Teaser and text post test
This is mostly a test to figure out what’s happening with long text posts right now, because it sounds like they’re fucking up for some people, esp on the dash. But since I already have the werewolf au foc open, here’s a teaser for the next chapter while i’m at it.
Unless of the course the text is really effed up, then i’ll have to delete it lol.
Here we go!
The Autumn Moon is Bright
Ch 8 Teaser
By stagecoach or carriage, the neighboring town of Cartanica could be reached in just a few hours time. On foot, however, it took Prompto nearly half a day.
He’d picked up a road that cut through the forest on the edge of the farmhouse. From there, he followed sign posts - sounding out the letters as Ignis had taught him - until the trees began to thin and give way to open ground. In the distance, he could make out pointed roof tops and columns of smoke rising from chimneys - sure signs of civilization at last. Prompto paused at the edge of the woods to rub the ache from his blistered feet, and then he was off again, making for the town just beyond the horizon.
Cartanica had once been little more than a farming village. The war, of course, had changed all that, and with the growth of the Empire more and more outposts had been transformed into essential hubs for trade. Already situated on a major road winding down from the Imperial City of Gralea, Cartanica had expanded rapidly in both size and population - and consequently in unrest. Crime increased, and with it a jailhouse, complete with cells, stocks, and a gallows, was built in the center of town. To head the project, a young man (from an affluent family with questionable loyalties) was shipped in from High Command - one Ravus Nox Fleuret - and it was under his authority that the town went about its business.
Business like the kind Prompto stumbled into the moment he passed through the gates.
“Murderer!”
“Killer!”
“Monster!”
Blue eyes flashed open wide. Prompto found himself approaching a crowd of townspeople, all gathered in front of a set of cobblestone steps in what appeared to be some sort of plaza. The area was surrounded by thatched-roof houses and buildings that leaned at perilous angles; so close together that, at least to him, it was impossible to tell where one started and the next began. In the center of the plaza was a well, large and made of stone, unlike the wooden or brick ones Prompto had seen before.
But his attention was less on the scenery around him and more on the rabble of the townsfolk rising into the chill afternoon air. Murderer, someone had said. Monster. Though he hoped he was wrong, Prompto had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly who they were talking about.
A woman just in front of him raised her voice above the din. “He’s a killer! Should be hangin’ by the neck, not sittin’ in a cell!”
“That’s right! Hang the bastard, he said ‘imself he did it!”
“Ladies, gentlemen, please. Are we men, or are we bloodthirsty beasts?” There was a young man standing atop the steps in front of the crowd. Prompto noticed him for the first time, tall and with striking silver hair that matched the white of his coat and knee-high boots. He addressed the people with a thin smile that belied his annoyance, and pleaded with them as if speaking to a group of children. “Though the accused has confessed to his crimes, it is only right to offer him a fair trial. After all, justice is carried out in the courtroom, not at the gallows.”
His words were met with more protest and even louder complaints. Prompto watched as the silver-haired man’s expression grew haggard. He turned to a guard behind him, muttered something that couldn’t be heard above the noise of the crowd; and then he was back, waving his hands in the air to quiet the din.
“Listen, listen to me, all of you. I’ve sent to High Command to request a special investigator for this case. He’s due to arrive tomorrow, and you may take your grievances directly to him at that time.” A harsh look around at the townsfolk, who had at last fallen silent, as he continued. “Until then, go back to your homes. Lock your doors - lest you, too, fall victim to the madness that grips this town.”
Fear rippled visibly through the congregation. Some of the people nodded their agreement; others simply dispersed, the excitement of the moment having come to an end. Gradually, the plaza emptied, leaving Prompto alone at the foot of the cobblestone steps.
“U-um. Excuse me?” His voice sounded terribly small in the large space. He took a step forward, but stopped when the silver-haired man’s sharp gaze fell on him. “What were those people talking about?”
The man took in the sight of Prompto standing before him - feet swollen in worn leather sandals; body thin beneath his blue cotton clothes; hair too bright to be a local - and frowned. “A murderer has been apprehended in Cartanica, that’s all an outsider like you needs to know. We have the situation under control.”















