Ronin: Blood and Wine (OPEN)

On a remote estate in the Italian countryside, a lavish European wine festival was being held, the finest brews and newest names featured in a warm summer evening and a carefree atmosphere. Wine and buffet tables had abundant food and drink for all. Celebrities young and old, the wealthy, the social-climbers and the Italian mafia were the main constituents of attendees, though as an open event anyone with interest in wine could come, in all their finery, only to politely become inebriated on all the delicious brews available.

An interest in wine, and perhaps also, an interest in the attendants themselves.

A young lady in a plain black-and-red cocktail dress was by herself at the festival, parked at a buffet table as she studied people and conversed about the news. Always with those metahumans and people going missing, blaming everything from the American government to Nazis.

"...I tell you, the Nazis are always plotting to return, making people disappear for their occult experiments." A young Italian man who had a bit much to drink spouted some nonsense about Nazis.

"Maybe it's just the Mafia. I hear elections can get... vicious." Diana politely offered the mundane reason to the young man, who decided to excuse himself to find a seat.

This was not a place to stand out like a sore thumb or cause trouble, or costumes and heroics. The security was quite decent, and the lady noted an inhumanly large member of security for metahuman trouble. So she bided her time, and kept a lookout for people who disappeared... difficult, considering the ample buffet, and the waiters ensuring no one had an empty wine glass.

Amid the crowd was another, equally irrelevant figure.  Clad in a solid gray three-piece suit, with a marroon tie, the youth was hardly out of place.  Jardin favored Burgundy, but Italian vintages had their merits...

The young thief shook hands with one of the mobsters, sipping from a flute of pinot grigio as he commented on the weather.  The conversation was uninteresting and the capo quickly found an excuse to leave the stranger.  Jardin let him go; he was satisfied at liberating the man's Rolex.  Oh, swanky.

The stolen watch soon vanished from Jardin's hand, stowed somewhere on him as he went over his earnings so far tonight: aside from the time piece, he had picked off a jeweled ring, a lady's broach, a pair of silver earings and gold bangle...not sure where that last once came from.

The thief began to head for the hors d'ouvres by the buffet.  He stood beside a woman who looked to be mostly of Japanese heritage, though there was something else there he just could not place...

Taking something from the table and examining it, Jardin said, not entirely to her, "Great party, huh?" The food vanished in two bites before he took a couple sips...

Diana was getting used to being approached at events like these, but she was a bit rough around the edges. "Uhh... yeah. A lot of wine. At a wine festival." She answered Jardin, while stuffing her face with something that had a bit of ham and cheese.

A waiter came by to offer Diana a drink. "Oh I don't uh..." The waiter did not seem to listen and poured Diana a glass of some standard french wine.

The smell was strong to her senses, and she decides to try it. "Blegh, how do people drink this stuff? It's so bitter and tastes of wood." Diana grimaced, after barely managing a sip.

The waiter, a snooty Italian, took visible offense at Diana's comment and made some disparaging remarks about the "child's" taste. He turns to Jardin and showed him the various available wine from the wine cart. "Piu Vine, Signore? (More wine, sir?)"

They were really encouraging people to drink up. Quite a few guests were already tipsy and were invited to rest in the manor.

The young thief found himself chuckling at the mixed blooded woman's reaction.  No surprise, really.  Red wines were sometimes known for their full bodies.  "Sorry," he said, hoping not to offend her.  "It can be at times, an aquired taste."

Turning to the waiter, Jardin studied the cart for a moment.  Then he indicated a bottle of Merlot.  He held up two fingers, suggesting a second glass for the girl.  Turning to her, Jardin explained, "Wine grapes are known to produce tannin in the skin which can get into the wine when it is pressed.  This is what gives it that bitter taste you mentioned.  Merlot lacks tannin and is widely regarded as one of the easiest to drink wines."

Placing his empty flute aside, Jardin accepted two goblets of wine.  It looked nearly black but faded to red around the edges.  Offering one to the girl, he added, "It still ages well, so it may still taste of oak.  If it's still not to your liking, I could suggest a nice white or rosé.  They have all the skin removed and lack the body of traditional red but they also fail to age well, meaning it rarely finds its way into barrels."

Lifting his own glass, Jardin said "Salute," before taking a sip...

Realizing he was being rude, Jardin brought his glass back down, saying, "Here I am, talking about wine like a teacher and you don't even know me." Offering his hand, he introduced himself: "I'm Dorian Wolfe."

"Yeah? Well, Dorian Wolfe, I'm Princess Diana." She winks. Unlike her new acquaintance she was perfectly honest, complete with a 'no, really' smirk.

Diana decides to give wine another shot, and the stuffy Italian waiter pours her a glass of white. She sips it as if knowing what she was doing. "...Hey, not bad." She said, taking the drink with much less grimacing.

The party outside was becoming more raucous, with the wine pouring freely and getting everyone relaxed and at ease. However, there was a certain peculiar thing going on between the wining, dining and socializing. She noticed every now and then a lady or a gentleman would receive a blue rose from an older Italian woman in red, and they would promptly be invited inside. Diana wasn't sure, but those people must be either important or quite buzzed.

Diana of course, was interested in getting in. However it seemed there was no visible criteria, let alone any explained mechanic how to be invited in. "Huh, wonder how wasted you have to be to be invited."

"Diana," the thief repeated.  "You're in the right place," he joked.  Pointing to a pale statue of a beautiful Roman woman carrying a bow, Jardin explained: "Diana, daughter of Jupiter, Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt."  It happened to be the nearest of some expensive looking Roman divinities erected around the estate.

Jardin noticed the strange blue rose ceremony as well.  He knew blue roses had to be dyed or engineer as it was not among their natural colors.  He had learned that from one of his sister's animes, though he would never admit to that.

Something about it seemed suspicious.  Turning to Diana, he said, half joking, "I don't know.  But if you want, I could find out."  Jardin, having taken two glasses earlier, smirked before draining each in turn.  The alcohol burned on the way down, but he rapidly recovered.

"And now," Jardin said, speaking sluggishly, with only a slight hint of slurring. "I seem reason'bly tipsy. Shall we go mingle and see where the night takes us?" With waiting for an answer, he started backing up, snatching another glass of a dark red Cabernet from a passing tray. He also "accidentally" bumped into another man, apologizing even as he picked the fool's wallet. After all, no reason he could not keep earning money tonight...

"Of the Hunt, huh." Diana sipped her white once more. "You got that right... alright, let's see if you can get in." She liked the sentiment.

She stood at the buffet table and watched as Jardin,er, Dorian Wolfe, started making a fool of himself all over the party much like the other guests. He was at it for awhile, to the point Diana was beginning to doubt simply being wasted got them a blue rose.

She watched him stumble past some rich old Frenchman, who was beginning to mouth him off. "Sorry about that, my brother tends to forget himself." She said, though she wasn't sure if the Frenchman understood him.

That was when the Red Italian lady came to them. There was something quite alluring about her, and it was more than just her fiery Italian beauty. "You two seem tired. Perhaps you'd like to rest inside? We'll inform your parents."

"That would be nice, thank you." Diana took the blue rose and looked towards the secret garden entrance where the guests were led.

Glancing to the garden, then to Diana, the young thief passed her a knowing wink.  "Well then, dear sister," he wispered, with no hint of a slur.  "Shall we?"

Leading the way, Jardin faked a clumsy gait towards the garden.  Wait..."Jardin" was French for Garden.  What a curious coincidence...

Realizing they might be searched when they reached their destination, the thief decided it might be a good idea to stash his loot.  Seeing a potted plant nearby, Jardin allowed himself to trip, driving a handful of treasures into the soil.  He repeated this behavior until he had formed six easy to find caches.  He would get back to them later.

Finally, after much bumbling and tripping over himself, Jardin entered the garden.  Still playing the wino, he slumped against a bench and quickly lay down on it, draping his right arm over his eyes.  "Parents," he said, almost chuckling.  He was not young enough to need his parents with him.

Raising his arm to look around, Jardin asked, "Where to now?"

The paved path led to a vine covered gazebo with a group of dandy dressed vampires men and dressed up women. Did I say vampire already? I mean, rich people in renaissance attire. Sitting in the gazebo, laughing and drinking. Strewn about were quivers of arrows and bows, spears and a double barreled shotgun.

"Oh look, company! Please, join us..." One of the nobles said, sipping wine while wearing a mask.

"Ja, ja! We were about to have an private hunt in ze grounds. Daytime hunts are so... boring." Another one said, this one had a goatee and long wavy hair not hidden by a mask.

The woman though remained silent and tended to their drinks and hunting equipment. Only when Diana and Jardin got closer did she inquire if they'd like to use modern weapons or archaic for the game roaming the maze. "Don't worry. We have hunting dogs to accompany you to distract the boar, while you'll deliver a finishing blow. There are also rabbits, foxes and a few deer... but the one who gets the boar is the overall winner of the hunt."

"Wasn't expecting an evening hunt at a wine festival..." Diana chimed in, wondering what was going on.

The gray-clad party crasher, who was still going by the pseudonym, Dorian Wolfe, quickly stood and fell in behind Diana.  As soon as he began studying the various aristocrats, he got an uneasy feeling.  He could not quite put his finger on it but still, his instincts and senses were not warning him of any immediate danger.

Jardin found himself wandering toward one of the weapons, picking up one of the hunting spears. It was a foot taller than himself, the head was a leaf shaped blade with a cross bar, likely to prevent over penetration. The edges were sharp, a fact made clear when the thief nicked his thumb to test it. He smirked as the wound quickly vanished.

Still, Diana had made a good point. Night was an odd time to boar hunt. It was dangerous enough in the day, but at night, while people were drunk?. Then he noticed something. "Weren't there more people here?" he asked. He made no pretense of drunk now and sounded wholy sober.

Laughter and drunken revelry from the hedge maze explained where the other guests were. The aristocrats looked at each other a moment, almost surprised someone was still coherent enough to ask.

"...Oh uh... they're all in the maze... though not everyone is interested in... hunting." The dandy one winked at Jardin from behind his crow mask. "Maybe you'll meet some new 'friends' in there."

"...Yuck, grown ups." Diana was filled with disdain. Nevertheless she picked up a fine bow and arrow, picking out the one with the strongest draw.

"We have hunting dogs trained to assist you. So be at ease... have fun!" they gestured for them to go into the hedge maze.

Jardin had no response to the sound of..."whatever"... happening in he maze.  "Whatever" indeed, not his business.  Turning to Diana, the young man shrugged.  "Should I be offended, 'Kiddo'?"

Still, whatever was going on, Jardin was no slouch at hunting.  With his pike resting on his shoulder, the thief lead the way into the hedge.  "I apologize in advance if we find any...thing.  Trust me, neither of us is interested in that tonight."  Jardin had not even bothered to look back as he marched on.

The spear's shaft became a sort of walking stick as Jardin made the first turn.  A right, he noted.  Best to keep track of the turns so they could find their way out.  He still had not heard the squeel...of a pig, that is.  Oh, come on!  Really?  Get a room.  Still, the usually well prepared Jardin felt his ears grow hot as his blush turned them red.  "So many levels of 'NOPE,' I swear," he muttered.

"I swear if I run into..." Fed up with this mindless debauchery, Diana turned the corner to confront the nearest couple. "What the."

There was no one there when they turned the corner. The laughter, the noise of indescretion, they were all a ruse. It seemed to come the hedge itself, but impossible to discern the direction. The hedge itself seemed to be alive and sinister, changing quickly to divide its victims. Victims it was proud enough to flaunt, strung up by vines, unconscious, before being pulled back into the hedge walls themselves. It was like telling them "This is what's going to happen to you."

The laughter served another purpose, to mask the sound of the hounds stalking the maze. A large, black mastiff turned the corner and eyed the duo. It bared its fangs, its eyes blood red and glowing with an intelligent evil.

"It's a trap!" Diana exclaimed, before the hedge corridor started rapidly growing between herself and Jardin, intent of separating them and unleashing a hound on each of them. Diana found herself staring down her own hound, trapped in the corridor, as did Jardin.

"Well of course the hedges move," Jardin fumed as the route ahead was cut off. "There is no way we could make things work normally once in a while."

At the sound of snarling, the would-be hunter turned to the dog behind him. These must be the "hunting dogs" the hosts mentioned earlier. Over his shoulder, Jardin shouted at Diana. "You know, I blame you for all this. 'I want a blue rose,' you said. Well look where that got us."

The mastiff began to advance, still snarling. Sensing its approach, Jardin took his stance, gripping his spear like a lance. He rushed forward as the dog did the same. He flourished the pike and took the shaft in two hands but instead of striking, he planted the butt of the weapon and vaulted.

His aim was to land just passed the animal and lunge back and kill the thing just as it turned around. This would catch it on its blindside...Hopefully.

The spear's blade only grazed the hound's skin; its hide felt like striking a brick wall. The creature grabs at the spear shaft with its jaw, and with an unearthly power breaks it in a single bite.

"MRRRRGRRRR..." The hound bared its fangs at him, hostile and filled with deadly intent.

The clouds overhead soon passed over, revealing the full moon. When the pale light touch the hound it slowly transformed, growing even larger until it towered over Jardin... a werewolf. It let out an unholy howl, and continues its attack.