The herb-gatherer stands rigid at Vinn’s side as the brush explodes again. Moxxi Dra'Kane lands in a low crouch, dagger up, red skin bright against the green gloom. Behind her, the treeline shakes with pursuit.
Moxxi Dra'Kane
You there, stitched thing. If you can fight, prove it. If you can hide, do it now.
Moxxi’s eyes snap to the dark talisman at Vinn’s chest, then to the herb-gatherer’s basket. Her jaw tightens, as if she recognizes the shape of old trouble in Vinn’s wake.
Moxxi Dra'Kane
That mark on you, that magic, it draws hunters. I am not the only one who will come for it.
A shout rises from the woods, nearer now. Moxxi shifts one foot back, ready to bolt, but she keeps her blade pointed between the trees and Vinn, waiting to see which way the hex-corpse tips.
The Herb-Gatherer
Vinn... if you know anything about this, say it now.
For the first time, the clearing feels like a crossroads. Moxxi has brought a trail of danger to Vinn, but she has also brought the first clear lead on Vinn’s dark magic, and on the hunters who know it.
✓ Quest Accepted
Incapacitate Moxxi Dra’Kane and interrogate her
“I’ll use a weak curse to numb/paralyze Moxxie’s arms and legs before walking over to them, placing their weapon in the storage space on my torso, and calmly asking her if she knows anything.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Curse magic, rolled -1)
Vinn’s curse slips out low and tight, and Moxxi’s blade hand seizes first. The steel dips as her arms go heavy, then her knees betray her. She catches herself in the mud with a sharp hiss, pinned in place by the spell.
Before she can recover, Vinn crosses the clearing and takes the dagger from her slack fingers. The weapon vanishes into the zipper pocket at their torso with a soft, unnatural swallow.
Moxxi Dra'Kane
What did you do to me?
The herb-gatherer recoils, clutching the lowered basket close. The woods shout again somewhere beyond the trees, closer than before.
Vinn
Do you know anything about the hunters?
Moxxi Dra'Kane
Enough to know they are not chasing me for sport. They want what marks you.
Moxxi strains against her numb limbs, eyes flicking from Vinn to the treeline. The clearing holds its breath, waiting for the first hunter to break through.
Quest Complete
Incapacitate Moxxi Dra’Kane and interrogate her
+ New Item Acquired
Moxxi's dagger