With stiff movements, Thagi bent down so that his head would fit under the doorway. Once past the threshold he began making rapid, deep sniffing noises. To Jabrax, he almost resembled a huge armor-plated bloodhound. Several seconds later, he finally stopped and turned towards the demon with his best business smile. "I was rather expecting to be greeted by Cithlar when I knocked on the door. Who are you, young lady?" While he was obviously trying to appear non-threatening, his bulging neck muscles and heavy black armor made the efforts largely moot.

Jabrax shriveled back slightly, as would be appropriate for a normal teenage girl in such a situation. Making sure to put just the right amount of fear into her voice, she composed her reply. "I- my name is Jabrax. I'm niece... I mean, I'm Cithlars niece. He's having me meet anybody who visits because he's been feeling a bit anti-social lately."

The demon flinched back in legitimate surprise as the bull of a man burst once again into a loud laugh. "Ha! Lately, she says! Meld, have you ever heard of old Cithlar not being anti-social?"

"I'm afraid not, sir" immediately replied an older gentleman in leather armor. The armor was well worn and marred with deep scratches, but the spotless polished surface made clear that it was lovingly maintained. Noticing her glance, he turned towards her after followed Ghul through the door. "Nice to meet you, Jabrax. I'm Meld."

With him came a shirtless, athletic looking man who appeared to be in his twenties. Judging from his large, knobby knuckles and lack of weapon in contrast to the group, Jabrax suspected him to be an unarmed fighter. "Kim," he introduced himself, with a deep nod.

Following behind him came a demi-human in a gaudy technicolor robe. I hate priests, thought the demon. Looks like Venerable Gnostics robes, too. They're the worst. "What a lovely home you have!" declared the sheep-horned priestess.

"Uh, she's Ovis" introduced Meld.

Finally, a pale skinned, black robed girl near the demon's apparent age walked in, hefting a long spear on her shoulder. The girl smiled brightly at Jabrax and waved. "Hi, you can call me The Raven, Wielder of Entropy, or just The Raven for short. Your hair is such a pretty color, do you know magic too?"

Taken aback by the contrast between her introduction and chipper personality, Jabrax stammered slightly. "Uh, wha-?"

Helpfully intervening yet again, Meld spoke up. "Suzy, this isn't the time to make friends, we're on business." A statement which was met by a pouting The Raven.

"And what business is that, exactly?" asked Jabrax as she led the group towards the kitchen.

The Association Leader followed closely behind, occasionally taking a sniff at the air. "There have been sightings of an unknown Named Monster in the nearby woods."

Arriving at the kitchen, Jabrax waved an arm towards a wooden dining table in the kitchen, surrounded by six simple seats. Once the guests were settled, she filled a kettle with a water summoning artifact, then placed it on the heating plate. "Yes, I heard about that. Early today the mayor stopped by, a Mr. Fallow. He warned me about it."

Sitting in a chair that was almost comically too small for him, Thagi twirled his mustache absentmindedly between two gauntleted fingers. "I see. How much did he tell you?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Not much... only what you have. Named Monster, nearby woods. Why are you here, anyway? I don't know anything about a Named Monster." Not knowing the extent of the Leader's talents, the demon made sure she was facing away from him placing the kettle on the stove when she spoke those words. It was possible someone like him could read meaning from her subtlest expression.

Crossing his arm and leaning back, he hummed slightly. Meld, Kim, and Ovis sat calmly in their chairs, while The Raven sat slumped with her chin in her hands, clearly bored.

"Alright, I'll tell you what we know, maybe it will ring some bells. I believe the monster is operating out of the area around this house. It's impossible to be sure he's been inside here since the smell is being masked by all those," Thagi gestured vaguely towards the rest of the house, "beast parts Cithlar loves to collect. We also know that it uses Mind mana. It has rather a lot of it too. It blew a deep crater with what appeared to be a Bolt."

Jabrax remained facing away from the Leader, minding the kettle. "Are you... sure it was a monster? Did you get a good look at it?"

Thagi squinted at the back of the teenager, but it was Meld who answered. "No, we can't be sure. I only saw it once from my peripheral, and the second time it was almost completely obscured by foliage. All we know for sure is that it's about the size of a child and its body moves in a very strange way.

Face hidden from her guests, the demon made a wide, toothy smile. I can work with this. "I know who the monster is." The shocked silence was broken momentarily by the whistling of the kettle.

Pouring out six servings of tea, Jabrax schooled her face and began carrying them over to the table. Ovis lifted her arm high into the air and stood up. "I'll help~!" Quickly all the cups were in front of their owners, and Jabrax took her seat opposite the Association Leader.

After taking a sip of the tea, Ghul cleared his throat. "So, you say you know who the monster is? Who is it then?"

Swallowing her own sip of tea, the demon set down her cup and smiled at the massive man. "He's my younger brother."

""Huh?"" came the simultaneous confused voices of Thagi and The Raven.

The Association Leader shook his head slightly to regain his composure. "Um, what exactly do you mean by that? Your brother is a monster?"

The demon giggled lightly. "Oh no, he's a normal human. But you see, he's a bit of an oddball." Jabrax quickly thought over the details she had to explain away, and decided on an angle. "He was born mute, you see. Unable to talk. So, when we came to stay here, uncle Cithlar trained him up so he can use Psionics to talk to people." Undaunted by the skeptical look from Meld, she pressed on. "He only got the skill recently, but it seems our family has a naturally high mana pool. He told me last night that he spooked a hunting party when he accidently overcharged a spell when trying to help them." Jabrax looked towards each of the others at the table. "I apologize if my foolish brother caused you any trouble. He was really upset about it."

Everyone was silent for a moment after that bombshell. The first one to speak was a chipper Ovis. "It's fine, nobody was seriously hurt, we forgive him!"

"Wait." Meld held up one hand. "That doesn't explain the inhuman movements. The thing I saw didn't move like a child."

The corner of Jabrax's mouth curled up. Almost got them. One more push. "Oh, about that. Recently little Mud has taken to wearing a flowing robe with lots of hanging bits that he swings around with telekinesis. He thinks it makes him look cool." Meld had nothing to say to that.

This time it was The Raven who spoke up. "His name... is Mud?"

The demon shrugged. "Blame our parents. Jabrax is a weird name too, I know."

After rubbing his mustache once again and taking a long hard look at Jabrax, Thagi Ghul let out a heavy breath and put his hand down on the table. "I suppose that is a suitable explanation for everything that happened so far. I want to meet with this brother of yours, though. He needs to get a lecture on the proper use of magic around strangers."

"And hunting etiquette," added Meld.

The demon smiled at her successful bluff, but before she could reply her face froze. From the connection in her soul, she could feel her contractor was very close, and approaching rapidly. Mud was returning home.