Blood tribute (INV) [COMPLETED] | Page 2

_____Mary hated complex things. Her hand scratching the back of her head as she seemed to refuse to put her weapon away. She did not even bother to look over any of the magic, a coward in the back line was not her choice adventure. Listening to the blind man speak only caused Mary to get more annoyed. He seemed to ramble on and on, her hand moving from behind her head to clean out her ears as she lightly hissed at the wolf before turning away from the druid.

”All this talk and following is driving me nuts. I just wanted to kill something, first it was the wolf, now i’m being told to kill the old hag? I’d rather just kill everyone and call it a day.”

_____Mary moved her weapon to rest on her shoulders as she left the building and growled to herself. She hated to admit it, but this time around killing everyone was not the ideal route. She did however plan to kill someone before she left the area. So far the women’s story was not adding up entirely, and when someone lies they get punished. Hands arching her weapon across the air before she slammed the blade into the ground and began to drag in behind her as she rushed back to the old hag’s place at her top speed.

”Liar, liar your fate is looking dier. I hate being led on goose chases!!!”

_____Mary made sure her voice was loud and clear as she slammed her right boot into the door and grinned. If she was greeted by an empty room she would hiss loudly and began to trash the place, however if she found the old women or someone in the building she would make every attempt to cleave them in two with her weapon. This was just who Mary was, a violent stray cat with no signs of every truly being a housepet, akin to a black panther.
@Minerva Fletchgard | @Lucia Mierz

 

Traveling behind the black cat with Lucia only a bit behind. Minerva would continue to consider the scenario and the possibilities. No longer did she feel it was a pack of wolves. No, Maya's last thought was that it was something different. The smell of iron grew and now it began to change some. Was.... someone cooking? Maybe the husband was out here and built himself a shack... maybe he left his wife? Or was it a band of brigands that made camp? How did the wolf play into this? Maya loved mystery novels. However it was important that she knew what she was doing. Stumbling around blindly was the sign of someone with a lack of experience. Maya realized that more experience in this game world was going to be important. She could only get by with her book smarts and analytical mind for so long.

Hearing the Felis ahead stop moving for a moment. Minerva checked ahead and saw that perhaps one of her theories may have been correct. A hut in the distance. Well, that explained the smell. There was someone living out here. Minerva then noticed the wolves. A huge pack. Although they were not aggressive in the slightest. What was going on? Then she put two and two together. Had the husband somehow befriended the forest wolves and left the wife to live in seclusion with them? That would be it! Maya felt a sense of victory that in the end, her idea that this was going to be different then a mere lone wolf hunt was correct. This small inner victory became bitter sweet when tthe door opened and the rest of story was told....

The one who greeted them was a creepy man in green robes. Requesting them to put away their weapons and to enter. Minerva would sheath her sword but had no intention of completely packing it away into her item bag. This was not the husband, and how did she know that the man did not have a dead body hanging in there? Cautiously entering and hoping that the cat would not cause trouble. Minerva saw something that almost made her draw her sword again... the lost husband! What had happened to him? Upon closer inspection it seemed that the robed hermit was keeping him alive with the stuff he was boiling in his pot. So that explained the smell.

He introduced himself as Ornson a Druid. That explains the robes. Everything was coming together but Maya's paranoid nature kept her cautious in case there was even more that was not what it seemed. The story he told was rather extreme and a bit far fetched. It would have been a lot more simple if he was just using the man for some experiment and was trying to send them on a wild goose chase. The woman did not seem so powerful or magical at all. Quite she actress. Minerva listened to everything keeping herself ready for any new surprises. She wondered how Lucia felt about all this. The woman was smart enough to have a valid opinion but she was the one who wanted to just sit in the woods and cast spells. Maya did not even want to know what the Felis was thinking.

That would not be mystery for long though, because the cat girl ranted about how she wanted to kill everybody and then ran out the door. Presumably to deal with this hemomancer. Minerva did not want to run off so quickly. Such things just wore people out. Instead she would stay and question the man to see if there were any weaknesses she could take advantage of against such a foe. Also if the Druid had any items that may be helpful she would request some as well. Finally she wanted to look over and maybe even talk to the husband before leaving. Minerva would not enter this fight blindly and continue to be led around by whatever happens next.

@Asch @Lucia Mierz

 

Lucia was a little suspicious, but not to the point of shooting herself in the leg. It was obvious that something complicated would arise the moment the script began to change, the problem though was the break neck speed at which it occurred. Could a quest really be so weightless in this world? Typically they were a means of guiding and directing players along a predetermined path, but she could only sigh at the thought that this game was getting more complicated. "So, it wasn't just a simple job. That's good to know at least." She mused, though when Minerva glanced her way, Lucia met her gaze with a sly smile, this type of thing was something that Lucia was particularly good at in any case-- Scheming, plotting, tactics, politics, these were all things she prided herself on, with the exception of certain social skills.

"Hemomancy, that wasn't a magic opened up for us to learn. It's bigger-- Far too big. We went searching for fish and found a shark." Lucia tried to clarify the situation for Minerva who she suspected wasn't following quickly enough to keep up with the sudden plot twist. "Theoretically we would have been the next in line for this trouble if we continued down this path-- Perhaps even removed a pivotal existence responsible for keeping the trouble at bay. The question though, is how much time we've bought-- How much we still have." Lucia confessed her thoughts very quickly. Though she didn't like this druid person, it wasn't due to a lack of trust. That was purely because Lucia was on the opposite end of life magic, her pursuits, while not the most unholy were still the feared death magics. If anything, when push came to shove, Lucia would perhaps even find herself on the side of the old woman if it was beneficial to her growth as a dark sorceress.

With that sudden thought flashing through her head though, she mused about her chances of usurping the woman's authority over the dark rituals and claiming it as her own. Though she didn't know Hemomancy, there was a good chance she could acquire something beneficial to her own dark magic. "If you're lacking the power to keep her under control at this point, I can't imagine us providing any useful support as lowly adventurers. By now there's even a good chance she's fled or even made off with several other targets' worth of sacrifices by now making reporting this to the kingdom's authorities somewhat wasteful outside of making sure patrols are more alert..." Lucia tried to explain the helplessness of their current situation. They were underqualified, understaffed and underequipped. This was a triple threat of negatives that made it clear that if they pursued down this type of a quest chain, assuming it was one, there would be nothing but dager. "Sir, you seem very familiar with this woman and her habits. What would you recommend we do? The Husband himself seems to be recovering in your care, but what do you feel our next move should be?"

Though she asked, the suspicion in her furrowed brow and concerned gaze was somewhat clear. At this point it was very much a he-said she-said problem and solution, they could only know by looking for evidence from both sides. "She said her husband paid a 'tribute' in the form of portions of his hunt to a wolf, that this kept him safe up until recently when he decided to refuse the tribute resulting him in his current situation. Was this tribute for you? Or was this a lie as well?" Lucia asked as carefully as possible before continuing. "This is a tough decision, one that can only be made by going back to the village, but we can't rightly take him back either... mm." Lucia could only struggle with this problem, it was truly a catch 22... and if the system was as clever as it was proving this moment, both answers could be wrong an decided on a whim depending on how they chose-- An unfortunate reality.

@Asch @Bloody Mary @Minerva Fletchgard