Decoctor's decoction

Once again in the small humble town of Altera, the now black haired maiden simply walked the streets with little care in the world itself. How come she found herself back in this place even though she planned to move on ahead? Well, there was a certain flyer she managed to find on the streets, one that intrigued her quite a bit. So while her father was preparing everything they needed to leave in the nearby Inn, she swiftly moved across the old looking streets in search of a very specific house. She was glad this town was still doing alright, considering a local hospital burned down not too long ago. Perhaps that was yet another reason for her to stay for just few days more than usual, so that she could see the aftermath of it all. She already chipped in by helping gather herbal medicine that helped those who were injured in the flames, but unfortunately that was about all she could actually do. Not exactly well versed in healing or medicine at all, she just hoped that the people of this place could pull through on their own.

Surely they could. After all, this was hardly the first disaster that happened to this place. And it likely wasn't the last either. In any case, the disguised girl finally found herself standing in front of a house that could be described as... strange, to say the least. Even looking from afar, it was oddly crooked and tilted to the side, leaving one wondering how come it hasn't collapsed on it's own yet. The front looked somewhat normal, safe for the fact that it was horridly unkempt. The local flora was even starting to reclaim the wall around the door too. Well, as long as it was possible for one to enter and leave, all was probably well. This was the home of a known alchemist, or at least known by the locals, named Decoctor. An odd name that accompanied it all. Apparently he required help with gathering of very specific materials and ingredients for his potions. Seeing how the girl already gathered something for this place, there was really no reason for her to not help with this as well before she would leave. But this time, she also wondered of someone else would maybe show up for this contract, seeing how the flyers were in public spaces and available for anyone who would walk by.

"Well, even if not, I could always ask father for help. He's probably already done with the packing and mighty bored in that empty room..."

Somehow, the female failed to realize she was actually talking to herself out loud. Perhaps this whole adventure already started to affect her sanity in some way. Or more likely, it was just a trait she had developed over the year in Fiore when she kinda felt lonely most of the time, especially after all of her relationships kinda started crashing to the ground. But oh well, no point in trying to figure things like that now. Still curious, she placed her hand on the door handle and pushed the wooden frame open.

Hearing a giant roaring crash was about the last thing the girl expected when she opened the door and walked through it. Not even getting any time to appreciate the interior which was quite warm for the state of the building, walls adorned by antique furniture and tables that were overflowing with different formulas and alchemist equipment. Turning back towards the entrance, it wouldn't take too long before she spotted the seemingly young boy rush through and stop inside, calling out and apologizing for being late. The flyers Leila saw did not specify any actual time, so those words somewhat flew over her head as she stared at him absentmindedly. Was he the source of that sound? Curious, she would somewhat ignore him as she moved around his body to peek through the wooden frame. And sure enough, that crater was still there with townspeople already gathering around to examine it, some terrified while others entertained beyond belief. And judging by the few words she had heard from the small crowd, people quickly started blaming Decoctor and one of his failed experiments again. Just arrived and already causing trouble for the employer? This boy seemed like he would be something. Leaning back inside the building while closing the door carefully behind her, the black haired maiden smiled and seemingly finally acknowledged her new partner.

"Well, you certainly know how to make an entrance. Name's Leila, a traveling mage. And you must be Ser Decoctor, yes?"

Her eyes shifted from the boy to the somewhat gray man who stood further in the room, his arms crossed as he patiently waited for everything to calm down. His appearance truly was unique, comical even. But the girl learned on her travels to never judge a book by it's cover. Alchemists were somewhat rare these days and thus should be expected. Even if it looked like this one was known more for his failed potions and experiments than successful ones. Coughing out a bit, he removed his hands from his chest only to rest them on his hips, puffing out his chest as if in pride before speaking himself

"That is correct! I'm glad my popularity is grand enough for me to not have to introduce myself! Now, I assume you two are here to help me construct this new decoction, yes? Most brilliant! I require vampire's blood; lesser one will suffice, ethereal dust from a wraith, flesh of a flesh-eating ghoul and finally, ethereal essence from a Nightwraith! You should be able to find all of those beasts somewhere around during night, this place is as nasty as them I tell you! Any questions?!"

Well, he certainly spew all that information at them without hesitating one bit. And while Leila had quite a bit of experience with mythical beasts, she was unsure about the boy who's name she did not know yet, so her gaze rested on him and the expression he would be making after hearing all that. Perhaps some explaining would be required later. Honestly, having some company for this contract was very unexpected, yet very pleasant. Not often would you run into other mages in places like this. Big cities, sure. But this town was in the middle of nowhere and it's reputation reflecting the thugs that casually walked down the streets in broad daylight. And while the boy didn't exactly look like the most powerful of mages on the first look, she did feel magic radiating from him. He didn't seem like no pushover. Encounters like these made her wonder if the disguise she had on right now was even needed too. Would he recognize her if she looked like her usual self? Or would it make no difference at all? Well, there was probably no point in thinking about questions like that anyway. There was a good chance they would do this contract together and then they would never meet again. But if they would, well... then she would figure it out then.

This boy seemed like an interesting one. And despite his rather flashy entrance, his introductions were quiet and somewhat humble. He also appeared to be very excited the moment he heard about everything they had to do. To some, having to defeat so many creatures would appear as a chore. Leila herself was indifferent, as she grew accustomed to this during her time in Seven and even before she became a proper mage one year ago. At least this meant that she wasn't stuck with someone who would let her do all the work. Not that she would mind that all too much, but it was always nice to have someone along who could alleviate some of the burden. Leaning in closer to him, her amber eyes shined perhaps a bit eerily.

"You're new to this land, aren't you? These creatures are rather common around these parts, not really mythical all. Very real instead, a threat to regular humans who cannot defend against them. I'm not sure what you're imagining, but the ones we'll be hunting are on the border of sentience, beasts that are driven by hunger for blood and flesh. Won't be meeting no fancy vampire folk tonight, only starved monsters."

It was a fair warning for the young lad, one accompanied by a firm nod from Decoctor. In this nation, every creature was capable of communication. But that didn't mean a complete peace. Some of these creatures didn't manage to control themselves and fell prey to their own instincts and greedy desires. That was the kind of beast they would be hunting for the ingredients. But, well... if the boy hadn't seen anything outside of Fiore then this probably would be an interesting experience nonetheless. For now, the black haired maiden would lean against one of the walls with hands crossed in front of her chest, a small sigh escaping between her lips. It really was still ways from the sunset. In response to Imai's question, Decoctor flashed a somewhat concerning smile and produce a strange blue glowing potion out of his pocket.

"Ah, I knew one of you would be interested. This is a potion I brew just before you arrived! Behold it's power!"

"Wait, isn't that... oh dear..."

Before anything could be done, the cork that was keeping the bottle sealed was gone and an unnatural blue mist filled the room. Mere contact with it was strong enough to make anyone fall asleep nearly instantly. And before they all woke up, it was middle of the night outside. Was that intentional on the alchemist's side? Who knows...

Leila could only title her head to the side in very similar questioning manner to Imai when he said the phrase "bleed yellow". Though she didn't bother to ask what exactly he meant with his cryptic words, figuring it was a saying from afar she had yet to learn the meaning of. And she would eventually, as a true wanderer. For now, they just had to do what Decoctor asked them to do, hunt down few beasts and wraiths. There was actually something that the now black-haired maiden noticed in this room. While subtle, the arrangement of all the equipment wasn't simply chaotic as normal people would assume. It was set up in a way that would allow for quick packing up. Seemed that the alchemist was a bit of a wanderer himself. Which made the girl unsure if she would be glad or disappointed to meet him out in the fields. Well, not that she really had to be thinking about that. After all, she wasn't thinking about anything soon enough. Only the force applied to her hand managed to finally wake her, as she opened her eyes and grabbed her head with the other hand. Maybe she hit her head while falling asleep, or maybe it was just the potion, but she felt a hangover stronger than one gets after drinking the whole night. But after few groans and moans, it went away along with the drowsiness.

"Yeah... yeah, time to go. This is why you never trust alchemy..."

Trying to shake it all off, she stepped out of the door following her partner and stretch on the fresh air, something that helped a great deal with the waking up part. Now capable of actually working once again, she closed the door behind them to ensure that no one would take advantage of the sleeping man and steal something from the insecure house. Looking at the city now, it truly fell silent. All the proper folk were long hidden inside of their homes, only few lights still penetrating the glass windows. Occasional patrol of guards was the only life on the streets right now. Or so it seemed. There was however a shadow stalking these brave men. A shadow that would wait for the to split apart and then feed to it's prey's bodily fluid - blood sucking vampire beast. And as Leila explained it before, this creature could not be further away from the vampires that regular people imagined. Looking like a terrific abomination, mixture of a bat and deformed human. it was actually very surprising to her that a lesser vampire would be brave enough to prowl streets of any town or village. These guards must have been more cowards than actual warriors. In any case, they had to lure the beast out of it's shadows and then confront it.

"Alright. The vampire is definitely around, You can feel it if you focus enough. But it's magical signature might be too weak for us to actually track, so we might need to get creative if we want to lure it out. Just be careful..."

The stars were quite beautiful indeed. It was unfortunate that they did not have the luxury of just staring at them right now, for the time until morn was ticking away. And with the first touch of the Sun on this village, all the beast they had to find would disappear into their hiding holes, wherever those might be. It was also possibly due to the fact that Leila herself gazed at the skies very often, but such view appeared somewhat mundane to her. She was a traveler, one that had seen most of the Earthland once already. And there were definitely places where you could see the night's sky even more clear than right here. Such places were quite rare and difficult to get to, but they were generally worth it. Sadly, none even remotely close to where they were right now. With a sigh, the black-haired maiden would cross her hands in front of her chest as she looked at entranced Imai.

"I know the stars are beautiful, but try to wait a little bit longer. I can teach you some of the unique constellations that you can only see in Seven later if you want as a reward for helping me here, but right now we need to focus on our target."

While the beast they were hunting right now was no Royal Vampire, it was still a vampire nonetheless. Such creatures could very easily hide their magical signature and presence in the shadows, some even completely. That meant they could become quite literally invisible to any sensory-type magic. Which in turn made tracking them rather difficult at times. So Leila wanted to draw the beast out by having it smell some of her or Imai's blood. That was the plan anyway, as she pulled out a golden sword hilt. There was no blade, but the weapon itself was quite magical and capable of taking any form the user desired once fed with actual magic. But before she could even cut into her own skin to lure the enemy out, her partner already somehow managed to find it. Which was honestly beyond surprising to her, but instead of questioning it, she tried to sprint over and help. It didn't take very long before they took to the skies, however. Leila could have done the same, as her magic allowed for it. But at the same time, she wanted to minimize any chance that people would recognize who she was. Honestly, that paranoia was completely out of place and only getting in the way. Unfortunately, there was no one around who could explain that to the Eden's witch. And so, the hilt in her hand swiftly transformed into a beautiful bow of gold, the string made out of pure blue magical energy, just like the arrow that she was suddenly pulling back. And with one precise shot, she would fire. The arrow went right through the flying vampire, hitting several of its organs as it went right through and sending it to the ground. Thankfully they were not all that high, which meant Imai should have had at least reasonably comfortable landing. Finally catching up the the place where they landed, she would pull out one of the vials and start collecting the blood sample.

"I'm not sure how you managed that, but good job. The guards will probably reward us later for disposing of the threat too once we get to the end of this. I'm sure this beast had it's share of killing in this town already."

She had to sigh, but she would also continue smiling after that ordeal. Who would have thought that a lesser vampire would give them so much trouble? But in the end, they emerged victoriously and obtained what they had to, which was really what mattered most. And what more, she got to see the boy's magic shine during his intense ride. Heavenly body magic, it certainly went well with the night's sky that was looming above their heads. With a little click-like sound, the girl's ethereal bow would slowly fade away as the still golden sword hilt remained in her hand, reflecting the moon's light ever so gently. While she did not need her weapon right away, she had this feeling that it would come in handy quite soon. After all, their little hunt had just begun.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, but the rest of our targets probably won't allow us such feelings. Wraiths, in general, are a pain to deal with, while ghouls stick to the ground. And speaking of which..."

Leila would look over her shoulder, as she felt something too. A faint glow that was emitted from behind a nearby corner, suddenly vanishing as her eyes were moved in its direction. It seemed that the commotion really did capture the interest of more than just humans that were still awake. And judging by the glow, it was probably the wraith that seemed to be roaming the streets at night.

"While it might sound silly trying to fight a ghost, many are actually perfectly susceptible to magic. So as long as you use spells or magical items, you shouldn't have any trouble hitting them. More importantly, they- watch out!"

Suddenly cutting herself out and pushing Imai to the side, she herself performed a sidestep as an ethereal claw suddenly shot out of the ground, swiping at her. And while her flesh wasn't injured at all, her outfit was not slightly torn as she managed to dodge only barely. Emerging fully from the floor, the wraith was now on full display, it's mutilated purple body glowing in an eerie aura.

"More importantly, they can move through solid objects that are not infused with any magic at all, so be careful!"

She finished her thought as the golden handle in her hand grew a little in its size, a sudden wave of energy bursting forth and creating a long straight blade of many colors, almost as if it was part of the night's sky. Well, at least they didn't have to go far and search for this one, so that was a bonus.

Wraith:

Leila's Weapon: