Ashes of the Fallen

Separating the meat from the hide caused a small piece of fat to flick off into the distance as the girl jumped back in disgust, clearly too close for her comfort. "Um, I'm kind of lost," she explained with slight hesitation as she slowly backed away from me, clearly unsure of what to make of the entire situation. "Do you think you could, when you're done with your work that is, uh, like show me the way to the nearest town?"

After finishing her statement she made a cutesy pose and winked, trying a bit too hard for my tastes. Not bothering to stop slicing, I simply turned my head slightly so as to eye her better. Wild beauties didn't randomly appear in the depths of a forest, especially one this far north.

I was a bit suspicious of her, as I was of all strangers that traveled out here.

Her gear was suspect, too.

Trendy brown leather boots that flared out with lace boot cuffs at the edge, leather short-shorts dyed blue, and a white linen halter top shirt to complete the look. Sleeveless with an abundance of cleavage being shown, along with the bare midsection, all screamed foreigner. Foreign, to the North that is… she had a modern style, more appropriate in the Central Kingdoms.

Suspicious, this one is, I said silently while nodding to myself in agreement.

"Ah, straight west of here there is a village but you won't find much that way," I began to explain as I looked for the position of the sun. "You won't make it before nightfall, not to any village honestly. Did you have a place in mind?"

Standing up and walking over to a small stream, I cleaned my tools and hands and turned my attention back towards the fashionable beauty that had mysteriously appeared. A redhead with a large chest, ample curves, and a barely-there six-pack while retaining some more exotic features, especially the eyes… yeah, she was heavily altered.

There was no doubt in my mind about that.

That wasn't her real appearance, not by a longshot.

"Oh, is that like, how it is?" she stated more than asked as she started to tap her chin repeatedly with her index finger. Then, as if she had come to a conclusion, she placed a closed-fist into an open hand with a sort of ah-hah! feeling to it. "So like… if the nearest town is that far, where are you going to spend the night?"

Letting out a singular muffled ha, I smiled at her while thinking of her angle.

She wanted to tag along, and I guess that wasn't terrible.

"Well, I was in the middle of a hunt," I replied honestly while rolling up the fresh hide. "I don't mind you tagging along, but I'll have to ask again, where are you going?"

"Secret! hehe," she giggled out, oblivious to the fact that I wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, well head west for about thirty miles and you'll run into the village of Andal, it's a small one but the largest of its kind around here. Further north are the Triangle Villages, I don't suggest wasting your time going there though. You won't find anything except a handful of shacks and poor villagers."

"Can't I just uhm, tag along with you? You said that was okay, right?" she asked seriously, while locking eyes with me. "You aren't from those villages, right?"

She was either a conniving individual or sharper than she appeared, or both.

I wasn't sure, but I didn't trust her.

"I was from one of the Triangle Villages, actually," I answered honestly yet again, if not a bit misleading in practice though. "That's why, as a fellow player, save your time."

Wishing to distance myself from the girl, I grabbed my pack and began my trek to the east. I wanted to find new creatures, not new women. Plus, she threw me for a loop, being so trendy and alone this far north was peculiar. A girl like her was almost expected to have a flock of friends or male followers lingering nearby.

She had that sort of air about her.

"Ah! You aren't leaving me are you!?" she yelled as she started to hurriedly walk after me. Catching up to me, she puffed her cheeks as she looked at me, feigning some anger as she playfully hit me on the shoulder.

"That's not fair! You said I could tag along!"

Glancing to the side as I continued to walk, I started to grin a little.

I felt like teasing her.

"Oh, but I'm not heading to a town dear," I said with a fake frown.

"Not ever?" she questioned with a pout, clearly practiced with her responses.

"Hmm, not for a while, no," I said with a shrug. "I'm going to hunt… for at least a day, maybe two if I feel like it, then I'll consider heading to a village."

"But I'm lost!" she exclaimed while throwing her hands up in the air like a child. "Won't you like, show little ole me the way? Take me with you; it's scary out here alone!" Pouting and pretending to be sad, she was a master at her craft. If I didn't have more attractive women waiting for me in Dragon's Breach, I might have been tempted.

"Ah I don't know. You don't really want to head north, trust me."