the belmont estate

[lamentedinnocence]

[ The morning settles over the Belmont estate, sunlight threading through tall windows and glazing the halls with mid-August warmth. It's been a week since Hector arrived, a little hesitantly, if Leon had to put word to it. Like a stray coaxed indoors and suspicious of the peace. But time softens edges, and today, Leon's made plans for them. He reaches the guest room door, one hand lifting to rap his knuckles against it in a rhythm that's more companionable than commanding. ]

Hector?

[ He calls with anticipation in the set of his shoulders. A festival waits down in the village. Harvest stalls and cider, ribbons and firelight, laughter and people. A scene Hector deserves glimpse of, even if only borrowed. ]

I want to take you somewhere today.

[ Creaking the door open, a smile tugs at his mouth as he impatiently presses a hand to the doorframe and leans in. He's already dressed— simple for a knight, but enough to be festive. ]

Aren't you curious?

[petcromancer]

[Hector is flipping through a book. There are a wide range of tomes stacked up on his desk that he's borrowed from the Belmont library. He's got a lot to catch up on, but his current focus, when Leon isn't around, has been researching cake recipes.

When Leon knocks, he shuts the recipe book and tucks it into the stack, hiding it in plain sight.]

Come in.

[Leon seems pleased with himself about whatever his plans are. Still, it's good to see a smile on his face, after his recent losses.]

Well, you are tempting my chief vice. I suppose I must find out.

[He's dressed simply in a white shirt with blue trim, and a red sash around his waist. If it's not appropriate for wherever Leon is taking him, Leon will have to speak up.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ Leon lets himself into the guest room, too excited at the thought of taking Hector out to the village to suspect anything of the book. ]

You wake quite early, don't you? I've yet to catch you sleeping.

[ He'd thought he would need to wait for Hector to get dressed, but there seems to be no need to make himself comfortable in the room. He'll stand in whatever open space is there. ]

—Do you ride?

[ He doesn't specify what and figures Hector should understand. His weight settles into one of his hips. ]

There are two horses in the stable, but if you aren't familiar, we can share mine.

[petcromancer]

[Hector pauses.]

Sorry. I've always kept odd hours, and having been trapped in a forest of eternal night only made it worse.

[It's only a matter of time until Leon stumbles upon Hector taking a cat nap in some sunny spot in the middle of the afternoon. Cushioned window seats or couches in libraries are his preferred makeshift beds.]

I can, and not just horses. [He replies, not meaning it in a lewd sense, although that is also true, he supposes.

But oh, he spoke too soon. Leon offers to share, but Hector will have to pass up the opportunity to sit, pressed up against the knight, since he's already admitted to his ability to ride. Damn.]

Lead the way. [Still, that missed opportunity won't sour his morning too much. He has to admit, he's curious as to what Leon has in store.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ He has no idea that this is how Hector sees him lately... The cuddled up romantic horse rides will have to come another time. ]

Is it possible to ride monsters? I wondered if they would dislike it.

[ Leon's mind is too pure to think of anything other than literal riding, and he thinks fondly of Leviathan, who has become his favorite pet. As Hector accompanies him, he leads the way through the estate halls and out to the horse stable. They're hit by the summer heat upon stepping outside, thick wall of it beating down on them in an instant. Leon hasn't found it in him to complain though, after dealing with the forest. He thinks Hector is the same. ]

You'll be taking the dapple grey there, Ophélie. She was Sara's horse.

[ so uh is anyone here actually surprised that leon and sara are a christian horse girl couple? probably not ]

And mine is here, Alaric.

[ Really big white horse. ]

I'll still need to tack them up— [ It's unusual for someone of his class to insist on dirty work, but Leon does. He's already moving for halters and lead ropes. ] —but feel free to get to know her. She's friendly, I'm sure she'll like you, Hector.

[ And she already seems interested in Hector indeed, because he happens to be near the treat corner. Ophélie is mild and well-behaved, so even though Alaric's starting to pace around his stall because he thinks he's going to get fed by Leon's new guest, she simply pokes her head out through the bars with her dark ears attentively swiveled Hector's way. She wants apple. ]

[petcromancer]

Some are more amenable to it than others.

[The ones who have shapes resembling horses usually don't mind bearing a rider, and a dragon can be convinced with the right bargain. Wargs can run like the wind, but rarely consent to a saddle, so they're usually not worth the risk of a broken neck. He'll regain Leon about the various options along the way to the stables.

Faced with Ophélie, Hector reaches out a hand slowly to touch her snout. Night Creatures love him. Some mundane animals, however, shy away from his aura, and he has yet to find a rhyme or reason as to which ones will be affected.]

She's beautiful.

[Luckily, she seems to not be one of the creatures who rebel against his touch, and she seems willing to do whatever is ask in pursuit of an apple.

And fortunate for her, Hector is almost fundamentally incapable of denying any pet a little treat. An apple is offered up and quickly devoured.]

So, you fancy a horse ride this morning?

for petcromancer 📜⚖️ "yay we're bonded heretics now" arc

[lamentedinnocence]

[ Only a few weeks have passed since Leon showed the clergy the journals Mathias left behind. Confessions, contracts, letters the Church had never meant to see daylight again. Leon had asked only for an explanation, but they had given him none. Instead he's received polite assurances that the Church would review the matter. The room had gone silent after that.

Since morning, hoofbeats and murmuring voices have been drifting up the road. The bells tied to the outer gate chime faintly in the wind. The source of the unsettling atmosphere eventually arrives in the form of robed figures gathering along the lake's edge.

A concerned maid first watches them through the tall windows of the manor, informing Leon only after one of them lowers a staff into the shallows. They're searching for something in the water. When Leon reaches the window, the sight in the distance makes his shoulders tighten.

How could they have known? Do they know, or is it coincidence? ]

Hector.

[ Leon's tone stays even as he moves away from the window. ]

Stay inside. There's a group trespassing near the lake.

[ He glances at him once before opening the door. ]

I'll convince them to move along.

[petcromancer]

[Hector sighs. This is new to Leon, but for Hector, is a familiar song and dance, an inevitable conclusion.]

Wait, at least put this on.

[He unfurls a cloak that has sigils subtly embroidered on the inside, sending a quick spark of power to activate the magic within. He holds it open for Leon to pull over his shoulders.]

Leviathan will stay in the depths unless we call for him.

[Or unless the serpent hears Leon being attacked, at which point Leviathan will intervene of his own will. The snake is ever so fond of the knight, a sentiment the forgemaster shares.]

If you can't convince them to leave peacefully, just whistle.

[Meanwhile, Hector is going to be gathering up the bags he's had packed for more than a week now, and briefing the maids on what lies to tell the mob to avoid being implicated with their master. Leon can hope for the best, because Hector is taking care of preparing for the worst.]

[lamentedinnocence]

[ Leon stops just before the door, the offered cloak drawing his attention. For a moment, he only looks at it, spotting the subtle shimmer of sigils worked into the lining. Hector's magic is blue, he's noticed. His guest is more prepared for what's about to happen than he is. Accepting it without protest, Leon draws the cloak over his shoulders and fastens it there. The fabric settles heavier than he expected it would. ]

I'll shoo them off. [ Again. At the very least, he isn't afraid. ] Just wait inside.

[ And then he's gone.

The lake feels farther away than he remembers it to be. Leon steps into the clearing and the scene plays out: the strangers at the lake, one with a suspicious cane already half-submerged and probing for something beneath the surface. Their attention snaps to him almost at once.

Words are exchanged, calm ones at first. Leon keeps his voice pleasant enough and offers them reason to leave. But it doesn't take. One single phrase spoken too quickly to make out and the air shifts. The first strike doesn't belong to Leon.

The raised voices of the men fracture into shouting. Then, a sharp crack of magic igniting cuts through it, followed by the low rush of fire singeing grass. Smoke rises, slowly thickening into a gray plume above the lakeshore, visible even from the manor where Hector is. The smell of burning comes after it.

A clash ensues with a leather whip furling against wood, and a body forced back. Hector's cloak protects Leon from catching fire, the magic flames thrashing in the grass bend away from where he stands, repelled.

It's bitterly ironic how the Church has sent some kind of sorcerer to investigate Leviathan. He'll notice that part later. ]

[petcromancer]

[Hector is told to stay inside, so of course as soon as Leon is out of sight, he disregards that. He takes the bags he's loaded up with supplies, books, and valuables, and drags them out to the stable. Time to get Alaric and Ophélie saddled up. Hector is sure Leon would miss the two horses if he was forced to leave them behind when they flee.

Meanwhile, Leviathan hears the struggle above. At first, the creature ignores it in spite of his curiosity, because he wants to be a good, obedient snake who gets lots of treats from master.

But then there's shouting, and the sound of Leon's whip, and Leviathan chooses to be a bad snake who doesn't get lots of treats but who still has a second master. Nice masters are harder to come by than treats.

Rising out of the depths, Leviathan shoots a watery blast at anyone who isn't Leon. It has the added side effect of quenching at least some of the flames on the ground. Then he hisses, ducking his head guiltily like a dog who stole a steak from the table when the owner turns around and catches it.]

writes you a long ass tag... enjoy....

[lamentedinnocence]

[ Hector, no!

Well, ordinarily, Leon would be disappointed in their pet. He wouldn't let an enemy notice it, it seems intentional enough, but in seeing Leviathan emerge from the water, Leon feels his pulse quicken and bites down. He's going have to do something about their witnesses. His whip whirls around in the grass, in aims of disarming the sorcerer of his staff.

Where Leviathan and Leon still are, the attacks from Leviathan (who's slightly less disobedient than Hector, by the way, because at least he tried to listen) prove advantageous.

As the snake provides him an opening, Leon gives up on letting himself feel too upset about being caught with a monster in his lake. Leviathan's blast cuts a path in the flames, and Leon lunges without mercy for the now sopping wet magician, hooking the whip around a stray forearm and yanking him in with it. While the man cries out, Leon forces him to the ground, pinning him belly down and then lodging his own staff up hard across his throat. The difference of their physical power is very apparent.

The remaining men are too terrified of Leviathan to dare face him. They instead scramble through the clearing to try and keep Leon from disrupting their ally, but fail, seeing him render their magician unconscious with the side of his fist.

As Leon gets off his knees and rises for them with his whip wound back, the cowardly men begin to flee toward the stable, or more specifically, for the road back to the village.

This is where Hector may regret his choice to come outside. Thinking they may have some leverage on their circumstances with a potential hostage tow, they try and jump him on their way out while he's attempting to prepare an escape.

Follow us any further, and the forgemaster will hang!

It's a threat, but the men in question are afraid of both of them, really. And the snake. And maybe even the horses. ]