on the outside [open]

[redwhaling]

Character(s): Billie + whoever else is lurking around the wilderness.
Status: Open
Location(s): Marshlands near City of the Free Peoples
Date(s) Early March
About: With tensions and fighting within the city on the rise, Billie's opted to keep Mr. Werewolf fed through somewhat more wild means.
Warnings: She's hunting, so animal death and potentially more violence.

With winter on the run and the snow and ice ebbing away, the marsh isn't necessarily the safest place to pick off rabbits and the like, but the point is that the animals know that, too. There's less foot traffic outside of the road that edges around the swampy parts out here, meaning creatures popping up to pick at what greenery has begun to show through are far more common.

It also makes it a good place to hunt through less conventional means. Why waste arrows when you can literally turn into a giant rat? Or in this case, a cross between a human and a rat. She's shed her coat and boots to go skulking through the marshland in her black-furred shiftling form. At a distance, it's easy to assume she's one of the beastfolk. Though, at a closer range, the much more wild traits of a wererat are obvious to someone who knows what they're looking at. She isn't a wererat in actuality but for lack of a better word...

All that aside, for whatever reason you're out here on your own, your trek is about to be interrupted by a hare bolting out of the rushes and across your path. This is followed immediately by the shiftling leaping after and landing directly on it with a sick, soft crack of bones underclaw.

Comments

[redwhaling]

"You didn't have to say it, Strange."

And she knows she's right.

Anyway, Billie's complete and total lack of reaction to Strange dropping the mention of needing a corpse should tell him enough. She doesn't really like necromancy but that tends to apply only when it's being used against her, personally. That means when she pauses to consider all their options, that one isn't outright denied.

"Books would be the simplest route. I do know where one of those trinkets are but I don't really want to tip off anyone else that I'm up to something..." Also known as she doesn't want to give Daud a heads up. "A body, though. Would it need to be fresh? Because we both know that isn't happening."

[kingsroads]

Her complete lack of a reaction is reassuring. At least they can discuss necromancy without speaking in hypotheticals or prefacing every statement with 'I know it's taboo but...'.

"Preferably fresh, definitely intact. In theory, something like the Epithymetikon's skeleton would work—though in practice, that's not happening." He saw those anti-necromancy runes on the inside of the skeleton. He's not going to be the idiot who attempts to revive the thing.

"But books should help. I'm a quick study. Give me enough time and I'm certain I can come up with something." Chatting with people while using their scales or body parts. Not exactly the most dignified sort of magic but he's done sketchier things.

[redwhaling]

"Of course. Preferably fresh," Billie echoes the words back at him. "You do realize the only living dragon I know devoured a bunch of souls at the bottom of a sunken city and flew away to who even knows where, right?"

In short, she will get him whatever he needs except that.

"Best I could do is try and figure out where they dumped whoever they killed during their purge after the war," she does offer that idea up but that's robbing some really old graves at this point. "But I'll look for the rest first. If the three big guys really are around and messing with us, this could be the most direct route to asking."

[kingsroads]

"I don't make the rules of necromancy," Strange grumbles, more for his sake instead of Billie's. She knows that he doesn't decide how magic works, but still! It's not his fault that his magic works that way!

Still, he's only bitching and moaning for a little bit. As much as he'll complain, this whole idea is exciting. Learning new spells, trying to contact the dragons...surprising no one, Strange is entirely here for this.

"Give me a call on the courier if you find anything interesting. Likewise, I'll do the same if any new leads show up on my end."

[redwhaling]

Billie just shrugs. She knows that but come on, where's all the raising of skeleton armies she's read in books? Admittedly those were fictional little penny dreadfuls, but you can't blame her for hoping.

"I will," she'll at least agree to that rather than griping about fresh corpses. That settled, she's also turning to start walking up the road again, back towards the city proper. "We're bound to find something between the two of us."

[kingsroads]

Do you really want this dude to raise a skeleton army, Billie. Just think about that for a moment.

Strange moves to walk next to Billie as they head up the road. "I'm going on that expedition to Einjar later this month. Perhaps they'll have something there of use." He plans to explore the city anyways, might as well ask around to see if anyone has any thing that could help them out.

[redwhaling]

As long as she got the information first, does it matter? A skeleton army would end up someone else's problem.

"I heard about that..." It's definitely a topic of interest to anyone who's a sword for hire, but this time, she's keeping the adventures close to home. Others, however— "I'm staying in the City but Daud may not be. I figure a strangely silent city is too much of a mystery to ignore."

[kingsroads]

Strange looks a little interested as Billie mentions Daud. Wonderful! He can press Daud for information about himself and his now ally...Strange thinks, knowing full well that getting information out of Daud would be like wringing water from a stone. He's had a conversation with the man, he knows that his default personality is stoic.

"It is. That's why I'm going. Of course, I'm also going to explore a little. I've been stuck in the City helping out with our furry friend for too long. I want to stretch my legs a little!"

[redwhaling]

"Wouldn't mind a trip to Krimnos myself but I think I'll leave the mountain climbing to the rest of you," Billie says after a bit, taking a moment to quietly mull over whether the incident with the pit counted as 'stretching her legs'. It does not is what she settles on.

"Besides, it's my turn to babysit while everyone else goes to get themselves into trouble."

[kingsroads]

"Hopefully he'll be better behaved with you than he was with us." Granted, Lykos was just recovering from a horrible silver branding when he was dealing with Strange, Shura, and Daud, but Strange is going to shame the man a little bit.

"And don't worry. I'll make certain to bring Daud back alive and in one piece."

[redwhaling]

Yeah, Billie can't help but laugh at that. Really?

"You know, I'm pretty sure he can manage that all on his own but thanks anyway. Just don't let him catch you keeping an eye on him."

[kingsroads]

"If he does catch me, is he more likely to be annoyed or embarrassed?"

Just hypothetically speaking. It's not like Strange is planning on having Daud catch him if the answer is embarrassed, nooo, why would he do something like that?

[redwhaling]

"Indifferent but suddenly a lot less easy to keep track of," is the answer Billie is going to go with. She can't even fathom Daud being embarrassed, of all possible outcomes. Chances are he doesn't even have that range of emotion.

[kingsroads]

"Damn," Strange sighs. That's not a fun answer, Daud! Be a more fun person to bother!

"I suppose in that case, I simply won't have him catch me." Strange says, like it's actually possible for Daud to not catch him to begin with.