A noblewoman had lost some valuable star sapphire necklace that had been in her family for generations. However, she was stupid enough to lose it near the Feeorin forest. Anybody who was willing to go into the forest would be paid handsomely. But most adventurers were unwilling to enter the Feeorin forest for any reason, let alone for a stupid necklace. There was one person who didn't care about the danger and was heading to the forest anyway. She was a little girl, only nine years of age, and yet she seemed to have more guts than the rest. Fully aware of the dangers, Dala was willing to risk it. The price was good enough. With that money she would be one step closer to creating the kingdom that she desired. Kingdoms costed money. If she kept this up, by the time she would become fourteen there would be enough to build every building and provide for the people until they would be able to be self-sustainable. 

But she hadn't come alone or without preparation. Her backpack was filled with lemons and she had used a lemon perfume on herself, for she had heard that lemons were poisonous to the fae. Her sheathed dagger was made up of pure iron and she had packed a rowan wand in case the fae tried some illusions on her. In her pocket were a bunch of shiny stones for when she needed to distract the smaller fae. And for once, she wasn't alone. Slithering by her side was her precious Basilisk that her father had given her. The giant snake could turn anybody to stone just through eye contact! Dala had to be very careful with her companion but the snake, Emerald, had proven to be loyal and sweet. It was strange for the child to have somebody by her side. Throughout most of her life she had been on her own. 

They traveled into the Feeorin forest together, both keeping watch for trouble. The forest held a blue hue and every part of the cool wonderland was filled to the brim with magic. Dala's jaw dropped as she stared at her surroundings. What kind of magic ran through this place? She would have to be doubly careful. Suddenly, a pain shot through her foot and when she looked down, she saw that a little fairy had stabbed her foot with a thorn. The child plucked out the thorn and held back a slue of insults to throw at the little beast that had tried to injure her. Emerald opened her mouth, ready to attack the little creature. 

"Haha!" The little fairy shouted, "Your big snake can't catch me! He's too big!"

Dala knew that the fairy was right, so she reached into her backpack and brought out her other friend. A beautiful golden baby dragon that she had named Clarice. Clarice was smaller and very very hungry. 

"Little fairy, this is my friend Ruby." Dala said with a smile, "Clarice, this is your lunch." 

The baby dragon sped after the little fairy, who was now terrified, and jumped to catch her. Dala had faith in the fairy's ability to get away and this was a great chance to let Clarice develop her hunting skills. The little fairy managed to escape but Dala didn't seem to be bothered. Instead, she took out a rat from her backpack that she had caught and placed it on the ground. The rat tried to run away but the baby dragon was faster and managed to catch it in her jaws. The baby dragon ripped the rat apart with her jaws then looked at Dala with pride. 

"You did great!" The little girl said, "Now back in the bag. I know its no fun in there but I can't have you wandering off……fine. You can sit on my shoulder but if we get into any fights I want you to stay out of the way. Got it?…..Good."

The dragon flew to Dala's shoulder and wrapped itself around her neck. The dragon was light and was always careful whenever it rested on the child. They continued through the Feeorin forest, searching the entire way for a star sapphire necklace. There wasn't any good clues yet and the noblewoman was vague on where she had dropped this precious item. Finding a necklace in the middle of a thick forest was difficult but she was determined to find it. Emerald was using her tongue to smell any scent of the noblewoman to help track down the necklace. They were following a small scent trail that would hopefully lead them to the necklace. 

-Shortly after Dala’s encounter with the fairy, scuffling can be heard from the iridescent bushes that surround her. Several arrows fly out from them moments later.-

Hobgoblin leader: (points a grisly spear out from the foliage causing the pack of goblins he commands to spring their ambush on the girl and her pets)

-Meanwhile, another spirit enters the forest. They are cloaked in the guise of a plague doctor with no discernable features or weapons apparent. A disquieting aura hangs around them.-

Fairy: (after escaping with her life, wanders around) Hmph, at least the goblins will get her. Treating me like food! You’ll get what’s- (bumps into the new stranger, looks up and takes a moment to squeak out a reply) Eep! (flits off in a hurry)

Nat: (keeps trudging further in once she is sure the fairy is gone, searching for her own quarry)

Dala managed to avoid the arrows flying, all except one that scraped against her leg. Emerald struck one of the goblins with its deadly poison while Charise her dragon flew into the air to avoid arrows. Meanwhile the child had snatched her daggers and leapt at one of them to stab him in the face. She managed to strike him in the eyes, blinding him. The child wasn't about to let herself die to goblins. Being a pacifist in this situation would only result in being slaughtered. But despite their combined efforts, there were more goblins than they could handle.

"Regroup!" Dala shouted.

She backed up towards a tree with Emerald at her left and Charise on her right. Dala focused her knives at attacking the ones at her front. She was better at handling larger creatures where she could dodge and move around quickly. The large amount of goblins made it harder to defend against. Having the tree at their back made them less mobile but it helped ensure they could focus their attacks at the front. Besides, they couldn't be agile in a crowd of attacking goblins. Dala had an ace up her sleeve but if she played it, she would have to leave Emerald and Charise behind. That was something she couldn't do.

"Emerald use your petrification on as many goblins as you can." Dala ordered, "Charise, I want you to fly around and find some big monster to lead towards the goblins. Make sure you find something powerful and scary."

She would worry about how to escape from whatever Charise found later. This plan was a gamble, as there was no guarantee that her baby dragon would find anything at all. The next thing she needed to focus on was distracting the goblins from her dragon's departure. The child had a big grin on her face and rage filled eyes at the creatures who'd dared to attack her! Her eyes landed on the hobgoblin leader, whom seemed stronger than the rest of the fearsome goblins.

"Hey! You hobgoblin thing! Are you always this stupid or is this a special occasion?" She said to him, "You should know better than to fight my pets and me."

With enough stalling, she hoped to give Charise more searching time. Her words angered the hobgoblin and he began shouting insults back. Meanwhile, Charise was flying around until she spotted Nat. The baby dragon flew down in front of Nat and attempted to lead her towards the battle. Though the shouting of insults would be enough to draw any creature's curiosity.

[When Charise garnered Natsumi’s attention, the woman had already trained a spell on her. She did not trust anything in the forest, especially since the local Fae were notorious for trickery. Lucky for the dragon, however, the fox was well-versed in speech of all kinds. She understood her pleas for help and slowly marched toward the sounds of battle with Redeemer in hand.]

Nat: (gets in sniping view before someone else intervenes) (silently watches as a “man” in pristine clothing fit for a well-to-do noble strikes down the hobgoblin from above before violently assaulting the rest)

Man: Have at thee, foul wretches!

[With one stab after another from a rapier, the fencer helps to drive off the goblins. With their  leader gone, most scattered of their own accord, leaving this mysterious rescuer with the ambushed Dala and company.]

Nat: (fades into the wind and leaves Charise behind before the others can see her) (repositions to another location where her superior eyesight can still catch a glimpse of the rescuer, then has a mental conversation with SAI) Kelpie?

SAI: That would fit the description of the disappearances. All of the victims have been young and disappeared near bodies of water bordering the forest. There is not yet enough data to suggest that this individual is the culprit, however.

Nat: (carefully aims at and tracks the “man”’s head, but doesn’t fire yet) Call it a hunch, then. I don’t trust that man.

Just as things were getting difficult, a strange man managed to stab the goblin leader with his rapier. The rest of the goblins scattered the moment their leader was gone. Still, Dala was watching the man warily, careful to keep a distance between them. After a few moments, she sheathed her daggers then spotted her golden baby dragon flying back to her. The child gave her dragon a rare smile before looking back at the man.

"Here." She said tossing a bag full of coins to the man, "That's my life's worth. I owe you nothing."

There was 100 silver inside the bag and the bag itself was worth 20 silver. The girl lacked a job and knew that people would see her as a street rat. She didn't own her dragon or her snake friend, rather they worked for her for free. Dala looked at the remaining bodies of goblins, going through their stuff for supplies or anything that could be sold later. She kept a distance between herself and the stranger, though she didn't know who he was, she did understand that people smiled while holding daggers behind their backs.

"You're still here." Dala commented to the man, "What do you want?"

[With Natsumi hiding in the trees and Charise returning to Dala, the strange rescuer stood amongst the goblin corpses and in plain view.]

Man: Hold! (steps back from the pouch of silver, puts a practice cue on his rapier, and prods the bag offered to him cautiously) What brings you to this forest, young damsel? Surely you know that it is dangerous here? (now sure that the bag isn’t trapped, he bends down and opens it)

[Meanwhile, Charise has now realized that the individual she was leading back to Dala is nowhere to be found. She approaches her friend to try to notify her of this potential threat.]

Dala first paid attention to Charise's warning as the baby dragon took a rest on her shoulder. The dragon made a squawking roar, a noise which Dala taught her to give her to indicate more people were around. Instantly the girl looked around the forest for additional people but couldn't see anything. If someone was there then they were too good of a hider for Dala's untrained eyes. The girl's attention returned to the man. 

"Don't call me damsel." Dala said with a level of irritation, "What do you want?"

"Oh! I didn't mean any harm." The man exclaimed, "I merely wanted to invite you to a feast near the lake." 

"Sure. And let me guess, I'm the main menu of that feast?" The girl rolled her eyes. 

Years of being on her own in both Vilpamolan and on her own exploration had taught her to avoid anything offered for free. They often turned out to be traps or some sort of fae trick. There was also that instance of cannibals…which was why she distrusted the man when he mentioned a feast. Her stomach growled and her face grew a little pink as it did. Her acting tough attempts were thwarted by her own stomach. Suddenly the young girl caught the scent of roast chicken, sweet apple pies, and some sort of potato dish. Biting down on her tongue, she tried not to let herself give into her hunger. After a few moments, she had no choice but to check it out. Next time she would eat before travelling. 

"Fine." Dala gave in, "Lets go check out this feast." 

The young girl cautiously followed the man towards the lake. The strange man had a rapier and yet he was in a forest. The girl wondered why he had such a weapon where an axe would be more appropriate. She couldn't find it in herself to vilify him completely, he did help her out earlier which was more than what most people would do. Still there was something in the back of her mind that was telling her to be careful. They arrived at the beautiful sparkling lake but there wasn't any sign of food. 

"Where-"

"Its in the center of the lake." The man explained, "Can't you see it?"

Dala stepped towards the edge of the lake and tried to see the feast he was talking about. Just as he described, it was in the center of the lake. But Dala, realizing how suspicious all of this really was, tried to step away from the edge of the lake. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her by her neck and throw her into the water. She only had a second to turn and see some sort of thing, a mashup of the man she saw before with some other creature. He slammed his hands around her neck and held her under the water. Claws pierced into her skin as she was held. She thrashed and kicked and tried to hold her breath. Meanwhile her baby dragon was biting on his shoulder, but the tiny teeth did little other than pierce the clothes. 

[Caught in the stranger’s web of temptation, Dala followed him deeper into the forest. Natsumi followed suit, travelling as quietly as possible from branch to branch till all three laid eyes on the lake.]

Natsumi: (looks out onto a small lake that has a miniature graveyard of bones in its depths) ‘The kelpie guess is looking more likely.`

SAI: ‘All remains seem humanoid. There also appear to be some vestigial articles of clothing and accessories left on the bodies.’

Nat: ‘Or what’s left of them.’ (readjusts her aim now that she’s had to move perches and waits for further confirmation)

[At that moment, the kelpie revealed its form. It tried to drown Dala like others of its kind typically did, but made the fatal error of missing the sniper in the trees.]

Man: (hit in the back at the base of his cervical spine with a large bolt) gurgle (releases Dala’s throat and makes a feeble attempt to grab the projectile before 2 more similarly sized bolts hit him in one of his hearts and one of his stomachs) (crumples over on the lake shore, returning to his true, monstrous form while his blood mixes with the water)

Natsumi: (jumps down from her tree perch and walks for a few seconds before coming into view of the small girl) (silently walks over to the kelpie, points her redeemer at the beast’s neck and severs it with a blade of wind from the bottom cylinder) (takes a hook from her belt, drives it through the roof of the kelpie’s mouth - or rather that of its decapitated head - and fastens it back to her belt) (also telekinetically grabs the sack of coin that Dala had offered the man earlier) You said this is how much your life is worth, so I’ll be taking it instead.

Blood filled the water as the man's hands fell from her neck. The girl jerked out of the water gasping for air. She coughed up some water then pushed to her feet with a look of fury in her eyes. Pulling herself out of the water, she began to kick the dead kelpie with anger, cursing while she did so. 

"I fucking knew it!" She said after several kicks, "I fucking knew it but I still fell for it. Motherfucker!"

Once she vented all her energy, her dragon took its place on her shoulder and the girl looked over to the new stranger who had saved her. The girl gave her a thumbs up when the stranger took the bag of coins. It wasn't that much cash and the person had just saved her life. Dala looked over the stranger and realized how strangely the person was dressed. A plague mask that covered the head made it impossible to tell what the person looked like. Instead of bothering further, she flopped onto the dry dirt and looked at the sky. Her stomach was still rumbling. 

"There wasn't any real food. At least kill me with a stomach full." She grumbled, "Murderers have no class anymore." 

Her dragon flew into the air and soared towards Nat. The dragon circled her once and then returned to Dala, pulling on her hair to get her up like it was her nanny telling her to stop sulking. 

"Fine fine." Dala pushed herself to her feet then looked over to the stranger, "So are you hunting Kelpies or are you after helpless starving sweet little innocent children too?"

The girl spoke dramatically and placed a hand to her forehead, imitating what she assumed was innocent children. She wouldn't fully know what that was like. 

Natsumi: (slings the Redeemer over her back and grabs the coin pouch floating in front of her while listening to Dala) Depends if you’re the source of the local disappearances. I was hired to investigate them and exterminate the cause if necessary. (turns her attention to the lake) Now that the creature’s dead, you can probably see those bones at the bottom of the lake. My guess is that those are the missing people, but I’ll need to look closer to confirm.

[Nat was hardly dressed for swimming in her current attire, and she didn’t particularly want to change around a stranger. But she needed confirmation that the kelpie was the source of the disappearances and not just a convenient scapegoat. That’s when an idea hit her, one involving the strange, mouthy lass she had saved.]

Natsumi: Since you’re already wet, I might have a job for you. If you’re interested, I’ll pay too. Coin and food. What do you say?