Altis Laramie Falstaff
Afternoon (Phase 0)
Westminster – Collegiate Church of St Peter
Originally Posted by
Cuthbert
“ So here if you were to indulge my curiosity: what are your talents best used for ? “
Altis laughed, then, a tinkling wind chime to stir the tepid church air. He couldn’t help it, his new bearded friend was as entertainingly earnest as he’d been led to believe.
Surely he wasn’t actually this naive. No, that can’t be it. A lordship presenting itself as a cushy job for elderly do-nothings was exactly that: a presentation. Smoke and mirrors. Though the battles may have been bloodless, it’s no doubt Cuthbert had probably experienced his own white-collar battlefield in the past. And if he was truly this green…Altis would take the liberty of introducing him to the real world.
Unfortunately, speculation of his own teammates was not why Master Dee had called him out here. Another glance exchanged with the calm man all but confirms that fact. It was time to lay the appropriate cards on the table. Clearing his throat, Altis made a show of adjusting his posture to match Cuthbert’s in a pantomime of the situation’s seriousness.
“Pardon my outburst, Lord, I merely believe that the specialties of those labeled priest hunters like myself should go without saying.”
“Therefore, I would like to inform you of the kind of weapon you’re receiving. I would also like to present some issues of my own, after which I will be looking forward to getting started.” The blonde man held up two gloved fingers as he illustrated his point.
Altis sat back, briefly playing with a piece of his chopped fringe as he considered the best way to present himself. Though he was on loan, he was still a magus in his own right. To reveal too much, even to one’s friends, spelled potential death on an intergenerational level
“Let’s see…if we were to hypothetically use the pieces of a chessboard as a temporary analogy, I suppose you could call me a knight. Do you understand, Lord?”
The knight. The only piece capable of moving through others, of instantaneously exchanging locations in order to gain a beneficial position. One might be surrounded on all sides, but the unorthodox movement of the knight guaranteed that neither defense nor offense would ever be as simple as either would appear. An incredibly cliche metaphor, but Altis still hoped Cuthbert would find it satisfactory.
“Frankly, I was never worried about either the Department of Spiritual Evocation or its illustrious Lord condemning my actions. If your faction was worried about appearances, I daresay any consideration of hiring me for the job would have been met with some objection. I can consider the situation desperate–by your own admission, no less–but not so desperate that the mission cannot forgo its original clandestine nature.”
“But the last thing I wish to do is repeat information of which we are both aware. A dog I might be, but I fail even at playing the faithful, unquestioning hound by way of my insatiable curiosity. My greatest wish at this moment would be for you to find a suitable outlet for this energy, Lord. I do not believe your expectations will go unmet.”
“I am a simple hunter, Lord, with an appropriate skill set that matches the others who enjoy my occupation. I gather all pertinent information regarding my prey, after which I track my quarry until a viable shooting opportunity presents itself. I will track my prey to the ends of God’s Creation, at which point–and perhaps this is a little embarrassing!--I am quite confident I will never miss my target.”
“That being said, your explanation still leaves me with questions. Questions that I will need answered one way or another if I am to perform at max capacity, so that we might both expedite this conflict.”
Altis paused, searching Cuthbert’s face for a sign unknowable. Apparently satisfied with what he’d seen, the blonde man continues.
“Dead Apostle…if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time that title has ever come up in our conversation thus far. I am not accusing you of concealing information, Lord, but the inclusion of the bloodsuckers into the equation has me wondering a few things. Specifically, the nature of the factions I am to believe we are up against. ”
“Up until now I was under the assumption that this assault was not being administered from multiple angles. That may still be the case. It might not. The particulars of any conflict between the Church and the Dead Apostles alone are something I don’t care to ever know. If the bloodsuckers are simply feeding off the dead left by the Church, so be it. The fact remains that both are threat enough to this country that you have sought my help. I need only as much information as you have gathered on the foe, the remainder of which I shall find for myself in the course of this hunt, at your leisure.”
“With all of that in mind, I have two favors to ask before I lend you the power of my bow.”
“The first is that in the event of an encounter with a Dead Apostle, you allow me to end its life.”
Altis’ expression remained unchanged, but the tension in the room had definitely undergone some kind of alteration. It might have been an illusion, but for the first time that day something approaching anger had crept into Altis’ voice at the very fringes. A glistening wine bubble of ephemeral rage, one that disappears the moment it’s put under any manner of scrutiny.
“The second is, well, how do I put this…can I call you Gramps instead? The word ‘Lord’ is already beginning to sound unpleasant, like a toad squatting in my throat. Hahahaha!”