The young scholar-witch mumbled to herself as she walked through the small town, glancing over her notes. The town was in a poor location and used to be attacked often by monsters quite regularly. However, fifty or so years ago, the monster attacks had slowed to a mere crawl.
People often cited a knight, but could never locate him to thank him. Money, food, drink, and other supplies had been left out in offering, but the food and drink were never taken. Eventually the people would learn that the mysterious man always took sharpening stones, weaponry, and sewing supplies when they were offered.
She'd come to find this knight. Townsfolk be damned, she was going to find him. The people called him 'Red Hood' due to the dark red cloak he wore, the hood always firmly hiding his face from being see. Whether the cloak was red due to blood or dye was anyone's guess.
She walked into the tavern, easily finding her way to an empty table in the corner. Smiling politely, she ordered a simple water and warm bread. Just for the time being, she assured the elderly woman.
She tapped her fingers as she glanced over her notes. "Who are you, Mr. Red Hood? A mercenary working for the little guy? No, that rarely happens. What about a knight? That sounds right, but also wrong. No human knight would leave the food and drink offered. As if knights bother to sew anyway..."
The elderly owner smiled as she set down her plate and cup. "We don't bother that young man and he doesn't bother us, miss. We thank him for his work keeping us safe and he continues keeping us safe."
She blinked and smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry, was I muttering out loud again?"
The woman smiled and gently patted her arm. "You're more than welcome to stay as long as you want, but please don't cause trouble. Red Hood don't like troubemakers."
She smiled politely and ndded, lacing her fingers together in her lap. "Of course, I'll be good and won't bother the nice man, miss."
The woman smiled widely and patted her shoulder. "Thank you very much, dearie. How long are you staying in town?"
She tugged a bite off her bread. "I'm not sure. I guess until I'm satisfied or my questions are answered. My name's Seraphina, by the way."
The woman nodded. "Nice to meet you, Seraphina. Now, if you need anythin at all, gimmie a holler."
Seraphina smiled and nodded. "Thank you, miss, I'll keep that in mind."
Seraphina turned to her notebook as the woman walked off. She nibbled on her bread, flipping through a few potential monsters in her bestiary. Nothing caught her eye, sadly. Except for one thing; animated armor. But those were few and far between, not to mention fifty years meant a powerful mage would've been the one to do it. And there hadn't been any powerful mages in the area for miles. Animated armor didn't wander away from their posts, nor were they often conscious enough to actually spend their time keeping a small town safe from monsters.
She softly sighed and bit into her bread, staring at the pages. Maybe it was a new monster. Oh fun.
Seraphina stayed at the inn for several days until something finally happened. She scurried downstairs, pushing past the scrambling inside to hide. She grinned widely, ducking outside. A swarm of keese flew around, screeching as they swooped and dived as a single unit down to attack people running to get inside.
She looked around at a scream of terror and sucked in a breath at a child scurrying away, tripping and falling onto the cobblestone road. She looked around and yanked a cloak off the hanger beside the inn door, holding it up as she ran over to the child. Practically throwing herself over the child, she held the cloak down tightly as the keese swarm swooped at them, their small teeth and claws scratching at the fabric.
She winced when some managed to tear the cloth and bit at her skin, biting her lip. She blinked at a sharp whistle and yelped at a small explosion. Peering up from her cloak, she stared as the armored man stood in front of them. Staring at the red cloak, she quickly wrapped the child in her borrowed cloak, pushing him towards a building.
She looked up when the swarm regrouped, significantly smaller. Red Hood reached for another small grenade on his belt and she stepped forward, taking a deep breath as she summoned her magic. She closed her eyes and raised an hand as the swarm neared them.
A fireball shot out of her hand, obliterating the swarm into ashes. She took a deep breath and stared when he turned to walk away, his cloak swaying behind him. She hummed softly, tilting her head to look up at the hood.
She straightened up and followed after him, easily keeping up with his long strides. He walked out of town and into the nearby forest, his head twisting slightly to peer at her. She followed him, determination set on her face.
He softly sighed and walked to his camp, sitting down in front of the small fire, leaning back. "What do you want?"
She crossed her arms, sitting down across from him. "What are you? You never take any food, so you're not human. You don't even take the money. You only ever take weapons, items to care for your weapons, and the occasional sewing tool."
He tilted his head. "Aniarmor. Can't remember who made me, must've been close to sixty or seventy years. Fucker's probably dead by now."
She frowned, her brow furrowing. "There's no way. Most animated armor doesn't last long unless someone's taking care of it."
He snorted, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I take care of me. Leather don't rust, so I changed out that old metal shit I was in. I kill for new leather when I need it."
She nodded, staring as he adjusted the hood, two bright green-blue orbs staring at her. "You really are animated armor."
He nodded, the orbs never blinking. "I was alive at one point. Got killed, shoved in a shitty suit of armor, and eventually ended up here. They need help and they're kind enough so I stay."
She nodded slowly. "Did you have a name?"
He leaned back, one glove against the ground. "Jason Todd. Won't believe how long it took for me to just remember that."
She smiled slightly and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "You'd be surprised at what I've seen. My name's Seraphina Isley."
He hummed softly. "I'm actually pleased to meet you, Seraphina."