A Harpie's Wing [open]

[Flash]

"Kill Male!"
Well great. An Ice Elemental. Why now? Those damned things weren't supposed to be here! Let's just throw some fireballs at it. It doesn't look strong so maybe I'm lucky.
Suddenly the elemental sent a wave of ice shards flying in towards Flash. Having to cast quickly Flash sent a deformed Fireball at the shards. The fire melted some of them but 2 or 3 hit him anyways. Luckily his Robes prevented any major damage.
"Just a few cuts. Time to tip the scales! Man that sounds weird when it comes out of my mouth. It sounded better in my Head."
This next one had to hit or Flash would be in even bigger trouble than before.
"Let's see..." He was looking for weak points. But the Enemy didn't seem to have any. Sure he would probably melt if hit by fire, but should he get hit in a place where his...core? was he would take substentially more damage.
"Weird. Core,heart or ... brain maybe? What do people call it? Even if it's made up of magic it has to have one. Let's try the most obvious first: head."
Converting the Ether into magic a fireball appeared. Moving his hand into the direction of the Elemental subconsciously ,as if to shove the fireball, Flash sent it at the Elemental. It was a hit - a good one at that. The head was gone. Wait. WHAT?
"That thing is regenerating! Apparently the head is not the core. damn..."
"No matter what you do. You'll die. Today by the hand of a female!"
The Elemental was sending only one ice shard this time. But it was about as big as two arms! That could kill him easily! Seeing the huge ice shard... no ice lance flying at him Flash tried to dodge by leaping to the side. He managed to avoid instant death, but the ice lance still hit him. His left arm was missing a chunk of flesh. Thankfully the area around it was frozen so it didn't hurt. Actually he couldn't feel anything really.
"Crap! That needs tending to very soon! I have to deal with this quickly or else i lose my arm! Considering it's frozen i should have about half a day. And i don't know how close to Khathelet i am! No. Calm down. You need to attack it now or you won't even make it to Khathelet."
The attack just now should have exhaused the elemental. Drawing strength from the Ether around and inside him Flash concentrated. The Elemental was about five times as big as his Fireball, or basically as big as a dog or bigger cat, so a normal one wouldn't melt it just like that. "Wait! My mentor told me about using the fire in another way. Instead of one big blast multiple small ones. Possible with any fire magic, but very draining." Sweat appeared on Flash's forehead. 5 very small balls of fire appeared in front of him, two of which were very unstable. He sent them flying at the Elemental but the unstable blasts vanished. The three other blasts hit though and the Elemental started to stumble. Parts if it began to melt away. Apparently one of the hits had hit the core. The elemental had been defeated and was melting completely. It's body was turning into regular water.
"Nooo...kill male... no more unfair treatment of women..."
The spell unleashed a fury of emotions that Flash was easily keeping in check normally, the strongest out of which was guilt. He felt sorry for the creature.
"Poor thing. Wonder what happened to make it rage at males so much..."
Not able to look at the creature ,or rather what was left of it, Flash turned around and ,despite still having problems with his emotions and his arm, started walking towards the location where Khathelet was supposed to be. After an half hour or so while he started thinking about the magic he used. "Thank god that worked. At least somehow. Still nothing compared to Neil though. He could control ten normally sized fireballs with ease."
The memory of his mentor made Flash smile. Khathelet was in clear sight and he would be there soon.
"Let's see if Khathelet is the first step to becoming Neil's equal!"

[Flash]

After arriving in Khathelet Flash started looking for a healer. He went to the local inn to ask.
"Heya folks. Anyone know a healer? Got a wound here and i'm ready to pay."
Money. The driving force for a lot of people. He knew if he told the he was ready to pay they would help him hoping for a reward.
An old man answered:"Yea we've got one. Across the street, number 28."
"Thanks"
Flash threw the man a coin. He ran out of the inn and started to look for number 28.
"24,26,28! There it is. Let's hope the healer is competent."
A few seconds after ringing the doorbell a young man opened.
"Are you looking for a healer? Best healer in town open for business and at your service!"
"Yeah. I got hurt in a fight with an ice elemental."
Flash showed the young healer his arm.
"Think you can heal that?"
Surprised by how fast the healer reacted Flash let himself get pushed in.
"Yes I can. But it's not going to be easy. For now you need to sleep or I can't work properly. You're very lucky i'm here you know?"
While the healer was rummaging through a small chest in the top right corner of the room Flash started looking around.There was a patients bed in the top left corner of the room and a picture of a heal staff on the wall opposite of the door. Probably so that anyone coming in could see it. Except for that the room was pretty empty though. The Room was very clean though.
"Finally! Here, take this."
The young healer gave Flash a sleeping pill which the mage swallowed quickly. Flash then settled down on the patients bed. The last thing he saw before dozing off was the Ceiling of the almost empty room.

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After what seemed like seconds Flash woke up only to see the face of a human, which is completely satisfied with his work, above him.
"I'm done! That was hard but I did it! The ice helped to conserve the wound which meant that I could work with the wound as if you had just received it. That left me with more time than I originally thought. "
"Guess today is my lucky day. How much do I owe you? Also I never got your name."
"My name is Wil. Also: Lucky day? Lucky two days! You've slept through the whole day yesterday!"
Wil started laughing after seeing Flashs astonished face.
"Holy crap. Guess I was tired... Let's get back to the subject! What about your pay?"
Wil stopped laughing and his eyes started to sparkle. Was he going to ask for a lot of money?
Even healers can be greedy huh?
"Actually I don't need pay."
Huh? What?
"In money at least."
Aaaaaand here's the catch.
"I want you to go on a quest for me. Depending on how well you do I may even pay you."
"Sounds kinda fishy, but what kind of quest?"
"I want you to bring me a Harpie's wing."

[Jule]

Where was she again? Some backwater town in the Pherae march. Or was it Khathelet? Aw, heck. Jule poured over her earnings with a toothpick in her gums, searching for both the last scraps of her coin and her meal. There were no two ways about it; she was running low on funds. As it turned out, aimlessly wandering from job to job left little margin for profit between meal and board expenses. And not one (well-paying) job in the town, to boot! So what if this place had been sacked by bandits one, two, maybe five times? That was no excuse for having no gold to pay a strapping young warrior with.

"Excuse me, miss?" "Bwuh-"

The man put a beefy hand on Jule's shoulder, totally eclipsing her size with his own. "Non-payin' customers ain't allowed in past sundown, miss. You got a room, or you gotta leave." Jule snorted, and turned to face her would-be opponent with a glare. "Don't be crazy, I just bought a meal here!"

"You bought a lunch."
"Uh-huh?"
"Six hours ago."
"Yeah?"
"At half our usu'l rate after throwin' a cryin' fit in front of the whole bar."
"Yeah??"
"...You're gonna have to leave, miss. You're weirdin' out my regulars."

With a huff, the girl was up from her table. "Fine. You don't deserve my money anyway!" The inn stifled a laugh as Jule stormed out, hoisting her pack over her shoulder. "And uh, that fish was real tasty by the way." "Thanks."

Nailed it.

But still, she had nowhere to go for the night. Not that the girl was any stranger to sleeping under the stars, but she had no dinner, as her stomach was so quick to remind her, no prospect of breakfast, and her hunting skills were, uh... rusty, to say the least. Her choices were few. Jule plopped down beside the wooden framework of the tavern, carefully weighing her options. She could probably rob the market tomorrow morning, but that meant going to sleep on an empty stomach. Or she could go back in and beg some more, and maybe the innkeep would relent and... ah, screw it. The thief was up on her feet again, with her sword secured at her side. Not every town could be a victory. Sometimes she had to take a loss and move on.

Maybe there was a nice thicket somewhere nearby with her name on it.

[Flash]

A Harpie's wing. While Flash knew that there were supposed to be Harpies around here, but how would he be able to get its wing?
"I need a companion. Someone who'll cut off one of its wings of while I distract it."
Flash knew that swordfighters tended to be fairly precise fighters. Maybe he could find a sworduser to help him. But where? Not being familiar with the customs here Flash did not know if there was some kind of mercenary meeting point here. Maybe even a mercenary Guild? Unfortunatly those tend to be rare.
"Maybe I should look for a guild after this. If the quests are relayed to the guild and not a mercenary personally I can pick out the one best suited to me. Also most single mercenaries are underpaid constantly. Well to be fair that also depends on the employer. My last one was surprisingly generous. Still my argument stands."
After some thinking Flash decided that it was too late anyways and that he should go to the inn.
Soon the inn was in sight. He heard a girl shouting:
"Fine. You don't deserve my money anyway!" followed by laughter. Then he saw a small, apparently half-starved young girl coming out of the inn. She said while glancing over her shoulder:
"And uh, that fish was real tasty by the way."
"Thanks" was the innkeepers reply. The girl turned around and Flash thought that for a second he saw a scar on her face. She didn't walk normally though Flash was unsure why. Maybe she had some kind of wound on her leg that was currently covered up? He also saw a sword hanging at her side.
Well seems like I may have found the sword user I was looking for.
"Excuse me miss - would you happen to be a mercenary or something of that sort? I noticed you've got a sword and that is not really common around here as far as I can tell. I've been tasked with getting something for a local healer. Also you look like you could use a meal and a bed. I could pay for that if you agree to aid me."

[Jule]

"Eh?"

Some bookish-looking type had just flagged her down. Maybe he was one of the people inside the inn, come to bring her back? Jule beamed. "Well, it's about time you guys showed up to say sorry. I'll come back in, if you insist--" Oh. No, that wasn't quite it. Jule scratched her head as she ignored carefully listened to her new companion. Now that she got a closer look at him in the dimly lit twilight, the man didn't seem like the kind of person to spend his time kicking back drinks at a bar. The man's robes clung to his lithe, almost waifish figure, with nary a muscle in sight. But he seemed to know how to dress; maybe he was a noble in need of a dashing warrior like herself? Either that or a missionary. Ugh, she'd had her fill of enough religion for one lifetime. What was this guy's deal?

"Y'say you're looking for a merc?" The thief jolted upright and puffed her chest out. "Well, then ya came to the right gal. My name's Jule Balin, and I'm a bonafide merc alright." She drew her sword for emphasis, its blade reflecting the dulled ruddy hue of nearby lanterns. Heh, she actually had a sword to show off this time. Working with Donny and Perun's troop had its perks sometimes. "I've actually been lookin' for a job myself right here in town, but business seems slow. I guess these folks don't really get out much or somethin'. Ain't much work around. So whatcha need, guy? Monster hunting? Bodyguards?"

[Flash]

Flash noticed that the girl, which introduced herself as Jule Balin, had apparently not heard a word. A small smile appeared on his face when she introduced herself as a bonafide mercenary. She did not look the part. Flash had to remind himself that abilities were not determined by looks alone. If anything, people tended to being more dangerous if they did not look like a source of danger. Because the their enemy would either ignore them or think that they were easy to deal with. Often people like that would only be seen as dangerous after they've already got somebody at their feet, with a knife stuck between their foe's ribs.
Also, I don't look like much either. But she is definitely very quick and agile. Still is she quick enough to outspeed a harpy? We'll have to find out. Because if she isn't we'll have to plan differently.
Seeing as the girl was apparently not a good listener Flash tried to keep his offer short and simple.
No it wasn't a bodyguard he needed. Monster hunting was closer to the subject.
"I need the wing of a Harpy. Completely intact if possible. Can you do that? I will pay you either when I've got the wing or I'll provide a bed and food for you in this Inn. If you do well I'll pay you, even if you chose the latter option. "
Flash hoped that the young girl listened this time. At the very least he knew that he had tried his best to keep it short, while informative.

[Jule]

At the mention of her vocation, the man allowed himself a small smile. Clearly, he had good taste. Um, but what exactly was a harpy? She knew of the undead, the skeletons, the doogs, and those big ol' spiders, but nothing about harpies. Had Jule tuned out Mila again during one of her long-winded monster seminars? It was a definite possibilty. Maybe they were like those bird people they'd met over in Vinland. Or evil pegasi? Her knowledge of large, winged creatures left a little to be desired. But it wasn't like she was some bookworm who spent all day cooped up in a library. All that information without any action rotted a man's brain. She went out and did things. So the prospect of going out and defeating a brand new monster sounded plain fantastic to Jule.

Not like this dude had to know this was her first time, anyway. You've fought one creep, you've fought 'em all.

Pretending like the girl knew exactly what her employer was talking about, she nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah, I uh, I eat harpy wings for breakfast! Fight 'em all the time. Nasty buggers, with their... wings and flyin' an' whatnot. Anyhoo, let's get to the payment part. Y'say you'll buy me a meal and a bed, AND pay me? Sounds like we got ourselves a deal." Without so much waiting for his name in response, Jule's hand had clasped itself in his own. She was hungry and tired-- they could work out the finer details after she'd had her fill.

Releasing him from her grasp, she tried to take a good look at the man, eyeing his outfit up and down for any loose weapons. He definitely seemed like the kind of person who could use protecting. "So, you gonna be coming with, or hanging back? I'm guessin' you're not hiding any giant swords or plate under those robes of yours, but you could be some kind of wizard for all I know. Magical trickery and stuff."

[Flash]

Apparently this girl was one of those people that act first and think afterwards. This could turn out to be a problem or an asset depending on the situation. If she had the patience to at least more or less listen to him they would be fine. At the mention of harpies the girl sounded enthusiastic. Almost a little too enthusiastic... well whether she had fought one before or not would not make a difference. He still had to talk about harpies with her, as they may differ greatly. He may sometimes be a little too pedanticly correct, but that attitude had already saved his life before. At least thats what he liked to think. When Jule pulled him into the Inn, he sat down on one of the wooden chairs and beckoned her to do the same.
"Hey Innkeeper! Something hearty for me and my friend here! Also I'M paying so no worries about that. And if you could prepare two rooms that would be very kind of you."
The Innkeeper looked at him, visibly puzzled, but vanished into the kitchen and soon after came out with two plates full of fried potatoes and one giant steak each. After putting them on the table he went upstairs.
"Now is probably the best time to introduce myself. I'm Flash, a travelling mage. I can use fire magic and I'll be fighting with you. But now to our enemy. Harpies are basically women with wings for arms and talons for feet. They tend to be fairly unintelligent but that may differ from individual to individual. So do not underestimate them! Also this is different from what you may know: we do not want to kill it instantly, but rather we need one of its wings first. Keep that in mind. Any questions?"

[Jule]

Not ten minutes later, the swordswoman was back in her seat, with a new friend and a hot meal in tow. Turns out, whoever this guy was, he had quite a bit of cash on him, or at least enough to pay both their ways. Looks like she had been right on the money. ...Figuratively speaking. As the innkeep came round with her food, Jule stuck her tongue out in childish victory. He only cracked his neck and sighed before returning upstairs to prepare their rooms. With no care for her companion's table manners, she ate ravenously, inhaling her meal in seconds. Even if the meat was a little bloody and the potatoes were a little too dry, it tasted like heaven to her. Everything was just coming up aces tonight.

"Fuwhash, y'shay?" Between bites (and breaths of air), Jule paused to commentate, then took a gulp from her canteen. "Ahh... That's a pretty cool name. 'S "Flash" like a pet name, or somethin'? Ah, nevermind that. Don't you worry about me none! I know all there is to know about harpies. I beat down all sorts of creepy crawlies for a livin', after all! It's a pretty good ride, when the pay comes in steady." Honestly, it was incredible how the only absurdity in that breath was that she had fought harpies before.

Okay, so harpies had: wings, feathers, talons, lady bits, and potential smarts? Which meant... they were just giant bird people. Just like those taguar on Vinland! Man, she was really looking forward to this now. More than anything Jule wanted to take on that Anzu guy before they left the isle, but that birdbrain completely blew her off back then. Might as well get in some practice before she headed back for round two. "I got a question for ya. Why can't we just be real careful about killing the harpy, then cut its wing-arm thing off? It'll prolly be way harder to catch one while it's flappin' around and squawkin' up a storm. Just seems like we're workin' harder, not smarter here, if you ask me. These things got some magical properties stored in 'em thatcha need?"

[Flash]

He liked the way this girl thought. While she may not be the most refined of people and clearly had a flair for dramaticism, but she was smart. The same thing had occured to him too, however there was a problem with that.
"While I like the idea, I was factoring in the fact that I don't know what will happen when they die. They are supposed to have some magic properties, but i do not know anything further. Also if we hurt both of its wings while killing it we have to find ourselves another one. Depending on the circumstances that has a fair chance of happening."
He clenched his teeth. He hated not having all information needed. It made planning so much more tedious.
"But its good you brought this up. We could try to kill them first, like you said, and take the risk of our work being for naught if something happens to its wings, or we cut off its wings first and then kill it. Thankfully for the latter I think, I know that the wing is going to stay intact though. Got that information from another merc who got into a fight with a harpy. After he cut of its wings it fled."
Now that he thought about that story seemed very weird. Maybe it had something to do with the different intelligence of the harpies? Once again his only choice was to find out. He really didn't like to do things without knowing if they'd work.
"Anyways, those are our choices. Also we'd have to decide wheather we try to, more or less, "assassinate" a harpy, meaning take it by surprise or fight it up front. When facing it up front we can aim better and it probably won't flee instantly, but we risk a counterattack. A successful surprise attack may allow us to take it out without any repercussions but could also lead to the harpy moving away from our attack when we're not expecting it to, resulting in us not obtaining the wing."
Flash sighed.
"Well we'll have to decide tomorrow. Even if you think you know what to do please think about it. I also have my favourites already but think it will be good to try and reevaluate them until tomorrow."

[Jule]

"Mhm, mhm," was Jule's only reply as she continued to chew. "Bwretty shure they don't--ahh-- go out in a blaze of glory or nothin' like that. Fought these things before, y'know. Dumber ones just dive right in on sight, and the big ones squawk about pride and honor and stuff for a little while, while they're cuttin' stuff to ribbons with their claws or magic or whatever." Sure, equate monsters with Taguel. What could go wrong? "And when they get taken down, they..." Come to think of it, she had never actually seen a Bird Taguel be defeated. The ones she had met were powerful folk, certainly a greater match than Jule at the moment. Hmm."Well, it's nothin' I can't handle on my own. We've got nothin' to worry about."

"As for how we do it, I'm much more of an up-front-and-personal kinda gal, but if it's stealthy you want, I can get the job done stealthy. Either way, whatever you've got cookin' up works fine for me, guy. Just point me in the direction we're headed and stay outta the way so you don't get cut up by any of those monsters. Fireballs're all well an' good, but you can't shoot 'em off if you're dead." The swordswoman worked much better when she had a big hunk of meat to stand behind and get whaled on so she wouldn't have to, but things were going to be a little different this time around. But she could really use a good challenge. Life was getting pretty dull anyway.

"So, that's that. 'S a pleasure doin' business with ya. Before we shove off to sleep, though..." Jule took her final bite and scraped the last of her plate clean, allowing the wood to clatter on the table below. Flash had hardly touched his meal as he spoke. How absurd! To waste good food was to waste good life. "You gonna finish that?" she punctuated with a belch.

[Flash]

At the mention of his food, Flash noticed that he had hardly eaten. Despite that, he wasn't hungry... maybe Wil had done something while he was sleeping? Or fed him while he was still half-asleep? Probably that last one. He really had a lot to thank the young healer for. You know, besides owing him his life. Snapping back into reality Flash answered:
"I've eaten a little while ago, so i'm not hungry. You can have it. Honestly if I had realized how hungry you are and how full I am, I would've probably just ordered two meals for you."
It felt right to feed a hungry person.
Good deeds apparently make you feel like a good person. What a surprise.
"Anyways, you eat up while I go to sleep. Good night."
Sleep seemed to be what his body desired more than food, for whatever reason. He knew that healing staves drained the body of the user. Just as his magic, at least fire magic, released his restraint. Sometimes that made his emotions harder to control, sometimes he was as bold as a drunk man. Depending on how much he used. But the effects of magic, which includes healing magic, are always limited to its user. He had never heard of magic sideeffects being "moved" to another person though. Unless... the healer had used the reserves Flash's body had to speed up the process of healing. But while that was a possibility, it was quite unlikely. Still Wil had done a splendid job, even if he had used this little trick.
All of these thoughts whirling in his mind, Flash went to bed. Though he tried to stay awake a bit longer, to think, sleep crashed over him like a black wave almost instantly.

[Jule]

"Suit yourself," Jule shrugged as she stacked the mage's plate over top her own. She certainly wouldn't be one to look a gift meal in the mouth. Considering, y'know, she had just been given one. Whatever. It was easier to rationalize it as part of her payment, instead of another hand-out. "See ya in the morning."

Soon after her second helping was finished, Jule was in her freshly-prepared bed, fast asleep. It'd been quite a few nights out on the road since she had the chance to sleep with both eyes closed. And on a full stomach, at that! Honestly, why couldn't all these towns be closer together? It was hard enough trying to get from Point A to Point B when all these forests and hills and farmlands blended together into one big mess of a maze. Couldn't everyone just live closer together like in Ostia? Come to think of it, she still wasn't anywhere closer to her Point B. The girl was supposed to be with that jolly orange giant and his band of goons, but they had vanished into the Aether through no fault of her own just a few days ago. She'd been on her own since. Strange. Regardless she'd get this job done, and continue wandering on her merry little aimless pay until she found them again.

---

The morning after, Jule was ready and raring to go. At the crack of dawn the girl was already warmed up and full of breakfast. Surely Flash wouldn't mind a few extra coins added to his tab? It was just more payment for a job about to be well done. And while the girl waited for her companion to awake, she'd even managed to strike up a friendly conversation with the innkeeper as he cleaned.

"...So, yeah, I'm just waiting for Flash to wake up so we can head out and take care of those bird creeps in the hills."
"Mhm."
"We could die out there, y'know."
"Mhm."
"I mean, 'course, I won't, but you know how it is."
"Take care, miss."

He... tolerated her, which was certainly a step up from the other night.

[Flash]

When he stood up he noticed that his body seemed satisfied with the ammount of sleep he had given it. That was a relief, as today a tired body could mean death. Remembering all of his thoughts from the day before, he started to quiver with anticipation. He had slept enough, now was the time to act. After getting dressed as quickly as he could he hurried down the stairs, not even bothering to do anything about his bedhead. Jule was already awake and had her almost finished breakfast in front of her. Probably she had put it on his tab. No matter: he had the money. Once again he sent a prayer to the sky, thanking his last employer. Without his generousness Flash might have a lot more problems surviving. While paying the Innkeeper and getting food for the way there, he raised his voice:
"Hey Jule! I'm waiting for you outside! We'll be discussing our plans on our way."
He really was impatient today. That would either make his spells unstable or stronger than usual. Considering that he had trained himself to be calm in battle, the latter option was more likely. Not waiting for Jule he stormed out of the Inn. He could have waited for her inside, but there was no way he was staying in this stuffy Inn any longer. Sun. Some clouds. Breathe in, breathe out. He loved nature. To be fair, all anima mages did. It was kinda the precondition for the ability to wield any form of anima magic. Still he hoped that Jule would come soon. Then it would be time to fight a harpy.

[Jule]

"That's my cue. See ya when we get back." Jule's head swiveled towards the open door, where Flash awaited her. "Cooooming!" The girl replied, leaping from her seat and practically bowling over the mage as she came into the open air. It certainly was a beautiful morning out. Birds chattered in the tops of trees, the rays of the early sun painted the clouds in shades of rosy pink and orange, the sleepy townsfolk had yet to get up and move about in the streets... by all accounts, it was a perfect morning.

What better way to spend it than by gutting screeching hellbeasts?

The road to the mountains looming over the rising sun ahead was clear, too. The village was small and short on supplies as it was, it was no wonder traders weren't coming and going. And if there were monsters and bandits afoot in the foothills, the chances of incoming travelers were slim. No wonder the innkeep had rooms ready for them so quickly.

No sooner than they had left the town gates behind them on the horizon line, the girl turned to Flash, all keyed up for the fight to come. "So what's this big plan you wanna tell me about? You been to the place we're goin' before? And what's all this harpy wing business about anyway? Why just a wing instead of the whole body? If we put our heads together, we could prolly just drag one of their bodies back if we have to." They were going to crack some monster skulls anyway, so Jule was altogether not very concerned with Flash's what was sure to be an undoubtedly incredibly nuanced and complex brain scheme he had cooking up. "Sword + harpy = very yes" was good enough for her.