FrontDoor, FrontDoor, FrontDoor, FrontDoor...

Quiet, evil thoughts! I swear, the moment that you let your guard down, they they show up to try to encourage you to be your worst possible self. Fortunately, It takes mercifully little effort to shake them off. "I don't want anyone killed!" I reply.

"Of course you do! Everyone has somebody that they want killed!" The crow says with a confident nod, "It's a scientific fact."

"It's true." Vile follows up. As for Slave, she doesn't seem to be entirely convinced, but clearly doesn't wish to contradict her mistress.

"That's not true at all! Killing is wrong!" I say. I can't deny feeling just a little bit annoyed by the fact that nobody is backing me up on this.

"Oh, really?" The crow says with a raised eyebrow. I didn't realize that crows even had those. "And I guess that sword on your back is for what? Cutting vegetables?"

"That's different!" I say, feeling increasingle indignant, "Okay, I'll admit it, maybe on occasion I have killed monsters, but only when it was absolutely necessary!"

I do feel a sting of guilt at that remark, knowing that it's only mostly true. I have, indeed sought out conflict in the not-so-distant past, but even in that case I didn't attack anything that wasn't aggressive and intending to strike me first. That's a far cry from seeking something out in order to kill it... well, there was the trinity serpent, but someone else sent me to kill that creature, so it's completely different. Isn't it?

"Fine then." The crow replies. I'm rather surprised that she gave in so easily, but I should have really seen the follow-up coming. "Who is it that you need killed? I'm sure you can come up with at least some situation where it's 'absolutely necessary'." she says, making air-quotes with her wing tips, "...which will make it perfectly okay, right? Downright ethical, in fact!"

FrontDoor, FrontDoor, FrontDoor, FrontDoor...

No! I don't want FrontDoor killed. I just want them to... not be there anymore. That's completely different! Well, it's sort of different. It's maybe different. Anyways, it survived my previous defeat of it, and I just want to do the same thing again. Although wouldn't it have been a lot more convenient if it had been completely destroyed before? Then I could have finished this quest without difficulty... ugh, no, no more evil thoughts. It's time to put my foot down!

"No. I don't want anyone killed, and that's final." I say, sounding a lot more proud than I feel.

The black bird quietly studies me for a moment, and just as I dread the very reasonable argument that I'm sure she's going to make for why murder is perfectly alright, she thankfully just shrugs here wings. "Well, whatever. It's your money. I'm hardly in a position to tell you how you should spend it. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do."

"Really?" Vile butts in wearing an unsettling smile on her face as the looks the large black bird up and down. "Anything at all?"

"Absolutely!" The crow nods.

"Well, how about..." Vile says, and continues speaking for quite some time after this point. As for what she says, I feel like the specific details are best left to the imagination. Let's just say that there was a lot of talk about insertions and orificies and the sort of physical contact which should be reserved for adult couples who love each other very, very much. I can't help but blush brightly, while Slave simply looks on with a somewhat annoyed and mildly jealous expression.

As for the newcomer, they listen intently, occasionally nodding along and asking for clarification on some of the more obscure and obscene slang terms, maintaining a cool expression right until the end. At which point she closes her eyes and laughs, "Heh. Way to call my bluff there." she says. "I guess I won't do absolutely anything. Just most things."

Vile looks incredibly disappointed. As for Slave, she's just relieved. As for me, while I have no moral objections to the private activities of consenting adults, I can't deny that I'm a little bit relieved as well.

While the crow did rub me the wrong way somewhat so far, I have no intentions of holding a grudge against her. Sure, stealing is wrong, but who knows? Maybe she needed the money. She clearly needs it more than I do, anyways. While I know little about her, she certainy does come off as intelligent and capable, and is offering to help us. Sure, it's not for free, but she could have just taken the money and flown off. The fact that she's still insisting on helping demonstrates a respectable work ethic. Now, the question remains of exactly how she might be able to help...

"Oh, I haven't even introduced myself yet, have I?" the bird smiles once more, giving a low and noble looking bow, "Carrie-Anne, at your service."

"Carrie-Anne?" Vile asks, looking somewhat confused before a realization hits her, "Oh, I get it! It's like Carrion!"

"I don't think..." I begin to say, only to be cut off.

"That's right!" The crow nods, proudly.

"Oh. Never mind then." I reply. It doesn't feel like the most flattering of names, but she's clearly happy with it. Then again, I can't say that Vile or Slave make for the most noble of titles, either, and I still have no idea what mine even means, so who am I to judge? "I'm Squire, a paladin who is on a quest to find my lost master. These two brave fighters are accompanying me, Mistress Vile, along with Lady... Slave."

The black cat gives me a bit of a nasty look at my hesitation. I do feel bad about not giving the cat the respect that she very much deserves but I still feel uncomfortable saying her name out loud.

"Oh, you have a master, too?" The crow asks, and I immediately perk up. "How'd you like to meet mine? She's quite close by, and I can't imagine that she's moved away while we were speaking."

"I'd love to!" I excitedly wag. Sure, it might not exactly be pushing our mission forward, but it's always such a pleasure to meet a friendly human! Vile and Slave exchange uncertain looks, and I suspect they largely agree with me. Well, at least on the first part, if not the second, but in general the pair have been quite patient when it comes to my little quests and other detours, and more than willing to go along with them. They might be a little odd, but they really are good friends, now that I think about it... I should tell them that more often! And maybe hug them! Okay, hugging Vile might be a little unpleasant, but I'll bet that Slave is super soft and warm... but also likely not the 'hugging' type. We'll have to see about that. Anyways, back to business. "Lead the way!"

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Carrie-Anne flies down the alleyway with surprising speed, and I follow as best as I can. She regularly has to wait for us, circling within the air, only to make another bee-line once we get close enough, but making a point to always stay within sight of us. It must be great to be able to fly! I'll bet I could have already reached my master if I had wings. The black feathered bird finally comes to a rest in what looks like an open square in the center of town. There are no shortage of people about, mostly wealthier types, it appears, but more than a few beggars as well who go largely ignored by the populace at large.

Our newly hired help takes on a bold posture and raises her head and extends her right wing, "Allow me to introduce Lady Cassandra Revaan, of the thirteen Shadows!"

I stop before the bird, my tail wagging excitedly, and look to the human that she's pointing at. My blood immediately runs cold.

Were it not for the introduction, I would be hard pressed to even recognize the body suspended in the form fitting steel cage as a woman. She wore no clothing, but could hardly be considered too indecent, either, the skin blackened and falling away, the stone street beneath her dangling feet piled with dried scraps which had since fallen from the corpse. Really, only the basic shape remained, the face entirely eaten away. I simply stood, staring in horror, unable to bring myself to speak up nor look away.

"Wow, a Shadow, huh?" Vile said, looking up at the displayed corpse. "She must have been pretty famous."

"She's still famous!" The crow chirps, still wearing a thoroughly inappropriate smile, "...even if she can't really appreciate it these days."

"What's a 'Shadow'?" Slave asks, similarly unfazed by the grotesque display.

"They're basically the assassin version of a Paladin." The rat replies to her, "A very exclusive group, oh which only thirteen exist at a time who were granted divine powers by Obsidian, the god of fear and hate."

"That's right." The crow nods. "Even more exclusive these days. It would seem that the head of their order betrayed all of the other members and well... I'm sure you can guess what happened next. I guess new members will fill the ranks soon enough, though, assuming that they haven't already."

"Why..." I say in a weak voice, finally able to look away. I imagine that looking back at the ruined woman would be even more difficult, but I have no intention of even trying.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Carrie asks.

"Why are you being so... happy about this?" I ask, flooded with anger, most of which isn't directed at the crow specifically, but she does end up the primary target. "She was your owner! Don't you care about her at all?"

To her credit, the bird actually gives the matter a good deal of thought before finally giving a shrug and a disappointing answer. "Not really. I mean I used to, but it seems kind of pointless now. Even at best, I'll admit that I'm not the most caring and compassionate of birds, and what little of it I have I try to reserve for the living. They tend to be a lot more appreciative of it."

I honestly don't know what to say. I just feel sick. Not because of the death, of course, as I'm well aware that all creatures die. Even humans, as hard as that might be to believe. It's the way the body is just left here to rot in a sort of disgusting display. Did the other humans honestly approve of this? Do they approve of their children seeing these... ruins of what once was a person with hopes and dreams? Okay, she might have been a bad person. If she was an assassin serving a god of hate and fear, she almost certainly was, but what does this shameful spectacle honestly accomplish beyond spreading misery?

I further recoil when I see the crow hop up onto one of the stained and rusted horizontal bars and tear a bit of dried, blackened skin from the leg of the corpse. "She was a pretty good master. She taught me an awful lot, set up a nice place for me to roost and even in death is still keeping me well fed!" The crow chuckles. "Not that much has changed, really. She never was the most talkative sort. Well, except at the end, of course. They always try to stay calm and collected at first, but they never manage for long. The slow starvation destroys their mind a fair bit before it does their body."

So it turns out that she was strung up like this while she was still alive. Looking about, the square holds a good dozen of these cages, some vacant, some not, but seemingly nobody still living within any of them. This just gets worse and worse. My body shakes all over, and I feel as though I'm about to explode. For a precious moment I want to do nothing more than to tell that heartless bird off, but something stops me. Sure, the bird still maintains a relaxed posture, and still smiles but within those dark eyes I feel like I detect just a hint of sadness. That might not sound like much, but I can only imagine how much more is locked away behind that callous facade. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part, but I suspect that the bird is, indeed, grieving for his master in her own way, and even if not, it still must have been a horrible experience to go through. I couldn't even begin to imagine having to endure such a loss and continued indignity.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I say, any hint of anger or fight within me fading away.

As for the bird, she just looks rather confused by my words and once again shrugs, "Hey, better her than me. Anyways, you're trying to find your missing human, huh? Well, I have no doubt that I could help with that. I'm an expert tracker, and no slouch in a fight either, if I do say so myself. Not to mention, I'm a highly talented thief."

"So you finally admit to picking my pocket?" I say with a bit of a smile. I'm still far from happy, but I do appreciate the change in subject.

"I never admit to anything." Carrie says with a strange expression of pride. "I just wasn't paying much attention earlier, and happened to bump into you a few times. Now, I can't deny the possibility that in the process a few coins might have fallen from your bag, but I can hardly be held responsible for your failure to keep track of your finances."

I can't help but frown a little bit as I think back. It's true, I really have no evidence than any sort of crime had even taken place. Perhaps it was a baseless accusation after all? I wonder if I should apologize?

"...Also, thievery encompasses a whole lot more than just picking pockets. There's stealth, setting and disarming traps, opening locks..." the crow continues.

I perk up once again at that last bit. "Wait, you can open locks?" I ask, "Like locks on doors?"

"Of course! It's easy!" The bird smiles proudly. "Why do you ask?"

Even when sitting next to such a macabre display, I can't stop my tail from wagging in excitement. As for my other two companions, they just look to one another with somewhat weary expressions, both of them being smart enough to guess as to what I have planned. I don't mind them being just a little impatient, though.

All that matters is that I have a quest to complete.

---

Slave: "Really? The entire arc is named after this one character?"

Carrie-Anne: "Well, there's also maybe the metaphorical implications of social rot and decay... but yeah, mostly."

Vile: "I think that's enough of a double meaning to validate it."

Slave: "Maybe... but why didn't we get an arc named after us?"

Vile: "It already had a good name."

Squire: "Did it? I'm still confused about the abbreviation."

Vile: "Well, I'm sure most people will get it."

Slave: "Still, it feels like we should have been involved in some way... maybe the slavery arc? Ooh, or how about the 'ball and chain' arc? That has both bdsm and marriage implications!"

Squire: "I wasn't getting married! Why do you two keep saying that?"