A race? Is this some kind of joke? What exactly did the fellblood think he was going to accomplish here? Even if he did wish to participate, he didn’t have a mount.

Vail walked through Thunderhoof Village as he contemplated Zarius’s message. Perhaps he had screwed up; after all this was a letter written with no recipient, maybe it was meant for one of the many other adventurer’s Zarius employed? As much as he wished he was correct, the amount of snide references to their previous encounter hinted that the note was meant for the ash lander specifically.

Thought you could use some time to relax after the nasty spill you took. yeah, very funny, blueblood.

Walking over to the race’s registration area, Vail begins to notice that this race was a more grand affair than he had previously thought. A wide array of carriages littered the prep area, many of which suggested that their drivers were nobles of some sort.

If nobles like racing so much, that likely means there will be plenty in the audience as well. He thought to himself as a devilish grin formed. Perhaps this will be more profitable than my average job after all.

As he reaches the registration booth, the frail man behind the counter looks to him with a fearful expression.

“Do not be alarmed, I am simply here to race.” The tall ash lander says calmly. “I’m afraid I do not have a mount however, but I've heard that won’t be an issue.”

The man nervously nods, lifting a wobbly arm as he points over to a pen of donkeys near the prep area.

With a sigh and a shrug, Vail thanks the man and heads towards the pack of mules.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: To the Races!
Participants: Two or more
Location: King's Valley
Post Requirements: 4 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: One of the valley's favorite past times is racing, specifically on horse back, but any animal will do as long as it is exciting. If you want to make a name for yourself in the plains, winning a race is the best way to do that, but it is one of the hardest things to do, locals do not play fair. The quest is simple, get into a race on animal back. You don't have to win, but try your hardest, and keep an eye out, anything goes in these races. (If you do not own a mount, a donkey will be provided for you.)

Persie found these events to be completely barbaric. These poor creatures, being forced to be raced, simply for the entertainment of humans. As she sat near the pen with the mules, scratching one under the chin as she spoke in a quiet, babying voice to them. “How unfair, my dears.” She mumbled, sighing. There were a few things she was considering. Part of her was considering releasing the mules - But she knew they wouldn’t leave. Mules are stubborn, and do not know what is best for them. It was so frustrating to her, but if she had simply untethered them, she would just get in trouble, and nothing would be accomplished. Another was making sure nobody won this thing, only to risk entertaining the humans more. But maybe it would benefit long term, and they’d end the barbaric tradition.



She sighs, having already decided she’d join in - If not just to try and sabotage the entire thing. Plus, it sounded like fun. She was still musing, and petting the mule when someone approached. She watched as the man was pointed in the direction of the mules, and she snickered as he approached. “Good morning.” She says, her voice laced with pretend niceties hiding the bit of annoyance she felt. “Another racer?”

Vail examines the donkeys as he approaches. The animals seemed worn out before the race had begun, clearly they were only here to make the noble racers look better by comparison. It didn't matter to him, he simply needed to race, then collect his participation winnings from the nobles' possessions.

A woman's voice called out to him as he focused on the mules. Her tone suggested she was teasing him more than actually exchanging any pleasantries. He shoots her a quick glance, noticing her pale skin. Perhaps he wasn't the only ash lander far from home.

"Good morning. You're right, I am racing, although these animals look just as exhausted as I am, if not more." He replies while still keeping his attention on the mules.

As he approached her, he was hit by a familiar scent, one that reflexively triggers a defensive posture. It was both unmistakable and unforgettable to him. It was the last thing he smelled as he lay dying and as he arose. The smell of burnt pine, punctuated by a hint of rot; the Deadwood.

Although, there was something off about the scent. A light sweetness was present, something similar to flowers. Perhaps it was some manner of perfume.

He turns to face the woman, observing her cautiously for any sudden movements.
"You… you're from those woods… Just who are you?"

Persephone watched the mysterious man as he approached her, the donkeys huffing and stepping back as they were approached. She notes his paleness, and his scars. She is curious about them, but frankly, does not care enough to ask about them. She pets the mule she’s with again, scratching his chin as the man approaches so he doesn’t freak out. It seems to work. While his presence was unnerving, hers was calm. As he approached though, she could tell something was off about him. As he stopped, and stared at her as if she was the devil, she tilted her head in confusion - and slight amusement.



“Those woods? The Deadwoods. Yes, I grew up there.” She stood up, brushing her hand on the mule again as she stepped away from it, and with movements as slow and methodical as she could, she stepped forward. “I’m sensing some…. Fear?” She grinned with amusement. “How adorable. Truly.” She takes another slow step forward. “If you’re this afraid of the woods, then you may know of me. If you don’t, well… I don’t make my living making people scared of me. It just happens. People do tend to be afraid of Solancae. I can only imagine how they feel about her daughter…” Persie grins again, holding a hand out to him, though keeping a safe enough distance. “Persephone. Don’t worry, I don’t bite! Not unless you want me to.” She smirks, adding in a wink for affect.

His posture straightens as the woman grins, he’d let his composure wane a bit more than he had expected. He meets the woman’s eyes with an expression that suggested was taking her presence seriously, only for his curious eyes to betray his stoicism.

“No, not fear, this is simply preparation. Believe me, I know far too well what kind of horrors dwell within those woods.”

He listens intently as the woman describes how often she scares the average person, her statements striking a distant memory, one he hadn’t thought of in quite some time. Perhaps that’s why he was confident that it was unaltered; something so trivial as a legend was likely not of no interest to the guest that poked and prodded at his mind.

He slowly dons a grin as he realizes just who stood before him.

“Now I remember, you’re The Girl in the Forest, aren’t you? If I remember the tale correctly, you and I are oddly similar, albeit those who abandoned me took extra care to make sure I wasn’t going to leave those woods. You’re not the only legend to arise from such a condemned place.”

He holds out his own bandaged right hand to the woman at her teasing introduction.

“The name’s Vail. I don’t bite either, unless, of course, you are a fiend.” He replied in a tone that greatly underplayed the severity of the warning hidden within his words.

What kind of horrors dwell in those woods? She feigns a pout. “Now now! It’s not very kind to call a woman a horror! Though you’re not wrong.” She chuckles a little at herself. “People getting dumped in the woods is not an unusual occurrence. Though you in particular…” She stares at his hand for a moment, not deigning to react to it. “You in particular, smell like death. A stench I’m far too familiar with.”



She shrugs it off, circling around him, mimicking a vulture examining their prey. “What is the Ghost of Darkveil doing… here.” She gestures around. “At a race, meant to amuse those who don’t care who they hurt.” Persie seems particularly angered. Not at Vail, but at the entire situation - “Those who have no issue taking advantage of the creatures who can’t choose for themselves?” She gestures to the mules. “Those poor things…”



She sighs, approaching one and offering it a sugar cube. “They don’t know any better. And those souls out there couldn’t care less… But I’d expect better from one who understands the violence of humans better than anyone.”

Vail’s expression calms as the woman circles him. In all honesty, he was relieved that she was an outsider like himself; he probably would have had a fight on his hands had she been a member of one Darkveil’s families. He lets her have her fun, being not particularly miffed by her comment about his scent, he did smell death first here after all. The fact she had some inkling as to who he was drew a bit of surprise however. Were rumors of existence still floating around after so long? Or did she just have a particular interest in legends like herself?

“You say some very strange things. I’ll have you know, I bathe whenever possible, I’m much more civilized than your average ash lander. Also, if I remember correctly, the young man who died in that legend lost an arm, it was the only part of his body that wasn’t missing.”
He holds both hands up confidently, mimicking a surrender pose with a grin. “As you can plainly see, I have two arms. Are you sure you are not mistaken?” He drops both arms to his sides as he continues. “I am here to supposedly relax, that’s what my employer said in his letter anyway. I think I pissed him off a bit too much the last time we met, I’m not particularly fond of this showy bullshit. That fellblood is a bit too rich for his own good if this is his form of entertainment.”

He looks to the woman with an inquisitive eye as she feeds one of the tired mules. “What brings you out here in that case? I was simply going to lighten the pockets of these snotty contestants and audience members after this race is said and done. From the sound of things, you’re more eager to stir up some trouble than I am.”

Persephone clicks her tongue, smiling sweetly as he mentioned his arms, but nonetheless, not remarking upon it. “Now, sweetie. I’m sure you of all people are aware how the smell of death tends to… Linger. Most people of Darkveil just happen to be noseblind to it~ After all, they killed an entire forest, and went about their lives as if nothing happened.” She finally rests, settling in front of him, against the wooden fence. “Lighten their pockets all you want. Frankly, if I could kill all of them, and steal all their riches myself, I would… But mass murder is typically frowned upon. So instead… Burning down the establishment will have to do. After all, whomever dies in the fire? Well…” She steps forward, smirking. “It’s quite a shame they couldn’t get out in time. After all, don’t they know how flammable hay is?”



She paused, turning back and stepping towards the mules again, “Of course, if that’s not your style, feel free to ignore the conversation we just had. Just note, I do not plan on killing anyone… Just distracting them enough to free my little friends. Maybe this whole ‘show’ will end when I’m done with it’s stage…. But I wouldn’t mind some accompaniment.” Persie winks at him, grinning as she reaches out a sugar cube to one of the mules.

Vail returns the woman’s devilish smirk with one of his own. “Even when cast out from Darkveil, an ash lander is still an ash lander. Your morals are just as dubious as I expected.”

He walks to her side, leaning forward as he places both arms atop the top rung of the fence. "If it were up to me, I would have no issue with doing exactly what you described. Unfortunately, I don't have that reckless luxury. I can't be around suffering these days; not without losing control."
He glares at the woman with an expression that offers not even the slightest hint of sarcasm. "It would be in your best interest to restrain yourself. I can't promise your safety should you cause needless suffering, especially since you carry a demon with you."

He looks to the mules as he continues, feeling some manner of empathy towards the beasts. In a way, he was a lot like them, forced to endure a life of torment at the hands of those who lord over them.

"But other than that I'm willing to help. A fire will help draw the nobles' attention, leaving their possessions open for the taking. I'd even be willing to cut you in on the spoils should this go well. Now, do you have some manner of plan? Or do I need to do the heavy lifting here?"

She giggles at the mention of her morals, and simply replied, hand on her chest. “Morals? What morals. I treat how I am treated, after all.” Persie replies with a wink. Of course, when he mentions not being around ‘needless’ suffering, and the mention of her demon, her smile falls a little as she reaches for the vial of demon blood around her neck. “Alright, fine. I will not purposefully reach out to harm anyone. I’ll even avoid it.” She replies, rolling her eyes dramatically.



“I am definitely willing to help with the other part, though! Stealing from the rich is another very fun pastime of mine~” She purrs. “As far as a plan goes, I, unfortunately, do not do heavy lifting. Sorry.” She replies, picking at her nails and grinning a little.



“I wasn’t coming in here with a plan, to be honest. It was originally, come in and open the door for these poor little animals, but I often forget how lazy mules are, and it doesn’t seem like they want to move. Not that they know any better, of course. Now I gotta get more creative, and, well.. I’m no good at that. I AM willing to use any abilities I need to to help out…. I uh.. I can make vines, and I can make webs. Geesh, I should work on that.” She sighs, reaching out her hand as vines slowly grow across her skin. “The vines are also very flammable… If that helps. Also my bow! Though I’m not sure how helpful that’ll be….” She adds, shrugging gently.

Vail breathes a small sigh of relief when Persie promises to exercise some amount of caution, despite her immature tone. Her ability to compromise meant she at least had some manner of sense behind her ambitions, her planning skills on the other hand, could use some work. He gives the woman an unimpressed look as she lays out her plan, or rather, lack thereof.

"Hmm, how unfortunate, if only you could solve all your problems through teasing." He replies with a smirk. "Luckily for you, I happen to be an expert when it comes to anonymous crimes. You have everything you need in order to set your fire without implicating yourself." He signals the woman to follow him as he walks towards the organizer's set up area. "There should be some manner of supply building around here somewhere, I'll get you inside. Your best bet will probably be an oil lantern. All you need to do is hang a couple lanterns with your vines, then make a flammable path below them to your target. Then you just need to snap the vines and gravity will take care of the rest."

He spots a haphazardly built shed, likely the result of some nobles trying to cut costs. He couldn't exactly blame them, after all, it's not like there is some grand treasure inside. He crouches down as he inspects the door's feeble locking mechanism, until a frown creeps across his face. A child could get in here if they really tried, this wouldn't be any fun.

He looks up the Persephone, still holding his frown. "Two questions. Do you have anything straight and thin, like a hairpin or feather? Also what are you going to give me if I do get this door open for you?"

Persie just couldn’t help but grin at the response. “Look at that! The man does have a sense of humor! I love it, and I would love to see more.” She replies, winking at him. She listens carefully as he explains the plan, nodding. It was simple, just like she wanted. Burn the shed down, and the rest should fall into place. So, as they looked around and saw the unfortunate shed, they were on the same page. They both headed towards it. She noted the look of disappointment as she pulled a hairpin out of her hair. “I would like to know your half of this plan as well. You know. In case something bad happens…?” She grins teasingly at him, though she did like this dude’s company, and actually did not want anything bad to happen



“I’m a girl, of course I have a hairpin.” She replies, offering it to him. When he finally asked about her repayment, she hummed loudly and then answered; “How about a kiss?” She replies, winking at him playfully. “Something like that. What would you want? I have no money, I’m just here to cause problems and have fun.” She shrugs. “I guess… I’ll owe you?”

Vail continues to examine the lock as Persie continues with her sarcastic remarks. "Of course I have a sense of humor, it's a rather important tool, especially when dealing with overly serious nobles."

The woman’s sudden curiosity strikes Vail as somewhat suspicious, although he took care not to show his concern. Instead, he looks at the woman with a confused glance. “I already told you, I’m going to take whatever I please from the nobles’ unsupervised carriages as everyone deals with your little fires. If things do start to go bad, I’ll try to put as much distance between myself and the flames as possible. If that doesn’t work, well…” His expression quickly darkens as his eyes narrow. “You could always shoot me. Have you ever done that before? Shot another person?"

His expression suddenly lightens as he snatches the hairpin from her, quickly angling it so it slides into the lock. "I don't plan on dying for something so paltry though, so I doubt it will come to that."

Persie's offer of repayment breaks through his serious demeanor, causing a rare shade of red to appear on the unscarred side of his face. He hastily shakes off the embarrassment as fiddles with the lock. "I don't know what I was expecting from some orphan girl in the woods. Whatever, we'll figure it out later."

With a sharp click^[1], the shed door slowly opens inward, revealing all manner of supplies. "Oil lanterns, spare wagon wheels, enamel paints; yeah this place will go up just like a funeral pyre." He turns to face his companion with a confident smirk. "Your turn."

---

[1]Lockpick

She grinned at his response to his part of the plan, and subsequently his question of whether or not she’s ever shot someone. What a silly question. Not one she was going to answer, of course, knowing his disdain for violence. She didn’t want to anger him, after all. Instead she just gave a faux pout. “Aw, darlin’. I would never hurt you!” That part was true, at least. She found him too entertaining, especially at his response to her suggestion of payment. Good Lord, it was so much fun messing with this boy! “I may be a poor orphan girl from the woods, but at least I know my worth.” Persie replied with a wink as she sauntered past him.



Without missing a beat, she raised her hand at the ground. It didn’t take long for vegetation to start growing, covering every surface, but leaving safe areas big enough for the two of them, or just her, as needed. “We won’t need to stick around,” she notes, quietly moving to grab the lantern and oil before it was eaten by the weeds and flowers. Glancing at the tattoos over her shoulder, she prepared the lanterns, and used the silk from the webs to hold them tightly suspended into the air until she was ready. It wasn’t difficult. Her part of the plan was simple. Once everything was ready, in a matter of around maybe 7 minutes, she stepped into the spot she had chosen, which had easy access to an escape as well. She pulled out her bow, and smiled over at Vail. “Let me know when you’re ready.” She finally says, nocking her bow.

---

Plant Growth, Arachno Priest Markings

While Persie might have had good intentions, the evasiveness of her answer served only to further annoy him. He faces the woman with a cold expression, a facade that is broken by the hint of sorrow in his eyes. "The unfortunate thing is… I can't guarantee that I won't hurt you."

The woman did have a trick or two up her selves. This vegetation will do nicely, and the webs were a smart edition. Everything was going according to plan until she asked for a signal from him. He looks at her with a confused glance as she preps her bow. "You registered for the race, didn't you? You will be the number one suspect if you don't participate at the very least. I'm participating as well, if only to draw suspicion away from me. Just set up a vine from here to the track, that way you can start this fire while still having an alibi."

He waves her over as he turns to face the racetrack. "Come along now, let's go accept our humiliating defeat with a bit of grace and a copious amount of reprisal." He starts walking with a confident grin, knowing that this wasn't exactly what she had planned, but having enough confidence in her to know she could pull it off.

"Once we are on the track, make a mental note of the vine's location. As the race starts a large amount of dust will be stirred up from the carriages, giving you an ample smokescreen to mask your shot. From there, we only need to continue the race for a short while. No one will find it suspicious if we concede when we have no hope of winning, and by then the fire will have grown a considerable amount before we are even off the track. It is a difficult shot, but you can do it, right?"