Private Tales Guillotine, Part II

[Asa Renwyk]

All but the busty knight did as the alchemist suggested and retreated back. Saber in hand and flames burning nicely, the undead just shambled their way straight through it. They were creatures not known for their intelligence, but even that instinctive fear of wild fire had left them. Tragic yet convenient for them. Most of the beings didn't survive their trial by fire.

Of the three that did, one seemed to be foolish enough to charge the armored woman. Bashed back by steel and holy vindication. It lay stunned and finally succumbing to the flames devouring it whole. One was moving towards Asa and another seemed confused as to where it wanted to go as it was trying to pass them by. Foolish thing.

The doctor advanced forward with the speed and skill of someone far more familiar with their weapon than a scholar should be. A swift slash from his saber and the being charging Asa lost its head. He pivoted into his next movement and already was advancing upon the fiery corpse trying to go around them. It still had time to react to him, but if it did not then it too would find its head lopped off its torso with a single stroke.

==================================

Every movement. Every action. Every word. All was watched by the ever present crow just out of reach of Tavian. Had he even noticed the bird? Had he even cared it was there? Answers only he could give. Answers the creature clearly cared not to learn.

After his conversation and as the man began to head on his merry way, he might begin to feel eyes at his back. Hungering, predatory eyes. Softly and hard to make out whispers would begin to grace his ears. It was as if someone stood behind him speaking right into his ears the way a lover or killer might.

Eventually he would make out what was said. It was two simple questions. What is in your pocket? What was on your hand?

Jane

 

[Jane]

The greater horde was falling apart, dropping to the ground in burning heaps, unable to move as flesh and muscle faded away from the consuming flames and the magic sustaining them clearly could not animate bones alone. Of the slower ghouls and even slower zombies, some made it farther than others, but none save those particularly ferocious three had gotten close to Asa, Jane, and the Guillotiners.

Jane checked the front of her shield. Seemed alright. Contact with the burning ghoul had been brief and the shield itself was imbued with Holy energy for the bash. A glance over. Asa, more like a pirate who had lived long and knew his way around a sword than a doctor who carried one more for meager self-defense than anything, lopped off the head of the ghoul that came at him. The Guillotiners--none so particularly eager to go swinging their sword about after many a night in a row doing just that--all fanned out and gave that third ghoul a wide berth, and it couldn't reach any of them before Asa left another severed head in the graveyard dirt.

They all stood then, watching the rest of the undead squirm and burn.

"I think that last one liked you, Dave," Ymir said.

"Well when I'm dead too I'll call on her," Dave said.

"Hell, that it?" Old Man Hatry said, grinning widely as if he'd single-handedly taken care of it all and was giving himself a self-congratulatory pat on the back.

George gave an indifferent shrug. "Eh, they have been petering out, these waves."

"I'll call it a job well done," Jane said. She gave her sword a small flourish and the Smite energy dissipated and she sheathed her weapon. Her Aura of Light began to fade as well as she willed it away, leaving the orange of the burning corpses and the much fainter silver of the moon and stars against that harshness. "Never had two waves one right after the other."

"I'll ring the Town Bell if something goes amiss later," said Blacksmith Telford. Even he was exhausted after all of these late nights and battles against the risen dead.

"Earliest night done and done then," George said. Then to Asa, "Hey, thanks doctor. Saved us some trouble with those fires of yours. Maybe tomorrow bright and early, if it ain't too much hassle for ya, you could look at some of the sick townsfolk?"

And Jane turned her attention Asa's way. Folded her arms under the curve of her breastplate. Smiled in a way that struck a perfect balance between genial and sinister. Oh yes, tomorrow morning would be fine, said the former. But tonight he belonged to her, said the latter.

* * * * *​

Tavian stopped in the middle of the street--quite alone--on his way ostensibly to Ymir's tavern. His eyes flicked left and then flicked right. He looked over his shoulder. Faced about. Looked over his shoulder again. Glanced all around him but did not in the moonlight see who it was that could have been talking to him.

Not that it was normal--not what he heard, but how he had heard it.

With the studious fascination of an intrigued scholar, Tavian said in quiet response aloud, "Who...are you?"

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The creature should have paid more attention to who was a threat. Absent mindedness leads to absent headedness. A less he always made sure his occasional students knew.

How was his last batch of students doing? He taught them, oh, fifty years ago? Hopefully well. They were a good bunch. Not the brightest but definitely a good bunch.

The threats were eliminated, so he pulled out a rag and wiped the blood off his saber. As he did he made sure to watch the condition of it. Was it thicker showing signs of stagnation from death? Black in color or red in color? If magic was responsible then it might reflect in their blood.

All that local chit chat started up once again. More of their humor and cheerfulness. But for once it got serious quickly. Mention of a bell being rung if more undead showed up. Then a comment of thanks and how he could see to the sick in the morning.

Asa looked towards the group and caught that smile and arm position from Jane. Seemed he was unlikely to get much sleep before his work in the morning began. If he wasn't wearing his mask still he would have given her a smile back.

"As long as the sick can wait, then I would be happy to begin in the morning. If it is truly urgent then I will begin as soon as we arrive back in town. The healthy have the time to wait. The dying do not."

The knight was sure to be upset by this comment, but he was here for a reason. Pleasure after business.... Perhaps that was why it had been so long since he enjoyed the company of a lovely woman?

"How does that sound?" Asa said as he sheathed his blade. Then he walked up next to the busty knight. "Is that acceptable? Is it not what Astra would demand?"

Asa was smirking beneath his mask. A bit of teasing to make things more interesting.

=================================================

The voice would grace Tavian's ears once more. As before it was as if someone was speaking from behind him.

Shhhh~ Answer my questions and I may answer your own~

A sensation of sinister playfulness seemed to flow from everywhere yet nowhere at once. It was like a cat toying with its meal while it was still alive.

Jane

 

[Jane]

Jane was still smiling, but her smile no longer touched her eyes.

Damn it, the doctor was right. And she hated the fact that he was right, that Astra would want that, and furthermore, that Jane herself would also want that--her views lining up with Astra's for once, here, of course here, and tonight, of course tonight. She liked Guillotine and its rabble of surly, headstrong bastards. And of things she liked she could be damn possessive. Problem was, this was clashing with her own selfish pleasure, and now was better than some indeterminate time in the future when it came to selfish things. But it was no use lamenting on this conflict, or protesting against helping the sick. Not if she wanted to avoid a reset.

Jane's hand slid up her breastplate and she clutched at the amulet of Astra nestled in the crook of her neckguard. Said with forced cordiality, "Of course. That is exactly what Astra would want."

George, pleasantly surprised, said, "I didn't want to overstep my bounds on your generosity there, doc, having you help with the undead and treat the sick all in one night. But, hell, if'n you're willing and not so tired from your travels, we could sure use whatever aid you can render to our sick townsfolk."

Dave elaborated on the severity of the sickness. "No one's died from it. Yet. But..."

George picked up his thought with a series of nods. "Yeah. Be best to keep it that way, if there's anything that can be done, doc."

Jane, meanwhile (resigned to how the night was working out), had gone off while George and Dave were conversing with Asa. She went to Ymir, dropped a hand down around the barkeep's shoulders. Leaned into the smaller woman with a triumphant grin. Said, "Oh, Ymiiiiir. How about a victory round of Guillotine's finest mead, huh?"

A touch suspicious, Ymir. "What? You want one on the house?"

"No. I'll buy the round."

"Count me in! Heh, heh." Old Man Hatry all too quick to jump at that offer.

And, back with George, Dave, and Asa, Blacksmith Telford joined with them after casting some concerned glances off to the burning undead. He said to Asa, "Those fires are magical, right? They'll go out on their own?"

* * * * *​

Tavian's brow narrowed and he squinted in the moonlight. Glancing about still in a futile attempt to pinpoint the owner of the bodiless voice.

Well. It certainly wasn't her, even if the demeanor was similar. And why would it be? She already knew everything. This was her plan, of course. A plan, it needn't be said, that was best kept under wraps. Especially when they were all so close.

"That's a poor deal," Tavian said aloud. And with a flick of the fingers of his offhand, he cast a Mind Shield about himself, shutting out intrusive voices and meddling in his thoughts. One of the first things a demonologist needed to be adept at, if he wanted to study the beings in question firsthand. What this voice was though he could not say--it wasn't just demons that played tricks.

Tavian started along the street. Somewhat in a hurry. He kept vigilance up on his surroundings, but--ironically--he wouldn't feel all that safe until he was in the company of others at this other tavern, belonging to a woman named Ymir.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

And with the busty knight's comment, Asa's fun was lessened. Had he gone too far in his teasing? Possibly. His students and peers had always remarked how dry and macabre his humor was. Some even went so far as to say he didn't know what a joke even was. Perhaps they were right.

But that didn't matter anymore. His attention was demanded by the one called George. Then by Dave and again by George. Seemed they were more worried about the state of the sick than their earlier cheer let on. Not an uncommon reaction to such situations and one that was generally warranted. So the doctor just smiled behind his mask out of habit to soothe their spirits, even though no one could see it.

In a voice loud enough for Jane to be able to hear it over with Ymir. "Do not worry. My stamina is legendary. I will not stop until everyone is satisfied."

The smith joined them and made a comment about the fire. Oh right. He had forgotten about that for a moment there. His mind was split between pondering about what Jane looked like under that armor, what exactly she planned to do to him given her inferred tastes, and what state the sick were currently in back in the town.

"Hmmm? Oh, no. The flames are not magical. They are perfectly natural. Just an alchemical reaction due to the ingredients mixed together in those sealed bottles finally coming into contact with air. I could go into more detail but it would be best we put them out before the flames spread further." Asa said before he began to walk over towards a shovel some gravedigger had left out. He waved the other men to follow his lead.

"Oh and do be sure to use dirt. Water will just spread the liquid around like catching cooking oil on fire."

=========================================================

No answers were provided, just words in reply. An action was made. A magical barrier went up.

Cawing almost like laughter began to echo out from the crow just out of the man's reach.

No sooner had he began to move than the assaults began. Sharp sensations like a spike being drive into his barrier could be felt. They always seemed to strike where his attention was the least focused. It was almost like the way the voices always sounded like they came from behind his back. The worst part was not how hostile they felt, and they had a pure hostility behind them, but how playful of an energy they held. It was as if this was some kind of game and he was just the unfortunate toy.

Any time the attack managed to pierce the barrier for a brief moment he would hear something. Some times it was a giggle. Some times a moan. Others a single word like Please~ or More~.

 

[Jane]

Do not worry. My stamina is legendary. I will not stop until everyone is satisfied.

Dave, for one, snorted out a small laugh. Gave a glance to George. His fellow Guillotiner either didn't get it, or made good effort on keeping his face from showing that he got it. Eh. Dave let his mirth die down.

"Mighty kind of ya, doc," said George.

Blacksmith Telford asked his question then, and, well, the answer wasn't that great, was it? The men all looked at one other. Ah shit. But, each of them well knew that if push came to shove on the matter, they'd all rather be throwing dirt on a fire than swinging swords at a horde of undead.

"Alright, boys," George said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get to work then so we can head home."

* * * * *​

Jane, meanwhile, was just chatting it up with Ymir.

"Okay. A round on your coin then," said the smaller woman. Then she added in a pleased manner, "A few more nights like this, dwindling as these swarms are, and there won't be any undead left."

"Heh, I damn well hope so, sailor."

"I thought you weren't supposed to use profanity."

"Astra forgives. She does it often in my case."

"I see." Then Ymir took notice of Asa and the other men going in a group and gathering about a discarded shovel and some mounds of disturbed dirt. "What're they up to over there?"

"Hm?" Jane spared a glance, her arm sliding from Ymir's shoulders as she did. Looked like they were...shoveling and tossing dirt on the flames of those fallen undead and on the patches of burning ground. Oh. So that was something they had to do then, huh. Well shit. Jane swung her head over in a sly, elusive fashion to Ymir and suggested, "Got a lucky coin in your pocket? Flip it to see if we should go and help them?"

Ymir shrugged. Reached into her pocket and produced a gold coin. Old Man Hatry--also conspicuously avoiding the extra work--said with giddy enthusiasm that he could blow on it to make it even luckier. Ymir declined, then flipped the coin, called the face, caught it, smacked it onto the back of her hand, and looked.

"Crown side. We lose."

Jane let out a grudging exhale for show. Swished her tongue from cheek to cheek and cracked her neck. Then relented. "Alright, alright, let's go help."

And they did. Ymir using her hands as the men without the aid of the shovel were, and Jane using her heater shield as a makeshift tool. Wasn't the best, but with plenty of already loose dirt from risen undead bursting out of graves on previous nights, the shield served well enough to ferry loads of dirt over to smother the flames.

By the end of it, all involved were varying degrees of sweaty and dirty. Some of Jane's hair clung to the sides of her face, and her (motherfucking) armor felt more like an oven she was trapped within than anything else. Ugh...she was certainly going to draw water for a bath after that round of mead. She'd have plenty of time for it.

"Great work, lads and gals," George said, arming sweat from his brow, huffing out his exhaustion. "We'll uh...phew...we'll see how tomorrow night goes. You all know where to meet."

Everybody was hoping that these damned waves would cease at last.

* * * * *​

Tavian walked on. Undisturbed. His Mind Shield was designed for one thing, and it was accomplishing this one thing well. Of what use would it be, to him or to any other demonologist, if it buckled easily? For its duration it would do as intended. The trouble, though, was the haste in which the spell was cast. Had he more time to prepare a more intricate incantation the duration could have been far longer.

But he had done no such preparation. And why would he? So far as he knew, so far as he had been told, all of the demons of the previous invasion (save the two noted exceptions) had been vanquished. He hadn't expected something of this manner. Then again, he could not even be sure that the voice had in fact belonged to a demon and not some other menace--of which, across the whole of Arethil, there were certainly plenty.

Tavian passed by a Guillotiner woman, hanging up some freshly washed garments on a clothesline strung between her home and an adjacent house. She offered a perfunctory smile and he gave a terse wave.

He kept going. That tavern, with its firelight from the hearth and its hopefully fair number of patrons, had to be close. Had to. Despite the protection from his Mind Shield, he still--rightly--felt on edge.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The shoveling took a bit of time and left all the locals as well as the knight rather sweaty. Even he had a coat of the stuff in his skin beneath his plague suit. But the task was done.

As everyone did their usual chit chat and were getting ready to leave, Asa took the time to obtain a mixture of the grave dirt and cremation ash together in a small pouch. There was uses for such materials, and they were not always the easiest to obtain. Especially for someone like him who tended to have issues with graveyards and no interest in grave robbing.

He rejoined the group and stood there with a rather casual stance. He looked more like the owner of the estate watching his poor servants than he did a doctor in that moment.

"I believe I heard there is free refreshments upon our return? I don't know about the rest of you but I for one am rather parched. Drink and some food would do some good before I begin helping the sick. I believe the same is true for the rest of you."

His gaze went over the lot of them as he examined them all with a critical eye. "Yes. You all certainly are in need of some sleep and rest. Early signs of fatigue are already beginning to show. If anyone asks you to do any work just tell them your doctor told you not to."

A bit of a smile formed under his mask. A little jest. The group certainly seemed to enjoy humor. With that though he popped his cane up onto his shoulder and tapped it repeatedly. His head slowly moved around.

"So which way is it back to town?"

==========================================================

The mental shield held. A small bit of annoyance. A small bit of excitement. Tavian was still safe from having his mind invaded, for now.

Just striking against a shield with no intention of breaking it was boring. Far too boring. A new game should be had, and one presented itself when Tavian waved to a local woman. His mind might be shielded, but her mind was not. None of the local's minds were protected. A pity no one was taking advantage of that yet.

Every time Tavian would pass by someone now no matter what he did or said, the other person would always hear a hushed insult after. It was near enough to his voice that in idle passing one could easily mistake it for him being rude. The insult was always about whatever the other person was most insecure about as well.

Be a shame if someone were to get violent and turn against him.

Jane

 

[Jane]

If anyone asks you to do any work just tell them your doctor told you not to.

"All the excuse I need," Old Man Hatry said, all smiles.

"Well, if you insist, doc," George said, grinning.

And on the subject of refreshments, Ymir tapped Jane's breastplate with the back of her hand and said, "Yeah. A round of mead on Jane's coin."

"Nothing like a little generosity," Jane said, and still, even among friends, she couldn't hold back the light sarcastic tone.

"Suppose you won't be coming?" Ymir asked of Dave, who just rolled his eyes and shook his head, prompting a snarky giggle from his rival barkeep.

George clapped his hands together. "Alright then, boys and girls, call it a job well done on the undead front. Smallest wave ever, earliest wave ever, this is a hell of win for us. Let's head home."

As the group was starting in motion, Dave, being a few paces from Asa, closed the distance to the doctor. Gave a slight gesture of his head toward Jane without looking at her. Said, "Good luck. You'll need it, believe me."

Then he started off with the rest of the Guillotiners. Jane, at a lackadaisical pace, was at the back of group once more with Asa. She had her hands entwined behind her head, as if she were lounging luxuriously on some phantom pillow.

"This how you pass the time, Ren?" she inquired, a faint smirk emerging after the question. "Wandering doctor goes from town to town, slaying undead and healing the sick. My, my, call me crazy, but sounds like something a paladin would do."

* * * * *​

The clothes-hanging woman curled her lip in shock and disgust, scoffed, but didn't do much more than that as Tavian went on.

There was, however, a man further down this road, empty chamberpot in hand and on his way back home. Tavian waved to him as he did some of the others. The man gave a slight, acknowledging incline of his chin. And then that subtle whisper graced the man's ears as Tavian passed.

And the smack of the chamberpot against the backside of Tavian's head made his vision explode with stars, made his ears ring. Tavian stumbled forward, catching his balance.

"That what you Elbionese motherfuckers think, huh?"

"What?" Tavian said, touching where he'd been struck. "I didn't--"

Then, with the form of a brawler who'd done this sort of thing on many occasions, the man threw a hard punch that connected cleanly with Tavian's chin and whipped his head to the side. The demonologist's legs crumpled, and for a second or two he blacked out completely, not gaining consciousness again until he was flat on the street and the man with the chamberpot was already on his way.

And that loss of consciousness had caused Tavian's Mind Shield spell to be cancelled early.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

Cheerful and filled with good humor as always. These locals were something special compared to many of the places Asa had visited. Usually if there was a plague or undead issues let alone both the locals would be very moody. It was understandable, but this town's fortitude was commendable.

No one answered his question on the direction back to town however. So he was forced to just stand and wait for them all to collectively decide to begin walking. The one called Dave approached him during that time and offered him a warning about the knight. Seemed his suspicions about her were being confirmed.

The doctor began to follow the locals as they went and naturally the busty woman eventually found herself next to him. Her arms were up around her head and if not for the metal plate her chest would no doubt have been stuck out to dominate his view of her. Sadly a downside to the protective piece.

"I spend my time doing more than those tasks. I also hunt down materials and create all kinds of potions, elixers, and substances. Write it all down in journals that eventually become tomes for the Elbion college." Asa said before sighing. "At least they did before some crude beast destroyed and altered parts of the city including the library that housed my works. Now I have to do it all over again. Rather frustrating, but I suppose it is a chance to see far off lands once more."

His gaze trailed over to Jane. First it landed on her face, but dropped down for a brief second before trailing back up to her face. While in most it would have been unintentional for him it very much was so. A bit more teasing to confirm his interest. He might have to work first but that did not mean he wasn't allowed to have his fun.

"And what about you? What sort of activities, duties, and hobbies take up your time Miss Paladin?"

==================================================

The whispers were immediately effective. First the chamberpot and then the fist. Each struck Tavian and ultimately sent him crumbling to the street. His mental shield had gone with it as well. Overjoyed, the crow bounced around in her place.

Giggles. That was what Tavian would be hearing. Not just a single voice but the same one seeming to be echoing from several at once. Joy was clearly being taken in his misfortune and he was blatantly being told.

Luckily for Tavian the one the voices belonged to was too entertained with his pain to take advantage of how he blacked out and lost his mental shield for that moment. But if he redid his mental shield he would find the game was not over. Those whispers to the people around him would continue so long as he came near others. It was inevitable what had happened would repeat itself once again.

 

[Jane]

Southbound along the path they'd come on, making way back to Guillotine.

Jane had a vague idea of what the College even was, never having been to Elbion before, and from what she'd gathered it was someplace where those with magical talent went to study and all of that. Kind of like a cult, by her reckoning. She'd tapped into and honed her particular talent for magic among the Sisters of the Citadel. Guess it was the same with this College. Or was. Asa's report of what happened in Elbion joined the many Jane had heard simply by the by. Seemed that, from the average of truth filtered through the exaggerated bullshit of these accounts, while Jane and Nate had fucked around with that new rune on the Falwood Portal Stone and ended up in Thagretis, there were, uh, some big dragons rampaging. Drakon had to be proud.

Jane let her arms fall back down to her sides. Walked along in the silvery reflections of moonlight on the smooth dirt of the trodden path.

"I serve the Goddess Astra, of course," she said in response, speaking in a more formal register. "Like my senior paladin before me, the Redeemer, it is my charge to venture forth and slay my Favored Enemies where I find them: demons, the spawn of Dark Ones, the practitioners of dark magic, and the undead. Ah, and the maintenance for this. Prayers and penance, maintaining my vow of chastity, repairs as needed, and all of the travel..."

A little smirk was creeping across her face as she finished.

* * * * *​

Tavian tried to stammer out some form of apology, but the man with the chamberpot wouldn't have heard it anyway, already moving on as he was. He gathered himself, finding his footing even as his head was still in a swampy haze. He took a few steps, stumbled off to one side as if he were more than just a little drunk, and caught himself along the facade of a vacant, ramshackle house.

He settled into the nook of the door jamb, his back against the closed door. Still he held his chin. He tried to think, trying to get his bearings back and (imagining?) that he heard some faint laughter from somewhere. Tried to think, tried to think, in his stupor.

Not realizing.

* * * * *​

Tina the Mute watched the Guillotiners go. Waited until they were well and gone, the sound of their chatter fading to nothing. She shuffled her way out from the deep recesses of the forest. Yet the fire she had seen from her vantage, the threaded glow of it through the trees, when it had happened. Odd--the talkers had never used fire before.

And saddening. Tina kneeled down, sitting on her heels where there were blackened patches of dirt and grass. The fire had left nothing of her zombies, her ghouls--her friends.

Tina was a staggeringly small and petite woman, barely scraping five feet in height. And she had never once in her life been able to speak a word, simply born without the capacity to do so. Those who could, all the talkers of the world, thought she was some kind of freak, or stupid, or that she was a diminished person to be pitied. But the undead did not talk and they did not judge.

She had come across an opportunity to practice her necromancy, plenty of bodies to raise, when a couple of talkers had gotten into contact with her. She was supposed to raise some undead from the plentiful graveyards surrounding a little town called Guillotine every night. But not too much--just enough to draw out the town's more ready and watchful defenders and to keep attention focused outward instead of inward. All part of some plan that she didn't care about.

All she did care about was the chance to raise more undead, despite the purpose of them to be slain each night. She got to spend some quiet time with them, simply being in their silent company, before sending them off. At least the two talkers didn't bother her very often.

But alas, the last time they did, they seemed all too excited that this would be ending soon, their "plan" coming through.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

What Jane had to say in response to Asa's questions certainly raised a brow from him. While for most that bit about the vow of chastity would be the biggest concern, but for him it was more her charge. Demons and practitioners of dark magic was it? Certainly he didn't much care if something happened to Mother. Be entertaining to see her struggle a bit for once instead of lazing about. But he technically could fall under a practitioner of dark magic with his blood magic and some of the rituals he knew.

Asa also had to admit he wasn't too keen on that vow of chastity either. Did this mean she planned to, oh what was that phrase he heard once for this? Oh yes! Did she plan to blue ball him after having her fun? Not a very pleasant thought and rather cruel of her to do.

"A rather adventurous life. Not too dissimilar from my own. Less freedom and choice on your end though. That vow of chastity and fighting off the undead must get rather tiresome. Especially on days like today."

The doctor would wink is good eye at her there, but the mask made that impossible. Instead he contented to just smirk to himself. Certainly there was more he wished to discuss, and he would without much of a pause.

"I am curious what your religious order considered dark magic. Back in Elbion there is all kinds of debates on the true line between dark and black magics. Black magics being magic that is just commonly misunderstood and often associated with more nefarious purposes when the magic itself is not. I would not call fire evil just because some lunatic began setting thatch roofs ablaze with a torch. Why should we treat blood magic differently just because some evil individuals have used it destructively in the past? Many magics involving blood magic or its elements are rather common amongst mages in the college yet has never been called evil. Familiar contracts. Magic contracts. Even some divine magic rituals all involve the use of blood magic."

A tap on her backside with his cane followed in the little pause.

"What is your thoughts on the matter?"

========================================================

Tavian was entertaining at first.... But he quickly was becoming boring. His pain was comical. His stumbling about like a drunk was not. So she grew annoyed as the joy in his actions began to pass. The original goal had yet to be achieved. Time she get back to it.

As he sat in the door trying his best to remember, the crow flew through an open window inside.

The door behind Tavian made a click as it was unlocked. Slowly the knob turned. Standing in it was a pale woman of near supernatural beauty. Black cloths barely clung to her ample curves seeming to both hide and yet reveal what lay underneath. A smile crossed her lips as amber eyes gazed down upon the man.

You seem confused. Come inside. Come inside with me~

If he had listened closely he might note how familiar her voice sounded. If he had paid enough attention he might note her mouth didn't seem to move.

Jane

 

[Jane]

"They do get tiresome." Her smirk opened up into a full grin. "Good thing I was bullshitting you about the vow of chastity."

She walked along, her stride and the swing of her arms and her upwardly lifted chin full of self-satisfaction. Worth the added lashing on the tally. She couldn't see his face through the mask, but that was alright. She could just imagine it.

Asa went on, speaking of magic--dark magic in particular. Some fine lines drawn by the people in this Elbion College. She didn't care all that much about those fine lines concerning this kind of magic or that. Magic was magic. Alright, so blood magic was ohhh~...so clearly better than all the rest. And evil? Well, that was a concept only introduced to her by the Redeemer's touch. Evil wasn't even a word to her before the Redeemer had come and--

(shackled her)

--converted her. The world just worked how it worked, that was how she saw it before then and mostly how she saw it now. Jane never truly made a clear delineation between what was "good" and what was "evil" like all these Mainlanders did. Like Astra does. Jane just did what she wanted to do, and that was that.

Her thoughts on the matter.

She just shrugged. Dismissive. "I don't make the distinction. I just swing the sword."

But she knew. Oh yeah, she knew, she really did, despite what she had said and all of the thoughts preceding it. The magic she had once had, the magic fostered by her fellow Sisters of the Citadel...that was dark magic.

And like the sea to her now...it was a symbol of freedom. Lost. Out of reach. Damn Astra and the fucking chains she put her in again and fuck her fucking piece of sh--

The memory of the Redeemer's hand, smothering her face, that white light, smothering her thoughts then and smothering her thoughts now.

Jane blinked. Where was she? Right. Tiresome.

"Good thing I was bullshitting you about the vow of chastity."

She walked along, her stride and the swing of her arms and her upwardly lifted chin full of self-satisfaction.

* * * * *​

Tavian slid back a little once the door opened, a not insignificant portion of his weight having been leaned up against it. But he steadied himself. Turned about and looked inside and half-feared that another man with a brawler's fist might be inside.

There wasn't.

And in that crucial moment, Tavian forgot all of his studies and all of his training and all of his own self-imposed rules. He thought many things which were wrong.

Enraptured by the sight of the woman to a sizeable degree, Tavian stepped inside. Said, "I thank you for your hospitality, but listen, there is something out there."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

There was that smirk Asa had been waiting to see. Something about it was intoxicating. The self-confidence. The assuredness. The playfulness. Just something. So after her words he chuckled into his mask. The sound of it reverberated down the dry flower filled beak.

But then things got, different. As he discussed the theoretical concepts of dark magic that persisted at the College of Elbion, she just seemed to listen but not real sink her teeth into the subject. Not a scholar. Not her subject. Not one of her interests. Hard to say which. All he knew was she had no real care for the topic and reflected this in her own comment about swinging a sword.

She knew what she was about. Lovely. Too many tried to act like their interests lined up with those around them when they didn't. Made for boring gatherings and boring people. No sense wasting time on subjects you had no passion for. Few had the time he had after all to give.

But before he could really let that rant play out in his mind (again), he noticed something odd with the busty knight. Her mind seemed to be off somewhere else. Not in the possessed trance right of way spirits or demons or countless other things might take over a mind. Not in that mundane self reflective way he often spent much of his travel time doing either.

Jane seemed to have both occurring at once. Rather it seemed to shift. One moment her eyes have that same look he had often caught himself having in the mirror when his mind wandered or he internally was ranting to himself. The next moment there seemed to be something else, she blinked, and it was gone.

Strange.

She repeated that line about lying about her vow of chastity.

Stranger.

Did she just suffer the effects of some kind of magic often associated with curses? It was not uncommon for religious groups to utilize similar magics to those they would deem as curses or dark magic in heretics. Generally the more zealous the group the more likely one might see such magics. Was it possible these vows she had mentioned before were more than words? Could some kind of curse have been placed on her to keep her thoughts from straying too far in one direction?

Wild theories Asa. He needed to reign himself in. He had been around his mother too long and heard too many of her stories. Naturally he was drifting too far into fantasy from reality. Likely she was just very bored with the topic and had forgotten what she was on about.

"Ah wonderful. Then I will not have to be a devil and tempt the fair maiden into breaking her sacred vow." Asa said to her after a moment in a more cheerful tone than he had said anything that night. Not exactly a truly cheerful way but more so than the mostly dry and monotone voice she had likely heard from him till now.

"So Jane, what sort of hobbies do you have outside of your duties? Do you bake? Fish? Knit blankets?"

===============================================================

As Tavian stepped inside, what should have been barren dusty walls and floor turned into a cleaned that day home. Broken furniture was whole. Candle holders held lit candles. Fireplace was crackling with a pot of stew bubbling over it. The place certainly didn't look abandoned anymore.

She smiled. Slight dimples formed, unless he showed no interest then they magically disappeared after he blinked. She held out her hand, almost seemed like sharp claws on her fingertips.

Your cloak good sir?

She would wait to see if he would offer it to her. Clearly so she could put it up on the pegs that wall didn't seem to have earlier. If he fully entered the door and into the house, she would shut and lock the door behind him.

Now what was that about something out there? How frightening. Do tell me about it~

Jane

 

[Jane]

"Sailing," Jane replied without even a moment to think about it. Not that she got to do any more of that nowadays than her other...hobbies. But there were occasions. A couple with Nate, sailing to an island in the Cortosi Coast and sailing away from Thagretis. She wasn't part of the crew and didn't own either of the ships, but it was enough.

"I'm not from Epressa or Liadain. Cerak. You guys are a bunch of Mainlanders," she said, a playfully chiding grin coming along with it. And she continued. "Ahhhh...there really is something about the sea to me. Something wild. Untamed. Free. No one owns it, and if you do it right, no one owns you while you're sailing. And you know something, Ren? I think that's why I like Guillotine so much. There's that fancy word. Anarchic. Yeah, anarchic. That's Guillotine, and that's the sea. Everyone's their own master."

Little glints of the early night's candles and torches ahead, as the bends and curves of the road revealed through the sloping hills and trees the town again. Home sweet home for the Guillotiners leading the way.

Wary of a reset (she didn't want that to happen tonight, that was for sure), Jane added at the end, "But I had to give up a lot of it, my time for sailing, in order to serve Astra. I guess now it just depends on where I'm going, if I get to sail again or not. Pffft." She stuck out her tongue briefly, as if a bad taste had manifested on it. "Ah, but then it's usually, 'Oh, captain's orders, captain's orders.' Fuck the captain. Why do Mainland sailors put up with that?"

She didn't really expect an answer. Just throwing her musings out there.

* * * * *​

Taken in by the air of safety inside the house (wasn't that what he was looking for in the tavern anyway?), Tavian's training as a demonologist fell to the wayside as that baser need took precedence in his dazed state.

"Yes. Of course. My cloak, yes, where are my manners," he said, absentmindedly taking off his cloak and handing it to the woman. After the sudden violence of his run-in with the chamberpot man, this was all too welcome.

Now to explain. He had to do so in a fashion that implied he was ignorant of certain details, naturally--this part, unlike his training, he at least remembered.

"Perhaps I am merely jumping at shadows," Tavian said. "But...I thought that I had heard an unnatural voice in the night. I do not know if this is related to the undead, or..." He let out an exasperated sigh. Partly for show. "Perhaps it was nothing after all. 'Tis only been zombies and ghouls, and the town's defenders have slain them admirably. They will return with no ghastly news, I'm sure."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

There certainly was a passion within Jane towards sailing and the ocean. So much so that Asa couldn't bring himself to interrupt her while she looked so happy. He didn't even interject to point out how the town of Guillotine was actually what scholars would call communal anarchy where it is rule by the community with no formal laws just implied ones. Making that distinction known though would have just made him sound so pretentious like those silly kids who called themselves Meisters back at the college.

But the cheerfulness came to an end. The knight admitted to the sacrifice of giving up most chances to sail and then had a little rant about following orders. It had soured her earlier cheer, and that was something the doctor just could not abide. She may not have expected any response from him as the question was rather rhetorical, but he decided to bring back a little of her pep.

"Why it is because they all have sticks up their bums and their captain shoves it further up if they disobey. Rather commonly known anatomy fact here on the mainland. I take it they don't have sticks so far up their butts in Cerak?"

The doctor would have given her a smirk if not for his mask. Why was he wearing the thing right now again? Oh yes. No room had been assigned to him yet and it made him look like an actual plague doctor. A rather grand illusion he needed to protect himself from the sickness of patients. Honestly aside from the sweet scents of the dried herbs and flowers the thing was unpleasant to wear. Hot and itchy and the balance of the face was far off. He didn't know how his neck put up with it.

"I do enjoy the sensation of the ocean while on a ship. Not much for sailing however. But the feeling of the wind whipping against your skin as the water sprays against you. The gentle sway and scent of salt in the air. Things you can only experience while on the deck out at sea."

=======================================================

The cloak was handed over and seemed to be placed upon the pegs. The man still continued to stand as he rambled on about the undead out in the graves beyond the town. A smile was given to him. Her hand placed in the grove of his back between his shoulders.

Calms my soul to hear you think so. Between the sick and the dead everyone has been rather, jumpy.

She began to try to guide him with her hand towards a pillowed chair.

Sit. Sit~

A glance towards the door would find it locked up tight. No pegs or cloak rested along the wall.

Some think the sickness is due to the undead rising. Some say the sickness is making them rise. What does such a smart, clever man from Elbion such as yourself think? Surely an educated man would have some idea~

Jane

 

[Jane]

Sticks up their asses. This got a rising laugh out of Jane, her head rolling back briefly as she let it out and enjoyed it. Asa had her kind of humor, how about that. Coming from this Elbion place--big deal among the Mainlanders, Elbion--she didn't really know what all to expect. But thus far he was a man of many pleasant surprises.

I take it they don't have sticks so far up their butts in Cerak?

"I used to know a few pirates who'd be into that," Jane said. "Guess they make us as guilty as you Mainlanders."

Other than that half-joke half-truth, Jane couldn't say much on it. Wasn't like she sailed with anyone other than the Sisters of the Citadel. Once she had gotten past the learning curve, she joined in with everyone else, knowing her place and her role on the ship. Everybody had the same goal, after all: raid the Coast, take some captives for sacrifice, outrun the Anirian Navy and whoever else might follow, and get back to the Citadel. Closest thing they had to a captain was when the Canoness herself occasionally joined a voyage.

Asa was more of a passenger than a sailor, and that was fair enough. Even so, his observations were spot on.

"Exactly. You just can't get that on land. Savor the little things. That's what I do."

And maybe, someday soon enough, she could do some more of that out on the open waves. Maybe. But, for tonight, there were some other little things to savor. Little things that came from the edge of a knife, making the body dance to a particular tune. Things Astra didn't approve of. But that was alright--Jane already had a nice tally going, didn't she? At least the lashings would be worth it this time.

Soon enough, the group crossed the threshold into Guillotine. Ymir made a smug remark to Dave and Dave told her to go fuck herself. She giggled and Dave departed from their company, small waves to the men who were nevertheless going to Ymir's tavern for the free round of drinks. Hey, why not have some tiny celebration when and where they could get it? And if Doctor Asa here could help all of the sick townsfolk, then there'd be cause for an even bigger one later on.

Heading down Guillotine's dilapidated streets and among its ramshackle housing, Jane asked a simple question of Asa, "Big drinker, Ren?"

* * * * *​

The allure of perceived safety, especially after what Tavian had gone through with the man and the voice, was powerful indeed. Tavian allowed himself to be guided to the pillowed chair and sat down. The pain in his chin and in the side of his head where it had smacked on the ground after he collapsed was troubling, but the comfort of the chair helped alleviate it some.

Curious questions. It was natural, and he expected as much even in his dazed state. Like before, he knew not to reveal too much. He almost felt sorry for this beautiful woman who'd taken him in, to have to lie to her. But he had to keep in mind the grander plan.

"Yes, with the former I concur. The dead, whether they walk or not, either are or become home to many miasmas and illnesses. Yet I do not believe there is much to fear, Miss. These illnesses are unpleasant, of course, but not so deadly for most people. And when the dead stop rising, the source of them will be gone. So..." He let out a breath, "...not much to fear."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The busty knight was seeming to be enjoying herself. Excellent. That was what Asa wanted from their conversation after all. Some may try to seduce further and keep a flirty air. He had found that to be rather draining and unnecessary over the decades. Lust ebbed and flowed like the tides for mortal beings. There was no stopping or controlling it. One just needed to enjoy good company while they could and recognize when a lustful mood had rolled in again. Set themselves out into waves of carnal pleasures then and the end result was all the more satisfying.

His thoughts had drifted to a more poetic place. Silly him. What had she asked him just now again? Oh yes. His drinking capacity.

"One could say it is near impossible to get me drunk."

The doctor seemed to finally realize they were in town yet again (he had just didn't acknowledge it). He glanced around the place a bit and watched as everyone went off to their respective abodes. Surely just to disarm and perhaps change before taking up that offer of a round of drinks at the female tavern owner's place. Ymir wasn't it? He had only paid half attention to the others once Jane had gotten his interest.

"Perchance do you know where I might be housed during this trying time? Surely not with you. I might never get any work done in such close quarters with such a rare beauty as yourself."

Asa would have smirked at her if not for the mask. But certainly he would like to know where they planned to house him. He had a few preferences and most of them centered around establishing a temporary workshop to brew any elixers, tonics, and potions he might need for those in town. Also so he could replace his stock of alchemist's fire. His only bottles seemed to have been used up already.

======================================================

She was growing a bit bored, but she could still get a bit more fun out of this toy. The game continued.

Oh? Such a smart, clever man~

Hand came to rest on his shoulders. Massaging naturally followed. Above his head a pair of luscious mounds hovered. The scent of incense softly began to fill the room.

Are you a doctor? Is that how you know all of this? Or is there another reason you do~

Jane

 

[Jane]

"Near impossible?" Jane let out a fake gasp and brought the hand of her shieldless arm to her mouth. And when that hand dropped away there was an eager grin left in its wake. "That's either really boring, or really fun. Who doesn't love a challenge to conquer?"

Was it a good idea to try and get Asa drunk before he set about to try and cure the sickness bedeviling all of the bedridden Guillotiners? That was for Astra to worry about. And, hey, so far as Jane knew, he might even work better with a little buzz or a tipsy tower for a head. There were people like that. Plenty of pirates like that, Jane knew it for a fact. Some of those seadogs couldn't hit the broadside of a ship while sober, but could crack off a crossbow bolt straight into an apple resting on a mate's head with a little drink in their bellies. How do you explain that? There had to be a patron god of drinks and drunkenness--impress him and get a boon. Celestialism surely kept that knowledge hidden from its belief structure, huh.

Ymir was leading the way through the moonlit streets of Guillotine to her tavern, a brisk pep in her step--hey, she thought tonight was going to be a bust, at least she was getting a little coin, eh?

Jane regarded Asa again as they drew near to the tavern. Housing. Staying a while. Hmm, that was good. None of this duty calls stuff, being led on a leash elsewhere...by Astra what kind of life would that be? She cut her thoughts on the matter short, before she inadvertently tempted a reset.

"Surely not with me. Guillotine needs you alive, not dead."

She kept walking.

Licked her lips. "I'm kidding."

And continued, "Well, as luck would have it, you've got your pick. Guillotine doesn't have a proper inn, and there were a lot of townsfolk killed in that demonic invasion, so there's plenty of ownerless houses you could use for a while. Take your pick. That's what I did. You know, so long as a dead family's stuff all being in there doesn't bother you."

Ymir hopped up the couple of steps to the porch of her tavern. Her hand fished into her pocket and the sheathed sword on her hip bounced slightly as she searched for the key. She found it, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

"Come on in," she said, doing so herself. "Let me get some candles and lanterns lit here too..."

And Jane stepped into the dim tavern, this darkness dispelled to some moderate degree when Ymir got the first candle lit and placed on a table. The others helped her out, using that first flame to light more candles, lanterns, and soon the tavern was awash in that warm orange glow.

* * * * *​

Guillotine, by Tavian's reckoning, seemed a place of extremes. That ornery man outside had been thoroughly unpleasant and unwelcoming, but this woman...well, funny of him to say so, but this was heavenly. Made him almost...almost...want to renege on the plan.

"I'm not a doctor. Simply a scholar," Tavian said. Sitting in the chair, head slightly rolled back, relaxed and with his guard down and taking it all in. "It isn't my particular field, the undead and illnesses and such, but I have approximate knowledge of many things. I would hate to bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that my studies in various flora have led me to this region for a time."

He let out a leisurely sigh. Remarked in the vein of his earlier thought, "Your hands are angelic."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

More and more ideas seemed to be going through the armored woman's mind as the doctor spoke. At least that was what her expressions were telling him. No doubt none of those ideas would be good for him, but the fact her mind went there so readily to whatever no doubt violent events she thought up was why she was so interesting to him. A rare beauty indeed.

After her words on the housing situation, Asa knew what he was in need of.

"A place with good ventilation, counter space, and easy access to fire and water. I need a place with those qualities so I can set up my temporary workshop. Not sure if any qualified individual in this town to help me with the creation of the elixers and potions I will no doubt need to handle the sickness."

The man mused for a moment. "Although I might be able to teach the local brewers some of the more basic recipes fairly swiftly. Could help to expedite the more quantity oriented needs."

They had arrived at the tavern sooner than he realized. The owner spoke of getting lights going, not that he needed any to see, and with help the place was lit up rather quickly. Unlike the streets which were rather empty the inside of the tavern actually had a feeling of life to it even with so few patrons.

The doctor took off his odd mask and threw back his hood to reveal his face to the gathered crowd for the first time. He found a place for his cloak and mask. It was a breath of fresh air to have the thing off his face finally. He was shocked he had sweated as little as he had in it.

After turning around towards his fellows, Asa smiled his slight smile to them. "Shall we get that promised drink and raise our cups in a job well done?"

=================================================

This man was not so humble even if he did not outright brag. She was pleased with this. Her hands continued to massage the man's shoulders as she leaned down by his ear. Her bountiful chest touching the back of his neck as she did.

My hands aren't the only angelic parts of me~

She leaned back up. Her breasts rose off of him as well. A giggle echoed out.

So you are an alchemist then? How does a potion maker come to know so many things? So impressive and modest of you~

Jane

 

[Jane]

"Yes sir, mister doctor man, coming right up," Ymir said by way of reply to Asa, all in good cheer. She made her way around to the proprietor's side of the bar counter and got six tall glasses set up for the lot of them. Then it was off to the backroom to fetch new bottles of mead.

Jane feasted on the sight of Asa's face again, smiling, now that his mask had come off. There wasn't much reaction from the men, the general feeling among Hatry and Telford and George one of Oh, so that's what your mug looks like then, alright. But for Jane it was different. See, she liked handsome men. For all the obvious reasons, of course, but also for another. What fun was there in destroying something that was already broken? Something gorgeous...well...her nails liked faces that were gorgeous. Heh. Maybe that's how he lost that one eye. Some other bitch like Jane.

Jane sat down on the far left end of the bar counter. Took off her sheathed sword from her belt and set it along with her shield propped up against the wood. A glance to Asa and an inviting gesture to the stool beside her.

"Setting up a whole workshop, are you?" she said, elbow on the counter, chin and cheek resting in the palm of her armored hand in a leisurely way. "Well. Metisa be with you. Here's to hoping you can kick this thing's ass by the end of the week."

Ymir had come back with an uncorked bottle, and she started filling the glasses in front of the eagerly awaiting Guillotiner--all to played up applause and clamor, even Blacksmith Telford joining in. She was working her way down the counter.

The local brewers. "Ymir and Dave ought to both be keen to make nice and work together with you on that. They've got personal investments in it each."

Ymir filled Asa's glass and finally Jane's, and Jane sat up straighter on her stool when Ymir had. George, Blacksmith Telford, Old Man Hatry, and Ymir all had their glasses raised then. And George said, "Give us a toast, Jane."

Jane grabbed her glass. Raised it. Smirked. And said, "Fuck these undead."

Laughter from the four of them, and heads all tipped back in unison and everyone took their first big, hearty gulps of merry drink.

* * * * *​

Tavian gave a small, dismissive wave of his hand.

"Oh no, no, Miss. I'm not an alchemist. A botanist--that would be a scholar who studies the variety of plants across Arethil."

In truth, Davian was bored to tears of a field like botany or herbalism or other mundane, pedestrian, worldly things. But it served as a good enough cover. Esoteric enough to the laymen to not prompt so many questions.

He knew he couldn't stay here all night, but for the time being? The other conspirators need not worry themselves with such details as a little lateness.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

The owner went off to get their drinks and everyone had assumed their little groups. Off a bit on her own was the busty knight. She had sat and invited him to join her. He saw no reason to decline.

Sitting next to her, the doctor was met with her continuing from their earlier conversation. She certainly did listen to him. Rather rare. Usually people ignored him because of his big words and near obsession with his job. A rather pleasant change.

"I certainly am setting one up. Plan to stay until the matter is fully resolved and that tends to take more than a week. Be a shame if I couldn't see to my projects between my doctor duties. And the help would be appreciated. Brewing potions takes the same sort of skills as brewing ale. Just this ale can help cure your wounds." Asa responded to her. His cane and mask had been left by the door, but his saber was still on his hip. Thankfully the way it hung was not a hindrance to his current position.

Time for the toast as the owner rejoined them with their drinks. Mead. That sweet, natural scent bringing images of bees hovering over flowers to mind. The knight was asked to make the toast and oh did she not disappoint him: "Fuck these undead."

Asa smiled with a slight chuckled but echoed her words before downing his entire glass in one go. His unique constitution rendered him unable to become drunk (at least he had never managed to reach that point before it all came back up), but the taste was enjoyable.

"You know it would be rather hard to procreate with a pile of ashes, but I am willing to observe if you are willing to try." Asa said to Jane. The others would have been able to hear him, but it was clear his comment was for her and her alone.

A bit of a smirk on his face, Asa would let Jane say her piece before he continued on.

"Concerning those undead, I believe it is not a natural event come about by your troubles with the demons previously. There was not the right kind of ambient magic in the air to cause it let alone the sheer volume of it necessary. If there was our lovely, busty knight here would have felt it upon her skin or sensed it in the air."

Asa held up his glass towards Ymir with a smile that said "refill please" as he paused. Once his drink was filled yet again, he took a long drink and then went on.

"The most likely cause is that someone has been raising them and purposefully sending them your way. But the frequency and numbers do not match up with typical necromatic practitioners. Generally it is either all in secret and they would only burst forth if discovered or because they had the numbers to secure their objective. There would be either too few for a reasonable assault and the caster either flees or dies. Or the entire town would be swarmed and wiped out in one fell swoop. Those patterns repeat themselves every time with necromancers no matter which part of the world they are from."

The doctor took another drink of his mead. His mind had shifted back into work mode as he was piecing through what he had discovered back in the graveyard.

"These are not following that pattern and seem to be coming at you in manageable numbers every night. Add in this sickness and it makes me wonder if someone is purposefully attempting to kill off you all with sickness while keeping you exhausted with the dead. Or both are events meant to distract. But that seems unlikely. What would a necromancer possibly want from your town? They could easily just rob your vast graves without anyone noticing if they wished to form an army. So I suppose the question is why would someone hold a grudge against your town?"

Asa went back to drinking from his glass. Too many pieces of information were missing. It was obvious that the dead and sickness were related, but it was odd how neither was being used to bring about large numbers of death swiftly. Them being a distraction was the most likely point, but what end was it all moving towards? The town had a history of hostility but it was not particularly special outside of their hatred of nobles. There was nothing of real value here either. So what would anyone want with this town or its death?

After being in his thoughts for a bit, Asa remembered something. "Oh yes. Nearly forgot." A small pouch was placed on the counter. "With these ashes we could track down the necromancer if you wished. Would just require us to track down the grave they once rested within."

===========================================================

She was growing bored again. He wasn't give her answers and was so proud about such a boring thing. Her son was more interesting of a scholar than this man and studied the same subject and more than him. Time for the game to come to an end after all.

A man who studies flowers? How romantic~

She slide from standing behind him to directly in front of him with her words. A lustful smirk crossed her lips as she straddled him coming to rest on his lap. Her chest right in his face. Her face not far above his own. Her hands slide up his sides, over his chest, and came to rest around his neck.

How would you like to study my flower~

Then she leaned her head down with her lips offered to meet his own.

Jane

 

[Jane]

Well, if nothing else, Asa's timely arrival boded well for the people of Guillotine. All of whom just so happened to be her people, as Jane saw it. A home away from home. Even if it wasn't by the sea and wasn't a Citadel and, really, did she honestly have a home--like a home home--back there across the world around the Black Bay? Ah, if only she could pay someone to reason these sorts of things out for her, some doting, lackey-esque scribe who had nothing better to do. She did have better things to do. And Guillotine was the home she had adopted. There, settled that. And Asa was setting up shop for the betterment of it in these rough times and that was damn good.

The toast.

The mead, tipped back and she matched Asa's chugging of his glass, finishing hers and setting it down on the counter. She undid the coin pouch from her belt and just placed it on the counter as well, leaving it uncinched--wide open for Ymir to take whatever was necessary--its gleaming contents shining in the lantern light. Might as well. Wasn't like she was buying. She'd gone nearly all her life without having to spare a thought about the very idea of coin, money, currency, seriously who gave a fuck. But, on some of her travels and missions for Astra, locals had insisted on presenting her with rewards of coin. A blasé acceptance of these rewards. Eh, why not? Made things easier out here on the Mainland. So, in a way, wasn't really her buying anything. It was all of those locals from towns and lands previous on her way back to the Guillotine.

You know it would be rather hard to procreate with a pile of ashes, but I am willing to observe if you are willing to try.

Jane bucked her head back. "Pfft. I'll just let Dirty Dave live up to his namesake there." The thought of that was pretty funny. Mostly because, despite having been repulsed by Jane's predilections, Dave might damn well give it go for a halfway decent incentive.

Ymir came by. Filled up both Asa's glass and Jane's glass. And Jane couldn't help but to smirk. Time to find out if Asa was talking shit or not.

She downed the glass and downed another while Asa shared his thoughts on the undead, listening and nodding at key points. Yeah, that was one of the proposed ideas about what the hell was going on, some jackass necromancer. But Asa nailed it in how he described the pattern of the attacks. Far more eloquently than anybody from Guillotine would've put it, but the general thought was the same: necromancer or no necromancer, why the steady, almost predictable, waves? And then the arguing would happen, back and forth, there has to be a necromancer, no there can't be that's stupid, back and forth, and, well, all of that didn't change much. The undead still needed to be dealt with every night, and there was no hard proof as of yet for any of the proposed causes behind the waves.

But Asa sounded certain.

Ymir was pouring Jane her fourth glass when Jane asked him, "That's a nice trick." An entertained smile. "Hm. So what the hell are you gonna do first, Ren? Start tending to the sick or see about tracking down that necromancer?"

Ymir shifted her gaze between Jane and Asa, looking quite hopeful about one of those choices in particular. But she kept to herself.

Jane was starting to feel a buzz. Ahhh, that was good. Well, whatever Asa chose, her night was looking to be rather...dry. Goddamn it, she hated delayed gratification. Yeah, yeah, Astra, owe you another lashing, got it, fine.

* * * * *​

Tavian was briefly stunned by the woman's forwardness. The softness of her skin, the delightful weight resting in his lap, the feel of her hands--all things which quite effectively alleviated his awareness of the throbbing pain in his chin from that man's punch.

But what about that strange, taunting voice? What about keeping distance from the townsfolk, not getting too involved? What about the plan, his part in it, the closeness of it to fruition and his chance to do some real studies? His thoughts made their feeble protests, but his loins had none.

"I don't..." he started. Let out a long exhale. "I don't know if I should."

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

A debate started up over Asa's observations and theories for what was going on with the town. Some agreed with him. Some did not. But everyone was rather serious. He just sat back and took his time to enjoy his drinks. Ultimately his count came to three compared to Jane's four when she finally weighed in on the conversation. Not a single sign of the effect of alcohol was about him, because there wasn't any.

"Hmmm. I suppose examine at least one patient to see what sort of sickness this is and if it is related to the undead or not. Certain kinds of diseases come from and are related to the dead. If it has those signs then track down this necromancer to cut off the source of the disease and then just tend to the sick till they all recover or perish."

Death was inevitable with plagues and diseases. A fact he had far, far too many examples to support. The thing that bothered him was how many oddities there was with all of this. As far as he could tell none of the dead had made it into the town. If they had it would have been the first night or two of the attacks. Disease from the dead could not spread far from them. It would require multiple attacks and many undead littering the streets for a few days for their disease to truly begin spreading. But that didn't seem likely to have happened. He would need to confirm it however if he was going to be prudent.

Asa got Ymir's attention and then asked for another glass of mead with a motion. He noticed how Jane had left her coin purse open on the counter as he did. When did she? Seemed her intent was to pay for everyone's drinks not just the first round. So he pulled up his own coin purse and left it open on the counter as well. Would be rude to make his date pay for everything after all and he was nothing if not a gentleman.

"Dave is the one who owns the other tavern correct?" Asa idly said to the group even though his eye was on Jane. "Is there a reason he declined the offer for drinks? Hopefully not out of some petty sense of pride. A lovely woman pouring good mead is a pleasure one should never pass up."

Asa turned his attention to the gathered men in their group. With an impish smile on his face he added, "Do you all not agree? That our hostess is lovely."

He felt like stirring this close knit pot a bit and seeing what bubbled up from the bottom.

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She almost laughed in his face when Tavian tried to decline. There was no declining. She wasn't looking for his consent to anything. The game was over and he was about to find out that he had lost it long ago. Any enjoyment she got out of their game was replaced with boredom and hunger. And she was a rather notorious glutton.

She just shushed his words away as she fully committed her lips to his own. Harder and deeper she pressed into the kiss. She wanted his lips to part and his mouth to accept her tongue. Closer she straddled him and more firmly did she wrap her arms around his neck. She hungered. Oh did she hunger. There was no denying it or hiding it from him. But for now it seemed what she hungered for was a moment of lust.

Jane

 

[Jane]

The sickness being related to the undead or not. That was the real question here wasn't it? Whether or not it was being asked aloud by the Guillotiners. Yeah, it had on occasion been so asked, but since both the waves of undead and the sickness spreading through town started at the more or less the same time it had honestly been taken for granted. Undead, diseases, they went hand in hand, didn't need to be some kind of scholar to know that--this was the thinking.

But, what luck, now they did have a scholar here to help straighten things out. A scholar who could hold his drink, Jane gave him that. She could feel her cheeks flushing and the tingly warmth of her buzz trickling down from the top of her head as Ymir poured glass number five.

"Yeah. Cut off that source," Jane said, the tiniest little slur when she had said source. "Tell you what, Ren. Can't wait. Whatever the solution is, I can't wait. This whole 'wave of undead' shit every night has been a pain in the ass."

One on the tally, Astra, sure sure, but was she wrong? Come on, Astra, it was a pain in the ass.

Asa spoke to the group as a whole, the Guillotiners along with Jane. George and Old Man Hatry shared glances brimming with mirth when Dave was brought up, and Blacksmith Telford looked to Ymir and she to him and Telford's stern expression was one of Don't let it go to your head.

"Sure she's lovely," George said.

"Got that Norden fair stature, she does!" Hatry said, grinning openly with his rack of teeth, some missing, on full display and slapping his knee.

Blacksmith Telford just grunted and drank more of his mead.

"And...well Doc, heh," George said, "Far as Dave's concerned, it is out of some petty sense of pride. Shit, Ymir, what would you do if Jane'd decided to have this quaint celebration up the street at Dave's instead?"

She clicked her tongue and smirked, leaning over on the counter with arms spread wide. "I'd tell you all to fuck off and Dave to double-fuck off."

George gestured toward Ymir with a flat palm, brows raised to Asa, as if to say without words Hey, there it is.

"Hey. Ymir," Jane said. "Bring your lovely ass over here and fill me up a sixth." A tilted-head glance to Asa. "Our doctor said he can't get drunk and I'm challenging that."

As Ymir took another coin from the open pouches (this time it was from Asa's) and started filling up Jane's next glass of mead, Jane said to Asa, "You didn't--oh I don't know--do some magic rubbish to ward off a buzz, did you?"

Flushed cheeks lifting as she smiled a devilish smile.

* * * * *​

Tavian's tepid resistance fell away. As it so often was throughout history, a man's loins made an argument that his willpower failed to refute. And gone were all of the concerns of the previous moment, replaced with baseless assurances that everything would be fine, a little diversion from his task wouldn't hurt, an indulgence now and then was alright, so on and so forth.

He wrapped his own arms around her waist.

His lips did part.

And her tongue could slide into his mouth.

Asa Renwyk

 

[Asa Renwyk]

Asa just sat back and drank his mead as went from discussing the necromancer into a state of confusion. Between the whole conversation about this Dave fellow (who didn't seem very well liked but he suspected had more to do with the presence of the tavern owner than their true feelings) and their answers to his question, the group seemed to be in a bit of a stir.

Also it seemed his busty companion was getting drunk rather quickly next to him being on her sixth glass.

"Yes. The owner of this fine establishment does possess a lovely figure. But I asked about our hostess. The one paying for our drink, or at least your own, is this beauty right here." Asa said then patted Jane's forearm. "So once again, what is your opinion about our hostess."

Asa turned his attention to Ymir and followed up from his earlier comments immediately. "My dear, would you be so kind as to slap any of them who lie? I am certain our holy maiden here couldn't stand dishonesty."

And with that he made sure to smile to the gentlemen gathered before finishing off his glass. He tapped the rim to ask for another serving then turned his attention to Jane.

"No tricks. Just that unique constitution I mentioned before." Asa whispered to her with a smile. Then he placed his free hand on her thigh.

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Lips parted and accepted what came. She was pleased how he gave in so easily. It made it so much simpler.

Her tongue went into his mouth and began to play with his own for a moment. But like a page being turned, everything suddenly changed. Her tongue darted down his throat. She began to suck his soul out of him. At the same time she would begin to penetrate his mind to forcefully drag out all the answers she had been seeking before.

Her figure changed. Skin paled as sharp claws grew from her hands. Her teeth were razor sharp. Her legs and feet began to resemble a mix between a crow and a goat. Feathers grew along with her hair.

The once bright room darkened. The scent of incense replaced by dust and mold. His chair no longer was pillowed and groaned ready to break beneath their combined weight.

That voice whispered to him as sickeningly sweet as it always had directly into his ears.

Give it all to me my smart, clever scholar~

Jane