ZEN - Part Two [COMPLETED] [#WATTYS2017]

An Eye For This Sorta Thing

"Yeah, sure, but I didn't kill them. That's mercy."

The curvy mage allows a soft sigh to escape as she fails to understand the logic. "So?"

"So... they held a grudge. Like I said. An' it seems they were searchin' for me after I left, so they could enact a measure of revenge. Seriously, why would you get revenge on an act of compassion. Pffft."

"And?"

"And... you spent a couple of weeks in that place after I left, right? Turnin' yourself into the sexy woman you are, now. Did you hear anythin' about that?"

"S... sexy... well, yeah, I guess." Jessie clears her throat before offering a little nod. "I do remember there being quite a fuss. The guards did a lot of interviews with people who saw it all go down. Most of them, though, said that you were the aggressor."

"Hmph. Of course their pals'd be covering for those feckin' degenerates."

"Yah, but the guards kinda knew what to expect. That's why they only placed cursory importance on those testimonies. But it was more your echo-stone and the accounts from the Guild-staff that they paid the most attention to."

"Good. What happened after?"

"Uh, well, they were brought up on charges of deadly assault and attempted murder. But I don't know what happened after that, 'cause-"

"I came back, and you fell in love with Mish."

"Y... yeah..."

"Well, the idiot who sent some of his friends over to our hotel said they got out of it by bribing some officials. Must not have cost them all too much, 'cause they still had a lot of decent things in their homes."

The curvy human blinks twice before letting out a heavy sigh. "You looted everything, didn't you?"

"Of course?"

"And?"

"And... whut."

"What was the haul?"

"Oh, well. Pretty decent. We won't lack for reading material anytime soon. The rest of the junk we'll just un-load at the Merchant Guild in Jozejemi."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to try and sell their things here. If you murdered them."

"It was justifiable homicide, damnit. They were threatening our Sisters." Zen issues a huff of annoyance before turning her attention towards the rest of the stunned teens. "Anyways. That's how we deal with threats. Anyone who raises their hand against us has it lopped off. If they try again, then they pay for their transgressions with their lives."

"Damned straight."

"A-yup."

"Now. Here." The short Cat-woman accesses her enchanted hip-pouch and begins to distribute a wooden training-dagger to each of their newest recruits. "After each and every obstacle that you traverse, there are training-dummies set up. You are to stop at these and affect slashes or stabs at each of the marked areas. Stabs are in the areas with blue paint, and slashes are on the places with red paint. Stabby, blue, slashy, red. Jess. First obstacle."

"Alright." The chestnut-haired mage whirls around to face up with the heavily-sloped rock ramp, and immediately sprints up the length with only a dozen powerful strides. On the back-slope she simply slides down on her heels, then affects a quick forward-roll at the bottom, popping up in front of the wooden dummy to slash it's thick arms and throat before stabbing either temple and chest.