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Who: Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower (

whomthebelltolls) and OPEN for the most part
When: June!
Where: All about, both within and without of the city
What: Catchall
Warnings: Blood and violence, probably. Self-inflicted injury because of what she is. Others will be ETA

[1: Gardening With Class - Open]

[All that being more or less infirm the last month has Maria a bit... stir-crazy, but the gardening classes have been a nice change of pace. And she does actually like flowers. So, here's a Maria, wandering through the streets, her arms filled with bags containing the seeds and flower pots they gave her to go home. Of note, there seems to be quite a few packets of sunflower seeds poking up around the edges. Feel free to run into her on the streets!

Or, if you're at her home, she can soon after arriving be found out there in the garden with all of those, some tools, and a pair of thicker, more utility-type gloves than the ones she wears with her swordsman outfit, a pair of older, dirtier trousers and shirt, and her hat sitting next to her as she digs out little trenches in the earth to make room to plant the seeds.]

[2: Class - Open]

[Maria would find it rather remiss of her if she missed the classes the Witches here so graciously have been providing to the new arrivals, and honestly... she has no idea how these things work, but she's been a pretty quick study. It's evocation practice today, and she seems to be pretty good at nailing targets with small fireballs. Very small. The kind that would probably just provide a minor irritant to any beast, and so, frustrated, she's turned to something else.

She has a knife in her hand - a small length of metal she borrowed from a kitchen or something, because she doesn't dare bring her Rakuyo to this place - and she keeps running her fingers along the edge of it. After a half-dozen tries, a bit of sweat, and what was probably a curse in a language no one around her understands, her fingers slide along the blade... and a few blueish flames flick to life, thin and almost see-through, but they're there.

Her eyes light up... and just like that her concentration is broken, and the flames disappear. Close, though.]

[3: Public Stables - Open]

[At some point near midmonth, Maria can be found at the stables in town, poking her head around. She seems to be inspecting the horses. Every so often, she'll ask the stablehands or farrier about prices for things, what they recommend, preferred breeders for these things. She's looking for a horse with a pedigree.

And as she walks about, she isn't paying too much attention, and might just walk into another character.] Ah, I'm sorry. Are you here to look for the horses, too? They have many interesting choices.

[4: Fetch - Open, especially to others on the quest]

[Several options, here, since there are a lot of things to bring back:

Tiger Lilies: Maria has this bad habit of "doesn't afraid of anything", and so walking right through the busily buzzing bees is on order. For anyone who is nervous about the buzzy friends, it seems they ignore her as she ignores them right up to the lilies, and gentle shoos a few away, before taking the flowers, inspecting the to make sure they're clear, and walking back out.] That was easy.

[Basil: Not be seen? Clearly, they're stealing, and that actually does give her pause.] ... We are not supposed to take anything from this field, are we?

[Crystal Sand: She finds the rainbow sand easily enough, but as soon as she goes to gather it up, the water stirs and splashes, and something jumps out, trying to bite at her. If the other character doesn't get involved, the fish is going to end up with a sword through its head, pinned to the ground, in short order.] He wasn't wrong about the fish, I see.

[And finally... fur. Hm. Just needs to be fur, right? That's easy enough. Until it's not. For this, she puts a call out on the network: I need a bag full of fur. Does anyone have any good ways to achieve a lot of it in short order? I will even accept it from Monsters.

[5: Walking Armor - Open, especially to anyone on the quest]

[The sun is high, the wind carries a faint breeze from the west. Maria stands, Rakuyo in one hand, across a stretch of beaten earth from the suit of armor, empty, moving a bit - floating in a way that indicates it's empty, but for the magics holding it together. It holds its sword up, and waves it a little, and Maria nods, bringing her sword in front of her.

There's a loud clang as the dagger-end of the Rakuyo is split from the longer sword end, and Maria holds both out to either side of herself, as she steps forward.

The armor steps forward, as well. Maria holds her arm out to one side, the blade of her sword facing the armor as it gets closer, and then runs a weird zig-zag right up to it, quick as a flash, her long legs giving her plenty of closing speed. There's another loud clank as her sword slams into and then off of the side of the armor, and the force is enough to stumble the armor. She's got this.

Until the armor swings a good, wide arc and knocks her backward, stumbling and then tumbling off her feet. When she regains them, she realizes that hurt an awful lot more than it used to, and maybe she should figure out something else. Into the fray, over and over again, taking glancing hits to the armor, but mostly not seeming to make much headway, while each one of its attacks against her rattles through her sword and up into her jaw, shaking her whole body, making her bones ache. Every direct hit is absolute agony. It's hard to tell if she's wearing this thing down, so maybe it's time to pull out some stops. She's not desperate here, but then, no one knows or cares what a "Vileblood" is, so it doesn't really matter if she uses her abilities, does it?

The next exchange ends with Maria nursing a gash against her side, cut deep through the thick leather. It's the perfect opportunity. She turns the long sword-blade of the Rakuyo toward herself... and drags the sharp edge right through that wound, deepening it, smearing blood all down the cutting side of the sword.

And she turns it back on the creature, noting with a frown that the thick, sharp blood crystals haven't lined the edge. The armor charges, she charges back, and she swings the sword only for the usual blood blade to not spray out from the tip of the sword, and so she totally whiffs the slice... only to catch the armor's arm to her wounded gut, and it lifts her and throws her backward.] Agh...

[Well... hm. Try again. Even though the cut burns, and the armor is bearing down on her, her next idea is simple: It charges, she's already low, she goes to her knees and shoves both blades of the Rakuyo up into the joints of its hips. It stumbles right into the ground, the legs "severed" and useless until it can get back up several moments later... then turn to her and bow in defeat.

And Maria leans against her sword, buried tip-down in the ground, because wow that cut smarts.] ... Go home... now.

[And it seems to listen... kind of. It'll probably challenge anyone else to a duel on its way out, though.]

[6: Wildcard - OTA!]

[For anything not covered in the above prompts, or for things we planned out afterward. Feel free to hit me up at

reslari or Reslari#9561 at your leisure for plotting!]

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[ Alex doesn't have as many layers on, but she does remove her shoes and her skirt. She'll keep her top on, which was long enough to go past her hips at least. Whatever Maria takes of she gathers and starts to rinse them the best she can by the edge of the pond. ]

I'll..be fine. [ She'll take Maria's route this time so she's not just hopping across. ]

Do you think we'll still need to?

[ Would the bees really hold on to their grudge for that long? ]

I think the bees will have given up their pursuit. They have more important things to spend their time and energy on. [She takes a few steps to the side and wades in ankle-deep. She's not taking off her pants, but she does want to get rid of the mud around the cuffs.

She keeps herself turned a bit toward Alex, though, because she knows how close to water she is, and she's seen the fish scales, which means she understands the risks involved here. And while she's left her swords further up shore as a show of good faith, they're within easy view - and teleporting - range.

Still, she has a question she needs to ask.] I must wonder, though... your insistence reminds me of the servants. Were you one, before?

[ If Maria was being cautious, Alex didn’t notice. Partly because she was making sure to get the mud off of Maria’s boot.

Her hands stop abruptly at Maria’s question, and she glances up at Maria briefly without raising her head. ]

No..not exactly..

[ In a sense, maybe she was? Slave was probably more accurate. There was a more specific term but her brain didn’t want to go there either. ]

I just..wanted to repay you however I could right now..

[Hm. An interesting reaction. Not a servant - exactly - but still driven to aid others, even though Maria originally turned down the request. For just a long, long moment, Maria curiously regards her companion, icy blue eyes fixated for just a moment...

... before she resumes cleaning off her pants. A pity this one's a Beast. She's rather pretty.]

It... needn't be so pressing. I would not have held it against you. We were both beset by an unkind turn of events. Did any of the bees sting you?

[ Even with her gaze down, Alex can feel Maria’s eyes on her. Was her answer not much of one? She knows she left it a bit vague. Or maybe it’s the changes that were still visible while she was still wet.

Alright, boots look done.

She looks up this time when addressed. There was a kind of chill in the way Maria eyed her, but her words were kind. ]

That’s nice of you to say..oh, just the one on my arm. [ But she waves it off. ]

What about you? Did they sting you, Miss Maria? [ That, she was more concerned about. ]

[Just a little threat assessment. What's that between new acquaintances?

Back to what she was doing. She wades back up and out of the water, satisfied the bits of dirt that had clung below her knees were cleaned and... very little else. What her clothes really needed was just some time to dry. Maybe she'd set her cloak down and wait beneath the tree, nap in the sun.

Where it was nice and dry.]

I seem to have gotten out without injury. It would be difficult for them to figure out where to sting me, after all. [What with as thickly as she tends to be garbed from neck to toe in leather. The only place they could logically get is her face.

What's more important is the brief amusement that passes somewhere below her expression at the Miss Maria part. She's been "Lady" for so long, it's different to hear herself addressed as such. Annalise would admonish, tell her not to suffer any sleights like that, even accidentally, but the undying queen wasn't here.]

And the sting will not bother you? Then we will call it fortunate we both got out without... further injury. Though... it seems your affinity with water indicates, perhaps, you are of the Merfolk, is that your experience?

[ Alex would apologize if she knew. She's never met a 'Lady' before. 'Miss' was as formal as she got. ]

It's okay. I can handle this much.

[ She does pause at her other question, quietly draping the vest over her arm and picking up the boots she just watched. She offers her hand to towards Maria when she starts coming out of the water. ]

I can hang your..cloak..cape..along with your vest over there if you'd like. [ She gestures over to a low enough hanging branch of the tree. ]

And..no, I'm not really...I mean, I guess I am now, I'm not sure. But this only happened after I arrived here..so I don't really know what I am anymore.

[Then that's the extent of how much Maria will care about this one's wellbeing. Which is a harsh way of putting it, but they've just met. She sighs at the question a little, though.] Yes, that will be fine.

[It's been a long time since she'd had someone waiting on her. No servants or chambermaids or anything at Byrgenwerth, and less so afterward. She's more curious about the answer to the question, though the answer is also about as disappointing as she expected. Another that was just sort of... brought here through no fault of their own and given the worst lot.

And as long as Alex remains in control of her more human faculties, she can also count on remaining 'alive', as well. That's been Maria's agreement with this world. She intends to hold to it, with what little honor she can be said to have.]

It's certainly been a bit of a jarring change, hasn't it? Even for those of us not exhibiting many physical changes.

[Well, with everything up on the tree and out of the way, Maria can take to what she wanted - which is to find a nice, grassy little spot with little dirt, and sit there in the shade of a tree. What Alex does is up to her, though Maria makes no special effort to seem especially inviting to sit next to. She is not.]

[ With both of their clothes hanging to straightened out and hanging to dry, Alex heads over to where Maria has situated herself and sits with her legs are slightly tucked beneath her. She does give Maria some space, of course. ]

Are you also..? Or are you a witch?

[ That still felt like such an odd question to ask. Most people didn't like being accused of being a witch, right? Not that monster was any better either. ]

Oh, a Witch, most certainly. [She watches Alex sit, content with the distance, and the fact nothing else has happened to drag her toward the water. That's all the better.]

That I could be a Beast- ah, Monster would be most ironic, if it were to happen, but at least I get to keep my human mind. [Maria, you are literally talking to someone who is at risk of that.]

... I'm not so sure about the rest.

[ It didn't seem like she was trying to be insulting, but she was hitting a lot of sore spots for sure. This woman..wasn't really a fan of monsters, was she? Not that Alex expected people to generally like them. ]

Ahh..y-yeah..you're quite lucky, then..

[ Although, if she really disliked monsters, then she wouldn't have helped as much as she did, right? And she hasn't gotten mad or told her to keep away. So maybe it wasn't that serious?

She's not really sure what to say at this point though, unable to read Maria's expression. Did she even want to keep talking? Would she be okay with silence? Was Alex okay with just silence? ? Her fingers fidgeted anxiously on her lap, eyes searching for anything that could serve as a topic, but bees were so five minutes ago. ]

[Hm... Maria hasn't been much of a conversationalist in the years since she died. Then again, the only people she's had to talk to have been raving lunatics and those on the brink of it due to the experiments they'd been subjected to, so it's not as though she really had any good conversation partners.

... Even still, she's had enough court etiquette to know she might have been a bit too harsh. Maybe she's still just a little uptight from the spook of earlier. And not even just the bees.

Plus, the woman is getting fidgety and nervous in the silence, isn't she. Hm.]

And what have you been doing to keep yourself occupied, here? Hopefully the strangeness of it hasn't sapped your spirit to do anything?

[Let's talk hobbies, apparently.]

[ Oh! That's a good topic. Why didn't she think of that topic?

Her hands stop as she perks up a little, turning to face Maria a bit more. ]

Oh, yes! I've been keeping busy with work--different types, whatever I can get. It can get tiring..but it's been satisfying.

What about yourself?

[Good, it was just the silence, and not (just) the derisive tone Maria uses to speak of the Monsters here.]

Studies at the Coven, and when I am not doing that, I am here, in the Wilde. Whether it is fighting the Cwyld infection or merely bringing back ingredients from out here, my skillset suits me better out here than something like selling trinkets in a stall.

[And she gets restless if she spends too much time reading, though she spends a lot of time doing that, too.]

It's been satisfying, in its own way. Then, I don't feel as much like I owe a debt of gratitude to the people here. [Despite that she asked for none of this and would've been fine on her own.]

You're...very brave.

[ She thought that of anyone who was willing to fight the Cwyld. Just the thought of possibly ending up that way made her shudder. ]

Have you fought things lie the Cwyld where you're from?

Hm... an interesting question. No, not as such, I would not say. [She looks up, toward the trees, and beyond.] There are some similarities to the situation at home. A spreading infection, or one that has the potential to spread, of course, but rather than turn people into violent corpses that walk around in restless undeath... it turns men into Beasts. Very living, and very hungry Beasts.

[And maybe that's a tiny glimpse into why she's uncomfortable with the idea of the Monsters here. Though the truth about why Mers get to her is a long way off, indeed.]

But there are enough other differences that those are the only real similarities I can think of. But still... a profession with proficiency in weapons lends itself well to any situation in which you can expect a fight.

[ So..more like..what she and some others are turning into.

Alex's hand clasps over the other a little tighter, but she doesn't mention it. She'll keep the slight discomfort in her gut to herself. ]

Then..were you something like a hunter?

[ She held herself differently from the ones she saw around Ergastulum. The mercenaries and such back there were a lot more brutish most of the time. ]

[That's the rub of it. Maria's a hunter of beasts. Or she was, before she gave up on that life, and before she hit her worst downward spiral. That she's back to resorting to violence here isn't really surprising to her, but some part of her remains disappointed. And maybe that's why she's also mostly only attacking the Cwyltid and other creatures corrupted. ]

That is what we were called, yes. Hunters. In my day, however, the profession was much different than what I understand it to have turned into. [And she only has herself to blame for that, really.] And even still, back in my day, being a "Hunter" was also tied into being a scholar at the college I attended, and we did much more than hunt Beasts. There were fewer of them, in those days.

[ It wasn't often she heard the term 'scholar', and certainly not associated with the profession she was talking about, so it has Alex looking at her more curiously than cautiously. ]

Like what else?

Well, we worked our way through the catacombs beneath our city. They were full of ancient relics of a civilization that had settled there long before our own. There was also much knowledge concerning our field of study at the college within them. We fought some of the most dangerous creatures and gained some of the most interesting artifacts from within. Then, we studied them, thoroughly back at the school itself. The lecture hall would always be buzzing when something new was uncovered and the teachers had the chance to study its implications.

I came to Yharnam from a place a ways away, called Cainhurst, but I traveled because the college was interesting to me.

[ As Maria spoke, Alex grew more and more curious, pressing her hands against the grass in front of her and leaning forward slightly as she listens eagerly. ]

What kind of relics? Is it a civilization that doesn't exist anymore? Were the creatures the beasts you were talking about or something else?

[ She thought people went to college just to study books and get better paying jobs. ]

Hmm... anything that told of their connection to the Great Ones, who ascended long ago. Though, I suppose the greatest surprise was when they found one of the Great Ones, herself. But yes, the civilization was gone, long ago. Those that still yet live were consigned to guarding the tombs, and that was part of what we had to defeat to get to the deepest secrets. It was an interesting time.

Though there were Beasts down there. A similar disease to what struck Yharnam and turned the men to Beasts struck a Pthumerian settlement itself called "Loran", as I understand from what we saw in there. Unfortunately, we never did uncover everything. That place raised as many questions as answers, despite our best and brightest minds attempting to decipher everything.

[ There were a lot of foreign names and out of this world scenarios Maria was sharing very matter of factly. It sounded like something out of a novel. ]

And you..go to places like that all the time?

[ As someone who hasn't been able to travel much other than her transfer to Ergastulum, her imagination could only go wild with the different stories she was hearing. ]

What was your favorite place to explore?

[ She may have unconsciously scooted a little closer. ]

[Well, captive audience, she can appreciate that. They're deep enough into the conversation she doesn't even notice the shift closer to herself. The questions are fair, either way, she supposes, and she moves to stretch one of her legs out a bit in a different direction.] It was a regular occurrence during my time at Byrgenwerth, yes. Weekly, at least, unless we made a truly profound discovery.

[Her favorite place to explore, though... hm. Yharnam itself? No, maybe some other place within the tomb of the gods...]

I never did much get to explore the depths of the Isz areas. [That was discovered after her retirement. Perhaps after her death, though she's not quite sure. That whole area is murky in her memory, and time too flexible.] I wish I could have. As it was, I liked the hintertombs. There, you could meet what were left of the Pthumerians. If you stayed quiet and out of sight, you could even watch them work, expanding the tombs, though there was nothing left to lay to rest within them. It was like a compulsion.

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