[Cherry Heart] A Walk in the Woods

[Lunar Origins]

---

A new post had found its way onto the questboard - a few members of the guild had crowded around it, creating a bit of a commotion.  

 

 

 

An addendum was added to the post:

 

"Twenty gold will be offered for the capture of the witch alive, split between the members of the party on completion."

 

That's probably why so many people were crowded around it, anyways...  five whole gold?  It wasn't unbelievable, given the client merchants had probably pooled together their money in order to get this done fast.  There must be something important in the shipment...

 

---

 

 

---

 

The first to apply for the mission was Irithyll, who weaseled her way into the crowd and posted her name and picture on the board with relative haste; always handy of her to be prepared with a quill!  Figuring that it wouldn't be long until others signed their names, she made her way to a nearby waiting area - one for quest takers - in the guild hall.  The actual quest itself was set to start in one day, so she and her cohorts had plenty of time to prepare.

 

She took out a hairbrush and began to run it through her hair.  "I hate socializing," she thought to herself.

[King K. Azo]

 

---

 

Mac quietly walked to the waiting area, his pink sweatpants and hoodie making him stand out like a neon sign. He noticed that there was a woman already here. She was pretty enough, and was currently brushing her hair. She seemed like she wanted to be left alone, so Mac just headed over to a corner, waving at her as he passed, just so she knew he knew she existed.

He sat down in a chair, taking slow deep breaths. It was the best way to recover stamina after training, and while they had a day to prepare for this mission, he suspected most of the day would be spent preparing. It wouldn't do to be exhausted while they got to know each other.

[Kyng]

Dareios chuckled with delight as Angela played along, being sown into his silken web of seduction as he carefully listened to her flirtatious little whispers. He could hear a sense of lack in confidence in her physical appeal but her mind was sharp in that regard. Though, Dareios knew her disadvantage and was eager to play this game with such an obvious weakness exposed. If Angela believed her body wasn’t appealing, well, Dareios’d have to convince her otherwise.

 

After her little whispers Dareios chuckled and whispered sweet little nothings into her ear to entice and excite the beauty, but suddenly the robot of their guild took Angela’s attention for a moment. Smiling as he let her a moment, he was notably photographed and, glancing to the direction of it, found Io. it seemed most of the magazine models had arrived. With any luck that might mean Lily might show too - it was evident Dareios wanted to speak to her in great detail.

 

Now, for those who don’t know, Io’s magic worked based on the quality of the photo she took. A blurry, low quality shot would yield phew results, while one of good quality would hold many more secrets. While not magic, there was a knack Dareios held - his absurd photogenic nature. She could’ve accidentally taken the photo and it would still capture the ebony Adonis in a perfect pose reflecting his gorgeous visage. Naturally he worked absurdly well under the lens and so, the kitsune had a plethora of information to her disposal.

 

Io’s sheet told her his name was Dareios al-Aswad, son of Kematu al-Aswad and Laila al-Aswad, of the Rakibi Al-Dhadhahabi - or, Golden Riders - a nomadic mercantile clan known for legendary cavalry based combat from the distant desert land of Kaktos. It told her he was, in truth, in exile from a Sultanate for doing what he did best, enamouring and charming the pants off of the princess of the Sultan and, naturally, a price was put on his head. It also told her his magic was called Tamer Magic, and that he had tamed two creatures thus far.

 

Dareios chuckled softly as he waved to Io who greeted him quite kindly. Fortunately he knew her name as well - she was in the magazine as much as Angela was, so he had a faint idea on how important her camera was to her. “I do hope you caught my good side!” Letting out that sexy chuckle of pure charisma of his, he gave her his heart in greeting as he had with Angela. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Io. Unfortunately though, I’m taking up a different quest. Though I would be enchanted to find myself as a partner of yours on a quest someday.”

 

Gently floating her a cheeky smile, he unfortunately had to bid adieu to Angela and Io as he had his own quest to get to. Taking Angela’s hand tenderly and kissing it he whispered with that silver tongue of his a promise to her that when he returned he’d spoil her, before heading off to meet with his quest mates.

 

Seating himself with Mac he realized another fair maiden would be their companion. She looked quite new, perhaps she joined the guild yesterday when he wasn’t around? It didn’t matter, undoubtedly they’d get to know each other well on this mission at hand. Though given how she didn’t seem entirely thrilled to greet Mac it seemed she was a little less outgoing than the other ladies of the guild this far. No matter, Dareios kindly extended his hand to her and offered her his name in greeting. “Hello. My name is Dareios - given you’re seated with Mac I would wager you’d hunting this witch too?” He asked with that gorgeous smile of his - he was never without it.

[Makο]

"..."

 

Nanuq stood, dazed, in front of the quest sign-up sheet. Amongst the neatly organized letters and characters on the small list was his name. Or at least, what he assumed was his name, as it was completely illegible by all races and constituted more of a large scribble than anything. He blinked several times, wondering what he'd just done and what had enticed him to do so; he wasn't even part of this organization. Was he allowed to do this? Considering this, he took a moment to look around at those nearby. A... rather solemn looking woman sat nearby, quite clearly discontent with just being there; he wondered why she was if it didn't bring her joy. Another smelled deeply of sweat and... determination? It was all he could pin that scent on, as it was one he'd never smelled before. However, it was rather clear he was a fighter. And the third...

 

"...Pheromones."

 

He shook himself out of his thoughts; there was one other scent that he smelled at the moment. Alcohol. As he breathed the fresh(er) air of where he was, his fuzzy memory began coming back to him. Something about a tavern he'd been to. A bathroom. A young lad. He took one more sniff: it was clearly coming from his breath. At some point, during that little misadventure he had gone on, he became drunk. Unable to recall how or why, a side of him he'd rather keep tame was on display for all to see last night, and he could only hope that everyone else was as drunk as he was, so that their memories might fade equally as quickly as they got them. He vaguely remembered a... minotaur, perhaps. A real drunkard himself, so if he had fallen to the same temptations that Nanuq had, he was clearly passed out in an alley somewhere. And the other lad with the sword, smelling vaguely of wild magical creatures. He might have gone off to gamble. He wondered what became of him.

 

As for the last lad he had been with... he shuddered at the thought. He couldn't remember anything that happened with that poor cub. Perhaps over the next few hours, he'd remember...?

 

“Hello. My name is Dareios - given you’re seated with Mac I would wager you’d hunting this witch too?”

 

The one that smelled of pheromones began speaking with the sweaty one, forcing Nanuq to stop his thoughts dead.

 

"...Witch... hunt? I signed up to hunt a witch?"

 

Oh no.

[Lunar Origins]

 

---

 

The woman's eyes rested on the group; there was Nanuq, Dareios, and Mac.  "Fantastic," she thought to herself for a brief moment.  "I'm the only woman in the group."  Irithyll was well aware of the other members of Cherry Heart - she was, after all, a well read scholarly type.

 

She shifted in her seat.  Iri was never one to make much contact with the other members of Cherry Heart; in fact, this was her first non-solo mission in the company to date.  The experience of meeting and greeting people was a little overwhelming to her, so she was a little frozen in place.

 

When everyone else seemed to have finished speaking, she responded in kind.

 

"I do suppose we should get acquainted," she said, her fingers rattling at the hem of her skirt.  Nervous tic.  She looked to Dareios, seemingly unfazed by his sheer attractiveness, and responded.  "You are correct.  I am here to hunt the witch on the outskirts of Prunus."  Slight pause.  "I suppose I should introduce myself."  She stands, giving a little bow to the rest of the group.  Manners, Irithyll.  Do your best.  "I am Irithyll von Eclesia, but many simply refer to me as Iri."  Another awkward pause - it was plainly obvious that the woman's social skills could use work.  She sat back down and reached into her satchel, producing a small bit of parchment.  Pushing her glasses up on her nose and bringing it up, she read it to the rest of the group.

 

"Some information on the witch that I have gathered from the merchants she has harassed."  She'd come prepared.  "Dark skin.  Tall - for a human woman, at least.  Braided ponytail, and old, ragged white robes.  She wields a staff made of vines.  Old-time speak - very polite.  Did not harm the caravaneers, though she whisked away the contents using the creatures of the forest."

 

Pause.

 

She looked up, pushing up her glasses again.  They didn't seem to fit her well.

 

"She is non-hostile, based on the accounts of the victims, so there does not seem to be much need for force on this mission.  Let me remind you all that the reward for bringing her back for trial will garner an additional twenty gold to be split up between the members of this group."

 

She sighed leaning back in her chair.  "I, personally, could use the extra money.  Five gold allotted to each of us should cover more extravagant expenses for the next month or two.  Leave your lethal magics at the door, if you will."

 

She leaned forwards again.  "Which brings us to our plan."  Her eyes dart back down to the paper.  "I say we hide in a caravan and spring a trap on her.  She seems to target imports on their way to Cherry Heart, so... that is a thing."

 

Irithyll glances up.  "Of course, she'll probably be expecting us."

[Kyng]

 

"It is nice to meet you, Iri."

 

Dareios was certainly a bit surprised by how utterly unphased by his charm. Though it wasn't unheard of. Much like there were those of roaring hot flames of passion, that same flame was but a cinder in others. Certainly not his cup of tea but he wouldn't complain, Iri seemed to be out of her comfort zone as much as he was, somewhat, so there wasn't much else to say on that.

So with that, as well as the arrival of Nanuq, came a synopsis of the task ahead - Iri had recounted in much more detail the circumstances surrounding this witch. It was surprising to Dareios that she was non-hostile and taking this targeted cargo but, as a former trader himself, he couldn’t help but suspect something.

As Iri explained her side, Dareios sat down and furrowed his brow. “As much as I would like to give this plan the benefit of the doubt, we’re not trapping her. She’s trapping us.” Shrugging at the simplicity of it all, he rubbed his chin as he contemplated it all. “It seems painfully obvious to me - I don’t know her motives, mind you - but she seems to be excessively desperate, attacking every single caravan yielding resources to a guild that only sprung up yesterday.”

With that Dareios frowned as he looked over the quest note. “That’s what makes he find this whole thing more dubious. This guild is young and I doubt the coffers are that full. Why would these merchants be giving up such an enormous bounty?”

Setting the note aside he shook his head. “Regardless, I have magic that can bind her, assuming this witch can be made vulnerable it should be relatively simple to trap her - assuming we're dealing with this in a confrontational manner.”

[King K. Azo]

---

Mac listened to the the plan they were developing. Maybe he wasn't suited for this quest after all... They had to capture a witch, since it netted them extra money. That was always a good thing... he could buy more chocolate and training equipment. However, he was really only good for hitting things. Heck, even his magic was used to help him punch harder. He sat down, thinking to himself, recalling what he was told the witch looked like. So she had dark skin... was tall, to his dismay... wields a staff made of vines.

The thing that threw him off was the fact she seemed to be very polite. She didn't even harm the people. Was she really evil? The thought nagged him, but he decided to just push it to the side for now. They were all throwing out plans, and he figured he should try his own hand at one. Despite what a person may believe, Mac wasn't the strongest around, nor was he the fastest, or even the one with the most endurance. He had encountered many foes that simply outclassed him in all these factors. So, how did he earn a title like 'Undefeated of the East'?

Strategy.

And it was no different here. He ran through a few scenarios, trying to predict what could go wrong. He wasn't a genius at this, not by a long shot, but he thought of something that might work.

"... Maybe instead of all of us hiding in a caravan... we should split into two groups, one hidden in the caravan, and the other following from a distance. That way all our eggs aren't in one basket," It made sense to him, since they didn't know what the witch can do. And hey, if she called up animals, he could punch them, at the very least.

[Makο]

Welp. Time for a witch hunt.

 

Perhaps better phrasing could be used.

 

 

Nanuq was rather notorious amongst those he once knew for going with the flow rather easily; this situation certainly wasn't an exception. After all, it was he who got himself drunk and signed up for the confounded quest. Backing down was not an option. Although, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly had drawn his drunk self towards this quest in particular; was it simply random chance or was there something that drew him over in particular? Well, idle speculation would get him nowhere, so contributing to the current planning stage was the current task at hand.

 

...All things considered, there wasn't much they could do to plan beforehand. The witch was on her home turf, and likely knew that place in and out. Drawing her out likely wouldn't work, since she sends creatures to do her bidding. The one with the pheromones had suggested that she was laying a trap, so perhaps...

 

"Why don't we just walk into her forest and look around? After all, if she has gone to the trouble of laying a trap for us, it would be rude to not spring it. It would likely lead us directly to her regardless. In any case, I would likely be able to sense the approach of any person or creature around us, so I do not think we'd get ambushed so easily."

 

It had just occurred to him that he had not stated his name. After all, it was unlikely they read his literally illegible handwriting on the sign up sheet.

 

"...Uh, Nanuq."