Supposedly, just ahead through the woods, there was a village that was being plagued by a mysterious set of hauntings, from the sounds of it a mostly benevolent infestation, but it bothered the villagers nonetheless. Or something like that. Truth be told, Zharith didn't know the full story--he'd heard about it in passing, tales overheard in taverns and the like, and he'd decided out of sheer boredom to go investigate. Besides, he needed work, and exorcisms were something he was quite well versed in; after all, it was an integral part of summoning. If you called forth an entity, you better damn well know how to banish it when all was said and done! So, off Zharith went to seek out said village, because his coin was running low and, unfortunately...he didn't have much skill in anything else.
Unless you counted washing dishes.
And that was exactly how he had been earning wages as of late. Apparently the mainland didn't have much use for a summoner, or at least not any of the places he had been to--not nearly as much of a use for them as his homeland, Necromantia, had had, plagued with spirits as it was. And to be honest, he was sick of washing dishes. Even if he made little to nothing on this job, at least it was an opportunity to put his trade to some use!
There was, after all, nothing worse than feeling useless. Or like feeling your skills were going to waste.
So, indeed, this was a great opportunity to do what he was meant to do! Even a simple exorcism was great!
Only problem was...he had never thought to ask for directions to this village. At least not until he was already out in the middle of the bloody forest. In his excitement, he'd kind of forgotten some very key, important, common sense factors.
Dammit.
Huffing irritably and leaning against a mossy tree, he glared skyward, knowing his "pet" crow was somewhere up there. He could feel her amusement trickling down to him in waves like a sort of telepathic laughter, just as she could likely feel his anger and annoyance at her. Damn her. Why hadn't she thought to remind him to ask?! Oh, nevermind. He knew the answer to that well enough. She always did shit like that: "To teach you a lesson, Zharith!" or some such crap like that. Then again, sometimes he thought she was just as dumb as he sometimes was; she just liked to act like she knew some secret he didn't, just to annoy him, but sometimes he wondered if she really didn't know and was just being a pest. Probably. You could never trust crows, and he had yet to figure out why they were so popular in Necromantia. Except that they liked dead stuff, and a lot of people in Necromantia liked dead stuff.
Whatever.
He finally shook his head, messy black, jaw length hair--well, most of it was hair; there were some random black feathers interspersed throughout--swaying with the motion. "...Just shut up already, Raki," he muttered, slumping slightly and crossing his arms. It was starting to get dark and it would be pointless to do anymore searching until morning...ugh.
I never said anything, hun, came the mental response, making Zharith twitch. Glittering, beady black eyes watched him from a high branch up above, and he rolled his own amber eyes at the crow above him.
"I said shut up." Ignoring the emotions she sent him--more amusement and mental laughter--he knelt and started to build a fire ring, clearing a small space before him of leaves and debris and gathering up some large stones he found to form a circle. It would be pretty chilly tonight, he knew, but he hadn't come totally unprepared. He'd packed a small bag, unsure of how many days it would take to get there or how long he would be staying--or if he would be denied access and have to turn back--and it was certainly coming in handy now. From it he took a flint and gathered up some dry sticks, then went about building a small fire.
He wasn't worried. He'd brought extra clothes and a cloak, a bit of food, and a dagger. If push came to shove, he was perfectly capable of lasting out in the wilderness for as long as he needed to, even on limited supplies. After all, one could get anything from nature if they had the will to.
