Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
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jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
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The blunt pause was finally pushed aside when Natalie offered her insight. Kin aimed a flabbergasted stare at her. “Really? There’s someone dumb enough to pay for these things?” Now there was a hilarious thought. Still, it made sense. Collectors were all weirdos with way too much money.
And her secret cash stash was running dangerously low...
Meanwhile, the hooded figure was struck by an unpleasant realization. “So you are bandits after all...” Her head drooped with disappointment. Her treasures... Or her life. It was an ultimatum the solemn little seeker was all too used to hearing.
The trickster shrugged at the comment. “I prefer the term... treasure hunter. Same thing, but sounds niftier.” She had no problem with being labeled a bandit. To be fair, it wasn’t even that far from the truth where her guild was concerned.
With a bitter sigh, the small stranger gave up. “Guh... Fine... This is all I have. Take what you will.” From the depths of her robes she produced three tomes. Each one was decorated with an arcane symbol and text too faded to read. Kin, however, wasn’t impressed. “Wait, really? That is all you have?” The figure only nodded.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
tag
@wish
posts
92
balance
jewels
OOC name
Wish
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“Those are awfully strong words for someone who came here to loot the place herself,” she stated with some bite to her words. She did not really have an issue with being called a bandit, it was just woefully inadequate for what was going on here. They had come to take from the long deceased, make use of that which had not been utilized at all in recent years. There was nothing bad about that, as far as she was concerned. For someone to call them bandits regardless was simply rude. She would have still let it slide though, if she had not been in intimidation mode right then.
Three books were quickly offered, none of them striking her as a proper treasure. Chances were, none of them would fetch a particularly high price. Kin was understandably irked by that, but that couldn’t be helped. No one had actually guaranteed them that this place would have valuables of any kind. Yet, the symbols on these things looked like they were related to magic. Even if she couldn’t make anything of it, someone else might. There had to be a reason why that girl had picked those three, given all the other fading tomes in the library.
Natalie reached for the tomes and shuffled them about blindly. Then, she picked one with her left hand, one with her right. “Those are ours now. Be glad we didn’t take them all. And be glad that I won’t torture you for trying to kill us.” Simple, to the point, and hopefully intimidating. It was probably best if they got out of this looking merciful, rather than like jerks.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
balance
jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
|
The robed figure trembled, tiny hands scraping against the floor and squeezing into fists. She snapped back at the accusation. “T-that’s different! I’m an archeologist!” The term was spoken insistently, like a badge of honor against the insulting label.
Kin, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly convinced. She cocked her head, voicing a sly question. “...Isn’t that just a fancy word for a grave robber?” It got under the stranger’s skin immediately. The blue eyes widened, before gaining a gleam of indignation. “What? No!” The trickster’s lips curled into a smug smile. “Preeetty sure it is~” The argument quickly devolved into a back and forth of nuh uh, yuh uh.
At this rate, the mouthy mage was going to provoke the poor soul to the verge of tears if she wasn’t stopped. Aaand ruin the plan of not looking like jerks while she was at it. Well, two against one was pretty much bullying to begin with...
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
tag
@wish
posts
92
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jewels
OOC name
Wish
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She probably couldn’t do much to change what was going on here. But that was fine. At the very least, the back and forth was focused on the two of them, while she could easily stay out of it. If anyone, it would be that girl that looked like a jerk, not Natalie who was seemingly content with her one book.
Mostly. Aside from that, she decided to look about the room for a bit while those two were distracted. After all, three books was a relatively meagre bounty for a place that was hidden away as neatly as this one. The skeleton and armour might have been enchanted haphazardly, but the mechanisms outside the door would have needed to have been built into the structure. That girl had probably just renewed the magic that had long since run out.
It felt like that meant there had to be more to this place. Otherwise that girl would not have been holed up here for so long, either. As she strode a bit deeper into the room, Natalie did notice that a good chunk of it was actually taken up by some form of old, rusty construct. Intrigued, she would step closer to investigate.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
balance
jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
|
Without anyone more mature to step in, the childish argument went back and forth fruitlessly. Luckily for everyone involved, neither side was the violent type. One preferred tricks, while the other fought with traps. At worst, there was a risk of a slap fight.
However, before it could devolve to that, Kin’s attention was pulled elsewhere. She quirked a curious brow when Natalie wandered off. “Hm...” Her curious gaze trailed onto the rusty hunk of metal. Now why would her buddy be drawn to that? She sensed... secrets!
Creeping closer, the ghostly mage watched closely how the crafty healer’s investigation progressed. Honestly though, she had no idea what it was or how it might work. Mechanisms and machinery had never been her strong point. Eventually she just had to ask.
“Whatcha got there?”
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
tag
@wish
posts
92
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OOC name
Wish
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“I have no idea.” Natalie was still standing in front of that thing, somewhat confused. If it was here, it had to be important, right? But there was no manual or such nearby, no way to figure out what it did at a glance. That would have to be important, yet it made little sense as it was now.
Her partner clearly didn’t know either. It was really just an old husk of metal without more information. Yet, this shape and the work clearly having gone into it meant that there had to be some purpose to it. If only they could tell what it was….
Maybe it was some amazing magical machine that would make this trip worth it? Maybe it was an apparatus from before the calamity, meticulously restored. Until they knew, the possibilities were endless. Neither of them seemed to give much thought to the trappy girl, but that had been deal with. Instead of sparing her a thought, Natalie eventually decided to utilize the scientific method.
I.e. she would hit that machine with her staff and see if something happened.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
balance
jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
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While the two Southern Wolves members focused on the confusing contraption, the robed stranger snatched the remaining book. She clutched it against her chest protectively and snuck out the door quietly. Whoever she had been no longer mattered. Buuut the reputation of the two blondes probably wouldn’t get any better at least.
Kin shifted her quizzical stare between Natalie and the machine. Oh, so her friend was just as clueless. Maybe they should... Her thoughts were cut short by a sudden clang. “Huh? Hehehehe~” She giggled at the sight, amused how she had the exact same idea. As everyone knew, percussive maintenance was the best maintenance!
Against all odds, the odd machine started quietly rumbling. The trickster peered at the vague shape, seeing gears turn... Or at least try to turn. Patches of rust clung stubbornly to the metal frame, bringing the motion to a halt.
After a moment, the ghostly mage shrugged. “Hm, well, unless you can burn away rust too, I don’t think this piece of junk will work anymore.” Her arsenal held no spells that could help here. She had always been better at breaking things anyway.
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
tag
@wish
posts
92
balance
jewels
OOC name
Wish
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There were the beginnings of a smug grin visible on her face. Fortunately, it had not yet fully formed when the gears sputtered out as quickly as they had come to life. Her patented way of starting machinery had worked for but a few moments, but completely fell apart now. Well, best to try and safe face by shrugging along. “Guess it is just busted,” she noted, hitting it again, lightly, to no avail.
Her partner brought up something about burning away rust, yet that was usually not how it worked, in her experience. Healing people and animals was a thing, but healing objects was better left to mechanics. “Sadly, no, I don’t think I can. Seems like we just have to write that off.” She’d turned towards the other person in the room. “Is there anything else inside of….here? She snuck off, just like a thief would.” Nat was actually a bit irked at that development, but there was little she could do. That girl had probably made off already.
“You want to explore further?” Probably not, given how disappointed Kin had been by what they had found so far. Yet, the other might have also wanted to look for more possible treasure, in the hopes of simply finding anything more valuable than books.
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
balance
jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
|
Kin too gave the lifeless contraption one more curious poke before leaving it be. She hummed in agreement when Natalie voiced her guess. “Mmhm. Busted for good.” Or maybe not. She wasn’t a mechanic, so she really didn’t know.
The trickster glanced over her shoulder, not at all surprised the little coward had bailed. A mischievous smile played on her lips. “Or maybe she disappeared because she was a ghooost~ OooOoo~” Oh, she wished. If the tiny girl had been a ghost, she could’ve taken some notes. Learned new tricks maybe.
When the guildie asked about exploring further, the ghostly mage looked around. This looked pretty much like a dead end to her. Unless there was another hidden passage. Inside a hidden passage. What would be the odds?
After a pensive pause, Kin finally piped up again. “Hmmm, nah...” She shook her head. “Whoever lived here was definitely some kind of boring bookworm...” A heavy sigh punctuated her words. “...and all those ghost-like things were probably that girl’s doing. Using her own magic to animate old things or whatever.” Her usual smile dampened, disappointment creeping across her features. She quickly turned her gaze away, trying to hide it.
She had always been a fan of shiny treasures rather than educational ones...
Natalie Chevalier
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Southern Wolves
tag
@wish
posts
92
balance
jewels
OOC name
Wish
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“Ah, well,” she said, meaninglessly, as she detached fully from the machine. Who knew? It could have been something amazing or useful. Yet, it had turned out to be just another slightly pointless contraption. Once upon a time, it might have been the life’s work of a mage or mechanic. Yet today, it was nothing without said life. A sad tale indeed.
Her partner seemed taken aback. There was another attempt on the whole ghost story business, but that fell fairly flat. Nat did not even respond to it, not really. Instead, she had turned around as well, looking about for anything of interest. Yet, the vanishing girl had probably cleared out the slim pickings already. There was a good chance that the other had been in and out of this room for quite a while, given the rumours of hauntings having been somewhat old. Chances were, they had gotten the last of the valuables here. Yet, maybe the most precious ones, given how the other had flailed.
No use crying over spoilt milk. They had something at least. None of them had suffered actual injuries. That was good enough for the time being. While Kin was dejected, Nat was content enough. Not every stab in the dark could lead to success.
But there was still a bit to gain regardless. Natalie turned to walk out, but in passing she decided to give a gesture of goodwill regardless. Patting the other Wolf’s head, hair was briefly tussled, as if the console her. “Maybe the next mansion you explore will have some proper ghosts for you to play with.”
Kin Harle
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Southern Wolves
tag
@smiley
posts
144
balance
jewels
Pronouns
She/Her
OOC name
Smiley
Magic
Poltergeist
|
To say the kind gesture caught Kin off-guard... Would have been a massive understatement. She blinked. Once. Twice. Barely even registering the words. Her golden gaze stared back with a mixture of puzzlement and curiosity. Well, this was definitely new.
Gentle warmth washed away the bitter disappointment. It painted the ghostly mage’s cheeks like an invisible brush. A small smile found its way onto her lips. Maybe... the fact that there had been neither real ghosts nor shiny treasures simply didn’t matter.
Suddenly the trickster flashed her usual sharp grin. “Aw, you do care, you big softy~” She fired back teasingly and escaped the touch with a playful push. What else was she supposed to do...?
Kin shook the thoughts out of her head. Turning halfway towards the exit, she voiced her new idea. “Hey, let’s race back home. The last one through the gate is a dry skeleton! Mweh heh hee~!” She sprinted through the door, leaving the mischievous laughter echoing in her wake.
Off to another adventure...
((Aaaand that's Kin's exit. Thanks for the fun thread!))
Natalie Chevalier
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