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Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)


Tassadar

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Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 12/16 Willpower

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

(Same disclaimer as the thetwo/Knephi thread being run with DG4's system.)

Mount Nulbunarg towered ahead, its snow capped spire standing high above even its brothers and sisters who stood around and behind it. Its name was orcish, and unlike many of those who lived in its shadow Kaida knew the origins of that name, for her temple had held many tomes of compilations of stories and legends. One of them had spoken of the great frozen spire and its namesake, the great frost wyrm that supposedly still slumbered within its heart that had once enslaved entire tribes of orcs to its wicked will in centuries past. Only a great effort by a legendary orcish hero had managed to seal the great beast away in its lair, her blade still embedded in its icy hide but its life not yet extinguished. The mountain had been a symbol of fear to the greenskins in ages past, an ill omen telling of darker times, but now it was known for something else.

On its summit, recently enshrined in an ancient temple, lived an oracle, a seer of past, present, and future. It was said that this oracle could answer any question, could guide one to their destiny, and for the kitsune that had proved a temptation too great to resist once she had heard of it. Since her own temple had been desecrated and destroyed, Kaida had found no trace of the precious palanquin shards that had been stolen when her sacred home had been raided several months prior. The men who had taken its pieces had seemingly scattered with it, possibly taking it to all corners of Heloras and possibly even beyond if the tales of strange lands discovered across the sea was anything to go by.

With no leads, she had wandered almost aimlessly, desperately searching for clues while earning her keep as best she could, but when she had heard of the oracle atop the mountain she stood beneath might be able to direct her to one or possibly many of the shards that she sought there had been a surge of hope. Her journey from the East had taken almost a month, and had taken her through very dangerous lands that had never been tamed by man, but now she was here, at the foot of the Gormoia mountain range that separated Crolia from the Amazon.

Before her lay the last portion of civilization before she would have to make the legendarily dangerous climb, a tiny village that was little more than a collection of huts and barns that the locals, who mostly lived sprawled out and farmed rice or fruit to sell to traders traveling on the crossroads on which it sat, seldom visited. Only two structures seemed inhabited, one of them a temple to the spirits judging by the architecture and the ornate carvings of animals and elemental symbols on its frieze, and the other obviously a tavern of some sort. Only the latter was well lit, and a great deal of noise seemed to be coming from within, possibly courtesy of the collection of wagons gathered to the side of it signaling that a caravan was in town.

~~~~~~~~~​

*SMACK*

Rashi felt a stinging blow land on her ass, the hand that had caused it remaining to grope her sculpted backside for a few seconds before removing itself. "Get this girl a drink! My treat!" the man who had taken advantage of her bent position as she'd been downing her first drink for the night said as he stepped up against the bar beside her. His words were slightly slurred as they came forth, the slightly gaudy clothes of a lord's son clinging to his wiry form and his somewhat soft features stirred into a cocky grin as he laid a handful of coins deftly across the bar, enough for a whole round of drinks. "Give 'er the good stuff too!" he continued, his slightly golden skin marking him as of local stock but his accent suggesting that he was from a different region of the Amazon, assuming of course that Rashi could tell the difference. Or cared, for that matter.

She was sitting in the only tavern in the small town of Tanjin, at the base of the great mountain at the foot of the Gormoia mountain range called Nulbunarg. Rashi had likely recognized the lingual origins of the name, though whether she had heard of its true origins or not was perhaps less clear. Regardless, her true purpose for being there had nothing to do with the town and everything to do with what was at the top of the mountain. High, high up on its snowy peak stood a temple, an ancient fortress of her orcish kin that had been re-purposed into a grand shrine devoted to the Thunderlord, Doraleous.

In that shrine lived a mysterious person, their gender not revealed by any of the rumors that Rashi had heard on her way to this tiny town at the crossroads beneath the mountain. That oracle was said to be able to reveal any truth that those able to withstand the test of the great mountain could ask, and that offered her a chance. A chance at freedom, freedom from the weapon on her back with which she was so easily able to defend herself from any conventional threats. Even now it hung to her back, the tiny whisper of feeling running from the possessed urging her to shed blood, to crush the skull of the man who'd just had the audacity to touch her beneath her foot.

The barkeep, a burly man with no hair to speak of in plain clothes and an apron, handed over a pair of foaming ales, her own pint already half gone but this one looking a good bit thicker and foamier. The man who'd paid for it grinned at her, "have one on me!"
 

Knephi

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi stared into her drink for a few moments before taking a deep swig from the large mug. She'd been on the road for quite some time now, and the chance to sit down and relax with a drink was a welcome one. She was actually grateful for the nearly overwhelming noise and general rowdiness of the tavern, even though she simply sat on her own at the bar, still nursing her first drink of the night. The first of many, ideally, though she didn't have much left to spend and had to settle for the cheap ale. Between the drink and the noise, taverns like this were some of the few places she could drown out the incessant whispers in the back of her mind always pushing her to maim and kill over the slightest of provocations.

She'd become accustomed to the foreign thoughts always seeping into her head from the weapon slung across her back, almost comically large on her small frame. It was a good weapon, no doubt about that. If only it didn't try to make her murder everyone she met, she'd be more than happy to wield it. Unfortunately, getting rid of it had proven to be quite the issue itself. It seemed that nothing could actually physically get it away from her, and it had proven to resilient for her forge to melt it down, or even put a scratch on it for that matter. She'd broken some of her best tools trying. The thing had been laughing at her the whole time.

And that brought the oni to where she was now. She'd heard rumours of a temple in the mountains, supposedly at the peak of Mount Nulbunarg, where she could find an oracle who could finally point her in the right direction to finding a solution. The mountain itself was unfamiliar to her, though the name sounded orcish. She was somewhat estranged from her kin, especially after leaving without a word to seek a way to rid herself of her weapon, but from what little she'd managed to learn, it didn't sound like orcs had lived there for a long time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden smack on her rear, her mind taking a moment to catch up as it groped at her ass. The whispers in the back of her mind grew stronger, telling her, in graphic detail, what to do the the man who had dared to touch her. She couldn't say she wasn't tempted either, but the offer of a drink and a look at the richly-dressed man held her back from introducing him to the floor right then and there. She was here to drink, after all, not start a fight, as much as Gorefinder might wish for it. She wasn't about to just let him get away with it either, though.

As his hand withdrew, her own shot out to her side, catching his wrist in her own, smaller hand. Despite the difference in size however, her grip was strong, even more so as the whispers in her mind grew stronger, urging her to crush his bones. She did her best to block out the violent urges, her grip painfully tight, but not enough to actually cause physical harm, simply using her free hand to take another drink from her own still half-full mug to calm herself before turning to face him fully.

"You should be careful where you let your hand wander," Rashi grinned, her voice pleasant, as if she was simply commenting on the weather "I usually break the ones that get too bold." She flashed him another smile, giving his wrist a momentary squeeze to prove her point before releasing it and turning back to the bar, downing the rest of her first drink in one go before accepting the one offered to her. "Thanks for the drink, though!" Assuming he didn't take offence to her display, she'd start on it soon after.

May have taken a few too many liberties with her past interactions with Gorefinder, since I still don't have a good feel for its personality. Let me know if there's anything I should change there.
 

Hafnium

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Hundreds of years worth of history had been lost when her temple burned to the ground. Thousands of scrolls, books, and parchments perished in the flames. Manuscripts, treatises, legends, biographies, and tales covering everything from medicine to poetry to philosophy, the fire had consumed it all indiscriminately without a concern for how rare or valuable each item was. It was impossible to say how much of the written knowledge was irrecoverable because it had never been copied. It was doubly hard to say how much good the collection might have done the world at large if it hadn't perished. Mount Nulbunarg was a reminder of that great loss, but if anything its imposing presence bolstered Kaida's resolve to ascend it and seek the oracle rumored to live at the peak. She couldn't recreate the lost tomes and she couldn't rebuild the temple itself, so she would go to any lengths to return the palanquin to its proper place, even hunting down the rumor of some seer.

She knew the mountain's legends and many more like those thanks to those lost scrolls. For example, among the legends that she could recall off the top of her head was that the Pfthirian jungle had risen from the corpse of a massive crocodile slain during an age of cataclysm, and that this was why the creatures that spawned in it were so bloodthirsty. After venturing through it and suffering no less than three separate attacks by raptors and needing to ward off giant wasps, the kitsune could almost believe the idea. But it was always difficult to tell where fact met fiction in the tomes of legends, some seemed wholly the invention of hopeful mortal minds, such as the varied accounts of gods bedding humans, elves, and orcs for accomplishing some task or another or even merely catching their interest.

On the whole, the tale of Nulbunarg's dragon seemed a believable one. There were many such tales of heroes confronting great evil and conquering it even in the recent past. Some of the stories that had spread to the temple by its visitors included heroes to the north summoning flocks of angels to beat back alien invaders and in the west facing a demonic queen. If such was the case even in the current age, it seemed not just plausible but reasonable that an orc should've risen to free her people from a dragon's tyranny. More importantly to Kaida at that point in time, however, was that the rumor of the oracle seemed believable, which meant that she at least had some potential lead to pursue. The men who had stolen the palanquin had melted away without a trace in the time it had taken her to recover from the fire and now she was left to grasp at any straw she could in order to get back onto their trail.

But for the time being, she needed a place to lodge and prepare to make the climb. She was anxious to see it done, but not foolish or impatient enough to attempt it without a good night's rest and a pack full of supplies. Kaida initially considered approaching the temple. As a traveling monk it only made sense to visit every such shrine that she could and learn from them, she might even be allowed to stay under its roof as a pilgrim. She also needed paying work if she wanted to purchase needed goods for the days ahead though, and a tavern filled with members of a caravan promised more opportunities for that than a temple. Between the two, the chance to earn coin was far more fleeting than the chance to secure shelter, so she chose to visit the tavern first that night.

The kitsune didn't give much consideration for her garb when she had entered the town: black robes over lamellar armor over a white samue, with leather gloves for her hands, straw sandals for her feet, and a white cowl over a helmet covering her head. It didn't even occur to her that hiding all but eyes and feet might make less familiar people paranoid. Monks were not an uncommon sight where she was from, and her dress was only different in the armor she wore. It did cross her mind that they might be wary of a woman with swords on her sash and a polearm in hand though, and Kaida was at least mindful enough to ensure that her swords were safely sheathed and that her naginata blade's wooden covering was still in place before walking into the tavern. She wouldn't let the weapons leave her side, but there was no sense in being unnecessarily threatening with them.

She wouldn't pay much attention to the others in the building at first except to glance around, instead calmly making her way to the bar in order to speak with the barkeeper. "I'm a pilgrim looking for work to fund the next leg of my trip," she would announce to the man once she had his attention. "Might you have or know of any jobs around here?"
 
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Tassadar

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 5/16 Willpower

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

Kaida's entrance wouldn't go unnoticed, for all other occupants of the rowdy tavern had seemingly left their weapons behind from wherever they had come, but many were busy with their revelry and no others offered to challenge her for entering so armed. Her approach of the bar was deliberately unimpeded, no one seemingly wanting to get in her way, and in the process Rashi would notice the armed hooded woman's approach over the shoulder of the man who had grabbed her ass. "Jobs? Not here," the barkeep replied gruffly, peering at Kaida through bushy eyebrows while his mouth was hidden beneath a bristly black beard and mustache. He was about to leave it at that and return to his duties, but then he gave her weapons a second glancing over and added; "If yer handy with those, ye could try that lot," he gestured over at a pair of tables moved together so that a large party could sit around it, a mix of foreigners and Amazonians from other regions sitting together in crisp red and purple uniforms that she had never seen before and being largely responsible for about half of the noise being produced.

"Mercenaries," the barkeep spat in open distaste, "but they're with a caravan goin East. If ye ain't here for what's on top of the mountain, ye could try and see with the troop master if he's lookin for any extra hands. Otherwise, not sure how ye could earn coin here aside from working a farm for a while." He fixed her with a flat look, "this is a simple place. We don't want no trouble, and don't have no need for any folks armed like you to stick around for too long if you're desperate for coin, savvy?" The man's accent and manner of speech were distinctly not Amazonian, but the tension in his tone was still readily apparent, and it seemed from what he'd said and from the way he looked at her that he wasn't buying her story of being a pilgrim looking for work, even though it technically happened to be true.

Whatever her reaction to the hooded and well armed stranger's conversation with the barkeep which was taking place only a few feet away, she was still confronted by the drunk man who had been so bold as to grab a handful of her ass. "Ahhh, but wouldn't that be a shame!" he countered casually following her threat, "then how would I hold my ale?" He took another swig as she finished her first drink and reached for the one he'd bought her, and as she brought the second ale to her lips she found its taste far more pleasant than the first. "And how would I buy you a few more drinks, starting with the shot that I'm about to order?" he added slyly as the better drink slid smoothly down her throat. It was a darker brew, richer, foamier, and more alcoholic than the first, but the unique reaction her kind had to alcohol made that harsh taste strangely appealing.

"Like the shot of honey liquor we're about to share," he added in a raised voice a moment later, reaching into a pocket to hand a few coins to the bartender who had been addressing the mysterious stranger. Kaida would notice at that point that she wasn't the only one armed in the bar. The man next to her who distracted the bartender's distrustful gaze with a demand for more drink was speaking to another armed woman, this one with a massive kanabo hanging off of her back, an uncommon weapon in this day and age just like her own, but for some reason the sight of the deceptively effective weapon made a sense of unease rise in Kaida, one strong enough that it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise.

The bartender was quick to hand over a pair of glasses filled with sweet smelling amber liquid, and the richly dressed youth passed one of them over to Rashi while bringing up the other one. "To good times had... And to more to come!" he said, waiting for her to have the glass in hand before he went to down the shot.
 

Hafnium

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

The hooded monk would quirk an eyebrow at the bartenders comments, but in the end she would sigh and let the implied insult roll off of her like so much water. She didn't appreciate being likened to some common bandit, but the man was sensible to be paranoid and refuting it for the sake of her pride would probably inflame the conversation even more for no real gain.

"The next leg of my pilgrimage is to the top of the mountain and I would like to move on as quickly as possible, so perhaps farming it will have to be." It wasn't preferable. There was nothing ignoble about the act of toiling in the dirt and producing sustenance from it, but unfortunately those who did often could only pay in the fruit and vegetables that they harvested. "I'm an able scribe and woodworker as well, please keep me in mind should you hear of any need in town."

"<If you don't enter the tiger's cave, you can't catch its cub,>" she muttered under her breath in her native High Amazonian as the bartender's attention turned toward the apparent couple next to her. An odd duo to be sure. Lord and bodyguard perhaps, judging by their clothing and armaments? No, the body language was too off for them to even be familiar. It was probably rude to speculate anyway, but her attention never quite returned to the counter in front of her before it was captured by the kanabo at the woman's back.

And what an ominous weapon it was. It reminded her of the legends of blades that actively sought blood, either that of their wielder or of enemies, and would refuse to let themselves be sheathed until they drank their fill. She tensed at the sight of it and she found herself clutching at her fragment of the palanquin with her offhand before she forced herself to look away. The discovery of the woman and her strange weapon were another reason to be away from the town as quickly as she was able.

Before she made her retreat from the counter, however, she would seek the bartender's attention one last time. Once she had the man's eyes and ears again she would bring the fragment in her hand up for his inspection. It might not have been the wisest idea when dealing with an already paranoid man. It was unlikely that he'd believe her pilgrimage story flashing the bejeweled piece of gold around, even though it was mostly true, but it was far from the biggest risk she'd take for a lead on her hunt. "One more question and I promise I'll be out of your way. Have you seen any trinkets like this passing through town?"
 

Knephi

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi gave the woman who'd approached the barkeep a curious look, taking special notice of her unusual clothing. The oni wasn't well-versed in all the local cultures, but she hadn't seen anything like them before. Between her behaviour and how much she stood out though, it was a safe bet she wasn't a local either. Headed in the same direction Rashi herself was as well, she noted with no small amount of curiosity. She merely took another long drink from her mug, savouring the much better—and stronger—brew compared to her last. Thanks to her kind's unique biology, the alcohol was already starting to show its effects on her.

"Hah! Guys are usually running by now, or I have to actually break their hands! I like you!" Rashi laughed as the man who'd bought her current drink continued seemingly unafraid, though he at least had the sense not to try his luck again, and ordered another set of drinks for them. She wasn't lying either, she was pleasantly surprised by his reaction to her apparently lighthearted threat. That he seemed like he was going to keep buying her drinks was a big plus too. The oni downed the rest of her mug in one go, slamming the empty mug down on the counter just hard enough not to crack anything—she'd learned her strength could be just a bit much there some time ago.

"I'll drink to that. To good times!" Rashi echoed his words, raising the offered glass for a moment before downing the shot along with him, feeling a pleasant sensation of warmth spreading through her body where others might only feel the burning of such a strong drink. "Whew! That hit the spot..." she grinned as she leaned back on her stool, tugging absently at her collar until her robe slid down her shoulder slightly to try to cool herself down a little.

As she leaned back and relaxed for a moment, a light haze seeming to lay itself out over her thoughts, she noticed something she'd missed at first glance about the curiously-garbed stranger who was now showing some sort of golden trinket to the barkeep. Rashi had noticed her weapons before, but not paid them much mind. She still had her own after all, if only because she couldn't get rid of it if she wanted to, so that didn't concern her in the slightest. What did was the black and white tail, long and quite soft and fluffy looking. She'd seen Su-ku-ta before, but this was new to her. Before she even realized what she was doing, she'd leaned to the side a little, hand reaching out to grasp and feel that curiously inviting tail, stroking the fur lightly, just to see what it really felt like...
 
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Hafnium

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

The sudden stroking of her fluffy tail caused a twitch to develop in the monk's eye. Why in the name of the heavens did people keep doing that? It was true that her tail was immaculately groomed and covered in downy fur leaving it soft and pleasant to the touch but that was hardly an invitation for any random passerby to grope the appendage, even if she didn't hate the feeling of having it stroked and fondled. The unreasonably frequent invasions of her personal space were precisely why she had continued to keep it hidden beneath her robes throughout her journey, though that night it had apparently slipped out from her outermost layer and into view without her notice.

She would quickly turn in order to pull her tail out of reach of her mystery molester and in the same motion face the suspects and figure out just which one had been responsible for the groping. The identity of the culprit would surprise the traveling monk. She had expected it to be the more extravagantly dressed man, if only from previous experience in taverns, not the woman wielding the foul kanabo. Normally she might've pinned the blame on her groper's drunkenness and let the incident go as she had the bartender's insult, though only after gaining enough distance to make sure there was no repeat, but something about the evil aura permeating the air around the oni's club left Kaida unable to walk away without comment. She simply had to know what was guiding the warrior. "Are you in need of an exorcism for the evil spirit in your hand? Or is it a spirit of another sort that's gotten into you?"
 
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Tassadar

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 12/16 Willpower, Aroused

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

The barkeep seemed surprised when Kaida announced that farming would be fine by her, but before he could correct his incorrect estimation of her character and perhaps prove more useful, the distraction of her showing of the single shard of her precious palanquin and the sudden molestation of her tail would divert their attention. The young nobleman who had bought her two drinks now watched Rashi's arm stretch through his personal space to feel the fluffy appendage curiously, and chuckled slightly at the kitsune's stern reaction to her groping. The oni had been hit hard by the shot of sweet liquor, her body feeling unsteady and warm in ways that were all too familiar as her inhibitions were shredded and her arousal flared.

"I have," the bartender admitted initially, but before Kaida could ask further the young man peered at the small shard of gold and demanded; "Where did you get that, pilgrim?" He examined it more closely than one who had never seen it before might have, and the bartender held his tongue as the nobleman turned his attention from Rashi to Kaida and set aside his drink. "I have seen those before... Among a pair of brigands our group caught and hung along the side of the road here! If you don't explain yourself quickly, I'll have you share their fate!" The man seemed nervous, angry, and perturbed, and his raised voice was noticed by some of the other tavern patrons, including some of the mercenaries sharing the table. The room got noticeably quieter, and if Kaida wanted to avoid a fight she had better explain herself further, while Rashi was suddenly being ignored perhaps save for Kaida due to her offending grope.
 

Knephi

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi blinked as the tails was suddenly pulled from her grip, her hand grasping at air for a moment until she thought to look up at the woman it belonged to. It had been as pleasant to the touch as she'd thought on first seeing it, and she found herself tempted to go for a second touch now that it had been pulled away from her. Her more rational mind was beginning to catch up with her though, despite the pleasantly warm sensation settling over her body as a result of her inebriation. The tail was after all, however inviting, still a part of the body of the woman before her, and Rashi herself certainly didn't appreciate being groped like that, as she'd made clear to the man beside her when he'd first joined her.

"Spirit? You mean him?" She motioned at Gorefinder's handle where it extended over her shoulder, not quite comprehending what the woman was referring to, and a little too far into her drinking for the night to consider that she usually kept quiet about that for a reason. Instead, she simply shrugged, chuckling a little at the strange question, "If he was that easy to get rid of, I'd have done it ages ago!"

She fell quiet as the nobleman who'd been buying her drinks spoke up though, suddenly becoming accusatory as he seemed to recognize the trinket the woman was asking about. She wasn't the best judge of character, especially when she was drunk, but Rashi simply couldn't associate the woman in front of her in her strange clothes with common brigands in her mind. She settled back into her seat, glancing around the room that had suddenly become much quieter before turning back to the confrontation brewing in front of her.

She didn't know anything about the fox-tailed woman, so she couldn't really speak up on her behalf, but Rashi was intrigued by her. Her attire, the way she spoke, how she seemed to have noticed Gorefinder's presence as more than just a weapon, and even the strange trinket that had caused such a scene... She was interesting, more so than anyone else she'd met recently... And it wasn't even just for the sake of getting another chance at feeling up that tail again.
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

So her intuition was correct. Kaida hadn't believed that she could be right about it, which was why she had been purposely vague and phrased herself such that she could've just as easily been referring to the woman's drink. The warrior had admitted it plainly and almost even with amusement though. A woman and her evil weapon, what a peculiar meeting to push off the latest leg of the monk's adventure. Even though she had just met this woman it was a bit depressing that when considering the legends and histories she had read over the years, she could only recall tales where the wielders of those accursed weapons had to die to finally be rid of them and only then if the weapon didn't consume their essence in the process.

But it really made her want to learn more about the oni. Kaida couldn't help but be curious about her. She essentially had the modern version of an old legend sitting within hand's reach - or perhaps more appropriately tail's reach - of her. Wouldn't it be wise to try to learn her story and record some of it while the monk was stuck in the village anyway? It wouldn't be much compared to all that had been lost, but collecting her tale would at least be a step toward rebuilding the temple's collection of knowledge.

The man between them would level his accusations before Kaida could inquire about the other woman's name though, and given their surroundings attempting to assuage him was more pressing than reassuring the bartender had been or indulging her own curiosity. "It came from my temple," she explained calmly in the face of his threats. "It was once part of a litter dedicated to an ancient spirit of healing and generosity. It was broken down into small pieces by raiders when my temple was looted and burned and as its last surviving guardian I intend on returning all of the pieces to their rightful place." The tale came matter-of-factly with no emphasis to speak of placed onto the importance of any of its events. It was history, unchangeable history, the same as the remaining burns on her limbs. There was no room for regret or self-pity in it. The future was what mattered.

And it was the future that sparked a more passionate gleam in the kitsune's eyes. She met the man's eyes with a gaze of her own so piercing that it seemed like it might bore through them and out the back of his skull in order to settle on the oni behind him. "What became of the piece the brigands held?" Kaida's inquiry came with that same level of single-mindedness in tow. She didn't care if he wasn't of a mood to field her question or whether he had believed her tale or not. Lordling or no, neither he nor anyone else in the tavern would stand between her and recovering a shard of the palanquin.
 
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Tassadar

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 12/16 Willpower, Aroused

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

The young merchant glared at Kaida with narrowed eyes, his suspicion undisguised as she made claim to the object she had offered. Though he didn't seem to believe her at first, the priestess would see the holes her explanation created in the man's suspicion. A simple bandit would rarely conjure such an odd tale, after all, and certainly wouldn't be able to deliver it with as much single minded passion as Kaida. "They were taken as part of our coffers for putting such brigands down!" the man said challengingly, "and we shan't be simply handing them over!"

He eyed her with a dark frown, but as the scene started to lose some attention from the crowd he continued in a guarded tone rather than an accusatory one; "What proof have you of your claim? You do not seem a bandit, but looks can be deceiving!" He eyed her up and down carefully, and then added; "And even saying that I believe your story... What have you to trade for what trinkets we took, hrm? You clearly seek the pieces of items that we took from them, but even as small as they are, gold and gems are not to be parted with cheaply!"

At that point the man seemed totally focused on Kaida, leaving Rashi completely ignored behind him. The oni was out of drink by that point, and the innkeeper was one of several still watching the exchange between this strange woman and the man who had quite obvious been aiming to take her to bed. Several of the soldiers at the other table were also still watching the exchange with guarded interest, but whether or not the oni cared to continue observing the exchange with her body calling for more booze was up to her.
 
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Hafnium

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Kaida's eyes narrowed at the man's retort. He had no idea just how precious the bargaining chips he was attempting to use were to the monk. The woman emitted an almost palpable aura of violence and tension as he implied that he wanted to trade for them. She would see the palanquin lifted from his very ashes if needed. She would not resort to violence as the first option though, not as long as peaceful bartering was still on the table.

"Nothing currently," she admitted after she had calmed herself down. "You lead the caravan, don't you? I am willing to work for them. I have experience as a carpenter if the wagons need repair or anything of the sort," she offered. "If that's not acceptable then I'll try to scrounge together an acceptable amount for you while you're here." What she didn't add was that if he didn't find those options acceptable or offer a reasonable one of his own, she had every intention of simply stealing the trinkets in the night and being gone before they could start looking for her. It already irritated her that she was bartering for the thing that she had protected for nearly thirty years and the man's attitude about it left her with no guilt over the prospect of simply taking it back by force.
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi raised an eyebrow as she watched the exchange, turning in her seat to lean on the bar as she watched. The man seemed... oddly defensive about the whole thing, as if he expected her to simply try to rob him, despite her thus far very civil demeanor. Her story was... while not unbelievable, as least suspicious, but the way she told it managed to make Rashi believe it. It would explain a few things, including her unusual attire.

The oni took a look around the room, idly playing with the glass in her hand. The attention the scene had initially gathered was quickly fading, though she noted a number of men who looked like soldiers of some sort, possibly the caravan guards, still watching. The newcomer had drawn all attention away from her, leaving her craving another drink but both the man who'd been buying them for her and the innkeeper himself were now occupied.

Normally, that wouldn't have stopped her from finding some way to grab the innkeeper's attention to get herself another drink, even if she had to buy it herself, but... this fox-woman had managed to catch her interest, and she wanted to see where this was going to go, even is it went going without another drink for a bit longer.
 
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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 12/16 Willpower, Aroused

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

Kaida's shift in demeanor was not lost on the man, and he took a half step away from her and frowned as his continued belligerence did nothing to diminish her determination. "I am," he replied hesitantly to her query, his frown becoming more speculative. His eyes narrowed at her promise, his gaze clearly suspicious, and after a moment he responded; "I have no need of a carpenter... And would not trust one with no reputation even if I did. We will be here for another day at most, however, and if you can conjure two hundred in coin or similar valuables I will... Consider trading over the trinkets we took from the brigands."
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

The hooded woman would sigh at his counter offer. It was to be difficult then, it seemed. Just how large were the pieces that he possessed that he believed they were worth that much? Or perhaps it was simply because he knew that she was willing to pay any price to retrieve all the pieces and was exploiting her. The latter seemed more likely to Kaida, having dealt with the worst of humanity over the previous months. "Very well, I will gather what I can and meet you before you leave to barter for as many as I can afford." With that she would turn to leave the tavern, intent on making her way out the door and toward the temple she had put off visiting unless something stopped her.

The task was impossible, of course. She knew that and he likely knew it too. In a more populated town she might have earned ten coins on her best day selling the variety of skills she had picked up around the temple, more only if it involved her naginata, but in a small, featureless village like the one they were in she'd be lucky to earn a basket of apples. She could only hope that the monks who came before her would forgive her for her latest in a long line of sins and failures if her spirit ever met with them, because she was doubtlessly going to cause the innocent villagers trouble when she stole the pieces of her temple's precious keepsake back from the traveling caravan. For the time being though, she merely wished to meditate in the presence of the spirits and potentially speak to those of like upbringing, and so she wouldn't offer the wagons a second glance as she made her way to the village shrine.
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi idly played with the empty glass in her hand as she continued to watch the exchange. Her body was still craving another drink, a distracting nagging in the back of her mind, but most of her attention was focused on the man and the fox-woman. She may have been drunk, but certainly not drunk enough to miss the shifty behaviour of the man beside her. The Oni frowned slightly as he offered his terms. She'd seen the trinket the woman had been asking about, and while certainly valuable, he was asking for a lot of coin. Unless he had a lot of them, or a particularly large piece, she couldn't imagine them being that valuable.

Either he really didn't want to part with them, which seemed strange as they looked to have little value besides the materials they were made from, and sentimental in the case of the woman, or he was taking advantage of her desire for them. It was too much to ask for in a single day though, regardless. Sighing, she set the glass back down on the bar and hopped down from her stool as she watched the fox-woman walk away. Suddenly, she didn't feel much like drinking any more. She'd had enough anyway, even if there was still a lingering craving for more floating around in the back of her mind.

"Well, thanks for the drinks, but I have... business to attend to." She gave the man a light slap on the ass on her way past, much as he had to her when he'd first joined her, making her way for the door if nobody moved to stop her. She was still interested in that fox-woman, especially what she might know about Gorefinder, though she had little hope on it being anything useful, and a friendly warning couldn't hurt. Rashi couldn't tell if the woman had realized she was being played or not, but the Oni had dealt with human merchants in the past, and had a pretty good idea how these things usually went. Once she made it out of the tavern, not far behind the other woman, she would simply trail her for the time being, waiting at least until they were a bit farther away from the tavern before approaching her.
 
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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

Rashi: HP = 71, PP = 46, EP = 47, Status = Fine, 12/16 Willpower, Aroused

Kaida: HP = 92, PP = 43, EP = 43, Status = Fine.

His eyes narrowed, the man simply nodded to Kaida and watched her walk away. He turned back to Rashi just as she reached the door, his frowning shifting back into a charming smile, but when she met him with a thanks and then walked away his scowl returned. He didn't say anything to her as she walked away, straightening slightly from the smack on the ass but otherwise watching her go after Kaida.

The kitsune, in the meantime, would find her journey to the temple uninhibited, though she would hear the strange woman with the cursed club trailing after her as she approached the structure. Inside was a single flickering light, visible beneath the cracks on the door and the windows, and if she tried the door she would find that it slid out of her way with ease. Inside was an expansive room supported with mahogany columns and a set of altars set between each one, a different shrine dedicated to a virtue in alcoves set between each pair of columns. There was a single man in the room, sweeping the floor with an old broom, who turned an aged, weathered face to Kaida curiously when she opened the door, assuming that she hadn't stopped to speak to the woman tailing her upon detecting the oni.
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

The sound and smell of her pursuer was noticeable to Kaida not long after she exited the tavern. Her nose was powerful enough to recognize a recently familiar scent even underneath the faint odor of alcohol present on the warrior following her. Her ability to pick up subtle smells and sounds was a bit of a blessing and a curse, standing in the tavern had all but required that her nose and ears be covered by her cowl and she be careful not to sniff too powerfully lest she take in too much of the ambiance and be overwhelmed. The blessing was, of course, in that even without looking back she could be relatively confident in her suspicion that her follower was the woman who had groped her tail.

She ended up choosing to wait until she was almost at the door of the temple to confront her apparent pursuer, at least from there she might be able to dash to a more defensible position if needed. It was entirely possible that she was a bodyguard to the caravaneer sent to threaten Kaida away from the carts, after all. "Are you after my tail again?" Kaida asked lightheartedly as she turned and confirmed that it was indeed the woman she suspected. It was an attempt to disarm the situation before it ever even had a chance to become tense. The monk had no desire to go up against a cursed weapon wielder if she had a chance to avoid it. "Or is something else on your mind?"
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

"Well, if you're offering, I wouldn't refuse." Rashi grinned at the robed woman as she replied. She wasn't lying either, and while she'd managed to pull herself away from drinking any more, what she'd already had was definitely still affecting her, and she quickly found herself staring a little more than was strictly polite. It was perhaps a good thing she was dressed fairly modestly, it made it a little easier for the Oni to keep her eyes from wandering, if only a little.

She glanced over her shoulder and around them before speaking again, wanting to ensure she hadn't been followed as well. "I'm serious about that, but no, I wanted to... Give you a warning," she hesitated for a moment, then sighed, shaking her head, "No, no, that came out wrong, sorry. I'm not trying to threaten you, I just wanted to make sure you knew he was playing you. I'm not sure what he's after, but I've dealt with enough merchants to know his type. He's not being honest with you, not entirely, just wanted to say, uh... be careful, I guess."

She shifted her gaze off to the side, tearing it away from where she'd begun to stare at the woman again, her tone turning slightly sheepish as she continued, "Sorry, I'm rambling but, well, the other reason is you're the only person I've met to have noticed there was something off about him so quickly," Rashi tapped Gorefinder's handle with her knuckle for emphasis as she spoke, "Wanted to see if you knew anything you'd want to share about that, been hard to find anyone who knows, well... anything."
 

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Re: Where Even Lords Dare Not Tread (Knephi and Hafnium)

"I'll keep that in mind," she would airily reply to Rashi's warning, having offered no reaction at all to the other woman's initial response to her own quip. She found it difficult not to betray with her tone that she already had an idea of the merchant's nature and all the more so for the oddity of the encounter. So the woman had apparently followed after her to warn her and... flirt and stare? Adorably genuine for someone wielding such a foul weapon. What an interesting stranger.

Kaida would remain motionless except to shift her weight from foot to foot a few times as her gaze moved from the oni to the handle of the kanabo peeking over her shoulder before returning to meet Rashi's eyes. "More knowledgeable in theory than in practice, I'm afraid. I've read many myths and histories about living weapons, but I've no personal experience with them before meeting you. Yours is an evil one, isn't it? Won't let you abandon it?" Entirely guesses, but ones that she felt confident about. The kanabo's aura certainly wasn't a benevolent one, and the stranger had all but admitted her inability to escape the weapon in her response to the monk's vague comment earlier.
 
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