8.5 Sprite Issues and Town Regroup

(Warning this might get a little sad or melodramatic at a certain point)

"So you're saying we're in Kaula, all the rivers in the forest come from the Elmboia Glacier up in the mountains, the nearest towns besides Reevastward are Nodelgan, the local main hub, and Eleos the main port city and we're..."

"I can DRAW a map for you later. you know."

"That... might be best. Ugh." She put a hand to her temple as she walked, "This is making my head hurt."

They needed something to talk about on the walk and Zaya thought it was about time to learn more about the world, or at least current land, she had found herself in. Who better to ask about Geography than a Druid? But there were a lot of names to remember and it was making her head spin. Remembering the info was easy due to her new mind but processing it all was..., well it felt like cramming for an exam.

End of the day they were on the southern side of the main continent that spanned most the world, in a country called Kaula, and out in the boonies of that place too. There wasn't much out this way save the old dungeon and most that came through this way were passing through on a few cheaper or 'safer' trade routes. The only places of note in this region were Kaula, and another nearby country, Braura. One would have to go through either country, take a boat, or walk over the mountains to get anywhere else, and the other side of the mountains were just frozen forests and wastes so she was basically on the edge of the world.

So whatever she was 'going to do' was going to be slow to be noticed by other powers. And what she was going to do was... still up in the air.

Currently, she wanted to get paid. And to check in on Ryia, see how well she was doing without more... injections. Besides it'd be good to have her and Krea meet face to face, see how that works itself out. But if she was going to do ALL this, might as well try to hammer out a couple things at once. So the pair were taking a path that would lead them through Dalila's little group on the way to town.

After all she hadn't expected to lose two days like that so she wanted to check on all her current... well targets was probably a bad way to term them, so she just mentally tagged them as 'connections'.

"You really aren't from around here." Krea grunted as she hopped over some roots.

"Even if I was, I woke up about a week or so ago, and they really don't teach Geography in 'monster school' okay. Honestly they didn't teach me much, just shove a checklist and say 'go do shit'. ....Hey dumb question, how did you learn to become a Druid?"

"I had a Master; usually students will follow along their master's path, only picking up a few Skills and Abilities that they feel like they could need more. Two Druids that learned from my Master largely be similar but I'm based in the forests and hills, the other student down by the coast and bogs would specialize in different aspects."

"So it's basically following someone else's build guide if you're lucky enough to have guidance with a few edits." Zaya thought as she walked.

She did ask about the whole..., 'skill tree' hoping she wouldn't come off as insane. But no, Krea had one herself, most people or at least humanoids did. But not everyone branched out of the 'basic' tree. As an example, she pointed out that Ryia probably didn't have an actual 'class' but could maybe take one if trained properly.

Upon hearing how..., large Zaya's skill tree was, Krea blanked out for a bit. The best she could think of was that due to being a Returner, that gave Zaya a lot of options but even if she wasn't, the power of the goddesses probably had something to do with it. After all, Monsters weren't supposed be like that.

"The Goddesses said something about that, how Dark ends up plateauing. Do Monsters not get Classes....., would Dalila have it too?"

"I'm no means an expert but I believe it's due to Monsters usually gaining less power over time which means they need more and more power to see an increase, or their own Skills stop shorter compared to Humanoids. I believe it was a deal the gods made back when the world was first made. But yes..., Dalila should have a tree. They're usually split into 'Class' and 'Race/Ancestry' but we're getting pretty technical now."

"That said most of Dalila's abilities probably would just be Pranks, Teasing and...., oh...., oh my god..."

Krea's hands went to her mouth as she gasped while a slow anger started to boil in Zaya's soul.

They had reached the clearing that Dalila's Sprites hung out in. But unlike the simple idyllic clearing the last two times she had been here, now there was signs of a struggle. The tree the Sprites lived in was half gone, the trunk left to rot on its side and it's branches ripped to shreds. The ground saw small pools of blood, much too small for a human to have left them, and several piles of... some sort of dust.

A memory came back to her. Something that Ellyn had told her when she was checking out the guild.

"However there's also nothing stopping someone else from taking the request and finishing it before you."

"No. No no no no no no...." She quickly ran forward, her eyes whipping around the site, "This..., I didn't want this to happen! Dalila! Dalila! Answer me! Please!"

There was something at the edge of her hearing. She strained to hear just where it was coming from before moving towards the ruining tree and slamming a fist into it before pulling back, cracking it in half. Inside, crouched in a small gap, was a familiar small green figure that turned to her. The Sprite's eyes were red and watery as she carefully picked Dalila up.

"You're... you're safe. Oh thank any god." Zaya gave her a small hug, pulling the Sprite to her cheek, "What happened? Why didn't ..... oh... oh my gods..."

There was a an empty space where there shouldn't be behind Dalila. She turned the Sprite around, and saw there was only a jagged stub remaining of her left wing.

"They... they came..., men with... masks and hammers and salt and... iron..., I'm.... I'm all alone now cause they..., aha..... aaaaah..... aaaaaaaaaaaah...." The Sprite started to cry out, her hands reaching up to her face.

The two women could do little for her beyond comforting her.

Inside Zaya though, she was boiling. Someone had HURT someone she came to care about. And after all that talk about 'protecting' those that were closer to her. All that boasting of being a good person or at least someone that wasn't going to go around mindlessly killing people, all that convincing not just to Krea but to herself.

"Krea. Remember when I said I would harm those that harmed those near me?"

"...., I remember."

"Good." the same golden aura that formed the last time she got upset started to surround her one more, only with a few hints of darkness at the edges of it, "Because I am going to BREAK some people."

"OH welcome back." She put on a smile as two figures approached the counter, "Been a few days Miss Zaya was it? And you.... you're Krea aren't you?"

"I haven't been by in awhile so I wouldn't be surprised if staff forgot my face. Usually I just talk with some of your members in the field so to say." Krea put on a weak smile as she neared the counter. She gestured towards her friend, "I'm just helping her out."

"Still as charming as last time Miss Ellyn." She gave a little bow before leaning on the counter, "Did you miss me?"

"A little. Though I had hoped I could get another dinner out of you. Ryia's cooking is still as good as I remember it."

"AH you did have that meal on me then..., last night?" the counter girl nodded, "That's a shame. I was off hunting those bandits or else I could have joined you. Speaking off do you think we could talk about that some where.... privately?"

She was not fucking around now. She could see that Ellyn still had a good percentage count from the **** food. Ryia probably gave her a free breakfast too. So Zaya was making sure to lean HARD on her abilities here. Ellyn's eyes glazed as a bit of gold started to creep into her Irises. She blinked once, twice, and returned to normal.

"Weeeeelllll, normally I would say no given you aren't a member, and while she isn't either..., Krea DOES have a bit of pull here. So there's probably something more than just 'bandits' you want to talk about." Ellyn said, her words coming out slowly as she convinced herself this was the right call.

She walked over to a small gate that separated the behind the counter area and the rest of the main room and opened it, ushering them to come inside. Whatever this was might be important, so they would take it to the back rooms. She missed the burning rage in Zaya's eyes though, along with a sigh from Krea as they hurried behind her.

"What do you MEAN you aren't going to look into it?!?!"

Zaya had laid out all the info. The slaughter of the Sprites, the seemingly **** they must have suffered, hell, Delila had rested inside her backpack and they brought her out to give testimony. How a group of men came and attacked them, complete with knowing just how to put a Sprite down for good(a mix of salt and cold iron had to be used). That wasn't what the quest had asked for.

"The quest WAS Zaya, to deal with the Sprites. Deal was left up in the air. They just had to be removed some way." Ellyn explained, her voice slow and a little shaky as she sat on a couch opposite of Zaya, "Most people wouldn't know how to put them down like that and while most the villagers would agree that was overkill...., I think only a few would care about them being gone."

"I tried to tell you." Krea pulled Zaya back down onto the couch, as the woman had been standing, "Most see them as pests. More so than I do."

Dalila sniffled as she sat on the table between the two sides, her bandaged wing a reminder of her torment. And a damning accusation in Zaya's mind. She grumbled as she thought things through. She couldn't just **** Ellyn to look into it; other staff members would see the rapid change in her and become worried. And it would take too long to brainwash the entire guild staff. No she just had to approuch this in a different way that wouldn't raise attention to Ellyn's actions. Or at least not as drastically.

"Alright alright, if you won't look into it because they're just Sprites, they aren't human who cares?" she shrugged and cut Ellyn off before she could say anything, "Then maybe you'll look at this THIS way then."

She went on to explain how the Bandits had a 'deal' with the Sprites; trading beer for not messing with them, and instead messing with anyone that tried to head in a certain direction. This let the Bandits hide behind the 'smoke screen' that the Sprites would provide. An annoying thing to deal with but not so much enough threat to raise questions. Dalila confirmed this when questioned and Krea backed her up, saying she had sent a few birds to scout the camp already.

"So what you're getting at is that it is extremely strange that someone 'handled the Sprites' in such a violent and permanent way immediately after someone found that out." Ellyn pieced together.

"I'm betting whoever did it, didn't do it for the job itself. They're using the job, and the Guild, to cover up their own goal. Which is punishing the Sprites for 'backstabbing them' or silencing any possible loose ends." Zaya leaned back and folded her arms with a grumble, "Now I don't know if someone would believe the word of a Sprite in the first place but as you said, no one's going to cry over them getting killed. Just wipe them out to be safe, right?"

"I don't like your tone Zaya, I'm not the one that at fault here..., but you are correct. The timing is a bit too close for my liking." Ellyn shot back as she brought a hand to her chin in thought, "This is a grave problem..., I should...."

"No look." Zaya stood up and looked her dead in the eye, "I'm not asking for you guys to do an investigation, I get the feeling you won't dig too deep." She continued before the other could get a word in, "All I WANT is the name of the person that turned the quest in. That is IT and I will look into it."

Ellyn's eyes glazed over again as Zaya ramped up her power again.

"MISTRESS!"

Zaya grunted as a familiar shape slammed into her the moment she opened the door. Ryia had barreled towards her the moment that door had opened and she saw who it was. Lucky for both of them, it wasn't lunch or dinner rush just yet so the Inn was completely empty, which meant Ryia had no worries about someone hearing her. Oh she had missed having her Mistress around, she'd be so rewarded for being a good girl all this ti.....

"Who's she?" She asked, glaring daggers into the woman next to Zaya.

"Ryia, Krea. Krea, Ryia. You two might know each other at least in passing." Zaya said, gesturing from one to the other, "Look you're both... on the same side I suppose."

"Mmmmm, I suppose you weren't lying when you said I had to share." Ryia muttered as she stepped back and looked the other woman up and down.

"Perhaps not fling yourself into a horny induced humping rage the moment you see her next time." Krea answered back.

She could FEEL the air heating up between them so Zaya coughed and got their attention. Perhaps it wouldn't be best to have this discussion in the front door.

They quickly found themselves in a back room that Ryia set aside for.... well nothing really. It was an extra room usually used for light storage but she cleared it out enough to have more privacy and room for everyone. She was as shocked as the others when she found out what happened to the Sprites, though was that due to seeing how much it bothered Zaya or something else? Regardless she made sure Dalila had something nice and soft to sleep on after getting a nice drink and meal.

The Sprite taken care off, that left the three alone to discuss..., 'details.'

"So, Krea is among one of my first... converts. If you have something for me, perhaps you can join her too. After all you've only had a taste, and you want to be a good girl don't you." She put a hand on Ryia's cheek which made her shiver and purr, "That what I thought."

"Are you SURE you didn't do something to her." Krea gave her a side-eyed glare.

"Not any worse than you. And YOU fell into the pit. That said... hmm." Zaya picked out a glass bottle and handed it to the innkeep, "Here, drink this."

She instantly downed the offered 'drink' which was more of the black substance. She checked and saw that Ryia was up to about 20%. Part of her wasn't surprised; she probably overindulged in the supply that had been left to her. Like before with Krea, she reached out with her mind as if to command one of her minions and like before, she found the 'threads' in Ryia's mind. They were smaller than Krea, due to the amount in her system, but she was able to weave them together into a thicker 'chord'.

Ryia blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Her eyes still had a look to them but it wasn't as..., intense as before.

"You settled down now?"

"A bit... still there but not at the forefront." Ryia nodded, "I still would like to jump you but... I'm not rubbing my thighs together at the thought of it."

"We should still probably look into that later. I mean, I have a similar thought of just pinning you to the bed and showing you what for but, it's not as **** as it seemed to be with you." Krea spoke up.

".... Okay I think I see why you roped the dry spell Druid into this."

"YOU WANT TO GO YOU HOPPED UP SLU..."

"Krea."

It wasn't loud. It wasn't angry. But it had enough **** behind it that Krea who sat her ass back down fast enough to wobble the stool under her. A shiver ran down Ryia's back that wasn't as pleasing as the one before. She could feel the rage simmering within her Mistress, even as she tried to keep a level voice.

"Ryia. You and Krea will have to have words later. Decide who's 'top bitch' or whatever. I just expect you to play nice enough with each other. But we aren't here for a pleasant visit where I drag both of you to bed and have my way with you till you or the bed, breaks. That might come later." She spoke as she leaned forward, her hands clasped together in front of her, "I remind you, I wanted you to be a spy here. And while you might have info for me, there's only one piece of info I care about right now."

"Do you know or possibly know someone that does know where the hell Fipps Rhesteir is?"

Encounter Table(d20)

• 1-4: No.... no she doesn't
• 5-8: The Guard Captain might know? He's always getting into trouble
• 9-12: Hit the bars; she knows Fipps to be be a hard drinker.
• 13-16: She knew he'd been checking out some of those Valar Steelworks people
• 17-20: Some other idea.