abraxaslogs | WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

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WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

Welcome to The Free Cities! The portal exits outside the capital city of Cadens. The first impression of the city is its sheer size. It sprawls out across the landscape like a great hulking beast at rest. The wall that encircles it barely contains it, the buildings of Cadens practically bulging against its restraint.

The air here seems thicker somehow, tinged with a scent that’s acrid and smoky. Smog hangs high over the city, belched out by smokestacks that tower over the industrial district. The desert stretches out behind it, dotted with towers and dust clouds that disappear into the horizon. Multiple gates lead inside and each is staffed by soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms that wave a steady stream of people through without appearing to pay much attention. People are coming and going almost all of the time, to and from the outposts and areas of activity around the city proper. It’s difficult to tell just what’s out there beyond the impression of tall metal structures and a great deal of labor. Wagons carrying travelers to Libertas and Aquila roll out from the Travel Post outside the city wall.

Anyone who can sense magic will notice a much lower concentration here. No one will be stopped or questioned at the gate, even if the soldiers seem to take note of the fugitives from Thorne.

The activity and sheer number of citizens can be overwhelming. It’s crowded and loud and feels constantly in motion with everyone talking and yelling over each other. It’s easy to get swept up in the ever-moving throng or find oneself ducking into the mouth of a narrow alley just to breathe.

Anyone who’s willing to make their way to the northern part of the city and Portham Hall will find Prime Minister Marlo Reiner available to receive them.

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[Ah. Foot, meet mouth. The purse of Jaskier's lips is contrite; it feels a bit like being corrected by a professor, without the thwacking of a stick.] All right, so it worked for you that time.

[At least he's polite about it! Though Jaskier maintains his idea is a very cute and quirky one, if not a little -- wait, like what?

There is a reaction. And it is instantaneous.

Jaskier outright screams. It's a scream of surprised terror, and the force of it -- or in his desperate bid to step backwards -- makes him tumble to the ground, landing on his tailbone, which shoots a pain up through his spine, which is both awful and barely felt at all. He stares in horror at the swirling bats that are currently occupying the space where his friend once was, shuffling backwards in the sand.

Let's just say it's really good that he pissed only moments before this.]

[Perhaps it is a little cruel, giving no warning about the transformation. The wolf is a little easier, as it is a singular creature and one that doesn't inspire much terror. Bats, well. They're not always the most welcome things, and there are many of them in a small space.

Oh well.

The bats manage to remain in their little column, flapping and squeaking for a few moments more, all their eyes turned towards Jaskier who is absolutely not enjoying this for a moment. The tailbone, well, that'll hurt and--

--Alucard occupies the space again. Perhaps that was overkill.]

It is a little difficult to have one in isolation, you see.

[It may only be a few seconds, but it's absolute hell for those few seconds. At some point Jaskier is fairly sure he blacks out, only to open his eyes back, though his head swims uncomfortably, to the bats turning back, somehow, fucking impossibly, into a man.

He clutches his chest, where his heart has decided to attempt to claw its way from behind his ribs. Jaskier coughs a few times, gasping for air. You cannot do this to old men. What if he had a heart attack???? If he knew what one was. STILL.]

Melitele's fucking tits --

[He's going to have nightmares about this. Definitely. His brain is already promising to have that image haunt him in the future.] I cannot believe you just did that! What on EARTH were you thinking?! Vampires may not be capable of dying from fright, but I am!

[Jaskier you just called yourself old. Think for a moment.

Alucard at least has the grace to look mortified at Jaskier's full reaction. He may not know the god he swears to, but he knows actual horror when he sees it. (The delight in the surprise is absolutely gone. Surprise is only good when both parties take it well.) There's a faint red of embarrassment to his face, and he steps back in order to allow the bard room to breath.

He doesn't hold his hands up in placation, or try to override the rawness of the reaction though. There's only honesty in the answer.]

Truthfully, I forgot that the transformation could be that much of a surprise to the unexpecting.

[He holds up a hand as he takes the final breaths his lungs are crying for, wiping a hand over his face. He doesn't move for a second, until he stops shaking enough to push his hands into the sand and get to his feet.

At least he manages to look up and see Alucard is not superbly pleased with the whole reaction. It's the only thing that helps to settle the anger that threatens to boil up.]

Yes, well, I'm not a vampire expert, thank you. I didn't -- I was not aware you could fucking do that. [He leans over to brush sand from his knees, though his hands are still shaking.] And perhaps I'm a little more afraid of bats than I recalled.

[He is so lucky he pissed at the beginning of this meeting. These trousers were not cheap.]

They're just small mice with wings. [Alucard. That is the worst defense. Being this calm about it is helping absolutely fucking no one, you are coming off--

--hm.

This is what it means to be aligned closer to his father's side of things, isn't it? To forget that one's natural abilities carry the ability to terrify to this degree - athough the bard does seem a natural jumpy sort, if Alucard's forced into absolute and brutal honesty.]

No more transformations to prove a point. I assure you.

And also horrible bearers of disease!

[Not that he has anything against bats, but vampire bats are a different thing. Not that he's thinking of offering blood or anything, even if he sort of considered it back in Horizon already. This is different! Somehow. Very different.]

Wait. [He finally finds the gumption to look at Alucard again, and despite his shaky limbs, his heart is already growing calmer. Jaskier may be motivated by fear sometimes... but he is far more motivated by adventure.] No, don't do that! Are you crazy? I want to see them! Simply -- simply offer a bit of a warning before doing so.

[Look, how many times do you get to have a vampire friend who turns into various dangerous wildlife?]

That's uncalled for.

[Be! Nice! To his bat form!!!

Alucard folds his arms across his chest, not really bothering to hide the fact that this whole thing has made him quite unhappy and a little hurt. It isn't as if he'd be showing these forms to many other people.

Also Jaskier, knowing you, like FIVE?]

Well, that is the sum total of the transformations, you'll find.

[All right, that's fair, he isn't meaning to call Alucard a... large cloud of disease-ridden beasts. But to be fair, he's the one who started it, calling them flying rats. Rodents. Whichever.

It is not hard to miss the fact he has clearly hurt the vampire's feelings. Which is an utterly bizarre thing to think -- that he would ever be in a position to hurt any vampire's feelings, let alone, er. Be in this situation at all.]

Oh.

[It does sound a little disappointed.]

Ah, that's still! Brilliant! Amazing! I mean, I would never be able to turn into... that many things. Let alone one.

[He feels weirdly guilty about this entire conversation now. He approaches Alucard to show just how not-scared he definitely is of him, knowing he can instantly become bats whenever he feels like it. He pats his arm.] I promise, it is very, ah, impressive.

[In fairness, the vampire in question is pretty much built to run on angst and he's very bad at the concept of subtle, even if he tries hard to make it otherwise.

The disappointment is understandable though. There's a great many things Dracula could transform into that Alucard simply cannot, but it hasn't been a true bother. Just a slight difference, and frankly, the wolf was the best out of all of them.

To what Alucard thinks is his credit, he only tenses a little at the arm pat. Physical contact is a little precarious these days.]

Good for the current terrain, at any rate. Do you intend to continue pissing out here whenever you need to? I suspect it might become more dangerous every time you do so.

[Gods, he's never met a man so completely wound up as Alucard. He really does need a good lay -- and even more than that, perhaps some adoring touches along his temples and into his hair, to last for days, if not weeks.

It'd work for Jaskier.

But Jaskier does not inflict any further touch on him. Even if he finds that unbearably frustrating, he is respectful.]

Oh, gods, why did you have to bring it up again? We were doing a very good job at ignoring how this little meeting went, thank you! [Alucard, you are THE WORST. But somehow his embarrassment with it all is affectionate despite it.] If this is your new wolfish territory, I suppose I'll find elsewhere to mark my own land.

[That's a joke. This was an emergency, all right?] I'd very much consider it a favor if we do not speak of this again. I have a reputation to -- er, build.

[Jaskier, you're probably right, but getting laid is about the source of 50% of his trauma right now and it's gonna be a while until he has time to unpack all of that.

The dhampir doesn't quite smile at the reaction to the reminder, but it's there in spirit.] I'm hoping to mark something a little more quiet and less prone to those in need of an emergency piss stop, if we're being totally honest.

[Also a joke. He promises.] I assure you, I will be striving to erase the opening moments of this conversation for the rest of the day.

[Honestly, fair.

He had to keep going, didn't he! Unfortunately, even being over 40, Jaskier still has the ability to sound like a child. (Something they might share, actually.)]

Stooop! You're the worst. [He says it with a laugh. It's -- all right, it is far from the most embarrassing thing to happen to him, but something about being scolded by a vampire is making it all the more embarrassing. And hilarious. That Alucard appears so put-upon by it just makes it funnier.

And to think he turned into a wolf and bats in the space of a conversation. Even the most mundane of conversations have turned absolutely fucking fascinating in all the most unexpected ways.]

See, I will miss this if you mean to go to sleep for... an unspecified length of time. I do hope spotting certain appendages of mine won't bring you nightmares.

[Look buddy if you can unlock that secret trauma, more power to you. Geralt already knows about the patricide.

The worst? Alucard takes a beat to look offended, but the laugh makes it clear that none of it is truly meant. (Trevor is not permitted to learn that kind of language, Alucard can already foresee a poor ending to it.)

Jaskier's set him up for a good response though, and so Alucard's tone is deadly serious as he offers back:]

Is it more insulting if it stays with me or if I find it utterly forgettable?

[Jaskier is definitely working at both unlocking trauma and unlocking everyone's chastity belts, so. The effort is there.

Jaskier has the energy to still look offended for a moment, pointing to him with his mouth open.] You! You'll be dreaming of it, I'm sure! You had better say the former, or I will be very upset with you, thank you. And don't go spreading any mean rumors about me, either, after your little nap. I know you vampires are very gossipy.

[Okay, he's just assuming, but it makes sense if you're going to live forever you might as well gossip about everything.

It's definitely a lucky thing Jaskier has forgiven him for the terrifying bat thing already. Or he'd do something drastic.] You know, had I thought we were going to end up in a joust of insults, I would've come prepared.

[But he'll give it to Alucard: he's very good at it. Sometimes. Maybe.]

[Well as long as he's dating Hector, Alucard is only going to potentially allow one of these things. There's no merit in getting into a fight with a necromancer.]

You are right about vampires being gossipy, I'll give you that. It is the true curse of a long life. [They're bored. It's a small group of people. Infinite shit talking ensues.]

For whatever it is worth though, I did not expect to end with insults. If anything, this whole situation feels as if it grows more ridiculous every moment.

[Which is accurate. And he has hopefully just side stepped all further dick talk which is the real goal at hand.]

[Ah! As he suspected. Though it does bring to question how old Alucard is. He hasn't asked; it always seems a bit rude to do so, though he thinks they're friends enough it would be a fair question.

It doesn't really take much for Jaskier to think fondly of another as his friend. After all the nasty prison stuff, too. Much harder to make friends that way.

Jaskier grins, giving a little shrug.] That it does. Which, I think, is a fun way to go on with it.

[And yes, let's round away from the cock talk.] Going back to it... well, if you need help with this little crypt of yours, let me know. I have absolutely no idea how to help, of course, but I feel I must throw the offer out there. Unless you can think of a use of a few dozen, magic alarm birds.

[That could totally be helpful. Who wouldn't love some color in their weird nap crypt?]

[He is an absolute babby. Just ask Geralt, who thought he was way older too.]

I can't say that I think I do, but an entire cyclops snuck down into the last one with no warning or indication and acted as a security system, so what do I know so far as that part of this?

[Going from that tone? The dhampir is absolutely serious.]

[The horror Jaskier will feel when he realizes he's twice Alucard's age.]

An entire -- [His voice sort of trails off. A cyclops? That... wait! Geralt had mentioned them before. Certainly nothing he'd run into, and Jaskier was more than happy to keep it that way.]

An entire fucking ogre? It just... wandered into your crypt?

[He knew they weren't the smartest of creatures, but...

Well. Maybe it got stuck.] You have lived a very fascinating life for a man who sleeps so much.

Cyclops. Ogres can't turn intruders into stone.

[At least, not where Alucard's from. At least he's gentle with the correction, although it does bring up a point that has been on his mind for a time.] Truth be told, I'm still not sure how it ended up there. The crypt was under a populated city, and they're not precisely the most subtle of creatures.

[It is a mystery Alucard hasn't really wanted to focus on. There's every chance it was an accident, just as there's a chance that maybe his father pointed it in a particular direction as a gate keeper, which is a whole bucket of emotions the dhampir doesn't want to unpack.

A soft near-laugh comes out of the dhampir.]

Not bad for spending one year out of the twenty asleep, I suppose.

I mean, if you want to get pedantic, it's in the ogre family...

[Jaskier is nothing if not a lover of the pedantic, but he also only has this knowledge secondhand. Will it stop him? Absolutely not. He knows, at least, cyclops are ogroids, even if they're much rarer than the more common ice troll --

Alucard's life actually is beginning to sound like it borders the line between bizarre and comical. So he went to sleep in an underground crypt... only for it to be invaded by a cyclops. Underneath an entire city.

Did someone put it there on purpose? He --

It's for the best he has nothing to be in the middle of drinking, because this would've been the perfect moment for a spittake. As it is, Jaskier does his best to imitate the gesture without a mouthful of water.] You what? You're fucking twenty?

[He... he's twice as old as a vampire??????

Why is it everyone he befriends is some sort of supernatural, non-aging hottie???]

--Why is that everyone's reaction?

[The question is mild, but it is genuinely baffled. Every time someone who isn't Hector learns of his age, they're baffled by it. It makes absolutely no sense to Alucard at all. Not all vampires and vampire adjacent things are automatically old as dust.

His lips thin into a frown. There's no hurt feelings, but there is genuine confusion.]

Vampires are supposed to be old!

[He probably shouldn't be humansplaining a vampire to a vampire, but -- to be fair, there is a large chance that Alucard's vampires are not the same as his own. (Though his own experiences with them are, of course, limited. Or nonexistent. Unless people he's met were vampires and he simply didn't know, which would be both awesome and disappointing.)]

Well, as I know them. They're all supposed to be ancient. It's simply... that's how it is. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it, of course. [He does have the feeling it was somehow insulting, and he likes Alucard. So he steps his words back.] I did not expect to be twice your age, that's all.

Vampires have to start somewhere.

[He shrugs, not minding the humansplaining. At least Jaskier's reaction is about ten times as entertaining as Geralt's, although in theory that's not hard. Rocks emote more than Geralt does.]

Although is it because you think I'm supposed to be old, or because I've made you feel old?

[There's a faint smile on his lips. Yes, this is a dick move question, Alucard's aware.]

Oooh, how I would love to see a little vampire baby.

[Or would it simply just go around killing and eating people? Hmm, maybe not. It would be quite an adventure, either way. Wait! If Alucard was only half, would that have made him a little vampire baby at one point?

With a big head of pretty yellow hair?

Why was he thinking of this? It was at least better than the whole dick conversation.

He --]

Oi! I've never felt old in my life, thank you. [He crosses his arms, lifting his nose at the vampire.] Men a quarter my age would pay their weight in experience if they'd be able to do half as much as I.

[It's all that walking, you know. Keeps you from aging for 22 years.]

WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

I am screaming (so is he)

Jaskier he could not have asked for a better reaction thank you

you cannot just DO THAT with NO WARNING

YOU WERE FINE WITH THE WOLF THERE BUDDY are you just hating on bats?!

it was one wolf!!! not 40 of them!!!

ONE WOLF IS WAY SCARIER THAN 40 BATS!!!

HOW!!! ONE WOLF CAN BE FOUGHT WITH A STICK

yeah but it is going to be more accurate you try coordinating 40 bats

ok you've got me there

There's SO MUCH TO COORDINATE also this entire thread is a gift thank you

I love this so much thank you too

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