(the virgin regains consciousness slowly, she has no idea where she is, last thing she remembers.. the recluse, and some servant of the devil. Her head hurts. she realizes the front of her dress soaked, her hair too, and her face? She realizes she is drowning. She breaks the surface of the lake to see the moon high in the sky, almost mocking her. she paddles to shore and crawls up onto the sand, coughing up lake water. She looks up as she hears a snap, its a doe. It steps towards her slowly, and leans down to her eye level. She reaches up to touch it.)
hello dear baby
(an arrow sprouts from the deers neck)
Howdy Dearie~
(she puts away her crossbow and takes her arrow out of the deer)
(she kicks the carcass to the ground and hauls it over get shoulder)
need help getting out of there?
Yes, absolutely, do you know which way ravenswood bluff is?
(she stands up and sees the harlots getup)
um actually, I can find it on my own.
(Turns away and starts walking along the beach)
Your loss, im not the only hunter in these woods though, id be careful
(Continues to walk) Then maybe they can help me get back.
Well some of them arent exactly "good intentioned,"
im not hunting humans at least
(virgin stops, turns around)
Hunting... people?
Yes yes, ive seen several demons here, and juat regular human killers.
Demons dont often hunt in packs, but the woods are no mans land for them, you could see one, two, even like five demons if you're unlucky
plus all the hunting "accidents", cant be accidental if theres that many
well, good luck out there!
(she walks away)
Yeah, sure.
(The virgin hears a strange giggling from the tree line)
WAIT
(jogs after the harlot)
Where did you say ravenswood bluff was?
Yeah, that happens more that you would expect
(she moves the deer corpse onto a better less precarious position on her shoulder, the virgin's eyes captivated by its as she just continues walking)
Last time i was in these woods for a while, i saw a demon, he tried to make a deal with me but was expelled before then, it was someone from this town but i cant remember at all what they looked like, definitely an older middle aged masculine face, or maybe an older woman, or...
OH- yes, he looked an awful lot like that puzzlemaster but it definitely wasn't him, i gotta ask him if he has a fraternal twin or something
sorry for the rambling, these woods also make me a bit nervous, and i can only imagine how bad it is for you, since im here a lot as a traveler and all
so how has your time gone here, any idea who that madman that massacred the town's storytellers
(she takes the virgin's hand and leads her back to town)
Ugh, don't even get me started on the people here, they are terrible, drinking, gambling, general unholiness. The only slightly tolerable one was the baron. But they all don't seem evil, just misguided, and thats why I'm here.
i didn’t even know there was one, and this baron being the “least evil” is ironic. I also just recently arrived but haven’t seen the others to be that bad
and tell be what you mean by “general unholiness”
Plain rudeness. I get here, no one comes to talk to me except for that horrible peasant recluse, who manages to break me and my love up, and then... that quill person shows up and they gang up on me! I didn't even do anything!
i also just recently got here, whats up with everyone here, and the recluse, he seems kind but whats been happening, and whos the love?
My one true love, the Ravenkeeper. The first night I got her I was walking around and I saw him, just standing at the fountain. Then he turned around, and looked at me.
and how you got into the relationship?
That is how I got into the relationship.
Interesting…?
Are you questioning me? I'll have you know he even danced with me one time.
