"Again thankyou Fluttershy for washing my clothes." You say while attaching your two Bone Charms that you had on you
"Your welcome Corvo but, can you tell me where you're going?"
Should you tell her about the Outsider? Or should you just lie? It seems to be impossible to lie right infront of her face. Mabey you can just irk the sentance. Yeah! That'll work.
Turning around you face her and tell her that you are going to find somethings that a friend of yours lost. She seems to buy it, for now. You give one last thankyou and head off.
But, you made a promise to her while you were changing behind a curtain. She would allow you to go out as long as you made it back to her cottage before nightfall. To you those were fair rules. So it'd be best to find atleast one Charm.
Closing the door behind you and walking abit away you pull out your mask from a pouch on your belt. You flip it over to the red, velvet interior and attach it to your face with an audible click. You allow the lens' to focus in and begin testing the magnifying add-on that Piero put in for you.
To you Piero was a great guy but, he was always trying to improve something or making some sort of chemical compound that would cure the plague. That idea was a good laugh but in all honesty his inventions were amazing. While pushing the idea of home in the back of your head you pull out the Tell-Tale Heart.
"Heart? You there?"
Yes Corvo?
"Could you tell me where the closest Charm is?"
I suppose so, just hold on... Got it
"Great job now, which direction?"
It's about 120 Meters in from the edge of that forest to your left
"Thankyou"
You pocket the Heart and begin your treck to a new Bone Charm in this colorfull world.
After cutting through a briar patch here and there you start to feel the Heart's mechanical pulse. Knowing that you're close you pull out the Heart and start turning around slowly. After a few turns you find out that the Charm is to your east. Placing the Heart to it's respective place you head off.
With each step the Heart's beat is increased faster, and faster, and faster until it's thumping sound is almost a soild hum. Taking a quick glance around you notice a black, bubbly aura on a tree branch right above you. The limb is too high for you to jump and climbing would take too long. So, you do the last thing to do.
Clenching your left hand into a fist you calm your mind with your eyes open. Once you achieve mental clarity a weird cyan circle appears on top of the branch. Putting a little bit of energy into the end point you quickly find yourself on said branch with the Bone Charm staring at you.
"Found you." You say out loud to noone in particular.
Picking up Charm and placing it in a pouch you jump down onto the soft, mossy ground below. But, before you can take a single step, a low growl penetrates the mostly quite atmosphere. Turning around you notice a shadow that belongs to, what looks like, a wolf. Upon closer inspection you are correct on the wolf shape but the creature itself... By the late Empress.
The creature had eyes of pure green mist that would sometimes gather in the sewers. It's body and legs looked like twisted branches of thorn and briar. It's head looked like a solid piece of a log with stake-like teeth protruding in painfully opposite directions in it's maw.
It looked like a creature that the Outsider tried to finish but stopped halfway. Before you could say what it emits another loud howl. After a moment of you staring down the wooden wolf two more emerge from out of nowhere with a look of which brothers-in-arms would wear if their brother was in a bind.
"Now, this fight should be interesting." You comment while getting in a fighting stance with your blade.
The first wolf lets out snarl and quickly launches itself towards you, with the intent to kill. Within its mid air jump you launch yourself towards the branched beast. Once it gets about armsreach you drop to your knees, letting the beast soar right over your body.
With its underbelly right over your head you slam your blade into the wolf's belly and bring the blade with you, tearing open the beast's chest and spilling out it's guts over the forest's floor. The body lands behind you with a thud but, that attack didn't end the animal's life, it let out a whimper even though you could clearly see it's lungs hanging out of it's chest. Feeling pity for the beast you pull out your crossbow and fire a bolt into it's head, ending it's pain and suffering.
The other two wolves just stood there shocked by that fact that this creature just took out their brother so easily. The one on the left managed to snap out of it's state and begins to charge towards you. Learnng from it's brother's mistake this one decides to try and make you fall by attacking your legs. Crouching low, you thrust yourself into the air and fire a bolt into the back of it's skull. Landing on the ground you look back to see if the wolf will come back up but, alas it does not.
Looking at the last wolf you can see the fear and agony that is filling the wolf's eyes. Retracting the blade back into it's handle you look at the wolf dead in the eyes.
"Do not suffer the fate of which your brothers have faced. You may flee, and I will not think differently of you."
The wolf looks at you and slowly nods. Taking a backwards step the wolf dissappears into the darkness.
After taking a few moments to make sure that the wolf did flee, you turn back to the two fallen wolves. These wolves were a strange creature to behold but, taking an up close look at the body it seems that a series of vines were connected to each limb as in the way a muscle is attached to bone.
'What a strange atanomy these creatures hold.'
You thought to youself snatching a bolt out of the wolf's head. Once you did retrieve the bolt a greenish gold liquid started pouring out of the wound. With curiosity rising, you place a finger upon the mysterious liquid and rub it between your fingers.
'Is this... Sap?'
The liquid is as sticky and thick like tree sap but, it wants to slide out of your grip. Still looking at the 'blood' that is escaping your finger you head towards the other body to retrieve the other bolt. Once you get to the other you notice another weird trait that these creatures hold.
Those vines that were holding the limbs seemed to have died and dried out. Poking at the hind leg with your finger the vines seem to disintegrate at your touch. Before you can indulge into this, a loud and deep roar rips through the forest's air. Not wanting to see what made that noise you retreat back towards Fluttershy's cottage.
Atleast you go what you came here for...