Southern Craftsmen Zone --- Ritsu "Oh, I'm not here to look for you specifically. I just wanted to find a source of information, and voila, you happened to be here before I could arrive. They say fate does work in strange ways, and frankly I am inclined to agree." The black witch shrugged, approaching the counter and grabbing a bottle of liquor off the shelf. Popping the top, she gulped down a few mouthfuls of the contents, and then replaced it. "Still, since this tavern is relatively better than the other one, I suppose I'll stay here. After all..." She gestured at the tavern owner. "I need some information from that guy, too." @FuRen
Location: Southern Craftsman Zone "Pleasure is something that we certainly still have", I said with a small laugh looking at the woman who is so greedy for a curse, "Well before we get to that I would like to test you a bit before that" getting up from the chair I approach the door. "For now, stay here and begin crafting potions, the more difficult the better" I say with a smile, "make sure to keep her safe" I say to my thrall. "I'll be back" with that said I take on of the smaller cloaks hanging on the wall and leave the store. ____ 'Don't worry Yorick, you will get plenty of others to play with soon' I say to my spirit through our link. After walking for awhile, a familiar smell enters my nose. Sulfur. "Demons huh" I say as a wicked smile comes across my face, "It really has been too long" Following the slight traces of the scent I come across another tavern in the Southern District. 'Lets play innocent' I think to myself, my expression turns exceptionally innocent as I enter the Tavern, The Falling Leaf. @FuRen @Haxagen Witch Hunters Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone Hearing her explanation, Hyacinth nodded. "Go... ahead..." Hyacinth said, making way for the witch while dispelling the enchanting spell. "What do we do now, milady?" Paimon whispered. "...Wait..." Said Hyacinth, moving to a nearby table and ordering a glass of water. As she sat there accompanied by Paimon, she observed the various people in the tavern, sometimes the witch who is attempting to wring out information from the tavern owner, and sometimes looking out of the tavern. Though, as she did, a premonition filled her, a bad one, as if something would happen, filling her with discomfort and desire to leave the place. Witch Hunters Location: Southeastern Gate
Location: Northern slums After downing those guards, Ira sensed the church seemed to have declared a more open and vicious war against the witches. The guards seemed to be increasing. While the prospect of being embroiled in a bloody battle seems enticing, she decided to go back to Datura instead to plan things out. Recklessly going around and pester witches wasn't working very well. She needs more information so that she would know her next moves. And from what her loremaster sisters had been telling her, barkeepers and tavern owners are the best sources of information. Thankfully, she knew someone. The bar was still slightly empty with five usual patrons sitting at separate tables. She slumped over the counter. "I'm a witch." The barkeeper was doing the usual bartending stuff: polishing glasses. "Oh? This is the first time I've heard of a boy witch." She replied calmly. Ira tilted her head. "I was expecting you to be shocked you know or have fear in your eyes." "Is that the usual reaction? Sorry to disappoint then. I don't have a grudge against witches. They're not the ones who killed my loved ones." The barkeeper put down the glass she has been polishing. "Besides, I already knew." Ira was shocked. "Since when?" "Since you keep accepting my request in exchange for meager food? Who in their right mind would clash against the church for a bread?" "Ehhh??? That's the telling sign???" "No, I was joking. I had that fool follow you to that warehouse." The barkeeper pointed at one of the five patrons. A thin man wearing grey tattered commoner clothes. He waved his hand and mouthed, 'Hello there!' "Plus, you don't actually move stealthily. You freaking fly riding a silver cylindrical tube, wearing a white cloak on an open sky. I'm more surprised the witch hunter haven't followed you here yet." Ira covered her face out of embarrassment. She quickly recovered and asked something that bothered her, "You have spies?" She quickly looked around and saw the five patrons. Then it hit her. "Oh." The barkeeper continued, "You witches have stirred the nest too hard. I guess you want information to plan your next moves?" "That and to get one of my free meals. I'm starving." Ira grinned. Witch Hunters Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone --- Ritsu It didn't take long for Ritsu to take advantage of the tavern owner's brief confusion --- induced by the spell casted on him earlier --- to get past his wariness, and soon she was asking the questions she wanted to ask. If the owner asked her about her family, and why a young girl was out so late at night, she brought up her supposedly dead parents, and mentioned a blind younger sister offhandedly, and soon lowered his guard with her theatrics. "Mr Owner, what's happening to the town? Why are people dying?" Ritsu grinned inwardly as she got a lot of information out of the tavern owner. They were mostly harmless --- speculations regarding the increased guard patrols, for instance --- as well as the occasionally rumour regarding the involvement of the Inquisition. From that, Ritsu managed to understand why the Central Areas of the town had been giving her such a sense of distaste recently; as expected, it was the work of the Temple. Well, isn't that just lovely...It might be wise to increase our collective strengths a bit, if only to deal with that annoying hunter. I'm sure I could bring this up when talking to that girl, but...Oh? Another hunter is approaching, huh? Ariel's blessing allowed her to detect hunters in her vicinity, and she could detect two now, with one being the girl that was sipping from a glass of water. The other was approaching slowly, and the smell of blood was heavy around him. *Creak* Ritsu turned her back to see a young boy enter the Tavern, with a harmless smile on his face. I thought so. Putting an equally benign smile on her face, she gestured towards him, pointing at the table the other girl was sitting on, and begun making her way towards it herself, a tray of food in her hands. For three deadly beings that could wipe out this town, we look nothing more than three innocent children meeting up. What an irony. @FuRen @Haitaka
Location: Souther Craftsman Zone: The Falling Leaf 'Oh ho' I think to myself as I see this little girl in a tattered coat look at me, nod, and then point at the table of another girl who clearly does not want to be there. 'It seems the scent of blood might be a bit strong around me' I think as I begin approaching the table, 'I should have changed the shirt rather than just putting a cloak on' "Hello there misses, would you mind if I sit with you?" I ask with an innocent smile, "Its late and cold outside, so I came in here to warm up but everyone else is drunk or scary, some of them both" I say with an expression of hidden fear. Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone "Vampire." Paimon whispered suddenly as a faint scent of blood reeked into the tavern, emanating from a boy who had just entered. "Hello there misses, would you mind if I sit with you? It's late and cold outside, so I came in here to warm up but everyone else is drunk or scary, some of them both." The boy said, unexpectedly approaching their table while still faintly exuding a bloody smell. Though the bloody scent gave her discomfort, seeing both the vampire and the hooded witch holding a food tray approaching, she chose to nod and relent, sipping her glass of water to wet her parched throat. Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Location: Northern slums The barkeeper put down a plate of soup and two pieces of bread in front of Ira. "Fuck." "Stop complaining, we're in the fucking slums. I did add more meat in the soup though." The barkeeper then lighted a cigarette and started smoking. Ira frowned but started eating anyways. The barkeeper puffed out some smoke and started her story. "Everyone knows that this Inquisition was started by that earl because of what happened at Rye Town. But preventing another frenzied spirits murder party isn't the only real goal of the earl. It's population control. The slums have been growing and refugees from Rye town moved to Fort town. Crime rates have been surging up and the merchants and craftsmen have been complaining to the Earl about it. But the Earl's guards and soldiers can't keep up with maintaining the law and order. There are only so much of them and most of them are guarding the walls. The Earl was getting worried. The barkeeper took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled some smoke. "The merchant and craftsmen are the lifeblood of his town. He doesn't want them to leave his territory. So where can the Earl get additional soldiers? The church have them. But the church swore that it wouldn't interfere with the affairs of the kingdom. So the question now is how could the Earl involve the church to clean up his mess? Then he thought of the most brilliant idea when the church captured a witch and burned her on the stake. Inquisition. A full-on war against the covens. Not only could he drive out those evil spawns of the dark lord-" "EXCUSE ME???" Ira protested. "We're sometimes evil, yes. But we're not like disgusting demons. Spawns of the dark lord. Tsk." "The Earl's words not mine. I''m an atheist." The barkeeper continued. "He could also reduce the population of the slums by telling the church that it's where witches hide. The slums were the first to get hit by this vicious war. A lot of innocent people died." She sadly glanced at the picture behind the counter of her and a man in an apron. Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone --- Ritsu "Well, I don't see why not. Still, you should really mind your getup, walking around with that stench. You're lucky most of them are too drunk to pay attention." Ritsu set down her tray and activated one of the spells she had sneakily pressed onto the main counter, a spell for [Illusion]. Now, anyone in the bar that glanced at them would see nothing but three young children eating. This was followed up by a spell for [Silence] that prevented any of their conversation from leaking out. "Here, you look like you could use this." Taking out some dried apple slices from her bag, Ritsu offered some to the other two, before starting on her plate of food. "Now, maybe you could tell us why you're here, little vampire. And when you're done, I have a proposition for the two of you." @FuRen @Haitaka
Location: Southern Craftsmen Zone: The Falling Leaf "No thank you" I say with a polite smile, "I had my fill of food earlier" I said with a small chuckle. "But as for why I am here, its simply a coincidence" looking at the meek girl I say, "the smell of sulfur carries quite far you know" "But I do apologize for the stench of blood, I am simply appalled that I have presented myself as a person who can not clean up after a meal" I say while looking at the both of them, one with a tattered cloak that covers the majority of their body, and the other with such obvious demon magic manipulating her body its a wonder that the witch hunter hadn't found her yet. "In my experience once is a happenstance, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern" I say looking at the surrounding tavern, "and this is my second encounter with witches today, with a total of three witches now" revealing my fangs with a small smile, "So which is this meeting?" Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone As the hooded witch passing her a dried apple slice, Hyacinth looked carefully at it, and after making sure it contained nothing dangerous, ate it. "Now, maybe you could tell us why you're here, little vampire. And when you're done, I have a proposition for the two of you." When Hyacinth heard those words, she turned to look, willing to at least listen as to what she had to say. But then the vampire spoke, catching her attention. By the end of it, she heard him say, "So which is this meeting?" After a careful thought, Hyacinth answered with a serious expression on her face, "It is... a coincidence..." She then thought about his words, how she smelled like sulfur, and continued to say, "If a bother... I will leave..." Following her words, Paimon who had been silently watching over her went over to push her wheelchair. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind and she looked towards the vampire. "I do not mind... the stench..." Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Location: Northern Slums "And where does this put you? You know too much for a simple barkeeper from the slums. I was just expecting information like 'The Earl's foot stinks' or 'A certain bishop likes to invite the choir members in his bedroom.' Not the whole shit." Ira crossed her arms. She really didn't expect to get this much information from the barkeeper. Ira doesn't like involving herself in the matters of the commoners. She just want to know some information so she could play around safely and do her duty as a loremaster easily. But hearing this much now puts her on the chessboard as pawn. "And why are you telling me this? What do you want me to do?" The barkeeper took a drag of her cigarette. "We're the rebel group. We want to kill the Earl." She puffed out a cloud of smoke. " And I want you to help us." Ira frowned. She's not liking this. "I already did. Additional help will be costly. No more free meals and additional bread. Something as costly as your life." "How about a witch's story, Loremaster?" Ira glared at the thin man with gray tattered clothes. He raised his glass to her. Cheers. She glanced back to the barkeeper. "You're not a witch." "Yes, I'm not. But my grandmother was." The barkeeper smiled. "My grandmother told me that it's a great honor for a witch to have their story recorded by a loremaster. You will live forever in the memories of people even though your physical body is already rotting beneath the earth. She was waiting for a Loremaster of the witches to pass by Fort Town, you know. She really wanted her story recorded. But no one came. So she wrote her whole life story and told me to give it to a Loremaster should I encounter one. I thought I have to pass it to my grandchildren too. But fate has other plans so here you are." "I'm not killing the Earl for a story. Besides, even if you killed him, the kingdom will replace him with another noble. Maybe his son, I dunno." "Oh, we don't want you to kill the Earl. It's our, the commoners, affairs. I can see from your eyes that you dislike mixing in our affairs so I will not force you." The barkeeper held up a piece of paper. It's a portrait of young man. "You were asking earlier how I knew all of those information. This is the picture of the Earl's son." Ira stared at it. It looked familiar. "Why are you showing this to me? Don't tell me you want me to kill the Earl's son?" The barkeeper held Ira's shoulders and twisted her around. There, Ira saw one of the five patrons. He looked like the Earl's son. The resemblance is uncanny. The man also raised his glass of alcohol to her. "Fuck." Are they planning to replace the Earl's son with a fake? The barkeeper can see the thoughts in Ira's head. "You idiot, he's the real deal." "Motherfucker." Witchhunter location: Southeastern craftsmen
Southern Craftsmen Zone "So, here's the dice. Besides the four of us here, there's three more that I know of, a weird spirit in full armour, as well as an...unstable spirit that speaks nonsense, plus this witch who claims to be a part-time writer. Doubtlessly, there are more, but for now, we're up against a whole town's forces, plus that one annoying dude, and from what I heard earlier, we can't even venture into the central regions without getting caught. So, for now, I propose an alliance." Ritsu sipped on the soup she got, finishing off the last of her meal as she took out a human finger bone from her satchel, setting it on the table. "Ariel, I request from thee a trade." The finger bone disappeared, and in it's place rested a small vial. Ritsu gingerly took the vial, and carefully placed it back to her satchel. "As you can see, the Spirit that accompanies me is able to trade items at a price. Unlike most spirits, however, Ariel doesn't only trade with members of his coven; he offers exchanges to anyone, as long as they are hunters. Meaning that the two of you can trade for items, objects specially tailored for hunting, from him." Having finished, Ritsu took out another apple slice, and begun nibbling on it, waiting for questions. Witch Hunter Location: Temple
Location: Southern Craftsmen Zone: The Falling Leaf "And you shouldn't my dear", I say to the young girl with a wheelchair revealing a bit of an older tone, "in any case I have met with an interesting woman who deals with potions, and currently have employed her under me" I say holding up one of the bottles she gifted me. "In any case, if you wish for an alliance I would ask that the two of you work with me" placing a few of the bottles on the table I begin speaking again in a way which reveals my fangs, "after all there would be numerable benefits at the moment and many more to come later" "However, I am not in the business of forcing anyone" I say getting up from my seat, dusting myself slightly as I say," so if you want an alliance it should follow my terms, but as always the choice is yours" I say with the most innocent smile I can muster Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone After the vampire stopped Hyacinth from leaving, she continued to listen to the two. She was quite curious in regards to the trading of the robed witch's spirit, but she kept quiet until they both finished talking. By the end of their explanation, she understood both wanted to form an alliance, but the vampire wished to be the central figure, promising benefits. Still, she is wary of him, very much so, even if it could only be reasoned by her gut feeling. In the end, both did not quite specify their goal, hence she asked, "What are... your goals?" If she could, she would have already left the city by now, either silently or forcefully. Witch Hunter Location: Southeastern Gate
Southern Craftsmen Zone "Ara ara, you vampires and your devilish tongues. It sounds like a choice, sure, but it also means that otherwise, you won't agree to an alliance. Hmph. Forget it, then." Shrugging, Ritsu gave up notions of an alliance, but since she expected an outcome such as this, she wasn't really disappointed. Still, the unexpected question from the other girl made her pause for a moment. "My goals, eh? Well, I suppose I work for a possible future where I can go out freely, walking on the streets with my witch garb on, and without any idiots trying to hunt me down in the name of God. To begin with, I don't believe in their gods, anyways." Finishing up, she placed her staff beside her, letting it lean against the chair that she was sitting on. "Well, it's been a lovely evening, but I should begin to make my way back. I am getting unpleasant vibes from somewhere, and am pretty sure that I wouldn't like to stick around long enough to find out why." @FuRen @Haitaka Witch Hunter Location: Southern Craftsmen Zone
Location: Southern Craftsmen Zone "It seems we have come to an impasse then" I say as I smell a familiar scent of blood, "we'd do best to leave quickly and quietly" Looking at the young girl in the wheelchair I say, "My advice my dear, have this one push your wheel chair instead of your summon" the scent is rapidly approaching, "if not I'm afraid you are simply a beacon" "I'll give him something to chase, so why don't the both of you head towards a safe house of mine" I say turning towards the the door, "It is a nearby apothecary I'm sure you'll know which one" After having said this all of the patrons of the tavern begin to bleed out of their orifices, the blood coalescing behind me, only for the blood to re-enter their bodies as the began to move and follow behind me. "Have a good night" I say with an innocent smile as I look back at the two witches, only to turn and lead my blood knights out of the tavern. Witch Hunter Location: Southern Craftsmen Zone