Leave Rakuen and Idra here and go off on your lonesome, just to get a better view of whatever the glow is for certain. Then come back and inform them.

I gather Rakuen and Idra around the freshly started fire as I inform them of the distant glow and my intent to scout it out. I leave my lute with Idra as I walk off into the darkness, my kris in hand.

It takes about half an hour to get to a point where I can make out the glow to be a cluster of buildings. About fifteen or so of them, mostly smaller houses but there's at least two larger buildings as well. Most likely this is a small farming town, they would probably be welcome to traveling musicians and possibly have something to be delivered elsewhere, but wouldn't have much for trade or in town work.

============================================
You can stay with Dasaki, or have a temporary perspective change to Rakuen or Idra and suggest for them until Dasaki returns to camp.
============================================

>>351886
change to idra

I would also suggest swapping to the other guys
we can see how they get along

>You are now controlling Idra

Dasaki left a while ago to look into the source of some sort of glow, he seemed to think it better to leave myself and the other nevrean, Rakuen. He seems to be the quiet type, so I'm not sure if I should try talking to him or not.

I was also left with Dasaki's lute for some reason, I guess so it didn't get damaged if he was attacked? I tried playing it a little, it's not really something for me.

Why not talk to the guy? Not like you're doing anything else.

>>351950
hows the wound?

>>351954
It still hurts, but it's certainly much better then it was. It's amazing how much of a difference it made even just getting the arrow out of me. It'll still be a while before I'm still in full fighting shape, but I think I can still manage a bow.

I smile at Rakuen and sit down next to him by the fire, he looks at me a little nervously as I stat speaking "So, how are you liking traveling?"

>"It's okay I guess, up until yesterday I was traveling alone the entire time. Now.. Now I have more company then I've had most of my life..."

He turns back to the fire and seems to slip back into thought as he finishes.

>>351964
whoops I meant if it left a scar or something, also your new friend seems too much of a loner

Hm, a scar? Probably once it heals fully, right now though it still bleeds a little if I strain the area too much. And I agree, though other then myself and Dasaki spending time around him, I'm not sure how else to help him.

I hear something in the distance and look off in the direction Dasaki went, I can see a small figure approaching us. It turns out to be Dasaki with good news; there's a small farming town not far off that he wants to head towards in the morning.

Is there anything I should do or talk about before we call it a night?

>>352213
yes, what do you think of the eye-burning little chicken

He's rather... confusing. I mean, he spent every coin he had on that healer without even knowing me, and from the way he was looking at my breast before it was bandaged, I'd say he's certainly interested in me. But he hasn't tried to make a move yet, not even asked about anything on that topic...

>>352234
Touch his penis

>>352235
I decide to show Dasaki it's okay to touch as I strip out of everything but my bandages before pulling him against my bare form....

...I found out just how interested he was that night, and what he lacked in size, he more then made up for in passion as we went for what seemed like hours before falling asleep in each others arms...

=========================
Control changed to Dasaki
=========================

...I find myself waking up naked in Idra's arms in the morning, I'd been doing my best to resist making any advances but when she made the first move, I happily gave in. Rakuen probably at least heard something, if not saw us together at some point...

I wait until she wakes up on her own to share a kiss with her before we start getting ready, all three of us sharing a breakfast of fish before making the journey to the small town. As we draw near, we see a road entering the town perpendicular to our path, how should we approach?

Dammit, now it's going to be even harder to get with Rakuen. Oh well; perhaps we'll manage a threesome eventually!

Hit the inn, ask the manager if he's interested in hiring you as entertainment for the day/night in return for pay plus a room for you and your companions to share. Also get directions to the nearest town with a heavy nevrean population or large city, and head there instead in the event that it's under a day's travel. We're getting that flute!

>>352249

I agree with >>352264 but you should also check with Idra to see if that romp in the hay annoyed her wound.

also you should definitely let rakuen know that could totally be him next time

>>352249
Go into the bushes and put your penis in her butt.

We decide to take a slight detour to approach the town via the main road, I as Idra how her wound is doing as we walk. She smiles and assures me that she's fine and that out fun hadn't hurt it any more then all the walking does. I nod and tell her that I'm going to talk to Rakuen as we walk, before giving her a kiss that she happily returns.

I then slow down enough to fall into pace with Rakuen, the nevrean trailing a bit behind where Idra and I had been talking. "Rakuen, about last night.."

>He turns to look at me as I start to speak before blushing under his feathers "Oh, um, yea.. I.. I was watching you two... It looked like you had fun.. S-sorry..."

I smile a little as I walk closer to him "If you ever want to try anything, I'm always willing to help you."

>I, um.. Oh m-my... M-maybe.. I would never even have c-considered it before seeing how m-much you two enjoyed it last night..."

I smile and nod as I grab his hand and speed up my pace, bringing him up along side Idra as we reach the town. A few agunder stop their various chores to look at us, small wonder with how much of a strange group we must look. Thr inn isn't hard to find, it's the second largest building in town, the only thing bigger being the community storage building.

We step inside and I step up the barman to ask him about playing here first while the others take a seat. He has me play a couple songs on my lute before nodding with a smile, though he can't offer us both coin and a room. We settle on playing until the townsfolk leave for bed in exchange for food and a room for the night, and he grants me the ability to set out a hat or similar container for the patrons to tip us if they'd like. I also ask about the nearest large city or nevrean town is, he tells me there's a fairly good sized trading town about three days north of here. I thank him and go get get ready to play.

It's well past sundown by the time I'm finished, Rakuen had let me use his bag for a tip container and we'd been able to make 25 coins, as well as a ring that must have fallen from someone's finger when they dropped the coins as it looks to easily be worth four times what we made. We smile and talk amongst ourselves as we eat our supper before turning in, the room had three beds made out for us to use. We only needed two...

INVENTORY

Dasaki:
GOGGLES, worn on head, protect eyes from a number of things.
VEST, worn on body (pocket space for 6 items, contains COIN PURSE (26 coins), FISHING LINE, 1 RATION, GREEN JEWELED RING)
LUTE, worn on back or held with both hands, can be used to play music and doubles as a crushing weapon. Each use as a weapon puts it more out of tune, too far out of tune and music fails all together.
NEVREAN KRIS, worn in sheath or in main hand, a stabbing weapon with a vicious, wavy blade.

Rakuen:
CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 2 items, contains JOURNAL)
BAG, worn on back (space for 10 items, contains FISHING LINE, 2 RATIONS, INK, QUILL, 4 FISH)
GNOLL DAGGER, worn in sheath or in main hand, a weapon meant more for stabbing, though as it's sized for a gnoll, it becomes more of a sword in the hands of a smaller nevrean.

Idra:
TORN CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 4 items, contains CLOTH SCRAPS, 1 FISH) the bandages from the healer cover what the torn chest doesn't, keeping her decent.
BANDIT ARROW, while it would usually be kept in a quiver, this arrow is currently held in her main hand as an improvised melee weapon (BRITTLE)

===========================================================
Idra's status has changed from TRAVELING COMPANION to LOVER
===========================================================

See, I knew the doctor's fee was no big deal!

Okay, let's set course for the city, but before we leave we should buy Idra some intact travelling wear and change her bandages. Also I guess we should consider getting her a weapon? If we do, find out what she's skilled with first, don't just pick something at random.

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to firm up with Idra what exactly we are.

'Cause if she's expecting exclusivity or something, you might peep Rakuen and then get stabbed :|

In the morning, I talk to the others about what we should do before leaving town and we decide that Rakuen will take some of the coins and see about stocking up on supplies while Idra and I take the rest and try to get her geared up.

The first thing we do is get her bandage changed, followed by a new shirt for her. It turns out that there's nothing that would properly fit Idra's size in the town, but we do manage to find someone that can mend her old one with a piece of backing fabric and the torn cloth from the shirt itself.

As we wait for the work to be finished, I give Idra the ring and we talk about our relationship. "I never thought I'd actually be with you like this when I first met you. I was actually attempting to get with Rakuen..."

>She smiles and gives a slight giggle as I finish "You don't have to stop you know, even if we're together." She gives me a quick kiss before continuing "After all, I was with my three companions, sometimes all at once, before you saved me."

I smile back and hug her as the agunder finishes work on the shirt, I pay her and she directs me a few houses over when I ask about weaponry. It turns out we were sent to the hunter's house and after talking with Idra once more, we work out a deal with him to purchase one of his spare hunting bows.

We meet back up with Rakuen in the inn in time for lunch. Is there anything else we should do in town before we leave?

Purchases:
Idra: New bandaging (2 coins), Mended Shirt (4 coins), Hunting Bow, Quiver and Twenty arrows (10 coins)
Rakuen: Firestarter (5 coins)

No I wasn't planning on doing inventory this often, but when I feel enough changes, I add it...

INVENTORY

Dasaki:
GOGGLES, worn on head, protect eyes from a number of things.
VEST, worn on body (pocket space for 6 items, contains COIN PURSE (5 coins), FISHING LINE, RATION)
LUTE, worn on back or held with both hands, can be used to play music and doubles as a crushing weapon. Each use as a weapon puts it more out of tune, too far out of tune and music fails all together.
NEVREAN KRIS, worn in sheath or in main hand, a stabbing weapon with a vicious, wavy blade.

Rakuen:
CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 2 items, contains JOURNAL, FIRESTARTER)
BAG, worn on back (space for 10 items, contains FISHING LINE, 2 RATIONS, INK, QUILL, 4 FISH)
GNOLL DAGGER, worn in sheath or in main hand, a weapon meant more for stabbing, though as it's sized for a gnoll, it becomes more of a sword in the hands of a smaller nevrean.

Idra:
MENDED CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 4 items, contains FISH)
HUNTING QUIVER, worn on back (space for up to 30 arrows, contains 20 HUNTING ARROWS, BANDIT ARROW)
GREEN JEWELED RING, work on finger, a silver band with a small green gem set in it.
HUNTING BOW, attached to quiver or used in both hands, shorter range and weaker power then combat bows, but still just as deadly in skilled hands.

>>352689
Well, its time to move on. Ask the innkeeper about any forests or rivers close to the road north towards the trading town so we can hunt or fish for food. After that, its on the road again.

>>352689
If you've stocked up I can't think of anything.

After inquiring about hunting and fishing on the way there, which is stable enough at least within a day's walk from the town, we take our leave. We spend most of the rest of the day walking, eating a bit of the remaining fish and talking amongst ourselves.

It's almost nightfall when we spot something in the road ahead, it appears to be a wagon or cart of some kind from this distance, but the way it's sitting looks a little off...

>>352812

Have Rak and you approach it and put Idra behind y'all, at a vantage point if possible, over watching your approach in case there's funny business.

I draw my kris and Rakuen draws his dagger as we approach, Idra slips off to the side as she pulls her bow and one of the hunting arrows. She circles around as we move directly for the wagon, unsure of what we're going to find when we get there.

When we finally reach the wagon, things don't look good. The creature that was pulling it is still in it's harness, arrows embedded in it's still warm body. A sign that whatever happened, happened recently and puts us on alert.

I step back around to the side and reach for the door before I hear movement inside, I don't think we've been spotted yet and it's not to late to make a run for it.

>>353193
Take a listen first. If its loud and crashing like someone ransacking the wagon, kick the door in and get ready for battle. If its some one crying or trying (and failing) to be quiet knock on the door and introduce yourselves as a travelling bard group.

In either case, keep your weapons at hand and be ready to stab everything violently!

>>353225
with your penis.

>>353227
lets not turn this larceny into a rape

I stop and listen closely to the noise, it's hard to make out exactly what it is until I hear a crash as something falls or gets tossed onto the floor. Almost positive that it's bandits, I grab the door with my free hand and yank it open with my kris at the ready. I'm almost pinned by the body of a sergal that falls out, barely able to avoid it before we rush into the wagon blades drawn..

Inside we find a gnoll tearing the wagon apart, he doesn't seem to notice us until we both lunge at him and shove our blades into his back. Rakuen manages to pull his out and dodge back, but I lose the grip on my hilt and get caught with a brutal blow to the head that sends me flying across the wagon. I barely manage to see Rakuen get a second attack to the gnoll's throat, bringing him down once and for all, before I lose consciousness...

===================================================
Dasaki is currently unplayable. Please suggest for Idra or Rakuen.
===================================================

>>353534
Whichever of you is better at it: figure out how injured Dasaki is right now. :v

What typo said

>>353534
Idra: Shoot the gnoll, shoot to kill as soon as you have a clean shot.

Rak: Jab once and then try to run. You aren't big enough to kill a gnoll by yourself D:

Dasaki: Don't die

I started rushing towards the wagon as soon as I saw Dasaki open the door and the body of a sergal tumble out, I knew there was something very wrong and that I'd be no good from a distance if everything was inside. I cry out as I see Dasaki going past the door again, knowing before I hear the crash of him hitting the wall that something had happened.

When I reach the wagon, I waste no time in climbing inside, bow at the ready as I expect the worst. I lower my weapon as I spot the attacker, a gnoll bandit with Dasaki's kris in his back and Rakuen's dagger through his throat. Rakuen is at the other end of the wagon, panicking as he tries to figure out what to do now.

I take charge and have Rakuen work on retrieving what he can from the bodies while I carefully move Dasaki onto the bed on the side of the wagon. I examine him as best I can in the low light, his injury isn't nearly as bad as it could have been. He should be okay if nothing else happens to him, but until he wakes up and can move well enough on his own, it would be unwise to move him very much...

May as well camp next to the wagon for a bit. Be on guard in case bandits return, and keep your story straight in case lawmen come by wondering what happened.

Hopefully Dasaki will wake up.

Also use this as a chance to talk to Rak and get more well acquainted. Maybe even teach him how to use a knife better, if you are more skilled than he is.

>>353602
loot everything you can carry and leave before bandit reinforcements arrive

I start looking around the inside of the wagon while Rakuen finishes with the corpses before we both move them outside, pushing them up against the bodies of the beasts that had pulled it. I make sure to pull the arrows from them before we go back inside and bar the door from within, if we're going to be here a while, we might as well do it safely.

After checking on Dasaki again, Rakuen and I go over what we've found and what we have.

Dasaki (6 slots) COIN POUCH, FISHING LINE, RATION, LUTE (back), KRIS (sheath)

Rakuen (12 slots (2+BAG 10)) JOURNAL, FIRESTARTER, FISHING LINE, INK, QUILL, 2x RATION, 4x FISH, BAG (back), GNOLL DAGGER (sheath)

Idra (6 slots, 30 arrows) FISH, 20 HUNTING ARROWS, 1 BANDIT ARROW, QUIVER (back), HUNTING BOW (back)

Corpses, 78 COINS, SHARPENED GNOLL DAGGER, KEY, GNOLL SHORTBOW, QUIVER, 15 BANDIT ARROWS, 3 BROKEN BANDIT ARROWS, BACKPACK (15 slots), BANDIT'S ORDERS

Wagon, FOOD STORE (20 RATIONS, 20 VEGETABLES), LINEN CHEST (4 CLEAN SHEETS, CLEAN BLANKET) HIDDEN LOCKBOX

We could be here a while if Dasaki doesn't wake up soon, so the amount of food is wonderful. I attempt to talk to Rakuen to pass the time, but I don't really know what to talk about.

>>354205
Take all the coins. See if the KEY fits the HIDDEN LOCKBOX and open it if it does. Cook some food and wait in the wagon for Dasaki to wake up. And read the BANDIT'S ORDERS.

Those are the things that you should do. The things that you should say to Rakuen,hmm.

ask him if he likes you or Dasaki, in that way. You know wink wink, nudge nudge, knowing looks and glances, know what I mean. Say its okay if Rak wants a turn, you told Dasaki that you didn't mind sharing especially since the companions you have now are so much better than the ones you had before. Lastly you may want to organise who takes watch first. We got bandit activity so lets not get ambushed when one of our group is down for the count.

>BANDIT'S ORDERS
I think I spy a NOTE to be read.

Also equip the weapons.

Rakuen and I each take a ration and a vegetable from the food store and get things sorted out with the inventory. We start with the orders, which are basically to retrieve a piece of jewelry, or some way of finding where it was sold and track it down. We put all the coins in Dasaki's coin pouch before turning our attention to the lockbox. The key sticks a little, but eventually turns, allowing us access to the contents of 201 coins and some TRADE RECORDS, these must be what the bandit was looking for.

We also swap out our weapons for the ones looted from the bandit.
SHARPENED GNOLL DAGGER, sharper and more dangerious then Rakuen's GNOLL DAGGER, but the amount of metal removed to make that edge has thrown the blade off balance so it's trickier to use. (+atk -acc)
The GNOLL SHORTBOW is roughly the same size as my hunting bow and has a stronger build, however the increased tension in the string gives it a slower draw speed as well as increased power. (+atk -atk spd)
Arrows, each QUIVER can only hold 30 arrows, there are 2 quivers and a total of 36 arrows between the two types. (20 hunting, 16 bandit)

After getting that sorted out, Rakuen and I snuf out the light and take a seat next to the window to talk a bit. "So, Rakuen, would you like to talk about anything?" I smile at him "I saw you watching us before, both times."

>He starts to say something before blushing through his feathers "I- Um, s-sorry.. I didn't mean to.."

I chuckle softly and slip my top off "It's okay, I don't mind. You could even have some fun if you want."

>he blushes even more as he looks at my chest before nodding slightly "I.. I d-do.."

No more words were said that night, and the decesion on who took guard duty was never made, as we both ended up on the floor...

...Rakuen may have lacked experience, but he certainly had a willingness to lear, and learn he did...

>>354780
Wait for Dasaki to wake up.

>>354780
Be more chaste!

Also yeah just see if datsaki wakes up any time soon.

Dasaki -> What he already has
Idra -> Sharpened Dagger, Hunting Bow, (10) Hunting arrows, (8) Bandit arrows
Rakuen -> Gnoll Dagger, Gnoll Bow, (10) Hunting arrows, (8) Bandit arrows

>>354780

Rak: if your male parts burn the next time you take a piss, congrats, you just got the clap from Idra

It's dark when I come too, my head is killing me. Must have taken quite a blow from that gnoll last night. I sit up slowly as my eyes adjust, looking for Idra or Rakuen, until I look at the floor. I chuckle a little as I see them asleep and naked in each others arms before laying back and smiling as I think about what to do, both for our journey and for my sleeping companions.

>>355278
you've got a thing about gnolls and blowing, huh

>>355278
Eat some food. Eat slowly. You might feel nausea if you eat too fast.

After that, cuddle next to them.

I shift slowly as I pull the ration out of my pocket, eating it slowly and carefully as I look around the wagon. I finish my small meal and stand up for a moment to stretch my legs with a closer look at a few things before slipping my vest off and laying with my companions. Cuddling them with a smile and a quick kiss to Idra's cheek, wondering what the morning will bring...

>>355827
Not much to do except sleep till morning.

In the morning I'm woken up by Idra while Rakuen finishes packing up a new bag he found somewhere. there's also some new weapons that probably came the gnoll. I smile and give Idra a kiss before getting dressed, noticing that Rakuen seems to be avoiding looking at either of us whenever possible. I also notice that my coinpurse is sitting on a table, with more in it then I've ever seen at one time before.

Idra fills me in on what happened as I eat a small breakfast before looking through the small pile of stuff in the wagon myself. I also take a look at the lantern meant to serve as a light for inside the wagon and discover that, while ornate, it's still a pretty normal oil lantern, so I fill it from the oil stores and place it with my stuff.

INVENTORY

Dasaki:
GOGGLES, worn on head, protect eyes from a number of things.
VEST, worn on body (pocket space for 6 items, contains COIN PURSE (284 coins), FISHING LINE, 2 RATIONS)
LUTE, worn on back or held with both hands, can be used to play music and doubles as a crushing weapon. Each use as a weapon puts it more out of tune, too far out of tune and music fails all together.
NEVREAN KRIS, worn in sheath or in main hand, a stabbing weapon with a vicious, wavy blade.
OIL LANTERN, held in off hand, the lamp from inside the merchant wagon, OIL LEVEL: 100%

Rakuen:
CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 2 items, contains JOURNAL, FIRESTARTER)
BACKPACK, worn on back (space for 15 items, contains FISHING LINE, TRADE RECORDS, 2 RATIONS, INK, QUILL, 2 FISH, 4 VEGETABLES, 2 CLEAN SHEETS, CLEAN BLANKET (small items that don't use slots, BANDIT'S ORDERS, LOCKBOX KEY))
SHARPENED GNOLL DAGGER, worn in sheath or in main hand, a weapon meant more for stabbing, though as it's sized for a gnoll, it becomes more of a sword in the hands of a smaller nevrean. Because of the extra metal shaved away for the sharp edge, this blade is a bit trickier to handle, but much more dangerous when it hits.

Idra:
MENDED CLOTHES, worn on body (pocket space for 6 items, contains FISH, RATION)
IMPROVISED LARGE QUIVER, worn on back (space for up to 50 arrows, contains 20 HUNTING ARROWS, 16 BANDIT ARROWS), two smaller quivers bound together, they lose a portion of the capacity from each but allow more capacity overall.
GREEN JEWELED RING, work on finger, a silver band with a small green gem set in it.
GNOLL SHORTBOW, attached to quiver or used in both hands, roughly the same size as a standard hunting bow, it has a slower draw but more power.
GNOLL DAGGER, worn in sheath or in main hand. Though crafted for a gnoll, the size is roughly the same as for a talyxian blade.

Unused: 16 RATIONS, 14 VEGETABLES, 2 CLEAN SHEETS, 3 BROKEN BANDIT ARROWS, HUNTING BOW

Nevrean can't into bow, with those puny bird arms D:

Is there anything I should change around? There's still room for more food, but the added weight might also slow us down a little. I suppose I could try looking for something to put some lamp oil in as well, it's both useful and valuable.

Maybe switch the GNOLL BOW with the HUNTING BOW.

Do the orders say where/who to bring the ring two? That seems like the obvious thing to follow up on.

>>357060

Do you mean forgot the GNOLL BOW completely and stay with the HUNTING BOW that she had when they found the wagon? And where did it say anything about a ring?

Maybe you or one of the others can break a piece of wood off the wagon or a nearby tree, and tie the clean sheets into bindles to carry more vegetables or rations... or possibly even tie a clean sheet around one end of the hunting bow to create the bindle, which would help you carry more stuff without the difficulty of it weighing you down when in combat, since you can just put the bindle down at the first sign if trouble. Of course, you'll have to fold the sheets before you tie them, probably.

The orders don't give specifics on the what, where and who of anything related to them, presumably the bandit would have been given this information orally to avoid things getting messy if caught and searched, and only had the orders as a reminder.

I decide we should go ahead and tie the hunting bow to the side of Rakuen's backpack, as it could at least be worth something in trade once we get to the town and could provide a valuable replacement if Idra's bowstring snaps. The bow itself is too short to make a decent bindle, even if one of us knew how to make such. However, Idra stuffs Rakuen's old bag full of food and carries it by hand, just as easily dropped if needed and giving us a few extra days worth.

With all our gear in order, we leave the wagon and the bodies behind and set out north, traveling for most of the day. It's fairly uneventful, with nothing bigger then a rabbit crossing our paths until around nightfall when something much larger starts to rustle through the brush near the road...

oh boy weapons ready

>>358540
Yeah you might want to, uh, keep your guard up.

Rakuen and I draw our blades while Idra steps behind us and pulls out her bow. The rustling continues as we step back from the bushes, I turn back to Idra and give her the signal to fire into the the brush. One of the barbed arrows flies from her bow, whizzing just over my head and into the bushes as a cry of pain fills the night.

Rakuen and I stumble back as the creature bursts from the brush, the three of us coming face to face with a very large, pissed sergal. Black fur and clothing to match that of the gnoll back at the wagon, the bandits must have seen us leave...

>>366028
uuuum...
shoot it in the face.

with your knives.

>>366028
shoot it in the dick or PCH

>>366028
Quick, while he is disoriented slash at his tendons to cripple him!

just fucking DO SOMETHING DAMMIT!

Idra readies another arrow as Rakuan and I charge, the sergal bringing it's own sword into a wide swipe in an attempt to hit both of us. Idra looses her second arrow, the sharp tip piercing his cheek and throwing his aim off, though he still manages to slice a few of my longer feathers and catch Rakuen in the side...

Rakuen gets thrown off into the brush from the force of the hit, while I still manage to land my attack, the curved blade of my kris slicing through the sergal's flesh and bringing him to the ground as his leg crumples beneath him.

I leave Idra to finish the sergal as I run to check on Rakuen, I find him laying in a heap. The plants having broken his fall quite a bit, but a deep gash in his body from the sergal's blade and his bright blue feathers already turning red...

It looks extremely bad and I'm not sure if we can save him, I'm not sure what Idra's knowledge on the topic is either... I collapse as I look down at him, a final sound behind me as Idra puts the sergal down for good before coming over and giving a cry of horror as she sees him.

Im not certain if you bird-beaks can do mouth to mouth, so have idra breath into his mouth and cut the end off of your sheath, and put the sheath in his wound, try to seal it off as well as you can. Suck on the tube, try not to choke on any blood. This will clear his lungs of blood, which will come out in a pink foam. Take any cloth at hand, and stuff it as far into the wound as you can to prevent more blood from entering his lungs and killing him. Its comparitively safe to move him, so you can if you have to. After all this, wrap him up warm because the damage will have him in shock.

>>381543

Apply direct pressure on the wound and bandage your friend up.

>>381730
Mouth-to-mouth? He took a sword to the side, he didn't drown in a river.

Take the cleanest cloth any of you have, apply direct pressure to the wound, and try not to move him. If this is a well-traveled road, someone will probably come along to help, if not, then one of you will have to go off in search of someone who can. Only move him if you're sure that there's no broken ribs or internal damage. Worst comes to worst, you'll have to haul his dumb ass to the next town.

Put bandages, or the cleanest cloth you have, over Rakuan's wound, then apply pressure to keep the blood in. Do not move him; he may have broken bones or internal injuries. Bind the bandages down if you have enough cloth to do so.

Whichever of you two that can run the fastest for the longest should hurry to the nearest town that'd have a healer. Only carry your coin, to pay the healer, and the clothes on your back. Leave everything else behind, it would just weigh you down.

>>381781
The treatment I suggested has nothing to do with water. His lung is likely pierced, and will fill with blood. regardless of water, he will drown if the blood is not removed from his lungs, and forcing air into his lungs while pressing his chest will force the blood out.

>>382110
then you seal the wound to prevent further internal bleeding and external exsanguination.

I'm not really sure how beak to beak would work in this situation, and none of the sheaths are really suited for something like that..

Idra seems to know what she's doing as far as sealing the wound goes, taking one of the sheets we'd taken from the wagon and tearing strips and clumps off of it. She uses one of the clumps as a rag to clean him up, his breathing is shallow but seems stable enough.. I hope.

She then takes several strips of the sheet and wraps them around him, tying them off tightly as a makeshift bandage.

>"I'm not sure what else I can do, the wound is deep and I'm not a healer."

I nod and look over him, not wanting to lose one of my friends and companions. "I understand, but after that, I don't want to split up until we know it's safe..."

>She sighs a little and nods in agreement "As much as a healer would help, I agree that splitting up could be worse for him if there's more.."

We sigh together and gently wrap the blanket around him and move him into a hidden spot in the brush. We move the corpse out of the road and into the brush on the other side of the road, not wasting the time to check it's body as we rush back to settle down and guard Rakuen.

Even being a trade road, there's no guarantee that someone will pass soon, but we have to hope they do or else we'll have to think of something fast...

Do you have the tools and materials to make a crude stretcher? A couple reasonably straight and sturdy branches for poles, and a sheet or blanket could make one. Then use the fishing lines to stitch it back on itself around the poles. Wouldn't stand up to much weight, but Rakuen's pretty light, isn't he? It'd be better than sitting in a ditch, praying for the odds to roll in your favor.

We sit for a while, watching Rakuen as we quietly talk about what to do now, knowing just sitting here is a bad idea but that Rakuen is in no condition to be left alone or to move on his own.. We eventually come up with the idea of a stretcher, if we can locate something to support what's left of the sheet we made his bandages from.

Idra and I start to look around the brush in an attempt to find enough sticks suitable to make the stretcher, I manage to locate the sergal's sword, metal still gleaming red with blood as the moon light reflects off of it. That detail aside though, it's the length that catches my eye, large enough that Idra would have to use both hands to wield it, and almost the perfect length to act as part of the stretcher once the sheath was put back on.

I have a bit of trouble moving it on my own without the tip dragging, but I eventually get the sword over to the sergal's corpse, it's not a pretty sight as Idra had apparently wanted to make sure this one wasn't getting back up, neck and torso both ripped open by what more closely resembles claws and teeth then the dagger she was carrying... I quickly check what's left of it's clothes for pockets, finding little outside of a couple coins and a rather simple, if large gold band on it's finger, pocketing both before slicing the belt to release the scabbard that I quickly slide over the long blade.

With the edges covered, it's a lot easier to carry the heavy weapon, hoping Idra had luck finding enough for the other support as I return to where we left Rakuen. However she hadn't found anything, the plants here too small and twisted to form branches long and straight enough for our need. Once she sees the sword though, she has an idea..

We lay the sheet out on the ground and gently lift Rakuen into it, then fashion a different type of carrier. The sword being the sole support as Rakuen hangs in the sheet below it, the sheath pulled off enough for each end to rest on one of our shoulders as we carefully lift him up.

Now all that's left is to pick which way to go... Heading forward, it's unsure when we might run into another town, or even a house at all. But heading back, we'd have to walk right past the wagon again which would risk a third run-in with the bandits. And we're going to be moving extremely slow with Rakuen and all three of our supplies being carried by 2 people...

Keep heading forward. Heading back would almost certainly encounter bandits, so forward couldn't be much worse.

Forward.

With the strong possability of bandits behind us, we continue forward, with myself in the lead and our torch lit and hanging frop the end of the stretcher in front of me as we make our way into the nght. Things are very slow going as we walk in silence, not stopping once as the sun starts to rise on the horizon.

Even after daybreak, we press on ahead, knowing our partner's life depends on us as we look for any signs of life ahead. We eventaully have to stop and rest, having gone far enough that the plants had began to change as we sit under a small tree, keeping Rakuen between us as we scan the road. We talk quietly for a little while before Idra raises a hand to silence me then points out into the distance on the road, following her hand I spot what she had, a small wagon being pulled by a single horse heading towards us from the direction we'd been walking.

Things could be dangerous still, or whoever this is could help us, but we need to decide what to do quickly.

>>403247
Hail them, I guess?

Get Idra and Rakuen under cover as best you can, and have Idra ready her bow, just in case things go bad. Step out into the open, wait until you can see who's driving the wagon, then hail them if it's not obviously enemies.

>>403272
I'll second this, but with the modification of not stepping out into the open until the friendliness of the oncoming cart is established.

>>403303
Well, if you think you can effectively hide Dasaki's bright blue plumage amongst all this green and brown in the time you have, go for it.

I help Idra get Rakuen hidden in some of the thicker brush, hoping the dried and dying plantlife is enough to hide the other nevrean while Idra slips behind the tree with her bow at the ready. I carefully make my way back to the road, the thought that we might well look like some kind of bandit ambush nagging at my mind the entire time.

As the wagon draws closer, that thought only grows stronger based on what I can make out; the wagon, though small, is of obviously high class and the beast pulling it appears much more well bred then the pair that had been slain at the other wagon. I gulp lightly as they draw near enough to make out who's at the front of the wagon, my eyes locking with those of a rather large agunder.

I still can't quite make out if they're friend or foe as they draw closer, I start to shake a little though as I realize there's a rather large crossbow leaning against his seat in the drivers box, the size of the weapon making Idra's bow look like a toy.

This is the moment to make a final decision on my actions, that weapon would mean trouble if it was pointed at me, and the fact that I'm in tattered and bloodstained clothes could mean both a traveler in trouble or a bandit fresh from a fight...

Stick your hands in the air, and slowly step into shouting distance. Yell out that you need assistance; You and your two friends were attacked by a bandit, and one of them was grievously injured. You would be eternally grateful if they would give the three of you a ride to the next town or nearest healer.

If this request is met with skepticism, call out to Idra to drag Rakuen up to the road for all to see. Also say the both of you will strip your weapons and drop them here to be picked up when the wagon passes, if that'll make them feel safer.

Run straight at the wagon while waving your arms about and peeping wildly!

Peep! Dasaki 2012/08/20(Mon)09:50 No. 445612 ID: aced8d
File 134548144703.jpg - (280.73KB , 1364x964 , IMG_0001.jpg )

I decide to risk getting shot and step into the road, attempting to wave the wagon down for assistance. As expected, the driver wastes little time in hefting his crossbow to the ready, though thankfully he doesn't fire it at me and instead slows the wagon down as he approaches. I decide to risk it all as I move into the center of the road, leaving him with only two options, to stop the wagon entirely, or just run me down.

To my immense relief, the wagon slows to a stop and he steps down, the weapon still pointed at me as he finally speaks.

>"Who are you, and what's so important that you had to force us to stop like this?" He asks, his tone alone made me tremble almost as much as the bolt pointed at my chest.

"My name's Dasaki, I have a companion in need of urgent medical help and was just hoping to get a ride to the nearest town or healer." I reply while the agunder narrows his eyes at me.

>"Let me guess, attacked by bandits? Your feathers look a whole lot like some that were in one of my master's wagons a ways back down the road, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that now would you?"

I'm unsure what to do as I stand there with my arms raised, staring at the weapon for a moment. It might not be a very good idea to lie to someone pointing a very large weapon at you, but if I admit I was there then he might shoot me anyway since we looted the wagon ourselves...

>>445612
"I got injured when some gnoll bandits jumped me and my friends. We made camp for the night in one of your master's wagons so they could bandage me up. I'll admit we took some food and coin, but we're not bandits. We're just a down-on-our-luck travelling bard group."

I gulp a little and try to explain to him what had happened. "Yes, we were there, but the gnoll was the bandit, not us. We stumbled onto the wagon just after the attack and the gnoll caught me in the head. We only took shelter inside for the night after I was knocked out. I admit that we took some things, but it was only what we needed and we would willingly give them back to you if we have to."

>"You keep saying 'we' and 'us'," he replies as he holds the weapon steady, "but I have yet to see anyone but yourself. If they're out there, they better come out with their weapons sheathed or left on the ground."

I look towards Idra, hoping she'd heard everything well enough to know what to do.


=====================================================================
--------------------CONTROL HAS SHIFTED TO IDRA----------------------
=====================================================================


I sit in the cover of the tree as I watch and listen to Dasaki and that agunder talking, something just doesn't feel right about all this, but I don't have many choices at the moment and Rakuen is running out of time.

Shoot the driver in the neck or heart then take the wagon for yourselves. Desperate situations call for desperate measures! Just leave no evidence.

>>450297
Shout out "Idra, are you alright? Rakuen's getting worse and I don't know what to do!"

>>451609
No

>>451716
upvote this

Shooting the driver isn't a very good idea when he has a weapon pointed at Dasaki, and who knows what sort of person is still inside the wagon, since it's not big enough for cargo and an empty wagon wouldn't need that sort of protection. I decide the smartest course of action right now is to do as the agunder said, I gently set my bow on the ground and step out from behind the tree and announce myself. "He tells the truth, we have a gravely wounded companion here and only wish for a ride to the nearest town."

The agunder seems to take our word a little better when I step out like that, and lowers his weapon a bit, looking back at me before nodding at Dasaki.

>"Alright then, bring this wounded companion out, let me see if it's really serious enough for my master to share his wagon with commoners." he half-snarls, apparently not liking the idea at all but still willing to agree if it's needed.

Dasaki nods and rushes over towards me while I step back behind the tree, I pick my bow up and sling it over my back before we carefully lift Rakuen off the ground again and carry him back towards the road. Once we get close enough for the agunder to actually see Rakuen, his eyes go a little wider as he lowers the crossbow completely.

>"Ignoring the fact that you ruined a very expensive sheet with his blood, you were right in stopping us for help. If you'll agree to give us that sword as compensation, we'll take you into Haven. However, with your friend having to be stretched out like that, there's only room for one of you two in the wagon, the other one will have to ride up front with me."

Both Dasaki and I immediately agree that they can keep the sword, as neither of us have the strength to use it properly anyway, now the only decision to be made is who rides with the big guy, and who rides in the wagon with the unknown rider...

>>453578
Idra, in front and Dasaki in the wagon

Idra helps me load Rakuen into the wagon before leaving me to climb inside the now cramped interior, sharing the remaining space with what must be the trade master, a white-furred female sergal that seems to appraise me while never speaking. The ride itself is extremely uneventful compared to the rest of our journey and we arrive in Haven shortly before the main gates close for the night.

We stop outside the first healer's office we come to and Idra goes in to get a real stretcher to carry Rakuen on. Once we manage to get him onto it, the wagon wastes little time in continuing onwards, leaving us to deal with healer in a city that neither of us know much about...

Idra and I carry Rakuen into the healer's building using the stretcher, not knowing what to expect inside as she hadn't told me anything. The first thing that hits me as we step in, is the smell of herbs and medicine filling the place, much stronger than I remember anywhere else I've been. The healer herself comes out of a door just in time to go wide-eyed at the sight of our companion, quickly directing us deeper into the building towards one of her healing rooms. The healer herself even takes me off guard, I would have never expected a gnoll to be a city healer, let alone a young female like herself, but this isn't the time to think about that...

She ushers us out of the room after we set the stretcher down, informing us that she'll need at least several hours to work and that she would be able to work her best uninteruted and that we should find something to keep our minds off of things until sometime tomorrow. Neither of us has ever been here before, nor do we have a map as we step out onto the street. Looking around we appear to be in a lower class part of town, but not so low that we should fear the people after dark, there are lanterns lit at the intersections and there seems to be an inn or tavern a few streets down judging by the activity in the distance, not that either of us is quite in the mood for drinks. I suppose we could ask one of the people passing by about the town, or we could just go wandering off on our own as well.

Hug Idra and say, mostly for yourself, that you're sure that Rakuen will pull through all right now.

The both of you head up to the nearest pub and take a seat there to take stock of what you have and figure out what to do next. Even though you two are not in the mood for drinks, they still have hot food which is better than what you've been eating on the road.

>>487678
this

I lean against Idra and wrap my arms around her, sighing a bit. "I'm sure he'll be fine, we got him here as fast as we could." She nods in response and pats me on the shoulder, I can tell she's just as worried as I am though. I look around once more in the dim light before it hits me, this isn't the kind of area where people go around after dark with a lot of stuff, so I pull Idra back into the building for a moment to leave a bit of our gear with Rakuen's pack. I leave behind the lantern while Idra leaves her bow and arrows with the bags, leaving us both armed with our blades, though our clothes still stand out a bit in their current state but not much can be done about that, at least not until a clothing shop opens in the morning.

We make our way towards the building we saw before, it's not much to look at but it's undeniably a tavern by the sign and the smell of alcohol on the people either leaving or being escorted out. We make our way through the crowded common room and find a small table near the back, away from most of the bustle to sit at and wait for someone to come serve us. The food isn't anything fancy, meat and vegitable stew with a chunk of bread, but it's certainly hot and more filling than what we'd been eating, and getting water instead of beer or wine saved a small bit on the cost, though it earned us a few odd looks from nearby tables. (-3 coins)

"So what now, now that we've made it to a trade city?" I ask, before eating a bit of the bread.

"I don't know," she replies, "I'm sure the healer isn't going to be cheap though, we'll probably have to find some way to earn more soon enough."

I nod and reach back to feel my lute, somehow it's managed to survive the trip. "Well I can try my hand at playing for some again, though a big city like this is probably used to much more skilled players than myself. I'd rather none of us have to try selling ourselves though.."

She shudders and silently nods in agreement, the rest of our time is spent in silence as we finish our meal and leave, making our way back to the healer's for the night as we decide to sleep on the floor in the side room. Chances are we wouldn't be the first, or last to do that while she works on someone, just as chances are we wouldn't be the only ones that spend more time wondering about the morning than we do sleeping..

The healer herself comes in to wake us once morning finally dawns, she yawns softly herself before telling us that Rakuen will live, but will need a lot or rest and time to heal properly before he can leave her care. Idra asks her about the cost, which comes to 200 coins for the healing and another 50 for an extended stay, which thankfully seems to include room for us with him. However, this is almost every coin we have and I wouldn't feel right trying to haggle with her..

I pay the healer and slip my much lighter coin purse into our bags, the gnoll gives a weary smile before she puts up a closed sign on the door and retires to her room somewhere in the back. Idra and I just sit down on one of the beds provided for us, unsure what to do now but knowing that we have to do something to get some more money.

We have the entire day ahead of us, and a few options to choose from, Idra could probably get some work as a guard or doing physical labor, and I still have my lute. We still have a good amount of rations left as well, which we should eat before they spoil anyway, so we won't have to buy food for a little bit as well. I suppose we just need to decide what to try first...

Go do bard things. also, explore the town.

Idra and I sort through our gear as we decide what to do, I pick up my lute and make sure it's tuned enough to try my hand on a street corner. Idra sorts through our food stores while I'm doing this, finding that our fish is no longer fresh enough to be considered safe to eat, she has little choice but to throw out the rotten meat. She also passes me a blood-stained book, which turns out to be the journal Rakuen had been carrying, as one of us should continue to keep record of what ws happening for him.

After an hour or so, we're ready to head into town. Lute in hand and a dagger on my hip, I'm going to look for a good place to play for some coin, while Idra explores the town. She'll have a better chance of getting some coin as a guard or labor for someone, plus an armed merc would be a lot less apealing a target than a nevrean bard.

We both take some vegitables for rations as we leave, saying our goodbyes for the day as we head into town.

===========================================================================
Pick your character, Dasaki or Idra
===========================================================================

I flipped a coin.
Idra! What kind of things are you good at, and what can you find around town related to that?