@Mazoku Northwitch. A place that was supposed to be completely safe from Mortamor's army. Too far out in nowhere to be bothered about. It had became an attractive prospect for villagers trying to take refuge when they heard the idea of it. But one look at it, and you could never tell that demons weren't here. No signs of destructions, but everything so aged and worn down. Gathered in the center is a herd of villagers who all look just dirty as the villains. There was a surprising mix of monsters in the crowds, from ghosts to drackys that nobody seemed concerned about. They were probably used to defectors from Mortamor's army, though they looked liked they had bigger concerns. Doesn't look like anyone here is having a good slime. The person in the center is more neatly dressed than the rest. Obviously, he's the one in charge. Which saves one problem. He was the one that this whole trip had been about to find. Supposedly, a count whose not truly human and lived far longer than a normal person should of. That was the stories. But sadly, it wasn't a clue about the Secret of Evolution. From the looks of it, he's probably just a vampire. Still. If he lived as long as people say, he must be pretty smart. The way he poses himself over the villagers really sets himself apart as intelligent. Of course...he's also still most likely a vampire. And from the way he stands so confidently, he's not a reluctant one either. "No more discussion of Estark's return. There is no proof." The crowd was already shouting over him before he even finished speaking, but his face was remaining stiff, undeterred by his apparent lack of popularity. "I saw it! The moon eating the sun! It's the end of days!" It was a common objection from the villagers all repeating the same thing, though he didn't look like he had any plans to soften his position. "No. The eclipse is a natural occurrence. It is nothing to be concerned about." He didn't really make any lengthy explanations or bother to explain himself, which seemed to hurt his speech to the locals. "mE HEARD. MOrTaMOR NOT LIKE EStark. MorTaMOR BAD. SO ESTARK VERY BAD. ESTARK COME." The cooper golem's voice boomed as it tried to formulate it's thoughts into intelligent conversation. Nobody had ever considered using a golem for their brains, but a lot of people understood his point. "Do not speak of this. We have our own problems to concern ourselves with. Those who spread panic to the town will be booted. Now. Go." He gave the order and while none of the village folk he commanded looked pleased or even accepting of his decision, they reluctantly started to disperse back to the stores and inns to carry on their business for the day.
@Tjf Puertto Valor. The humies pride themselves on this casino. It's a nice place. Full of alcohol and money to be made. The perfect place to look for work. Not to mention, it was one of the few places that welcomed the kind of muscle a troll would bring, but also appreciate one that at least could speak in full sentences and carry a conversation. Not that the human language was perfectly easy to grasp. And it varied from place to place making it even more annoying to get ahold of. Whatever the reason, this was the highlight of the port. It had a lot of ship and dock workers too that might have work, but they all used their shore leave here for one reason. This was the main source of tourism for their town. It might be a good place to find a job or relax...among other things. All the amazing things they provided also attracted bad elements. Weak criminals who needed to be in gangs to steal from people. Fat old scummy businessmen who made a big deal of the fact they only paid others to do their for them. More importantly, this is the kind of thing that monsterkind would flock too. If the rumors were true though, this wasn't something Mortamor would allow. Supposedly, he didn't allow any humans under his rule to have the slightest amount of fun. Anything that was this brightly colored would be destroyed by him. So it would attract loyalist who would want to smash it. Then the troll could simply smash them. The plan was perfect. But it would also probably be a place where those who didn't want to work for him would come too. If they didn't get the chance before, they would eat it up. Even if not, all these rich people meant getting in good with one could mean being set for life. Really. This place had just about everything people could want. "E-encantado de c...conocerle! Pleasure to meet you!" With a smile on her face, a blond girl in a tight dress did her best to ignore her stumbling over the foreign language, meaning even other humies didn't really get everything about how their language worked. She wasn't afraid of the troll though. But that might be because of the fact directly behind her sitting at the slot machines, were a few hammerhoods. The tiny brown things wore their masks and still carried their hammers, but nobody seemed to mind. Did they have any rules about weapons in here? Whatever the situation, she obviously wasn't too bothered with what must be a pretty uninteresting sight to her, though she still tried not to make direct eye contact for too long as if seeming to believe that might set the troll woman off, turning her attention to the surroundings behind her. "Drink? Slots? Dancers? Whatever you want, we have!"
The half troll slings her club over her shoulder and grunts, looking openly at the blonde's curves. "Get me a drink, a strong one. And tell me where to find work." Her sentences are short, but perfectly understandable, her voice gruff but still feminine.
The blond fidgets, looking a little uncomfortable with being stared at so overtly. "Uh...drink...sure! I can do that!" Remaining perky, she thought on the next request looking a little surprised. "Uh...I guess you should speak to the boss then...just let me..." Not finishing her response, she rushed over to the bar area talking to the person working it and was handed a dark brown bottle that she returned with. Offering it to the troll woman, she stepped aside to take a look at the upper floors. "I'll go let them now, you're looking to apply. If you want to just wait a bit, you can take your drink in the lounge." Making the suggestion, she hurried off saying something to the scrawny looking human guards posted outside the doorways as they moved aside and she moved to the upper area. After what was maybe around ten minutes or so, she stepped back out, locating the monster looking woman, but cautiously keeping a bit of distance seeming well aware of the risks an alcohol induced monster could bring. "Miss Vélez would like to meet you with you now."
Goobriella tapped the visor of her helmet with a finger, her head cocked and deep in thought, only listening with half an hear, she heard some variation of it before as it was nearly the sole topic in the town after all. Vampires sucked blood, but did they suck goo? She certainly hadn't heard of such things, but that didn't mean they didn't happen. Since slimes were all goo, they'd make for pretty good meals if that was the case. Her thoughts spun on in a similar manner until broken by the roiling voice of the golem standing next to her. Goobriella could feel the sound rumble through her glutnious body attempting to escape the confines of her armor. Taking a deep breath, she recomposed herself and placed a hand on the golem to reassure the monster. The armored glove patting the copper skin rang with a hollow, metallic sound. The golem's interjection had marked the end of the gathering as the presumed vampire lord sent everyone away soon after. Although she couldn't speak to how eclipses worked, they had occured before and the world was still here so they were probably a poor gauge for how close the apoca... end was. Looking around at the dreary place, they certainly had bigger immediate concerns. With a few of her own kin to absorb and break down some of the grime and dirt ingrained in the walls, and, frankly, the inhabitants, they'd be much happier. As goomps always said 'A clean house is a clean soul,' it was one few of the ones Goobriella understood so she made sure to remember it. Doing it alone would have her end up permantly as a Dark Slime she was sure however. Maybe she'd grow fangs like a vampire too. Oh, right... Goobriella called out to the dark handsome man who had stood at the center of the grumbling, but dispersing crowd. Jogging lightly until she stood at his side. "Can we talk?" Removing her helmet, regrowing her long hair that had been absorbed into her body, showing him she was a slime.
The half troll gives a grunt, seemingly her favoured form of communication, in affirmation, taking a swig of her drink. She indicates that the blonde should lead the way, and goes to follow, eyes trained on her ass. As they walk, she casually gives the guards a look, evaluating if any look attractive and/or strong.
The man had looked up from writing something in a pocket book he was carrying. "You're more equipped than a typical refugee." Looking at the slime girl, he didn't seem all that impressed by her, likely dismissing the idea a slime could be taken seriously as a fighter. "Regardless, we have no room left to speak of."
"Oh, I can live basically anywhere!" The knight chirpped happily, puffing out her chest in apparent pride of her low, low standards. "Beds and blankets are nice and all, but all I really need is a damp cave with a small pond of water to feel right at home." She sighed wistfully, then realizing she was starting to ramble and certain she could see a twitching vein on the man's forehead, Goobriella hurried to change the topic. "Anyway, I haven't goo here to escape Mortamor's henchmen, but to charge right at them! Like this! Like that!" She chopped with her arm, acting if she held the battered and chipped sword that was strapped to her belt and was fighting imaginary enemies. No matter how she looked, she had some skill as a swordsman and executed the imaginary battle with efficient and economical movements as she shifted between attack and parries well, but with room for improvement "Just have no idea were the sneaky buggers are. If I don't hurry then they might discover something about the Secret of Evolution and that be bad for all of us. But, I've heard you know a lot about this area, so might know where they could be." She shuffled with her feet, suddenly a little sheepish. "Umm, earlier. A lot of us monsters are scared, so please be patient with those who speaks about Estark. I guess you know a little of that though, being a scary vampire and all." She bit her tongue, holding back the question about if vampires sucked slime goo. Seemed rude to ask and ruin the mood, even if she really wanted to ask it. Her expression was hopeful as she turned it toward the man.
Most of the guards were full plate armor making it difficult to get a proper look at them. Most seemed to be just standard humans and nothing worth noting, except for the few monsters in the mix, namely one that sat at the lounge that looked strong even compared to other onis. He eyed Mogmak for a few seconds before looking back and observing the patrons, not getting up from where he was seated. The blonde walked to the door and knocked it on before opening it. "Miss Vélez? They're here." "Yes. Thank you, Holly." The woman's voice was cold and stiff, in that upper class tone. Just one of the tigers perched by her would be difficult to get ahold of, but she had a whole pack. Healthy, but currently treating everyone with disdain, but giving the impression that could easily change. The blond gave a quick nod and stepped out, leaving Mogmak alone with the aristocratic looking woman whose lips pursed as she was the applicant. "Oh." It didn't sound like she was surprised in a good way. "Not quite what Holly had me picture. I didn't even there were any female trolls." She sounded more surprised than worried in anyway. "Unfortunately, I don't need anymore guards. You've seen Ougha downstairs, haven't you? I'm not concerned about anyone making trouble. Any of the positions I do have available, I doubt would appeal to you. What I need is dancers or people who understand numbers. Any skills? References? You're at least, looking for long term employment, correct?"
He took a step backwards as she made her sword movements, but he quietly watched letting her finish her display. "...I believe you." Taking a somewhat renewed look at her, his face quickly flashed to annoyance when she brought up the eclipse. "It's not a sign of anything! It's a natural thing!" Clearing his throat, he went back to looking more prim. "If I WERE a vampire, then naturally, I must have been around for quite a while. And if that was the case, I'd have seen this happen before. Each and every time, people always think it means the end of the world and it never is. Aside from that, one of my colleagues has made research that suggest the earth actually revolves around the sun. After peer review, I'm inclined to agree. The eclipse is nothing more than just a byproduct of the earth's rotation." It was a kind of outlandish notion for the well spoken vampire to bring up, but he had a serious look on his face that meant he believed it. Which meant he might actually be just crazy. "More importantly, Mortamor's demons. Those are a real thing and an actual problem. They don't come this far out of their territory in groups, but we are already running low on space and food. It's not an issue for me, but the villagers still need to eat and if I just turned the entire population that would just leave us with a blood shortage. What we need is a sustainable food source. A friend of mine is working on something like that, though it's been a while since I've heard any progress updates and it's too far too travel for me without risking being openly exposed to the sun. Not to mention, I've already caught an imp trying to break into my own lab."
Not entirely clueless, the slime woman winked knowingly at him when she heard the emphasis he put on 'were.' Being a vampire was a secret. She blinked a few more times when she heard what followed, although for an entierly different reason. The earth was spinning? Goobrielle looked at him as if he was insane, then she checked the ground just to make sure since he sounded very certain and knowledable. No, it was still, um, still and not rotating. A spinning earth, the virtigo would be awful. At least they agreed that the eclipse had nothing do with the end of the world, so they had something in common and Goobriella voiced her agreement. She listened on. The dietary needs of vampires did intrigue her, but... no, probably not the time to bring up the questions she still had at the tip of her tounge. Unless his partner's research had something to do with slime. Since they were researching vampire food, might just be better to ask the friend directly instead of the man standing before her. His comments about spinning and rotating moons, earths and suns had hurt her trust in his expertise after all. "Well, if you're worried about developing a skin rash if you have to be in the sun for too long," playing along with his pretense about not being a vampire, her voice a little louder than it strictly needed to be, "suppose I can talk with your friend for you." Must be something important, especially since he seemed to imply the imp was affiliated with Mortamor. And if the Demon King or one of his lieutenants were interested, then so was she. Her voice became hushed. "If your friend's research is successful, you would turn everyone here into a vampire? Wouldn't be any issues with food then, right?" Goobriella sounded more curious than accusatory. Humans becoming monsters could help both of them understand each other better, so she wasn't intrinsically against a plan like that.
"Nothing like that. I'd rather not give just anyone my powers and let them run off to do whatever. Our current focus is sustaining mortal needs. The golems aren't too bright, but they don't need to eat. Human villagers on the other hand, do. Growing our own food is relatively simple. But the soil here isn't exactly favorable to develop farmland. Healthy soil would contain generous amounts of Nitrogen and Phosphorus to say the least, be a bit more of a natural color and sustain plant roots..." He continued to describe it in some detail though it wasn't the easiest to follow. It seemed like he knew what he was talking about anyway. "I don't know what her plan is exactly, but she's devising a way to make it much easier to mass farm. I haven't had the time to see her project for myself. I've been mostly focused on examining mental behavior lately....it's interesting. I discovered evidence that suggest some aggressive species may actually be influenced by physical reactions in their biological makeup rather than be a simple personality quirk." He was talking a lot more when related to subjects he cared about, though his face didn't really change much either while discussing them. "I'm not sure of what good any of it is to demons, but I'm quite sure that if they want it, they should not have it."
As she walks, Mogmak gives the oni a smirk and poses her body so he can see her curves. Whilst she doesn't intentionally try to flaunt the rules of propriety, the half-troll's upbringing means that she doesn't quite understand them, even after her time among humans. Clearly, she likes what she sees, though she's unsure yet whether she'd prefer to fight him or take him to bed. As they enter the room, she holds back a groan at the sight of the stuck up aristocrat. As she listens to the woman drone on, she switches her accent and vocabulary to something a little more classy and highfalutin, though she doesn't try incredibly hard as the woman has likely already judged her, and Mogmak couldn't care less what some stuffy parasite thinks of her. "Female trolls generally look like the males. I'm half human." She supresses a grin as the woman likely has a moment of confusion trying to understand how a human and troll could even procreate safely. "If you're not in need of a warrior, then I think I'm wasting your time. Pardon me, should've done a better job e-el-elucidatin' what I wanted to your subordinate." The troll gives a chuckle. "I dance, but not well enough for people to pay to watch. I know maths, but really only the basics. No ariseme- arigme- arithmetic, or anything." Seeing that this is likely pointless, Mogmak turns and begins to walk out.
Velez didn't stop from her leaving, saying nothing as the troll left, she could see Holly standing out near the door who seemed to have been trying to partially eavesdrop a bit, but quickly scramble to go address customers in the vip lounge of the upper floor. As she made her way out, down the stairs to the lobby, she could see the giant red oni who had been just sitting waiting at the end of the stairs, standing with his arms crossed. "She gave you the speech, didn't she? But she's right, isn't she? No work experience and no real school education to speak of, right? She might be a bit uppity, but doesn't mean she's actually wrong. But hey. Just because she doesn't need any new hires, doesn't mean I don't. And if you don't fuck it all up, then I can vouch for you about getting you some decent work. Not a bad deal, right?"
Mogmak looks up at the oni. "Yup." She doesn't see much need to elaborate on what happened beyond that word. "What work would you have me doing?" She looks at him slightly suggestively.
"Alright, you want in, then? It's simple. I'm Ougha. I'm the guy that gets things done around here. Everyone knows that. And when some dipshit thinks he can push me and my boys around, I don't like it. I'm still on the clock, so I can't go do anything about it, right this second. But I'm not looking to just have him beat up. If that's what I wanted, I'd just get my regular guys to do it. Guy's name is Aldis. Real piece of shit. He thinks it's cute to sell fake potions to travelers. It isn't. I want him dragged to a nice quiet place so I can get nice and personal, after work." Ougha definitely had the sadistic grin of an oni and it didn't take much imagination to assume what he intended to do. Across the distance in the corner of her eye, she could catch the blond frowning a bit towards the oni and Mormak's conversation with him, but not interjecting.
@Daylan Leviathys The village's name made a perfect amount of sense. A fishing community that was based around the water and more importantly, known for the plants that developed into impossible sizes. Some called it a marvel of nature. While the village was simple, it had it's far share of scholars coming to observe the plant life for themselves baffled at how it was possible for ordinary plants to grow so well. Thus, the town was divided between the simple fishing village and the scholars who had set themselves up there, calling themselves some kind of Ivy League. They didn't really interfere with the work of the villagers though and while people wondered what they had to get up to, that wasn't usually a problem. Lately, however, it seemed as the monsters had gotten more desperate and attacks were becoming more frequent. A few of the villagers started accusing the League of being up to some shady experiments attracting the monsters, but there wasn't much proof of it. They kept mostly to themselves and had always been friendly with the villagers, but it couldn't be denied they were a little odd. Supposedly, it was just a normal school with a focus on plant life though nobody in the village could afford to attend. Except... "Alright....I got it. Math is....really boring." Diana was always like this. She was one of the few people that had a rich enough father to afford putting her through school, but she seemed to spend most of her time complaining about the classes being too hard. Not that anyone doubted she was probably one of the smartest people in the village. She just never had much interest in actually doing anything with it. She'd rather hunt or gather like the rest of the village, but most of them had gotten unceasingly cold to her since she joined the school and she started to act the same way to most, other than the one who couldn't say back, whether he wanted to or not. Getting up from her seat, she had been friends long enough to read Yuuto's facial expressions despite the lack of speech, looking at him for some kind of answer. "What's the point in studying anyway? I'm never going to use this and it's not like I need it for a job. I'm just gonna grow up to be a fisher like everyone else anyway. Why couldn't I have had your job? You get to go and slay dragon and beat up the demon king....I don't get why they don't just let you do that now, though. Yeah, Mortamor isn't Estark, but he's still a jerk, right? Shouldn't they just let you go kick his ass? Why are we just waiting around for Estark to wake up when we don't even know if he's actually real? I don't know about some giant bug monster, but that creepy old man is real. What's the point in just waiting around when we already got an actual demon king out doing bad things?"
Mogmak gives the blonde a curious look, before turning back to Ougha. "I can do that. You want it done quietly, or can I just bash him?" After he answers, she then inquires "And my pay? What do I get for procuring this shit for you?"
“However, it happens, it happens. Though if he dies before I get my hands on him, I’m gonna get mad. I only pay for results. How’s 2,500G sound?”
"Mad? What, you gonna punish me? Maybe I should kill him." The troll chuckles. "Don't worry. He'll live. Tell me where to find him, and where to bring him, and I'll have him there, waiting for you. Also, any information you can give me on this guy would be helpful."
