Fantasy Lost Laboratory of Kwalish (Paused)

[ArcticFox]

"Yes, I slept fine." Mary tells you in an even tone. It doesn't look like she's lying, because she seems pretty well rested, but she doesn't elaborate on it, instead changing the subject. "Nagrax tells me you don't want to go through the High Forest." Her tone is judgemental.

"And I hope you'll stick to it." The dragonborn adds, mounting his horse.

"Your pet will remain under the curse, if you are intent on going around. There's nothing in the northern lands, except rabid orc raiders." Mary scoffs.

"Aw, what's wrong with the kitty?" Nowhere asks, leaning down to pet Whiskers, and to everyone's surprise, the cat allows him to do it.

- Stick to the plan.
- Go through the High Forest.

 

[Yokai]

Stick to the plan.
​

Momentary surprise followed Mary's words, slightly taken off-guard by their direct nature. Iselas was not entirely sure how to tell the Elf that she didn't trust her reasoning to take the forest route without being blatantly rude. Still, there was something that she wasn't telling the group and that bothered the half-elf. She'd rather take the risk of the northern lands than fulfil Mary's unknown agenda.

"You heard correctly," Iselas summarised, turning her attention away as she mounted her horse and glanced down at Whiskers. Debating whether the cat would ride with herself or Nowhere. "We'll avoid the High Forest for now. Perhaps the Elves would be more welcoming to one of their own, but not all of us are Elves. If it came to a fight I'd rather face rapid orc raiders than organised Elven archers and wizards."

 

[ArcticFox]

Nagrax looks pleased with you, as you stick to the plan, but Mary just shakes her head as her wolf continued ahead. Nowhere and Jevan follow along, with Whiskers riding in front of the tiefling, allowing him to pet it.

"We will be in Triboar in the afternoon." Nagrax announces as you set off to ride.

Mary takes the front this time, still not in the mood to talk to anyone, though she offers Jevan to draw from her deck of cards, which he refuses after some deliberation. Nowhere keeps on talking to the cat the entire way, mostly using it as a conversational partner because no one else is inclined to join in on his very detailed explanation of last night's debaucheries. Until, eventually, Nagrax cuts him off with an angry look.

"Triboar was once a large town, but now it's just a military outpost with about half a thousand civilians occupying the living quarter." Nagrax tells you as you ride. "The Lord Protector of the town is an old friend of mine and we'll be welcome in the barracks."

"Ooh, a friend." Nowhere wiggles his thin eyebrows, and Nagrax pretends not to notice.

Jevan makes a coughing sound, attracting Nagrax's attention, follow by a couple of hand gestured that you do not understand.

"It is said that Gwaeron Windstorm rests just outside of Triboar." Nagrax translates for you. "A god of hunters." He shrugs. "I personally don't have any need for a ranger god's blessing, but you might want to seek him out, if it's not only a rumour."

- Ask about Triboar.
- Ask about one of the companions.
- Ask about the road ahead.
- Ride in silence.

 

[Yokai]

Ask about the road ahead.​

Nowhere's rather raunchy retelling of his evening managed to make the half-elf laugh, the tips of her ears having turned a warm shade of pink. It was rare to bring a blush to Iselas' face but even she was not invulnerable to the tiefling's antics. Which was why, when Nagrax eventually interrupted, she wasn't too disappointed.

"A god of hunters?" Iselas repeated, eyebrows raised in mild surprise as she wondered what exactly that entailed. Maybe it was useful for being really good with a crossbow? That'd be useful! Perhaps she'd take Nagrax and Jevan's advice and check it out.

"How is the road before Triboar? Anything we should be worried about?" Iselas asked, thankful that Nagrax had a friend within the town that they could rely upon.

 

[ArcticFox]

"No, the road ahead shouldn't be dangerous yet. The Triboar patrols move as far as Red Larch every tenday. Unless there has been unplanned orc activity, we should be fine." Nagrax responds.

"Is any orc activity planned?" Nowhere muses.

You continue riding for an hour or so without any disturbance, when you are suddenly forced to look ahead at Mary's riding form, as her wolf barks and growls angrily. You see the huge animal snarling at something by the side of the road. A naked something.

"Sorry, sorry, I did not mean to offend!" There is a naked man by the road in front of Mary, holding his hands up to shield his face from the angry wolf.

- Intervene.
- Let Mary handle it.
- Ask someone to intervene.

 

[Yokai]

Intervene.
​

Naturally, Iselas did a double-take when the man came into view, belatedly realising that he was completely starkers and about to be eaten by a wolf. As hilarious as that would be, she decided that she should intervene -- Mary probably wouldn't let her wolf eat the man. Probably. It might get his bones stuck in its teeth or something.

"Not the smartest decision to startle the scary Elf and her fuck off sized wolf." Iselas interjected cheerfully as she rode closer to intervene. "You're also very naked." She added, as if the man was unaware of this fact -- who knows, maybe he hadn't felt the breeze or looked down in a while? "May I ask why?"

 

[ArcticFox]

On closer inspection you see that the man in front of Mary is a half-elf, having nothing on his person except a necklace. As her wolf stops growling, the elf looks at you with a sheepish smile.

"I've had an eventful night. Drank with my friends more than I could take, and was left here to sober up." He says, then glances down his body. "The lack of my clothes, I cannot explain."

"You are a member of The Twelve." Nagrax says, reining in his horse and looking at the man sternly. "A soldier. Weren't you supposed to be protecting these roads instead of getting drunk on them?"

"Yes, well, we have to have a bit of fun every once in a while." The naked soldier replies, smile not faltering.

"I completely agree." Nowhere says, nodding knowingly. "There's nothing wrong with being naked and drunk in the middle of the road. I've done this a few times in my life."

There are quite a few things wrong with it, but Nowhere would never agree and Nagrax doesn't seem to want to pursue the subject. Instead he sighs and looks at Mary, who urges her wolf to walk on, not wanting to deal with the naked man any more.

"Can you give me lift to Triboar?" The naked soldiers asks urgently, so you won't pass him by. He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable with his nakedness as he doesn't move at all to cover himself. "I'll buy you a pint in return." He says, smiling up at you.

- Let him ride with you.
- Let him ride with someone else.
- Don't help him.

 

[Yokai]

Let him ride with you.
​

Unfortunately, Iselas had to agree with Nagrax on this one. Paranoia often kept her drinking antics confined to taverns and pubs, somewhere relatively close to the place that she'd be sleeping that night. She rarely ever drank enough to forget the night or to wake up on the roadside without her belongings. Honestly, that kind of sounded like her worst nightmare.

Still, they couldn't just leave a pretty little thing like him lying around. Anyone could pick him up.

"How persuasive," Iselas grinned, momentarily wondering whether she should banish him to ride with Nowhere or not. "You can ride with me, but I'd prefer if you wore this while you did." She unclasped her cloak and offered it to the man with a wink. "Not that you aren't pretty, of course."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Oh, yeah..." The naked soldiers laughs, taking the cloak and draping it over his shoulders. It reached only a bit over his naked buttocks. He looks down, laughs again, and ties the cloak around his waist. "All good now." She smiles, climbing into the saddle behind you. You can see Nowhere watching you with a tinge of jealously, but directed toward you or the naked newcomer, you cannot know.

Nagrax orders a move on impatiently, not approving of the naked soldier and eager to get on with the journey. He probably won't have anything good to say about the half-elf once you met up with the Lord Protector of Triboar. The newcomer keeps a respectful distance, holding onto the saddle from behind, instead of wrapping his arms around you, so there's not much awkwardness between you, except the fact that he's wearing nothing underneath your cloak.

- Ask his name.
- Ask about him.
- Ask about Triboar.
- Ask something else.
- Talk to your companions.
- Ride in silence.

 

[Yokai]

Ask his name.​

Stranger secured in the saddle -- and partially clothed -- Iselas continued onward to Triboar relatively unbothered. Occasionally she would send Nowhere a sneaky smirk that was somewhere between smug and amused. But that was mainly because she couldn't resist teasing him -- he was normally so unmovable. Maybe she should have instructed the soldier to ride with him, and then the tiefling could have made his move. But then Whiskers would've had to move too.

"By the way, what's your name Naked Soldier?" Iselas asked, not looking around in the seat. "And where is the rest of your patrol?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'm Petros." The soldiers responds with an easy smile, "And my patrol is back in Triboar no doubt. They played a good one me, the bastards." He chuckles.

You talk for a bit as you ride, with Nowhere joining in on the conversation, unable to help his curiosity. You learn that Petros had just come from Red Larch, a day before you, setting out with other twelve horsemen in order to switch in for the other squad waiting at Triboar. They had made a mistake of bringing two barrels of wine along and had ended up getting wasted about halfway through. He passed out and fell asleep, and his buddies left him naked on the road. Harsh, certainly, but not unusual for soldiers, especially young ones.

"There was no real danger, anyway. They knew that a caravan would eventually pick me up, or that I would get back on foot." Petros says, "But man, am I gonna get a good talking to from Lord Protector."

- Ask about Triboar.
- Ask about the Lord Protector.
- Ask about the Twelve.
- Ask about the dangers on the road past Triboar.
- Ask something else.

 

[Yokai]

Ask about the Lord Protector.
​

"Oh?" Iselas inquired, hands loose on the reigns and gaze steady on the horizon. Well, more specifically, her gaze was trained on Nagrax's back as she trying to guess how he'd react to her next question. "And what is this Lord Protector like?" After all, this Lord was supposedly friends with Nagrax and, if Petros said something unfavourable about them, would the Dragonborn tell them when they arrived? The discipline at Triboar sounded relatively lax anyway.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Lord Protector is very demanding and pushes us to our last reserves every training and patrol. But she also understands out needs to unwind at times, which is why I'm expecting more of a talking to, rather than dishonourable discharge." Petros answers in a relaxed tone. It doesn't seem like he's trying to conceal the truth.

"So Darathra hasn't changed in the last few years." Nagrax says, without turning around.

"Yeah, she's been the same ever since I joined, which is only a year, though." Petros replies. "Why? You know the Lord Protector?"

"You could say so." Nagrax nods, and there is an uncommon tinge of fondness in his tone, which makes Nowhere to make kissing expressions at him behind his back, then giggle as he gives you a conspiratorial look.

--

After a couple more hours of riding, and stopping once for a quick meal or dried meat and fruit, and stretching your legs, you arrive at Triboar.

It is a stone fortress between trees and hills, but all around it you see huts an stone houses, made by the civilian settlers no doubt. Two guards stand on the battlements above the gate, but the gate is wide open and no one halts you as you trot through it. Once inside, Petros dismounts and announces that he'll go back to the barracks and will find you to return your cloak, unless you absolutely want it there and then.

"Absolutely." Nowhere chimes in. "Iselas, take your cloak back, we have to look for an inn to spend the night." He is watching Petros intently.

- Ask for your cloak.
- Trust him to return it to you.

 

[Yokai]

Ask for your cloak.
​

Riding through the open gates of Triboar's stone fortress, Iselas released a low but impressed whistle. It was definitely a military operation and their casual approach to their new arrivals could be considered as confident. A part of her wondered what it would be like to sneak into this place at night; and what kind of weapons they kept stored around.

When Petros dismounted she was going to allow him to keep his dignity -- if he didn't bring her the cloak back then she would've just sought him out herself -- but Nowhere's response made her pause. She was genuinely surprised by the almost cold command coming from the tiefling, half expecting some flirtatious comment to follow. Perhaps he wanted to ogle the other half-elf, or perhaps the other male was hiding something? Who knew.

"I see...?" Iselas ventured hesitantly, even though she didn't see. "I suppose you'll have to take the walk of shame for this one. Though you don't really have anything to be ashamed of." She grinned at Petros cheekily, dismissing her unease with humour and flirtation. "May I have my cloak?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Aw, really?" Petros gives you a puppy-eyed look, but still unwraps the fabric around his waist and hands it over to you, his nakedness on full display once again. Nowhere immediately grins, then claps and cheers, making Petros proudly place his hands on his hips and strike a pose.

"Ugh. Disgusting." You hear Mary mutter from the front of your group, but Nagrax and Jevan are content to ignore the display.

A small crowd soon gathers on the square inside Triboar's walls. A group of soldiers and townspeople, gossiping and laughing, as Petros casually strolls away toward the barracks, with Nowhere giving him supportive cheers.

From where you currently are, you see a couple of shops with various equipment for travelling, a smithy, and a couple of inns and taverns. There must be more of the shops and inns further in, as you are not far from the entrance still. A mansion looms from the far side of the town, in the direction that Petros had set off to.

- Find an inn.
- Check out the shops.
- Check out the mansion.
- Find the barracks.

 

[Yokai]

Find an inn.
​

Tension spilled from Iselas' shoulders as Nowhere burst into a round of cheering, her paranoid momentarily abated as she snorted in relieved amusement. Carefully she draped her cloak over her saddle -- she'd probably need to wash it during their stay, she used that as a blanket or a pillow sometimes! -- and waved goodbye to the handsome, now naked, Petros.

"Shall we find an inn first?" Iselas suggested to her companions, eager to get their accommodation sorted before she went rummaging around.

 

[ArcticFox]

Agreeing on looking for an inn first, you pass by two very good-looking establishments, before stopping in front of a shabby wooden building with a sign that hangs by only one nail above the doorway. Nowhere makes a face, but doesn't comment on it as Jevan and Nagrax dismount and tether their horses.

"I'm gonna take a walk." Mary says, turning away, but despite wanting to walk, she doesn't actually dismount.

Six Windows is the name of the inn you walk into and despite its condition, it is very clean on the inside, however, completely empty. The owner greets you with a glad smile and offers a warm meal and cheap rooms. Nagrax declines the meal and takes two rooms as before, giving you the key to yours. Soon after he walks out of the inn, probably to find Lord Protector.

- Check out the shops.
- Check out the mansion.
- Find the barracks.

 

[Yokai]

Check out the shops.
​

Having checked into their rooms, and been nicely surprised by them, Iselas took the time to separate from her companions. She hadn't gotten the opportunity to access any of the stores in the previous town and wanted to see what was on offer here. Maybe, if she was lucky, there'd be a wandering wizard or an alchemy store where she could ask about Whiskers' curse.

 

[ArcticFox]

When you walk out of the inn, you spot various signs of the shops:

The Cart and Coin, Foehammer's Forge, The Lion's Share, Ransor's Open Road, The Triboar Travellers, Uldinath's Arms.

A bit farther from the street with the inns, you see signs pointing to horse stables, wagon and riding equipment:

Happy Horse Ranch, Merivold Pony Park, Othovir's Harness Shop, Wainwright's Wagons.

Out of all of them, you are most likely to find spell-related stuff at miscellaneous adventuring shops such as The Lion's Share, Ransor's Open Road or The Triboar Travellers.

- Pick a shop.
- Go somewhere else.

 

[Yokai]

Pick a shop: The Lion's Share.
​

Perplexed by the choices Iselas glanced over the various store signs, deciphering which would serve her purpose best. Eventually she narrowed it down to the three spell related stores, and from that she picked the Lion's Share. Mainly because Whiskers was a cat and she figured that it seemed fitting to check out this store first.

 

[ArcticFox]

The Lion's Share is filled with all kinds of familiar and unfamiliar trinkets. There are potions in the cupboards, scrolls on shelves, as well as various bags and pouches and camping equipment. The owner of the shop is an elderly gnome, peering at you from behind his thick glasses.

"How can I help you, miss?" He offers in a kind tone, yet without the usual entrepreneurial smile. He stands behind a short-legged table, with a large book in front on him, flipping through the pages. You see lines of words in a language you do not know, as well as multiple columns with numbers. A ledger, no doubt.

- Buy something.
- Ask about the curse.
- Ask something else.

 

[Yokai]

Ask about the curse.
​

At the man's question Iselas glanced up from the aisle she'd been perusing, her attention momentarily torn from the scrolls she'd been contemplating. There had been some hope that she'd find a book on curses, though she doubted there'd be anything specific enough to free her cat. Perhaps the gnome could help then?

Friendly smile immediately plastered across her features, Iselas approached the front desk, gaze momentarily flickering down to the book before drifting back to his face.

"Hello, yes! Do you have anything that could undo a curse?" Iselas greeted him, immediately getting straight to the point. "More specifically, a curse that could turn someone or something into a cat?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"A curse?' The gnome looks at you with curiosity and a bit of confusion. He takes off his glasses to clean them with an embroidered handkerchief. "I'm afraid not. I have travelling equipment and basic spells and potions, miss. Nothing as complicated as anti-curse spells." Putting the glasses back on, he thinks for a moment, before replying, "The spell you described sounds like it could have been cast by a wizard or a druid. I suggest you visit the eldarin in the High Forest if you are headed that way. Or you might try out your luck in Yartar, they are holding the annual Hiring Fair currently."

- Ask something.
- Buy something.
- Leave and explore town.

 

[Yokai]

Leave and explore town.
​

"I see," Iselas mused, releasing a quiet sigh of disappointment as she ran a hand through unkempt blonde hair. Really, she couldn't have expected the first store to solve all of her problems. "Well, thank you for you help!" She chimed out instead with an easy smile, thankful that the gnome hadn't attempted to trick her into buying something. But, with her question answered, she had no real reason to linger in the store anymore which was why she decided to step out and explore the town a little more.

 

[ArcticFox]

You spot Jevan in the streets, as the lanterns are getting lit, sitting under a tree in the middle of the main square. Not actually doing anything, it looks like he has his eyes closed, perhaps in meditation. The people on the streets are giving him odds looks, but otherwise avoiding him.

In the opposite direction the mansion with its gargoyle statues looms over the smaller buildings, while the barracks where Nagrax could have gone to seek out Lord Protector, lay across the square.

- Go to Jevan.
- Go to the mansion.
- Go to the barracks.
- Check out the shops.