ORIGIN - Survivor of Pompei

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Shards of Oilstone trailed behind Her like breadcrumbs leading out of the shadows of the tower and straight towards the massive, hulking shape of the valkhound, newly awakened. Head lowered, feet barely lifting as she unsteadily shuffled forward.

She still felt half in a state of delirium, sleepiness still pulling at her bones, weighing her down. Her vision and hearing felt like it had been muffled under an ocean of water. It was all slowly coming back to her, awareness creeping back into the corners of her brain, but it was no small feat to crawl oneself out of the exhaustion of a nap that had gone a few hundred years too long.

"Ugh..." she grumbled, eventually coming to a stop. Her head raised, six eyes blinking over and over again, as if to clear the sleepiness away. She stopped, gathered herself, and pushed past the veil. Thing felt clearer and clearer as the seconds stretched until, at last, she could form proper thoughts and words in herself. The click click click of the gears in her rusted brain at last working enough to begin running through a basic list of questions, most answers coming easily enough.

Where am I?
Orion. Near the tower, it seems.

Who am I?
Overseer Tectus.

What is my purpose?
To Oversee, by the will of the Masters. Find and destroy the rebels. Etcetera etcetera.

What happened?
That was where her brain pulled up short. That bit was all...still fuzzy. She remembered fighting, but had that been close to her time of sleeping? She remembered a conversation, but had it even been important?

She shook out her head, trying to clear the static, but that wasn't going away, not anytime soon. She turned back towards the tower, thinking she might ask one of the sentinels there, but then realized that there was...nobody. No valkhound stood guarding the entrance as they should have been. She looked up and could not see anyone cresting over the top of the tower either. In fact, the whole thing looked abandoned, crumbled in place, ancient.

"What..." She turned away towardsd the rest of Orion, where she saw the same signs of decay in the distance. A quiet, dark cave, of ancient ruins, long abandoned, left to gather dust and let its history be forgotten. "The fuck?"

It was odd, wearing armor. Erasmus had done their best to adjust to it, though they’d ultimately ended up carrying the helmet for now. This armor was important, a gift from Alek to protect Erasmus, and the vampire appreciated that. And it was light, compared to armor they’d seen during their visit to the Blacksmith, so it didn’t interfere with movement much.

The voicing of a curse in an unfamiliar voice caught Erasmus’s keen senses, and they paused. Was someone in Orion in a troubling situation, perhaps? It was no voice they recognized, but that was no reason not to help.

A stranger could quickly become a friend. Carefully, they moved towards the voice, in case there was a danger here. They called out when they got closer, ”Erasmus heard… someone? Someone alright?” they asked, their raspy voice laden with concern.

@Tectus

Tectus did not have to wait for the creature to fully approach to know he was coming. She tensed - an unfamiliar tap tap against the ground alerting her to a stranger, nostrils flaring at the odd scent, the strange lack of heat coming from this being. She didn't know it. Therefore, she would strike, gain control of this situation quickly, and ask her questions. The imps were not foolish enough to approach and valkhounds would announce their business, not sneak up behind her. The Masters she knew by scent alone.

Before he'd even finished speaking, her head and tail whipped at the same time, eyes locking onto the creature's form and immediately finding a weakspot - the knees. The heavy appendage struck towards those weak little limbs, with the spike side facing away - she was not trying to do any kind of lasting damage here, after all. No need to punish when they had done nothing wrong.

As soon as her blow connected, she felt it glance off something, so she turned to face him properly. "Do not try to run! I will chase. And you will not escape, nor will you like what I do to you when I catch you!" Her jaws cracked open, that smile of hers gleaming out in bright cyan. But then she got a proper look at the thing and was immediately taken aback. White, alabaster skin. Long hair...no, no it wasn't. The hair was the wrong color. The skin had strange veins. It was wrong, but so similar. "What is your designation? And what are you supposed to BE? You look like some...mockery of the Master!"

@Erasmus

The first response of the being was to attack, and Erasmus found themself glad for their armor. They clutched the helmet, they one piece they were not wearing, tighter, preparing to run despite the words of the other gembound. Even if they could not outrun, they could climb. This gembound did not seem made for climbing.

Yet… Though there was a threat and an attempted attack… It seemed that this gembound, she simply had questions to ask. They were uncomfortable with this situation wholly, but they decided to stay. ”Peace. Please no attack. Do not want fight. Will answer,” their raspy voice was not scared, per say, but concerned.

”Name’s… Erasmus.” They thought that was what the other meant by designation, at least. ”Erasmus is vampire.” That one, at least, was not so hard.

”What master? Erasmus is, not mean mockery. A Master, like Master Vargas…?” They paused. ”Do not mean to… bother, with questions. But Erasmus does not know what say to answer… Questions clarify,” their raspy voice was gentle, if still worried.

@Tectus

She chuckled, advancing on the creature. "A fight? Oh it would not be a fight, little vampire. I suggest you address me properly." A rebel, for sure. No addressing her, no proper designation, an improper form...hah. "I would have killed you if I did not have questions. So earn your life by answering. So I'll ask again - not your name, your designation, rebel." She looked him up and down again. It was...odd. They usually did not make lesser beings in this way. That was reserved for...

Ah, he would not be happy if he saw this one, she bet!

She raised a claw and pointed up to the tower. "Who attacked the tower? I see the damage - who won the fight? And..." She pointed a claw towards the crumbled buildings in the distance. "What happened? Why is the city abandoned and in ruin?" More importantly, how long had it been since she was awake? She had a sinking feeling she wouldn't like the answer.

When he mentioned Vargas, her eyes went wide, ever so slightly, and a sudden laugh burst from her jaws. "Ah HAH. MASTER Vargas? MASTER? Vargas, the ankle-biter for the Trials? I see, were you once one of his underlings, ran away maybe? Found some rebel friends? And he made you call him MASTER?! Oh-hoho!" She guffawed, slapping one of her monstrous trunk-like feet against the ground. Oh, the Masters would not be happy when they found out about this!

Her laughter eventually died away as she went back to towering over him with that sinister grin plastered on her jaw-line. "Thanks for the laugh, kiddo. I guess you can live."

@Erasmus

As the other advanced, Erasmus carefully backed away. Not too much as to be fleeing, as much as they wished to. This gembound was rude. ”Don’t know you, don’t know how to address. No introduce,” Erasmus pointed out, gaze wary.

”Am no rebel. No designation, only name,” Erasmus rasped. ”I don’t have answers. Cadenza might know- or Cadenza’s deer-dad, Pride. He knows lots.”

Erasmus had taken pity on this gembound, answering her confusion, but all she did was threaten. And laugh. Finally, Erasmus had enough.

”You not know Erasmus! Stop assume! Never met Master Vargas! Alek has. Alek is staying in Draco with Onyx-Three, in Chaos Forge,” they spat. ”If want answers, maybe go there!”

And Erasmus was mad, in a way they usually weren’t. It reminded them of hurting and being hurt. They didn’t like it. But they didn’t want to be chased even more so.

”Leave Erasmus alone!” they gave a warning hiss. ”Do not know!”

@Tectus

Tectus stared at him, almost blankly, confused. "What do you mean you don't know me? I...you're...who is your Overseer?! How do you not have a designation?" She didn't advance any further, but she was growing agitated herself with the lack of answers she was getting and the further confusion. "I don't know Cadenza or Pride. I'm guessing you don't know THEIR designations either?!" This was weird. This was weird and it didn't make any sense that somebody would not know their designation. Might as well forget you had claws.

The agitation stopped when she realized that Erasmus was getting stressed out. Okay, dial it back a bit. This wasn't like her typical Overseer on rebel thing. Maybe they were just very very confused? Or maybe she was? Ugh, fuck this all!

She took a deep breath and let out a sigh on the exhale. "Okay, listen. I don't know what any of that means. I'm not tryin to hurt you okay? I'm letting you live - that's great, isn't it! You're gonna walk away from this with life and limb! I think that's quite generous of me. Come on, let's..." she reached to the side of her, where there was a stray piece of rubble and made to break it apart...but nothing happened. Her magic simple didn't react. She blinked and looked over, confused. That spell had almost never failed her.

For the first time she felt a twinge of uncertainty.

She huffed. "Come on, lets sit." And she led the charge, sitting herself down, almost dog-like in the way her haunches collapsed in to sit atop her folded legs.

@Erasmus

The fury seemed to increase, as well as the confusion. They almost did flee. Then the other gembound took a deep breath and calmed down some, and their own fear did not dissipate, but they tried to force it aside. Sometimes beings could be angry when confused. Erasmus wanted to help, even if they were scared.

So Erasmus obligingly sat... Sort of. At first, they were more in a crouch than anything else, but they were too nervous to simply sit fully. Their hands clutched the helmet. Eventually, as the she spoke, Erasmus managed to relax just enough to actually sit. Still, their form was full of tension.

"Did not mean to anger with answers... What... Overseer? Not know Overseer," Erasmus inquired, worried about the others reaction to their question, but needing to ask. "Will answer question as best can, no need to threaten. Want help," Erasmus added in their raspy voice.

@Tectus

If Tectus were one that could safely massage the bridge of her nose, she'd be giving it the full treatment. There was a headache forming. She didn't understand how anyone could look like this and not get killed on sight by a certain elven overlord, how they could just be walking around without any job or obligation or knowing about Overseers. How could they not have a designation?!

How much had changed? It couldn't have been a short time span. Not after how weak she still felt from waking up, how fuzzy much of her life seemed to be, and the evidence of the passage of time all around them.

It was suddenly distressing and overwhelming to realize in that moment - everything was different now, wasn't it?

She stared at Erasmus for a long moment, her face not betraying any of the fish out of water emotions she was feeling at the moment, and then eventually huffed. "Okay lets start with the city. Do you know why its like this? Where did all its inhabitants go? How long has it been a ruin?" She didn't understand why he was offering his aid as well. That was equally confusing.

"The Overseers they...I mean, they Oversee! There are many of us - I am Overseer Tectus! All gembound and valkhound and creations otherwise answer to an Overseer! How you have escaped their notice so long...hm. We will have to see about that!" She huffed. Obviously, they'd been slacking or something. That was the only explanation. Right? ...Right?

@Erasmus

"City been... like this, long as remember," Erasmus answered, equally confused. "Always ruin." Which... probably wasn't the answer she wanted, but it was all the answer they knew.

Then came the answer to their own question. Erasmus shook their head slowly, a bit apologetically. "Erasmus been in... many caves now. Never met, an Overseer. Gembounds answer to themselves, mostly," the vampire tells the Overseer in their raspy voice.

"Some... don't answer to self. Like the Chaos Forge... Or the Hive," they did add, though. "Erasmus not know much about Chaos Forge. Even less about Hive. But friend, Onyx-Three, is part of Chaos Forge, in Draco. Answers to... Master? ....Vargas. Never met, only heard."

@Tectus

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