CHPT 370: Confirmations and Harrowing Ruminations....

No more than two weeks ago, Claude had found two artistic depictions of him and Ursula hung up on the Quest Board in a Guild-Hall owned by her very own father. Their prices high enough to drop his heart into his shoes.

On that very same day, a man entered the building. A man with visible skill and quality gear. Fine leathers, automatic projectile spitting weaponry, well trained canine sentinels, blades and an overwhelmingly thick southern drawl. A Bounty Hunter, who went by the name, Cassidy.

He'd taken their fairly inaccurate images from the board-- taken on the task of retrieving them for coin. And ever since that day, he'd found himself conversing with the man every now and then. Little more than hello's and goodbye's. Unsettling nonetheless. If he was playing the long game, he was doing it well. Until now.

Now, Claude was just confused. Alert, but confused as he stared down at the man, still hooded, armed and being entertained by the pairing of man and woman occupying the pure silver pole that rose from the ground between them.

They continued to dance, bathed in the sensual purple glow of the bar that sat well on their pale skin. Seemingly unaffected by the new arrival that was Claude. But, the two cats in the distance seemed to be very affected by his presence. Their green slitted eyes burned holes through him as the hairs on their backs rose to stiff points.

"Why the hell are they in a bar?" He asked himself before remembering how Rollan told him to view them with more than just his eyes.

For a fraction of a second, he closed his lids and looked in the direction of the cats. Ready to see some magical aura of dark tentacles, or a shrouded form of a Lion looming over the cats.

Instead, he found nothing. Not even the green fissures and cracks of Nature energy that most animals and beings he viewed had.

"Wha--"

"Don't you think so, Mr. Greyson? Or do those eyes not care for the niceties this here establishment has to offer?" Cassidy repeated, in reference to his previous comment about beauty and how it should be perceived.

"Sure." Claude grunted in response to the interruption, the cats now gone-- somehow, he could feel the Phantom Wolves writhe in the shadows that spilled from his palm and ruffled his cloak, just waiting to emerge if need be. Gil did the same, prepped and ready to break through the flood gates of Claude's body.

Cassidy shifted in his seat, straightening his spine to regard Claude with a curious smile, "Why don't you join me for a drink, Mr. Greyson? Sounds like it's on the house with the way my girl, Rhonda, looks at ya."

Claude cleared his throat. Cassidy had been watching, "I think I've had my fill for the night. I was just leaving anyway."

He turned with nothing left to say, prepared to head out with Ursula and try not to run into any more cats that watched him as if he were actively hunting them and confusing them all at the same time.

"But have you had your fill of information, partner?"

Claude froze. When he turned to look back over the booths at Cassidy, the man looked as calm as before as he shrugged, removing his hand from his automatic crossbow, "What? You wanna talk to everybody else but me? I feel like I should be offended."

Claude looked over the room once more, wary of the entire scenario before being satisfied and turning to speak to Cassidy again, letting his nose search him for any tricks, "Why do you want me to talk to you?"

"Share the booth with me and I'll tell ya all about it."

"No. Give me something to work with."

Cassidy chuckled to himself and muttered, "You're about as hard headed as steel...fair enough." He sat up again, "It has to do with your work as a runner of the night...work that most Heroes have forgotten they signed up for."

Claude's ears perked at the final portion of his message. There were two distinct pieces of Hero work that were no longer tackled in droves due to low profit and popularity. Infested Areas, and Criminals. Raiders.

Claude took his seat across from him. The dancers and their silky movements split his vision of Cassidy into purple strobe-light fragments as he spoke.

"Ah. Heroes am I right? There's two distinct types I've run into in my days. One is a regular at bars and casinos...lives in a nice spot in one of the more condensed cities. And only gets working when they need a Tangent to complete so they're rich again for another few months. A successful Hero many would say..."

He only stopped to toss the dancers a few coins, calmly watching them for a few seconds after.

"The second type.....they tend to be a bit more difficult to come by. A little harder, a little more disciplined...obsessive...psychotic some would say. The price to be a willing warrior. Warrior indeed. I don't mean to spout any supremacist bullshit, but the second type is different from regular humans, don't you think partner? More equipped for this world...trained to spot differences, seek weaknesses, never have your back to any entrances, never relax in a forest that's gone completely quiet....pretend to drink in bars so people can be at ease in your presence."

Claude's insides clenched at that last statement, getting a laugh out of Cassidy who smiled from beneath his hood before taking in a long sniff.

"...I'll be damned. You don't smell nearly strong enough of alcohol after having all them free servings. Don't worry, I won't tell if you won't."

Claude stayed silent.

"I know you're in search of information....and something tells me it's in relation to the newspapers. You looked like you were ready to gut a Grizzly Bear out there." Cassidy said.

"Why do you want to help?" Claude asked.

Cassidy leaned back, resting his arms on the tops of the booth at his back while he looked up at the dancers. Claude could see beneath his hood for the first time and make out a scar that ran directly across his nose and beneath his steel grey eyes.

"There's two distinct types of Hero. One is in high demand, the other is a dying breed....I've got a thing for dying breeds, partner....especially when they're getting results." His voice went hard-- passionate, as he cast a quick glance down at his three Hounds on the floor beside him.

Claude followed his eyes, finding one of the Hounds looking straight at him. The stare lasted a few seconds before the canine rose to it's feet and worked it's way around the dancers to stand in front of him, sniffing at his knee's with interest. The purple lights danced along the thicker black stroke of fur running down it's back. It's calm yet focused yellow-golden eyes watched him with interest.

"Hello friend..." Claude whispered, holding out his hand for the Hound to smell before scratching behind it's long sharp ears.

Cassidy watched him with confusion, "Hm. They don't usually move on their own to new people....they're not a very socially open breed."

Claude shrugged as the Hound turned and sat, leaning into his leg with it's tail repeatedly tapping his foot as it swept across the floor beneath the booth, "He probably smells Wolf on me."

"Speaking of Wolf, where is your invisible buddy?" Cassidy inquired.

Claude's anxiety rose at the thought of Frosty, slowly evolving and digesting godly essence, "He's taking a day off."

"Fair enough. No days off for you and your travelling buddy though, is there?"

Claude shook his head with a neutral expression hidden behind his mask.

"Talk to me, why did the newspaper rile your nerves, NightRunner?"

Claude weighed his options for a moment before speaking, "Raiders."

Cassidy nodded while he watched the dancers, "I thought so too.....but next to a Hero-City? Not very common, huh?"

"Also not impossible."

"Indeed." Cassidy replied.

"Have you dealt with Raiders before?" Claude asked, slowly beginning to conduct his usual interview, now with a couple hours of practice.

Cassidy nodded, "Of course. Mostly higher profile targets in smaller groups. The bigger bands tend to stick to themselves with the hope that they're self sufficient enough to rob Heroes fresh out of Tangents every now and then. I tagged along on a few EE's and whatnot that usually result in varying levels of success. Just gotta lead em out of the forest....they get uncomfortable in new terrain fast."

"What is an EE..?" Claude thought.

"[Enforcer Expeditions. Usually large scale hunts for System Powered Law-Breakers on the run and or busts of criminal organizations-- sometimes including rogue Vampires and The Silver-Cursed. ]" Arne cut in.

Claude stored away that info at the back of his mind as he asked his next question. He'd never gotten so far in such a direct manner, "Since you've worked with the Enforcers, you probably know of the marked zones or assumed locations of Raider camps, right?"

Cassidy nodded.

"Where are the closest camps?"

"There aren't any. Not until you cross District lines at least twice over. The Enforcers here don't play around, and the low level of forestry makes it hard for the suckers to blend in." Cassidy replied.

Claude ran through his thoughts. The new information supported his assumptions. They were travelling from afar and willing to take risks to get to their destination. It spoke of a sense of urgency. It also spoke of boldness, backed by the success of being able to travel so far on their own and outside of Cities.

"How many of the Raiders that you've faced were Reborn?"

Cassidy stilled and seemed to seriously think it over before replying, "Hm. They're undoubtedly rare....Reborn Raiders tend to go a different route. You know...get selfish-- hungry, they feel better than their people more willing to go to extremes. Usually end up finding them sprouting fur....or deep in the DarkWays feeding on Light-Seeker Goblins...if you know what I mean."

"Hunger for power and a pension for breaking human laws....perfect targets for Vampire Covens and Shifter Packs..." Claude thought before replying, "Yep....I know what you mean.."

"Now, can I ask a question?"

"Depends.."

Cassidy chuckled again, "Why is this so important to you?"

"Just doing my job." Claude partially lied.

Cassidy didn't seem to believe him, but he settled with the answer, "Fair enough. For now we'll have to wait for more answers though, there's only so much you can do until they make another move, right? It's not like they're gonna fall into your lap."

Claude froze, suddenly remembering a key indicator of the Raiders he was looking for, something that would tell him more information than he'd received the whole night.

"Wrong."

"What?" Cassidy said.

"We may not have to wait."

"How so...." Cassidy leaned in, seemingly more interested than before.

"What do you know about Raiders and their appearances? How do they set themselves apart from others or show their unity as a team?"

"Ah it can be anything. Body mutilation, tattooing, burns, signature weapons, eye color-- though those types tend to be the result of very....very close breeding."

Claude let his memories take him to Rikah. To how she murdered the old Mage Oliver and used his blood as face-paint to match the style of her followers-- the action seemed to place her in her element. Reveal her true self.

A lightbulb went off in his head, "Have you noticed any new people in the Grand-Knights Public Guild-Hall?"

"No. Not other than you and your friend." Cassidy replied.

"Shit...." Claude said.

"But, there's been a couple folks at the other Guild-Halls, why?"

Claude was pulled back onto the trail, "Were they older?"

"They definitely weren't young, where are you going with this?" Cassidy asked, seemingly more interested than before.

"Describe them, please."

"You don't think...?" Cassidy questioned.

"Just do it, please."

"Hm....like I said. They were older, had to be in their forties...some were younger though. Not as young as you-- but not much older. They were tanned.....a little rugged...they looked experienced. Like regular Heroes for the most part. Maybe a little dirtier than usual." Cassidy said, scrunching up his nose.

"Dirty how?"

"[Good.]"

Cassidy sat in silence for a moment, "They had this musk....now that I think about it, most of the new people in each Guild-Hall i entered had a similar scent."

"Musky...? Like animal hides?"

Cassidy snapped his fingers, "Damn right. Wet animal hides."

"What about their faces?"

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked.

"Anything notable."

Cassidy nodded, "One of them had a nasty beard....damn near long as your hair....curly as all hell and clumpy."

"Clumpy..." Claude whispered.

"Yea."

"How so?"

"Like it was bunched together by some sticky substance left to fester."

"Blood."

Cassidy leaned back and regarded him with a knowing smile, "You know this bunch, don't you Mr. Greyson. A band of Raiders wearing blood on their faces... a bit vague. But, it speaks of confidence, don't it? Sounds like a dangerous bunch. What could they be doing travelling this far and entering cities for? Could it be for you, Mr. Greyson?"

Before Claude could try to weasel his way out of Cassidy's questions, a sound went off in his mind, stunning him halfway out of his seat.

DING!

[Divine Tampering Recognized!]

[Your Companion's Evolutionary Path has been altered and synthesized with a foreign element to create a new Evolution Stage!]

DING!

[Evolution Stage Completion Period: (0/30 Minutes)]

"Holy shit...."

"What was that?" Cassidy asked.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for the information, but I have to go." Claude said, petting the Hound that sat beside him before rising to his feet to retrieve Ursula and go.

As soon as he found her, she was already putting down her drink and tossing the table of men and women a few coins as Claude did the same for Rhonda on their way out.

They exited the Bar practically sprinting while Blackbeak flew overhead in a rush to get back to Rollan's to witness Frosty's evolution.

Along the way he couldn't help but think.

How many Raiders had already entered FeliAlu City?