Summary:
Who was this mysterious Merlot and what did he have to do with these strange Creatures of Grimm?
Notes:
Words can scarcely capture how sorry I am for the long and unannounced hiatus, I dope I am forgiven.
Also hope there are still people with at least a slight interest in this story still.
Enjoy the chapter.
Also, I did grammar checks and spelling corrections on the earlier chapters, nothing extensive but at least enough that it's possible to read without suffering an aneurysm.
(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)
Chapter Text
The new development was apparently very amusing to Cardin.
He gave a smooth and deep bow, saying "Your Highness" with particular relish before turning a sarcastic smile on the acclaimed heir.
Lug, who had wanted to soak in the moment of his dramatic announcement a bit longer, suddenly felt a disgusting chill when he caught the brunette's gaze and couldn't help but frown as he looked away.
"Assuming we believe you," Jaune said, taking control of the situation since the awkward silence was unbearable, "what exactly do you have to gain from this? If you take down the organisation that is intent on looking for Malik's descendant, which you claim to be, you'd be the one on the losing end."
"Very good question," the doggish faunus acknowledged with a wry smile.
"The thing is, they're not just looking for us... yes, us... The King's Court, despite claiming some sort of allegiance to the Sunderer, has been hunting his descendants for ages. They very nearly succeeded in my case. That's why we had to move around so much, they have a mystical item that can track his bloodline at certain distances."
He addressed the last part to his former friend, Shouter, as though in apology. The latter accepted it stiffly but kept his gaze steady on him.
"That's..." Jaune stumbled on an adjective that fully captured the version of crazy this was; everything the faunus said was followed by another more shocking statement.
"You're telling me. So, are you on board?"
All gazes went towards the mace-wielding leader of the group, who had been listening absentmindedly.
"Let's go crown-hunting," he said solemnly.
Ω
Earlier that day, at the entrance to Beacon Academy.
A couple walked past the gates, their veiled apparel concealing their identities and obliging a query from the guards.
The two replied easily, one's piquant voice stirring the hearts of the guard's while the other's barely audible grunt of greeting went unacknowledged. It was the gruff-sounding one that produced a scroll that on seeing, the guards gave a swift apology and let the pair through.
Although it was an awkward situation, they couldn't help but smile and wave back at the one who was so
In a few minutes, the two found themselves in the office of the Headmaster, awaiting his audience.
The elevator opened as the man himself walked in, smiling with two cups of steaming hot cocoa in his hands as he did.
He handed them to his two guests with genuine warmth, and the two uncloaked themselves to finally reveal their faces.
One was a dark-haired and rugged-looking man with a broody countenance out of which a pair of blood-red eyes peeked as he upturned his flask full of some sort of alcohol into the mug of hot cocoa before taking an impatient sip, scalding his tongue slightly but unmoved.
He went by the name of Qrow and was one of the foremost Huntsmen in all of Vale and a proud alumnus from the prestigious Beacon Academy.
Next to him, savouring her cocoa as she made ideal conversation with the Headmaster was a young lass of likely not more than 20 years of age. She had tan skin, honey-coloured eyes, shoulder-length brown hair and a smile that would melt an iceberg.
She was the Maiden of Fall, Amber Calips.
As she spoke, she produced a dazzling ruby-bested ring as though from thin air and presented it with relish.
Although Ozpin listened to her, he shifted his head towards Qrow, indicating he wanted him to speak.
"We're calling it the Ring of Secrets," he said with a wry smile, "Amber named it."
The girl beamed with pride at this, and before Qrow could continue, she proceeded to give information about the ring:
"We found it in a village in the Marabou Swamp Area, west of Mistral's mainland, but still close enough to a border patrol base that it's not entirely susceptible to the marauding bandits or the vile Grimm."
"Speaking of Grimm, they're much harder to deal with in that swamp," she said with exaggerated frustration as she recounted some of her difficult encounters with disparate beasts in the unfamiliar continent of Anima.
Infinitely diverted by all she had to say, he still shot the same patient glance at Qrow, who understood the assignment and began to explain.
"From our investigations, whoever comes into possession of the ring will have every sound in their vicinity amplified to the owner. Well, not every sound, just conversations, and it seems to target ones that are meant to be private most of all. You can imagine how nerve-racking it might be to hear all your neighbours' private discussions and look them in the face the next day. Despite being called the Ring of Secrets, it's terrible at keeping them."
"The person who had had it for the longest time, a period of several years, before selling it to the person we purchased it from, seems to have gained a rather… unique auditory Semblance from it. The merchant, aged 45, had no history of the Semblance but acquired it about three years after purchasing it at a fair. The Semblance's awakening coincided with his no longer hearing the voices by his telling."
"What exactly was the ability?"
"He was able to "throw" his voice across great distances so that it sounded as though he was somewhere he wasn't. It helped him avoid bandits one time."
"Very interesting," he said with a smile, "we'll call for a research team to pick it up but for the time being, let's lock it in the vault."
The world of Remnant was one that was more mysterious than material; so much of what was known was only guessed at and seen as through a veil.
It was the duty of the Huntsmen to make this world of uncertainty more and more lucid. It was especially the duty of Ozpin and those who were loyal to him.
The item – the Ring of Secrets it was called – was part of a wondrous set of objects known as mystical items. Objects believed to carry the long-forgotten power of magic.
Now, scholars are in disagreement (as scholars always are) on whether magic ever did exist, with the majority opinion being that it was just a myth or from a time when Semblances were rare so people had no other name for it.
Between you and me, reader, magic was – no is – real.
Remnant is full of it, and full to bursting.
Ω
Amber left the meeting with a particularly chipper attitude; having been away from Vale for the longest of time, she decided to make the most of it and moved across the city with a simultaneously rushed and savouring attitude, absorbing the entire of the aroma (although it sometimes smelled of Apathy) of the Valean capital city.
She found herself in the Commercial District, noticing that Junior's Bar (a shady establishment that the Valean Huntsmen were constantly observing) had been renovated.
Before long, though, she found herself in front of a certain bookstore called From Dust Till Dawn.
She smiled at the aged shopkeeper who likely didn't remember her but beamed with a enthusiastic greeting as she walked to another corner of the shop, picking up a book randomly and scanning its cover.
While she looked, her attention was inexplicably drawn to a certain book and she put aside the one in her hand without even realising it.
In it were a few powder blue hydrangea petals, her favourites.
She scanned the area quickly, suspicious at this placement, and finding nothing, she returned her attention to the book.
In it was an ornate bookmark, with styled text:
"
Hello, Amber.
I had intended on a witty limerick, but I decided to err on the side of caution and tell you outright:
Beware Merlot!
We'll talk again soon.
Also, when you do go to Forever Fall, there'll be two students stuck in cave by the river, you should help them.
"
Ω
The powerful current carried both Adam and Pyrrha forward with a speed and violence that would induce nausea in lesser warriors. The chasing Celophax had been dispatched in less than no time by the capable Amazon.
She silently thanked Professor Port for his detailed classes on Grimm as she turned her attention to the still pale Adam, whose ragged breath was sometimes made inaudible by the splash of the frigid water they were in.
Despite her worry, she looked ahead of her, apparently waiting for something.
Suddenly, she struck her spear downwards, its tip catching the riverbed as they were arrived in shallow waters, and using power that one would not assumed from her comely frame, she pushed herself and her teammate to the bank.
After a few moments of rest, she inspected Adam and tried to put him aright, while scanning the environment for some sort of shelter. At some point during their struggles, she had been dispossessed of her scroll and had no means of contacting for help. Adam's scroll was fine, but a much older generation that couldn't receive any signal from where they were.
Inuwa, help us.
Ω
Professor Port walked resolutely through the temple ruins, following the unambiguous tracks of the Mutant. In the dim illumination afforded in this recluse temple, one could hardly make out the teacher's face behind his large moustache but the scene still gave the impression of utmost seriousness and focus, completely contrary to his appearances up to this point.
He inhaled deeply and slowly, shifting his direction ever-so-slightly as he did. The floor beneath sharply descended for at least a few metres, but his gait was barely affected, and he landed on the floor beneath with nary a sound, scanning his surroundings carefully as his eyes adjusted to the now darker surroundings.
After a few more minutes of walking, he saw a light.
Basilisks were a cold-blooded Grimm Creature that, like most other cold-blooded creatures, enjoyed warmer temperatures. (Grimm cannot thermoregulate, so even the "warm-blooded" ones are just more resistant to changes in temperature, and not actually able to generate body heat except through motion or other means.)
The Basilisk took care of this problem by swallowing metal and dissolving it in its venom for a time. This process created an exothermic reaction, giving off a moderate (relative to the size of the Grimm) but stable source of heat and was responsible for the light that Port saw.
It was a dull but persistent glow that told him he was close to his target, and as a result, he pulled out a mask from his pocket and covered the lower half of his face with it, sure that it would have little effect against this Mutant Grimm. In addition to the heat, this reaction gave up a terribly noxious gas, protecting the Grimm while it rested (Grimm are believed not to really require rest, but many of them perform the same functions as the animals they are similar to; the reason for this was unknown.)
A few wide but careful steps into this new enclosure – a round-domed compartment of a once great temple, its floor now a hollowed-out bed for the gargantuan reptile-like Grimm Creature. As he had expected, it was curled up next to a large ball of metal, its forbidding and unfamiliar green glow sending chills through the man's soul and causing his hand to shake involuntarily.
The experienced Huntsman and monster hunter calmed himself down quickly though and scanned the surroundings once more, attaching his trusty weapon, Blowhard, to his back. He scaled the side of the temple, clinging to the domed roof like he was reptilian himself.
This was Professor Peter Port's peculiar power; his Semblance, The Beast Man.
This was a unique ability that was passed on in the famous (and infamous) Port Hunters Tribe, a difficult-to-track and mysterious tribe that specialised in hunting down Creatures of Grimm. Unlike most Semblances, it did not have a fixed ability set but instead was a blank slate when a person inherited it and would be added to depending on the monsters the hunter killed.
For example, after hunting down a Cauldron, one might gain its sonar abilities, or after killing an Ursa, they might inherit its colossal strength. Of course, this wasn't for every successful hunt, and no one knew what exact conditions needed to be met to trigger it. The saying among the Ports was "kill a hundred and you'll get something good."
Port, who had killed many more than just a hundred in his time, was therefore not lacking in special abilities, like his ability to crawl like a spider.
He positioned himself firmly against the ceiling, adjusting his weight for the sturdiness (or lack thereof) and took his weapon off his back, loading a mean-looking bullet into the chamber as he took aim.
Once again, he calmed his nerves and scanned his surroundings, making perfectly sure that he could perform evasive manoeuvres or even flee if the situation called for it afterward.
As his eyes, which had never fully left his prey, refocused on its gently breathing corpse, the sight nearly made him fall from his secure position.
The Creature's eyes were open and staring at him.
It seemed to be smiling.
Bang!
Ω
Dr. Oobleck made another sweep with his Semblance, then cursed inwardly after confirming again that his two students, Pyrrha and Adam were nowhere to be found. Their last communication said they were headed to a nearby village to intercept a Grimm hoard. In any normal situation, the experienced Doctor would not have been worried as he knew the pair were of uncommon strength, but in the wake of the bizarre mutant they had encountered, he was terribly concerned and tried in vain to reach them on their scrolls.
Despite all these worries, he still accurately set up a secure line from his scroll to the Headmaster Ozpin, informing him of the strange thing they had encountered.
"Bizarre mutant discovered in the temple ruins in Forever Fall, Port is pursuing, but the danger level is at least Goliath-minor, requesting immediate reinforcements and a search party for Adam Vulpes and Pyrrha Nikos who last reported their location to be close to the Dim Flame village close to the south end of the forest."
After the most important information, he gave more details like the exact details of the Grimm Creature, the location of the temple.
After he finished this, he kept his eyes peeled, observing Nora, who was tending to her friend and team leader, obviously worried.
After a while, he received a reply from Ozpin.
"Evacuate immediately, we'll handle the situation, make sure the students with you return safely."
Dr. Oobleck gave a terse acknowledgement of the message before issuing commands to the now-recovered pair of students.
The cavalry was coming.
Ω
In Ozpin's office, just as Dr. Oobleck's message came in.
Reading the message details, the usually genial or impassive visage of the grey-haired Headmaster fell. Qrow, who had just been giving his report of the mission he and Amber had come from, frowned deeply as the message was forwarded to him and he read it.
"Merlot?"
The one word was asked with a querying yet certain tone as the red-eyed (not just because he was drunk) Huntsman looked up at his master.
"Merlot," was the reply, by way of confirmation.
The room fell quiet for a few seconds.
"This seems a little too coincidental, doesn't it?"
Ozpin, knowing what his subordinate meant, still inclined his head towards him inquiringly, prepared to hear what he had to say.
"Amber just returned this morning, and these mutants were discovered just in time… almost like a welcoming party."
"Indeed… what do you recommend?"
"We couldn't possibly just turn a blind eye," Qrow said in his usually morose tone, "those Creatures are virtually the most dangerous thing in Remnant."
Ozpin nodded behind his steepled fingers to signal his acknowledgement.
"Still, we need to be extra careful; whether the person behind this is aiming you or Amber or if this is just another crappy coincidence, we can't be caught lacking."
"Well said," was the reply, accompanied by a slight but sad smile, "I'll deploy Ms. Glynda alongside our Maiden to watch out for any mishaps. Your travels must have exhausted you, and the enemy (assuming thereisan enemy and that they're after me) will think that I'm vulnerable with Glynda outside."
Qrow had intended to interrupt as the Maiden had been in his charge, but he saw the logic in Ozpin's words and consented, although he still couldn't help but scowl involuntarily as he still felt uncomfortable with the coincidence.
"Thank you, my dear friend."
Notes:
I'm trying to combine as many elements of lore from the RWBY world as I can in this work:
Merlot and his creations being from the RWBY: Grimm Eclipse games and the lore on Malik the Sunderer as well as the Crown (I call it the King's Court in this fic) coming from the novels Before the Dawn and After the Fall.
If you're interested in all this, please do stick around and interact with this as it encourages me to continue.
I can't promise a schedule, but I am already writing the next chapter so I hope to present it before you all soon.