fiction - brigits_flame - pursuit
Aug. 1st, 2010 06:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hwangoThe relentless drone of rain hammering on the roof would have made conversation difficult, if indeed anyone had cared to speak. Or if there had been anyone to speak to, for that matter. The storm had kept all but the most determined off the streets. Those few people already in the pub before the rain had begun were either miserably waiting for it to stop so they could go home, or didn't care one way or another if it rained forever.
The barkeeper expected that the tally of his patrons would neither diminish nor increase until the rain abated, and was therefore a bit astonished to see an enormous coach pull up to the front of the pub and deposit two people at his doorstep.
The door crashed open as they barged their way hastily inside. A few patrons raised their heads in mild curiosity to see who had braved the miserable weather, then found themselves staring in astonishment.
"What utterly monstrous weather you have here, ha ha. I think your establishment could have been ablaze and it would not have deterred us from entering, if only for a few minutes respite from this abominable downpour." The speaker removed his hat long enough to shake off the water that had accumulated on it during those few feet between carriage and pub. He then placed it carefully back on his head so that he could tip it to the barkeeper in greeting.
"Good day to you, sir," he continued. "I wonder if you might provide us with a bit of something to warm our insides, as we have been hours on the road in this wretched storm. Perhaps some tea?" After a brief silence and blank stare were the only response, he continued "No? Well, no matter, I have my own, and will only trouble you for some hot water."
The barkeeper finally recovered his voice. "What is that?" he said, gesturing towards the object that the speaker held at his side, which was partially concealed under a piece of heavy canvas. Whatever it was made odd crackling noises and emitted flashes of dazzling blue light at random intervals.
The visitor hefted it ever so slightly. "Oh, this? Merely some scientific equipment of no particular concern to you – though I would caution you that no one should get too close to it, and under absolutely under no circumstances should anyone touch it."
"Applebury, you're scaring them," said his companion.
"Come now, Kane, I think we both know that no mere lightshow or cautionary speech is going to overshadow the blunt force of your own intimidating presence." Applebury had to look up in order to field this remark to Kane, who towered over him and everyone else in the room, and who in fact nearly had to duck to avoid scraping his head on the ceiling. In contrast to Applebury's gentlemanly attire, Kane wore an enormous leather coat and boots that looked like they might have been forged rather than cobbled.
After shaking off what they could of the rain, the two seated themselves at the bar. Applebury carefully set his mysterious parcel down between the two of them. Belatedly, the barkeeper overcame his befuddlement and set out two cups of hot water before them. Applebury proceeded to prepare his tea, took a quick sip, and smiled in contentment. So fortified, he turned once again to the barkeeper.
"My good man, could you tell me if perhaps your fair city has recently experienced any mysterious disappearances, gruesome murders, rashes of unexplained deaths, accidents, night terrors, mass insanity, or other alarming and unwanted phenomena of a suspicious nature?"
"What? No! No, of course not!"
"Damn, that's unfortunate," Applebury said. "Ha ha, how rude of me. Of course it's fortunate for you lot, but it's quite off-putting to find that we might have come the wrong way. Kane," he said, turning his attention to his companion, "are you quite certain we're on the right trail?"
"It's here," Kane said with emotionless certainty.
"What on earth are you following?" the barkeeper asked, wondering as he did if it was a question that he really wanted answered.
"Best not to needlessly worry you," said Applebury. "I'm sure that if our quarry had indeed come this way, it would have long since come to your notice, so there is no sense alarming you unnecessarily."
"It's here, I tell you," said Kane. "Can't you feel it?"
"Kane, as you well know, I do not share your particular sensitivities to these things. Unless there are shattered buildings or streets littered with corpses – " a few patrons who were eavesdropping gasped in horror " - I could in ignorance walk straight past the monster's den and not even realize I was doing so."
"Monster?!" the barkeeper said, incredulous.
"A crude and unspecific term, though typically accurate, particularly in this particular situation," replied Applebury.
"And you're following this 'monster?' Am I meant to believe that you're professional monster hunters, or some such nonsense?" said the barkeeper.
Applebury's pleasant demeanor swiftly evaporated. "My dear fellow, professional? As if it were a trade? I'll have you know that I am Lord Theodore Applebury of Tarrantshire, and as such I do not find myself requiring of a profession."
"I'm the one who collects the fee," said Kane, so deadpan it was hard to tell if he was serious or not.
"I think I'd like you both to get out," said the barkeeper. "Now."
"My good man, we are currently in pursuit of a creature so foul, so loathsome, that were I to recount a list of its atrocities before you now, you would find yourself weeping in terror, and we would both have been sitting here for some considerable time. We believe that this beast - this thing - has come this way, and is in your city. Before we resume hunting this abomination, all that we ask is a few moments of respite from what is quite frankly simply the most appalling weather I have ever had the misfortune to endure. Now, if you cannot be civil and hospitable, then you can at least be quiet, and after my associate and I have finished our tea, we shall be on our way."
The barkeeper's face had reddened considerably during this tirade. His mouth opened and closed silently a few times as he struggled to find the words to express his outrage. He did not, however, have time to sufficiently order his thoughts before the drumming of the rain was momentarily overpowered by a horrific scream from outside.
Instantly Applebury leapt from his stool at the bar and cast off the covering for the flickering device. It was revealed to be an intricate mass of copper tubes and glass bulbs, and as he hefted it with one hand he quickly spun a tiny crank with the other. Sparks like tiny flashes of lightning arced between various components, and he brandished the whole before him like it was a weapon; which of course it was.
From somewhere about his person Kane had produced a knife so large that it might more properly be called a sword. "I think it's found us first," he remarked without apparent concern.
Barely visible through the grimy window and the pelting rain, a huge shadow loomed in the street just outside the pub. A few intense points of green light swayed back and forth near the top.
"Bigger than I thought it might be," said Applebury just before squeezing the trigger on his strange device.
A stroke of lightning blazed in the air between the weapon and the door, which burst outwards in a hail of splintering wood. The accompanying thunderclap shattered every piece of glass in the room and knocked the barkeeper off his feet. To the great regret of the other patrons of the bar, the flash briefly illuminated the lurking shape outside. One of the men fainted, another vomited, and a third man was struck blind. The creature howled in fury and pain, and the stench of carbonized flesh flowed in through the open doorway. The points of green light swayed for a moment, and then the thing shambled off down the street at alarming speed.
Kane immediately chased after it. Applebury hung back just long enough to down the rest of his tea.
"The game is afoot!" he said, smiling as he furiously spun the little crank on the lightning gun. And then he too ran outside into the rain to chase after the nightmarish thing.
The barkeeper watched him go in stupefied silence. That…thing. What an incredible stroke of luck that had been. Another few minutes and the tall one probably would have realized just how accurately he had tracked his prey. He shivered in his stolen skin. Best be gone before they get back.
The barkeeper expected that the tally of his patrons would neither diminish nor increase until the rain abated, and was therefore a bit astonished to see an enormous coach pull up to the front of the pub and deposit two people at his doorstep.
The door crashed open as they barged their way hastily inside. A few patrons raised their heads in mild curiosity to see who had braved the miserable weather, then found themselves staring in astonishment.
"What utterly monstrous weather you have here, ha ha. I think your establishment could have been ablaze and it would not have deterred us from entering, if only for a few minutes respite from this abominable downpour." The speaker removed his hat long enough to shake off the water that had accumulated on it during those few feet between carriage and pub. He then placed it carefully back on his head so that he could tip it to the barkeeper in greeting.
"Good day to you, sir," he continued. "I wonder if you might provide us with a bit of something to warm our insides, as we have been hours on the road in this wretched storm. Perhaps some tea?" After a brief silence and blank stare were the only response, he continued "No? Well, no matter, I have my own, and will only trouble you for some hot water."
The barkeeper finally recovered his voice. "What is that?" he said, gesturing towards the object that the speaker held at his side, which was partially concealed under a piece of heavy canvas. Whatever it was made odd crackling noises and emitted flashes of dazzling blue light at random intervals.
The visitor hefted it ever so slightly. "Oh, this? Merely some scientific equipment of no particular concern to you – though I would caution you that no one should get too close to it, and under absolutely under no circumstances should anyone touch it."
"Applebury, you're scaring them," said his companion.
"Come now, Kane, I think we both know that no mere lightshow or cautionary speech is going to overshadow the blunt force of your own intimidating presence." Applebury had to look up in order to field this remark to Kane, who towered over him and everyone else in the room, and who in fact nearly had to duck to avoid scraping his head on the ceiling. In contrast to Applebury's gentlemanly attire, Kane wore an enormous leather coat and boots that looked like they might have been forged rather than cobbled.
After shaking off what they could of the rain, the two seated themselves at the bar. Applebury carefully set his mysterious parcel down between the two of them. Belatedly, the barkeeper overcame his befuddlement and set out two cups of hot water before them. Applebury proceeded to prepare his tea, took a quick sip, and smiled in contentment. So fortified, he turned once again to the barkeeper.
"My good man, could you tell me if perhaps your fair city has recently experienced any mysterious disappearances, gruesome murders, rashes of unexplained deaths, accidents, night terrors, mass insanity, or other alarming and unwanted phenomena of a suspicious nature?"
"What? No! No, of course not!"
"Damn, that's unfortunate," Applebury said. "Ha ha, how rude of me. Of course it's fortunate for you lot, but it's quite off-putting to find that we might have come the wrong way. Kane," he said, turning his attention to his companion, "are you quite certain we're on the right trail?"
"It's here," Kane said with emotionless certainty.
"What on earth are you following?" the barkeeper asked, wondering as he did if it was a question that he really wanted answered.
"Best not to needlessly worry you," said Applebury. "I'm sure that if our quarry had indeed come this way, it would have long since come to your notice, so there is no sense alarming you unnecessarily."
"It's here, I tell you," said Kane. "Can't you feel it?"
"Kane, as you well know, I do not share your particular sensitivities to these things. Unless there are shattered buildings or streets littered with corpses – " a few patrons who were eavesdropping gasped in horror " - I could in ignorance walk straight past the monster's den and not even realize I was doing so."
"Monster?!" the barkeeper said, incredulous.
"A crude and unspecific term, though typically accurate, particularly in this particular situation," replied Applebury.
"And you're following this 'monster?' Am I meant to believe that you're professional monster hunters, or some such nonsense?" said the barkeeper.
Applebury's pleasant demeanor swiftly evaporated. "My dear fellow, professional? As if it were a trade? I'll have you know that I am Lord Theodore Applebury of Tarrantshire, and as such I do not find myself requiring of a profession."
"I'm the one who collects the fee," said Kane, so deadpan it was hard to tell if he was serious or not.
"I think I'd like you both to get out," said the barkeeper. "Now."
"My good man, we are currently in pursuit of a creature so foul, so loathsome, that were I to recount a list of its atrocities before you now, you would find yourself weeping in terror, and we would both have been sitting here for some considerable time. We believe that this beast - this thing - has come this way, and is in your city. Before we resume hunting this abomination, all that we ask is a few moments of respite from what is quite frankly simply the most appalling weather I have ever had the misfortune to endure. Now, if you cannot be civil and hospitable, then you can at least be quiet, and after my associate and I have finished our tea, we shall be on our way."
The barkeeper's face had reddened considerably during this tirade. His mouth opened and closed silently a few times as he struggled to find the words to express his outrage. He did not, however, have time to sufficiently order his thoughts before the drumming of the rain was momentarily overpowered by a horrific scream from outside.
Instantly Applebury leapt from his stool at the bar and cast off the covering for the flickering device. It was revealed to be an intricate mass of copper tubes and glass bulbs, and as he hefted it with one hand he quickly spun a tiny crank with the other. Sparks like tiny flashes of lightning arced between various components, and he brandished the whole before him like it was a weapon; which of course it was.
From somewhere about his person Kane had produced a knife so large that it might more properly be called a sword. "I think it's found us first," he remarked without apparent concern.
Barely visible through the grimy window and the pelting rain, a huge shadow loomed in the street just outside the pub. A few intense points of green light swayed back and forth near the top.
"Bigger than I thought it might be," said Applebury just before squeezing the trigger on his strange device.
A stroke of lightning blazed in the air between the weapon and the door, which burst outwards in a hail of splintering wood. The accompanying thunderclap shattered every piece of glass in the room and knocked the barkeeper off his feet. To the great regret of the other patrons of the bar, the flash briefly illuminated the lurking shape outside. One of the men fainted, another vomited, and a third man was struck blind. The creature howled in fury and pain, and the stench of carbonized flesh flowed in through the open doorway. The points of green light swayed for a moment, and then the thing shambled off down the street at alarming speed.
Kane immediately chased after it. Applebury hung back just long enough to down the rest of his tea.
"The game is afoot!" he said, smiling as he furiously spun the little crank on the lightning gun. And then he too ran outside into the rain to chase after the nightmarish thing.
The barkeeper watched him go in stupefied silence. That…thing. What an incredible stroke of luck that had been. Another few minutes and the tall one probably would have realized just how accurately he had tracked his prey. He shivered in his stolen skin. Best be gone before they get back.
