#7: The Scapegoat (Adventure) (Story Included)

--Part of the Amaya Adventure series--


"The hell do you mean you're a scapegoat? Why are you even doing this?" Amaya says as she unleashes an onslaught of tears on the floor, unable to move.

"It will take a bit of explain, but I guess you could call it sad." The silver-haired necromancer stared without any sign of emotion. "I also excuse myself if there's no emotion to be had in whatever I'm saying."


"I was a human born in Westrhodia, where a lot of nobles come from. But, I was no noble. I had been a normal citizen who's family passed due to unknown circumstances, or at least to myself. There, I got placed in an orphanage."


"Eventually, when I became of age, I was adopted by a merchant, and sent to adventurer school. I did some jobs, before the one where all of my teammates died. For some reason I can't place logically, I survived, and unharmed, despite being the weakest out of all of them. That's when THEY came."


Amaya began to look up a little, being in complete shock out of all of this. This girl had an extremely sad life. No parents, stuck with a bunch of kids no one wants, and then sent away by someone who didn't give a damn about their safety, AT THE AGE OF 14, to somewhere she could potentially die at any moment.

"Why? Why don't you feel anything other than pain?" Amaya asks, mortified as to what it could all mean.

"I did feel some things. But I don't remember what those feelings were. The only thing I feel is whatever my physical body would need to keep itself going. Pain, hunger, thirst, sleep. I can't tell you how I felt because I can't process it anymore." She then continued. "The bandits then threatened my life. Being as the only thing I knew how to do was float slightly above solid objects, I could not fight without assistance. The only way out of dying, being sold into slavery somewhere else, or worse, would be to pretend to be the one behind this organization, to cover their tracks."

"Oh gosh..." Amaya says. "I'm so sorry... I was going to kill you for something you didn't even have control over." She continues to cry, not even able to keep her eyes open anymore.

"All is alright.  I merely only used the rituals you saw because I was told to. To memorize them, it caused physical pain, and to pretend to be them, I'd go without sleep. From how I was before the incident, I'd say my performance has gotten worse." She then begins to stand. "I'll go get your bandages, because there's a logical conclusion that you will help me with taking them down. It is your quest, after all."



Amaya uses this time to think to herself. That's really the only thing she can do right now, as she slowly dims out of consciousness. Why would anyone use another person to evade their own crimes, let alone abuse them to the point where they feel nothing, on top of whatever she already had to go through? Why did Amaya give in to hatred back there, and almost made a mistake she'd regret forever?

Why force that person to be a necromancer, knowing they would have no feeling other than wanting to avoid pain? Now that she thought about it, these bandits were the most evil she thinks she's ever seen.

Once she wakes up, the hooded girl apologizes, emotionlessly, if it hurts, she only had enough normal bandages to mend the hands. The rest were what was used on her. They should heal her up, but they do so by codderizing external and internal wounds, making them double as healing, and for torture.

"Now, just rest there. You should be good to go, minus your hand wounds, and what appears to be a wound you already had, in 24 hours."

"24 hours!?!?" She exclaims! "But, I have a quest I need to do! You even know that I'm doing it, so why are you--"

"Like I said, they are the only bandages I have that could accelerate your healing. You'll have to bare it, and rest." She then walks out of the room, the giant seemingly not doing anything now. "I have explaining to do to up on the surface, and some preparations."


It certainly did hurt immensely, but, what else could she really do right now than to do exactly as she asked. Hopefully the pain will stop sooner though. She thinks she'll need to sleep some more after today.. and actually take a break from quests.

However, she found herself unable to sleep, as she began to see things from insomnia-related issues, being terrified in the process. But, she eventually noticed, she actually is fully healed, other than the stuff that was normally bandaged. She then used the rest of her time to just take a 6 hour-long nap. On the floor. She doesn't think it's a good idea to leave just yet.


But, it would appear she only got about 3 hours in before the silver-haired girl came back, saying that she's prepared to go now.

"I already apologized to the people under me, and found that graveyard worker you told to hide. They seem to be doing acceptably."

"Gosh, that tape of yours only got me barely any sleep! How am I supposed to find the guy and tell him that I might need an extension?" Amaya worries a lot because of this.

"Skill issue." The girl says.

They eventually go out of the labyrinth together, and exit the dense forest hiding a shoddily built house, where they end up back on the road. It seems to be noon, meaning it's the 12th. The real question is, is the Courtier still back at Danesburrow, or did he already begin travelling? Amaya realized, in her haste, she didn't ask what the plan was, and that would be painful to figure out.

However, it seems the silver-haired girl knew exactly what she was thinking when:

"He'd logically go over to the manor to deliver the gifts. After all, that was his objective. Yours should be to find the manor, or him."

"Hey.. uhmmm, thanks for the tip!" Amaya says happily towards her.


Amaya decides to follow the main road. However, judging by how they were led to a town, and not a manor, they were clearly going the wrong way.. or at least they'd think. They both know this is the town of Eirkystead. So, they end up turning around, and heading back to the fork, where it seems their only option is to head south-east.

A bit humorously, this was the girl's idea the entire time, and Amaya had been the one to suggest going the wrong way. However, there still appears to be mostly nothing, so they use the time to spark some conversation.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking miss necromancer.. what's your name? I would hate to keep calling you Purple. It's okay if you don't remember, I'll just think of one for you then."

"It is probably best you do, as I have forgotten what my name is. It must tie back to an emotion, which I can not recall." She says stone-faced as always.

"Well, is Purpelia okay?"

"You're just calling me Purple but in a fancier tone. Not really befitting of a name at all."

"Hush with your big words silly, well, do you have any better ideas?"

"No. You can try again then."

"How about... Viola?" 

"Purple again."

"Why are you so picky with what a name is? I swear, if I hadn't been here, you probably would've gotten smacked already!" Amaya, annoyed a bit, responds, pouting a little.

"Hmmmmm... well, if I keep accidentally calling you purple all the time, maybe.. yes! Riko-chan! I think that's perfect!"

"Origin?" She says without swaying any kind of emotion.


"It's from a folktale my pa told me when I was little. Riko was this big hero that became the greatest adventurer around! I got inspired to do all this because of that story!" Amaya puts her own finger up chatting about it! "It even is said she appeared around where I lived!"

"You must have some high hopes for me naming me after your idol. While I am not sure I can meet your expectations, I can certainly let you know that I plan to do something of my own one day."


"And.. what is that? Don't tell me you plan to make staves for people! That silly thing couldn't even kill me!"

"No. You'll find out eventually." Amaya, not satisfied by the answer, pleads with her to say what it is, even saying please.

"If it'll entertain you, I plan to become a blacksmith. I am frail, so the next logical conclusion would be to gain the ability to meld armor that'll significantly increase the amount of damage I can take."

"Ahhh, I see! Good thinking on your part! Would've never thought of something like that." Amaya looks a bit curiously. "What are you planning on using that armor for?"

"To dismantle the nobility and make all castes equal."

"What? Riko, you'll get killed! A kid noble would probably take us both out, send us to prison, and probably be back to whatever he was doing before he even got ordered to! We're ants compared to them!"

"The main flaw of their attacks is that they don't suspect someone to be heavily armored. I am simply exploiting that weakness." Amaya looks dumbfounded, as if she can't believe what she's hearing. This necromancer that had trouble beating her thinks that the sole reason she lost, was because she didn't have armor.


"But how are you going to get the gold to even do it? It must cost at least 10 for the gauntlets you want?" It was at that moment, where, they found the manor, and the conversation had to wrap up, but Riko looked at Amaya and said, trying to pretend to smile.

"I'm going to go down the same line of work you do. You may see me around, and I'll consider you a valuable ally." This lit up Amaya immensely, with her bursting out into open happiness, mentioning how she's so proud of her, and they're going to go on tons of stuff together, because she doesn't trust any of those other weirdoes back at the inn, except the silver-eyed waitress, so it'll be a nice breath of fresh air, even if she can't react to things! She even picks up Riko, to which..

"Wait, you are really light. My bad. "Amaya says nervously.



It came time to look around the manor, to see if the Courtier had made it safely. Which, very much surprisingly, he did! And he seemed overjoyed to see Amaya is alive, and that she managed to find prisoners... or at least that's what he thought.

"I have no idea what you did miss, but the crime here has gone down significantly! I was able to make it here with no stops or annoyances, well, other than what seemed to be a bandit boss on the road (Riko put her thumb-up to let Amaya know she took care of it). He asks, how many did she kill? Or imprisoned.

"You know, I think you would be shocked to find out none of them died, and I managed to turn the rest to the path of good, this lady with me included!"

"Hey wait, I legally can't be classified as a good--"

"MORE PEOPLE TO HIRE TOO? Gosh, so many adventuring guilds kill first, ask questions later. I was worried I wouldn't be able to have long-term profit! Plus, the noble accepted my gifts with grace!" He seems to pull out something as a bonus reward.

"I think that boss had a marked map on him, though the area is vague, it seems like they have operations in Danesburrow. Though considering how you look, you should probably take a rest." He rubs his head. "I think that should do for a reward, yes?"

"Can you tell me something I should know, to make my job easier?" Amaya says. "It has nothing to do with the quest, but I can get silver from other quests. Anyone I can talk to about anything?"

"Ehhhh.. sure?" He seems a bit confused. "I did hear a tale about a middle-aged hermit noble who knows methods on how to put people to sleep, but I heard the path is dangerous. Filled with things punching and kicking alone won't be able to solve. I also have no idea where she could be either."

"Hey, thanks for the tip, but.. I want something I can be sure that'd mesh with how I roll. Putting people to sleep seems boring." Amaya says.

"But it's insanely handy in combat situ--" Riko tries to say but is cut off by the Courtier.

"Oh! You want something a bit simpler? Odd, I figured you'd be a technical fighter. There's a dojo where only a select few may be allowed to enter, and even fewer who may know of the art within. Those who pass are stated to be decent fighters. It seems to be popular with knuckleheads, though."

"THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!" She exclaims, feeling a surge of a newfound way to improve herself. "Where is it?"


"In the capital. Though, you'd have to be declared a citizen, or be afforded special permission to enter. It is an arduous task, however."

Well, that certainly gave her a goal more realistic than beating a rock worm in a fight. She'd have to gain renown through her journey, and that may involve a lot of quests. All something she was ready to do.. after a break.

"Hey, thanks! If you need anything, come back to Danesburrow and I'll see what I can do!" Amaya waves as she prepares to leave, ready to head back to the inn.

"I'll let you know if I do!"


When she got back, the waitress came and hugged her, wondering where she had been for the past day. She was worried sick, but Amaya assured her that she was fine, barring the hands obviously. She's going to take a break now, and try some fun stuff out.

"Oh yeah, also say hi to Riko, who'll probably be around here a bit. Say hi Riko."

"Greetings." Riko says emotionlessly. The waitress says hello back, before asking Amaya what her deal is. She explains that she can't really feel emotion, so she has to think like a nerd, which also alarms the waitress too, but.. she knows she can't reprimand the good adventurer.

--

The next day, Amaya is seen having an apology meal from the innkeeper. He's sorry that he's been so rough and harsh, and, well, for helping out the business a bit, it's on the house. The Smoked Carp with Carrot meal looked delicious, and she enjoyed every second of it, even eating the crumbs and scraps she left behind.

"This tastes amazing! I had no idea inn food was even like this!" She says excitedly.

"Well, what do ya think keeps people coming back here? He says with a smile, with closed eyes. "You could actually become a waitress here. It pays good, you'd have more of a reputation, and.."

"Nah, I think I'm alright with questing. You could ask Riko if you wanted."

"She'd terrify the heck out of the customers! She'd be a walking liability if I listened to you!" They both laugh a bit. "By the way, don't mind me if this comes out as harsh, as I know a lot of adventurers have the same smell, but, you smell like a lot of blood."

"Wait, really? I thought I smelled fine." She says, a bit concerned.

"Not to worry, you can pay for a washing service to get that stuff off you! Help keep your hygiene good."

"...Hy---...genie?" She says, confused.


Not too long after,

"You see, this is what he meant by hygiene. A bath." The gentle waitress says as she's washing Amaya.

"Wow, this feels surprisingly nice, and to think it only cost 1 silver for repeat customers!" She says in an awfully comedic tone, which then she winks towards you, as if she is trying to sell an ad.

"..Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, uhh, you of course!" Amaya giggles a bit.

After which, Amaya goes to the local lake to try to catch some fish.. by hand. Out of the entire day, she only managed to catch one, and that seemingly was an old fish. Which she then immediately sold off to the in to make that 1 silver back.


When it came to finally head off to bed, and she entered her room, she had a wide smile on her face from how much stuff she did today. She was even surprised a dance number happened right after she sold the fish too. She went to sleep, not thinking of a thing, extremely happy. And tomorrow, she'll be able to take that head bandage off! How cool is that going to be?

As the sun arose again, she excitedly tore off the bandage on her head, and prepared to have yet another day of finding random stuff to do, when.. Riko was right in front of the door, waiting for her. Amaya commented on how unsettling that was, but she's sure she was here for a good reason, right?

"Correct you are in that assumption. I analyzed the board, and found a quest we have a 100% chance of completing, with a high payout. The catch is, there have to be two members for this."

"Alright then!" She says, with that same wide smile. "What is it?"

"A disgruntled peasant is asking us if we would like to sell our--"

"Goddamnit Riko, the number one rule of being a female adventurer is that we don't objectify ourselves! We have worth, okay?" She says, incredibly disappointed that she'd not even think about the consequences of a mission that lewd. Ultimate, Riko drops the subject.

"I'll go find someone else then--"

"NO! Don't go find someone else! If you want to do a quest, pick a quest where we don't have to do anything unsettling like that! Geez!" Amaya covers her face, letting out a heavy sigh.

"There's also a quest to hunt a Sand Elemental close to here, payout 30 silver."

"THAT'S THE EXACT SAME THING! I could barely handle your staff, you think we'd stand a chance against an above ground elemental?"

"I was simply giving you exactly what you ask for, a quest that is not too far away, and yet will provide sufficient pay without having to sacrifice our 'dignity'." Riko says, maintaining her streak of stone-faced expression.

The innkeeper is yelling up there why Riko thinks going against a Sand Elemental is a good idea at all, to which Amaya yells down, that she doesn't know! Meanwhile, someone yells from their room to tell then to shut up, they're trying to sleep!




This makes the room silent for a bit, before the gentle waitress, Amaya, Riko, and the innkeeper wonder how the heck to even handle this, the innkeeper outright thinking to drop the quest, the gentle waitress not even knowing what to do, and Riko insisting that it is a possible task, considering the odds of Amaya winning against her were 1 in 10.


That's when Amaya puts her hands on the table and:

"Do we have anything that involves the sand elemental, but doesn't involve trying to anger or kill it?" She says as a nervous ice-breaker. They think this is actually a great idea.. but.. no dice. No one's looking for anything the sand elemental has.

"Well, that was a nice try Riko. We'll go take it out eventually, but not right now, okay? I need to recover still, and I don't think that's something two freelances can do together." Amaya says being considerate, smiling at the unlikely gambler that was her former necromancer buddy. "Can you bring everything you think we can actually do, please?"

But, in a strange turn of events, the waitress, trying to get some more, sees someone run off with all the quests, only leaving.. the bounties.. the thought of that shudders her immensely.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We got quest thieves to track down.. that and I totally forgot that I was supposed to be talking to a guy the town guard arrested.." Amaya makes a silly face with her tongue sticking out, as if she realized she was dumb.


Amaya goes toward the town tower first, knocking on it, seemingly getting no response. She simply knocks again, and soon enough, the captain answers

"You're late for the interrogation. By 8 days." He says unamused.

"Uhhh.. sorry, my bad!" She rubs her head nervously. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, fortunately, the little rascal who tried to do something to you seems to be too busy mumbling nonsense over there to think about escaping. Try to get him to admit to whatever he was planning. If he breaks out, we'll help."

"Alright, got it." She said, ready to don her serious tone again, but.. more cocky like she usually is. She sees him again, and his reaction tells her all she needs to know.



"Crap, you're here. Well, it seems like my time being alive is at the end of the road." He says, seemingly admitting he expected death. "May Envisha have mercy on me, though that likely will not be the case."

"Envisha? Who the hell is Envisha?"

"It's in what you just said! Though he is the weakest of the 12 almighty, sacred demon gods, he commands the greatest group of people in all the realms! The Pink-Bloods!" He seems to have immense joy in what he's spouting. "We gather people, and we make them wish they had their limbs back! We make them watch too, isn't that all splendid?"

"You.." She says, slowly losing her cocky attitude and having it recede back into rage.

"In return, we get rewards! Things of our wildest dreams! Anything we might envy, we can have if the infidels are sacrificed and killed! Their belongings belong to us, and that includes their bodies!! OHHHH YESSSS--"

She actually hits him again for being sick in the head, not even realizing that they are talking about a cardinal sin in our world.

"You know what the funny part is? You, trying to get revenge against us, crippled the very bandit group preventing us from going further into the realms! And for that, you will be rewarded with being able to see him!!!" He begins to laugh like an actual insane person, giving even the town guard chills down their spine.

Amaya is trying to resist brutally smashing his head in and beating on his corpse.. she doesn't want to become a monster like him..

"..Why did you attack me then? If it wasn't because you thought the worm was a god's sign of vengeance against us.. then.. state your reason.." She said, desperately trying to contain her rage.

"For us, it was never about the damn worm! We don't care what, unsanitary gluttony they display, or how it was an active affront to the natural order, OUR natural order! We knew that if you uncovered that worm, we wouldn't have operations to hide behind anymore! Do you know what'd happen if those unsanitary cults of false gods knew we used Danesburrow as a base of operations? We'd be flayed!!!"

Amaya goes to try to punch him, but.. stops mid-punch. she turns around, and asks the guards to see what he knows about where they're hiding, and to see him brought to justice.

She then leaves, closing the door, feeling as if she was played for a fool.





--If you enjoyed, leave a comment for more! I might even make a Waifu FighterZ character sheet for her if people ask enough!--

--Check out the Amaya Adventure Gallery to keep up to date on her journey!--

--Also feel free to ask for the physical appearance of a character you'd love to have brought to life (Nothing too sexual though okay?) and I'll do it--