High Fantasy D&D Style World (Open)

I wake up as the first rays of sun blind me, and say what you will about the poetry of waking up early, but it's not fun especially after sleeping in a tree in the cold outdoors all night. I'm not the only one up early. As I'm rubbing sleep from my eyes, I see movement. Willow's on the move, of course accompanied by that vicious reanimation. She said it looked cute, but as I stare transfixed by the bits of flesh hanging off of bone weathered by dirt and decomposition held together only by ancient tradition and old habit, I can almost smell the rot and the feeling of something being deeply wrong, a crime against nature, settles inside me. I weigh my options. Having slept the night, I no longer feel the adrenaline of the chase. I could let her go and no one would blame me. But nah. Where's the fun in that? This is the most entertainment I've had since before I moved here. I grin, subconsciously tucking a smooth stone on the ground into my pouch. I smooth my hair, plucking a few twigs caught in it, and run to catch up with her.

"Hey Willow! Fancy seeing you here!"

"Oh, hey you! I've missed you so much, how did you end up here?"

"I followed you! It wasn't very hard, you didn't go far. Hey, I was meaning to ask, what'd ya do bad enough for the Watch to send someone after you?"

"Well, you see, one I bring back the dead. Two I steal, like, a lot. And I may or may not have killed a few people but in my defense, they were very bad people," I say while shoving my hands in my pockets and begin keeping pace with her, "shouldn't you know this or do you just do turn people in with no knowledge of what they did?"

"I know the basics!" I say, perhaps a bit more defensively than I'd like. "What do you steal? And why did you go do my city? To clarify, this isn't an interrogation, I'm just curious."

"Curiosity killed that cat, but I can bring it back," I grin at that because I think I'm being really clever, "Anyway, I stole the necessities that I couldn't buy and sometimes money and/or jewels from people who were rich enough they didn't need it anyway. Also, what do you mean it's your city, are you the mayor as well as a watch member? That would be pretty impressive in all honesty."

"Yeah, you didn't know?" I joke as I shed my uniform jacket revealing the curling patterns of my tattoo on my shoulder, and tie it around my waist. The further from the city we get the more it will bring me unwanted attention rather than respect. "My name's Masalee." I hold out my hand to her.

"Nice to know the name that belongs to the face," I shake her hand and smile, "and I love your tattoo, It's really neat! So, how'd you get into the watch, was a dream from childhood or did you just kinda get dragged along into the job?"

I try to grin in thanks as she mentions the tattoo, but it probably turns out more like a grimace. "That's sort of a complicated story. I might tell you the full version some time, but the short of it is that my aunt sent me off to join. Anyway, you dodged my question. What were you doing in the city?"

"Well, when I was about 7 I went to live with my sister here and I guess I just like it there, like I'm home," I have a fond smile on my face, "what about you, tell me your life story, or just where you used to live I guess."

"Hmm. I grew up in this very small city very far away. It was nice, I guess, but the thing with small cities is that everyone knows everyone, and the things they get up to. It's a lot harder to walk away from your mistakes when no one else is willing to let them go. So I guess I came here for a fresh start." I can feel myself fidgeting with the tie on my bracer. I check that the knot is still tight and force my hands down by my side. In an overly cheerful tone, I ask, "So if you've lived here for a while, where'd you learn necromancy? It's not exactly a welcome practice here."

"Oh, I only lived there for about two years until my sister was murdered, I moved across seas because I wanted to learn necromancy and bring her back. When I did learn and get back it turns out her body was burnt and her bones were thrown into the middle of the ocean," I look at the ground ahead of me, "like I said, I only kill very bad people"

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss." We walked for a few minutes in what I hoped was companionable silence, but may very well have just been awkward.

"You do know I'm legally obligated to arrest you and return at some point, right?"

"Do you do everything by the law?"

I laugh. "I try my best. I like the credibility it gets me. It's also, as I continue to mention, and you might want to pay attention this time, my job. I am a part of law enforcement. I am obligated to do everything by law."

"Dang, how about we make a deal instead then. You don't arrest me and I'll leave, forever, you'll never have to see me again," If I get arrested who would look after max.

"That doesn't seem fair. You get way more out of that deal than I do. Anyway, you haven't convinced me yet that you're not a danger to innocent people.

"Ah, well, you sure got me there," I pause a bit, "Right, what if I can convince you I'm not a danger to innocent people, and," I pull an apple out of my bag," I'll throw this apple into the deal"

I give an innocent looking smile.

I smile kindly at her. "Hell no."

"That is a mighty shame," I take a bite out of the apple, "so whats your plan then, to take me in, I mean?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't really think that far ahead." I think for a moment. "Will you please accompany me back to the city? The road is dangerous. I need a powerful necromancer to protect me." I glance at her innocently, gauging her reaction.

I laugh.
"Hell no am I going to do that, I know you're a member of the watch and that means you obviously can defend yourself, but I will take that compliment," I finish off the apple and throw it onto the ground near a tree, "though we should take a break soon," I hadn't realised how long we'd been talking until I saw the sun at high noon.

"Sure. And at some point we should start to head towards the city. I can't just leave. And I promise it isn't a ploy to arrest you for now at least. You're just good conversation."

"I can't head back to the city, I plan to go to a town down there," I point in the direction we're walking and pull out my map to show her, "see, I'm going to head to this town, stay a couple of days then walk to a coastal village to catch a boat elsewhere."

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here it would seem."

"Fair enough. I hope you don't mind if I accompany you to the town and request you prove that you're not a threat because it would be such a hassle to force you back into the city at this point, and I want my conscience free at least."
(BTW I have to go now, so don't wait for a response)

"I don't mind, you're also good conversation, and don't worry I can prove I'm no threat."
(Bye bye)

"How?"

"Good point." I ponder on what to say next, this could define my future, "I stayed in a church last night and didn't hurt anyone, does that help my case?"