Work Text:
“I guess you must mean me,” replied Adrian noting the familiar look, “You must be Biggs's sister, Wildy right? He says hi.” he said, passing on the greeting.
The small ferret raised her hands partly in the air before pointing two fingers at Adrian, “Oh, YOU must be that Being my brother got all worked up about on the phone,” she said still looking agitated. Wildy looked the guy up and down, and aside from the flashy armour she didn't see what was so special that Biggs made him out to be an 'intriguing' fellow. “Whatever, you need to take your shiny backside outside and deal with that problem that's there.” she told him.
Adrian and Pyroduck looked at each other, both sharing in the same confusion in the vague demand that was just put under the Creator's nose. Adrian then asked, “Um, care for some elaboration there?”
“Oh you want elaboration?” said a sarcastic toned Wildy, “How about the part they threatened to burn down the Inn, if you didn't come out in ten minutes? Is THAT enough for you?”
“What was that!?” bellowed out Alexsi in a shocked tone from across the other side.
Reaching out his senses, Adrian did touch upon someone outside, with a rather powerful Aura at that. But not one that he rightly recognised, yet there was something odd about it, fluctuations he never encountered in another. And there was nothing about them he could pin down to as why they occurred, “Did they say who they were? What did they look like?” he asked glancing towards the door, who in this short order would know of his existence already he wondered.
“No, and beats me,” snapped Wildy, “But I suggest you go out there, because if he does try something that stupid I'm going to wring his neck and then YOURS. Got it, pal?” she said threateningly. This place was a second home to Wildy, attacks on the Inn were something she took personally.
Without another word, Adrian made his way to the exit, passing by Alexsi as she stormed her way to the others. “Wildy, that's no way to talk to my customers!” she chided, upset at Wildy's behaviour. A few pranks or a few scuffles with Dan may have been one thing, but threatening a customer so seriously, was worrying even for her.
“I'm sorry Alexsi,” apologised Wildy and with a jabbing motion of her hands towards the leaving armoured Being, she waited until he was finally out of ear shot before continuing her rant, “But when someone threatens this place, to my face no less. It makes me a little more than aggravated, and that guy apparently has trouble following him, it doesn't need to come HERE.”
Alexsi however saw it in a different light, although she was appreciative of Wildy's protective instincts that was still no way to talk to someone. Pyroduck allowed them to talk it out for now and wandered over to one of the Inn windows. Indeed there had been someone waiting at the end of the path leading to the Inn, an elaborately clothed individual dressed in an assortment of different shades of red, blood, crimson, accented with gold. A mask hid their face, so he had no clue to the race or identity of the individual.
How strange, considering an earlier topic, it was any wonder if this may have been the Red Baron that was mentioned by Alexsi - if the colours they wore had anything to say about it. Coincidence? That wasn't something Pyroduck believed in, coincidences were merely an elaborate accident. Unable to hear the conversation from here, he merely observed for the time being.
“Now, I remember you, somewhat anyway...” said the Baron scratching the underside of his chin as he looked upon this wearer of brilliant silver Armour. Even the symbol that had been mentioned by Callis was present on the plate, and it had not been one he had seen outside of his own research materials for a long time.
Adrian slowly massaged his hands in his own palms, feeling an uncomfortable radiance from the Barons Aura, the closer he got to it, the more abstract it became to read, “Why do I get the feeling I should know you already?” he asked but in truth did not recognise anything physically about this individual. “You must be the Red Baron I gather?”
The Baron laughed quietly, “That is perhaps one name I have been called yes, you are... Adrian, Adrian Kino, yes?” Adrian did not reply, only stared back at him, “But of course you are, it would make sense after all if you are in possession of that armour. I knew your father Adrian.”
“Really? Knew, as in had prior knowledge.”
“He is dead, I am afraid.”
“I don't believe you.”
“They call me the Red Baron,” he introduced motioning to his attire, “Alas I am but an inheritor of the title, your father passed it to me at the time of his death.”
When Adrian thought about it, some of the colour scheme of this stranger did match that of what his father used to wear too. But then colours were little more than that, nothing else, “Who are you, really then?” he demanded to know if it was not his father under that mask.
“I am called Brelioro.” he replied introducing himself and them provided a very elegant bow with his arm, “A pleasure it is to meet a Creator.”
This person knew an awful lot about him, and it gave Adrian a chill. Not even a day in Furrae and already it felt like he was under the microscope. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved... or worried that some knowledge of the Creators still existed. The Aura he stared at however, suggested discretion was a better use of his thoughts.
“I no doubt believe your daughter would be thrilled to see you are well,” added the Baron and then chuckled when Adrian reacted defensively reaching for one of the strange glowing units on his person. A defensive posture, “Come now, why the hostile reaction, I come not with the intent to fight.” he said fanning his arms towards and then to the sides, “It would be a shame to damage such a beautiful, quaint, little Inn.”
“Where is my daughter?” growled Adrian.
“She is close.”
“Where!?”
“...You are not ready for the answer.” replied the Baron sternly his posture tightening up with a gentle clench of his hands into fists. “She is safe, that much I can say, the question is... how compromised are you?” he directed with a point of his finger.
“The hell is that supposed to mean.”
“Tell me, Adrian, are you familiar with the Cubi yet?”
“What if I am?”
The Baron chuckled, “Well, it matters not, I already know given where you have been already.”
Adrian flicked off a hand to one side, “You like to talk a lot of nonsense don't you.” he berated.
“Then here are some facts for you, Adrian,” snapped the Baron, “The Cubi are the reason for your daughter's condition, I aim to see an end to the ones responsible. Surely as her father, you would seek the same?”
“You won't even give me a straight answer!” blasted back Adrian, unable to comprehend the gall of this stranger that just seemingly knew too much. WHY was his Aura the way it was, how did they know so much about he and the Creators, nothing was making sense. “How can I be expected to trust you if you won't even tell me where she is, or what is wrong with her?”
“Trust, is a difficult thing in this world,” replied the Baron.
“Throw me a bone here then,” stated Adrian then suddenly a book was tossed in his direction in landed midway between himself and the Baron with spread pages, the wind gently blowing a few of the pages over. “A book...? That's your best effort?”
“Read it, it is in your best interest.” replied the Baron and turned away, taking a few steps along the path to depart.
“You're not going anywhere, not until you give me some better answers,” demanded Adrian and took a few steps after him, until a sudden chill struck his spine, a tingling familiar sensation struck the back of his mind, as fear stopping him in his tracks.
Coming to a stop he scoffed, “Really now, so impulsive that- ngh,” then the Baron clutched his head pressing his palm against his forehead underneath the mask, a small lock of blonde hair fell through the gap but he quickly pushed it back into place. “Hmm, you have not changed it seems, that girl was always your biggest weakness. But alas, I leave you with a decision, pursue me and seek your answers... or...”
Sharp screeches split the air, like metal grinding against a blade, it was an unusual sound that Pyroduck heard as he saw Adrian whirl back around to view the Inn. Only to become startled as a black figure suddenly jumped down before the window and then sprang forward into the open. Not just one, but four of them.
“Pyroduck what's wrong?” asked a concerned Alexsi hearing Pyroduck's yelp of surprise.
Before Adrian was four... insect like creatures, a species or race he had never encountered. Although each of them offered a difference in their physical appearance, they all shared a black / bluish scheme with a vacant yellow glow in their eyes. Yet all of them shared the familiar Aura... or lack of one he feared to encounter again.
“Or...” continued the Baron his voice growing distant as he departed the area, “Leave my 'friends' to enjoy their time at the Inn, I am sure they will have a wonderful time.”
He heard nothing more from the Baron as his aura drew further and further away, this was obviously a baited trap, they KNEW as a Creator Adrian wouldn't allow Hollows to roam unchecked. Clenching his fists, the sight of them made him seethe, worse they were following orders from someone who wasn't even remotely a member of the remnants, this was starting to make less and less sense.
The book... that was his only clue now.
First he had to deal with these bug like Hollows, fortunately they were more focused on him than the Inn, so he only had to worry about defending himself. Adrian had no time to draw a weapon as one of the creatures lunged at him with frighting speed, a number of talons bearing down on him. Although sharp looking, they were still no match for the defence of his armour as he parried with one arm and then hooked with a counter attack, slamming his fist into the attackers head. A horrid snap sounded in the air as the bug like creature saw its hard shell cracked and shattered, stumbling back from the force of the blow.
One after the other, the rest attacked in their own fashions, swipes, claws, lunges and leaps. Although quick, it was clear they didn't have the strength to match with their blows, were it not for the armour surely Adrian would've felt more than one cut across his limbs as he deflected the attacks as they came. His fighting style wasn't elegant, but not without form, a mixture of grace but tempered with the brutality of a straight up brawler.
Catching the attack of one aggressor, he flipped the creatures weight against them and sent it sailing into one of its own allies. A sharp spin and a swipe of his arm he close lined another sending them with a flip before crashing into the ground despite its feral like pounce. Then with a short dash and a leap, Adrian brought down an overhead smash of his own onto the fourth, sounding another vicious crunch, a sharp kick followed and finally a blast of fire, weaved from the hottest flame he could muster engulfed the creature.
Set in flames the creature fell backwards, but it did not crash to the floor, for along with the flames it dispersed into a crumbling dust and ash dispersing along the grassy ground. As such was the nature of Hollows, nothing more than a shell of their former selves.
A force crashed against Adrian as one of the remaining three jumped onto him, their attacks became more aggressive and less survival focused. A second also leapt at him while he was still holding the first at bay. The third he sensed closing fast from behind, until a sudden force slammed down on top of it with a crash and squishing into the ground with a crunch.
A large brown claw then suddenly scooped up one of the remaining two Hollows as a brown scaled dragon intervened. Pyroduck, seeking to protect the Inn and its guests from whatever these things were, easily caught one of the Hollows, then with a tight snap of his wrist he crushed it within his palm and threw the motionless remains in to the nearby forest. He then checked on Adrian to see if he still required assistance, but only witnessed the Being slamming his fist down onto the head of the last one, shattering it between the ground and his knuckles. Like the others, its body crumbled to dust with no longer any means to sustain its form.
“Are you okay, Adrian?” asked Pyroduck, retaining his full dragon form. No longer concerned for threats, he kept a watch on the particularly aggravated Being. Without a reply Adrian approached the book thrown to the ground by the unusual visitor and snapped it up.
“Yeah... peachy,” he finally said clutching the book between his fingers, it was narrow, perhaps only twenty pages big if even that. Some of the pages looked even hastily stitched together as if someone was in a hurry to compile its contents. Sighing, Adrian looked up to the dragon whom bore a casual smile, appearing unfettered by what he just dealt with. Then again, they weren't the most powerful hollows Adrian had ever encountered. “Is Alexsi okay?” he asked.
“She's fine,” assured the dragon looking to the Inn, “Wildy had to keep her from coming out here to help with her mallet, don't let Alexsi's look fool you, she's capable.” he said and padded at the area where he squashed the first of those creatures, there was nothing left to suggest it existed, even the dust it had crumbled into was little more than particles blown about in the wind. “I'm going to guess you and whomever that was, don't get along.”
“Seems that way...”
Adrian glanced over the fronts and back of the book again before turning his way back towards the Inn. Pyroduck quickly joined him, reverting back to his smaller Being-like shape. Pressing their way inside one after the after, the dragon gave one last long look to be sure nothing else was ready to attack. They were greeted by Alexsi, mallet in hand and appearing relieved they were unharmed. Wildy however kept a suspicious stare upon Adrian, holding a crooked staff with a pair of feathers attached to the end hanging over the back of her shoulders.
“Thank goodness you're both alright.” said Alexsi, letting the head of mallet drop down to the floor and rest against the wooden boards, “What were those things, Pyroduck? They looked like Insceti.”
“I don't think so Alexsi,” said Pyroduck shaking his head, although he was only vaguely familiar with the race during his travels. “They looked like them, but something was very off.”
“They're called Hollows, at least that's what I know them as.” added Adrian.
“Why am I not surprised YOU know what they are 'shiney'.” snapped Wildy, directing a lazy finger at him from her staff. The moment she had laid eyes upon this guy the ferret could already tell this was the kind of trouble that you didn't want to get involved in. “Well then, enlighten us.”
Adrian gave a long groan mixed with a sigh, he flicked at the switch under his cheek bone, causing his helmet to draw back again. Brushing back his hair he grunted, “It would take far too long to explain, but, you are right Pyroduck, they were... whatever this race was you called them. WERE, Hollows are things that have lost nearly all connection to the world around them.” he explained, noticing the ferret now had a cock-eyed and surprised expression at seeing his appearance, a detail Biggs didn't mention apparently. Ignoring the sharp stare he continued, “The result is something that becomes little more than a drone with limited creative thinking, usually controlled by someone else.”
“Why did they look like Inscetis?”
“Because Hollows can take on the form of anything that loses itself to despair and loss.” answered Adrian, scratching at the bridge of his nose. It was something he witnessed far too often occur, when people lost hope they turned to their darkest emotions and then let it hollow them out. “They don't share emotions or reasoning, they gave up so much that they let someone else Hollow them out into something else.”
Alexsi appeared shocked, “Wait, is this a willing process?” she asked.
“...Unfortunately.”
“Gods, that's horrible.”
“Huh, you know what as well,” said Wildy, rubbing the tip of her chin with the length of her index finger, she appeared dangerously in thought her eyes cast to the side. “I think this isn't the first time these things have been seen.”
“You encountered a Hollow before, Wildy?” asked Adrian.
“Not personally, but I read about it in a guild report,” she replied with a short shake of her head and then scratched both sides of her cheeks to ward off an uncomfortable itch, still her gaze cast to one side. She then shot it directly at Adrian, “An Adventuring Guild filed something a while back, a group encountered an Angel that was reported missing earlier in the month, same physical appearance, but, he looked all black, grey and dull with yellow glowing eyes.”
“They encountered a Hollow, Wildy,” said Adrian stating the obvious.
“You don't say,” snapped the ferret, “That thing killed two of the group before the remaining two managed to deal with it, they too reported it had an emotionless... Hollow state. The guild just filed it under some kind of mental control.”
“Well, I'm glad Pyroduck could help you out Adrian, it was fortunate a dragon was nearby,” smiled Alexsi, reiterating her relief the two of them were safe.
Adrian however felt uncomfortable in the aforementioned company, even with the polite thumbs up he provided to show his willingness to step in. If only he knew about the dragon he encountered just a day ago, and the end it had to put to it. Given that Pryoduck was a stark contrast to the previously deceased one, it was good evidence that not all Dragons were quick to challenge in spite of Biggs's warning. “Mm, can't say I'm fond of involving others in my problems, but thanks.” he said.
“No problem,” he waved off modestly, there was never any reason he needed to assist someone in need, danger or not. As a Dragon few things matched to his somewhat youngling nature of his species, but what he lacked in raw power he made up for in wisdom, “What did that robed guy want anyway? You sure you don't know him?” he asked.
“Positive...?” shrugged Adrian unsure himself, normally even with a disguise he would be able to pick out familiar auras he encountered before. It was sort of another way of remembering a name to a face, but in this case, not so much with the distorted Aura. “He seems to know me, but I have no idea who he is but he called himself the Red Baron.”
“The Red Baron?” perked up Alexsi, a little startled by the coincidence, “Wait, did you not meet Callis on the road to the Inn you said? She claimed her employer was named as such.”
“Well he said it was just a title that he... inherited...” paused Adrian still put off by the stranger's claim to his father's passing. He still didn't buy into it, not one bit, there had to be a mistake but he knew for definite that the current Baron was not his father. Adrian would never forget his father's Aura, “In fact he claimed his name was actually Brelioro, again, never heard of it before.”
The silence from the others didn't hold any hope they knew either, remembering he still had the book in his hand Adrian brought it up to eye level. The tattered red cover was littered with scratches and marks but was still firm enough to provide protection. Honestly, Adrian didn't even want to bother looking through it, tossed to him by a man with bold claims, yet it was the only clue he had been left with.
“I hope you won't mind if I stick around a while longer, sorry I brought this trouble to you Alexsi.” apologised Adrian, dropping the book to his side. She smiled and shook her head, forgiving appeared to be in her nature.
“You aren't the first to bring trouble here Adrian, I doubt you'll be the last,” she assured, waving off her hand to show she didn't care; treating customers well and ensuring they were safe were Alexsi's main concerns. “If you need anything that we can help with just ask, okay?”
“Say... Alexsi,” said Wildy glancing around expecting to see a certain friend of hers storming into the bar by now, “Where did Dan go anyway?”