Black Wings

A crow flies in from the direction of the goblin village, squawking and screaming. It circles a bit before landing high up on a tree branch. That makes enough sense—carrion birds follow ****, and **** follows adventurers–

Ladrieth huffs. “Not this thing again.”

…Again?

“Is the, uh, bird giving the three of you trouble?” You slide a blackberry into your mouth, and chew slowly. It's the first thread they've given you, so it's time to pull.

Wylahael eyes you wearily. “This thing’s been following us since we left Thaeldir’s Crossing this morning. It won’t stop screaming at us.”

Ievos pipes in, “It nearly made a mess of our ambush, earlier.”

No, it couldn’t…

You look at the bird. Really look. It only takes a moment, but your Perception does its job.

Level 1 Crow

Animal, Bird, Familiar

Familiar.

Attempt detected. Further Perception blocked.

You nearly **** on a berry, and drop all the others. The adventurers turn their attention back to you, but you are heedless.

“You’re watching them?” It is abundantly clear that you are talking to the bird. But “watching” isn’t quite right. It was also trying to sabotage them. Ievos just said it had almost ruined the ambush they laid for, presumably, Brogung.

The bird only squawks at you.

“You know this thing’s deal is?” That was Ladrieth. Ladrieth, the one with a Claimant Crystal.

You recompose yourself. “As it happens, I do.” You reach down to pluck another blackberry. “The only question is, how badly do you want to know?”

She’s’ a bit taken aback by that. “Seriously?”

You laugh a little. “Everything has a price, adventurer. Even knowledge. Especially knowledge.” You pop the blackberry into your mouth.

Ladrieth looks at her companions, before waving open a screen in front of her. “Well, how much? We’ve got some silver, and we’re going to get a big reward for killing–“

You wave a hand dismissively. “I don’t have any use for your money. I’m not well-liked in your town, and I can’t make anything from silver. You’ll have to offer something a bit more creative.”

She looked down at her staff in her hands, but seems to dismiss that idea quickly. Good. It isn’t what you want, and you can’t make much use of it, either.

She looks back up at you, and she blushes. “Well,” she says, fiddling with the neckline of her tunic, “I guess we could, uh, get to know each other better.”

Oh. Oh dear. Perhaps you’d been looking at her too intently.

“Lau– er, Ladrieth!” Wylahael, now. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?” Ladrieth turns to face her companion, blushing even harder. “It’s not like it isn’t aloud, and I’m single!”

The bird sounds almost like it’s cackling. This isn’t good. You need to take back control of the conversation.

“No.” Your interjection is loud and clear. Both of the women turn to you, argument dead before it truly begins.

“Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t exactly an unappealing thought.” And it wasn’t. Ladrieth’s tunic doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Her bust is large, her hips are wide. Her blush grows ever more fierce. You know you’d enjoy having her underneath you. But it isn’t what you want. But you can’t just say that, it would give the game away. That could make the suspicious, and Heroes are prone to act on suspicions.

It doesn’t take long to settle on your course. “That being said, it wouldn’t exactly be a fair trade. The knowledge I give you would be something that could guide your future actions. Its value would grow with time. But sex?” You smirk. “As much fun as that would be, it would only last so long, and then it would be over. If I’m going to give you something which has value that will grow, I would like something that also grows in value.”

The bird is really cackling now. It had become very annoying, and more than a little distracting. It wouldn’t surprise you if she was trying to sabotage your nego–

The sound of a bowstring fills the air. You duck, and reach for your sword–

There’s a light thump of something hitting the ground. You look up, and the bird is gone. With a glance over at Ievos, just now lowering his bow, you walk over to the base of the tree where crow had been perched, and you see it. Familiar it might have been, but it is still an animal. Was one, now. And animals don't just drop loot, they need to be processed first. So instead of a little bag, you find the body of a dead crow.

“What the fuck?” Your back was to her, but it sounded like Ladrieth wasn’t facing you either.

“I’ve wanted to shoot that thing all day.” You were beginning to like Ievos.

While the two of them are bickering, you surreptitiously pick up the bird, and stash it in your inventory. You aren’t entirely sure how familiars work, but there might be some utility in the beast.

“She’s not going to like that.” You say it loud enough that the adventurers can hear, but quietly enough that it sounds like you’re talking to yourself.

“What do you mean by that?” It seems like Wylahael was paying at least some attention to you.

You stand and turn, smiling. “I could tell you, but I still haven’t been paid.”

Ladrieth looks back down at her inventory. Taking just a moment to think, she taps the window. It vanishes, and a small, red crystal appears in her hand. “I have this.”

Yes. Unbeknownst to you, your eyes flash with golden light.

“Ladrieth, you can’t be serious. You just got that!” Shut up, Ievos.

“I don’t need my own place, and we only need one to make a Guild Hall. You guys are both pretty close after that fight, so we probably won’t even need to get a room at the inn tonight!”

“Maybe, but other people are going start showing up, soon. There will be competition for the good buildings.” You’re lacking some context, but it seems like a reasonable point, and you curse Wylahael for it.

“It won’t take that long, and I’ll pitch in extra on the Guild Charter! Nobody back in town knew what the deal was with the bird, and it’s not like we can ask the fucking goblins!”

“It could be nothing.”

That’s your cue. “I can assure you,” you say, “that it wasn’t nothing. However, I remain unconvinced. What, exactly, is that bauble you’re holding?” It's a bit of a risky play, but you just need to draw her in a little bit more. You almost have her.

Ladrieth turns back to you. “This is a Claimant Crystal. It lets whoever uses it stake their claim to a building or plot of land, and magically bind it to them. I think I’d call that something that grows in value.”

You smile. You struggle not to make it predatory. “Yes, I think I would, too. So, you give me the crystal, and I’ll tell the three of you all about the dead bird.” You walk up to the adventurers, and reach out to her. “Do we have a deal?”