When Arianna pulled the shotgun’s trigger, it was the first time she had killed in a very, very long time. In fact it was something she promised she would never do again. In the olden days she would have simply wiped it clean off the face of existence as all knew it with a swipe of her claw. However, with her right arm mostly out of commission, she was left with less elegant solutions to the problem.
She had just exited the general store after a small shopping spree in which she was beginning to be thankful for all that time in Whittyre, as well as the lessons Leatanna gave her. It allowed her to carefully select which firearms were most appropriate, and which were just junk. She had gone to the store after lunch, after running into the man Hunter had run into from Chrysalis. His name was Keith, and he managed to explain to her what exactly might be happening in town. He had seemed calm and rational, so it was probably in her best interest to believe him. She agreed to help them immediately, offering to go procure some supplies. He gave her the money Hunter had lent him before heading off to an unknown destination. Luckily the line of credit she had gotten vis-a-vis Hunter at the store was still good as well, so she ended up splurging on the firearms.
A black robed figure was upon her immediately, rushing down on her and screaming in strange tongues. She was able to pick one word out though, thanks to her conversation with Keith… Nultros. She actually had initially tried to use her right arm’s power, but it could still barely move, much less attack. When her back hit a wall she dropped the things she was carrying before she ducked out of the way, allowing the man or woman, to smack right into the wall as if it didn’t even see it. It turned to her and sized her up once again, preparing to charge. She looked around for her spear, but it was on the far side of the alley. The closest weapon she could see was the shotgun, which lay at the person’s feet. It was strange that it didn’t move to grab it, but the person was obviously not in their right mind.
When it charged again, Arianna ducked out of the way once again, diving for the shotgun. She even had ample time to load it as the black robed figure turned around to find her once again. She had a few seconds to realize what she was doing, and all at once it depressed her. It didn’t stop her from pulling the trigger though.
The bark of the shotgun stood out heavily against the silence of the streets. The shot probably echoed all the way to the edge of town. Oddly, there were no cries of surprise, no lights turning on, nor were there people heading outside to see. All there was was a voice coming from the shadows behind her.
“Miss, you are aware that murder is a capital crime, yes?”
Arianna immediately turned and raised the shotgun at the source of the voice. What made her pause was the second oddity she had seen that night. Dressed completely in non-descript gray robes, it’s face covered by a gray cloth as well, the figure that stepped out had an imposing aura that Arianna rarely felt. All the more surprising given that Arianna stood almost a foot taller than the newcomer. She had to stay on her toes.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I am the Capuchin. It is my duty to bring people like you to justice.”
The voice was gender-neutral, as well as eerily calm and reasonable, yet there was a certain strength and power behind it.
“Will you be lowering your weapon?” it asked simply. There was no trace of a threat, but Arianna had a good idea
what would happen if she didn’t, so she complied for now.
“Are you the vigilante that showed up in the past week or so?”
“Yes.”
“Then do you know Keith Chiemi?”
It seemed to pause. “How do you know that name?”
All at once the Capuchin seemed a snake coiling to strike, so she dropped the shotgun in order to prevent a misunderstanding. “I met him today. He explained to me the situation regarding your group and Nultros. My companion and I have agreed to help.”
It was silent for a long moment before it spoke again. “Mr. Chiemi is not one to give secrets out lightly. What exactly qualifies you to help?”
Arianna was beginning to get annoyed, and she pointed to the black robed figure that had assaulted her. “You must have seen it attacking me. Whatever or whoever that was, that was nothing. Just trust me on this. We’re the same as you. We just want to go home. Just let us help you.” she replied sternly.
The Capuchin nodded. “I see. I cannot accept such help lightly, but if you insist, I suppose I cannot stop you.” It began to walk away before Arianna stopped it.
“Hold on. Take this.” Arianna lifted the shotgun off the ground and shoved it into the Capuchin’s arms. “You’re unarmed. You’ll need this.”
“The Capuchin needs to weapons, Ms…?”
“Lanathan. Arianna Lanathan.”
“I have taken down demons and monsters, even fought Nultros without the aid of such weapons. It is of no use to me.”
“I can say the same. But as you probably realized, whatever power you had where you were from is not effective here. Just take it. You know how to use it, right?”
Again the Capuchin paused and seemed to consider the offer more seriously. It took a while before finally deciding. “I do. Keith was very proficient with crossbows back home, so he sought out weapons such as these when we arrived here.”
Arianna moved to her bag, which still lay where it had fallen out of her arms. She procured the ammunition for the gun and handed that to the Capuchin as well. It slowly reloaded the weapon with unsure hands, but it did not make a mistake. It slipped the box of ammunition under its robes before turning its head quickly, looking in the direction of approaching footsteps.
It was a bearded old man, and he was frantically flagging them down. He and he alone seemed to have noticed the ruckus. He also appeared to be on his last legs as he neared them, collapsing to his knees once he arrived. He looked to the Capuchin, speaking between heaving breaths.
“You… vigilante… yes?”
The Capuchin nodded. “I am the Capuchin. Are you in danger, sir?”
He shook his head frantically. “Yes… no… not anymore. Woman attacked… Nultros… Just got back from God knows where…”
The Capuchin and Arianna looked at each other. Arianna shrugged. She had no idea who the man was.
“Who are you?” the Capuchin asked.
“My name is… Norman Withers… I work… for the University,” the man paused, seeming to finally catch his breath, “I’ve been looking into the rumors about people from another world, as well as an evil that’s been lurking around the city. I was just attacked at the historical society by a woman claiming to be working for a being called Nultros… it was talking to someone else though? Someone who wasn’t even there. Said his name was Ashland.”
The Capuchin double-took at the name. “That is the name of one of my companions. Do you know what happened to him?”
The old man shook his head. “No. He wasn’t there. The woman attacked me and chased me to the basement and… well, long story short she is dead. I was pulled into some weird place… some other planet I even think, but I don’t know if that was real or not.”
“It was most likely real, Mr. Withers. I do not know what you are trying to do, but you would be safer leaving this matter to us.” It turned back to Arianna. “Ms. Lanathan, I thank you for your help and commend your efforts. Do not be overzealous in your pursuits though. I wish you luck.”
“Wait…!” the old man cried, but no sooner had he said that had the Capuchin merged back into the shadows, leaving him alone with Arianna, who began explaining everything to him in further detail.
The gunshot that rang out to the north a few minutes later was ominous indeed.
