D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

When Kat went outside to check on Mol she found the meerkat woman missing. The pillar she’d been standing on had been returned to the ground and her tools had been packed up. Sure if Kat really wanted to find her it wouldn’t be hard. For all that she’d seemingly vanished… Mol’s heavy boots had left clear tracks going inside and there were large chunks of dirt on the carpet where someone had taken off their boots by stomping the heel into the floor. Kat had seen it enough back in the orphanage to recognise that much.

*Guess I scared her off with all the questions. I’ll keep an eye out for her but if she doesn’t have a quest for me that’s fine. I suspect that perhaps she SHOULD have something for me but I’m also guessing she didn’t properly read her prompts or lines or whatever it was Thyme provided for this job.*

Shaking her head Kat left the house and took a wide route to avoid getting too close to Del’s place. The devilish elf probably had a quest but it was also, quite certainly, not worth the trouble. Kat had no idea what she’d be asked to do but after seeing that conversation with Daryl, Kat was certain any ‘minor’ request of Del’s would quickly balloon into a massive issue. Sure she’d probably be paid extra ‘for the trouble’ but Kat was just as sure that the ‘bonus’ still wouldn’t be worth it. It would be just enough to convince Kat not to cause trouble.

So she wasn’t even going to bother. Walking amongst the more normal tents did have Kat spot quite a few people just… out and about. It was sort of weird to think of them all as actors but Kat supposed that was the point. Nobody stood out to her as ‘needs help’ or anything but that was fine. Kat wanted to check out the backer’s first. It was to help confirm her suspicion that the fancier buildings indicated quests, a low stakes way to find out what they all used as money… and of course grab a fresh snack. Whatever they were baking did smell nice. Even if it was buried a bit by the distance and other competing smells.

That plan was currently being derailed. An older looking wolf beastkin was currently making his way towards her. Kat slowed down and glance at him. “Excuse me miss… would you happen to be free at the moment?” asked the man.

Kat decided that, yes, she was. “I am indeed. I just finished speaking with the mayor but it seems things need to be discussed before a conclusion is reached tomorrow so I am indeed quite free,”

“Ah, in that case would you be willing to look for my granddaughter? I was meant to be watching her but I fell asleep at some point, probably an hour or so ago. She’s vanished and while I’m not terribly worried it IS getting dark and I’d like her home before sundown if possible. I’ll have a reward for your trouble of course, I just don’t think I can find her all that quickly myself,” explained the wolf while hitting the ground twice with his walking stick to emphasise the point.

“I understand, where is she likely to be?” asked Kat.

“Well… she’s friends with a few other kids but the real troublemaker is the wild girl she met not too long ago. She… well I hesitate to call it ‘living’ but she has a place she stays over the other side of the lake. I’d bet my granddaughter, Elly is her name, she headed off as soon as I fell asleep and met up with the girl some point along the way and then headed back there.

“It’s a longer walk than just an hour, so they might not have even made it there yet and the day is nearly over. I expect that Elly is trying to sneak her way into a sleepover knowing I’m too old to risk going out there without backup, and not quite worried enough to gather the townsfolk to go searching for her…” the old wolf sighed.

“That…” Kat bit her lip. These were just actors but… “that seems rather shortsighted and exceptionally callous towards you,”

The old man sighed. “I don’t think she really understands the worry of an old man you know? I’ve lost a lot of people to these woods and at least they all knew what they were getting into. The wild girl, I call her Char but I don’t know if she has a name… she doesn’t see it as dangerous. To her it’s just normal and Elly believes her… but I know the danger.” He shook his head. “I can’t say I’m happy but I’m not truly upset. Just worried you understand?”

Kat nodded, “Alright. So head over to the other side of the lake, look for a dwelling of some sort and… what do I do if Char is there but Elly is not?”

The old man grimaced. “If she’s not there AND Char hasn’t seen her around? Come back here immediately. I’ll have to mobilise the town,”

“Of course,” agreed Kat.

The old man spat on the ground. “Of course. Good luck and be swift. I would like you to come tell me once you know, but I understand the return trip won’t be fast even if you can likely fly across the lake,”

Kat nodded. “I… might be able to carry her? I’m not sure depends how much she weighs… but yeah it’ll still take me a bit to search.”

“No pressure, just… no I won’t keep you longer. Good luck, I’ll have a meal waiting when she returns. You’ll be free to partake if you’re hungry,” said the wolf beastkin before turning around and hobbling back towards one of the tents.

Kat sighed and started to head towards the lake. *Do I want to take it slow and look for orbs? No best not to risk things. Even if nobody is in true danger the orbs aren’t truly important either.* Kat glanced down at her bangle. It was still around three quarters full so she wasn’t worried, especially not when she had yet more orbs as provided by Daryl sitting in the bag for the node.

There were a few people that Kat might have wanted to chat with as she approached the lake. The baker was still on the list and a few people had slightly fancier hats or embellishment on their clothes… but nobody stopped her and she was currently on a mission so it was best to just get that done first. The lake was not all that clear. It didn’t exactly seem dirty but there was algae and plants across the top of it blocking the view of what might be underneath.

*I suppose that’s another temptation removed.* Kat started to fly over the lake, breezing past the few boats that were hanging around and getting ready for the trip. The lake wasn’t small, even if she was able to skip over the whole thing… but that did certainly help. It took around twenty minutes to get to the other side while flying at full speed. A few fish monsters had jumped at her but none of them were a big enough deal for her to stop for them. A light smack sent most a way and killed a few.

Kat sent some demonic energy into her hearing but didn’t immediately pick out the sound of two girls playing. There were quite a few sounds, plenty of things moving and trees rustling… but Kat didn’t have anywhere near enough experience to work out where the girls were with just that.

Glancing around, Kat was able to notice one of the mushroom trees was missing a branch. One that looked like it had been hacked off instead of simply broken in passing. Walking up to it Kat ran a hand down the cut. It wasn’t entirely clean, but it had been made in segments. Someone had taken an axe, or something similar, and hacked into it more than once. It was possible it was a monster… but unlikely.

Looking around Kat found that quite a few ‘trees’ nearby had similar missing places. Char likely had been around here and had clearly made use of these mushrooms for something… but nothing around here indicated where she’d been. The ground didn’t have any obvious tracks, not even where Char had presumably stood to make the cuts.

Kat flapped her wings and started to look around the mushroom trees to see if there was some obvious scuff marks… but quickly abandoned that line of thought. Sure there were a few marks here and there but she had no idea what she was looking for and it quickly became apparent that she was just wasting her time. *Dammit old man. Couldn’t you have been a bit clearer when you told me where Char lives? There aren’t even any orbs around to take as payment while I travel.*

Despite her mental complaints Kat slowly moved deeper into the mushroom woods, hoping to find some signs of passage of hear the girls talking.

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