Fate - First Reply Bloodied Sword

[Nakashima Imari]

Nakashima knelt in the middle of a field of grass and flowers, much of the grass was trampled and even more was soaked in a slick but sticky red liquid known commonly as blood. Six bandits lay dead, scattered across the field, their mail split open and their limbs sometimes severed, most had been gutted, two had been beheaded. Their weapons lay discarded beside each corpse, their lifeless fingers no longer capable of gripping their weapons.

She knelt facing north, her spear laid in front of her, and her bloody katana in her hand, a rag in the other, slowly, meticulously cleaning the blade until it shone and gleamed like a mirror. She had come for a purpose, to find and kill all bandits and brigands in the province, twenty gold pieces per head. So she had collected the heads of the bandits, then began her usual ritual of caring for her weapons.

Honestly she was surprised no one else had been attracted by this deal. Why wasn’t there an army of mercenaries looking to butcher bandits and get paid for the slaughter. But she wasn’t the only one, as she was soon to find out, and by the sound of footsteps behind her she was Tom learn that very soon.

 

[Shisha]

Shisha had taken up her first contract. To find and kill bandits. At twenty gold pieces a head it wasn’t a bad deal. Perhaps she could afford to get her claws cut and a real bath. She could pay someone to brush her fur. Bandits were no match for a beast like her, and she was looking forward to settling down with a roast rabbit at the end of the day.

Unfortunately by the looks of things, someone had gotten here before her. She sniffed at the grass before her. Blood. She could smell blood trickling through the blades. Shisha kicked up her pace into a trot; she wasn’t the stealthy sort anyway. She was almost seventeen hands high and weighed more than a cart horse. Stealth was never her speciality.

A woman knelt in the grass near some of the bodies. Six of them. By the sound of it she was sharpening her blades. Shisha tilted her head and looked at the bodies. Well...if she wasn’t paying attention. She’d only beheaded two of them. That meant there were four other heads up for grabs. Eighty gold was on the line.

Shisha barreled past her and grabbed one of the bodies. She wrenched the head off and tucked the head into her pouch. Twenty gold down!

Nakashima Imari

 

[Nakashima Imari]

Had she been interested in the gold, she’d have decapitated all of them already, and while she certainly needed some for food and lodging, she ultimately was only interested in the challenge that fighting a small army of bandits posed. But she was definitely irked by the presence of this lumbering beast, which would start thinning the herd a lot quicker than it should be, and therefore reduce the amount of enemies she got to slaughter.

She sheathed the katana and picked up her kamayari spear, a spear with two small, bladed hooks at the base of the blade, a cross-blade spear it could be called. And she stood from her kneeling position and looked at the newcomer. She, Nakashima thought it was a she, was huge, and she could easily mistake her for a bear.

“And just who might you be?”

 

[Shisha]

Shisha lifted her chin defiantly as the female stood and brandished a spear at her. She needed the money, but a spear was a distance weapon. That could easily be a problem for her. She tossed her head and crow hopped, slamming her large front paws down on the ground. The large muscles in her shoulders shook, her golden fur shimmering.

She walked to the next body and took the head, and a third. She kept the other in her sights. The other didn’t know what she was. That wasn’t uncommon; Devourers were a rare species nowadays.

Shisha stood defiantly in front of the other woman and wrote in the soil with one of her retractable claws.

I am Shisha, mercenary.

Nakashima Imari

 

[Nakashima Imari]

Shisha stood defiantly in front of the other woman and wrote in the soil with one of her retractable claws.

I am Shisha, mercenary.

She read the message, “Shisha. And a fellow mercenary no less.”

She rested the spear over her shoulder and she grinned. “How many have you slain?”

A beast like this would definitely be some good competition, which might not be a bad thing. Perhaps they can cover more ground and return to the field to compare scores once the sun went down. If this particular beast were in such a mood.

 

[Shisha]

Shisha snorted. How many had she slain? Total or in this contract? She decided to go with the former. That was a far more impressive number than zero. She extended a claw and wrote delicately on the ground. Too many to count.

The devourer’s aim was coin, and that was clear. She collected the heads with her senses keenly attuned toward the other. A spear was a good weapon against a devourer, considering their build and weight. Bandit contract?

She wrote the question and looked up at the other girl. Working together meant more coin for them both.

Nakashima Imari

 

[Nakashima Imari]

Shisha snorted. How many had she slain? Total or in this contract? She decided to go with the former. That was a far more impressive number than zero. She extended a claw and wrote delicately on the ground. Too many to count.

She smiled, not exactly surprised, nor did she think that she meant in this one contract, either that or she was a very poor mathematician.

The devourer’s aim was coin, and that was clear. She collected the heads with her senses keenly attuned toward the other. A spear was a good weapon against a devourer, considering their build and weight. Bandit contract?

She said in response, “yes and no. I’m here mostly because I’m just looking for a challenging fight. I need some coin to pay for lodging and food, but other than that, I’m only interested in killing things. So all I need is a total of twenty heads, which would probably be about 10% of the number of bandits in the nearby fort they’ve set up. Sound fair?”

 

[Nakashima Imari]

Shisha