Chapter 3: Sleep

The small wolf girl kindly declined Maria's offer to look for the Amarok. As curious as she was about this creature, she was too scared to find out anything more about it. She was still a bit shaken up from what happened at the Pits the time before. But she promised her that she'd be in town waiting for her, whenever she might return, giving her a little cheer to pep her up and wish her luck on her journey. With that, she scampered off somewhere to perhaps cause mischief and maybe get some coin in the process. Maria was now all alone in her quest to find this mysterious being.

(Since doven seems to be absent, you're on you own during this quest.)

The librarian that Maria had approached was an elderly human man, about 60 or so. He turned around and adjusted his glasses to get a better look at the girl, hearing out her request for information on the whereabouts of this Amarok. He was a tad spooked by the sudden mention of it's name, but answered nonetheless. "Oh uhh, hmmm... L-let me think for a moment..." It was mostly frightening to some of the older folks in town, since talk of such a beast was more common back then. "Ehh~ There isn't too much information regarding the Amarok, and with good reason! I think there may be a book or two over here. Follow me, please." 

The old man led Maria to the section regarding legends and mythological creatures. "Most people today don't believe that such a monster even exists, but I know! I know all too well." He wore a worrisome face as he pulled a large worn book from one of the shelves; It was a bestiary of prehistoric creatures that would seem unbelievable today. A few pages were sticking out, like they'd been torn and put back inside rather poorly. "Anything known about that beast should be somewhere in this book." He handed it over to her and gave her a warning. "If you're thinking about going after it, I'd advise against it. It's something that shouldn't be trifled with, especially by someone as young as yourself. You hear me!" He then shuffled off with sweat forming on his brow. Maria was now free to dig through the book's contents at her own leisure.

Diligently reading through the pages, Maria learned a bit more about the Amarok. It is written that the Amarok prefer's solitude and only ever comes out of it's den to hunt for prey or attempt to attract a mate. They are very elusive and stalk their prey while keeping their presence to an absolute minimum. They generally eat woodland critters in forested areas or in grassy plains under the cover of night. 

They are very territorial and will attack anyone or anything that ventures too close to their home. For the most part, they like living in dark places, being mainly nocturnal by nature, such as caves and tunnels. It is also said that anyone bitten by an Amarok and lives, will they themselves become one as well. Their favorite prey among all others is Qin, due to their strong animal scent.

It continued on for a while in more minute details, such as height, colors, behavior, etc. Maria now knew that Amaroks could be found most likely in forests, with one being south of Drakestone. But would she still go, knowing that she could be killed and eaten by this monster?

Sakuya ran up from a little bit behind Maria. She had meant to catch Maria before she left the library, but was unable to do so. Thanks to the research she had also done she decided to head towards the city exit leading to the closest forest. It was there that she saw Maria and ran after her. Once she caught up to her she spoke to her "Sorry I blew you off back there at the library. I had meant to go after an Amarok myself and didn't want to drag you into it as you didn't seem to know much about them at the time. Once I saw you head out though I figured you were heading to find one and figured I might as well find one with a friend and make sure nothing happens to her."

(Please move over to this thread to continue: https://ffmsl.rpg-board.net/t607-chapter-3-sleep#12022)