Fantasy Wherever the Wind Takes You

[Gary Sue]

"Please help us! A pack of Warhogs is terrorising
the nearby woods and it's becoming impossible
to safely import medicine and food into the town
and keep the trade routes up and running."​

That's the gist of it, right? At least that's what Reeve recalled out of looking around and overhearing a discussion between some of the travelers nearby and the locals. He was better off not sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but it wasn't like his line of work was all that busy without any trade keeping important folk coming into town- or wanting to leave in the first place. And so, he had set out into the forest with his longsword and hunting equipment, making sure to travel lightly with just the bare essentials. Some daggers, a bit of flint and enough supplies to take care of any emergency wounds. In a trip towards the South, he'd gotten in a squabble with some of the Orcs' patrol forces before and had to fend off Warhogs for himself. They were nothing too menacing, especially now that he had hindsight.

He'd been tracking them for a good while though, and the only thing he saw that was mildly concerning was those paw prints in the ground. Much bigger than a Warhog's, much wider than a human's. Something larger was here, and judging by how crowded the forest seemed, it was working along with the troublemakers the locals had spotted. Hidden in some bushes close to the pack, he could see three of the smaller creatures moving and a big, long tail being swept in front of them. "That had to be the bigger one.", he nodded to himself and now he was certain. There wasn't a chance he could take on something that big on his own. Reeve could sure as hell outrun it if need be though, getting some intel might just be what he needs to make a second trip over and take care of this invader.

With a deep breath, he moved a hand to the back of his belt and grabbed one of the daggers he had hoisted on it, crouching slightly lower after he heard some rustling from just a bit further. With a turn of his head, he squinted his eyes and moved his hand slowly to his sword's hilt, just in case. Something else that was neither these monsters nor him wanted to join in on the hunt. Things could get messy.

ShredKnives psst your turn

 

[ShredKnives]

"Please help us! A pack of Warhogs is terrorising the nearby woods and it's becoming impossible to safely import medicine and food into the town and keep the trade routes up and running." NPC

Archers like her were a bit dangerous. As someone who once took upon the role of being the maiden of her shrine, she always held a firm belief in the preservation of life, and now she was suddenly embarking on this journey, a journey she impulsively took after she saw the glimmer of love and passion founded when she held a bow for the first time. The meditation of holding breath, the nocking of the arrow, feeling the breeze cut into her hair while the wooden decision pierced into the heart of her target.

She was conflicting, her garments naturally having a negative coalescence that made people turn the other way; the only reason she was still accepted was because she was too charismatic, talkative, social. People cared about her even after she had embarked on such a journey, and it's not like the bow-wielding priestess was so unorthodox: it was in the nature of her theology that allowed its acceptance...But it was just her personality that seemed to put people the wrong way. She was just excited to shoot a bow where she could, and often, her tunnel vision of helping the people lost her the foresight of the destruction that could come after, leading to short-term decisions.

But she wasn't an idiot...Just impulsive. And young, immature. Trained in all the physical senses, but hadn't quite registered the wisdom that needed to come along with it.

Archery had an odd similarity with war. It was very, very, very boring...Up until the moment to fire arose, then it was all unending adrenaline.

She had a knife on her, for emergency's sake, but she had never learned to stab with it. For all she knew, she might completely miss, but she'd drive off any invader just by having the weapon advantage. The bow, really, tended to be her main weapon. With some provisions and an emergency care kit, she was about ready to Allons-y for a new quest.

Warthogs were easy. Animals like those had patterns, trails, and smells that even she could piece together. Stealth was pivotal to being an archer, because once they knew where the arrow comes from, the archer needed to be able to have a plan to escape, or a plan to stay hidden. Usually. And she was relatively landing her marks this time around. Good day today, wasn't it? And it seemed like she was gonna be done for the day, even having trouble finding more trails...Which was unusual, because she thought there would be more.

But now a bigger target was at hand. Something cooperating with these fancy things? Well, domestication was never really a human-exclusive skill, but it was just unconventional and...Repulsive. It rubbed her the wrong way.

Deep breath. Her bow was already drawn, looking between the gaps of leaves in the bushes and eyeing the ground for twigs she may step on as she shimmied closer and strafed into a proper angle for her target...

Then she felt something.

Magic was an oddity. Sometimes it existed, and sometimes, it was just the nature of humans to have those nature-defying senses.

In this nature, she seemed to understand perfectly the feeling of being watched and the direction it came from, a beneficial intrusion to her body's working properties. So when her eyes turn the other way, her brain does the rest; preparing to see the discrepancies behind the bushes, the trees, the grass, the green amidst-

Holy crap, he was a little obvious, wasn't he? The blue, the metal, the hair, the sword? Not that she was any better, she was just better off because she was further away. Range is a beautiful friend.

But...They locked eyes. That meant they could see each other. And as far as her bow was pointed, she hadn't shown hostility to the man over there...Maybe with a bit of discreet subtlety she could...

She jutted the bow forward, back and forth, towards the direction of the targets. It's unclear where she was pointing, but the woman was trying extremely hard to target the big guy over there. Just for clarity's sake, she even tried to shift the bow up, as if implying that the target was she going for could be hit from further up, because the target was taller than the others. Her eyes dart between the person who caught her and the target in particular, her finger folded into her fist and out in a point.

She was doing a lot for this, but she had no idea how she was going to reconvene with this guy without acting hostile. She couldn't just set a cue for him, they didn't know each other, just two unlucky strangers with a similar goal, a goal they couldn't explicitly share without causing attention to the both of them at once.

LOOK, I AM TARGETING THAT GUY. BIG GUY. HE'S UP THERE, TALLER THAN THEM. LOOK, I'M NOT TARGETING YOU, MY BOW IS TOWARDS THEM. PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME, THANK YOU, LOOK, I'M POINTING OVER THERE.

Pray to her kami that he would receive at least one fraction of these subtle messages because she was not looking for a fight from another human and most certainly not trying to lose sight of her target.

 

[Gary Sue]

Another person carrying out the very same task, and an archer at that it would appear. Although he'd love to have a nice chat and take her assistance, there was some doubt in the back of his mind about her aim- just to stay on the safe side. As he watched her fiddle around with her bow, he realised she was trying to signal to him and let out a sigh and a slow nod, feeling a bead of sweat on the back of his head starting to make its way down to his neck. He moved his hand from his sword to his front, holding it at around chest level and lowering it a few times before he pointed at himself and showed a dagger.

"Hopefully she can put two and two together...", he huffed, trying to make sure they'd both go for a different target so that they could avoid any stray arrows. It wasn't like Reeve was doing this for the thrill of the hunt, so they'd have to share whatever reward came out of this. That was all for once they were done though, for now they still had what boiled down to a hunt to finish. And so, he gave a small nod as though to signal that he was moving on ahead, picking up a pebble and peeking out, just to throw it with all his power at one of the nearby trees, although far away enough from them to not give either's position away.

Growling, and it was getting louder too. They heard. The Warhogs came closer, although whatever else was with them seemed to be staying further behind, wary and out of sight, for Reeve at the very least. He was surprised the ranger could see the lot from where she were to begin with, but on with the hunt.

He began to approach the pack of three that had moved closer to the tree to investigate, sniffing around and getting ready to charge at whatever was there just a moment ago. Just like back when he was down South, it was coming back to him. He moved closer behind the trees, with one hand sliding his sword out of his sheath and another grabbing a dagger from his belt.

A twig snapped under him, and got the attention of the beasts that turned and spotted the vanguard immediately. Despite their colorblindness, his bright colors stuck out too much in contrast to the forest's green that surrounded everything. The dagger quickly found itself on one of the hogs' legs, weakening it and causing it to stumble until it fell. With two more making their way over, he waited until they were close before dashing to the side and out of their way. By the time they turned, what looked like a beam of light came out of the sword after he slashed towards their direction, hitting one of the hogs and cutting it much like a blade would.

For the time being, two of them were incapacitated, although not dead yet. If possible, Reeve wanted to avoid having to do that- he would grab all of them and turn them in to the locals or relocate them elsewhere, where they wouldn't be ganging up with whatever other monsters was to terrorise man or animal alike. A sweet thought he was snapped out of when he realised the last Warhog left standing was too close for comfort, forced to come out into a clearing of sorts in order to avoid the oncoming attack, now definitely in sight for the leader of the pack.

He turned to where that ranger must have been, giving her a nod yet again before he looked back at the beast that roared, starting another mad dash straight for the knight's poorly protected stomach. As though he weren't shaken in the slightest, the brunette began to run towards it too, jumping over it in a show of acrobatics and dexterity before he slashed at its hind calf. Enough damage to keep it from charging again, and that should be enough. Better yet, he didn't hurt his leg in the process this time.

"The forest's more dense here, but it went exactly the same as last time.", his thoughts echoed in the back of his mind as he smiled glanced down at his leg, unscathed before he chuckled lowly. "Almost the same.", he corrected himself and raised his head again, holding his sword with both hands in a combat-ready stance. A small glimmer shone momentarily from the gem in its guard and blade, before with a low growl and a heavy thud, the towering monster stepped forward. Its head stood just slightly above Reeve, with scales on its thick, long arms that extended into wings. The smile was quickly wiped off the man's face when he realised what was standing before him was a wyvern. "The hell is a wyvern doing in a forest so low?!"

They were biting off way more than they could chew if they took on this fight, even with the stranger backing him up. So he quickly gave a glance and a nervous nod in case she were looking back at him, turning his attention back to the threat. Red with some black stripes on the top and barbs trailing from its head to its tail, he prepared to guard as the monster roared loudly enough to be heard throughout the forest. "It's going to make a move..!"

 

[ShredKnives]

Woah...What a beautiful display. He's definitely a big-time knight.

She almost swooned at the sight; she idolized the concept of a knight, which was a popular ideal amongst females in general. A lot of people loved the idea of the silver armor warrior protecting and defending for king and country, and some even idolized the thought of working alongside them. She was one of those people.

All the more reason to hone her thoughts and keep focus. She noted it all. One dagger embedded into one hog, while a slash had incapacitated another hog. She just needed to bide her time, let the handsome prince do the work while she tries to figure out how to contribute to this awfully one-sided battle.

Uh oh.

Okay, maybe not so one-sided.

Wyvern. Wyvern??

What does that nod mean, mister?! I didn't take sign language!!

DECISIONS! The world was potentially throwing to them the invitation to the Seven Gates of Hell, and she hadn't even escaped virginity yet!

"uh-uhm-fuck-hmn-" The panic was already getting to her, she never accounted the big bad being a wyvern. What could a wannabe ranger from the obscure shrines of the Deep Forests do to a wyvern four times their size! Think, Laila, think!

Magic...She could try it. No, she would try it! Damned be if she be the cause of a knight's demise!

Some races...Had magic drawn to them. Though the potential to conjure magic and wield it was enticing, most humans did not have an innate embrace of the magic that was all around them, only being limited to the most visible properties, such as the air and the sound and the water and whatever else was tangible enough for their senses to collect. Some races, the same way how a dog has a unique sense of smell that far outpaces that of the human, could channel much deeper than that and harness the innards of magic in such a high-precision way that it could be compared to the autopsy of a body. Dissecting a magic was an impossiblity for the humans. For now. But what did that mean for her?

Well...If solitary in the forest meant anything to her...

I'LL ATTUNE THIS ARROW WITH SOUND! IF ALL GOES WELL, THAT BIG THING SHOULD...BE SCARED.

Channeling a magic was almost like trying to tell your heart to flow blood a different direction. Magic was constantly being shifted around against the movement of all things...But telling it to do something was like telling your body to stop breathing. It was bizarre, surreal, a tongue twister on the veins.

At least, that's how she felt. But still, she felt her arrowhead, its glint circulating with air and holes that pierced into the metal, emitting a whistling nose and a vibrating motif. Skins of a wyvern were rough and solid...But serrating the arrowhead and forcing it to vibrate could easily penetrate through it given the velocity and the back-and-forth motion was proper...The beauty of magic was utility.

No time for thinking, she would go off of feeling!

With arrow nocked, feelings primed, and hand armed, she fired!!

The arrow whizzed past her cheek with the whistle of a high pitched kettle, violently vibrating as her arrow, a bit to her detriment, had wobbled from the sudden addition of movement. However, it shouldn't be too bad! The main target was the wyvern's ears, a sensibly weaker region to hit. If her eyes were good, this was a calculated shot that only she could make, and a shot that would resonate a sound so conductive into the bones of its destination that it could perhaps shake the entire entity and force it into paralysis. With magic...Came science. With science...Came power.

Was this going to be the bullseye that saves them both?

 

[Gary Sue]

While Laila was giving using magic her absolute all, Reeve and the wyvern had locked eyes, with the hulking monster approaching step after step. Once it was close enough and the knight lowered his sword to go for an upward slash, the predator raised a hand and lifted its body up to attack, moving just enough for the arrow to find its target when fired- almost. Instead of hitting the beast's ears, it hit its throat just before the wyvern got to slam its frontal legs down to knock the man off his feet and onto the ground.

A yelp followed from the beast before it stammered to the side, leaving just enough of an opening for Reeve to disengage. But that wouldn't get rid of the problem- he had to think fast. Almost acting entirely on instinct, he kicked himself forwards and slashed up at his target, barely scratching its throat's underside and causing it to topple over. He then quickly jumped backwards, and it seemed to be the right move considering the wyvern spat out fire. The part he had just slashed began to glow as it did, a bright red swelling up as he took another step back, watching it get on its feet once again and roar before glaring right into his eyes.

Things were going to get bad if the entire forest caught on fire and he knew it, all it would take would be one breath to start a wildfire that'd spiral out of control. He was quick to take another dagger on his belt, throwing it towards the monster's eyes. It simply raised one of its arms forwards though, with the scales deflecting it with ease before it dropped on the floor. Ineffective as could be.

By the time its arm was lowered again, Reeve was already running away from it and out of the clearing, gesturing for the archer to follow along while he sheathed his sword and gave his sprint everything he could. "Taking on a fight here would be both deadly and stupid, it has to lose us.", he planned things out in his mind, before he heard a loud flap of the wyvern's wings. Of course it was going to be giving chase, what else would a damn apex predator do?

But that only gave him an idea. If that arrow pierced its scales, then it must have been imbued with some form of magic right? A good shot would be enough to knock it out of the sky and give it a shake strong enough to get it to back off, for the time being at the very least. Slowing down his pace so he wouldn't make as much noise and Laila could catch up too, he looked over his shoulder to check where she were so he could try and break down the plan as best as he could. They'd have to reposition though, to a clearer place, considering all the foliage would get in the way of her hitting her mark.

 

[ShredKnives]

A miss!! She cursed herself for her incompetency. However, it did confirm between the two of them magic could aid in penetrating the hide of the great baby-face variant of the dragon. Now, she really just needed to land the shit. The final obstacle between them and living...Why do things have to be this risky?

Her eyes caught onto the faint figure of the brunette, a lot easier to lock onto thanks to the high contrast he simply had. With a bit of realization as she observed his gestures, her feet kicked off and she was off and chasing alongside the mysterious man. For the most part, she kept her distance; maybe a little too close, but she wasn't experienced with the collateral zones of a drake, so please bear with her.

With the drake roaring and giving chase, she would inevitably have to land her shot from even further away, something she would unfortunately lose confidence in. She never had made a shot on a moving flying target, and she was no hawk eye or ace baron...But she did have a little versatility.

She got closer to him as they ran, presumably, away from the forest's center, where they could get some better vision and give her a better chance at landing a shot. It was good that she could keep up with him, otherwise she could've ended up turning into drake bait, turning a small time quest into her own little fate with death.

Well, that's what she thinks, anyway...She wasn't any mind reader nor was she a psychic. Hopefully, this man had a plan.

She didn't.

Can this man give her a little clarification?

 

[Gary Sue]

Realising that she hadn't a single clue what he wanted her to do, Reeve grumbled and turned to look to the side, asking her to follow with a gesture of his hand towards him. At a somewhat lower pace, seeing another clearing further ahead, he took a deep breath and stopped, extending his arm in front of her as he did. And so, he pointed up and turned around at her, making movements with his arms as though he had a bow in his hands with the string pulled back. After making sure to get some nod, any form of confirmation she was even remotely following along... he sighed and pointed at his eyes before up again.

His plan was very obvious to himself, considering he already knew what he was trying to say... he usually just never had to work with others like this, let alone in the heat of battle without a single moment of strategic planning beforehand. This was a whole new experience, and he'd like it if not for the fact that if she didn't pick up on his signaling fast, they were both going to become dragon feed quite soon.

As they stepped out into the clearing and the wyvern spotted them, it roared and began to gather flames in its throat once again. Clutching his sword's hilt harder, Reeve gave a cautious, determined look to Laila before nodding. He grabbed his sword with both hands, its blade glowing before he threw a beam of light upwards and towards the aerial enemy, although it dissipated long before it reached the beast. "Light, sound, anything will do!", he thought rather desperately, hoping that this final demonstration would hammer the point even further than his signs and gestures already (hopefully) had.

 

[ShredKnives]

Ohhhh...Oh, okay, IcandothatIcandefinitelydothat.

Luckily, she caught on pretty quick, now fully nocking another arrow into her bow and getting ready to draw. Now that they were finally clearing up and away the forest, she would definitely be able to follow suit with just the right kind of idea.

Sound traveled slower than light in this instance, so she'd have to work with the utility of light; luckily, it was nothing more than a cantrip, something that could casted near instantaneously and was easy to cast with conditions; magic was a feeling, at the end of the day, it just needed to be guided, channeled, and conveyed in the proper way it was intended to.

All right, not a lot of time would be left for them, but she could easily amplify the light source, her hands rubbing into the arrowhead at an extremely swift pace; with a bit of the magic touch, she was reshaping her arrowhead to fit the purpose that they both needed...A convex mirror-based arrowhead. Hollowed out on the inside but curving into the center-tip, it was now in the perfect shape to diffuse any light source contained within; luckily, she didn't need to have her hand inside the arrow tip. Her magic freely flowed into the small hole, casting a light into the base like a wick on a wax candle...With a bit of prayer for good luck.

Now came the second part. She pointed her bow upward, giving her only a moment to fire before the dragon could easily swoop down and get her.

She fired.

The light was conditioned to emit in five seconds upon her casting the light. Mixing two seconds, more or less, into drawing and firing straight into the air, and expect three seconds before the sky would light up like the chaffs of an aircraft.

She glanced back at brunette, and held up three fingers. Three seconds.

With the way the light would travel the slope of her arrowhead and escape the hopes, one might even picture the clouds were getting brighter from how intense that light had lit up the sky...So much so that the flash only lasted just past a blink of the eye before it disintegrated, the light having been so intense it had burned through the thin metal she had molded.

Though...That should be more than enough.

 

[Gary Sue]

As soon as she fired the arrow, he already knew that something was going to happen. Before the blinding flash of light, he covered his eyes, just to hear another roar once it was over. The wyvern's eyes must have been sensitive as it flailed its arms around, having been knocked off balance and shooting its flaming breath into the air in a panic. "It worked!", he smiled before looking to the side and grabbing the archer by the arm.

If it did, the wyvern was going to be dropping quite soon- they didn't do all that just to get squashed. So Reeve ran further away from where they just were, making sure that she was able to keep up with the pace. A few seconds after, a loud thud was heard as a cloud of dust lifted from the ground. Another warcry from the wyvern, it was angry alright. But rather than flying back up to give chase, it stayed in place and looked around, blinking a few times before it took back to the skies, this time headed on the opposite direction towards the mountains.

When the threat had clearly moved far enough that it wouldn't return, the duo had already made their way just a bit farther too, but now they could finally rest. He let go of her and sheathed his blade, before leaning back against a tree and slowly slumping down until he was sat against it. Gasping, the knight felt exhausted. Even though he knew no magic of his own, even using his sword's magic like that took a lot out of him, and the adrenaline was starting to crash down on him. He'd never been faced with something that dangerous before, and it was all because of her that they made it out.

Reeve raised his head, looking up at Laila and smiling before he put both of his palms together and dipped his head forwards, grateful for her assistance during the hunt. Communicating wasn't quite his forte due to his unlucky predicament, but he was sure they'd manage to talk... somehow. They'd have to split the reward somehow, and it's not like he didn't want to learn her name. Better yet, if she needed protection to get from one place to another, he could accompany her. Given she'd pay up, at least. She didn't look like bad people and even though she had a clear chance to betray him, she never did. All these thoughts ran through his head as he looked at her, with a small smile emerging on his lips as he snapped back to reality and let out a short laugh.

 

[ShredKnives]

Before she knew out, a yelp had escaped her mouth as body and soul were yanked alongside the brunette, her feet just barely synchronizing with him.

Well, he seems happy.

For their sakes, she kept up. Multiple times, she had to leap over overgrown tree roots and make long strides over the forest lush, but she hadn't broke pace!

Stopping short of a break within the trees, it seemed like a relief at first, Laila finally having a chance to catch her breath before all of the exhaustion hit her at once, literally dropping to her knees as her head got woozy and she was tempted to hurl from the sudden stop. Magic was easier to her than others might have had experience with, perhaps as a result of training or simple efficiency...But running, shooting, and modifying mid-combat; well, that was something a Capital's guards were trained in, not a small-town forest dweller from the outskirt villages of Tarlan.

"Hah...Huff...Hoof..."

Right as he bowed, her eyes widened with a quick bit of astonishment, her hands clasping together with a quick and unceremonious bow.

"Heh...Huh...Haha..."

Somehow, a laughter cut into the air. She couldn't help it; such an unlucky twist of fate between the two of them, their only salvation having been a jury-rigged flashbang, a lucky shot that had tested the fickleness of their karma. Brushing shoulders with death and paying for another day, it was a victory lap, one that she cheered for. Had either of them been alone during this endeavor, death would perhaps have been an absolute.

So, she laughed, right alongside him. Today, they would live another.

Laila had a warm laugh; her movements and her gestures had innocent excitement, the traits of a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, but her laughter now being so close for the man to observe, was warm and contagious, like a musical's catchy tune. Laila, the way it seemed, was someone who was very honest.

Once she finally had the opportunity to stave away the adrenaline, the exhaustion, and the bodily urge to hurl out her lungs, she finally managed to pull up a quick smile, leaning close to the brunette with a dynamic movement of her hands, like she was about to tell him the craziest thing that happened today.

"Hey...Hey, um- Sorry, about- uh, missing out on the thing, earlier," She began with another unnecessary laugh at the end. Appending her hesitant uh's and um's with a quick laugh seemed to be her automatic follow-up. Forest dwellers like her weren't the most solidified in voicing out her thoughts, but with the way she was thinking intensely at least clarified that she was trying to get past that more visible flaw.

Oh, yeah, she was talking about the part that she missed his gestures earlier. With a bit of guilt strapped in her voice, she continued, "And the...The whole- well, I guess you must've heard about the request, right? I, uh, I mean, same target, same area, couldn't be a coincidence, right, haha?"

Again with the laugh.

"Hey, um, if you want the reward, uh-"

Pause. Deep breath, Laila made.

"You can take it yourself, and you can pay me back with helping out with another quest! I think we work well together, so there's nothing wrong with the idea, hm? My name's Laila, by the way! What's yours?"

 

[Gary Sue]

The last thing he expected was for her to be apologising- she hit her target just fine, didn't she? Shot right into the neck, it just wasn't a wound deep enough to ward it off. Of course it wasn't though, an arrow can only do so much while it's still an arrow... He shook his head at her and raised a hand, trying to comfort her before she brought on the request matter. With the way she was acting, giggling and now even talking, he could piece two and two together. She was probably somewhat naive, and not... exactly the kind of person that should be this far away from home on an adventure. At least not on her own.

Although there was a shine in his eyes when she mentioned he could have all of the reward, he gave a slow, wary nod with a small grin on his lips when she asked for them to collaborate on another quest. "I suppose it's more bodyguard work, technically... I'll see where she wants to take me first, since it might be about where I was wanting to go. More populated towns mean more potential jobs to pick up either way...", he nodded to himself before she asked for his name.

Laila, huh? It seemed fitting enough. As for his own, this was always a rather hard part that came with the 'many benefits' of his situation. Getting his name across. So he moved a hand to his back, grabbing a scroll from under his armor (and a very worn one at that) and unwrapping it. With a quick read, he nodded and huffed, turning it to her so she could read it out for herself. It seemed to be a scroll describing the bodyguard services he offered and the costs, but that was all unimportant.

That's why he put one of his fingers above the name signed at the bottom right corner of the papyrus; Reeve Windsor. Once he saw her eyes peeking over, he removed his hand from it and pointed at himself, promptly letting her take it in before he hid the scroll once again under his equipment. This small conversation of sorts was enough time for the lot of them to gather their strength again and rest up, at least enough to get back to walking to the nearby town. It's not like they had to stand still if there was anything else to be said, right?

So Reeve stood up, dusted himself and offered a hand to help Laila up as well, looking around to get a feel for where in the forest they were. After a rough sketching of the area, he guessed they were probably... a bit more west of Veila. If the mountains were that way at least, that meant they must have moved a good bit since entering the woods.

 

[ShredKnives]

"Reeve...Windsor..."

With an enthusiastic nod, she now had a proper nomenclature for this man! One step closer to being an acquaintance! As to depicting why the man refused to talk, she'd have to figure out at a later point. But a bodyguard? She supposed that definitely fit his apparel; definitely the dashing prince of knights look. Main character vibrance, she thought with an enthusiastic expression that he probably couldn't decrypt.

She took the hand with grateful platitude, happily joining up with him.

"Trying to map out where we are?" She suggested, "I think we're about a kilometer off the center of the forests. I'd say west of Veila but we're technically closer to the villages of Ruina, which is a bit more north; if we head on..."

She glanced from one tree to the other, rubbing her chin thoughtfully before pointing, "This direction, we should get put on a trail that'll lead straight to Veila. No one knows about it because it just got made two weeks ago." Of course, the forest person knew her way around this place more than he might. "Hang on, you can follow me...I can take you right to it."

She firmly grabbed onto Reeve's hand, pulling him alongside her as she said with a light-hearted tone, "Don't stray too far. You don't seem like a talker so I don't wanna lose you to the forest, okay? Sound good?"

 

[Gary Sue]

It was more than just beneficial that she knew how to move around the forest, considering he tended to frequent more open areas. Swordfights with trees left and right weren't too easy, and neither did he feel too safe trying to brandish his blade in here. Regardless, she knew a shortcut, allegedly... He was doubtful about whether it was really a shortcut or she had gotten tricked due to the naivety she'd shown thus far, but off they were to find out.

What did catch him by surprise was that right as he started to follow her, she grabbed his hand and began to pull him alongside her. Clients were many and similar for the most part, but there were few that wanted to get 'this close' off the cuff. With a somewhat hesitant nod and a huff, he smiled and decided to follow right on behind her. "Wh-Why does she think I'm choosing not to say a thing..?", he sighed and wanted to shake his head, a more stoic expression taking over his face momentarily as he looked down at the hilt of his sword.

After a few moments of reminiscing about something, he almost stumbled on some roots and snapped out of it, coughing to clear his throat and paying some more attention to the ground. Best not get swept off his feet by some tree that's minding its own business before he accepts a bodyguard duty for Laila, if he wants to maintain a good self image at least. Taking a brief moment to think about their surroundings, he was somewhat glad that the Warhogs ended up being in the... well, not swampy part of Velia's surroundings. It made hunting them down and taking care of them a whole lot easier, so all's well that ends well.

"All's well that ends well sounds about right. Who should I turn the Warhogs in to... W-Wait. The Warhogs?", he raised a brow and stopped in his tracks, rubbing his chin quietly before it clicked. When they ran, they just left the three wounded animals down... Good god, that was... ugh.

Reeve looked at the ranger somewhat disgruntled as he bit down on his lip softly, realising that until they got to town, he wouldn't be able to ask her if she remembered where they'd left them. Good luck explaining anything to her now though. This was just all the more reason to rush back to Velia to him, so he gave a nod, gestured with his head towards wherever they were already headed before he stopped the both of them and even sped up his pace somewhat, as though he were in a hurry.

 

[ShredKnives]

A couple of minutes passed. If he was voicing his protests, she literally didn't hear it, aside from perhaps the sigh.

Of course, a question mark was practically popping out of her head. Did he know a better way or something?

...

She had just caught onto his pause, nearly tripping forward from his strength; Laila was a small woman, so this was somewhat normal, still...A warning would've been nice. "Wo-woah, what's...Uhh?"

He looked like he had forgotten something, but that couldn't be right. There wasn't anything they missed, they hunted the warthogs and got strayed away from a drake...They successfully ran and they were going back to-

"Oh!"

Laila pieced it together!


She lightly patted his shoulder with a confident smile. "Okay, that's no major concern. We've an explorer over here." She jutted her thumb to herself with the same amount of bravado as a child. Though...His concern was understandable. Thinking over it, she'd need to track the warthogs they had fired upon and then haul them back, a scenario that wouldn't go too well if someone else happened upon it and even potentially took the rewards for themselves. She was naive, but not that naive; cynicism made great leaps in ensuring the security of their efforts.

"Okay...Hm...You're aware of the magic that I bear, yes?" She flashed her hand up in a jazzy movement as she continued, "Well, I have an idea. If we make another trail here, we can just take apart my arrows and stab them into the trees, we can come back here with a hauling wagon and try to follow the footprints we ran in."

Snap her arrows apart and use magic to penetrate them into the tree bark and make their own landmarks...It wasn't a terrible idea.

"We must've made some kind of mess when we were running from the drake, and if we can't find that..." She pointed over yonder, where the beast that had nearly annihilated them once was. "I'm sure that drake made a mess one way or another. We'll get you those warthogs. Promise you, in the name of the mamba spirit, you'll get your reward!"

No wonder her shrine was in the deep ends of a forest.

 

[Gary Sue]

"Mamba spirit..? Must be one of the deities, right? Spirits are just things of fairy tales otherwise.", he gave her a slow, somewhat relieved nod and looked towarsd where she pointed, squinting his eyes somewhat before he exhaled deeply. For all the things they'd done, she was honestly carrying this case through on her back. She'd have to explain about the wyvern, mark the place and even help him get the Warhogs back to Velia.

At least one thing was for sure. With her around, there was no possibility for either of them to be down or sulking. She had this energy she exuded that felt childish, very pumped but not overwhelming. It was nice. Way nicer than most of the clients he'd worked with, who were either outright rude or indifferent at best, with very few exceptions. Scratching the back of his head as he snapped out of his mental corner, he looked at her and nodded again, putting his palms together and bowing forwards to thank her once more. The only issue now was, how would they mark the area out?

They'd already moved a good bit away from where they got the drake, although... maybe the crashing site would be an easy enough landmark to find. With how loud that thud was, it was a guarantee that there would be a few broken branches, if not felled trees. It'd be easy enough to spot the Warhogs from there, although ironically enough, now Reeve was worried about whether they'd be fine in the meantime. Not because they'd get stolen, but he did get some clean hits off well- he didn't want them to bleed out, if it was possible.

That was just his 'gentle' side getting the best of him though, any other person should and would still be grateful about having made it out of a wyvern encounter with their lives and a story to share... at least for Laila. As he stood straight again, he crossed his arms and waited for a moment, before tilting his head. "... S-So what do we do now..? Just go back and start marking, or do we head back to the clearing where we met?"

Ah, choices, choices.

 

[ShredKnives]

It took her a good moment to read his confused expression, her eyes...Eyeing over him with her same happy expression as she was still brain-powering through the obstacle of using only body language to have a conversation.

Her fist hit her open palm with a eureka! moment.

"Weeeee...Are gonna mark the trail backwards until we find the collateral damage. From then on, we'll cut into that trail I mentioned earlier and get ourselves a wagon. When we come back, we'll be able to see my arrows and we'll trace it back up until we get drake tracks. Follow that, and we'll have a straight line to our warthogs!"

She lightly tapped Reeve's chest with her fist, a posh grin accompanying her assertive eyes as she dug into her quiver of arrows, yanking out...

"Oh...Uh...Three...Three arrows, all right. No big deal, we can work with that!"

She had forgotten how many warthogs she had vanquished prior to meeting Reeve. With a quick glance between directions, trees, and the sky, she looked recovered from her initial panic in a snap. She then smashed her arrows into her knee, snapping them semi-clean in half. "Six arrows, now! And, heeeere we..."

One half of the arrow, the one no longer having a sharpened stone tip, would receive a swipe of Laila's palm, a rush of illusive mirages layering against the ripped edge. Promptly after she performed her little trick, she grabbed the arrow and wedged it into the nearest tree she could find.

Thung!

"OWW!!!"

The neutral force responded back in kind, Laila's hand whipping backward from the sudden friction between the wood and her skin as she held her hand, tight with pain. The arrow, however, had successfully divided the log apart!

"Hoh...I...Uh...Didn't account for abrasive risks..." She said with a half-dying, half-awkward chuckle, letting out a soft squeal as she experimentally touched her palm. "Uh, no need to worry, though! I...Am most definitely still okay...We're just gonna do that five more times." Before he may decide to, though, she dug into the gap of her chest robe, pulling around what appeared to be a strip of white bandages. "H-hang on, don't use your medical kit. I am very self-sufficient, so with every mistake comes a safety solution!"

Again, with the confident smile and the glimmering eyes of purified optimism. "I keep bandages!" A truly intelligent creature, she believed herself as, while she wrapped her hand with bandages as a temporary mitigation. "Hmm- Ow-ow-ow..."

...

"Um- Anyway. Five more times! Let's locate our footsteps, agreed?" She said, grabbing Reeve's hand with, well, her other non-abrasion'd hand.

 

[Gary Sue]

This was... a show and a half, for sure. Watching her, he went from trying to offer help with a light groan upon hearing her yelp, to looking for his first aid supplies before she stopped him dead in his tracks. Watching her wrap it round her hand he exhaled again in what seemed like a mix of disappointment and feeling somewhat bad for her, although her smile was still there. Well... It was self inflicted, best thing she could do really was just smile it off like that.

Once she grabbed his hand again to guide him along, he sighed and followed along, lifting his other hand forwards with an open palm. In case she didn't immediately pick it up, he pointed at her snapped-in-two arrows and opened his palm again, gesturing for her to pass them over so he could do it. He was still wearing his gauntlets, so it wouldn't be giving him any wounds or friction burns.

Better yet, his hands were probably strong enough to make sure they're lodged in nice and well. Something that as much as he wanted to, he wasn't entirely sure he could trust Laila with. "It's not that I don't trust her, but she's... petite. Granted she does wield a bow, but...", he tried to push any guilt he felt from judging her already into the back of his mind, looking down at her hand holding his for a moment. "She's too physical to be feeling uncomfortable at least, so... It's a good thing I'm not a scoundrel looking for easy pickings, otherwise she'd be toast."

 

[ShredKnives]

The open palm stopped her in her tracks!

"Hah? Mmh...Ooo-kay, you want a slice of the action? Can't blame you after my stunning performance," She said with a hearty bump to her own chest. "Can't let myself stab every single arrow on the trees! They're all yours, buddy!"

She passed along the other arrows to him, snapping her fingers as she urged him, "Treat these with care, these little babies, they're my children, okay? My...Mindless killer non-living children," followed with the same sparkle in her eyes that suggested she was about to fight the world and win. "Guide them into their rightful homes -sniff- Okay?" is she seriously mustering tears right now-

Half of this was pure acting and exaggeration; she didn't literally consider these arrows she had just snapped in half her children, nor was she being very serious about how stunning her performance stabbing one of her children into a tree was...But she was making the best of this case, and her smile was a little too contagious to contain.

She cleared her throat, quick to move his chin up with a finger so he would stop staring at her bandaged wound. "Don't stare at the hand, it's battle damage! From...The drake we fought. Yes, he burned my hand after his fierce surprise attack, which we barely escaped with our lives, and it'll be a great story to tell Veila." Waggling her finger, she concluded, "So...No talking about it."

 

[Gary Sue]

As much as he wanted to just ask her if she loved hearing herself talk that much, this felt like one of her dorky moments. He couldn't be bothered at her any for being as energetic as she was now, could he? That's what went through his mind as he found a smile creeping on his own face followed with a low chuckle, accepting the arrows and looking at them momentarily. His eyes went on to look at the bandages, although she was quick to quite literally get his head to move away, listening to her 'great story' and nodding silently.

Reeve just rolled his eyes with the same stupid smile she put on his face as she wagged her finger at him, following along the path she was trying to backtrack up to now and taking a moment to stab an arrowhead into a tree one after the other. Although he seemed a bit sudden in his movements, the only certain thing after every single attempt was that no arrow was going to be growing legs and getting lost or slipping out of the bark now.

Better yet, no 'battle damage' from 'fierce surprise attacks' for his own hand. Ah, the benefits of wearing proper armor and not shrine clothes. It was around just now that he paid attention to them other than when the duo first saw one another, and he wasn't too sure what to make of them. As comfortable as they were, they looked oh so much more uncomfortable to the knight who was wearing more classic equipment, functionally and stylistically.

"Her entire getup is probably related to that spirit she talked about earlier... It's not like I remember having seen these clothes anywhere before, and I've explored a good part of Ceril so far.", he confirmed in the back of his mind as he placed the second to last arrowhead into the bark of one of the trees, seeing what looked like a bit of burned greenery and a felled log into the distance. He coughed to get her attention and pointed over, thinking that by the looks of it, they found the crashing site.

 

[ShredKnives]

A laugh! Happy Laila!

Naturally, she hummed along the way as they backtracked and she continued to peer left and right for...Well, that would be a mystery for him. A cough brought her out of her headspace as she looked over his shoulder like a ferret. "Hoh? You did it!"

Correction, they did it.

Aside from the collapsing of several trees, multiple notes of destroyed nature, and the annihilation of several micro ecosystems, the warthogs still remained bleeding. And living! A step in the right direction, indeed! "All right! So, I think these warthogs are good to go. I don't think they really cared to see 'em dead or alive. Wanna set out and get a hauling wagon?"

 

[Gary Sue]

That was the plan, and so they did. They set out, made it all the way to Velia, rented a wagon and then proceeded to make it all the way back there to find the hogs still wounded, and thankfully not having bled out. Although they technically never said they wanted them alive, it'd be nice to have simply subdued them rather than outright killed. If he wanted to be a hunter, he'd have finished the job alright. Potentially to Laila's surprise, Reeve looked through his own supplies and even used up some bandages to tend to the wounds he'd created on the beasts, so they wouldn't be in any immediate peril. Whether the locals wanted to kill off the hogs or keep them for whatever reason, was entirely their issue. It's not like he didn't have many bandages to spare after all.

So after mostly refusing help from Laila when it came to loading everything onto the wagon, they brought it back home and Reeve stopped once they were outside of the city gates, with the guards standing outside having raised eyebrows and looking between the two before they seemed to call for someone. "Please, wait up."

As the duo waited, Reeve coughed to get Laila's attention and gestured forwards with his head, only for the same elder that asked for help to come out of the gates with a smile on his face. "F-Finally, thank you so much for helping us..! You two took care of those bothersome Warhogs and even brought them back, correct? I take it they've all been cleared out?"

 

[ShredKnives]

Good work on Reeve to actually bandage the animals. Shrine maidens and practitioners of faith like herself might be one to have the animals be preserved or revered, but Laila saw differently; she more or less followed the circle of life, in where the killing of animals was as natural as the brith and death of the human person. Fish eat fish, it was just a facet of nature...But she did watch Reeve with curiosity, having never bandaged an animal before, especially from her own arrow.

Going back and loading up the goods, she was refused outright more than once, to her pouting dismay. Once or twice, she tried to sneak in a lift or two only to be given the stink eye and she had reluctantly stood by and watched.

Now they were waiting for the guards.

Oh, that's a surprise, the elder came in person.

It was difficult to say whether the hogs were all cleared out...She was no poacher, neither was him. Still, she had to say something because Reeve was giving little more than a cough and a nod.

"Uh- Right, we did! I can't guarantee all of them are gone, but we came back and forth through the woods with no signs of new tracks or attacks. I wouldn't expect any new warthogs for at least a few months!" She said with a triumphant huff. "It'll definitely be easier for travelling!"

 

[Gary Sue]

As Reeve really didn't do anything but nod to Laila's words, albeit with an eyebrow raised, the kobold elder nodded in response and clapped his hands together, as did the sentries that had asked them to halt moments earlier. "That's most wonderful, then we can get back to our trading routes and travels in and out of Velia once again! Please, allow us to take the cart with the hogs and let me bring over the reward for the bounty.", he bowed his head and scurried back into the village, only for the brown haired vanguard to turn to the shrine maiden and intertwine his thumbs, before flapping with his hands as though to signify flying.

Nowhere had Laila mentioned anything about the wyvern they met, but maybe that was for the better- as far as the reward was concerned. If it managed to get that much further down from the mountaintops and into the forest, who knows when it'll be making another trip all the way down? Hopefully, now that they already flashbanged it once, never, but that wasn't quite certain either. As the elder returned, Reeve turned back to him to see him holding a leather pouch, presumably filled with money. "The past while has been bothersome, to say the least... Few travelers are making rounds in and out of Velia, and from humans like you folks, nobody has offered much help. From outside the village at least. Warhogs tend to be too much for the locals to handle, as most are magicians more than they are warriors, but... Truly, thank you."

A good deed at the end of the day was enough on its own. That didn't stop the man from quietly relieving the elder's hands from that heavy pouch though, opening it up just a bit to look at the coins inside and smiling, before he bowed himself and gave a thumbs up briefly. It didn't take more than a few minutes before they passed the wagon on to some of the sentries, and as the small crowd of the elder, guards and so on was dispersed, they were now allowed entry into Velia proper as the vanguard walked by the ranger, silent and looking at her carefully with a curious expression.

 

[ShredKnives]

Nowhere had Laila mentioned anything about the wyvern they met, but maybe that was for the better- as far as the reward was concerned.

"...That wyvern might've been there because of the hogs to begin with."

That, and the risk of putting their business further on halt because of an expected major threat would only serve to be a detriment to all of them. There was bound to be more than one witness, anyway. It did make sense in her observations, though; it was a classic behavior of an ecosystem for a predator to move where there was more food...Though one can't specifically attribute a wyvern's appearance just because of one change.

Still, life was full of gambles. A wyvern was more dangerous than a warthog, yes, but more people who traveled the trade died to the anarchism of predators of the forestlands, less so from the apex of a mountain.

"The past while has been bothersome, to say the least... Few travelers are making rounds in and out of Velia, and from humans like you folks, nobody has offered much help. From outside the village at least. Warhogs tend to be too much for the locals to handle, as most are magicians more than they are warriors, but... Truly, thank you."

"Just be careful out there, okay!" Laila said with a hearty smile. "You'll never know what you come across!"

Keep their hearts cautious, but hollow of fear. Panic caused disorder. Caution hinders panic.

And with that...

Your first quest, "Warhog Thunder," has been completed, and you have been rewarded.
From this point on, a journey can flourish. The only end-point is the moment you stop moving.

​

It didn't take more than a few minutes before they passed the wagon on to some of the sentries, and as the small crowd of the elder, guards and so on was dispersed, they were now allowed entry into Velia proper as the vanguard walked by the ranger, silent and looking at her carefully with a curious expression.

Laila glanced back at him, eyes still glimmering with enthusiasm, curiosity, and an insignificant amount of gleam.

She grabbed hold of his hands. "Alright! I did have a little bit of a favor, which was why I mentioned that thing earlier...So, I hear...The dead are speaking in the cemeteries. Not here, mind you, but up north from that forest we came from. Come up north and leave the forest, and there's a ruined cemetery there. Remember when I mentioned Ruina and that trail that led to Veila?"

She adjusted her robes with as much caution as a high-class inspector, "I was the one who made that trail; needed a shortcut to that village up there. They're a real mess of control freaks, so they don't want anyone coming out of the forests unless they know there's a 'road' there, and they sniff you out before you even get into the perimeter. And they're heartless, too! One of them called me really rude names..."

She angrily pulled at her collar. "Okay, not the point. Being a priestess, I'm practically obligated to rightfully punish all of them for touching the dark arts, but the cemetery behind them worries me more. Ruina used to be a more farming community-driven village and now it looks like a mansion ate a piece of wasabi once. And that graveyard definitely is...Well, that's why I wanted your help, I can't really get close to it...I just think something's gonna happen if we leave that village alone, so..."

She eyed him with a bit of hope. "Might you spare your strong hands for this poor old lady?"

She was probably younger than this guy.

 

[Gary Sue]

There it was again- this physical thing that Laila did a lot. With both of his hands held he looked down, raising a brow before he looked her in the eyes. She wanted help with... the dead..? As far as he was concerned, he knew little about magical creatures past the common or well-known ones like the wyvern they met earlier. As though he weren't confused enough already though, Laila continued on about dark arts. That's something he knew for himself. "It's considered stupid and forbidden to even practice them, so... it makes sense she'd be worried about that much, at least."

Now the only thing to worry about was 'the dead' themselves. You didn't just die and talk now, did you? So it had to be some magical cretins in the best case scenario. He got the gist of the situation though. With a nod, although he seemed a bit thoughtful about something she said regarding her position, he put one of his hands on his sword's hilt's butt and the other on his chest, as though he were vowing to help her through this. "After all, a deal is a deal."

He got to keep the money, and she got to keep his assistance. If it came to dark arts and the undead, they should typically be more vulnerable to his sword's magic, although using it would be tiresome to say the least. Just two slashes wore him out this time, so there'd better not be too much for him specifically to take care of wherever they would be going. With what he gathered from this situation though, it sounded like they would have to go back to the path that she made from Velia's forest all the way to Ruina. Hell, they might be able to take out any stragglers on their way over, assuming there's even any Warhogs left alive that got split from the pack, still trying to terrorise the woods.

Just as he were turning around to get moving along, he stopped with a loud grumble from his stomach. As ready as he was, it sounded like his stomach didn't quite echo the sentiment yet. So with a dry cough and a smile, he turned around and tilted his head slightly, before starting to look around for any potential taverns they could stop by temporarily.