abraxasnet | ·TO EVERYONE, FROM THE HUNTER HOUSE·

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·TO EVERYONE, FROM THE HUNTER HOUSE·

[Forward Dated: First Evening]

ℍ𝕖𝕪, 𝕘𝕦𝕪𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕁𝕠, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕟, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℂ𝕒𝕤.

𝔸𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕧𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕖 ℂ𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤. 𝕎𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕗𝕦𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖. 𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕗 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕠𝕠𝕝 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞.

( A second set of handwriting shows up here — hey, it’s him, ya boi. )

Here’s the kicker: it seems like they might be tourists. Monsters from back home. We hunted down a pack of Hellhounds earlier today, and unless I missed a big memo over the last year and a half or so, those aren’t native to this planet.

𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕞𝕖𝕒𝕟𝕤 𝕨𝕖'𝕧𝕖 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕕𝕕 𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕓𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕕𝕠 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕦𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥.

No more cute and cuddly Furbies from planet Vulcan, or whatever. This could be bad, Like, lethal bad. Hell, it already has been. We’ve got a body count. It’s an all-hands-on-deck situation.

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕘𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕖𝕟𝕕, 𝕤𝕠 𝕚𝕗 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕤 𝕒 𝟜𝟙𝟙 𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤, 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕥. 𝕎𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤, 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕫𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕠𝕣 𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕡𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖, 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕤 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕤 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟.

The point here is to get a central repository of intel going. If you know anything, we’d appreciate a tl;dr here for other folks to reference. I’ll also start slapping notes on the Monster Board in the Roadhouse if anyone wants to swing by, but we figured it’d be good to have an open line of communication to reference on the fly in case you run into something with teeth and a bad attitude.

ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕖'𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕖 𝕜𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕠𝕗𝕗 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕨𝕖'𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥.

Hellhounds are ferocious, wolf-like creatures typically utilized to hunt down the damned and drag their souls to Hell. They’re sized anywhere between a large dog to a small donkey. They possess heightened senses, exceptional speed and strength, and prey may experience hallucinations when Hellhounds are nearby, used to inspire fear to either paralyze or frighten victims out of hiding.

Hellhounds will be invisible to undamned humans, but scorching a pair of eyeglasses with Holy Fire will make them visible to the wearer. For aid with Holy Fire, visit your resident Angel. In Thorne, find Lucifer. In Solvunn, Michael or Gabriel. I'm Castiel, you can find me in Cadens. A barrier of salt across all doorways and windows, or simply a circle around you, will keep Hellhounds from crossing. Typically, only Angel Blades could kill them, but it appears any conventional weapon here can work. Decapitation is advisable.

Stay safe, everyone. If you need help, call us. We’re here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Mostly because he doesn't want anyone else to be able to use any of this against Lucifer. He thinks Jaskier is someone who can be trusted.]

I'm sorry you lost Hector. It's something I fear every day, but it obviously didn't stop you from loving someone else. So it's worth it.

Lucifer is the villain in their story and I am not going to tell any of them how to feel about him. He told me everything he did in an attempt to push me away early on, so none of it is a surprise. Not all of their confusion has to do with believing him unlovable. He used to loathe humans but his opinion has shifted since connecting with people here.

Not everyone understands how change is difficult to achieve and harder to maintain, but he's fought hard to try and make a new life for himself. He's popular among the Thorne Summoned because being without immediate judgment and hatred has been healing for him in a way. I'm his first relationship and he is truly the kind of partner people would dream of. Yenna approves of him, they agreed to share me when this began.

Sorry to tell you too much, but most of the time talking about him leads to people questioning how I can love him. And it's remarkably easy to love him.

I'm afraid loss is an integral part of love. It always comes, in some form. Not to sound terribly pessimistic. It was utterly worth it.

Really? His first? My, nothing against you, but I never imagined any mages would have that sort of... I'll be frank. Compassion. Patience. Either one, really. If you asked my opinion -- I know you haven't, but I'll offer it, anyway -- that he is so difficult to go on with, and you've gone and done it and fallen a bit for him anyway... I think that's a very good sign, Istredd.

Though that bit doesn't surprise me about Yennefer. She had her own -- quirks.

I don't mind at all. Believe me, it is not many I share such happy stories of love with! I am always glad to hear of it. I think, if we must be here, the least we can have is someone who understands us fully. To walk this new sphere with.

Yenna's always teased (sometimes mocked) me for being a romantic fool from our teenage years to now, so some personality quirks stick. I think what we had together helped both of us retain more humanity than most, even if it didn't work out. Most mages don't know what love is. We're trained to only have loyalty to the Brotherhood and serve its needs. We've both been slight outliers.

She is going to kill me for talking about her. Maybe thinking all of that is what makes me a romantic fool.

Lucifer gives me unrelenting support and respect, he protects me from others and sometimes from myself, he boosts me when I'm feeling down, and he is brutally honest when I'm being an ass. He can be a real prick, he's far from perfect, but none of us are. He made this place his second chance. Not everyone does.

I am trying to find a way to magically anchor people to this world who have no reason to go back. He's dead, this is our only chance.

Yennefer, I've learned, will mock those same things that she is.

[Hah. Take that, Yennefer! The truth hurts! He pauses, though.]

Don't tell her I said that, I enjoy my balls where they are currently.

You know, it is utterly fascinating to meet someone from her past. Not that we haven't had our very important bosom-to-bosom conversations, but she is a tighter drawer than most. Now, I won't ask after her secrets, of course, but... I do find it a bit reassuring to know she was as young and stupid as the rest of us commoners.

Let's say this is entirely between us. Forever.

He sounds wonderful. Honestly. Hector had his... very sordid history, but he was also trying to do better. I think people willing to change, who recognize the need to do so, are stronger than most. Especially if they succeed.

He is not the only person I know who is dead in their world. Who want to stay on this sphere. If there is any way I can help you, I would be pleased to do so. They are people I love, and I want them to stay here.

Ha! You do know her. Don't worry, both of us are too smart to tell her what we know about her, she'd feel obligated to be mean.

The thing you have to understand about the mages -- I'm going to say this without going into too many details because frankly, they're horrifying -- is that the majority of us don't choose. We're taken or bought as children and raised to be soldiers for the Brotherhood until the day we die. Sometimes we serve by going to courts and sometimes we get lucky and get to go hide in books, but we always come when they call. You only get through it by being a survivor.

We were young and stupid and in love and that made us vulnerable. We broke each other. But we found our way back, even if it was over a half-century and a new sphere later.

Lucifer is difficult but he's worth it. I have a feeling I would have liked Hector too by your description. If you ever want to talk about him more to a sympathetic ear, I'd be happy to listen.

I will let you know if I do. I've discussed it with Geralt and Cirilla, they want to stay here too.

[Luckily, Jaskier's preconceptions about mages aren't truly set in stone. He's known Yennefer for quite a long time, and he has moved in plenty of courts himself. He sees what the mages do, the strings they pull. He's simply not a fool and has no interest in interfering. His art is not for the royals nor for the mages. It is for the people they -- supposedly -- serve.

Now that he doesn't rely on coin anymore, of course.

But it doesn't surprise him. Yennefer is, frankly, a bit fucked up, and Jaskier only has small glimpses of the girl she'd once been. Accidentally seen, in a way she hates to know he ever saw. At least that far, Jaskier can respect her; he does not bring up the girl with the crooked jaw who complimented his music and who almost kissed him. That is a girl who has been buried under years and years of life, never to be seen again.]

I'm sorry to hear it. It seems the Continent is just as cruel to those with power as it is to those without.

No matter what she has been through -- and though it remains to be truly seen, I'm sure the same could be said of you -- I still think Yennefer is a good woman.

Don't tell her that, either.

I think I should like to remember him in words again. I don't speak of him often, and the only one here who shared his sphere had a rather particular brand of distaste for him. It was understandable, given their history, but... I do still want to remember him.

As do I. I intend to stay with them.

The Brotherhood is abusive and in a perpetual cycle of it, each surviving class eventually doing it to the next. It's the organization that's the problem, but I confess, knowing that doesn't change the impulse to protect it. Neither of us has been able to shake the bond.

Yenna at her heart is a lovely person. She's stoned up her walls to survive but I saw how open she was with you, and she told me privately positive things as well. I'm happy to see her trying. She loves Ciri a great deal in particular.

I think there is something special about love that grows in a situation like ours, when logic would dictate it is too risky, but we do it anyway. Hector sounds like someone who survived too and if he chose to push past it, it's a credit to him. And possibly to you, for love can open someone up in a way nothing else can.

Yes, I don't want to lose Lucifer. And I think we all know our sphere does nothing to pull us back toward it. My only regret is I won't be able to help the elves, but I don't know if I could anyway. My trying wasn't getting anywhere.

In a way, you've broken that cycle by escaping it. Perhaps not intentionally, but all the same... I do hope that you, and Yennefer, if you both wish to, can find some reprieve in the opportunity.

What? Positive things about me? Hah! I knew she had it in her. Oh, I'll find out exactly what those things are, given enough time. Straight from the sorceress's mouth.

Wait --

The elves? What were you doing with the elves?

We have. We really have nothing for us back there. Yenna because she has all of you here, me because I never had anyone in the first place outside of her.

Just don't get me in trouble. She shows her care with insults.

I was trying to help find new paths for their migration through Cintra. I was going through the maps to see if there was a land route to Cintra, boats were reportedly less safe. I was working with the mage Fringilla. We weren't supposed to be in touch with her, as she is very much the enemy currently, but no one else was willing to help move them. No one else cared.

Yenna said she was coming there but she was waylaid. That's where I was when Geralt came to ask for my help with the monoliths.

Edited 2023-08-28 19:10 (UTC)

You were working with a Nilfgaardian to save elves?

[Forgive his surprise. And, in a way, his disgust. Only for the empire as a whole. A life saved is a life saved, no matter whose hand participates in saving it.

No one?]

I know very well that is not entirely true. There were people who cared.

I meant in the Brotherhood, apologies for being unclear. I tried but some of our superiors are racist against the elves to start with, and the rest were too focused on their own squabbles to help anyone else. It wasn't easy for me to work with her after Sodden, but I have no clout in the courts. She had the resources and motivation to move them out safely.

[Ah. That makes much more sense. Though Jaskier can't say he's surprised to hear a mage coven cares nothing about the elves. It is likely, if they thought of them at all, they were merely another tool for control.

There are plenty of reasons Jaskier has never lingered in any one court.]

Then it's all the more commendable you bothered. Honestly. There were not many hands willing to help the elves in my experiences.

Thank you. It sounds as if you may have been involved on your end. We can't know being here, but who knows, maybe with time we would be successful.

[ He doubts it but hey, they tried. ]

I was. I would be still, if...

Yes. I like to think so. Frankly, I don't want to believe any other way.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

·TO EVERYONE, FROM THE HUNTER HOUSE·

Locked to Jaskier

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🔒 wrap up soon?

can wrap any time!

perf!