004 // the house of sin

[serpentis]

Who: Dorian and assorted guests
Broadcast: Fleet-wide, 3/10
Action: In a villa practically in the forest (THE HOUSE OF SIN)
When: Broadcast- 3/10 // Action- 3/9-3/31? Until we leave.

Broadcast:

[The broadcast goes out on 3/10, and Dorian smirks a bit into the feed.]

I believe I've secured lodging for myself, with room enough for several others. If you need a place to stay, do let me know. It's a quaint little villa a bit outside of town. ...please don't mind the suspicious glances, I assure you, I've done nothing entirely against the guidelines that were set.

---------

Action:

[Dorian has secured a villa, but the residents of Mor don't seem too keen on having an evil mage for a neighbor. As the month goes on, more and more villagers will show up to stand at the gates of the villa and threaten to come in after the "evil wizard".

Maybe he shouldn't have gone so overboard with the whole "contacting the spirits of the dead" thing.]

((OOC: Mingle post for the House of Sin. We'll pretend there are enough rooms in here for everyone! Even if you character only drops by to rest their feet a bit, everyone is welcome to visit and stay the night if they want.))

Comments

[dawnwillcome]

I think you're confusing me for our other dear elf. [She sighs, a little wistful.] I do miss Sera, she'd be exactly what we needed to keep us from letting all this get under our skin.

Just imagine her stealing all the breaches.

[serpentis]

She would be hanging them on the villa gate! And, of course, I would have no option but to make sure they were hung properly, you see.

[Not that he didn't enjoy Sera's mischief. She was a charming girl, in some ways, and a devious imp in others. She was entertaining, though, and rarely ever dull.]

It's a good thing Vivienne is not here. Could you imagine? She would sniff at my choice of housing arrangements and call them uncultured and rustic.

[dawnwillcome]

And then she would cackle and make jokes about things being hung.

[Said so fondly. Sera, you were the best of us.]

Would think I'd gone completely mad if I told you I missed her too? We became quite close, though you wouldn't know that. It happens down the line. [There's a thoughtful pause.] I killed a wyvern for her.

[serpentis]

Ah, I do so miss her effortless jabs and insults.

[And he smiles, kissing the top of Jove's head.]

A wyvern? Truly? Now I'm curious and slightly scandalized! Do tell.

[dawnwillcome]

Scandalized? Please. I think you all asked me to kill something for you at one point.

[But she isn't adverse to talking about the little quest, so she just cuddles in a little closer and absently fiddles with the straps on his robes.]

She needed a heart for a potion, she said. Only the heart of the snowy wyvern would do and we had to trek for hours through knee high water to find it. The fight wasn't too bad, thanks to Bull and Cassandra, but it wasn't pleasant cutting a heart out of one of those things.

When we returned I found a recipe for a potion sitting near her things, and being the curious young elf I am, of course I looked. You'll never guess what she wanted the heart to make.

[serpentis]

I didn't ask you to kill anyone that didn't entirely deserve it.

[He says it, as if making a point, like Venatori were just mongrels that needed to be put down. And, in Dorian's eyes, they certainly were.

But he can't keep the almost scandalized, gossiping tone from his voice.]

What did she need it for? Do tell!

[dawnwillcome]

It was for a youth potion. And I didn't even have to ask her any questions, she told me right away who it was for.

[Her smile dims a little, a little sad as she remembers exactly how that day ended. Vivienne had been a surprise at every turn, and the recipient of that potion had been just as surprising.]

You remember Duke Bastien, her lover? Everyone in Orlais was gossiping every time we passed through about how he had been mysteriously absent for so long. He'd been very ill, I think. The potion was for him.

[serpentis]

[He's fully ready to be scandalized, but his smile falters, and sobers a bit. He and Vivienne had an odd sort of...he's not certain that he would call it friendship, but nor did he wish for anything bad to happen to her.

They were both nobles, among them it was nearly more an alliance than a friendship, one filled with banter and barbed quips that he enjoyed.]

...I see. That's quite unfortunate.

[dawnwillcome]

[She nods, reaching for Dorian's hand to wind their fingers together.]

It was. I don't know how long she'd been mixing that potion for him, if she'd been prolonging his life for years or if that was the first time, but I saw the real her that day. It always bothered me people stopped once they ran up against her iron will, you know? There's so much more to her, and...

[Jove trails off there with a soft sigh, turning her head so her face is nestled against Dorian's chest a little more.]

I wish I could have done more for her. For all of you.