Spirits of the Earth

"What do you mean I'm too young?!?" Hoss whined. She was standing outside the door of a large mansion, hands on her hips. "The flyer called for "adventurers of all shapes and sizes", right? I have a shape and a size! Why can't I help?"

The man at the door sighed. "Like I said, the young master wants somebody with at least two years of experience. He cannot entrust such an important mission to somebody who's liable to botch it."

"Wait what!" Hoss said, fuming with anger. "I can fight plenty good! I won't fai-"

The man shut the door on her, cutting her off. Screaming in frustration, Hoss stormed away from the mansion and began the long trek back into town. "Stupid nobles with their stupid prerequisites!" she ranted out loud. "How am I supposed to get experience when nobody will hire me to kill stuff!" Angry, Hoss pulled her battleaxe out of her back and began to attack a nearby tree.

"This!" *CRACK* "Isn't!" *CRACK* "Fair!" *CRACK* "At all!" she yelled in between swings. Finally she settled down, and slumped against the splintered remains of what was once a oak tree. "Now what?"

A feminine voice would come from seemingly nowhere, interrupting Hoss' thoughts. "I suggest you vacate the premises, is what. You wouldn't want the young master to charge you for that tree you just demolished." A sudden gust of wind would assault the poor oak, causing it to teeter precariously. "Up here. By the way." A cloaked figure would appear on the roof.

Hoss looked up in shock when she heard a voice tell her to leave. Standing up, she looked around wildly before finally finding the source of the voice standing behind her. "Oh shit, look at those clothes!" she thought as she took several steps back. "The covered face, the dark cloak, the fact that she has too many belts- this is an assassin! And assassins are usually evil!"

Hoss wasn't sure what the assassin wanted, but she'd apparently listened in on her conversation with the butler- not a good sign. Raising her eyebrows at the girl, she pulled a glass of lemonade out from her arm and took a sip. "What's it to you? Maybe I want him to come out here so I can kick his ass!"

Well, that was a bust, at least at first.  Let us explain:  There had been a call to a number of other countries from a man in Adela who had learned of some sort of immortal dark phoenix man who kept terrorizing people in the area.  He wanted people with different abilitie and powers to come and either find a way to kill him permanently...or capture him in such a way that his phoenix feathers could be cultivated forever.  This much had reached the home of one Rena Goldsswith, of Seredipity.  She was interested and had come down to seek more information about the job and payment.

Aye, but there's the rub.  You see, she came down here, and then the posting had been removed, with a notice where it had been that the Adelan Military officially handled matters of the crazed phoenix-man and laid claim to all spoils dropped by each incarnation of the creature.  So, as stated before, it was a bust.  And so, we had this lady warrior with a problem: Nothing to do in Adela.  At least, not until she'd seen another notice.  Not as high-profile, per se, but a 'young master' seemed to have need of an experienced fighter.

Alright.  She was one.  It fit.

Information led her to the area in question, aaand that's when Rena heard the sound of someone very pissed off about the prerequisite.  That was a rather loud crack of the axe, as she saw it, and the younger girl attached to it.  The mansion was large, the 'young master' was obviously a noble or a magistrate, and the axe-wielder was now talking to a woman in a tree.  The conversation...didn't sound good.

"You can't get the job if you beat up the one offering it.  True, it can be satisfying, but it doesn't solve the problem."

For those of you not acquainted with Rena Goldswith, she is a young adult of brown hair, wearing full-body armor that is a bronze-brass color...composed of mythril held together on leather armor beneath to prevent chafing.  She does not have a helmet, but does have two daggers on the belt she's wearing.  The back of the armor has a hanging-spot via the crossguard for her bigass sword, Spark.  Prone to a kinder dispositio, she would rather this disagreement be diffused, not escalated.

"Tell me what you can do.  I think I see a way around this."

Hoss's eye twitched as she turned towards the source of the new voice. "Oh, what now?" she grumbled as she placed the glass of lemonade back into her arm- inadvertently answering the woman's question as to what she could do. It's a good thing she did too, because upon seeing the woman's armor Hoss immediately forgot what she'd been asked.

"Whoa! No way!" Hoss exclaimed loudly. "That looks just like the legendary suit of armor from that book, "The Cobbler And The Dragon"! Is it the same one?!?" She ran forward to get a closer look. "Is that cyathil?" she asked, poking the metal of the woman's breastplate. "Oh my god that is so cool!"

Rosine was taken aback by Hoss' enthusiasm. "What the hell. It's just armor," she thought to herself, adjusting her veil absentmindedly. Still, it was worth checking out. Fancy armor meant fancy connections, and as far as work was doing, she probably needed a couple extra jobs anyway. She climbed down from the roof, approaching the pair silently like the devious sneak she was.

Two things that she was not expecting: One, that the girl she was addressing would place a glass of lemonade into her arm, the whole thing becoming a tattoo upon her body.  Two, that said girl would suddenly become infatuated by her armor.

The power to store items on one's body, which is what that looked like, could be rather useful.  Thank gods, she hadn't decided to be a thief or a smuggler, and that she just wanted some honest axe-swinging work, right?  Rena could, at least, see some potential  there.  Certainly, a number of enemies could be blindsided by such a talent.  As for the whole thing about her armor, Rena was a bit surprised and taken aback.  People didn't usually react that way.

"What?  No, it's mythril.  It's been in my family for generations."

If he reacted that way to her armor, she was gonna go nuts over her sword.  Spark was a zweihander with gentle serrations on its sides leading up to a double-point.  It was made of a material that had no name, forged in sorcery of lightning from a storm directly into metal to make it a strange kind of elemental alloy.  It was a dangerous weapon, just as a sword alone, but this had lightning power, as well.  Before the girl noticed it too, Rena tried to regain control of the conversation.

"Listen, umm...  Sorry, I don't know your name.  Mine is Rena.  I could speak for you to be a part of the mission, if you're looking for experience.  Take an apprenticeship, perhaps?  I hate to see people struggling to get work."

Hoss looked up at the woman stars in her eyes. "What?!? I didn't even know mythril was a real thing! That's AWESOME!" She bounced on her heels, excited to meet such an obviously experienced warrior. "My name is Hoss! Hoss Goodheart! And holy shit an apprenticeship? That sounds amazing!"

Looking behind her, Hoss saw the assassin sneaking towards them. "Shit, I forgot about her." She raised her axe and took a defensive position. "Don't worry about this evildoer, I got it, okay?"

"Oh my god Rena is going to be so impressed!"

Rosine scoffed from underneath her veil. "You know, just because I have a mask on, doesn't mean I'm evil. Besides, what makes you so sure you'll beat me?" Caidheach cracked her knuckles, stretching nonchalantly as the ground beneath her began to glow hot pink. "Last chance to take it back, bucka." The figure stared up at Hoss, a bright light emitting from the holes in her face.

Hoss' reactions were definitely that of someone who hadn't had her life tempered by anything to make her a bit cool-headed, but she had energy and she had an eagerness to excell.  The only problem was that she reacted to the woman who'd been on the roof like she was an attacker, which was wrong.  Not that these two didn't have some disagreement - because Rena had been trying to diffuse the situation when she came in - but this was quickly getting out of hand.  That is why she stepped between them, hands held up in a 'chill out' gesture.  She looked to Hoss first.

"This one's here for a job, same as you.  Just trying to make ends meet.  If she were here to kill someone, she wouldn't be talking, she'd be acting."

The look she'd given Hoss was patient.  She wanted to show her stuff and she'd made a quick assumption.  The look she gave the other woman was a bit more stern, because she really wasn't helping, and Rena had seen that she was charging some magic.

"You're both here for a job and so am I, but none of us will get anywhere if we end up fighting, so drop whatever you're about to cast.  She made a mistake because you look the part.  Just let it go."

Rena often did play the voice of reason in certain scenarios.  All part of having to grow up sooner than she would've wanted to...

Hoss's ears turned red as Rena scolded her. Putting her axe away inside her back, she looked away. "Fine. I'll drop it- for now." she said as she tried (and failed) to hide her embarrassment. "But if she tries to magic us later I'm gonna wreck her so hard." She sent an angry glare the girls way. "What did you say your name was? Whatever it was, I think it's dumb. I think 'm gonna call you-"

Hoss was cut off by a voice coming from the mansion. "What happened to my favorite tree!?" cried the young man standing in the doorway. He looked to be around eighteen, and he was wearing clothes that looked like they must have cost a fortune. He had a willowy frame, as if he could be pushed over by a light breeze. "That was planted by my great-great-great granddaddy!"  he said with tears in his eyes."Somebody is going to pay for this!"

Hoss stared at her feet, too embarrassed to speak.

Without warning, the figure exploded into thousands of shards of light, causing the young master to scream. In the seconds that followed, a strange levitating glove would emerge from behind the doorway, subduing the boy's cries, before holding him as he fell slowly to the ground, a pink dart protruding from his back.

Rosine's face emerged from the doorway, her cloak flourishing as the rest of her body became visible. Without saying a word, she quickly grabbed a potion from her belt and sprinkled it on the remains of the tree, which in seconds returned to good health. Caidheach patted the great oak with admiration, before taking a moment to explain herself.

"The glowing figure you saw was merely an illusion I summoned after this one started acting up," she said, pointing in Hoss's direction. "I cast an invisibility spell and retreated in case one of you decided to charge me, but seeing as that was sorted, I had no reason to keep up the act. That is, of course, before he came along, and by then my illusion had expired." Caidheach made a motion with her hands that emulated the explosion, before shrugging casually. "I took the opportunity to silence him before things escalated. Besides, this way, he won't have any evidence that you destroyed his tree." 

So!  Frying pan avoided, we now move onto the fire.  The fire is represented by what we'll assume to be the young master coming out and seeing the damage to the large tree.  It was a...family tree, in a sense.  It was very old, and obviously an important connection to the past.  We can't comment on the young fellow's attentions and values to such things, but that's no reason to hack the tree apart either.  Hoss was understandably embarassed, and Rena was about to say something...when their assassin friend decided to take quick action.  Rena facepalmed.

"Are you kidding me?  Did you actually drug your propective employer?"

Granted, she must've used some kind of regenerative healing potion for quick wound repair on the tree and brought it back to its former state, but this was all a bit extreme.

"I was going to suggest asking a druid.  Some of the more devout ones would've fixed this for free."

She sighed, shaking her head, then pointed to the guy.

"Wake him up.  We'll be lucky if he hires any of us, at this rate."

Hoss's eyes widened in horror as the assassin proceeded to knock out the young man who had stepped outside to cry at them. "What the hell? I knew you were evil!" She didn't listen to what the girl's explanation was, being preoccupied instead with holding herself back from attacking her. "An innocent! He was an innocent! I'm gonna cleave her head off! Then I'll kick her in the teeth! Evil deserves no less."

Rena's voice snapped Hoss out of her violent fantasies. "R-right. Wake him up." she repeated, shooting the assassin a death glare as she approached the unconscious noble. Kneeling down, Hoss pulled a soaking wet cloth out from her shin and wrung it out over the man's face. "C'mon dummy, you'll be fine." she muttered under her breath. The man slowly began to come to, and Hoss looked Rena with an annoyed expression.

"Give this guy a minute, he's getting there."

Rosine glanced between the other women, before shooing the girl away from the man's face. "He won't be too happy to see you, so I suggest you back off." The girl took off her gloves and gently pulled the dart out of his back, before disposing of it in her pocket. "And before you say anything, he didn't see me and if it weren't for the fact, you'd be on your way to jail right now. Armor lady too." Rosine stared  blankly at the mentioned accessory to the crime. But, seeing as he was coming to, Caidheach decided to focus her attention more on the man she just knocked out. She rubbed the master's shoulder. "Hey, you alright?"

The young Adelan came to, opening his eyes slowly before sitting up on the steps. "W-what?"

"You passed out on the steps. These people are here to help. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Caidheach replied.

"Wait... Them? Y-y-you two?!" The man pointed frantically between the other women. "They're the ones that wrecked my tree!"

"The tree seems fine to me," Rosine said, shrugging as if she had no part in its recovery.

Rena's only comment on the other woman's assertion of 'If not for me, you'd be going to jail' was simply "Don't push your luck.".  Because, really, that wasn't even realitic, even if he accused her of doing anything, which wasn't even true.  It'd be a bit of a tangle to get Hoss out of trouble, and Rena was certainly willing, but the point was that the apparent illusionist was having illusions about how things would really play out.  Out of the three of them, Rena was - thus far- the only one NOT to pull anything out of line.

However, since the young master was in a lather over the tree and decided to point fingers, Rena figured that it was just about time.  Right after the other woman stated the tree was fine, the part-elf raised a hand to bring attention to the forefront before gesturing over to her now.

"It's okay.  This woman was just showing us her expertise in illusions, making it look as though the tree were being cut up before our very eyes.  She's quite good."

Hah.  Now, she was part of it, whether she wanted it or not, and she could forget about veiled threats or leverage of any kind.  So saying, they now had some buiness to attend to, unless someone around here DID indeed want to ruin it for all of them, because it would lead to just that, no question.

"In any case, we came here in reponse to your flyer asking for some good swords and whatnot for a job.  Shall we begin?"

The noble's eyes widened. "O-oh! Bravo! You had me completely fooled!" he said, eyes still teary. 'You three have proven yourself more than capable of completing this mission already!"

Nearby, Hoss crossed her arms angrily. "Why? Why would you bring the evildoer with us?" she thought, eyes burning with silent fury. "She'll betray us! Just you wait!"

"Now, the job..." the young master said as he began to cry once more. "I-I used to be able to hunt b-big game in the f-f-forest, but-" The man paused to take a handkerchief out of his pocket. After blowing his nose loudly, he continued. "B-but now there's a two headed ogre in the woods, and he kills everything! He won't let us hunt anymore, and what's worse, he tries to kill us the moment we get too close!" The man got on his knees, pleading. "Please! Just make him go away!"

Rosine was taken aback by the young master's melodramatics but quickly assured him of their competence. "Of course. We'll make sure he doesn't bother you or your men in the future." Caidheach gently patted the young man's head. "However, I didn't quite get the chance to look over your offer. May you remind me what you are giving us in exchange for our services? I hate to talk about payment so soon, but, it is the nature of the job."

Rena wasn't telepathic, but she caught the look on Hoss' face.  She didn't like that the as-of-yet-unnamed woman was going with them.  Yes, there was going to be no love lost between them, she could tell.  The both of them had their issues.  Hoss was impulsive, and the other woman was morally dubious.  The best way to keep both from causing harm was to keep them where she could see them.

So anyway, the young master began to outline the fullness of his problems.  Apparently, he enjoyed hunting in the woods, but there was an ogre out there making that hard, what with the killing and all.  The two-headed part surprised Rena, but then she'd seen a few weird things, herself.  Their illusionist was sympathetic, but wanted to discuss price.  Unfortunately, that did need to be discussed.

"She IS right.  We can handle it, but we will need fair payment."

Truthfully, Rena had handled underhanded clients before and knew how to get them to pay their dues, but provided that this was merely a distress rich boy, there wouldn't be much of a concern.

"I'm guessing we shouldn't have any trouble finding it, though."

The young man's eyes narrowed. "You will be compensated fairly." he said in a flat voice. "Bring me the ogre's head- both of them- and I'll make it worth your while."

"Wait, what?" Hoss said angrily. "I wanna know how much! Otherwise you're probably going to stiff us!" This day was seemingly going from bad to worse. "I swear, if we kill the monster and you pay us in lottery tickets or something, I will be so fucking mad!"

For a brief moment the nobleman looked as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He uickly shrugged it off however, and crossed his arms across his chest. "I said you'd be compensated fairly. Now shoo, go kill that ogre. It lives in a cave a few miles southwest of here." Standing up, he walked back into his mansion, shutting the door behind him.

Hoss stood there, completely dumbfounded. "What a prick."

Rosine rolled her eyes as the man walked into his house. "See here, that's no way to negotiate." The girl sighed, before putting on her gloves. "It seems we'll have to deal with him later, but it would've helped if you weren't so aggressive." Rosine, of course, meant Hoss.

The woman made her way to the gate. After leaving the yard, she faced the other adventurers, hesitating slightly before introducing herself. "I suppose since we'll be working together that I must introduce myself. I am Rosine of Highheart."

"Aggression had no bearing on his attitude at all.  That was clearly just how he talks to people who aren't rich."

Which was funny, when you think about it.  Rena herself had a nice home in Falial Province, title, unofficial knighthood, and a lineage that went back at least as far as this ancient tree.  Still, no matter.  They had their job and now the third member of their trio introduced herself.  The illusionist was rude, and she overstepped the line of acceptable, but perhaps she'd be decent enough during the job ahead of them.

"Well, with that in mind, I guess I'm the only one that hasn't explained herself a little."

She began to walk in the south-western-y direction.

"I'm the obvious swordsman, of course, but I'm not a stranger to magic, per se.  I can see the flow of magic, and alot of my study has been into the controlling of this blade."

She tapped Spark, on her back.

"It's an artifact of lightning, very potent."

Hoss's eye twitched. "H-how dare you! I'm asking hard-hitting questions!" she exclaimed to Rosine angrily. She crossed her arms. "I was right though- your name is dumb. So dumb, in fact, that I'm going to call you-"

Hoss abruptly stopped when she saw Rena's sword. "But that's so fuckin' cool!" she yelled excitedly as rushed over to take a closer look. "An artifact? So that means it's old? Where'd you get it? Does it zap people?" Hoss looked up at Rena in awe. "Oh my god she's so awesome!"

Rosine rolled her eyes for a third time. "Oh bother," she whispered to herself, shaking her head. "You'd think with a name like Hoss... People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." Caidheach was itching to sock the girl, but it seemed Hoss was more focused on Rena's blade. Eventually, the bigass sword caught her attention as well, garnering Rena some respect from the girl.

[this next part comes after Hoss' questions are answered]

"I don't suppose it has ranged capabilities?"

In response to the question of zappage and long-range power, Rena nodded.

"Oh yeah.  Gotcha covered there.  It basically uses a number of skills and feats intuitively."

They were still moving in the promised direction for the whole affair, but even so, Rena didn't want to be the center of attention here, even though being professional and well-equipped often DID that.  Still, if they had nothing else to do...  So, as they were moving about the wilderness, Rena made with the explanations.

"It's an old sword among seven like it.  They use to belong to the Alamar family, but they passed on their lineage to the Goldswith family when there were no more heirs.  The swords respond according to the personality one has.  My father had Flint, my uncle had Swift, my grandfather has Dusk, and this one is Spark."

And before anyone could ask about the past-tenses in that last statement, Rena turned the center of attention to Hoss.

"So, how'd you get the ability to literally keep things on you?  I've never seen that before."

Hoss went red in the face. "Ohmygod, Rena wants to know about me?" She cleared her throat dramatically. "Well, you see, it's a curse! A curse of awesome! I found this fairy in the woods this one time and he was like 'Do you want powers?' and I was like 'Hell yeah I want powers!' So he gave me powers! For free!" Hoss scratched the back of her head. "I can't touch iron anymore though. It kinda sucks, but I manage."

Rosine eyed Hoss' tattoos oddly, before scratching her head. "Hmm... Can't touch iron? I take it you're Serenian? It's just that I had a job not too long ago in Whitesands. My escort couldn't stand the stuff." Rosine paused for a moment, before readjusting her veil. "Poor old boy caught a nasty rash."

On the whole, Rena guessed that whatever exchange went on for her to get those powers was a little more involved than that.  Hoss might've been given the generosity of something like that, but for it to be that spontaneous?  You never know.  Rena remembered, of course, that stranger things have happened in her own life.  Also more personal ones...  She blinked when Hoss mentioned the iron weakness.  Rena, like Rosine, would've guessed that the girl was already Serenian.  However...

"Yeah, a rash, a sore, and maybe a sickness if the contact is strong.  That's what I get, though.  I think she means it's more severe on her."

'Cause if you hadn't guessed, Rena was Serenian herself, being half-elf and all.  She knew about this stuff, so if another Serenian was talking like that, it meant their mutual weakness was stronger for her.

"Pfft, that's nothing!" Hoss said, puffing up her chest. "Last time I touched something made of iron, it felt like my arm was going to fall off! I couldn't use it for, like, a week!"

There was a hint of pride in Hoss's voice that perhaps shouldn't have been there. You see, when your view of the world has been shaped by fairy tales, one tends to idolize certain storytelling conventions. Hoss was no different- the drawback she took in order to receive her power meant that she was essentially being punished for following her dream of being a hero. In other words, she saw herself as a sort of martyr- and that's badass!

To her, at least.

Looking towards Rosine, Hoss wore a curious expression on her face. She tried to sound caustic, but she couldn't keep her curiosity from escaping her voice. "What about you? What do you do?"

Without saying a word, Rosine raised a hand to Hoss' face as a strange glassy flower emerged from her palm. "As an illusionist, I manipulate light and sound to create ghosts: images and voices detached from the physical world." The woman poked the rose gently, letting her finger sink into it like water. "Like a painter, space is my canvas." The rose bud turned to dust. Out of the ashes emerged a tiny dragon, roaring contently as it flew around Hoss' head.

Why she was bragging about her condition, Rena didn't know.  Hoss seemed rather obsessed with being impressive and looking over impressive things.  One could not be sure if this latest statement was a part of that or not.  Still, the conversation moved on to Rosine, who was - as noted - an illusionist.  However, on this occasion, she explained a bit more about how good she really was while demonstrating herself.  Rena smirked.

"My, but aren't we all quite the crew.  Three different disciplines to work with, and unless the ogre - either of his heads - are that smart, I can see 'im falling for illusions."

It looked to her like she and Hoss were the real dedicated fighters, though.

"Say, Hoss.  Got a question for you.  Does your power allow things that are incoming dangerously to just get sucked in, or is there any limit to the size?  Anyone ever thrown stuff at you and you just absorbed it?  If so, it could be really useful for defense.  'Course, if it doesn't, you could get really hurt."

She was formulating a plan, but she needed to know just how good that power of hers worked.

Hoss's initial awe at Rosine's illusions was short lived, as the girl had decided to create a tiny dragon for the apparent purpose of trying to annoy her. Hoss waved her arms in the air, trying to swat the dragon away from her- only to find that her hand passed right through it. "Arrgh! Stupid fucking thing! Get away!"

Hoss suddenly realized that she was being asked a question, and her entire face went red. She lowered her arms quickly, trying to pretend nothing had happened. "Oh, ah, I'm not sure!" Hoss said, trying her hardest to sound nonchalant. "I need to physically push the object into my body, so I suppose if I caught it as it was coming towards me..." She trailed off and shrugged.

Turning to Rosine, Hoss pointed at the illusory dragon. "Please make this go away. I hate dragons, I don't ever want to look at them."

Rosine sighed, before snapping her fingers. The tiny dragon screamed and burst into flames. "How about this? When we find the ogre, I'll cast an invisibility spell on us." Three small figures appeared in front of the women, each representing a different member of the group, before poofing out of sight.

"Rena and I'll be on the sidelines," Rosine explained, before walking the clones to the side. Tiny footprints marked their paths. "And Hoss will charge the beast head on." A tiny ogre would appear and immediately notice mini-Hoss, before running at her angrily.

"Out of the blue, boom." A flash of light would erupt from Rena's hiding spot. "Rena stuns him with a flash of lightning." The ogre stumbled blindly, roaring angrily. Mini-Hoss would cheer and do a little dance. "Then, Hoss goes in for the kill."

Mini-Hoss'd stand to attention, saluting big Hoss before diving at the ogre, absorbing it in her tum. "If that doesn't work, Rena and I'll offer ranged support and take him down while Hoss takes shelter." Mini-Rena and Ros would unpoof, before bombarding the beast with a myriad of ranged attacks. "At least, that's what I think."

Hmmm.  Catching weapons seemed a bit risky.  Rena would rather put that to the test in less dangerous conditions, like poking her with a pointed stick and seeing if it raised a welt or got sucked in.  A situation that could potentially put her life at risk without having some certainty that it could work was unacceptable in Rena's book.  For now, it'd be better if they relied more on Hoss' fighting strength, rather than her carrying capacity.  She seemed tough, if overly-anxious.

Right now, Rosine was formulating plans of attack, which could work...but Rena didn't like them.  Plan A could work out fine, but she suspected it was the resentment between her two cohorts that put Hoss charging head on.  They didn't know how good this ogre was at anything.  He might see Hoss coming and smack down a tree or something at her.  That wouldn't work out too well.  The other plan might work, but Rosine might have to exhaust her arsenal to put down the guy.

"I have an idea.  Invisbility be had on all of us, an illusion of Hoss taunting the ogre, he charges and goes right through the illusion, and then Hoss and I blindside him at once from either side.  Even if he doesn't go down immediately, his concentration is split and he doesn't even know about you yet."

Hoss watched intently as the smaller her fought the ogre, a goofy grin plastered onto her face. "Y'know, maybe Rosine isn't so bad." she thought. "If she's willing to let me have all the glory like that, she must recognize that I'm the better warrior!" Hoss crossed her arms and nodded in approval. "Respect."

Before Hoss could voice her agreement Rena cut her off with an alternative plan- one that didn't have Hoss front and center. Hoss's eyes widened. "What? But I want to fight the ogre head on!" she whined. "Come on! I can handle it!"

"No, Rena's right. It'd be too risky to have you face the ogre head-on. That said, I should mention that my illusions don't last more than a couple seconds if I'm not actively controlling them."

Rosine looked over at Rena, before returning her attention to the minis."It would make more sense if you and I were in charge of stunning the beast since I'd have to be close to Hoss' clone."  Mini-Ros and Rena would nod before strafing the ogre with flashes of light and electricity.

"And once he's out of it, Hoss can strike him from behind." Mini-Hoss roared and charged the beast frantically, slicing the monster's leg clean off before delivering the final blow. "No mess."

Rena turned to the younger-and-quite-fiery warrior with a look of concern.

"Listen, Hoss.  If it was a load of marauding bandits, I wouldn't think twice about you handling them.  This is some kind of two-headed ogre.  Not only is he tough, but even if you were to decapitate him in one blow, that's just one head down and you open to bitter retaliation."

And since it's an ogre, humans tend to go flying when hit.  And then comes the crackling of bones and the coughing up of blood.  Armor only did so much to soak up super impacts.

"I'm a little worried.  He'll be strong, and that's a fact, but we dunno if he has magic, if he has a big warbow, if he's actually smart..."

She looks at Rosine's latest plan.

"You know what?  Let's amend that to luring him, blinding him, and then we all just take him.  They're be plenty to go around.  Sound fair?"

Hoss wanted to object further, to insist that she could handle it, but the expression on Rena's face kept her quiet. She crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine. We can do that."

"Damn it, why? I thought Rena was cool, too."

As the three walked, the road they were on grew smaller and smaller, and it soon was nothing more than a tight pathway through the woods. Hoss suddenly spotted something just off the trail, and rushed over to see what it was.

It was a human corpse- and a fresh one at that. The deceased man appeared to have been split down the middle by some sort of bladed weapon. "Whoah." said Hoss quietly. "That's brutal."

Rosine raised her eyebrows, before approaching the corpse cautiously. She was used to seeing dead bodies, but she rarely came across people with such grave injuries. Rosine kneeled beside the man, eyeing his wounds grimly before looking back at the others.

"We're close... I'm going to search him. You two keep an eye out for the ogre." Rosine saw them off. She picked expertly through the man's clothes, taking great care not to get any blood on her person.

Just as it seemed there was nothing on him to identify him, Ros noticed a couple small pieces of paper sticking from under the deceased man's. Gently plucking them from his side, she reviewed the notes before gesturing the others to her side. 

"Look." In her hands was a small letter written on fine parchment and another written in Adelan shorthand on an old notepad. "It's to Inspector Jacob Serat. From Lord Chandler." And this." Rosine shook the shorthand note before holding it closer to her face. "I think I can read it. A set of directions. He must not have followed them at all. "

Rosine glanced up at the others. "We'll have to go to the next town and ask the Guard to pick up the body. Whoever he was, someone must've been expecting him."

Hoss' disappointment was palpable, but Rena knew she had to be responsible about this.  She'd given this girl a shot where the 'young master' had basically turned her away at the door, but that meant that if anything happened to her, it would be all her fault.  Rena never had a time where she was overconfident.  She couldn't afford bravado.  Too much serious things in her life eliminated that luxury.  Giving Hoss a taste of the combat she desired was better than nothing, but she didn't want the girl smashed into a pulp in the process.

So, they were walking along the path when...there was a body.  It was always sad to see something dead lying around, but this one had been a human split down the middle!  As Hoss said, it was brutal, though what Rena picked up on was that it was skillful.  Assuming it was the ogre, he'd gotten the man pretty much symetrical.  Ask yourself the last time you sliced anything down the middle.  It wasn't easy, was it?  Unless you tried hard, you were off, weren't you?  The attacker had been on target.  And yes, the freshness of the dead man was noted.  After Rosine found the notes...

"We'll get him retrieved later.  Let's find our guy now."

She took a leap against a tree, and then kicked off to land on a branch, perching there so that she could look around and - more importantly - listen with those semi-elven ears.

Grumsham and Gramshum untied the note from the bird's leg with a level of dexterity not often seen in ogres. They read the hastily written note carefully.

Quote-magic swordsman
-illusionist
-bag of holding

They both knew what this meant, of course- the young master had found another batch of fools. The brothers had to hand it to the lad- when he had approached them with the offer, they had thought him insane. But sure enough, the nobleman had been able to supply a steady stream of adventurers for them to eat- as long as they handed over the magic items the poor heroes left behind.

Letting out a laugh that echoed throughout the forest, Grumsham and Gramshum began to strap on their plate mail.

Rosine looked up from the letters, before beckoning Hoss to her side. As she waited for the girl to join her, she waved at Rena, before climbing up the tree to greet her. "You don't need elf ears to hear that. Where'd it come from?" Rosine asked, before settling on a separate branch.

Well, her efforts were reward, alright.  Rena looked over as Rosine landed nearby on another branch.  Could they all do that, or did Hoss need a rope?

"You mean that sinister double-laugh?  It was that way."

She pointed in the direction she felt was the epicenter of the laughs before jumping down.

"I think we're expected, or we were spotted.  Or..."

Well, there was always 'Tipped off about', but she wasn't gonna say it.  Let's just say that if it turned out to be true, she was going to have to lean extra hard for payment here.

Upon seeing her two companions in the tree, Hoss got excited. "Awesome! I wanna climb it too!" Reaching into her left thigh, she procured a grappling hook and threw into the tree- only for Rena to jump out of said tree a moment later. Hoss groaned. "Aw, what? C'mon guys, really?"

Pulling the grappling hook down from the tree, Hoss shoved it into her abdomen and followed Rena. "So, have you fought big monsters like this before? Any advice? I've, ah, only done it once."

Rosine hopped down from her branch, landing silently on the forest floor. She smirked at Hoss' comment, but said nothing, brushing off the dirt that had gathered on her gloves, before reaching into her cloak for her hand crossbows. She took a moment to inspect them, before tucking them into her belt. Her light magic should've been enough to sustain the group in case of an ambush, but she never really felt prepared without them.

[after Rena speaks]

After catching up with them, Rosine glanced between her fellow adventurers, before casting a translucent bubble around the group. It was a simple camouflage spell and would keep them out of sight for the time being.

Rena looked over at Hoss and shrugged.

"I was only getting idea of where to go."

And now, they knew.  That double-laugh had been unmistakeable.  Only a two-headed being - or two really coordinated people - could laugh like that.  It was a good thing they did, because it gave them away.  Now, as they moved along, Hoss had a question.  It actually brought back memories, of a sort.  Not exactly good ones either.  Her brow kind of furrowed as she thought about it.

"There's like a couple times where I've had to do something.  Funnily enough, it was family-related.  Before I was born, dad had to put down an earth guardian, an ancient empowered golem that originally wielded our sword, Quake.  All our swords had their ownership changed or forged by blood, but Quake and two others were unearthed relics, originally.  So, this thing came out of the mines to claim the sword and my dad stopped it with the help of my grandfather.  Years later, I had to contend with the guardians of light and dark, who wanted Flash and Dusk back."

She sighed, shaking her head.  At this point, Rosine had caught up and cast her spell, protecting them from sight, apparently.  Rena gave this an appreciative nod before continuing.

"The other time, my uncle on my mother's side - who doesn't like me very much - wanted me to clear out a nest of wyverns.  What I can say about big opponents is that speed is key.  You're never gonna outmatch them on strength.  You have to get under or past their big smashy attacks, make the cut, and get back out of range as fast as you can.  Or, you have to inflict such a wound that their reflex flips you away - weapon and all - and you have to land well.  You can't work the two against each other, unfortunately, though.  Not since they're on the same body.  You may hear stories about arguing heads, but mostly they're coordinated and dangerous."

Ask a hydra, sometime, or a cerberus.

Hoss looked up at Rena in awe as she talked about her past. "That is so cool! Why does she seem so bummed out about it?" She crossed her arms. "She should be proud! I'd be proud if my family was that badass." Suddenly noticing Rosine approach, Hoss saw the assassin cast some sort of ward around them. "That's pretty neat-o!" she said enthusiastically.

Rena began talking again, this time about fighting large opponents. Hoss went red in the face, and looked at the ground. "I did the opposite of all of that. That's why I lost." An image of the dragon she had challenged flashed through her mind, which made Hoss angry. "She's still out there, and it's because I failed."

She shook her head. "I don't wanna think about that." Reaching into her abdomen, she grabbed a slice of pecan pie- her go to comfort food- and began to stuff her face with it. Looking at her companions, Hoss spoke with her mouth full. "You guys wan' any? I 'ave more."

"No, thanks. I had something earlier," Rosine replied, steadily eyeing the invisibility field. She took a moment to contemplate something, before glancing between her two companions. "Say, I found something suspicious in one of those letters I found. Something about missing persons. I-" Suddenly, a loud thumping could be heard in the distance, punctuated with the occasional orcish grunt. "We've got company." Rosine checked her gloves, before casting an invisibility spell on the adventurers.

Well, Rena was kinda' bummed because she these moments hadn't really been jobs, but family concerns.  The guardians had come after them like a family curse.  And as for the wyvern net?  She'd been asked by her only surviving uncle, who did not like her because his sister was dead and he blamed Rena's father, Arden, for that.  So, it was a bit of a complication.  Rena blinked out of this thought as Hoss pulled out a pie from uhh...herself.  That was going to take some getting use to, clearly.  She shook her head at Hoss.

"No thanks.  Not in the mood for pie."

She preferred apple or cherry, anyway.  Rena turned give Rosine a questioning glance about the strange thing she'd found, but the two of them both heard some sounds that would frankly be a bit concerning.  Something with a bit of bulky mass on it was heard stomping around.  Rosine began to cast a full invisibility spell upon them all.  It's at this point that we should point out...that Rena can see the flow and use of magic.  As a result, she had a vague impression of where her colleagues were, in relation to her own position.  She herself had drawn out Spark, and was attempting to get around the position of whatever was approaching, keeping her eyes and her ears open.