Magical Mystical Fox Hunt

[MadEmperor]

Thrax gave her a discreet smile and nod while the mage wasn't looking. When the mage was looking, he settled back into an expression of suspicious disapproval.

It didn't take long for her to finish enchanting the mixture of blood, spit, herbs, and powdered bone. She scooped it into a small vial and corked it. After shaking up the contents, she set the vial into an amulet and held it out.

"Ask it, and it will be drawn in the direction of the nearest matrilineal blood relation. If they are near enough, it will also glow. Provided there are no interfering magics"

[DragonSong]

Hana nodded as she took the vial, dipping her head in respect as she murmured her thanks.

"Here." She gave the mage an additional few coins than what they'd initially agreed on—she was never overly fussed about money—and smiled. "Thank you."

Outside the little shop, she gave the vial an experiment shake and squinted at it, then huffed. "Well. I guess we just...hope this works?"

[MadEmperor]

"The ritual was different, but it smelled a lot like the herbs my master used. It didn't look like a scam." Thrax looked at the amulet expectantly. "Well? Let's go test it out."

[DragonSong]

She nodded. "We should get some distance from the city, but not so far into the jungle that we have no idea where we are."

With a sideways smile, she shrugged and added, "At least we won't need to keep up the lady-and-bodyguard act out in the wilds."

[MadEmperor]

The bard sighed. "Thank the Storm. This 'my lady' nonsense is tiresome."


The jungle was alive with the sounds of insects and tropical birds. "Ugh. Almost forgot how much wet heat sucks." He groaned. "Not as bad as the time I got paid to go ruin hunting in Kishan though, and hopefully more productive."

[DragonSong]

"You're using productive very flexibly," Hana muttered as she picked her way over a twisted root that jutted partially from the earth. "I highly doubt we're going to be making any coin of this particular adventure."

She sighed and pulled out the vial from where she'd carefully stashed it in her pack. "Okay. Do you think this is far enough from the city?"

[MadEmperor]

"I mean, I hope we actually find what we're looking for and don't accidentally raise the dead." He paused, chuckling as he stepped over the same root. "Long story."

"Anyway, yeah, this should be fine."

[DragonSong]

"Oh hold on, no no no no." Vial momentarily forgotten, Hana whipped her head around to look at him. "You don't get to anyway shit like that! Accidentally raising the dead? I need details. Immediately."

[MadEmperor]

"You see... My employer and I hid from the rain in this cave, yeah? Only, it wasn't a cave at all; it was a tomb." He paused dramatically. "There was this mummified lizard woman and this weird book. The self-writing about us kind."

"So, as my employer is ill-advisedly still reading the thing, I can feel this surge of magic coming from it. I yanked it from him and shut it, but it was too late. The mummy was... unmummifying."

Another dramatic pause. "The punchline though? She was, I shit you not, a librarian. A sexy one, even despite the whole was just dead thing, and she knew it. He got bent out of shape because her wiles got to me at first. The way back to town was awkward as hells."

"See? Not much of a story."

[DragonSong]

"Not much of a story?" Hana repeated incredulously. "I'm sorry, you tell me you fucked a mummy lizard librarian and then you have the nerve to say not much of a story?!"

She shoved his shoulder lightly, laughing. "Man, you sure get around, huh?"

[MadEmperor]

"What? N-no! I di--" he splattered. "Eww! Gross! It didn't get that far! I'm not a complete idiot."

"Though... yeah," he laughed. "The charming, muscly bard thing really opens a lot of... hearts."

[DragonSong]

"Hearts," Hana repeated dryly. "Riiiiiiight." She shrugged. "Also, no judgement. Can't say I wouldn't have taken a crack at it in your place even if just for the novelty of it."

Her playful grin started to fall as she glanced down at the vial again. Right. The village. What they were here for.

[MadEmperor]

"Oh, yeah, if she was really alive. My squeamish employer wasn't willing to entertain the possibility and ruined it for me." Realization struck. "Oh hells, he was Thanati. That... could've been a problem."

Thrax glanced down at the vial. Right. They were doing something. "So, uh, how... exactly do you 'ask' it to work?"

[DragonSong]

"That," Hana muttered, frowning at the vial like it might suddenly just tell her how to use it, "Is a very good question."

She gave the vial a little shake.

Nothing.

"Well, guess I wasn't really expecting that to work." She sighed. "Can you...help us? Errrr take us where we need to go?"

She thought she felt the faintest pulse of magic from the thing. Carefully, she extended a flat palm, the vial laid in the center. "Um...show us the way?"

The vial started to hum, faintly. Then it spun twice, before coming to rest with its cap pointed deeper into the jungle, just to the left of their trail.

She blinked. "Huh. Would ya lookit that."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax chuckled. "I guess she meant that literally."

"Well then..." He brought out his axe in case they needed to hack vegetation out of the way and stepped off of the trail. "Lead on."

[DragonSong]

Hana exhaled slowly. "Okay..."

She suddenly straightened her shoulders and gave a sharp nod. "Okay."


"Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhg." It was nearly dusk by the time Hana suddenly came to a stop and refused to take another step. "I can't. Move. Another. Muscle. I'm so tired," she whimpered. "We have to find somewhere to camp for the night. Jungle trekking is the worst."

[MadEmperor]

"I know. Believe me, I know." He groaned tiredly, his arms like lead weights from swinging an axe all day.

"But we can't camp here." The bard motioned to the profound lack of open space around them. "No room for you, let alone me."

[DragonSong]

"Fine," Hana grumbled. Then she paused. "Well...wait. What about the trees?" She tipped her head back, squinting up. "The canopy seems pretty thick here...and it's probably safer than camping on the ground anyway, right?"

She glanced at him, then chuckled a little sheepishly and added, "Although, it might might be...kinda tight for you."

[MadEmperor]

Thrax looked at her like she had three heads instead of three tails. "Do I look like a squirrel? It'd have to be big tree. I'd be better off sleeping at the base of a tree."

He'd never climbed a tree even once, either, but she didn't need to know that.

[DragonSong]

"Okay, but have you ever fought a wild boar? Because you're good, but those fuckers are insane." She crossed her arms over her chest. "The trees are safer—what, are you scared of heights? Because that's fine! We can work with that!"