Traitor Traitor (job with V)

The Guildmaster seemed to be slightly taken aback by the mage's behaviour, but she quickly composed herself. She stood up from her throne and stepped down from it. She was glad that her servant had sent somebody to her and also revealed a little bit of the reason behind the request. A troublemaker within their ranks seemed to be the issue. And, as the servant promised, Saraphina did indeed provide more information. A hunt for a traitor in a Guild that is posed around removal of rules and laws. Sounded quite intriguing.

However, the more information the Guildmaster shared, the more V felt worried, in a sense. If authorities have indeed been notified that many times already, could they have an inkling as to who or what was behind the intercepted missions? That didn't bode well at all. The fact that the Guildmaster brought up about the culprit knowing where to dig made the mage frown. That would naturally elude to the traitor being somebody of a higher rank, like the Guildmembers themselves. A proverbial lacrima crystal lit up above V's head - it must've been tough to have somebody called to deal with a traitor, when anybody could be them.

That didn't seem to deter Saraphina from grinning at the mage, inviting him to deal with the problem. She was putting a good amount of faith, if he had to guess and he would not disappoint her, making her regret the decision. The tattooed man would smirk in return. "It would be my pleasure to help you root them out." He would say and followed the woman outside of the throne room to... take the Tỳr. Whatever that meant.

The two members of the Guild made their way to the courtyard, where a white bear seemed to have been stationed. V was slightly out of breath, trying to match the Guildmaster's pace. Saraphina called out to it and then gleefully skipped right over to it and hugged it. That was most likely the Tỳr she had mentioned before. She said that they would be taking... was she intending to ride on it? V would raise his left eyebrow in slight confusion, but he reckoned that the mages from back home rode on weirder things than polar bears.

The tattooed man would attempt to compose himself back together and step closer to the bear munching on some meat. It finished its meal and laid down for its master and presumably him to get on. He would step closer, but not before a maid entered the courtyard. V would turn around, seeing that it was the maid that Saraphina usually had with her all the time, offering to go with them. Her master dismissed her, though, leaving the castle in the maid's care. It was probably for the best, in case anything else happened because of the suspected traitor.

The mage would turn back around and reach the bear, just as the woman ceased humming some sort of tune that he did not recognise. She inquired about whether he needed getting onto the beast. The man would quietly sigh with a sad smile. "I am afraid that I will have to shamefully accept your offer for help. I cannot will myself to be as nimble as I used to be." He would answer and offer his left hand to the Guildmaster as he lifted the cane off the ground with the other. As strange as it may have sounded, V sometimes hadn't enough willpower to force himself into more physically demanding activities or actions. It was kind of different when somebody else did it, though. Although the pain was all the same. "It is high time the traitor paid for their actions." The mage's lips would turn into a wild smirk at the thought of rooting them out, whoever they were.

The dismissed servant was not pleased with the decision, but obliged as a servant was supposed to. It surely sprung up some of V's old memories, that was for sure. However, the Guildmaster promised her that she would make her more useful. Whether that was good or bad, the tattooed man wasn't sure. Though he was sort of surprised by Saraphina's response to him accepting the help offer. "I didn't quite mean it in a such way. My strength of will is waning for today, is all." He would reply with a hint of strain in his voice, as Nadaline offered her hand to serve as a step. V made sure not to hit anyone with the bladed end of his cane as he got onto the polar bear.

The man managed to take his seat behind the Guildmaster, who reminded him of her worry about choosing him to root out the traitor. Which was a valid worry, that was not neccessary to question. "I will do my best to find them and eliminate them." V would assure Saraphina, before they were off. The journey from the castle grounds down to the settlements was somewhat long and quite uneventful, for Saraphina's singing. It wasn't bad, but he was confident that he would be able to provide better lyrics than the ones that she decided to grace him and the bear with. The cold, sharp air did not really bother V. His old mentor taught him well, after all. V wanted ice to end him. Instead, it became his strength. Life was full of strange things and happenings, that being the greatest one for the man.

The mages and the bear of Errings Rising neared the settlement. Everything seemed peaceful as they entered the premises, making V wonder if there was a traitor at all. But his Guildmaster turned around to face him, asking him for ideas about the traitor's whereabouts with a giggle and also sharing some of her thoughts, reminding him that the traitor was very much a real and confirmed threat. The tattooed man would rub his chin, lost in thought. "There are several ways to approach this dilemma." He would speak up. "Perhaps we could try to pinpoint the traitor's location and identity via stealth methods. He would suggest one of his ideas. Though he was not sure that such approach would be up Saraphina's alley.

"Or perhaps we could use the element of surprise of your visit to catch them off guard." V would share his second idea. Of course, there were so many more, but there was only so much time before the traitor would notice the authority's presence, so the acts would have to be swift. That's what the man imagined a traitor hunt to be like, anyway. "That being said..." The tattooed man would begin on one of his thoughts. "Are we absolutely certain that there is only one traitor present?" He would ask the Guildmaster. He knew that the talk was always about just an individual traitor, but who could tell if there was just the single one? "There may be more bugs to squash than we first thought." He would say as a group of pale-looking villagers appeared nearby, seemingly going about their daily lives. Then again, he could be entirely wrong about his assumptions. He was no detective.

As he half expected, Saraphina dismissed the idea of the proposed stealth approach, for her reputation would not aid them in that endeavour. V's Guildmaster also inquired about his own stealth capabilities in return, which was fair. "My appearance and usual manner of walking would paint a target of a 'weird one' on my person, though I can easily keep to shadows or crowds. Although the latter will most likely not be applicable in the settlement in question. But perhaps with your help I could work my magic better." He would reply, as the bear started to slow down with the settlements getting ever closer.

The woman sitting in front of him patted the back of her furry steed and he stopped at the feeling. End of the road it was, then. Saraphina prepared to dismount, as she pondered the idea V had proposed, about the possibility of there being more than just a single traitor present. She added a bit of melody into her thought as she dismounted the large white bear. She then gave him a choice. He could either go with her, or try the stealth approach, though that would probably require him going ahead of her. V was really not sure, but he was prompted to dismount the bear himself and so he did. He did agree with her sentiment on choosing not to bring the bear into the settlement.

The tattooed man slid off of the bear and somewhat clumsily landed on the ground. The landing made his joints flare up in pain and he let out a quiet groan. He let go of the bear, sticking his cane into the ground to rely on its support once again. The man turned around and with his generally superior sight took notice of figures standing on the edge of the settlement ahead. While V could not make out their intentions, but they didn't seem like regular innocent folk either.

After the man got off of the white steed, Saraphina rubbed its snout, promising him a meal once they were done with the traitor issue. Týr seemed somewhat reluctant to obey the command he was given, but the promise of a meal seemed to have him won over enough. Then it was just the two dark mages. The Guildmaster grinned, evidently excited about the idea of dealing with the bugs and started making her way towards the corrupted settlement. "Let us away." V's face would twist into a smirk of his own.

The mage followed his Guildmaster towards the settlement. The area seemed almost eerily quiet. It wasn't the middle of the night, there was no reason why there wouldn't be people fluttering about, unless everybody suddenly fell ill and refused to go outside. Save for the folks that he took notice of before. V did not think he had any sixth sense, but the closer they got, he was sure that something had to be up. At some point the pain in his joints subsided and V would take the cane into his hand, hoping that the agony would stay at bay for the foreseeable future.

When the duo entered the settlements, there were was a lack of people out on the streets. That fact most likely contributed to the eerie silence that could be heard outside of the settlement. The man was keeping his ears out for anything out of the ordinary, for the quietness would make it that much easier to unveil the hidden. V was a few steps behind his Guildmaster, making it harder for him to react to the sudden assault.

A rusted sword swung at the woman in front of him and she parried it with a sword of her own. Saraphina was visibly angered by the attack as she kicked the attacker away from her. The motion reminded the mage how he used to be able to actually use his body, instead of relying on distance that he had to keep to stay safe. At least the Guildmaster seemed capable of taking care of herself, as he would have expected of someone who held such a high title. A number of other assailants appeared and the woman pierced the chest of the man who first attacked her with her sword. She giggled as she turned to the others who joined the fray.

A couple of the villagers who came running seemed shaken by the display of death of one of their own. "Mounting an ambush is a clear stance you are taking." V would state icily, as he narrowed his eyes at the attackers. "You... You will oppress us no more!" One of them called out, in a rather shaky voice. Whether it was because he was unconvinced by the idea or because he was simply frightened by the display, the mage couldn't tell. "Then so be it." The man gathered ice energy in his body, ready to mould it into icicles that would take care of the villagers very quickly. But he was not given outright permission to slaughter the common folk, for their lives were under the Guildmaster. However, he thought of a different use for the gathered energy.

The tattooed man would snap his fingers and two icy copies of himself would appear near him. "Hold them." He would command his apparitions and they took hold of the first two villagers they came across. The attackers were slightly confused, unsure about what to do with the restrained ones. If they were thinking outside of the box they would have tried smashing the copies, which was easier than one would have probably guessed. Seeing as V was preoccupied with other matters, one of the attackers would try to lunge at him from his side. Thankfully he had a faster reaction time to this situation and managed to stop the rusty sword from plunging into his shoulder with his cane. Sharp pain shot through his arm, making his grit his teeth. "There is still some strength in these bones." He would mutter as he shoved the attacker down onto the ground with his cane.

His first instinct told him to grab his shoulder to see if it was in its supposed place, but that would show a weakness that he could not afford. Instead, he chose to bear the pain without checking on possible consequences. "Now now. The Queen has only arrived for a small visit and this is the greeting? Is there something at work that we should know about?" The tattooed man would try to backtrack a little bit, in an attempt to make one of the villager's tongues slip, so that they would get pointed, hopefully, directly to the source.