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asunshinepuff · 3 years

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Secrets of the Darkened Seas

🧜🏻‍♀️ Hello! Welcome to chapter five! Please please please give a like and follow to my co-author and best friend Luna ( @epithymiahua ) because this story would not be where it’s at without her help! She’s incredible and deserves so much credit for working on this alongside me cause she works so hard. And I feel horrible that she isn’t getting the credit deserves. Just a small reminder that the next chapter will be posted on Luna’s blog!

This chapter features a mention of poisoning, it’s quite brief and only about paragraph but nonetheless here’s your warning. Also, if you have any questions about swords and the reasoning behind Min-Jun’s sword having a name, feel free to ask Luna on her blog, she is great at explaining the lore behind it all and very patient to help you understand.

As always, a reminder that there is some lore included within this, however, it will be explained over time so no worries. There are very subtle mentions of lore within the previous chapters so perhaps read back and see if you can catch it.

Under the guise of Fantastic Nautical Creatures by Newt Scamander, the included lore on different types of merfolk will as always, be taken from the book “The Secret World of Mermaids” by Francine Rose. We will not take credit for its writing. It’s a childhood book of mine that I adore dearly and sincerely think you should all check out!

Also! Please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list so that you don’t miss a new chapter! Anyways, that’s about it. I hope you enjoy!

If you’ve missed any chapters here’s the link to the masterlist for this story Secrets of the Darkened Seas 🧜🏻‍♀️

Chapter 5: The Sea Serpent’s Venom

Everything happened in a span of mere seconds. Regulus and Tadase both woke up in fear, the crew claimed their weapons, the boys were pulled away by Opal and hidden away, Remus drew his sword, Sirius’ sword clanged against his, and the invading pirates boarded the Dragon’s Pearl.

Remus glared at the offending man, he stepped back when other pirates began to draw closer. One of the pirates stood next to Sirius Black. He was lean and tall, he wore round spectacles, light skin, the most unruly black hair Remus had ever seen, and a sword at the ready.

Remus blocked the first to his head, retaliating by swinging his sword. The pirate in spectacles charged at Quinn, who only smirked in response. Easily dancing around the younger pirate, disarming him rather quickly by grabbing the spectacles of the pirate. The man yelled out in surprise, shouting at the unfairness of it all.

Another pirate, this time a woman with bright green eyes and fiery red hair, charged after Opal. Having just joined the fray, she quickly blocked a blow to her side. She was not amused, nor did she want to deal with practical children, minus Remus of course, trying to steal their ship.

“Where is he?!” Sirius snarled out, his sword pressed against Remus’.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He snapped in return. Pushing his sword down against the Black.

“Don’t play coy, I know your captain kidnapped my brother!” Sirius pulled his sword free and twirled it with his wrist. “Kidnapped?! My captain practically saved him!” Remus widened his stance, putting the hilt of his sword to his chest.

Sirius didn’t even bother to respond to that, only frowning at the answer Remus gave him. He surged forward again, aiming for Remus’ torso. He blocked and began to advance while Sirius began to retreat to the stairs. He was heading for the Captain’s quarters. In a moment of quick thinking, Remus threw his sword. Sirius found himself pinned to the wall- Remus’ sword piercing his sleeve to the wood of the railing.

Sirius tugged his wrist, trying to pull free, he glared at Remus who only offered a smirk in return. His expression falters at the sight of a young lanky man with dusty blonde hair and grey eyes. The young man’s eyes darted around nervously, he quickly ran towards Sirius, handing the object in his arms to him.

It was Min-Jun’s sword, the one with a dark green sheath with gold accents. Dú hǎi. Remus paled. The lanky boy had snuck into the Captain’s quarters. Sirius smirked, taking the hilt of the sword.

The crew of the Dragon’s Pearl paused, watching Sirius. With all of the attention on him, Sirius spoke.

“I’ll be taking over this ship, unless you hand over Regulus Black. If you don’t, I’ll have the Dragon’s Pearl kill you all.” The crew merely looked at the Black in confusion.

Sirius frowns, he lifts the sword up for the crew to see. “See this! This sword controls the ship, and I hold the sword.”

Remus looked to Quinn, an intense desire to wring the young Black’s neck was clear upon his face. Quinn merely shook his head, sheathing his sword, and leaned against the railing. Remus only looked at Sirius as if he was watching a child wave a stick and calling it a magic wand.

Sirius’ brows frowned further into frustration at the lack of a response from the crew, in anger, he pulls the sword from its sheath. Instantly dropping the sword, blood dripping to the deck. Sirius clutched his hand tightly, a tiny metallic gold snake with emerald eyes wrapped its body around Sirius’ wrist, its fangs piercing the skin.

The metallic gold snake released its fangs, leaving two puncture holes, uncoiling its body, and it fell to the floor. Then slithered its way to the hilt of the sword where it fits perfectly to the deep grooves of the metal hilt that had appeared to have lost a large piece. The snake froze and became inanimate once more. Its emerald eyes shimmering.

Sirius looked to Remus and Quinn. His vision began to fog up around the edges, his mind felt heavy. “What did you do to me? What is that sword?!”

“Us? We’ve done nothing.” Quinn replied with a shrug.

Remus sheathed his sword and walked forward. His expression was neutral as the crew began to drive out the remaining pirates who had grown in fear at the sight of the sword’s snake coming to life. “That sword, is called Dú hǎi.”

Sirius fell to his knees, he looked up to Remus. “What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything?!”

Remus remains passive. “Dú hǎi translates to Venomous Sea.” He crouched down next to the pirate. “You were bitten by the spirit of the sword, and now have its venom running in your veins.”

The pirate glared at Remus. “Give me the antidote!”

“I don’t have it, only the White Sea Serpent has it,” Remus answered calmly.

Sirius froze, he had heard that title before. The White Sea Serpent was a man who had vanquished many pirates and had a magical sword that only served one master. “Who is he?! Where can I find him to give me the antidote!?”

“He’s my captain,” Remus smirked. “Captain Min-Jun Hua. And I doubt he would give someone like you the antidote. He doesn’t take too kindly to trespassers on his ship.”

Sirius struggled to keep his eyes open, his heart began to slow, he fell to his side. Quinn walked forward.

“You got bitten by the White Sea Serpent mate. You’ll become legendary if you survive. Which you won’t since its venom is hell without the antidote.” He leans down to grin at the pirate. “You’d best start praying my captain returns soon, eh?”

Sirius couldn’t respond, he fell unconscious. Quinn tsks, shaking his head. He stood, “Take him to the infirmary, make sure he stays alive long enough for Min-Jun to arrive.”

The crew gets to work. Remus watches them drag Sirius away, his arms crossed. “Defeated by the captain’s sword when the captain was nowhere in sight. What a terrible way to die. He doesn’t even have the honor to die with the captain present. How tragic.”

“Well, now you know how it looks in person. This is why no one has managed to take the ship.” Quinn adds, he grabs the fallen sword, speaking quietly to it. A small hiss answers in return, Quinn resheaths the sword.

“I’ll go check on the children. They got quite the scare.” Remus offered. He personally wanted to make sure the children weren’t harmed during the fight.

“Alright, try to get some sleep,” Quinn adds as he looks to the ship that was sailing away. “His own crew left him, not that I blame them. They wouldn’t even be able to help him.” Quinn turned to the infirmary. Dú hǎi in his hand.

When Remus joined the children, Brielle had taken to hiding Regulus as well. She snarled when the cabin door opened, but stopped when she saw that it was Remus.

“How are they?” Remus asked softly, kneeling on the ground. The mermaid had not spoken once, but it was clear she could understand them. The mermaid only communicated with Remus telepathically, but even then Remus still struggled to understand the complex mer language.

Brielle simply looked to her right, the children were huddled under a blanket. She looked back to Remus, her eyes turning silver as she spoke to Remus telepathically.

Remus instantly raised his hands to try to stop her, his head shaking. “Alright, I understand. Please stop doing that, it feels so loud my head might burst.” He looks to Brielle who’s shoulders slumped. He sighs. “At least until I know about your language.”

Brielle looks away, her hair falling over her shoulder. Remus turned his attention to the blanket, lifting it up a tad to peek at the children underneath. Two pairs of wide eyes stared back at him. Remus couldn’t help but smile.

“Are you both alright?” The boys nod. Tadase crawls out from the blanket, curling up to the older mer’s side. Purring contentedly. Regulus crawled out as well, hesitantly watching the two mers interact, it looked like he wanted comfort too.

Without warning, Remus pulled Regulus onto his lap, hugging him tightly. Regulus struggled to pull himself free, but gradually came to a stop. The child’s shoulders began to shake, before he began to sob.

Remus only rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. A sigh leaving his lips, he was angry. Regulus had been so small and thin, he hadn’t spoken a single word for nearly all four days. Only flinching whenever someone mentioned the Blacks. What had they done to him?

“He feels abandoned.” Remus snapped his head up, eyes wide as he looked to the mermaid. She had spoken. In english!

Brielle looked undisturbed with her sudden ability to speak. She watched the boy closely. “I feel, loneliness from him. He feels abandoned.”

Remus frowned. He wasn’t surprised. The Blacks all but unloved the frail boy in his arms. Regulus was neglected for so long, it must have felt like rejection and abandonment. Brielle tilts her head, the mer child in her arms has fallen asleep. Gently, she places Tadase down beside her. She turns to Remus, her arms stretched, reaching for Regulus.

“I’ll sing. To help him sleep. No more nightmares.”

Remus’ eyes widened in surprise. “Mermaid’s can be rid of nightmares?”

Brielle nodded. “Mothers do, for their babies. I will do it for him.” She pulls the boy into her arms, her clawed hands were so gentle, it amazed Remus how such a fierce creature could become so gentle and tender to others. He had much to learn about his fellow mers it seemed.

Once settled comfortably upon her lap, Brielle began to sing. And her lullaby soothed out the frown on his face, falling deep into sleep. Tadase curled closer to her. Her lullaby seemed to calm the rage within Remus’ own mind, and all the crew slept well for the first time in days. Even Sirius Black who was fighting for his life, the pain seemed to dull.

Her song reached everyone aboard the Dragon’s Pearl.

Tag List: (Let me know if you wish to be added!)

@whataboutmyfries

@sunflowerfox87

@spookypotato

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thelastspeecher · 4 years

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Pirate AU - Down to Davy Jones’

This is a Gravity Falls AU, so naturally there is an equivalent to the portal incident, where Ford gets stuck somewhere for a long time. Here is that moment in this AU. Some angst, some Stangst, and some dad!Stan.

Enjoy.

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Small footsteps sounded on the deck, immediately followed by Manly Dan’s distinctive, booming voice.

“NO, Daisy, your DAD said no HARPOONS!” Daisy’s giggled response wasn’t legible through the closed door, but Stan knew that she wasn’t going to give up the weapon easily.

“You should probably go help Dan,” Angie said. “We’re done with our meetin’.” Stan didn’t get up from his chair, set across from Angie’s desk.

“No, we aren’t,” Stan said. Angie looked up from the papers she was perusing. “You finished saying your piece, now I have to say mine.”

“I…didn’t realize ya had somethin’ to say,” Angie said, bemused. She took off her reading glasses. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just…” Stan sighed. “I’ve been thinking about the girls lately.”

“I certainly hope so. They are yer children.”

“Not like-” Stan huffed impatiently. “I’ve been thinking about how they’re only three, but they live on a fucking pirate ship.”

“And?”

“Angie, you’re not dumb. You can’t think this is a good environment for two toddlers!”

“What do ya want to do?” Angie asked calmly. “Settle on land? I’d stay at home, birthing and tending to children, and you’d find some professional, well-paying job? Or maybe you’d want to pursue farmin’ like my pa.”

“Not all of that. Just the settling on land part.”

“There aren’t a lot of options fer us on land. We’re wanted criminals, fer one thing.”

“No one knows your real name,” Stan pointed out. “And I’m fine using your real last name, since Stan Pines is a known pirate.” Angie sighed. “I know that it would be difficult to figure out, but we can make it work. I really think we should give up the whole pirate thing.”

“Stan-”

“Angie, it’s not safe for our kids to live on a pirate ship,” Stan said firmly. Anger flashed in Angie’s eyes at being talked over. Stan forged ahead. “It’s not just the rusted metal and weapons. It’s the fact that we literally have battles. Danny and Daisy are three. They shouldn’t be anywhere near a swordfight.”

“I…” Angie chewed on her lip. “I just…” She sighed again. “I made this my life’s purpose. I built my whole life ‘round bein’ a pirate, I can’t just give it up. At this point, it’s part of who I am!”

“I know. But I just- I don’t think I can do this anymore,” Stan said softly. “Not with our baby girls on board.”

“I understand. And I don’t want ‘em hurt or near any sort of danger, either,” Angie said. She reached out and took hold of Stan’s hand. Stan gently traced the scars on the back of her hand with his thumb. “I’ll think ‘bout it. At the very least, we should be able to-” There was a loud crash. The ship tilted heavily. “Fucking hell!” The door to Angie’s cabin slammed open, revealing Greg.

“Captain, First Mate, we have a problem.”

“What?” Angie asked.

“It’s the Armageddon,” Greg said. Stan could feel the blood drain from his face. “She came out of nowhere!”

“Are we lucky enough that the Armageddon’s had a change of captain?” Angie asked, getting up from her desk. Greg shook his head. “Fantastic. Have Dan bring the girls belowdeck. Stan and I will do our best to handle things.”

-----

“Handle things” ended up meaning what it meant the previous times the pirate-hunting ship previously named Orion but now called Armageddon had caught up to them. It meant a fight. Stan couldn’t see anything other than the sailors directly in front of him, but a voice cut through the sounds of battle.

“He’s heading belowdeck!”

“Who?” Stan called.

“Bill!” came the reply. To Stan’s left, there was a loud swear that would put the filthiest of sailor’s mouths to shame.

My blushing bride. Said bride cut down the sailor between her and Stan. Angie’s eyes were wild with rage and terror.

“Come on!” Angie grabbed Stan’s hand and dragged him through the chaos, following Bill into the belly of the ship, where Danny and Daisy were hiding with Dan. They caught up to Bill, just before he was about to enter the room that had been designated as the girls’ hiding place. “Bill!” Captain Bill Cipher turned around, grinning evilly.

“Hello, Captain Sally,” he said slimily. Stan’s heart leapt to his throat. Now that Bill had turned, Stan could tell the captain held Ford in front of him, a knife tickling his throat. “I’d be careful if I were you. You’d hate to kill your brother-in-law. Especially after he committed treason for you.” Angie snarled. “Now, go back to the battle. I have more important things to do.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Stan spat. Bill shrugged.

“If you insist. Maybe you can help me find what I’m looking for, then.” A vicious glint appeared in his single eye, a weak amber that almost looked yellow. “A one-of-a-kind relic with a one-of-a-kind enchantment.” Hunger entered Bill’s gaze. “The ability to open a gate to Davy Jones’ Locker.” He cocked his head, grin broadening further. “It’s a funny coincidence, since that’s exactly where pirate scum like you belong.”

“You’re a fool, Cipher,” Angie said calmly. Out of the corner of his eye, Stan saw Angie slowly reach for her pocket. Unfortunately, Bill saw it as well. Too quickly for Stan to intervene, Bill cast Ford aside, grabbed Angie’s shirt, and pulled her to the ground.

“Uh-uh. No guns, lady,” he said in a faux-sweet tone. Angie hissed at him. He put his knife to her neck. “Do you want a new scar to match the one you’ve already got? If so, feel free to struggle.” Angie reluctantly stilled. Stan rushed over to where Ford had fallen. “That’s right, help your brother while your wife is on the floor.”

“You piece of-” Stan started.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Bill said, pressing the knife blade against Angie’s neck. A bead of blood appeared. Stan swallowed his insult.

“Stanley,” Ford whispered. “Here.” He pressed something into Stan’s hand. Stan looked down. It was some sort of pendant, composed of a glowing opal ringed by gold. “You’re the only one I can trust with this.”

“Not so fast, Fordsy,” Bill snarled. The feigned light tone was gone. He finished drawing the knife across Angie’s neck, then tossed her to the side. Stan’s heart plummeted to his feet. “I thought you might be holding out on me, you-”

“R hvmw bv gl gsv ylggln lu gsv hvz!” Ford shouted, suddenly shoving Stan off and tackling Bill. There was a deranged look in his bloodshot eyes. He gripped the front of Bill’s shirt. “Drgs nv.” The pendant in Stan’s hand glowed brighter. As the light filled the room, droplets of water fell from the ceiling, building from a slow trickle to a gushing waterfall that enveloped Ford and Bill.

“Stanford!” Stan shouted over the roaring water. The light of the pendant grew brighter still, forcing Stan to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, Ford and Bill were gone. What little remained of the water had puddled on the floorboards. Angie, still on the floor but now soaked through, slowly sat up.

“What…in the hell…just happened?” she croaked. Stan quickly moved to her side.

“Stay still,” he instructed. “If you move too much, you might bleed out.”

“Relax. He didn’t really cut me that bad,” Angie said with a scoff. “This just feels like the ship cat got a bit too frisky with me.” She smiled weakly at Stan. “I know neck wounds, and this one isn’t a problem at all.”

“Well, that’s good.” Stan sat down next to her. “That’s…the only thing that’s good.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. Ford gave me this glowing thing, and then he started saying gibberish, and then it glowed more, and there was water, and-”

“Stop.” Angie held up a hand. “What did Ford give you?”

“This.” Stan opened the hand that was still clenched tight around the pendant. The brilliant glow of the opal had completely faded, leaving it dull. Angie took the pendant from him curiously. “I swear, it was glowing earlier.”

“I believe you,” Angie said softly. She closed her eyes. “This is…a big old mess.”

“Understatement of the century.” A moment passed. “So, uh, I know you said we would talk about the whole moving to land thing, but there’s no way the girls can stay on the ship when this sorta shit happens.” There was a beat. Angie nodded.

“I agree.”

-----

“Let me take that.” Stan took the chair from Angie. She glared at him. “You gotta be careful about how much weight you carry.”

“That’s a chair, Stanley Stanford McGucket,” Angie scolded, hands on her hips. “Not an anvil.”

“Can you blame me for being extra cautious?” Stan asked. He set down the chair just by the front door, then returned to Angie and placed a hand on her already swelling belly. “We’ve got another little twerp on the way.” Angie sighed.

“No, I can’t blame ya.”

“Good. Now, go sit in that chair while I bring the rest of the stuff in.”

“But-”

“We’re not on the ship anymore, Captain,” Stan interjected. “You can’t command me.” Angie raised an eyebrow.

“Yer playin’ a dangerous game, husband of mine,” she said, but sat down in the chair anyways. She leaned back, watching Stan bring the rest of the furniture in. Shortly after Stan began to move ashore with Danny and Daisy, Angie discovered she was pregnant again and, hoping to avoid the traumatic birth she’d had previously, as well as help her family settle down, decided to join her husband and daughters on land.

To be honest, Angie was kind of glad to have an excuse to be on land. Yes, she might not strictly need an excuse, but she still liked having it. Stan was clearly haunted and troubled by what had happened to Ford. He needed all the support he could get.

To be even more honest, Angie wasn’t being half as argumentative as usual, out of concern for Stan’s mental state.

Not that I’ll ever tell him why I’m bein’ so gentle.

“It’s gonna be great to have us all here as a little family,” Stan said, carrying a dresser. He grinned. “Y’know, it’s basically what I wanted when I was a kid. Wife, kids, my own business.”

“This is temp’rary fer me, though,” Angie reminded him. “I’m only ashore fer the pregnancy and post-partum period. After, I’m headin’ back to sea.” Stan set down the dresser with a grimace.

“Angie…”

“It’s not like I’m abandonin’ ya. It’ll be like merchant fam’lies what have the father gone to transport tea and whatnot. But in this case, it’s the mother.”

“I guess.”

“I know yer not happy-”

“Yeah, I’m not happy.” Stan took a breath. “But I just have to deal with it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll love your time ashore so much, you decide to stay.”

“Don’t hold yer breath hopin’ fer that possibility, love.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stan muttered. “You better be giving me a son, by the way. That’ll make being a single parent more worth it.”

“I know yer jokin’, but don’t say that ‘round the girls. They won’t understand.”

“Right. Speaking of the girls, uh, where are they?” Stan asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yer not pretendin’ ya don’t know where yer children are as a way of me stickin’ ‘round, are ya? I know full well yer capable of takin’ care of ‘em,” Angie said. Stan frowned at her. “They’re with Maria. She should be bringin’ ‘em back any minute.”

“Mama!” a voice screeched. “Papa!” Three-year-old Danny and Daisy ran up, wrapping their arms around Stan’s legs.

“Hey there, little pirates,” Stan chuckled, ruffling their hair. “Didja have a good time with Mrs. Ramirez?”

“Don’t be silly, Stanley,” Maria said, walking over to them. Her grandson, Soos, was holding her hand. “I’m not Mrs. Ramirez. I’m Abuelita.”

“Yeah!” Daisy said loudly. Soos broke free of his grandmother’s grip and ran to Stan.

“Mr. McGucket, can you tell me a pirate story?” he asked eagerly. Stan grinned.

“Like you need to ask! Come on in, kid!” Cheering, the children followed Stan inside. Angie got up from the chair and embraced Maria.

“I’m so glad you kids settled here in Gravity Falls,” Maria said. Angie smiled.

“Well, you and Soos seemed really happy here. And Stan was thrilled to be close to you two.”

“Yes, Soos is a wonderful boy.” Maria raised an eyebrow at Angie. “So, what are your plans?”

“Stan wants to turn part of the house into a pawn or antiques shop,” Angie answered. “After all, we have plenty of things from our adventures that he can sell. And since I won’t be giving up piracy, I’ll be able to help restock.”

And if Stan sells interesting relics, he’s more likely to meet people who might know something about the pendant that sent Ford away. Said relic was locked tight in a chest, tucked away beneath the floorboards of their bedroom.

“You’re not quitting?” Maria asked, surprised. Angie shook her head. “Surprising.”

“I just…” Angie looked down at her feet. She toed the grass. “I probably will eventually. But not yet. I have more I want to do.”

“I understand. Though I don’t understand why you and Stan went with the last name ‘McGucket’.”

“…It’s actually my real last name,” Angie mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. “My real name is Angie McGucket. So I went back to that. And since Stan Pines is a known pirate, he took my last name.”

�� “Ah.” Maria looked Angie up and down, then put her hands on her hips. “You need to eat more! You’re pregnant, but look at you! You’re skin and bones, mija!” Angie laughed.

“I was wonderin’ how long it would take fer ya to try to feed me.”

“Try? I am not going to try, dear. Come inside, I will make you something to eat.”

“Maria, this is my house.”

“So?” Maria asked, walking into the house. “I can use a kitchen even if it is not mine.”

With a chuckle, Angie followed her inside.

#it's been a while since I've written a Caesar cipher for something before #I actually had to look it up to double-check bc I wanted to make sure I was right #Pirate AU #Stanley Pines #Stanford Pines #Angie McGucket #Bill Cipher #Abuelita Ramirez #Stangie Family #Stangie #ficlet #my writing #speecher speaks

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book-boys-are-my-guilty-pleasure · 7 years

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Imagine: Being Sirius’ girlfriend and being best friends with the Marauders, Regulus, and Lilly. You force them all to have a sleepover together and secrets are revealed.

Not requested.

A/N: ANSGT WARNING! Also, I’m so happy with the way that last gif turned out! I’m such a loser lol (Sadly, I wasn’t able to find a good enough Regulus gif to fit in there though)

You were in Divinations class, trying your hardest to stay awake. Your boyfriend, Sirius, is shamelessly sleeping next to you, James is drawing on his face, Peter is staring up at the ceiling, and Remus is the only one actually taking notes.

Class eventually ends and you rush towards the door, you promised to meet your best friend Regulus before going to dinner with Lilly. It was difficult being friends with people who can’t stand to be around each other, but you loved them all so much, so you were willing to make it work.

“Y/N,” Your divination professor calls as you reach the door, “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

You sigh and walk up to her, “Yes Professor Opal?”

“I sense a very bad energy around you my dear,” You stare at her, a bit worried. Professor Opal has never been wrong with any of her predictions before, “Someone very close to you is in danger. A friend will die tonight if you cannot stop it.”

You heart races, “W-what?! Who?”

“That I do not know, I’m only telling you what I sense.”

“Thank you,” You nod, your head spinning. What do I do...?

Night fell, and you’re frantically pacing back and forth your dormitory, “Y/N? Will you tell me what’s wrong...?”

You ignore Lilly, once again. You finally come up with an idea, “Lilly! I need you to come with me!”

“What?! Where?” She says as you take her hand and drag her out of the dormitory. You don’t respond, you just drag her up to the Marauders’ dormitory, “Y/N, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, but I’m not going in there!”

“Trust me Lilly! This is important!” You say, doing your secret knock on the boys’ door.

“Hello love!” Sirius says, opening the door, he looks confused when he sees Lilly, “Um... hey Evans...”

She nods awkwardly, “Hi...”

The moment he hears her name, James is on his feet, “Lillyflower! Just can’t stay away can you?!”

His face falls when he sees your expression, “What’s wrong Y/N?”

“Look, this is going to sound crazy, but we all need to spend the night in here tonight,” You explain, Lilly’s jaw instantly falls and she turns back towards the door, “Lilly! Wait!”

“I am not staying in here Y/N!” She enunciates.

“Please! Just listen to me!” You finally convince them to listen, and you explain what Professor Opal told you, “I’m bloody terrified. So, please just do this.”

They all share your worried expression at this point. Lilly was a bit skeptical as she never truly believed in divination, but even she knew that Professor Opal has never been wrong until now.

“I have to go get one more person, please just stay here.”

“Wait! Who else-” James’ voice is cut off as you shut the door and run off to look for Regulus.

You find him in the library; he planned on spending the night in there to study. It was Saturday tomorrow, but he had a make-up test scheduled in the evening, so he was a bit annoyed that you forced him to leave. He was even more annoyed when you told him he’d have to spend the night with his brother and his friends, but he was understanding when you told him why.

Sirius’ POV

“Who is she going to get mate?” James asks me.

“I don’t know, Alice?”

“Alice was in our dorm when she brought me here, she would have just brought both of us,” Lilly finally speaks up. Until now, the poor girl has just been sitting in awkward silence on Remus’ bed on the other end of the room, “Maybe she went to get Marlene.”

We sit in silence for a little while longer until Y/N finally knocks on the door. Peter rushes up to open the door, and my jaw drops. Regulus. I haven’t spoken to my brother since last summer, when I left home, I didn’t even know that Y/N was so close to Reg.

He stands there, even more awkwardly than Lilly, he gives a small wave, avoiding eye contact with me.

Y/N’s POV

You all sit around in silence. At least they’re not fighting. You sigh and finally speak up, “We’re going to be here all night, we might as well do something.”

“How about truth or dare?” James suggests, wiggling his eyebrows at Lilly, who scoffs in response.

“Sounds good to me,” Regulus replies staring at his brother.

You’re in the middle of your game and at this point, Sirius and Remus have switched clothes, you’ve made out with Sirius, Peter has his makeup done, and Lilly is on James’ lap -looking absolutely miserable.

“Sirius, truth or dare?” Regulus asks, every time Regulus’ turn comes up, he asks Sirius, and every time Sirius chooses dare.

Sirius puts his hands up in defeat, tired of being picked so much by his brother, “Truth.”

“Why did you leave?” The room falls silent.

A pained expression crosses his face, “You know why... I couldn’t stand to be around them anymore.”

Regulus nods, and Sirius continues, “Regulus, truth or dare?”

Peter is about say something about him not being allowed to question Regulus back but you stop him, “Truth.”

“When I left you didn’t say a word, why do you care now?” You can tell he’s trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice, and you take his hand and gently run your thumb over his knuckles in attempts to calm him.

“You think I wanted you to leave?!” Regulus says, his voice rising, “But what was I supposed to say Sirius? You just got up and bloody left!”

We sit in a tense silence for a moment; finally Regulus speaks up, “Sirius truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Why didn’t you take me with you...?” His voice cracks slightly and your heart breaks for your best friend.

“I’m sorry Reg...” Sirius says, looking down. He looks up to see Regulus running his fingers through his hair, Sirius’ eyes widen as he sees something poking out from under the cuff of Regulus’ shirt.

Anger floods his eyes, and you gently whisper, “Sirius, don’t-”

“Regulus, truth or dare?”

“Tru-”

“I dare you to roll up your sleeves,” Sirius interrupts.

“I picked truth Sirius,” Regulus chuckles nervously.

“I said roll up your goddamn sleeves Regulus!” Regulus looks at you desperately, but you know there’s absolutely nothing you can do or say. Everyone stares at Regulus, he sighs and slowly rolls up both sleeves on by one. The second they see the dark mark on Regulus’ arm, James, Remus, and Peter pull out their wands, Lilly lets out a loud gasp, and Sirius looks away in disgust and hurt.

“GET OUT!” James roars, Regulus argues and James steps closer to him.

“STOP IT!” You cry, stepping between them, “It’s not what you guys think! Just stop!”

“You knew?!” Sirius finally speaks up, absolutely furious, “You knew Y/N, and didn’t tell me?!”

“Sirius,” You say calmly, “It wasn’t my place, just hear him out!”

“There’s nothing left to hear,” He responds.

“Will you listen to me for once Sirius?!” Regulus burst. Everyone shuts up and turns to him, “I had no choice, you left me in that house. I could either run like you or I could join what our family believes. But I don’t have friends like you, I had nowhere to run to. I’m sorry!”

Regulus breaks down into tears, the boys have put their wands away and look incredibly disappointed, and Lilly has tears in her eyes like you. Sirius takes everyone by surprise when he pulls Regulus into a tight hug, letting out a throaty sob, “We’re going to be okay. I promise Reg, I promise.”

After the sentimental mood dies down a bit, you decide to call it a night -hoping the danger has already passed. You use a duplication spell to create two more beds, and you push all the bed closer together to fit them. Everyone gets his or her own bed and you share with Sirius.

Once everyone is settled in, Sirius finally wraps his arms around you from behind and whispers in your ear, “I’m sorry for yelling at you my love. I should’ve trusted you knew what you were doing. Thank you for taking care of my brother for all these years Y/N.”

You turn in his arms and place a kiss against his lips, “You don’t have to apologize Sirius, I can’t even imagine what you had to go through.”

“I love you Y/N,” He whispers, the sadness is still prevalent in his voice.

“I love you too,” You say, kissing him once again.

The next morning, the seven of you make your way to the Great Hall, making sure no one saw you together. When you finally get inside, Dumbledore makes an announcement, “The library caught on fire last night, luckily no one was harmed, it will be closed off for today while we work on repairs.”

You and your friends exchange glances with one another and all turn to Regulus, who mouths back ‘thank you’.

End.

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bruno-in-barovia · 5 years

Text

Session Five, Part Two

The abbot said we were welcome to watch him raise Zazear, but that it wouldn’t be pretty. No kidding.

Elliott asked if he would be back as he was before. The abbot said yes, assuming he was recently dead as he appeared to be. He took a moment to look the body over and seemed surprised that “he only appears to have been dead for half an hour.” Elliott explained what I had done to keep the body from decomposing.

“To keep it from becoming undead,” I corrected him, but my heart wasn’t in it. Either way, I had contributed to this.

The abbot assured the party that what he was going to do would not make Zazear undead, but make him fully alive again. Typical resurrection heresy.

He told us to follow him through one of the doors into a wing of the abbey. As we walked, Elliott maneuvered himself over to me.

“Now, Bruno, I understand that this is quite different for you. But he assures us that he’s not going to be undead. So if he’s not—”

“It’s not just undead that takes from the tally,” I told him. “Zazear’s dead. He’s been counted.”

“I just don’t want you to do anything rash if he does come back.”

“I know.” He doesn’t trust me. I guess that’s fair. It still hurt a little.

The chamber that the abbot led us into contained a long table. Music filtered down from somewhere on the floor above. There was a young woman standing behind the table. She looked a lot like Ireena, especially her hair. I haven’t seen a lot of redheads in Barovia so far. But her face had some strange lines on it. I don’t know how to describe it other than that. It was as though it had been… pieced together.

The abbot introduced her as Vasilka, his “finest creation.” He told her to retrieve someone named “Clovin” from upstairs. He cleared the table with a wave of his hands and told the party to set Zazear’s body on it.

The “Clovin” he’d sent for clomped down the stairs. He was a similar amalgamation to the two we met earlier, this one with a crablike claw for one hand and an extra head sprouting from his shoulder. The abbot sent him to retrieve the things used for revivals. While waiting for Clovin’s return, he began drawing with his hands on the table, leaving glowing lines where he touched it.

He paused then and looked at me, Opal, and Haku. “I do believe you seem to be suffering from an ailment of some kind. I see there is a craving in you.”

Opal confirmed his statement.

“Would you like me to remove it?”

She asked what it would cost, and he said, “Nothing.”

I asked how he would go about doing that.

“It is simple,” he replied and without warning he reached out his hand and touched my forehead. I felt this rush of magic, like cool water washing over me. I could tell it was healing magic, but it was like no magic I know. And the craving just… stopped.

The abbot repeated his action with Opal and Haku while I stood stunned, then returned to drawing his shapes on the table around Zazear. We looked around at each other, but before we could ask questions, Clovin returned with arms full of strange metal instruments, as well as a bucket. The abbot sent him back upstairs to ring the bell, and once that was done, he returned with two buckets and took them out to the courtyard, leaving our party alone with the abbot once more.

The abbot set up his instruments as we looked on, attaching parts to Zazear’s body with some kind of putty. The room went still. Then he began to sing in a language I didn’t recognize. But this sense of peace came over me as I listened, and the rest of the party seemed to feel the same.

He sang for about an hour, and then seized two of the wires attached to Zazear. Blue lightning crackled along the wires from his hands, and the body convulsed. He did it a few times, the body responding each time, until Zazear’s eyelids snapped opened and he started screaming. Lesions appeared on his body as he screamed, almost like claw marks, as if he was torn from somewhere. As if something had tried to stop him from returning. As the screaming ended, he gasped, chest heaving, and sat up, looking around at us.

“Gods above,” Elliott breathed.

“I have returned his soul to his body from the mists,” the abbot said.

“Mists,” I echoed. What about the chasm? That’s not right.

“His soul was in the mists,” he repeated. “I have returned it.” He folded his hands in front of him. “Now, I believe you have what you came for?”

Lith asked if he might take Freek and Myrtle in at the abbey, or whether he knew someone in Krezk who would.

He said that he knew some people in town who would take them, but that he had “no need for children.” That his work was much too important.

With that he told us to please do as he had asked earlier and bid us good day.

“Zazear!” Elliott approached his friend.

“I’m back,” the cat murmured, looking at his hands, “I’m back, I’m back…”

“You all right?” Elliott asked.

“Do you know what happened?” Haku added.

“I-I died.” He rambled a little, about light, and dark, and light pulling him back, and then just slamming him back. “That hurt. It hurt… all over.”

“We’re glad to have you back,” Elliott told him, setting a hand on his shoulder. “And if you ever do any shit like that again, not only will I leave you dead, I will find Strahd, not kill him, ask for a big wolf, and give you to it. You get me?”

“I honestly don’t know how to respond to that,” Zazear said, looking a little shaken.

“Also, I sold your hairbrush.”

Lith started to ask the abbot about his creations, what his project here was, but he brushed each one off and demanded we leave. Gulp.

Elliott had already helped Zazear out to the courtyard, and he called for us to follow.

“Ooh!” Haku turned around as we headed out the door. “Have you ever heard about someone called Izek?”

The abbot glared at him. “No. Please leave.”

As Elliott would say, we vamoosed. Lith wanted to explore the abbey, but the rest of us were ready to get the hell out. She opened the door to one of the sheds and started talking at one of the creatures inside. It screeched at her, and she closed the door.

Just as we got Lith back on track to leave, Haku decided to peek into the courtyard’s well, and another creature jumped out at him. It slashed at him with a dagger and screeched. Haku hit it with his axe, and it dove back where it came from.

He wanted to go after it, but Lith said he’d better not fall down another well.

Finally, finally, we made it back to the gates. The creatures we’d met before were back at their posts. Lith decided to question the talking one, the woman with the lizard arm, about the “procedure” the abbot did on them.

She said that her arm was crushed in a wagon accident, and the abbot healed her. But then he had said that he liked her other parts, and so he took them from her.

What… I couldn’t take any more of this, and I left.

The others followed me out not a minute later, so I can’t have missed much. Elliott and Lith were arguing about something she said to the lizard woman, I don’t know what.

This whole time, Freek and Myrtle had said nothing. They looked pretty scared by all of what we’d seen. Elliott did his best to comfort them.

“Um.” Zazear sort of raised his hand. “Can I ask what’s going on? And where we are, and why we have small children?”

We did our best to catch him up to speed. Halfway through, Lith asked if his reading with Madame Eva had foretold his death, by any chance. He said no, she just told him to “trust the raven” that was watching him.

“There’s a raven watching you?”

“Yeah…”

I blinked. “Let us know if it’s still around after this…” Because I have thoughts on that.

“And Haku can talk to animals,” Lith added.

“We’re here for you,” I told him, “if that’s you in there.”

Lith split from the group with Freek and Myrtle to find someone willing to take them in.

While Elliott finished telling Zazear what he had missed, I took the time to sit down with Father Donavich’s papers. After everything that had just happened, a little straightforward research was pretty appealing.

Barovia has two main deities: the Morninglord, whose name is Lathander, and another called Mother Night. I didn’t find much about the latter in my bag. The recurring devil figure is referred to interchangeably as Vampyr or Strahd.

The Barovians weren’t the first to settle in the valley. There was a primal religion called the Fanes that came first.

Barovia’s main places of worship are all dedicated to Lathander. Father Donavich’s chapel is one, the abbey we’d just left is another, and the third is a chapel in the town of Vallaki. There’s a litany of historical saints in here as well.

The abbot is mentioned a few times, and every description is similar to the abbot we just met. They all say that he’s a young man who’s extremely knowledgeable, some in more detail than most.

I finally got to Donavich’s notes on vampires, but they were less than helpful. The whole section just consists of the “Don’t Mess With Strahd: He’ll Whack You” sort of warnings. If someone turned into a vampire, they say, the person is better off dead.

Wow. This man got absolutely nowhere. Not the progression of the condition, no sign of a cure or anything.

But am I even looking for a cure now? Vampires are undead. I’m supposed to be destroying them, not trying to revive them.

Still, it seems so… unfair, somehow.

#campaign #session notes #d&d #curse of strahd

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