private Witch Hunter: Inermis

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@@SilverHeart,

 

Aaren said nothing at first. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why it sounded familiar. Of course, his thoughts were swiftly interrupted as the entered the thick of the market. They'd attract enough attention with the way they were dressed, so talking about their Hunter training was probably not something they wanted to do. If the Witch heard there were Hunters in town, it'd probably try to get out of town quickly before they could track it down.

 

"Sure. We might as well look around and get a feel for things. You never know what useful stuff you find just poking around." He said, following Silne through the crowd and sticking close to her. He didn't want to lose her if trouble started up.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

***************

N'herr Market

@@Windbreaker,
@@SilverHeart,
@,

From near the stall, a small, hushed conversation could be heard. It was impossible to make out everything said, but it seemed that onlookers were debating the wares for sale.

@,

You catch a couple of lines of two nearby onlookers - bickering over the quality of the mechandise.

"... Old Kingdom? Sure some of the stuff is the real deal, but that's what makes it dangerous! Half of what's found in those ruins are as likely to kill you as they are to do what you expect them to..."

Once through the crowds, the stall that had been hidden proved quite elaborate - draped in fine purple cloth, it bore an array of fancy trinkets made from gold, silver and a rose-coloured metal that you couldn't identify. A small plaque at the very front read:

Relics of the Old Kingdom.
Discovered in Mystreach, these are genuine relics of the Old Kingdom - rediscovered by brave treasure hunters for your inquisitive nature. Own a piece of history for yourself!

A second, smaller plaque beneath this also adds:

Old Kingdom Relics are unpredictable and may on occasion be cursed. Deseer takes no responsibility for your personal health. All sales are final - no refunds!

Displayed on the stall was an exquisite, gem encrusted coin. Made from a strange, rose-coloured metal somewhat similar to gold and with rubies set into the metal, it depicted the face of a beautiful, crowned woman on the side you could see in incredible detail. It was marked at eight gold pieces.

There was also a Kriss made from the same rose-coloured metal that you couldn't identify. Long with a wavelike blade, it was likely crafted as an ornate, ceremonial dagger rather than a weapon of war. It was marked at ten gold pieces.

Finally, a small box was for sale. About the size of a fist, it was made from a dark wood and reinforced along each corner and edge with what appeared to be steel. There didnt seems to be any lock or latch visible, nor any visible mark where it might open. it was marked at eight gold pieces.

@@Windbreaker,
@@SilverHeart,
Intellect >= 3

You realise that the odd metal is likely related to this 'old kingdom' - and that since the box is made from wood and steel it might well not be as genuine as the trader suggests. On a second glance you note that it does indeed seems to be less ancient that the other two items.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Cinder

[Ihei 713]

@@SilverHeart, @@Windbreaker,

 

Alice Mare

 

"Oh, it's just some stupid gems," Alice huffed, turning around and seeing that that girl from the ship and.. that other guy she talked to was behind her. "Don't get your hopes up - they're not selling anything that we should care about," she frowned, looking at the girl. "Who're you?" she asked, coming off as sounding disgusted to see her.

[SilverHeart 741]

@,@, @@Windbreaker,

 

Silne nodded in greeting to Alice, "Hello, I'm Silne. Pleasure to meet you I'm sure. If you'll excuse me for just a moment. I have a few questions for our shopkeep." She said as she walked past her fellow Witch Hunter. Silne made her way through the crowd until she was directly in front of the stall. "I'd like to speak with...Deseer. I have a few questions about some of these relics."

 

Cursed Relics would be worth investigating. Even if a witch wasn't involved, the magicked relics would need to be destroyed.

 

((OOC: Sorry this was so short. Class started ten minutes ago.))

[Ihei 713]

@@Windbreaker,

 

Alice Mare

 

Alice frowned and stuck out her tongue at Silne as she left to talk to the shopkeeper. "She's annoying!" Alice said with a huff. "You wanna buy something? Not here, I hope," Alice said, not in an irritated tone for once. Not even Alice could keep up a teasing tone all the time.

[Evilshy 5,090]

@Scribblegroove @FirstPonySpecter

 

[color#0000ff]Gron[/color]

 

Gron immediately felt uneasy upon entering the bar. At first he thought it might be all the glares they were receiving, but those kind of things never bothered him normally. He smiled a bit, but it was not returned. He was about to sit down a get a drink, but decided the smarter one should probably take the lead in this situation.

He leaned down to Masq and whispered. "I could understand if people didn't care about us, but they all look angry. Any idea why? We haven't done anything to them."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

***************

N'herr Tavern.

@@FirstPonySpectre,
@@Scribblegroove,
@@Evilshy,

As the trio of newcomers stood in the doorway, the tension hung heavy in the air. The bartender watched the newcomers with a mixture of curiosity, fear and mild irritation on her face - obviously not fond of having her customers disrupted from their drinking and as such, herself disrupted from turning a profit.

Masquerade
(Assuming direct control for the moment at least.)

"Tell you what, you two go get us some drinks..." Joel shrugged, motioning towards the bar. ".. and I'll see if I can find out whats gotten these guys so riled up ay us. I'd rather we not get into any fights we don't have to."

He flashed a grin behind his mask and stepped forward into the tavern - glancing around again before striding over towards a nearby table and placing himself down alongside four of the taverns less intimidating looking patrons.

***************

N'herr town center.

@@SilverHeart,

From behind the stall, a rather bland looking figure steps forward - an middle-aged fellow with a slightly balding patch in his mousy brown hair. He smiled awkwardly for a second, before giving up the pretence and reverting to outright fear. Something about this girl and her friends appearance obviously frightening him half to death.

"Uhhmuh..uhh... That's ah... thats me, m'aam. Deseer Ma... Ma... Maglathor. You uhm... what do you... can I help you?"

A bead of sweat ran down from his brow and his knees visibly shook. It was dificult to imagine such a person scouring ancient ruins for enchanted or cursed artifacts of any kind - he looked more the sort to scour the living room for his slippers at the end of a quiet day.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@@SilverHeart, @,

 

 

Aaren stayed back a bit, appraising the wares and the situation. Of all of them, he'd probably pick the box as the one being the most dangerous, despite it being the one that doesn't fit with the others. Of course, with the way the merchant was acting, he was starting to look suspicious. Not enough evidence to accuse him of being a witch, but he wasn't doing a good job of acting innocent.

 

'He's into some shady business, and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Even if he's not a witch, this isn't exactly right. The items are either stolen or fakes, but it's not easy to tell since the metal isn't one I recognize. If they're real, the box is the least impressive and doesn't fit, so it could likely be the most dangerous. If they're not, then it's the most obvious fake. The other ones are all impressive and eye-catching, so they look dangerous and attractive. Honestly, whether they're real or not doesn't much matter. This guy isn't going to put up much of a resistance, so we could probably scare him into complience.'

 

Aaren ran through the thoughts in his head, just watching to see what will happen. This would prove interesting and a good way to get a better idea of his companion, Silne.

[SilverHeart 741]

@, @@Windbreaker, 

 

Silne smiled. This might not be as challenging as expected. It seemed that even after centuries the Witch Hunters were still feared here. That was good, it made things easier. "Why yes, I do believe that you can help me. Do you see these three items over here?" Silne pointed towards the coin, the box, and the dagger. "We'll be taking them. Now I'll give you your options. One, you can refuse, which means we will take them by force and ruin you and your business." She placed her hand so that it drew attention to the mace that hung at her side. "I'm sure it's taken many years of your life to get this business so well established. It would be a shame for all of that hard work to go to waste. just because you refused to cooperate." The Witch Hunter looked directly at the small wooden box. "I'll also make a point to ruin your reputation. Whether the box is genuine or not doesn't matter. We'd just need to point out how...different the box is from the rest of the objects. Naturally, the gossip that your selling false wares will spread on its own."

 

"Two, and this is the better option, so please pay attention. You can cooperate and give us the items, which will leave you with two further choices. You can either accept eight gold coins for all three or you give the items and we will treat this as a favor. I'm sure I don't need to tell a merchant as smart as you which is more valuable, eight miserable gold coins or having the Witch Hunters in your debt."

 

Silne flashed the merchant another, rather predatory smile. She placed her hand on her weapon, on the very off-chance that the merchant tried something foolish. "Feel free to choose at your leisure."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

***************

N'herr Market.

Deseer's jaw dropped as he was left quite stunned. There were a few moments of sioence as the frail man might have been weighing up his options, though more likely he simply couldn't speak.

"E... E... Eight p... pieces?" He finally managed to stammer, eyes wide and panicked. "You'll ruin me! You'll... please miss, It's already hard enough here without y... y..."

It was too much aparrently - Deseer glanced at the trio of heavily armed Witch Hunters and shook his head, waving halfheatedly towards the goods on the stall. He wasn't brave or capable of fighting - wasn't even a particually good trader even, and this was far beyond him.

"Take it then - and I hope that you go the same way as those that came before you!" He muttered, slumping back onto a stool dejectedly with his head in his hands.

@@SilverHeart,

You recall that Hunter Tathla mentioned that your ship was the second to reach Inermis - could this furst ship be who Deseer was refering to?

[SilverHeart 741]

Silne Veras

 

@,@@Windbreaker, @,

 

"I...." Silne started to speak but paused. Mercy was for the weak. By all rights even the suspicion of being a Witch sympathizer was enough evidence to kill them. "Thank you for your cooperation." She said, her face devoid and voice devoid of emotion. She reached for her pouch, removing it from her belt. Instead of counting out the coins she tossed the entire pouch onto the table in front of the man. "Consider yourself lucky that we aren't publicly executing you for selling enchanted items." Silne grabbed all three of the cursed items, carefully stowing them away.

 

Without looking at Deseer she turned around and looked at the other two Witch Hunters. "If either of you want to, feel free to help pay for the items. We should report to Hunter Tathla and gather more information after that."

[Ihei 713]

@@SilverHeart, @@Windbreaker,@,

 

Alice Mare

 

Alice was a little taken aback by Silne's handling of the situation with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper acted just like the one in the bakery too - maybe all the shopkeepers here were cowards. Witch Hunters were here to defend people against the witches, not hurt them - idiots. She decided that it would be a little stupid to give the people here any bits - but she decided to flick one of her bits to the man and followed after Silne.

 

"Why'd you spend all your money on something stupid like this? You could've bought something more worthwhile!" Alice frowned, scolding Silne mostly because she wanted her to return them to buy candy. If they had some here, that is.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@@SilverHeart, @, @,

 

"When they say the item is cursed, it should be treated with utmost caution, regardless of how worthless it may seem. If these are fakes then we were wrong and possibly stopped someone selling fake items as if they were the real deal. If they are cursed, then we have potentially saved people and those items should be destroyed." Aaren said, sounding harsher than he did before. If there was one thing he agreed with almost every other Hunter on, it was that magic had to eliminated. Still, he took a breath and returned to his more relaxed frame of mind and turned to Deseer.

 

"What did you mean by those that came before us? Have other Hunters come here recently?" Aaren asked, sliding a gold piece across to him.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

***************

N'herr Tavern.

Without commotion or rukus, the inn returned to it's regular atmosphere. Locals went back to their drinks and the girl behind the bar breathed a sigh of relief to have the tension broken and life back to normal again.

One of the patrons wiped a small line of blood from his brow. All was well, save for the mystery of the missing Witch Hunters.

Ivondras is gone.
Gron is gone.
Joel is gone.

***************

N'herr Market.

"Oh so that's how it is, is it? You come here to my home, rob me blind, destroy my business and now you want me to h... h... help you?"

Deseer spat on the ground, clearly upset, but pleased to have some measure of control over the situation, however small.

"Well listen here, I'm t... telling you nothing! I've half a mind to tell you a lie that leads you off a cliff, but then I'd be no better than yourselves, would I? Go on, leave me to my m... m... misery you thieving dogs!

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@,

 

Aaren decided to try a different approach to it, taking a more casual tone and phrasing. "Well, the information would be useful to us, but I'm sure a businessman like yourself could realize the position you're in. You have a Witch Hunter asking you for information, and I'm more than willing to bargain for it. So, name your price, sir."

Aaren really hoped this would work. This information could be useful, but in his current state, bargaining with Deseer could be difficult. That said, Silne had proven that if bargaining didn't work, he can bully it out of him. He'd prefer not to throw threats around right now. It'd bring unwanted attention down on him. But if this attempt at bargaining didn't work, he'd have to be cruel.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

***************

N'herr Market.

A wicked little grin caught on the corners of the frail traders mouyh as he snorted slightly. His gaze shifted between the three hunters and he shook his head.

"You really think that..."

He chuckled a little under his breath.

"Ahh... I see now! You're not just arrogant, but i... i... ignorant as w... well!" His eyes darted aside a little - down the long road that the hunters had walked and towards the ship that they had arrived on, docked in the distance. "You think that you're the f... first Witch Hunters o... o... on Inermis?"

He turned and grinned - pointing up and over the city wall towards the centre of the island. A small mountain was clearly visible, but it was a long distance from the city and few other details could be made out.

"She wanted to know where I got my a... antiques - the Old Kingdom ruins around the foot of the mountain. You should l... l... leave me alone and g... g... go a... after her. She can't b... be more than a week ahead of y... you!"

Deseer paused - turning back again, wringing his hands with a hopeful, yet still hateful look on his face.

"She threatened me as well, didn't rob me though... must have known her goons would be along later." He added in a mutter. "There! Now y... y... you know e... everything, now go a... after her o... o... or something! Just leave me alone!"

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@, @@SilverHeart, @,

 

Just before Aaren decided to apply force, he thought better of it. The man had suffered enough at the hands of Witch Hunters, and Aaren wasn't going to prolong it. He reminded himself that he was not his master and would do things his own way. "My sincerest apologies, sir. Thank you for your co-operation and assistance."

 

After that, he left to rejoin Silne and Alice. "I can't argue with you results, but let's try a different approach next time. Sometimes it's better to show some mercy than to create more enemies." Aaren said. His suggestion was guided by his nature, a kind and benevolent person. He refused to change that so far.

[SilverHeart 741]

Silne Veras

 

@,@@Windbreaker, @,  

 

"Well, I thought that if we just took them without paying him anything, he could have called the guards. I don't know if we have as much authority here as we do on the mainland...." Silne trailed off. Maybe she was wrong, it definitely would have been cheaper to just take them. "Maybe you're right. It's a little late now though. Hunter Tathla will know whether they're fake or not. If they're fake...well we'll just give them back."

 

Silne waited with Alice until Aaren rejoined the pair. "I did show him mercy. I gave him all that I had. If Hunter Eitan knew that we hadn't executed him, he would....well let's just hope that Hunter Tathla is more forgiving than Eitan is." Silne said as she looked throughout the crowd. Hunter Tathla wasn't very difficult to spot standing near the entrance to the tavern. "I'm going to go talk to Hunter Tathla about what we have."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aaren Grey

@@SilverHeart, @, @,

 

 

Aaren's eyes narrowed when Silne said she showed mercy. He wanted to tell her that her brand of mercy wasn't mercy, but he thought better of it. She would probably just call him weak and he already had enough to think about as it was. He simply sighed. "Yes. We should..."

 

He should've known better. His personality was in conflict with what the Hunters expected, yet his mentor had passed him all the same. And not once did Aaren stop to ask why. Why would his mentor pass someone like Aaren? He didn't know and his mentor wasn't here to ask. 'Even so, that's in the past and I don't have the time or the desire to go diving back into it right now. Maybe never will. For now...Just try to get along with them as best I can. Keep my mouth shut and I'll be fine...'