#sp:axe

It takes some time and a little help from the more covert members of the Knights, but you finally get a lead into who is organizing this ring. This information takes you to Arianrhod, where you will meet a priestly “Dragon” holding auditions for a Leif to add in their crew of characters. They don’t particularly care what you look like, but two things are non-negotiable: a boyish attitude and proficiency in a variety of weapons. This could be the chance you need to infiltrate the group, if you manage to impress him. [Grants Any Weapon +1]

Listen, Hilda did not support criminals. Those poor people were out there being scammed out of their hard-earned gold by this dishonest group of miscreants. Nobody deserved such a fate. It was truly awful.

But, well... it was pretty funny. 

Standing beside her assigned Blue Lion partner, she peered at the flyer they’d been discreetly handed by an anonymous source just moments ago. It proclaimed that the gang were in need of an additional noble to complete their cast, and that any aspiring boyish actor who knew their way around a weapon should join them for auditions... Tonight. The location was listed as the back room of a nearby seedy bar. She looked up to ask their informant a question, only to find that they had promptly disappeared. Figured.

“Well,” Hilda said decisively. “If we’re going undercover to this thing, one of us is going to need to pull off this audition.” She looked herself up and down pointedly. “And I don’t think it’s going to be me.” 

Recently, graves in western Adrestia have been turning up empty shortly after they’ve been buried. It may be the work of some grave robbers looking to make gold, but villagers have been whispering about ghastly looking people shambling into the woods late at night. [Grants Axe +1]

Mercedes really didn’t want to complain - not on a mission with one of the Knights of Seiros and especially not when they were here to help the local villagers. The training axe she’d been handed was really heavy though, leaving her to marvel at how people carried around metal axes and could swing them with such grace.

One such person was her companion, a lady named Dagr who was exceptionally tall and well built. She was at least a foot taller than Mercedes was. A giggle escaped her lips when she thought about how even Emile would look tiny next to the amazonian beauty that Princess Dagr possessed. 

“I’m sorry,” she apologised swiftly, not wishing to cause offence. “I’m not laughing at you I just... imagined my little brother stood next to you. He’s not actually very little. Far from it. He’s still got a way to go before he stands quite as proudly as you do, though.” Mercedes voice softened to a wistful whisper, tinged with an emotion she’d prefer not to dwell on or identify. “It made me think of him as a cute little boy once more.” She kept her head lowered for a while as they continued through the forest. Guilt. That was what haunted her. This was neither the time nor the place though, their destination was in sight.

“Oh my, I can see why this place gives people the heebie jeebies,” she said with a laugh, drinking in the morbid backdrop. The ideal setting for a bone-chilling ghost story, on she’d love to share with her friends over tea. There’s a shuffling noise not far from them and when Mercedes turns to it’s source, her face lights up with glee. “Wow, I’ve never seen a zombie before! Hmm, I hope it doesn’t attack us. I’m not very good at swinging axes... ”

The residents of Rusalka do not mind you staying, in fact they even welcome you into their commune and share their beliefs and traditions with you. There are two rules of their society that you must follow: The first is that every able-bodied individual is expected to contribute to the village. The second is to never, and they mean never, enter the forests without a friend and a blessing from the village leader. You’re tasked with gathering firewood for tonight, but you must keep an eye out for the “fair folk” that steal people off into the night… [Grants Axe +1]

Something isn’t right here. 

Alarm bells rang continuously in Hilda’s head from the second that she and the professor located the village and embraced as if they are old friends. The people carried a somewhat uncanny aura with them; it wasn’t something that she could quite put her finger on or explain, but her instincts were generally sound, and as it stood, they were telling her to turn heel and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

But, Deirdre seemed content enough to be taken on a tour of their facilities and had accepted their offer of a place to rest for a few nights, so Hilda had no choice but to trail along after her sullenly. Every time she thought that they might have a moment alone to raise her concerns, another resident would appear from seemingly nowhere and offer some conversation or hospitality. A little voice in the back of her head told her that this was no accident.

Finally, evening fell, and the village chief introduced them to their rules and set them their task for the night. The stern tone used when outlining this was the closest that any of the residents had been to explicit negativity, but once the explanation concluded, the empty smile returned. Armed with chopping axes and the permission of their leader, the pair entered the forest, the noise of the commune fading behind them.

When Hilda was certain that they were alone, she wheeled on the professor, throwing her arms up in exasperation. “Professor! You cannot be serious! We can’t stay here!”

Exploring the dense, forested land surrounding the town leads you to the yawning mouth of a cave, one that you don’t recognize from the villagers’ explanations of their territory. Carved stone steps invite you into a manmade bunker, an underground web of hallways and rooms that are too well-maintained to be abandoned. Eventually your group manages to stumble their way into a treasure trove of information, a library stocked with books on a variety of magical topics from taming spirits to exorcising them. You read a book on barriers intended to block out wayward spirits from corrupting the mind, learning how the writer’s people would build labyrinthine strongholds underground to trap them in for the rest of their days. An underground maze… hallways that twist and turn… “no way home”? This may be time to trace your steps before this place becomes your grave. [ Grants Any Skill +1 ]

Did the faculty not trust her, or something?

For the second time this mission, Hilda had been sent out on an expedition with one of the Black Eagles professors. Whilst her classmates were paired off with one another unsupervised, she remained under the watchful eye of the staff. It was almost like they expected her to make no effort and leave all of the work to her partner.

They were right, of course, but it still hurt. 

Yet another branch tangled itself in Hilda’s hair as the pair pushed through the unwieldy undergrowth. As she sought to free it and smooth down her ponytail, a twig snapped forwards and scratched her cheek. She huffed. She and nature were not getting along today. 

“What exactly are we looking for out here, Professor?” she asked in a tone that just bordered on whiny. They had been walking for what felt like hours and had yet to come across anything of interest. “Can we sit down soon? I’m tired.” 

She followed Cecilia as she disappeared through a particularly dense bit of brush and almost collided with the back of her. She opened her mouth to ask whether her request to stop was being granted, but as her eyes drifted past her companion to the sight before them, her mouth remained open without emitting a sound. 

A mammoth cave emerged from the vegetation in front of them. Intricately carved steps led down into the darkness. There was no hint in the surroundings as to how far the cave might extend below the surface or what might await them at the bottom. But Hilda knew that she did not want to go down there. 

“... What are the chances we can pretend we never saw this and move on?”

There are rumors that one of the students dropped their axe at a nearby lake. Out came an ethereal woman, holding both a golden axe and a silver axe, to ask them which one they had dropped. When they had said it was neither and instead chose their boring old axe, they were rewarded with an axe worthy of a true legendary hero! If there really is a lady handing out axes at the lake, then maybe it’s worth a shot trying to snag yourself something just as great. Or maybe you’ll dive into the lake, searching for it yourself. After all, she has to be getting these axes from SOMEWHERE, right? [Grants Axe +1]

Of course, Hilda didn’t believe the rumour. She may feign otherwise sometimes to avoid answering difficult questions, but she did possess some critical thinking skills. And realistically, if there was a wraith handing out axes to anybody who tossed their weapon in a lake, everybody would be walking around with legendary weapons. 

But, well... what if? 

Running a single finger down the handle of her iron axe, she pondered. This weapon was incredibly dull. A gold one would look so much better. And if there was one thing Hilda adored, it was beauty. 

Well, it was worth a shot, right? It’s not like she planned to throw her axe or herself into the lake to find out. But, if she passed on the rumour to somebody else and they were curious about it, well, that was hardly her fault, was it? 

Hoisting her axe up behind her back, she headed out to the lake. 

She expected the place to be swarming with students, but it seemed the rumour hadn’t travelled as far as she’d thought, yet. Unless everybody was already in the lake. Hmm... No, probably not. 

Scanning the area, she spied a Knight nearby. She was unsure if he was keeping watch there or if he was just taking a stroll on his break, but for her purposes, it didn’t matter.

She sidled up to him. “Hey! Heard the rumours, huh?” 

You have turned your back on justice and joined the Dragon and his coterie of imposters… or so he thinks. A threatening “offer you can’t refuse” becomes the opportunity of a lifetime when he bribes you for information and cooperation, opening up a chance for you to feed false information and get some insight into how the group operates. That said, the enigmatic “Al” is said to be an intelligent and calculating man in his own right. Be warned, this may be one of his traps… [Grants Any Weapon +1]  

Hilda was no stranger to lying. In fact, she might even say they were well-acquainted. A few little untruths sprinkled throughout her day did well to mould her path into one she was more comfortable with, whether that was passing a task onto somebody else or missing a particularly arduous class. But these lies were minor. They were simple to keep track of. Never before had she found herself buried in a web of lies in which a simple tug on any one loose thread would unravel the matrix and leave her stranded in enemy territory surrounded by adversaries.

Hm. Best not to think about it, really. 

At least she could take solace in the fact that she did not have to experience it alone. With Sylvain’s presence by her side as she strode down the corridor, she felt herself melt into the role that she’d been playing. To those in the ring, the two were deserters of The Officer’s Academy, frustrated by the restrictions of a life of virtue. They’d joined the coterie out of their own self-seeking desires. 

Well, selfishness wasn’t too unfamiliar to her either. 

But, now, she forced herself to focus as she knocked on the office door. They were answering the summons of the Dragon himself, and any sign of tension was sure to put him on edge. 

“You wanted to see us, sir?” she asked sweetly as the door swung open.