The next day everyone met in the inn before going out for breakfast together. Nyx seemed afraid the group would leave without her. Silas met the group as they left and listened to Kseniya and Brivaria talk about Amon Ruthers’ disappearance. The reporter didn’t seem surprised and Brivaria wondered if he already knew or he had been following them in the night. She’d have given odds on either really.
The gaborn duo shrugged at the news but were happy the lamia decided to come along. They were practical and having a dedicated spellcaster on hand was very useful. Nyx and Silas both offered to look into the missing man. While they were ostensibly going to follow the path of the hunting group Nyx’s brother belonged to, having another lead was never bad. Both were head and shoulders above the adventurers guild’s directions of “somewhere that way” with vague gestures to the east.
Brivaria quietly listened to the conversation. The angel was using Sky Step to sit on thin air over her chair and steadily feeding Trixie half her meal. The restaurant they went to didn’t serve dogs which seemed very rude to Brivaria but Kseniya assured her that was more normal than the reverse. The winged girl would share her meal with the dog regardless. She was conscious about feeding the dog so-called “people food” however. After the first meal that upset the golden pooch’s stomach back in Keaton, the angel decided to always gave Trixie a couple healing touches each day to ensure the dog was kept in good health regardless of what she ate. Trixie now looked forward to “healing scritches” after the meals.
Conversation eventually petered out. The boar brothers were going to look into having someone hold their inessentials while they were gone. No point carrying all their fishing gear for a wilderness trek. Nyx and Silas went off to see if they could learn anything else before tomorrow’s departure. The black-haired cat girl all but dashed away. The gaborn constantly reminded her that they were babysitting by taking her along but Nyx seemed determined to earn her keep despite their constant verbal jabs.
That left Kseniya and Brivaria at the table. The staff were frowning at the two women but the winged girl suspected her sword and Kseniya’s everything were dissuading them from asking the two to leave. It was almost certainly Brivaria’s fault for feeding Trixie but the angel found it hard to care. There was probably some self-reflection to do in there but she chose to focus on something she’d been thinking about earlier and now wanted to voice after the others were gone.
“How good of a spellcaster was Amon?” the winged girl asked while offering Trixie the last bite of her meal. The dog ate it happily and then rested her head on the angel’s thigh. Brivaria scritched behind Trixie’s ears and applied her Healing Touch.
“He was no battle mage but he knew some combat spells and had decently strong, magical items. A forest taking a group of hunters by a surprise is unlikely, especially if they know the forest. Several groups of hunters is even less likely. A group with a skilled and versatile mage? I think we must be very careful, you know?” The blonde girl nodded.
“I’m glad Silas joined us. Originally I was thinking that maybe another dungeon had appeared and was releasing monsters but hunters wouldn’t delve a dungeon. If the incident to the south is related then maybe there’s a person or group of people behind the missing hunters. Having someone who can spot an ambush before it appears will be very helpful.” The lamia reclined back on her tail and yawned loudly. She hadn’t slept and it showed.
“I was thinking the same. Piggies are too, I expect. Only one who might not realize that is the cat.” Brivaria nodded.
“We’ll have to tell her before we leave. People always react better when they’re reacting to something they expected rather than the alternative,” the angel commented while pushing her chair back.
“Will you do that?” Kseniya raised an eyebrow.
“Someone has to. I did most of my shopping yesterday. I’ll finish what’s left and see if I can find her,” the angel stretched her miniature wings as she spoke.
“Good luck then. I’m going to sleep some then head back to Amon’s house and take one last look around. I was not at my best last night, you know? Perhaps I will see something today that I missed yesterday.” Brivaria nodded. The two said their goodbyes and split up.
The fact that most of Brivaria’s buying and selling had been done the day before meant the shopping wouldn’t take long. Likewise, being able to do it all at a single trading post made it quick and easy to look for anything else the girl needed. After a bit of browsing, the angel settled on a cushion for Trixie and a chair for herself.
The angel’s Inventory skill worked off volume for its maximum capacity and a relatively ordinary wooden chair was a surprisingly easy fit. The cushion was harder but the winged girl had a solution. She threw in some of her seemingly endless supply of rain water along with a few coins for both purchases. She could make room and save money at the same time. It was a good deal for the trader as well as Brivaria’s Inventory skill removed most debris and her Bleak Radiance could kill off anything unpleasant in the water. The collected rain water became instantly drinkable. While Pemburne had no shortage of drinking water, having it delivered immediately and magically clean were selling points the angel took advantage of.
Brivaria’s plan of “fly into the air and look for Nyx” was a bust. Finding a black-haired cat girl in a city filled with humans, catfolk, and lephori was a difficult task. At least, it had been right up until she complained about it to Trixie. The dog barked happily and trotted off. Brivaria followed the excited pooch through the streets and was surprised when she saw Nyx emerging from a house. Trixie looked back at the angel, let out a happy wuff, and wagged her tail. With a giggle, the winged girl stooped to pet the dog.
“Good job.” She pressed a kiss to the side of the helpful dog’s head and Trixie’s tail approached dangerous levels of wags per minute. The pair came down the street toward Nyx. Trixie was so excited that she went right up to the catfolk girl, panting happily and wagging her tail.
“Hey, hey, stop!” Nyx protested while backing up as the affectionate dog came closer.
“Trixie, no. Come back,” Brivaria called. Trixie looked back at the winged girl and whined. Her tail stopped wagging but then restarted as she padded back to Brivaria.
“What are you doing here?” the cat girl asked somewhat defensively. Nyx had black hair similar to Kseniya but while Kseniya favored colors that stood out against her hair and tail, Nyx decided that the most complementary color for black was more black. From tunic to britches to boots, it was the only color she wore. Only the slash of white through her hair spoiled the all-black ensemble.
“Easy,” Brivaria raised her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. “I was looking for you. I wanted to have a quick talk before we leave tomorrow.”
“Are you here to convince me not to come?” Nyx’s demeanor was immediately wary.
“No. Should I?” the angel asked.
“Absolutely not, I’m coming with,” Nyx snarled.
“Okay. That’s settled. We’ve had two conversations before now and barely spoke with one another in them. I don’t know what this is,” Brivaria gestured vaguely around her, “but do you mean to direct it at me and Trixie?” The dog looked up at Nyx and Brivaria witnessed the power of those big, brown eyes as Nyx’s hostility wavered then receded.
“I… no,” Nyx sighed, “I’m not upset with you or your dog. I would have been happy if any other bronze team had been in Pemburne but the boars. I want to claw their eyes out but I need them to find my brother.” The angel processed that before asking her next question.
“What’s going on between you and them?” Brivaria wished she had a better or more tactful way to ask but she didn’t. Straight to the point it was.
“Gaborn are obsessed with armor and I don’t wear armor. Yesterday I had to demonstrate that I had an offensive skill just to prove to them I wouldn’t be a liability. I think Rory was somewhat impressed by the strength of my blow but Duncan might have still said no if you and the snake hadn’t showed up.” The winged girl furrowed her brows. The lack of comprehension was clear on her face.
“They’re giving you a hard time because you don’t wear armor?” That was downright bizarre and they certainly weren’t doing it to Kseniya. The two had been relieved to know the lamia sorceress was coming along.
“My level isn’t helping either but yes,” she looked to the side and gestured for Brivaria to follow her so the angel began moving with Trixie padding alongside. “Bad armor is expensive and good armor is incredibly expensive. They see armor like yours and think ‘look at the zephyri with the magic armor, bet she’s powerful.’ If I had armor like that then I wouldn’t get half the shit they give me but I’m claw fighter. That means I fight unarmed and unarmored. I get class skills that make me better at those things.”
Brivaria was aware of such people and classes. Unarmored warriors were comparatively rare in her experience but they did exist and they could be very powerful. For angels they were rare as it was easier to have a handful of angels focus on armor design, creation, and enchantment then a couple hundred other angels wear the finished products during intervention. Armor and magical items that granted protection were deemed more optimal than skills that provided comparable protection. Brivaria considered all of that and had a realization.
“It’s because they’re worried you might only have defensive skills rather than offensive ones?” she ventured. Nyx nodded.
“Exactly that. Being low level means my attributes are low and I’ve got fewer combat skills than most. Having to split them between offense and defense means I’ll always have fewer than the next person. The boars think it’s a poor practice.” Brivaria understood their opinion now and the conflict.
“So why take a class like that despite the disadvantage?” Nyx winced but Brivaria didn’t apologize. The cat girl needed to answer it.
“Because it’s a racial class for my people. It’s better than the average brawler because it’s specific to us. And also because… other reasons. It’s important that I have this class and I’m not taking a different class just to get those two chucklefucks off my back.” Brivaria blinked at the epithet. That was not a word she’d ever heard before and the angel snorted in amusement.
“That’s one way to describe them,” the angel said through giggles. Nyx did smile at that. The cat’s tension didn’t disappear but it did lessen, just a little.
“So if you’re not here to convince me to stay back then why did you come find me?” Nyx finally asked. The two were walking toward the piers and reached a place they could look out at the lake. The water was beautiful in the midday sun and Brivaria ached to grow her wings out and fly over it.
“Kseniya and I were talking after everyone left. Her friend was a decent mage. It’s unlikely that a team of hunters with a relatively mid or even high level mage disappears due to a mundane monster attack. It’s possible we’re fighting people, not monsters. We wanted to make sure you understood that.” From the expression on Nyx’s face, Brivaria guessed the other girl had not understood that.
“There are people behind the disappearances? Behind my brother going missing?” she asked. The angel shrugged.
“We don’t know for certain but it seems possible at this point. People are capable of some terrible things. If that turns out to be the case, you’ll need to defend yourself against them,” Brivaria was going to go on but then noticed the gleam in Nyx’s eyes. She was smiling.
“That means he could be alive. I want to find him but I’m not stupid. I know what happens to hunters attacked by monsters. If it’s people then maybe he’s alive.” The angel could hear the hope in those last three words. Maybe he’s alive. It was a sliver of chance, an unlikely possibility at best. It was more than the young cat had moments before. Nyx latched onto that frail notion and drew strength from it. Brivaria wasn’t certain if that made things better worse but she smiled too.
“I hope we find him,” was all the angel said. The odds were very much against them but while the world could be cruel she felt no compulsion to be so.
“And your mage friend’s associate too. My brother disappeared recently but the mage guy was with one of the first teams to vanish. Did you know that they blamed the disappearance on him. When the team that went out to look for that one disappeared too then suddenly people got a lot more worried. Something is in the eastern forest and it’s eating or kidnapping everyone who goes out there.” Nyx felt her cheer fading even as she spoke.
The cat girl turned and saw Brivaria gazing out across the lake. The angel looked serene rather than worried or even concerned. Trixie had her head raised and resting against the winged girl’s side. Brivaria’s fingers scritched the dog’s cheek.
“We’ll stop the monsters, whether they walk on four legs or two, and save as many people as we can. It’s what we do.” Nyx nodded in agreement with the words. Brivaria had been speaking as an angel, not an adventurer. When she noticed Nyx nodding, she supposed that worked too. Even Trixie barked her agreement.