Worthy Core

Renter Forst groans as he tries to stretch out, taking a moment to do something other than lie down and peer out of an attic window. He and Kelsey are currently camped out in the second floor of one of Grassbrook's new shops, a place that went by the name of Summer's Sundries but which was actually a Challenger Association franchise, a store chain owned by the Association and which catered to Challengers specifically. That relationship meant that no one from the shop was complaining that two of the Association's local inspection team were currently taking up space in their storage area, but that doesn't mean Renter doesn't have a complaint or two of his own.

"Tracker, Kelsey. I am a Thornwoods. Tracker. That means I'm good at spending my time in the woods and, you know, tracking shit. I don't think y'much need my skills for sitting on our asses and peeping into the Bastard's windows all day."

The kobold scoffs at the statement. "And what, you think mine are any better? I take hits and I set shit on fire. At least you've got good eyes. Besides, it's not like we've got a lot of options here. Alizz is too busy for grunt work like this, which leaves you, me, and Sely to keep an eye on these strangers."

After taking a few moments to walk in a circle and stretch his legs, Renter again takes a seat next to one of the tiny windows, designed more for ventilation than people-watching. "So how about we bring in the Church of Bounty on this, huh? They seem pretty tight with the dungeon, right?"

Kelsey shrugs. "I don't make the decisions for the dungeon, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do get brought in now that one of them hopped the line and got himself guardianated." Having said that, his expression shifts into a grin. "Of course, if you're just saying you'd rather spend your time up here with that succubus rather than with me, I ain't gonna blame you. I'd swap you for her myself if I get the option."

His companion chuckles as he rubs the stubble on his chin. "If she's into curvy elf lasses, I doubt I got much of a shot. She's fun for a game of cards at the tavern though, I'll say that. But hells, man, if we had the evening shift then at least we might be getting a good show or two out of all of this." Leaning forward, he again stares across the street and into what windows he can see of the Lucky Bastard. At this time of day there's not much he can make out, save for the occasional hint of motion as someone inside one of the rooms walks around. That said, the Bastard is also on one of the town's busiest streets, which means there's quite a bit of foot traffic to keep track of as well. Almost anyone walking around for a bit of shopping or dining or anything else is likely to come into view at some point, which makes their current position one of the best people-watching points in the area.

If only it weren't so damn stuffy on this summer afternoon. He'd taken off most of his outer layers already, but Kelsey, as a rather hot-blooded lizard, is practically down his his skivvies next to him. If it wasn't for the fact that the Warrior of Flame had spells to help him with heat management, Renter suspects the man would probably be naked by this point. That thought leads him to think again about possibly enlisting Sable Bluehair, or perhaps Lilly Fullblossom, to aid in the job and...nope, he needs a different distraction.

"Wanna run through the list again? Sely said that new guy had intel on the rest of the arrivals?"

"Yup. Sure, why not, let's start with the easy ones." Shifting in his seat, Kelsey pulls out a clipboard and begins to go down a list of names, or at least descriptions. "Imp girl, currently disguised as a goblin."

Renter hadn't seen her in town all day, which was expected. "Up at the dungeon today, most likely."

"Imp guy, also disguised as a goblin."

"Walked into the inn thirty minutes ago, probably playing cards or some shit right now that I wish I could be doin'."

"Me too, but watchin' em from the other side of the tavern all day would get a lil obvious." Kelsey moves down the list. "One elf man, green skin but probably wearing an illusion to be pale and boring like the rest of 'em."

Renter's lips split into a grin. "Ain't been stupid enough to go around in that color. But unless he swapped illusions with someone else, he went down towards the Association shooting range an hour ago."

"Two 'dark elves', one man and one woman."

Before answering, the Tracker has to shake his head. "Can you believe they're trying to pass themselves off as half drider? Sure, it explains the skin color. But when's the last time y'seen a half-drider with just two legs?"

Kelsey shudders at a memory. "You seen many half-driders at all, Renter?"

"...Saw a pair of half-orc siblings, once. Had the whole spider thing going on, just more muscle up top than they usually get."

"I saw myself a half-minotaur once. No fur, but had the horns, and most important, she was enormous. And you know what her face looked like?"

Renter shoots the kobold a glance. "How am I gonna know what her face looked like? She got spider fangs in her snout or some shit?"

Kelsey grins. "Hells if I know. When I looked up at her, all I could see were her tits." He stretches out his arms to indicate the lady's proportions, and Renter isn't sure whether or not to call the man out on his bullshit. He had seen a minotaur or two who...well, now he's just getting distracted even more.

"Heh, right, right. Anyhow, they went down to the magic sparring yard. Before lunch, haven't seen em back yet."

"Right - speaking of half-orcs, one man, one woman, aside from that one on the first team."

"Hey, just cause they're both half-orcs doesn't mean they stick together. The lady's in the tavern, the fella is probably dropping a ton of gold down at the bakery, again."

"Heh, you'd think he's never seen a pastry before. Human lady, purple hair."

"Ain't seen her today. You think she dyes it?"

"If they come from a place where the elves have green skin, I ain't discounting shit. Two human brothers, tall and with shoulder widths longer than my tail."

Renter shoots a glance at the kobold's tail, not that he needs a reminder of it. "Probably still at the bunkhouse, after last night. Gotta say, that boss of theirs runs a tight ship, as drunk and loud as they were he still got them bundled off before the evening patrol could get called in."

"Probably only because the guy doesn't want the Fort getting wind of them being around, rather than him giving a shit if they break a table or a chair or two." Kelsey's finger slides down the list. "Father and son, brown hair, fencer's builds."

"Ain't seen em since they picked up that streetwalker last night. Tell ya, I'm fuckin' shocked this town don't have a proper brothel yet, though it sure seems like there's a lot of 'rooms for rent' dotting the place."

"Dungeon's been messing with the usual business model, I think, especially with the place hiring the best dancers." Kelsey blinks, and looks up at Renter. "Wait, just one hire for the both of em?"

"...Maybe she had a friend waiting back home?"

"...I'm gonna pretend that's the case." He sighs and continues. "Human lass with red eyes, doesn't like being out in the sun."

Renter pointedly looks up at the afternoon sun shining through the window. "...Ask me again in six hours."

"Will do. And last...Pulg, Lei, Linda, and 'Tad', of the first team. The hells kind of name is Tad, anyhow?"

"What, y'like 'Pulg', but Tad sounds weird?"

"Seems like a proper orc name t'me, dunno what you mean. Anyhow, seen em or no?"

"Up in their room - I can see the flashes now and then from the mage doing her enchanting work. Except - hold on now, that's Pulg stepping out of the Bastard now." Renter points out the rather noticeable half-orc, and Kelsey peers down on him.

"Yeah, that's him alright. Wonder where he's going?"

"Well, how about we follow him and find out?" Kelsey gives the man a look, and he shrugs. "What? What's the point in just marking down every time someone crosses the street, if we don't know what they're doing when they ain't in plain sight? If he's goin' somewhere new, we ain't gonna find out about it from up here."

The kobold taps his talons against the windowsill before eventually grunting. "I hate leaving the post...but I ain't lettin' you trail someone alone, and you're right, we are understaffed for this. We give it twenty minutes, yeah? He just steps into a shop a block over, we get back up here and stop wasting time."

"Fine by me. Just need a quick break, anyhow." With that said the two quickly pull on their discarded garments and make their way back down to the ground floor of the store and out into the street, once again catching sight of the orc shaman before he's had a chance to get too far. Neither of the two are masters of stealth, but the town is still busy enough at this time of day that the man doesn't seem to notice them as he makes one turn and then another, before eventually stopping at a market stall and buying himself...a live chicken, held in a simple cage.

Renter frowns as the orc pays for his purchase. "Bah, just caught the man buying dinner. Guess we...wait, he ain't goin' back to the inn?"

"Inn wouldn't be happy about a fella butchering an animal in their rooms anyhow. Where is he going, though..." Indeed, Pulg heads down the street in the opposite direction, away from the market and the town center. Given that the town is still fairly small, there's not much more in this direction that he could be heading towards, and after a few more streets the pair need to start hanging further back in order to stay out of view. Eventually, he makes it out of the town entirely and begins to head towards the nearby woods - easy enough to do, given that the town lacks anything resembling walls or even guards on the street.

Kelsey ducks down, the tall grass surrounding the town providing reasonable cover from the half-orc's direction, although anyone watching the two from the town would probably find the behavior a little odd. "Okay, yeah, he's definitely up to something. There's a butcher's in the marketplace he could've taken it to, and these travelers have been dumping enough gold that I doubt he's worried about the cost. But what the hells do you need a chicken in the woods for?"

"...Poor chicken. But hey, we're headin' into my territory now. Follow my lead, yeah?" After giving Pulg a little more time to get ahead, Renter begins to lead the way after him, and soon the pair have slipped into the treeline, which still lingers close despite all of the lumber Grassbook had been consuming for the past year. While the shaman seems to be no expert at stealth himself, the Tracker still enjoys the chance to practice his skills, picking out the man's footsteps, and occasional spots where he'd stopped to pick some mushrooms or plant life. It's not until they get deeper into the woods where the light has begun to fade that they hear the man's voice, however.

"...That's chanting. Man's casting a spell of some sort, yeah?" Kelsey frowns at himself - he hadn't been wearing his armor or carrying his shield during their lookout shift, leaving him with only his sword and his own spells to count on. Renter does carry a crossbow, but it's a lighter, more mobile version than the man might bring for fighting dungeon monsters with. Still, getting into a fight should remain a worst-case scenario, so for now he simply gestures for Renter to continue moving on forward.

Eventually, the half-orc comes into view. He sits in the middle of a ring carved into the dirt, and marked at various spots with powders, tokens, or mushrooms. He's shirtless now, but as he kneels in the dirt he seems to be busy covering himself with fresh chicken blood, a knife nearby proving as evidence of the fowl murder if the corpse in his left hand wasn't enough. He continues to chant in a language that's unfamiliar to Kelsey, but one word does stand out to him - or rather, a name.

"Sevastion - he said that, yeah?" He hisses the question to his companion. "That's the name of the guy that Worthy ate!"

"Well, he's dead now, so if the orc is casting a curse on him I dunno what good it'll do. But if he wants to waste his time - holy shit!" It's a miracle that Renter doesn't shout out his last two words, as a sudden flash of light fills the forest clearing. What appears before Pulg at first seems to be the ghost of a drider, but Renter quickly realizes that's all wrong. Driders don't have giant mouths on the front of their spider halves, nor has he ever heard of one being ten feet tall, though perhaps Kelsey's half-minotaur might have come close. It is also, Renter would be willing to wager, not Sevastion's ghost.

Although in fact no one seems more surprised than Pulg, as the shaman utters a single shocked word.

"Yulia!?"