Southern Wolves
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@wish
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Wish
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Her reasoning seemed to be shared by the more active magus. As Nat remained somewhat impassive and observant, her partner went about looking through stuff to find something. It was not immediately apparent what that was, so it was probably best not to intervene. All that she could immediately grasp was that Harle was making a mess there. But, given the pile of bones outside and the pile of armor parts in here, that seemed to be a natural result of her being somewhere. Okay, technically it had been her who had toppled over the still twitching armors. But it had been the other who had refused to clean up (speak take care of the spell). So, it still counted.
The more abrasive strategy bore fruit, however. Eventually, Harle found the book that she was looking for, unearthing a hiding mechanism in the process. “Wonderful. I am glad to have someone who is so good at my side in this.” Stroking that ego was potentially dangerous. The risk seemed worth it though, in the hopes of getting the other to continue down on her path of progress. “There will probably be more traps ahead, though. But….” She paused briefly, thinking. “Whoever made this probably did not ensure that his own creations do not trigger them.” She would walk over to the table and swipe the old, partially rotten cloth. It certainly had gaps, but was still usable for her purposes. Briefly folding it into a makeshift bag, she would hand it to the other. “We could take some twitching parts with us and use them to trigger things.”
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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@smiley
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Poltergeist
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When the snob offered praise, the trickster shot back a sly look. “I know you’re just trying to flatter me...” After a pensive pause, she puffed her chest with pride. “...But you’re right. I’m amazing~” One could almost see the sheer smugness radiating from her like some sort of glowing aura.
The mention of traps only excited the smug snoop even further. She snatched the offered makeshift bag with a grin. “Good plan, great plan~!” Chiming playfully, she grabbed a couple of wiggling gauntlets and shaking greaves. They clattered angrily in the bag. Using them to trigger traps was definitely the smart approach. ...Plus the idea of tossing them around amused her.
Armed and ready, Kin crept through the secret doorway. Behind it she was greeted by a grim corridor. Candles lined the walls, offering wavering light. And that immediately bugged her. She lifted the lantern she had been lugging around and aimed it at the candles. “Heeey... Since when have ghosts needed light?” Her eyes narrowed and smile faded. Hmm... Veeerrry suspicious...
While the trickster was distracted by the suspicious lighting, she failed to pay attention to the floor. Sharp eyes could notice some of the floor tiles were painted with the same symbols as the living armor pieces. The brushwork seemed hasty. Small footprints trailed across the dusty floor that mysteriously avoided those spots.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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Wish
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Her plan was met with the usual enthusiasm. That was great. The other went out of her way to pick up the armor pieces herself, sparing Nat the bother of having to touch these things. Maybe that made her a bit more of a snob or something, but these things were just icky. Anything that moved in unnatural ways like this was probably better left untouched. In her opinion at least. The smug little explorer seemed to have other priorities. But that was fine. In fact, it played neatly into her own plans, so she had absolutely no issue with it.
Instead, she just followed along like the good little healer she was, trying to be the more careful one. She might have even noticed the markings on the floor in order to save her partner. However, said partner then made her look at the candles instead, raising a certain point. But that only added another one to her mind. Hence, Natalie thought about that, instead of paying proper attention.
“It’s not just the light if you ask me,” she started, once more mulling this over. From the looks of it, these candles themselves were neither magical nor electric. Not that anyone could afford the latter in a derelict building to begin with. “These candles can’t have been lit for too long. I don’t think that this kind could last for more than a week of continuous use. They don’t really look close to giving out, either.”
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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The trickster nodded, seemingly having lost the eagerness from earlier. “Exactly... Which means whoever did this couldn’t have gotten far...” Disappointment painted her tone with drab gray. A sigh escaped her lips. Boo... She had really been hoping to see real ghosts. They could’ve given her some ideas, you know.
As soon as Kin carelessly stepped on one of the painted tiles, it lit up with an ethereal glow. Something within the wall clicked. A crack opened across the piles “What the-?” A massive axe blade came crashing through. She didn’t even get a chance to scream.
With a weak wheeze the ghastly woman’s body slouched against the wall. Limp and lifeless. Her features were frozen in her last gasp. The sharp blade was lodged cleanly through her chest. ...Bit too cleanly actually. There wasn’t even a drop of crimson on her strangely shimmering skin.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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“Huh?” Natalie blinked, confused, when something moved very swiftly, very suddenly in front of her. Fortunately, she was not a defensively inclined person. In that case, this would have been abject failure. It wasn’t her job to keep people from being hurt though, just to take care of them afterwards.
That was exactly what she would be doing immediately, though. As a healer, she was used to seeing people hurt, naturally, though death had been a rarity. Still, her stomach and nerves were strong enough to not soil herself and paralyze in fear.
Instead, Natalie surged forward. Not triggering any traps herself more by happenstance than skill, she closed the distance quickly. There was a certain haste to her motions, but not a frantic one. “Well, if the shock didn’t kill you, I should have time,” she noted, the analytical part of her mind taking over. She could worry later. She could be afraid or think of the ramifications of a guild mate dying later. This was what she’d trained for.
Quickly making a decision, she’d reach for the girl’s body with one hand and for the axe’s handle with the other, seeking to first remove it, then burn what she could.
Most likely though, one hand would find nothing, while the other would have a far too easy job removing the axe bloodlessly, prompting another, confused “Huh?” from her.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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While the medic sprang into action, her words left a lonely echo in the dimly lit corridor. No reaction and no response. Only deathly silence...
Surprisingly, -or unsurprisingly for those who were savvy- the healer’s hand passed right through the trickster’s body. There was nothing to feel, aside from a creeping chill, like reaching inside a fridge. Removing the axe left no marks on her clothing or skin.
Suddenly Kin moved. Twitched. Her head tilted towards the woman, reminiscent of a marionette with broken strings. An eerie whisper slithered from the depths of her throat. “Maybe you should start believing in ghost stories...” Her eyes were burning with a ghastly glow and teeth twisted into a crescent grin.
“You’re in one.”
After a tense pause, the prankster’s poker face faltered. “Pfft~” Gleeful giggling cascaded from her lips and bounced along the floor. Her hand turned solid just so it could reach towards the healer’s nose, wanting to give it a playful poke. “Just~ kidding~!” Boop.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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Yeah. Nat punched the girl. Like, right after she suddenly sprung into motion. Or she tried to at least. Not even because she was mad or anything like that, no. Far from that. It was just her being surprised for one. And yes, that was about being surprised, not scared. No one could tell her otherwise.
Anyway. It was also because she had learned that injured people, especially those who had lost consciousness, sometimes ended up getting violent when they got back. Best to just deck them immediately. A punch to the head could not possibly make an axe to the side any worse.
And besides, there was no injury. So, she was a hundred percent justified in anything she had done. There would be no embarrassment or anything like that as she got up from her half-crouching position and pouted.
“That is something you should not joke about,” she noted, hypocritically. If she was in a position to play such a joke without repercussions, she would probably do it. But she was not, so she had not (yet). And that meant she was justified in any of that. “I will just not bother to try and heal you until you bleed for me, then,” she added. And yes, all of that would happen, whether or not her punch connected. Which she did not acknowledge in the slightest.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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Pow, right in the face! Kin’s giggling was cut short by a pained squeak. “Ow!” She recoiled, holding her poor nose. The gleeful look was deflated into a miffed squint. Reeeally should’ve kept the spell active a little longer...
Still, the playful woman’s usual smile didn’t stay away for long. Seeing the snob resort to violence so quickly was absolutely hilarious. It proved the stoic woman wasn’t so unflappable after all. Totally worth the bruise~!
When the healer voiced her scolding opinion, the trickster fired back teasingly. “You’re just saying that cuz you got scared~!” She cocked her head, pretending to ponder out loud. “Or maybe you were worried about poor, little me~?” As usual, she wasn’t taking the near death situation at all seriously. Everything could and should be joked about!
The denial of healing was quickly and carefreely waved aside. Yep, the ghastly mage totally didn’t want or even need any help. “Mweh heh hee~! Don’t be silly. Ghosts don’t bleed.” She quickly wiped off the blood trickling from her nose. ...Buuut soon the crimson drops returned.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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If there was such a thing as an Hippocratic Oath in this world, she had not sworn it. Sometimes, it was simply necessary to do harm to prevent further harm. That also applied in this case, even though it turned out to have been unnecessary. She couldn’t have known, so no one could blame her for that. One could blame her for not healing the nose, but the other had kind of deserved that one.
“Pah, I certainly was not scared. I am just doing my job. You know, trying to keep you alive?” Her reply was a bit more snappy than was maybe expected of her. Natalie swiftly found her groove again, as she dusted off the rain coat and picked up her staff again. “It is my duty to worry about your life. Please don’t make that job harder than it already is” was added, striking a more reconciliatory tone. Her guild mate was free to make of that what she wanted.
Her eyes found the path again, this time actually looking for potential triggers that might have caused the axe-ident. It was not too hard to notice the marked tiles, once she knew to look for something. “We should continue. Try throwing a greave or so onto one of these markers. I think they might have something to do with the trap you just sprung.”
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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When the healer denied the fears, the trickster cocked her head with a knowing smile. “Nyeh, whatever you say, scaredy-cat~” She cast all worries aside with an idle shrug. “Besides, your plan to keep me alive is about fifteen years too late. Give or take.” In her usual manner, she refused to elaborate the little lie further.
If it even was a lie...
Still, Kin accepted -or stole- a good idea wherever one was presented. She dug into the makeshift sack and pulled out one of the struggling greaves. It went flying in a lazy arc before clattering against a painted tile way further into the hallway. Another symbol started glowing. Spikes shot from the floor, bouncing the metal shoe back upright by accident. She pointed at the enchanted item that started hopping back towards them.
“Now watch this...”
With every few or so hops, a new symbol lit up on the floor. One after another, traps got triggered. Hidden blades, piercing arrows, even a wire that tightened into a noose... All of them were so very... Sloppy. The only spark of magic they had was the trigger mechanism.
When the brave greave finally reached its goal, the ghastly mage nabbed it into her hand. “Whoever put magic into these things was a total amateur.” Disappointment dripped from her tone much like the crimson from her nose. She had been hoping to see more than just animated bones and armor. Stealing these spells would've just been embarrassing!
Heading onwards, the trickster peered around for more symbols. The further they went, the sparser they got. Like the work of an artist getting lazy towards the end. And at the end of the hallway, a suspicious wooden door awaited...
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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@wish
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Wish
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Natalie watched in silence. Arguing any of this wouldn’t really do any good, so she did not bother. There never was a true need to ‘win’ in situations like this any way. People just wanted that because it felt good. But it was always the kind of good feeling that could only come about from making others feel worse. Now, that was not always a bad thing or feeling. Technically, yes, but she liked to indulge herself only sometimes, when she knew it wouldn’t come back to bite her. Needlessly antagonize her partner in an exploration like this was not a good idea.
Hence she would not do that, but instead watch the traps being triggered and expended. They also could have just evaded them, but this was safer. A misstep would be a lot less painful that way. “That takes care of that. I guess we can assume there will be at least one more trap than this. At least that is what I would do.” While she was less informed by stories or the like, Natalie had the mind of someone that would want to deceive others. In her opinion, putting at least one last trap behind a whole corridor of them was smart. People would naturally feel relieved after this onslaught and would probably get a bit too carefree right after, missing another, yet different trap.
As she followed, Nat held her lookout for exactly something like that. A trap had to be put there in such a way that one did not trigger it by accident if one knew it was there, but also so others would trip over it. “Maybe something about the door? I would not just open it in a normal way. But I might also just be reading too much into all of this…”
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
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@smiley
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Admittedly Kin was tempted to simply kick in the door and see what would happen. Something amusing, hopefully. Like the very last trap going off gloriously. She had her fingers crossed for something explosive.
Still, the healer made a good point. Judging by the shoddy traps so far, it may have been something like... a shocking door knob. Triggering that would be no fun... The ghastly mage leaned against the wall to ponder. She glanced at the sack of armor parts in her grasp. Then at the door. Aaand back at the sack again.
“...Hmmm.”
With a good heave, the trickster suddenly bashed the parts against the door. The rotting wood gave in easily enough. As it did, a wooden beam came down from the ceiling and plowed through the doorway at head level. Yet it found no targets. Few slowing swings later, it came to a rest.
In the corner of the room, a robed figure clutched a book and trembled furiously. Shadows covered its features and little, blue eyes gleamed within the hood. “S-stay back, bandits! Or... Or I’ll curse you both!” The squeaky screaming didn’t have much intimidation factor...
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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Once again, Natalie found herself watching the other do something that at least seemed irrational. She was not quite sure if it was. Certainly, using force like this was a bit excessive of itself against a simple door. But it was also a way to open the door that no one would ever really think of. Especially not someone who intended to use it proper over and over. It was very much a one-time way to do this and no normal person would just come up with something like that.
It was also odd enough that it startled her, even though she had watched the full build-up and such. Fortunately, she was not the only one being startled and the culprit in front of them inside the room quickly garnered most of the attention. Natalie, emboldened by the trap having been sprung, peeked inside to see just who that was. Couldn’t see much, but what she saw was not exactly too threatening. Probably made sense, as a truly powerful mage or wraith would not need to rely on crude traps to defend themselves.
“Go ahead, curse us. I will just burn the curses away,” she bluffed, seeking for a bit of intimidation. Two could play that game. Probably not the best idea overall, but it wasn’t like Kin would play nice anyway. Best to present a unified front. “I take offense with being accused of banditry. You are the one who almost got us killed here.”
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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@smiley
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When the healer countered the bluff with a bluff, the robed figure recoiled. Presumably in a slack-jawed shock. “W-what?! You can do that?!” The squeaky voice brimmed with panic. Evidently the poor, naive soul didn’t even think to question the outlandish claim...
Kin, meanwhile, was equally shocked. “B-burn curses away...?!” Once it passed, she turned to stare at her partner wide-eyed. “That’s... so cool~!” Her gaze twinkled with wonder, the kind of sparkling admiration a little sister would direct at an older sibling.
Hastily the stranger hurried to bow down at Natalie’s feet. “Please, please, please don’t kill me!” It... she actually... pleaded for her dear life. “I don’t actually know any curses... I just came here to find and recover books...” Honesty shined in her quivering voice.
The trickster wrinkled her nose at the claim. “Bleh, who cares about the books?” She nudged the bowing stranger with her foot. “Where’s the hidden treasure?” The stranger tried to pull herself into an even smaller bundle, mumbling hesitantly. “B-but... the books are the treasure... Knowledge has immeasurable value...” Unfortunately, that same honesty still remained.
Kin’s smile vanished. Her voice was as flat as her stare. “...What?” The stranger lifted her head. Gleaming blue eyes, like little jewels, stared back. “What?” Clearly the two didn’t quite share the same idea here.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
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Watching these two was almost a bit like watching a play. Natalie, despite being somewhat in the center of anything, did not actually have to do anything herself in order for interesting things to happen. Both of the younger women in her presence were clearly impressed by her exaggeration. She had no reason at all to clear that up, of course. Maybe she would tell Kin at some point, in case they ever got into a situation where something like that would have been actually necessary. For the time being though, the healer allowed all of this to simply play out naturally and learned much in the process.
The most important facts were threefold. Their new acquaintance was clearly not the one who had initially inhabited the mansion. That much was certain. If she had been, she would not be looking for knowledge and not act the way she did. Second, there was apparently useful knowledge, probably arcana, to be found here. It was not the grand treasure Harle had expected, obviously, but it was interesting to see either way. And third, her partner apparently had no clue about the value of whatever could be found here.
The last part was tricky. Natalie could easily use this to her advantage, if she so desired. Oblivious to the potential value of findings, her partner would probably let her take all if she so desired. But for one, the honest stranger could potentially unravel that tactic, and for the other, she tended not to scam her guild mates.
Hence, she turned towards the ghastly girl with a gentle smile. “Dear, books can be treasure as well. They can fetch quite a price with the right people. They may be a bit harder to sell, but could still be made a treasure. I am sure we can let this one live if she shares with us what she has found so far.”
Kin Harle
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