The morning of Jayou was a quiet one, as the city was more alive at night. A heavy fog had just lifted and people were still fast asleep from a night of drinking and gambling. The Riverside Inn was one of the inns still functioning properly at this time. The inn was relatively empty, as most of its visitors were in their beds. The owner of the inn was named Malis and was the third generation's owner. 

The inn itself was very old, older than she was and older than her mother. It had belonged to her grandmother who was the one to create it. Towards the beginning of the year they had been struggling because of a group of thugs who had been threatening them. Every month these thugs had come in, threatened her family, broke a few chairs, and stole as much money as they could get their hands on. These thugs had been demanding protection money. They were asking too much of her and ruining her business. 

That's when Malis met Attie. She was a sweet girl who asked a thousand questions per second. When Attie learned about these thugs, she went to take care of it. At first Malis thought that Attie would kill herself but was surprised when she returned telling her that the thugs were in the guard's custody and all the stolen items would be returned to her. Without that girl, Malis' entire business would have been shut down. Ever since then Attie had been allowed to stay for free and even had a couple of free dinners. It was the least that the owner could do. 

That was why the owner was fine with Attie hosting her friends at her inn for a meeting. These friends, their names were Bianca, Cao Lixue, and Chrys. The descriptions of each were thoroughly detailed so that Malis couldn't mistake them. Bianca was a gender non-binary person with dark hair and a fire affinity. Chrys was a blonde rosenite with a kind personality. Cao Lixue was a powerful woman in priestess clothing and was the most direct out of all of them. That was all that Attie mentioned despite Malis' further questions. Now she had to wait for these friends. 

Attie had already paid for their stay last night and had left extremely early in the morning to deal with something. Now Malis was waiting for these friends to show up. She had already cleaned up the dining area of the inn and the bar was ready to go in case these friends wanted a drink. The owner leaned against the bar and let out a small sigh. Something that Attie had said bothered her still. But she was keeping it out of her mind for now. There would be customers coming soon and she would have to prepare for these new people. 

The letter they had received had been a surprising one indeed, not so much because of who the sender was, but because she was able to actually get a letter to Bianca. As a being who was a bit more nomadic in their travels, Bianca and Illiana having no one place to settle in at this time, tracking Bianca was difficult. But Attie had managed to get that letter to Bianca and the blood mage had decided that, yes, they would help the young woman. After all that Attie had done to help Bianca burn down the old Bathory mansion just outside of Jayou, it was the least Bianca could do to help out. Then again, Bianca probably would have helped anyway, as the idea that someone could be worse than the original Bianca Bathory was disturbing, to say the least. As bloodthirsty as Bianca could be, their violence was directed towards certain people; Illiana’s pack’s enemies and anyone who threatened them.

Bianca was familiar with The Riverside Inn in Jayou already, having been there a few times in the past. So it was with a confident stride that the blood mage walked into the inn where they were to meet. Bianca at the moment was in a state where it was nearly impossible to tell if they were male or female, but their glowing fire orange eyes, reddish dark skin and long blood red hair were unchanged. Bianca was wearing what had become more normal for them since the party night. A full suit, with odd tailoring to accommodate Bianca’s changing body, blood red with black trim and very well-fitting pants. Male or female Bianca was a unique sight indeed, as Malis took note of when Bianca came in.

The blood mage smiled and walked casually over to the bar and took a seat and glanced around. ”I see I am the first here then? I assume you know who I am, yes? Tell me, do you know where our mutual friend is? Oh, and can you hand that bottle of rum there, I might as well finish that off.” Bianca had pointed to a bottle of rum that only had a few mouthful left in it and slipped some coin to Malis at the same time. ”Mind if I smoke?” At Milas’ nod Bianca pulled a pipe from their pocket out and a pouch of tobacco and filled up the pipe. A small flame appeared at the tip of Bianca’s finger as they puffed on the pipe to get it lit, the rich scent of cherry flavoured tobacco wafted into the air. Looking back to Malis after taking a gulp from the bottle Bianca grinned, saying casually. ”You’re awfully quiet today, Malis. Something wrong?”

Getting mail wasn't easy, especially since she was living out of a tent pitched on the back of her kalangitan, Strelitzia. But one time she stopped in Namibia she went to check if there was anything for her waiting in one of the courier offices that knew her well. To her surprise, it wasn't another letter from her family. Her mother would send one at least once a month just to keep in touch, while sometimes her siblings and friends in Arri would mail her a little summary of the latest shenanigans that had been going on. The letter itself was a request for help from Attie, for something that definitely sounded very dangerous. Part of it was the fact that she was being called to Jayou–which from what Cyril's mom had told, was a place that had a seedy underbelly beneath it's colorful artisan exterior. Usually the name of the river city was followed by various angry outbursts, as it was also a hot spot for gambling. Where in some places it was illegal, it was fully embraced as just business there. 

"Hmm…I guess I'd better make some preparations. I don't think I'll be able to bring you along this time, Strelitzia." Landing a huge Bakulaw beast would attract attention, and it would make her friend feel comfortable. Cities tended to be too cramped for the kalangitan. Chrys contemplated telling her family about the summons first. After all, if they really were going to hunt down a well-known criminal, it wouldn't hurt to have backup. But there was also the fact that she could be painting a bigger target on her own back. For one, she was an ambassador. Not an official one, according to Arri, but still a person who had some level of influence. And now, she was the sister-in-law of one of Arri's royalty. There were plenty of people who had the fooli–er, boldness to try to harm and kidnap a Rosenite despite the retribution that would fall should anyone in Arri find out. But as her younger brother always said, there was no cure for idiocy or amorality. There would be two more people coming to help them out–one that sounded female by the name, and another she couldn't guess. For somebody who was being watched, Attie sure was resourceful. The blonde was proud of her friend's networking skills, as they definitely came in handy now.

From the tone of the letter, it sounded like they would have to potentially kill this Marcov. Attie was a very optimistic girl, so the fact that she was describing him with the worst words possible meant negotiation wouldn't be on the table this time. Personally Chrys wasn't the one to condone killing, even for the greater good. But if this person was beyond all salvation, maybe it'd be fine. After all, life was a cycle. Death and life were two sides of the same coin–if one of them went out of balance, you'd stifle the other. And from her standpoint, Marcov was more like a parasitic weed who had overstayed its welcome. 

Dressed in her usual clothes after dyeing them more natural colors, she arrived to Jayou with the help of a mage in Mamjaku. She needed to be careful with how she traveled and where she went in case she too was being tracked. Finding the inn took some time, as this was her first time visiting. She could have arrived sooner if she asked for directions from Poppy's older sister Yucca, but she didn't want to get them involved. The door to the Riverside Inn opened, with a blonde girl with a charcoal hood slipping off of her head. Malis saw what looked like an ordinary adventurer about Attie's age poke her head in before spotting her–then smiling. If it weren't for the dark-haired girl's descriptions, Malis could've passed her off as a typical tourist. "Hello! Is this the Riverside Inn? Whew, finally–a place where I can sit down." Chrysanthe was cheerful and friendly, but something told the inn owner that she wasn't some daydreaming outdoors enthusiast. Pulling herself up to the bar, the blonde girl sat down and slid her hood off with a sigh of relief. "Ahh…I never thought I'd say I'd be so happy to stop walking. I'm pretty sure I'd sleep like a log after a good meal." Chrys stretched, then leaned on the counter. 

There was a smell of smoke with a hint of fruit somewhere, and a quick look pointed to the pipe from someone who definitely seemed infernal. Red and black were probably their favorite colors, and they were casually chatting with the proprietor. 

Cao watched over the Riverside inn as two others entered the inn shortly after each other. It would be fair to assume that they were Chrys and Bianca, however, she could not confirm the two as Attie had not given her a disposition of Bianca or Chrys. All she had to go on were names feminine names which matched the two that had entered the inn the more infernal looking Woman was a bit on the androgynous side with a suit as well to add to the confusion.

Waiting slightly longer to see if the two had picked up any followers on their travels before the Undead left the alley. With no further guests for the moment, she got to work placing a simple trap alongside the windows of the first floor in hopes to snare any would be voyeurs into their future plans. Perhaps the Priestess was being paranoid, but upon the mention of Marcov her desire to capture the slaver was beyond altruism or helping a friend as he has hurt those very dear to her. With the traps set, Lixue was very much late and rudely making Attie and her possible allies wait, but she hopes that they will understand as if they manage to capture a spy it could be a great boon to the investigation.

Upon entering the Inn she was glad to see that it was empty aside from the proprietor and the two others who entered in before her. Moving to the counter of the bar and motioning the Owner over. Leaning closer to the Woman, Lixue would look to the two others as she asked if they were indeed Chrys and Bianca. With the confirmation that they were indeed Chrys and Bianca, she further examined the two. Chrysanthe was the blond one roughly around Attie's age and held a peaceful aura. By the simple earthen dyes and colours, it would be safe to say that the Woman in question was a ranger or perhaps a druid by their higher than normal volume of magical energy. Bianca on the other hand, held a far more sinister aura to match their infernal appearance. Magic ran through her as vibrant as her fire orange glowing eyes and long blood red hair. Surprised and at the same time not as she was aware of Attie's naive nature and desire to befriend even the most hostile of beings.

Leaning back as she focused on Bianca as she seemed to be the more level headed one of the two. "It would be safe to say that we've all received a similar letter"? Giving the two a slight bow, "I am Cao Lixue to clear up the confusion as Attie did not describe our appearance in the letters". Lifting her head and scanning the surroundings, "Speaking of Attie, I'm curious as to why she is not with us would one of you know where she is currently"? While she did trust Attie, the fact that she was not here concerned the Undead. Possibilities ran through her mind as what if she had been ambushed or somehow the letters were intercepted and her would be allies were already ensnared in a trap. Keeping her guard up she would sit down holding a spell at the ready. "Speaking of the letter may I see them"? If it was a trap perhaps the handwriting on the letters did not match up it would explain why Attie did not describe their appearance.

It seemed all of Attie's friends were here. That was a massive relief to the owner. It meant that they could have their discussions and that the tension of this visit would be over soon. She gave the group their drinks then watched them talk. They were arranging and figuring things out. But there was something that Malis was concerned about. Where was Attie? She was never one to be late. The owner kept this out of her mind as she began to work at the bar. There was a lack of people today so she secretly began reading her romantic novel in the back of the room. 

Meanwhile…

There was a lot of chatter among the townspeople. As though something massive had happened. There was fear in almost every person's eyes. Guards were blocking off an area of town, one of the parks. A group of people were gathered around the guards, trying to peak over them. Children were ushered away by mothers and even strangers. This was not something that a child should see. 

Back at the inn…

It had been ten minutes since everybody's arrival. Two men entered the taven, both of them were farmers. Their clothes were common but somewhat clean. They had no weapons nor did they have much hygiene. It seemed that they were busy in the latest gossip of the town but their faces were grim. There words were soft at first but once they realized that hardly anybody was in the tavern, they began to talk a bit louder. 

"Did you see what happened at the park?" The first man asked. 

"Yes I did! Nasty business." The second man responded, "What was her name? Or do the guards not know yet?"

"I overheard one of the guards questioning a villager. Attie…or was it Addy? I couldn't hear it very well with the crowd and all." The first man explained. 

Milas, who had not overheard this discussion, realized that there were two new people in the inn. She rushed over to them, as she didn't want Attie's group of friends to be alarmed by their presence. The last thing they needed was to be furthered alarmed. She suspected that whatever Attie was going to talk with them about, it would be something important. She walked up to them and leaned on the counter. 

"Sorry fellas. The inn's been rented out for the rest of the day. I can refill your water holders but that'll be about it." Mithas said to them. 

When the young woman walked in Bianca cast a casual glance in their direction before looking back to the barkeep while puffing on the pipe. She came up to the bar and leaned on it and Bianca shifted on their stool slightly to better face her as she spoke. ”It is a nice morning out.” Bianca commented to Chrys’ words before taking another gulp from the bottle, almost finishing it off then.

Another woman entered the Inn and came over to the bar, of course Bianca was thinking that these two were Chrys and Cao that Attie had spoke of in her letter. But Attie had left out details in how to identify them so it was only a guess for now. Bianca nodded when asked if she was, in fact, Bianca, but said nothing for now. As Cao started to speak and introduce herself Bianca took a long pull on their pipe and blew the smoke away from anyone before speaking finally. ”I don’t know where she is, I assume she’s in a room perhaps. As for my letter, I don’t have it, after I read it I burned it to remove evidence of this meeting.” Bianca said flatly, but before Bianca could say more two men walked in.

Bianca finished the rum and took another puff as they explained the two men for a moment as they started to speak with each other. When Attie’s name came up Bianca raised a brow and glanced to Chrys and Cao before standing. Milas rushed over to them and said that the bar was rented out but Bianca walked over to greet them. ”Good morning, gentlemen.” Bianca started with a friendly grin. ”I apologize but I couldn’t help over hear your conversation. I’m most curious as to what this nasty business was that you spoke of. Ah, tell you what though, tell me everything you know about this business you speak and I’ll make it worth your time.” Bianca reached into a pocket and pulled out a pouch of coins and dropped them on the table. ”Does that sound like a deal?”

As she was shaking off the tiredness from that long walk, another girl came in–though not after a while. Her clothes and hair were pretty unique, probably was a tourist or somebody here for business. The style seemed somewhat familiar…almost like that little puppet that Cyril brought back after a visit to his dad in Nisshoki. It was actually a souvenir from Kujishoku, as it looked like a toymaker's version of some mythical creature. Listening to the woman in the suit's conversation with the innkeeper, from the looks of it this was one of the two people she would be working with to help Attie. Burning the letter was a good idea, though she didn't have her letter on her person either. It was left with her things when she had Strelitzia rest back home. There weren't many other customers in yet, which seemed odd. Jayou's main revenue was either from crafts, gambling, and tourism. Even if it wasn't the most well-known of places, inns should at least be half full. She had glanced at the door casually when two locals walked in, then returned to unwind as she eavesdropped. It wasn't hard, as it was quiet and nobody else was talking.

Even if she was curious, she knew she had to feign ignorance. Pretending to yawn, Chrys covered up her inner feelings of worry as she heard them talk about something terrible that happened to someone named 'Attie'. As Bianca took the initiative, she listened in carefully while rubbing her eyes. Her back was turned, but she then waved to Malis to ask for something non-alcoholic to drink. "Do you have anything that's not alcoholic? Mmm…something cold would be great." She didn't ask for a hot drink, because she wanted a glass. Using the glass' reflection she could see what was going on behind her to a certain degree. Asking for a non-alcoholic drink in a metal container would be too odd, so this was the next best thing. It was true that Attie hadn't shown up, but it would be difficult to ask without raising suspicion. Perhaps it was time to play the 'naive tourist card'…

"That's unfortunate, but it was wise to get rid of the physical evidence". Peering past Bianca to look at Chrysanthe who seemed to not have the letter either by her lack of a response. Turning away from the two of them as the lack of Attie and information did nothing to ease her concerns as the Undead had a feeling that something was off but lacked anything concrete to rely fully on a gut feeling.

As she stewed in her own thoughts, the door opened as two sets of footsteps entered the Inn. At first, she thought nothing of the two men that had entered the Inn as it sounded like a simple misunderstanding, but at the mention of Attie the undead was gearing up to make her way directly to the park. While she was about to ask the Owner about the location of the park, she found it odd that they suddenly raised their voice as if they wanted them to hear and that Chrysanthe and Bianca held their ground. She was not the only one who found it strange as Bianca had already begun to draw them in with honeyed words.

"It's alright as nothing wrong with more company". Sliding a stool next to her out, she would play along with Bianca's plan and separate the two hoping that her assumption of Bianca's talents included persuasion. " Help yourself to a drink as both payment and an apology for monopolizing your daily recreation as nothing beats a drink after a hard day's work". Gently smiling at the man who chose to sit next to her. While she was aware of her lack of ability in the art of seduction, playing the innocent and kind priestess worked wonders on many a man. "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I am Po Jinghua". Giving a light apologetic bow she would look to the Man with an excited expectation for his name in return.

Sharing a few drinks and a bit of casual conversation the Undead decided to press the attack. "Oh! I was enjoying our time together so much I forgot about the nasty business that you were talking about to your friend. What happened is everyone okay!? I should be out helping the injured"! Playing up the innocent, but forgetful priestess, Lixue stared deeply into the Man's eyes with concern.

The two gentlemen were slightly surprised by the sudden interest of these people. Then again, it wasn't often that something like this happened. Jayou was a gambling town but not a particularly dangerous place. Meanwhile Malis was serving Chrys her a glass of cold milk. They didn't have much for non-alcoholic drinks but milk was always kept around in case any children had decided to pay the inn a visit. The two men that were being persuaded to talk caved in easily. With both Bianca and Cao Lixue working together, these two men were easily ready to give up information, not that they had much reason to hide anything. 

"As good of a deal as any. My name is Chakra Kosal." The first man said and gestured to the second man, "And this is my friend Phirum Sokun. The nasty business….well this morning a girl was found pinned to a tree with some metal rods. I think the rods were in her shoulders." 

"Nah. It was more like her midarms." Phirum insisted. 

The two got separated when Cao began talking to him. But he wasn't holding anything back. This was the latest gossip after all. It was a big event that everybody could see for themselves. Keeping it all locked up was not half as interesting as telling everybody about it, even if it was a morbid event. 

"Don't know if there's much for you to help for." Phirum said to Cao, "Unless you can raise the dead." 

"Why are you frightening her? She's just an innocent woman. Don't mess up her mind with that stuff." Chakra scolded his friend before turning back to Bianca, "Sorry about him. Anyways the Addie girl was found in the park after a while. The guards haven't released any other info but we all know what it is. Whoever put her up there wanted to send a message."

"I'd think there are better ways of doing that." Phirum commented, "Whoever did it can just send a letter."

"Letters are probably much easier to write." Chakra agreed, "Speaking of which, did you get that letter from Jessilyn yet?"

From then on, the two men were talking about Jessilyn and the letter. It was clear that they had told as much as they knew, since they did want that money. However, they were just simple farmers spreading on the rumors and gossip of the town. They didn't have as much information as a guard or as any of the witnesses who first found the body. They just were nosy people who saw the aftereffects. 

——————————–

The park was still crowded and the guards were having to keep them from getting in. But everybody could see the gore-filled scene. In the park there was a massive tree, it had been the park's pride for generations but now would hold a grime tale instead. A girl with short black hair, a ripped tunic, and trousers had been pinned to the tree with metal rods that had pierced through her shoulders. It was Attie. Dried blood covered her cold body. The skin of her corpse was pale and her eyeballs were missing. They were cut out with expertise along with her heart. But it was the missing brain that was most complex. The skull had been cut but the skin around the skull had been sewed back together, to make her recognizable. On her stomach, she there was a symbol carved into the corpse. The symbol was a circle with and x shape marked in the middle. Above the corpse, on the tree, was a phrase written in Attie's dried blood.

-Stay out of my way.-

Her armor, the one with the cosmic wings and her favorite outfit, had been shattered into a thousand pieces and were placed at the bottom of the tree. The cosmic wings were missing. Attie's amulet was missing as well. But her favorite dawn mask had been placed at the bottom of the tree, torn into three pieces. The rest of her stuff was gone, including her journal and the evidence she had against Marcov. 

The guards were still having a difficult time getting Attie's corpse down. They had less manpower that day and were also trying to keep the crowds at bay. It was clear that the guards were trying to deal with the chaos but they were under prepared. Most of their men were busy with other cases and few guards were allowed to go to take care of this issue. The ones investigating didn't seem to be that invested in the investigation. 

"This is clearly because of the gambling in the city." One of the guards declared, "This Attie person must have gotten herself involved in gambling and pissed off somebody. I think this is a very simple case. "

"But what about the missing organs?" A newbie guard suggested, "We could try-"

"Enough. We have plenty to deal with. I'll address the public and you get to work on getting that corpse out of here." The experienced guard said. 

Pinned to a tree?! Bianca’s eyes twitched when they heard that news. What had happened? What was going on?! Bianca puffed on the pipe some more as the men told what they knew of what had happened to ‘Addie”, but Bianca knew that it was truly Attie. When the two men had shifted their conversation back to something between the two of them Bianca stood and walked back to the bar for a moment and leaned on it. Collecting their thoughts Bianca turned and looked between Cao and Chrys. ”I’m going to go talk to the guards.” Bianca spoke so that only their two allies could hear what was said. With that Bianca tossed a few extra coins to Milas before heading out the door without waiting for the other two.

Bianca hurried over to the gruesome scene and the sight that they were greeted by wasn’t even close to what they had pictured in their mind. Attie, nailed to the tree by spikes through her shoulders, body covered in blood. Bianca shifted their body to a much more feminine look before stepping into the crowd some more to get a closer look, not wanting to draw attention to them self just yet. It was then that Bianca noticed that Attie’s eyes had been removed, the symbol carved into her stomach, and it was all Bianca could do in that moment to not scream bloody murder and set everything around them on fire. Anyone close to Bianca could probably hear their teeth grinding however. ~I’m sorry, Attie, I am so, sorry!~ Bianca thought. Perhaps after all this was said and done and they had sought revenge for Attie’s murder Bianca could see if her spirit was with Serafina or Angela.

But that was for later, right now Bianca needed information, so, making sure that tears were in their eyes which wasn’t that hard, she sidled up to two guards, one older and gruff looking the other still green by the look of him. Bianca addressed the older guard first. ”Excuse me, my name is Alasse, can you please tell me what happened here? I know the girl, her name is Attie, I’m a friend of her family, they aren’t from here. If you can tell me what you know I can relay that to the family when next I see them, please.” Bianca pleaded doing their best to sound upset, which they were so it wasn’t much of an act, and wiping what were now real tears from their eyes.

The gruff guard eyed the strange looking woman for a moment. ”I’m sorry for your loss, but this is a gambling city, it looks to me like she got involved in the wrong crowd, probably got into debt and couldn’t pay it off. Look, you should just tell them that it was all an accident and cremate the body before they see it.” He said flatly.

Bianca nearly tore his head off for his callous words but held back, for now. ”I, I see, thank you. Once you have her down though, I would like to claim the body.”

”Sure.” He grunted and left.

Bianca was about to leave when the younger guard spoke up. ”Ex, excuse me, miss?” He spoke carefully and glanced back at his boss who wasn’t looking. ”Between you and I, I think he’s wrong. I don’t wanna get into trouble, or get anyone else intro trouble. You probably noticed that her eyes are missing, right? And that strange symbol carved into her chest, that’s a new symbol, one we haven’t seen around here before, and none of the locals have ever gone this far before.”

”What are you getting at?” Bianca asked, impressed this young man would stand up and speak his mind with his boss so close.

”Like I said, this is a new symbol, and more brutal than we have seen here before. If it was just the symbol alone I would agree with my boss, but the missing eyes, heart and brain, that’s too far for a gambling debt.”

Bianca’s eyed widened; her brain and heart were missing to?! Someone would die, very very very slowly, for this. ”Thank you, young man, now, go before you get into trouble.” When the young guard left Bianca glanced once more at Attie’s corpse as they were removing it from the tree and went to look for Cao and Chrys to share what they had found out.