[Quest] Evil in Residence

Hoot. Hoot. Hoot. I hear an assortment of owls screeching around me in a set rhythm, almost as if they were singing a song of prayer; lingering footsteps patter in the distance with little indication of ceasing. A fair eye's distance away, almost completely veiled in smog, is a particularly large and ominous structure - and behind me, leaning against a thick tree trunk, is a well-dressed elven man; he seems like a nice enough guy, though I think he might be missing a few things in the facial department: like his SKIN and his EYES and his JAW. Several times before now had the elven man tried to approach me with vague intention. He would raise his arms in an almost ghoulish manner, and with his Achilles' tendon completely torn, it took him several a gruesome tumble before him and his floppy right foot would manage to reach my standing frame. Every time he did reach me, he would raise his arm with yet again vague intention, and I would respond by vaguely kicking him in the face - resulting in the nice elven man quietly plopping back against the tree, head upturned towards the black sky.

Not once did the elven man stop doing this. Needless to say, he must have had zombie-like vitality to be able to keep standing back up; it was as if all these severe facial fractures I'd been giving out were simply love smooches to him.

Let's go back a bit. Just recently, I'd been issued with a package set to be delivered to a mansion around this area. The client was different from who normally bossed me around. He did not have many stories to tell and was a man dressed in dark. He also refused to reveal his face; after pondering as to why he'd mask himself to such a ridiculous degree, I came to the assumption that he was likely just shy. Apparently the package was an extremely urgent one, so I decided to do my job properly for once: the parcel said, "A mansion in the Cydonian Woods", so I spent the evening searching through this forest for an eerie mansion like the one I've been heading towards.

And now I'm here.

The pattering footsteps start getting ridiculously loud. I look to the source of the sound in bleak curiosity, only to witness something I should have never had laid my eyes upon. Hordes and hordes of jolly elven men, just like the one who's face was mashed in, flood the gaps between in the trees - all directing unhealthy amounts of friendly fire at each other in an effort to reach me. I decide they aren't worth the conversation so I bolt it the opposite way and keep dashing like my payment is on the line. I dash through about half-a-mile of uninhabited woodlands, paying little heed to the angry elves behind me, until I finally reach what I believe to be my destination. With a stroke of luck, I manage to make it to the entrance without getting lost.

After me knocking and shouting enough, the voices behind the door finally decide to squeeze open the mansions' double doors just long enough for me to quickly roll in. It was a pretty mansion - definitely prettier than whatever was outside. After a few long moments of panting and sweating, I look toward my new sane friends - a fairy, a mage, and a doctor - with a determined face and tell them what's up.

"Indy Libero here with an urgent delivery! The package reads: 'A mansion in the Cydonian Woods'; unfortunately, no other details appear to be on the front of the item. Were any of you here expecting this?" I raise it up to the distraught-looking group and shake the parcel. "If you don't mind, I'll be expecting the pay up-and-front. It's been a long day, so I'd like my reward as quickly as possible."