Devil Woman (Exorcist/Solo)

[Elkeid]

Leveling up her Exorcist class was (surprisingly) not going to be as hard as she imagined. For one, Elkeid had come across a mournful old woman outside of the little café she went to each morning for breakfast. It was a little restaurant owned by a fellow Adventurer of the Chef class, so there was little to worry about in terms of the taste of food. That morning was an uneventful one, as per usual. She was going to grab a cup of coffee, and then see about finding some work - maybe even a group to do some adventuring with. Fate, naturally, had other plans in store for her.

"Oooh~." The old Lander groaned. "Can someone possibly help an old and desperate widow out? Oooh~."

The groaning and moaning was irritating Elk's eardrums. "What is it, old woman?" It was too early in the morning to be dealing with the nonsense the People of the Land thought of. "If you have business with me, I suggest you go on and get on with it," she said with a low growl.

"Oooh~! Oooh… Well, you see…" The woman began twiddling her thumbs. "It's about my home, out in the swamp, dearie."

Elkeid folded her arms against her chest. "Yes? What of it?"

"I - I need an exorcist. My home is being invaded by Possessed Stumps. After my husband died, I haven't been able to keep up the repairs he used to do for us, and our son has had nothing to do with us for over forty years. So, the floor boards in the cellar have been rotting away. I've done what I could to slow it down, but a few old tree stumps have pushed their way through. Even worse is that they have been possessed by spirits! I can't even go into the cellar anymore without them pelting me with filth! They scratch, too, the nasty little buggers!" She fixed big, pleading eyes onto Elk. "Please! You are an Adventurer, are you not? You can surely handle a few little stumps for little ole me."

"Only because it will help me get what I want," the Monk replied coolly. Why else should she bother sticking her neck out for a complete stranger? Her apparent "immortality" in this game slash world was not something she wanted to recklessly test, but at least it was possible for her to revive. This old woman would die if she returned to her home out in the swamp. "Where do you live, old woman?"

"Oh, I do have a name, you know!"

"And? What is it, woman?"

"Oh, goodness me! I can't seem to remember… It's been so long since I've last been around people-"

Elkeid bit back a growl. "I hope you remember it by the time I leave." The amount of impatience in Elk's tone was sharp enough to cut bread. You did not mess with her before she's had her morning coffee, nor was it a good idea to approach her in the morning period.

Muse: Devil Woman

Notes:She's gonna get you~.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:506

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

The old woman had so much trouble remembering her own name, that Elk elected to simply refer to her as "Hag." She complained a little about that at first, but was silenced by the more assertive Monk. "So, why a swamp? Why can't you live somewhere respectable and cleaner, like London? Or even in the Savill Garden? It's beautiful, and the populace of monsters are lower leveled than what you would find in the swamp."

"Oh, heaven's no! I simply can't leave! It was my home for over sixty years. I had the best years of my life in that house. My husband built it all on his own, you know! It is rather small, though, and there are only two bedrooms, but it suited us well enough. It was also a little ways away from where most of the monsters gathered, and the goblins were too afraid to set foot near our house. It's just an ideal spot, you know? I think it's the stilts that really help."

Now wait just a goddamn minute.

"Your house is on stilts, but you say that tree stumps are in your cellar? How does that even work? I mean, your house isn't on the ground, so -"

"Oooooh~. These poor little legs of mine may not be able to make the walk back!"

"Do I need to get you a wagon or something? Also, you avoided my question-"

"O-oh, did you mean the cellar? I may have gotten confused again. We have a pantry I have gotten into the habit of calling a cellar-"

""We?" Do you have more kids or something-"

"And sometimes I just get so confused! I meant to say that the Possessed Tree Stumps are under my home, not in it! I have to be careful when coming and going, otherwise they throw horrible things at me! Oooooh!"

This old woman was going to be a real pain. "Look, I don't have the money to find you a carriage or something, so -" The old woman was relatively tiny, in comparison to Elk; she was just under 4'9 and weighed less than a hundred pounds. 'It feels like I'm lugging around a medium sized dog.' The old woman sure could squeak like one. "Don't fret - I've got you," she said as she placed the old woman on her back, and felt the little, gnarled hands clamping down on her shoulders for stability. The Hag was shaking like a small dog. "Now, just tell me where to go - if you can remember, that is."

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:Do do do~.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:413

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

The old Hag, unsurprisingly, had a good deal of trouble finding her own home. Elkeid was starting to regret helping the old bat out when they finally came to what looked like a ramshackle shack on sticks. It was in the middle of the marsh, and appeared to be the abandoned house inhabited by a brothel of goblins. No, really - it looked like something goblin whores would live in, if they built houses. The "house" (Elk hesitated to call it one since it looked much too small to be one) was falling apart, in terms of paint, structure, entrances slash exits, and was sagging near the middle.

Elkeid was certain it would fall apart if she were to so much as touch it. That wasn't the only thing, however; there were relatively new curtains of red fabric fluttering in the lone window, and some small, potted plants scattered beneath it. Again - it looked like the kind of place a brothel of goblins would be set up at. What Elk wasn't so sure about was the clientele. There were some men with very…odd tastes and fetishes. Just the mere thought of a man sliding his hand up a goblin's bare thigh made her physically ill - enough so that she actually threw up some brown bile that was once coffee. 'Disgusting.'

The Hag did not seem to see what Elk saw, which was understandable; she had gotten used to the sight over the years. "Ooooh! Do you see?! Do you?!" She raised a shriveled little hand and pointed at something under the goblin whore house. "There! There it is! Naughty little bugger! He's just waiting to lob me with a pinecone or nettle!"

"Stand back," Elk commanded as she stepped forward. This could be tricky business, so she did not need the added distraction the old woman provided. "How many did you say there were again - HEY!" Elkeid threw up an arm to shield her face as a clot of dirt sailed towards her. Although it fell shorter than expected, it was still quite the surprise. "Why, you little bastard…" She wanted to smash its face in, but that would not properly exorcise it. There was a spirit that could not rest, and would only return to haunt the old woman later if she failed to solve its problems. She only wished she knew how.

Elkeid had never watched those television dramas about ghosts or the supernatural, but she had seen a few horror movies on the subject; like the one film that had a young girl pulled into the idiot box (her godfather's term for television) by poltergeists. In that film, the parents had hired some paranormal investigators before the exorcist was contacted. Elkeid's memory of the film grew blurry at that point, but she could remember the climax well enough. The family managed to get their daughter back, but only with the help of the exorcist. Replicating that from memory would be difficult, more so because it was a movie and thus likely not based on truth. 'I could always kick its ass, I guess.'

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:Nup.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:519

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[attr="class","elkeid"]

Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

Elkeid drew close to the spot where the dirt clod had been thrown from, careful not to approach too fast. Things like this had to be handled delicately, and she would only scare the damn thing or piss it off if she did not act with care. "Hello," she said softly as she crouched down to scoot under the goblin whore house. There was a lot of mud and loose sticks under here, as well as what appeared to be bits and pieces of the house that had fallen off the underside decades ago. She half expected to see an old dog or cat lounging around down here - hell, even a goblin would be plausible. 'I bet their women sell their "wages" when this old coot is out to town or asleep.' Perhaps they even invaded the house to make use of the beds and cushions within. It wasn't too farfetched an idea.

The Possessed Tree Stump was doing a good job of remaining hidden; it wasn't throwing things at her or making a sound (assuming the spirit trapped within it was capable of making a sound, anyway). Elk brushed aside some sticks and nettles with her foot as she prowled further under the house. Her suspicions were growing as she found signs of someone - or something living under here. The nettles she had just swept aside had been made up in a rather neat pile, large enough to accommodate a small child or goblin. If not a goblin whore house, it could serve well enough as a bedroll for shagging a goblin mate or two. 'Ugh. Why the hell am I thinking about goblins having sex?' Her stomach cramped painfully at the thought, but nothing would come out if she were to vomit right now.

She was still fighting back the urge to vomit when something sailed past her ear. 'Son of a bitch! I found you!' And now that she had found them (or it, whatever), she was not going to be merciful. "Hey! Cut that out right now, you understand? I am going to knock your neeping head off your shoulders." Ok, that wasn't entirely possible, but still! The area under the house was much too cramped to be dealing with this monster's tomfoolery.

"HOLY BANISHMENT!" The palm of her hand glowed momentarily, before shooting forth a laser of bright light. The darkened area under the house was illuminated with light. During the brief flash before the monster was struck, Elkeid counted two others just like it. They were placed further than the first, which was close enough to tackle. The Possessed Tree Stump pulled out a pair of gnarled roots, and held them over its body in vain. It shrieked as it was rocked back by the light, and slumped a bit to the left. That solitary blast should not be enough to stop it however, and sure enough, the creature was sitting upright again, its claws picking feebly at the ground around it. It was looking for more ammo, but Elk was not going to allow it to restock.

The stump rocked to the right this time, but like before it was up and ready for her. "You're a tenacious little shit, aren't you?" Well, she was just going to have to put an end to that, wasn't she? A third blast to the monster almost killed it; it was deliciously weak to Light attacks, which was what her Exorcist subclass supplied. "You don't like this, huuuh~? Then why not give up?! Vacate the body of that stump, this instant!" The stump - or, rather, the spirit inside it - moaned. Elk took that response as a no, and did not waste any time in blasting the damn thing a fourth, and final time.

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:Nein.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:631

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

With a low "pop" sound, the spirit that was inhabiting the stump was evacuated and sent spiraling up. It was a shining form of light, in the likeness of a little boy. 'It figures that the spirit would be a child.' Children could be such mischievous little bastards. Why had she not seen this from the start? The ghostly child bunched its hands into fists and jerked one in Elkeid's direction. She shook a fist at it in return - a "Don't neep with me, pal" kind of shake. The spirit, thinking better of it, drifted back and away from its ruined stump. It seemed to be crying before it disappeared. 'I wonder what the hell his problem is.' Why inhabit an empty stump and harass some old woman? Was there more to this story that Elk was not privy to? 'It certainly seems that way,' she thought as she mused over the old woman's forgetful tendencies. Was she deliberately hiding something, or was she really just that batty?

The time to think about that was sadly not now. One of the two remaining stumps was now chucking bits of mud and twigs at her, possibly indignant at her forceful expulsion of its fellow spirit. 'I'll handle you just I dealt with the other," she warned as she sidled closer and closer.

And then the stump threw mud in her face.

"...You little shit. I'm going to kill you now - I don't care if you're a spirit or not.' Whatever the case, she could still destroy the host. The best way to do so was by spamming her Holy Banishment skill. She raised her hand to activate the skill now, and that petulant little stump flinched back in fear. 'Good - that fear is good. You know what is about to come, do you not?' The stump flinched more when she shot the beam of holy light at it. It began to writhe about in agony, but slowly came back to itself as the ten seconds she needed for this skill to cool down ticked by. Her palm glowed again, and again the stump was struck. It writhed about more now, and its health bar dropped much faster than that of the first one. This was a substantially weaker foe that she was dealing with. "What's the matter?! You can't handle having things thrown your way, huh? Well, maybe you should think twice before flinging mud at people!" She had almost referred to herself as an innocent bystander, but she was far from that.

The spirit inside of the stump screamed in unfathomable pain as it was ejected from its host. This time, the spirit took the form of a young man - roughly a few years younger than the Exorcist, if she had to guess. There was definitely something off about this whole affair, but she still could not place her finger on it. So far, she had exorcised what may well be a small family from the stumps. 'Just what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time, Faustine?'

The spirit of the young man glared down at her for only a moment, and then shot forward, disappearing into the house above them. Great. Just fan-freaking-tastic. She was going to have to clean up that mess, too, wasn't she? Elkeid just rolled her shoulders. It should not be too hard to exorcise the house if she needed to, but that also meant stepping inside of it and possibly bringing the whole thing in on itself. 'Oh well~. It just means more practice for me.'

Elkeid wiped at the mud staining her nose with the back of her hand, searching for her next victim all the while. There was still one last stump to deal with, and then she could back out of this crawlspace and shake the old Hag until she explained herself. 'But for now-' Her eyes lit up as she spotted the third stump, near the other side of where she had entered the crawlspace from. "Ahaha! I found you~. Time to die!" The stump tried to throw its body to the side, its spirit evidentially forgetting that it was trapped inside a stump. Elkeid could not help but laugh at the stump's misfortune. What a complete and utter fool it was.

"HOLY BANISHMENT!" Her attacks were obvious when she yelled them out like this, but for stationary monsters it made no difference, did it not? If this were a goblin, sure, though she was pretty sure they were unintelligent enough to sit still like a deer in headlights. The stump’s scream was like a whistle piercing her ear drums. The creature did not seem accustomed to pain, nor was it all that eager to fight back. It slumped backwards, like some kind of drunken treant, and stayed there well past the amount of time it took for Elkeid’s Holy Banishment skill to recharge.

The woman sneered as she twisted her neck from side to side, popping the small bones and muscles located there. This one was simply too easy. ”Tch.” This was truly pathetic. ”Just lie back and think of London, my dear. This will all be over in a matter of seconds – less if you vacate that body right now. The Possessed Tree Stump gave no answer, nor did it show any signs of comprehension. Elkeid’s sneer just grew wider as she raised her hand for one final time. ”Holy banishment,” she cooed as she sent the beam of holy light towards the stump. The stump, long given into defeat, only groaned when contact was made. A few seconds later, the ghastly figure of an old man, just a few years shy of the old Hag’s age popped out. ”…I’m going to have to have a lengthy talk with that old woman, it seems,” she said as the pieces of the puzzle slowly came together.

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:000

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:983

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

Elkeid clambered out from underneath the house, feeling dirty and wishing she could take a long, hot soak in a bath, rather than confronting some crazy old loon about the dead people under her house. How did she always manage to draw the crazy ones? The same could almost be said about her few relationships in the past, but that was to be expected when you got involved with artists and the like. ’But now you are here, after having followed some crazy old woman back to her house, all alone and without that Call of Home skill to zip you away.’ It was a pain, especially when you were dealing with a grade A nutter. ’A real neeping pain.’

She dusted herself off after standing up and stretching her limbs, finding her mind wandering to the important details – like if the bones of the old woman’s family had been buried under the house after she killed them. A far greater question, of course, was why had the old woman did it, and how? Did she have help, or had she drugged them all, first? It seemed unlikely that a show of force was used, even with the small boy. The woman was short, after all – just a little bit taller than he was. He could easily stand his own against such a small woman, so Elk doubted it was force, especially when one considered the two adult men. Poison or drugs seemed like the obvious choice for a lone woman, unless she had a lover there to help her. And if she did, where the hell was he? Was he in the house, just waiting to spring at any signs of trouble, or had he run off before the Hag could kill him? ’This is starting to turn out like some kind of airplane mystery novel.’

Elkeid walked around the house, the back of which possessed nary a window. The only light to stream into I would have to be from the small window up front, which Elk guessed belonged to the small and humble kitchen. ’Imagine living in such a dump. It’s almost as depressing as Flowers In The Attic.’ It was a building where the only light could be seen through a small window, unless one was allowed to take a step outside and breathe in the marshy air. Elk could never stay in a house like this. It was too small, in the middle of a dangerous zone, and likely as dark as pitch inside. If their son had run off, she could not blame him. The pour soul probably had something else in mind – green grass and fresh air – that did not resemble his place of birth. The husband, if he truly passed of old age, was glad to die. And the boy…the boy she did not know enough about to say, but what child would want to live in such a gloomy atmosphere? He needed light, air and a happier presence than the disheveled hovel. The fact that the woman stayed was just as mysterious. ’Ok – it’s time to settle this for good.’

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:000

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:519

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[attr="class","elkeid"]

Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

The old Hag was cowering near a twisted tree when Elkeid found her, back turned to the Exorcist. "Oy - old woman. I've got a question for you." All this skill spamming had brought her Exorcist level to up to a respectable number of eleven. She now possessed an AoE skill that extended by six feet and continuously damaged any enemies that happened to step within it - provided they were Undead or Spirits. In short, it was an excellent skill for crowd control, and one she might need to use soon.

"Old woman." Was she going to have to choke a bitch? While Elk was not keen on the idea of resorting to violence on some little old woman, she did want to get to the bottom of this, and would not stop until she got some satisfaction. "Hag! Answer me." She grabbed the woman roughly by the shoulders and spun her around. "What the hell happened here? What did she do?" The hag was lifted several feet into the air, where she dangled from Elkeid's grasp. Her head flopped from side to side as she was shaken, yet still she did not answer. "Well? What were those spirits I saw under the house?!"

The hag's eyes shifted away from Elk's, who dropped the older woman in frustration. "A-ah! My hip~!"

Elkeid dropped one foot into the hag's side, and cruelly applied enough pressure to further injure the bones there. "If you fancy keeping this leg, you had better speak up now. I don't think anyone would mind if I killed a murderous old woman. Hell, I'm sure those spirits would thank me and finally get the rest they long for." And if she didn't explain herself? Good luck fighting off goblins with a bum leg. 'I'll make sure that you don't have a home to slink back to, you miserable old wretch.' Elk lifted her foot and brought it down again on the hag's already broken hip. The hag yelped in pain and curled into a ball.

"Allow me to use some deductive reasoning," she said in-between the hag's whimpering. "You had two sons - one around my age and a child. While I don't know what happened to the boy - maybe he died to goblins or something - you mentioned earlier that your son - the eldest, I'm guessing - left home forty years ago." Something about the old hag's math was definitely off. The eldest son would be older than her, if that was true. "I don't know the details, but I assume he wanted to leave this dump for greener pastures, but you were dead set on the idea. I've heard of mothers who couldn't bear to see their children grow up and leave the home to cling to another woman. What if he never came back to see you, or invited you to meet his new wife and children? Your husband wouldn't be around for long, either. You'd be all alone when he died and your son was not there to comfort you."

She eased up on the pressure she was applying to the woman's side, though still kept the woman pinned in place. "Now that I think about it, the youngest son's death could have been an accident. That would explain why you wanted the eldest to remain home, right? You were afraid of losing your other son, but why kill him? Was it a heat of the moment type of deal?" She was back to grinding her foot in the hag's side, making the little old woman groan in pain. "That's it, isn't it?" There was no response. "I'm guessing your husband died of natural causes, though he was ridden with guilt over what happened with your eldest, which is why his spirit was there with the others."

The lack of response from the old woman was starting to get irritating. "Well? Aren't you going to speak up for yourself? Say something!" In hindsight, perhaps asking her to speak wasn’t such a good idea.

Muse: Troublesome Visitor

Notes:Nearing the climax.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:673

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

The old hag still said nothing, but Elk took her sudden movements to be an admission of guilt. Innocent people usually pled their case; they did not move in to attack their accuser! Unless they simply couldn't handle the truth, anyway. The old woman moved surprisingly fast for such and old thing. Elkeid was forced to dance out of the way of a shriveled little fist, which she quickly parried with the side of her arm with ease. The old hag gave her a toothless grin as she raised her other hand, but not to attack this time. Rather, a staff of gnarled wood appeared in her hands, and she shoved it high above her head before calling out some kind of command. Was this old hag some kind of sorcerer?

Wait. Could the People of the Land have classes similar to Adventurers, too? This was her first time hearing of such a thing (mostly because she was new to games as a whole, and did not realize such a thing was common), since most of her free time was spent in the safety of London, where the most she saw PotL do was craft. No one ever said anything about them being able to use main class skills!

She stumbled back, now uncertain of how best to handle the situation. The Hag, meanwhile, was grinning and cackling like a madman. "You just had to ask questions, didn't you? I asked you for one thing - one thing - and you harass me after cleaning up? Pwah! I guess I'll have to deal with you, too." The Hag's previously sweet and befuddled personality was dropped in one fell swoop. There was nothing sweet or cute about the woman that stood before her now, and the skin on Elk's back was itching with the knowledge of having carried that around on her back.

The very ground in front of the Hag began to bubble - there was no better word to describe this phenomenon - and was shoved apart by skeletal hands. A skeletal soldier, bearing a poorly made sword and shield, glared at Elk through vacant eye sockets. "Graveyard Walk," the Hag shouted. "Death Scythe! Strike, now!"

Elk had no idea what either spell did, but she was glad that she had infinite "respawn," otherwise she likely would have bolted. She had no time to be fooling around with skeletons if her life was on the line. 'I can't run away now, though, not when I'm still at full health.' It was time to test out her new Exorcist skill. This was the best opportunity for it, after all.

While she was examining her newly received skill, the skeleton soldier shambled forward and swung its sword at her. She raised her arm to shield herself, thinking nothing of it as the blade came down - until she started feeling ill. She blinked in confusion at her status bar, which was showing her something called the "poison status." 'You son of a bitch," she growled as she started to swing her fist, but thought better of it. "DIVINE WARD!" The palm of her hand glowed after she triggered the skill "hot keyed" to her main skill bar, and then transported said glow to the ground when she slammed her hand down. A large circle - shorter than Elk - formed around her and the skeleton.

The skeleton was knocked backwards and almost entirely out of the circle. One of its ankles was trapped within the circle, which inflicted constant damage onto the creature. Elk reached down to grab the skeleton, and then hauled its body back into the boundaries of the magic circle. The skeleton's jaw snapped open as it screamed soundlessly. It made a mistake by poisoning her, and now it would suffer the consequences. This infuriated the Hag, who was screaming at the skeleton to get up and get its butt back in gear. 'Why would you use an Undead familiar on an Exorcist?' Actually, for a woman like this, a skeletal summon was probably spot on with her personality and tendencies. 'But if this is all she has…'

It was times like these where checking your opponent's info was ideal. Elkeid poked the air in front of her, right over the Hag's figure. A short list of information unraveled right before her eyes, labelling the Hag as a level twelve Summoner. This would limit her to only four skills, three of which she had displayed already. 'It looks like I'm going to have to kill a little old lady today.' It was a horrible thought, until you remembered that these "people" were once AI, and still thought of as such by many. Elk's eyes narrowed at the Hag as her minute long spell was exhausted. The skeleton was pretty much done for, and now was the time to attack, while there was still an opening.

Muse: They

Notes:Closer...

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:817

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[attr="class","elkeid"]

Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

A bone-like projectile slammed its way into Elkeid's shoulder when she surged forward. It was too sudden for her to dodge entirely, but she had lessened the damage by stepping to the side, so that only her shoulder was affected. Her shoulder roared with pain as warm liquid - her blood- dashed over the open wound. She ignored the pain as she pulled back her fist, and rammed it into the Hag's fragile little jaw.

The Hag's few remaining teeth were knocked clean out of her mouth, while the jaw itself was as good as broken. The small, frail body was sent flying, and skidded into the ground a few feet away. Elk left no room for relief; she darted forward and swung her leg up in an arc, transforming the Hag into a human football. The Hag gasped and groaned as her body was tossed carelessly into the air. Here skeleton soldier was crawling over to "help (if you could call it that)," but Elk just nudged it away with the toe of her boot.

After that, she activated her Suplex skill and grabbed the Hag, who she then proceeded to flip horizontally and throw over her shoulder. "This is going to hurt you more than me." The Hag had no time to react, and was thus silenced by being slammed hard into the ground beneath them. Elk winced as she felt the fragile body under her shatter like a pile of brittle toys. The Hag issued a low wail of pain and grief, and something that sounded suspiciously like "My leg!"

The skeleton soldier was sitting a few feet away, gaping wordlessly at the Monk manhandling the old Hag. "What the hell are you looking at?" The skeleton's jaw snapped closed at her retort. It didn't seem capable of doing anything on its own, either, which was just fine and dandy to her. She grabbed the small bag of bones and liver spots, and yanked it into the air. The Hag's health points were in the red. Apparently Mages (or those lacking in decent armor, anyway) were made of paper. She could easily kill the Hag if she wanted to, but if there was a chance of redemption…

Elkeid briefly considered the matter for a bit, before slowly making her way towards a small branch of the River Thames. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to toss you into the river. I'll let Mother Nature deal with you. If you live, you get to terrorize people for another day. If you die...well, I've heard that PotL die for good when they are killed, so this would save some other people the trouble of dealing with you."

The Hag began to kick her little legs in protest. "Put me down this instant! You can't do this to me! How dare you! Murderer! Murderer! Muuuurderer-" Elkeid resisted the urge to punch the woman, as that was sure to kill her and end the "fun." Instead, she ripped off a piece of the Hag's robe and shoved it into her open mouth, making a makeshift gag. The Hag could still grunt and whimper, but it was a lot quieter than her infernal shrieking.

"Oh look - here so soon~. I hope you can swim, cause I am not going to jump in after you if you start drowning." Elk considered herself to be a pretty strong swimmer, too. Water therapy was one of those things she had been exposed to as a child, and she had later joined the swim team at her prep school.

The Hag flailed more and more as she was dangled over the filthy water, resembling a large worm on a hooked line. She struggled even more once she was in the water, where she sank like a stone. Elkeid dropped onto her haunches to observe the Hag with ease, a serene look stamped on her countenance. A low stream of bubbles slowly made their way to the surface, though these slowly formed a line that followed the flow of the river, and after a few seconds were rushing up in great bursts.

The bubbles were overcome by a sudden thrashing in the water, made by something much too large to be the little Hag. To Elk's sadistic delight, a Swamp Crocodile surfaced with the Hag clamped firmly between its jaws. The Hag was screaming - or trying to through the copious amount of water flooding her mouth and lungs - and feebly waving her arms about for assistance. "Well, it seems like nature had other plans for you." The croc continued to drag the Hag further downstream, out of Elk's view.

Muse: Hairy Trees

Notes:Ding dong, the witch is dead~.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:779

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

'Now that that is taken care of…' Elkeid placed her hands together over her head and stretched; once to the left, once to the right, and finished by arching and cracking the joints in her back. She dropped her arms so that she could roll her shoulders, then placed her hands on her hips. That wasn't what she had in mind after taking care of the old Hag, of course. This was a stretch to shrug off the strain from fighting earlier. Investigating and burning down the Hag's shack was what she really had on her mind. Elkeid had to be sure, if the Hag somehow survived being devoured by crocs, that she had nothing to go home to. This included supplies or anything else the Hag would find helpful.

During the walk back to the shack, Elk loosened up her body by doing more simple stretches. It sure would be nice to "roll around" on her yoga mat right about now, though she would have to make do with a thin blanket or the bare floor here. Maybe she could request a rug or something from a tailor. ...Or she could ransack the Hag's shack and steal one, if it was available. She came to a stop in front of the Hag's shack, twisting her head from side to side. The place literally looked like it would fall apart if she were to step into it, but what choice did she have? She was curious, damn it.

The little steps that led into the shack trembled and threatened to crumble under her weight, causing her a bit of grief. If this was a bridge, she would either go back the way she came, or force herself to continue, lest the way back decided to fall apart. It was a short way to go, but it still felt like hours had gone by when she (finally) reached the door. The door - which was really little more than a flat piece of wood leaning against the frame - fell free when she touched the doorknob. It seemed that she wouldn't even need flames to take care of this dilapidated building.

She did her best to take lighter steps into the shack, feeling very much like a bull in a china shop now. One wrong step, and she could go falling right through the floor. This place may have once been sturdy enough for young boys to run about in, but that kind of activity today would surely wreck the building beyond repair. Elkeid squinted into the darkness; the only provided light came from the small window in the "kitchen," and it was a very poor source. The musty smell of elderly decaying flesh permeated the small shack, along with what she suspected were the hanging fish and unrecognizable animals from the shack's ceiling. The further she stepped into the shack, the more Elk wished for a scarf or something to cover her nose and mouth.

There was a small table in the vicinity of the kitchen area, with two broken chairs and a stool scattered around it. Placed in the seats were - "Oh god," Elk gasped as she placed a hand over her lower face. One of the chairs housed a mummified corpse, wearing what appeared to be rags on its body. Bile raised in Elk's throat as she took in the sight. She forced it back down with a gulp, and forced herself to step away from the table and the corpse, and the platter of fresh food she had noticed a moment later. Just what kind of sick game was the old Hag playing at here?

The bedrooms - if you could even call them that - bore similar scenes. The boys' room was filled with old and broken toys, and the small cots held their "sleeping" figures. Although the room was unbelievably filthy with dust, the cots and blankets were clean. The Hag's room was cleaner, and there was a medium sized box of what Elk guessed to be "goodies." There was mostly jewelry, old books, and some other trinkets that were otherwise useless. One of these "useless" items was a preserved human skull, with the cranium messing and the interior carved smooth. There were several more gruesome little items such as this, most of them too unpleasant to mention. Elk left the room in disgust, resisting the urge to tear it asunder then and there.

The batty old woman was truly demented. She had slaughtered her family and kept the bodies around as dolls. Even in death, the poor things had been unable to free themselves from the Hag's influence. Perhaps it had something to do with her status as a Summoner? Did she keep their spirits here with her black magic? Not only that, but she had killed other innocents – Adventurers and People of the Land alike. Well, regardless of the "how" or "why," Elkeid was going to end this now.

Muse: The Killing Type

Notes:None.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:827

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Made by Benetnasch of ET

[Elkeid]

Simply tearing the building apart was one option, but Elk had something a bit more final in mind. It would also be very very…messy. To clarify, Elkeid had never done something like this before, and was not sure it would even work. Her only reference for what she was about to do was from fictional mediums; the news never went into depth on how this dangerous act was started. The only gave the nitty gritty details, which was necessary to keep others from mimicking this behavior.

Elkeid was going to make a molotov cocktail - or attempt to, anyway. The first step to doing so would be to actually make the liquor, and seeing as she was going to be spilling it all over the walls and floors in a moment, she would not be using one of her pre-brewed drinks, or even make something decent. Using the system's menu to make her drink would be ideal, and checking the possible crafts told her that she had yet to make "Unfounded Liquor," something any Adventurer could make, at the expense of taste. It was much like cooking, in that any player could put together tasty ingredients and eat them as is, whereas only a Chef would be able to actually cook them; it was all common sense.

All she needed now were the ingredients, which could either be two stale liquors and one common beverage, or three common beverages. Elk rummaged through her inventory and came back with two bottles - a Common Beverage and one Stale Liquor. She checked further, but the only other ingredients were actually just materials for a set of throwing knives and a scarf she was looking to have crafted. "Hm…" Her options were few: search the old Hag's belongings for a flask or bottle of alcohol, or try out that new Bootlegging skill she had learned recently. Now would be a good time to try it out. The only downside was that the taste of the concoction would suffer, but it wasn't like anyone would be drinking this filth.

There was a loud crashing sound as the kitchen table was cleared off with one sweep of Elk's arm, followed by the low clinking of glass bumping together as the bottles were set down. She pulled up the system menu and tapped her way through to the "mixing" mini-menu, and selected the two drinks. Her Bootlegging skill was activated afterwards, and after a five second wait time, the two bottles vanished and a new one appeared before her. The option of renaming the newly made bottle of liquor appeared before her. The woman paused in thought, and then added:

Faux Liquor: System made brew, with one item "substituted" with the Bootlegging skill. Perfect for making poor Molotov cocktails to chuck into the hovels of old Hags.

It wasn't so much as a half-assed description as it was facetious. She briefly allowed herself to ponder the reactions of people who happened upon this item on sale if she decided against using it, and then shrugged those thoughts off. Who in their right mind would waist gold on this rubbish? "Only a fool would,' she thought as she tore off a corner of the dusty kitchen window's curtain. It felt like old, brittle paper, and was sure to light up as eagerly as any crack head.

She tucked the fabric into the neck of the bottle, jamming it in far enough so that the end could be partially soaked in liquor. Next, she stooped beside the only cooking implement in the kitchen: the Hag's large, cast iron cauldron, which was set over very low flames. Elk picked up a loose piece of straw and prodded at the flames with the tip, scooting back once the end of the straw was lightly smoking. Now came the hard part.

The woman carefully picked her way out of the shack, wary of falling through the floor with every step she took. One wrong move, and she would go crashing through the floor. Being stuck in the ruins of a dusty old shack like this was not how she intended to spend the remainder of her day. She came to a stop just outside the shack, and hastily went about lighting the end of the torn piece of fabric with her smoldering piece of straw. For a few seconds it did nothing but smolder, but after roughly a minute or so, she was given a tiny flame. Elk held her breath as she watched this small flame dance back and forth, before finally making up its mind and latching onto a corner of the fabric.

She backed up a few paces, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process, and brought the now steadily smoking bottle close to her head. If she did not time this just right, she would have to do this all over again, and she still did not know if the Hag had partaken in the devil's nectar. Breaking the shack apart using her body was not as appealing as burning it to the ground.

The amount of heat radiating from the bottle and to the side of her face were worrisome. Elk aimed for the small window and let her arm spin forward, releasing the bottle and sending it flying. She considered herself to have some decent hand eye coordination, as she was good at games like darts and had been practicing with her throwing knives. If she could just get the bottle to smash right in the middle of the window…

She was rewarded with the tinkling sound of the fragile glass of the window shattering under the bottle's force. Further in, the bottle smashed into one of the shoddy walls or floor. Elkeid started towards the door to get a better look, and quickly jumped back again as a wave of warmth shot out. The fire wasn't very big (yet), but it would soon be. The interior of the shack was incredibly dry, musty, and oh so flammable. With the shack in such a pitiful state, it did not take long at all for the fire to spread. Elkeid retreated to a safe distance, where she watched her handiwork for a good ten minutes before turning her back to the spectacle. Dealing with the old Hag’s shenanigans was tiring, and now she wanted to find a place to have a late lunch and maybe a nap afterwards.

Muse: Burnin' For You (Cover)

Notes:And scene.

Tags:Elkeid

Word Count:1074

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Made by Benetnasch of ET