Lupa

[Kowsauni]

Poa, the Dryad

As Toroto comes out of his memory he finds Clive shaking his shoulder and giving him a concerned look. "Hey man, are you all right? You look like you zoned out there for a bit. Now c'mon, an acquaintance of mine wants to talk to us. I think we should see what she has to say."

Clive leads Toroto over to a strange-looking plant girl who had moved to a more secluded part of the street, away from the crowd. Toroto has seen her earlier in the crowd, sticking out like a sore thumb. Her hair looks to be made out of grass and was a vibrant green. Her skin looks like polished wood. Clive introduces Toroto to her. "Hey Poa this is my friend Toroto. Toroto, this is Poa—she's a dryad from the forest."

Poa waved at them. “I was wondering when you guys would come over.” Poa jabbed Clive in the side with her wooden elbow and winked at him. “That was pretty clever of you, giving them a Teraxis claw like that. They'll never be the wiser.”

Clive stares at Poa, utterly confused by her comment. “What are you talking about? What's a Teraxis?”

Poa looks back at Clive and then at Toroto to see if he might have any inkling of what she was talking about. “That claw you gave Redford belongs to a Teraxis—you know, the giant centipede things that drink tree sap with their long tongues? Darn nuisances too. An adult will destroy an entire acre of forest within a month looking for their favorite sap... but you knew that, right?”

Clive shook his head.

“Then what made you think a Teraxis was the 'Beast of a Thousand Knives?' They're herbivores; there's no way they would be snatching cattle from the ranches. Whatever it is that's doing that, it wasn't the thing you killed.” Poa looked back and forth between them eager for an explanation.

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As Rona stands in the crowd, an excited villager turns to her and exclaims, “Can you believe it? Those two boys took down the Beast of a Thousand Knives! We can finally be at ease!” Rona would know the Beast of a Thousand Knives is a nickname the villagers had given to a mysterious entity that has been entering the town every couple nights, stealing cows from the ranchers and leaving strange marks on buildings. The bar she works at has been alight with gossip about this monster for the last week and a half. The stories were always outrageous as no one had actually laid an eye on the creature until now.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rona will observe the two adventurers that Mr. Redford had lauded as the heroes of the town as they move to a quieter section of the street and begin to talk with Poa, a dryad who hails from Tapana Woods but would often spend weeks at a time in Lupa. She's even gone to your bar a few times but never quite understood the appeal as alcohol did not affect her the same way as humans.

Azure Toroto

yeah your fine

Rona of the Desert

 

[Azure Toroto]

After hearing Poa talk about the "Teraxis", which they killed the previous day was not the suspect. Toroto was left with questioning look, he looked like he had "I hate my life" like look, he didn't think that the creature was a... herbivore. He knows now that the town was still in danger, he can't leave it to such an fate of torment. Also not only that, but he lied to the people, making them believe it's safe to wonder the woods. Unable to think of what to say, he was remembering the promise of Artin, he must keep it for his sake.

Once he gathered his thoughts, he said in a maintain calm state "So that creature was not the cause, then the people remain in danger..." he continued "What do you suppose the True culprit is?" he said in a question. In his mind, he was trying to remain calm even though many people are at risk, he wouldn't stand for and will leave once the job is done. Even if he is distrustful, he is a man who wants the people to be safe, which he believes to be one of his purposes of life (Which Artin gave him), so he is willing to save these people no matter what.

Toroto stands before Poa and Clive, waiting for an answer, so he could act on this as quick as possible even if his recently recovered injury may prove an slight burden.

Kowsauni

Rona of the Desert

 

[Rona of the Desert]

Rona nodded her head quickly and said "Yes I knew of the beast the Beast of a Thousand Knives," she paused for a moment and looked up again. She shifted nervously and knew deep down inside that it too wasn't the monster behind the destruction. Rona decided to quietly follow them and see what more they had to say. She walked on the balls of her feet trying not to crunch the rocks beneath her. She also deep down in her heart hoped her alpha would come home soon. She was worried about him, and she wondered if he might get blamed for this. The pack tries to keep a low profile when in the company of common folk.  

[Kowsauni]

Poa, the Dryad

Clive began to explain what happened. He seemed to get a bit flustered under Poa's admonishing stare. "Well, you see, we met these two wild women living in the forest. We accidentally stumbled upon one of them bathing and, uhh... well, actually, that's not important, what happened is we told them what our quest was and the older one directed us to this monster. At the time it seemed to make sense, I drew for her in the dirt the claw marks we saw on the side of a barn and she said they had to be from that creature."

Poa raised a grassy eyebrow. "Two wild women you say? I live in the forest and talk to the trees. I have never seen or heard any mention of these women before. Granted, I haven't been back home in almost two weeks, so they might be new arrivals. However don't you find it odd that two new strangers to the forest would instantly know who the culprit was to a string of disappearances in a town which, as far as I can tell, they have never visited?"

Clive suddenly looked extremely embarrassed. He began to scratch the back of his head. "Well.. when you put it that way... but come on, you had knowledge on this that we didn't. I had never even heard of one of those creatures before. From what we knew, our course of action made perfect sense!" Clive's face suddenly clouded over in melancholic thought. "Hmm... from what you said, those woman would have arrived in the forest around the same time these disappearances began... but how that bull was torn apart... those strange marks on the buildings...there's no way those two girls..."

Poa gives Clive a hearty slap on the back and lets out a loud laugh. "Hey, don't stress about it! From as far as I can tell, it's a win-win situation. You got rid of a nasty pest, the townspeople are now happy, and you made a healthy profit. I'm sure whatever was taking that cattle won't be foolish enough to do it again now that they have this perfect cover. Hehe, it's just, at first, I thought you were the clever ones. I guess you were had just like everyone else."

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Creeping over in a nonchalant manner, Rona was able to get close enough to the group to hear their conversation. Clive and Poa seem to take no notice of her eavesdropping as in this situation it would not be weird for other villagers to be nearby. In fact there were a few other townsfolk in the area but they seemed engaged in their own conversations.

Azure Toroto

Rona of the Desert

Rona would not have knowledge of the creature being called Razorclaw.

 

[Azure Toroto]

Toroto disagree with this being an win-win situation, the creature they looking for has not been caught and he couldn't stand for that. As Poa finished talking Toroto begin to talk in an serious tone "To me, this is not an win-win situation and I don't believe that whatever ate that bull's corpse is gonna settle on that, It would probably raid the town for more food as animals do since the villagers and livestock would make easy prey for it." He gives an stare to Poa that he was serious about this. He doesn't want to walk away with possible danger lurking through the forest waiting to make an villager into a easy snack. After staring for an good minute, he continued "Therefore, I'm not leaving this village until this beast is truly dealt with, Clive you may leave if you want with your gold, but I'm gonna stay and see what this creature is, then deal with it so this village may rest in peace!.". Also he meant what he said, he doesn't care if anyone is with him or not.

He also said "Poa, I'm gonna to find this creature no matter what, I'm not gonna let anyone stop me from doing so, there is an promise of which I kept and will not break it". Toroto begin walking away along the street, he really meant what he said and he is not going back on his word, if he does there will be no purpose for Toroto anymore (Man, he does get uptight sometimes). All he could think about is that promise, which he had kept with his dying young friend which was... *Enter memory, a few month ago* Toroto kneels on the ground with Artin in his arms, he was stabbed deep in the stomach by the Bandit leader, who was holding him hostage to make Toroto surrender his own life but Artin resisted and fought back, which got him fatally wounded . The 7 bodies of the bandits lay all about the ground around Toroto and Artin, bleeding out from their injuries that Toroto inflicted on them, which will kill them without being treated, some of them died from their wounds already.

As Toroto holds onto Artin, hearing his dying words "Please... protect the people, keep them happy and..." Artin fell silent with his blue eyes still open, as the 9 yr old boy has met his demise, Toroto started letting out tears which went down his cheeks and onto Artin's corpse. his left hand was on Artin's forehead, touching the bright blonde hair then he moved his hand down his face to close his eyes, unable to stop crying about the one who he cared for, he remembered all times they spent together after he rescued Artin from a bandit raid on a group of travelers only three years back, him being the only survivor of the group of travelers. Toroto an hour later buried Artin near an tree since he was usually fond of animals and plants of any sort. *exits memory*

As Toroto walks down the street while having an headache, he thought of where to search for this creature. The others still have a chance of catching up with him since he is 25 feet away. What happens next?

Kowsauni

Appears Toroto is not content since the creature still lurks around, but where?

Rona of the Desert

 

[Rona of the Desert]

Rona noticed that the two were staring at her, so she wandered by them. She heard all that she wanted to anyway. "Wild women hu?" Rona thought to herself. She was relieved that is wasn't someone from her pack especially not her alpha. She grew more concerned about him not returning. The full moon was growing closer, so she had to go make preparations. Of course she would have to close the bar down for the night and gather everyone so they could go for their run in the woods. They were usually careful about what they hunted. They never went after live stock because that usually draws attention. The last thing they need is a hunter after them. She was also concerned about this new guy that killed the beast. She figured she had better not give him a reason to be on their trail. She looked over her shoulder at Toroto and remembered his face. She said under her breath "I hope we can be friends." As she finished saying it an evil smile came across her face showing a little teeth. She turned away and started to walk down the road towards the bar. Her pretty long auburn hair swaying as she walked.  

[Kowsauni]

Poa, the Dryad

Poa shrugs her shoulders. "Suit yourself, though I doubt they'll show themselves again after all this. I'll be in town for a few more days, then I'm returning to the forest. Don't get yourself hurt." Poa then turns around and heads in the opposite direction back towards the front gate.

Clive, money in hand, looks back and forth between Poa and Toroto, then sighs. "As much as I hate to be made to look the fool, I think I agree with Poa on this. I'll hang around around in town for a few days as well, just to make sure the Beast of a Thousand Knives doesn't return, but I doubt it will. See you around, my friend."

Clive then walks off into a store to spend some of his reward, leaving Toroto alone to decide on his next course of action.

Azure Toroto

Rona of the Desert

 

[Azure Toroto]

Toroto heard the two talk from the distance, but he thinking at the time about where this beast is. He had some anger in his thoughts about the false culprit being the Teraxis, Yet he wants to question people further of this, but doesn't want to panic them about it. The only thing is the creature eats meat, this town is filled with possible victims, Toroto highly doubts it would abandon such an opportunity, even if an hunter has recently kill another creature. Now, Toroto walks down the street, very desperate to get more information on it.

Artin always made it easy for Toroto find his bounty in the past, but is long dead, somewhere, Artin always read books on many subjects because his father was an book salesman. The knowledge he got from the books taught him history of the land, Biology of most races, military tactics, and medical, each of these assisted Toroto on his bounty hunts, but not anymore. Toroto needs to find out what it could be, he had explore the area around here in the past, he saw some of the creatures of the area as well. Maybe he could have been right about those two girls, there was something not right them, he only knew little of them and they looked as if foreign to this land, but knew that creature.

Upon thinking, Toroto hears footsteps in the background, but didn't care because it could have been some villagers doing daily chores. The best guess he has is those two girls, Corasica and Ying, but they don't really seem to be an threat since how they acted. All of this hurts Toroto's head, he doesn't know what to believe, whether those girls tricked him or the creature is hiding itself somewhere nearby. "Where is this beast?" Toroto said to himself, scared that it may take another victim. He may have no choice to seek those girls in the woods, even if they already left he may be able to find evidence throughout the area, *Toroto starts walking toward the direction of Tapana forest, once again*

Toroto is unsure this is the right thing to do, but he willing to try looking in the area which he previously saw the girls. He has chosen to search the area where he, Clive, and those girls fought the creature, In hopes to find the truth of the true "Beast of Thousand knives"

*Exits to Tapana Forest*

Kowsauni

It seems Toroto is gonna search the area where he and Clive fought The Teraxis, mainly he hopes to find evidence.

Rona of the Desert

 

[Kowsauni]

Azure Toroto

You have to choose a course of action and go for it. I cant really describe anything until you decide on your next step.

 

[Azure Toroto]

Azure Toroto

*Enters Lupa* As Toroto walks into the town with Zanikia, It seem like the town was quiet. Seeing the crops as he last saw early on, the sky darken with an partial night sky that is hinted with slight strands of orange light emitting from the sun. The moon was darken along with the night sky leaving some stars visible. It was one of the few times that Toroto seen the moon like this, he knew it was an new moon from his previous experiences and was told the name of it. Though it seem the streets were empty, as it was nearing the hour of night and these farmers may prefer to sleep early on so that they tend the crops next morning. Still it not always that case, some may prefer to visit an tavern and buy their hard-earned drink of the day after doing hard farm work, drinking until one may be sober. Toroto would think Zanikia's family may be busy with customers about as Inns may go.

Toroto is not one for going to an inn that is crowded, but he will stop by at "The Den" later on to see how the business is going and find some contracts to take if any. "Well, we're back! Hope to see your family's Inn later tonight. I'm just going to explore this town since I didn't have an chance to see most of it when I first arrived to perform my contract" with that Toroto walks off to sight-see the town at night.

Rona of the Desert

Kowsauni

 

[Rona of the Desert]

Zanikia laughed deeply at the thought of Toroto meeting his family. Yeah my family is great. You just have to watch out for my girl she is quite a pistol. She has a massive temper on her. You know I do have an extra room available right now if you want to stay the night. It's better then sleeping on the cold ground out in the forest. I'm sure there will be a fresh pot of rabbit stew cooking. Then in the morning you can look at the message board. Zanikia clapped him on the back like they were old friends. Even though deep down inside he was a little nervous about him meeting his werewolf family. He walked up to the door of the den and opened it slowly. Hey everyone I am back and brought food. Zanikia smiled a toothy grin and tossed his bag onto the nearest table. A young women walked out of the back room and tilted her head and smiled sweetly. Her long flowing auburn red hair bounced every time she took a step. Welcome home Zanikia. How was your trip and who is this young man you have with you?