Ymiden 5, 717
Evil came in many different forms. There were those who would slip past your defenses and steal all of your possessions, but simultaneously refuse to wound or harm. Alternatively, there were those who would encounter you on the street, draw forth a jagged blade, and threaten to jam it between your ribs if you so much as uttered a squeal of shock. Still other forms of evil abounded with varying degrees of intensity and genuine wickedness; abusers of children and animals, those who took sadistic pleasure in cruel acts, those who forced others to work and then refused to even feed them for their labor.
Yes, evil came in many different forms, but perhaps the most dangerous of all were those who did not perceive themselves as truly bad. Seldom did guilt not wrack the minds of those who committed heinous and atrocious acts, but those who believed that what they did was for the betterment of all were immune to such pleas of the conscious. The same could be said of the ignorant, those who simply did not understand that what they did was wrong, because they had never been taught, nor learned of the conformities and rules created by society.
Noth now stood face to face with a being, attempting to understand where he fell upon the spectrum. Paplo had introduced the pair at some point earlier in Ymiden, and though they had become vaguely aware of one another, they had yet to be alone together until this very moment. There had always been an ever-present trust issue with Mammon, and that translated now to those he had recruited to their cause. Whilst it was absolutely necessary to continue recruiting others so that they might accomplish their goals in the future, he wasn’t entirely certain as to whether or not the strange man before him held any ulterior motives.
Of course, if they were going to work together against the oppressive regime of Etzos and enact their own reign, then they would need to trust one another, and trust was seldom gained when there was no interaction. To solve that issue, Noth had arranged a meeting with the man through Mammon, and invited him to the cave for a delightful activity that he was certain would promote the solidarity of the group. Naturally, he hadn’t actually described what it was they would be doing, but he had mentioned to bring any armament or equipment that might be necessary to track something down, and thusly he had hinted rather heavily at their chosen work.
“Greetings.” He spoke, nodding towards the man. “I trust that you found your way here easily?”
Mammon knew exactly how to reach his cavernous home, and he had assumed that that information would be passed on to the newcomer, though it could be that he had simply neglected to inform the other fellow and left him to wander until he had detected their base of operations.
“We have met before, you and I. In case you have forgotten, I am Noth.” He stated, ensuring that he had managed to grab all of his required gear before they set out. Upon his shoulder lay his trusted longbow and several arrows had been prepared and were now strapped to his back. A jagged hunting knife had found its way upon his side as well, and it hung loosely besides an adamantite mace. Strangely, he had determined that it would be in his best interests to wear some manner of protection, and thus he was outfitted with his hauberk; a strange choice given his chosen task.
“Now then. Have you ever heard of a Grey Velox?” The merest glint of joy flickered across his face at the interrogative. “We shall be hunting one.”