Out of sight, out of mind. One rapidly broke line of sght zith the little nightmare following him, and eventually with the big nightmare too. Her last finding had significantly improved her mood. And all in all, she got to kill something today, so things weren't too bad. On her way back, she resumed what she'd learned about this encounter.

• Likely many snacks all across the forest.
  
• Full feast somewhere in there too.
  
• These little snacks were probably the work of nature. Too shabby to be a professional's touch. There was probably some forgotten curse laying around. No sign of Hellpoemer then! A shame.
  
• Anybody not worth his steel will die in these woods. Meh.

She would've preferred a few extra bolts, but information was a form of reward too. Once her handler is around, the hunt will start anew.
This was good enough for One. And so, One made her way back to the decrepit hamlet...

But another happw surprise awaited her in the forest. The only elf foolish enough to come to Psarosoupa crossed her path again. And this time, he looked more beat up.
One sneaked up a few meters behind him and, wth a bolt ready to be lodged in his pretty elven head, she called him out.

One: "Balderas! What a surprise. Do not move, hands in the air, or I'll shoot. Nothing personal... It would seem fate has been a cruel mistress to you, friend!"

One, now safe from the Wendigos (or the Wendigos safe from One more like), made her way to her temporary shelter in the village.

On her way there, she found it in herself to call out to an acquaintance she had previously made on the road. In her ever so friendly manner of course.  

One: "Balderas! What a surprise. Do not move, hands in the air, or I'll shoot. Nothing personal... It would seem fate has been a cruel mistress to you, friend!"

Anyone who runs into you has a cruel fate you fucking schizophrenic psycho!

Is what the narrator would say, were he not afraid to get shot.

Antonio Barderas Balderas, on the other hand, was more than willing to cooperate despite his surprise at being addressed in such a fashion out of the blue. As instructed, he turned around to face the One calling him.


Slay him if he’s an enemy caster? Keep him alive as a pet? HA!

Even though One was ever doubtful, even though she never lowered her guard… In the end, she was but a child in the face of the world’s infinite potential for cruelty.  

As Antonio Balderas slowly turned around, One was quick to notice the change.

Bloodied, torn clothes. Grey skin, covered with dirt and red. Gaping wounds no living person could be strolling around the woods with. Labored breathing… Eyes filled with darkness.

So much for keeping him alive!

Well then…

There’s no point in delaying this is there?

There’s only so many ways this can go down.

Make it a story for the ages.

He would have liked that.

---

One goes first due to the element of surprise.

Wow. Shame. "Die." - One simply added. [Punish the wicked, the heretic, the faithless]

One pressed the trigger as soon as she realized, launching a crossbow bolt straight into the late Balderas's head. Without missing a beat, she armed a second one and launched an [Impaler Bolt] into his chest, sending the undead bard flying back.

One: "I guess you'll provide a different kind of entertainment, Balderas! It's all the same to me."

No need to hesitate, no need to falter.

Showing her ever disturbing lack of compassion, One did not hesitate to unleash her attack on the poor fellow.

The first bolt lodged itself a bit below his right pectoral, Antonio grunted.

The second hit him on the chest as well and pushed him back a solid 5 meters.

Unlike the wendigos she had fought moments ago, he did not seem completely immune to the pain induced (though he was still clearly numb to it). It quickly became apparent that he was in some other, different state of undeath.

His movements were faster, he seemed more alert all of a sudden, following this wake up call.

He moved further backwards on his own, putting a total of about 30 meters between him and the inquisition's pet. There he hid behind a trunk and unleashed two arrows of his own in her direction, using a bow he unsheathed from his back.

Currently, the two are fighting still in the middle of the forest. They started in something of a clear corridor formed by a path of leaves. This continues for a hundred or so meters in a straight line and offers the fastest route of movement available, however there is no cover on the path. That said, on the sides of it, tree trunks can be found here and there, offering excellent cover, they are pretty much randomly positioned around the path.

---

Your passive the order strikes first does not activate as you notified the target of your presence and he was facing you.

Your passives Punish the wicked, the heretic, the faithless I and Passif - Spécialité Martiale are taken into account (though the first one did not proc any crits).

-50 pe for both attacks.

- 5 pm (for some reason x) ) for the enchanted impaler bolt.

One's state:

HP: 633/633 Who's a healthy undead? You are!
PM: 52/57 Your magic is made of meh.
PE: 200/310 At the end of the previous fight you had 164PE left. Since then you've been mostly running around to distance yourself from the pursuers, but it wont do to have you start the fight with so low PE... So we're starting you with 250 at least.

- 2 bolts, new total 24 left!

As for him, together your attacks dealt 262 damage.

One did not manage to get a read of his abilities or state.

Given his movements and attacks however, it is safe to assume he is not a complete zombie.

One can defend/counterattack.

Baldera's first arrow finds One as she turns around to run for cover. It pierces One's left buttock.

Does the undead feel pain? Does she feel pissed or furious?

It probably stings a bit. Her pride, if nothing else.

The second arrow makes it's way (and gets deeply stuck) to the tree trunk behind which One finds cover.

With both of them seemingly specialized in ranged combat and the terrain being what it is, this has the potential to turn into quite the drawn out fight. One has her stamina and resources to consider. Not to mention that her opponent could technically expect reinforcements, while this is an unlikely outcome for her.

---

One eats 58 dmg.

She uses 19 PE for her movement (as per her passive).

One's state:

HP: 575/633 you have an arrow stuck in your ass.
PM: 52/57
PE: 181/310

One's turn to attack.

The deed was done. Ultimately, Balderas had not proven much of a threat.

The poor bastard.

It had now been a couple of minutes since One had finished turning him into a pin cushion. He had not moved in the slightest in that time, nor had any other dangers reared their heads. The woods seemed to be safe. Or at least as safe as they were about to be for the foreseeable future.

Experience and feeling alike could probably tip the undead that this zone’s situation was about to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

One managed to recover the vast majority of her bolts. She also unscrupulously looted the spoils of battle from the man’s corpse.

She obtained the following:

A low grade bow.

Bow:

A short sword.

Short Sword:

A cool hat.

A Cool Hat:

The equivalent of 500 imperial coins.

A total of 400 exp for the defeat of Balderas and the Wendigo. Putting you at level 8 (+4 technique slots)!

What little armor he had was leather based and most of it had been shredded to pieces even before his encounter with One. There was practically nothing to be salvaged.

In addition, she was able to find a pretty standard compass along with a map on which the elf seemed to have scribbled some additional information.




Most notes seemed to be personal observations, like “village of cool people” or “location potentially referenced in X legend”, but in the end what drew One’s attention was the presence of a town located to the North of the three villages that the locals had mentioned. This was not present on the elf’s map nor her own, he had added it in. Furthermore, no one in the village had mentioned this. Or had they?

By the looks of it, this was located outside the forest and near the northern coast of Psarosoupa.  

Lastly, One found a couple of notebooks on which had been copied some folklore stories and legends from across Haerii.

Most originated from outside of Psarosoupa as they spoke of “heathen” gods.

The first story she was able to make out was a legend often told to children in order to explain to them why people forget things.


The story of the Nameless Dragon.

Long, long ago, when Haerii was but mist and legend, there lived a huge dragon whose gluttony was dreaded across the land.

So vast was its appetite, that the day came when its hunger could no longer be quenched by devouring the living alone.  

The beast roamed the skies at dusk and feasted on the souls of the dead on their way to the Last Domain.

It was not long before its pilfering caught the eye of the master of death, who quickly saw fewer and fewer souls reach his lands.

Unable to let this continue but loath to put an end to the creature, Vekel struck a deal with the dragon.

The beast would be taken far below and become the guardian of the Last Domain. In return it would be allowed to devour the souls of those trying to escape the underworld.

The pact held true for years, until the dead, horrified of their brethren’s fates, no longer sought to leave their prison.

As sure as the seasons change, the dragon grew hungry once more. It was not long before it made its own escape back to Haerii, abandoning its post and betraying its master.

The skies echoed with screams as the beast’s shadow covered the land. Once again, living and dead alike were robbed of their destinies.

Crazed in its famine, it avidly gorged on their souls, until the very moment it noticed the shadow of death creeping up behind it.

Terrified and all too aware of the fate that awaited it in Vekel’s arms, the dragon fled until its strength could take it no further.

But to hide from death is no easy feat, there was no land of Haerii’s to hide the beast from Vekel’s wrath.

It is beneath the Nameless Moon, at the Distant Shore, that it ultimately found refuge. It vowed to hide there forever, where death would never find it.

Feasting on souls no longer, it turned to the memories of the living, condemning them to forget.
 

Or so the story went.

There were also a couple of other stories that drew her attention. Sadly, the notes for these ones were in way worse shape which made their reading difficult.

One seemed to be about the travels of a dude with white hair, dubbed the traveller of the West, who went around Psarosoupa helping people with a variety of things.

The other story was one some-times told to children in order to teach them not to be greedy or ungrateful. It was called “The Seed Merchant”. Although some details in this version were different, Psarosoupa also had its own version of this tale. It was a bit of a complex tale with love, betrayals and a bunch of life lessons. One might have remembered it somewhat since she was from Psarosoupa. One noticed that the bard had made a significant number of notes over passages of the story. Most of them were no longer readable due to physical damage ranging from blood stains to teared pages. As for those that could still be read… They would have to wait for later. The woods were not THAT safe after all.