Oxa

The yearly Great Hunt Festival, where hunters from different schools compete against each other to show which school is better. Not only is there the tournament but also a fair, where hunters can buy ingredients or anything else they need to be effective against the multitude of monsters roaming around the land.

The old Training Grounds, where the Festival takes place, haven't been used since an accident 20 years earlier, but most of the machinery was restored and can be used to improvize fights against werecreatures, vampires, ghouls and other monsters the hunters usually track down. The massive field was covered in dozens of tents, where the participants could take a nap or store there equipment.

Trap looked down on the field, holding a horn full of ale in his hand. There were too many people for his liking here. He needed to contact someone from the Viper's Tongue school though, so he stood on the balcony, watching the crowd just beneath his feet. Year after year, more schools were created and joined the Great Hunt.

Most of them were to young to remember the disastrous moment of the first vampire invasion on those fields. Trap didn't remember it either, he only heard it from old man stories. Back then he was nothing more but a child, the only child of a nobleman, now standing among hunters who didn't even hear about the invasion. Many were killed back then and the Great Hunt Festival was established not to be some sort of entertainment but to avenge all the souls taken by the monsters.

The man noticed the characteristic wide hood of one of the Vipers, so he drunk his ale in one go and made his way down from the balcony. He needed a new recipe for poison. It could be used to kill a vampire in one strike. At least that was what the Vipers were saying, when he met them on his way here.

Trap hated crowds. He was used to silence and solitude, so whenever someone occasionally touched him or was too loud, the man usually showed such a person his disrespect.

OOC - Hey guys, Zaria asked me to publish this post first, so here we go ;)

White haired vampire watched all hunters that gathered, all that wanted to hunt those who were “Monsters” in their opinion, being locked up in a fortified cage angered her. Cage itself wouldn’t be much of a problem if not for the fact she’s been constantly under the spell of one of hunters, hunter that specializes in killing and catching hunters.

She saw him more as slave trader than real hunter, but he knew how to bind others to his will, and being bound angered her the most.

“Stupid humans” She muttered, and…something caught her eye as she glanced at each hunter she could see.
Someone actually, it was a man wearing leather armor, holding horn in his hand, for some reason he looked nostalgic.

As much as he hated to admit it, the festival was a decent amusement. The man named Davin Gregory watched on from the sidelines not actively participating. He was a professional hunter who preferred to work alone and as such didn't like the crowds.

He kept a sharp eye out knowing such a large place could easily be the subject of an attack from just about anything. He would have the smallest hopes for the hunters present as he would be prepared. He gently tapped the pommel of the longsword sheathed on his hip. His attention then shifted from the hunters to the caged vampire, a little bite curious as to how they managed to keep it there without it breaking the metal to pieces.

She felt someone’s gaze, she searched for its owner. It took her a while to find…him. Another man, but holding hilt of his sword, he seemed calm and mindful of his surroundings. She didn’t like it, he could pose a danger, once she gets a chance to escape.

At least he could entertain her while she escapes, amuse even. Hopefuly only amusing their encouter will be, if needed at all.

He sighed in slight boredom at everything, he shifted some from his spot near the wall to reveal the gas powered crossbow strapped to his lower back.

His gaze returned to the vampire in the cage again but for only a moment as he caught the smell of something odd. Like something was burning.

The faint smell of smoke reached Trap's nose at one of the alleys he was going to take to find the Vipers. It was obvious for him that something will burst into flames this day. Like every year. This time it were just coles from a cook's hearth. The man shook his head in anger. It would be better if someone would watch over the multiple traders on the fields.

Trap noticed that the scores on the magical screen changed in the favor of one school, the Unbearable Burden. What an idiot made this weak pun with the Bear in the name? Sounds more like an em”bear”rassment.

After realizing the smell of burning was infact the coals from an oven he relaxed just a little bit. He too looked up at the scoreboard and cringed at some of the names present. He preferred to remain unaffiliated due to his practically mercenary style of business.

The only reason he was there was to serve as a lookout for any attacks and incase anyone proposes a job for him.

Maple strode through the crowds, her hands resting on her hips. The noise and the smells and the people reminded her of her dueling days. She had to admit: she did miss the excitement, checking how she stood up in the odds, people cheering her name when they occasionally remembered it. Maybe she’d pick it up again one day.

As she wandered, she came across Davin. Her eyebrows raised slightly as she looked him over. “Hey,” she said, sauntering toward him. “For a guy at a festival, you sure look miserable.”

He looked toward Maple, his expression softening somewhat. "I'm not here to have fun, I'm a sentry." He continued to look at the caged vampire, growing ever cautious because of it.

"Besides, unlike most of the hunters here I'm a professional who would prefer to get back to his work." He spoke to her in a somewhat harsh tone but he meant well by it.

“Well, that’s kinda too bad, I guess, but jeez, you don’t need to be such a wet blanket. It’s a nice day, at least.” Maple followed his gaze to White. “What, she spooking you?” She gave the vampire a quick look over. She didn’t look like much at first glance, heck, she looked almost calm, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t dangerous. Then there was her coat with the emblem from a school Maple couldn’t quite remember. “Guess she is kinda sobering.”

"It's never wise to corner a beast, especially if they are intelligent." He kept a sharp eye on her, ready to kill her if he needed to. For now though all was still quite calm.

"How did they detain a vampire anyhow? that cage must be special if she isn't tearing it apart like tin foil." He inspects his equipment as he spoke.

“Curious about that vampire, eh?” Unknown man with short brown hair and medium stubble said, as he joined two in their watching and chatting.

“About cage, it’s a normal but slightly strengthened with rare metal we hunters got from troublesome lands, but trick to her being there so calm as you said is something else…” Man grinned.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Suddenly vampire yelled at them.

The tents belonging to the Vipers were located close to the eastern side of the field. Trap knocked on the metal shield used to announce oneself's presence. A student let him in. The teacher bowed himself towards the outsider.

„I wouldn't expect to see you here, Trap. Of course, it's nice to make business with you again.”

Trap eyed the man, trying to recall this man's name. The teachers of the Viper's Tongue were all siblings or cousins, so it was hard to tell which one was he talking to.

„I heard you created a new poison against vampires. I pay any price to test it for you” the hunter pulled out a big coinpurse and gave this to the Viper.

„I see. Would you like to test it with the winner of the tournament on the trophy? This vampiress seems quite nice for experiments”

„A vampiress, you say...” Trap took the phial and made his way out.

„Pleasure doing business with you” the teacher said, a bit insulted with the way the man ignored him.

Trap almost ran into the bunch of people, standing around the special cage. He sighed with relief, when he noticed that the vampire wasn't his former wife. Yet something seemed familiar about the girl.

„Wait, I think I know you, vampire...”

Vampire gazing at those who spoke of her, was suddenly threw of off them by another person.

She looked to man that stood near cage, man that she barely recognized.

“You looked better without that beard, you know…” She replied, smiling mischievously. She always liked to be mean from time to time, and even toy with those around her. She never overdid it though, there are limits to such behavior, if you want to minimize amount of enemies that is.

The vampiress in the cage was the one Trap and some others were hunting down a few years earlier. Back there, Trap ended only with two broken ribs and a concussion. And there was something strange about the girl, all the other hunters died, why he was still alive... And did she just criticize him???

„Hey, vampire, why do you criticize me about my beard? I'm not calling you „midget” even if I wanted to!” Trap grabbed the metal bars of the cage. „Good you're holding her like this, but she's a smart one, guess she's only waiting for a good occasion to run” he turned towards Davin.

White was stunned for a second, then she shouted.
“M-Midget!? Y-you stupid human! Is that what I get for saving you from Lich, that you idiots woke up?!” She shouted, it’s true she’s smaller than him, but she’s not a midget, she can’t be…

It was then she realized she said too much.

This immediately caught the attention of Davin, a lich was a very dangerous undead and would not be tolerated to be around.

"A lich? where would you know about that vampire?" He got close to the cage, his expression hardening in response to the situation at hand.

Vampire’s embarrassment disappeared, coldness took its place.
“Why should I tell you?” She had no reason to tell him, not to mention all he saw was a monster, monster that he could use now.
Hunter can torture her, and it won't change anything, she stays silent as long as she wants, as long as there is no valid reason to speak.

He took from inside of his vest a cross and held it close to her "Because if you don't, I'll bind this to your flesh."

The cross itself was a mix of gold and silver so it would naturally do a large amount of damage to a vampire. "You'll be scarred and unable to heal, a swift death would be a mercy to you."

„Hold on there, man. I've heard she's a trophy here, so she should stay mostly untouched. Hide that cross before someone sees you swinging around with it” Trap crossed his arms on his chest. He wanted to talk to the vampire without this guy around. The least he could do was to keep the girl unharmed.

He lowered the cross and hid it back in his vest, it was a public event after all and he needn't cause such a fuss.

"You were lucky this time vampire, but know that next time I won't be so hesitant."

Vampire chuckled.

“Lucky? Maybe, but more like someone who thinks came to interrupt you, poor you…”

She sighed, one hunter she knows and one seems to be rather aggressive towards so called monsters. She wondered if he would come up with one simple solution for this, which is simply ask nicely.

“Guy with cross too aggressive, and impulsive, while the other is too kind-hearted to be a hunter…what a bunch of weirdos.”

"It takes the strange to know the strange." He actually lightened up some in light of her comments. His attention however shifted to Trap. "Can you believe this monster?"

„Some people behave monstrous and we still do believe in their words. It's not very different, cause they want us to fall like any other monster does. Kind-hearted? I'm just thinking about a way to use you for my own purposes.” Trap looked at the vampiress, sending out clear signals he wants to interrogate her. „But there's nothing wrong in defending a person who seems to have got awfully many informations.”

"If you think you can get something out of her then by all means do it, wouldn't want to ruin any chances now would we?" He looked at the scoreboard in hopes there would something, ANYTHING, to keep his mind off of the danger clearly present.