INTRO LOG #2

[abraxasmods]

Intro Log #2

It has been two months now since the initial group of summonings first took place. Castle Thorne, or at least the part above ground, is buzzing with a vibrant air of hope following the 'success' at the Singularity. Eager smiles and excited chattering are to be found in nearly every corner of the castle and surrounding town. The honored guests may find grateful looks turned their way more often than not. A new and brighter day seems to be dawning on the kingdom.

In the dungeons it's a different story entirely. The mood is somber and uneasy. The prisoner taken for trial has yet to return, and no word has come regarding her or her fate. There has been no mention of any further trials as of yet and guards seem to have little patience for unruly behavior or even conversation. Some seem to not even look at or acknowledge the prisoners at all.

[ Feel free to continue threads from the TDM here or start your own! As cell and room assignments will be short-lived due to this month's event, you're free to assume whichever cellmates and roommates you like instead of officially signing up as long as there are ICly no more than four people in a cell or room at once. ]

Comments

{ alucard.

[vixening]

continued from here.

[ yennefer glances to him briefly at the reply he gives, considering whether she appreciates the honesty or if something in his words leans more into an acknowledgment that he might agree with her.

still, she gives a small, considering hum, casting her eyes back to the budding chaos. to the violence of the guards. it comes as no surprise, to her, but it does give her a place to start from. an idea of the type of people those guards are. ]

I take it you did not just arrive? [ she says it casually, with her eyes still on the crowd. she makes no motion that she plans to sit, or even wants to, but depending on the wound at her side that can always change. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard only means it as an honest statement of fact. It's less exciting, but he isn't in the mood to craft more subtle meanings these days. There's a bad tension in the air now, and he can feel that it might snap at any moment.

He keeps his eyes ahead as well, looking off just slightly to the side, should anyone approach.]

Two months. [A glance to the other side, and at that point, he notices the way Yen carries herself. Hm.]

I can sit with my back against the wall, if you'd like to make it take some of the tension.

[vixening]

[ the longer yennefer stays, the more she may be able to recognize that. for now, the entire place feels to have a strange tension, but she can't be certain yet if that is just the normal or something else. it's something she is keeping herself aware of, certainly, but what else is new when you arrive to a new kingdom? ]

And you've been imprisoned all that time? [ she doesn't mean anything particularly scathing or judgemental by her question, necessarily, but that doesn't mean the tone in which she asks isn't tinged with it. two months in this hole?

her attention comes back to him, at the offering. she glances to the bench, then back to him, before shaking her head once. ] I'm alright to stand. [ is it pride? is it survival instinct? yennefer isn't sure which is louder, these days, but she lets her eyes fall to alucard, turning to face him a bit more fully. ]

What is your understanding of all this, then? [ yennefer gestures to the rest of the yard with the hand not currently at her gut. ] Thre must certainly be more than whatever drivel they hand us all upon arrival.

[cryptsleeper]

Save for the occasional prison labor excursion, yes. [There's no hiding the distaste in Alucard's voice at the explanation, or how he shifts just a little at the memory. Every part of that trip, physical and mental, was exhausting, and to be shoved into a hole right after did little to make things better. He's had few nightmares about the things his own mind created, but others--

--well, the badgers that Kay summoned make the occasional surreal appearance in dreams, and Alucard absolutely hates them.

He nods once at the insistence that standing is fine, not inclined to push the point. That doesn't stop the dhampir from extending backwards a bit, if only to stretch his back.]

They took someone a few days ago. Circumstances being as unclear as they are, there's no good purpose and there's to be an execution in a few days. My understanding is that there's no purpose save ones that end in our deaths for the sake of that well or else there's a way to break the spell that restrains everyone's natural abilities and allows for an escape.

[That last part is the one he's been thinking about.] Death being on the horizon, it's probably the best time to make an attempt - even if it might be anticipated.

[vixening]

[ her brows lift a bit at that. prison labor excursion? alright, well. that is something to take into account. with the added, obvious distaste in alucard's tone. part of yennefer wonders if there isn't something more to the concept of this prison labor that alucard isn't telling her, but she doesn't find she cares enough to press the subject, her full attention going - instead - to the next bit of information that he chooses to share.

she frowns at the new knowledge, but also if she considers the tension she's felt just in this yard, it all sounds entirely believable. ] So they're already picking off the mistakes, I see. Why would they make one a public execution while just taking others without warning? [ jailbreak or no, yennefer wants her connection to chaos back. and if alucard is paying close enough attention, he could probably see her react to that idea. ]

Is that all it will take? To access our abilities? [ she glances back to the now dissipating crowd, watching other prisoners get dragged out. the mood of the group at large is certainly leaning towards something akin to escape. ]

And do you think it's possible? Escaping from here, I mean.

[cryptsleeper]

I wouldn't say picking off. Taking advantage of numbers to complete different tasks though--

[The dhampir trails off. He considers Jon a special case because of what was done, but the missing prisoner? That is where his concern lies, and quite frankly, he's waiting for someone else to be next. There are more than enough bodies without any natural abilities, making anyone vulnerable to magic.

There's a faint shudder at the thought, meaning he misses Yennifer's exact reaction.]

I'm genuinely unsure. [No point in lying or false promises.] To the former more than the latter, the latter I imagine can be done with enough of a distraction at the opportune moment. Whatever spell the mage used, it's powerful and I haven't the appropriate resources to seek how to break it.

[For his father's library or the Belmont Hold these days. Hector's doing...well, the lion's share of the work at this point, which Alucard hates for a few reasons. He frowns, his eyes moving to the ground. Better that way as the crowd thins and becomes nothing more than only one person standing awkwardly in the spot of where it all blew up.]