To the side of the forest trail to Cithlar manor, two armed youths hid behind the trunk of an ancient conifer. As the sound of crunching leaves fated into the distance, Bark finally relaxed and turned towards his minion- or rather 'friend', Jericho.

"It seems we came just in time. The mayor must have come up here because he figured out Cithlar is dead, a step behind me. Lucky for us he got tricked so easily." Taking care not to get his loose greaves tangled in the undergrowth, he stepped clumsily onto the trail.

Following behind him, Jericho hefted a thick green branch to his shoulder and spit to the side. "I dunno, Bark. Tha' lass was talkin' like the old man was still alive."

Turning his entire body to face his muscular companion, as he had somehow locked the helmet in place, a look of pity crossed Bark's face. "Oh, poor naive Jericho. What would you do without me?" Turning back towards the mansion, he continued. "Have you ever heard of Cithlar having any family? It's obvious she's just a squatter. She probably plans to live here and slowly sell things off by pretending to be his niece." With a look of admiration, he added "it's actually pretty clever. I might have tried it myself if I weren't so well known." Taking slow steps, Bark began walking towards the house.

Chasing behind him, Jericho asked with concern "but what's we gonna to do about the girl?"

Arriving at the door, Bark smiled smugly. "We'll just threaten her a bit, say we'll tell the guard about her. If she keeps squatting here it would actually help us out, since it gives us more time to pawn things without raising suspicion. There's enough junk around here for all three of us to get rich. This will be even easier than the original plan. It looks like luck is on our side."

The muscular delinquent smiled broadly. "Gee boss, you're so smart."

"I know." With that, the sound of a metal gauntlet striking wood rang out.

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Mud observed the entrance room from his hiding place below a large book shelf as his contracted demon moved to answer the door. The transformation she had undergone when the sweaty human arrived had been both rapid and convincing. The massive moth-like wings and rubbery pointed tail had disappeared into her body while her overall build became slightly heavier, along with a number of other much subtler adjustments. When asked about the change, Jabrax had looked insulted and replied "a demon who can't do at least this much is a failure."

The moment the door was unlatched, it was kicked open violently. The demon coward back in apparent surprise as a familiar human stepped past the threshold. Thick plates of polished metal covered almost every inch of the youth's body, but the scraggly goatee and cocky grin poking out from the open helm left no doubt.

"Cithlar's niece, was it? What a joke. I know what you really are."

For a moment, concern crossed Mud's mind. Was there some flaw in Jabrax's disguise? If he was so confident, did he have some way to easily defeat a demon? Was Mud going to lose such a valuable tool so soon after acquiring it? How would he defeat these humans without her aid?

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Pointing aggressively, he yelled. "You're a squatter selling off the dead old man's stuff!"

Mud was no longer concerned.

Jabrax continued to cower and backed away slowly. "Wh-what are you going to do to me? Please just don't hurt me."

Bark laughed derisively and walked farther into the house, followed by his muscular companion. "Don't you worry, little lady. You can keep playing your game of house. There's just going to be a few changes. Jericho, help her get comfortable."

The muscular human hesitated for a moment, but after a sharp glare from his master grabbed the girl roughly by the arm and pulled her into a nearby chair.

Slowly, Bark began pacing back and forth in front of her with his arms behind his back. "Here's how things are going to work from now on. Once a week, me and my colleague here will come up to the house. When we do, you will hand us a sack full of valuables from around the house. If you don't have a sack for us, or we don't like what we see inside, well..." At that he stopped and leaned down towards the captive woman. "You won't like what happens."

At this point, tears streamed from the teenage girl's cheeks. She seemed on the verge of collapse, held up only by her terror. Satisfied by her reaction, Bark walked over to the bookshelf, making sure to check the roof for monsters. "For today, I'll collect my payment myself. Jericho, keep an eye on her." At that, he pulled a bag from the loose chest piece of his armor and began filling it with books.

Meanwhile, Jericho stood uncomfortably next to the sobbing girl. This job was turning out to be decidedly outside of the thug's comfort zone. Nervously, he turned his gaze back towards the frightened woman, and their eyes locked. Her eyes were a captivating shade of deep maroon, pure and glittering like polished garnet. From a distance she had seemed plain, but now that he saw her up close he couldn't look away.

After a moment that seemed to stretch on for a lifetime, she spoke with a soft voice, so light he almost couldn't hear it. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

Jericho tried to smile reassuringly. "Ah, don't you worry. I wouldn' dream of it." His heart fluttered as she smiled slightly in reply.

"Ah, you're so nice. Not like that mean guy at all." Shifting somewhat uneasily, she asked nervously "this may sound strange but... I'm really scared. Could you maybe... hold me for a moment? I think your strong arms... would put me at ease."

Jericho's heart rang heavily in his ears as he leaned forward, dropping his weapon forgotten to the side.

Nearby, haphazardly tossing books into his sack, the armored youth heard none of this. In fact, he had a hard time hearing anything at all with the heavy helmet covering his ears. After a few moments, and satisfied with his haul, Bark turned around.

What greeted him was his minion lying comatose on the ground, face covered in a spiderweb of purple veins, and the previously despondant girl staring at him with a manic grin.

"What the hell did you do!?" After dropping his sack and fumbling to draw a dagger from his side, Bark stepped towards his downed comrade. Lurching as his leg caught on something, he looked down.

Wrapped around his leg was a slick brown tentacle, emerging from below the book case. Staring back at him from that dark space were three dark red eyes, drawn or carved into a muddy sphere. "Y-you!" Leaning down, Bark stabbed with all his might into the brown creature, and grinned in satisfaction as the blade sunk deep. His smile turned to a frown as the blade was suddenly pulled deeper, slipping from his grip. Just as he prepared to strike the monster with his gauntlet, thin hands grabbed his shoulders. Spinning his body to face her, the teenage girl held her face so close he could feel her breath. Clouds of purplish-red smoke seemed to float around her, slightly obscuring his vision despite their proximity.

"Say, dear, nobody else knew you were coming up here today, did they?" She smiled reassuringly and politely waited for him to reply.

Bark tried valiantly to swear or strike her, but found himself strangely unable to move his limbs. Taking a shambling breath, he found he couldn't remember why he wanted to move. With one more breath, he stopped thinking entirely, closed his eyes, and faded into a peaceful sleep.