Complete Providence Something Wicked

[Magdalyn]

The door to the tavern flew open, slamming into the adjacent wall with a sturdy thud. Given the force with which the door had been opened, nearly torn from its hinges, Magdalyn expected a storm to sweep through. She wasn't far off. The man who stomped across the threshold radiated fury; it burned in his dark eyes, and trembled in every line and curve of his enormous body. His jaw, sharp even beneath a bushy beard, worked furiously as he stormed to the bar.

"That's it," the man exploded, his fist falling like a blacksmith's hammer onto the worn, wooden bartop. "I'm done. I won't do it anymore."

The barkeep, a portly man with an impressive beard of his own, eyed the newcomer warily. He looked as though he might scold the man for his outburst, but instead, simply moved to right the tankard that had tumbled over. "Do what, Drek?" he finally asked, only after mopping up the mess the fallen fist had caused.

"Just sit around while," Drek's voice trailed, and his meaty hand swirled hopelessly through the air as he tried to find the word. "While something keeps messing with my farm."

A woman at the bar shifted atop her stool, her braid falling over her shoulder as she faced the angry man. "What do you mean by messing with it? Something killing your livestock?"

The noise in the tavern lowered as more patrons tuned into Drek's display. Apparently unaware of the eyes on him, Drek barreled on. "I gotta assume so," he answered. "Sheep going missing. Haven't even found the bones."

The woman pursed her lips in thought. "Sure they're just not getting out?"

Indignantly, Drek puffed out his broad chest. He clearly did not appreciate his ranching skills being called into question. "They're not just getting out." He spat the words. "No downed fences. Just something coming at night to steal from me. Got the rest of the animals spooked. My mare won't even go into those woods anymore. And my wife swears she saw something slinking around." His bushy eyebrows drew together over stormy eyes. "Whatever it is, it dies tonight. I'm seeing to it, and taking anyone who sees fit to join me."

With the scratch of wood on wood, Magdalyn shoved back from her table and climbed to her feet. "I'd be willing," she offered, lifting a hand to emphasize the point.

 

[Harukami]

Harukami had just rolled into the tavern about ten minutes before the enormous man came in with a fit of rage. She'd been sitting quietly while drinking a rather potent tasting beer, alone at a table in the tavern. As the man, Drek, went on about his sheep likely being slaughtered by a mysterious force, the shy woman was struggling just to listen.

Apparently, she wasn't alone.

When Drek offered for others to join him, a woman at a nearby table had stood up- a tall elf, as lean and lanky as Harukami was in the real world. Drawn in by the story and even more by the woman's desire to take part, the ever-generous Harukami couldn't help wanting to take part too.

She stood up, bowing politely. "I'd like to help as well."

With little grace in her footsteps, she walked towards the woman that had inspired her. She was so much taller up close! "My name is Harukami. W-Would it be alright for me to join you?" She smiled softly. "I-I can't just leave a family struggling... And I, um, think it would be good training, too..."

 

[Magdalyn]

Mags beamed a smile at the other girl, the expression as warm as the fire crackling in the hearth. "Absolutely," came her easy answer. "I'd love to have some company. My name is Magdalyn, but most people call me Mags." Without thinking, she extended her hand for a shake. Immediately, she found herself doubting the gesture. Do people do that in here? Is this weird? Shaking off the momentary hesitation, she left the smile plastered in place.

Drek saved her from any further comment. "Sure, fine," he answered, lacking any sort of gratitude. He motioned toward the door. "I'll show you the way. It's not far."

The bluenette slipped out the door behind Drek, hanging back a couple of paces to allow Harukami to fall into step. "I hate to leave the family struggling too," she admitted once they'd started walking, "but I'm also just kind of curious. I encountered a giant rabbit a couple days ago, but I have a hard time picturing that being the culprit here. Do rabbits eat sheep? Kind of goes against everything I know about them, but then again..." With both hands, Mags gesticulated an enormous form. "... Giant rabbit."

 

[Harukami]

Harukami glanced at the extended hand for a moment, before smiling gently as she could and grasping the hand with a mild grip. "I-It's nice to meet you, Mags!" Her words were broken but mostly tamed by her tongue for a change. She just stuttered a bit, that was all. Seeing the smile on Magdalyn's face, she couldn't help noting, "Your smile is as lovely as your name." She was pretty, after all. Harukami wasn't normally smooth or even flirtatious, but she felt this smile deserved to be preserved- and what was a better way to preserve it than to point out its beauty?

Drek's frustration was understandable to Harukami. She lived in the countryside around a lot of farms and ranches, after all. "Yes, please lead us," She said in agreement with him anyway. She followed him closely, peeking around her for signs of something scary. She just knew a jump scare was coming. She felt it in her bones.

"I haven't seen any g-giant rabbits," Harukami confessed, "But even big d-dinosaurs were sometimes herbivores... So giant rabbits c-could still be the same as small ones. J-Just, um... More tummy to fill. You know?"

 

[Magdalyn]

Pursing her lips in thought, Mags finally nodded, conceding the point. "That's true," she replied, "about the dinosaurs. Could definitely just be a big guy who needs a whole bush of berries, but wouldn't hurt these sheep." She paused for a beat, then added, "Of course, that leaves the question of what it is."

"I know what it is," Drek tossed over his shoulder, his voice gruff, and starkly low-pitched when compared to Magdalyn's. "It's some sort of beast, and it's feeding off my sheep."

"That's not very specific," Mags whispered, the words meant only for Harukami.

Drek turned a corner, and the trio emerged into a small clearing. A cozy one-story home squatted in the center, surrounded by a series of outbuildings: a barn, a chicken coop, a woodshed. Wire crisscrossed the remaining property in a series of crude pastures. Two horses, a bay gelding and a palomino mare, shifted uneasily in their paddock, occasionally loosing low nickers to each other. A couple dozen sheep nibbled at the scarce grass, though they positioned themselves in a tight-knit group. The space that Mags assumed was the chicken run appeared empty, and soft cooing carried from the closed coop.

"I apologize for being nosy," Mags began slowly, selecting each word with careful precision. "But why not just close your animals in the barn at night? Wouldn't that protect them from this threat?"

Drek scoffed, then planted his hands on his hips in evident annoyance. "Can't get them inside," he shot back. "Only the chickens, and that's 'cause they go limp when it gets dark. I can just scoop them up and chuck them inside. But the horses, or the sheep?" He scowled toward the pastures. "Nothing I can do about it."

"Odd," Mags muttered, "but fair enough. How about we head to the left, and you go to the right?" She glanced toward Harukami for approval.

At the same time, Drek gave his trademark grunt, and familiar, "Sure, fine."

 

[Harukami]

Though she felt like she'd failed to make her point at first, it seemed she was wrong- because Magdalyn had soon begged the question stuck in Harukami's mind. What was the culprit? In a fantasy world like this, it could have been just about anything! The girl had read too many fantasy novels as a young teen. Okay, so she still read them time to time. But never before had she expected to encounter something so mysterious and fantastical sounding...

And honestly a little intimidating, with the fact that Mags pointed out. It was just so vague.

"I second her idea," Harukami concurred. She felt much more comfortable somehow with Magdalyn than she did with Drek. His temperament and general frustration twisted her stomach into knots. The aggression in his voice brought with it bad memories that Harukami often tried to avoid. But, she shook it off fairly quickly.

With a pang of guilt for being almost more afraid of Drek than she already was of strangers, she turned in the direction of where she and Mags were to search. Taking a few steps ahead, she turned to Magdalyn and smiled a bit meekly. "L-Let's get going. I-I'll help keep the an-animals calm if we s-startle any."

 

[Magdalyn]

Despite the darkness the pair wandered through, Mags' expression lit at the mention of calming animals. "You have some animal related abilities?" she asked, the excitement clear on her face and in her voice. "That's super cool!" Squinting against the dim, a thought suddenly occurred to the woman. She lifted her hand, and after the briefest pause, a small ball of flame bloomed above her palm. The light cast by the tiny fire didn't illuminate the entire forest, but it did provide some reprieve.

"I had something similar the first time I played Terrasphere," Mags went on. Then she nodded to the ball of light, and added, "This time, I'm going the elemental route. Just trying new things, I guess. But I'm still a little jealous. I'll definitely count on you if we come across any-"

As if on cue, the bleat of a sheep carried on the night's cool breeze. Immediately, Mags tensed. "That," she began slowly, "sounded like it came from ahead of us – not behind us, where the farm is." She glanced toward her companion, lips drawn in a thin, white line. "I guess we may find our answers sooner than expected."

 

[Harukami]

Harukami chuckled a bit to herself as she saw how excited Magdalyn was to hear about her only non-magic ability. "Yes, I have b-beast arts. They let me, um, communicate and tame animals, er, sort of?" She wasn't even sure why she said 'sort of' at the end, but, well, that was how Harukami spoke: awkwardly.

"When you first played?" Asked a confused Harukami. "I thought o-only one character per person..."

Apparently, it hadn't dawned on her that there was a '2' next to Terrasphere. Haruka hadn't really heard much about it in its first run, but the rumors became more notable in the countryside this time. Enough that it had piqued the neuroscientist's mind and led to them taking part in this dangerous game.

It was while she was silent that a bleating sound echoed against her ears. As Magdalyn tensed, Harukami tried desperately to loosen up- it was easier to use magic when she was relaxed, or so she'd come to believe. "I-It'll be fine. We're stronger t-together... So, um, we'll just f-fight whatever situation comes, er, together."

 

[Magdalyn]

"Uh yeah, it's still only one character per person." In truth, Mags was a bit distracted, even as she provided the answer. Her gaze swept the path ahead, her neck craning to give her a better angle. As if she could find the source of the sound simply by looking harder. Still, she owed Harukami an answer, and offered it while continuing to survey their surroundings. "I played Terrasphere the first time it launched. Four or five years ago now, I guess? Got locked out when the game disappeared, but I was able to pick up my character again, and- there!"

She cut herself off with the exclamation, noticing a rustle of leaves further up the path. As the pair picked their way closer, she noticed the way the earth rounded, a sort of hill nestled amongst the trees. Definitely a spooky place, the woman mused to herself. She had played enough video games to know that something lurked inside that make-shift cave.

While she had no weapon to draw, Mags mentally prepared herself for the magic she would undoubtedly have to tap into. "Ready?" she hissed to her companion, before plunging herself through the mouth of the cave. The flickering firelight bounced off the jagged walls, illuminating the small space, and revealing three notable things. First, the pile of bones in the back corner. Second, the terrified sheep standing beside the remains of his flock-mates. And finally, the snarling tiger that stood between the Players and it's prey.

"Alright," Mags began slowly, her voice just above a whisper. "Your call. Do we take down the tiger, or try to charm it with your beast arts?"

 

[Harukami]

It was honestly amazing Harukami could focus at all on a conversation with her timidity. Was it because Magdalyn was more aware of the world than Haruka? Was that why the shy girl felt at ease and intent on listening to anything the woman had to say?

Part of Harukami wished she'd known of the game when it first launched- but back then, there was no way she'd be playing without her sister. No, Haruka was getting stronger, slowly but surely. She was becoming more competent at being an independent person- though it still took Magdalyn's voice to focus Haruka on the rustling leaves up the path.

That was when they found it- the carcasses of dead sheep, a single living ewe, and a tiger brandishing its fangs. Magdalyn offered Harukami a choice, and there was, surprisingly, no doubt in her mind.

"Let me try to calm it down."

Taking cautious steps towards the tiger, Harukami crouched down before it and put out a hand. She waited patiently for the tiger to take in her scent. The tiger growled, but the timid woman was not alarmed by this. Instead, she smiled brightly. "I can tell just by looking at you. You're not so scary. Will you be my friend?"

 

[Magdalyn]

Magdalyn gave a curt nod as Harukami made her decision. Good. Mags would have killed the tiger if the situation called for it, but her bleeding heart made the action at least a little problematic. Being spared the discomfort, and sparing the tiger's life, made her feel so much better.

"You're doing great," Mags mumbled, her voice low and soothing, to mimic her companion's. It really was impressive, how Harukami so confidently engaged the enormous cat. With no idea what level the young woman was, Mags couldn't be sure if the beast actually posed a threat. If it did, the risk-taking was even more remarkable.

Pressing her back to the cave wall, the swordswoman eased her way around tiger's rear. Once she was close enough to the ewe, she muttering low words of reassurance. "I may not have beast arts," she whispered, offering a palm to the trembling sheep, "but hopefully I can keep you calm long enough for Harukami to do her work. Just hold on. We'll get you out of here."

 

[Harukami]

Haruka was as surprised as Magdalyn that she was able to act confident. For someone who stuttered constantly normally, she was speaking pretty well. The tiger's eyes were on her- but unlike a person's, it didn't scare her. To Harukami, this tiger was just a giant housecat.

One that could rip her to shreds at any moment.

The tiger stepped closer, putting its head against her hand gently. She wasn't overly strong, but it could sense she meant no harm even if she could hurt it. Licking her wrist for a taste of the strange human that was trying to reason with it, the tiger began to back away, before running off back into the wild.

They were safe, for now.

"T-That went better than I e-expected." She laughed nervously, falling to her knees. The adrenaline rush was now gone, and her heart was pounding a mile a minute in agony. For a moment, she thought she was a goner. That would have been bad with the three strike rule. Turning to Mags, she gave a thumbs up and a shaky smile."H-How's the little one?"

 

[Magdalyn]

"She's good," came Mags' answer, her gaze never leaving the trembling sheep. "I don't have any rope or anything, so we'll probably just have to herd her back home. Worst case scenario, you can use your beast arts skills again." As if in answer, the fuzzy creature turned and daintily picked her way around the remains, heading for the door. Finally, Mags shifted to offer Harukami a hand.

"Nice work with that tiger," she complimented, smiling down at the shaky Player. She appeared as frazzled as the sheep that had just rescued. Once Harukami was back on her feet, Mags led the way out of the cave, and back onto the path. The sheep, now eager to be among friends, trotted on ahead. "Easier than I expected," Mags confessed. "Hopefully she'll take us straight back to the farm, and we can tell the farmer the good news."

Her smile faltered slightly, as she amended, "Well, mostly good news. The tiger's still out there, but maybe you were able to warn it away for good. We'll just have to see. Regardless, I consider this a success."

 

[Harukami]

Haruka took the hand extended to her and smiled, borrowing Magdalyn's help to get back on her albeit shaky feet. That had been a scary ordeal, even if it had gone in their favor. In the real world, Haruka had always dreamed of talking to a tiger not at the zoo- but it turned out doing so was a lot more frightening than she expected. Big cats were still big, after all.

"I-I did my best," She explained merrily. "It feels a bit too s-simple, but... With any luck..." Wait, what were her luck parameters again? Did this game have luck parameters? Looking at her information, she sighed. Nope, no 'luck'. That sounded like bad news in its own right. On the other hand... When did her Presence get so high? And how?

As the sheep began to trot ahead, Haruka skipped behind it, staying close just to be safe. She glanced to Magdalyn with a soft smile. "I-I'm glad we found her safe. I-It's a shame about the others, but... She's safe. That's more than I expected... And it makes me very happy. T-Thank you for working with me."

 

[Magdalyn]

Smiling down at her companion, Mags nodded in agreement. "It makes me happy, too. And you're very welcome. Thank you for working with me, too. I'm glad we teamed up. We should do it again sometime. Maybe-"

"You found her!" Drek's voice cut through the darkness, and interrupted Mags before she could finish her thought. The man, for all his doom and gloom, appeared genuinely pleased to have his sheep back. "What happened? Did you find the others?"

Magdalyn's smiled faltered. "We did, yeah," she began slowly, "but they didn't make it. We only found their remains."

Anger flashed in the man's eyes, but disappointment and sorrow swam there, too. His lips drew into a thin line, and then he asked, "Any idea who has been taking them?"

"What, actually," Mags corrected gently. "It was a tiger. Harukami here was able to run it off, allowing us to save your girl here."

Now the anger flashed hotter. "A tiger? You're sure? And you didn't kill the thing?"

"Yes, we're sure. And no, we didn't."

After a long pause, the man blew out a long breath. "I've never heard of a tiger in these woods. There must be some reason. And I sure wish you'd killed it, but I'll at least thank you for what you did do. I assume you can find your way back to the inn." Turning his back on the pair, he placed a hand his trembling ewe's head, before leading her into the barn.